Chchchanges

Hello best friends!

Thanks for sticking it out with me in this month of weirdness/no posts/what on earth is going on/has Erin fallen off the face of the earth. So I'm here now to tell you about some changes!

Back at the start of the month I sort of fell off the blogging bandwagon, got caught under the wheels for a while, and then by the time I stood up and brushed the dust off it was just a speck disappearing into the distance. But never fear, I've found myself a bicycle and am pedalling like hell to try and catch up again.

Okay, not really but you get the point. I recently sat down to try and rethink what I do with my blog, and it's lead to me making some changes.

1. New post types: I have a few new ideas for things I want to post about/of on this blog that better suit my personality and I hope you enjoy them.

2. Including new aspects of my life: This is sort of the same as 1. but I want to include things like my writing and reading on this blog. I do have a seperate poetry blog, but I feel like I'd like to share more of it with you guys too.

3. Posting on less days: I found it hard to be constantly coming up with ideas for two quality posts a week, so from now on my posts will only happen on a Sunday. This is not to say that a few sneaky posts won't pop up during the week here and there!

So that's about it! 

I'm hoping to steer this blog back the way I wanted it to go, so it's an accurate representation of me, and not just what I hope people want to see of me.

All these changes will be starting in March, so keep and eye out!

I need your opinion....

Hello everyone,

You probably haven't noticed but I have been absent from this blog for a little while now. I really do enjoy blogging so I feel bad for letting it be pushed right to the back of my list of things to do. Also, as well as simply not getting around to doing it I appear to have hit a "bloggers-block." I can't think of any new or exciting things to post about, and it's really getting me down!

I'd love if you could take two seconds to leave a comment telling me what sort of posts you like, any new posts you think I should try, or just how I could change my blog up so you enjoy it more.

Thankyou for sticking around even though there hasn't been much worth sticking around for...

January Favourites

Hello hello hello! I'm here to remind you that you've officially made it through the first month of 2014! It's not always an easy thing to do, but you've done it so go and give yourself a pat on the back!

I feel like I dived into January head-first this year, ready to make changes that inevitably come with a new year. I think I made the most of the fresh start and I'm excited to see what February will bring!

So without further ado, here are my favourites from the first month of 2014...

I've had quite a few good moments this month, so I thought I would make a list of my top 3:

1. If you've read my recent blogposts then I'm sure you can guess what this moment was. It probably wasn't a "moment" so much as an event, but it was going on my cruise! It was so amazing and relaxing (exactly what I needed). If I had to pick one specific moment from the whole cruise that was my favourite, I would have to say exploring the Isle of Pines and just seeing how magical the place looked!

2. My second favourite moment wasn't really a moment either... (maybe I need to change the name of this section...) but it was starting to sell my poetry books! It's absolutely crazy seeing photos of my work in other peoples bookshelves and it still shocks me to think that people appreciate my work enough to buy it.

3. My third favourite moment happened on the last day of January, and that was getting my helix pierced! I don't even have my ears pierced normally so this was my first every piercing! I was super nervous, but it turned out there was nothing to be nervous about, it didn't even hurt!

I'd wanted this piercing for ages but was too scared to get it before, but I figured if I didn't do it now I never would! and there's no better time to do it, seeing as my new years resolution is to say yes to more things!

My  favourite photo is this one from the cruise:

My favourite song of this month has definitely been "Stay Alive" by Jose Gonzalez the song is just so relaxing to me and it's the perfect thing to play while you're just relaxing or watching the world pass by.

I've been repeating this quote to myself a lot recently, it's a good reminder that things won't always go your way, and you need to be okay with that because your are just part of the universe, you have no control over it.

So they are all my favourites for this month! I'd love to hear some of yours.

There aren't any materialistic favourites this month (favourite outfit, most wanted etc.) because I just haven't really been in that sort of mood this month. I'm focusing more on improving myself on the inside, rather than what I'm wearing on the outside.

I can't wait to see what February will bring!

DIY || Personalised Pillow Case

 Hello lovely people!

Today I have another DIY for you!

This one is super duper easy (the first part anyway), and I think it is so wonderful to be able to fall asleep on something you put lots of time and effort into.

So let's get started!

 You will need:

- Fabric (Cotton)

- Sewing machine

- Things to decorate with eg. patterned fabric, buttons etc.

Steps:

1. Using your old pillowcase as a template, cut your material into a rectangle, leaving an extra 1cm on each side and ~10cm of extra fabric on one of the short edges.

2. Iron your fabric! (Even though I'm not very good at it)

3. Sew on any embellishments that you want. But make sure you don't put them everywhere because you still want to be comfortable when you're sleeping and there's nothing worse than waking up with a button imprinted on your face.

4. Sew up the two long edges and one short edge of the fabric, leaving the fourth edge open.

5. Fold both sides of the open edge of the fabric down the the front. (About 10cm down). Sew the two sides but not the top. (If you look at your original pillowcase you should see what I'm talking about.) This will create the flaps that you put your pillow in so it doesn't slide right out of the case.

6. Fold your pillowcase the right way out and put your pillow in. TA-DA! You're done!

I also saw this article on Rookie and really wanted to try it!

I'd never done embroidery before but I think I did alright. All you do is write on what you want in pencil and then go over it with your thread! It's time consuming but fun. (I would recommned not using such curly handwriting)

Also, The Fault in Our Stars and sleeping? What more could you need!

Have you taken up any new hobbies recently? I think embroidery may become on of mine!

 

Travel Diary || Pacific Islands Cruise.

Hello hello hello everyone!

I have a bit of a longer post for today, but I'm hoping you will like it! It's all about the cruise I just went on, as well as some OOTD photos from my best friend and I!

If you like hearing about travel stories then pull up a chair and get comfy...

First up, our boat was MASSIVE! We had to fly down to Sydney from Brisbane on the day we were boarding because boats that big can't fit in Brisbane's ports. Ash (my best friend) and I spent the day walking around Sydney Harbour getting lunch before we boarded, and I don't think anything could have prepared us for how spectacular the boat was! 

Now, I'd like to think I'm a fancy person but ohhhhh how wrong I was. Nothing could prepare me for this. All the workers were lovely too, and always smiling. We had the same waiters for dinner every night and they got to know us so well that they would order extra entree's for us because they knew we'd like them....(we ate a lot of food). We also watched a show before dinner every night, including a hypnotist one night, which was just amazing! I didn't really believe in hypnotism before, but I sure do now. 

The first two days were "at sea" so Ash and I did heaps of things, including rock climbing, Zumba, line dancing, swing dancing, running on the jogging track and relaxing in the spas. It was all so lovely, and after falling into bed at 3am on the first two nights we were thoroughly exhausted.

Noumea, New Caledonia.

 Our first stop was Noumea, New Caledonia. Ash and I didn't do much here, but we did find this wonderful jetty and spent our day swimming. The water and the weather were absolutely perfect, and we enjoyed hamburgers from a local cafe for lunch.

Mystery Island, Vanuatu.

 The next day, we arrived in Mystery Island, Vanuatu. I absolutely love the name of it! It sounds just like an adventure waiting to happen! Here Ash and I got part of our hair braided into cornrows, which I then weaved together on Ash's hair (top left) We sat on the beach and drank coconut milk while taking heaps of gymnastics photos on the beach! (Once a gymnast, always a gymnast eh?) The water here was so blue and gorgeous! The weather was a little bit overcast but not too bad!

The only bad thing about this island was that I could hardly walk! The afternoon before I got a little too excited dancing on the pool deck of the boat. I took my shoes off for 2 minutes and ended up with massive painful blisters on the bottom of both my feet! Not a good idea and I would definitely recommend wearing shoes when you're next planning on whipping out a bit of Gangnam Style...

Isle of Pines, New Caledonia.

 I feel as though the cruise company definitely saved the best for last, because wowowoowowowowow Isle of Pines was absolutely gorgeous! I could definitely see myself living happily ever after here. The water was gorgeous and right where the sand of the beach ended, the pine trees began. Ash and I did some exploring before going for a swim and you could almost feel the magic in the air. I don't quite know how to explain it, but everywhere you looked on this island was beautiful. There were so many little trails leading off the main road that I could have happily spent all my time exploring. I definitely did not want to leave!

We thought we'd take a few OOTD photos while we were away too. Ash and I had this thing where we would be matching but not quite matching: wearing jumpsuits, overalls or dresses on the same day as each other. I could not have thought of a better person to go on this cruise with!

 

The cruise had themed dinners every night, and the above photo was taken on the formal night. All of the staff were calling us "Princess" all night because of our circlets and Ash and I both felt like princesses! When we saw this photo, we just HAD to buy it. I'm currently looking for a frame so it can hold prime position on my bedside table.

I did not want this cruise to end. Firstly, because it was so much fun, and I felt happier here than I have in a long time. It also meant parting with the friends we made on the boat. The second reason I didn't want to leave was that Ash was moving to Melbourne 2 days after we got back. It feels like we've been best friends forever, and now that she's moved I don't know what to do with myself! We'll definitely be keeping in touch with letters & skype, but I miss her so much already!

Have you been on any holidays recently? Or where would you like to go most in the world?

Ash and I have already discussed and we're starting to save up for a holiday in Greece some time in the future!

You can read about my 2012 adventure to Nepal here.

I HAVE A BOOK!?

Hey everyone! I'm back from my cruise and it was so so much fun! I never wanted to leave. I'll be doing a post on it soon! I just thought I'd do a different post today, just a quick update on my life.

If you follow me on instagram you will know that I write poetry, and I have recently released my own book of poetry!

I am incredibly proud of it, and I still find it hard to believe that people across the world have bought a copy of it.

I in no way mean to push you, but if you think you might be interested in buying a copy, you can do so here and feel free to check out my poetry tumblr here.

I will be back to normal posts soon, I hope you've all been having a wonderful January!