Happily Ever After...

So by now most of you have met some of the most important people in my life...My boyfriend, my mum, my friends here, here and here, but you haven't met the most important fur person in my life. If you peg me for some crazy dog lady right off the bat, I can't say that you'd be completely inaccurate! This little muppet is smart, cute and further more she's all the way from South Korea! Ladies and Gents, may I present to you....drum roll please......Sydney!

her first day at the dog park

Although she doesn't have a stroller or a wardrobe larger than mine (I'm not that crazy....yet) there's not much I like to do without this ball of fluff and it's thanks to a LA based rescue organization Happy Ending Rescues, that we even met!

Sydney all grown up

Happy Ending Rescues is a pretty remarkable organization that finds homes for dogs from South Korean dog farms, where the animals are raised like cattle and slaughtered for their meat...I know, sickening to even think about. If you have the home and the heart to give these beautiful animals a family, then you won't regret it! I know it's a little cheesetastic, but sometimes when you think you're rescuing something, you end up being rescued yourself!

Let's give it up for the pooches!

The Untied Life...

Sometimes it feels asthough we live in a world where we plan everything, everyone has pretty much every minute accounted for and we're all exhausted! Imagine throwing it all up in the air and making choices based on the moment that you find yourself in.  Two of my Australian friends Holly and Cameron, have spent the last 7 months in 7 different countries immersing themselves in local communities and culture.  They left behind any regiments of Western society in search of the rawest human experience.

Teaching Buddhist Monks and Burmese Refugees English (no, I'm not kidding) and saving hitchhikers from a days walk while loaded with fruit and veg, led them to an orphanage specialized for children with HIV.  They loaded these enthusiastically vibrant children with film cameras and after teaching them the basics, set out to understand what the world looked like through their eyes.  What they discovered was nothing short of magic!

Here's a couple of sneak peeks into the lives of two humanitarian free spirits...

What made you want to travel?

Cam: There's a community of free spirited people out there who have very little in common apart from the thirst for an organic cultural experience... Even though I had no idea what I was in for, I had that desire. These are the people who ignite my thirst for life.

Holly: I wanted to contribute and give back to humanity.  The only way I felt that I could determine how to truly achieve that was to immerse myself in their culture. I needed to understand what it was like to live the life of these people in order to determine what I could do. 

Advice for people who are wanting the same experience?

Holly: Go to a travel agency and write down all of the tours that are available in the areas that you'd like to see. Then definitely don't do any of those! Ask travelers and locals the places in their area where there are no westerners. Then go!

Cam: If someone had nothing more than $2000 saved, I'd say go and buy a one way ticket. Learn to listen to yourself, follow your instincts and let go of any compulsion to plan!

Best Memory?

Cam: Just one? In general, the genuine joy for life that was on the most impoverished children's faces and the gratitude of locals for the smallest gestures.  

Holly: Riding on the back of a Motorbike in a boarder village between Cambodia and Thailand and 30 children chasing after us screaming in English, "HELLO!"

How have these experiences changed you?

C: It has opened my heart and mind in ways I never knew possible. Realizing that everyone has an innate desire to get by. Everyone's trying to do their best to live, whether that's a 9-5, a 20 hour work day at the market or selling a cow. I have now learned to be grateful for every moment that I find myself in. Whether it's good or bad I accept it for what it is and just keep moving forward. Control is an illusion and acceptance is key. 

H: While discovering what these peoples truths were, I also discovered the truths within myself. I remember taking the wrong bus and ending up somewhere in Northern Thailand by myself. I was frightened, scared and melancholy just to name a few! Because of the multitude of heightened emotions experienced in such a short amount of time, it was one of the most powerfully beautiful experiences I've had to date. Through all of these challenges I have found my bliss. Something I never could've anticipated.

One thing they both agreed upon was openness. Be open, stay open and life will be open to you...

Anyone seen my muse?

We are bombarded on a daily basis by advertisers, marketers, politicians and people wanting to get our attention. For better or for worse, sometimes it feels like we're surrounded by a bunch of needy toddlers who are on the brink of a meltdown! If you're like me and you're sensitive then sometimes it's easier just to switch on 'auto pilot' and go through life becoming completely desensitized; because if we truly took at everything and responded accordingly, we'd be completely broke and utterly exhausted.  However, the catch of becoming desensitized is that we stop listening to ourselves and our reactions to our surroundings. My mum always says, 'make sure you water the things that you want to grow'. But how are you supposed to know what you want to grow if you're not present? I've always tried to remain conscious of the things and relationships in my life that make me feel positive and renewed, but sometimes I find myself completely detached and going through life with an idea of what I think works for me, rather than paying attention to who I'm becoming.  We have to discover a way to take a moment, turn off auto pilot, take note and feed what brings us joy.  Like most things it's a habit that really starts with being aware of your responses to things through out the day.  I personally think it's always good to stretch yourself and challenge what you thought you knew to be true. We need to ask ourselves, "does this same idea still float my boat?".  It can be a myriad of things but to celebrate the colours, objects, sounds, people, places or faces around you that leave you feeling uplifted and excited, is in my opinion directly proportionate to how excited you feel about your life. You may surprise yourself with what you discover you respond to and once we know what makes us respond positively, we can access this stimuli whenever we need that extra little boost.   .

Here's a few things that inspire me and ways that I continue to challenge myself to keep the thirst for my own life.

I love to go hikes with my puppy or take her to the beach. There's nothing like watching her be completely carefree and have the time of her life. It's completely infectious and before I know it I'm running and laughing with her like there isn't a care in the world.

My orchids are another fascinating pleasure. There's something new everyday and it amazes me how they're always growing and changing. 

I love spending time at the local flea markets and lately I've been collecting old jars from the 1800's.  They make great vases and can instantly transform any table setting.

Farmers market meals!  There's nothing like picking out produce from your local farmers market and then creating a wonderfully colourful meal out of your finds. If you've got the time, why not make a day out of it. It's both creatively and nutritionally rewarding and great on the pocket book!

This is probably one of my favorite pieces of art. It's done by my boyfriends mom and believe it or not is on the back of a grocery bag!  The beautiful pensiveness spontaneously captured here combined with the sheer talent of her work, inspires me every time I see it.

Travel. Sometimes I can't get as far away as I would like but need that quick jaunt to rejuvenate me. In that case it's all about day trips and for me preferably somewhere in nature. Natural beauty is so awe inspiring and being reminded of how we all play a part in something much larger, manages to put things into perspective!

Some mornings I sit with my fresh cup of tea and flip through blogs and/or old magazines and pull out things that I like. After a while I'm left with pages and pages of things that have invoked some kind of inspiration. It's like created my own magazine of things that I love.

If I have the time and get extra creative, I'll put it all together so that I'm left with something that's pure eye candy. Anytime I need a little boost, there are a plethora of things on this cork board that can bring me joy and remind me of how beautiful life can be! 

"I'll take background for $200"...

I was born in Australia and am the youngest of five children.  When I say the youngest, I mean it... My parent's intention was to have my sister and I close in age, however after years of trying with no luck my mum gave up and decided to focus on other things and allow nature to take its course. Which it did, 10 years later! Being born into a family of mostly teenagers was quite an experience in itself. I'm not sure whether it had something to do with how much of a surprise I was, but I was born into a group of people who were simply in awe of my existence! Every day was something new, I was dressed up, taken to 'show and tell', paraded around my sibling's friends and neighbors and reciting words and phrases that invoked rounds of laughter and applause. It was apparent very early on that I had found my first audience! It wasn't long until I clocked onto this idea of entertaining and by the time I was 20 months old I was begging to go to dance class and finally admitted into a strict ballet academy at the ripe old age two. Part of this ballet academy's requirements (apart from being able to count to 8) were that I also take a deportment and grooming course. A true ballerina and graduate from this academy must always conduct herself in an appropriate and graceful manner!  By the time I was 5 I had graduated the first few of levels of ballet, somehow scored an agent, learned how to behave in front of dignitaries and further more how to conduct a formal dinner party down to the table setting.  Looking back I feel exhausted just thinking about it, where on Earth did I get the drive and the energy?! However, these new found skills I were obtaining were going over really well with the family and friends.  Although my parents were too down to earth to take all of the fuss too seriously, they taught me how to enjoy this new found knowledge for what it was, 'behavioral dress ups' and the most important thing lesson being the joy of learning.  This was only the beginning of many a dance recital and performance interlocked with a self made tea party intermission. 

Looking back on these formative years of my life, I really believe that these are core experiences that shaped me into the woman I am today.  Although it was an interesting curve to learn the lesson of, "What do you mean I'm not as fabulous as my family thinks I am?", what I am left with is utter gratitude. I grew up feeling truly cherished by my family. I remember the excitement and intricate party planning that they would undertake for my birthdays.  I remember my brother in-law almost killing himself scaling down our bannister dressed as Santa, while squeals of laughter ensued from my family as I screamed, "I"m asleep Santa, I'm asleep". I remember the joy they constantly found in discovering new ways to celebrate every stage of life.

Ultimately this has made me want to shower people with that same love.  I want people around me to feel that same awe and gratitude that I was flooded with.  Even though the first part of my life was entertaining an audience there's nothing like the applause you get from the people that you love. The best part is that the applause already exists, you don't have to do anything to obtain it. It already exists because of who you are to those around you. 

The Art of Celebrating... Good Times 101.

There's nothing like being surrounded by a community of people who share in a common joy!  Be it simply a friday night family dinner (more on that later), or the wedding of your dreams, celebrating life's big and not-so-big moments are really what I'm all about.  Believe it or not, there is an art to creating a truly memorable celebration and the biggest secret of all is that everybody already has the essential tools needed to pull off a truly memorable event.


The first key ingredient is of course a reason to celebrate.  Showing gratitude is a great way to find something to honor. What are you grateful for?  I encourage you to find reasons to celebrate your life and the lives of others around you. It's actually a great habit to get into! To be honest, some of my favorite celebrations are the ones that don't necessarily commemorate any 'great' event at all and if you stick with me, I'll be happy to show you exactly what that entails!


The next key ingredient is your community.  Find your tribe! Whether that's three, four or thirty-four people, sharing joy with other like minded folks is truly a gift in itself.   Lastly, one of the biggest conundrums to creating any event is big $ question... How much is this 'good time' gonna cost me?  For me personally, the quality of event really doesn't have to be proportionate to the amount of money you spend. It's really the people you've gathered combined with the heart and the thought that goes into the affair. That's what people will be left with long after you've paid the bank balance!