f i r e.

s h a d o w s.

"We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.." - Buddha

v e n i c e.

Ahhh Venice...

Definitely one of THE most beautiful cities I've ever visited, I wasn't expecting much as i'd heard it was rather disappointing from some previous fellow travelers but alas, I fell in love at first site.  The city is doted in colorful architecture with beautiful bridges adorned with roses in pot plants... It's the kind of place you could walk around for hours and smile at the fact you're lost.. (It is literally a maze on water).

After hours of wandering and a few too many glasses of the local Venetian wine we meandered down to the waterfront and was met with the familiar pungent smell (I never said Venice smelt pretty) of the sewage water. However, you say Venice and you hear Gondola, so as per typical tourist we hopped eagerly onto one of the beautifully detailed boats where a smiling man in his stereotypical gondolier outfit of striped t shirt and ribboned hat stood and waited for us to see his beautiful city by the only form of transport they know how, boats.

Safe to say the City of Canals did not let me down and if any of you are ever on edge about deciding on whether to go, I say go for it! How could you not! It really is the right combination of elegance, beauty and romance combined into one perfect Italian (although be it bad smelling) package!

g o u l d i n g.

Most of the time when a celebrity does something for charity and gets snapped helping a 'poor helpless puppy' find a home, you know its merely publicity (and probably their already owned $2000 pedigree that's been pre-groomed for the picture), this however was totally out of the question last night at Ellie Gouldings 'Streets of London' where you could tell that the charity was one close to her heart.

 In an intimate acoustic setting in the Shepards Bush Empire, she organised an incredible line up including Kodaline, Birdy, Gabriella Aplin, Bastille and many more all to support and raise money for the homeless people that line the streets of London. Besides the fact that Ellie has to be the cutest human being to ever walk this earth (and her thigh gap was on point), her heartfelt speech on her thoughts and support for the charity moved me to tears..

The concert was truly one of a kind. Their was no rehearsals, sound checks, entourages or publicity it was purely the artists, their instruments, their raw vocals and the time they'd made to talk and play for the cause.

Talk about incredible. Well done Ellie, I was so proud to be apart of you're special night.

If any bloggers read this (i'm most probably talking to myself on the web like your average everyday looper) please consider texting STRE11 followed by the amount you would like to donate, to 70070, I can assure you your money won't have gone to waste.

u n i q u i t y.

"One of the most satisfying experiences I know is to just fully appreciate an individual the way we appreciate sunsets. When we look at a sunset you don't find yourself saying 'soften the orange a little on the right hand corner, and put a bit more purple in the cloud colour'... You don't try to control a sunset you watch it with awe as it unfolds. It is this receptive, open attitude which is necessary to truly percieve something as it is".

You can't beat a Western Australian sunset... Each one unique and just as beautiful as the last. This one was in Coral Bay, my favourite place in the world.

v i b r a n c e.

"Day and night are linked in a way that few things are, there cannot be one without the other yet they cannot exist at the same time. How would it feel I remember wondering to be always together, yet forever apart?" - Nicholas Sparks

i l l u m i n o s i t y.

Surrounded by darkness yet enfolded in light.

l i g h t.

Thorns thawing in the sunlight. Even when you feel most dead inside, remember that the night will end and the sun will rise,

F e a r.

I've always been absolutely petrified of cows... ever since my dear mother decided to dress me in a red raincoat and walk me across a field full of cows to get her usual Sunday pint. After being charged at and having to run across what seemed like the biggest field in the universe as fast as my little (at the time) legs could take me, its safe to say I have taurophobia. However... a decade later and camera in hand I faced my fear and managed to keep my hands steady enough to capture this beautiful creature. Still have a long way to go... but its an improvement from the girl who last summer wouldn't even get off a tour bus in Scotland to view the Scottish's pride and joy of safely fenced in highland cattle.

f r e e d o m.

"I always wonder why birds choose to stay in the same place when they can fly anwhere in the world. Then i asked myself the same question."