Fluoro Blobs Painting - Amazing
Flamboyant Fashion Camel
So it looks like I didn't mention on here the major news that Lindsay and I got engaged in May! Hoorays! And yes, that would be one of the major factors of life being a bit hectic, in a good way. Of course, I was so excited and surprised when Lindsay sprung that one on me (yes I may have given him a USB stick with two folders named 'Yes Rings' 'No Rings' but I thought it might get lost in his sock drawer for a year or so). That initial few days of sharing the buzz of our engagement with one another and our friends was really amazing, and quite overwhelming, too. One is not accumstomed to receiving so much attention in one big thwack, but hey, it was pretty great as well.
A few days after our engagement we flew up to Singapore for a week. It wasn't exactly planned that way, but I can vouch for engagement-moons! It was the best. We had such a fantastic trip and it was great to get away and enjoy one another's company and the glow of
So I have to say, the only un-fun part about wedding planning, so far, has been the venue selection. We didn't have an idea to begin with so when we sat down to pull a shortlist together online, we were literally considering the whole state. #sospecific. Anyway, we decided to drive up to Byron Bay on a bit of a whim as there was a wedding fair on, and kinda fell head over for this place in the hinterland. We came back home to Wollongong and looked at a few other places closer to home, but our little hearts had been stolen so we ended up going with Byron, and we're both really excited.
Actually, in part, I think I have my Grafton Nanna to thank for that. My Grafton Nanna passed away a bit over a month ago. She would have been 87 on the 9th August. We travelled up to Grafton for her funeral. That weekend of the funeral we had planned to see one more venue, but of course we couldn't go because of the circumstances. The venue at Byron Bay only had one date in Spring 2016 remaining and we didn't want to chance missing out by delaying booking another week or more, so with that, the decision was made. So I said a quiet thankyou to Nanna because I think that she unknowingly gave us that little gift.
It was and has been a sad time for everyone. My Nanna brought us so many wonderful memories that we'll have forever. She liked to write, as well. She wrote detailed memoirs, and she and I were penpals for many years. It was a bittersweet farewell as we knew she had been ready to go, in her heart, for some time. When we were at the cemetery and her coffin was lowered into the ground above Poppy's grave, two little sparrows flew down and sat on top of the canopy above. I have chills even writing that now, which only affirms to me how real it was and is. It was the undoing of us all on the day and I believe that was Nanna and Poppy there with us, together again, with their own little sweet sendoff. Bittersweet.
Well I really didn't intend to come and write about that - but there it is.
Apart from the initial brain-haze with the venue selection, I've been having a lot of fun with planning our engagement party for November. Like, a LOT of fun. We're having the party in Mum & Dad's backyard and I am DIY craft heaven. Like it's pretty much going to be a DIY display with some music and wine also. And a glowstick ravecave. So yeah - loving this.
I'm working five days now and also still making wedding favours for Little Bow Thief, so all in all, life is pretty damn busy, but pretty great, too.
Today I bought an easel! Like a proper wooden artists one, a step up from the plastic white and red one that I had when I was a young thing. Not only that, but Riot was having a 50% off store-wide sale today, and I didn't even know it til I got there. Don't you just love that? I bought the easel primarily to prop up something for the party, but also, for the past year or so I've had this unrelenting desire to paint some stuff. Which has been a bit of a surprise because yes, I have always loved making and decorating things, but I've never actually tried to paint anything proper and thus I may not have any talent whatsoever. Hello abstractism. Pretty sure that's definitely the term. Pretty sure there is a painting in the Art Gallery of NSW that was made by a bloke throwing a can of Dulux at a canvas, so. Anyway, see those pictures above? I snapped those at a little gallery in Byron Bay. I like the brights. Maybe I'll use this as a little inspo when I get my artist on. I mean who doesn't love a fluro fashion camel? Um, nobody, that's who.
This blog has taken me five minutes past my sensible 10pm bedtime, so I'd better stop it there. This has been good, though. Says I :)