I'm still here!

Well it's been awhile since I checked in here, life is really hectic at the moment, work is busy and I'm now dancing or training 4 out of 7 nights a week and usually out partying for 2 of the other 3 so my one night off is usually spent in front of the couch doing nothing. 

But I am still taking photo's so that is a good thing.

Day 101 - 9th November 11 - Queens Scout

Congratulations to my gorgeous friend (and blog reader!!!) Miss Bronte on achieving this special award.  It was a privilege to be part of your special night - I'm so proud of you.

Day 102 - 10th November 11 - Patterns

Once again I left my photography til the last minute - luckily I have a house full of pretty things to shoot.  I got given this lovely candle holder for my birthday and I thought it would make some nice patterns - unfortunately hardly any of the photo's worked out - maybe it was the wine, maybe I just wasn't being patient enough as I was taking these in the adds of my favourite show - but this one was the best of an average bunch. 

 

Day 103 - 11/11/11 - Beach

Pretty ominous number pattern hey and the number 1 is my fav/ lucky number.  I went to the beach for a walk after work today and got some lovely shots - I'm going to submit them to a web competition dedicated to 11/11/11.  This bird flying is my fav though - it's just a bit different to my usual beach shots. 

Day 104 - 12th November 11 - I'm a great big Tiger

Dad came up and did work on the house today which was brilliant - once I have finished painting etc then I will share the results of his hard work.  I then had a BBQ at a friends house which was lovely before hitting Terrigal Pub for a night out on the dance floor with my dance friends - so much fun!!  This is Tina and Aidan singing "I'm a great big Tiger" and growling at me, he is at such a fun age at the moment and learning how to talk and sing and dance. 

Day 105 - 13th November 11 -  Pretty 

I just styled this part of my home today after doing a bit of a kitchen clean and picking some flowers from my garden so I thought I would share how pretty it looks.  I am reading more and more about how all the home magazine spreads are styled and cropped so I'm going to try and take a few more "stylised" shots over the next few months of my lovely home. 

Day 17 - 17th August 2011 - Indecisive Slump

Today it's Wednesday - Hump Day - Actually I should rename in Slump Day – don’t know what is wrong with me this week – maybe it is my looming birthday, maybe my lack of job satisfaction, maybe the annoying cough I seem to have developed – but I am in a complete slump this week. 

Yesterday I was motivated enough to write my “to do” list but today everything seems unachievable – I guess you just go through these phases. 

Being in a slump makes it hard to take inspiring photo’s – I haven’t even made it to dancing this week which is my favourite thing to do each week – so now not only am I in a mental slump but haven’t had my weekly exercise endorphin’s either. 

I am also indecisive today - I took a few photo's none of which really make me that happy - but two out of the three are things I want to work on. 

The first is the entry way to my house - following my post yesterday I tried to get a decent photo of what I want to fix out the front but it was raining and there is a fence in the way so I couldn't get a good angle.

The second actually worked better than I thought (it's was easier to read before I posted it!) On the way home today it was still daylight so I went over to the other side of my suburb to take a photo of this sign - it is the history of where I live and it was taken with my point and shoot - it actually worked better than I thought.

The third is a photography challenge that I want to improve on over the next 12 months - Food Styling and Photography.  This is my dinner - I made Honey Soy Chicken which should last me a few nights.

Let's hope tomorrow is a brighter day - dq

Day 16 - 16th August - To Do!!!

My best friend Tina and I have been obsessing over all the home renovation shows that have been featuring heavily on TV lately and we are both keen to make improvements on our houses.  Tina can only make design improvements as she is in a rental and with two kids that get their fingers into everything she has to be a bit clever about what she actually does.

I however am fortunate enough that I can paint and move and do whatever I like to my house, to me one of the most exciting things about finally buying a house was the fact that I could paint and put holes in the wall.  I think I mentioned in my first post, I am a little bit obsessed with reading other blogs – when you have a 3 hour train trip everyday you need something to entertain you!  I have always kept inspiration scrapbooks hoping one day I will have the money and opportunity to bring some of these pictures to life in my own special way and now I keep an online inspiration file also – I have achieved a few things of note from my inpiration file.  I have a chalkboard wall, I have a retro sideboard, I have a few photo walls but I still have a few major jobs that need doing,  so today I decided that as a part of this project I am going to try and complete a few of these jobs and document my achievements along the way.

I had a big think today about what I actually want to improve in the house and this was my inspiration for today’s photo which is my “to do” list, some of it is easily achievable, some of it isn't!  Over the next few weeks, I hope to take a before photo of the area’s I want to fix, paint etc and then hopefully over the next 12 months I will actually complete some of these projects and can post my “after” shots.  It is amazing what a lick of paint can do to a wall or piece of furniture and as I am a bargain vintage shopper, hopefully I can find some awesome things to bring to life and style into my house. 

My biggest issue is money and lack of it – so anything I do has to be in small chunks.  When I first found my current home – I knew immediately it was the place for me – even though the walls were painted a disgusting light green throughout, with a dark green feature wall and blue walls in the bedroom which had that sponge effect, the vibe of the place was awesome and nothing else I looked at lived up to it.  Fortunately I was able to buy the house I loved and was lucky that the only thing I needed to do to the house was paint, so after two weeks of painting all the walls white I was ready to move in and make it pretty.  Now I have to say my home is very ME which is hard to explain but anyone who know's me understands...I am a tomboy in nature but I love girly girl things and obviously love photography.  So the house is a mix of girly retro style and it is pretty cool but there is always room for improvement. 

It will be interesting to look back in 12 months time and see how many of these things I actually achieve – of course if I win lotto then there will be no issue whatsoever and I will have the most amazing house on the planet – one can dream……Donna xoxo