The most magical part of the world

After a bit of a hiatus (okay, a lot of a hiatus, almost a year...) I've decided to give this blogging thing another crack.

Back in December, I went to the Whitsundays with my fam. And it was GOOD. Really good.

You see, we used to go up there on a regular basis and cruise around the islands on a boat for a week or so. Then life got in the way, as it does, and we didn't do it so much. But for Dad's birthday last year, we decided a week cruising The Whitsundays was well overdue so we packed our togs, snorkels, reef shoes and not much else, and headed north.

Oh. My. Word. Mum, Dad, my brother and his girlfriend, my boyfriend and I had the most idyllic, relaxing and truly spectacular week. We chartered a boat with 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms so there was plenty of space for us all, and then we set off from Hamilton Island to explore the islands at our leisure.

Words can't really describe that place, but the words magnificent, phenomenal, idyllic and sacred come to mind. There's nothing quite like waking up, wandering up to the top deck of the boat, munching on some mango for brekky and watching the turtles pop their heads up all around the boat, knowing that there's absolutely nothing on your To Do list for the day.

Deserted beaches, not a person in sight.

Untouched reefs, teeming with tropical fish and turtles.

Daily "Happy Hour" on the top deck of the boat feat. mucho champagne and cheese.

A few good novels and acoustic tunes.

No phone reception or wifi.

Evening BBQs on the deck under the stars. 

BLISS.

The thing I love most about doing The Whitsundays & chartering your own boat is how authentic it feels. You have the time and space to get back to nature, to get some perspective on life and to PROPERLY unwind. It's not your average tropical escape with the crowds and commercialism. It's just about going at your own pace, discovering new islands and beaches, getting away from the crowds and appreciating this magical place.

There's no place in the world like The Whitsundays and this reef dredging and dumping business truly breaks my heart. Is there nothing sacred anymore? Must we commercialise and bastardize everything our planet offers? But that's a whole other post, which I'll save for another day. Hrmph.

Have you been?
Where's your favourite place in the whole wide world?

I have to celebrate you baby

Love. It’s an interesting one, isn’t it? There’s no recipe for success, no right or wrong, and there is definitely no way to know what goes on between two people within a relationship. I’m in a pretty unconventional relationship myself and am constantly asked “But how do you make it work?!”

You see, my boyfriend lives in Brisbane and I’m currently located in Sydney. Hurrah for long distance. I’ve heard stories time and time again from people who have tried to make long distance work, only to have their relationship crumble down around them in a heap of frustration, secrets, miscommunication and distrust. 

What always amazes me is how people seem shocked that N and I have managed to stay strong although we’ve been living in different states for over a year and a half now. To me, it’s natural. Our philosophy and what we’ve always said about our long distance relationship is that we’d prefer to see each other every second weekend rather than not at all.  Seems pretty simple, right?

I’m not saying it’s easy, nor ideal. Not at all. Anyone who has ever been in a long distance relationship would know that it takes work. There are those days where the only thing you want in the entire world is a hug from your other half, but that can’t happen. There are those conversations over the phone that leave you feeling like crap and the only thing that’ll fix that feeling is seeing the other person. I could list a thousand drawbacks of a long distance relationship, but I think you get the idea. 

As for our recipe for success? It’s pretty straightforward:

• Be friends. Best friends.
• COMMUNICATE. Seriously, it seems obvious but so many couples just TALK but don’t actually connect. Set aside 45 minutes every single day for a phone call/Skype to ensure you stick to this.
• Be open and honest with each other
• Do new things together.
• Have a plan so that you don’t end up doing long distance forever.

I’m lucky in the fact that N is pretty brilliant at all of the above. It’s rare to find a man who is happy to sit on the phone to close for an hour each night, but we’ve never gone a day without speaking. We’re lucky that we both like doing new things and exploring together and we’re lucky that we’ve got a plan for the future together.

Hello.

So, after working in social media for two years, I've finally caved and created a blog.

I'm not sure where I want to go with this, nor whether I'll be able to maintain it. I don't have a plan on what I'm going to write about but I'll start with a bit about me.

I'm originally from the beautiful Gold Coast but am currently living in Sydney for work. I miss home but I'm lucky enough to live in amazing terrace house in the best part of town with some fabulous people who all work in the creative industries as well.

I'm an avid traveller, getting away as often as I can. We have such a beautiful world and it seems a crime to not see as much of it as possible. I've been fortunate enough to see some of the most incredible places in the world, and I'll be sure to share more experiences on here!

As I said before, I work in social media. I love my job and I love my clients, it changes every day and keeps me on my toes.

I have the most beautiful dog in the entire world, who has been brightening my life for 14 years now. Meet Buddy.

So, I hope you'll follow along as I write my way through life. Please say hello x