Pure Shores - Thailand.

In August this year I took my very first solo holiday overseas. I went to the south of Thailand for a week, which isn't a long time to others but I like to mark milestones whether big or small! The trip was everything I thought it would be; fun, challenging, hot, absolutely stunning and the perfect backdrop to All Saint's song Pure Shores.

I split the seven days in to seeing Phuket, the Phi Phi Islands, Krabi and a day trip to the James Bond Island. Thailand was the tropical paradise I had been hoping for and so much more. The people were so kind, friendly and tolerant despite the humidity and heat. The food, the food was next level! It was like eating your favourite Thai takeaway twice a day. I ate a lot of pineapple fried rice, pad thai and green curry. And the scenery, well it was just magical. The limestone cliffs, the green/blue water look just like the photos, but to be standing in front of it, being in the presence of such natural beauty, was very special. I feel like the photos are there to not just capture the scene but also the moment and the feeling, so that when you look back on them you remember exactly what it was like and how you felt.

Even though my Thailand stay was very short, I was determined to make the most of my week. I committed myself to being mindful and present in every moment of the holiday. I revelled in every new/different/exciting experience and soaked up the moments when it was just me, the sun, the ocean and a good book. 

Whilst I won't be excitedly hoping on the next plane to Phuket itself, I highly recommend going to Phi Phi Island and Krabi. Phi Phi was every part the backpacker friendly, party town island which I really enjoyed despite not being much of a party-goer. Krabi had a more relaxed, blissed out, quiet vibe that was a pleasant change from the aforementioned Phi Phi. Phuket, well, I found it a bit 'meh' after spending time elsewhere. I can't wait to go back and explore further north in Thailand. Everyone I spoke to on the trip asked if I had been to Koh Phangan which I haven't so it's top of the list for my next Thailand visit! 

Getting out and about in your active wear.

Last Sunday I was active in my activewear. Just for the record, I usually am active when wearing my gym clothes. This time I took activewear to where it is most at home, the great outdoors, or more specifically, Royal Sydney National Park. The RSNP is an hour (with no traffic) drive south of Sydney. You can actually see the headland when you're coming in to land at Sydney Airport! We set out on our 7km walk from a nondescript car park. The thing about this walk, and the car park, is that there aren't many signs confirming exactly where you are. Luckily, we had Google Maps! We walked, and walked and walked through similar looking track and bush for what felt like forever. Until we came out to some cliffs that look over the ocean and revealed a secret beach. From there, we were about 900m from the Wedding Cake Rock - a geometric cliff-side that is made from naturally occurring white sandstone - bound to fall in to the ocean at any time. There is a fence warning you not to go on the rock because it is so unstable. I fear these words and these images will come back to haunt me when the rock finally does depart in to the sea. I was a nervous wreck for most of the time whilst standing both on the rock and off it, watching brave tourists get adventurous photos. Facing my fears of following the rock off the side of the cliff and in to the ocean I crawled on my hands and knees to the magic Insta-photo-opportunity spot. With my hands in the air, a smile on my face I confronted my fears of heights and cliff edges, and now have a photo to prove it. After we left the rock, and the adrenaline subsided, I felt a little proud of overcoming a fear and was able to relate it to different areas of my life. Fear can be a fickle beast, but when you meet it head on and work your way through it, it's not so bad. In someways I think we feel fear to remind ourselves of how much we are capable of once we get to the other side of it. I'll be the first to admit that getting out of my comfort zone isn't one of my natural talents, but when I do, boy, do I feel so much better for it!

When was the last time you were in nature and out of your comfort zone?

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High-Waisted Straight Jeans, Cropped At The Ankle.

Images: Pinterest

The perfect pair of high-waisted straight jeans, cut with precision at the ankle, are almost mythical. Where, oh, where do I find such a perfect pair as the ones above? I need them to wear on Saturdays to the local bakery to pick up my croissants and coffee! Or to dress up with a smoking blazer and heeled boots for a night out on the town. I won't stop looking until I find such denim perfection.

Young Love in Europe.

Images: vogue.com

When I first saw these pictures I felt this intense nostalgia for love in its infancy stages. For when you're still in the early stages of dating and every time you see that person you get butterflies in your stomach and can't believe that you get to spend so much time with them and they actually like spending time with you. They make you feel giddy and excited. Hopefully they also make you laugh. And it doesn't matter what it is you're doing, it's that you're doing it together that makes it amazing. After time the butterflies go away but then comes the best part, love. You become connected, you understand one another, you lift each other up and together you can take on the world. Just like this sharp suited tattooed bad boy and his flirty, fifties style femme fatale.

25: Things I Have Learnt And Need To Remember After Turning 25.

Image: The Cinderella Project

25 - Half way to 50, only 5 more years until 30 and so many things still to get done between now and then! I recently read a quote that said "A goal is a dream with a deadline" and it really stayed with me. If you give someone a deadline, watch them go and make everything they want to do happen. That's where I am right now, in a little corner of wanting to make everything happen. To do all of the things I want to do, to be conscious of not wasting time and to make the most of every opportunity I am afforded in this lifetime. So on this first day of venturing in to mid-20-something here is a note-to-self of 25 things I have learnt and need to remember after turning 25:

1. Family is everything.

2. Water your friendships and they will always grow.

3. Live in the now. Appreciate the moment while it's happening because it will soon be gone and you want the memory to be as lively as possible.

4. Sometimes you need to take chances. Be brave.

5. When in doubt, don't flounder, just make a decision and stick with it. 

6. Caring less about what people think will make you a lot happier.

7. Get to know the things that make you happy and do them often.

8. Do your best to exercise often and eat well.You always feel so much better for it.

9. Don't be so hard on yourself.

10. Hard work pays of, every single time.

11. Sometimes the bad days will last longer than just one day. This doesn't mean you'll never have another good day again. Refer to 7, 8 and 9 to get yourself feeling better.

12. Say YES! You'll never know where it can take you. But knowing when to say NO is also important.

13. Fiercely protect your independence and spirit.

14. Be good with your money. Know when to splurge and when to save.

15. When you're wrong, apologise quickly and profusely.

16. Learn from every mistake.

17. Never compromise your life goals for someone else's.

18. Be kind. Always.

19. Follow your intuition. It won't lead you astray.

20. Smile. Even when you don't feel like it.

21. Keep an open mind.

22. Keep perspective and complain less.

23. Check in with yourself regularly and be conscious. Ask yourself how you're feeling? Is this where you want to be? Are you still wanting to go where you're heading? What is the problem and what is the solution? And then take ACTION!

24. Share your thoughts, feelings and ideas without shame. 

25. Do more. The time is now, it's always going to be now. 

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Into the Blue: Airlie Beach, Queensland.

My first adventure of 2016 was a five day trip to Airlie Beach. Airlie Beach is located in North Queensland and is the gateway to The Whitsunday Islands, aka blue heaven. The Whitsundays are made up of over 70 islands but the ones you are most likely to know are Daydream, Hamilton and Hayman. These islands are developed with luxury resorts are a familiar to the rich and famous. 

I had high expectations of crystal clear skies and waters and our trip did not disappoint. Every day was perfectly sunny, hot and humid. Our first day included a day trip out to Daydream Island and Hamilton Island. Daydream Island was practically just the resort. The resort have incorporated their surroundings in to the resort through their very incredible "living reef" which is an artificial reef with stingrays, reef sharks, coral and fish that pans throughout most of the property. As it was stinger  (jellyfish) season you needed to borrow a stinger suit to swim in the ocean water so we just stuck to sun baking by the pool - this was meant to be a more relaxing day trip after all. The next stop was Hamilton Island which was much the same, resorts and not much else. We had a quick lunch and then headed straight to see Catseye Beach. It was the same situation of needing stinger suits to swim in the water so we just stuck to swimming close by the shore. The water was crystal clear but very warm as it was so hot and 100% humidity. We had a quick swim at the Beach Club before heading back to Airlie. To be honest I had higher expectations of Hamilton Island and was a bit disappointed. I'm not sure exactly why. I know that I wouldn't spend the money it would cost to stay there when there are so many other places to see with more things to do.

The absolute highlight of the trip was an overnight sail cruise we did on the SV Whitehaven. We had a full day snorkelling on the reef in the clearest of waters seeing the most spectacular coral and fish. When snorkelling it wasn't hard to get lost in imagining how cool it would be to be a mermaid and live under the sea, just like Ariel in 'The Little Mermaid'. And the the coral, the coral! I can't tell you enough how much of an amazing natural wonder it is! The shapes! The colours! The texture! The gorgeous yellows, greens and pinks that line the ocean floor in which the multi-coloured fish swim over the top to create a most wonderful contrast is just like magic to the wanna-be-mermaid soul. The photos don't do this incredible environment any justice. You need to see it with you're own eyes to be truly touched.

After the day of next-level snorkelling we anchored to watch the sunset and carry on with dinner, drinks and forging new friendships. The next morning started at the crack of sunrise with us setting off to explore world famous Whitehaven Beach. Did you know that Whitehaven Beach has some of the purest, whitest sand in the world?! I didn't. The sand is so pure in fact that NASA are the only organisation to have permission to remove sand to use in their satellite dish reflectors....! Walking through Hill Inlet, to make another movie reference, is similar to Leo walking through the jungle and finding the beach in 'The Beach'. Queue Moby's Porcelain. And there you are, standing on a wooden look out, starring straight into the bluest of blue water that is met with the whitest of white sand surrounded by an untouched tropical island. After taking it all in, 'being in the moment' and getting a few pics for Insta it was time to hit the beach. The sand felt like powder under your feet, the softest sand I have ever felt, and the water, was warm and clear as day. Spending three hours frolicking on Whitehaven Beach was no hard task. It was by far and beyond the most spectacular beach I have ever been to. 

After setting sail back to port in Airlie Beach it was time to shower, nap, get ready and go out and cement the great friendships already made on the boat. The shenanigans wrapped up in the early morning hours like all great backpacker-cheap unexpected nights do. And I wouldn't have had it any other way. 

I would encourage anyone and everyone to visit the Great Barrier Reef/The Whitsundays. This was my second Great Barrier Reef experience and I can't wait to go back and do it all over again. I would also encourage you to invest your money on getting out and exploring the reef rather than spending it on sterile hotel experiences. You won't regret it!