easy like a sunday morning

Because blogger life isn't all brunches in hipster cafes and frolicking on the beach...

Everyone's got a little sunday morning routine, ours begins with a lie in which thanks to our body clocks means rising somewhere between 7-8am, we put on an episode of house and enjoy not having to do anything for the day. When adequate energy is assembled I jump in the car or on my bike and head to our favourite local Deli and buy myself the nicest bunch of flowers I can find and load the basket with yummy goods.

Investing in a  nespresso machine was one of the best decisions ever, a cup of barista quality coffee now costs around 50c instead of $5 and I love browsing all the flavours in the shop (#adultlife).

one for the meat eater 

and one for the vegan ( the white is hummus)

We sit at the table and talk about our week gone and the plans for the next one, and try to make loose plans for the rest of the day. Sometimes we head out on a big adventure and others we just laze around the house playing games in the pool- whatever we choose it's with a full tummy and a happy mind.

Do you have a sunday morning routine?

xo

project 366 : week four

I can't believe I'm four weeks into my project 365 already, time is flying by! I'm still on night shift so I haven't been up to anything particularly exciting but here goes...

Friday 22 after all the crazy furniture moving the day before it made sense to have a chilled out day which ended in a heavenly candlelit bath....before night shift. yawn.

Saturday 23 I slept and slept some more, and then spent a few hours sorting out bits and pieces around the house ready to move next month. Then I went to a home open to a gorgeous cottage near the beach (it actually looks like a modern version of my hans bungalow in the UK!).

Sunday 24 We decided to move our sofas around so that when my mum comes out she has somewhere to sit and I love how open our lounge room feels now- I just need to clean the covers where these have been in the conservatory / verandah. I've realised I've not done a home tour but I don't know if I'll bother now that were leaving so soon (let me know below if you'd like a nosey about anyways!). Back for one more night shift tonight.

Monday 25 Snoozed until mid day then went for a wonder along the beach, there's nothing quite as wonderful as the feeling of powder soft sand between your toes.

Tuesday 26  Australia day. We went to a friend of a friends party but I was tired and grumps and just felt so awkward (possibly my first ever bit of social anxiety?!) so we left pretty swiftly and went for a paddle board along the river. We then found out some family friends were moored in the river so we paddled out to them and had a few drinks and stayed for the fireworks. I was good and stuck to dry january, instead drinking bundabergs ginger beer (YUM). We got stuck in a  heap of traffic on the way home but I made it to work just in time.

Wednesday 27 I slept all morning, had a quick shower with my babe frank (I'm going hardcore trying to minimise my cellulite) and then went to work for an afternoon shift which was really, really strange.

Thursday 28 I was awake at a normal time, jeeeez louise it felt weird. I spent a few hours replying to emails and sorting out some cool projects, and got some work done for my jewellery co too! When Dan got home we made some final plans for our trip to Brisbane next week and booked some tickets for me and mum to go and watch The Lion King at Crown Perth. Yet another night shift.


And then another week was gone! If you've not already check out my previous project 366 posts & make sure you leave some love in the comments below.

What have you been up to this week?xo

Weekend brunch at Gordon Street Garage

 Gordon Street Garage in Perth doesn't really stand out on the street, but step inside and be transported to foodie heaven, beautiful eclectic decor, delicious food and great service.

                                                 

The dining area is huge, but if you're planning on a weekend brunch date make sure to call ahead and book a table, especially if there's a small group of you. 

In true Hannah style I spent ages staring at the menu, before finally deciding there was only one option, pancakes...

Big fat, thick, fluffy pancakes, drizzled in maple syrup and topped with bananas and cream. So good, that everyone ordered some- pancakes for 4 please! And in all serious-ness they were some of the best pancakes I've had since living here in Perth.  

The service was great, considering how busy the place was it was swift, food came out hot and served with a smile. 

You can find Gordon Street Garage at 16 Gordon Street, Perth.

Open Mon -Fri 7am - Late

Sat 8am - Late

Sun 8am - 3pm

Have you eaten at Gordon Street Garage before?

What's your favourite brunch dish?

xo

Project 366 : week three

 Friday 15 : It makes my day receiving letters, especially ones from my nan. This bundle was pages from over christmas and new years and made me feel a little more connected to back home as I couldn't get through on the phone on christmas day. 

Saturday 16 : I braved my first dirty double at the gym with my ladies, walked home and then jumped in the pool with my friend Rhi. That afternoon I played around with the new letters I received for lilly and bear, if you're not already please follow us on instagram and Facebook. 

Sunday 17 : Dan's only day off so I got up on 2 hours sleep post night shift and we drove to a 4WD track up north and set up base on the beach. I had a lovely nap with the waves at my feet and a gentle sea breeze. 

Monday 18 : I had the laziest day ever at home, moved some furniture and some plants around and decided to finally start watching pretty little liars...HOW GOOD?! 

Tuesday 19 :  I was sent these gorgeous Peppermint Grove soy candles, the Freesia and berries is one of my favourite candles ever (I always stop and smell it in the shops). I did an overtime shift in the afternoon and it was a really pleasant change from night shift!

Wednesday 20 : I bounced out of bed and to Queen Street Gym in Perth  to use the gym and then hit up a box and bike class (my new favourite fitness thing ever). I thought tiring myself out in the day would make me sleep in the evening before night shift but I was so, so wrong.

Thursday 21 : For christmas I decided to treat myself to a new mattress (as the one we were sleeping on was second hand) but whilst looking fell in love with a bed in the sale, so we agreed that could be a christmas present to us, from us. Both the bed and mattress got delivered, but in a moment of madness we'd forgotten to sort out our old bed, cue mad rush of moving beds, mattresses and bedding around the house. We still haven't built the new one...and seeing as we're moving in the next month I don't know if I can be bothered! 

What have you been up to this week?

Make sure you check out my previous project 366 posts 

xo

Hands up if you've got sand in your pants

A day of sand boarding in Lancelin, Western Australia 

Just an hour and a half north or Perth is the town of Lancelin, nestled on the edge of the ocean and home to some stunning beaches it's a super popular spot for a relaxing day trip, but what if relaxing by a beach doesn't quite tickle your fancy,  what if you want to scream your head off and end up with sand in places you never knew possible (hey you with the dirty mind, stop it)?! 

Sand boarding is the perfect way to spend an afternoon, it's cheap, it's fun and its a killer work out (because what goes down, has gotta climb up the metres of sand again). Grab a board from the surf shop in town and drive into the dunes, clamber to the top of the steepest one you can find, strap on your board and off you goooooooooo.

 If you don't have a 4WD you're best parking at the bottom of the entrance to the dunes and sticking to the few you can see right in front of you, if like 90% of other aussies you have a 4WD lower your tyre pressure and drive off into the distance, the landscapes are absolutely incredible.

Getting back up seriously sucks...

But the views make it all worth while

Something was funny (read: trying to pose was funny)

I like to call the above photo 'hands up if you've got sand in your pants'

Absolutely stunning, am I right?!

If you're heading up to Lancelin please, please remember to be sunsmart- it's the easiest place to end up burnt like a lobster!

Have you been to Lancelin before, or have you ever been sand boarding?

xo

Project 366 : week two

08/01 : As I'm still on night shifts I've not really ventured too far, I'm even doing home workouts instead of making the effort to go to the gym. I love laying in the pool staring up at the frangipani trees which line one side. 

09/01 :  I am absolutely filled with wanderlust and filled with love with this copper bracelet I made for lilly and bear ( instagram.com/lillyandbear ) I've loved making jewellery for as long as I can remember, I even took A level design technology to make jewellery and got 100% in some of my coursework for being eco-friendly! I used to sell bits and pieces to girls at school and now I'm doing something slightly different but can't wait to start selling.

10/01 : I woke up late (post night shift) and Dan had wandered to the shop to buy breakfast and flowers for me. They're taking centre piece on the dining table. As our lease expires soon we decided to drive through loads of Perth suburbs to get an idea of places we might want to move too. 

11/01 :  Filled with productivity I head to IKEA and bought loads of new boxes for my square cabinets, then I ripped apart our office and did a tonne of filing and shredding. I've been taking lots of photos of the ikea 'hacks' I do so I can start blogging about it all.

12/01 : Last night was my last night shift for two nights so tonight I enjoyed a lush bath. This is the tisty tosty bath bomb filled filled with beautiful rosebuds. 

13/01 : One of my best friends has just moved so I popped around to see how they were settling in (armed with date and walnut cake). We ended up going on a little shopping spree which was a bit silly of me because on the way I'd swung into some shops and already made a little dent in my pay check..woops. 

14/01 :  Back to night shift tonight so I wore myself out with an active day. I've replaced the other fitness class apps on my phone with Classpass who're letting me trial the app to help along my new years health and fitness goals! Today was HIIT training and then a beach walk and dip in the sea with some of my girls. 

Make sure you check out the rest of project 366

What have you been up to this week?

xo

The Sisterhood of World Bloggers Travel Tag

I'm not really one for blog tag posts but when Catherine from Lux Life published this and nominated me I couldn't resist. I love learning about people's travels so it's almost natural to assume other people will be interested in mine, right?! I'm lucky enough to have travelled to quite a lot of places during my time at university (although still regret not having done a gap yaahh) and most of those travels are lost in the archives on my blog, so I'm going to fill this with links to lots of adventures over the years of blogging too...

psst grab a cuppa tea and a packet of hobobs it's a long one

Lancelin, Western Australia

Where is your all-time favourite destination?

This is such a hard question, I've got real soft spots for so many destinations. 

My favourite place in the entire world is Queenstown in New Zealand, which I visited almost ten years ago on a school trip (would you believe it?!) it was part of a cultural exchange where we lived with a family and then went on different tours each week. I've only got two photos left from the entire trip (and they're both little prints- note to any traveller back up your photos because one day your computer might just kick the bucket and taken them all with it) but they're both in Queenstown. I can't honestly say why out of all the places I've visited it's number one, it's the opposite of everything I normally love- it's inland (aka NO BEACH) and it's pretty cold! I can't wait to go back soon and fall in love all over again. 

I also adore Margaret River which is just a few hours south of Perth, where we live, and if you want to know why click on the link and have a scroll through some of my blog posts; sexy beaches, divine forests, food, and slower time... heaven. 

Country wise it's a toss up between Italy; for the culture, food and architecture and Australia; for the beaches, slower way of life (there's a reason WA is nicknamed wait a while), stunning scenery and the awesome lifestyle. I've also got to give special mention to the UK because it is a stunning, beautiful little place with so much culture.

bricking it on the back of a scooter in Bali 

Which post are you most proud of?

My all time favourite blog post is dolphins just because it was one of the most magical days of my life. If I was recommending some escapism to somewhere I'd send them to beach, beach, busselton  or Iguazu falls  which was written years and years ago and doesn't have much love at all (despite all those gorgeous images!) or maybe even to some of our Greek sailing adventures . Looking back I wish I'd known more about how to travel blog, I might even re-do some of my older travel posts in the future..

But I also love the more personal / opinionated blog posts I've written over the years such as what you should be doing as a blogger in response to about a gazillion other blog posts going up bossing everyone around saying you need 1mil unique views a month and to be a BRAND (read: not a human). Similarly in 2014 I wrote about falling out of love with blogging about how self centred and bitchy blogging can be. Anddd just before we left the UK I wrote a post about being selfish , which was all about growing up and realising relationships are a two way thing. 

breath taking Iguazu falls  in Argentina / Brazil 

Who would you invite to your dream dinner party, alive or dead?

Literally EVERYBODY. 

Do you have a favourite travel app?

Like the two girls before me, I'm not a real app fan (for anything really, I feel there's a massive lost opportunity) but I adore instagram and pinterest. I love being able to find new adventures, new places to eat and drink, DIY hacks...everything and anything! I don't use my pinterest for my blog but I most certainly would love for you to go and follow my instagram account  for your daily dose of sunshine! 

The incredible blogging ladies I shared a weekend with in Dorset a few years ago, a weekend filled with exploring, copious cups of tea, delicious food and the best company. 

What’s your favourite and least favourite thing about blogging?

I could pretty much leave Catherine's answer in this because our loves and hates are so similar. 

I ADORE other bloggers, I love that blogging is a way for introverts (because lets face it a lot of us are) to embrace their personality and express themselves all from the comfort of the sofa. I've met so many incredible women, been inspired to travel to so many new places and learnt so much about pretty much everything. 

If you clicked through the links ^up there about falling out of love with blogging and what you should do as a blogger you'll know how much I hate all the blogging politics. But if you didn't here's a bullet point list for easy reading with a few added points

• The insane focus on statistics (50,000 uniques, 20k on instagram etc. etc. of course we'd all LOVE lots of followers but I for one didn't get in to blogging to become famous..I actually can't imagine many things worse than being famous).
• That if you don't charge these days (on top of receiving product / stay / experience) you're putting other bloggers out of business and you're evil. 
• How competitive blogging has become in general, and that it affects friendships. I may call Catherine a bitch when she gets offered her 764th blog holiday in a year but deep down I am so happy for her that she's doing her thing, loving life and having an amazing time. I cannot believe people fall out or get their knickers in a twist over who gets to work with which brands. 
• Blogger egos... I especially hate this when mid-sized bloggers act all friendly on social media but in person are stuck up bitches. If Zoella can be a gorgeous bundle of joy 24/7 and make the effort to say hi to everyone so can you.
• The misconception that you NEED a DSLR and then when you see those bloggers using their DSLR on auto all the time.
• Bloggers who prance around in a bikini and publish 400 photos in said bikini and then give some speel about being body conscious...you don't know the meaning of body conscious you nonce.
• Bloggers who give some speel about how totes super easy it is to loose weight, but have been under a size 10 their entire life and are blessed with long longs, perky tits and a pretty face. GOMI. Gain 40kgs, loose it and THEN tell me how easy it is.     
• Gurugossiper.

I could go on but I'll stop.

lots of rocks places by aliens in the WA desert...sorry I mean the pinnacles 

Is there something you like to do any time you visit somewhere new?

I've got a collection of bracelets from around the world (you know the braided cotton thread ones) but not from every country. I also love to get lost in a new destination or get advice from the locals, it's the best way to find local treasures! 

Where is somewhere you’ve been or something you did that you didn’t expect much of, but ended up loving?

Can I confess to this? Okay go on... Australia! Whilst I loved our holiday when we moved here I realised how different day to day life is and just how hard it is moving abroad, for most of the first year I had a love hate relationship with Australia...but slowly settled in and after one year in Australia I'm pretty happy to call it home. 

We visited Venice during a flood and it made it weirdly more magical, I can't wait to go back in the warmer months though! 

What’s your pet peeve?

Lateness and cream walls, yuck.

What’s your most treasured possession?

I've got a few rings which have been passed to me from grandparents which mean the world to me, my dads bible means a lot to me because, whilst I'm an athiest, he found faith in his last few years and it meant a lot to him. If there was a fire I'd desperately try to save my cameras and my macbook, life without photos would suck...and my memory box filled with ticket stubbs, letters, postcards and photos.

beautiful bali countryside

Nominate some bloggers to keep the chain going...

I'd actually love to hear from anyone, make sure you link me if you take part!

The questions are:

Where is your all-time favourite destination?

Which post are you most proud of?

Who would you invite to your dream dinner party, alive or dead?

Do you have a favourite travel app?

What’s your favourite and least favourite thing about blogging?

Is anything you like to do any time you visit somewhere new?

Where is somewhere you’ve been or something you did that you didn’t expect much of, but ended up loving?

What’s you pet peeve?

What’s your most treasured possession?