camping.

I don’t know what it is, but lately, I’ve been craving time outdoors. So this Friday after work, Rufus and I bundled up our newly acquired camping gear and set off with my cousin, her boyfriend, and their friend; to the wilderness.






















We had a fire burning the whole time, drank beer, and told spooky stories as we huddled around the fire at night. We toasted marshmallows on sticks, collected firewood, ate egg (and bacon for some) sandwiches every morning, boiled water for coffee in the Billy, and caught yabbies. We went bushwalking and collected quartz, played Uno and ate crisps around our little plastic table, saw a pod of kangaroos, and woke with the sun every morning to the sound of kookaburras laughing. 

We were in the middle of nowhere – no showers, no toilet blocks, no phone reception – just us, and the great outdoors. It was exactly what I needed; and I cannot wait to go again.

phoning it in.

Some beautiful things, as captured with my phone.

Apologies for any doubles from Instagram.

slices of weekend(s).

Um, well, it’s been a while. So much is going on right now, most of which I don’t know how to articulate, and some of which I can’t tell you about just yet. So let’s focus on some little things for now.

My weeks have been filled with happiness and good food – of course. Breakfasts at Rosey’s (rosemary mushrooms with smashed avocado and sambal on rye), The Annex (hazelnut croissants), home (blueberry and lemon yoghurt pancakes), and Zest (smokey baked beans and smashed avocado). Cheese tasting, chocolate tasting, beer tasting, and wine tasting on a mini-trip to Hahndorf. Photography exhibitions at the Adelaide museum, goodbyes at airports at 6am, movies and meals with friends as part of the Adelaide Film Festival, Amazing Race marathons after work, and lots of bunny cuddles.

I haven’t been living very mindfully lately; I haven’t taken photos in a couple of weeks, which is something that – despite judgmental glances and scoffs from fellow diners – I genuinely enjoy. Ah well; I’m enjoying life – you’ll just have to take my word for it! I’ve eaten some delicious food, drunk some amazing wine, and laughed so hard I cried on more than one occasion. I love my little family.

just a minute in September.

Watching: We’re a bit restless in the TV department; switching between Under the Dome, Suits, and Broadchurch. I have to say I’m enjoying them all! Broadchurch and Under the Dome have me anxiously awaiting the next episodes, as always.

Reading: My chemistry text book! Travel guides mostly… old Kinfolk magazines, Women’s Health… I’ve started reading a novel called Burial Rites, which has started off well! I’m just finding it difficult to keep my head in one space at the moment. Although I’m only studying one subject per semester, uni is still always on the back of my mind. I just want to be a qualified Nutritionist already, damnit! 

Drinking: Heeeeeaps of this tea. I’ve also started back with the coffee cravings, and I’m enjoying as much water as my body can handle. 

Listening: I’m on a huge The National binge lately! I’ve been truly, awfully anxious and The National seems to calm me down. Rufus and I are going to a Kvelertak gig tonight, which should be fun – I love a bit of hard rock! 

Loving: I’m just super in love with my own life right now. Rufus has me feeling like a giddy 16-year-old and Jango is cuter than a damn button, with his two little lopped ears. I love the longer days that Spring is bringing – it’s depressing to leave work at 6:30pm when it’s dark outside. No more! I’m also loving our weekend adventures, which I’m proud to say I’ve been documenting quite nicely! 

The photo above is from this time last year (approximately). We’d just arrived home from our American Adventure before we headed off to the middle of nowhere to visit our friends in Andamooka. I’ve noticed that our selfies always look the same: Rufus is a babe and I look like a gremlin. Oh, well. He looks happy, so it’s good enough for me!

slices of weekend x2 (also; passion).

Friends! These two weekends past have been fun! Last weekend Rufus and I went to the Royal Adelaide Show with his parents (my favourite parts were the food and wine trail, and the baby animals; obviously). We went to the Central Markets and subsequently visited my family for fancy wine and fresh bread, dukkah and fancy oils before a decidedly un-fancy pizza feast. At home, Rufus continued his novel-writing journey (see more here) while I took photos, and we both continued to fall more in love with Jango.

This weekend was much more domestic. We celebrated the end of the working week with beers and pho at Adelaide Pho. I made sugar-free granola, gogi-chocolate-treats, and curried chickpeas. We went out for breakfast on Saturday morning, and spent some time at the Central Markets (again). We worked on a little project together and spent 7 hours cleaning our house – inside and out. On Sunday, we ran 12km for charity, and spent the rest of the day watching movies and napping at his parents’ house. In the evening, we got takeaway. I regret nothing!

I’m spending time studying furiously, daydreaming about travel, planning some big changes, and thoroughly enjoying my time with Rufus. I recently realised my two biggest passions – travelling and eating food – and I’ve been plotting and planning ways to dedicate more time to these activities. It seems so obvious now, but I had to ask myself the question to put my life into context: what am I passionate about? What makes me feel genuinely excited? (A link from this post helped me on my way.)

What are you passionate about?

the first weekend in Spring.

This weekend was the most perfect start to Spring. Market wanderings, a food truck festival, first iced coffees of the season, board games with friends, and a long alfresco lunch (with homemade sangria).

On Saturday morning, Rufus and I headed to the Adelaide Central Markets for some foodie inspiration. I love the Central Markets, and, I admit; haven’t been there in months. We grabbed some coffees and meandered past fruit and veg stands, bakeries, stalls filled with spices and grains, and new modern charcuteries. Although we couldn’t buy anything, we nibbled at a couple of gluten-free cinnamon donuts and made mental notes for what to buy next time.

We caught the tram a few stops out of the city for Fork on the Road food truck festival! Adelaide’s first attempt at food truck festivities was a huge success. There were some really wonderful, creative trucks with absolutely delicious cuisine on offer. We opted for a hot dog and a vego burrito (respectively) and nibbled on some cheese balls while we drank beer and listened to live music in the sunshine. A few more tram stops saw us playing totem tennis and wandering through That Dapper Market – an indie market for local artists and their cute wares. In the evening, we caught up with friends over some board games and red wine. We spent five hours wandering around in the sunshine on Saturday, and sleep came easily.

After my solo walk early on Sunday morning, Rufus and I grabbed some iced coffees and headed out for the day. We wandered through the sunshine at the farmers market – marvelling at how the nicer weather improves everyone’s mood – before heading to his parents’ house for a Father’s Day feast! As always, his Mum went all out on nibbles, salads, vegetarian bean burgers, and homemade sangria. For dessert, the others had cheesecake while I had homemade tropical sorbet and chocolate-covered strawberries. After we’d feasted, we sat in the sunshine while Rufus’ Dad played the squeezebox.

Weekends like these fill me with gratitude for just about everything in my life. I’m feeling revived and optimistic, though I’m also deeply nostalgic for our adventure to America last year (the beautiful weather evokes bittersweet memories of our trip), and as always, just a little sad to see the weekend end. With tired eyes and slightly-sunburned skin we saw a sneak-peak of summer, and I couldn’t be more excited.

wednesday morning sunshine.

My house is a mess, and I don’t have time to be blogging, and it’s colder inside than out, and I still use plastic cups. I know, how gauche. But today, I don’t care. Today, I’m bursting with gratitude for my tiny house, and my farmers market flowers, and the sunshine. Especially the sunshine.

P.S – Rufus is writing again, and I couldn’t be happier.