We're all in this together

This version of 'It Is Well With My Soul' was recorded in response to the devastating floods of January 2011 in Queensland, Australia. Recorded by the Hillsong team, it features a newly written chorus by Reuben Morgan and Ben Fielding. All proceeds go to the Queensland Premier's Disaster Relief Appeal.

It is available via Hillsong Music and iTunes. Let's do our bit to show that we are indeed, all in this together x

I {am going to learn to} love Mondays

Generally speaking, Monday has got to be one of the most unloved & unappreciated days of the week. No other day of the week is hit with the dreaded -itis.

Call it what you want, but 'Mondayitis' can loosely be described as a feeling of weariness, sadness, apathy and general distress that many individuals feel when starting the Monday morning work week. This feeling is usually enhanced after a large weekend {Urban Dictionary}

Apparently {so I have been told} some home cures include late morning breakfasts, sleeping late, watching re-runs of your favourite box set and half-hearted pledges of sobriety and restful weekends in the future. This pact one has with oneself usually lasts until Friday night. 

During the long bus ride home last night, after a fabulously brilliant Sunday, I tried to muster up the courage to embrace the fact that the weekend was now pretty much over. I was thinking about how we see the week - Do we live for the weekends and just make it through the week? or do we treasure each and every day and treat it as if it has something to offer us? I must admit, for so long, I lived for the weekends. I remember when I first arrived in London, I would {only} just make it to Friday. I would put my head down and work the week through and then get so excited for the weekend. Then have a perfect weekend and then dread the week staring all over again. And with this mentality, no wonder I was scared of Mondays.

I lived like this for years until I started purposefully planning my weeks - Going out on a 'school night', having Monday night drinks, having Wednesday night movie dates and a Thursday night catch up with precious friends. I am learning to see each new day as it's own entity. Trying to see what beauty we can create each and every day of the week. Don't get me wrong, you will never be able to beat that fabulous Friday feeling or the weekend yumminess that includes long lie ins, slow breakfasts and chilled afternoons, but maybe, just maybe, we can start to enjoy the week just that little bit more.

So as Monday draws to a close for another week, how are we going to face tomorrow? As 4 days until the weekend or as Tuesday, full of anticipation for great things?

{Hope it was} Happy Monday, sweet friends x

It's a New Year

The whole notion of writing down resolutions for the year scares me to death. Don't get me wrong, I love thinking about my goals & hopes & dreams & expectations I have for the year...but oftentimes {actually, if i'm being honest, it's everytime} by the time January is done, I've lost my motivation and determination to actually see the list through.

Just the other day, my dear friend showed me my 2010 list. Yep, just as expected, pretty much untouched. It sat exactly where it had been placed this time last year, perfectly folded and all. 

So here it goes, here is my list - in no particular order...

I will ride my sweet little bike more.

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I will sort out the state of my wardrobe once and for all.

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I will sew buttons back on when they fall off - safety pin buttons are so last season.

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I will bake yummy treats for my friends {& definitely eat less cookie dough along the way}

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I will try to refrain from feeling the need to put a bow on everything and anything I see.

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I will read the whole Bible before the year is out.

I will actually wear my glasses when I need them.

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I will graciously and happily embrace change. 

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I will learn how to knit.

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I will have a purposeful and positive thought life.

I will try to live well, laugh often and love unconditionally.

I will learn to master the art managing of my iTunes library without losing all my songs.

I will learn to love ironing.

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I will jump in more puddles & embrace the weather in this rainy city.

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I will make more time for my friends.

I will believe in miracles.

I will trust.

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Some are simple, fail safe goals.

Some are mindset changes that will require more attention.

Some are personal goals that I hope will see my world enriched.

All are important and hopefully when the door closes on 2011, I can say that my life in 2011 was exactly how I'd hoped, dreamed, prayed & imagined it would be like.

I'm excited x

The Difference a Day Makes

Arriving back home to London after an utterly amazing holiday with my beloved family in Sydney, I began to unpack. Sydney & London: Polar opposites ~ in time, in weather, in pace.

Just a few days ago, the contents of my bag looked like this.

Complete with all my summer essentials:

Sunglasses
Sunscreen {yes, Mum...I always wear it}
iPod
Journal & pens
Bikini & beach towel
Frangipani fragrance ~ yummo
A good, happy summer book 
A camera of course
Plasters for blisters
Waterproof mascara

As I sadly unpacked my bags full of summer goodness, I began to repack my handbag with my wonderful winter woolies. I must admit, there may have been a tear shed during this transition, but generally speaking, it was fairly seamless. So just 24 hours later, the contents of my bag now look like this.

Complete with all my necessities to get my London groove back:
My i friends ~ namely, Phone & Pod
Oyster card & tube map
Car key
House keys
Gloves
Scarf
Umbrella
Tissues
Chapstick
Antibacterial hand sanitiser
Gucci perfume
Life in the UK test practice questions {yep that's right, it's study time again for me, the little red passport beckons}

So here I am, getting reacquainted with my bag {and my life} back in London. I'm looking forward to seeing what this year holds ~ wondering how many bags I will need to pack and unpack over the course of this year, wondering what beautiful new friends I will meet along the way, wondering what different countries I will be lucky enough to travel through, wondering what amazing things are going to happen in the lives of those I love. I wonder...

The Art of Packing

With less than 24 hours to go before I fly away home for the summer, I decide that now is probably the perfect time to start to think about actually packing. Don't get me wrong, I did have a brilliant brainwave three weeks ago to pack, but my beautifully crazy London life managed to get in the way. 

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My open suitcase has been in my room for the past week, in the hope that it would give me some inspiration of the packing variety. Each time I walk past, or should I say trip over it, I am reminded that I am indeed going on holidays, and that I eventually must pack.

My first thought was to just throw in a couple of dresses, my Gucci sunglasses and a pair of flip flops. After examining the contents of my mostly empty bag, I thought this was taking the whole minimalist ideal way too far. Subsequently, my second theory of just throwing things in my suitcase when I think of them has also proven quite problematic. I seem to have only 'thought of' five pairs of shoes, twelve bikinis and an eyelash curler. Therein lies the problem.

The self-confessed control freak in me is silently celebrating at this point as I know that it is time to write a list. I didn't want to resort to this, but drastic times call for drastic measures.

And so I start.

Lipgloss - check
Passport - check
Flight friendly little 100 mL bottles - check
Ridiculous travel pillow - check
Nice clothes to inspire upgrade - check
And the list continues...

An hour later, I have the most comprehensive list known to man. You will be pleased to note that I did refrain from having it laminated - a little plastic envelope with a 'My Packing List' label on it is ok, right?

So, I guess I have to embrace that i'm a list girl. I mean, where would I be without my list? Well, probably I would be out for dinner in my bikini & shoes with perfectly curled eyelashes.


I do think I knew it all along but once, just once, I wondered if I could throw caution to the wind and pack like any other free spirited human being. Nope - not me. I'm a list girl, through and through.

Now, the other packing dilemma... to roll or fold?

I need a wine! 

Loved Beyond Measure

Just thought you should know...

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Little Lost Bag

So, last week, en route to a night out, I accidentally got myself into Christmas present buying mode. Two hours and several beautifully festive and overflowing shopping bags later, I decided to check my bags into the cloak room for me to collect later that evening. Well that was the plan anyway.

In typical Amy style, the night ended and I happily went on my way merry little way, with the cloak room ticket silently sitting in my back pocket. Mid transit home I jumped up, shrieked, froze and then sat back down. And despite being particularly comical for the fellow passengers, I was one sad little shopper girl.

I made some calls (actually my beautiful friends made some calls) and discovered that all unclaimed items in the cloak room were packed away in road cases until the following weekend. 

So what's a girl to do? Wait a whole week in the hope that her lovely little Christmas presents are still in the cloak room or count the cost and enter into, once again, a Christmas shopping frenzy? 

I waited in hope.

Unfortunately, I waited in vain.

My little Christmas parcels were Absent Without Official Leave.

So, with only 4 days before I fly home for Christmas, I have got some serious shopping to do. I tried to replicate most of the items that I had bought, but some were just impossible to find again. I even resorted to good old Mr Google to help me out. To my absolute joy, I discovered the most precious little online company. They stock some of the sweetest gift ideas ever. (I know, quite strong of a sentiment, but stay with me on this one).

These cutesy personalised bags are simply adorable. Perfect for storing your knitting all you fabulous Sisterhood girls out there.

Now, I am not entirely sure what a 'shirt collar stiffener' actually does, but I'm pretty sure that if I was a dad, I would love one of these.

Little munchkins are certainly not forgotten on this site. There are so many toys and gifts for the little ones including this darling Bunny in a Box.

And one more gift just for fun. 

Ah, my shopping dilemmas now resolved and maybe, just maybe, I might have even been converted to the ways of the savvy online shopper. So, if you are time poor this Christmas, or like some people we know, unable to hold onto their purchases, get online and see what's out there.

And you never know, my lovely little shopping bags may turn up one of these days and there will be more gifts to give. 

Oh, how I love Christmas Time x