Empties #2

As I mentioned in my previous post I am in serious spring-clean mode in every area of my life at the moment and there is nothing I enjoy more than coming to the end of a product. Even though I would consider myself pretty minimal as far as the beauty obsessed go, I still find myself with too many products mounted up every now and then and it feels good to clear a bit of space in the cupboard. I'm looking forward to clearing out the old and bringing in some new and exciting products to test out.

Life Lately.

The past couple of months have had their fair share of ups and downs for me, I feel as though I've genuinely been having a quarter life crisis. My anxiety has been rearing it's ugly head and it really has been plaguing me for the past 6 weeks or so. I've had serious toothache and had two wisdom teeth removed which was quite literally similar to a nightmare (only two more to go!). To top it all off I've been an emotional wreck which I can only put down to a combination of being homesick and hormonal, poor Robbie really has had his work cut out to say the least. Surprisingly it's not all been bad though, Robbie and I had a lovely long weekend in Brisbane and my best friend from the UK is currently in Sydney. We also went to see Ben Howard last weekend who was absolutely incredible, and we celebrated Robbie's 26th birthday, it's crazy, I can't believe I'm going to be 26 this year. 

Road-trip image on 35mm from the summer.

Alice

It's been just over a week since my lovely sister-in-law to be, Alice, shaved her head to raise money and awareness for Leukaemia as part of The Worlds Greatest Shave. She is so brave, and I knew she would look amazing with a shaved head, but it really does suit her and only emphasises her beautiful cheekbones and blue eyes. I think it's so important to be compassionate every day and be thankful for your family and health, but something like The Worlds Greatest Shave truly does raise awareness to the masses and I'm so proud that Alice took part and managed to raise $2000 for the charity.

Origins GinZing Refreshing Scrub Cleanser

Let me start this post by making the bold statement, this cleanser is easily my favourite of all time. I have been going through this citrus scented treat so quickly, because I've been using it both morning and evenings most days and I actually look forward to cleansing ever since this arrived in my life. 

Blogs I'm loving currently

I love to read blog recommendations and it's always so exciting when you find a new blog which you love. As soon as I discover a new blog I binge read so many posts and I'm always on the lookout for new blogs to add to my Bloglovin feed. One of the most important parts about blogging is the shared creativity and positivity, and I think sharing the love is something which shouldn't be forgotten. There are just so many blogs around these days and it can be really difficult to find ones which are new and inspiring so these kind of posts are some of my favourites to read. 

New In Beauty

I have gone a little bit wild shopping these past couple of weeks, I worked out that the last time I had a proper shopping trip was a year ago, so this is well overdue. I do find it quite difficult shopping in Australia and I'm definitely opting for more of a pared down beauty routine and wardrobe these days so my shopping habits have changed a lot. My shopaholic days are well and truly over, especially since we have a wedding to save for and I really want to plan some travels too. These are all things I've been after for a really long time so I'm really excited to have finally picked them up.

Wedding Inspiration #1

First of all a disclaimer, I do not want this blog to become a wedding blog however, I do want it to be a fair representation of myself and my life and right now I am so excited to be engaged and thinking about planning a wedding. I've never been the girl who has dreamed of getting married, but now that I've found my man, and he's Australian, I'm really looking forward to planning our wedding to bring both of our families together for the first time. There are so many sources of inspiration online for every aspect of planning a wedding, it's such an exciting time to be getting married, we won't have the hugest budget so I look forward to lots of DIY projects and trying to make the wedding a reflection of us both.

(photo from Hello May Magazine by Nick Evans Photo)

Annabelle

I had the pleasure of photographing the beautiful baby Annabelle last week for her three month portrait session. She was an absolute pleasure to photograph, she even seemed to look into the camera and smile whilst dancing to the nursery rhymes in the background. This was her first ever photo shoot and she was a fantastic model, although we had to squeeze our photo session in between naps, such a cutie! Sarah and Pat were so lovely and they really were an adorable family, it was lovely to meet them and I really enjoyed creating beautiful images of them to cherish forever. 

March.

I'm sure I say this every month but March has gone by so quickly. It's been a really happy and positive month for me in the most part although I don't feel like I've got half the things done I wanted to. As I write this it's already April the 8th which really is quite ridiculous that it's my first post of the month 8 days in, but I've been feeling a little off colour these past few weeks. I've had horrendous wisdom teeth pain, I'm having two pulled out next week which I'm actually looking forward to because they're giving me so much grief.

Mother and Son Portrait Session

This was my first mother and son photo shoot and it was for a good friend of ours Karli and her beautiful son Bailey who wanted some lovely photos for around their Sydney beach home. We hung out for an hour or so at Shelly Beach in Manly and I photographed the two of them playing in the sand, watching aeroplanes and just generally having quality time together. I really wanted the images to feel as natural as possible, and although I am shooting most of my By Katie-Jane work on digital I am adding film filters in post to give them that soft, grainy look which I love. 

Jo Malone Perfume

I can't believe I haven't blogged about this perfume yet! I received this as a Christmas present from my lovely man and it was quite literally love at first sniff, and I am super picky about fragrances. I tend to stick to Jo Malone fragrances these days, the other one I own is English Pear and Freesia which is almost all gone now. I just feel as though their fragrances smell natural and I love the simplicity of their packaging.

January/February.

I've decided I'm not going to do favourites every month since I really don't buy many products these days it would just get repetitive, instead I will do a reflection post on my month. I literally cannot believe we are already coming to the end of March, I made so many goals for this year and I really need to get back on track. I'm in a really positive place at the moment and I have been for the past couple of years, focusing on positivity and feeling thankful is something I've found to be really rewarding. 

Recent Road-Trippin

I planned at the beginning of the year to take the time to write down my reflections of each month as they pass - I genuinely can't believe we're already into the middle of March. This year has been flying by scarily fast and I've barely had time to stop and think, which is really not where I wanted to be. I think having time to reflect is really important and I definitely need to prioritise time to stop my day to day rushing around and even just spend half an hour reflecting. I wanted look back to all of our road trips we had at the beginning of the year, because frankly since then it's felt as though we've just been working constantly. Looking through all these photos though, we've already seen some incredible places this year and I can't wait to see more! 

We booked our wedding venue today!

As I'm writing this post I can't wipe the smile off my face, I woke up this morning full of nervous energy as today I had a meeting to book our wedding venue. I feel so happy and overwhelmingly excited, I can't believe in exactly 18 months, on 17th September 2016 I will be marrying my best friend and most amazing man I've ever met. Our venue is beyond perfect, Robbie and I both dream of living in the countryside and we were sure we wanted a country wedding, but we just couldn't get our heads around the logistics. We've found the loveliest old fashioned Australian country-style venue, set in beautiful gardens with a private beach and views of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge, just 15 minutes outside of the centre of Sydney. It's in Sydney Harbour National Park and is surrounded by beautiful trees full of kookaburras, it feels so tranquil, you wouldn't believe the city is just a stones throw away.

Green Smoothie Recipe (Raw, Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Vegan)

I haven't always been known for my healthy eating, and I by no means consider myself an expert in nutrition, but recently I've been really making an effort to clean up my act when it comes to eating. I am trying to go by the 80/20 rule, eating healthily 80% of the time and having treats for the other 20%. I will be posting a little more about looking after yourself on the inside as it's something I've become really interested in, and I'm currently on a wheat-free and low-dairy diet in an attempt to curb my acne without the help of medication. This green smoothie recipe is a favourite of mine for mornings when I can't be bothered to eat anything or for lunch times when I'm in a rush, it tastes really fresh and sweet - don't be put off by its green appearance!

One Fine Day Wedding Fair Sydney

I was so excited to attend my first ever wedding fair a couple of weeks ago, and One Fine Day was right up my alley. No commercial rubbish which I've come to expect from wedding fairs I've seen advertised, but absolutely full of inspiration and contacts for wedding planning. The selection of stalls spanned from wedding photography, to styling, catering, entertainment, catering, wedding attire and even car options for your big day. It all had that very 'Pinterest' hand-made bohemian feel to suit the modern bride, no diamantes or frills here thank you!

Inspiration and Ideas

I'm always inspired by things I see online, whether it's recipes, interiors, beauty, pretty much anything, who isn't? I'm going to do these round-up's regularly as a way of collating all of the things that have been inspiring me recently and hopefully to inspire you too.

(Dress, Shirt, Shoes, Jeans, Shirt)

Empties #1

It's a new year and throughout January I have attempted and failed a shopping ban, but I have been making a conscious effort to use up some of my beauty products in a bid to narrow down my collection and focus on the products I truly love. I love reading empties post's and it's a good way to clarify what you like, what you don't and what you will repurchase. Besides, there's not many things more satisfying than getting to the end of the product and clearing more space in your collection. One of these products is a regular repurchase for me but all of the rest are the first time I've tried the products.

Home-Made Granola (Gluten-Free, Vegan, No Refined Sugar)

I've been desperate to make my own granola for months now, but I was struggling to find the time, it took a rainy afternoon and a burst of energy and I have produced my first batch. It honestly took a lot less time than I had anticipated and is really delicious. The great thing about making granola from scratch is that you know every single ingredient in the finished product and you can tailor it to your personal taste, also it's way more affordable then buying the ready made kind from the supermarket.

January Favourites

January has gone by so quickly and I feel like I haven't been half as productive as I should have been, in February I really must stop procrastinating. It's been a pretty unexciting month as far as beauty products are concerned as I really have been sticking to the same make-up and beauty routine, which I will share with you soon, but these are the products that have been my essentials. I'm trying to use up a lot of the products I've had for a while before I buy new ones, being quite strict with myself, as it's really not that important to me to buy new products all the time. 

Micellar Water Love

My love for Micellar water goes way back to when I picked up my first bottle of Bioderma in Italy about 5 years ago, it was an easy way to remove all my make up without resorting to face wipes. Nowadays there are so many Micellar waters on the market and Bioderma is much more widely stocked world-wide. Gone are the days of me stocking up on any trip to Europe and roping in my friends mum to bring bottles over from Italy whenever she paid a visit to London. 

Chocolate Orange and Polenta Cake (Gluten-Free)

I can't quite believe that January is almost coming to an end! I have had the busiest month ever, the first half filled with the most fun adventures and quality time spent with Robbie, but the last 2 weeks filled with work, a horrible cold and mosquito bites. In more positive news I did make time to bake my favourite cake of the moment (or the last six months to be precise), the Chocolate Orange and Polenta cake. This cake is wheat free and completely gluten-free (polenta is naturally gluten-free) and only contains a few ingredients, but it is so moist and incredibly more-ish, this is one which everyone loves!

Nars Sheer Glow

This is a product which is impossible not to have heard about if you're interested in make-up and beauty. It is raved about on both blogs and youtube and is a product I've been wanting to try for years now. I bought my bottle of Nars Sheer Glow from Mecca Cosmetica and it's in the shade Fiji, which is a good colour match for my skin tone. I've had the foundation for 3 months now and I'm still sitting on the fence about whether I would repurchase this product or not. 

Cranky Fins, Palm Beach

There's nothing I love more than going on a roadtrip and checking out new places. I love photographing roadtrip adventures and there's nothing like visiting new places to fill you with inspiration. Since Robbie and I managed to have nearly 3 weeks off together over Christmas, and his love of his new old car, we really took advantage of our opportunities to go on trips together throughout the last couple of weeks. Palm Beach is somewhere I've only visited once and have wanted to revisit for a while, the drive there is a beautiful coastal journey and we had heard good things about Cranky Fins. 

2014 in a Nutshell

I love reading everyones round-ups of their year and I think it's a great way of remembering what I did too as my memory is awful. This year I think I will do a monthly round-up with photos of the month and what I've been up to, as I really struggled to think back even though this year has been amazing and packed full with exciting adventures! I always take lots of photos in my day to day life and these usually just reside in my phone or in film negatives strewn everywhere so I will definitely be sharing more of these this year, especially when I get a new phone so I can actually update my Instagram easily.

Three Recent Reads #2

The latest books I've read, these ones are a mixed bag, quite a random selection of books but all enjoyable reads which I would recommend. I would love to know your book recommendations as it's one of my goals to read more books next year!

I'm 25!

Technically I've been 25 for a week now, my birthday is 28th December though so it always goes by in a bit of a whirl with the Christmas celebrations. This year I am feeling incredibly lucky and grateful and I can't believe how much my life has changed in only a year. I was truly spoilt for both Christmas and my Birthday this year and I received more gifts than I've received in years. I worked for the 2 days either side of my birthday and on my birthday itself so it was definitely a low key affair, but dinner at my favourite Mexican with a Margarita (yes just one, wild I know!) was a perfect celebration for me! 

December Favourites

I skipped on doing a favourites last month as I really couldn't think of anything worth mentioning, this month I have only picked 5 products, but they're ones I have really relied on to get me through the month. If you living in the UK or any cooler climate these are very summery products as here in Sydney it has been very hot, and most days I've been wearing very little make-up if any. I hope they're interesting nonetheless and may provide help if you're going on a beach holiday or if you do reside here in Australia! 

Christmas 2014 in Pictures

We spent Christmas day this year at Robbie's sister and mum's house in Camp Mountain near Brisbane. It truly was the perfectly day spent relaxing with family, eating too much and having afternoon naps. We were woken up early as Violet was so excited to see whether Santa has drank his beer and Rudolph had eaten his carrot, little did she know outside on the veranda was the most sparkly girly new bike for her Christmas present. Christmas just isn't the same when it's not spent with children, their excitement really is what Christmas is all about, as well as quality time with your loved ones of course!

New Years Resolutions For 2015...

Happy New Year everyone! I am feeling incredibly lucky to have had such an amazing Christmas, Birthday and New Year spent with my beautiful Australian family who have made me feel so welcome throughout 2014. I spent New Years Eve on a boat on the harbour in Sydney, an incredible way to spend my first Sydney New Year. We watched the 9pm fireworks with family, they were just spectacular. I was in bed just after 12 (wild, I know) and the whole evening couldn't have been more perfect. I love New Years resolutions and I feel like 2015 is going to be a big year for me as I settle into my Sydney life and look to the future.