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!