While the cats away the mouse will...

Play I did.

With the Farmer away on a Bucks weekend what better excuse does a girl need to have a girls night? It was a lot of fun especially being on the dance floor at the local pub, wedged between the pool table and a drinks table but it was still a great night out and I can't wait to do it again for the FIVE fitness Christmas party.

Here are some shots (pics of course), from drinks on the porch. Playing away for my course again.

Hey Smella

Excuse the legs but I'm so happy I got the soft light.

Where a girl should be, drinking on the porch.

Just down the end of the street, so beautiful.

This is Australia.

Luv Kel

Playing along with Sunny + Scout.

The weekend that wasn't so much a weekend

My goodness. I feel like I haven't stopped from last weekend!

Friday night was a girls night in at a gorgeous little shop, Ruby Maine. Shopping, girl time and raising money for cancer... Win, win, win. I even got myself a big floppy hat.

A wee bit of a hangover for work Saturday morning. Wouldn't be so bad if I didn't do physical work but you get over the hangover pretty quickly. Back to town in the afternoon to help Gol with the paving. Great friends helped out over the past 2 weekends but it's done now. A gazebo and a table and we are set for a summer of fun. We will definitely return the favour with dinner and drinks!

Sunday was paving ALL day in the rain. Have I ever mentioned how much I hate the rain? Well being out in it anyways? There were plenty of times where I had to go back inside because I was getting too wet but managed to soldier on.

So, so tired today. Might need a little snooze to get me through to 8pm.

Here of some pics during the week of the work in progress.

I promise, I was helping before I got distracted.

The sunsets out here are amazing. There might not be any water but this somewhat makes up for it.

I bought a bird cage and I love it. 

I hope you had a lovely weekend that was relaxing & fun!!

Luv Kel

Playing Point + Shoot here.

And then it was 12 months

No we haven't time warped forward a few months. This is my 12 months. My anniversary.

12 months ago today I arrived in this little country town called Narromine. A complete city girl and beach girl to a tiny little country town... What the? You weren't allowed to mention the beach to me, this would cause me to tear up (I'm not even joking), and my mission was to find or start a DF, Dance Floor, one of my favourite places to be.

So what has happened in the last year?
I started my business
I've made a heap of new friends
I wormed my way into a family, hello Brennans
I moved out
I met a boy
I've flown back to Perth 3 times and spent more weeks there than planned
I lost my Dad
I missed my family
I missed my friends
I took lots of photos
I've had an amazing time

I think I might stay.

My year in pictures

Can you see the progression?

I wouldn't have this life any other way.

Luv The Accidental Country Girl xoxo

Photo pick of the week

This week I have chosen yet another sunset at the dam. I was speeding along on a boat but I love everything about this photo. You would have no idea how fast I was flying along. Absolutely unedited.

Enjoy,
Kel.

Remembrance

It's the 11th of the 11th 2000 and 11 and what a day?

What are you remembering today?

I'm remembering my Dad. He passed away 2 months ago. It still makes me cry all the time but I'm not surprised at all, it's still so new. What hurts me the most today is I remember where I was this time last year. I was living with my Daddy, about to move over to NSW. He had just received his medals of service from the army and we were having our moments silence together. I can't believe that was only a year ago, it feels like a lifetime ago.

Everything happens for a reason and we are put onto a path and guided. I see why I was sent to NSW now. We were too close. My parents split when I was about 12 and from that day I became very close with both my mum and my dad. Dad would have his custody weekends and have no idea what to do with me. It was just the two of us. He had dealt with my older brothers so much more as I was my mummy's baby girl (I still am at 27 by the way). We got to know each other, we hung out just the two of us. He got to learn what I loved and what I hated and most importantly he got me. Even before I moved away I saw him most weeks. I would finish work on a Friday at 2pm (joys of being a PT) and would head over to his, he would come meet me for lunch or we would just catch up at whatever we were doing. Yes one Friday afternoon I found myself at a tattoo show wearing my fitness lycra, one of my most uncomfortable experiences. But we were as thick as thieves.

Dad was sick for a while. He would never admit it because just like me, whatever is going on in your world everything is fine. He had cancer and it kept spreading and he kept getting treatment and it kept spreading. The hardest person to tell that I was moving to the other side of the country was him. He was fine with it he told me. He was watching the AFL grand final (his team was Collingwood) all by himself which made me sad. He knew I had to move. None of us knew that he wouldn't be here a year later but someone knew.

Moving to NSW got me away from the expectation that I would see him every week. When I would have a few hours spare I could call him and meet up and it got me out of that habit. Don't get me wrong I'm devastated by the fact he is gone but I think this moved helped me to deal with the loss. I had to toughen up a little and it's helped. If I hadn't I think I would be a complete mess. I told him that I couldn't imagine a life without him and he told me he wouldn't leave me. He hasn't, I still live in denial he is gone, he is just in Perth and that's why I haven't seen him in so long. It helps get me through.

All the memories we have I love. I loved every minute of being in your world and I will remember you forever xoxo.

My favourite photo of all time, Daddy and Moppy

(Yes that's me)

Daddy and Me

Love Moppy

xoxo

The Chookies Got Evicted

I'm not a huge fan of birds and chickens. I think it stems back to my first primary school I attended, Mullaloo Heights Primary School. They had these big, big trees that magpies absolutely loved. Loved so much that when 'maggie season' was on you couldn't go anywhere without being swooped. I remember leaving year one and having to sprint to my parents. Every so often though, down I would go. One particular memory is of me running to my Dad's car, he obviously saw a magpie eyeing me off and started running straight toward me. He didn't get there in time and I was swooped, crying, grazed knee and all. So he picked me up and carried me to the car (I was only 5 by the way) and he kept a drop of my blood on his work boot for years before he got another pair. I wonder if he ever had memories of that day when he put his boot on in the morning?

Back to the story, not a fan of things flying close to my head. But my heart changed when I got to know the chooks. We had a great relationship because I would help feed and water them and they would produce me some eggs, umm win, win. There was even a day when Bella decided to let them out so she could eat their food and I had to somehow coax these birds back into their pen, they certainly preferred the free range life that's for sure. So they have provided entertainment too. Not so much for me, more for others!!

My housie and I rent so we don't get the final say in our lives, which kind of sucks but comes with the territory. Needless to say the chooks got kicked out. They had to move. The owners wouldn't let us keep them, on the plus side we get to keep Bella which would be a lot worse getting rid of (I'm secretly plotting to steal said Bella when my housie and me split).

Below is a photo shoot I did with the lovely ladies. I had just got my camera so forgive the 'snaps' but I knew they were having to go.

Hello ladies

Eggs, glorious eggs.

Check out this lil fancy pants.

Well the girls are gone, hopefully I'm not going to have to buy my eggs. I'll miss that bright yellow yolk. Soon enough I'll have my own!!

Love Kel.

My Country Cottage

I grew up a complete and utter city girl, with a beach twist. Modern was best. White and clinical was perfect. I wanted to renovate my house so it was all these things, out with the old and in with the new. I hated old houses and particularly being from Perth were nearly all houses are eventually teared down and rebuilt or renovated, old houses were so uncommon, new is in.

Then I moved to the country...

I fell head over heels in love with old houses. A big porch (to be honest I always wanted one of these), big yards, big drives, high ceilings, mantelpieces, I just love them. When my housie and I were picking a place to rent we had a choice between a new house and an old one. Guess which one we chose? I love it.

I like to think of our house as a farm house that's in town. With a huge yard and rooms we don't know what to do with it really feels like it. Well, when compared to the city.

Here are some pics for your enjoyment.

Behind the hedge, here we are.

The walk to my front door and bedroom.

The front porch again.

And the pooch, hello Bella.

So this is where I live, my little country cottage. I love it, hope you do too.

Love Kel.

I love a surpise visit

I'm not a huge fan of 'popping over' to someones house. I just don't like to get in their way and I know the pure embarrassment that is felt when someone does pop over and the house is an absolute bomb site. I on the other hand love when friends pop over. It could have something to do with the fact I'm now a domestic goddess so my house always looks lovely (well the bedroom door can be shut) and I live with a girl so she is just as tidy as I am but feel free to pop over anytime.

This morning I did get a lovely surprise visit.

I was out in the garden working on my assignment. I took the plunge and bought a fancy lil camera which came with another lens so I can change them and zoom and all sorts. I really have no idea what I am doing but have wanted one of these cameras for so long. I think it's all fancy but it is only entry level, saying that I don't see myself buying anything better. My assignment is for my photography course I have started online through Amanda at Mocking-bird I'm finding a subject so I am snapping anything I can find, playing with lighting etc and found this visitor pull up at my front gate.

How could I not love that smile?

All ready for work I made him get in my yard and pose. Well he did. Go into the yard though, not so sure about the posing...

Nice pose farmer boy, oh look Bella got her head in there too.

Here is a little bit of what I'm working on (who am I kidding, randomly snapping). I will post my pics of the country cottage soon.

The roses are in bloom.



My porch, I love my porch

The visit was to only drop of his little piece of paper and ask me to head to the post office for him but it was still a lovely surprise visit.

Also, following on the news of yesterday I don't think my rib is broken. I had excruciating pain yesterday and last night but today I can do a push up, yay. Maybe this bra is holding it in place?? oh well.

Love Kel



Wordless Wednesday: Sunset on the dam

Playing along at Faith Hope & a whole lotta love.

The perfect weekend (besides the suspected broken rib...)

I'm an active kind of girl, I'm an outdoorsy kind of girl so being with a farmer and living in the country really kind of suits.

I mentioned that last weekend I was skiing at the dam, well I went one step further this weekend I even camped at the dam (this time it was the big dam).

I have to work until Saturday afternoons and got back into my town at 1pm. Car packed as tightly as it could go and with the inclusion of one cousin we were off. My farmer is a lil bit older than me which means a lot of his mates have children. These were kind of my friend, I mentioned before my group is the young mums, and the males were his friends so it works. I don't have a problem with children at all in fact I absolutely love them but in no way am I ready to have my own yet. I'm not even 30 yet. So 4 families, 1 couple and 2 cousins set out for the camping trip.

It makes me laugh that I'm the city girl but I have been camping numerous times. Obviously we had to buy a new tent because I wasn't really going to cart one over from WA. The funniest part was that most of these country kids and families also had the brand new tents. These guys have boats, ski's, fishing gear, biscuits, wake boards but no tents. Being the last to arrive we were greeted with the fact it had taken most of the families a couple of hours to get there tents going. We have a simple 3 man dome tent easy peasy.

I open the tent and go crazy. Farmer boy grabs the instructions, instructions? I call them destructions. Anyways so he is reading away and I'm just putting this tent together next thing you know? It's done. Keep reading those instructions Gol, hehe. He was good for hammering in the pegs though, credit where credit is due. City girl 1, Farmer boy 0.

In reality I love camping. I don't know what it is about a small sheet of fabric between you and the outside world but I love it, and it's not too expensive.

Killing a spider, love it.

The suspected broken rib...
Gol and I went for a ski at the same time behind the boat (vomit I know), he was trying to talk to me, I was telling him 'Don't talk to me,' seriously I learn last weekend, do you really think I'm up for a chat while trying to stay above the water. Well Mr Professional thought it was great splashing me, zooming around the boat then when he was done, oh he just let go and sailed into the water. Me on the other hand had no warning, the boat slowed down to avoid my rope getting caught up in his rope and all I could do was plough into the water heavy and hard. So I'm not sure if it's broken but push ups and crunches are impossible for me at the moment, my ribs on each side of the cage feel different but in reality I have never actually compared them before so who knows?

Well I guess I'll let you know when I do.

In better times, hehe.

What a view?

It was still the perfect weekend. Off to the dam this weekend too (fishing this time, I heard it's safer).

Until next time,
Kel