140 - Feeling a tad Dutch

On Saturday after our massive breakfast we decided to walk it off while taking in the sights around the Araluen Botanic Park. I've never been there before but I've heard all good things. And I wasn't disappointed! You all know how I love taking photos of flowers... So please be warned, this page is going to be a photo heavy festival of petals and colour for the next few days...

The red and red/yellow tulips that we found as we first entered the park were the biggest blooms I think I've ever seen - very impressive. I love that the petals on these ones look like they've been painted and you can still see the brushstrokes. 

 

 

 

 Whoever knew that there were so many different types of tulip?

139 - I Regret Nothing!

So OK. Usually, I try to be very healthy. Or at least pretty healthy. I don't know why but this week has been the week of the binge eat. This morning I introduced Mum and Dad to the glorious-ness that is the Mary Street Bakery in Highgate. I love this place, definitely one of my favourite breakfasts in Perth (and the pastries, oh my gosh...). This was a lot of food. I have a food baby for sure. But man... so good.

Mary Street Bakery are pretty well known for their cakes and pastries (especially the salted caramel doughnuts). So you know we had to take some home with us... 

138 - Umbrellas and Droplets

These shots were taken on a particularly rainy day last week. I think I ventured out of the undercover areas for a total of about 2 minutes and still ended up drenched! I love our city in the rain though - there's something so charming about the umbrellas, the trees, the reflections of the ground... it all works for me. This week has been all crisp mornings and beautiful sunshiney days - hopefully I'll get a chance to bust out the camera again soon to capture that Springy goodness!

137 - Hot Apple Pie Pancakes

Nothing like hot apple pie pancakes on a chilly Sunday morning (love that steam!). I used to do pancake Sunday's every week.. I haven't done it in a while - need to get back onto it I think! I got the recipe from one of my favourite healthy recipe sites - Chocolate Covered Katie (with a couple of tweaks) so these ones aren't even that bad for you! Win! Recipe below just in case anyone want to make these sometime...

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup plain flour
• 2 tbsp oat flour
• 2 small apples, finely-chopped
• 1.5 tsp cinnamon
• 2/3 tsp baking powder
• Pinch tsp salt
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp brown sugar 
• 1 tbsp vanilla protein powder
• 1 heaped tbsp light creamed cottage cheese
• 1/3 cup  milk of choice, or more for  thinner pancakes
• 1 tbsp oil 

Method
Combine dry ingredients in a bowl, then add wet. Mix, but don’t overmix. Cook on an oiled (or sprayed) pan, on low-medium, flipping each pancake once. I topped these with more chopped up apple and a little maple syrup. Deeelicious. Also the recipe made 4 pancakes, so there would be enough to have a really major breakfast for one, or a more restrained meal for two. Im saving my two spares to be reheated for a quick breakfast before work during the week...

136 - Busy Bees

Lately I've been joking about how my back garden is more weeds than proper plants. And it is. Definitely needs a bit of work to get it back to its normal state. But the front garden is fairing much better with my neglect and this week the little hedge of Geraldton Wax I have going by my front windows has burst forth into a glorious mass of colour. And with that comes bees. And with bees comes me following them around with my camera. I can't help myself! I hope you're all having a fabulous weekend!

 

135 - I Would Like to Win the Lottery

Just putting it out there. Coz you know... a few days go I asked for rain and boy howdy have we gotten some rain the last couple of days. Yesterday I got a craving for scones with jam and cream, today scones with jam and cream miraculously showed up at an office afternoon tea. Surely I'll win the lotto now right? :P The 'honeycomb' on the ceiling in Globe Lane is one of my favourite little arty features around 140 William Street. In the sunny weather they make interesting shadows (even if the yellow makes everyone walking underneath look jaundiced) and in the rain they make fun reflections of the ground so they're a win from a photographers perspective. And they just look cool...

134 - Wintery Cityscapes

Even in the middle of the city I can find fluffy seeds to take photos of! I can't believe it's almost Spring already. Although Spring is my favorite, I feel like we haven't had enough Winter yet this year - I haven't done enough curling up on the couch with a blanket and a cup of tea and listening to storms rage outside. I'm hoping I'll get at least one more of those before the warmer weather kicks in for real...

 

133 - Delicate

For someone who is pretty afraid of spiders, I do seem to take rather a lot of pictures of spider webs. They're just so delicate and pretty when their inhabitants aren't home...

132 - A Happy Frozen Birthday

Yesterday was my little second cousin's 6th birthday and I was on cake-making duty. Like most girls of that age, Frozen is the favourite thing ever, so of course a Frozen themed party (and cake!) was the go. There was everything from snowflake biscuits to icy blue marshmallow pops to bottles of melted snow (water) and of course, Queen Elsa made an appearance as well.  It was a lovely party for a lovely girl - Happy Birthday Sonja!

 

131 - New Pretties

Gotta love arriving home from a long work week to find a box of new exciting goodies on the doorstep. Although the shipping times to get to Australia from Modcloth are a tad long (I did this order about a month ago!) I can't go past their retro styles and super cute and quirky prints. Can't even wait to bust that dinosaur print dress out. Also have a sudden urge to watch Jurassic Park again...

130 - Three Little Words

No... Not THOSE words (although a good I Love You is also awesome). We're all so busy nowadays, it's too easy to miss it when the people we love are struggling. I'm surrounded by the best family and friends around, so I'm never short of people to talk to when something is getting me down (hell Mamma sometimes notices that something's up before I even realise it myself!). Not everyone is so lucky. On my lunch break today I stumbled across a little event for 'R U OK?' . Despite taking issue with the grammar usage in that name, I think anything that encourages people to take the time out to have meaningful conversations and stay connected is good.  And asking “are you ok?” is a great place to start!

 

129 - Frost and Flowers

 

 

Frosty mornings always make for such pretty photographs. It's been a while since I've been out in nature - feeling the pull to get back out there as soon as I can get a chance...

 

128 - Easing Back In...

On Tuesday the 14th of July, I was halfway through putting together a pretty little post about dewdrops when I recieved a call from my Mum. That day, life changed in such a tragic way for our family, and I'm afraid I've been having difficulty getting myself back into the blogging brainspace. Largely its the words that have been putting me off. What does one say in the face of such sadness? How to express the loss of such a unique and beautiful soul? I truly don't know... But I miss photography. So lets consider this me easing myself back into blogging. Please forgive me if its more images than words for a while.