171 - it's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

A stroll around Hillarys Marina at night is always a pretty affair with all of the lights and reflections, but with the addition of the Christmas tree things get extra magical! I'm a big ol' sucker for Christmas and am looking forward to a Friday night this week spent filling my house with fairy lights and tinsel and shiny baubles and a Saturday of baking many cakes of shortbread. How do you guys get into the Christmas spirit?

 

 

170 - Piratefest

And now for something a little bit different. If you know me, you know that I like all things theatrical or quirky. And most things metal. And if you've seen the tattoo on my right calf you know I'm also a fan of pirates. So Pirate Metal is pretty high on my list of 'things that are awesome'. Last Tuesday at the Amplifier Bar, Perth's metalheads were treated to a fabulous night of pirate fun and of course I was all over it.

Wollongong band Troldhaugen opened the night with... well... I found their stage show pretty hard to describe actually. Apparently they call themselves 'progressive folk metal' but a couple of our attempts included 'life saving sexy sailor disco metal' and 'mega seizure party metal'. Fun times no matter what you call it.

 

 

 

Next up were Brisbane boys Lagerstein and suddenly the small amplifier stage was full of pirates and rum. And drinking beer out of boots. Because of course. Awesome stage presence and energy all around!

 

Last but certainly not least, Scottish 'Bacon Powered Pirate Core' band Alestorm were up for an hour and a half of fun that made this little pirate very happy. I hope you're all having a great week so far!

169 - Purple Haze

 

Another day, another marketplace! The Jacaranda Festival just sounded too pretty to miss and as it turns out that was right. I don't trek over the other side of the river very often but it was totally worth it. You guys know I'm a sucker for bright colours and pretty flowers, throw a decent sized marketplace in there and I'm a happy camper!

 

 

168 - Agapanthus and Arachnids

Funny that we went to the Jacaranda festival and I end up with my camera pointed down the petals of an agapanthus. But apparently I just can't resist a photo of a spider. Even when editing them gives me the full on creeps.

 

Speaking of spiders and things that will haunt my nightmares...

Sorry for the low quality shot - this giant hornet from hell was dragging the poor (and also quite large) spider by the face so fast that I didn't have time to get the right lens going. Why do I feel the need to photograph these things?!

167 - Twilight Twinkling Lights

A balmy summer evening, cute markets and twinkling Christmas lights. Good times! The Joondalup Twilight Markets are an annual event running every Friday night for the next 5 weeks. Compared to some of the ones coming up, they are quite small, but it's great to see so many people out and about in Joondalup, and it's nice to have one of these events so close to home. I actually managed to pick up some cute Christmas presents here (and some amazing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle hair bows for me!!!) so it was a big win all round!

 

166 - Mary Street

 

I love when I go for a walk and stumble across unexpected prettiness. This is Mary Street in Highgate, known to me almost exclusively for the FABULOUS bakery located on the corner of Beaufort Street (previously seen here). I love this natural archway of trees (I'm big on archways...). On this warm sunny day with the leaves raining down with each puff of wind I couldn't resist pulling out the camera!

165 - Just a Few More...

 

This is my last post on the Beaufort Street Festival, I promise! (I already have some shots from different markets to post!) I think the big police heads by local artist Steve Berrick were my favourite part. You just don't get chased by big heads on wheels every day!