Blogging for Life Before Work Travel

I've signed on as a blogger for our Life Before Work tour of Central America, YAY! Read my intro post and my first post Surfing 9 to 5: Part One of My Central Adventure Tour, published on their website. 

Burning Bright

 The fire's still burning,

The flame is still bright

Feeling so content

As we sit under moonlight

 

Tapas, bread,

Fruit and dips too

The olives and blue cheese

I'll leave just for you!

 

There's no place else

I'd rather be

Than sitting right here,

Just you and me

 

Sipping wine and beer

We're doing life right

Caught up in the moment,

Oh look, it's midnight!

 

Couldn't be happier

As we go up to bed

Nothing but good thoughts

Going on in my head

 

Holiday Hair

 

They say a change is as good as a holiday, but hey, why not have both?!

Holiday hair inspired by the galaxy!

  

 

 

...and more from the hair files:

 

 

There once was a boy named Robbie

  

There once was a boy named Robbie
Bonsai is his favourite hobby

We met at a music festival
It wasn't long after I realised he was special
Ricardo's was the café for our very first date
We kissed before that though, just couldn't wait!

We talked and we may have flirted a little
I felt so nervous, but he made me giggle
He was down to earth and genuine
I really wanted to see him again

A bit of time passed and he was still there
Taking me out and showing he cared
I told him I loved him one night, I had to confess
I thought my heart would beat out of my chest!

This boy is like no other
I smiled and told my mother
He's calm and quietly confident,
He's kind and gives me compliments

Life is just better with him by my side
Always there with me on this ride we call life

 

Dotted & Potted

 

Artist Elspeth McLean's dot painted mandala stones went viral in early 2015. Like thousands of others, I LOVE her work. When I see a new painting of hers, I smile. How could you not?

 

Elspeth McLean is an award winning artist whose innate love of colour and detail evolved into a unique style of painting she describes as “Dotillism”. She creates her intensely colourful and intricate artworks entirely out of dots created with acrylic paint and a paintbrush. Her refined technique has grown and expanded into the vibrant, precise and soul engaging artworks she creates today. For Elspeth, painting dots is a meditative and grounding experience which is so enjoyable she has dedicated her life to it. Through her art she hopes to connect people with their inner child and to bring some vibrancy and joy to their lives. 
 

My favourite of Elspeth's artworks: Kauai, Hawaii Sunset. I have this piece as a large wall tapestry hanging in my living room, brightening up the otherwise plain white walls.

Like Elspeth I have always loved bright colours, they lift my spirit and connect me with my inner child, as she mentioned above. When I read her Artist Statement, I felt that I was reading my own (if I were to have one that is!). I distinctly remember years ago speaking about my body of work at the time (paintings of nude fairies) to my Art class in College, and telling my fellow students and teacher that I just wanted to create vibrant, pretty artwork that is enjoyable to look at - nothing dark or disturbing. To me, creating and viewing art should be a joyful experience, and  good for the soul. 

 

I recently gave colourful dot painting a try, and have quickly become hooked. I'm not big on traditional meditation, but I've found dot painting calms me more than I ever expected. Elspeth uses it to find her happy place, and I can really see why. I now look forward to just sitting down and dot painting, it brings me calm in an otherwise hectic day. The TV might be on, but it won't be my focus. I become oblivious to the paint on my hands, my to do list and the world outside of painting. To be in the moment is so rare, so difficult to obtain. I'm grateful to have found this unique and productive form of meditation.

Purple 'Privileged' plant - the result of my first dot painting project.

I've started painting glazed pots using Glossies Acrylic Paint from Eckersley's, it takes to the surface well and is easy to wipe off when you make a mistake. Cotton buds are my dotting tool of choice. To keep it simple to begin with, I've been choosing one colour per pot and creating a gradient pattern. Practice makes better with dot painting, it takes a short while but I feel like I'm starting to get the hang of it now by slowly improving my dotting consistency, one dot at a time!

Of course, it is important to find inspiration from another artist without copying their work completely. I will not copy her artworks and claim them as my own, I only want to use the colourful dot painting technique as inspiration to add more colour and vibrancy to my own household items such as pots, frames and mirrors. I don't plan to make profit from her idea, that would be bad karma!

 I've nicknamed this plant Shakira, because of it's wild and beautiful untameable mane!

 

 My super cute dotted mini bonsai pot.

 

My current pot in progress. I can't wait to show you when it's fully dotted and potted!

 

Bon Appétit! Let's Eat!

 

About a year ago I started collecting recipes in this folder, because I'm a disgustingly organised individual and it brings me joy to see my favourites all neatly in their colour coded sections.

 

I'm no Nigella Lawson, it has been established. But after a few years living out of home I have finally realised that it's worth putting in that little extra effort to make your meals actually enjoyable to eat, not just to make sure you are eating. Frozen fish sure can get old, as I've discovered. It's been found that on average, most households rotate 9 meals for dinner. In my search for better taste, I've found at least that many!

So here are some of the yummy, simple dishes I've tried, tested and loved so far:

- Spicy Pork Mince & Coriander Noodles.
- Lamb Cutlets with Sweet Potato and Potato Bake
- Asparagus wrapped in Prosciutto with Zucchini Slice
- Super Tasty Cashew Chicken Stir Fry
- Roast Vegetable Couscous with Moroccan Lamb 
- Chorizo and Zucchini Quesadillas
- Chicken, Pesto, Mushroom and Spinach Pizzas
- Tuna Mornay
- Mushroom Beef Stroganoff
- BBQ Chicken Bruschetta with Spinach, Tomato, Danish Feta Cheese and Basil
- Feta, Cucumber, Cherry Tomato, Lettuce, Coriander and BBQ Chicken Salad
- Feta, Spinach, Semi Dried Tomatoes and Sweet Potato and BBQ Chicken Salad
- Marinated Haloumi Cheese and Chorizo Open Sandwiches on Sourdough Bread
- Potato Rosti with Smoked Salmon


- No Bake Reese's Cheesecake
- Pikelets with Whipped Cream and Blueberries 
- Milk Rice Pudding with Raspberries (pictured)

 For Christmas treats I made:
- Chocolate Nut Bark (see below for the recipe!)

Em's Chocolate Nut Bark

 

Ingredients:

Large handful of nuts of your preference (I used pistachios, macadamias, cashews and almonds)
1 bar of cooking chocolate

Method:

1.      Break up chocolate bar into squares and place in heatproof bowl.

2.      Melt in microwave using 30 second stints. Stir if necessary.

3.      Pour melted chocolate into shallow medium sized tray lined with baking paper, tilting to cover whole tray.

4.      Sprinkle nuts (whole or cut in half) over chocolate.

5.      Set by refrigerating for 20-30 minutes.

6.      Cut into squares or leave as chocolate bar. 

For a layered effect, repeat steps 1-4 using dark, white and then milk chocolate. 

 

 

  

The next recipe I'm keen to try is Jamie Oliver's Sweet Potato Breakfast Muffins!  

Hungry for more? Want one of the recipes sent straight to your inbox? Email me at em-davidson@mail.com 

My Space, My Escape

 

For the past year I have been lucky enough to call this place my space, my escape. With a walk-in wardrobe, ensuite, balcony and large window with a gorgeous view, I really felt I'd hit the jackpot when I found this Master Bedroom for rent.

 

Note: I usually have an artists bedroom (aka messy), so don't feel bad if yours doesn't look like this!

Soon though I will be packing up and going overseas for 3 months, therefore leaving this place behind. Before then I wanted to capture it at its best; afternoon sun pouring through the large windows, inviting me for a nap on my colourful bedspread.

I recently picked up The Art Of Travel by Alain de Botton, given to my boyfriend by my brother for Christmas. I opened the book to a random page and read this paragraph only:

'At the end of hours of train-dreaming, we may feel we have been returned to ourselves - that is, brought back into contact with emotions and ideas of importance to us. It is not necessarily at home that we best encounter our true selves. The furniture insists that we cannot change because it does not; the domestic setting keeps us tethered to the person we are in ordinary life, but who may not be who we essentially are.'

I then closed the book. I felt it unnecessary to continue reading at that point, content in the power these words had given me.

So as much as I love this bedroom, and as hard as it will be to leave, I know it will be worth the adventures that lie ahead.