My (late) Mid-Week Refreshment Update.

Mid-week (well a day late) and I am still on a creative roll! 

Day 1 consisted of blog writing, cooking, reading Kinfolk and altering one of my Nana's old summer dresses (I am seriously so flopping happy with it!).

Day 2 was mainly filled with book reading and daydreaming (what I am considering part of my restorative process).

Day 3 was a brilliant day. Myself, Lesley and Adam went on a spontaneous road trip to the absolutely beautiful Kondalilla Falls in Montville. The day was incredibly perfect (well my kind of perfect) -  rain, fog and a glorious cool breeze. I adore all of these elements and have to say that they constitute my ideal/perfect weather/day. 

We made our way to Maleny, where we stopped to enjoy a brisk picnic in the clouds and fog.  The moment we stepped out of the car we were blasted with wind and rain. After laying down a rug we sat and enjoyed the treats we had bought for the picnic... this soon became like a game as we battled the wind and rain to quickly eat our snacks (while they were still in tact and not completely soggy).  After our short break we continued on to what we thought was Kondalilla National Park, although ended up getting a bit lost (thanks google maps... NOT).  But eventually, we found it!

From the car park we organised our stuff, making sure we left our spare/dry clothes behind and then trekked in the rain to the Falls.   

With the sound of the water falls crashing and the rain splashing on the ground, we entered the open area with the swimming hole. I had never seen it like this before - the water was so high up and flowing faster than I had ever seen it before, the trees were rich with colour and the sky was filled with low, fast moving cloud. It was a truly beautiful sight. 

We spent a couple of hours relaxing, swimming and enjoying the view and the rain before getting dry and heading back to the car. From there we drove to the centre of town, where we ended up at same restaurant that we happened upon a year ago (which also happened to be a very rainy day). 

It felt right. The three of us sat in that same restaurant, getting warm and dry, and filling our bellies with delicious food. 

All in all it was such a glorious day and I am so glad that it happend. 

#myhandinstrangersgardens

A day like this makes me excited for winter! 

This was the perfect way to spend my last wednesday before going back to University next week. 

Which brings us to today. 

Day 4 was spent mostly looking out the window, enjoying the rain and the breeze. 

But was also spent editing the footage I took yesterday and made it into a film! Yayayay. 

So, here it is! 

Creating, Rearranging and Restoring: my week of refreshment

Here I am, sitting in my dark, cool room (a little snuffly, as I am getting over the flu) feeling overwhelming refreshed. It's like when you are going on a hike to a swimming hole - the hike is excruciatingly difficult, the heat from the sun is beating down on your skin, droplets of sweat form on your brow and the desire to arrive at the swimming hole deepens. But then you arrive and jump into the water - it is tremendously refreshing and you forget all of the struggle and pain you experienced leading up to this moment. 

This is exactly how my year has felt so far (well at least the bit where I feel like i've been hiking for days and not yet reached my desired destination). - Lately I have been feeling tiresome of looking for a job and not succeeding, feeling like I should create something and then not, because I can't think of anything to do/not wanting to force it (i've been going through a bit of a creative drought) and wanting to go on adventures but haven't, due to my laziness and commitment to being a top member of the 'Stay at Home Club'.  But I think the time has come for a season refreshment - a refreshment of hope, a refreshment of faith, a refreshment of creativity and a refreshment of adventure. 

This past month I feel like I have gained a new excitement for life - I have been checking my phone less, logging on to Flickr less (as I would usually look at other's work for hours upon hours and convince myself that I was gaining "inspiration"... loljks I was procrastinating life), I have been cherishing time with friends more, driving with the windows down and letting the fresh air fill my lungs, taking time to look at the sky and appreciating the vast majesty of it all and am trying to do more creative things while I have a few weeks left of freedom before university starts. 

So, I am declaring this week a week of creating, rearranging and restoring! 

This week I am going to do as much as I can to appreciate life in it's fullest and take advantage of the time I have (rather than lay in my bed and watch vlogs and read other's blogs) AND, I am going to bring you with me. So strap yourself in and get ready for a week of potential excitement! 

My Poetic Account of Introversion.

Hello, my name is Genevieve and I am secretly an introvert - or so I thought, until recently. For years I had people telling me how I always seemed excited and in primary school teachers would regularly tell my parents how talkative I was (I think I was just happy all the time and didn't know how to hold it in).  This was a regular thing for people to comment on through out my primary and early high school years. Recently I have noticed that when I get super excited I cannot contain myself and will generally make an outward expression to that excitement.  Every now and then, I get these outward bursts of energy where I will say or write a lot (and can't hold back), will jump around or make frantic hand movements, or I will just make some squeaky noise of excitement.  

It is something that has become quite apparent to me lately - this outward expression of excitement. It's like my insides can't contain my excitement, so I have to physically do something to 'ease' the build up.  I try and make a conscious effort to not be so outward with my excitement (as I feel it's a tad overwhelming sometimes - especially in writing), although I am not always so successful and my excitement leaks out any way. But along with this realisation, I also became aware of my 'introverted-ness'.  I don't know what it is. Maybe I came to the realisation of how seemingly insignificant each individual life is, in the 'grand scheme of things', or maybe I watched too many "realistic" movies (where many are about true heartbreak, despair and loss), or have spent far too long in my room by myself, mulling over life. Whatever it is, I almost feel like a switch was flicked and I became aware of my surroundings and how crowded they sometimes felt. 

Over the years, I have mastered the skill of complimenting and encouraging strangers (and now I can't help it, I just love giving compliments), (sheepishly) asking strangers at parties if they would like their photo taken (when hired for parties/weddings), and have found it generally easy to strike up a conversation with someone who I am sitting next to on a train or someone I am being served by at a cash register. But every now an then I feel my true introverted self take over and I become timid, like a small mouse hiding in the corner, hoping not to be caught. 

It is that moment when everything seems to slow down, you can feel your emotions tuck themselves away and you have this sense as if you need to hide.  You start to become completely aware of your surroundings, as if you are an audience member at the theatre - the scene is stretched out before you and you start picking up on every tiny detail, every flaw, every movement, every eye watching you in the moment. Your voice quietens to a hush, your body becomes physically smaller. It is as if your retracting body can somehow hide within itself - as if you will then be out of the way (away from the seemingly huge crowd surrounding you). 

You become a shell - the fragment of your self that is left visible. What is there to do next? 

... This is almost exactly what happened to me today. I was out shopping with my parents and grandma. It was a beautiful, crisp day and I was happy to be with my family. Then came the moment where I had to make a decision (which seems silly, but it was a decision I wanted to make carefully). I don't know what it was, whether I felt pressured, like I didn't want to disappoint anyone, or I felt out of my element and a little overwhelmed, but it happened.  I quietly said "thank you" to the lady helping us and stepped outside the store. To my surprised, I started to cry. I felt so embarrassed for crying, but I didn't know what else to do. It was as if crying was my body's automatic response. What I was most surprised about, was that nothing of this sort had ever happened to me before. I am not one for shutting down when making decisions (although I do find decision making hard) and am certainly not one for crying in public (i'm not one to show many of the sadder emotions to others). 

This was the most publicly introverted I had been. 

So, I am here letting you know that I am definitely more introverted than I sometimes let on and I am okay with that. Being an introvert isn't a bad thing - it just means that you're more likely to sit back and observe while others take the reins. Being introverted means that you take in more of your surroundings, you are happy to sit quietly and notice the small things that others moving quickly may not.  

The act of being introverted is almost poetic. Almost romantic - although it should not be romanticised.  

Being who you truly are and being happy in that, is one of the most poetic, romantic, beautiful things of all. 

☼

Easy Peasy 10 Step Pesto Pasta with Chicken.

Hello there! Here is my first instalment of 'To Make' - I will have your lunch or dinner sorted! 

Pesto Pasta with Chicken Recipe: 

(makes 4 large servings)

Ingredients: 

- Pasta (you can use the pasta of your choice and as much as you want - I used a whole, small bag of Penne pasta)

- 2 Chicken breasts 

- 1 whole tomato, or about 12 of cherry tomatoes, halved 

- Salt and pepper to season

For Pesto: 

- 2 cups of fresh basil 

- 1/2 cup grated parmesan 

- 1/2 cup virgin olive oil 

- 1/3 cup pine nuts or walnuts 

- 3 medium sized garlic cloves, minced

- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Method: 

1. Gather all of the ingredients and have everything measured out to make the whole process easier. 

2. First, you need to boil some water. While this is happening, cut the chicken into smaller bite sized pieces. 

3. Get out a large and a medium saucepan. Fill the saucepans with boiling water.

4. Put the cut up chicken into the medium saucepan and the pasta into the large saucepan and bring to the boil. 

While this is cooking, you can make the pesto - 

5. Peel and mince garlic

6. Combine the basil and pine nuts in a bender. Slightly blend together (in a pulsing manner). Then, add the cheese and garlic and blend again. 

7. Scrape the sides of the mixture to the bottom of the blender and blend again - slowly adding the oil to the mixture. Once combined, add salt and pepper to taste. 

8. Cut up tomatoes and put to the side.

9. Check both the pasta and chicken are cooked, then drain the water and put in a large bowl. 

10. Combine the pasta, chicken, tomatoes and pesto together and mix together until satisfied. 

And hey presto (or should I say pesto... haha). 

It's that Easy Peasy. 

ENJOY! 

☼

Films that inspire me: The Way Way Back

The Way Way Back is a film that has recently come into my collection. I bought it in the hopes that it would be good (as I had seen the trailer and it looked like something I would enjoy) and I wasn't disappointed. From the creators of Little Miss Sunshine and Juno, this  film is a poignant, heart touching look into the life of the misunderstood 14-year-old, Duncan, as he begins to come into his own and find his place in the world.  

After being well received at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, it moved on to show the world exactly why it was so wonderful.  

With the transition of the characters as they experience real-life, relatable issues, the forming of an unexpected friendship between an unlikely pair (that you secretly become jealous of), the perfect balance of witty and serious dialog and the phenomenal acting, while being veiled in a beautiful simplicity - this film is truly refreshing. 

On the same note, I would highly recommend the original score to this movie, as it it uplifting and simply beautiful. I have been listening to it while editing and doing copious assignments, and it has helped get me through.  In all honesty, I have been listening to the score almost every single day for the past month and a bit and I still love it. 

I think as a whole, this film shows the vulnerability of life and how what we say and do can affect those around us more than we realise, but also shows how there is still true kindness and simple joys in the world. I left thinking about these things and feeling a sense of comfort and hope for life's journey. This, I think, is the mark of a good movie.

I would without a doubt, recommend this film to anyone. 

☼

Films the Inspire me: Into The Wild

“So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.”
― Christopher McCandless

I was recently reminded of this film (goodness knows how I forgot about it). 

There are truly no words to describe the feeling I get when I see images, let alone scenes from this film. It's like someone tuned on a fountain of emotions inside of me and they are all bubbling up at once, trying to escape, but they just can't. I don't know what actually goes on inside me when I see this film - but I get all tingly and fizzy inside and feel like crying from the sheer beauty of it all. 

When I first saw this movie, I spent days talking about it (my poor parents got an ear full). But I just couldn't get over the beauty of the whole thing. I replayed scenes in my head, constantly thinking about the places he went and about the words he has said - again, feeling all of the emotions I had felt from watching the film days before. It was incredible, as I had never been so taken aback by a film - well, so much so that I spent days mulling over it again and again.

From the incredibly perfect cinematography and beautiful soundtrack, to the mind blowing landscapes of Alaska and a story that tugs at the heart strings (with lessons of survival and companionship in the mix), this film is seriously one you cannot go past. I think everyone needs to see this film at least once in their lives.   

I had recently heard many good things about the book/biography, so I went out and bought it. Cannot wait to get stuck into it!
☼

Films that Inspire me: The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is, in its finest essence, a film about a man living his life vicariously though the photos by which he is surrounded. Working in LIFE magazine as the negatives assets manager (dealing with the negatives of all the photos that are in LIFE magazine) he finds himself stuck in a world where he fantasises scenarios of his life - the way he wished things were, rather than the reality he is stuck in.  A turn of events find Walter Mitty's fantasies whooshed away as he embarks into his unbelievable, breath taking reality.  

I feel like in many ways, I can relate to Walter Mitty - I do photography, I love long boarding and I dream of adventures. But also, here I am, living my life behind a laptop, being fairly content with where I am, watching others go on adventures and seeing places I only dream about. On many occasions, I have found myself to fantasise about 'what could be' - where myself and (usually) several/certain photographers and friends are in certain places around the world, exploring and taking photos and just living life to its fullest.  I mean, I make plans to travel - yet I still sit and fantasise and never actively put my plans into motion. But no longer! I feel my 'unbelievable reality' is soon approaching. It is time to get out of my comfort zone, to actually explore and get out and adventure with those whom I long to meet in countries I dream about. 

With scenes of long boarding on winding, deserted countryside roads, vast landscapes of rolling hills, rugged, ice-capped mountains and many photography references, I knew this film would soon become one of my favourites. What I didn't expect was a movie that would inspire me to stop living so comfortably, to shake things up, to take a bit of a risk and actually live life. With beautiful cinematography, a light-hearted, heartwarming storyline, wonderful acting and amazing landscapes, it is a film that I definitely recommend and truly believe will (even for just a moment) inspire you. 

(Photos from The Secret Life of Walter Mitty: Find your Frame site). 

Watch out world! It's my turn and I am putting plans into action. 

☼