{ setting sun }

some summer days...

...a lovely weekend - a delicious brunch, a bit of browsing + shopping, movies, dessert & a gorgeous morning at the beach...

{ into the blue }

vanishing point | pt germain

along the long (long) jetty as the day fades...

recently...

...after some heat & then a big rain, we've been having quite mild weather, cool overnight, with sunny, breezy days...

...I've shared some photos from each of the big stops/attractions along our road-trip: mt gambier | great ocean road | apollo bay | melbourne...

...spent a lovely Christmas in Adelaide with family, including Holly, who had her first visit to a beach...

...we had a wonderful time at the Christmas Bazaar & we're very much looking forward to the birthday/valentines Handmade with Love market...

...posted some photos of the silver pieces I finished before the bazaar & started a batch of bronze...

...had a lovely time visiting beautiful places around our region - stopped at Weeroona Island before Christmas, spent a lovely evening having dinner by the beach at Pt Germain - walking along the jetty & wading through the incoming tide & spent most of a day wandering through the amazing Alligator Gorge...

...baked a batch of double chocolate banana muffins - totally delicious, very moist & chocolaty. I didn't make the topping (they were our snack for the visit to Alligator Gorge), but I reckon that would be pretty awesome too...

...have had some lovely visits from family members...

...& shared photos of some rather grand buildings that I saw while I was away last year (my trip seems like forever ago, but also quite recent).

a few good things...

1.an abundance of roses in the Veale Gardens.

2. early evening walks in the ocean.

3. finished a big zentangle.

4. pretty pink & yellow flowers on the kitchen table.

5. playing with letter stamps & bronze clay.

6. my 2015 calender - full of photos from my big adventure last year (printed by redbubble).

7. water & reflections in Alligator Gorge.

{ sand & sea }

On Christmas Day we took Holly for her first ever trip to the beach. She had lots of fun - chasing bits of seaweed, running across the sand & exploring a totally new place.

We actually don't get to the beach very often & despite it being quite cool (+ uber windy), we too enjoyed ourselves - wading in the shallows, sinking into the soft sand, gazing at the ocean & working up an appetite for more food & cake...

photo 2 by Kathryn

apollo bay + otway national park | sisters head east

We spent two days in Apollo Bay - or really, we spent three nights there & two days in the Otway National Park.

I think we worked the hardest during this part of the trip - lots of walks down to waterfalls & then back up to the car - but totally worth it.  The walks varied in length, gradient & ease - from a fairly gentle stroll, to heaps of stairs, to scarily steep + one extremely wet/soggy/mushy path - difficult to walk down & even worse to go back up. All the waterfalls were gorgeous though - Hopetoun was the most picture-perfect, but they all had a beauty about them.

Still - lush, ferny greenery, cascading water, tall (tall!) trees, birdsong, fish & chips on the beach, stunning views, a tree-top walk...it all made for a wonderful (if tiring) couple of days.

1. Triplet Falls \\ 2. Phantom Falls \\ 3. Beauchamp Falls \\ 4. Apollo Bay beach \\ 5. Otway Fly \\ 6. Hopetoun Falls \\ 7. Triplet Falls

// 2 by Kathryn / 6 by Amy //

the great ocean road | sisters head east

We spent a day travelling from Mt Gambier across the border & along the Great Ocean Road to Apollo Bay, stopping at as many of the attractions/scenic lookouts as we felt we had time for.

It was - to say the least - absolutely spectacular. The ocean looked so vast & wild & blue, all crashing waves, tall cliffs & wild winds - the coastline we're used to is much closer & tamer-looking. The drive itself was filled with interesting scenery (winding is an understatement) & when the road veered away from the ocean, the forest & farmland was just a beautiful & spectacular.

We marvelled from high lookout points, descended & ascended lots of steps (luckily they are generally in pretty good condition), had fish & chips on the beach at Pt Campbell (& got splashed), walked on the beach at Loch Ard Gorge & Gibson Steps & took a few photos - more than any other day of the trip.

1. The Crags // 2. Bay of Islands // 3. The Grotto // 4. ocean blues // 5. Port Campbell // 6. Loch Ard Gorge // 7. Twelve Apostles // 8. Gibson Steps

photo 2 by Amy / photo 3 & 6 by Kathryn