PINTERESTING.

 

I've been spending a fair bit of time on Pinterest this holiday season. Wishing and semi-window shopping.

Follow me on Pinterest: TODAYWESTART
You'll find a direct link in my tabs as well.

WHISTLE WHILE YOU WORK

A little face lift, a little content planning, changes...
Just as the year is about to turn.
I'm getting around to it!

BEEN AWAY FOR TOO LONG.

Turned twenty&four, and the year is close to its end.
Hopefully I can pick-up and freshen up the blog again.


Stay tuned.

a haiku for you.

{ think . about . it . thursday }

it might end up sticking, it might end up being forgotten, but i'm thinking of creating daily topics for my blog. for my sake, or for well, i don't really know. i thought it'd be a fun thing for me to do to stir up creative juices.

so, unofficially, thursdays will be as stated above, " { think . about . it . thursday } "
it'll be my somewhat reflective entry (yes, if i can keep up with posting daily!)
issh-- if that makes any sense. thoughts written in literary codes. so good. i'm pumped.

for today i leave you with this:

“Soundtrack”
Hey two-cent-wonder
You are a thought in a line
The song in my mind

(i wish i had an image to go along with this, but my internet on my phone kinda sucks at the moment!)

168 Hours.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. -Romans 1:16

hey 007, frost yourself.

that was a cleverly themed party. james bond, 007. now i feel like throwing a posh little party myself. anyway, i thought this ginormous martini glass filled with "diamonds" was a fun little table decor. some of the ladies at the party remembered that phrase from "how to lose a guy in 10 days" movie, "frost yourselves," or at least something along those lines. good laughs that night. i remember my cheeks hurting rather than my feet. (i was quite excited to wear heels, since i hadn't had a reason to the past eight months! felt kinda weird.)

a little birdie told me, discover.

You deserve to go through your day and take in the good parts, breathe in the good air and appreciate the little things that too often go unnoticed.

Read more at http://thoughtcatalog.com/2012/what-you-deserve/#psu1EDgSWRZF4xCI.99

A friend sent me a link to this. This place has good reads.
Very entertaining.

journey series: season deux.

Jeanette capturing gorgeous Sydney at the Sydney Eye Tower

I had the most "romantical"-week-sans-males the week after the most massive week of my Aussie college life. (( Hillsong Conference!! )) (( K-I-D-S-O-N-G!! )) My friend Jeanette came to visit me from Los Angeles, and it was just absolutely amazing. We explored Australialand, well the general Sydney area together and had breathtaking and hilarious moments as well. We did tons of walking around the city, went up to the mountains, down to Bondi, played with roos and koalas, and indulged ourselves with T2!

Watching the sunset from the Sydney Eye Tower.

journey series: july.

Whatever happened??

All I remember is this, ... (my mind seems to function in a bullet point format these days...)
It was May, and our assessments were due.
Then it was intensives.
Then we drove down to Melbourne.
Drove back up.
Staff Retreat.
End of classes.
Conference Intensives.
Conference. (( YEAH KIDSONG!! HAIRBRUSH!! ))
Two week break.
And now we're here again....

New beginning.
Semester two.

... uhm why is time speeding on by?

Anyway, keep watching this space.
I might have news to share sometime soon.
(Like I always do.)
(Not like this boring outline-y one.)
(It'll be interesting. The next one,.. I promise!)

journey series: hunter valley part deux.

hunter valley ... wineries and cows. haha.

journey series: hunter valley

event outline:
during semester break...
hunter valley for staff retreat.
kids program team.
stayed at kookaburra retreat house.
flippin' beautiful with roos jumping around our vast backyard.
open space, awesome rooms, and spa bath.
best place. best people.
gotta go back!

to melbourne and back - in may.

life in lists (because i'm too lazy to write life out in detail.)

may madness.
crazy intensive classes...
before my week break...
took off to melbourne for the weekend.
my first oz roadtrip.
photo above is a quick shot before leaving for sydney again.

view from my desk.

the photo above is a reflection of my life at the moment...
after a couple crazy weeks my desk finally cleared up. from assessment mode to intensive week-- i began my ten-day-holiday off to Melbourne! i absolutely love that city. it always makes me get the butterflies. it's like that frou-frou feeling like you're falling for someone and you can't sort out your feelings, you don't know what to do with them, and so you walk around with a special glow and you smile with a special spark in your eyes. aaaah... melbourne!

i'm so glad i got to spend some time in my aussie hometown. it is beautiful. and i don't mind the cold weather at all. hot chocolate, under-the-covers, snuggle weather! i will post some photos when i get around to uploading photos of my short-yet-sweet holiday.

this school break is a much needed breather and i'm already starting to feel refreshed. i love it.

tomorrow, i'm off to hunter valley. will post photos of those too! (i know i've been slow on updates... but like said, i've been having the craziest weeks EVAAA!)

ciao ciao. xxoo.

#justsayin'

quite true.
from http://asdfghjkllove.tumblr.com.

just a general note.

i figured i hadn't written a "meaty" post lately, so i'm sharing my thoughts on life thus far...
it is about 10:44 p.m. and i'm simmering down, my friend and i were on an emotional roller coaster all day-- (i think it might have been my fault, seriously being like a girl's girl at the moment, might've just rubbed off on her...) and basically, it's been craycray. i'm not really sure what i want to hash out of my heart--

i guess one thing is that, i'm so glad to wake up knowing i'm still in sydney. i will seriously cry an enormous amount of tears had i to leave australia.

this has been a huge dream of mine since twenty-oh-nine.
i can't believe i'm actually here, living life here. in sydney. (although i honestly thought i'd be in melbourne, but God has other plans!)
i mean, wow, time goes so unbelievably fast. twenty-twelve.

twelve years ago, i was twelve, (and here we go again,... ) i have no clue why my age this year is fascinating me so much. plus, it's the year of the dragon. #justsayin'
(and it's a leap year!)

anyway, it's so weird to look back and think about ALL that time that's passed. i definitely am not where i imagined myself to be, and i'm glad my plans didn't fall through, otherwise i'd be more screwed than i think myself to be. (GAAH, college loans! -- driving me insane lately! IN JESUS NAME, I will overcome!) i mean, who knows what i'll be doing in a year's time. i honestly haven't thought much about it, i had some things in mind, but i'm still weighing my options.

at the turn of the year, i felt like everything i struggled to build for myself, and all the walls i've put up for myself started to crumble down. it is the beginning of a new era for me. like the slate's been clean, and fear and failures are wiped off, and i get to start all over again. i'm excited and scared like crap. no maps, and hands off the wheel this time. yea, riding at the backseat with Jesus at the wheel.

classes are at it's final leg, and we're a stretch to the july conference, which means the end of the first semester in HILC. i'll move on to the next season, and expect much for the one to follow.

life never felt so right. so good.

vous etes belle.

i made a little card for a friend-- and it turned out pretty cool. i really liked how the bg turned out and how the colors worked out pretty well. i was a little worried it wouldn't look cohesive, but it works. yay. in my attempt to write a meaningful message in french, my dashboard translator decided to translate the phrase "you are beautiful", yes in french, but for a guy-- okay, who tells their guy friends that they're beautiful? i might tell them that they're "pretty" or say stuff about "pretty boys" (who are just way too metro) ... but never beautiful. anyway, with quick thinking i managed to paint over it to put "belle"... idk why didn't think of that the first time. hmm.

make sure to tell your mums that's they're beautiful, which all mums are. i sure love mine, and will give her a call on (PST) mother's day--

ryan gosling memes? (whatever memes are...)

i thought this one was particularly cute. i'd love to have koo koo roo tuesdays, or ... well, whatever the aussie equivalent is with _______ well, let's fill in the blanks some other time, we've yet to get there.

just for laughs,... enjoy ryan gosling, it's tuesday.

{adventures on instagr.am} // {04.14}

here's a set of photos i took during an afternoon break in sydney.
{adventures on instagr.am}

baby bimpy.

made of Lego.

Westin Sydney

Macarons from Lindt Cafe

#nofilter skies and clock tower.

pixie paintings: 'audrey'

"pixie-paintings"
definition: postcard-or-smaller-sized watercolour paintings. (yep, i just spelled color with a "u")
anyway, here's my little april project:

a cute little portrait of my friend, audrey!

journey series: harbour bridge

july 2010

 two years later...

april 2012

journey series: four months in--

So I'm supposed to be doing my assessments for class-- kinda feels like finals season, but I'm sure we've only just begun college. Can't believe it's May!

Last week felt like holiday week-- It was the last week for my public transport pass and I wanted to use it as much as I could. It worked out perfectly because my friend's parents came from Indonesia and we acted as the amateur tour guides and found ourselves here:

Gorgeous photos from The Blue Mountains - Three Sisters.
(FYI, it was freaking windy and the cold was literally piercing through my clothes, it was fun nonetheless. )

can't believe how clear the skies were that day, sun was AWESOME.

just gorgeous.

Oh, and I just found out that a friend of mine's coming to visit in July! I AM SOOOOOO EXCITED! It's gonna be so much fun!!

journey series: snail mail.

over the time i've been away from home, i've received the most thoughtful letters and packages. if you must know, i am a sucker for snail mail. i love the idea of sending mail and packages the old school way. i love the post office, and i love the idea of a letter traveling a great distance to get into my hands. i do love "brown paper packages tied up in string"... and if i must sing the song upon receiving my packages, i would. i love time stamped across the postage on an envelope. the simple joys of opening letters just makes my day.

and today, friday the thirteenth, i received a sweet and thoughtful letterpressed card from another lovely friend from across the pond! L-O-V-E!

---- a selection of colored & b/w 35mm film for valentines day ----

---- heartfelt card and gift from one of my bffs ----

p-p-p-lanted.

Yes, it is a postcard sized painting of a tree. Might just be a gum tree as well. HA-HA. I'm gonna try to share my little itty bitty projects and doodles now and then-- and I'll try to post one for each day this week... if I get around to finishing the other one I'm doing now. Yay!

Artsyfartsy. So nostalgic, in some sense.

"drawrings"

blonde Jesus.

plaque on his teeth: Barabas.

So I was coerced (ok, not really since I ended up happily and excitedly agreeing after...) into drawing for the kids program at church. They were 18x24 posters (issh) used for the Easter message... and honestly, I'm quite happy with how these turned out and I had so much fun drawing these illustrations! I just loved drawing on these posted on the wall. A little nostalgic of the few years back...

I've been painting and drawing a lot lately, and I don't even know how that happened... but it's been really relaxing, so I'm gonna roll with it. I'm starting to work on these little postcard sized projects, and I'll share them as I go along.

I'll probably post them on instagram as well as here... whee :)
Follow me: mynameisanina

little wonders

little doe deer.

i've been working on drawings and paintings lately. it's been nice.... 
and i got instagram on my phone now, so here's a shot of my little doe deer painting from a month back. :)

on the front page, a black and white picture.

**all images collected from ateliegaaya.blogspot.com - awesome collections of gorgeous and inspiring photos :)

i love this still.

Marion Cotillard and Owen Wilson in Midnight in Paris 

easter treats!

so easter is here, and i've never been more pumped up about it. now i know it's not all about easter eggs and bunnies, (ALL ABOUT JESUS!!) but still i thought i'd share these little treats today!
(it's April folks! where did the time go?!)

does anybody remember robin lollies?! so good! i love these.

omg, and reese's miniature cups. i love and miss them so much, idk why i loved the pastel colors so much more than the regular ones. HAHAHAA.

and these are tooooo cute. i want to put a bunch of them around my room!

chart a course of action.

vision - preparation - execution/action.

it's good to be in a new environment... fresh ideas, inspired outlook.

although i've gotta be honest, sometimes the future looks cloudy, not necessarily a bad thing... sometimes the sun can be quite piercing and a little shade can be nice.

so i'm taking it slow, i'll list my dreams, but at the same time, i'll trust God for what He's got for me.
a friend told me to relax and enjoy the ride, because my big God has got everything covered.

and i believe that.

i've gotta get my mind to start looking more like this:

get things organized in there... not that it's a real mess right now. but when things are in order, (just had a pep talk about keeping my spirit, soul and body in top shape today!) we tend to get things done much more efficiently. i need a lot of time in prayer, research and study-- coz "my" plans just pretty much went up to australia and hillsong college. now, i wait again for the Holy Spirit to lead.

praying for the future.

it's already April. time goes by so quickly, and next thing you know, i'll soon be standing at another fork in the road. i'm happy with where i am and where i'm planted at the moment.

can't wait to look back and be a living testimony of what God's doing and has done in my life.

for now, we wait and hope for the best.
i'm making a map of my life, and i can only chart where i've been, but i say, onwards to uncharted territory. i've got my God to guide me. #holyspirit

journey series: a beautiful view.

i think i've shared this before, briefly, in passing... but i know i mentioned it one way or another.
i've moved closer to school/church, and it's been about my third week here, but i feel like i've been here forever. our house is so amazing. THIS IS THE HOUSE OF FAVOR! or should i say, ... "favour"?

either pronunciation or spelling, God has been pouring out His amazing blessings over my life and i'm just utterly thankful.

this home is so absolutely beautiful, my four other housemates are awesome, and one of them is my roomie and sister in Christ. it's just so amazing to see how everything works out perfectly in God's timing and will. praises!!!

my home is literally 5 or less minutes walk away from school. i go home for lunch and break times and sometimes have naps in between (i just bought my first mattress ever.. i know, i'm saying "firsts" for everything pretty much!) and it's just sooo comfy! this is my first rental! so exciting.

last monday, we went to the city to get a few things and just take the day off with friends, and then on tuesday we topped off our two day break with an ikea run (mainly for the meatballs) to buy things for our room. we're still working on making it extra cozy.
here's a little photo of the morning view from our room :)

hung photos, paper lantern lamp, watercolor stain design and a beautiful view.

i hope you feel beautiful today.

so i know i've been MIA for the past couple days, weeks, .. ah, i don't even know what's going on. my regular routine just started again yesterday and i've seriously felt like i've been off in lala land a.k.a. colour conference.


anyway, i've got a series of stories for the next few days.

oh, and i found this little trinket while i was cleaning up stuff on my photo collection earlier today.
tomorrow's my REAL relaxation day, i am not going to think about what i'm gonna do, and i'm gonna take my time when i decide on doing whatever it is i choose to do. i think i'll be in bed until noon.... aaaah... very nice.

without further ado, my hidden little treasure. i hope you feel this way all day today!

journey series: autumn in march.

AUTUMN IN MARCH! on the opposite end of the world, so hey.

if i had a timeline, this would be my cover photo. i love it. (yes those are my legs and shoes)

i've been on the go....! the past weeks have been so good though. i'll put it a good story sometime next week, for now, here are some quick updates...

i moved to a new place that's across the street from church and school. thank you Jesus!
colour conference one in the sydney entertainment center was amazing.
hillsong kids team is the team to serve with. so much fun.
i am suffering from a cold, which will see its end tomoz!

journey series: life updates, and seizing the day.

now i understand it's been a while.... february just zipped past my eyes. i can't believe its already march!
well here are some quick updates from my adventures in the land down under....

i'm moving from my current housing situation to shared housing that's closer to school. it was a really good deal, and decided to grab it right away. i actually just moved most of my stuff this morning, and i'm gonna be moving in officially on tuesday. new space, new environment. what a gypsy!

i think i'm learning a lot about decision making.
sometimes, we can't linger. sometimes, we have to decide right away.

and other times, we have to come to an abrupt stop.



because, otherwise, skipping breathers will make you feel all wound up, and next thing you know you'll feel like your life is caving in on you.

right now, i'm just about ready to tackle on anything that comes my way because opportunities like "australia" doesn't come in neatly wrapped packages for most of us. i made a choice and i'm determined to make the most of my time here.

colour conference is around the corner, just days away, and i'm pumped to be in the midst of all of this. it's a privilege to be in an event dedicated to encouraging and empowering women from all over the world. some of those who are coming from the other end of the world may be at the verge of jumping into an adventure and journey just like mine, and i want to be able to tell her to go for it, and that she's got an army behind her, and the path before her has already been carefully planned and all she's gotta do is seize it.

i'm so glad to be where i'm at. i'm moving to my first rental (even if it's shared, it's still a milestone!), i'm attending colour, classes are going great, and the best part about it is that i'm really able to assess where i stand in my faith and relationship with God, and i get to work on it every single day.

it's already march, next thing you know it'll be july, and then it'll be the end of the year. until the next day rolls on around, i'm gonna be living each day ... enjoying the journey.

safe and sound.

i can't get this song out of my head. it is so hauntingly beautiful. i'd like to pick up a guitar and just hum this out. i'm so inspired. i love taylor swift and the civil wars. ah!

i think it'll be a tunes week?

i am just so in love with taylor swift, JOHN MAYERRR!!! and the civil wars right now. can all my favorite artists collaborate please? i would be in music ecstasy with all their beautiful melodies and harmonies. AHHHH!

so i think i'm gonna be posting tunes this week, just coz all these songs are making me melt ... (while I study! I need my background music while doing assessments!)

without further ado: The Civil Wars - Forget Me Not

some doodles.

just a little doodle from my first week in sydney, i really should exercise this craft more. it was so fun just doing a little illustration like this :)

journey series: away we go, again.

i'm going to the city tomorrow to film with some friends for another friend's project. i reckon it'll be fun (and extremely hilarious!) more photos when i get back i guess :)

fascinating fillers.

here are some photos i absolutely adore. just to fill in the space in between lagging posts.. i know, i know. (i was pretty productive this weekend-- kudos to me.)

*actually i think looking at these photos say a bit about me. the last photo with the extensive inspiration wall inspires me. (!!!)