Mocking Bird » Australia

Home And The Rest Of The World

Amanda — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 15:00:33 +0000

It’s been a roller coaster of a month for little old me. My time in Sydney was full of happiness, excitement, rest, anguish, stress, sadness, and joy. Living abroad is such a mad mix of emotions both while you are away from home and when you return. You always feel a little on the outside of both worlds – never feeling like you completely belong in your new land and the same time feeling disconnected from the home you grew up in. This life you lead is often hard to describe to others.

Despite the disconnectedness and the not so great things that happened on my trip home, I spent many joyous days soaking up my beloved Australian light and feeling the sand beneath my toes at the beach. I reveled in the bliss that is spending quality family time and devoted many mornings and afternoons to sipping my cherished Sydney coffees with friends old and new. I lapped up my favourite shopping haunts and ventured to many new ones.

I think my most favourite moment was my second morning in Sydney. I walked along the esplanade with my mumma in the glorious sunshine, the light was sparkling on the beautiful blue ocean and bouncing over the sand so perfectly white. Mum asked me if I missed the city…I looked out and said, “that right there is what I miss.” I think she looked at it with almost glazed eyes, as she sees it on a regular basis. I told her that we Australians have no idea how lucky we really are. You don’t know until you leave. And I’m quite certain the same thing happened to the Canadian when he lived in Sydney. His homecomings would include looking at those snow-capped mountains and thinking the exact same thing. He hasn’t told me in so many words, but I’m pretty sure that’s what he’s thinking when he sits atop Whistler Mountain on his snowboard.

Clearly, these are first world problems and ours could be far greater…either way, we will be alright.

p.s. Swing back here tomorrow to hear about my give away!

A Beach Somewhere In Sydney

Amanda — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 11:44:06 +0000

Hello from down under,

After the plane ride from hell, getting over the jet lag has been tough, but I am starting to feel more like myself again and venturing out and about in Sydney.

I walked along the seaside path with my mum on a gorgeous sunny day and told her how I’ve come to realise how lucky Australians are to have such a gorgeous backyard. The light so bright and shimmering across the ocean as the waves lapped onto the white sands of the beach…it felt great to be home.

We stopped in to a beach-side cafe for breakfast and watched the surfers and swimmers wander by. I could have stayed there all day.

Australia Bound

Amanda — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 15:00:45 +0000

I’m not quite ready for summer to end, so I’m heading to Sydney where spring is in full swing and 25 degree days have already arrived.

See you on the other side!

Australians Are Alright

Amanda — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 00:09:08 +0000

Australians are funny creatures, often misunderstood and stereotyped by the rest of the world, but that’s ok. Our good sense of humour means that we can handle it. I love our style, our ability to enjoy life, our land’s beauty, our relationship with the sea and our great ability to laugh at ourselves. We are very disconnected from the rest of the world at times, but I think that’s what makes us unique. Since moving overseas, I’ve regained an even greater love for my homeland and am able to look at how much we really do have to offer. I wanted to share some of my favourite pieces of Australia with you, on this Australia Day…

A Little reading of Dumbo Feather
Can’t wait till I’m home again to test out some of their fine wares.
Dozens of designers and artists to be found at Finders Keepers.
Australian Gourmet Traveller, I miss you.
Love viewing new homes on The Design Files
Adore this gorgeous kids’ magazine, Papier Mache.
Jacinta’s pretty photography.
Attia homewares
My collection is rapidly growing from Melbourne’s Elk
Pretty weddings by Sugar Love.
Organisation tips from Kikki K
Loving the work and style of Chantelle Grady.
Ivy and Piper Home magazine
and even though she’s Irish, we’re claiming the amazing Katie as one of our own. ;)

Happy Australia Day, all!

Happy Australia Day!

Wandering Neighbourhoods: Beach Suburbs

Amanda — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 18:56:23 +0000

Sydney beaches are white sand, blue waters, surfing and sun light sparkling like crystals across the ocean. We are extremely blessed to have this as our playground and the more that I am away from home, the more I realise how lucky we really are. The cliché is true.

The little sis and I spent days watching the sea and listening to the soft, crash of the waves. She and I share an adoring love of the ocean and the lifestyle that goes with it. With her olive skin and tousled locks, she fits the bill more than I do. I, on the other hand, have the fair, freckle fabulous Irish skin that runs deep in our family.

Of course, I felt it would be too clichéd to show you pictures of surfers and white sands. You can faintly make out the beach line in the black and white shot of Kelly…if you squint. These are a little taste of our beach neighbourhoods from behind the scenes.

p.s. That was a bloody good cappuccino and if you squint for a second time, you’ll see the Frankie Photo Album book in the middle of that bookshelf. I found our book in one of my favourite book stores, Berkelouw.

All photographs were shot with a Yashica FX3 camera. The first 2 shots were taken with Kodak Portra 400NC film and the remainder with Natura 1600 film from Japan.

And Back Again

Amanda — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 23:32:00 +0000

Across the seas and land I go…

Next week I will be blogging from the homeland as I am off on an adventure to Australia for a few weeks. I am off to get some happy soul family time with the mumma and siblings and to reconnect with my long lost summer wardrobe.

As much as I will miss my Canadian, with us being our all too familiar 12522 miles apart, I am really looking forward to spending some quality time with my family and friends again. 7 months is a really long time to go without giving your Mum a hug.

I’m super excited to go home and see all the people in my life again but it’s a strange feeling to be leaving my love behind. He had to do this a few times when we were living in Sydney and I was on the other end, watching him leave while I stayed behind and was left alone. So to now be the one doing the leaving feels almost bittersweet.

I’m planning on lots of photography and photo shoots when I’m home in Sydney and will hopefully get to the beach and to wander around the markets that I miss. I’d like to do a few “Wandering Neighbourhoods” from Sydney as that was something I never really did at home.

I’ve also got some happy photography news coming which I was hoping to share with you this week but it hasn’t arrived yet, so that may have to wait!

See you on the other side, unless of course my news arrives. Wink, wink.

Summer Was So Long Ago

Amanda — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 14:00:48 +0000

Can you feel it? That special feeling that happens in the in between days of Winter and Spring? Winter isn’t quite yet gone and Spring isn’t quite yet here allowing us to notice little snippets of happiness to come.

Seeing as my last summer day was February 2009, I am crushing on Northern Hemispherian summer like a Japanese school girl on Hello Kitty. The Canadian says he is very proud of me for making it through my first Canadian winter and even though it was “mild”, I did it! So now that the winter coats are being put away for another season, I am starting to think about all the wonderful and exciting things I will get to do here in my first summer in Vancouver.

Back home in Australia, my summer days are filled with the smell of gardenias, afternoons at the beach, escaping to the movies or a shopping centre on super hot days, music festivals, picnics in the Botanic Gardens, living in Havaianas, eating dinner outdoors, walks around the harbour, Sydney festival concerts, pool parties, street cricket, drives to the northern beaches and barbecues.

I have no idea what our summer rituals will become here. The possibilities are exciting and intriguing. I’m super excited about the very late light which we don’t get in Australia. The latest it stays light in summer is generally around 7.30/8pm. I hear it can be well past 9 or even 10pm here. New worldly experiences that are so foreign to me inspire me to discover and observe.

I would love to hear what you get up to in summer time. Got any tips for places to go or things to do? I’d love to do a road trip somewhere. Somewhere where the light is long and low begging to be filmed by my camera.

p.s. The Polaroids above were shot for the most recent Words To Shoot By on the theme of ‘happy‘. Check out the rest of the photographers for this week!

Happy Australia Day!

Amanda — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 02:54:56 +0000

BBQs, beach parties, sausage sizzles, swimming, and lots of listening to the Triple J Hottest 100 music countdown (or the Anti JJJ Hottest 100 on FBI being led by our mates Angus and Jonny) are pretty much going on all over Australia today. On my first Australia Day away from home, I thought I’d share some of my favourite Aussies around the internets with you. Here you will find a list of talented and lovely Aussie bloggers, photographers, illustrators, crafters and designers.

Absolutely Beautiful Things

Aussies on Flickr

Clumsy Bird, Ash, Kat White, Memetic, Museum of Dirt, James, Joel Courtney, Natasha, Andrew G, Akida, Sapaho, Cybele, Will, Geisha, V, Hooverdust, Lucky.

And if all that isn’t enough awesome Aussieness for you, you can read the adventures my Sean had whilst living in Australia for 4 years. Read about his hilarious encounters with all the deadly, venomous monsters that inhabit our beautiful island at Notes From a New Country.