Thursday 03/08:-Vancouver, BC.

After an emotional 1:30 a.m bus departure from Tavira to Lisbon airport and a delayed flight in Toronto, we finally made it to our first AirBnB at 11:00 p.m totally exhausted, and maybe slightly irritable…We had exceeded over 30 hours of travel in total. So totally normal. Both flights were comfortable enough; although we weren’t sat next to each other on the connecting flight. Oli was more than grateful for the extra leg room long haul flights offered, whilst I was kept occupied with the on-flight entertainment system. I thought it apt to watch an original Inuit film about the Canadian arctic, “Atanarjuat, The Fast Runner” as well as “Snatched”- a comedy about a mother and daughter who get kidnapped in Sout America. (All the while, I couldn’t help but make a mental note of ‘how not to get kidnapped’ whilst traveling in Colombia!)

Landed in Canada! Toronto airport.

By the time we reached our final destination, although excited, all either of us could think about was being horizontal in a bed, blissfully falling asleep. But even though we were both running on empty, we were conscious enough to  make the call to get the sleeping bag liners out, for tonight at least. 

“Absence makes the heart grow fonder…”

I’ve never been a believer in this quote actually! However, this is a bit of an apology post, and so I hope that this saying rings true on some level with you lovely people. I have been absolutely hopeless with this blog. But, if I can be completely honest, I have been rather preoccupied with something I haven’t been able to express, until now. And because I can shout it from the rooftops, I’m afraid, it will be all I talk about, and will become the central themes of my blog for the foreseeable future…

This blog will become a platform for all of our travelling adventures. That’s right! We’ve taken the plunge. We’re off travelling, and now it’s out in the open, it all suddenly feels very real! Our journey begins at the end of July. We have 5 months of budget backpacking before we arrive in Sydney, Australia for the New Year- no return flight home booked! This has been a dream of mine ever since I researched “Round the World” gap years for my A.S Graphics final project (that’s a long time ago, by the way!) For whatever reason it never happened, and in a way I’m glad because I am truly ready for it now. I’m not going to lie, it’s possible the looming fact of turning 30 this year was a key motivator for this decision. We found ourselves at a bit of a cross roads. Do we settle down, save for a deposit, get a dog, try for a baby? I mean… we are seriously desperate for a dog! But the rest of it? That’s just too much responsibility for me still. I’m not finished being selfish with my life just yet! However, all these things are what we want eventually. Life’s too short for hesitation. And so we were presented with a now or never situation. And at the risk of regret, we chose now.

We will visit 9 different countries and I intend to post on the go. I’m not sure specifically what they will be about until I get there. I figure it will be a very organic process. A log of inspirations, conversations, and everything in between. Leading up, I will post brief blogs about each country we will visit. So please feel free to advise and recommend any points of interest from your own experiences. We welcome all of your insights. Boy, will we need them!

And so, tapping back into the “absence makes the heart grow fonder” analogy. I hope that whilst I am away my following will grow, because you will want to hear about all of our adventures along the way. Our first stop on our itinerary… Vancouver, Canada.

 

 

Designer crush: Ilse Crawford.

To be honest with you, there’s a reason it has taken me so long to follow up my last designer crush edit. I’ve been struggling to find a designer that resonates in a different way to how Abigail Adhern does. I love the drama Adhern brings to interiors. She has guts and breaks boundaries and I respect that. With Ilse, it is her core values of design I respect. After watching the new Netflix docu-series Abstract: The Art of Design, I came to realise Ilse’s objectives in design are the very reason I decided to enter this industry in the first place. 

The first change.

I thought I’d share with you my first real change of 2017. It may not seem like a huge deal at first glance, but I’m hopeful that the initial efforts will impress the majority of London/ city commuters across the country. It’s quite revolutionary.

Looking forward to 2017

What a year already! If last year taught us anything it was, perhaps, to expect the unexpected. I think I might bear that in mind venturing into 2017!

It could be a good mantra to go by really, if you think about it. It might make you push yourself that little bit more and challenge yourself further than you could ever imagine. I’m not promoting complacency here though- nothing is ever handed to you on a plate. It’s time to be tenacious, keep your wits about you and embrace change. Shake things up this year and do something out of the ordinary. Why not set your sights on something you really want and do it. Strive towards that promotion. Organise that once in a lifetime trip. Sign up for that half marathon you were deliberating last year- or even a marathon! (You’ll be braver than I am!) I feel there’s an over-whelming sense of “anything is possible” for the year ahead.