I bought new white blinds, made up a polaroid cork board, have my two wooden bedside tables, along with the beautiful flowers on my bedside table I received a few days ago. I like to pretend that this is what my bed looks like, but in reality it only looks like this one day a week when I actually wash my sheets and make my bed properly.

The rest of the week, it looks like this.

Flowers, dim lamp, book and candle... Pretty much sums up my life.

I've had these floating shelves for a few years and decided (after 3 days look for a book case) I would use them to store my favourite books on for the mean time. There's something very calming and soothing about having books on display. On the top shelf is an array of things - makeup, perfume, jewellery boxes and my Apple TV. Middle shelf is - makeup brushes, art/fashion books, favourite non-fiction books of the moment and  my favourite penguin classics. And the bottom shelf is - two candles encasing my literary theory books and classic literature novels.

So I've been to Seattle before; a few years ago, but I have been before. Last time I was here was when I first met, and spent a week with, my host family. Through a school programme, I stayed with the Blake family for 7 days. Over the past 2 years we've stayed in contact every week since I left the country and I decided that I couldn't leave it any longer, so I came back to visit.

The point of this is for me to tell you that while I am here I won't be uploading posts. I had a few scheduled to go up but they were rushed and they aren't worthy of my blog. So, while I'm here (which could either be until the 28th of October of the 6th of November - I haven't decided if I want to stay an extra week) there will be little to no posts. I promise I'll do a huge photo post when I'm back in Australia.

Love you all,

Spontaneous Emma strikes again. Last Sunday (October 11th) I was looking through my schedule and saw that I had very little on for the next few weeks. So, as you do, I booked flights to leave on Thursday (October 15th) for Seattle. This week, for my 'Weekly Loves' I'm going to be talking about all the things I took on my American trip in my attempt to very quickly pack my suitcase. If you know me at all, I will normally book an international trip a few months in advance and start collecting things and packing 2-3 weeks before I leave. That way I know that I have everything I need and can buy anything else. Nope. Not this time. I gave myself 2 days to pack. When booking flights I'd forgotten that I will be busy most of Tuesday and all day Wednesday so technically today (the day I'm writing this - Monday 12th) I have to be packing. But, I also have to schedule the next 2 week's worth of blog posts. The main reason for my trip is that it's been 2 years since I visited my host family. The summer between 11th and 12th grade, I went on a school trip to the West Coast of America and we stayed with host families for a week. We've been in contact ever since and so I'm going back to spend 2 weeks with them.

Enough rambling, here's what's in my suitcase for a trip to Seattle: 

Carry On Essentials: I'll be doing 25 hours of travelling before I arrive in Seattle so here are my essentials for a long haul flight!! Magazines, a book (Perfume: The Story of a Murderer), reading glasses, Polaroid camera (for when I land), wallet (with $$ and passport), UrbanEars headphones, travel pillow, eye mask and makeup.  I have a 3 hour layover in Los Angeles before I arrive in Seattle, so I will be doing my makeup before I get on my final flight to Seattle, because as soon as I land I am going out to dinner.

Clothing: Luckily because I'm staying with friends, I can wash my clothes so I don't have to take a lot of clothes (but I'm still an over-packer)... So, I'm taking 5 pairs of jeans, 2 coats, 8 shirts, 2 sets of pyjamas, a dress, a playsuit and workout gear. I'm going to Morgan's senior high school homecoming so I'm also taking my formal dress.

Everything Else: Heels (for homecoming), Windsor Smith boots, Nike runners, (I'm wearing my Doc Martins on the plane), another book, polaroid film and my makeup/toiletries bag.

Makeup: Primer, foundation, concealer, powder, bronzer, contour kit, eyeshadow palette, liquid eyeliner, mascara, brow pencil, brow gel, 3 lipsticks and brushes.

I started the morning bright and early - 5.30am - and headed off for an early gym session because it was the only free time I'd have today. Once I was home, I'd planned to paint my walls. 

Wall Painting: this wall has been painted purple for about 3 years and with the re-decorating of my room (post to come soon) I decided it was out with the purple wall...

... And in with this dark grey wall. I LOVE THIS COLOUR! It matches with the rest of the room quite nicely and looks a lot more sophisticated than the purple wall.

When faced with the challenge, Joshua and I thought it would be easy to maintain a long distance relationship. We were wrong...

1. The long waiting is painful: we are both lucky that we have the opportunity to get on a plane and see one other whenever possible. But it's not the same as knowing we are down the street from one another, or that they'll be waiting for you when you come home. When we're not together, it's constant missed phone calls and text messages. 
2. I'm Miserable: Admit it. Anyone who's been in a long distance relationship will know the struggles of not having someone to cry on when you feel shitty. Yeah, you're in a relationship but sometimes I feel incredibly unhappy. 
3. Missing Out on Each Others Lives: There's nothing like spending quality time with someone and experiencing life first hand with them by your side. You have no idea what it's like to have to explain your day via text or phone call until you do it every day of your life. 
4. Lack of Physical Intimacy: I mean, it's pretty self explanatory. But sometimes you just want to come home and have someone to cuddle on the couch... maybe I should get a cat?
5. Sadness: I feel horrible if Josh tells me he had a shit day at work, but then had to go home to an empty apartment. It kills me inside to know that I'm not there when he gets home so that he can have someone to vent to. 

This weeks 'weekly loves' are smart phone related. These apps are all on iPhone and most/all are probably on Android. I find myself, like most young people in the twenty-first  century, with my phone in my hand at all times. This doesn't need an introduction, so here are my ten favourite apps. 

1. Instagram: duh... I love waking up in the morning and scrolling through Instagram. I don't follow a ton of people but I just love scrolling through each morning. Uploading is pretty good too ;) 
2. Pinterest: I probably should have made this number one. I was introduced to Pinterest when I was in grade 8 (2010) when one of my friends began her addiction. Over the years, I've pinned over 8000 photos/ideas and spent hours and hours and hours. Pinterest is the kind of app where I can just turn off my brain and scroll through loads and loads of miscellaneous photos. Go check it out Pinterest, if you haven't. 
3. Snapchat: 10 second photos/videos of hideous facial expressions to send to friends - what's more to love?
4. Eve: ladies... this is an app that tracks your cycle. There are about 6 questions that you can answer every day and it's a good way to keep track. 
5. Calm: A meditation app. There are about 50 different scenes, from rain forest to snow falling. I use this app a lot in those moments where I'm feeling overly anxious or stressed. 
6. Spotify: There are hundreds of thousands of pre-made playlists to listen to for every mood. And, if you're feeling adventurous you can make your own playlists. 
7. Blogger: Simple explanation - blogging on the go :) 
8. Weatherzone: I don't really know why I like this app, but it's a lot more useful (I find) than the Apple Weather app. It's pretty accurate and let's you look at a detailed forecast for the next week, which is super useful when travelling. 
9. IntervalTimer: I don't really know how to explain this properly, but it's a good timer app to use at the gym. 
10. Sleep Time: This app is kind of weird and I'm still trying to figure out if I actually like it or not, but I've been using it a lot and I have a love hate relationship so I thought I'd include it. Basically, you turn the app on and put your phone under your pillow while you sleep. It tracks your REM sleep/deep sleep, light sleep and awake. 

I like days like this... Days that start of slow and casual, but end with something special. I've really enjoyed having somewhat of a routine back in my life because, to be honest, since leaving high school and no longer having somewhere to be at certain times 5 days a week I've really struggled. If it wasn't for having routine, I'd be watching endless hours of Netflix. Well, I do that anyway but I'd be watching more. I had constant thoughts throughout the day that I should just bite the bullet and head overseas for a few weeks. I mean, there's nothing overtly tying me down here... Blogging can be done from anywhere, as can writing. Joshua can wait a few weeks :) or come with me. I have no other commitments holding me here... So what am I doing?! Why am I still here?!? 

Today started like any other. 6am gym session, followed by the usual breakfast of avocado on toast with green tea.

Again, like usual after breakfast and a shower I hopped back into bed where I did a few hours of work - writing, pre-scheduling blog uploads and writing guest posts for other blogs. I gave myself an hours break to watch a Netflix documentary (I opted for TIG, it's the documentary of Tig Nortaro [the comedian]) and I really enjoyed it.

I took a break with a mid afternoon gym session, it proved difficult with 0 motivation to go, but I'd made a promise to myself.

It was back to work for another hour. The afternoon ended with a catch up over coffee with Meg, which was wonderful and much needed.

The day (night) concluded with a black tie event in the city. I don't have any photos as yet, but once I do I'll be sure to upload some. 

My happy place: in bed, with a book, my laptop and rain.

Motivation... Easily my least favourite word in the English language. Probably because I lack it. Honestly though, I have never been the best at self-motivating and it's something that I've always struggled with. It goes hand in hand with my awesome procrastination quality. I also feel as though motivation coincides with my lack of 'social' (hermit) life. I would much rather prefer to stay at home, in some comfy pjs reading than go out for lunch dates. I am very select in who I would get out of bed for but that's something I've always hated about myself. I will make excuses for why I don't want to go and see people. Obviously, I would jump (out of bed) at the chance of going to see my closest friends and family but I hate the awkwardness of people I'm not comfortable with. I don't really know how to explain it, but I hope someone gets me. I've been trying really hard lately to say yes more and to actually get out of the house. I signed up to a gym so that's forcing me to get out of the house. I have to go down to Brisbane quite a lot for work, also getting me out of the house. But that's about it. I still haven't 'trained' myself to say yes to lunch dates... One day I will. 

Our first stop was Elliot Heads to check out the beach and start tanning.

Clearly getting the most important things.

The best way to spend the days are lounging by the pool!

Once it got too cold to properly function in/by the pool, we all squeezed into the spa bath in our room, before playing some much needed drinking games!

Day 2 meant more pool time and it's safe to say we got carried (hahahah, just me laughing) away.

Myself, Anemice and Cara - love these ladies.

I have no idea what Cara is doing?!

Anemice and I attempted to brave the cold water but it was a little too chilly for our liking :/

Myself, Cara and Jayda - <3

Here are some polaroids: this is Anemice and I.

Jayda and I.

The beach at the resort.

Myself, Roxy and Cara in the spa.

I'm going to cut to the chase (what a weird expression...) and skip the intro of this post. Instead, I'm just going to jump into the top 5 things I've been loving this week. 
    1. My Macbook: I honestly have no idea where I'd be without my laptop!!! We definitely live in a technologically obsessed world and it's not always a good thing, but my laptop is the most helpful thing for writing - imagine having to write down everything in a notebook!! Trying to get that edited and proof read by all the different people would be a nightmare. Other than writing, Netflix and YouTube is pretty great. And blogging, of course!
    2. You guys!!!!!: I don't give all of you guys (my lovely readers) enough credit! You don't understand how much you all mean to me and how lucky I feel to have such an amazing audience on this blogging platform. I have many things disabled (such as comments) because I never meant for this to become anything for a lot of other people to find and it's just something I hope you all understand that comments won't be enabled (probably ever). I love y'all so much; continue being fabulous!!
    3. My Apple Watch: I thought this was just going to be another technology gadget that was going to be over-hyped because it was an Apple product. However, after giving it a go for 2 months I've fallen in love. I have to admit, the first few weeks were a complete gimmick and I couldn't really find a use for it. However, now I like to wear it everyday to track my steps, exercise and how often I stand. It's also super useful at the gym because it means I can leave my phone in the lockers and still get notifications for messages, phone calls and social media. It's an awesome device but definitely something that you need to give time. 
    4.  The beach: my entire life has been spent to nervous to wear a bikini (or any swimsuit for that matter), but you know what, as I've gotten older I've realised that as long as I feel comfortable and confident it shouldn't matter what other people think about me. The beach is such an incredibly relaxing place; a place where you can lay in the sun, read a book and enjoy the sounds of the waves crashing. I am ridiculously lucky to live so close to the beach. 
    5. David Levithan: David is an amazing author who writes incredibly well. I've read his books Every Day and How They Met & Other Stories in the past and fell in love with his writing style. If you've never read one of his novels, you may have heard his name as he co-wrote Will Grayson, Will Grayson with John Green. I'm currently reading Another Day an UGH!!!! it's sensational.