by Mia M.
Hello, you weird internet gang, and welcome back to my sad corner of the web. Today, we are going to – of course – be talking about stationery. Because mama is an addict with a genuine problem and you’re all enablers. Let’s do this!
For those of you who are new here, I just moved to Australia from London – hence all the late replies and lack of reading posts. In terms of comments, I’m working on a backlog all the way from August to avoid missing catching up with anyone . . . but I’ve got a few days free to just get some blog work done at the moment, so I should be caught up soon. (Now to battle the shitty wi-fi!)
The first two weeks of September (and of my time in Australia!) have now come to a close and, in true Mia fashion, I thought there would be no better way to share them than via my travel journal. It’s a been an . . . interesting start, shall we say (all blog content fodder, so no complaints!) . . . but I’m starting to settle in and find my feet a little bit. Let’s take a look at what I’ve got up to!
WHAT I USED IN THIS SPREAD:
Bamboo Washi Tape – Etsy – £2.19
Leaf print washi tape – Etsy – £1.95
Vintage Map Large Washi Tape – £2.51 – Aliexpress
The first few days in September were actually my leaving party – and, oh, was it a good one! I got loads of beautiful cards, with lovely messages and pieces of advice (and also money, let’s not forget the money) . . . I’m thinking of kind of spreading them out in my journal over my time here, for nice little motivation boosts.
(My dad is the first guy on the left and my mother is the last one on the right.)
I don’t know if you’d necessarily call it a tradition, but whenever you get a few drinks in ’em, my mum and dad turn into dancing queens and it is the funniest thing ever. At the end of the night of every party or gathering we have, the speakers are turned up loud, heavy metal or Destiny’s Child is blared and my mum starts shaking her ass. Hence . . . whatever the hell those polaroids are.
Me and my best friend Leila ie the other half of my soul ie I feel incredibly weird without her being up the road. I love having all these ‘lil photos to look back on.
The beautiful Isabel came to the party too (which I am still really thankful for because I know how intimidating it is to go to parties where you don’t know anyone and she honestly fit in so well!).
On the subject of Isabel, her card was very typical her and the cutest thing ever, so it was the first in my journal.
WHAT I USED:
Black and white floral stickers – £1.60
Vintage Paper Sticker Background – £1.96
It was a really sweet message full of the exact kind of positive energy I want this trip to be filled with, so I thought it would be perfect to stick down on my notes page for September.
Once the party was all done and dusted, I had Sunday to get a quick tattoo with my dad, pack at 3am (naturally forgetting a whole bunch of things I definitely should have brought . . . like my bloody camera tripod. In what world was it a good idea for me – a blogger – to leave my tripod behind? I honestly don’t know what goes through coffee-hyped Mia’s brain, that bitch is confused.) And then, come Monday morning, we were off!
What followed is honestly just . . . well, let’s just say it took us 3 bloody days to get to Australia and I conked out for an entire day once we arrived. You guys already got the not-so-sordid tales of the first week, from my beach walks to touching some Kangaroos, so I won’t go into detail.
(Also, this is a prime example of the sort of week I was describing in my Setting Up My Travel Journal post, where I was too tired to “create” anything, but having the planner outlines helped me keep it somewhat coherent.)
My second week in Australia has actually been a really good one – and mainly because it’s been very independent. I made a few friends, went on a four day kind-of trip with one of them in which we visited Byron Bay and climbed a mini mountain in pitch black at 3am, then slept in a car and reclimbed it in the morning to watch sunrise and we. Saw. Dolphins.
Actually, let me give that the attention it deserves and show you beautiful people a picture.
You can’t see the dolphins in these because . . . well, when they appeared, I was too busy squealing about the fact I was seeing dolphins (look, I was exhausted and excited, give me a free pass here), but this was the lighthouse view in Byron Bay.
We also did sunset on a different mountain in the Gold Coast, but . . . well, I’ve been forgetting to bring my camera everywhere so all the photos are just embarrassingly subpar.
We also hit a club, but it was a uni night (ie absolutely terrible) and everyone? was? gone? by? 1? In London, you might not even be in the club by 1. Sacrilege.
Here’s where it gets interesting: after this wonderful week, I was thinking “hey, maybe I could like staying here for a month or two until my friends arrive. Save up some money. Have my own little place.”. I had some (absolutely gorgeous) flat viewings – and even got myself a job interview! However, the flat I had my heart set on was given to someone else and I thought “this is a sign”.
I’d never wanted to stay in the Gold Coast; in fact, we were supposed to go to Bellingen together and do a little bit of travelling, but the girls bailed on that plan. For the past two weeks, I’d been kind of tossing and turning over what to do with myself. Stay, stay with the girls, go to Melbourne, go to Bellingen? Well, I listened to the universe and I took the sign that Gold Coast wasn’t meant to be – so I booked my flight to Bellingen and I’m going to go work in a hostel in the rainforest for a few weeks!
(You should most definitely Pin that image for me. Just saying.)
And that nicely takes us to the end of my first two weeks of September! It’s been an interesting start to the trip, but I’ve seen some cool stuff and met some cool people – and I’m massively excited to start the next chapter! I hope you guys enjoyed this little catch up post (well, with a wordcount of over 1,000 I really don’t know that we can call it little. It’s curvy.).
What are you thinking of my travel journal so far? Which spread has been your favourite? Let me know your thoughts down below!
Peace,
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About Mia M.
I'm going through a bit of an existential crisis right now, I'll tell you about myself when I figure out if I'm real or not.
tattoo lover, plant hoarder, DIY addict and overall stoner grandma
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