It seems boring but it has been hectic!

I know I apologise ALL the time for being MIA from my blog and I'm going to have to say it again!

Life has been busy. My blog seems boring, but life has been hectic!

I kind of thought that once my uni holidays started I'd be kicking back and cruising through my holidays but no. I have been working my original full time job in real estate to earn some much needed moolah to go back to uni with and I've never felt more busy!

I have been spending time with family and friends and my bf and time has just flown by.

I'm hitting the road (or the skies to be more exact *wink*) this Friday for a mini vacay to visit my little sister in the Sunny state of QLD! I'm excited!

I'm hoping that I will have some more interesting bloggy feedback for you to get into!

On another note: I am always chilling and snapping everyday life on my Instagram account! Find me on @elliemaree12 !! Join in too, life in piccies is so much fun!

The simple things

Sometimes I forget (or feel like I don't have the time) to take notice of the simple, beautiful, and sometimes ordinary things that life has to offer.

I get so caught up planning and working and studying and worrying and socialising that sometimes the pretty, nice moments just pass me by.

This past weekend was a HUGE one. I was so overtired on Sunday night after many km's travelled and late nights had that I was delirious and all over the place.

Come Monday, despite still be ridiculously tired and a little sluggish, I wanted to make sure I made the most of my long weekend and tried to get outside, do some jobs and enjoy what the gorgeous sunny day had to offer.

I took my camera along with me because I've been lacking photography inspiration lately and just shot pictures of ordinary things around my house and our yard. It surprised me how simple things can make the most beautiful things and can make me smile.

What pretty things are you missing out on during your busy day?

Fit for a King or Queen!!

I was rambling on a while ago about how you know when you've finally grown up. Well, if last weekends events didn't prove to me that I'm officially a "big girl now", then I don't know what will!!

One of my best girlfriends of all time is having a baby in July (possibly later this month if she goes early!!) and we threw her a baby shower fit for a little King or Queen (since we don't know what the little tacker is just yet!)

I've only ever been to a couple of baby showers before and mostly because they were friends of my Mum's and I tagged along and I may be biased but I have to say that this shower definitely took the cake for me!

Tegan is the most organised and driven girl I know! She knows what she likes and knows what she wants when it comes to a party and I love that! She is one hell of a party planner and kicked ass at organising her own baby shower!! Because my girlfriends and I live so far away from Tegs, we unfortunately couldn't do a great deal of prep before the party, so all of the funky decorations and ideas for food were all Tegan's doing and she killed it! (She even made the cute little clothes line deco on top of her party cake!)

I am even convinced that she should start doing party planning on the side because the place looked so cute, I loved it and so did all of her guests!!

Tegs looked stunning and in some photos you can't even tell that she is pregnant! Getting together to celebrate the impending birth of this baby made me reminisce a little about how much we have all been through as friends. We've been friends since early primary school and with out getting all soppy, it really made me proud to be apart of Teg's shower and to know that I will get to be apart of another gorgeous little life very soon!

Congrats Tegs! I can't wait to meet your little bub very very soon!!

6am

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I've learnt a few things about my "early start experiment" last week.

Its mighty dark and pretty chilly at 6am.
On the first early morning rise I had to go back to sleep until 7am because I couldn't hack how early it was. (Shameful, yes.)

It feels like no one else in the world is awake at this hour, except for the trucks on the highway.

I finished an entire assignment by 830am on day 2. Pretty productive I would say.
I manage to catch all of my morning show TV time (I've recently become addicted to The Circle, anyone with me?) and still get ready to leave the house before class.

I've had to nap twice this week around 2pm. (Im not sure if its because I'm early-rising or because I have been diseased with another winter cold. cough.)

Having a nice warm cup of green tea in hand helps a lot.

The verdict; I think Im converted. After day one I was feeling a little sooky but once I embraced the idea and started getting more work done and feeling more motivated to get things done I really kind of enjoyed the early rising. The only thing I may change is letting myself sleep in on a sunday.... I mean, seriously, it's Sunday! 

To be a morning person

I was chatting with some friends over dinner the other night about being more productive in the mornings. "Oh the things I would get done if I was a morning person!" Sometimes I'm whinging (generally around the time I have uni assignments due) that there aren't enough hours in the day and it got me thinking.

When I was a boarding school kid in high school, any time I went home on the holidays or for a boarders weekend I cherished every minute I could spend in my own home and with my family. I was up at the crack of dawn because I had this urge to make sure i wasn't "wasting" any time at home or any parts of the day. This was mostly due to the fact that I was one of those big homesick kids but it kind of made sense all the same.

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These days I am lucky enough, and have the luxury to sleep in until 830 - 9am mostly every day of the week because my uni class schedule is quite relaxed. I have to admit, I have completely enjoyed the sleep ins but I think it might be time for a change, or at least an experiment.

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I want to test myself everyday this week (not including today, I'm sadly still in bed writing this!! ha!) by rising bright and early at 6am. I want to see what I can get done before the usual time I get up and also see if I am more productive with uni work having it all done before bed rather than crawling into be around midnight!

My Dad (the Farmer) would be so proud! Who knows, I might like it (after the first few cold mornings right???)

Are you an early riser? What time do you get up in the morning? Do you feel you get more done by getting up earlier?