I *LOVE* this apartment

Clean, fresh, bright and light. Filled with just enough fun patterns and colours. This is definitely my new design inspiration!

[All pics from designlovefest]

Hollywood Glam

I think I've mentioned before how much I like photographs. Only about a million times! I really do know how to go on about it. So it may seem a little strange how few actual photo shoots I've done in my life - at least, one's where I'm the photographer, not the model.

But lately, that is all set to change. See, I've started actually shooting. Planning, implementing, snapping away. And this shoot has to be my favourite so far. On Friday we did two shoots in one go: Hollywood Glam and Rock n Roll Edge.

Here are the snaps from Hollywood Glam:

And it was such fun! From the planning, to the styling, to getting up very early in the morning, to canvassing the neighbourhood, and sneaking on to people's front porches - it was all spectacular! Luckily I live in a suburb filled with inspiring houses, perfectly preened for photo shoots. Hehe.

Special thanks to Bree, the amazing model in these pics, for being beautiful, skinny, wonderful and fun all at the same time, and to Native Boutique for the use of these dresses.

Fourth Times A Charm?

Today I passed my Californian Drivers Test. Passed! Yes! Ace! Smiley face.

After failing it three times previously. What? Yes. I know. Three times. I know. Damn.

I don't know how it happened. I've always thought of myself as a very good driver. Maybe a fast driver, but a good driver. And I've been driving for nearly eight years now. I can't even use the whole driving-on-the-other-side-of-the-road thing as an excuse - that 7000 miles we drove across America gave me a whole ton of practice at that.

Husband suggested that I developed a bit of a mental block after the first time. See, that first time I was maybe a bit too cocky - I just never ever thought I would fail. It wasn't even something I entertained. Husband, funnily enough, was convinced he would. And then he passed and I didn't. My brain was confused.

The next two times were therefore a ball of nerves, tightly wound, headache-inducing. It becomes hard to even joke about it anymore at that point.

So today I did my best to shake it off - I even booked my test at a completely different testing station - a whole new placement seemed called for. Though that did mean I got lost on the way, ran late, and couldn't find the right spot to queue when I got there. More negative vibes. Shake it off, shake it off.

Eventually the test began. I had a nice lady, who kept telling me again and again, 'Drive safely, drive safely'. It was actually quite calming and reassuring, which was just what I needed. The test seemed to go on forever, but we drove through this beautiful suburb in Glendale - mountains in the distant, tree-lined streets, beautiful little houses - also quite calming. And in the end, I drove safely, safely, and made it back to the DMV, where my lovely tester told me I had finally passed.

Fourth time lucky indeed.

Working In Retail

I have two boutique jobs at the moment. Each sell beautifully tempting goods, pretty dresses, desirable jewels and to-die-for styles; but each job could not be more different.

It's funny the office politics, daily dramas, budding friendships, intriguing customers and quality relationships that can form in a place like this. Boutiques are small, quaint, conversation-driven shopping opportunities, and I've found that working in these environments has been both educational and interesting.

Don't get me wrong here though, this ain't forever. I go out of mind in the tedious slow spells. And sometimes feel like I might shoot myself in the brain if I have to tell another person how fabulous they look in an item that I really want for myself. See - I find buying the clothes somewhat counter-productive to working there, even with the discount. I've got bills to pay, and food to buy. And these are boutique prices after all - I'd much rather just go to the Forever 21.

One day I may just own my own boutique. I've always liked that idea. And a restaurant. And an antique store. And a home decor store. My own little empire.

Probably by this time tomorrow in fact.

Pictured above: a typical Monday night at the store - unpacking a whole new load of Spring clothes. Ouch.

Wanna leave a comment but don't know how? I wrote a whole blog post about this very subject! Click here.

Honestly Honest

The other day I mentioned A Blog About Love, a surprisingly open and candid account by a re-married divorcee. This is one brave lady, openly and honestly laying it all on the line, and fishing out a pile of tips and secrets to her now successful marriage.

It is a interesting feat that she has accomplished there, an unaffected honesty, a tell-all fluidity that happily does not include any self-editing. I often struggle with my audience when writing - imagining the people who may or may not be reading and what they may or may not be thinking. It's horribly limiting.

Often my friends ask me for relationship advice - I guess once you're married people assume you know what you're doing. Getting married was quite possibly one of the greatest things I've ever done. I've never been one to dream of weddings, and marriages and white dresses. I always thought of it as something far off, distant, maybe not even a possibility. A haze, that may one day happen to me. So I was exceedingly surprised to find it to be so good, so delicious, so comforting - this great blanket of love to wrap yourself up in.

Growing up, you're surrounded by this idea that marriage is not such a good thing - maybe your friends come from divorced parents, or a broken home, as it is so aptly named. It is a constant feature on modern media, sometimes comical, sometimes real, but ever present.

It always made me wonder what the point of getting married was, if all you're going to do is bicker with each other, and not listen to what the other has to say. It seemed quite dull and outdated. It chills me to the bone that divorce seems to be the only resonating outcome.

But maybe it is this knowledge, this realisation, this truth, that has made us stronger. If divorce is the eventual outcome, I sure as hell want to work as hard as possible to avoid it. Husband and I strive everyday to not let little resentments grow, to address issues as they arise, and to come up with better strategies for solving problems. This is something we want to work at, everyday, to make our relationship better and stronger. Communication is super important for us - Husband is an extrovert, and I'm an introvert, which can sometimes make for strenuous conversations - he needs to talk everything through, often, going over multiple ideas, plans and figures. My little introvert brain can't always handle his fast-paced word flow and gets highly stressed out and overwhelmed in situations like that. Luckily we've developed safe words for those exact situations, and strategy meetings, so Husband can still talk it all through, but at a pace and time that I can manage.

So, marriage seems to be this dynamo. Changing, turning, twisting, but in a good way - it grows. I love how safe and content I feel in this union. Silly jealousies and insecurities slip away, and life becomes simpler. No more random hook-ups and one night stands, no raging hormones and 'does he like me, doesn't he like me' mixed signals. Just a simple, growing understanding of each other, and how much we want to fight to keep this love alive.

Wanna leave a comment but don't know how? I wrote a whole blog post about this very subject! Click here.

New Years in LA

I feel like posting about New Years Eve in February means I'm way behind the times. But I won't be held accountable. My blogging standards have been lower than usual, and I'm blaming everyone but myself for this late post. Ha!

But anyway, enough buck-passing. And on to the story of our New Years.

Husband and I were supposed to be working that night - as event staff. But last minute the gig was canceled, and we were relieved to have the evening to ourselves. With our night suddenly free, we decided to sup around the corner at Figaro - our new fave French restaurant, within walking distance of the house. So we had a pre-dinner martini at home (as you do) and walked around the block.

The night was briskingly cold, and our walk around the block was a quick one, hands in pockets, wrapped up like little snowmen. The restaurant however was invitingly warm as we arrived for our 9pm booking (purposefully late to bring us easily closer to the midnight hour). We couldn't resist a glass of champagne before ordering dinner.

Dinner was paella from me - our time in Europe has me hooked on paella (especially after that most-amazing-will-fly-back-to-France-for-it paella), and I couldn't resist. It was good, perfect flavours, just the right amount of yum factor! Husband ordered the rack of lamb, which was also melt in the mouth, delicately delicious.

 And then? Back out in to the cold night for another brisk walk home, to more martinis and a celebration for two.

It was bliss to be out of the crowds, away from the noise, the hubbub and the anti-climax. Just me and Husband, my most favourite combination.

How To Post A Comment

So today I'm going to feature a little tutorial on how to post a comment on this blog. Woop woop!

First up, click on the 'comments' section at the bottom of the post you would like to comment on. Write something A-MA-ZING (jokes, no pressure, you can write something mediocre, just please no spam - ha!).

Then, here comes the not-so-tricky part. You have to tell the computer who you are, so that it doesn't think you're a spambot. If you have a google account your information will already be there, ready to go, as seen below:

BUT don't fear, you don't have to have a google account! There's still three other ways to choose an identity! First of all, if you have some other kind of blog (WordPress, LiveJournal etc), you can write a comment using one of those identities.

Alternatively, if none of the above apply, you can just enter your name. Select 'Name/URL' and put your name in. You do not need to enter a URL!

Still no good? Click on the 'Anonymous' tab - just remember to leave your name in the actual comment box, so I know who it's from.

Easy peasy? Awesome!

xx Robyn

Bamboo Holidays.

My very good friend Niki recently sent me this blog post that she'd found online, with my Reaching Robyn kindle covers featured on a holiday season wish list. How cool!

And what a beautiful blog as well.

Thanks to Bamboo Blossom!

Thank You To You

I like blogging. I really do. I find it quite creative, interesting and stimulating. And a little like free therapy (and you can't beat free therapy, now can you?). The past few months have been life changing, and it's been an incredible experience to be able to share them with you (well, incredible for me, I don't know about you guys, shame).

Thank you for coming along for the ride, for all the kind words, and for all the encouragement. And to those of you who hosted us, dined with us, shared with us, and overall made this adventure as amazing as it was - you all know who you are. Thank you also to all our wonderful family and friends who contributed to our Leaving On A Jet Plane fund at our wedding last year, and helped make this whole thing possible.

And now, now it's time for real life. That real life that I kept saying how frightened/excited/terrified I was to get to. So where I'm getting to with this, is that it's time for a blog-break, a little siesta, a momentary lapse - mostly because I like this blogging thing so much that it takes up a whole chunk of my spare time. And now I need all that spare time, for things which are probably *just* a little bit more important.

Slowing things down, a little bit of a wind down on the blog front while I get my life in order. 

But I'm not completely letting go, there'll be a pic a day to keep you entertained, and Husband has said I must get out a holiday wish list before my birthday creeps too near (yes, it's nearly birthday time, and then Christmas - two of my favourite days of the year!)

So thank you for joining us along our journey so far. Regular posts will continue as normal in a few weeks time. Once the chaos has subsided. 

If you wanna be the first to know when I'm properly back online, type your email address into the Follow By Email bar on the right hand side of this post. Or leave a comment, and I'll be sure to send you a message when I'm back.

But, for now, it's real life time.
See you soon now xx

[Map from Google Maps]

The Road Trip Diaries: Death Valley, CA

7 November 2012

Our first morning in Death Valley we wake up to the sound of activity outside. A gentle chattering of voices, and someone doing a mike check. We're on the ground floor, and our door opens onto a field, which is already bustling. Soon enough, there's a small band tuning out some wonderfully cheerful country music. With the sun shining in, and a gentle breeze tugging at the curtain, the day doesn't take long to pull us outside.

Death Valley was first officially discovered in 1849, when a bunch of prospectors en route to the gold fields in California thought they had stumbled across a shortcut. Unfortunately Death Valley is nothing of the sort. The national park these days comprises nearly 3.4 million acres of desert wilderness, and is definitely not what you could call hospitable.

Death Valley is a long, narrow basin 282 feet below sea level. The combination of the sparse plant life, dry air and being flanked by high mountain ranges mean the valley rarely cools down. It holds second place for the highest temperature recorded in the world, at 134 degrees fahrenheit (56 degrees celsius).

Two to four thousand years ago there was a 30-foot lake in the valley, but all that remains today is a thick layer of salt on the valley floor, known as Badwater Basin. From a distance it looks like water, and there even is water a short distance below the surface, but this isn't the kind of water you want to be drinking.

Those early pioneers had it hard - many of their horses died along the way, and the wagons were near to impossible to move through the mountain passes. The valley floor is nothing more than a barren wasteland. The pioneers did miraculously survive - by the efforts of one of their number who went ahead to find help, while the rest, too sick and too tired to carry on, waited behind.

Today, those '49ers are still celebrating their survival - we were lucky enough to be there while their annual reunion was going on, and were treated to art, costume and antique fairs and shows. The Furnace Creek Ranch was bustling.

How cool is that?

Today the valley is a very different place from all those years ago when those pioneers struggled across it - there are tarred roads, signposts, and refreshing saloons. There was even a pool at our ranch - something you definitely don't expect to see in a desert!

It might be a barren wasteland, but it is beyond beautiful. Death Valley completely kicked the Grand Canyon's ass.

We spend the day visiting a few of the tourist spots - old abandoned mines, great views of the valley, the salt pan and an unbelievably twisty road known as Artist's Drive.

8 November 2012

We drive out of Death Valley after one last yummy lunch at the 49er Cafe - this place serves up some good grub considering its in the middle of nowhere!

The road runs like a long stick of liquorice lain out across the landscape, left in the sun to melt, so that it forms perfectly to the ground, dipping and diving over the once-molten earth.

Reaching the next valley basin, we turn due south, straight into the sand. It feels like it's raining down on us, the road is barely visible, as the sand grains bristle up against the car.

All good things come to an end right? We reach our last destination (for now), mount endless trips back and forth from the car to gather the myriad of road trip possessions we now seem to own, and do our best to fool ourselves, and our hosts, that we really do not have that much stuff. Never mind the other full suitcase that's due to arrive from New York by post next Friday. We'll keep that on the down low for now.

Shhhh.