Children's christmas party.

A close friend of mine here in Kolkata asked me to take photographs for an event she was soon to host within the red-light district near to us. She runs programmes with some of the children who live in that area, and they were going to have a Christmas party, with games, prizes, and excitement!

Here is glimpse into that event.

21.

My birthday wish answered - rain at 5.30am!

Erika and Anna cooked me french toast, with mangoes, water melon, orange juice, and a sweet note from E - too cute.

The yummy vegetable and cheese strips Judy made me!

A new year, and a new nose piercing to match!

Grace's salon.

I even received a free KFC lunch from the girls! (The boys hid away here - they weren't too keen on the idea of watching me having my nose punctured).

The wonderful Annie who was amazing and went all out to prepare a lovely birthday dinner! Loved spending time with all of these people - I am so grateful for the people who are here.

Erika and I - super keen on the lasagne that Annie cooked (as you can see by the fact it isn't on our plates, but happily in our tummies).

The best photo ever of Justin.

Gorgeously-coloured lichees.

This cake was honestly to die for. Thank you so much for baking this Mai!! For those of you unfortunate enough to not have received a bite, it was a two-layered cake, the top being a moist yoghurt cake, the bottom a chocolate/brownie cake.

THERE WAS AMBROSIA. My absolute favourite.

The happy food-filled work friends.

Not only is this a lovely photo of these beautiful women I am privileged to call 'friend', but it is also an excellent display of the comical maturity of the guys.

Balloons!

Quiet drinks back home at the flat.

Guess who branded all of the flat mates + Judy with NZ tattoos? (Btw, awesome snarling Justin).

Beware 'loose' chocolates.

Turning 21 on the 16th was definitely an experience like none I have never experienced before; for the first time in my life, it was warm on my birthday (I'm kidding... it was a sauna), I gained an extra piercing (to the delight of the Freeset ladies - one of which grabbed my nostril to see what type of stud was used), and I was in INDIA. Of all places.

Honestly, the heat here is just so intense. If you have been to my parent's home in NZ when the 'brasa' was going, you will have experienced the feeling of your face smarting at the heat licking your face, warning you to take a step backwards. Now apply that feeling to the entirety of your body, and you are close to what it feels like to have the wind blow into your face, and against your skin. Brutal.

I am so grateful for the friendships I have developed here, and feel very blessed to be surrounded by such caring and thoughtful people!

I am missing NZ, and all of the 21st's occurring at the moment - but I know that this is just a period of learning, exploring, and of discovery; both personal and in culture.

Happy 21st birthday to meeee! :)

Love to you all, and to everyone who made me feel special on that day.

x 

Tea + Pancake Brunch!

Mmmm blueberries! Mum went out at got these for us specially - so sweet :)

Mum set the table for us - too cute! 

Mum even left instructions... haha

The gorgeous Charlotte! I love this girlie to bits!

Yuuuuuummm.

Pretty decent self-portrait of us!

You're beautiful Charlotte!

This morning I had the priviledge of cooking pancakes for Charlotte + myself as a late breakfast. So yum! And the best part was being able to chill with this lovely woman! I'll miss you.

x

On the inspiration buzz now!

So have just been browsing some of the blogs I follow, and I have come across a few images that really get my all excited and anxious to be creative and such...

These photographs below I came across on I Go By Katie's gorgeous blog, featuring photographer Sarah Maingot and this amazing country-inspired photo shoot.

Don't you just love these cute little packages?! These are perfect for things like wedding favours, children's party bags, etc. Find the tutorial here.

Now this design, it makes me want to pick up a paintbrush and paint everything within sight with lovely cool and warm tones together. It just brings so much life to this fabric! This blog creator is using this textile for some drapes...

Aaaand... the cutest thing I found this morning is this adorable embroidered portrait. Isn't it just gorgeous?! You Are My Fave features the artist Michelle Rigg on her blog.

So pretty much I am now in a jittery state of complete inspiration, and I am just super needing to release it in some creative way!! Maybe I should actually use it for my uni work.... that would be the logical option.

x