Thursday, February 26, 2015

Tiny tales from Paris #1


Ever since I was a little girl, I have wanted to go to Paris. It was for this reason that my recent trip to France, where I spent a total of four weeks in the capital, seemed like years in the making. I was excited beyond belief to finally be making my dream a reality, but I also had a few doubts. What if Paris wouldn't be what I imagined it to be? What if it didn't live up to the perfect image I had cultivated in my mind? 

I very quickly learned that I had nothing to worry about at all. Paris really is unreal and seems like a whole other world, especially coming from Australia. Everywhere you walk there is art. I could have happily spent hours just wandering the streets with no destination in mind, studying every building, every balcony and every piece of carved stone. A particular moment that stands out in my mind was the last Sunday I spent walking along the Seine. There's simply nothing quite like it. With a heavy heart, I wished that I could somehow capture the feeling of that moment. The crispness in the air, the afternoon sun shining its beam over aging facades and seeing Pont Neuf in all it's glory.

When I told friends and family that I intended to spend four weeks in Paris, a great many of them seemed perplexed as to why I would choose to dedicate the majority of my trip to one area. I''m so glad that I did. Paris is not a city that should be seen in one or two days, or even a week. While I thoroughly enjoyed visiting all the popular tourist attractions, Paris is so much more than the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and Ladurée. The magic of Paris is la vie quotidienne, the artisan pâtisseries, the hole in the wall cafes, the lesser known museums, the bookshops, hidden rues, markets, the friendly civilians, the musicians who play on the metro and so much more that cannot be put into words; that certain je ne sais pas.

Monday, February 23, 2015

New Beginnings


Last Friday I attended two incredibly inspiring talks at Perth writer's festival. The first lecture I went to hosted a panel of 'Kinfolkers', including Co-owner of Kinfolk magazine Katie Searle-Williams, editor Georgia Francis King and photographer Luisa Brimble. Something in particular that Georgia said really struck a chord with me. When discussing the 'nature' of Kinfolk, she mentioned that the magazine likes to focus on individuals who hone and master a single talent, as opposed to people she liked to term as 'slashies', aka photographers/writers/designers and so on. Nowadays, Kinfolk's ideal seems in total opposition to the expectations of the modern age and the pressures to multi-task, to be good at a variety of things.

The second talk I attended hosted assistant editor Nathan Scolaro at Australian magazine Dumbofeather and owner of Uppercase magazine Janine Vangool. What I took away from this lecture in particular was the passion these two people held for what they did and moreover, total belief in their work ethic and the content they choose to deliver to their readers.

So where exactly does this tie into my decision to begin anew with my blog? Well, on the eve of my twentieth birthday, I feel as if my interests, passions and pursuits in life have never been more clear and comprehensive. I have been blogging for quite a while- before Windswept Wishes, I had two other blogs. I delved into areas such as fashion, prose and even makeup, none of of which I held particular interest for. I've always felt all over the place with my blogs and I guess this is due to the fact that I've changed a lot just over the past few years. In addition to this, I've also always felt frustrated with the quality of my photo content. I don't own a fantastic camera, and I simply can't justify splashing out on one anytime soon, because photography has also never been a big interest of mine. I continually felt inadequate compared to so many amazing blogs out there, which is what prompted me to take a hiatus in the end. Above all else, I wanted to blog for my own pleasure, and I dreaded the idea of it becoming a chore. 

It took me a whole three months of hiatus to realize just how much I love blogging and putting my jumbled thoughts into words; so much so, that I couldn't bear leaving the blogging world behind. Furthermore, I have come to realize that I should just simply focus on the subjects that bring joy to my life, which all lie within the realm of food, literature, lifestyle and travel. I want to focus primarily on honing my writing skills and improving my content and I want to write in a way that hopefully brings a tiny bit of happiness and prompts a tiny bit of intrigue to anyone who stumbles by. 

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