Goodbye June

Wow, I can't believe we're at the end of June already! I feel like the older I get, the quicker time flies. I have mixed feelings about entering into July, as it means it's only a month until I head overseas but then I have so much to do before I leave. I'm sure I'll get it all done...somehow.

It was quite a warm morning and Ben and I decided to get some sun and took a walk up to our local coffee shop. I had to plead with him to take this photo of me! I am going to have to do a bit of arm twisting once I get my new camera and start doing proper outfit posts. Anyway, I will tackle that when the time comes.

I'm wearing: American Apparel skirt, Sportsgirl jumper, American Apparel shirt (underneath), Urban Outfitters bag, Ray Ban sunnies and shoes from a little boutique in my hometown.

I'm now counting down the hours until my little sister and her boyfriend arrive. They are visiting for the night so we have stocked up on cheese and biscuits and all sorts of goodies. Should be great! Have a happy weekend. xo

Home Bodies

My boyfriend and I recently moved into our own (rented) apartment after years of living in share-houses. Don't get me wrong, sharing was great and we got to meet lots of different people and made great friends that way but I was definitely ready to have my own space and a place to put all my nice things. We now have our own two-bedroom apartment and while it's not perfect, I've loved being able to decorate and slowly make it my own. We were lucky to be given various bits and pieces and I like the fact that each different piece of furniture has its own story. Now if only we could hang pictures. Might have to butter-up the real estate agent and convince them to let us! Sorry about the grainy photos as they were all taken on my phone again.

1. My favourite chair ever. Was given to me by the owner of a vintage homewares/retro clothing shop I used to work at in Newcastle.

2. Our TV cabinet. Was also given to me, by my boss. It used to live at our office and he was going to throw it out. It was given to him by an ex-girlfriend so it has traveled a long to way and now happily lives in our lounge-room. It is a proper old serving 'buffet' and has a draw inside for cutlery. I love it so much!

3. One of Ben's contributions to our apartment is his beloved Naruto figurine.

4. Ben and I fight over who gets to sit in this arm-chair. It's part of our lounge suite which was given to Ben by his Grandpa. It is so comfortable and I love the arms of the chair as I can put things on there such as my coffee mug. It also gets the afternoon sun which is great!

5. My vintage Thermos set snapped up from the Vinnies near my office. Haven't used them yet but I think I need to start taking soup to work on these chilly winter days.

6. My teacup collection lives inside one of the cupboards in our TV cabinet. Hopefully one day I will have a nice open display cabinet so I can show them off more.

7. Bookshelf display number one including half of my Frankie collection. The other half is stacked up on the floor for now as I haven't found anywhere to put them. Need another bookshelf!

8. Bookshelf display number two featuring an old photo of Ben and I taken in Year 12 by one of my best friends. She was studying Photography at Tafe and this was one of her practice pics. She thinks it's funny that I still have it because it's not the best quality but I think it has a good story and I love how young and innocent we look. That teapot is a tea-for-one set - the head is the cup!

9. Our bedspread is quite girly. I'm thinking about getting something a bit more gender-neutral when I can afford it. I like these ones from Urban-Outfitters. My plush Miffy doll is there too :)

10. Our chest of drawers also given to Ben by his Grandpa. On top is giant teacup which I sometimes use for eating soup but for now it's holding various trinkets that I don't have anywhere else to put. Part of my book collection is kept safe on this....I don't know what to call it...portable book shelf? Anyway, one of Ben's old housemates left it behind when he moved out so I claimed it!

Homeland

Sometimes I get so caught up in my desire to travel overseas that I forget to appreciate all of the beautiful places I have visited in my own country. I am lucky enough to travel a fair bit for work plus most of my family and friends are spread out across the East Coast of Australia. These photos were all taken on my phone within the last year on my travels for work and also play. So far the only state in Australia I haven't visited is WA but I really hope to get there some time soon! 

1. Home in Sydney 2. Jindabyne 3. Newcastle 4. Hobart 5. Sydney again 6. Brisbane 7. Melbourne 8. Canberra

Fire in the Sky

Just a couple of snaps taken on my phone. I'm saving up for a new camera at the moment so for now my images won't be very good quality. It's fun to play around with filters on different apps, though. At the moment I use Instagram as well as one called Picfx which was used on the second image of the tree.

These three photos were all taken up in Tamworth on the weekend. Winter up there is often much colder than Sydney, but who can complain when you are greeted with beautiful sunsets and changing trees like these.

Home

I'm currently spending the long weekend in my home town, Tamworth, in rural NSW. It's so nice to be home with my Mum, Dad and big brother Sam (we're missing Sophie!). It's funny how much more I appreciate Tamworth now that I've been away for six years or so.

The weekend didn't start off too well. Friday was a very sad day as we said goodbye to our beautiful dog Oliver. Ollie was 13 years old and unfortunately suffered heart failure. He was such a precious pet and he loved us just as much as we loved him. He was the most gentle dog; I don't think we ever even heard him bark his whole life. It's amazing how much emptier the house feels without him around, trotting about to see where you are and popping his little head into the room to say hello. And yes, my blog is called nellie and oliver after our first dog Nellie and of course Oliver. I'm glad they can both be remembered this way and am sure they are having a good time reunited in puppy heaven.

Friday actually turned out to be quite an emotional, strange day as on Friday night at about 9.30pm we experienced two Earth Tremors as a result of a 4.2 magnitude Earthquake about 60km from Tamworth. It was really bizarre. We have never experienced anything like that up here. I was lying in bed watching Happy Endings on my laptop when I heard a rumbling noise. At first, I thought it was a low flying jet and actually wasn't going to bother getting up. I was quite sleepy. But then I realised that the walls and windows were actually shaking so I quickly jumped up. The first thing we did was open the front door and found all our neighbours doing the same thing and sure enough they had felt it too. The next thing I did was jump on Facebook and everyone in Tamworth was talking about it. Thankfully no damage was caused. It was truly a strange day.

The rest of the weekend has been spent keeping warm by the heater, drinking tea, eating lots of goodies that Mum has cooked and catching up with a few school friends last night at an engagement party. I am really enjoying the slower pace and rest this weekend is bringing. I hope wherever you are you are enjoying your weekend, especially those on the East Coast of Australia who get the extra long one like me.

sister to sister

My little sister is the best. Her name is Sophie, she's 20 and she rocks! You may notice my new blog header which she designed for me. She drew all the images herself. What a clever cookie. Hope you guys like it. It certainly brightens up my page! Sophie has recently started her own online business selling cards, stationery and other goodies with designs she has drawn herself. Check out her etsy shop here.

Photo by my big brother bear Sam. Don't worry Samson, you'll get a post soon too! 

Instagood

A few of my favourite snaps from my Instagram account of late. My username is han_lewis if you'd like to follow me.

Left to right: 1. Empire State Building from inside my old office 2. Central Park 3. Upper East Side NYC 4. Autumn Leaves 5. A spot of tea in Adelaide 6. Relaxing in my hotel bath in Adelaide 7. Sydney Airport 8. A corner of my home 9. TV on laptop marathon 10. My favourite chair 11. One year living in Sydney 12. A visit to Forster 13. Moroccan Eggs 14. An antique shop near my home town 15. New baking dish

Welcome

Greetings internet and welcome to my brand new blog. It's been a rainy miserable day today and I finally had a chance to create this blog - something that has been on my to-do list for quite some time. I'm an avid blog reader and thought it was about time I joined the party. My blog will be a bit of a mixed-bag of posts incorporating style, home decor, travel, food, personal diary entries and inspiration. 

I'm definitely still in my 'teething stage' but I do hope that you will keep checking back every now and then. For now, here's a pretty image taken on a freezing winter's day in New York City back when I was living there for a few months in 2010/2011. I still day-dream about this amazing city every day, but thankfully I'll be heading back for a visit in just over two month's time. Excited is a huge understatement.