:: Blog Award ::

A few months ago (okay, back in October last year :/) the lovely Jess from the beat my heart skips passed on the above award to me. Thank you so much, Jess! With this award I am supposed to share with you ten things that I love. So, in no particular order, here they are!

1. Weddings

What's not to love about weddings? The whole day is full of love, laughter and frivolity!

This photo was from when I was maid-of-honour for my younger sister.

This photo is from when I was a bridesmaid for my sister-in-law.

This photo is, obviously, from our wedding!

2. Stationery

I adore stationery - stickers, pencils, pens, journals, writing sets - you name it, I love it!

This photo was taken at a bookbinding/stationery store in Melbourne. They had journals in every colour of the rainbow - I was in stationery heaven.

3. Photography

Over the past few years I've slowly been getting into photography. I have a long way to go, but I'm loving every second of it.

This photo was taken for a local ballet studio. I have recently found out that my photos will be used for advertising their new studio!

4. Mr LG

When I say I love him, I mean it. Those three words have my life in them.

5. Sunrise

In the sunrise vs sunset debate, I'm definitely a sunrise girl. The serene stillness of the world during a sunrise calms me for the rest of the day.

This photo was taken at Golden Beach, Caloundra overlooking the tip of Bribie Island.

6. Hanson

I am still a huge fan and they are still my favourite band. I'm a lost cause!

This photo was taken in 2004 after their Sydney concert. Everyone in this photo flew down from Brisbane to see them. I'm in the green top on the right, my younger sister is up the back on the left between Zac and Taylor.

7. Messy Curls

My favourite hair style, it looks goods on everyone!

8. Photo booths

Yay, photo booths!

My brother and sister-in-law had a photo booth at their wedding and it was SO much fun! One strip was given to the people having their photos taken, and one strip was put into a guest book that we could write next to! Such a great idea.

9. Collar Popping

I have a soft spot for popped collars. A few years ago I went through a huge popped collar stage, so much so that people I'd met through blogs would start taking photos of themselves with popped collars for me!

Pop it like it's hawt!

10. Random Hearts

I love finding love hearts in random places. As Love, Actually tells us - Love really is all around us.

I'm passing this award on to:

K from The Body Electric

Claire from My Little Life

Karina from Ramblings of a Simple Girl

Happy Monday!

PS. Thank you so much for the positive support for my new gluten free blog :)

:: Award ::

In the past few weeks I have been gifted two awards from some lovely ladies. Thank you all so much! Here is the first award.

This award was given to me by Megan of Time After Tea. She is the author of a fantastic blog that I highly recommend! Gracie from Graciebellabutterfly also gave me this award. Gracie writes a ridiculously cute blog and you should really check it out if you haven't already. Thanks girls!

1. Why do you blog?

I love to write. Writing is my creative outlet. Ever since I was little I've had journals and notebooks lying around the place, and then when I discovered the Internet I quickly joined blogging sites like LiveJournal and now Blogger. This blog is my space to share all the things I love and enjoy with you.

2. Three best memories.

- When Mr LG proposed. We were eating lunch on our front deck and it was perfect. I never want to forget that moment and how I felt at that time.
- Meeting Hugo (my nephew) for the first time. It's incredible how much love you can have for someone when you've only just met them.
- Any time my whole family has come together to celebrate something or to simply hang out. I love my family more than I can express.

3. Four of the best fiction books you've read.

- 'Handle With Care' - Jodi Picoult
- 'My Sister's Keeper' - Jodi Picoult
- The Harry Potter series - JK Rowling (this counts as one book!)
- 'The Road' - Cormac McCarthy

4. Five best movies ever made.

- Atonement
- Donnie Darko
- The Notebook
- Seven Pounds
- Love Actually

5. Five things you can't live without.

- My family and friends.
- My life with Mr LG
- Smiles
- Photography
- Touch

6. If you could change your name, what would it be?

I've always loved my name. I don't know many other people called Jasmine, especially not with an 'e' on the end. I also love that my middle name is Holly AND that my future last name will be Lavender. Doesn't get any better than that!

7. Tell us a unique and interesting fact about yourself.

I'm an allergy kid. You name it, I'm probably allergic to it!

8. What do you love most about yourself?

I think it's my altruistic personality. My concern for the welfare of others helps me be a better person, I feel.

9. If you had a 'Freaky Friday' experience, who would you change places with?

I would like to trade places with my youngest sister. I admire how truly happy she is with her place in the world. Sometimes I forget how amazing this world we live in is, and I'd like the reminder that there's more to life than chasing temporary highs.

10. What is the best thing about being a woman?

I love that as a woman it's not frowned upon if I share my feelings and be emotional - I am allowed to laugh, cry, and get excited about the smallest of things and no one will judge me for it.

I pass this award on to:
Jamie of So Flawed
Chloe of Chloe in Reality
Allana of High Maintenance Hippy
Jess of the beat my heart skips

:: An Award and Travel Plans! ::

I was given this award by the lovely Jess and the amazing Gracie. Thank you both! If you haven't read their blogs before, I suggest you check them out asap!

1. What do you do when you're bored?
I generally tend to surf the Internet, read ... or complain about how bored I am.

2. Are you an autumn or spring?
I prefer Spring. I like the fact that the weather's warming up and the days seem longer because the sun goes down later. In terms of what colours I can wear though, I'm an Autumn - muted colours, neutrals, greens, browns etc.

3. Quick! Your stuck at an airport for hours and the only options are crossword puzzles or an old novel that nobody's heard of. Which one do you pick?
The old novel. Who knows, I may have stumbled across a literary gold mine!

4. Jane Austen or Emily Bronte?
Oh dear, I'm about to out myself as uncultured. I think I must be the only person to make it through a Bachelor of English Literature without reading anything by Jane Austen. I had to read Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte for one of my subjects but I couldn't finish it. I really should read some more of their works now that my lecturers aren't trying to force them down my throat!

5. Do you feel prepared for the five other questions coming your way?
Ready as I'll ever be.

6. Who's your hero?
My parents and my grandparents.

7. Favourite word?
I don't believe I have a favourite word.

8. Are you one of those "checklist" people or are you a "wing it and hope everything goes well" sort of person?
I am definitely a checklist kind of person. Even if I was to make a spontaneous decision to fly across the country tonight, you can bet that within 10 minutes of booking the flights I will have started a list of all the things I'll need. I'm a hopeless case!

9. What phrase has stuck with you in your life?
I don't have a particular phrase that's stuck with me through my life.

10. If you were to choose between coffee and tea, which would you go with?
Tea, definitely. Since graduating from Uni, coffee and I are no longer friends.

I pass this award (and the questions) on to:
Cat at Bride Blu

Rachael at ...It's Simple Love...
Paula at two ellie

This weekend is another long weekend! Mr LG and I are going to Melbourne (Victoria) for three days! We're so excited. Mr LG lived in Melbourne for a few years, so he is keen to show me all his favourite places. I have only been once before, around this time last year, and I love it. I'm excited to experience all the culture Melbourne has to offer, and not to mention some real cold weather! The above photo is the view of Melbourne from my hotel room during my last visit.

I'll be sure to take lots of photos to share with you all.

:: A Tag and an Award ::

A couple of days ago I was received this award from the beautiful Gracie. If you haven't been over to Gracie's blog you really should, it's one of my favourite reads! Thank you, Gracie! Along with this award is 10 questions I must answer, and then I need to pass the award on to someone else.

1. Who is your style icon?

I don't have a style icon. I don't think I have fully developed my own style yet, and I'm not sure what look I like or what message I am trying to convey through my clothing choice, and as such I don't look to anyone for inspiration. It's fair to say I am in a clothing funk.

2. Which is your favourite socialite book?

I've never read a socialite book beore. Can anyone suggest one? I love reading new books.

3. Favourite party theme?

In my opinion, any theme is a good theme! I have been to many dress up parties: Super Hero (I went as Bat Girl), Nintendo (I went as Bubbles from the Powerpuff Girls), Stereotypes (Cheerleader for one, Goth Punk for another), French ... the list is huge! I love a good dress up party. Here are some photos from some of the parties I've been too.

This is me with my two younger sisters.

My friend, brother-in-law and younger brother at the same Nintndo party.

Younger brother, younger sister and friend at the French party.
I went to a themed party last night, which I will tell you all about in a separate post very soon!

4. Go to Halloween costume?
I have never celebrated Halloween. If we did, I would probably go as an Emo, haha.

5. Extravagance you cannot live without?
My DSLR. I love, love, love my camera (even though I'm still trying to figure it out!).

6. Living person you admire.
My Mum. She devoted her life to raising us and she did so without any selfish intention or regret. She is a strong, kind woman whom I admire greatly.

7. Greatest fear(s).
I have a few silly fears, like jelly fish. I cannot stand to be anywhere near jellyfish, they freak me out. But then I also have fears, like the fear of people not liking me and the fear of failure that sometimes means I end up putting everyone else first and don't allow myself to grow as an individual because I'm afraid of what might happen if I do something "wrong".

8. Traits you deplore in yourself.
See above, ha!

9. Which talent would you most love to have?

I wish I had a better singing voice.

10. Greatest Achievement?
Getting to where I am right now, with all the experiences I have under my belt.

I pass this award on to:

Amy from Junghwa by Amy Stewart

Chloe from Chloe in Reality
K from The Body Electric

I was also tagged by Gracie (thank you, again!) to answer eight questions she has thought of. It is then my turn to think of eight questions and pass them on.

1. What's your favourite fairytale?

Probably 'Beauty and the Beast' or 'The Ugly Duckling'.

2. Do you prefer Mac or PC?

PC! This is a frequent topic of discussion in our house, as I am marrying a Mac supporter.

3. How would you describe yourself in 5 words?

Family, nice (that sounds very bland, doesn't it?), happy, loyal, caring.

4. Heels or flats?

Definitely flats. I hurt my foot almost two years ago and it's still sore. Wearing heels is out of the question!

5. What's your biggest dream?

To be happy and content, and to be able to look back on my life and know that I did the best I could.

6. Your favourite book character?

I don't believe I have one!

7. Are you the type of person who keeps their feelings inside or lets it out?

Inside. I'm a bottler with random explosions every now and then, haha.

8. Who is your role model?

My Mum, for the reasons listed above and many, many more. To be told, "You're just like your mother" is the greatest compliment.

I pass this on to:

Amy from Junghwa by Amy Stewart

Becky from Same Page Notion

Chloe from Chloe in Reality

My questions for you are:

1. If you could have any super power, what would you choose and why?

2. Would you rather forget all the memories you have, or never be able to make any more?

3. If we learn from our mistakes, why are we so afraid to make them?

4. What is your favourite comfort food?

5. Tea or coffee?

6. Where is your favourite place to visit?

7. What is your favourite store and what is your favourite item in that store?

8. What is your favourite item of clothing?