What Jess Saw

Sights.Thoughts.Experiences Life through my eyes.

[jmealia]

20th July, 2014. It's Sunday night and I start a new job tomorrow. For the past three and a half years I have worked for a large QLD based construction company. I started there in the finance department with no experience and a four month contract. On friday I finished up due to redundancy as we had lost a lot of major contracts. I learnt so much in the time I worked there! I made some of my closest friends too. I am so excited to start my new job tomorrow. I will be working for the largest family owned construction company in the world - making my way up in the world! My position is on curtis island - construction of QCLNG. I am keen to get back working on site, and the pay is a lot better than my last job. The only thing that I'm not excited about is leaving my puppy at home alone for 13 hours a day. Anyway, I thought this quote was relevant. I am so determined to do so much with my life, and this job is the stepping stone I needed! I am feeling really inspired to go far and work hard these next few months and make the most of it all!

[jmealia]

July 12th, 2014. Home, Queensland AUS. This is my 13 weeks old German Shepherd puppy named Ava. I've had her for 6 weeks already and she is the light of my life! She came into my life right before a rough couple of weeks. I'm so thankful to have her, she's helped me through it. I know she was destined to be my puppy! Took this photo just now. Spent the morning at the beach with her, throwing the ball and enticing her into the water (which she still doesn't like). As soon as we got home she made herself comfy on the beanbag and was out like a light! I think I'm ready for a nap now too while we wait for Craig to get home from work - I love weekends!!

[jmealia]

My Teapot and Teacup Collection. I only started collecting tea cups and tea pots late 2012 when my love for herbal tea's came about. This is probably one third of my collection? I love their bright colors and the clink they make after I place the cup back onto the saucer after a sip of warm tea! I don't really have a favorite type of tea, I love most herbals/greens. I am lucky enough to have a fiancé who loves tea as much as I do. We brew a pot of tea every week and sit down and drink it together out of our pretty cups and just talk about anything and everything. To me, that is one of the things that makes our relationship to beautiful! I am a sucker for anything tea cup related, especially when it involves books, flowers and maybe a string of pearls draped over. Love the vintage look. I would love to be able to incorporate my love for all things tea into our wedding some how, but I can't quite put my finger on how exactly! Might go brew myself a pot of tea right now! Nothing like sipping on hot tea in the middle of winter, rugged up and blogging :)

[jmealia]

8-15th December, 2013. Thailand. Some of the girls and I jetted off to Thailand for a week in December to celebrate Shelley's 21st! It was so much fun to go overseas with the girls for a birthday, glad we could all get together and do something like that. It's trips like this we will look back on when we are older and be so thankful that we had such a great small group of friends and made amazing memories like these. We had an amazing villa that had an infinity pool and overlooked Patong. Gorgeous by day, and gorgeous by night. Over the week we were there we did all the touristy Thailand things to do - Phi Phi islands boat day tour, Tiger Kingdom, cooking class, Bangla Road @ night, cocktails, massages, elephant rides.. You name it, we did it. I had such a good time, would love to go back again with Craig some time. I love the sights of Thailand, so colorful and bright. I love the sounds, so much hustle and bustle and the constant chatter in thai. I love the smells, so many fresh fruits and different foods! So many fun things to do here, and also so good to relax and just have down time. I love Thailand.

[jmealia]

14th January, 2014. Grand Canyon. Arizona. America. I think the Grand Canyon doesn't need many words. It is so vast, literally goes for as far as the eye can see. We stayed here for 2 nights, in that time we hiked 6kms along the rim trail and watched the sun set over the canyon - my tour guide was obsessed with sunsets, and I am glad about that cause it rubbed off on me. I am now officially a sucker for a pretty sunset, and to say I've watched it at the Grand Canyon? Yeah, pretty cool. We also took a helicopter flight over the south of the canyon. Standing on the side of it, I was speechless. I couldn't believe how massive it was! But flying over it in a helicopter was even better! I was very scared to take the helicopter flight, and that day was quite windy.. There were a few bumps a long the way but it was so worth it!! Highly recommend to anyone going to the Grand Canyon! These pictures do no justice of just how HUGE this place is.. Freaking beautiful :)

[jmealia]

18th August 2012. Paris. France. The only bad thing about Paris was the fact that I got to spend such little time there! In 2 days, I saw so much. Our first night we had snails and champagne followed by a trip to the Eiffel Tower. We climbed up to the second level and could see forever over Paris. By the time we got down to the bottom, it was 11pm and the whole tower lit up with thousands of tiny lights and sparkled all over. So gorgeous, and so happy we got to see that. We sat around on the grass for a little while drinking cheap wine that we had bought off the Gypsy's and making friends. I felt so whole sitting in front of the Eiffel Tower - I think it is because ever since I was little it had been the most prominent foreign landmark to me. The next day was action packed. We strolled down the Champs Elysees taking in all the french buildings and accents. I couldn't get enough. We walked from the Arch De Triumph down the The Louvre and then to the Ponts Des Arts where I bought a pad lock and put mine and Craig's name on it and attached it to the bridge then threw the key into the river. Love that our love is locked in Paris even though he wasn't there with me :) After that we hitched a ride from a man riding a bicycle with a cabin type thing behind it down to the Eiffel Tower again so we could take it in during the day. Just as gorgeous! While we were there I had a yummy pistachio ice cream mm. That night we went to a cabaret which was an awesome experience. We saw the moulin rouge and got drunk at a cute little bar next door. Danced the night away and then tried to talk French to the taxi driver to get home.. Lucky I had people with me otherwise I probably would have ended up in the wrong place! I loved Paris and I cannot wait to be back in that city again one day.

[jmealia]

12th January, 2014. Scottsdale, Arizona. America. Another brilliant experience ticked off my bucket list. I was actually quite scared to do this, not the biggest fan of anything that involves flying. But it wasn't what I expected. We literally floated with the wind as the sun came up in Scottsdale. Just gorgeous! I loved the cactus here, exactly the same as cartoons based in the desert. When we landed (a bit rough) we had a champagne breakfast mmm.

[jmealia]

29th December, 2013. New York City. America. What is there to say about this city that hasn't already been said a thousand times? I can't begin to describe how tiny this amazing city made me feel. Concrete jungle is such an accurate description! Just buildings and towers for as far as you can see.. Just left me in awe. I was only there for 5 days, but could definitely could go back and spend weeks there! I just felt so.. Inspired. Every day. Everything oozes coolness in this city. From the endless cafés and bars, delis and street performers - it is so different from anywhere I've ever been. The food - to die for. The cold - like nothing I've ever experienced. I love you New York, you have changed my life! I can't wait to be back in the Empire State once again.

[jmealia]

Life Is Not Measured By the Number of Breaths We Take, But By the Moments That Take Our Breath Away

[jmealia]

18th October, 2013 - Melbourne. Australia. This was the best night of my life to date. We'd arrived in Melbourne to spend 3 nights to celebrate my 22nd birthday, and to see and meet my favourite band, plus check out the awesome city that we fell in love with a fee months earlier while passing through on a roadtrip! Our first night there, Craig suggested we go out to a nice restaurant together just us. He took me to an amazing French restaurant called 'the French brasserie'. We ate snails and talked and drank. It was so much fun, so delicious! When we'd driven through a few months earlier I said how much I wanted to go on a horse and carriage through the city at night. We ended up getting drunk and spending our one night there winning big at Crown Casino - forgot about the horse and carriage ride. Anyway! After the amazing French dinner; he led me to where the horse and carriages line up across from federation square and organised for us to take a ride around the city. We were given a snugly blanket to keep us warm and the driver set the lights to blue for my favourite colour. The horses took us overt he bridge and out towards the gardens. It was so beautiful and quiet. I was looking around taking it all in, and when I turned back, Craig was on one knee in front of me in the carriage and asked me to marry him! Biggest surprise ever, and it couldn't have been more perfect! Grateful everyday to have him in my life and I can't wait to marry him :)

[jmealia]

December 27, 2013 - Niagara Falls. Canada. Seeing Niagara Falls has always been on my to do list. Seeing the falls in real life was amazing! So massive, makes you feel so small. We only had 2 hours in the town and there was a lot to see. We filled up on wings and ribs, got a life size pretzel and walked down Clifton Hill & also got to see the town and falls from above in the Skylon Tower. Awesome awesome awesome!