I grew up in Worcester, in the UK with my Mum, my Dad, my two sisters and a few hamsters. As a child I loved colouring in, making things, playing outside, riding bikes or on the swing, making mud pies or climbing trees. We used to go on holiday to Pembrokeshire, Devon and sometimes cornwall in our caravan, my sister and I used to argue over who was going to have the top bunk bed and we used to spend hours crabbing in rock pools, we had a great time. My Mum was always making clothes for us to wear and my Dad made us dolls houses and electric go carts, we had a great time growing up.

Me & my sister Chrissy wearing jumpers knitted by our Mum on holiday in Pembrokeshire

As I grew older I carried on making things and enjoyed art class at school the most and luckily it was the class I had natural ability. From this I knew I wanted to go into clothing design, so thats what I did and I have loved almost all of it I have experienced so far.

After school I went to college and studied art, textiles and fashion, then I headed off to Nottingham Trent University to study Knitwear and Fashion Design. It was a fantastic course and I found I had a passion for knitting and wool. Although I studied fashion and I love following it, wearing it is another matter, I’m not your savvy fashion forward lady, I am a real person who can’t wear heels all day and  in fact likes doing sport, getting dirty and going camping.

My collection at graduate fashion week

Whilst I was at Nottingham and just before I had taken up kayaking in Worcester for the Duke of Edinburgh Award. Here I started paddling a lot, I loved it and found it was another thing I was naturally good at. It was because of this I met my husband Steve who noticed my paddling talent, offered to be my coach. We paddled together a lot in training for upcoming races in the following Spring, however during that time Steve was involved in a motorbike accident where he was very badly injured. So as he recovered we went to the gym where he taught me how to get fit and he got himself fit too, after many months he was able to start walking and paddling again. That Spring I won many races but the best thing was having gotten to know Steve until we became very close and eventually a couple.

A photo Steve took when I was learning my paddling technique

After University I moved back to Worcester to live with Steve, we often went on our holidays in Pembrokeshire and went kayaking, surfing, walking together until one day Steves house was on the market and we decided to move to Pembrokeshire to live, it was a dream come true, I remember when I went on holidays as a kid looking at all the pretty cottages with roses climbing up them and wondered if I would ever find a nice man and live there.

Our Pembrokeshire cottage

We stayed at friends houses for a while, then rented a converted chapel, and then eventually bought our own little Pembrokeshire cottage. Here we got a dog, a Beagle called George who is a fantastic chum and a big part of our family, we worked hard to pay the bills and gradually got to go kayaking, surfing etc less and less.

In November 2011 Steve was offered a job, doing the same consultancy work as he was currently doing but working in perth, Australia! So we very quickly said yes, we loved Pembrokeshire but things were tough and we needed a change. We looked forward to moving to sunnier and warmer climate where potentially we would be together more and we could enjoy doing sport outdoors a lot more frequently than in the UK.

We arrived in Perth, Western Australia, and were setting up our new life, new routines, new adventures, getting outside and doing all the things we wanted to back in the UK but so often had been hampered.

It was great but then somehting else happened. Steve was asked if he would be ok for us to move to Brisbane, on the East coast of Australia!!!

Well long story short, we said yes and now we’re living north of Brisbane on the Sunshine coast. So now we’re finally settling in, we’re NOT moving again now for at least a year. It’s been a mad year, lots of change and it’s been a huge upheaval and life change, we had no idea. A lot has changed but a lot is the same.

I’m still blogging, so if you read my blog from time to time, I will probably be talking some adventures we’ve been having, about things I love, something I’m making, about our Beagle George or everyday things which happen in our new life in Australia.

You can read more about George here.

I suppose I’m not your usual blogger as I don’t fit into one category. I cross over many, like travel, adventures, outdoor sports, nature, my pet, fashion, cooking, knitting, designing and making things. Its not usual or by the book but it’s honest and its me and will change as I change and find my way in this world.

Me on the Sunshine coast

Thanks for stopping and taking time to read my blog.

Mellie xxx