Winter Lookbook 2015 - Part I #harmonyinessence

 Hello lovelies, 

A while ago I did a photo shoot with a good friend of mine in various locations which (a) was super fun and (b) was something entirely new to me. Her name is Mary Ye and she has recently started a blog called Harmony in Essence which showcases some wonderful photography and real-life stories that will inspire you to the core. (You should totally go check that out in the link above).

As there were a lot of photos taken, I've separated this post into 2 parts and will be showcasing some classic winter outfits to give you some ideas on layering and how to balance comfort with looking good. Most of these outfits are smart-casual and you can choose to dress them up more for special occasions or not. It's really up to you. These are simply suggestions and you can adapt it to your own stylistic preferences. Without further ado, enjoy.

Anyway, that's it for now! Comment below if you have a few ideas of your own plus let me know what you liked/ didn't like. I'm always open to suggestion and opinion :) 

Much Love,

Alyssa xoxo

Interviewing ‘Heart of Mind’ #MusicalMemories

“Since their musical conception in 2012, ‘Heart of Mind’ has been rocking NSW to its core. With gigs throughout Sydney and spanning up the east coast, ‘Heart of Mind’ uses their instruments of war to deliver a variety of rock-genres that every music fan can enjoy (unless you are into EDM...then sorry). Featuring guitars, bass, saxophone, keys and a newly acquired Keytar, they have formed their own style of 'color' rock which encompasses the influences of Greenday, Muse, Birds of Tokyo, Zeppelin, AC/DC, Ball Park Music, The Beatles and any other decent rock band of the last 50 years.”

Samantha Heather Photography

Today I’m here with Rowan Fitzpatrick from ‘Heart of Mind’ to find out how it all started and what they’ve been up to in the past few years.

So tell me, what is ‘Heart of Mind’ all about? Do you have original music?

We write our own original music. Which has been described as Pop Rock. Our writing process is very collaborative. Normally one of us will bring a chord progression and a melody and or lyrics to rehearsal and we all work on the song together. Last year we released our Debut E.P ‘Breathtaking” which we launched at Frankies Pizza. It was the first official music we had put out. We followed this with a little tour which we covered NSW East Coast as well as Wagga and Canberra. 

This year we have spent writing new songs as well as releasing our latest single “Something to Believe”. We’ve done a few cover gig sets as well as some band competitions. Now we’ve gearing up to jump back into regular gigging schedule performing our original material. We’re kicking this off with a Headline Performance at Miranda’s Rock n’ Roll Club Sweaty Bettys on 15^th August.

When did you form your band ‘Heart of Mind’?

We formed the band in 2012. Essentially we are just 5 mates who loved music and said those five faithful words “We should start a band”. I had met Adam through work and our love of music sparked a friendship. He had gone to school with John and spent many hours jamming together on Beatles tunes under the name Ad+hon. Hayden has been a long time mate of mine whom apart from rocking the trumpet had started an interest in drumming in the final years of high school. From there we started jamming. Adam had met Simon through college and the band was complete.

Samantha Heather Photography

 In what moment did you decide that making music and performing was your dream?

I think for all of us creating and performing music from day one was our dream. With the band the recording of our EP in 2014 was a real turning point. We had taken the four best songs which we had been performing all through 2013 into the studio with a producer. With his guidance and industry training we learnt so much from him and to hear our songs professionally recorded for the first time, there was this notion of this real. This is us on record and it sounds amazing. 

Who are your influences?

Greenday, Muse, Birds of Tokyo, Zeppelin, AC/DC, Ball Park Music, The Beatles.

Aside from working with your group, what are you doing now?

We’re all working in a number of industries e.g. Hospitality, IT, Engineering, Consultancy. Ultimately we would love ‘Heart of Mind’ to be our career and tour around and record our music. 

So tell me, what message do you aim to convey through your music?

With each song and each lyric, it comes down to the listener to interpret them and the meaning changes individually. When we perform we aim to put on a show. Coming to one of our gigs it’s a great night out. We have so much energy the songs a great and catchy, its fun.

If you could perform and/or collaborate with any musician, who would it be and why?

For myself (Rowan), Jimmy Page for sure. Collectively any member of the Beatles would be an amazing experience

Social media links:

Heart of Mind: Main Website

Heart of Mind: Facebook Page

Heart of Mind: Soundcloud

Heart of Mind: Youtube channel

Tickets for Sweaty Betty's!

Samantha Heather Photography

So go check out all of their links above and follow them if you want updates on some fantastic music-making and performances. Hope you enjoyed that, I know I did. See y'all soon,

Alyssa xoxo

#Places to go - The Grounds of Alexandria

Hey guys!

A little while ago I went to the Grounds of Alexandria for the first time and thought I'd share my experience with you. It was pretty cool - I didn't know what to expect but I was certainly impressed. Of course, I brought my camera with me and could not stop taking photos of everything. The vintage design was alluring and simply exquisite, the lighting was perfect because it was a sunny day and the food was artistically well-presented. It is a little pricey but a perfect choice for special occasions and functions. I definitely recommend that people make time to visit on a day trip. Also, there were rainbow flowers. Need I say more?

 

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this post and maybe added a possible cafe to visit on your bucket list ;) Oh, did I almost forget to mention that this place can hold functions and other various events? A colleague of mine actually got to sing at a wedding reception held at the Grounds. So lucky.

Much love,

Alyssa xoxo

"Get ready with me" for a Black dress Party #June2015

Hey guys!

So recently I attended a Uni party where the dress code was strictly all black (except for accessories and shoes for the ladies) and I thought that it's been a while since I wrote a fashion post so here we are. Basically, if any of you are looking for ways to spice up your outfit or be a little creative given the strict dress code this is where you want to be (and Pinterest is always good too, I suppose). Anyway, I have posted photos of my outfit below and hope you will enjoy - or at least get some fun ideas. :)

The Flower Crown is from TopShop which I thought complimented the red streaks in my hair.

The Black lace dress (Stylestalker) is from a little Boutique called 'Something Nice'. I matched the floral lace with the flower crown.

 

This was the only closeup of my makeup (It's a little blurry sorry) but I used earthy tones on my eyes from the Sportgirl 'Wild at Heart' Palette, Revlon Mascara and black liquid eyeliner to enhance the green in my eyes. I aimed for  flower queen look - sorta ;)

Anyway I hope you enjoyed this post! My main purpose is to try and encourage more girls/ ladies to feel self-assured in their own individual style. By all means, take some ideas and adapt them to what you personally like in terms of fashion choices and makeup. But don't think you have to do exactly what I have done - this is my take on what you could wear to a Black Party. Just be confident, smile and power on through. Girls, you're all gorgeous in your own ways, just focus on enhancing your best features and you'll not only be irresistible but also unstoppable.

Lots of love,

Alyssa xx

Campaigns, petitions and fighting for good causes: Seeking to inspire #WorldRevolution

Hey y'all,

So I'm using this post to help spread the word of three very important causes to me and hope you will do the same (if they are relevant to you of course). The first one is #FoodRevolutionDay which aims to increase the education of food in schools so as to prevent the ever rising levels of obesity in society. This campaign began with Jamie Oliver and continues to inspire many people and help the community. It is gradually spreading all over the world with 182 countries so far participating in the cause. 

"With diet-related diseases rising at an alarming rate, it has never been more important to educate children about food, where it comes from and how it affects their bodies."

The next cause I want to share is the #StopTaxingMyPeriod!  campaign which needs 75,000 signatures to get through to the government. Here's a little excerpt which perfectly describes why females should not be taxed for buying sanitary pads and other necessary items every month in Australia:

"Since 2000, the Australian Government has taxed every menstruating Australian 10% every time we get our period. It is estimated that our periods earn the government a whopping $25 million each year! How can a bodily function be taxed? Because the government doesn't consider the tampons and pads we're forced to buy every few weeks 'necessary' enough to be GST-free. 

On the other hand, condoms, lubricants, sunscreen and nicotine patches are all tax-free because they are classed as important health goods. But isn't the reproductive health and hygiene of 10 million Australians important too? People who get periods don't buy pads and tampons for pleasure, so why are we forced to fork out an extra 10% every 2, 3, 4 weeks? Taxing Australians for getting their period isn't just sexist, it's fundamentally unfair!"

If that doesn't convince you I don't know what will. Also as a side note, I have linked the websites in the titles of the campaigns. 
Finally, is the cause that is perhaps most important to everyone: increasing funding for universities. It's called #DefendOurUniversities and basically will affect present and future generations of children being educated in Australia.

Anyway, I hope that some of you will sign up to these causes if you have the hope for creating a better future. That's all for now, kiddos.

Much love,

Alyssa xoxo

A lazy Saturday Afternoon #photodiary

Hey guys,

After being cooped up inside for most of the day powering through my uni work I decided to spontaneously take photos of miscellaneous objects (and my dogs) with the sun streaming through the cool breeze because it was so relaxing and I thought, why not? So here are pictures taken on my Canon 1200D of a strikingly beautiful and completely random nature. Enjoy.

I am new at the whole photography-thing but it is becoming a strong passion of mine so comment on which photo was your favourite and why. I love feedback :)

Much love,

Alyssa xoxo

Collaborative Peformance

Hey guys!

So recently I uploaded a video to my YouTube channel Musingsofagirl (for the first time in 3 years heh) because I did a collaborative performance with a friend of mine for our Music course. In this performance we picked two contrasting pieces to show our strengths as classically trained musicians and also try something new to expand our skills and show versatility.

The first piece is called 'Das Verlassene Magdlein' by Hugo Wolf and is a Lied which is sung in German and focuses on communication between the piano and the voice. The second song, 'Your Daddy's Son' by Stephen Flaherty is taken from a musical called Ragtime. It tells the story of a woman who feels remorse for burying her child alive after being abandoned by her husband. Yeesh.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy our performance! :D Also, I welcome constructive feedback should you feel the urge to do so.

 

Much love,

Alyssa xoxo

Highlights of Malta - Part I #traveldiary

Hey guys!

So I'm back with many glorious photos from the early parts of my trip to Malta. Hope you enjoy :)

Marsaxlokk
Within the first few days of arriving in Malta, my sister and I were driven to Marsaxlokk (pronounced Marsa-Shlock) a name which literally means 'South-East Bay'. It seems fitting then that this fishing village is located in the South-East area of Malta. It was quite a wondrous sight, finally seeing the boats my Nannu (Maltese term for grandfather) has spent so much time recreating as miniature models in his workshop. Also, there were cats. Need I say more?

There were MANY stray cats in Malta but thankfully most of them are well-fed because there is a campaign for everyone to look after them. There are several cat shelters situated around the place.

 

 

Valletta

Next on the agenda was Valletta, the capital of Malta and safe to say it was pretty magical - especially with all the Christmas lights still up! Also a common aspect of public transport (particularly in Valletta) is the use of horse & carriage to get around. It is mainly there for the benefit of tourists but it was pretty darn cool nonetheless.

So this is the end of Part 1 of my travel diary about Malta and I hope you enjoyed it. Keep posted for more updates (which will happen... after my uni assessments hopefully). 

Much Love!

Alyssa xx