Catch the Sunset

I never realised how close freedom was until I asked the Lord for it. I had forgotten what true peace was until He granted me it. I remembered what joy felt like when I entered into His presence.

A few days ago Viki, Maddie and I decided to dress up in florals and watch the sunset. 

I'm such a sucker for a sunset I immediately agreed. We found the Southsea Rock Gardens in Portsmouth and explored around there before we went to the beach. As we climbed the bank up onto a space that overlooked our city we knew that we had to capture this moment. After running, tumbling, falling over, jumping and laughing until our faces hurt it made me really come to a place of appreciating the moment. Appreciating the fact that we're able to be spontaneous and joyful in moments where we're on the edge of breakthrough. On this day, I had gone from experiencing complete unrest, confusion and frustration to ending the day with joy. It made me think how, not only must I live in the moment but I must live in the moment that the Lord has given me and live freely in Him. 

I mustn't forget how He is moulding me even in my moments of despair. 

Choosing to step out of my door, into a taxi (don't judge), onto the seafront, in a place where my flesh just wanted to sit in a corner and sleep was a choice I made because I held onto the hope that this is not all that there is for me. And if I just appreciate His creation, His magnificent creation and be present and in the moment - it is there where I can physically experience the beauty He has enabled us to witness at the hands of His marvellous mastery.

"Those who live at the ends of the earth stand in awe of your wonders . From where the sun rises to where it sets, you inspire shouts of joy." Psalm 65:8 (NLT)

LET'S TALK: Get to know me :)

Hello, my name's Rosalind I get called Ros and Rozzie more often and I like that. I had been thinking about what to write in the About Me section of this blog for a while and as awesome as the list of questions that I took from a girly website was, I think it was way too cheesy and I wanted to be able to show you partly how my brain works when I want to write something. So here it goes. 

First and foremost, I love Jesus. Like, a lot. I my not get everything right a whole lot of the time but His love, grace and mercy knows no bounds. I love writing, I love how I can express and articulate my words in a more effective way. I love singing and I enjoy belting songs out by myself. I love fashion and expressing myself through clothing. My style is borderline formal, elements of bohemian, preppy and girly and it almost always something involving a skirt and tights. My favourite season is Autumn, I love the palette of colours it brings with it. I love music, any type of music and I appreciate a great soundtrack to a film more than the film at times. Give a song an infectious drum beat and I'm sold. I love playing in orchestras. I'm falling more in love with travelling, walking, getting to know new people and what moves them, what excites them and I love having deep, meaningful conversations. I thoroughly enjoy being kind to people, I feel like it doesn't take that much to be kind and I like to remember that everyone's going through something. 

I appreciate a good field, I'm a country girl at heart. God uses the country to move me and show me His glory. I also enjoy being by the sea, it's peaceful and I'm a huge fan of that.I love colours. My bedroom looks like a rainbow erupted inside it. Put anything with a colourful, floral pattern in my hand and I'll be guaranteed to love it. 

I'm a sucker for watching the stars at night. I once watched a meteor shower from the comfort of my back garden. It was beautiful. 

I love church, I love community, I love encouraging people. I love laughing, I love humour, I love making people laugh. I love finding things way to funny. You can normally measure it by whether I'm on the floor clutching my stomach or not. 

I'm pretty dang gullable. I get way too excited when it comes to shopping. I love Youtube, journalling, worshipping. 

Sunsets are my weakness. 

I'm prone to sit in coffee shops and drink tea and cake. I prefer a cosy night-in then a wild night out but I do enjoy the occasional party or two. I love going to the theatre. I've just recently discovered the West End and all its glory, I very much want to visit it again. 

I love studying His word, although I could do it more often. 

I love food. How have I written this much and only just started writing about food? I have a major sweet tooth. I'm a magazine hoarder. These sentences are probably structured wrong and everything that I have written thus far have been thoughts that I have made off the top of my head. 

TRAVEL PHOTO DIARY and my OOTD: the New Forest, England.

For me, I cannot think of a better surrounding that captures the true beauty and essence of autumn.

On me: Yellow Top - H&M - £19.99 // Skirt - Primark - £10 // Black Chelsea Boots - £70 - Clarks // Necklace - £3.00 - Dorothy Perkins

Travel OOTD: New Forest, England - Cosy Knit Sweaters over Lace Dresses

Since coming to university I have been overwhelmed with favour from the Lord in terms of making incredible friends and friends for life and I can firmly and solidly say that. I am so grateful to be doing life with beautiful, kind-hearted individuals that are encouraging and wonderful bubbles of happiness but also remain steadfast in times that are upsetting and troublesome. I know that their love and faith for the Lord is both awe-inspiring and so encouraging.

 In some ways I don't want my life at university to end, I used to not bear thinking any far into the future passed third year but since entering second year I've been more open to trusting in the Lord and all that He is doing right now in me to prepare me for my future. Although the unknown in some ways absolutely terrify me, I must turn that fear into faith and place it into the hands of the One who knows. Who knows me, my heart, my passions, my desires, and my gifts. The One who holds every single fibre of my being in Him and the One who has my best intentions at heart and although I may, at times be weak, stubborn and selfish I know that He ultimately has moved me so much to the point that I stand steadfast within Him and although my faith may shake I will trust in all that He says that He is and revel in the fact that on the cross He told me I was worth it and that I was worth dying for.

 There's something in the way that nature allows me to think more clearly, for some reason the Lord knows what moves me and allows me to be rendered speechless in the sight of His creation and glory.

 I encourage you to find the space in which the Lord woos your heart, which causes your insides to be so in awe of something that it renders you speechless. Whether it be a cityscape a sea-scape or a landscape. Ask the Lord to tell you to speak into your heart and life. Allow Him to show off His magnificent creation to you because, trust me He is more than willing to show you.

 Pictured above is one of my favourite Americans, Maddie and she, much like Viki, has an impeccable fashion sense. Her outfit is one that can be dressed up and down. Here the sweater is more on the casual side but still remains high fashion and on-trend. Both outfits have similar styles in terms of country casual looks pulled off effortlessly with jackets.

Black Lace Dress - Forever 21 - On sale for $12.00 // Sweater - New Look - £15.00 // Tights - H&M // Leather Jacket - Kohl's - £20 // Boots - Rack Room Shoes - $60 //

Travel OOTD: NEW FOREST, England - Plum Lace and Riding Boots

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of exploring the New Forest with people whom I hold very dear to my heart. Everywhere the leaves were brown and the trees were rich in different shades of green. It is hands down my favourite season of the four and Viki's outfit pictured in the photos above suited her surroundings perfectly.

Upon arrival we were so excited by the prospect of the wild horses and how we were to have the opportunity to roam around freely with them that we couldn't have scoffed down our lunch fast enough if we tried. We took a wonderful trail around just a snippet of what seemed to be an abundance of forest. We viewed creeks, bridges and gorgeous ancient trees. We stopped to admire the wild deer and picked up leaves and sticks on our journey. I laid my eyes upon mushrooms, picket fences and huge spider webs. I was incredibly excited to be surrounded by nature and countryside once again for I am a complete countryside-girl in my heart and one who misses home dearly. Amongst this small city on the sea I was relieved so to be able to escape and just be away from buildings and houses. It was refreshing being surrounded by something I consider similar to what I consider to be home. 

You would have to be pretty unobservant to not realise that dark shades of purple and red are very present in all fashion trends. It is a very royal and warm colour to adorn yourselves with this autumn. The great thing about lace is the fact that although it is simple it is also detailed and you can pair it with boots and simple belts with statement pieces of jewellery to finish the look off just like Viki has done. I love everything about her look as it gives off a vibe of country style with a modern twist. Everything that Viki is wearing is listed below:

Plum Lace Dress - New Look - £7 // Brown Belt - Primark - £1.00 // Brown Knee-High Boots - £20.00 // Jewellery - Primark - £3.00

Travel Photo Diary: BORACAY, PHILIPPINES - what to do, what to eat and what to wear.

Boracay is a beautiful island in the Philippines in the province Aklan. It has powdery white beaches, clear blue waters and picture-perfect views. This tropical island is brimming with beauty everywhere and it is packed with tons of amazing activities. When I stepped onto the shore on the first day that I arrived on the beach I couldn't believe my eyes. I wanted to pinch myself to see if I was dreaming and alas I was not. It was a reality and I was in awe of the fact that God Himself knitted all that I saw before me with His marvellous creativity and in that moment I was so grateful to have the opportunity to witness my Master's glorious and creative mastery.

Getting There

The journey to Boracay started in Manila at Ninoy Aquino airport from there we took a plane with Cebu Pacific to Kalibo Airport. From Kalibo Airport we rode with Island Star Expree in a mini-van to catch a boat to Boracay. Although the journey seems like it is a lot of hassle to get to one place, the sites that you set your eyes on are worth it. 

Hotel

We booked our hotel on Booking.com and we booked Eurotel which was a minutes walkaway from the White Beach. It was very close to everywhere that we went and wanted to go however visually dim and not at all appealing was the colour scheme of the outside of the hotel the room was marvellous. The hotel was cheap to stay in and because we booked on Booking.com we were entitled to a free breakfast every morning however they only told us this on the fifth day we were there. 

Things To Do
On Boracay and other islands adjoining Boracay there are loads of activities to get stuck in on. The activities that I got involved with were parasailing, helmet diving, island hopping, buggy-driving, going on a cable car, snorkelling, flyfishing (not actual fishing) and simply swimming in the sea. I would definitely recommend asking your hotel to organise trips for you that way you avoid being ripped off by people in the street pretending that they are doing activities when in fact they are not. If you organise it with your hotel then you know whose responsible if something goes wrong. The tour guides are wonderful, hospitable and kind people that you should ultimately become friends with, they know what they are doing and will know all about the other activities that you can get involved in. 

For more activities click here.

Places to Eat

There are numerous places in Boracay to eat, you simply need to walk across the beachwalk and you'll find someone somewhere cooking. My family and I only ate out a few times in the week that we were there and I honestly can say no bad things about them. A particular restaurant that we went to was called Dos Mestizos selling wonderful Spanish food. Another restaurant that was quite possibly my favourite in terms of price and deliciousness was Mesa Filipino Moderne. Their portions are quite big and I would definitely recommend their paella. Other places we ate at were fast food restaurants particularly Andok's and Mang Inasal. Andok's has a fabulous Adobo and Mang Inasal has a exquisite barbecued chicken and rice.
All I would say concerning eating food on Boracay is to just try everything. Embrace their culture and cuisine!

What to Wear

My family and I went to Boracay in rainy season, clever, I know but surprisingly enough there were only about 3 or 4 days out of the seven when it rained. Upon arrival it was completely dark and warm and I was wearing a dress and light shirt and felt comfortable. Throughout the week I wore absolutely  no leggings or jeans what occupied my body was only shorts and tops with the occasional dress and skirt. I brought many a white top because they simply go with anything. 

If you were planning to go in rainy season I would bring a couple of cardigans or hoodies. If you don't I would invest in a mac or an umbrella. In the day time if I was doing water activities I would just wear my bikini and bring an extra top with me. In the day it can get really hot so a hat is essential and so is your suncream.

On my feet I wore flip flops, in particular a pair of flip flops that I bought from FitFlop. They do the comfiest slippers that gave me extra height and comfort when walking about everywhere. Aside from this I brought one pair of going out sandals to wear in the evenings. Another essential would also be bug spray.

For any more questions about my trip to Boracay comment below and maybe tell me about a wonderful holiday you went on :)