Greetings from the Sunshine State!

Hello my dear readers, it's been a long while! If you follow me on Instagram, you will know that sooo much has changed since my last blog post. We have moved from Surrey to Brisbane, Australia! Needless to say, relocating almost as far as humanly possible in the middle of a global pandemic was full of ups and downs, and I think we are only breathing a sigh of relief now that all our household belongs have finally arrived. On the one hand, we are so traumatised from the whole process that we can't imagine moving ever again; on the other, though, having worked as a team to pack up the house and rent it out, sell the car and getting on a plane (not being 100% sure that they'd let us on it!) with 2 weeks' notice, and then arriving in Sydney without knowing when we would actually be able to get to Queensland with a toddler in tow, living without our own stuff for about 5 months, and surviving it all has also made us feel quite empowered in other ways. 

We moved to Brisbane with my work for an opportunity of a lifetime, but also for all the lifestyle that comes with living in the Sunshine state! We don't know what the future holds, but for now, are pinching ourselves that we live in such a great city with so much on our doorstep. We are now accustomed to our weekend getaways to really experience what is on offer in South East Queensland. 

Last weekend we drive about an hour north to Caloundra on the Sunshine coast, and had an absolute blast! There were so much for us all to enjoy, and the weather was absolutely perfect (considering it is now winter). 

We went to Shelley Beach, which had amazing rockpools (with hundreds of hermit crabs in them!), and just awesome beach and scenery, quite frankly. Freya wore her new mummy-made Katy Dress by Little Lizard King (pictured at the top; see details and cuteness overload on my post on Minerva here), and I wore my new me-made bikini set! 

I fell in love with this funky leopard and monstera (what a genius combination) swim fabric from Poppy Bear fabrics (all sold out but it was a great source of swim fabrics in the UK), and had to buy some as soon as it landed! 

You probably all know by now that I am a big fan of the Power Sports Bra by Greenstyle. However, I'd only been making the strappy back version, even though I'd be drooling over all the hacks! Finally, I was ready to try one.  

I went with the Even Strappier hack, leaving out the outside straps (mainly as I wanted the cleaner lines, and don't need that extra support). It worked an absolute dream! 

For the bottoms, I used my self-drafted pole shorts pattern, and made a couple of tweaks. The plan (which has already materialised) is that these would double up as both bikinis and pole set. I'll try and scan the pattern in and upload it when I get some time (busy lady here!), but I love how these turned out! The only change I'd make to my next pair is to either made the waistband shorter, or add swim elastic. It's totally fine for lounging or even pole dancing, but I had a bit of a panic in a waterpark when I thought that the bottoms may not stay put down the slides... they did, but I'd like to not have that worry with me-made swimwear! 

Thank you so much for reading. Have a great week ahead!