{everybody wins}

I chopped off all my hair!  

This was me on Thursday morning and ...

this was me on Friday morning.

It was a totally spontaneous decision.  I had a hair appointment booked for Thursday night and had no idea what I wanted done.  Thursday afternoon I thought "it's time for a change"!

I absolutely love it.  It makes me feel sophisticated and gorgeous, which feels like a big win!

Speaking of winners I randomly picked the number 3, which means SJ Scott is the winner!  Email me your address details so I can send your prize off to you.

For everyone else that entered I'd like to offer you a little something special as well.  If you'd like a set of the 'Two Parts Hope, Three Parts Faith' prints you can have them for free if you want to pay the cost of postage to get them to you.  If you'd like to take me up on this shoot me an email tinniegirl/at/optusnet.com.au

Hope you're week is off to a great start.

{unfamiliar territory}

If I were to sum up my year so far I would have to say it seems to be characterised by ease and abundance.  Things are falling into place without any real effort on my behalf.  It feels really unfamiliar and to be honest, a wee bit frightening.  There's a part of me that simply doesn't know how to embrace the notions of ease and abundance.  I have to stop myself from holding my breath and waiting for the carpet to disappear from under me.  I keep pinching myself and saying "can this be true?" and "is it really possible for me to have abundance and ease as traveling companions?"

Then there's a timid little whisper emanating from my soul.  It says "you deserve this, and more to the point you've actually had a huge hand in forging it.  In both action and intention you've opened yourself up, you've worked hard and you've let go and trusted in something bigger than yourself.  And this is the result.  Now go and enjoy it".

{stop the press}

There's so much news to share and I want to fill you in on everything that's been happening with me over the last few weeks.  BUT I've got the most sensational giveaway to share first.

You all know I'm a huge fan of Vivienne McMaster.  She's completely inspiring and I absolutely love her work.

Vivienne has generously offered up a giveaway for her upcoming Light Hunters e-course and I'm delighted to offer someone the chance to join one of her amazing courses.

About Light Hunters {from Vivienne's website}
The Light Hunting classes invite you to ignite your relationship with light. Photography is visual poetry based on the language of light. These courses invite you not only to seek out the light on the bright beautiful days but as well to seek it out in places where others may not notice it. At the core of these courses is the idea that there is always light and you are invited to look at the world around you in a different light.

Through visual inspiration and thoughtful posts, you are will find yourself falling in love with light and see an improvement in your photography!

Light Hunters, the original course, is a 30 day class. Each day you are invited to look at a new aspect of light as these daily posts arrive in your inbox!

All you need to do to enter is leave a comment.  But be quick.  I'll be drawing the winner on Wednesday.  Class starts this week. {make sure you include an email contact for this one}

*****

Here's a quick summary of other news:

• I have two new jobs starting this week.  Excellent part-time jobs that will energise and inspire me, pay the bills and leave plenty of room for my own creative work.
• Hello Soul Hello Business is continuing to blow me away and change everything about the way I see myself in business.
• Your Awesome Year was absolutely incredible.  It was amazing for the participants and for me it was like coming home after years of denying my true calling.
• I'm working on my own vision board for 2012.
• I've got my first solo gallery exhibition opening at Red Brick on Friday 17th Feb at 6pm and I'd love you to join me.
• Things feel like they are lining up for me at the moment in the most incredible way.
• 2012 is going to be an absolutely awesome year.

{sunday snippets, the self-portrait addition*}

{sunday snippets}: a collection of photos from your week.  No need for words.  Let the pictures tell your story.  Pop your link in below if you're joining in.

*****

*Vivienne McMaster has a new session of You Are Your Own Muse starting in February.  I've been having so much fun playing with self-portraiture ever since I took the course.  I've always loved taking self-portraits but Vivienne's class takes it to a whole new level.

*****

I'm leaving the giveaway open for a couple more days.  Feel free to pop over and enter.

{adventures in self-portraiture part III}

I'm still getting the hang of this self-portraiture business, but I tell you it is SO much fun.  I love it.

{adventures in self portraiture - part II}

Yay for the weekend.  I've got studio plans and a dinner date with a good mate on Saturday night.  Hoping to get all the amazing new goodies into the shop too.

What have you got planned?

{adventures in self-portraiture - part I}

A month or so ago I signed up for Vivienne McMaster's You Are Your Own Muse e-course.  In amidst all the everyday busyness I was struggling to find time to get to class and I actually wondered if I was going to make it at all.  Then I was visiting Danielle's blog and saw this incredible self-portrait that she took, and I knew I just had to find a way to prioritise the class.

 

And I'm so glad I did.  I can't recommend YAYOM highly enough.  It's playful, adventurous and full of great prompts and information.  In fact I think it is one of the best e-courses I've taken in terms of content and style of delivery.  Not to mention that Vivienne herself has an absolute gift for engaging people in the online environment.  I think she is truly doing her most important creative work.

{here's one I prepared earlier - self-portrait challenge - blogtoberfest day XVI}

This one was taken a few weeks back at the Montalto Vineyard sculpture park.  Happy and relaxed, enjoying the sunshine.

Today's self-portrait would look pretty similar to yesterdays.  In bed, in my sleepwear, bed hair and a worn look on my face.  I wish this lurgy would go away now.

Are you joining me today in the self-portrait challenge? Pop your link in below.

{i heart Ric-Rac & Baxter - blogtoberfest day XV}

I'm not sure when I first came across Baxter.  I trawled through Jodie's blog looking for her very first post about him but I couldn't find it.  It's enough to tell you that it was love at very first sight.

Today Ms L arrived home from a trip down the street with a parcel in hand!  Ric-Rac has been conspiring with Ms L and CurlyPops to surprise me....

My very own Baxter to love and to cherish.  And trust me, I already do.

We've been getting acquainted and enjoyed a spot of lunch {courtesy of Melbourne Epicure - it was absolutely divine Cathie}.

Thank you soooooooooooooooo much Jodie.  You are the best {and you saved me from a total Blogtoberfest fail cause I had absolutely nothing to say today}.

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If you don't know Jodie you should definitely pop over and visit her blog.  As well as being generally awesome she's also extremely funny and extraordinarily talented.  We've know each other though blogging for quite some years now and she's definitely one of my favourite peeps.

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Tomorrow will be self-portrait day here on the blog {replacing Sunday Snippets for this week}.  Over the last year or so I've become quite interested in putting myself in front of the camera more and really love taking self portraits.  I've just signed up for Vivienne McMaster's You Are Your Own Muse, which feels like such a gift to myself at the moment.

Last year Karin from Sum of Mum suggested we all do a self-portrait on our blogs during Blogtoberfest. I posted mine here.  Join me tomorrow with your own self-portrait.  I'll put a linky list up for everyone who's playing along.  I know this was a big challenge for some people last year and I would love to see your lovely faces again this year.  If you're too, too shy you can always be creative and take a self-portrait of your feet, or maybe your hands, or maybe you've got some other great idea.

See you tomorrow?