To help showcase up and coming brands, artists, and other craftsmen who contribute to the outdoor industry, Backcountry has created a new specialty retail site called Treeline . A content driven marketplace, Treeline will provide stories, interviews, and photography to highlight the various brands and create a more intimate shopping experience.
Each week, Treeline will showcase just one company, artist, or craftsman with a behind the scenes look at how the products are made. Treeline currently uses a separate shopping cart from Backcountry, so when you purchase products, you are connected to the featured company for all processing and fulfillment.
Product innovation and differentiation are key for the continued success of any online retailer. This new site is a great way for Backcountry to test out the viability of brands before bringing them onboard to the main site and into the operational back-end.
Treeline officially launched yesterday with San Francisco based Pladra. Pladra shirts are 100% cotton flannel with outdoor scene liners on the cuffs, collar, and back yoke. The company uses custom embroideries and the heavier styles use high-grade, faux-suede elbow patches. All shirts are handmade in San Francisco and desigend to be machine washable for easy maintenance and durability.
Next week, Treeline will feature the paintings of Backcountry athlete Renan Ozturk, followed by Grassroots Powdersurfing handmade bindingless snowboards the week after.
Yesterday, Cabela's launched their new Extreme Performance Gear collection aimed squarely at the weekend warrior. A complete line of high tech adventure gear, the XPG collection has absolutely everything you need to escape the confines of work and the city for an afternoon or a few days.
For apparel, Cabela's has everything from rainwear and hiking pants to socks and performance pieces on offer. Interesting to note, the performance apparel makes use of a Xylitol based cooling technology that the company is calling Cool Phase. Cooling panels have been strategically placed in areas where you are most likely to overheat, such as underarms and waistbands. When you start to perspire, the Xylitol-powered technology is activated, delivering a chilling sensation to your skin. Apparel ranges in price from $9.99 for socks to $129.99 for a rain jacket.
The two person ($329.99) and three person ($399.99) Ultralight Tents weigh 3lbs-4lbs and come with a 20-denier, PU/silicon coated nylon taffeta fly and a No-See-Um mesh inner tent with bathtub-style floor. Lots of venting options, durable DAC poles, and reflective guy lines mean you get fully loaded features in a minimalist tent.
Footwear includes trail shoes, Gore-Tex lined and regular hikers, as well as water shoes and sandals. All the footwear uses a variety of Vibram outsoles for great traction, while no-sew uppers cut down on your chance of hotspots or blisters. The Cabela's XPG footwear line ranges in price from $89.99 to $139.99.
If you plan to overnight in the backcountry, Cabela's has you covered with both a 0 degree and 20 degree roomy down sleeping bag on offer, as well as a headlamp and spotlight to light up your camp at night.
Interesting move by Cabela's to appeal to the more outdoor focused consumer who may not exactly be into fishing or hunting. With almost double the annual revenue of REI but less than half the amount of physical stores, Cabela's could be a force in selling to the everyday outdoor enthusiast. Thoughts?
“What do you think the church is going to look like ten years from now?” I get asked that question almost everywhere I go. People assume that my travels and correspondence give me a wider view of God’s work in the world. And while it may be a bit broader than some, in the grand scheme of things, I interact with a very small slice of Jesus’ followers and even that is a very specific subset drawn by the content of my books and websites.
Nonetheless I find it a fascinating question mostly for what it says about us. Our religious training has put our focus in the wrong place, asking the wrong questions, and leaving people feeling adrift when they have no need to be. No one can answer it with any degree of certainty and the question itself assumes a standardized answer that ignores Jesus’ immense creativity in the world across differing cultures and local realities.
The question does admit, however, that we are in a time of transition, where the old congregational forms based on centuries of worn-out methodologies and compromised hierarchies no longer work. People are leaving their congregations in droves. Certainly many of those have abandoned God either believing he isn’t real, or not worth knowing if he’s the demanding busybody religion often presents him to be. But a significant number are leaving because their congregations were having a negative influence on their desire to know God and find real community. The reasons are numerous–empty rituals, irrelevant programs, messages provoking guilt or demanding performance, misplaced priorities, authoritarian leadership, superficial relationships, or simply the inability to honest friendships sharing a journey of spiritual growth.
It’s easy to point fingers at those leaving. But even if you love the traditional congregation, you might want to look beyond it and ask why do we spend so much energy propping up a system that alienates so many wonderful people, instead of concluding that the people must not be wonderful because it no longer works for them.
Scattered?
For those who have given up on the congregation they were a part of, what do you do now? If you found your identity in a task you did for God or group you used to belong to, finding yourself outside of it can be incredibly disorienting. Even if your mind knows better, your emotions are still tied to the approval you received by being visible and active in a local fellowship. The same people who used to love and applaud you, now look down on you for “forsaking the assembly” and question your relationship with God.
Many feel like scattered sheep battling the guilt of their inactivity rather than using the time to deepen their own relationship with the Shepherd. Some seek another group of like-minded believers or try to start one of their own. If they do, they find themselves relapsing into that same feeling of superiority that comes from being in a group that is more committed to Biblical principals than the one you left, or at least thinks they are. But soon you realize that even a house church or an organic group can be as empty, or as abusive, as the congregation you left.
All the while, the question that nags you is, “What should the church look like?” The underlying premise is that if you just knew what it is supposed to look like you would know where to look or how to form one. That’s why so many end up in the unending struggle to find the right church model to copy. In doing so they never realize that their own pursuit is keeping them from the very reality they desire.
If your connection to Jesus is growing, you are not scattered at all. You are simply finding that the voices of religious performance no longer hold the same weight and you are no longer getting the same validation you became accustomed to. Your passion to live inside his affection is drawing you to a greater gathering of believers tha you cannot yet see. Don’t be afraid. You are not alone. Jesus is building a people in the earth who can live as his body in these days. You won’t miss out. You are simply transitioning from religious obligation to a relational reality, and no one I’ve met on this journey has ever regretted the cost to do so.
So while I am not able to answer the question directly, I want us to look at how we can embrace the church Jesus is building in the world. I won’t pretend my observations are complete or authoritative. They are simply the way I see it at this vantage point of my journey. Admittedly these thoughts have also been shaped by insights I’ve gained over the past fifteen years by tasting real community at home and in distant countries, and sitting at the tables of brothers and sisters around the world who have wrestled with these same questions, many of whom have lived outside the distractions of religious performance longer than me.
He Is Shaping A Bride
Jesus is building his church with the same passion that he has demonstrated through the ages. It may be hard for some to see, because they have used the term “church” to describe buildings and institutions, and thus have failed to recognize the church as she really is. Even if you attend a so-called church meeting, the church is not the meeting you attend or the organization that sponsors it; it is the network of Jesus-centered friendships that you enjoy in those institutions and beyond them.
He builds that church by first shaping people who can walk with him. I am thrilled with the stories I hear of people who are breaking out of religious molds and learning to live in the reality of the Father’s affection. This draws them out of religious performance and obligation, which relies on human effort and ingenuity. They are learning to follow him instead of finding security in a specific group, doctrine, tradition, or ritual.
The words of Isaiah may even be more timely for the religious contrivances we have designed today:
“Who talked you into the pursuit of this nonsense, forgetting you ever knew me? Because I don’t yell and make a scene do you think I don’t exist? I’ll go over, detail by detail, all your ‘righteous’ attempts at religion, and expose the absurdity of it all…. They’re smoke, nothing but smoke.” – Isaiah 57:11-13, The Message.
There’s no doubt Jesus is exposing the absurdity of our religious self-effort. None of our activities matter if they are not drawing us into a meaningful relationship with him, where each one learns to hear his voice and follow him. As well intentioned as it may be, our work for him may be the greatest obstacle to actually knowing him. The New Testament is clear: the only thing more dangerous than unrighteousness is self-righteousness.
And let’s not blame the institutions. Religion is not something we get from them; it is what those institutions provide to satisfy our fleshy inclinations. I know many who have left religious systems but are still living in religious ways of thinking. And I also know those who attend a local congregation, but they are not caught in the performance trap. Instead they are learning to love God and the people around them. They may have to ignore the guilt-inducing messages, or the manipulative tactics of those who seek to lead, but because they are free on the inside they can still be there to love beyond it all.
The church Jesus is shaping is one not driven to performance by fear, shame, or guilt. She doesn’t respond to obligation or ritual or the absence of them. She is learning to live at the pleasure of the Head and that makes her radiant with his glory wherever she appears on the planet.
Living at Home
Our old religious inclinations tell us that what we need for a vibrant spiritual life is “out there” somewhere. Find the right group, movement, author, plan, or revival or you’re going to miss out on what God is doing in the last days. That simply isn’t true. Jesus told us not to buy into the notion that the kingdom of God was somewhere else. “The kingdom is within you!”
We all know how to live in our fears or anxieties. We know how to conform to the world’s demands or religion’s dictates. What Jesus wants us to teach us is to live at home in his Father, the same way Jesus lived in him. This is not a theology to subscribe to, but a way to live all day, every day. Living in Christ has absolutely nothing to do with where you are on Sunday morning at 10:00 and everything to do with following him through each day. Jesus did not come to create sacred space for us in religious services, or even in our daily quiet times. He made all of life sacred by coming to live in us and becoming a part of every thing we do.
This is not as complicated as many fear. The reason people have trouble discovering this reality is because they don’t believe it is as simple as it really is. Living in communion with him is what he shapes in a wiling heart as we learn to relax in his love. Right where you are he can show you how to live at home in the Father, confident in his love, and at peace even in times of trouble
The loneliness some feel when they find themselves outside religious systems is really not a cry for more people; it is a drawing to God that we have tried to fill with other people. If you are not at rest in God’s love for you, no amount of human contact will fill that void; it can only mask it. Let your loneliness draw you into a greater depth of relationship with him and then a new way of relating to others emerges.
Resist the Urge
It’s often been said that the greatest enemy of the best is the good. It often is. The greatest distraction to being a part of what God is doing in the world is to be focused on human efforts, especially what we try to do for him. Nothing disrupts God’s work around us more than when the arm of flesh asserts itself to try to do for God what we think God cannot do for himself.
When we feel unattached, unproductive, or insignificant this growing urge will prod us to “at least do something,” as if misguided activity is preferable to a quiet, listening heart. If that doesn’t spring from our own flesh, then it will from someone’s near us. Many of our fellowship groups, Bible studies, and outreach efforts have begun with the perceived guilt that we are not doing enough for God. More time-consuming and irrelevant religious activities have been generated from that distorted impulse than any other. Authors manipulate it to sell books, and would-be leaders exploit it to get us to embrace their programs and contribute to their income.
The fruitfulness of God rises out of rest not anxiety, out of the gentle nudge of his Spirit not the vision of a charismatic leader. In truth, God is not asking us to do anything for him. He’s already doing the best stuff in the world and as we learn to live inside of him he will invite us to be part of what he’s already doing. One of the things I notice about the life of Jesus is that he rarely created the environment, or planned meetings for other people. He simply joined them in the environments in which he found them.
When we get so involved with our own planning we easily miss the moments Jesus puts right in front of us. They are always far simpler and yet more magnificent than what we conjure up. At the beginning they never look as flashy as our plans or appear to be as far reaching. Usually he’s just inviting us to love someone. We have no idea how simple acts of obedience can snowball into consequences we never considered.
As long as you have any confidence in your flesh’s ability to work for God, you will confuse the urge to be productive with the nudging of the Spirit. And the more capable you are in your own efforts and intellect the greater danger you’re in of substituting the arm of the flesh for the breath of the Spirit.
Being part of his church happens by simply loving the people God puts before you each day.
A Different Kind of Gathering
God’s voice isn’t in the passion to create new church movements, nor is it in the cry for revolution. Those appeal to our own self-need for significance by belonging to the most cutting-edge group. God’s invitation comes from within–that deep drawing into the Shepherd’s care, and learning to love as he loves, to think as he thinks.
What the church will become in ten years isn’t going to be unveiled in the next ecumenical conclave in Geneva or Hong Kong, nor in the latest how-to book on church life. What the church becomes in the next ten years will be the fruit of millions of simple decisions made each day by people like you who are learning to live loved by the Father. There is no model to copy, no method to implement.
The early church focused on Jesus and its life was merely the visible expression of how people who are alive in Jesus treat each other. It was not perfect, but it was full of life because their life was in him, not each other. The church was the joyful network of relationships that living in him spawned and its visibility in the world came simply from doing together those things he put on their hearts.
The church of Jesus gathers like a family, not with orchestrated meetings, but a celebration of relationship and sharing with each other. With the Father’s love as the source of church life, not it’s objective, a new range of possibilities as to how the church might gather will become clear. I already see God connecting in unique ways brothers and sisters across this world who live unencumbered by religious performance and seek simply to love as they have been loved. They are less concerned with getting church right than they are seeing Jesus reveal himself. Connections happen easily among such people as a friend of one quickly becomes a friend of others, and the body grows!
What will happen as that continues to spread? I don’t know and don’t need to know. I do expect, however, that this church will take more more visible expression over the next ten years than we can conceive. The forms that takes will uniquely fit the locale and the season of God’s working, but in the end may not be all that different from ones we have already known. I’m sure it will involve meals together with lots of laughter and at times tears, insightful sharing, caring about each other, and listening to God together.
In the end, what forms that takes is far less significant than having authentic, caring friendships that put Jesus first. What we can do is learn to live in him and open our hearts to the connections he wants to make with us.
Live Connected
Being part of his church happens by simply loving the people God puts before you each day. Be intentional about cultivating friendships, especially with new people. Some will be temporary; others will connect at a far deeper level. In our human nature we mostly gravitate to people we already know who make us happy. Those relationships, however, are still focused on our needs whether it is to combat our loneliness or find an audience for our gifts, and won’t lead us to the authentic friendships that radiate Jesus.
When you know you are loved by God, you own’t have to use others to get what you want. Then watch what happens out of those relationships. You won’t have to look far and wide for people of like mind. You won’t need to find a group that believes what you do. Just take an interest in the people around you and let the results of that caring bear fruit over time. Some relationships may not go far at all. Others may be only a fruitful moment while others will become deep and enduring friendships.
Simply loving those around us will open whatever other doors Jesus needs to build his church. I am convinced that everything God wants done in the world can happen as the simple extension of growing friendships. That will provide fellowship enough, outreach enough, and work enough to let God’s life flow to the world. He said so himself. If we will simply love others like he loves us the whole world will come to know him. (John 13:34-35) Because we don’t believe that the world can be touched through simple, loving relationship we keep creating machines that we hope can do it for us.
I am often accused of being anti-structure. I’m not. I’m against structure as a substitute for relationship. I’m all for structure that facilitates whatever God asks us to do together. There is a huge difference. Over the past few years I’ve been part of some international efforts that have had widespread impact just because some friends cooperated together and God has continued to open some amazing doors.
Out of friendship we’ve been able to send over $100,000.00 overseas to help with relief in Kenya without overhead costs or administrative fees. I’m grateful for that, but I am also well aware that the best way the gospel spreads in the earth is by each one of us just loving the next person God puts in front of us.
If you don’t know how to do that, ask for help from others who do. But be careful of those who try to herd you into their program or draw you into their vision. I’ll probably share more about this in the next issue, but real elders in the family don’t gather people to their vision, but help equip and free others to the vision God has for them. And above all, relax. Building the church is Jesus’ assignment, ours is to learn to live loved by the Father and then to love others in the same way. When we focus on our task, it is far easier for him to do his!
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Living Loved is published periodically by Lifestream Ministries and is sent free of charge to anyone who requests it . For those with email we recommend our web-based version so that we can hold down costs and get it to you much more quickly. This is especially important for international subscribers.
After global clubbing institution Fabric London last month faced the unprecedented decision by the local council and police that it would lose its operating license, it vowed to fight on, with the #SaveFabric campaign raising more than $300,000 in support so far. The club has announced the date for its appeal against the decision, set for Monday, November 28, at the Highbury Magistrates Court.
Fabric London confirms it has engaged a legal team headed up by “industry heavyweight” Philip Kolvin QC , who will be assisted by licensing solicitors Woods Whur . Both have agreed to represent the cases at a significantly discounted rate, according to the club’s written statement this week.
“During these two weeks we have been busy working on our twin objectives, the appeal against the revocation of the licence and the need to change the Guidance under the Licensing Act,” the club says. “Again, words cannot express how humbled we all are at the overwhelming support.”
You can read the latest transparency statement in full over at the Fabric London website .
An old friend of ours dropped by EC1 earlier this evening... respect to @ANDYC_ram pic.twitter.com/VWvt13jbRL
I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice climbing! As some of my friends have already broken out their tools in both Colorado and the Canadian Rockies, ice season has officially begun. To help you keep an eye on formations at your local ice climbing haunt, below is a list of sites where you can check out the latest conditions. In order to stay safe, always remember to check the local avalanche conditions as well when you are heading out to climb some wild ice.
Northeast: NEIce features a forum for ice climbing conditions across the whole of the Northeast, including New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, New York, and even up into Quebec and Ontario. The site NEClimbs is a little more New England ice focused, showing you the latest conditions and beta on routes. There is also a Catskills specific ice climbing report.
Sierra: Sierra Mountain Guides regularly post reports on ice conditions across the Sierra range.
San Juans : San Juan Mountain Guides keep up to date information on climbing conditions in the Colorado towns of Ouray, Telluride, and Silverton.
Canada: Yes, Canada gets all lumped together under the new Canadian Ice website. The site hooks into Will Gadd's Gravsports forum for conditions on the all the major climbing areas, particularly throughout the Rockies.
Montana : Montana Ice keeps a forum with updated ice climbing conditions in Hyalite Canyon, as well as important links to current avalanche conditions in the area. You will regularly see Joe Josephson and Conrad Anker posting here.
Wyoming: The Coldfear website, run by climber Aaron Mulkey, patriarch of Cody ice, lists all the ice climbing areas in Wyoming and current conditions for each route.
Alaska : Check out the ice conditions forum to see what local Alaskan ice climbers are saying about the ice climbing conditions of routes and access to areas across the state.
Southeast : Fox Mountain Guides maintain a Facebook page where climbers post about the current ice climbing conditions across the Southeast.
Let me know any ice condition resource sites which I may have missed. Sharpen up those ice tools and crampons as ice season is finally here.
We've got a pretty eclectic group of music lovers working the controls here, so each week, we put together a batch of our favorite tunes for your listening enjoyment. We do this on the regular, so keep hitting up the Work & Playlist tag to see the latest sounds we love.
Alicia Keys x Kaskade “In Common”
For anyone who’s been listening along all this time, there have always been two sides to the Kaskade coin: the deeper-rooted house half, who comes out in his Redux sets, and the mainstage dominator. Each is its own beast, and each attracts a certain type of listener. It’s what’s kept Kaskade on his toes, with feet firmly planted across both spheres of the mainstream and underground electronic spectrums.
His latest track, an unofficial remix of Alicia Keys’ “In Common,” epitomizes this approach: a radio-friendly R&B number rinsed through the deep end. His edits are subtle throughout, allowing the Grammy Award–winning songstress to remain the focus—for good measure, too. While Kaskade’s touch is minimal, at best, here, the song gives a glimpse at what a possible mainstream guest vocalist collaboration would sound like, which remains his final leap toward major pop crossover appeal. —John Ochoa
FollowKaskade onFacebook |Twitter
Askery ft. JAX “Castle”
This jaw-dropping collab on Armada between the Switzerland-based Askery and rising Stateside star known as JAX (fans of American Idol will remember her from Season 14) is one of those tunes that catches hold right from the start and doesn’t let go. A dark and melancholy guitar melody eases us in before the heart-wrenching vocals of JAX take center stage and drive the tune toward the pop-dance crossover heart of things proper. Built on a wicked little drum & bass-inspired breakbeat groove, the shuffling vibes, epic chords, and otherworldly vocals bring on the goosebumps and make this one an instant classic sure to bring on memories of cruising down the streets with the top down, hands in the air, and the whole world spinning by. If this isn’t on the radio yet, it will be, so look out! —Chris Muniz
This is by far my favorite track of 2016, with at least 50 listens in the past month. Roberto Capuano has released on almost every major techno label there is. His new Drop EP features three massive tracks, two of which are charting on the Beatport Top 100 Techno. Don’t sleep on this—it’s massive. —Shmitty
Follow Roberto Capuano on Facebook | Twitter | SoundCloud
Palma “Your Love Is True”
I may have woken my sleeping child when I stumbled on this synthy piece of happy music by Helsinki’s Palma. Everything about this tune bounces. The anchoring rubberband bassline does that wonderful thing where it drops alone with the kick to create this expanding feeling, a simple idea that adds so much drama. And the call-and-response between the chopped vocals and the hook may or may not have had me trying to sing along while I enjoyed a three-minute dance party all by myself. —Alexander Dias
Follow Palma onFacebook |Twitter | SoundCloud
Blaze “Lovelee Dae” (Bicep Remix)
It’s been a few months since I’ve seen anything by Bicep occupying my SoundCloud feed, which makes this one all the sweeter. Sweeter because “Lovelee Dae” by Blaze was one of the first deep house tunes to make a serious impact on me—I can’t even begin to count how many nights I’ve spent out getting lost on the dancefloor to this one. Almost 20 years old, there have been many producers who have tried their hand at remixing this seminal tune since it first dropped in 1997, and I must say that this Bicep rerub stands as tall as any of the previous outings. Lessening the keyboard riffs and organ chords of the original tune in favor of a more straightforward chugger, expect to hear this one being hammered all summer long on a dancefloor near you. Now go hit play, and have lovely day. —Boojie Baker
It’s funny how much a song can change the course of your day. A second ago, I was clenching my fists at the impatient drivers cluttering the intersection right outside my window (patience is a virtue, people). But then this proggy beaut by Vintage & Morelli came into the picture, and it instantly drowned out the itchy-hand honking that was quickly becoming the bane of my existence. None of that seems to matter anymore, because all I can concentrate on are the rich, lush layers V&M drags the vocal-led tune through to wind up with one of the most soothing bits to come my way in forever. It has all the right elements to enhance my mood—and in the process, bettering my view—with a stunning vocal delivery by Arielle, soaring and uplifting chord progressions, and a deep groove living in the intro/outro. Total bliss. I’m for sure tossing this one on the next time stress tries to get the best of me. —Sam Yu
***NOTE FROM ENO: Next week, we will begin a series of posts in honor of National Relaxation Day on August 15. This post is a kick-off to this upcoming series.***
by Anna Fletcher
What’s the first thing you do in the morning? Do you grumpily slap the snooze button and roll over for a few more minutes of shut-eye? Or do you pop up out of bed, hands on your hips, ready to take on the day? Whatever you do, you can always add stretching to your morning routine to wake up your body, relieve last night’s stiffness, and feel energized for your day.
For those of you who prefer to stay in bed until the absolute last second, there are some stretches you can do without even getting out of bed!
Upward Stretch
Sit up on your bed, cross-legged.
Lace your fingers together and extend your arms up in the air, raising your hands above your head with your palms facing upward.
Elongate your spine and feel the stretch in your arms, ribcage, and belly. Hold for 10 seconds.
With your arms still in the air, lean to the left, feeling the stretch on your right side. Hold for 10 seconds.
Lean to the right and feel the stretch on your left side. Hold for 10 seconds.
Hamstring Stretch
Sit on the bed and extend both legs straight out in front of you, keeping them together.
Bend your torso forward over your thighs, rounding your back and keeping your legs straight.
Hold for 30 seconds.
Reclining Twist
Lie flat on your back, drawing both knees in toward your chest. Give them a squeeze.
Release your legs and extend them straight up into the air. Take a deep breath in.
On your exhale breath, extend your left arm to the side. Drop your legs to the right and reach for your thigh, ankle, or foot. Look towards your left hand. Hold for 30 seconds.
Come back to center and do the reverse – drop your legs to the left while looking to the right. Hold for 30 seconds.
Come back to center and release back into lying position.
Lying Side Quad Stretch
Lie on your left side. Bend your left elbow and prop your head up with your left hand.
Bend your right knee, grasp your foot with your right hand, and pull your heel into your backside. If you find yourself a bit unbalanced, bend your bottom knee too.
Hold for 30 seconds. Slightly press your hips forward to maximize the stretch in the front of your thigh.
Release the stretch, roll onto your right side, and stretch your left quad.
Once you do finally pry yourself out of your bed, these next stretches are great. You can also do them anywhere, whether you’ve just crawled out of your tent, un-crumpled yourself out of your car after a long drive, or rolled out of your hammock after a good reading session.
Behind-the-Back Stretch
Stand with your feet hip-distance apart and let your arms fall to your sides.
Reach both hands behind you and grab your left wrist with your right hand. Gently straighten your left arm with your right hand, pulling it slightly away from you.
Slowly lower your right ear toward your right shoulder to deepen the stretch.
Hold for 30 seconds, and then switch sides.
Tipover Tuck
Stand with your feet hip-distance apart and clasp your hands behind your back.
Keeping your legs straight, bend forward at your hips, tuck in your chin, and bring your hands over your head.
Hold for 30 seconds.
Slowly roll up to standing position and then repeat.
Inner Thigh Stretch
Stand with your feet wider than your hips, back straight, toes turned out, and arms at your sides.
Slowly bend your knees over your feet (but not past your toes!), keeping your back straight. Support your hands on your thighs.
That鈥檚 pretty much all I said for five聽minutes聽when Sani & Mike’s Chinese / Jewish (can I say聽‘Chewish’?!) wedding landed in my inbox. It’s the perfect first real wedding 聽to kick off聽2016 with as it epitomises the STG mantra of your Jewish wedding day, your way. So for Sani & Mike聽that meant聽peking duck, Jewish wedding traditions,聽a Taiwanese tea ceremony, honey cake, table tennis, street feast food stalls,聽table tennis, a boat trip down the Thames, and so many聽more ideas that reflected them both.
This is a聽particularly inspiring post for couples planning a wedding that combines two different cultures 鈥?it’ll give you the confidence to plan exactly the kind of聽wedding that feels right for you. On a frivolous note, Sani and Mike聽totally nailed their red colour scheme (red is the traditional colour of good luck in Taiwanese weddings) so if you’re looking to thread a specific colour through your big day, you’ll be聽inspired by lots of their ideas.
I also absolutely LOVE聽that they 聽devised an聽‘adventure through London’ for their wedding guests (read the bride’s聽wedding report below for more on that!). After the ‘London escapade’ part to their day, Sani and Mike chose the vaults at central London’s聽 RSA House 聽for their party venue. I’m a huge fan of RSA House as it has a plethora of beautiful traditional spaces, but you can get entirely聽creative with their ‘underground chamber’ vaults too. Sani, the聽Bride, explains:
We wanted to have聽a bit of festival feel across the vault spaces… so the guests could pick and choose what they wanted to do, be it playing table tennis, singing karaoke with the聽 Rockaoke 聽live band, dancing, or watching England vs. Wales rugby on an iPad by the bar.”
Let me hand聽you over to Sani聽now for her聽full report, exquisitely documented by the hugely talented Andrew Billington , and wish聽诪讝诇 讟讜讘 and 鎭枩 to the Bride聽and Groom!
how we met
Sani, the Bride: Mike and I have been friends for years, having been introduced by mutual friends, just after university about eight years ago. We got to know each other through parties and mutual friends, but gradually got closer over the years, and then played in a聽band together which resulted in spending even more time in each others company.
It definitely was not love at first sight and we used to genuinely annoy the hell out of each other and have massive shouting matches, storming out of rooms, slamming doors and calling each other all sorts of names! In fact, if you had told either of us four years ago that we鈥檇 end up marrying each other, you would have been declared mad and laughed out of the room.
Mike and I both had different partners throughout our friendship but I guess all that bickering, winding each other up and arguing, spending so much time together, living on top of each other in the lead up to gigs and band recordings, resulted in a closeness which we then finally and very reluctantly realised was love. Needless to say, most of our close friends were not that surprised and if anything, relieved that all the public shouting matches have stopped since we got together!
A wedding聽adventure through London,聽including a walk through Greenwich park, and a cruise down the Thames!
We knew that we wanted to have an unusual wedding venue, which would allow us to create a festival feel to the wedding, particularly as we did not want to have a formal three-course sit down meal, but 鈥榮treet feast鈥?style food stalls instead.
We also needed the wedding venue to be somewhere along the Thames River, as we鈥檇 already decided that we wanted to get married in Greenwich, followed by a cruise down the Thames. The whole theme of the wedding was supposed to be an adventure through London, including a walk through Greenwich park, the cruise down the Thames and then the evening party.
I鈥檝e always liked the idea of vaults and exposed brick and scouted for venues which had these features. However, when Mike and I walked down the stairs to the vaults at聽 RSA House we instantly knew that this was the venue for us and we didn鈥檛 even bother looking at the other venues.
A聽Taiwanese Jewish melding of cultures, and a colour theme of red and gold
It was very important to us to combine both the Taiwanese and Jewish culture into the wedding, as my side of the family is Taiwanese and Mike is Jewish.
We really wanetd to showcase some of the traditions performed at a Jewish wedding , as well as Taiwanese wedding, which we did in the evening part of the wedding (lots more on this towards the end of the post).
Informal touches
We did not have a formal seating plan and sit-down meal, but instead the RSA put on food stations for us, in street feast style, as well as bowl foods.
In keeping with the theme, we had a Jewish and a Chinese food station. The food was brilliant and we received lots of positive feedback from our guests about the food. In addition to the food stations, we also had bowl food, which RSA staff were serving to the guests.
We also had a table tennis table set-up in one of the vaults at聽 RSA House 聽for the guests. The idea was to have the whole evening be a bit of festival across the vaults, the guests could pick and choose what they wanted to do, be it singing on stage, dancing, playing table tennis, or watching England vs. Wales rugby on an iPad by the bar.
Invitations
We handmade all our wedding invitations individually, following the Taiwanese theme. I designed the invitations in powerpoint, with a backdrop of London (since it鈥檚 a London wedding) and we also made origami cranes for each invitation. The invitations also acted as boat tickets for the Thames cruise.
We purchased traditional red envelopes when we were in Taiwan in May and put the invites into these envelopes, again, to follow the Taiwanese theme.
Hair + Make Up
Just like with heels, I鈥檓 equally useless when it comes to make-up. I don鈥檛 own any make-up, other than some mascara, eyeliner and one pod of eye shadow, which I get out about once a year.
I wasn鈥檛 going to hire a make-up artist, until one of my friends, Katherine, gave me a bit of a lecture about how unacceptable it was for me to not hire a make-up artist for my wedding. Luckily, she is a professional model and was able to recommend me to her make-up artist friend and also hair stylist, or else I probably would鈥檝e just ended up doing my own hair and make-up.
Sophia Price 聽was perfect for me because she completely understood my need to keep my natural look, and not giving Mike a fright as I come down the aisle.
Similarly, I did not want to have a聽fancy hair-do, and Aaron from The Bridal Hair聽Specialists 聽was amazing in creating a hairstyle, which looked fancy enough for a wedding, but comfortable enough for me.
I鈥檓 so glad that Katherine convinced me to hire a hair and make-up artist because it just made the morning so much fun and more relaxing for my bridesmaids, as well as me.
A聽Cymbeline wedding dress
I鈥檇 been looking at dresses online and I always knew that I wanted a lace dress聽that was聽light and ‘flow-y’. I also wanted a dress that looked unique and not like a traditional wedding dress, as in, nothing fishtail or princess. From my research I came across Cymbeline and instantly liked their style of dresses, which felt very ‘me’.
Mirror Mirror in Angel, London, is one of the few wedding dress boutiques which stocks Cymbeline, so I booked an appointment with them and took one of my bridesmaids, Emilie. I tried on quite a few dresses in that shop, but when I came out with the dress, Emilie just had that look on her face, like it was the dress (this is before I鈥檇 turned around and seen it myself).
As soon as I saw myself in the mirror, I also knew it was the one. However, the original dress was very summery, with an exposed back and tiny straps. I always knew that I wanted an off the shoulder lace top with sleeves. The consultant in Mirror Mirror was amazing and fetched a lace jacket to compliment the dress. Once I put the jacket on it was the perfect聽unique dress, as we essentially altered it by adding the jacket, which was stitched on by the seamstresses.
accessories
I had a little hair comb with pearls and white little flowers, bought from聽 Mirror Mirror the week before the wedding when I picked up my dress. This was decided after my hair trial, with my hair stylist, Aaron ,聽who came recommended by a friend.
kitten heels for a ‘non-heels’ girl!
I鈥檓 absolutely useless on heels and can鈥檛 walk on anything that is higher than a kitten heel and even then I can barely manage a night out. So I ended up with some very nice, but simple lace kitten heel shoes from Debenhams . Essentially, I just ordered about six pairs online, tried them on in the office with one of my bridesmaids, Kat, despairing at my inability to wear heels, and we settled on the kitten heels because Kat banned me from wearing flats.
As you鈥檒l see from the wedding pictures, despite only wearing kitten heels, Mike still had to give me a piggy-back on the last leg of our walk to the RSA because my feet were hurting!
the handsome groom
Mike and I had agreed that I would not be involved or get to see his wedding suit, since he wasn鈥檛 allowed to see my wedding dress. All I knew is that he鈥檇 had it custom made by Cad & The Dandy 聽on Saville Row. Knowing Mike鈥檚 unconventional style (our friends all have a running joke that he never wears a tie to other people鈥檚 weddings), I knew that it wouldn鈥檛 be a traditional three piece wedding suit but something unique which represents his character.
I absolutely loved the blue suit, which went really well with the dark red roses. It was also really nice that he picked a red tie to compliment the red theme we had going throughout the wedding.
bridesmaids in black
I had three bridesmaids and they all wore black, which we thought was quite cool and went really well with the dark red theme for the flowers. I did not like the idea of telling them what to wear and all three of them have different body shapes anyway. So we just collectively decided that black would be quite cool and would allow them to pick dresses they like and they can wear in the future.
They all went for a bit of lace, which was wonderful,聽and Emilie鈥檚 dress actually looked quite Chinese, which just went perfectly with the overall theme of the wedding.
Music played by a good friend of聽the groom’s
For the music while the guests were being seated, we asked Dan, one of Mike鈥檚 uni friends, to play some acoustic guitar. Mike and Dan used to play music together a lot at uni and wrote quite a few songs together. Dan is an amazing guitarist and we felt that it would add a more personal touch to have him play some songs he鈥檇 written and anything else he wanted during and after the ceremony.
Walking down the aisle to a very personal song
Mike and I are in a band together, he鈥檚 the lead singer, and I play the piano / synthesizer. Mike and our lead guitarist, Lee, wrote a song together a few years ago, which is just guitar and Mike singing. The lyrics are very personal to Mike and I, so we decided to ask Lee to play that song (called Brown Paper Aeroplanes ) for me to walk down the aisle to 鈥?without Mike singing. We printed the lyrics to the song onto the back of the order of the day cards.
the ceremony聽
Mike and I wanted to keep the ceremony quite light hearted and swift. We kept it very simple and did not write any personal vows. We only asked one of our friends to do a reading. We were more interested in the evening part of the wedding, when we would be showcasing the Jewish and Taiwanese wedding traditions.
An adventure through London for all our guests
We wanted the wedding to be an adventure through London, which is why we picked the two wedding venues in the first place. From Ranger鈥檚 House , at the top of Greenwich Park where we held our ceremony, we walked our 80 ceremony guests all the way through Greenwich Park to the Cutty Sark Pier. The walk was just so much fun and we think all our friends really loved it too, because it was just such a unique experience. We were really lucky with the weather and you get an amazing view of Canary Wharf and the rest of London from the top of Greenwich Park, not to mention walking past the Maritime Museum, which is just the most gorgeous building.
When we crossed the street from Greenwich Park, past the Royal Naval College, people in the park started to impromptu clap, which was just a proper goose bumping experience.
We hired the Golden Sunrise boat for the trip up the Thames to RSA House. Again, this was just so much fun, going past iconic London landmarks, such as Tower Bridge. I鈥檓 really pleased that we had this idea and went ahead with it because all the guests just seemed to love it, especially those who鈥檇 lived in London for years (like us) but never bothered doing a Thames Cruise.. why would you if you live in London?!
We disembarked the boat at Festival Pier, south of the river, which meant that we had to cross Embankment Bridge to get to RSA House. This was a little nerve wrecking because of the tourist crowds and so many people staring at us, but again just so much fun with strangers cheering and clapping. At this stage we had 120 guests who were walking down the Southbank with us, across Embankment Bridge, through Embankment Park, past Gordon鈥檚 Winebar (which has significance for a few of our friends) and towards theRSA House.
Our wonderful documentary wedding photographer
Mike and I absolutely hate posing for pictures and it was very important to us to find a photographer who would just capture the wedding, without us or our guests being interrupted (other than for the family portraits聽of course).
Finally we found聽 Andrew Billington , just based on the interaction we had with him via email, and the look of his pictures, and he聽was absolutely perfect for us. As soon as we met him, we knew that we had made the right choice. On the day, he was like an invisible person, which makes it even more exciting to receive our set of pictures, not knowing what snaps he took.
We were genuinely blown away by his pictures and feel very lucky to have found him.
flowers
Flowers is again one of those things that I know nothing about and I honestly could not tell you what flowers I had on the day聽although聽I know that there were some dark red roses鈥β燱e went with Gail from Gail Smith Flowers 聽who came recommended by the RSA and she was just perfect, in terms of her personality, being really laid back and accepting of my total lack of knowledge and instructions for flowers.
All I knew is that I wanted dark red flowers to compliment the Taiwanese theme. Gail was brilliant and completely understood what I was after. She sent me some ideas and I just trusted her to come up with something amazing for the day, which she did.
I absolutely loved my bouquet and the bridesmaids were super chuffed with their flowers too. Gail created these amazing flower arrangements for the vaults, which had little Chinese lantern looking flowers in them and looked like Chinese fireworks.
Desserts that represented both our cultures
Mike and I are not that traditional and chose not to have a wedding cake. We just didn鈥檛 see the point of a cake. Instead, we wanted to offer our guests desserts, which represent both our cultures. So my mum and some aunties brought over traditional Taiwanese wedding biscuits and sweets all the way from Taiwan in a big suitcase!
Mike鈥檚 mum and her friend Shane amazingly volunteered to bake enough Jewish honey cake to feed 120 guests. The honey cakes were delicious and we were really pleased to be able to give our guests something homemade.
A live karaoke band (Rockaoke)
We wanted the wedding to be fun, with lots of stuff happening and things for our guest to do. Mike was in charge of finding a band and he came across a聽live karaoke band called Rockaoke in his research. I instantly liked the idea and thought it鈥檇 be so much fun for the guests to be able to sing with a live band behind them. We were initially worried that it might be a bit cheesy, but after seeing the play list of the band, which was very indie, rock and funk focused, we decided to go ahead with it.
On the night, it was just brilliant. Loads of guests went up and sang and we were even told afterwards that more people were interested in going up and singing, but unfortunately we ran out of time.
traditional Taiwanese (and Jewish!) wedding favours
We had some traditional Taiwanese wedding favours, which Mike and I signed individually (many hours in front of the telly). The wedding favours were little Chinese rabbit shaped rattle drums, which the guests could use to make quite a racket. Everyone seemed to really love them and they were used during the speeches, instead of clapping, which was nice.
We also had some dreidels dotted around the venue for the guests to play with and take home. We felt that the dreidels were very fitting because they are traditional toys in both Jewish and Taiwanese culture.
Combining Jewish and Taiwanese cultures
After all the food and before the first dance, we had one of Mike鈥檚 parents鈥?friends, Hugh, perform a little ceremony / showcase some Jewish wedding traditions with us. Whilst we did not have time to run through all the Jewish wedding rituals, Hugh delivered a beautiful speech, explaining the different types of ceremonies which are usually performed at a Jewish wedding. Hugh also gave a couple of blessings in Hebrew and then Mike performed the breaking of the glass .
The majority of our friends are not Jewish and had never been to a Jewish wedding, which is what made this part of the wedding even more interesting for them, particularly for my Taiwanese family. All our guests afterwards said that Hugh鈥檚 speech was very interesting and it was nice to be given context and meaning to Jewish wedding traditions.
The breaking of the glass was immediately followed by the chair dance , which we had not practiced before, so none of our friends had ever done it before and neither of us had ever been bounced around on the chairs. Needless to say, I was terrified but it was so much fun and all the boys definitely relished the opportunity to scare Mike and I. There are quite a few videos floating around facebook with me screaming my head off!
The chair dance was then followed by some traditional Jewish dancing , which the boys absolutely loved. It was nice to see everyone really getting involved and again, it was very interesting for my family in particular.
After all the Jewish dancing madness, Mike and I had our formal first dance to I Need Your Love聽So Bad by聽Fleetwood Mac, and the band went into their first set. I had long ditched my kitten heels by then and had been running around the vaults barefooted, ever since we arrived.
Chinese tea ceremony
During the break of the band, I got changed into a traditional Chinese dress and we showcased a Chinese wedding tradition, which is the tea ceremony, or serving of tea to the groom鈥檚 family. Similar to showcasing the Jewish ceremony, one of my mum鈥檚 friends, Peter, was talking the guests through the meaning and process of the tea ceremony, whilst I was serving tea to Mike鈥檚 family.
A touching surprise from the groom
Mike incorporated Chinese into his speech, which I did not know he had planned and my whole family was very impressed and touched by him speaking Chinese and specifically addressing my family for part of his speech.
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
We were a bit worried about planning such an unconventional and slightly mad wedding. I was worried that guests may get tired from all the walking, not have enough seating, wanting to be served food, and that it was all a bit too much to have the programme going until 11pm (tea ceremony at 10.30pm, peking duck at 11pm).
But, it was just really important to us that the wedding reflected both our characters and that we did what Mike and I wanted in terms of what we thought would be fun for us. You just have to hope that whatever you think is fun and exciting will also be fun and exciting for your guests too.
Also, I was born and raised in Germany and definitely fit the stereotype of being uber organised and efficient.聽聽鈥?a bit of German organisation never hurts, especially when planning a wedding that involves three venues, ushering 120 guests across London and an evening programme that doesn鈥檛 finish until 11pm. Kick your ushers into shape and Excel spreadsheet timetables are essential!
Sani & Mike’s聽LITTLE WHITE BOOK
Photography 鈥撀?a href="http://documentary-wedding.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Andrew Billington Photography Ceremony venue 鈥撀?a href="http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/venue-hire/weddings/wedding-venue-finder/weddings-rangers-house/" target="_blank">Ranger’s House Reception Venue 鈥撀?a href="https://www.thersa.org/hire-rsa-house/event-types/weddings--civil-partnerships/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">RSA House Flowers聽聽鈥撀?a href="http://www.gailsmith.co.uk/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Gail Smith Flowers Bride’s dress 鈥撀?a href="http://cymbeline.com/en/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Cymbeline聽from Mirror Mirror Bride’s shoes 鈥撀?a href="http://www.debenhams.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Debenhams Groom’s suit 鈥撀?a href="http://www.cadandthedandy.co.uk/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Cad & The Dandy Make up 鈥撀?a href="http://www.sophiapricemakeup.co.uk/#!weddings/c109y" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sophia Price Hair 鈥撀燗aron from The Bridal Hair聽Specialists Entertainment 鈥撀?a href="http://www.rockaoke.co.uk/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Rockaoke
Mallards by the thousands rest on Royal Lake in the Columbia National Wildlife Refuge of Central Washington in early December. (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife)
WATERFOWLING -- Impressive numbers of ducks were tallied in a recent winter waterfowl survey for the North Columbia Basin, which includes all important Columbia River pools, large lakes, wasteways, reserves, and Columbia National Wildlife Refuge waters around Grant, Douglas and Adams Counties.
During this two-day flight, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife biologists documented more than 268,000 waterfowl, including just under 200,000 mallards (4% of which were on the Columbia River), close to 30,000 diving ducks (78% scaup), nearly 9,000 common mergansers (most at Moses Lake and Potholes Reservoir), and about 10,000 Canada geese even though this wetland-focused survey misses most Canada geese which field-feed during much of the day.
Most of the waterfowl on the Desert and Potholes units of the Columbia Basin Wildlife Area were concentrated in Winchester Reserve, which had nearly 23,000 mallards.
Frenchmen and Potholes Reserves had about 4,000-5,000 mallards each.
Though the numbers in the Columbia Basin Wildlife Area portion were low, the overall mallard count was very encouraging. The warming that has occurred helped produce better waterfowl hunting as these concentrations of birds look to disperse as water bodies re-open.
Returning back to your homeland to live after years of being away can be a very difficult experience. I have expressed some of this already when I spoke of the Land of Exoticness and Dealing with Reverse Culture Shock.
Through the difficult process of readjustment you find yourself often wishing you were in any country than your own. And that is tough. You find yourself disliking things about your own culture. And this is heartbreaking. You’re dealing with massive change and you are trying to find away to fit back into a culture that you have been separated from for a long time.
Sydney Harbour
Australia Day is today and today I am taking the day to really celebrate being Australian. We have spent the past few months, re-exploring our stunning country with trips to the Gold Coast, learning to surf, challenging ourselves with high rope courses, moonwalking, and exploring more of Sydney.
Yet it has been these past two weeks, that I have been presented with many gifts. Gifts that opened my eyes up to how wonderful Australia is and the people who live here. We have a beautiful culture, and while it is far from perfect, there are many things that lie at the heart of it that make me really proud to say that I am Australian. The recent tragic flooding of Queensland, and the spirit of the Queenslanders have shown to me just why our ideals can provide inspiration to many.
Watching the recent Oprah shows about Australia has me dying to visit more of Australia. I felt so elated to see Oprah love our country, and love what we stand for. It is one thing to know who you are as a country, but then when you hear Oprah talking about how evident these qualities are and how much she loves it, it really makes you stop and think.
We spend so much time travelling and celebrating many other cultures, sometimes you need to remember to take the time to celebrate your own.
So today, I am celebrating these things that I love about Australia
Our ideal of Mateship
Mates
Having the opportunity to spend time in Gallipoli for ANZAC Day was one of the most memorable moments of our travels. It was a deeply moving experience and being there first hand allowed us to experience the place where our ideal of mateship was born.
A mate is someone you would do anything for, just as they did on the shores of Gallipoli. Your mates are the things you need to get you through the tough times; they bring you laughter and joy. I think the world witnessed, in action, with the floods in Queensland, what the idea of mateship represents. Strangers came out in hordes to help one another clean up and rebuild. This is who we are.
Our friendly nature
When we first arrived back in Australia, I remember being taken aback by just how friendly everyone was. We had just been living in the South, where people are real friendly, but here it was overly noticeable. We couldn’t go to the street to get anything done, without it taking half an hour. Shopkeepers wanted to stop and talk to us for ages; each subtle step closer to the door was met by a new conversation about last night’s dinner and the too many glasses of wine that were consumed.
When Oprah greeted her screaming fans in Melbourne, she said, “Do y’all go to friendly school or something Down Under?”
Our ability to laugh at life and not take it too Seriously
Roll in the grass and laugh
I know that I used to seriously offend people back in North Carolina. It was so unintentional, but it was just the Aussie in me. We don’t take swearing too seriously, it’s okay to talk about sex and make jokes about it, and having a drink is just as normal as taking a S### (oops there goes that Aussie in me!.)
We have a sense of humour that is easily misunderstood and although we take the piss out of people, we really do it in jest. I can really understand why people don’t like this, but we are just trying to make things light. We hate seriousness. Which is probably why you won’t find many Australians sitting around and talking about politics or religion. And it is why we try to crack jokes and bring laughter into any conversation.
Just spend a few hours with an Aussie and you’ll soon learn the saying, “No worries mate!”
Everyone is considered equal
It doesn’t matter if you are the CEO of a major corporation or the cleaner on the street, there is no “I am better than you way of thinking.” People of all social classes can be seen sitting at the pub together drinking (yes there are negative things that could be put in here about racial divisions but this is a celebration post).
The attitude is “I don’t care what label you have , or what it is you have done with your life, all I care about is who you are as a person. You are no better or worse than me, we are all equal.”
Our love of the outdoors and the connection we have with the earth for it
Loving the outdoors
Our climate grants us the opportunity to be outside year-round. The majority of us live near the ocean, and are surrounded by spectacular scenery. We have less than 10 really big cities, and have so much natural bush surrounding us. We love to be outside, experiencing nature and the heat. We have a wonderful connection with the Earth which I think this helps add to the vibrancy of our spirits. Australian’s really hate when it rains, because it means we are trapped inside, and that makes us go stir crazy.
That’s why when natural disasters strike, we don’t waste time looking for answers as to why it happened, or we don’t blame God or each other. We know its just Mother Earth doing her thing. We spend so much time with her we understand her.
Our zest for life
Australians have a zest and passion for life. We approach everything we do, be it work or play, with passion and enthusiasm. There is a real sense of living and making the most of life. I think this really stems in part from our convict heritage.
While many other cultures are living to work, we are working to live. We have really generous paid vacation time each year, sick days are there to be taken, the whole nation stops to watch a horse race for 3 minutes each year, after work drinks are common, barbies and social events are always happening, we’re out exploring the world from a young age, we can’t get enough of sport, and we party like there is no tomorrow. I guess the convicts never knew if there would be a tomorrow, so you had to make each moment count.
Our convict heritage
Sometimes Australians get upset to be constantly reminded of our convict heritage. We don’t want to be reminded of our convict past because that is not who we are anymore, and no one wants to be reminded of their bad history. But, I think having a convict heritage is a strong testament to our fighting spirit and just how far we’ve come.
When the British convicts first arrived they were forced to build a settlement on a harsh and brutal land. The soil was not good for farming, unlike they had previously thought; the harsh Aussie climate was brutal, and unlike anything they were ever used to. The colony almost did not survive as they could not produce any food and many people were dying.
Many of these convicts were serving sentences for stealing loaves of bread, and were separated from their families. They were given incentives to work hard. “Make the colony work and you’ll get your pardon and acres of land as a reward.” So that’s what they did. They buckled down and got on with it.
There are many things that come from our convict heritage , that I don’t really like, but I do love the fighting spirit it gave to all of us. I think the recent floods in Queensland show us how we won’t let the tough stuff of life get to us. We put our heads down and just get on with it. It’s probably why we don’t sweat the small stuff either. It’s no worries mate!
Killer whales do not abide by the human calendar, or do they?
For the third consecutive year, a group of transient killer whales cataloged as the CA51 group has visited the Los Angeles area for New Year's Day.
The accompanying images were captured Wednesday afternoon by Eric Martin, who was with California Killer Whale Project founder Alisa Schulman-Janiger aboard Martin's 13-foot inflatable boat, off the Palos Verdes Peninaula.
Four members of the CA51 group showed up in the same general area last week , and performed a series of acrobatics and killed a common dolphin. (The CA51s are also called the friendly pod, because they sometimes interact with boaters.)
This time it was the whole family: eight killer whales of various age and a spanking new baby, which Martin affectionately referred to as "the little twerp."
They were also spotted by volunteers of the ACS-LA Gray Whale Census and Behavior Project, and by passengers aboard at least two commercial whale-watching boats.
They were not as playful this time. They mostly traveled north and south beyond the peninsula and were last seen swimming to the south-southeast.
Transient killer whales feed predominantly on other marine mammals, including gray whale calves. They're more commonly seen far to the north, notably in Monterey Bay.
But the CA51s recently expanded their range to include Southern California. (These eight killer whales were seen in the Santa Barbara Channel on Monday.)
The CA51s are spotted sporadically in Southland waters throughout the year, but the holiday season seems to be their favorite.
This botanical Denmark wedding features timeless international style and sweet family moments! Kirsten and Hardy tied the knot in front of their closest family and friends in a sweet Danish island destination wedding at Badehotel Aero . We especially love how the couple drew from local Danish culture and seasonal flora to decorate their organically minimal wedding with fresh lilac! From an incredibly joyous first look to a gourmet dinner with four wedding cakes, photographer Camilla Jørvad perfectly captured the emotions of their entire day.
The Couple:
Kirsten and Hardy
The Wedding:
Badehotel Aero & Den Gamle Købmandsgaard , Aero, Denmark
Originally we wanted to get married in our garden at home. I wanted a homegrown wedding with TeePees and a huge American BBQ as I am from the states. German bureaucracy proved to be very trying. As this was not our first marriage and that Hardy was German and I American, the Marriage Office suggested that we should get married in Denmark where the marriage paper requirements are much more simple. In Germany it would have taken at least 8 months just to get all the paperwork and included numerous fees for Notaries. After telling some friends and seeing their interest and excitement in the possibility of a destination wedding, things escalated very quickly and suddenly we were looking at a whole wedding weekend surround by our nearest dearest. It was the most perfect weekend. All of our guests were completely in love with this beautiful little island.
We wanted things to feel festive but also cozy. Simple and naturalistic, with a slight bohemian touch. As I have always been a fan of Danish design and lifestyle, this little Island of Aero provided the perfect backdrop and slowly everything evolved into a vibe that was perfectly harmonious with the incredible natural surroundings.
The whole day was incredibly special. I think because it was a destination wedding in a place where we had never been. Every moment was a little bit of a surprise. We decided along with our photographer that we wanted to have a first look moment. It was wonderful for us to see each other in peace and quiet. We were both moved to tears when we saw each other. A little bit of magic that set the mood for the whole day.
I wanted my look to be romantic and feminine. I also wanted to feel my age, as I am not one of the youngest brides I wanted to reflect that I am a grown woman. So I chose a dress that was vintage style, soft, elegant and a little bit sexy. I wanted my makeup and hair to look like me. I was a bit nervous as I wasn’t able to get anyone to help me with my makeup and hair, but in the end I think it was the best thing as when Hardy saw me he was looking at the same woman he fell in love with and I felt really comfortable with myself.
Our photographer Camilla then took us on a special path that allowed us to walk down a tree lined path along the water. We could then see all of our guests waiting for us. One of the children spotted us and all of the guests stood up and watched us as we walked the long path towards our garden ceremony.
The most important thing for our wedding was that we wanted the wedding to feel warm and welcoming. The main focus was all about bringing our two families together. We integrated our children into the ceremony and a part of the ceremony was dedicated to making a promise not only to each other but also to them. We wanted a wedding that would make everyone feel an integral part of our big decision. In the end we were surrounded by the people in our lives who have had the greatest impact on us as individuals and as a couple.
We personalized our ceremony by presenting the children with necklaces, the girls dainty necklaces and the boys dog tag style necklaces. They were both ordered and specially made on Etsy, signifying the new bond created by our marriage for our patchwork/blended family.
As it was an outdoor wedding we didn’t have any music for the processional or recessional. We decided on having some music at the end of the ceremony to signify that celebrations were about to start. We chose Ray LaMontagne’s Hold you in my Arms as that was a song that I sent Hardy when we first started dating.
The best advice I can give is start a mood board on something like Pinterest. It’s a great way to collect and sort your ideas. There are so many inspiring ideas out there but in the end its important that you stick to what seems right for you. By collecting various ideas you start to see trends in the things that really speak to you and then you can start to turn those dreams into reality. As this was a destination wedding where we had never been we had to rely on the help of Danish Island Weddings to create the atmosphere we were looking for. Our planner Louise was absolutely brilliant at listening and helping us design a day that was emotional, personal, and incredibly beautiful in its simplicity.
Our wedding colors were navy and cream combined with varying shades of deep pink and purples, but even this choice was something that developed organically. It was decided by the types of flowers available in Denmark at this time of year. I adore peonies and they were a big theme for the wedding. In the end when we first arrived in Aero and I saw all of the beautiful lilacs everywhere I immediately told Louise to please feel free to incorporate them in the flower selection. It was fate! She used them everywhere and now to this day when I smell lilacs I will immediately be drifted back to our special weekend.
At our evening celebration we ended up dancing a spontaneous traditional Danish Waltz. This was a very moving moment. We were suddenly surround by the locals of this tiny town. It moved us both so much to be so warmly welcomed by people we had never met. The feeling of love, joy and acceptance was something we will never forget.
The Wedding Team:
Photography – Camilla Jørvad Event Planning & Floral Design – Danish Island Weddings Ceremony Venue – Badehotel Aero Reception Venue, Catering, & Cakes – Den Gamle Købmandsgaard Invitations – Minted Wedding Dress – Romantique by Claire Pettibone Bridal Accessories – Prada Groom’s Apparel – Mr. Ash Rings – Anne Korn Accommodations – Andelen Guest House , Cafe Aroma
Congratulations to Kirsten and Hardy, and a huge thanks to Camilla Jørvad for sharing this gorgeous wedding with us! Love this destination wedding’s sophisticated vibes? Then you’ve got to see this chic Palm Springs destination wedding at Colony Palms Hotel !
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