Boxing Day

This is the main reason why my sister and I chose to head home for the Australian summer. Family and sunshine. I hope this festive season finds you well and close with your loved ones.

Big love,

Falala Mele

endings and beginnings

Endings

My time in Mildura. The people, my job, students, friendships have been authentic and fulfilling. I'm so grateful for the experience.

2013. For many it has been a tough year however I'm always excited at the thought of another year unfolding. A friend recently said "I don't celebrate the new year anymore, I celebrate a new day".

Be thankful & bold and seize each day.

Festive Season. Even though there's still about another week of the festive season, I'm thankful for the abundant amount of family, food and time to just stop and breathe before it all starts churning away again.

My sister is underneath this heap :)

Beginnings

2014

New Goals: Health and well-being + travel and living abroad 

Grounded in my home roots (let's see how I handle this)

New adventure.... I fly out to Hawaii tonight, so Happy New Years in advance.

Whatever your truth, seek it and live it with conviction.

I wish you all the joy, health and happiness you could ever imagine as one year ends and another begins.

Big Love,

Falala Mele.

NAIDOC Celebrations Nowra & Wreck Bay

This week I attended two different NAIDOC day events in the Nowra and Wreck Bay communities.

So you might be thinking What is NAIDOC Week? 
Well it's a week long celebration held to recognise the culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in Australia. Many people (even those collectively held under the generalised term 'Australians') know little to nothing about the histories of the indigenous people of Australia.

It is a complex and delicate history and I've yet to find a textbook or school system that extensively and objectively explains and or recounts it. It's history has some similarities to other countries. Someone sets out with a purpose to find new and perhaps uninhabited land. They explore,  then claim the land and set upon changing the land and it's people to suit their needs. Indigenous Australians were misplaced, introduced to foreign diets and diseases. Some were taken from their families and put into homes, others were forbidden to speak in their language and or carry out traditional practices.

In 1965 a bus of Sydney University students travelled through NSW to expose the discrimination and living conditions of Aboriginal people. After this the"Assimilation policy is changed to that of Integration – Aboriginal people entering Australian society on their own terms and preserving as much of their culture as they choose".
It wasn't until 1967 that "91% of Australian voters vote YES in a Referendum to count Aboriginal 
people in the census and give the Commonwealth the power to make laws for Aboriginal people". This history and the fight for rights for Aboriginal people is still very fresh. To see a brief timeline of Indigenous rights and history click HERE.

It is a broad political issue in Australia and one that many choose to forget. The 'gap' between non-indigenous and indigenous Australians in education and health standards is a national shame. Yes, the government is trying to CLOSE THE GAP and while we are often bombarded with negative statistics, attitudes, comments and images about Aboriginal people, it's NAIDOC WEEK that reminds me how strong and vibrant they really are. They are an intricately unique, beautiful, honest and humble people. They are vast and varied. They deal with dual societies and cultures and generally live for moments rather than merchandise. They captivate me and I understand and identify with them because they became my culture when I was raised away from my own. They are not perfect nor without fault, because none of us are.

I wandered around both celebrations soaking up the beauty. I greeted all the Aunties and Uncles and people that I haven't seen in a while. I hugged my friends and were astounded by their growing tribe of beautiful babies. This place is alive and buzzing with life. Young people getting up and fearlessly telling stories through lyrics and music. Organisations reaching out and connecting. This is a proud and growing community of mine.

Big Love,

Falala Mele

Buy Nothing New Month is back!

Hello lovely ones, How are you all? I'm sooooo excited (even though I am a little late) to announce that Buy Nothing New Month is back HERE . Ever since I took up the pledge last year I can gladly say that those habits I formed within the last October, have stuck with me throughout the entire year.

 My wardrobe is now 90% chock a block with thrifted/opshop one-of-a-kind pieces and I just can't stop encouraging others to do the same. On my trip to New York and Vegas in July, nearly all of my pieces were sourced from second hand stores and I even managed to shop in some over there ;)

 I take extra care to turn off all the lights, recycle and I always think before I spend my hard earned money. I save for things I need because I really hate unnecessary bills. Even though these are simple things that we all should already do; the truth is that most of us don't and being mindful of my purchases helped me to unconsciously be mindful in other daily tasks.

 So I know you think a whole month (well it's less now) feels like an almost impossible task to buy nothing new, but in reality it really is only a few days. Just do it! Be responsible and accountable for your finances. Put your credit cards aside or better yet cut them up and if you really need it you can get another one.

 Buy nothing new.

 Buy what you NEED.

 Buy local.

 Buy smart.

 If you are currently buying nothing new please let me know. 

I would love to share your experiences and or blog posts on here.

Big Love,

Falala Mele

Dinner with the girls

I'm in love with this floral blazer and it reminded me of all the cool floral shit from the 90's (hence my lipstick  colour too). I found this at one of my local opshops and I can finally wear it since the weather is warming up here :)

 Dinner and dancing with the ladies at Chilli Jam in Parramatta.

Fun times with my lovely ones.


Big Love,


Falala Mele xo

Viva Magazine Feature

I arrived home after work totally exhausted. It was 8:00pm and I left my house when it was 6:00am. So I left when it was dark and came home when it was dark. It's week 5  of our 10 week school term and this hump week is not gonna pass as fast as the first four weeks.

Anyways as I was scrambling through the mail trying to find important papers for important matters that needed to be dealt with immediately. I found a big envelope with my name on it. As I picked it up I knew what it was. I didn't want to open it. There was like a little party of nerves and curiosity bouncing around in my head or tummy all at once. So my sister did the honors of ripping it open and turning the pages.

"It's probably right at the back" I said.

"It's probably really tiny" I said.

"I probably look crook" I said.

But as we found the page in Viva (a fashion/lifestyle publication from Amsterdam, The Netherlands) I started to giggle with excitement. My sister and cousin were like "COOOOOOOL you're in a magazine!" as she proceeded  to read the foreign language in a funny accent.

Sometimes my dear blog, you just seem to save my life.

Actually, it seems as though you save my life quite a lot. Thank you Falala Mele and to all my lovely followers and visitors. You are the people reading and the ones I share things with and when small things like this happen to my little old blog, it just makes a world of difference to an ordinary day.




Big Love,



Falala Mele xo

Supafest 2012

Catching the train with our DIY shirts (just need tape and spraypaint)

Glasses: Salvos 50c / Chain: Anglicare $2 / Blouse: Thrifted $1 / Earrings: St. Vinnies $2

Supafest is an urban music festival in Australia and it was the first time I attended. I had not planned to go because I'm not really a Chris Brown fan and he was the headliner but my sister's bestie won 2 tickets to go in a dance (aka booty shaking) competition and I really didn't wanna be the one to miss out so I brought my ticket (and was extremely excited to see Missy Elliot, Ice-Cube, Naughty by Nature and Ludacris). Turns out Missy had never confirmed that she was apart of the lineup.  I hate shady promoters and the lies they put out there to sell tickets. She never came. 

So anyways we stood ALL DAY LONG (I'm talking from 11am - 10:30pm without any toilet breaks and only sipping on water to avoid going to the toilet) but it was another chance to dance around with my friends and I repped one of my favourite artists atm MIGUEL and his song ADORN cause I still got that on repeat. Respect to those artists coming out and putting on a good show. Even Chris Brown did his thing. Wouldn't say I'm a fan now, but I'm no longer a hater.

 

Big Love,

Falala Mele