28 January 2016

Sunflower Fields + Sandy Toes



January always flies by doesn't it?
 I cannot believe February is just days away. That's when we get serious and start our new year resolutions right? January was just a practice run :P

January for me is always quick, there is a the public holidays at the start, then my Mums birthday, my birthday and then Australia Day. Lots of cake, celebrations and fun to be had. 

I have had a fun week, making the Australia Day public holiday a long weekend. We set off last Friday morning to South Ballina beach for four nights of camping. The days were spent driving on the beach, trying to find the ultimate fishing hole and casting a line. We didn't have much success fish wise, but we had alot of fun.

Here is a little snapshot of our camp setup and beach days...










  
 I guess you could call it glamping.
We have a camper trailer, so I sleep on a queen size mattress up and off the ground. I have a lovely outdoor kitchen, complete with a Weber BBQ and plenty of bench space!

We have only recently bought the Weber so it was the first time it came camping with us and it worked a treat. We cooked on it nonstop. You can see here the lamb roast we cooked with roast potatoes..mouth watering! I then used the remaining lamb and put it on a pizza with pumpkin I grilled on the hotplate (complete with boccocini, baby spinach and pinenuts even!). It was a gourmet cookathon. I am a big meal planner when camping and hate food going to waste. I always make sure I pack enough as I love being self sufficient and not having to stock up at the shops every few days. It was a complete success, there was plenty of food and we had very full bellies.

Do you take your Weber BBQ camping too? I have been on Pinterest looking at all the recipes and ideas on there, I am going to try baking a cake on it I think. Why not!


Day 1 back at work after the long weekend was a little different to the usual work routine. If you are new around here, Hubby and I have a Construction Business and I run the office, schedule and accounts which keeps me busy Monday - Friday. Working as a husband and wife team means that we spend alot of time together and yesterday was no exception. I accompanied Hubby on a trip out to the Darling Downs to look at some upcoming projects.  

We left the Gold Coast and headed for Stanthorpe, then linked back up through Warwick to Toowoomba. On the way I was determined to visit Allora and the Sunflower Way, a drive that has endless fields of sunflowers. Or so I thought! They proved a little harder to find than I thought and we had to take a little side road to come across the sunflower fields I was chasing. Apparently some fields had already been harvested and others were not growing as the prices for sunflower oil and sunflower seeds were low. 

I was determined to find the sunflowers though and it paid off.
 In the distance we could see a field glowing yellow and I knew we had hit the jackpot. Rows and rows of sunflowers as far as the eye could see. They stretched all the way to the horizon and I was so captivated...here are some of the beauties I captured.





It was truly an unforgettable moment, trekking through the fields, sunflowers at shoulder height and being able to stand amongst their yellow glowing beauty. Well worth the 12 hour drive and roundtrip! Plus I got to spend the day with Hubby too!

I went home wanting to sell up and buy a farm and be a sunflower farmer! It was just so captivatingly beautiful!

What about you, have you ever seen fields of sunflowers before?
If you are in the Queensland region and want to see these beauties let me know and I will share with you the secret spot!

 Incredible huh?
Follow Glamour Coastal Living:
 INSTAGRAM // FACEBOOK // PINTEREST // SHOP

1 comment:

  1. This is my kinda long weekend! Beautiful photo's Ashlea, and oh my you must've been over the moon to find the field of sunflowers. A photographers delight, I haven't seen anything like this. Although in our wheat belt region the canola fields are quite a sight to see when in full flower. I'll be sure to hit you up for the secret directions next time I'm in your neck of the woods. Simply beautiful xx

    ReplyDelete

It makes my day receiving your lovely comments - feel free to leave one below x Ash