A holiday to me means new experiences — whether they’re local or global. Every month I lived in Canada I chronicled my working holiday in Expat Updates. Now I’m back in Australia, I’ve created Hayley Lately. At the end of each month, I talk about my life lately, my blog posts, what I’ve been reading (both on and offline) and my writing. I hope you enjoy learning about my new home and Melbourne moments. 

Life Lately

March got off to a great start in Bali, but then it took a turn for the worse when I came down with some kind of post-Bali belly. Four days in bed and I finally got over my sickness, but it wasn’t a great way to end an amazing holiday.

I then got back into work at both of my jobs, which has kept me pretty busy. It hasn’t been all work and no play, thankfully. Thanks to my work with The Australia Times I’ve been able to go to a couple of shows at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. I also caught up with friends from Brisbane, who I met in Vancouver. Their visit gave me an excuse to head out to St Kilda for delicious burgers, and penguin spotting on the pier. I totally didn’t know this was a thing, but I’m so glad they mentioned it. Penguins are the cutest.

I also booked flights for another getaway in May. I’ll be heading to Brisbane from the 13th to 15th May, and then 10 days later I will be back in Queensland and home on Magnetic Island. The thrill of booking flights never gets old.

Exploring St Kilda

Blogging Lately

 What has been going on in my blogosphere?

• Quite a few Hipmunk posts, thanks to my work with Copypress.

• A little Taking Stock post after my Bali trip.

• I also wrote about my love for Vancouver. This city has been on my mind more and more lately.

Reading Lately

Following on from my Taking Stock post, I have been reading quite a bit lately. I finished Mindy Kaling’s book, Why Not Me? It was funny, wise and an easy read. I followed this with Brooklyn, which was fantastically written. Historical romance is so my favourite genre, and this book is set in both Ireland and Brooklyn in the 1950s. I also read the second novel in the Fallen series by Lauren Kate. I’m obviously a sucker for YA fantasy.

My favourite reads on the internet today? Phoebe from Little Grey Box lifted the lid on just how much money travel bloggers make. Global Roaming did a great post on moving to London, which I may or may not use in the future. I enjoyed this post from Justine about Phnom Penh, and I am looking forward to her future posts about her new home in Beijing. Finally, if you ever want to travel to Nicaragua solo, this post by Jess is for you.

Watching Lately

Movie-wise, I checked out Brooklyn after reading the book. It was excellent, as are most Nick Hornby-written films. I also started The Mindy Project after I read Mindy Kaling’s novel. It’s as funny as I predicted. I may have just finished Season 2 already…oops.

Writing Lately

I wrote a piece for Feast Melbourne on my experience at new cafe, Frankie Says. I have also continued my work with Copypress and Article Writers Australia. But from this month onwards I am working one less day so I can have a full day to focus on my freelance writing. We shall see how that goes.

April sees me sticking to Melbourne and saving for May’s adventures in Queensland. What are you looking forward to in April?

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