In a stunning turn of events... I'm making a blog post? What is this? Who am I? Is this real life?
Yeah... it's been a while. Sorry about that. But never fear! I'm back, procrastinating doing my homework as usual, and for this reason I have decided to fill you all in on my latest adventure. On July 22, I awoke at an ungodly hour which shall not be repeated, and along with my mama, her bestest pal and two of my favourite ladies, piled in LJ's Mercedes Vito kidnap van, and embarked on our 18 hour road trip to our new home for the next few days - a beautiful, spacious house in little old Mullumbimby in Northern NSW. (Hometown of Iggy Azalea, just in case you were wondering. You weren't.) Of course, I didn't even make it to Byron before making my first purchase for the weekend - Bangalow, you were pretty, and the shemademe crochet bikinis I picked up were even prettier.
Here's a paddock and one of many rainbows we spotted along the way while it absolutely pissed down rain.
Feeling completely and utterly knackered, we ordered some takeaway Chinese and it was straight to bed for all us festival goers. It never fails to amaze me how tiring it is to sit in a car and stare out a window all day.
Friday morning was an excited blur of cereal eating, outfit coordinating and terrible eyeliner application, before heading into the heart of beautiful Byron for some lunch and pre-Splendour shopping. While waiting in line for an ATM, we spotted Raph Dixon of One Day/Jackie Onassis/The Meeting Tree roaming the streets, which was kind of a big reminder - we are actually here. We are going to Splendour in the Grass Today! (Cue excited dancing.)
A vegetarian's heaven: haloumi burger, fries and fresh watermelon juice with my favourite ladies.
Before long, it was time to head home, and put on our festival gear and gumboots before catching the bus up to the North Byron Parklands. Within minutes of arriving at the venue, it became apparent that this was going to be one very muddy, memorable weekend. Highlight of the day was definitely Peking Duk - they never fail to impress me with their incredible live set, filled with special guest appearances from Safia, Harts and Thundamentals, to name a few. While we partied in the Mixup Tent with those legends, the rain started back up again, which meant the walk back to the bus stop afterwards was ankle deep in mud. RIP my yellow socks.
DAY 1: SAN CISCO, TKAY MAIDZA, GRIMEZ, PORTER ROBINSON, PEKING DUK
OUTFIT DETAILS: may the label t-shirt dress / vintage levi's jacket via grandma funk / ray bans / status anxiety bag / doc martens / cotton on socks
The next morning was a groggy affair. When I woke up at around 11:30, it became very clear that I wouldn't be making it to Circa Waves' set at 12:15. Instead, we decided to laze around and watch Workaholics before heading back for round two, beginning with Safia - who were amazing! We spent all day partying, making new friends (I met my "husband of four years" at Mickey Kojak, and I didn't even get his number), and of course, getting muddier than ever. Biggest regret of the day was not saying hello to the queen herself, Mimi Elashiry when she walked right past us (!!!). Day two awards for best sets go to Purity Ring and Flight Facilities! (Side note: to the boy who decided to attack my face with his mouth in FF, that is not how you are supposed to do it.)
DAY TWO: SAFIA, MICKEY KOJAK, YOUNG FRANCO, PURITY RING, AZEALIA BANKS, FLIGHT FACILITIES
OUTFIT DETAILS: vintage overalls via grandma funk / skin and threads top / cotton on hat / doc martens
The end was nearly here. It was a bittersweet feeling; as tired as we were, I felt like I could party this hard every day for as long as I lived. Splendour, you were amazing, and you definitely saved the best for last! It was muddy, hot, sweaty, crazy and the most fun I've had in a very long time. Alison Wonderland was absolutely killer (I've never been that hot in my life) and Carmada was 100% the perfect way to finish up the best weekend in history. All 30,000 of you legends partied like there was no tomorrow and it was the best first Splendour experience I could've ever hoped for.
DAY 3: SET MO, ALPINE, JAMIE T, JOYRIDE, ALISON WONDERLAND, CARMADA
OUTFIT DETAILS: princess polly top / rollas shorts / status anxiety bag / cotton on hat / doc martens
And that was it! Another two seemingly endless days of driving and we were home, and still as I sit here now, all I want to do is go back and relive it all again. There's always next year, right?
Thanks so much to my mom, LJ and my lovely little friends for partying with me, and special mention to Jorja for being our own personal walking disco ball on the last day. We lived off twisted chips, soft pretzels and Dutch pancakes for three days and avoided those portaloos like the plague (I didn't pee the whole festival!), and it was the most wonderful weekend I could've ever imagined. It's going to be hard going back to school this week. Someone send help.
Until next time!
