another moment

I found myself alone again this afternoon.

The house was still and warm and quiet. So I sat, still and warm and quiet for some time.

And I enjoyed it.

Yesterday Flossy and I went with children and puppies to the local farmer's market and filled our basket with delicious local produce. Cavallo Nero, seasons first cherries, Manzanilla olives, Philippa's breads and heavenly good goat cheeses - blue and scrumptious Gruyere. Yum!

So I made myself (another) little platter and ate peacefully.
Slowly.
Savouring the flavours unimpeded by my beautiful children's constant interruptions.

I shared my time with some friendly plastic snakes before the lights of my life blasted back into my space.

And I was happy!

I wish you a wonderful week.

E x

early

This morning I woke gently.
You know those mornings where you transition effortlessly from deep restful sleep to wakefulness?

It was lovely and it was early, not quite 5.30am.

One of the darling little blackbirds outside my window was in full song.
He trilled and sang, cheerfully, hopefully, happily for some time before taking his song over the hedge and away.

I fed on his joy and slipped out of bed leaving Woo and Greg deep in slumber.

It was cool so I snuggled up in my gown and tiptoed to the kitchen. Our house is so tiny that stealth is imperative if you hope to have any alone time in the morning!  While the kettle rumbled to a boil I let the morning light in. It's a big sky day.

I played alone for an hour. ABC classic FM, sweet and soothing at this time of day, kept me company.  That, and my cup of well brewed tea.
There was time to inhale and move slowly - indulgently.
Peace and creativity flowed effortlessly.

Happiness.

 

My sweet sneezy boy crept by soon, and slithered on to my lap for the most precious of snuggles.  I buried my head in his hair and inhaled deeply.  He smelled of boy, my boy, sleepy, clean and well, just him.  

I love the smell of my babies.  Greg says he'd like to bottle the smell it's so good.

Eventually Tigs wriggled free of my embrace and the radio was drowned out by the Thunderbirds.  Nevermind.  I've stolen this moment and the day feels full of optimism and possibility.

Christmas is in the air - don't say it isn't!

Stay cool if you're in Melbourne.  It's going to be a warm one.

E x

styled

Be still my beating heart!

Styled Magazine has just released its second online magazine.

Filled to the brim with simply stunning images, DIY projects and tutorials, eye-candy, recipes, printables and oh, a little more eye-candy.

This issue two , The Art of Autumn Merry Making is here.

Oh, and you can read it on your iPad too,  if you're lucky enough to have one:)

And issue one, The Art of Merry Making here.

Victoria, the magazine editor of a Subtle Revelry also has a really lovely blog,

where you can find other wonderful DIY projects.

Go feast your eyes, tell me what you think.  Bliss huh?

It's going to feel like summer here this weekend :)

I hope that wherever you are you have a good one.

E x

My succulents better watch out ...

cold and frosty morning

A day too beautiful to waste and not to share.

We decided to keep out of the way of Sonia as she tried to clean up after us - no mean feat.  Woo in particular has the ability to undo faster than anyone, or even a team of housekeepers, can redo!

The last of the fog rolling away and a big ol' jet airliner roared out from within it.

I often forget this view of the property but actually it's very beautiful, not as broad a perspective as my usually favorite view but stunning actually.  I love the hills folding across each other, like origami.

The fog may have lifted over us but their was frost to be melted first.  The pups helped by racing like mad things across it in zig-zags following the bunny tracks.

I love how we've only just arrived at the bottom here and Woo is saturated.

The back of the dam up to the top.  I love every square inch.

I have a grand idea for hosting a summer party down here.  Hay bales, a banjo player for the first couple of hours and a crooner with a guitar for dusk on singing Pete Murray songs that we can all join in with - actually Pete Murray himself would be better!  I picture big old dressers laden with food and pitchers of cool homemade lemonade.  An old reliable tractor to ferry guests dressed in their finest cotton summer dresses and sandals.  Sunhats for everyone,  big floppy ones for the girls and debonair fedora-style straw hats or even cool straw cowboy hats for everyone.  I'll think about that part a little more.

There will be paper pompoms hanging from the bottom of that big old tree and lanterns lining the way from the tree to the house.  It would be so beautiful.  I'll be sure to let you know the date - bit don't hold your breath.  Dreams can be big you know.

Magic dew drops.

Boy and Dog.  I just love this image.

Rocker!  Actually he was explaining something to me.

Proper bush-bashing and brotherly help.  Look how filthy she was by this stage.  Only Woo.  Tigs is still relatively clean.

Shouldn't every child be able to run free and happy and uninhibited?

Miss Mimic doesn't want to miss out.

Dear old ancient Pippy having a ladylike paddle - a rare treat for her.

Ambushed!  Those beastly pups stalked her for some way around the dam and then ATTACK!

The morning was so perfect that even the dratted thistles looked glorious.

And as we sang our usual Grand Ol' Duke of York up the hill Tigs, with his grandfather's supervision began noticing these adorable little webs. 

No bigger than a 50c coin. 

I'm sure they were actually fairy sheets hanging out to dry.

winter sweeties!

I have had a super busy day.

I managed to get the house and car vacuumed.
The car and laundry washed. Even the skirting boards got a going over.
I took the children to the dentist - with a clean bill of health :)
It was Woo's first trip and Tiggy was the most marvelous role model, thank goodness.

I completed a dozen other little tasks, pharmacy, grocery store, returning goods, collecting office supplies, meal preparation, flower buying (and arranging - fun) bill paying, plant watering, mothering, homework assisting, feeding, bathing, reading and putting to bed of the littlies - repeatedly!

Interestingly with a list like this I often feel exhausted but tonight I feel buoyant and happy that I was able to get so much done.

And finally, I managed a little online shopping which I cannot wait to play with, hopefully it'll improve the blog too!

The rest of my week is scheduled to be similarly busy. I only hope that by the end of this week I'll remain as upbeat and energetic. This week will culminate with the start of the school holidays and us going on a little holiday :)

That's about all I have today. Sorry it's just a boring run down of tasks but it's a rare event to get so many items struck off the list in one hit so it really should be documented ;)

My challenge to you is to get something really boring tackled.
You know, the item that seems to get left on every list and carried over to the next, day after day after day?
Yep, that one. Go on just do it!!

E x

winter cheer

We're headed for a few grey and chilly days I think.
I love winter, I mean adore it! I don't particularly like being cold but I definitely love getting warm after being cold. I love hunkering down inside, heating on, snuggly socks warming my frequently cold feet.

I love soups and hearty stews. I love puddings. I really love the beach in the winter.
And I love the kind of huddling that we do in the winter. But even for this enthusiastic winter-phile the grey can sometimes benefit from a bit of balance. In preparation for the next bought of 'bleak' I popped to the florist and grabbed a big bunch of creamy white jonquils.





And then I spotted these adorable old milk bottles.

It's a subtle lift but makes all the difference to me!

Stay warm this week - or cool if you're over the hemisphere!

Thanks for dropping by,

E x

relaxing

Relaxing.
In autumn.

Something's a little off here, though.
Why's her hair stuck to her forehead?
Is that a water droplet on her cheek?

Oh, now that makes complete sense! Doesn't it? No?


Autumn it may be and cold too but, she wanted to play in her water centre.
So the good Mummy that I am, filled it with 'bath' temperature water. Only I didn't mean take a bath!

Woo you are so funny!

I should add that these photos were taken about 4 weeks ago - I know, bad blogger - so it wasn't quite as cold as it is now but it was chilly, nonetheless!

She lay there for quite some time just being. Being happy. Being peaceful. Being calm. Being spontaneous. Being present. Being Woo.

And it made me think that we should all be a little more childlike from time to time. Just let our hair down, dance in the rain, throw caution to the wind, wear odd socks, eat breakfast for dinner. Who cares if it's cold out, she didn't catch a cold. Who cares if it's inappropriate? Well some people might but hey-ho.

Woo is Woo and we love her to bits and applaud her quirkiness.

May your weekend give you the chance to embrace your inner child and be a little left-of-centre, or even a lot if you wish.
And please let me know what you did!

Thanks for popping by,
E x

let the sunshine

We have had the most glorious day here in Melbourne.  Achingly beautiful skies.  Tear inducing sunshine with the perfect ratio of heat to breeze .  Cups of tea with a great friend at her exquisite new house and then lunch and shopping with Woo and Momo.  Just the best kind of day.  It almost makes me weep.

Oh, and this song just gets to my core.  I hope it fills your day with sunshine.

Thank you for visiting.

E x

camelia + cupcakes

maman retourne

my mummy just came home after too, too long gallivanting around the world. but with her she brought, and bought, some lovely little things. her final leg of the journey was to normandy where she stayed with her long lost cousin and his wife who conveniently happen to have an eBay shop selling beautiful vintage french finds.

i asked on a whim, that if there just happened to be any old laundry labels with 'tt' on them, lying around in their sourced items, not really believing there would.

and, as if a little angel shone down, lo and behold ...

 they came from an old haberdashery that was closing down, oh, wouldn't i have loved it!!!  i'm not sure i'll be able to cut them up.  it says there is 'une grosse' - which is 144 - but they are so lovely as they are, all water stained, neatly rolled, and held together with the tiniest little pin. mmm, i'll think about it, they'll only be for 'special', if they do get snipped.

these two are just for fun. scrumptious marseillaise soap and my big cone of twine which has lived in the states, deemed too big to bring back, for over a year now. it's currently on my kitchen bench, making me happy, in amongst a pile of life's little annoyances...

someone smashed into my parked car, luckily i wasn't in it as it's totalled the driver door, phone screen cracked, little boy miserable with missing his best buddy from school, baby sick with a yucky cold
 (on her birthday - cruel) and - oh, that's enough isn't it?

it's just as well to have these non-essential lovelies around to brighten the day!

have a good weekend.

E x

round here

admiring the most exquisite vintage find.  it's brand new (albeit very old), complete with it's paper label glued on the back. 

i love the birds and the foliage and am thinking of some way to keep this lovely design alive.

sideboard piled with bows in varying stages of completion

 

sweet babes 4pm, "cuddling spotty" the fish, through the outside of the tank. 

one still in 'jamies and the other in every colour of the rainbow, hence the black + white image - it was just too awful for words. 

notice the swimsuit over the top? how could you not!

 

 

lemon cookies = happy boy

 oh, his eyes just melt my heart.

little memories