Thursday, October 31, 2013

Happy Birthday Amy!


Today is my lovely, smart, funny, organised, determined, talented, kind, brave, sister Amy's birthday - she's pretty special & I love her to bits :)

Happy Birthday gorgeous!


Her celebration is happening on Saturday, but we wanted her to have a treat on her actual birthday too, so Mum baked some funfetti cupcakes for her as a surprise.

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

five senses | home


          Seeing: the sun kissed fields, wide blue (& grey) skies & open spaces

          Tasting: honey cookies & hot tea

          Hearing: sparrows chattering, the wind blowing & the patter of rain-drops

          Touching: lying in my own bed, under a familiar quilt

          Smelling: sweet honeysuckle & home-cooking


Our time away was wonderful, but it is also very, very nice to be home...

totally inspired by this post

Sunday, October 27, 2013

light & lavender


one (or does this count as two?) of my favourite things to photograph

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

this, that & the next thing...


Just for fun, a few random facts about me:

1. I have lots of siblings - an older brother & sister, three younger brothers & two younger sisters
2. I love being up in the early morning - but not getting out of bed early
3. I love books & reading
4. When I was little, apparently I used to demand not one, but several bedtime stories every night (sorry Mum!)
5. I love learning new skills
6. I don't have sugar in either tea or coffee
7. There are four girls & four boys in my family
8. When my parents were naming me, Dad was determined that my name would end in 'ie'
9. I always do my best to spell people's names properly, because other people usually spell mine wrong.
10. I have European heritage - Polish, Latvian, Czech, German
11. I love baked goods, especially with lemon. Or chocolate. Or coffee. Or almond. Or fruit...
12. I love coffee, but it has to be real coffee, not instant
13. I love tea too, and drink way more of it than I do coffee
14. I'm currently reading Garment of Shadows, by Laurie R. King
15. I've just had my hair dyed a deep mahogany brown (not sure how well you can tell in the photo)
16. I've spent far to long trying to think of something interesting to write, so I'm going to stop now...

Saturday, October 19, 2013

lovely links...


The blossoms are mostly gone, but there are still plenty of signs of spring around - new growth, honeysuckle, baby birds, weather that is up, down & blowing us away...


Lovely, romantic photos of people in love...elegance amongst the blossoms, good humour by the beach, fun with a bicycle, a magical Uluru elopement and joy by the river.

What would you choose to learn?

An interesting talk, a garden in Stockholm, some beautiful spring blossoms, gorgeous portraits.

Beautiful black & white photography 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5


Some scrumptious coffee recipes I'd love to make (or just eat, if anyone else feels like baking?): Espresso Cheesecake Brownies, Vanilla Bean & Espresso Spelt Scones, Frozen Mocha Cake, Cappuccino Swirl Snickerdoodles (such a strange/awesome name for a biscuit) & Cafe Mocha Cupcakes.

& just for fun, some definitions of love from literature.

+ a little video about our local library, featuring yours truly (briefly) :)

Thursday, October 17, 2013

away we go


We're off on a family holiday & have all sorts of fun things planned for our stay in Brisbane. After my cousin's wedding we're going to fill our days with rainforests, markets, galleries, beaches, gardens, high tea, visiting family & whatever else we can come up with.

It's going to be lots of fun & there's even a slight chance I'll come home with a few photos...


...ok, maybe more than a few ;)

I've put my etsy shop in vacation mode while we're gone, but I will check in, so send me a convo if you need something :)

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Sunday, October 13, 2013

recently...


...we've been having very changeable weather - from hot to cool, with plenty of sunshine, a little rain & lots of strong wind...so, spring weather basically...

...completed week 4 - the last week - of my month of mornings project. I decided to do it early in the season (unlike the first three seasons) so that I would have some blossoms - since they are one of the most 'spring' things I could possibly photograph...

...I have some extra photos from that week (naturally) & I've shared a few so far 1 | 2 (more to come)...


...it was my birthday last month...

...had another visit to Wirrabara Forest - wandered paths, collected some textures & enjoyed the flowing water...

...some sketches, a day at the market, a few good things and some new books (which are also good things)...


...a little baking - lemon blondies (the recipe calls them brownies, but they're more blondie-coloured), which are somehow almost cheesecake-like & are totally awesome & a couple of weeks ago, chai tea cupcakes...

...a travel inspired teleidoscope photo...

...and some beautiful blossoms.

Friday, October 11, 2013

murder & mystery...


Two of my favourite series have had new books come out recently & I have treated myself to both - I borrow lots of books from the library, but there is something wonderful about having your own copy of a book.

I have every book in both the Phryne Fisher & Mary Russell series (so far) & plan to keep collecting them - if you like clever, entertaining mysteries I highly recommend them.


I'm keeping Garment of Shadows for reading on our Queensland trip later this month, but I've already started Murder and Mendelssohn - trying to pace myself & not stay up all night finishing it :)