The times they are a changin’

Lots of things change within a year.

I’ve been thinking about this all week – how we ever-so-slowly change and grow, and how nothing really ever stays the same. And today - because it’s my birthday, and a gal can do what she likes on her birthday (within reason, of course) – I thought I’d write a post on a few of the random things that have changed over the last year, like….

1. I now like leeks, spinach, and kiwi fruit. I’ve also been able to drink full cream milk for the first time in nearly ten years, and am experimenting with the after-effects of eggs, after not eating them since my late teens. So far, so good. And how good are eggs?!
2. My feet are no longer made for heels.
3. My new ultimate favourite homemade dessert is lemon tart. It wins hands down over chocolate every time. I also had my first ever macaron about six months ago. Oh goodness.
4. I never used to wear jewellery – but over the last year, I’ve slowly been buying handmade beads and brooches and things, and it’s so lovely. Easiest way to add a bit of brightness to a well worn outfit.
5. I haven’t written in a journal for a whole year today, and it’s the first year in more than twenty that I haven’t.
6. I’ve learnt to really trust my creative instincts over the last year. The things that I have a great ‘gut feeling’ about are the things that others love just as much as we do.
7. I had my first filling and first tooth extraction this year.
8. I used to be totally fine with drinking instant coffee, until we found a stove-top coffee percolator in the cupboard, left behind by the previous owner. Oh, how good it is - the smell of brewing coffee first thing in the morning, the real jolt of caffeine, and perfectly frothed milk. I admit it: I’ve definitely become a coffee snob.
9. Since our house seems to be a shining beacon for all things beastie, I’m delighted to discover that I’m no longer afraid of crazy long snakes or big-as-your-hand spiders. It was proven this week, when a carpet python curled up at our front door, and we had our first mega huntsman for the warmer months appear in the bedroom. I took photos of them both.

10. Somewhere along the line this year, I realised I was happy – like really happy, for the first time, ever. You know that wallowing-the-goodness-of-life kind of happy? Where you live in a technicolour bubble and life is full, beautiful, brimming with possibility. It’s put a soft, rosy glow on the year that has been, which is the best way to step into the year that’s ahead.  

Thank you for indulging me, dear readers!

Do you have any random things that have changed over the last year? Tell me!  

Nat

Grateful #22: What are you thankful for this week?

It’s been a crazy couple of weeks.

But in amongst some out-of-this-world temper tantrums (toddlers – sheesh!), was the loveliest, food and wine filled holiday spent in the company of the most wonderful people. It’s given me so much to be grateful for this week, including….

The comfort and contentment of home. We had the most delicious time away, and absolutely loved exploring and spending time with our beautiful family in Adelaide. But how nice is it to come home to familiar spaces, well loved things (and to a beloved husband who was lonely without two rambunctious children)?

We arrived home late, on a warm, clear night, and as soon as the bags were inside, I crawled into our bed with the smile of a happy traveller. In the morning, I couldn’t help but marvel at the growth in the garden (our tomatoes and snow peas are in bloom!), and even allowed Ella, our stinky mastiff, to lie smiling on my feet.

I baked, drunk tea, and pottered; did loads of laundry and watched a snake wind its way around a tree in the garden. I took up my needle and began to sew.

I like travelling, but I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m a homebody at heart; and it made me even more grateful for our patch of the world, and all the love and life it contains.

Lyra. The littlest and loveliest of our family turned two a couple of days ago – Lyra (or Lou) spent the day in a sea of colourful balloons and pink wrapping paper, talked loudly, giggled and squealed, ate dreamy vanilla cakes with chocolate butterflies perched on top, drew all over her legs and face with new felt-tip pens, and was loved up by lots of people who think she’s just the bees knees (Judah, on the other hand was so distraught that it wasn’t his birthday that he spent most of the day crying, and/or stamping his feet with the injustice of it all; which is actually pretty funny).

But our sweet Lyra-Lou – goodness, I love her. She wakes with a smile on her face every morning, charms the socks off anyone who meets her, and is just the loveliest, most delightful little person. I spend all day thinking about how very, very fortunate we are to have this precious girl as our own, and how much light and love she’s given us in the two short, blink-of-an-eye years that she’s been here. And that she’s my child: my heart almost bursts with gratitude.

How about you? What are you grateful for this week?

Nat

Ps. Want to play too? Link your grateful post back to Maxabella Loves, or write your grateful list in the comments section below x

Lyra-Lou is turning Two!

A little lady is having a birthday in our house soon.

I actually think that this is more exciting for me as a parent, than it is for Lou; because at almost two, the concept of a birthday is lots of fun, but something that seems to happen to everyone else. And even though I’ve been telling her that it’s her very own birthday soon - which means balloons, and cake, and hugs and presents - she looks at me with a ‘So what, mum?’ kind of face, and wanders off, leaving me to explain to Judah exactly why he can’t have a birthday and a cake of his own (on the same day, with hundreds of colourful balloons to-boot), and why we only have one birthday a year and not as many as we want (thank goodness for that).

So, I was keen to make as many of her presents as I could, and because our Lou loves to pretend, cook and force-feed her dolls, this week I started making her some felt food to play with.

Think: A sunshiny pretend-picnic, with lovely salad sandwiches, some delicious doughnuts and cakes, a couple of sweet red apples, fruit salad, and a cheerful red and white cherry-print sheet to sit on. Who wouldn’t want to join in?

Nat

Ps. It’s totally fun sewing something new!

Happy birthday, little boy…

It’s my Judah’s third birthday today, and I’m reeling at the idea that a whole three years has passed already since I held him, newborn, small and sleepy, in my arms. Today we’re celebrating with cake, smarties, the beach, and small and tall friends and family over for a big hearty dinner (and more cake); there’s a pile of lego in our lounge room for the first time, and much contented fixing is being done…by all of us. And there’s a bedroom strewn with colourful streamers, the floor filled with balloons, and a very excited little boy who’s been singing happy birthday to himself most of the morning.

A big and kinda grown up three years old. And such a loud, comedic, creative, energetic, kind-hearted, joyful tumbling and rough-housing boy - we've been blessed beyond measure.

Do you do something special to celebrate a birthday?

Nat

Grateful #17 – What are you thankful for today?

It’s a rainy, cool morning here in Brisbane. Warm corners of the house are inviting us to read stories and watch cartoons, last night's fire is still crackling in the grate, and small feet are running about in woollen socks with blankets rescued from the ends of beds. I’m doing some last minute sewing, but dreaming of knitting with soft mohair wool, even though I’ve never knit a stitch (is that the right phrase?) in my life. Perhaps this winter is the time to start?

I’m feeling light in my heart this week; and in amongst the bustle of our house, I’ve stopped this morning to be grateful for:

Birthdays. How lovely is the whole concept of having a birthday? A day that’s entirely yours - where lots of lovely people remember and celebrate the fact that you’re here (and they’re so glad that you are). A day that sees you being loved, and treasured, and maybe even pampered and spoilt; a day in which you’re fed delicious, decadent things, given thoughtful presents, and where you’re able to spend hours in the company of people you love. Birthdays mean doing things your way; perhaps even relaxing or abandoning the daily rules. For grown ups, it could mean a lie-in, a coffee in bed, or a kid-made breakfast with random flowers from the garden. For children, it’s a heaven-on-earth scenario, where all the big people in your world lavishing lots of attention and love. And cake (Chocolate too is allowed, and special treats encouraged. And everyone is made to be nice as pie all day). Birthdays mean a whole year wiser, lots of lessons learnt - maybe the hard way - and a whole brand-new-shiny year just brimming with opportunity.

It’s not my birthday, just in case you’re wondering; but I’m grateful for the opportunity and reminder to celebrate the lives of the people we love so dearly.

Bees, butterflies and birds. I know - strange thing to be grateful for, right? But I’ve started to slowly plant out the vege garden with bee and bird attracting plants to help with pollination over spring and summer, after an unproductive season last year. I’m learning so much about the garden as I go along; how nature is very clever at helping things work together in harmony, how one thing often relies on something else to help it grow, and the creative role that bees and birds play in a sustainable garden.

Over autumn, I hand pollinated all of our pumpkins to help them grow, after realising that absolutely no bees came to our patch. In the new-morning light, I’d be out in the garden watching the bright yellow buds unfurl from their sleep, paintbrush at the ready, lifting leaves and stalks to find the male and female flowers. But all the while, thinking in my head how ridiculous it was, and how I really had to do something about helping nature help itself.  So, with a bit of prep, I’m hoping for a wildlife influx over the warmer months, and a garden brimming with sweet smelling flowers and happily (or naturally) pollinated vegetables.

As a side note, so proud of my winter vege bed, just blooming with beetroot, carrots, onions, rosemary and leek….

What are you grateful for this week?

Nat

Ps. Linking up with the delightful Maxabella Loves – and you can too! Add your grateful post to her linky list here, or write your gratefuls in the comments section below x

Grateful #9: What are you thankful for today?

It’s been all sewing systems go here for the last few days, with lots of projects on the go at the same time. I’ve been pulling out my machine once the kids have gone to sleep, and sewing late into the night, with a cup of tea, the warmth of the fireplace, and something lovely for dessert.

What am I sewing? Read on to find out more…

This week I’m grateful for:

Milestones. During the week, my beautiful little second cousin, Mila, turned one. I just love the time around the first birthday; babes are as sweet as sugar, almost walking, chattering away, and loving exploring the world around them.

First birthdays for babies are such an important milestone; yes, it’s a celebration of the first year of their life, an amazingly remarkable year. But it also celebrates the first year that you were a parent (of one, two, three or more); a year of sleepless nights, endless nappies, teething, tumbles. It celebrates first smiles, first teeth, the first laugh, and first steps; and all those nights that you stood silently next to their cot, watching their sweet sleeping face, marvelling at the beauty of this little child that belongs all to you.

It celebrates the year that sees you come into your own as a parent, and honours your confidence, patience, love, tenderness, compassion, gentleness, persistence, and a million other amazing qualities that have flooded your heart since the arrival of this precious babe. It celebrates the fact that your life will never be the same again, which is the most fantastic thing of all.

I was, admittedly, a crying mess on Judah and Lou’s birthdays – not in sadness, but in total gratitude for the lovely little people we’d bought into the world; and we celebrated in a big way to commemorate the wonder of the year that had been.

Today, we’re heading off to Mila’s first birthday party. And to celebrate her special milestone, I’ve been sewing away, attempting a totally handmade box of deliciousness - scalloped bunting to hang in her bedroom, in plums, chocolates and teal; and flying birds to watch from her cot.

There’ll be lots of kids and cake, and a little lady with the sweetest, gentlest nature, at the centre of it all...

What are you grateful for today?

Nat

Ps. Want to play too? Link your Grateful post back to the lovely Maxabella, or feel free to write your grateful list in the comments section below x