*e*

living, breathing

i have a new friend.

her name is nicole and she is an artist in every breath of her life. she paints, felts, sews, draws, builds. her garden, her home, her family are all so beautifully creative. after spending some time with her lately (and in her gorgeous, self-built straw bale studio), i feel like that little tea-light in me - the one that blew out quite a while ago now - has been re-lit.

just look at the food she prepared for us for lunch - so artistically presented i had to take a photo of it (YUM!)

her studio (and food) was an absolute visual feast...so many interesting things every way i looked. i'm planning to take some more photos give you a tour of her studio very soon ;)

nicole is opening an etsy shop to sell her amazing works in...things such as these felted bowls

as well as her signature nuno felted scarves and other pretties that will blow you away!

i am so very inspired by this woman...not just by her creations, but by her sweet and natural soul and way she authentically makes art and lives her life!

tired + cranky

this little boy, as adorable and innocent as he looks (photo taken today by jaz) - has not let me sleep more than 4 hours straight since he was born - and 4 hours is a luxury. lately he's been back to his newborn tricks of waking + fussing every 2 hours at night and refuses to cooperate with daytime naps.

he's lucky he has that face.

i am really, really tired and feeling fed up.

blogging to resume when i can form coherent sentences once more...

in the meantime you can check out the bags under my eyes and incoherent speech over at todays mama, in my first video tutorial (try not to laugh!)...

three.

 i was taking my weekly photo of mr boy...

(who was looking very cute i might add, i do so love him in a form-fitting bodysuit)

the coos and oohs (his + mine) lured this one into the room...

which doubled the sounds of cuteness and tempted the other one away from her mischief...

i looked through the viewfinder and thought to myself - wow, three little people who belong to me, all on one pillow - crazy.

crazy and blessed!

then, as happens when there are pillows and squishy cheeks around, it became a pile-up-love-attack-kissy-fest-feast!

i quickly took a picture and squooshed myself right down there with them.

if i could...

i would be laying under a tree reading all day long...

right now i'm halfway through this book and loving it (thanks to a blog reader for recommending!). i'm already sad for it to finish.

what juicy goodness have you read lately?

she loves her chooks

this is my girl. pretty dress + camo boots.

chasing lizards and climbing trees

admiring flowers, playing with baby dolls.

she continues to grow + change + amaze me every day. makes me more frustrated and more proud + full of love than anyone else. she is just so her :) and i love that.

every day she gallops up the back to tend to her chickens. no pet could be more loved. it's a happy backyard with children and chooks running around together (although it wasn't a happy mumma the day one chicken 'escaped' into the house and scuffed up my piles of clean washing on the floor!!).

on this particular day ivy requested my camera to take some photos of her little ladies...and here are her pictures - just as i found them on the card...

i especially love how she set up the nest and made yindi pose for a photo op.  tara whitney influence i'm sure!

i love seeing the world through through the eyes (and lens) of my children.

best pizza EVER

we have some of the best 'bests' here in WA (beaches, forests, food!), and yes - i am willing to argue with you about it!

i'm trying to remember to take my camera with me more, and slowly i will share some of these bests before i leave perth again (trying not to think about that!).

lets start with pizza!

now, i have indulged in pizza in napoli, italy - and oh.my.goodness...words cannot describe!

but...this pizza rates right up there with it, i tell no lie! check out the awards won if you don't believe me!

little caesars (um, NO relation whatsoever to the chain in the US!) is a tiny tiny local pizza restaurant that is always insanely busy but well worth the wait. what i love most is the awesome, creative pizzas they make (especially being vegetarian - they have great options) - our favourite is 'smashing pumpkin' - with roasted butternut pumpkin + cashew nuts. YUM!

mick prefers to coordinate wih his food whenever possible...

banjo really, really, REALLY wanted a bite.

sorry babe, you have to wait a while for that! oh, we are so cruel aren't we?

especially by denying him when this came out for dessert...

we think every meal, every course should be pizza!

treehouse 28 *february sponsor giveaway

i am a huge fan of treehouse28 - custom clothing coolness, and am so excited to share with you a peek into this amazing mama-made business.

i'm always fascinated by where artists work, how they find balance between business and mama-ing, what makes them tick - so i asked alix (creator of treehouse28 and pictured below) to share some of her story...

I started creating clothes back as far as I can remember. I drove my Mom nuts, as I would take clothes and cut them up into pieces and reconstruct them into something more creative. I remember these pants I would make... with patchworked fabrics. In hindsight I think they were very unfashionable... but I won't mention the Flock of Seagulls hairdo I sported along with them.
I began to make clothes for a living about four years ago. I posted a few things on Etsy... woke up the next morning to find they had sold.. and have not stopped since!

 

My workspace is in a studio in back of my house. I love having the ability to work from home. I have two small children that are my world... and have so much gratitude that I can be at work and interact with them. The studio has french doors that open up to a back yard with green green grass, orchards and Jacop's sheep.

(peek inside her studio)

Balance... I found a year back I became completely taxed with burning the candle at both ends, so took a step back and reorganized. When I started this business, I envisioned earning some grocery money every month... but when it blasted off so quickly I didn't have time to catch my breath. I went ahead and stayed up late nights, worked weekends...but that caught up to me ( and my family ). I now ship out twice a week, have days where I cut, days when I sew. Very regimented but it has allowed me space. I pick up my children every day from school and have weekends off. It is really just a matter of sticking to a tight schedule. When you work all on your own, that can be the biggest challenge... but on the flip side can be the most rewarding if you find that focus.

i love, love that she makes each piece custom according to your measurements for a yummy fit. i purchased a few things last year (this, this, this and these) while pregnant - i ordered them slightly longer to accommodate my growing belly. these four pieces were by far my favourite maternity clothes and the best thing is they weren't 'maternity clothes' - i can wear them anytime (ie small bump, gigantic bump, saggy after-bump...)

every time i go to her shop i have the hardest time deciding what to get - um, i want it all! and in every colour! i was curious and asked what her best selling item was...

Ruffled long sleeve top. Also one of my favorites. I do tend to wear the plain tanks and long sleeves.. layered with a crop top and arm warmers. It's all about layering:)

alix recently added a children's line of which i want every piece for my two girls! adorable!

have i mentioned how much i really love treehouse28? i do!

*you can have a piece of your very own too...alix is offering up a very cool seaweed scarf for a blog giveaway this weekend - you get to choose the colour. simply leave a comment below to be in the draw...and i will choose a name on monday - good luck!

and the winner is...

 

(yindi chose your comment by pointing at it with her chubby little finger, congrats!)

in this family we like to snack on each other

because that is one yummy tasting baby...

who also gets pretty hungry for some cheek chomping himself!

so? sew?

so what did i get up to on my day of sewing last week?

first of all i whipped up a skirt for yindi. she has this one hand-me-down skirt that is her absolute favourite...wants to wear it every day. with the piles of dirty clothes and nappies around here, it's not washed often enough! so a replica was in order.

it was quite simple - three strips with the edges serged, and then sewn to one another and an elastic waist. i'll be making more of them for sure!

then, i attacked the pile of cut up old tshirts that have been multiplying in my studio for the past 6 months. i started making a pile of tee skirts before banjo was born to sell at a local market! i haven't done anything to that pile since - so i finished some things, added a few more to the pile. maybe one of these months i will actually make it (with my pile!) to the market!
 

(this one i might have to keep for myself)

it was yindi's first day at playgroup and at 2 1/2 she already has her own definite sense of style. she knew exactly what she wanted to wear and there were to be no other options (i'm just glad she didn't insist on her bathing suit, which has been a common favourite of hers for quite some time). my grown up girl! dressed in her finery with beads and all!

i love it when they love what i make for them :)

on his way to the us of a...

ivy spent the summer holidays knitting this white koala (a friend for the brown one) for anna's birthday. he (she?) has a neck slightly thicker than most - but no matter - we all come in different shapes and sizes don't we?!! i

the two koala friends had just one simple request: a photo taken together before the big trip, and some gumnuts + leaves to be packed in for snacks en route to california. we are all comforted to know there are eucalyptus trees growing over there, and look forward to pictures of the whitney family climbing those trees in search of the juiciest leaves.

bon voyage koala!

ps - ivy's knitting teacher kindly shared the pattern for this lovely koala, you can download it here and rainbow ball pattern here - for personal use only please!