26/52

"A portrait of my babies, once a week, every week."

Bijou -  Pondering tiny leaves creeping their way up a wall.
Remy - A little woodland elf.

Judah and his delicious cheeks so like my own little man's and Hobbes and his dinner...so very beautiful.
Joining in with the beautiful Jodi.

Steph x

sling diaries - joy

The crisp Winter air had descended upon us with the setting of the sun. The night held a milky hue in suspension as we climbed the front stairs and a full moon in all it's luminescent splendour shone from the jet sky above. Flanked by tiny sprinkles of glitter this glowing orb caught your full attention and I hesitated at the door for you to drink it in. Eyes froze still with lashes closing only momentarily to refresh their liquid and pupils instantly dilating to absorb the brightness with ease.

I watched as the corners of your mouth began to curl heavenward as your knowing of the natural world surfaced. This moon was one you had seen many times before and you knew it all too well  yet you viewed it this night with such wonder and serenity as if it had only shown itself to you for the first time. It's beauty washed over you and sunk deep into your pores. You radiated pure joy.

For an age we stood there in silence, you marvelling at the moon and I marvelling at you.  I felt my own mouth mirror yours but not from the magnificence of this celestial body did this feeling sporn. Enveloped in the warmth of your discovery and happiness my own took shape. Bathed in incandescence we stood together you and I and the joy brought me to tears.  I turned my gaze to the moon and beheld such a sight. For the first time I saw it through your eager eyes and its delicate bloom took my breath away.

My baby, I will hold your hand as your limbs stretch and grow and your imagination and learning ignites. Together we will view this world with new eyes and I will bask in all it's radiance.

Steph x

I am dancing about in the glow of the sunset wearing  Remy in the Sakura Bloom Simple Silk Sling in Pebble. 

Images by our beautiful and talented friend, Ellen Arthur. Thanks so much for your generosity sweet lady. x

the creatives

For the last five years of my being I have tucked away a little part of me. Ambitions and some dreams have been shelved in a dark and quiet corner where dust can't blanket them. To weave words around art and landscapes, to capture life's sparks of magic with rawness and integrity. These yearnings were never forgotten, just held in time whilst other grand adventures unfolded.

It was with a swollen belly and the imminent arrival of our first born that I cast aside these daydreams and dived with force and determination into the beautiful and tumultuous sea that is being a Mumma. Some days the cerulean around me caresses my skin and leaves me revitalised and optimistic for the future of all that is good. Other days, the zig zaggy current tosses me about like a tiny cork and threatens to haul me below the surface where light and air can no longer reach me. Thankfully, I have always managed to stay afloat.

But to be handed a day to rekindle the quietly glowing embers of possibility. A day of discovery and inspiration with chances to further explore the art of photography and to consolidate all I know of the written word. A room of kindred spirits and magnificent gentle sunshine.  To step out of the day to day and immerse myself in light and colour and language. A soothing elixir to be quaffed languidly as a day of beauty unfolded.

Together we talked, we walked, we explored. Our boots tread new paths and our journeys thus far intertwined. Unknown souls became kindred spirits as we imagined and created, as we threaded words and pictures together. Beneath silvery gum trees and beside lapping shores we were storytellers.

Steph x

"The Creatives" is a workshop run by the beautiful and talented Tim Coulson and Jodi Wilson. For more details visit Jodi's serene space. Thank-you lovely souls x

sunday evening

It's the lull between the treacly flow of the weekend and the white water rush of the week; Sunday evening.  A few candles are lit and sometimes tea is poured, more often, red wine. Quietly I peruse the shelves of the bathroom cabinet for essential oils to nourish mind and spirit and invite creativity to come out and play. Orange and cinnamon or perhaps rosemary, clary sage and geranium.  With slippered feet and wool about my shoulders I sit down at our delicious old table and settle into my task, to plan the week ahead.

A menu is concocted and the shopping list hums along merrily beside it. Well thumbed cook books form are colourful tower beside my tea cup and I linger over grainy photographs of figs and walnuts. I call out to my beloved to check our stocks of cinnamon and honey as my palate is begging for something warming and syrupy this week. I immediately jot down double cream.

My weekly plan with the fluidity of a mountain stream aims never to lock me in drowning every ounce of spontaneity in "to do's" but rather it is a guide, a list of gentle reminders and dreams. I've learnt to be less ambitious with my proposed undertakings. Not in a negative, "I never get time for anything!" way but a more  kind and gentle approach that encourages peace within my role. My goal each week is to come away content with the completion of simple, home enriching tasks, to work with my hands for whiskers of time and be present with my babies as they explore their world. Anything more is icing on the cake.

This list writing, nourishment planning and dream delving time is a grounding exercise that whets my appetite for the week to come. I charge forward into the new shiny Monday eager to see what possibilities she holds rather than shielding my unprepared eyes from her blinding glare. To map out our weekly journey regardless of how far we deviate throughout our days is both peace making and soul nourishing. To sip wine, to make plans, to dream. That is Sunday evening.

Do you plan your week? Does scribing your ideas for the week hem you in or calm you?

Steph x

I'm drawing this lovely giveaway in a few days and I'd love for you to join in.

little things

Little things that make our world. Things I want to capture, tuck away and peek at another day....and smile.

Ever grasping for leafy things.
Peg Basket *
Kale in an old jug equals all kinds of lovely.
Mastering the passionfruit.
Just before she road a ginormous black bull named Midnight.
Rusty curlicues so ignite my imagination.

Steph x

* Visiting a beautiful friend's family property I fell in love with all the green, the trees and the space. The embers for our own tree change have erupted into a magnificent and all consuming blaze. 

Joining in with the beautiful Em.

I'll be drawing my little giveaway soon so please join in.

25/52

"A portrait of my babies, once a week, every week."

Bijou -  Holding a baby chicken with such tenderness and care. She promptly informed me we were going to have ten baby chickens and ten Mumma chickens running around our yard....and a cow and a cat....and....
Remy - Milkshake drinking is serious business.

Beautifull Josephine and her corn reminded me of my own bright eyes babe. and squishy Sawyer is all kinds of lovely in the morning sun.
Joining in with the beautiful Jodi.

Steph x

I have a little giveaway for the Papa Bears in your lives so please pop over and enter.

fatherhood - and a giveaway

Darren wears a check shirt and messenger bag c/o Joules.

Men are thrust into fatherhood. Like the unlikely actor ripped from the audience, planted centre stage and illuminated by a single spot light these bemused souls stare out into a sea of blank faces for reassurance. A tiny creature heckles them from a clumsily wrapped swaddle, its boos and hisses rising in volume with each muddled line or gesture.

Women on the other hand are immersed in the entire production from the get go. There is much prop buying, the mammoth yet deliciously creative task of set design and the scrunching of feather soft fabrics whilst collating the star's wardrobe.  Gatherings of like minded souls occur often to dissect and discuss every detail of the dialogue, the cast and each scene as it unfolds. And there are ample opportunities to rehearse complex manoeuvres with stunt doubles.

But even with this lack of rehearsal all the men I have known have found their voice and shone on the night. The glare of their fifteen minutes of fame fading gently to a beautiful glow of the everyday. I have seen calloused hands cradle downy heads with such tenderness and fragility and rivers of tears wash down the steeliest of faces. Wide shouldered bear like fellows bedecked in sparkly this and that in the care  of a four year old hairdresser and wild, raucous belly laughing from little people ensnared by tickling fingers.

Without book nor gaggle of mentors they muddle, they navigate and above all they blossom. Inspired by an innate yearning to protect, to hold close. And to heave squirming, giggling bundles up upon their shoulders.  Such is their way.

Steph x

When I was approached by a representative for Joules I was delighted to be able to gift my beloved with some high quality lovelies.  As a wonderfully hands on Papa he chose a slouchy man bag". Made from a sturdy canvas it houses his wallet and other paraphernalia as well as a spare nappy, wipes and morning tea for the poppets. I feel my shoulders levelling as my bag is just that bit lighter now that I can share the load. It is exceptional quality and looks...well...manly. Darren also chose a cotton shirt in a go anywhere, go with anything check. With that bespoke air and superb fabric quality it is a classic piece that will last for many seasons. The online experience was a refreshing change also for a man who runs a country mile from a department store change room and he now has his eye on a waterproof wax  jacket from their men's jackets range for rainy walks with the babies. Perhaps Father's Day my love.

The lovely people at Joules are offering one of their gorgeous woody classic polo shirt for a lucky Papa (the winner can choose their size and colour). To enter you simply need to be a follower of this blog (new ones welcome) and pop over to Joules'  facebook page and become a "liker" or  alternatively, follow them on twitter. For a second entry like this brown wren on facebook. For a third entry, share this giveaway on instagram, facebook or on your blog. Please leave a separate comment for each entry. Open to international readers. The winner will be chosen by random generator one week from today.

Comments are now closed. The random generator chose number 23. The lovely Tash of little bit of thyme will be spoiling a special man in her life! Thanks so much everyone.

sling diaries - love (grandfather's post)

 

 

There is a saying that no man has tasted the full flavour of life until he has known poverty, love and war. I reject this totally.  No man could wish to taste a better flavour than the love of an understanding, forgiving and sensual woman, the surge of pride provided by intelligent, compassionate, talented and loving children and then in later life, the complete release of inhibitions in the dealings with one's grandchildren ; to act like the fool and be thought of as wonderfully entertaining.

To witness their awakening, and understanding of the world and all it's beauty. To watch them as they set out on this grand adventure called life.  All this without the pressures of parenthood.  This is special love that has to be experienced to be understood.  I love this flavour of life.

Grandfather x

This is a special Sling Diary entry written by my beloved Dad. How I adore that man!

Remy is swaddled in linen and love in his Simple Linen Baby Sling in Twilight by Sakura Bloom.

24/52

"A portrait of my babies, once a week, every week."

Bijou -  Dressed as Snow White for her Kindy disco. The simple pleasures of a wisp of Mumma's red lipstick and crinkly hair.
Remy - Watching Papa tickle his girl with such delight. 

So much beauty in this image of Parker and his great grandma. And divine Poppy in her wee hospital gown made me smile and cry. Oh the journey her Mumma and Papa have been on. Wishing them beautiful times ahead. Joining in with the beautiful Jodi.

Steph x

winter rain

Summer rain is delicious. Thunderclouds sprinkle a cooling elixir on humid weariness and the parched ground quickly laps up its unexpected refreshment.  When it's brief and fleeting we call it playful and dance about in its glory. When it lingers though, it's tiresome.

Ah but Winter rain. Its misty shroud invites cocooning. Wrapping ourselves in layers of fine wool and curling fingers around mugs of steaminess. A small hole in the gutter sends  a rhythmic drop of crystal into the pool below and the windows haze over from the warmth in here and the cold out there. Soup becomes a staple -  as does tea. 

As the ground outside swells and lights are turned on indoors, sheet tents are erected and stay up for days with decorators adding and subtracting new elements as they leap into new stories; new adventures. Pilled woollen blankets are thrown over every siting spot and empty tea cups litter the table. While the clock feels lonely due to lack of admirers our lunch meanders slowly with eager hands helping to create something warm and satisfying. Often the floor is carpeted in cookbooks and we salivate our way through each page turn searching for that perfect warming treat. The table is laid and with the triumphant bing of the oven we gather to nourish our bodies and warm ourselves.

Time slows for a little on rainy Winter weeks and the soft light deepens the richness of our home's colours. These watery days help me to notice the subtle nuances of play and friendship in my babies and I consciously cast aside my ever growing "to do" list. With a yearning to nest I find stale craft projects and peruse them with renewed interest and my knitting needles cry out for new yarns to loop together. Quiet, no where to be days full of block towers, toast and hot lavender tea. And then there is always tomorrow's promise of muddy puddles to hunt out.

Steph x

Lunch has become a feasting time of sorts lately and we join together to create and then devour something warm and tasty.  We made cheesy scones using this recipe substituting the 2 cups of self raising flour for 2 cups of spelt flour and 4 teaspoons of baking powder. Sprinkled with a bitey cheddar and served with butter, room temperature tomatoes laced with olive oil and sea salt and basil from the garden it was indeed a banquet.