A leisurely hike

Somehow, my friend and I were wearing the same pants and matching tops. I swear this was unplanned. p.s. Doesn't that plant on the right look like something out of a Dr Seuss book?

My friend and I having a giggle.

What happens when a whole bunch of yogis go to the beach...

On Saturday when the sun was still shining (it has since disappeared) a group of friends and I headed to the Royal National Park for a bushwalk (a.k.a. hike). Our friend chose a beautiful coastal walk that was fairly easy. Having just been sick for a week, I was so glad to be outside and in the company of real, live humans. After our walk we had lunch at a park, played in a playground and then watched the sun setting from a gorgeous beach in the park. I love Australia.

Sick

My favourite sick tea: honey, lemon and ginger.

Tea that comes in beautiful boxes and popsicles made from tea & juice.

Lemon and ginger for tea, and a mini hot water bottle keeping my legs warm.

I'm sick and it sucks. I had so many fun plans this week, and the opportunity to sub yoga classes, and of course lots of work to do, and then I woke up feeling terrible on Tuesday.

To top it all off, husband's away so I'm all by myself. But luckily for me, I have very kind friends and family who have come over to bring me veggie stock, DVD's and coconut water. And when they leave I sit here on my couch, with my hot water bottles, drinking tea and watching Downton Abbey. What do you guys to when you're stuck at home with the flu?

My creative space: more clutches!

When my boss/friend asked me to help her make some gifts for visiting yoga teachers recently, I knew exactly what we should make. The cute-as-a-button vintage clutches from Meet Me at Mike's of course! As you can see here, I've already made a few of these little gems both to keep and to give away.

They sew up pretty quickly, and I think they make perfect gifts. We spent quite a bit of time thinking about the girls we were making them for, and choosing just the right fabrics and buttons for those girls. In the end, I love them and I think the visiting teachers we gave them to loved them as well.

This clutch (above) is lined with denim, which worked really well and makes it look pretty darn cute if you ask me.

We made this one for our pink-loving friend from London.

And this one is a really fun combination of all different fabrics.

Vegan double chocolate chip cookies

You can thank Gwyneth Paltrow for these babies, as I found the recipe in one of her old Goop newsletters. When I made them I used normal flour because I'm not gluten free and I managed to find the other unfamiliar ingredients at my local health food shop.

They were surprisingly nice and chewy, and most surprising of all was the fact that even husband liked them! He doesn't exactly have a sweet tooth so double chocolate chip cookies are not generally his thing, but he liked these. And if you happen to have vegan friends like I do, they're worth trying.

I'm a yoga teacher...

It's officiall! We had our graduation ceremony yesterday, and as much as I would love to show you photos of that, in the interest of protecting my and everyone else's privacy you're stuck with this heart feet photo :)

It feels like it was just yesterday that I was writing this post, and now here I am all done. I'm so proud of all of us for finishing and I can't wait to see where we all end up as brand new yoga teachers. I'll keep you guys posted!

The Civil Wars

Lately, I can't stop listening to the Civil Wars. I first heard about them through the blog Pennyweight, and I've been hooked ever since. Their first album, Barton Hollow, is AMAZING and it is literally on repeat on my computer all day long. I keep waiting for them to announce an Australian tour, but no luck so far. I'll keep my fingers crossed!

What have you been listening to lately?

My creative space: An easy skirt

Ok, so you guys have already seen this skirt when I posted this photo of my mini quilt:

But I didn't talk about it then, and I'm going to now (finally). It's the elastic waistband skirt from the Meet me at Mike's book and it's super, super simple. And like I've said before, I'm not so good at making clothes. But this skirt is so nice and instantly gratifying that I've made it for myself twice, and helped make one for my friend. Which reminds me, that it's about time I break out my sewing machine and make a few more, maybe in solid colours this time...

Sunshine in a can

A little flowery love from my home to yours...

recycled tins + can of spray paint + $6 worth of flowers = sunshine in a can all week long

Another weekend, another yoga retreat

I know, I know - I sound so spoiled. But I was actually the assistant at this yoga retreat so it wasn't all fun and games (but it was mostly fun and games).

The retreat was at the most beautiful venue and I spent the whole weekend marveling at where I was and plotting to move there. The owners have clearly put so much thought into the place, and it blends seamlessly in with the trees that surround it. In fact, the yoga studio is a circular room about halfway up the trees, making you feel like you're practicing in a treehouse.

Of course, the yoga was also great. I'm so lucky to have such wonderful teachers in my life. I'm constantly learning new things, and if I can ever be half as good a teacher as they are then I'll be pleased.

The other exciting thing that happened at the retreat is that I finished yoga teacher training. Myself and one other girl doing teacher training were up there, and so we had to write our theory exam on Saturday. It was a perfect way to end our journey of teacher training, and I'm so excited for what lies ahead!

The main structure is these two joined circular buildings. And in the background you can see two teepees, which people slept in. They were pretty damn cool.

My gorgeous friend Sally.

The yummy, ayurvedic/vegan food we get to eat when we're on yoga retreats.

Hanging out at night.

Sunrise.

I love that in Australia you can build outdoor living spaces like this and they're actually useful.

Sally and I high-fiving over the fact that we finished yoga teacher training.

Kookaburra!

p.s. I'm sure you guys know this but blogger crapped out on us, which is why there was no post on Friday and then I was internet free over the weekend, so I couldn't post then either. Sorry!

My creative space: another tote bag

sorry for the iphone pics

This week my creative space is really my friend's creative space. You see, I've been teaching a friend to sew and this is what we've come up with over a couple of nights of tea drinking and machine manual reading (I am SO unfamiliar with new machines, the machine I use is from the 70's!). It's the same bag from this post, with the fabric coming from an old baby sling and a tablecloth (I think). You can't quite see it, but the lining fabric is this beautiful green textured silk that looks great with the exterior fabric. It's perfect for my friend, and proof that learning to sew isn't so hard! Just grab a friend (anyone will do, I'm no genius sewist), an easy pattern and get to it!

Cartagena memories

My dad and I on the left. And on the right, how I spent most of my time. Also, I didn't have hair until I was 3 or so, just so you know.

Me on the left (love this one) and my dad on the right doing who knows what.

My dad.

My dad sent me an email the other day with the subject "Cartagena memories." In it were a bunch of old photos from when we used to live in Cartagena when I was just a wee baby. My mom is Colombian, and right after I was born the three of us moved down there and stayed until I was about 4. The photos of our time there are so precious to me because I don't remember all that much. I also love seeing my parents young and living the dream! Colombia is such a magical place; I can't wait to take husband there someday to meet my family...

Avocado smoothie

I have a friend who went to Morocco and said that street vendors there sell the most amazing avocado smoothies. I said, "ew, that sounds gross." But she insisted that they were delicious. And then I saw this post on this beautiful blog, and I thought, "what the hell? might as well give it a shot!" You basically just blend up an avocado, a banana, and some honey with milk of your choice (I used almond milk here) and then drink it up. It took me a few tweaks to get it right, and even then I wasn't 100% convinced... But I liked it enough to drink the lot, and I still think it's worth trying...

Happy mother's day!

my mom and I when she came out here to visit last year

Happy mother's day to all of the amazing mothers out there: birth mothers, biological mothers, adoptive mothers, surrogate mothers, mothers-in-law (or belles-mères as they're called in French, which means 'beautiful mothers), mothers to be, old mothers, young mothers, grandmothers, and great grandmothers (husband still has a great grandmother!)! And most importantly, happy mother's day to my amazing mom who I miss so very much. She's still the first person I call when I have good news, or if I get bad news and I need advice and I am so grateful for that. Thanks for being my mom!

Busy bee

Lately, life feels like it's moving at breakneck speed. I'm editing a book, blogging, working part-time at a yoga studio, finishing up yoga teacher training (which means that exams are coming!) and I've just gotten my first big freelance project. And of course, I still have a husband and friends and family who I'd like to see occasionally. All of these things are great, but doing them all at the same time is feeling kind of impossible right now. I'm beginning to realize the importance of prioritizing, and of setting boundaries for myself. At least for the next 4 weeks I'm going to be saying "no" a whole lot more, which I find really tricky. I'm also going to have to start waking up earlier, like a normal adult, something I also find incredibly tricky. So tell me, what do you guys do when you're feeling overwhelmed?

My life in iphone photos

I've been taking a lot of iphone photos lately with the instamatic app and the hipstamatic app and today I thought I'd share a whole bunch. I like how these photos just show the everyday, ordinary moments. The moments when I don't have my big, fancy camera with me.

From top to bottom, left to right: A yummy coffee. My new friend Kristen, a beautiful yoga teacher. A funny wall that says: Men with ponytails should be banned. My friends and I at a party. The madness that was Zara on its opening day here in Sydney, I didn't go in don't worry. Cute house. Our makeshift altar when my friends came over to practice teaching yoga. Pretty blooms. The birthday girl and I. My friend's amazing birthday cake. A funny bathroom sign at a restaurant in the city. More lovely blooms. Chilling at a vegan brunch (3 photos). Vegan scones. A buddha at the retreat. Vegan brownies. My friends Lyn and Kellie at the Vegan expo. Simon Berg demonstrating his crazy yoga. I feel like I should qualify all of this by saying that I'm not actually vegan, I just hang out with a lot of them!

What have you guys been up to lately?