happy and calm

I went to a yoga class yesterday. It had been a long time, far too long, since I last made it to someone else's class. While I teach 2 to 3 times a week, the truth is that it's been hard to maintain my own practice. In Vancouver I was able to practice at one of the local studios at least once a week and it felt amazing. To immerse myself in being a student once again was just what I needed.

When I first came to yoga it was at the end of 10 years of competitive gymnastics. I fell in love straight away. It was the opposite of being a gymnast. For the first time I found myself impressed with my body rather than constantly frustrated at its limitations. I was never fit, strong or flexible enough to be a great gymnast and I felt it keenly. At yoga none of that mattered. No one was going to force me into the splits (by sitting on top of me); wherever I was, that was good enough.

It's exactly what I try to teach my students. Yes, we challenge ourselves but we do so with gratitude and respect for our bodies. Not everyone can do the splits, and that's ok. In fact, as my physical practice has deteriorated changed, I've realised that my yoga practice right now is simple. It might be a few rounds of alternate nostril breathing in the morning, or 3 minutes in supta baddha konasana before I teach a class, or a single sound of om. What matters is that I slow down, breathe and find stillness, which is just what I did last night.

Last night, As our teacher guided us through a series of yin poses, a devoted student played the harmonium at the front of the room. We held each pose for 2 to 5 minutes, and as we did, I felt my breath deepen, my body soften and my mind relax. I left happy and calm.

If you have any questions about yoga, I'm happy to answer them (or find the answers for you) in the comments section.

p.s. yoga at home: some tips, the yoga of closet cleaning, some thoughts on teaching yoga 

47/52

"A portrait of my child, once a week, every week, in 2013."

Clementine: This is her dad's favourite trick. It used to make me nervous but it makes her so. Damn. Happy. 

Joining in on Jodi's 52 project.

Kinfolk Australia

This week I was lucky enough to attend two Kinfolk events: a media day and a dinner at Glenmore House. I had been trying to get along to one of their events for ages, so I was pinching myself that I got to spend two days in a row in the beautiful world of Kinfolk.

Earlier this week a small group of bloggers, artists, photographers and creatives gathered in the stunning home of Jessie James to meet Kinfolk's Co-Founder, Katie Searle-Williams, and Community Director, Julie Pointer. In between bites of yummy food (thank you Mario's Kitchen) I got to chatting with the girls about life in Portland, travel, family, and celebrating Christmas in the "wrong" climate. I was delighted to hear that Kinfolk is doing a feature soon on just this — alternative ways to celebrate Christmas, going beyond the traditional Christmas tree. I was also excited to learn of Kinfolk's Canadian connection; its Founding Editor, Nathan Williams, is Canadian and the magazine is printed in Vancouver.

I find it amazing that Katie and Nathan were able to create something so wildly successful pretty much straight out of college. And that their work has spread way beyond the magazine is also quite impressive. Their vision to foster small gatherings has quite literally become reality with dinners, workshops and events being held all over the world. In no small part thanks to Julie, who organises so many of these gatherings worldwide. Talking to Katie and Julie, it was obvious how driven and passionate they are about their work, and about their co-workers and contributors, who seem like family to them.

The next day my friend Katie and I drove out to Glenmore House for the largest ever Kinfolk dinner. The venue was completely perfect; Katie said it made her feel like she was back at home in the English countryside.

After getting snacks from the grazing table — a big farmhouse style table piled high with bread, cheese, nuts, crackers, strawberries, grapes, cherries and more — we sat down at the longest table I had ever seen. As you would expect from a Kinfolk gathering, every little detail from the menus to the flowers was perfect . Like a pinterest fairytale. The food came out family style, and as we shared with our neighbours we got to know and laugh with new friends. The highlights? A fig, mozzarella and caramelised onion pizza and a rose and almond rice pudding. It was a truly memorable evening and I just have to say thank you again to Luisa, and to Jaclyn for organising it.

46/52

"A portrait of my child, once a week, every week, in 2013."

Clementine: Hiding behind her doll (that I made way back when). 

Joining in on Jodi's 52 project.

6 month Clementine

Six month old Clementine is a mover and a shaker. She's got places to go, people to see, things to do. She won't sit still (not even for a moment) and she loves to wriggle her way around the apartment. It's quite impressive how far she can get, considering she's not quite crawling. At about 5 and a half months old, she figured out how to get up to her hands and knees and scoot forward and back. Sometimes she adds a jump, like a little frog. Her other moves? Downward dog and plank. We expect she'll be crawling any day now, and in the meantime, we should probably consider some baby proofing…

Pure and utter joy, Clementine makes friends wherever we go. A quick trip to the shops always takes longer than expected, as she flashes her gummy smile and endears herself to any and all passing strangers. We have had some whinier than normal moments in this last month, but I find that carrying her around in the sling calms her right down.

In fact, I'm still amazed at how strong our physical bond is. She was crying last night, and when I went to her, picked her up and snuggled her close she immediately stopped. When that doesn't do the trick, a boob usually will. I'm so grateful that our nursing relationship is still going strong, especially as she's not a huge fan of solids. She likes pear and egg yolk, and that's about it. But as long as she's still breastfeeding, I know that she's getting the best food there is.

It's hard to believe that we're here, half a year on from meeting our babe. The other day we were all playing and my husband said, "life is better with her in it." Life with a baby can be sleepless, bewildering and downright hard but it's also filled with more laughs, kisses, cuddles and happiness than I thought possible. Life really is better with our Clemmie.

our evening walk

Every day — in the late afternoon or early evening — I take Clementine for a walk. It started as a way to get her to sleep, but now it's one of my favourite parts of the day. Sometimes I push her in the pram, but more often than not, I carry her close in a carrier. I love to watch her as she slowly surrenders to sleep. Her squishy cheeks against my chest, her pouty lips, her slow belly breathing...

As I walk past old sandstone terraces and tiny workers' cottages, I peer into open doors and windows. I can't help myself; naturally nosy, I like to see how other people live. And I wonder about the families I see — where do they work? How many kids do they have? How long have they lived here? I also catch myself daydreaming of the day when we have our own little cottage with a backyard to play in, and a letterbox where the mail doesn't go missing.

 But even though we don't live in our dream house yet, I'm reminded of just how charming our neighbourhood is. And it doesn't cost anything to admire the beauty all around us. Especially at this time of year, when the jacarandas are in bloom and their purple blossoms litter the footpaths.

44/52 and 45/52

"A portrait of my child, once a week, every week, in 2013."

44/52: She doesn't love food, but she does love leaves. And sticks. Yum.

45/52: Relaxing on a hot day. 

You may have noticed that I took the last week off blogging. The truth is that this past week has been one of the hardest weeks yet for me as a mom. Over the last month Clementine has gone from waking up for 2 quick feeds a night to waking up 4 times on a good night. And you don't even want to know what a bad night looks like. My husband and I are exhausted, overwhelmed and wondering what to do. Even Clementine is suffering, and I know that sleep is what we all need. We still don't know what to do, but I hope a change for the better comes soon.

Joining in on Jodi's 52 project.

this and that

It seems that Clementine has forgotten how to sleep, and I am tired. Too tired for a cohesive post, so instead, here are some random things on my mind:

• I am loving this cooler weather we're having. It actually feels like spring.
• Tomorrow I'm going to see Dan Savage speak as part of the festival of dangerous ideas. I'm so excited!
• For some reason, I'm just itching to knit. I have my eye on this project.
• I'm dying to see this movie. What can I say? I'm a sucker for an English rom com.
• I'm so glad that Homeland is back on. I'm kind of obsessed.
• If I ever make it back in to the kitchen, I'm making this cake.
• We're back on the cloth nappy wagon, at least part time. We borrowed some different brands to see which we like best.
• This week I've been enjoying fresh kale from my friend's garden in my green smoothies. A bit more intense than baby spinach, but I like it. 
• I really (really) don't need another cookbook, but I want this one. I really do.
• I've been enjoying this blog. Her photos are so inspiring.
• I'm lusting after this dress. Too bad it's not breastfeeding friendly. Not even a little.
• After years of experimenting with every natural deodorant brand under the sun, this video had me laughing until I cried.
• I'm daydreaming about future travel plans. Next year we're heading back to Vancouver for the summer, and we're thinking of side trips. Nashville and New York have both been discussed...
• Yesterday I went to the local greengrocer to buy myself flowers. I paid, and then promptly left them on the counter and went home. Today I went back, on the offchance that they would remember me. They did, and instead of giving me the one bouquet I forgot, they gave me two. Made my day.