voices of 2013

Lately, I've been reflecting on this little blog of mine and how grateful I am for all the wonderful opportunities it's bringing me right now. Nothing earth shattering, I've just had some great experiences lately that I would not have had if it weren't for this blog. On the weekend, for example, I got to hang out with the sweetest couple who took my 37 week bump photos. I never would have met them were it not for blogging, and I'm glad that I did. On the way there I popped into a makeup artist friend's place so she could disguise my baby-won't-let-me-sleep-under-eye-circles. I realized as we drove there that I met her through blogging as well. Internet friends becoming real life friends, it's pretty damn cool.

I'm also completely delighted and amazed to have been included as a finalist in the Voices of 2013 top 100 bloggers. It was a total surprise to me (and I still don't know who nominated me, so if it was anyone reading right now, thanks!) and I'm honoured to have been chosen amongst some of my very favourite blogs.

And finally, just to round out the awesome week I'm having, I heard from Leslie of Maze & Vale that I won her giveaway! I love her fabric so much and I'm a bit tickled that she posted 2 of my projects today on her blog.

I probably don't say it enough, but thank you for reading and for taking the time to leave such thoughtful and encouraging comments.

* Photo by Ellen Arthur. She actually took this at the nursery way back in august, which is amazing because all the photos that I took that first day of shooting manual are rubbish. P.s. it's quite funny to see myself in photos where I'm not pregnant, like "oh, so that's what I look like without a giant belly!"

weekending

 

A typically Newtown building.

Photo shoot with Belinda, stay tuned...

The view in Manly. 

Organic blueberries - a major indulgence, given the price tag. 

And here begins the 3rd trimester. Holy crap.

babies and minimalism

So far, everything we've bought, received or made for the baby fits into two small drawers. Actually that's not true; I bought a pram from gumtree and that definitely doesn't fit in a drawer. I was feeling ok about this, until I had a minor panic attack a few weeks ago when I realized that I would be holding a baby in my arms in 3 months time, and we've hardly prepared for his/her arrival.

Actually, that's not true either; it's just that my preparation has mostly involved reading what feels like every book under the sun on the topic of birth and doing lots of prenatal yoga. It's the logistical and material things that have been put on the back burner. I think perhaps what made me worry about this was looking around at other soon to be moms and seeing that they have nurseries set up, names chosen, and carseats installed.

But that's not really how the husband and I roll. We're more fly by the seat of our pants (read - disorganized), and we're also trying to keep baby things to a minimum. I truly think that those lists of what your baby needs are ridiculous. This resolve was only reinforced when I stumbled upon The Minimalist Mom. I bought her e-book immediately and finished reading it the next day, at which point I breathed an even deeper sigh of relief. Her list of must-have baby items has 6 things on it. No joke. And I nearly have all of those 6 things!

So for now, I'm repeating to myself, "reduce, reuse, recycle." Our pram is second-hand; we'll borrow a bassinet from a friend when the time comes (no crib for now); I'm buying a baby carrier from craigslist; I will do my damned hardest to cloth diaper etc. Finally, we won't be setting up a nursery because babies don't need much space and we need our spare room to remain a spare room so my mom has somewhere to sleep.

I know that our baby doesn't need much, and everything that needs to get done will. We still have 12(ish) weeks...

p.s. Photo of my friend's newborn, because that's what this is all about, right? Babies. Not stuff.

2 year blogaversary

Two years ago today, I wrote my very first post on this blog. I had been keeping a private blog for about a year beforehand, just to share my Aussie life with family and friends back home. Somewhere along the way, I realized that I loved blogging and reading blogs, and decided to start a public one. I agonised over the name, and was sorely disappointed every time I though of a perfect name only to find out it was already in use. Eventually, I turned to music (one of my main sources of inspiration), and plucked a line from a song by one of my favourite artists, Sarah Harmer. To this day, I'm not totally happy with the name, but it has stuck. In creating a public blog, I also had to basically edit out my husband, which has resulted in countless photos of the back of his head over the last 2 years. We laugh about it often.

I continue to love blogging, and have met many "real-life" and online friends thanks to this space. A few of those friends have buttons on my sidebar, and I highly recommend checking them out. They're all awesome. I also like how this blog acts as a journal of sorts. When I wonder what it is I was doing at this time last year, or feel like reminiscing over a holiday, all I have to do is have a scroll through my archives and I'm instantly transported. I love that.

So what's next for This Little Port? Well obviously I'll keep blogging about my life, travels, crafting, yoga, food, and my pregnancy. To be honest, I'll probably be posting about pregnancy and this baby quite a bit and I hope it won't be too annoying! I've also been thinking that this year I'd like to focus on quality over quantity. For the past 2 years I've tried my hardest to blog 5 times a week but lately, I've often felt disappointed with my posts. It's not that I don't have ideas - I have a list of things to blog about right now! I'm just finding them hard to execute. My photos don't turn out the way they look in my head, or I have trouble expressing myself. So this year, if I blog 2 to 3 posts each week that I'm proud of, I'll be happy.

Finally, I wanted to thank all of you who take the time to visit this blog! I cherish every comment and email I get. And even if you don't say hi, I still love you all the same :)

xo
Gaby

my creative space: christmas mittens

 This Christmas I didn't get around to making many gifts, so I was pleased when I whipped up these re-purposed mittens for a friend of mine. Luckily, she was about to go New York which means that she'll actually get to use them, because otherwise, getting mittens in the middle of an Australian summer is pretty lame.

But back to the project - the mittens are made using an old sweater and they come together quickly so they're the perfect last-minute gift. That said, it took me 2 pairs to get these right. I made the first pair using instructions found in The Crafty Minx. Most of the projects in that book are seriously great, but this one is a dud. Naturally, I turned to the internet and used this tutorial from A Beautiful Mess. They turned out great, if I do say so myself!

linking up here today

a blate

The lovely Liv and her boyfriend, of the blog Liv + Dave, touched down in Sydney this week. Yesterday after realizing we were in the same area, we met up and went for a wander. I hear that's called a blate, a date with a blogger. It's so nice to meet a blogging friend in person, and put a voice and background stories to someone you know from the screen. I was able to clear up why husband is anonymous (not because there's something wrong with his face, as Liv admitted had crossed her mind, ha) and we laughed over our matching phone cases and purses. Yup, I think we were meant to be friends.

a new look

 

In line with my efforts to spring clean my surroundings, I decided to give this little blog of mine a new look. It had been the same for about a year, and I was really craving a cleaner, more streamlined two column blog. Though I have to admit that when I first saw the new layout my first reaction was: "Aah! What have I done?" Which is why, if you've visited this space over the last few days, you've probably noticed that it's undergone quite a few little tweaks, but I think this is it - the final design.

That said, I'm keen for any feedback... Do you like it? Is it easy to navigate? Any other ideas? I'm all ears!

p.s. Wow, you guys have some scary recurring dreams! But I sure did love reading your comments on my last post. Thanks for sharing!

4 simple goals

photo credit

Whenever I stop by the blog A Beautiful Mess, I always leave feeling inspired and keen to work harder. Elsie recently blogged a challenge to complete 4 simple goals by the end of the year, and I am in. Here are mine:

photo by Tim

1. Knit a blanket. There's a simple blanket that I have in mind, and I'm sure I'll be able to finish it by the new year. Hopefully this week I'll stop being so indecisive and go buy some wool!

2. De-clutter & make my home pretty. You've probably noticed that I'm on an uber spring cleaning kick. And yet, there still seems to be so much to sort through. The other day I realized that we had 2 identical duvet covers, what the what??? After that's done, I'm feeling extra inspired lately to pretty things up. I'm thinking fresh flowers, some strategically placed trays, and house plants.

3. Buy a new camera & learn to use it. To be honest, this is probably #1 on my list of priorities. I've been saving my pennies and I'm close to being able to afford a new digital slr. Then it will be time to put in practice everything I learned at the nursery.

4. Establish a home yoga practice. This is just a goal where I need to be more disciplined with myself. There's always something to distract me at home which is why I prefer going to yoga classes, but I'd like to have a bit of both for balance.

I like Elsie's idea to reward yourself with something at the end, a road trip with husband perhaps? Yes, that sounds just right.

around my town (a sydney tour)

Today you can find me over on Katrina's beautiful blog, Simply Us, giving you a little tour of my adopted town of Sydney. I had so much fun putting this post together and I hope you enjoy it too! Head here to check it out.

a mile in her shoes

Hi friends! I just wanted to let you know that I'm over on Rebekah's awesome blog, A Mile in Her Shoes, today dishing about my favourite pair of shoes. Come on over and say hi!

3 blogs I like (a.k.a. the Liebster)

(photo by Alanna Bowd)

I chose this photo because it looks like I'm talking, and what I imagine I'm saying is:

"Gee, thanks for giving me a Liebster award Kelley (from the lovely blog Casa Crafty)! I'm touched."

Seriously though, I have to admit that I sometimes ignore these blog awards because they can seem a bit chain mail. I like the idea behind this one, however, which is that it's for up and coming blogs, i.e. blogs with less than 200 followers.

And I am all for supporting my fellow up and coming bloggers, so without further ado, here are 3 blogs I love:

1. Our House This Hill. A beautiful blog by Kesh, who is about to have her first baby with her super talented husband Tim. Oh, and they love in Australia, yay!

2. Eesh Your Heart Out. A blog by my bestie, Aisha, who is a fashionable foody living the good life in L.A. She posts wonderful recipes that are healthy to boot.

3. Life Like Honey. A fellow Canadian, Teaka, studying fashion design in Alberta and blogging about it, as well as her life in general. Check out her new collection here, it's to die for!

Happy Friday friends!

'yoga for spring' feature on Lindsay Nicole

Hi friends! Today I'm delighted to be over at Lindsay's blog dishing about yoga for spring as part of her spring rejuvenation series. If you're into that kind of thing, check it out here. Happy spring!

xo

Edit: Because a few of you have asked, I just thought I'd let you know that the leggings I'm wearing are the Galaxy Blue Leggings from Black Milk

11:11 (or, my answers to 11 questions)

The lovely Tori from The Editorial tagged me in her 11:11 post so here are my answers to her 11 questions...

1. If you could only use one makeup brand, which would you choose?

I'm assuming that in this hypothetical scenario I'm independently wealthy, right? In which case, I'd choose Dr Hauschka. Can't beat all natural makeup!

2. Favourite scent?

I love the smell of jasmine and frangipani trees in the springtime.

3. You're making a sandwich, what do you put on it?

Avocado! Best vegetable ever (oh wait, avocados are actually fruits aren't they?), like nature's butter...

I'd probably throw on some tomatoes, cucumber, lettuce, and cheese as well. And now I'm hungry, damn.

4. Favourite App?

Can I pick two? They would be instagram and cartolina.

5. What is your go to nail polish colour?

I have nail polish ADD. Yesterday I painted all of my nails black.

6. Favourite movie as a child and favourite movie now?

I'm having a really hard time thinking about what my favourite movie as a child was... I know that I loved The Parent Trap, but I'm not sure if it was my favourite.

My favourite movie now is definitely Amélie. It's completely mesmerizing.

7. If you could only read one blog for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Oh gosh, that question is way too hard to answer! I will take this opportunity to plug one of my besties who recently started a blog that I'm really enjoying: eesh your heart out.

8. Favourite book you've ever read?

Another very hard question to answer!

Last year I read the book The Golden Spruce by John Vaillant and it continues to stand out as one of my favourite books ever. It's truly a masterpiece of a book.

9. Favourite fast food?

There isn't a lot of fast food that I can eat as a vegetarian but once in a while I get a hot fudge sundae from Mcdonalds and I heartily enjoy it :)

10. What's the best date you've been on?

I'm going to go ahead and take a pass on this question, sorry Tori!

11. Favourite song at the moment?

Because I saw him recently, I'm totally on a Bon Iver kick right now. I adore the song Blood Bank, and when he played it live, it was mind blowing.

awkward girls jean shirt challenge

{photos by husband}

Shoes: Saltwater sandals. Skirt: Anthropologie. Top: Roxy.

Ok, I'm doing an outfit post. Crazy, I know. I saw on the Awkward Girls blog (which is super cute, you must check it out!) that they're hosting a jean shirt challenge and I thought: "I just got a denim shirt, I want in!"

Hope you're all having a nice Monday!

new zealand: part 4, the end!

Our last stop in New Zealand was an actual stay in Christchurch. We'd passed through very briefly upon our respective arrivals, and JUST missed the earthquake before Christmas. We knew that the city was still experiencing aftershocks but we decided to go anyways.

On our drive from Mt Cook to Christchurch we stopped for lunch. I had this instead. So worth it.

We arrived in town on New Year's Eve with no plans, and no idea whatsoever of what we could do. But I had the blogosphere on my side, enter Alice from Sew Logic... We had emailed before and planned to meet up while I was in her hometown. I contacted her with a semi-desperate "What should we do tonight??" message and she graciously responded by inviting us to her friend's NYE barbecue. Problem solved!

We ate, drank (a bit too much, truth be told) and were merry. Oh, and I may or may not have tried to steal Alice's puppy...

The next day husband and I headed to the beach to recover. We also get the authentic Christchurch experience of a string of aftershocks beginning that night. The first one scared the crap out of me, as did the two during the night that woke us up. But it is true that you get used to it.

The day after that, Alice and her boyfriend took us to check out Akaroa. The weather wasn't ideal, but we still appreciated the beauty of this gorgeous harbour. To see pictures of this spot in the sun, check out this post on Alice's blog.

This is the part where I gush about how much I love the blogosphere. Husband left the night before I did, and not only did Alice and her boyfriend invite me to stay at their place, they took me out, gave me a tour of the city and helped me shop for gifts for people back home.

Alice even took me to a fantastic vegetarian restaurant in the city! The generosity of our online community astounds me, and makes me so grateful. I had a wonderful time in Christchurch, thanks to Alice and her insider info.

And that concludes the last of my New Zealand posts, only 3 short weeks after returning home ;) Thanks for coming along!

Blog love: eesh your heart out

Aisha and I in LA.

One of my bestest and oldest friends in the whole entire world, Aisha, just started her very own blog. It's full of yummy and healthy recipes, awesome music, great photos and tidbits of life in LA. Oh, and it has a pretty great name... eesh your heart out. Because people call her Eesh for short. And she calls me Gibo. Anyhoo, check it out here and be sure to say hi!

p.s. Hoping to be back in the swing of things blogging-wise by next week. So many photos to sort through in the meantime....

I'm Gentri's blog of the week!

Guess what guys?

I'm Gentri's blog of the week this week! Yay! And I won this sweet award as part of the deal. You can check out my guest post here.

I'm so flattered that Gentri thought of me, and I'm delighted to see some new faces popping in. Thanks again Gentri, you're the best!

Calling all guest bloggers!

I got some good news yesterday: I was granted a temporary passport so that I can travel next week. I'll be internetless for just over a week and I would LOVE to line up some guest bloggers to fill in while I'm gone. If you're interested shoot me an email at: thislittleport@gmail.com

Can't wait to hear from you!

Look Up

I was so excited this week when I pulled this lovely poster out of my mailbox. I won it on Aarean's sweet blog, The Color Issue, and it's now adorning my shelf which is, incidentally, the latest victim of my spring re-organizing. Thanks again Aarean!

Ok, I have to get back to my work now so that I can actually meet my deadline. Wishing you all a beautiful weekend! xx

My blog got a facelift!

Hi friends, like my new look?

Thanks to Lula at Lulapalooza Designs my blog finally got a much needed facelift. Working with Lula was a breeze, and I'm thrilled with my spiffy new, super well organized blog. If you're looking for someone to makeover your blog, I highly recommend her. And if you have any feedback or suggestions for my blog do let me know! xx