home for the holidays

Two weeks ago, we left the sweltering Sydney summer for the icy cold winter that is Vancouver in December. I'm sure it'll come as no surprise if I tell you that the longhaul flight here with a toddler was rough, as was the ensuing jetlag. But now that we're more settled, we are just so happy to be here. We're soaking up all of the goodness that this city has to offer at this time of year. My husband keeps exclaiming, "I feel like I'm in a Christmas movie!" and I couldn't agree more. The 3rd night we were here, we ducked out for a quick drink at a local restaurant. There was a roaring fire, a Christmas tree in the corner, hockey playing on TV and a menu of festive cocktails (hello eggnog and rum!). You could not wipe the grin off my face.

Since then we've taken Clementine on the Christmas train at Stanley Park, gone to the Vinyl Cafe Christmas concert, and spent a few days at a ski resort. The best kind of winter fun.

Of course, the main reason we're here is to spend time with family and friends and that has been wonderful. Last time we were in Vancouver, Clementine was a newborn and it was difficult to do anything. We had this huge list of things we wanted to do here, and managed almost none of them. This trip has been completely different. We've been able to see family and friends, do festive/wintery things AND get to lots of yoga classes. It's been awesome.

p.s. home for the summer

when your toddler takes a 4 hour nap

Every day, around 11am, Clementine goes down for her one nap of the day. She falls asleep quickly and easily (thankfully), but as to how long she'll sleep for… Well, that one's a mystery. Without rhyme or reason, she will sleep anywhere from 45 minutes to 3 hours. Until yesterday, that is, when she broke all nap records and snoozed for four. Hours. Straight. It was crazy! I debated waking her up, but thought better of it,  deciding that she obviously needed the sleep. She still went to bed at the same time as usual later that night, and didn't wake until the morning so I know that I made the right decision (not always the case).

So what is a mom to do when her toddler naps for 4 hours? There was some laundry and tidying, but that didn't last for long. The couch was calling and so I curled up with some knitting, my current book, a stack of Taproot magazines and quite a few cups of tea. I also managed to whip up a pair of pyjama pants for my girl, once I determined that my sewing machine wasn't loud enough to wake her up. I used this tutorial, and they were super fast and easy to whip up. They ended up on the small size, but luckily I have lots of that flannel left over so I'm going to try again.

In other news, there was a crazy storm in Sydney last night and when we woke up this morning, we found that our roof had leaked. Our new couch is drenched (in parts), as is a big patch of our carpet. So once again, our living room is in disarray. But we had to laugh because as annoyed and frustrated as we were, once the couch was without its cushions and things were hung up to dry all throughout the apartment, Clementine was in heaven. She's treating the couches like her own personal trampoline park, and having a ball. Leave it to a toddler to always, always, find the fun in any given situation.

one thing at a time

oh how I would love to drink my coffee and do nothing else! this is a shot from my session with Stella

I have this terrible habit of trying to do 10 things at once, and not succeeding at any of them. It's multi-tasking at its worst. Let me give you a concrete example from this week…

I struggle through the door and up the stairs with a baby on my hip and shopping bags on my arms. I dump everything outside the kitchen and think, "I really need to put a load of nappies on to wash." I get the washing machine started and then walk back to the kitchen to start putting away the shopping. I notice the mess on the counters and start trying to wash dishes as I put fresh food in the fridge. I'm hungry so I'm also shovelling bites of food into my mouth as I go. Then I notice that the floor is disgusting and I start sweeping up the remnants of lunch. It's at this point that I realise that I've forgotten about the washing machine, which is now halfway through its cycle with no nappies in it. Awesome. The kitchen is still a mess, the laundry pile is as high as ever and Clementine is whining for my attention. Utter fail.

I was recently re-reading Sara Avant Stover's book (as I tend to do at the beginning of each season) when this passage jumped out at me:

"Knowing the reality of these women's lives as wives and mothers, Dipa Ma offered the most practical advice she could: Practice mindfulness. Feel the cloth as you fold your laundry and hang it on the line. Notice the temperature of the water on your skin as you wash the dishes. Sense your baby's lips on your breast as she feeds. Turn away from your thoughts and become present to moment-to-moment sensations as you do your chores."
                    - Sara Avant Stover

It was just the advice I needed to hear. Instead of trying to do five things at once, do one, but do it mindfully. 'One thing at a time' has been the mantra I repeat to myself many times a day. I still find myself trying to multi-task but when I do, I pause, take a breath and commit myself to just one task. And when I do, I no longer feel like I'm running around like a headless chicken and I get more done.

a crappy week

I didn't intend to be absent from here for so long, but the truth is that last week was crap and I didn't feel like blogging. Parenting can be so humbling. You think you have it all together, and then you have a week from hell and you're left scratching your head. Last week, for reasons we couldn't figure out, it seriously seemed as though Clementine was possessed. She screamed for days on end, and was only happy ('happy' being a relative term) if I was holding her. The one upside was that I got lots of cuddles, which is unusual for my normally very independent toddler. But it was utterly exhausting, physically and emotionally. I spent all week wondering, "what am I doing wrong?"

On Sunday morning Clementine woke up, and just like that, all was well again. She went back to being her normal happy self. Later that day I noticed that one of her molars had popped through (her first), so I'm blaming week-of-hell on that. I have to admit that this scares me, because if that's what we have to go through with each molar…

This week has been much better already. I'm busy chasing Clementine and trying to keep up with my photography work. This weekend I got to shoot two newborns, one of whom was only a few hours old. Such a privilege.

On the home front, we're in the middle of a big furniture swap and re-arrange and it's all a bit chaotic. You can hardly move in our living room for all of the couches and chairs, most of which to be re-homed asap. One of our bookshelves fell apart (thank you Ikea), which means there are now books scattered all over the floor. I refuse to buy furniture from Ikea, so I'm hoping to find a new to us bookshelf on freecycle, or perhaps the side of the road... I hate when our home is this messy and disorganised, but I know that when it's all done, our place will look better than ever before. I can't wait.

anatomy of a rainy day

1) Endless cups of tea.   2) A basket full of toys.   4) Homemade chocolate cake. Just 'cause.   5) A stack of books.   6) Not pictured - the many, many episodes of Peppa Pig that Clementine watched.

Our winter has been a mild one. We've had hardly any rain, so most days we just rug up and go outside to play. Yesterday was the first day it was raining so hard that I wondered how I would survive the day inside with my rambunctious toddler. Between endless cups of tea and the baking of a chocolate cake (just because I felt like it), we played with new to us toys and read a pile of books. Thank goodness for our local library; we were at the doors when they opened and came home with a pram full of goodies. Of course, toys and books will only entertain so long, so it was a relief when the sun came out in the afternoon.

Today was much the same but we headed further afield to check out an indoor trampoline park. It wore Clementine out (success!) and was surprisingly fun for my husband and I. It brought me back to my gymnast days, and I flipped and flopped with glee. After an hour we were feeling so cheerful and energised, amazing what some bouncing can do for your mood!

If there are any North American/European moms reading, can you please tell me how you survive the winter months with a toddler???

simple

These days I'm craving and relishing simplicity. It might have something to do with the lingering cold I've had for the last 2 weeks, or it may be because my energy has been low, but whatever the reasons, I'm rolling with it. I've been meaning to give my blog a makeover for 6 months now, but I'm a procrastinator so I've only just gotten to it. I loved the pink, but it's nice to have a clean, fresh, simple look. I hope you like it too.

Over the last 5 weeks I've been doing this course through The Red Tent. It's been eye opening and full of practical advice. I've learned a lot! It's really changed my approach to feeding Clementine. I used to think that if I wanted her to be a good eater, I had to expose her to every food under the sun in her first years of life. She's never been a great eater and I've been stressing over it since she was 1 month old (seriously). I've been learning, however, that from a Chinese Medicine perspective, children need simple, warm food. I've been changing Clementine's diet to include less dairy and fruit, and more easy to digest, nourishing foods like chicken congee, home-made bone broths, steamed vegetables and oatmeal. She's been responding so well! My husband (ever skeptical of "alternative" methods like Chinese Medicine) was just saying that he can't believe how well Clementine has been eating lately. He's a total convert now. Mealtimes have become so much more simple and she's eating so much more. I can't tell you how happy that makes me.

I hope you're all having a wonderful, relaxing weekend!

these winter days

photos by Gui Jorge

These winter days have been so nice. The weather has been absolutely perfect; bright blue skies beckon us outside and we're usually at our local park by 9am. We have been spending so much time outside, mostly because Clementine is at an age where she has energy to burn. If we stay home for too long she very quickly destroys the place and undoes any of my efforts at housekeeping.

Speaking of, the husband and I dropped off another carload of things at the op shop last weekend and it's amazing what a difference it makes. I love the resulting feeling of space, and the fact that it takes half as long to clean up. For the first time ever, we actually have empty drawers. Incredible! Also incredible? Our heater. This is the first Sydney home I've lived in that isn't an absolute freezer come winter. For our apartment's many faults, it is quite toasty and for that I am grateful (especially because that heater becomes an air conditioner in the warmer months).

I have to say, it's totally shallow but I've been quite enjoying dressing Clementine in winter clothes. There is nothing cuter than a toddler all rugged up in bonnets and scarves. Seriously. She's such a lucky girl too, because her grandmother has been spoiling her with handmade accessories that are to die for. It'll be interesting to see how we handle the challenge of dressing for actually cold weather, when we're in Canada later this year. It will be Clementine's first experience of true winter, and my first cold winter in 5 years. I think one of these might be in order.

This week we're seeing friends, working on a very cute sewing project and planning another newborn shoot. When my husband and Clementine get home from the grocery store, we'll settle in for the night. Chicken congee for her, and miso-curry pumpkin (from this favourite cookbook) for us for dinner. Later tonight I'll have a bath (my muscles are achy from chasing a toddler all day) and then we'll watch Masterchef and eat ice cream. Have a good night everyone!

repurposed hot water bottle cover

This week, I took some time to shift things around a bit to give myself a sewing space. By putting our big, bulky printer in the closet, I freed up enough room to leave my sewing machine on a desk in our main living space. All of my sewing supplies and fabric are still in a chest of drawers in the hall, but at least now I don't have to also haul out my sewing machine any time I want to work on a project.

I have a few things on my 'to make' list, but I decided to warm up with something super simple: a hot water bottle cover. Inspired by The Crafty Minx, I cut up an old (holey) sweater of mine to create this cozy cover. I love how it looks and feels like I'm cuddling a favourite sweater; absolutely perfect for this blustery day we're having.

Hope you all have a very happy weekend!

sunday sewing

Today, while Clementine slept and my husband watched the footy, I sewed. My poor sewing machine has been neglected lately, mostly because I hate cleaning up after myself once I've started a project. Maybe someday I'll have my own dedicated sewing space that can get as messy as I like, but for now, my crafting space is the living room. In our open plan apartment, most everything happens in the living room. But I digress…

With my baby girl's birthday fast approaching (!!!) I decided to make her a birthday crown, à la soulemama. I made a hybrid crown using the pattern in her book The Creative Family as well as this tutorial (such a good one!). As for the decoration, I was inspired by this crown. I had to make the elastic part much, much shorter than both instructions call for because Clementine is a tiny little thing, but I've left it inside of the crown so I can simply unpick one seam and adjust it in years to come. I failed to consider that Clementine doesn't really like wearing things on her head, so now I just hope she'll wear it long enough for me to take a special birthday picture.

Once the crown was done, I moved on to some instant gratification sewing. I've been meaning to make some new placemats for a while now. Ours are old and stained, and once I spotted this fabric at Ikea I knew exactly what to do with it. The construction is really simple; I just cut out 8 rectangles (43cm by 33cm), sewed two rectangles right sides together leaving a gap, turned it right side out and then topstitched around the edge. Even my husband likes them, which is saying something…

All in all, a most productive (and happy) day.

my no buy month

unrelated photos from our wander through Wendy Whiteley's garden

Way back in December, I went on one of my annual de-cluttering sprees. I even managed to get my husband on board, and between the two of us we donated more than a carload of things to our local thrift shop. It's truly amazing how much we have managed to accumulate in the 5 and a half years we've been living together, especially considering that I moved here in 2009 with just two suitcases.

Of course, I know that all the de-cluttering in the world is just a temporary solution. I started thinking that to really make a difference, we had to get to the root of the problem: buying stuff. So I decided to spend the month of February buying nothing but the essentials, which I deemed to be food, petrol, and basic household necessities like toilet paper. Now, I wasn't overly strict with myself. As a mum to a baby, most of my social life revolves around catching up with friends over coffee or tea, so I let myself spend money at cafes. I also had to cheat once; my husband's birthday is in February and I figured he wouldn't be thrilled to hear, "Surprise! It's no-buy month so I didn't get you anything!"

But other than that, my project went surprisingly well. One of the things I noticed is that because I knew I couldn't buy anything, I never went into shops (not even thrift shops) and as a result, I saved time and money. I normally have a running list of things I'm on the hunt for and I'll often let myself buy something from my list if I find it on sale. In February I found a pair of sandals that I loved, and they were a steal. I didn't buy them thanks to my commitment to no buy month, and in March, when I could buy them, I resisted. I learned that when I want something, I should write it down and wait, and wait… Often, the urge to buy just goes away. Other times, I'll find what I want for very little money at a thrift shop, which is what happened this month. A candleholder was one of the things on my list, and I spent all of March looking for the perfect one. Eventually I found what I wanted at Vinnie's for $3; it took me over a month but it was worth it.

The no buy month also made me evaluate the difference between wants and needs. About halfway through the month I ran out of one of my moisturisers. I had been using two kinds - extravagant, I know - one for day, one for night. There was a brief moment when I thought I'd just go out and replace it, surely that would count as an essential… But I knew it wasn't essential (not even close) and two months later, I'm still using the one kind.

The other thing I've discovered is the power of the internet to make me want to consume. I had to unsubscribe from all of the newsletters I had subscribed to over the years; if I don't know that Anthropologie is having a sale then I'm not tempted to buy anything. So simple. But I also have to beware of blogs, particularly home and design blogs. Our home is a pretty funky mismatch of furniture we have been given over the years. Until recently we were still using my husband's great-grandmother's couch! It's certainly not a magazine worthy home, but it's comfortable and I think we've done well to make it us while spending very little money. There is a part of me though, that pines for my dream couch and is tempted to spend money whenever I see a beautiful home tour. So I'm staying away from all those beautiful design blogs for now. Call it a breather, good for my sanity and our wallets.

Have you ever done a no buy month? I'd highly recommend it.

green thumb

I've never had a green thumb. I grew up in inner-city apartments and didn't have my first backyard until my husband and I moved in together. For about a year we lived in a funny old house with a big backyard that we mostly ignored. I mean, I loved, loved, loved having a yard to to enjoy but we never did any gardening per se. Once in a blue moon my husband would mow the lawn but that was about it.

When our landlords sold that house we moved into an apartment. In many ways it was a huge improvement on the house (no mice! built in storage! a proper bathroom with a toilet!) but with one majordrawback: no yard. Not even a balcony. Because of this, I've found myself craving green over the years but I've always ended up killing any plant that passes through our door.

Recently I was inspired again, so I picked up two succulents at our neighbourhood nursery. They really do make the apartment feel homier and I love the simple act of taking care of something and watching it grow. I've had them for a couple of months now, and they seem to be doing well. So well that I'm thinking of branching out and trying something other than succulents. Maybe someday I will have a green thumb after all...

on our own (for the week)

My husband's been out of town this week for work so it's been just Clementine and I. To be honest, I was slightly terrified at the thought but it's all worked out perfectly. We've had one of those lovely weeks with long naps, library sing-a-longs and lots of play time with friends. I'm just realising lately how much happier Clementine is when other kids are around. She just adores babies, and kids too. Whenever she sees another baby, she crawls over quick as she can, starts giggling and then goes in for a pash. She's the cutest.

I'm also a bit proud, because in the absence of my husband I managed to be fairly productive and even ate well! I tend to eat a lot of toast when left to my own devices but lately I've been better at shopping, meal planning and cooking. Green leafy vegetables and lots of pulses have been making their way into the kitchen and I feel great as a result. Of course, there have been some sweets too. I made these almond & chocolate pots de creme, and they were delicious. So nice with a cup of tea (and the air conditioning on). I'm thinking of posting 'our day on a plate' next week, so stay tuned for that.

Lastly, see those little passport photos up there? Well they're for the little one's Canadian citizenship application. It was practically impossible to get a photo of her not smiling so this was the best we got. And after stalling for months, I sent off the paperwork and now I'm getting excited. Soon our daughter will have two citizenships, and then all that's left to do is for me to get my Australian citizenship and for the husband to become a Canadian citizen. So much bureaucracy!

nesting: for christmas

It's no surprise that this month is usually a hard one for me. I miss my family, and I long for the traditions that make me feel like Christmas is coming. Traditions that are so seasonally based that they just don't work here; it seems odd, but I really do miss the cold and all of the indoor activities that come with it (like baking, drinking egg nog, watching movies, and knitting). Other years I've just let myself wallow, but this time I decided to get in the spirit of things. Or at least try my best.

We opted not to get a Christmas tree (maybe next year) so I emptied a little red bookcase and used it as our Christmas corner. I hung a wreath over it, filled the shelves with gifts and decorated with red and green bits and pieces like this beautiful bird that my friend Katrina made. My mother in law also made the three of us beautiful stockings, using this tutorial from the purl bee.

This month I also managed to do some baking and sewing. My friend Katie and I made the Chocolate Banana Birthday Cake from My New Roots, which was delicious and well worth the effort. Right before Christmas I made up a double batch of my favourite olive oil granola, which, packed into jars and decorated with fabric scraps made a perfect homemade gift for family and friends. Lastly, I sewed up another doll (I know, enough with the dolls already!) which was sent to baby Tallow, in honour of her first Christmas.

Now that we're in these wonderfully lazy post-Christmas days, I can honestly say that I very much enjoyed this year. I had a wonderful BirthdayChristmas and I'm glad that I made the effort to celebrate properly.

nesting: the beginnings
nesting: summertime
nesting: from summer to autumn

this weekend

This weekend was for relaxing. For puttering and drinking tea. For framing our family photos (finally!) and making pancakes. For listening to podcasts and lying down. For having friends over to dinner and actually baking something. It was perfect.

What did you do this weekend?

finding our groove

After three weeks back in Sydney, I feel like we're finally finding our groove. As I mentioned in this post, I found it really hard to adjust to spending my days alone after having so much help for 2 months. As always, the biggest challenge for me is learning to cope without much sleep. But I think we're getting there.

Our days are punctuated with friends and coffee, evening strolls and lots of sunshine. In the morning we play, and I eat my big bowl of oatmeal (good for breastfeeding mums) with a cup of tea. I take advantage of Clementine's first nap to shower, get dressed and tidy. Usually sometime mid morning we meet friends for coffee in our neighbourhood. Spending time with my friends really does keep me sane and I'm so grateful to have such a great community nearby. I don't know what I'd do without them.

By lunchtime we're back home for Clementine's longest nap. I almost always curl up with her and hope for sleep. Sometimes I get a good nap, sometimes it's just a rest but either way I think it's an essential part of my day. In the afternoon we might go to the shops, run an errand or just hang out at home. Then it's off for a stroll to get the little one to nap again. I've come to cherish these early evening walks of ours as a beautiful, grounding part of my day.

In the evening, my husband gets home and gives Clementine her dinner (two egg yolks) and a bath. She adores the bath and could happily spend half an hour splashing around. Getting her to sleep takes quite a while, so by the time she's finally down I'm ready for bed myself! My husband and I eat together and I crawl into bed by 9 pm.

On the days where I teach yoga or my husband works late, our rhythm does get thrown out of whack a bit, but for the most part, this is how we spend our time. I'm learning that slow and simple is best - that doing one thing a day is more than enough. My house is never perfectly clean or tidy, and dinner doesn't always get made but I'm practicing the art of letting go. Everyday I remind myself: close enough is good enough.

how clean is your house?

I've been chatting with some blog friends lately about how we portray our homes online. While it's easy to post a photograph of a beautiful bouquet of flowers arranged in a vase, or a perfectly placed candle, it doesn't tell the full story. Not even close.  I can't speak for everyone, but I would hazard a guess that most of us do not live in "perfect" homes. To the right of the flowers you will probably find a stack of paperwork I pushed out of the frame, or a burn mark under that candle I mentioned.

Although I wouldn't call myself a neat freak (I never do any kind of deep cleaning, for example), I can't abide mess and clutter. And now that I have a baby to take care of, I have had to seriously relax my standards. I consider doing the dishes and laundry the bare minimum, and anything else I manage to do is a bonus. On the topic of fattening up Clementine, our family doctor actually told me that lying around and resting is more important than doing housework. Bless that woman!

I endeavour to keep my blog positive and inspiring - because that's what I love about blogs - but I also try to keep it realistic. And the one thing that the blog friends and I all agreed on is that with young children, it is pretty much impossibly to have a perfectly clean and tidy home. So while I would normally post a photo like this:

Today I'm also going to show you my home, in all its messy, lived-in glory...

One final confession: I've taken to eating my morning oatmeal in the pot so I have one less dish to clean. Classy, right? Tell me, are you a warts and all blogger or a careful curator?

alone time

the bouquet I'm still savouring from last week's wander / documenting my love of woollens (and Gorman, a love that is only indulged on sale)

Last night I was craving some alone time so I passed Clementine to my husband and filled up the bathtub. The man works long hours with an unpredictable schedule, which can make for some very long days for me as a mum. I'm grateful though that he's always happy for one-on-one time with his daughter. While they played, I got in the tub and flipped through Kelly Doust's newest book, The Crafty Minx at Home.

It felt so nice to close the door and be alone for a while, and it made me realise that it's time to start taking better care of myself. Not enough greens and not enough sleep are starting to catch up with me. The last 2 months have been all about survival - eating whatever is quickest and indulging my sweet tooth far too often. I'm beginning to suspect that I may be a bit too reliant on my daily sugar fix. While I will not be attempting to quit sugar, I will try to cut back. I've also been itching to get back into a regular yoga practice, even if that means 10 minutes a day. For the next few weeks my goals are simple: make a couple of dinners from scratch, drink some green smoothies, cut back my sugar consumption and make it to a yoga class. I think a daily nap is also in order, a habit that I fell out of once my mom left. Come to think of it, I'll be making that priority number one!

today

Today we baked an olive oil cake, using this recipe. We dressed the baby up as a sailor and took too many photos of her. We went for a walk in the beautiful autumn sun. And I even got a nap. A day well spent.

This weekend I'm looking forward to Finders Keepers market and having the husband at home. What will you get up to?

nesting: from summer to autumn

I know it's technically been autumn for a while now, but to this Vancouverite, it still feels very much like summer. That said, I have been finding myself slowly but surely nesting, autumn style. Knowing that the next few months will be spent mostly at home, I've tried to de-clutter and make little changes that make our space feel cozier.

This month I finally put a duvet on the bed, with a soft throw blanket and some bright pillowcases to break up all the white. I switched up my gallery wall with dropcloth artwork I won from Maze & Vale, a photo from our trip to New Zealand, and a photo Gui and Michaela took of us last week. In our little dining nook I changed up my plate wall. You can see what it used to look like here. These are a collection of plates from all over: Ikea, fancy kitchen stores, and the op shop, of course. Lastly, I traded my summery garland for one that screams winter. A cozy garland of teapots and teacups I crocheted a couple years ago.

And now I hope to spend these next few weeks reading good books, drinking tea and filling the freezer with nourishing foods and baked treats. While I still have time to read, do you have any book recommendations for me?