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!

the cold

The cold finally arrived this weekend, about a week after the official start of winter. We woke up under our cozy duvet and my husband said to me, "wow, you were cuddly last night." A sure sign of the weather; I usually want as much personal space as possible. After six years here, I'm becoming a total wuss. Once the temperature drops below 25 degrees, I start carrying a sweater with me, just in case. When I lived in Vancouver, anything above 20 degrees meant summer. It's amazing how you adapt.

We've had quite a nice long weekend. On Sunday the three of us drove up to the Central Coast for Mason's birthday party. On the way there we went to Bouddi National Park, where I did a maternity shoot for a beautiful couple. I've never been before, but oh my is it ever beautiful there! It was wild and windy, but we rugged up Clementine and she had a wonderful time playing on the sand and exploring the cliffs. Afterwards, she wore her party dress and enjoyed the ruckus that is a kids' birthday party. We ended the day at our friends' place back in Sydney, where the social butterfly entertained us all with her shenanigans. By the time I put her to sleep, I was exhausted but buzzing with nervous energy from our day. I forced myself to unplug, do a restorative yoga practice and drink tea while reading my latest book. Tonight I'm aiming for another early bedtime because the baby (I wonder how long I can keep calling her that?) keeps waking up between 4:00 and 5:00am, not my preferred time to start the day. Here's hoping it's just a phase.

I hope you're all enjoying the last of your weekends, long or otherwise.

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?

seasonal envy disorder

via

Being a blogger, and an expat living in a country where the seasons are reversed, I seem to suffer from seasonal envy pretty much all year. But it gets so much worse in December! Every time December rolls around I feel like Dylan Moran talking about Ireland and the war: "What? What? There's a what on? Oh really? What I'm not dressed... Oh, oh, it's all over... oh well!"

I blame it on the weather. I find it nearly impossible to get in the spirit, and you know... buy gifts, put up a tree, decorate, bake gingerbread cookies etc, when it's 35 degrees outside and I'm heading to the beach. Christmas in Australia is, to me, as out of place as an elephant in Antarctica.

I also happen to be a Christmas baby, so this is the one time of year where all my celebrations are packed into a 12 hour period. Yet, I find myself wishing I was home listening to Sufjan Stevens Christmas carols, baking with my mom and watching the snow fall. And your blogs are not helping ;)

The funny thing is that based on your comments, I know that you have a bit of the same envy when you visit this space. I so often hear: "I wish I could go for a swim right now!" or "I want to see the sun!" So I don't really have a solution, I just felt like rambling. I suppose the solution would be to embrace Australian Christmas/my birthday for all of its quirkiness and stop wishing I was somewhere else. All I can do is try...

the yoga of closet cleaning

The weather in Sydney has been all over the place lately, but as I looked at my calendar this weekend and realized that December is less than a fortnight away, I decided to ready myself. We keep hearing that this summer is going to be hot and dry and, truth be told, I'm scared. I don't like Sydney heat in the best of times. We're already sleeping with a fan and keeping bottles of water in the fridge at all times, sure signs that summer is near.

On Saturday I packed away my wintery woollens, and pulled out crinkled summer dresses from the boxes where they've been hiding. I like the ritual of changing my closet as the seasons change. It's also nice to be reminded of how much I have, and see that I probably don't need any more (except for maybe some elastic waist shorts...). The theme of the month at Jivamukti Yoga is aparigraha, greedlessness. Yesterday one of my teachers, Keith, reminded us in class that the smaller our footprint, the more power we have. Live Simply so that others may simply live. Something to remember as Christmas draws closer...

farewell winter

Most photos by me, a couple by Tim, one by Sonja Sipala.

Hello spring! I can't wait for longer days, warmer nights, bare legs, meals outside, and the very first swims of the season. Hurrah!

dipping my toes

 I've been feeling quiet this week, hence the slow posting. It feels like we're moving towards spring and I'm relishing short trips to the beach. Dipping my toes in the water and knowing that soon, very soon, I'll be jumping right in. Yesterday it was 27 degrees (!!!) and today is warm and sunny again. 

My sewing machine and I have also reconnected this week after far too long apart, and I'll be sharing a few of the projects I've made in the coming days. In the meantime, I hope you and yours have a wonderful weekend!

butternut pumpkin soup

It's been pretty chilly here in Sydney this week, and even chillier inside my house. Whereas in most parts of the world winter means bundling up to go outside, and shedding layers when you're inside, my experience of Sydney is the exact opposite. When I'm home I'm usually wearing about 10 layers (which often includes a toque!), but outside I can still get away with cardigans and open shoes. Oh, and I should mention that it isn't just me, everyone says the same thing!

But what I actually want to talk about is soup, glorious soup to warm your belly. I picked up a butternut pumpkin at the market on Sunday, which became this simple soup last night.

Butternut pumpkin soup

- 1/2 of a butternut pumpkin (otherwise knows as butternut squash)

- 1 big onion

- 4 cups veggie stock

- salt and pepper

Peel and roughly chop your pumpkin. Do the same with your onion. Throw your pumpkin, onion, 4 cups of veggie stock and some salt and pepper into a heavy pot. Cover with a lid and leave at medium heat for about half an hour, or until the pumpkin is soft. Throw it all into a blender (I did this in 2 batches - nobody wants hot splattered soup all over the kitchen!) until smooth. Enjoy!

to market we go

Since getting home from Canada, jet lag has been seeing my rise much earlier than I normally do. Yesterday morning, Sunday, I was up at 7:45 am. By 9 I was cycling to the market to fill my front basket with fresh bread rolls, butternut squash, apples, mandarins with leaves still attached and some wintery purple flowers.

Of course I also had to fill my belly, with coffee and an organic muffin followed by the yummiest fresh pasta and sauce once I was home. On days like yesterday, winter in Sydney is glorious. Bright light, mild temperatures and lots of time spent outdoors. What's not to love?

Edit: For those of you who asked, my bike is this one from Giant. I love her.

scenes from easter

(cockatoos)

I think I'm going to be diabetic soon...

This Easter long weekend was wonderful. And maybe it was just in my head, but I feel like Australians really get into the whole Easter thing more than Canadians. Everywhere I went people were saying "Happy Easter!" to me, I got bucket loads of chocolate, and a kind guy at a bakery even gave me free hot cross buns for no reason.

Other than consuming my weight in sugar, the weekend was spent swimming in the ocean, napping, watching 30 Rock and Game of Thrones, and reading (only a teeny tiny bit, truth be told...).

I'm now feeling refreshed, and ready for another week of teaching. Oh, and I may even get around to unpacking those pesky last few boxes littering my room...

this morning...

... the light was oh so beautiful. And waking up to blue skies and sunshine felt like a small miracle after yesterday's storm.

I took my tea and breakfast outside to enjoy, and soaked up the vitamin d.

Today, in between teaching classes, I think I'll meander down to the beach. I'm so happy it's Friday. Tomorrow I have absolutely nothing planned all day, bliss.

Wishing you all a beautiful sunshiny weekend!

Getting my Christmas on

As a Canadian, I find it near impossible to get in the Christmas spirit here in Australia. My family's not around, it's the middle of summer and all of the traditions that I've grown up with just aren't here. And it doesn't help that this year we won't even be home for Christmas (we'll be in New Zealand) so we won't be getting a Christmas tree or decorating at all...

But ever since I've been back from Bali, the weather here has been oh so crappy and I decided yesterday to take advantage of it and try to get my Christmas on. I spent the afternoon making gingerbread and listening to my favourite Christmas music of all time, Sufjan Stevens' Songs for Christmas. And I dare say, I did feel a bit more festive.

How have you been getting your Christmas on this year?