simmer.

the heat wave here in wa is leaving us a bit housebound. there is nothing appealing about melting.

40 degrees means we have spent the day turning the house upside down, eating watermelon and generally hiding from the sun.

there is a bit of an art to entertaining an 18 month old without running outside. i have not yet mastered it, but am getting there.

off for another game of cars racing daddy's boot.

♡ ashley

p.s. don't forget to check out my giveaway below! x

giveaway.

i love me some photo play.

especially a quick and easy way to make my photos pretty.

so i jumped at the chance to test out some photo software.

it is really a pretty simple program to use, quick to download, and has loads of creative options (by no means limited to scrapbooking). there are piles of paper and design kits on their site but the software already has loads to offer.

it even lets you add music and video. it makes photobooks, cards and other creative things to show your beautiful images in.

but here's the best bit, i have one copy of My Memories Scrapbook Software to giveaway (RRP $39.97 USD).

to win simply click over to their site, have a look at your favourite digital paperpack or layout, pop back and let me know in a comment below.

i will draw the winner in one week's time.

winner is clove's corner. 50/50 with a whooping 2 entries.

congrats lovely.

happy snapping.

♡ ashley

p.s. i also have a code that provides a $10 discount off the purchase of the My Memories Suite Scrapbook software and a $10 coupon for the MyMemories.com store - $20 value!) just key in STMMMS22652 at checkout.

top 5 kids books. for grown-ups.

yum. books.

we eat books for breakfast, lunch and dinner around here.

from the moment piper could hold an object she has been mimicking sitting around reading.

we read as a family, together and alone. and devour books of all sorts.

as both a mom and a wee-people teacher, i am lucky to be spend my days surrounded by children's books.

i adore them, as do the little people (and big in fact) in all areas of my life.

many of them have such depth and power in the messages they deliver that they are in fact quick shots of wisdom in the life of adults everywhere.

here are my top 5 kids (adults) picture books (for now!)

1. The Short and Incredibly Happy Life of Riley. By Colin Thompson.

"Human beings live for quite a long time and for a lot of that time we are not happy. We want to be taller, shorter, fatter, thinner, older and younger. We want our straight hair to be curly, our curly hair to be straight and our brown eyes to be blue. We hate our parents, children, teachers, students and everybody. We want to be somewhere else with someone else, eating something else and wearing something fantastic no one else can afford, and we want to splash them as we drive by in our big red car.
Rats live for quite a short time and for most of that time they are very, very happy..."

A book that reminds us to laugh and enjoy our life, every. single. day.

2. The Giving Tree. By Shel Silverstein.

Once there was a little tree ... and she loved a little boy. Every day the boy would come to the tree to eat her apples, swing from her branches, or slide down her trunk ... and the tree was happy. But as the boy grew older he began to want more from the tree, and the tree gave and gave and gave.

A story about giving and receiving and more importantly giving everything to someone you love the most.

3. The Anti-Heroes' Anti-Heroes: Norman and Brenda. By Colin Thompson.

"Some people face the world with confidence. They are popular, charismatic, incredibly successful and often beautiful. They achieve these things by sheer determination, talent and cosmetic surgery. They have big houses, big cars and big hair.

Norman and Brenda are nothing like these people . . ."

a story that reminds us that love is out there for everyone of us. Yes. I do so love mr. thompson and his raw and funny take on life.

4. Press Here. By Herve Tullet.

"Press here and turn the page," it instructs. When the page is turned, there's a second yellow dot beside the first one. "Great!" it says. "Now press the yellow dot again." A third yellow dot appears beside the first two. "Perfect," the narrator continues. "Rub the dot on the left... gently." On the next page, voila!—that dot is now red. "Well done!" the book congratulates.

every page in this book asks the reader to press the dots, shake the pages, tilt the book with a surprise around every corner. so clever and like a bit of real magic for the new generation of screen tapping techies.

5. One. By Katherine Otoshi.

"Blue is a quiet color. Red’s a hothead who likes to pick on Blue. Yellow, Orange, Green, and Purple don’t like what they see, but what can they do? When no one speaks up, things get out of hand — until One comes along and shows all the colors how to stand up, stand together, and count."

a counting and colours book with so much more to offer.

a lesson on bullying and love.

do you have a favourite picture book? have you read these?

do share!

oh, and happy weekend.

♡ ashley

some favourite days of 366.

I have been busily posting a photo a day to my 366 page. After two weeks of daily snapping, saving and posting i am addicted to the project.

Here are a few of my favourites.

12/366
Sweet like candy to my soul, sweet you rock, and sweet you roll. -dave matthews.


17/366
you are our sunshine.
you make us happy when skies are grey.


9/366
the flasher.

this is my zen. finding the good in every day and moment with p. thank-you for those who took the time to send love on my last post. i needed it.
♡ ashley

dude, where's my zen.

The other day I woke up with a shooting pain behind both my shoulder blades. By the end of the day I was O.V.E.R. I.T. Achy, grumpy, tired and overwhelmed with trying to balance the day to day.

The daily grind is living up to it's name.

We have a few more weeks before monsieur and I are both back at work, with p going to daycare 4 days a week. M has a 10 week internship for uni in the first half of this year and we have no other way than for me to work. Cue mama guilt.

Up until now we have managed to have one of us at home with p all the time. She is attached at the hip to us and us to her.

Despite working and having no holiday together, the bills keep coming and some days I swear we are going around in a hamster cage trying to catch up on debt. Two steps forward...

and homesick. man alive, it has been too long since I have seen my family and friends and m, his and this makes a little hole that grows and grows daily.

In me, stress and worry manifest to physical symptoms. Headaches and back pain are the flavour de jour.

In the past, I committed myself to no pity parties in my life. To appreciate what I have, to enjoy each moment. But sometimes I guess you need to wallow. Otherwise you can't see the bright side when it comes back out.

Breathe. Let go. And hopefully tomorrow is a new day.

Any other advice for getting over a slump?

♡ ashley

num nums.

bum bums.

i never thought i would be the one to speak to my baby in funny baby words. as an early literacy teacher i believe children gain the strong foundations of oral literacy at home. thus, the fact that i say 'num nums' and 'doo doo' about 50 times a day is hilarious.

this week we have been loving the num nums on offer.



white cherries and organic sultanas.



lunch, dinner and snacks in a brown paper bag. tvp (fake meat), kale, chickpeas, soy crisps, edamame, strawberries, black beans and broccoli.

some other yummy finds include this blog filled with amazing eye candy.



some of the gear i just ordered from american apparel. with 30% off ♡.



listening to this amazing album on repeat.

oh happy days.
pop over to catch up on my 366 photo page.
♡ ashley

around here.

my new year manifesto. cause indeed they are MIRACULOUS.

i am loving my holidays. it takes being at work for me to realise what a total blessing it is to be at home all day and sharing time. the one thing that goes too quickly.

i ordered p a fancy pair of saltwaters a little while ago and they finally arrived. she was so excited to match mama and spent most of the day staring at her feet and doing a bit of a happy jig. sweetness and joy this kid is.

i spent the day staring at her amber hair tied in it's first knot. thinking about time. they are really little for a short time, and they need to be little, it is so important.

off to watch her sleep. dream. hope yours are sweet nowadays too.

♡ ashley

p.s. have a separate 366 page for daily pics. 4 days straight posting. record for me.

1/ 366.

my girl loves herself some fresh cherry tomatoes from the veggie patch.

bluish tinge on left temple is a yowzah bruise from a full swan dive off the back of our sofa and connection with the edge of a bench. ouch.

but nothing loads of cuddles couldn't fix.

my girl.

happy new year. it is for us.

♡ ashley