pinned.

Some inspiration found on pinterest.

Clever,

makes me want my long hair back,

these don't help that feeling,

and may have just found a use for my doily stash.

It's the weekend. I am hoping to soak it in. Hoping the same happens for you.

♡ ashley

looking back.

time really does fly.
the first six months as a new mama I didnt get it.
daily struggles to find my rhythm, people telling me it would pass "in the blink of the eye" and me thinking that, every. single. day. took an eternity.
i didnt have time to blink.
looking back i can see that even though some of the days of her being a tiny soul were my hardest, they were also my most beautiful.
her birth was not what i imagined. far from it {perhaps another post one day}.
piper was born with a heart issue, and silent reflux. the latter took nearly two months to find out. new parents, a baby who screamed 24 hours a day {except for the little moments where she would pass out in exhaustion}. she was only okay upright against us. we were exhausted and had so much trouble staying upright.
reflux bubs also feed as often as possible, it soothes them, both the motion and the milk, then it makes things worse. i was shattered most of the time.
it's hard to remember some days.
looking back i miss her tiny fingers, holding her, moments.
i also pray that the little person to join us in a few short months doesn't struggle coming into this world. that i dont struggle.
looking back is an amazing thing.

♡ ashley

my girl.

I have been forgetting to use my camera lately. All too tied up in my phone being handy and tiny enough to be bothered lugging about my DSLR. There are the odd times at home when I pull it out and capture my girl in her moments.

She doesn't jump up to the camera, my phone plays music and has grandma on the other end, the camera is something she is used to, a quiet sibling from once upon a time.

I have been loudly cheering for spring's arrival and another thing that it has brought is the end to the sniffles around here. A revolving door of colds are finally at bay.
The sofa shots are when P had her last virus, with a fever of 40 and spent the day doing nothing {this never happens}. Looking at these reminds me of how tiny she is. Curled up like when I carried her in my belly. There is another tiny soul who will join her and I hope I don't forget that she is still a baby too.

She is my baby.





























The ritual of bedtime stories is an important one here. As is her blue cloth {lovies} that go EVERYWHERE and do EVERYTHING with her. Occasionally daddy is lucky enough to have one placed on his head too.


♡ ashley

interior porn.

The Selby forever inspires.

This home is a dream. Hitoshi Uchida-san, owner of J'antiques Tokyo.

Monsieur if you are reading, I would like this home please.

♡ ashley

springing to life.

As a Canadian I adore the cold weather winter brings here in Western Australia. There is no snow and ice to fight through every morning, just crisp air, wooly socks, thick sweaters and a need to stay indoors and cuddle up with my knitting and hot cups of tea.

But I am cheating on this innate nature I have. I am falling in love with spring and summer. 

Perhaps becoming an Aussie has impacted me more than I know!

Hello spring, you sweet thang...

We got two bantam chickens a few weeks back. They are the sweetest birds, and make extraordinary pets.

They aerate my soil, eat food scraps, give cuddles to little miss 2, and provide us with eggs. A quick rake and hose of the pen weekly and we have no barnyard scent in the yard and an amazing addition to our compost. 

Wins all around. 

Piper named them very quickly, Tookie and Lamby. Every day she chases them through the yard and they survive trauma free. Clever cluck clucks.

My garden is turning over. The broadbeans, coriander and basil are all that remain in the beds. Our apple and lime trees coming out of hibernation. Raspberry bushes and strawberries turning green and ready to start climbing and hanging. I have planted loads of seeds {this is the BEST place I have bought from, not a sponsor but how I wish they were!}. 

Check out the yin yang bean seeds {above} that a green thumb neighbour shared with us. 

Mother nature is amazing.

I am sure that winter will understand that I am not cheating, merely exploring my opitons.

Happy humpday folks.

♡ ashley

it's a wrap.

Hello squishy, squeezable baby.  

Serious love for this amazing wrap by Solly Baby.
It has just moved to number one on the baby wish list.
Best of all it's organic cotton.
Now if only it came with amazing hair for mom and that beautiful flowy skirt. sigh.

Check out all the Solly Baby wraps here.

Are you a baby wearer?
What's your favourite carrier/wrap?

♡ ashley

 

shift.

There is something about springtime. 

Sunshine, fresh air, blooming and buzzing, and that incredible feeling that we can start over.

Cleanse, refresh and shift our views.

Life has still been moving faster than my legs can keep up. Many days I am a hamster in a cage. 

Wake, eat and feed all the critters, fly through shower {ahh, to pamper again}, dress, dress another, pack lunches, zip out the door and arrive at work feeling as though surely I have already lived the day. 

I have fallen into a slump, work ends, and post hurrying through some quick and not so hearty meal, and wrangling a surly and daycare tired toddler through food and bath, I sit {flop} in front of terrible for the brain tv until my eyes fade and monsieur pokes me in the arm to make my way to bed. 

In between I worry about money, mortgages, how we can afford another soul to join our pack.

Rinse, repeat.

So spring, we have a little deal we need to make. 

My 5 Spring Things.

I promise to do more of the following if you, dearest season, promise to make me feel renewed, to help me shift.

:: Clean out the closets and under the beds. Donate to others and empty the home of the clutter. Shift the clutter to those who need the bits and pieces that it is compiled of.

:: More books. Less TV. Sort the books on the shelf waiting to patiently be devoured and do just that. Devour.

:: Meal plan with care and love. Back into the garden to eat what is growing. Savour.

:: Pamper. Burn oils and candles to shift the dense hangover of winter rain and refresh our souls. Sit in the tub and relax. Shift.

:: Create a budget. Plan for the things we really want. Pay off the things that make us choke and find balance to make work less because we have to and more because we want to. Shift.

Shift.

Anyone out there ready for change?

Off to skip through a field of daisies, or a closet of woolens....

♡ ashley