ethical + sustainable - a series // the loved by community of ziraffe store.

When it comes to clothing, as a family, we are very careful of the brands we choose and what they stand for. Ethics and the environmental policies of a brand are looked at carefully before we invest. In a time when there are 52 seasons in a fashion year and a society that buys and ditches often, it is such a relief to find timeless and beautiful clothing for kids. 

One shop stocking ethical and stylish kids clothes with a minimalistic approach to consumption is Ziraffe. Their brands are simple in approach and create designs that grow with your child. Their new platform, LovedBy_Community is totally inspiring. In a nutshell:

• Builds communities around buying and selling thoughtfully designed, ethnically made goods for our children
• Supports sustainability and discourages throwaway culture when something is outgrown
• Allows sellers to select a charity to support and do social and environmental good
• Picks-up and delivers items door-to-door so busy families don't need to go to the post office

The community is easy to navigate and has some really amazing sellers. Like here and here.

The clothing the girls are wearing in these photos feature from both the shop and the LovedBy _Community. Poppy wears size 5/6 and is usually a 4, we sized up so she can get a few seasons from them. Piper wears size 7/8 but also shares the 5/6 with her sister. Being able to love ethical items and then pass them on to be used again and again, a modern take on fashion. Waste not.

All clothing for this post provided by Ziraffe Store, all thoughts and opinions my own. x

eye candy // freunde von freuden.

images. here. here. here. here. here. and here (my favourite!)

freunde von freuden.
it's no secret that i have a thing for home design. searching for ideas all the time and stumbling upon gems like this site. filled to the rim and bubbling over with amazing homes from all over the world.

be inspired.
♡ ashley

dropping the balls // life's crazy juggling act.

Some mornings I open my eyes and stare at the ceiling feeling a little foggy. You see, I still have a baby who wakes up at least twice a night and I haven't had a full nights sleep in...years. Which I have become accustomed to. To the point where when I do sleep a full 5 or 6 hours I wake up feeling hungover. Lethargic, confused, more tired than the "regular" sleepless nights.

This tiredness is finely balanced with raising my girls, being a good partner, caring for a pack of animals, keeping a home, building a little business, slowly paying off debt and soon will include returning to work part time.

The circus of life has placed me in the big top. Centre stage, throwing up my life balls all at once and seeing which I can keep afloat and which come tumbling down. So far, so good, but it does leave me spinning in my top hat and lately feeling very overwhelmed. The ringmaster coat is a heavy one.

I suppose that is what I am going to work out this next year. Which of the balls I need to keep up and which can be wiped away, or joined into one, to make my "act" a manageable one.

My peace comes from two things. One is order and having my little world uncluttered. The other is escaping and breathing fresh air, running free with only the smiles of my people beside me. These are my reset buttons. They help me keep up the juggle and not drop my balls.

I said it before, 2014 is a big year. We have a lot of plans to develop and goals to reach. I am taking stock, preparing, airing out the bigtop.

How do you keep your balls afloat, advice??

♡ ashley

ps. if you are looking to advertise your blog/business, we have 50% off all spots for january only. boo yah! x

Kid's Room Tour // Piper's Precious Pine Forest.

I am so excited to finally complete this project. Piper's room is a dreamy space for a dreamy three year old full of wonder and adventure. 

This room started with a Dulux Paint wall design inspiration {instructions for the diamonds effect can be found on the Dulux site here}. The pastel colours were chosen as I love the vintage feel they give and Piper already has a lot of pastel and vintage things. The walls are painted in Dulux's Natural White.

The monogram circle wall sticker on the door is a wall sticker from 41 Orchard. The giant black mushroom wall sticker inside the door is also from 41 Orchard and is a chalk board! How clever is that?! Above the mushroom we painted 5 dresser drawer knobs with the Dulux colours used on the feature diamonds and drilled them into the wall. The perfect spot for Piper's ever changing favourite jewellery and bags.

On the floating wall shelves sit storage vessels by KohLiving. They are from the Danish designed OOhh range. They are handmade by women living in poor communities in Western Sri Lanka. The initiative allows the women to earn a living from their home while  also being able to care for their children. They are made from natural rubber and recycled materials. Divine. 

The little owls are from Adair's homewares range and Piper claims they help watch over her while she sleeps. I made the crochet dream catcher for her, the doily is an old family keepsake. 

The print above the dollhouse is the 'I live here A Little Forest' art print by the amazing Mara Girling from Print Space. I love the way the trees share the geometric shapes around the room. 

The Love Mae 'Let's go camping' wall decals again add to the shapes used around the room but mostly stole my heart as they remind me of my childhood, growing up in Canada, where I spent the majority of the summer days camping with campfires, tents and amazing huge pinetrees. 

Piper's doll house was bought at a garage sale for $5. We repainted it using Dulux paint and a few Love Mae decals. In it sits some of her most precious toys and books. 

Her bed was also bought secondhand and was a dark navy originally. We used Dulux Spray Pak in off white enamel. The bedside stool is from Ikea and was also painted with the Dulux feature colours. The dried lavender is to help her sleep. 

Her bedding is from Adairs. The duvet cover is pure bamboo and cotton and the sheets are a crisp, soft & pure cotton. The throw and gold cushion are also Adairs. I "upstyled" the throw with some homemade pompoms. The gold cushion is Adairs. The love heart cushion and rag doll are from Fabrik.

Above her bed is an Ikea spice rack again painted with Dulux feature colours. Hanging over her bed is a dream catcher sent from her great Grandmother in Canada. It is surrounded by wall decals by Love Mae.

Her tutu is a precious third birthday present and is also from Fabrik.

She adores her new space {as do we}. It is like a little daydream and she can let her imagination run wild. Thanks for visiting! xx

Source/s

Paint〫
Dulux Australia. Walls :: Dulux Wash & Wear Low Sheen Plus in Natural White // Skirting and Doors :: Natural White AquaEnamel // Wall Feature :: English Rose, Corn Kernel, Ice Pack Quarter, & Grey Pail.

Bedding〫 
Adairs 

Wall stickers〫
41 Orchard monogram circle & chalkboard mushroom 

 I Live Here a Little Forest Print〫
 Printspace

Wall stickers〫
Love Mae Let's go camping set

White Storage Vessels〫
KohLiving

Rag doll, heart cushion, tutu
Fabrik

Rabbit Alphabet Print
Lucy Player

〬denotes items generously gifted for the room makeover.

♡ ashley