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31 October 2012

little ghost




The little ghost and I


Ari's school puts on the best Halloween Disco
for the kids.  Friday night was an absolute blast!

Last week, I was at the school working on the end of year 
school play, again, and we were discussing costumes...

Ari's teacher  "Wow Ari!  You're so lucky to have a Mum who's 
a costume maker.  So, what are you going to come as on Friday?"

Ari  "A ghost.  We can make my costume out of paper! 
Or maybe I'll just wear a sheet!!!"

Me and Ari's teacher  "Really?!"

Ari  "Yep!  Ghosts are great!!!"

Me, later on  "Or, what about Edward Scissorhands? 
I saw a great costume online!" (I showed him this great costume)

Ari  "Edward Scissorhands isn't very Halloween, Anna. 
Nope.  I'm wearing a sheet.  Ghosts are great.  They can't die"

The little ghost and I plan to go trick or treating
with some of our favourite little spooks tonight.

Happy Halloween Everyone!

We hope you all have a wonderfully ghoulish night...


 *instuctions for Edward Scissorhands costume here


29 October 2012

field journal

Entry Two:  Edibles in our garden

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Ari and I have started keeping a weekly field journal.

A photographic record of all the wonderful natural things we 
find in our garden and on trips around the countryside, into
town, to the seaside, the woodlands, the mountains and so on.

Feel free to create your own and link to it in the comments. 

You can view all our entries here.

27 October 2012

today




Looking for something wonderful to do this Saturday?

Fun and festivities in celebration of the ongoing regeneration
 of the Merri Creek and 30 years of CERES. The festival celebrates 
the return of the Sacred Kingfisher to the banks of creek.

For more informaton visit the CERES website here

26 October 2012

These are a few of my...

favourite things.


Luna Park entrance St. Kilda Esplanade, St. Kilda Beach here

Make Me Iconic, wooden toy tram here


Skipping Girl Vinegar sign, Victoria Street, Richmond here 
(print available here )

Things that make me happy.
Things that I love.
Things that I'd love to own.
Things that I do own.
Things that I enjoy.
Things that I enjoy doing.


Things that resonate with my sense of aesthetics. 

A post inspired by Melbourne icons.

I think it's about time for a favourite things post.  I might
try to get back into posting these every Friday. Some of
my favourites are already listed to the left of my blog and
many them are also listed on the pages under my header as
...shops, places to go, books,  mags, recipes and resources.
Most probably, they will all find a place in these posts and 
I hope that you'll enjoy sharing these lovely things with me.

Feel free to play along on your own blog if you'd like,
I'd love to know what your favourite things are too! xo

25 October 2012

one for the boys






check out the wingtips and button-down braces... swoon!




SO DAPPER!

Bira Biro Kids... natural fabrics, sustainable designs, 
and they make threads for girls and women too!

24 October 2012

nom nom nom

There was not much in the pantry last night and we 
didn't have time to do a shop after Ari's drama class.
But I had sweet potatoes.  And apples.  And lentils. 

And this recipe tastes as delicious as it sounds...



Sweet Potato, Apple and Lentil Soup

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 large leeks, white and light green parts chopped
2 tart apples, peeled cored and chopped
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
¾ cup brown lentils
4 cups Massel vegetable stock 
3 cups water
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon salt, or to taste


Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large pot. 
Add the leeks, ginger and garlic, and sauté for 5 minutes. 
Add the apples, sweet potatoes and spices and cook for 2 minutes, 
stirring constantly. Add the lentils, vegetable stock and water. 
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 40 minutes, 
partially covered. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 
Puree in a blender (or use an immersion blender). 

 Serve with topped with plain yogurt or sour cream.


Image and recipe via what would cathy eat

20 October 2012

field journal

Entry One:  Springtime in our garden

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Ari and I have decided to start keeping a field journal.

A photographic record of all the wonderful natural things we 
find in our garden and on trips around the countryside, into
town, to the seaside, the woodlands, the mountains and so on.

We'll try to make this a weekly feature.... please join us.


We'd love to see glimpses of nature from around the globe,
flora and natural objects that you (and perhaps your little ones)
might find in your garden or when you're out walking. 


No rules, just be as creative as you like. Each time we
post one of our field journal entries here, feel free to create 
your own and link to it in the comments section below. 


If you don't have a blog, you could set up a flickr account for 
this activity and link to that.  I'd be happy to tell you how. 

We look forward to sharing your discoveries!

xoxox

17 October 2012

Annika










LVE!

How cute are these designs by Korean based label Annika?
So cute!  Images found here via kickcan and conkers blog.



15 October 2012

in the garden

The weather's still a bit chilly, but we've been getting
stuck into the vegie garden none the less.  Last week we 
planted out onions (red and gold), leeks, carrots, beets,
spring onions, tomatoes, more salad varieties and beans. 


We collected and stored beans from last Summers crop and I'm 
planting some new varieties too this year, including soy beans 
(we are big fans of edamame round here).  I think the scarlet 
runners are my favourite though. The flowers are very pretty (in 
amongst all that green) the dried beans are a lovely shade of 
blush pink, and fresh from the garden, they taste divine!

I've planted out some radishes, rainbow chard, and early Spring 
varieties of cauliflower, brocolli and cabbage too. I'm hoping 
we'll get a late crop of brassicas before Summer hits us.

And, this year it looks like we'll have apricots as well as plums!

The apple tree is in full blossom, but coddling moth destroyed
last year's crop, so I'm not sure we'll have apples. The raspberries 
and strawberries are thriving in their new patches though (we 
transplanted them this year) and we planted blueberries and 
non-suckering blackberries, though they won't fruit yet.

Our herb garden is well stocked and also coming along nicely.

Ah, it's all so exciting!  It's our 2nd year with a big garden, after 
years of inner-city living. I am loving teaching Ari how to grow 
his own food and learning more about the art myself. 

If you live in Australia and you're keen to get a garden going this 
Spring, I'd recommend this book. And if you live in Melbourne, a trip 
to CERES is definitely in order!  We get most of our seedlings there
and our seeds from Greenpatch, Eden Seeds or The Diggers Club.

9 October 2012

nature play


love these illustrated playing cards by Hanna Krajni,
wasn't able to find much information on this artist

Sabine Timm via virginhoney on flickr

more illustrated playing cards by Hanna Krajni

nature patterns via botanicals and curios on Pinterest

walnut boats via art and children on Pinterest

 Mortéza Esmaîli Sohi via Atelier Pour Enfants


A few of my favourite nature craft inspirations.
Some kooky 70s nature craft ideas in this book.


1 October 2012

nature studies


the eucalyptus is always greener

birds in flight 

field journal 


The beautiful work of artist Fiona Watson.

I have been thinking about keeping a nature diary with Ari.
Documenting the seasons and the bits and bobs we collect
on our many trips around the countryside, beach and city.

Fiona's photographs are a beautiful source of inspiration 
for such a project. It would be fun to create such 
works with children, don't you think?