…these prints, which are pretty gorgeous. And as Liberty Post says, they would look great in individual gilded frames. I’d also like them printed on card and pinned to my inspiration board. Thank you Liberty Post, you always find such wonderful treasures!

xx

Next up, the results of one of my latest shoots.

now I may have neglected to mention in my last post that Leslie has her very own etsy boutique. But I am letting you know right now, with this sublime photograph you see above, from her collection, and this one you see below, both available for purchase…

The reason I neglected to mention this before is because Leslie has something special on offer that deserves a whole post of it’s own – for the rest of February, Leslie is donating $5 of each print purchased in her etsy boutique to wildlife victoria, a not for profit volunteer based organisation who are working ceaselessly in all fire damaged grounds in victoria, australia, performing search and rescue. Due to the recent devastation, hundreds of animals have been taken in for treatment and rehabilitation, with more coming in all the time…

left: i’m not sure where this image is from but it has done the rounds on emails in australia which is how it came into my inbox; right image from hyena in petticoats.

Leslie will also be waiving the shipping costs on her sales for the rest of the month, so now is a perfect time to purchase some of her beautiful work and help victoria’s injured wildlife.

Thank you dear Leslie. Our koalas, kangaroos, cockatoos, kookaburras, wallabies, wombats and plethora of other australian animals in danger will be so very very thankful. And I am more than touched to learn about your endeavour to help our precious wildlife.

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update 20.2.09: for more information about the recent victorian bushfires, please read this brief article, watch this documentary from ABC 4corners, and to help further, please make a donation to the red cross, wildlife victoria, or donate something you’ve made by hand to handmade help. to donate goods, here is a list of drop off contacts around the country.

unfortunately at the same time last weekend, north queensland was under threat from floods. This is also an area of devastation, so to learn more about this and make a donation, please click here.

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isn’t it beautiful? I am captivated by this photograph, taken by San Fransisco-based photographer Leslie Sophia Lindell. The house is situated on the sand at Stinson Beach, facing the Pacific Ocean on the Northern California coast. Perusing Leslie’s portfolio and flickr sets have kept me busy for well over an hour now, I have found so many gorgeous images. I’ve been tempted to show you all of them right here but then i would become the ‘leslie lindell blog’! Instead, go and visit her own blog here, her flickr set here, and her professional portfolio here. For now, I give you just one more…

…and I’ll be telling you more about the lovely Leslie and posting about something else fabulous that she has going on, in just a moment.

Imagine: its night time and you step off the tram and walk through a very nondescipt part of town. You’ve heard this restaurant is a greenhouse of sorts but you don’t see how that is possible because you are walking along a very city-like street and there is no sign of nature anywhere. And then suddenly, it’s all black. You know that’s a sign of nature’s night time presence. And then, you see lights, in what seem to be in the shape of a house. You peek through the grassland and standing alone against the black of night you see the most magnificent structure: a glorious house built entirely of glass…

You find a long wooden bridge that guides you across a little canal and straight to the door of your destination, Restaurant de Kas (the glasshouse)…

There is a man at the door awaiting your presence. He takes your coats, you walk past a gorgeous herb garden into the main dining area which is housed inside this gigantic glasshouse. You walk past a beautiful lemon tree that stands by the entrance way as you are guided to your seat…

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“A kitchen surrounded by fertile soil where vegetables and herbs thrive … Where daylight shines in from all sides and where the chefs are free to express their creativity daily using the best the season has to offer.”Gert Jan Hageman owner of de kas

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Well, what more can I say! Last night’s dinner date was more than I could have hoped for. And that is saying alot, because I had bookmarked this restaurant from a tiny magazine article in Australia four years ago. That was way before I ever intended visiting Amsterdam, let alone living here. I loved the idea of the restaurant and I thought, hmm, wouldn’t it be nice to visit such a place one day. After a year of living here, I finally made it and oh, what an incredible place it is…

photos courtesy of de kas, with first three photos taken by me last night.

The five-course menu is based on what the restaurateurs have harvested that day, and consists of a selection of starters, a main course and a dessert. We started with a glass of champagne that was served with a tiny sprig of oregano picked from the garden. The meal was divine (I could go on and on about each dish so if you are interested let me know and I will tell you exactly what we had), the wine choices perfect, and I just can’t wait to go back! I would like to go for a lunch next time so I can see the garden during the day, and also to go in the different seasons. What a treat. It has made it into our top 5 list of best restaurants to go to around the world.

xx

To read more about de kas, please click here – you’ll find a comprehensive website with lots of lovely photos and information about the history of the restaurant and chefs.

this is as far as i got today in creating a post for you about my trip back home. as it turns out, i am suffering from a severe case of what i like to call the girl lacks time management skills. it seems i have developed a list as long as my left arm (it’s the longer of the two), and today i realised its all getting out of control. at the top of my list was ‘clean houseboat’. I’ve always found that when i am in ultra creative mode, the housework does not get done. do you find that? do you think being an artist and doing housework just don’t mix? i do, it’s like doing taxes and being creative – they cannot be done in the same breath. well, in my humble experience anyway. or perhaps i’m just no good at multi-tasking.

so, i’m afraid i totally neglected posting my promise today. but i’m hoping this photo might suffice. I took this on the plane going over australia – it is one of my favourite places to be – in a plane, heading over my homeland. it is one of the most beautiful scenes ever. and i’ll tell you more about it soon.

now i must dash for i have a date! with french boy. who is FINALLY taking me out for my birthday dinner, as promised. this is the only time we’ve had to do this since we’ve been back. We are going to a restaurant that i’ve been wanting to try for. like. ever. so, if it’s good i’ll tell you all about it tomorrow! if it’s not good, i shall not waste this precious blog space on it as i have so many wonderful things to share with you.

xx

oh and i totally got side-tracked! i was going to tell you that due to the list as long as my left arm, i think i will hold off on my sydney posts until next week. instead this week i have a whole bunch of posts i want to publish, one of them being the results of one of my latest shoots which i’m hoping you will like. until then!