So last weekend was my first Mother’s Day as a mother. Romain had planned to head to curl curl beach for a picnic as it was the very beach he and I sat on the day before Laly was born, both of us waiting (im)patiently for her late arrival. We thought it would be a nice idea to take her back to the place where perhaps, the crashing waves woke her from her cozy womb slumber and brought her into the world. However, it happened to be a very windy autumn day and although we persisted and spread out our blanket on the cold sand, Laly wasn’t impressed. It seems she is not a fan of windy cold beach weather (who knew!). We lasted about 20 minutes, scoffing down our cafe quiches and heading back to the warmth of the car. We ditched the idea of finding another spot for our picnic and decided to go and surprise my Mum for Mother’s Day instead. Mum was rapt.

Laly is already 3 months old. Time seems to have flown by, although I remember feeling quite the opposite in those first 6 weeks. Everyone kept saying it would get easier and I honestly thought they were all lying, but now I know they were not. I feel like a pro now, understanding the different communicative cries of my baby girl and instinctively responding. It’s a good feeling.

Experiencing my first Mother’s Day as a mother made it all the more real.

So, after visiting my mum and dad, we drove back home, continued with the evening ritual of bath, feed, and bed, then even though we were both exhausted, Romain and I had a romantic dinner at the dining table. It had been months since the table had been cleared for dining. Romain cooked one of my favourite French meals – tartiflette – and we shared a mini bottle of Moët & Chandon which a lovely friend had given me a couple months ago in celebration of Laly’s arrival. It was my first glass of champagne in a year and it. was. divine.

We toasted to our new lives together as parents, and reminisced about the fun times we’d shared with friends in Amsterdam on our houseboat, at this very table.

xx

PS composing blog posts is really hard with a busy bubba. I am amazed at how other bloggers appear to have seamlessly transitioned from blogger to mother-blogger. How?  If I manage to put on a load of washing, feed  & dress myself, and get out the door for a walk that is quite the accomplishment – anything outside of all that is a miracle.

I’ve been so looking forward to sharing this news: My Heart Wanders will (finally!) (and officially!) be hitting US shores this coming month, and will be distributed by the lovely IPG books. For those of you who have been waiting so patiently to be able to buy the book locally, the wait is over…

If you own a shop in the United States and would like to sell My Heart Wanders in your store, please contact IPG books directly, for order placement you can call (800) 888 4741.

Above are a few sneak peeks at some of the visual spreads you’ll find inside the book. And here is a bit more info about what you’ll discover between the pages…

This book also tells the story of how Romain and I met, it’s a romantic tale that is even more poignant now that our baby girl is in the world. It’s a book that I hope one day she will cherish too…

For more info, you can check it out here and here, and if you would like to see some of the window displays I created in Sydney last year in celebration of the release of the book, please click here.
Exciting times!

xx

PS 7 week update: I love being a mum.

So here she is, our little girl, born at 6:30am on Valentine’s Day. She came into this world strong and determined, just like I felt she was in the womb. Her name is Laly (pronounced lah-lee) – it’s a French name Romain and I picked out many months ago but we wanted to meet her first to be sure it was right, and as soon as we saw her we knew that she was indeed our little Laly…

This has been an incredibly intense journey from the very beginning – the pregnancy, birth, and these first two weeks of motherhood… what a ride, it’s like nothing I have ever experienced. Even though I’ve always admired and respected the mums of the world, I have a greater found respect for all mums past and present. This is one tough job. But just take a look at these photos, they are snippets of the glorious moments to be cherished…

Everyone tells me it gets easier and that by week 6 or so, routines can be established and sleep can be had. I am counting on it. And I’ve learnt this: If there is one way to be sure you are living in the moment, have a baby.

Wow, we are a family now: Valentine’s Day for us will always be when two became three.

xx

Here is a quick still life of a few of the gorgeous cards I received last month – some made by hand, others printed photographs and illustrations on beautiful card stock. Thank you lovely friends.

I hope everyone has had a peaceful, ‘time to reflect’ start to 2012. I’ve been nesting as you can imagine, and am happy to say our house now – finally – feels like home. It took a while but it’s ready – and I’m ready – to greet this new little person in our lives.

Happy holidays everyone! Here’s to 2012 being a year of hope, action, and positive change for all and each individual.

xx

PS my friend Jenni rented out the movie “babies” for us yesterday, something she’s been telling me about for months but I hadn’t yet got around to finding. We watched it last night and it’s truly fabulous, I was especially drawn to the Namibian family, and french boy loved the mongolian nomadic way of life (impressed that they had a satellite dish and mobile phone). An inspiring film, I hope you take the time to watch it if you haven’t seen it already.

peony love, a gift from my sweet friend Kylie.

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sending a little thank you gift to a dear friend overseas. Handmade gift tag by paper boat press.
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clockwise from top left: gorgeous jute crocheted Christmas decorations in newspaper taxi; signed copies of My Heart Wanders & Paris: Made by Hand wrapped and ready to be sent far away; on the coffee table; the sweetest handmade christmas decorations from paper boat press.
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Since I’ve been less and less mobile over the last few months, I’ve been relying on my iphone to capture some of my day enhancing moments. I’ve been posting them on instagram, which has become my new favourite ‘visual blogging’ medium as I love the instant, intimate aspect of it. It’s been a wonderful way to keep in touch with friends near and far, see what they’re up to during the day in a visual way. Every now and then I post some images on facebook and twitter, and recently I asked my readers if they’d like to see these images on the blog too, or if it would be too much repetition. There was lots of positive feedback, so I thought I should give it a try. I thought maybe once a month I could pick my favourite shots and post them in a collection like this – let me know if you like this idea.

Here’s the latest collection, with captions and links for your clicking pleasure…

inside Stef’s shop,newspaper taxi:1
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inside Stef’s shop, newspaper taxi:2
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afternoon tea with Stef at Black Star Pastry, featuring their beetroot chocolate cake with rose petals, and lavender and blueberry tart.
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surprise art in the park: 1… drink, anyone?
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surprise art in the park: 2… the beginning of a beautiful story.
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surprise art in the park: 3… nature’s purple neon spectacular, jacaranda love.
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on the coffee table: bowl of scented sunshine from the garden, a page from My Heart Wanders, rocks from French Boy’s  hometown lake in France, Heidi’s gorgeous book ‘super natural every day’, my collection of aromatherapy reference books, and a cup of chai.
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Also, I’ve been looking into some new-to-me music, here is my current background music while I work/lay on couch/waddle around the house, perhaps you’ll find something here you like too:

+twice by little dragon (also like ‘after the rain’)
+i follow rivers, lykke li
+how come you never go there, feist
+you are all i see, active child
+brother, matt corby
+feeding line, boy & bear