Lately...

 A few photos from life lately...

Lots of celebrations,  Mother's Day, birthdays, pottering around the house, a bit of gardening, autumn walks, Treetops, ice baths and saunas.

May is always a busy month!

Stills from the week

 A little snippet of the week...

Breakfast out, walks by the ocean, moving things around at home and a player of the match trophy.

We are really and truly back into reality after the holidays with homework and sport commitments but still trying to capture those gorgeous moments in between x

2 days in the Hunter Valley - my birthday 2019

This year I celebrated my birthday with 2 days in the Hunter Valley. 

Simon and I drove up on Sunday and arrived in time for lunch at Love Kitchen.

There were lots of amazing organic, vegan  + vegetarian options on the menu and I had the most delicious risotto for lunch. It was so lovely to sit and look out onto the vines enjoying the sunshine while we ate.

We then drove along stopping at a few wineries for a browse and a tasting here and there.

No visit to the Hunter Valley feels complete without a stop at The Smelly Cheese Shop so we popped in to grab a few bits n pieces to take back to our accommodation.

We stayed at The Woods again. We love the little cottage Blackwood. The fact that it is self contained, close to everything but still lots of space around makes it perfect for us. 

As it was quite a warm afternoon when we arrived we jumped into the heated pool for a soak as the sun set. Bliss! We decided to have a night in instead of going out for dinner. 

It was wine and nibbles instead.

The next day we had a sleep in and a leisurely breakfast at the cottage. Blackwood supplies delicious food for a hot or cold breakfast and it was lovely not to have to go out first thing.

 We walked around the grounds with lots of kangaroos watching on.

Around lunchtime we jumped in the car and drove around stopping at a few more wineries and breweries.We had lunch at the Matilda Bay brewery whilst tasting a few of their beers.

The weather was starting to turn with wild winds and rain so we headed back to Blackwood to light the fire and settle in for the afternoon. It was lovely to cosy up and watch the rain.

It was a lovely couple of days. So nice to take some time out of routine and recharge. 

I love a mini break to celebrate my birthday.

You can read about our last trip to the Hunter here

Autumn changes at home......

At the start of each season I usually get the urge to do a big clean out and change things up around the house. It might mean moving furniture, changing cushion covers, mixing up the artwork etc

It's just something that comes over me! So the house is usually a huge mess for about a week before I pull everything together with a fresh look. 

This season I wanted to remove all the clutter and anything I didn't love. I was attracted to warm tones, natural fibres and of course plants everywhere! I didn't want to go out and buy a whole lot of stuff to achieve a new look so I looked at what I had and how I could work it a new way. 

You can see the looks I came up with below......

I started with our entry way. Now this is only a small space and I had tried various benches and drawer situations but nothing really worked. So I decided to make it a simple as possible and started with a white bench and white coat rack.

Simon cut down one of our old long benches to create the perfect size. 

We bought the coat rack from Ikea. It was a blank canvas. I wanted this space to always look neat + tidy so it's for my stuff only ;)The boys are still encouraged to put away their things in their own rooms. Only pretty things allowed!

I grabbed the jacket, scarf and hat out of my wardrobe, popped a couple of my bags up and put the cactus that was in one of the boy's rooms on the bench. 

I love the fresh, clean look when you walk in the front door!

Next up was our sitting room, now this space is usually only used by me as we all watch tv and hang out together in our main living room. This is a thorough fare and this wall is one of the first you see as you walk in the house. I wanted it to be interesting, have some muted colour and for it to feel light and airy. I also wanted to add some extra texture to all the white with the rattan chairs.

I'm the ideas girl and Simon is my helper ;)

One thing I haven't learnt to do is hang a gallery wall. Working out measurements and spaces is not for me. I like to go off my eye and how it looks. I can only do this by having Simon hold up the artworks in different positions while I stand back and decide. He loves this! ;)

I knew I wanted a gallery wall but nothing too busy so I had the main, large piece take centre stage and a few others around it. I had my eye on this large framed print from Freedom for ages and watched it get reduced in all the sales and then I snapped it up! The prints surrounding it were some I had in other rooms and I downloaded a few more from Etsy to finish the wall off. I'm really happy with how it turned out and I know it can easily be changed by switching up the prints for a fresh look.

The chairs were an impulse Ikea purchase but they were such a great price I had to have them. They really add a bit of warmth and interest to the white room. The cushions were a mix from other areas of the house and the coffee table, homewares and rug we've had for ages. 

We also added doors to our bookcase to give it a cleaner look. Plants and books add a little colour to that white wall of cupboards.

To give the kitchen a new look I moved the lightbox to another room and restyled the shelves. I added a long fruit bowl and the colours of the fruit give the kitchen an autumn feel.Trailing plants on these shelves are a favourite! Nothing major done here but the change is nice.

I love these cushion cover colours from H&M, the mustard colour gives the living space a really warm feel plus they're velvety and so soft. The morrocan cushion from Adairs is a new addition.

The major  change to this room though is the mirror. I have always loved that gold ornate look mixed with modern furniture. When I saw this mirror on Ebay I knew it would be perfect! The gold and wood texture of the mirror brings warmth and colour to the space. Everything else is as before.

So they're my recent little changes to our home. I'm really on a decluttering/rearranging kick at the moment! I'm loving how everything is looking at the moment. I've still got a few other corners of the house I want to refresh but will probably get to those after the holidays.

Have you made any changes at home lately?

Products can be found here......

Entry way

Bench - Simon made it

Coat rack - Ikea

 Bags - Boho Leather Co

Scarf - H&M

Sitting Room

Large Artwork - Freedom

Frida print - Etsy

Cactus print - Oh Eight Oh Nine

Byron print - Olive Et Oriel

Peony print - Jasmine Dowling

La Luna print - Etsy

Prada Marfa print - Etsy

Rattan chairs - Ikea

Tasselled cushions - Jumbled online

Kitchen

Fruit bowl - Freedom

Living Room

Mirror - Ebay

Cushion Covers - H&M

Morrocan cushion - Adairs

Lately.....

How are you going? 

I feel like life has gotten a little busier in the last couple of weeks with lots of birthdays and celebrations happening this month.

We've been enjoying this gorgeous weather that Sydney has been having. Warm and beautiful through the day and cooling down at night. Perfect! I hope it hangs around a little longer.

My flowers from Mother's Day are still going strong. I can't decide which is my favourite, pink or white flowers. I guess I'll alternate between the two :)

The boys have been loving Nutella toasts topped with fruit for afternoon tea.

I have been using the Go-To Skincare range for the last couple of months and really love it. My favourites are the face cleanser, lip balm and exfoliating swipeys. Have you tried it?

I learnt to cross stitch on the weekend at a workshop run by Libby of Threadfolk held at Little Lane Workshops.  It was so fun once you get into the rhythm of it. I need to find some time to sit down and make some headway on my little family.

Motivational messages always!

What have you been up to?