Day at the farm

Yesterday I headed out to the Collingwood children's farm with my lovely girlfriends from my mothers group, & their kids. I don't see them as much as I would like too, but when the 4 of us are together its hectic, yet great. To be honest I look forward to our dinners out more now!

The sun was shining & it was a beautiful sunny Autumn day, & all of the animals were relatively active, which made for excited children running around like chooks themselves.

I have to admit it's not Hudsons favourite place to be. He is not an animal lover. He respects them & keeps a fairly healthy distance between himself & them. That's fine, as I am a bit the same. The unpredictability of animals has always made me a little nervous. Where as my other one, well, Miss Charlotte I think is like a mini animal whisperer. No fear whatsoever, & the animals are always drawn to her, it freaks me out sometimes. She has certainly taken me out of my comfort zone a few times as I have had to accompany her to pat animals, & hold the reins of ponies so she can have rides, and pull her away from getting far too close at times. She has tanty's when we have to move on, oh boy the joys of an animal lover.

I wanted to share a couple of photo's of the new friends she made on the day.

Yep Hudson is no where to be seen, instead he was climbing trees.

Such beautiful, but such very different children's I have & I love it.

If you're from Melbourne, I hope you're enjoying the school holidays as much as I have. It's been a fabulous week & a half, I can't believe they are nearly over. I am off to the movies today to see The Croods with them, as well as their cousins, & I actually can't wait.

What I am reading

Reading owl print here

I LOVE to read.

I don't do it as much as I would like to, only due to time restraints, but I am making time lately as part of my "What makes me happy" journey.

Some may think this is a tad boring but I am a fan of a self help or business book.
I also love a bit of romance, nothing too heavy, & lots of arty design books.

What I am reading right now is, "Getting things Done" by David Allen. I am feeling the need for some better business organisation so I can free up some time to spend on some new art I want to develop & experiment with. I can be a bit of a procrastinator if the task at hand bores me. So I am hoping this is the  guy to steer me in the right direction.

Since having my ipad, I have utilised the kindle app to my advantage, & buying so many, so very cheap books. I am happy to spend money on lovely art or interior books, even certain novels, but definitely not business books. The digital way is the best way now for these books.

Here are a couple of other business books I have bought, that are on my "to read" list.
Daring Greatly - Brene Brown
50 Pinterest Marketing Tips - I figured I spend enough time on there I should try & use it properly.
MYOB for dummies - yep such a damn boring read, I have started it to many times. It kills me. Every time I start I stop & just pay my accountant. One day I will master this! To be honest I wish I bought the actual book as I would have been able to use my sticky notes better for reference points.
Accidental Organiser - everyone needs this.

If you have some other books that you think I may need to read, please let me know.

Finally finishing one of those 'pending' DIY jobs.

Do you have an every growing ist of DIY projects? I do, you can see them here.
I had such a simple itty bitty task I have been been meaning to complete for ages. So simple, I am talking a 10 minute job. I still don't know how sometimes I just cant find 10 minutes.

Anyway I have an ugly whiteboard in my kitchen. It's soul purpose are for notes & items I know I will be needing at the supermarket. If I dont write them down, I forget them.

I own a small collection of washi tapes & have been wanting to use this lovely turquoise ditzy floral on it. It was the simplest task ever, literally sticking the tape over the wooden perimeter.

Have a lovely Sunday.

Seeing Paisley

I love new seasons as it brings new trends. Winter is pending here in Melbourne which I have to admit I am not overly excited about. I am a sunshine girl, I love summer and my favourite season is Autumn. When the sun is out I feel happiest, it's a guaranteed mood lifter. It's also my favourite season to draw and design, it just comes a lot more naturally to me. I am sure it's due to my love of colour!

With summer starting in the northern hemisphere, I just can't help notice lots of summery paisley's coming through as a strong trend. I have not always been a fan of paisley designs, but as I have got older, I have become more drawn to them. From a surface design perspective I think they are brilliant, so detailed and intricate. I love how a rainbow of colours can be used, and I love how it can be created so simply with only 2 colours. There is so much versatility.

Here are some lovely images I have found and collected on pinterest. It's a trend that is happening from fabric, apparel, shoes, home wears & even cakes. So inspiring!!

Images & references from pinterest
Aren't they gorgeous? Their swirliness just makes me want to draw.
This inspiration has given me some ideas for mothers day and a couple of prints, so stay tuned.

Have a lovely Friday.

Making time for me

A little while ago I wrote about my semi workaholic ways, & how this year my goal is to still achieve my goals, but to add in a bit more time for me. Sitting down and breathing has been a bit of a mantra in my head. I am thrilled to say I am definitely making some progress, & feel really happy about it. It's hard, & takes some work, to break out of routine which have been going on for a while now. I am feeling very determined though.

Things I am doing for me.

I am getting up earlier in the morning, about an hour or two. It's a very peaceful time of day,  the world is so still, I really enjoy it,  & I am also getting some work done. I have a cup of green tea which has taken some getting used to, as I am not a huge fan of it - I have found a minted flavoured one which has made it far more enjoyable. I get to answer emails peacefully without the kids hanging off me, it's also an opportunity to read my favourite blogs, and write my own. I am also getting some other work completed. The other necessary bonus is that because I have achieved this is the morning I get to have an hour or 2 a night to sit, chat & relax with my hubby, which is so important.

As already mentioned I am doing a short course which I am absolutely loving, and is feeding me creatively.

I have dedicated 2 nights a weeks for the gym. I was originally going in the mornings but have changed it around to suit me more. I am taking a body balance class, & think it's brilliant. It's one of the hardest classes I have every taken, & boy do I get a sweat going. I am usually a bit of a treadmill & weights junkie, & the change is so positive. I am not a flexible person so I am hoping to improve that too, as it's become worse after having knee surgery last September.

Lastly I want to spend more time in my garden. I am not a very good gardener, but I have this strange happiness when I am outside pottering around. I am not sure if it's the fresh air, the dirt, the plants, or the amount of exercise you get while doing it. Regardless it's great & gets my whole family together outside. I just wish I knew more about which plants go where, & what to plant. My yard is in need of some new greenery.

Such small changes, and so very simple are really doing wonders. It's hard at times as I don't want to get up, or I am too tired for the gym, or know in the back of my mind all the things I have to complete for work. But I am doing my very best.

Are there things that you are doing for you this year?

Course Update & Initial Concepts

I have been working hard over the weekend, in between Easter activities, as seeing that I didn't have Internet connection, it gave me some time to work on a new print concept. I am doing a short course which I mentioned here. Over the last 3 weeks it's all been about finding my style & influences, it's been a fabulous eye opening experience. I have such an obvious style, from my clothes, the kids clothes, pinterest boards I have created, it's all so similar to what my eye is drawn to.

We are up to a really fun part now, the part that I LOVE most.
Story Boards - Colour Palette  - Design Concepts

The biggest influence at the moment in my house are Rainbows. Both of my kids love these. I am continuously inundated with questions about them, from where does it begin and end? Can they touch them? Why are they the same colours? What are they made of? Why cant they see them all the time? The list goes on!

My Story Board & Colour Inspiration

Some Sketching

A Initial Print Concept

I am really enjoying this process & feel like its all coming together nicely.

A Lovely Easter Break

It's so lovely to be back in the blog world, I haven't had Internet connection for about a week, it's driven me crazy. The positive is I got some extra spare time to hang out with my kids & husband over the Easter break, & I would love to share them.

Here are some family snaps from the last couple of days.

On Good Friday we ventured out to the annual Good Friday appeal, which is completely dedicated to raising funds for Melbourne's Royal Children's hospital. The whole day is based on gold coin donations where 100% of funds go directly to the hospital.

Charlotte & I.  Charlotte hugging the Easter Bunny.  Charlotte with her face painted as a fairy.

Hudson with Captain America & Batman. Hudson is a formula 1 car.  Hudson with some Star Wars Troopers.

A giant teapot ride, which had spinning cups & saucers. Flower fairies that walked everywhere on stilts. I am so in love with the patterns & colours on the petals.

Easter Sunday morning after the egg hunt. That Easter Bunny sure did leave some lovely treats.

We didn't spend Easter Sunday with the rest of my family this year. Hubby's family came over Good Friday later in the afternoon & my parents are in Sydney. So we thought we would have another family outing to Puffing Billy. A beautiful old steam train that travels up in the mountains, towards the east of Melbourne. I hadn't been there for years, I was actually there last in primary school. It was cold & rainy, but so beautiful. The train ride was just over an hour one way, & very slow all the way up a hill which looked on to thick rain forest type land. It was never ending green. The kids were allowed to sit on the window ledge, & let their legs dangle outside. Hudson & Charlotte both did it, although I was freaking out the whole time. I had hold of them both probably way too tight. Seeing the steam coming out of the train was so lovely, & all of the men who drive the train are in old style uniforms. It was such a great day I highly recommend it for any age.

The break is over, & life returns to normal tomorrow. Back to work for us all. The kids are on holidays from kinder, so it will be a tough slog getting any work done around them. But that's OK, I'll work something out.

I hope you all had a lovely Easter too.