earthy displays of love

I think Joslyn Taylor of Simple Lovely blog has such gorgeous earthy style. These photos of her home capture her creativity perfectly. She is so clever at creating little pockets of beauty by gathering her keepsakes and displaying them with what appear to be found objects - shells and stones, bits of sun-stripped wood, plant cuttings and flower buds in glass bottles. I've been looking for inspiration to decorate up high since my baby is on the move. All things within his reach have been cleared so our home is looking pretty bare/boring from my belly height down. I need to get inspired to decorate our walls, tables and shelves and these photos are just the ticket.

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Images by Manny Rodriguez

wholefood for children

When my baby's little mouth first opened asking for food, I suddenly realised what a big responsibility this mum thing is. My boy is so pure and it's up to me to keep him this way. When I started feeding him solids from six months I looked to this Wholefood for Children book by natural food guru Jude Blereau that my sister told me about. I love it and it's not just because the pages are coloured in pastel pink and blue sweetness. Her philosophy about food - to keep it whole, organic, nourishing, delicious and served with love - is heartwarming and inspiring. I also love that most of the recipes are for the whole family so it's helping us eat more consciously too. We're a bit hooked on the Baby Kichari recipe consisting of red lentils, quinoa, coconut oil and butternut pumpkin, among other spices and stocks. Do you know how creamy red lentils are! Delicious. Thanks Jude! Her blog is full of recipes and wholefood wisdom but I love holding her book in my hands.

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noosa love

My little sister is home briefly from her other home in Brescia, Italy so it's tradition that we head to Noosa for a holiday together. Our usual plan involves a stay at Tingirana Resort on Noosa's Main Beach. The resort's infinity pool is a little slice of heaven so we mostly spend our days perched poolside, flicking through trashy magazines, talking, laughing, swimming and snoozing. Oh, and we always order to the pool the seriously amazing goats cheese pizza from Seasons restaurant next door.  It is a very special time together. This time our ma and pa are joining us, and so are my little baby boy and my hubbie so it will be a party! We may even visit Rickys where my hubbie and I were married. It's had a hip refurb so I think a sunset champagne is in order. Of course, with a 10-month-old in tow this may not be as romantic as it sounds but perhaps our little Sebastian will surprise us and be an angel. I'm willing to take the chance.

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Image by Rickys

lilya love

I interviewed Sunshine Coast designer Lisa Chedanne for Salt magazine in 2010. At the time, Lisa had decided to pour all her energy into her label, Lilya, which she launched on the side in 2007 while working full-time as a fashion agent for beautiful brands like Lucette and Oscar the Third. During that story I fell in love with pretty much every piece of Lisa's Spring 2010 collection and have been a fan of Lilya pieces ever since. Lilya's Spring 2012 collection, Au Paradis, is newly out and it's making me crave balmy days, ocean swims and salty beach hair. I think the Alani Hand Embroidered Dress in white is so pretty.

Photos by Sullivan Chedanne Photography

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