Hyams Beach

On a cold winter's day last month, I visited a beautiful beach on the New South Wales south coast with my childhood friend and our own children. The beach was covered in the whitest sand I have seen in Australia. The crystal clear water was icy cold, but somehow tempting enough for our two youngest (three and almost three years) to bravely wade out into the gently lapping waves. This would have been fine of course, except it was winter, there was a slight breeze and they were fully clothed.

I've got to say, there is nothing quite like trying to pull salty, drenched clothes from an unwilling toddler as the cold wind causes their skin to prickle and lips to turn an unnatural shade of blue.

It was worth the visit to this sleepy seaside town, with a population barely over 100 residents- not including the playful pod of dolphins that cruised by us as effortlessly as the soaring seagulls above.

Hyams Beach, we long to visit again soon.

Bella x

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169/365

Love's beautiful pixie hat arrived yesterday afternoon. It was a little tricky to take her photograph with the pixie hat on her little head without her trying to pull it off... That was until she had a FaceTime conversation with her Australian grandmother (who I overhead telling Love that she looked like a gumnut baby).

Oh how adorable our little Love looks with her scrunched up smile and pointed elf hat. Many thanks to the lovely Greer Worsley for hand knitting this beautiful woollen hat in time for our chilly wintry beach walk and also to Jodi Wilson for hosting the Typically Red giveaway on her blog, Practising Simplicity.

I want to give thanks to these ladies, including Katherine, an old friend of mine, for sharing their love of homemade, hand stitched clothing. Katherine writes a few blogs, most notably, Lamb Loves Fox however, she also writes Crochetlatte, which is where I found her pattern for a beginner's crocheted baby bonnet. I am currently stitching my first crochet project for my friend's newborn baby boy with Katherine's easy pattern and am thrilled to see this garment come together between my clumsy fingers, in-between breastfeeding and my other typical mama duties.

My next projects will be a bonnet for Love, a pale olive jacket (eek!) and hopefully Susie the Reindeer (if I haven't gone mad). x

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Bumpin'... 29 Weeks and Lazy Winter Mornings

Life has been pretty sweet lately. Lazy winter mornings have been spent dozing in bed with B and a snoring puppy curled up beside my feet. We've treated ourselves to sweet, buttery pancakes dripping with homemade lemony-orange syrup. I've enjoyed late night reading by warm lamplight and the occasional neck and shoulder massage from B.

Thick socks have been pulled over cold toes to protect us from the cool bamboo floors. I open the shutters every morning to bathe in the soft winter morning light. As the temperature gradually rises, I take Pecan outside to rest on the balcony for a few quiet moments of uninterrupted sunshine on my belly.

Sure I have to work on Monday but that feels like an eternity away...

Bella xx

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Weekly Stills: A Winter Holiday at the River House

afternoon light // calm blue sea // a big yawn for a little dog // last night's wine

Our Daily Bread church cafe // homegrown flowers // fishing at the River House

The week that was. Mother Nature provided warm days filled with golden light, and calm seas. We embarked on a road trip to the River House where we fished for bream, marvelled at the beautiful homegrown flowers, drank tea, read books and watched pelicans glide silently by with the gentle current. The warmth from the sun provided us with enough energy and comfort to allow us to spend more time outdoors.

We dangled fishing lines in the river and waited in hungry anticipation. We chatted, laughed, sang and later, we dined on freshly caught fish. This week we filled each day with as many adventures as our young bodies could manage and each night we lazily stumbled into our snug bed and drifted into dreamy slumber.

For me, this week was all about sharing the sweet company of my family during a remarkable holiday in the winter time.

Dear friends, a warm remember to enter my giveaway. The final day to enter is TODAY and the odds of winning are very high. xx

With love,

Bella xx

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A Week by the Seaside

watching the sea together // taking flight // an empty home

Sometimes life isn't all lavender shrubs and clear blue skies. Sometimes we have to work harder to make things easier. Sometimes we have to give a lot of ourselves to reap a tiny reward, like the busy bee who tirelessly visits hundreds of flowers before buzzing away to his sticky, honey-filled hive. It's a bizarre and humbling contradiction in this life we've built in our seaside home. We work all day and into the night to afford to live in this postcard place. More and more often I find myself working out of town and when I sleepily arrive home I usually feel too exhausted to walk along the inky blue beach, freezing cold with the winter air and cloaked in nightfall. The sound of the ocean lulls us to sleep at the end of each day, a gentle reminder of where we are and why we choose to live by the seaside.

collecting pollen // pre-blended raw green smoothies // fishing friends

Our relationship has changed, we have settled into married life. We blend separate smoothies for breakfast. Mine usually has raw cacao powder, his does not. We walk along the beach together less often than we would prefer due to clashes in work rosters and tired bodies. Last weekend we witnessed a young couple have their wedding photos taken at our beach. Byron stopped, turned to face me and kissed me softly in the breeze. Everything changed in that moment. Wherever my mind was, it floated back to me and we lived the rest of the week in the moment.

a sad end to a soaring friend // seashells on my kitchen windowsill

This week we made a conscious effort to take each available moment to visit the sandy shores of the beautiful blue sea on our front doorstep. Some mornings we ran in the sunshine, on others we found ourselves caught in rain showers. One day we swam, splashed, laughed and played. On Saturday we were confronted with the sad demise of a sea bird. I hope he soared high and found the time to dart and weave, dive and swim before he met his untimely end on the sandy shore. I will make more effort to appreciate the beauty in our lives. Everyday. Because living this life today is as important as working so hard for tomorrow.

Bella xx

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Winter Surf Diaries

The initial cold blast of air across our bare skin shocks our senses as we race, barefooted across the bitumen road to the beach; our surfboards tightly pressed against our sides, like shields protecting us from the wind...

We reach the shore and hastily secure our leg ropes to our right ankles- We ride 'natural', left foot first. We then pull our wetsuits over our torsos and with arms raised above our heads, pull our zipper cords up to seal our second skins before braving the cool water. With a nod towards other surfers arriving for the morning breaks, we sprint through the icy white wash before leaping onto our boards and paddling out the back between the sets.

For two hours we paddle hard against the current, dragging ourselves through the water, catching waves back towards the shore and returning to the calm waters behind the breakers. Eventually we begin to shiver and our stomaches grumble with hunger. We ride to shore at an incredible pace and laugh like children at the number of times we were dumped, comparing red rashes and wrinkly prune-like skin from the water on the way home.

When we arrive, we hose the salty sea water and sand from our boards, shower under a glass-sided waterfall and ravenously pick at the previous night's dinner leftovers as we prepare our next meal to be enjoyed on our balcony overlooking the sea.

Winter surfing is one of my favourite activities in the cooler months. We surf when we can, for health, for laughter, and for the soul. There's no other place I'd rather be than with my husband, floating and surfing in the powerful blue sea.

Bella xx

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26/52 Winter Surfing and Whale Watching

A portrait of my family once a week, every week in 2013

Byron: His first surf of the winter. He really noticed the cooler water temperature after visiting tropical Malaysia last month.

On his first winter surf, Byron pulled his tight black wetsuit, like a second skin over his lean limbs before darting across the grassy lawn to the blue beach. It was mid afternoon, after we'd spent the morning whale watching from an impossibly beautiful lookout. The unseasonably warm winter day, still air and blue skies allowed for perfect conditions to make out the whale footprints across the surface of the sea. We donated all the cash we could find in the car to the wooden whale donation box set out by the Park Rangers and spent the next hour sharing binoculars to watch the majestic white misty spouts and tail fins of two beautiful humpback whales spray into the blue sky.

What a beautiful day, made more special by these incredible, powerful creatures.

Bella xx

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To Market, To Market

Bangalow Markets// Gluten Free Thai Rice Cake// A Furry Local

Fresh Sushi Food Truck// An Unusual Meeting// Local Limoncello// Handcrafted Wooden Furniture

I love community markets and I love being able to explore them during the cool winter months. Reminiscing over the recent markets we have visited I recall vibrant coloured craft stalls, exotic aromas from the food trucks, locally crafted musical instruments and somewhere in the centre of it all, a band played beautiful folk tunes.

These are regular scenes at the Channon Craft Market and Bellingen Community Markets. We're pretty lucky to live on the east coast, a short drive from these wonderful community events and I love getting out there to support and meet the friendly faces of the people behind the local produce. We met Imogen from Imogen's Farm, a local vineyard deep in the heart of the Byron Bay hinterland. Imogen names each of her special bottled wines after her grandchildren and we were fortunate to bring a bottle of her fortified limoncello home, which was made from bush lemons growing on Imogen's Farm. I will have to wait to try it for a few months but it will be well worth it!

My Bellingen Markets hoard included my first ukulele, a chance meeting with an enchanting camel (my first time, up close and personal. Ok, not too close as I was frightened it might spit on my huge grin), freshly squeezed fruit juice, an aloe vera plant and some spring onion shoots.

My Channon Market treasures included a box of organic veges, Lady Finger bananas, locally made soy tempeh, kombucha tea, sushi made-to-order, freshly squeezed juice, Imogen's prize winning 'Tilly' limoncello, and gluten free Thai rice cake, cut into bite sized pieces and served in a banana leaf.

Byron and I have been seriously considering opening a trialling a little food stall of our own. Once I finish uni this semester, I'd love to plan it carefully. I think it could be fun, with plenty of hidden surprises and fresh challenges.

Do you visit any local markets? Have you ever had a market stall? I'd love to hear your market stories!

Bella xx

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