honey and lavender

Damask billows and falls softly to hug the corners of our well worn table. China in pastel hues finds its place with filigreed silver and cut glass. A freshly iced honey and lavender cake takes pride of place amidst all the splendour and I pause to drink it in.

An afternoon like any other bathed in the mundane of folding washing, windowpanes smeared with "who knows what" and tsking at the growing collection of crumbs and oddments on the timber floorboards. No visitors to be welcomed nor grand occasions to be celebrated. An everyday kind of day.

I call the babies and from down the hall I hear sock clad feet clomp their way towards me. Eyes sparkle and melodic oohs and ahhs fill the air. A tea party for us alone.

The bed still lays unmade and damp washing clings to the sides of the machine - a musty presence no doubt permeating the fibres, but for now I will drink tea with my babies. Together we will celebrate our little everyday story in all it's nothing special-ness and yet magnificence. We will avert our eyes from the grimy, the grating and the downright boring and cast them upon the multitude of little moments that we are so very blessed to experience. This is a time to laugh at silly knock-knock jokes and tousle copper locks. To hold up all that is plain and simple and beautiful in our day to day world and take our hats off to it. Time to exhale and revel in the everyday.

We made a beautiful honey and lavender cake for afternoon tea (a slight variation on a recipe from a most beloved book - Apples for Jam by Tessa Kiros)

Honey and Lavender Cake

150g butter
1/2 cup dark brown sugar (I used rapadura)
1/2 cup honey
1 2/3 cups plain flour (I used spelt)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon of finely chopped lavender leaves (the recipe called for rosemary)
2 eggs, beaten

Lemon Icing
2 cups icing sugar
100g butter, softened
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Grease and line the base of a 22cm springform tin. Put the butter, brown sugar and honey in a small saucepan and add I tablespoon of water. Heat gently, stirring once or twice, until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves. Leave to cool for 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
Sift the flour , baking powder and cinnamon into a bowl and add the lavender. Add the honey mixture and eggs and beat until smooth.
Pour into the tin and bake for 35-40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean when you poke it into the centre. Leave it in the tin to cool completely.
To make the lemon icing, sift the icing sugar into a bowl. Add the butter, lemon zest and juice and I tablespoon of water and beat until smooth. Spread over the top and side of the cake.

little things

Little things that make our world. Things I want to capture, tuck away and peek at another day....and smile.

A morning menagerie.

Piggy tails and magnificent trees.

Buttery delights and effortless conversation with beautiful friends.

Stepping into the most enchanting of spaces.

Whimsical beauty.

Windswept hair and belly laughs at a kite festival.

I'll be drawing my little giveaway tomorrow night and I'd love you to enter.

Steph x

Joining in with the beautiful Em and the lovely Lou.

20/52

"A portrait of my babies, once a week, every week."

Bijou -  There is a dimple on her chin that quite simply captivates me.
Remy - A boy in his box with his unripe tomato.

This week I wondered what Adair was thinking surrounded by all that loveliness and delighted in Ewan's gigantic smile.

Joining in with the beautiful Jodi.

Steph x

shibori journal cover

A cup of tea draws in a duck egg blue china cup beside me. I have filled it to the brim and watching the steam tango with the air around it warms me already. Fine wool is draped about my shoulders and the house in unusually quiet. The paper page beckons me.

It has been too long since I opened a pure new notebook and inscribed it with my whims. I've hidden myself in the virtual jungle, a safe world of backspace and delete that hems my thoughts in and keeps them from bolting like a spooked horse. The paper page scares me.

Staring at the blank canvas until the whiteness blurs into shapes and then thoughts. I pick up my pencil and this act momentarily quells the riot. With each scratch of lead on parchment feelings and dreams tumble out spewing haphazardly and barely legibly across the page. I pause to cross out words too crass, too harsh, too raw. I leave them for the rawness is the feeling. The paper page exposes me.

These thoughts, my thoughts are not for sharing and each one whether gentle and timid of vile and frightening have their place in my growth as a woman; as a human being. I sip tea and let the words wash over the page. A catharsis of sorts. The paper page nourishes me.

Steph x

And don't forget to enter my dry body brushing giveaway x

I created a set of shibori journal covers to share with the kindred spirits I was honoured to meet at The Creatives. I roughly cut pieces of cotton duckcloth larger than an A5 journal and concertina folded them. Rubber bands secured the folds and then I twisted it upon itself and folded it in half again securing with rubber bands. The rubber bands leave the white areas so you can decide whether you want to tie your bands tightly on top of each other or space them out. The concertina folds can also be quite exact or more of a scrunched up affair. Following the instructions of the dye and using an old saucepan (I purchased one from the op shop that is saved for all dying projects) each piece was submerged and left to soak for half an hour. Using tongs I removed them into the sink and removed the rubber bands. Each piece was then rinsed in warm then cool water and hung out to dry. When dry I used pinking shears to cut the pieces 2cm (3/4in) bigger than an A5 spiral book at the top and bottom and 5 1/2 cm (2 1/4in) larger on either side. Using the covers as a rough guide the top and bottom were folded over and ironed allowing some movement for the book (about 1/2 centimetre at each edge). The piece was turned over and the same thing was done on the sides folding about a centimetre before each of the edges of the book. These folds were pinned and then sewn (You can check you have left enough room for opening and closing of the journal by sliding it into the cover before you sew). The cover was turned the right way out and a chop stick was used to push out the corners. A length of leather was tied to the top spiral and small wooden beads were attached to the bottom, finishing off with a knot to secure them.

sling diaries - inspiration

 

There are children of this land that have never known rain. They watch golden crops plead to the heavens for a drop of nourishment. Thunder clouds roll in and out to tease the hopeful, the hardened barely notice their presence and just get on with it. The children, freckled faced and rowdy kick balls on dusty ground and grow despite it all. They smile often.

Surfers bide their time. Legs dangle in sapphires and hair gnarls and tints under the strong hands of the sun and sea. Luminous barrels heave to life and feet snap to attention.  Above the roar of surging water there is a silence; an ethereal existence. The endless tide laps every shore of this island and calls all to its majesty. I am not above its powers.

Ancient trees creak and groan towards the sun. A canopy of jade. Jewelled frogs burrow beneath the leaf litter and all is cool. A whip bird calls and its sound echos over limb and branch and shards of sunlight catch minutiae in suspension in the air above. This breathing, dancing organism in perfect harmony with sun and rain and soil.

This is the only home I have ever known and although my boots have carried me all around this sphere of rock my heart is tethered here.  I will show my babies its magic, its menace, its raw beauty. Together we will walk in dappled light under proud trees, stoop and enquire on golden sands and immerse our bodies in streams as clear as glass. We will eat at lopsided pubs and dance with raggle taggle new friends. I will show them endangered turtle rookeries, coral reefs and cavernous gorges eroded by wind and time. Our bodies will smell of salt and sea air and our fingers will be ruddied with crimson earth. We will cloak our skin from the searing sun but it will burnish nonetheless. Our feather collection will outgrow it's vessel.

This land - harsh and intriguing , raw and magnificent. Its people - light hearted do-ers full of uncrushable spirit and laughter. Men and women overflowing with story and spark who've conquered fire and drought and flood. A closeness in kinship.

Australia - my home, my inspiration.

Steph x

Remy is snuggled in his linen Sakura Bloom Pure Baby sling in wheat.
Photos taken by my beloved.

dry body brushing - a giveaway

Lethargy has been a heavy weight around my neck lately. Not the everyday sluggishness that comes from raising little people but that veil of tired that you can't lift when you wake in the morning; it seeps into your bones.  A major health check thankfully revealed nothing sinister so the cause of this hazy state is most likely one too many sugary cups of tea, frequent late nights and not enough water.

Elixirs have been made, greens consumed en masse and my sad water consumption has been given a hefty increase.  A naturpath visit has been booked and reflections have been made as to how I can shower myself with self love. A much loved ritual from the days before my babies has also found its place in my morning routine again and I am reaping it's benefits.

Dry body brushing is a simple and ancient practice of sweeping a dry brush over the skin before bathing. Each morning before my shower I dry brush my skin with a pure plant bristle brush from the tips of my toes to my face. Jodie Smith owner of  Bodecare provides an exceptional range of natural brushes for this nurturing and healing art. She explains that, "dry body brushing  is a natural health practice that assists with improving your circulation, lymphatic flow and expels wastes and toxins from the body. It also has the added benefits of exfoliating dry, rough skin and stimulating the sweat and oil glands contributing to the restoration of moist, supple skin.".

Starting on the left hand side of my body I begin at my toes sweeping  the natural bristled brush gently yet firmly in long sweeps working towards the lymph nodes in the groin, armpits and the base of the neck. I then switch to a more gentle jute brush for my decolletage, neck and face (Jodie outlines the practice in depth on her website). My skin is left tingling and glowing and I follow this gentle practice with a shower. Lemon essential oil dropped onto the floor of the shower further invigorate my senses as does the cold blast of water I dance about under at the end. This Ayurvedic tradition increases circulation and leaves me warm as toast.

Some mornings I wake with the sun and slowly and gently ease myself into the day giving myself wholey to this pampering and healing time. Other days, I have two little people either joining me with my body brushing or gawking at my every move. It has become a practice however, that I simply do not skip regardless of the chaos around me and even with poppets at my feet I always feel energised and uplifted afterwards.

The lovely Jodie of Bodecare is offering a magnificent pack of dry body brushing goodies to begin you on your dry body brushing journey including:
The Cactus FSC Deluxe Body Brush,
A Jute Dry Face Brush,
An instructional DVD on dry body brushing, and
A tea tree oil spray to take care of your brushes.

To enter you simply need to be a follower of this blog (over there on the right) and pop over to Jodie's Bodecare facebook page and become a "liker". For a second entry like this brown wren on facebook. For a third entry, share this giveaway on instagram, facebook or on your blog. Please leave a separate comment for each entry. Open to international readers. The winner will be chosen by random generator one week from today.

Comments are now closed. The random generator chose #2 - belle. Some gorgeous body brushing goodies are coming your way. Congratulations!

Before introducing dry body brushing into your health and wellness regime please take note of the following precautions:
Never skin brush over active inflammation e.g. open wounds, inflamed sores, varicose veins, sunburnt skin
Never skin brush during an active cancer state or enlarged lymph nodes.
Avoid breasts and genitalia area.
If pregnant seek doctors advice before skin brushing.
A slight reddening of the skin (erythema) is normal, it the blood circulation responding to the brushing.
Using a natural bristle brush is best as the uneven texture will not scratch the skin.
It is essential to clean your body brush after each use with a tea tree oil spray and wash it thoroughly once a week.

Steph x

little things

Little things that make our world. Things I want to capture, tuck away and peek at another day....and smile.

I think I'm finally cracking the "growing things" code.

A Devonshire Tea on a chilly morning.

Finishing touches on a nubbly knit for my little man. I adore the tree buttons.

We cut, we pinned, we draped...

And Luna Park came to being in our lounge room.

Tea and cakes were served.

He brought me flowers.

Steph x

Joining in with the beautiful Em and the lovely Lou.