long weekender on the south coast part i.

Posted on February 28, 2012 by Emmy Liddell

long weekender. it feels like everyone is going on them these days. so … we jumped on that bandwagon this weekend and have (literally) just arrived home from visiting nana & pa on the south coast. it was hot & humid, full of lots and lots of baths (joey had seven baths in three days!!?!?!), and no sleep for the baby.

this trip was totally different to the norm and yet it was still so enjoyable. we lazed about, played tennis, watched peppa pig and stayed awake all day … and all night. we were sad not to catch up with some dear friends (that’s YOU ) or make a trip to our fav lee and me, but we enjoyed our family time so much, so, we were more than satisfied. since mark had to leave our long weekender early for work, we had such a lovely family reunion tonight when the kids & i finally arrived home. here are some of the highlights.

tennis.

wish i was as cool as my dad. wait … we’re wearing the same clothes. i am.

baby legs.

curly hair.

playing with cars.

aunty kate.

thank you nana and pa for cleaning up our mess, feeding us, taking us to cool places and most of all for loving us

snap shots of our life.

Posted on February 27, 2012 by Emmy Liddell

friday night fish’n'chips.

chasing the police horses.

early morning walks with the babe.

swing time.

blueberry bubbles.

beach picnic.

today is a new day.

Posted on February 23, 2012 by Emmy Liddell

life for the last three weeks or so has felt a bit like the baby here:

we have had lots of bad news and lots of sickness. it has been bad bad bad bad bad. this last weekend was the worst … all four of us had gastro. it was seriously bad. i am so thankful that we live in a country of eucalyptus trees that give us eucalyptus spray for times like these.

but today is a new day ! and i have decided on behalf of my family that enough is enough and we are onward and upward from here ! so, after we dropped joey off at toddler school this morning the baby & i threw away our sick clothes, popped on our sunday best and wandered out into the glorious sunshine for a morning tea picnic. it was divine.

spending these days alone with the baby is amazingly good … we can do girly things (even though she loves to play with cars and dinosaurs) and i really get to see her personality come into its own. i wish my husband could be a fly on the wall for these days to see what us girls get up to because i know it would increase his love for us a hundredfold

baby doll.

kewpie and dinosaur. great combo.

our location.

baby foot.

the baby and me.

so thankful that each day is a new day & that i have been blessed in abundance.

beach livin’.

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Emmy Liddell

i really do enjoy our beach lifestyle. it is all i know. even though, at times, i dream of living in the snow in the mountains (i luuurrve skiing!), nothing can beat the warmth of the ocean while surfing on a hot summers day or a cool southerly in the evening that brings the odd thunderstorm. despite the (many) frustrations, i really enjoyed the australian open of surfing these last two weeks. i recorded a few bits & bobs on my iPhone to capture this fun time. i still can’t get over how many people were in town. crazy ! we saw loads of surfing, but unfortunately the surfers look like ants with my iPhone video skills… so here is my take on the australian open of surfing … minus the surfing.

enjoy !

* music by one of my all time favourites: Roy Ayres, “Everybody Loves the Sunshine” … yes we do !

gidget.

Posted on February 19, 2012 by Emmy Liddell

in the spirit of the australian open of surfing which is right on our door step, and under the recommendation of oh so lovely vintage, on friday night i sat down with my man & we watched gidget. “gidget” … girl + midget = gidget. this 1959 film is simply stunning. for all you budding girl surfers out there this is an absolute MUST watch. the swimsuits alone are to die for, and the surfing, well… let’s just say, throw out the surfers code of conduct & let’s all have a party wave ! it is the simplest of love stories, and i love the innocence of gidget. she is wonderful. all of these pics are courtesy of oh so lovely vintage.

gidget with the girls … love love love the double snorkel swim mask !

we’ve all done this at one time … somewhere !

surfing with moondoggy.

i love these ‘sailor’ swimmers. they don’t make things like they used to.

my favourite dress. i love the crosses at the front. so sweet.

i love these vintage convertibles.

go on and watch it. i did not regret one second !

instagram magnets in action …

Posted on February 16, 2012 by Emmy Liddell

here is my happy valentine & here are his magnets.

i am so pleased with how they turned out !

(see my previous post on the ‘how to’ of instagram magnets)

happy belated valentines day !

Posted on February 15, 2012 by Emmy Liddell

in typical ‘me’ fashion, my love gave me the perfect gift for valentines day (a bunch of white roses that are naturally scented & smell divine) and my gift was still ‘in transit’. i’m happy to say that it only arrived one day late & i’m excited to give it to my man (who arrives home late tonight). my gift this year was an idea i snatched from an incredibly deliciously creative blog a beautiful mess who has been giving me great hints and tips on how to take great photos. elsie had this great idea to put instagram photos onto magnets using sticky gram. not only is that the COOLEST thing since they invented the esky, but, they ship FREE internationally … yippee!!! mark isn’t home yet, but here is a sneak preview into his belated valentines day gift …

hooray for the mail finally arriving ! i have been waiting for this little beauty …

the contents of my little parcel. how nice are sticky gram?!

ok, time to start wrapping … i love to use pages from old magazines as wrapping paper. today, frankie won. i am also very much into string and stamps and … chocolate…

the doily is not masculine in any way at all … but i still love it & will use it !

wrapped parcel ready for my love, surrounded by his gorgeous gift to me. xx

ah instagram. how you make everything look so good.

now i just can’t wait for my man to arrive home (i will no doubt be asleep) & find this delightful package just for him.

i will post pics of these magnets on our fridge door once they are opened & alive.

and one last pic … this is the letter box of my neighbour slava. he is an awesome person, and awesome graphic designer, and he kinda looks like kelly slater too !!

happy belated valentines day peeps !

no hands = freedom …

Posted on February 15, 2012 by Emmy Liddell

i was just visiting one of my favourite blogs hello polly & came across this awesome video …

“Golden Tree” by Martin Brooks from Ninian Doff on Vimeo.

seriously?! don’t we all wish we were in this video? i LOVE it !

no hands is freedom. as a kid, as an adult … it makes no difference, we all want to partake in the joy of no hands !

komodo what?

Posted on February 13, 2012 by Emmy Liddell

today we went to the zoo. we do this quite often because it is the most amazing place for littlies and biggies alike. not only does it have the most amazing aspect out of all of sydney, but it is incredibly educational. i always feel like it was time well spent for all of us! today was an unusual visit for us for two reasons:

(1) it was raining. this seems to be a pattern for sydney this summer; and

(2) joey was obsessed … i mean O-B-sessed with the komodo dragon.

that’s right … the komodo dragon. it is such an interesting creature. it is as long as our kitchen, it eats wild pigs & deer (I held joey so tight as he watched from above), and today it was having a bath. well…. at least that’s what i had told joey. it was only when some north american tourists pointed out that it had eaten a bird that i realised why it was having a bath (swimming in its water hole). there were feathers scattered every where & it did look rather satisfied.

to share the love: introducing the komodo dragon to you all !

the komodo dragon having a bath.

joey wanting to touch the komodo dragon. no way i say !

joey trying to climb in to see the komodo … ok kid, show’s over !

best tunnel ever at the zoo … all the way into the chimpanzee habitat ! (don’t despair, there is glass at the end of the tunnel!).

banana bread at the end of our zoo visit.

what a day ! so much fun. let’s wake up tomorrow, and do it all over again.

the midwest.

Posted on February 12, 2012 by Emmy Liddell

my brother-in-love is from the midwest. he fell in love with my sister-in-love, moved to australia, and married her. i love that ! he followed his heart, manned up, and took her to be his own. and who wouldn’t? she’s awesome. whenever we hang at their house, it feels like we have taken a trip to the midwest. they complement each other perfectly in personality and in style. kate is, quite possibly, the most creative person on earth. somehow she creates beauty out of just a few bits and bobs as if it was as easy as taking her next breath. these two are in sydney for the time being & we love it ! here are a few shots from around their place.