Michelle

Watch this regardless of your political persuasion and be inspired by a confident, intelligent and well spoken woman.  I just watched it for the second time and still have goose bumps.  From afar, American politics can often seem like a bit of a circus but Michelle keeps it real.  It doesn't hurt that she always looks amazing. A big fan of J Crew, this dress is actually by British designer Reese.

And for completeness...here is Anne Romney's address at the RNC as well.  Also very good.

Happy Fathers Day

President JFK with Caroline (4 years) and JFK Jnr (2 years) in the Oval Office, October 1962

"He didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it". 

This simple and lovely quote (Clarence Budington Kelland) sums up being a good father in the opinion of this mother.  I've watched my husband share his first Father's Day with our little girl (we missed out last year by a week!) and it has been a very simple day filled with love and family.  Thoughtful gifts, cups of tea in bed, heading out to watch our nephew (E's cousin) play in his rugby grand final, laughter and spills at lunch time and a quiet afternoon sleep for all of us. All Sundays should be this relaxing. 

Miss E and I had this coffee mug and plate made for her Daddy (stamped with her footprints, her age and the date) at Kissing Fish Ceramics. It was a very popular gift!!

Wishing all Fathers everywhere a very special day. X

Grown

After a visit to my dermatologist last week, and her absolute horror at the state of my dry, scaly hands, I have resolved to concentrate on keeping them in better condition. I have become a bit of a washer woman since Miss E was born and I haven't been diligent about wearing gloves when I do the washing up or hand-washing/scrubbing stains from her clothes.  I love the Grown range of skin care products - I use their Camellia & Geranium Blossom Facial Moisturiser).  I have promised myself to use the Vanilla & Orange Peel Hand Cream (hello? YUM) every day from now on...fingers crossed it makes a difference!!  Grown is Australian Made and Owned and all products are Australian Certified Organic.

Wednesday's What Not

Source: Leuie.com Via This is Glamorous

Smiling at....Summer days in Winter. And this is why I love living in Sydney...it is AUGUST (read: Winter) and we have had a week long stint of blue skies and sunshine! Divine. I have all the doors in our house open to let in that glorious summer breeze and bright Sydney light. Am a very happy camper. It's time to shelf the Acne boots that I have been living in and get my hands on a new pair of Bensimon tennis flats for every day (my favourite spring time walking shoe - would love a watermelon pair)...!!!

Laughing at....hilarious 29 vs 31.....I am 32 (not 31) but this clip has me asking myself "what would I tell my 29 year old self?". Probably to hurry up and get in shape and enjoy the freedom and spontaneity that's not possible once you have children!! Warning: very funny. (Disclaimer: seeing as a SINGLE  girlfriend posted this on Facebook, I feel as though I have her permission to share it here - very funny!).

Watching....The Newsroom....amazing new television drama...not since The West Wing have I so thoroughly enjoyed a program and actually felt as though it was worthwhile TV viewing. Don't get me wrong, I watched every episode of Revenge but I am sure that I am a little bit more stupid as a result....! Newsroom is screening Monday nights on SoHo on Foxtel. Watch the trailer here.

Reading.....too many books! Just finished All That I Am (Anna Funder) which is a beautiful portrait of different kinds of love and ultimately betrayal amongst German anti-Nazi activists in London before WW2.  Am currently devouring The Night Circus (Erin Morgenstern), a whimsical fairytale full of mystery and intrigue.  Next on my list is the thriller Gone Girl (Gillian Flynn), can't wait for that one! 

Pouring over...Dunlin Home. This beautiful online store was profiled by The Design Files here...I already want new bed linen, those beautiful pouring saucepans and tasting spoons....love.

Exasperated by...party supplies! It's my little girl's birthday in a few weeks and we're panning a very casual party in a nearby park on the Monday morning of her birthday. I am getting a little obsessive about Paper Eskimo, Donna Hay General Store and Papier D'amour. What am I so worried about? She's turning ONE! There is no way she'll even remember this party....!!!

Source: Leuie.com via This is Glamorous

Megan Morton @ The School

Via French Essence

One of my dearest friends has very romantically just packed up her life and moved 5 hours away to be with the man that she loves most in the world.....gorgeous. They are getting married later in the year and are in the process of renovating their kitchen/dining/living room. It's a very exciting time for her! When she moved, I wanted to give her something special to tell her that I love her and would miss her but also something that she might find practical as she redecorates her new home......enter Home Love by stylist extraordinaire Megan Morton - just the most beautiful, practical and readable decorating & styling guide ever written. (Home Love was given to me by ANOTHER darling girlfriend and I always remember it as one of the best housewarming gifts I ever received!).

Have you read Home Love? You can buy it here.  I've not met Megan but she sounds like a pretty lovely person and her home, recently featured in Vogue Living (see pics here) is amazing - soft and lovely and perfect.  

She seems to be a pretty busy lady - she is actually working on a new book at the moment, Things I Love, which is due to be released in November 2012 (I am very excited and look forward to devouring it over the summer break!) AS WELL AS coordinating her new venture The School.  The School seems to have been inspired initially by MM's own children and the fact that she couldn't find enough external classes/creative activities to satisfy their curious little minds - I can understand this!!

The School brings together some wonderful creative minds to offer classes for both adults and children - classes include "Fluoro Basketry" (see amazing video here), "Flower Bombing", "Make a Tassel Garland" and "Decorating Cupcakes & Cookies" (this one is for the little ones - love it!). How awesome!!! See the timetable here. I will have to enrol in one of these classes and report back! 

MM - what an inspirational Mumma you are!

XXX

Work Life Baby Balance....?

Source: Vogue

Did I really think that motherhood would look like this? Probably not. Even SJP probably doesn't REALLY look this good every day....

At the moment, it is not uncommon for me to get to the end of my day and have crossed NOT A THING off my to-do list.  For a list obsessed lover of all things ordered and organised, this has become a frustrating phenomenon. In fact, I am starting to think that they may have removed part of my brain in the delivery suite last September. On a recent walk with two good friends, I returned to my car to discover I had left both front doors wide open....whoops! Furthermore, last week, after Miss E's music class, I grabbed a quick coffee, jumped back into the car and drove off, unfortunately having left my phone on the roof of the car.....double whoops!!! (Luckily it was found in a gutter near a bus stop and returned to me be a very kind, honest lady).  What on earth is going on with me?!

I know that there ARE many women who manage to look after their children, shower them with love and affection AND work full time.  In an office.  Hats off to them. What are their secrets and what can I learn from them?

Over at much loved A Cup of Jo, I loved reading Jo's recent, beautifully compiled Work/baby/life Balance Series.  Each of the mothers have full time jobs, some more than one bubba AND other commitments including blogs and websites outside of their primary profession - wow.  I found all of these women inspirational but loved the interview with Yolanda Edwards from Martha Stewart Living in particular.  Yolanda and her daughter Clara are gorgeous and super busy but seem to remain relatively grounded and focused on the important things.

Source: A Cup of Jo

Have a read of these stories and let me know what you think. I am inspired to perhaps interview some amazing ladies I know for an Aussie version.

Real Living Loveliness

I just love this styled home office pic from the latest issue of Real Living magazine (July 2012). What do I love about it? I love the pink penny cushion from Castle, I love the colourful stackable jars and vase from Ferm Living Australia, I love the replica lamp and stool from Matt Blatt, I love the screen saver on the Mac (I think that you can download this for free from Fliqlo), I love the colour of the walls and I love the sahara weave floor rug from Armadillo & Co. Love love love.  Lots of good ideas and bits of inspiration in this month's issue. Grab yourself a copy. X

More Garance....

....I did warn you that you'd love her....correct?

Here is the most recent Pardon My French video from Cannes. Love the dress, shoes and jewelry that she chooses. She is adorable!

Meryl, Hillary & Garance

So long between posts and no excuses....my good friend Phoodie (see her beautiful, recently refurbished blog here) has inspired me to keep on keeping on! Life is hectic, but it's ALWAYS going to be hectic, isn't it?

What's news? E is nearly (oh so close to) crawling and causing me much anxiety as she tries to pull herself up to standing on any available piece of furniture....usually coming crashing down a minute later....she's covered in bumps and bruises but she doesn't mind and will NOT be deterred!! I think she's shaping up to be a very determined and head strong young lady....must get this from her Dad...!

I am starting to think about work again...watch this space. So many thoughts on juggling work and baby, can it actually be done? Is is possible to do both jobs well? There must be a way - it's all about thinking balance and big picture, correct?

Here are two lovely things - one to inspire me to be the best that I can be and the other to distract me and make me smile!!

At the 2012 Women of the World Summit held in NYC a whole host of pretty amazing women leaders and activists gathered from around the globe, see the website here. The highlight of the coverage for me was Meryl Streep's introduction and tribute to USA Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton. AH.MAZE. Watch it and love it here.  Not sure about Meryl's jacket but she's fabulous in spite of it.

And to follow these fierce women leaders with some frivolity.....I know everybody already knows  fashion photographer/illustrator/blogger Garance Dore, but have you seen her video series Pardon My French? So gorgeous!! She covered NYC and Paris fashion weeks a while ago (below) and more recently Cannes Film Festival. If you love French chic, you'll adore these insider snippets. The best thing about Garance is that she's so DOWN TO EARTH, well as down to earth as you can be when you're front row at all the major shows with your main man, Scott The Satorialist Schuman.  

Lastly, lusting over this colourful piece from J Crew - who now ship to Oz, hooray! So bright and happy, isn't it? 

Inspirational Bits & Pieces

Life is a bit of a blur at the moment - I feel as though I am constantly trying to do six things at once - but the following two sources of inspiration are enough to get me back at this computer. 

The first is this speech that I stumbled across on TED (love TED!) by Sheryl Sandberg, "Why We Have Too Few Women Leaders." It is estimated that, when Facebook IPOs later this year (Sandberg is currently COO and therefore a large stock/option holder), her wealth will be close to US$2bn, making her the second wealthiest self made woman in the USA, pretty impressive stuff. What she has to say in this speech is fantastic and really struck a chord with me.  I especially loved her remarks about women and men who share the housework and childcare when both work full time - something to aspire to! Would definitely recommend listening to her speech - she's succinct, funny and passionate.

The second is a website that I recently discovered - The Glow.  Violet Gaynor and Kelly Stuart have interviewed and photographed beautifully NYC creative Mums and their children.  The photography is just stunning and the very real words from the families are heartfelt and honest.  The interiors aren't bad either!! My favourite series of photographs are those of Christine Lemieux, Cynthia Rowley and Laura Garcia and a few of my favourite images are below. Laura Garcia's home is a bit gorgeous and was recently featured also here in Vogue.  Word on the street is that Garcia's NYC apartment will also be featured in the upcoming March/April issue of Lonny, whose management BTW has announced it will thereafter be a monthly publication, hooray!