This year.

This year has come and gone so quickly. This year I went back to work after spending ten months at home with my baby boy. This year I learnt to juggle. This year my identity returned. This year we got new carpet. This year we moved to a house with a backyard. This year I grew herbs. This year Lella and I had a bet that she would learn to play the harmonica. This year my washing machine stopped washing. This year I didn't blog as much as I would have liked. This year was busy.

Image from Abundance

Jack Spade.

You all should have your Christmas shopping done by now, but if not, check out Jack Spade! So lovely and something for everyone. My favourite gift guide is the "Gift like a drunken sailor". Brilliant. Happy gifting!

Your melody haunts my reverie.

These, dear friends, are Fleet Foxes. Get to know them very well and you will never be the same again. Listen to a few tracks here. Then buy the album.

This summer I want to build a Teepee.

Just to chill in.

Indeed it is.

Drawing by Swampy.

Christmas gift ideas: The Good Machinery

These little fluoro animal figurines from The Good Machinery would make fantastic gifts. That pink pony would look oh so fine displayed on my bed head. Check out the whole gang here.

Eyes like stars.

This image makes me think of Anooke. She had her graduation formal a few weeks ago and she wore amazing Shu Uemura eyelashes with a beautiful little pink heart that fluttered every time she blinked. It was magical.

Image via WeHeartIt.

Christmas gift ideas: Ken Diamond

I love Ken Diamond leather goods. Hand crafted by a guy with a beard in Canada - it's like a bell went off and was like "BRRRINNNNNNGGG!!! LELLA! Cute bearded guy hand crafting beautiful items!" and I was sold. So I decided to make a little selection of my favourite Ken Diamond products for you all to drool over and add to your Christmas lists. Check out all of the range here.

On Lella's Christmas Wishlist.

Our family has a gift system where we have a set budget and buy for one family member. This year I'm buying for Lella - here are a couple of things from her wishlist.

1. Mini Skull Ring, Karen Walker.

2. Biggie print by Cody Hudson, Turntable Lab.

Blog love: Abundance.

I have been following the very beautiful blog, Abundance, for a while now and just had to share it with you. I love it. The images are so lovely and whimsical – I'd love to post them all. Abundance is a constant source of inspiration.

Christmas.

Tomorrow is December. My favourite time of year. The count down to Christmas.

I love the lead up to Christmas. The craft, the music, the parties and get-togethers, the shopping and the gift wrapping. What a wonderful time of year!

Image via We Heart It

Young and in love.

We recently had the pleasure of watching a good friend get married in a lovely garden ceremony. It was a refreshing experience, you could see the love and excitement in the couples faces, the shear joy that they were going to spend the rest of their lives together. I love that they are so young yet willing to make a life-long commitment. It made my heart skip a beat. During the speeches, a groomsman told a story about the groom – on his bucks night someone had said ' you look too young to be getting married' to which he replied 'haven't you ever heard of true love?'

Twenty ten.

For as long as I can remember Anooke has been waiting for 2010. Waiting for 2010 to finish, and with it her time at school. It used to feel like an eternity away, like something that would never come, then all of a sudden it's here and she's finished her last exam. She's free – for a couple of months at least. Now she can listen to 'easy listening' and focus on her needlework.

Image via ffffound

What's love got to do with it.

"Oh to be young and feel the keen sting of love" - Albus Dumbledore.

Oops, sorry, I forgot where this image came from.

A place in the country.

Photo by Caroline Newell.

Bearded boys who make beautiful music.

Miike Snow. Sigh. Ok, they don't have beards in this shot, but they do have beards now.

Strum the strings to my soul.

Do you ever wish you could play an instrument? Anooke and I talk about 'getting the band back together', although we never had a band in the first place, nor can either of us play any instruments. I'd like to think if we could we'd play covers of Simon and Garfunkel's "Cecilia" and Nancy Sinatra's "Sugartown" and "How Does That Grab You?". We'd be a hit.

Image from issue 23 of Wonderland.

Scott Lowe.

I am absolutely loving these portraits by the super talented Scott Lowe. They were for the 100th show at China Heights gallery - which I also love.

Falling plums.

I shared a bed with Anooke last night and as we huddled under her flanelette sheets there was the sound of something hitting the tin roof. She said 'don't be alarmed by the plums dropping on the roof'. I said ok. Then I lay there and realised there's no plum tree anywhere near the roof. It was a nice thought though.

Image via We Heart It

Let's hold hands.

That is all.

"To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all" - Oscar Wilde.

I'm throwing caution to the wind and embarking on probably what will be the first of many life journeys. I'm excited, nervous, scared and about a thousand other emotions all at once. Life is marvelous and I plan on living it.

Image via ThemThangs.

And the boys

It's been days now

and you change your mind again

it feels like years,

and i can tell how time can bend your ideas

and the boys go on and on and on and on

and the boys go on and on and on and on

and there's gold falling from the ceiling of this world

falling from the heartbeat of this girl

well it's been days now

and you change your mind again

all the cracks in the walls reminds you of things we said

and i could tell you that i wont hurt you this time

but it's just safer to keep you in this heart of mine

"And the Boys" by Angus & Julia Stone, Photo by Morgan Maassen

Oh to be a child once more.

Image via ffffound

Maybe one day I'll see the world.

Images via Smashing Magazine.

Ode to the 1970s wall tile.

Last week we said goodbye to our 1970s bathroom. Even though the tiles were outdated and in bad condition I was still a little sad to see them go. I can't say I loved the patterned tiles and brown bathroom floor, but I do admire the bold taste that seemed to be the norm back then. Brown bathrooms, lime and orange kitchen benches and patterned tiles. I love the freshness of my white kitchen and bathroom, but sometimes I wish I wasn't afraid to use bold colour.

Floral me silly.

Photo by Steven Meisel.

Schemers.

Ummmm Hi, my name's Lella, yours must be Unicorn? I don't know who this magical creature is but I'm in whoa. Grand Scheme lookbook. Yes.Please.Thank.You.

Photography by Maximilien Tynan (who is also amazing).

Sometimes I wish I could Yodel.

HA HA! Not really. But Zee and I have a bet going that I can't learn a full song on harmonica by the end of the year. She's currently winning.

Image from here.

I think I'm coming undone.

Image via ffffound

I love this limited edition wood block print on a vintage map by Best Made Company! I think I need one.

Spring – so close I can feel it.

Image via We Heart It.

Feeding the Bump.

It's been a while since I was pregnant, but as I was cooking dinner last night I was reminded just how good 'Feeding the Bump' by Lisa Neal is. It's a book of nutrition and recipes for pregnancy – full of simple, healthy and delicious food and great facts. I cook from it at least once a week and everyone loves the food. Some of our favourites are Green Soup, Red Lentil Soup, Chicken Soba Noodle Salad, Bircher Muesli, Hummus and Tamari Roasted Almonds. I recommend this book to anyone thinking about having a baby, with a baby or who just likes healthy food. It's full of information and answers a lot of those tricky 'what can I eat while I'm pregnant' questions.

Image via We Heart It

Five: things I love about Anooke.

This week our darling Anooke celebrated her 18th birthday. She is now old enough to vote, buy alcohol and cigarettes, watch R rated movies and get a Video Ezy card. Here are five things I love about her:

5. The way she shreads chicken.

4. Her astounding creativity.

3. Her strength when it comes to carrying a load of shopping bags.

2. Her vivid imagination.

1. Everything.

It's a lovers world.

This week I have seen lovers everywhere. Am I just seeing them because I'm looking for them, or are people being extra loving?

I was stopped at a red light and looked over to see a couple kissing at a bus stop – It made me smile, but I couldn't help but feel I had intruded on something private, like I'd stepped into their little world.