I loved Paris.
Yes, i can happily report it was everything I dreamed it would be and despite a 48hr journey to get there (oh yes, the highs and lows of staff travel) when i emerged from the station on our way to the apartment the scene that met me was straight out of a movie. The summer night was hot, the cafes were full of merry people smoking cigarettes and drinking rose, i swear I even heard an accordion. It was straight off the set of a Parisian Woody Allen film and I immediately fell in love. For the next four days, fueled by jet lag and espresso, Jimmy and I dragged Leanne and Nate around the city, walking for miles as we checked out the tourist sites, took way to many selfies and admired each and every window and shutter within a 20 mile radius.
I was so happy to be able to share this place and these memories with my sister and brother-in-law. Many of our travel experiences over the past few years have sadly been absent of my family so to have them here with us meant the world to me and i will cherish those moments forever - their feet however may feel differently, we did walk a lot.
I don't even know what it was about Paris that I loved most? The food, the wine, those balconies, the fact that it didn't get dark until 9pm, the bicycles, the strange but chic fashion, the loaves of bread everywhere.
We had four action packed days where we saw the Eiffel Tower, enjoyed our local neighbourhood in Le Marais, walked along the Seine, checked out the Louvre, Moulin Rouge, old cemeteries, St Germain, Le Jardine Luxembourg, Montmartre, The Bastille and countless bakeries on countless corners to refuel on espresso and gelato. It was truly a blissful four days, not nearly enough time to cover all the ground I wanted and I can't wait to go back. I apologize in advance for the next week or so as I relive my adventures but I'll be posting far too many photos of shutters in an attempt to transport myself back to Paris (even if in my memory only) but please indulge me...and hope you enjoy.
This past year I've had the incredible opportunity to team up with the talented team from Kinfolk Magazine. It was a pinch me moment getting to be a part of their global program and they continue to impress me with their friendly, humble and all around awesomeness.
From handwritten notes to hilarious emails I feel like I've known Julie for years and a few months back when I found out they were making a top secret trip to Australia I was over the moon to finally get to meet the team face to face.
The news was finally announced this morning so I can finally spill the beans that after a year full of workshops on making, learning, exploring and gathering around the table, Kinfolk will merge these experiences into a special two-day retreat right here in Sydney.
Join Kinfolk's Julie Pointer and Katie Searle-Williams, along with some pretty cool Australian collaborators (go Blog Society!), for some foraging, kneading, weaving, arranging, preserving and communing together. Tickets are limited so check out all the details here.
(Images: Kinfolk Magazine)
It happens every time time you come back from vacation and somewhere in between unpacking your suitcase and doing the 5th load of laundry do you realise that post holiday blues have set in.
Its the holiday come down, the realisation that tomorrow you'll have to replay to four thousands emails, sit through meetings while you wish were sipping rose in a cafe in Nice or sadly come to the conclusion you'll have to cook dinner for yourself. It's a tough time but only makes you appreciate the experience that much more and this week i was reminded yet again how grateful I am that we are able to travel so often - its a luxury that I do not take for granted and because of jimmy's travel perks I am trying to squeeze up as many overseas adventures while we can.
It's as if Sydney sensed we'd be missing our travel partners, Leanne & Nate, and those long beautiful French summer days so she turned on the summer weather despite it being only the first days of spring. The sunshine certainly helped us get back into the routine and this weekend we took advantage of catching up with friends, Psychlops Eyepatch gigs, beach time, baking and time spent flicking through photos of my beautiful new niece Lela, who made her grand appearance just as our flight was taking off to Dubai (I called from the plane to get the official announcement!).
Now that we're back home and things are back to normal, a trip as amazing as the one we just had really makes you stop and appreciate the small things - a phone call home, your own bed, knowing the next adventure is just around the corner, getting back into a routine and the promising beginning of spring.
Taking
a beautiful photograph, capturing a small moment and allowing it to
linger is a skill I long to have. It's one I hope to continue to work on
but I've decided that when possible its best to leave it to the pros.
That's why I was so elated when the beautiful Sarah Williams
agreed to fly all the way over from Tasmania to shoot our most recent
Melbourne Kinfolk Workshop: Honey Harvest. The girl is a beautiful soul
inside and out and we immediately clicked, in fact I couldn't have
pulled off the event without her help and that of the amazing Laura from
Once Was Lost
- together this Tasmania duo helped me from the start and word on the
street is that they are working on their own Tasmanian Kinfolk event
soon. Now that I'm back from our trip I am finally getting a chance to
post some of Sarah's pics from that wonderful afternoon - enjoy!
Additional thanks to the other members of our A team for helping put together such a great day: Cake Wines, Pop & Scott, Sarah Williams Photographer, Maya Sunny Honey, Once Was Lost, Melbourne City Rooftop Honey
I've noticed a reoccurring theme lately when speaking to friends or reading blogs and it's something I personally can relate to. It's all about finding or restoring balance and attempting to do less so that your life can be full of more meaning. It's about switching off the phone, putting down the computer, organizing your life and trying to be in the moment. With so much happening in my life lately I struggle in this area and I can't even image what it would be like if we had kids! So with that in mind I've been trying to take time out each weekend to do less and be in the moment. To try and enjoy the small things and find the beauty in images such as these that when pieced together tell our story.
