I had the pleasure of visiting beautiful Larrakia Country a few weeks ago. It was a stunning, humbling, cup-filling week spent connecting with nature and some of my nearest and dearest.
I couldn’t possibly capture everything I adored about Darwin in one post, but these are some highlights.
Fogg Dam
Litchfield National Park
Tiwi Islands
Kangaroo Island was devastated by the bushfires in 2019 and 2020. When we visited in 2022, it was mind-blowing to witness the regeneration of the national parks and wildlife. It is very humbling to see how nature can come back from almost any disaster.
The Remarkable Rocks were such a striking visualisation of the power of the ocean and the wind. Like enormous, angry waves of stone, they tower on the edge of the ocean, appearing precarious and steadfast at the same time.
I can’t wait to come back in a few years and see how things have changed once more.
We visited Broken Hill for four fabulous days in Summer. It was beautiful and vast and eerily quiet! Wherever we looked we could see one of three things: deep red Earth, heat rising from the ground, and playful, joyful art in the most unexpected of places.
A Gosford based sculptor by the name of Lawrence Beck held a Symposium to add sculpture to Broken Hill’s art scene. A group of artists travelled to the Living Desert State Park, along with tonnes and tonnes of sandstone!
Each of the artists has their own unique story, as do each of their sculptures. Standing proud on-top of the hill, they almost blend into the landscape, while undeniably holding their own powerful presence.
“On Earth there is no heaven, but there are pieces of it.”
Jules Renard
I am so lucky to live on beautiful Ngunnawal Country. I am surrounded by nature in a way that reminds me how vast and complex the world is. A way that assures me everything is as it should be, yet makes me uncomfortably aware of how much I have yet to learn.
I’ve been wanting to do this walk for a long time, and I’m so glad we finally found the time. There is nothing quite like the feeling of being dwarfed by nature. It is so immense and powerful, and brings perspective to our everyday lives in a way that nothing else can.
The landscape is slowly and steadily reviving itself after the devastation of natural disaster, with patience and grace, finding new expressions of beauty in every season.
There is nothing more powerful than Mother Earth.
“There are some days when I think I’m going to die from an overdose of satisfaction.”
Salvador Dali
Whirlwind weekend in Adelaide! How lucky we were to squeeze this in a few weeks ago. I’ve never visited South Australia before, and to be honest, it’s reputation hasn’t always been particularly glowing. I suppose the benefit of bad reviews (albeit completely unfair) is the joy of being pleasantly surprised to be proven VERY wrong! Bloody loved it. “Could-see-myself-living-here” vibes. Now that we have family there, I’m looking forward to exploring SA a lot more!
CRFT Wines
First stop was this gorgeous winery in the Adelaide Hills – CRFT Wines. Unlike any cellar door I’ve ever visited, it was warm, cosy, relaxed and wonderfully inviting. Comfy arm chairs, a wood fire, records and plenty of plants! Not to mention, very generous pours for a tasting! I truly could have stayed here all day.
We spoke with the owner, and found that he had previously owned one of our favourite restaurants near home in Sydney. Weird coincidence, and possibly why I took such a liking to this place.
Special mention to our chauffeur extraordinaire, Andrew! The real MVP
Botanic Gardens
An afternoon walk around the Adelaide Botanic Gardens proved to be pretty special. It was a beautiful day, and a great way to recover after too much wine the day before!
The Bicentennial Conservatory was particularly striking – from both inside and outside.
Henley Beach
We went to Henley Beach at sunset, and it did not disappoint. Coming from the East coast, it’s always a thrill to watch the sun set over the ocean.
Highlight: we made friends with a super-chill seal who was frolicking below the jetty, just enjoying the last rays of the day.
d’Arenberg
Our final stop before heading home was the d’Arenberg Cube in McLaren Vale. What an epic experience! You enter the cube on the ground floor, which is wall-to-wall whacky and interactive art installations.
Make your way up the colourful staircase to level 2, where there is currently a Salvador Dali exhibition. There were bronze sculptures and graphic artworks available to view and to buy. We decided to pass on purchasing a sculpture with the hope of buying a car instead.
Upstairs was the cellar door, where we tasted some beautiful wines with a stunning view over the vineyard.
We had the most amazing time and I know there is so much still to see. Can’t wait to come back!
One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.
Virginia Woolf
We’ve been in Canberra for a few months now, and obviously the first thing we’ve done is to get acquainted with the local wineries. We had some visitors, so we decided to make a day of it and booked tastings at 6 different wineries. First stop was Shaw Wines, where we decided to have lunch as well. Rather than order an appropriate amount of food, the obvious choice was to try everything on the menu and stay all afternoon. So much for our packed schedule. We didn’t even taste many wines – just a couple of bottles of the 2017 Reserve Reisling, which was divine.
I guess we’ll just have to have another day out to experience all the other beautiful wineries in the region.
What a shame.
Only thing I am testing positive for is Pasta or Cheese.
Joe Lauzon
We moved our olive tree inside into a gorgeous new pot, and all of a sudden we live in Italy! I am obsessed.
To celebrate, we cooked an Italian feast and had some friends over. (Yes, we celebrated a tree. It’s 2020 and we need to celebrate the little things!) I adored our trip around Italy last year, and I’m so grateful we were able to get over there before the whole world locked down. I can’t wait until we can visit again one day. Until then, home-cooked ragu will have to do!
Mamma mia! Stick a fork in me, I’m done.
If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is “thank you”, it will be enough.
Meister Eckhart
This is a pretty simple post. I’ve been busy packing and moving, and haven’t ventured beyond the house to take many interesting shots lately. What I have been doing is feeling extremely privileged and extremely grateful for the life that has fallen into my hands. We have just moved interstate into an AMAZING new home, I have landed an AMAZING new job, we are living amongst nature but we are so close to everything that we need. I literally can’t believe we get to live here. I was initially a little reluctant to move so far away from all of my friends and family, to a city in which I had never lived or worked – but I chose to take the opportunity for a fresh start, and this absolute palace is a very tasty little deal-sweetener!
I would not even have the freedom to live independently without the hard work and sacrifice of my parents, and their parents before them. With everything going on in the world at the moment, it can be quite overwhelming to try and comprehend how I managed to be born into such a relatively easy life. I have been so lucky. I don’t take it for granted for a second.
Here are just a few of my favourite vantage points from our new abode. From here, it’s pretty easy to look up and feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude.
I’ll sell you my pickle for a nickel!
Porky, The Little Rascals
Nothing brings a family together quite like a bit of vinegar-based food preservation, I always say. I never realised how fiddly it could be to make the perfect pickle – now I know! My aunty and cousin embarked on a mother-daughter journey a few years ago: the journey to pickling mastery. They completed a course through Cornersmith, and they loved it so much they’ve been eagerly waiting to pass on their expertise ever since! I was pretty excited to have another great opportunity to play with my new macro lens, too.
We used the Cornersmith Salads & Pickles Cookbook for recipe inspo. We settled on a gerkhin, pickled rhubarb, pickled zucchini with onion and Japanese-style pickled ginger. Between the sterilising and the heat processing and the salting and the chopping and the cooling – these four simple little things took a surprisingly long time! It didn’t bother us too much since we had such wonderful company, but I definitely think it’s worth committing to the cause and making a day of it. Now comes the truly challenging part: waiting a whole month before we can sample the fruits of our labour!
Wish us luck.
don’t water down your
April Green
uniqueness
for anyone.
be like a wildflower —
passionate and
unforgettable.
(grow in places they never expected)
I spent the public holiday on a beautiful walk with a beautiful friend! I’m so grateful for any opportunity to be outside among nature. I can physically feel my shoulders drop and my jaw relax in places like this. Today, it was excruciatingly hot (like…suffocating, crushing heat), but the Riverside Walk in the Lane Cove National Park was a welcome relief, with dappled shade and greenery galore to keep us cool. We are so lucky to have places like this so close to home.
We saw enough cockatoos and lizards on our travels to last us many years. They all seemed to be out enjoying the sunshine – some more happy to share the track than others! We found a spot to park ourselves beside the river while we rehydrated. We decided that on a day like today, sitting in the shade and watching people kayak was a much better option than BEING in a kayak.
How gorgeous are these teeny-tiny daisies?! They are delicate and wild and free, and oh so pretty. One day I will have a garden full of them. Don’t they just make you believe in fairies and magic? The wonderful poetry of April Green draws a lot of inspiration from wildflowers, and since becoming acquainted with her work I have drawn many parallels myself. There’s just something about wildflowers that helps me to see the value of imperfection – rambling and stubborn, adding a unique beauty to their surroundings. We could all learn a lot from wildflowers!
