there were two very important reasons why i wanted to go to LA… one: was to visit the eames lounge room at the LA County Museum of Art [whilst their original home was being restored] an exhibition i found out about before we left australia and two: and more importantly, to visit our long time flickr/facebook friend, the beautiful k.

so… girls road trip from san francisco to los angeles. candace has a new, powder blue convertible beetle. suitably cute to say the least. poor candace drove the whole way there and back [ahem, absolutely no way i was going to drive on the wrong other side of the road]. the drive, should, in theory, take approx. 7hrs [one way]. i won’t mention how long it really took. let’s just say… lead foot, so not that long. big smiles*

we were on our way to kelly’s [and family] home in the hills about an hour out of LA. we left relatively late [that's how we roll].. so we arrived in the dark and for a while, with no idea where we were. no street lights for an age, so it began to feel a little like a scene from a horror movie. c followed her instincts, with a little help from mine and we arrived just in time for dinner!

another surreal moment was about to take place. k and i [and c] have admired each other’s photos on flickr for a couple of years. she ‘met’ my family and i hers via her heartfelt images. facebook was our next connection and gifts were sent to eachother across the globe. we even managed to skype once… we were now meeting face to face and what a great moment that was… the crazy k hugged and picked me up! c, m and i were so warmly welcomed into their home.. we met her beautiful, beautiful girls, s, s and s and her husband, j, their cats, their dog, their chickens. we sat around their table in their beautiful kitchen.. in their beautiful home. we had dinner, delicious spicy pumpkin soup and the yummiest of cheese and bread, we drank wine, we were showered with the most beautiful gifts. little s recited a poem.. m played with little s. it was so sweet, so lovely and so memorable.

we were staying the night in their cottage. i needn’t elaborate, other than to say, take a look… it’s a fairy tale beauty. every-single-little-detail. thank you k, from the bottom of my heart.

‘a beautiful blur’… a blur, because our time spent together went by so very quickly… and beautiful, because it obviously was.

this beautiful blur continues at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. stay tuned!

their home

their cottage

c in the study nook writing in k’s visitors book…

while c slept in the bottom bunk and i, in the top bunk downstairs, my girl slept in the queen size bed in the upstairs loft!

c, my girl, me and k, the hostess with the mostest [iPhone shot by j.. thank you!]

with thanks to soul sister c’s beautiful and generous friends, s and v, we went horseriding. v has the most beautiful property where her family and horses reside.

i have a huge heart for horses, their beauty and intelligence melts it [perhaps because i was born in the year of the horse]. i can’t thank you enough s and v, for the opportunity to ride and connect again. i am most grateful for that afternoon, grateful to have made new friends and grateful for the sunshine and countryside. xo

it really is a beautiful thing… just sitting here… writing and posting images. memories of the afternoon come flooding back.

here’s a peek at my new friends [both two and four legged] and the beautiful and calming surrounds…

next… san francisco.. and bay area.
mx

One is that it derives from the translation by jazz musicians of the Manzana area as ‘apple orchard’. Another explanation has it that jazz musician’s slang for engagement was ‘apple’ and that a date in New York was the ‘big apple’. The phrase was certainly current in jazz music circles in the 1930s.

Probably the strongest contender is that it was coined in the horse racing community in the southern USA. John J. Fitz Gerald was a horse-racing writer for theNew York Morning Telegraph in the 1920s. He reports hearing the phrase used by stable lads while on a visit to New Orleans in 1920, although there’s nothing in that report to link the phrase to New York.

Fitz Gerald did later use the phrase with reference to New York in his ‘Around the Big Apple’, piece for the Telegraph on February 18, 1924, and that is the earliest citation we can find of it in print:

“The Big Apple. The dream of every lad that ever threw a leg over a thoroughbred and the goal of all horsemen. There’s only one Big Apple. That’s New York.”

So, by his own account, Fitz Gerald didn’t coin the phrase, but it’s likely that he set it on its course to become part of the language.

that, by the way, was a hint to say we were there!! my daughter m and i travelled across the globe to visit my soul sister and her family in san francisco, whilst the boys [m and j] stayed and looked after 128, charley [dog], friday [cat] and the five girls [chickens].

m and i hadn’t landed more than 32 hours before we were back on a plane, this time to new york city. just the girls, all four of us, my soul sister, c, her daughter, p, m and i. we had a limited amount of time there, we tried to fit in as much as we could, which was a lot less than we thought. new york city is HUGE, amazing and HUGE. i was as much in awe the second visit as i was the first and i don’t think i’d go again unless i had at least 2 weeks up my sleeve to really explore this city so full of character.

views from the second tallest building in the states… the empire state building. we couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful winter’s day.

empire state building on 102nd..

on the streets…

to the metropolitan museum via central park….

good morning new york city..

soul sister paste ups [c on the left, me on the right] was a fabulous idea hatched by our dear friends sharon and liz. it began in melbourne, june 2011, when c visited me, the first time we met, face to face, for real, after 4 years [to the month] of flickr, facebook and skype conversations. c says she’ll write about it one day, it’s a long and wonderful story of soul sisters connecting deeply on all levels. anyway, we continued our soul sister paste ups in new york city. we began here at brooklyn station…

iPhone photo by my girl.

and there she is.. this is as close as we got to her [this time].

my girl m…

new york city through my eyes.. a whirlwind visit to say the least with every moment explored and enjoyed.
next is san francisco…. stay tuned. mx

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Saturday 17 March 10.00-3.30pm
Maribynong Market

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Saturday 24 March 11.00-5.00pm
Rose Street Artists Market

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Saturday 31 March 10.00-5.00pm
Sunday 01 April 10.00 – 4.00pm
Magnolia Square

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Sunday 15 April 10.00-4.00pm
Abbotsford Makers Market

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Thursday 3 May 10.00-9.00pm
Friday 4 May 10.00 – 5.00pm
Saturday 5 May 10.00-4.00pm
Magnolia Square

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Sunday 20 May 10.00-4.00pm
Abbotsford Makers Market

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Sunday 27 May 10.00-5.00pm
Markit @Fed Square

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Saturday 28 July 10.00-2.00pm
Made’n'Thornbury Market

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Saturday 15 September 10.00-3.30pm
Maribynong Makers Market

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Sunday 18 November 10.00-4.00pm
Abbotsford Makers Market

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Friday 30 November 4.00-9.00pm
Made’n'Thornbury Market

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Sunday 16 December 10.00-4.00pm [TBC]
Abbotsford Makers Market

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Sunday 23 December 10.00-4.00pm
Abbotsford Makers Market

apart from the hot sun and the strong glare that comes with it, the shoot went really well.
with plenty of laughs and jokes all around, it was a relaxed and fun session. a gorgeous family to say the least!
young j, big brother, z, mum, k and dad, d.

we met at the abbotsford convent and started shooting in the gardens along side the yarra river and ended up at the famous old ‘bois and charbons’ sign near the collingwood children’s farm. it was so hot by the end of the session, the kids were fading but oh so well behaved the entire time.

it was a joy to meet and photograph the blue eyed four!
z made a fabulous assistant, helping me find great little corners about the place.
here is what we came up with.

thank you for the opportunity jzk&d!

once upon a time, m was invited to her friends 15th birthday party, where each girl was given a character.
a beautiful idea, although we were a little unsure where to find a costume that didn’t cost the earth!

my gorgeous friend ‘the pied piper’ offered to lend us her six year old daughter’s outfit! i must admit i had my doubts as to whether it was going to fit?!
but sure enough it did. you might say more of a ‘this decade’ look to say the least! thank you so much sumi and rubi! we are both so very grateful.

i think m made a fine snow white!

i love it.. i love her.. i love that she applied her makeup all on her own and got it so right.. and i love love love that she made her friend a birthday cake… her own ‘summer’ version of nigella lawson’s ‘autumnal birthday cake’.

an extra special beautiful job m.
you make me ever so proud…

…and they lived happily ever after.

i’m only sorry i didn’t get to try that cake!

cake!

merry christmas to you and your loved ones and may 2012 bring all you desire.
mx.

i’ve never been one to be organised for Christmas. you know.. 1. save and put money away in a special little kitty and 2. buy Christmas gifts for family and friends during the year and pop them in a special cupboard. i know there’s amazing people like that out there. i am in awe of you all. i’ve even tried it. i’ve seen the perfect gift for a friend, popped it away.. and yep, i’ve forgotten about it and/or where i’ve put it, i’ve then gone and bought another gift only to find the original months later.

personally, i like flying by the seat of my pants.. last minute.. the pressure. i’m good for it, really and it’s not because i don’t care. i care. in fact, i care enough to be ocd about it.. and down to the wrapping my friends.

all that to say… since starting my own little corner here, i’ve had to be super organised. design, make and prepare products for the coming celebrations months in advance. so i thought to share the ‘celebration’ collection for those of you i am in awe of and for those of you, like me, wait until the last minute.

i hope you love them and perhaps inspire a ‘less is more’ Christmas this year, to make yourself and/or buy locally handmade with love and environmentally friendly products. let’s say Merry Christmas to Mother Earth this year.

wishing you all the best with your preparations!
mxo

for beautiful gift ideas, please visit my products page here, my image catalogue here and online shopping here. all images can be applied to any of the products i make: the t.lighthaus, the luMierebox, gift cards, gift tags and notebooks. the ‘claudia’ range is limited to 12 images. you can view these in the catalogue.

‘freedom angels’ gift tag printed on 100% recycled stock.

‘someone’s been eating my porridge’ set of 8 gift tags printed on and wrapped in 100% recycled stock.

‘freedom angel’ gift tag and card, ‘follow that star’ set of 8 gift tags and card, ‘peace hope love’ set of 8 gift tags, ‘from afar’ t.lighthaus and gift tags. tags and cards all printed on and wrapped in 100% recycled stock.

‘wish upon it’, ‘blessings to you’, ‘love and light’ t.lighthauses, ‘love and light’ gift card, ‘follow that star’ set of 8 gift tags and gift card. printed on and wrapped in 100% recycled stock.

‘freedom angels’ set of 8 gift tags printed on and wrapped in 100% recycled stock.

‘from afar’ t.lighthaus and set of 8 gift tags printed on and wrapped in 100% recycled stock.

this has been a long weekend for us in melbourne.. melbourne cup day to be exact, a huge affair for those interested. i, however, am not, not in the slightest and i’m proud to say i still haven’t a clue who won. i’m awfully glad it’s a public holiday though! it’s a treat to have the whole family at home four days in a row.

with that said, we didn’t get up to much but did a spot of clothes shopping for my girl, bought myself a lens and had lunch at alimentari on saturday, enjoyed a delicious lunch with my parents, my brother and his gorgeous family on sunday, i can’t even remember what we did yesterday [?] and cleaned out the garage today [when we probably should have been watching horses race around a track].

i thoroughly enjoyed staying at home today. yes.. of course i phaffed but i also worked on a few m2matiz orders and i can’t tell you how truly blessed i am. i love my work, love that i create and make from home, love that i walk from the house to the studio and check the veggies, take out a few weeds along the way and talk [and shoo] the girls [chickens] away from the veggie patch. the very best part about having my studio in the very back corner of our backyard, is the outlook. it really does brighten my day, rain, hail or shine but today, the spring sun poked her head out every now and then and really did enhance every corner. blessed.

i hope your [long] weekend was as blissful.
mxo

i see a heart

lobelia

studio in the back corner

my outlook from the studio

two of our five [feathered] girls, ebony and fifi

i’ve added just a few more images to the celebrations series… images i hope you love. three of the same image as t.lighthauses would look beautiful down the middle of your Christmas table. the native flower images, complete with australian stamp and 1912 december postal stamp would be the perfect gift for friends overseas [or indeed friends close by] as either a t.lighthaus, card, gift tags, luMierebox or maybe a notebook!

the full celebrations series below…

simply click here to go shopping!

have a beautiful weekend and if you’re in melbourne… i hope your team wins as long as it’s collingwood!
i must add, i have no interest in the game, i married into it so i feel rather obliged. my boys are at the final!

mxo

have a glorious weekend. mx