I spent a lot of time on my bike.


I did some painting for my new zine.


This little boy filled me with joy with his hammy faces! In the past month he has started to have so much personality - he laughs at things, follows me around, shows me things, tries to make me laugh and seems to really enjoy being around other babies. But he still doesn't walk without holding onto things!


I bought two cute new pairs of Melissas (on sale).


I passed this combi on quite a few chilly Winter morning bike rides.


I went on uni break and got to spend some more quality time with this sweet guy.


I packed up my uni nook and took it all home! I felt really sad about it (we had to pack them up) but I've moved it all home into our backyard studio and I'm really happy there (albeit very chilly!) - I'll share photos of that soon.


There was a jumping castle in the uni ceramics studio out of the blue one day! I had a jump!


I saw some cool typography in the wild.

Watching | The Tunnel (a bit obsessed, we have to force ourselves to go to bed at midnight after bingeing on it each night), Orphan Black & Game of Thrones.
Listening | 60s girl bands (like this mix) and Clairy Brown & The Bangin' Rackettes.
Making | Finishing up all of the semester's uni work. I'm on break now which is such a relief, because I worked so hard all semester. I hope it pays off, but I'm really proud of what I ended up with regardless. I also did a really fun commission I'll have to share sometime soon!
Reading | Hello, NY! by Julia Rothman (I loved it and I think I might do a review about it)
Consuming | Soy mochas (Fresh on Charles has the BEST I've ever had)
Coveting | Old pianos.
Purchasing | A new (used) car, yesterday! It gets dropped off tomorrow! Cute shoes & a mod vintage dress.
Looking forward to | Spending time with my boys over the break, going to Hobart next week to see Clare Bowditch and attend her singing workshop, making copies of my zine to sell (I think I'll do online and real paper copies), starting next semester's uni project & hopefully, maybe going up to NSW for my sister's 21st birthday.

This week I went to a paper craft workshop called 'Paper & Scissors Rock!' that my friend Isis was running as part of Bye Buy - an initiative in conjunction with Reactivate Launceston. Bye Buy is a really cool project run as a pop-up shop in the Launceston CBD, aimed at testing ideas on "reducing our consumption, engaging more with people in a retail environment and leading a more sustainable lifestyle". Four main activities were developed for the project to test these ideas: a swap shop, story exchange, repair deli and slow market. In the building is a temporary swap shop where you can bring in an item, write a card for it with some info on it and swap it for anything in the shop.


Cool old advertising decorating the wall in Bye Buy.


A bit of the swap shop.



I really wanted an old wooden toy I spotted for Theo but hadn't brought anything to swap, so I used my time in the workshop to make a set of collaged cards to swap them for. Theo loves his new toy.










Tomorrow I'm going to bring in my little sewing machine to swap, as my mum bought me a new one recently. I hope somebody can make good use of it! I look forward to being a part of more Reactivate Launceston initiatives.

A couple of months ago, after some trouble with my sweet old bike, I decided it was time to retire her and get myself something new and well made and that was going to last me a long time. I researched bikes for a long time but kept coming back to this Lekker Vintage bike (vintage in style, but not actually vintage) - it was on sale, so it was meant to be!



I'd like to say that it's a total dream bike, but I've actually had a series of problems with it from the day it was first assembled (the wheel rubbed against the frame and skirt guard due to a part missing as well as gear problems). Thankfully I have a great bike mechanic and Lekker are fixing the problems for me under warranty (at the moment, the gears don't stay in well). I'm looking forward to it being my dream bike soon!



It is lovely to ride otherwise - nice and upright, light and smooth. I didn't realise that there would be much of a difference in rideability between this bike and my old one. I really love the vinyl skirt and chain guards. I also love the back rack with its elastic straps (where I keep my coat) and the double kick stand. One of my very favourite features though, is the built in lock - it cannot come off without completely disassembling the bike - it connects around tyre and then there is also a covered chain that can be attached to secure the bike to a pole. My lovely Basil basket is actually supposed to be a side pannier, but I liked it better on the front. It's great because it has a handle and you can just take it off when you park and put your shopping in it. My basket liner is actually a bag I bought from the post office near my house - apparently the one of the receptionists at the doctors next door makes them - the pattern is to die for. I wish I knew where the fabric was from, I have dreams of a dress in that pattern.

My new bike is obviously a bit less eye catching than my old one, but I'm hoping to add a couple more pops of colour (mauve coloured puncture proof tires to begin with!).


Pulling faces at Theo who was out of shot.


+ My dress is from Ishka and my necklace is a teething necklace from Jellybeads.



Here are some fancy bike things I'm currently coveting:



1. Across Town Bicycle Shorts
2. Violet Rain Coat
3. Bolt Bike Reflector
4. Fixie Upper Bike Tool Kit
5. Cat Valve Caps
6. Heart Bike Mirror
7. Bike Planter
8. Dyno Light Set
9. Diamond Bike Laser Lane Tracker (shoots out lights behind your bike that create a 'lane' for drivers to see)
10. Green Leaf Bike Pannier
11. LED Wheel lights
12. Tannus Musai Punctureless Tires
14. Red Pannier Bags
13. Heart Spoke Reflector

Happy riding!

This week was Theo's first birthday! He and C share a birthday which I love. He got a bunch of lovely items from family members (and my mum bought ME a sewing machine for his birthday so I'll start making him clothes) - we got him a few things over the past few weeks, so there wasn't really a present opening ceremony from us. A lovely blog reader named Maria sent Theo the sweetest book too. The three of us went out for breakfast at one of our favourite cafes in town, Fresh on Charles, where Theo got to ogle his favourite waitress; the very beautiful Lizzie (she loves him too). Then we came back home and got ready to have some friends over for dinner. Theo ate his first cupcake (red velvet with cream cheese frosting). C is pretty militant about Theo not eating things that aren't good for him (and me too usually), but everyone has to begin their relationship with cake at some point. He mashed a lot of it into the floorboards and put some in Holly's drink, but seemed to enjoy what he did taste. All of those cliches about time are true when it comes to children - it flies. He is a lovely, happy little person and a total joy.

Theo in a list:
+ 6 teeth: two bottom & four top.
+ walks around holding things, but not yet without holding on
+ says "cat" and "dad". Can spot a cat from a mile away (in someone's yard, on packaging, on TV, on a mobile phone).
+ climbs over things and up stairs
+ tries to explain things in babble speak
+ extremely flirtatious and coy with strangers
+ plays peekaboo with us, hiding behind corners and popping out
+ likes to make music, plucking my guitar strings
+ dances to music (a sweet little side to side head bop)
+ drinks cow's milk
+ eats mostly by himself except for runny things
+ loves all food especially pumpkin, cheese and pasta
+ understands the word "no" and "stop" and responds accordingly (most of the time)
+ has a bunch of hair (but it's so fair it's hard to see)
+ laughs at daddy being silly, at me blowing in his face, at the cats, at himself, when everyone else is laughing, when I blow raspberries on his belly, when he hurts me.
+ likes to take all of the cans out of the pantry and put them back in in his own arrangement
+ would prefer to play with the packaging from toys or with empty cartons and bottles in the recycling bin than with toys
+ has to have some of whatever we're eating
+ gets very excited about bathtime, jumping up and down holding onto the side of the bath while the water runs
+ blows raspberries on my belly
+ is learning how to pat the cats and not tear their fur out
+ will put a pillow over C's face and lie on it if C's laying on the ground with him
+ sleeps mostly in his own bed, but we still bring him in for early morning cuddles sometimes
+ does this funny little smile sometimes where his mouth is open and you can see all of his teeth and his nose is scrunched up and his eyes are closed

To many more lovely birthdays!