Theo humouring me with a cheeky face while I tried to take a photo of his new outfit.

I've been looking for an achievable 52 week project for 2015 and I thought that sharing a photo of Theo for each week in 2015 would be a good choice. I haven't been keeping up with my little journal I kept for him during my pregnancy and his first year and I'd really like to return to it. Moments when he is this small are so fleeting, I feel a sense of desperation wanting to capture everything about him at this age.

I made this little print out family 'year in review' to send to friends and family and thought I'd post it here too. Unfortunately there's so much tiny text, it doesn't read well on a screen, so I've chopped it in half below or you can click here to see it big. I think it's a nice ritual to take stock of the year past.




What were your highlights of 2014?

This month I got to spend a lot more time with this guy. It was a good time. We also ate a lot of watermelon.


I repainted our kitchen dresser. I couldn't decide on one colour, so I tried out a few sample pots I had lying around. I might change it again in a few months.


Theo investigated a friendly peacock at Cataract Gorge.


This guy is great. Even when he has climbed up on the kitchen table (which is often) and is throwing things off the table onto the ground and smearing the kitchen window with various food items.



Spraying his mother in the face with milk became Theo's favourite pastime (and he laughed harder than I've ever heard him). I've been taking him for lots of walks lately into the city and letting C have a 'day off' playing computer games. I love getting to spend extended, uninterrupted time with Theo - I haven't really gotten to do that much since I started back at uni earlier this year. I love watching him observing, mimicking things, figuring out how things work, trying to find something he has misplaced ("Wheredigo?!"), watching me doing something and wondering why. This age is a total delight. If I could bypass the newborn age and just have 3 of these guys, I would. My house would be even messier than it is now, but that would be okay.

Theo loves walking everywhere and can mostly be trusted not to wander off. It's nice to go for walks and not have to take the pram. Sometimes we see friendly cats on the street and Theo squats down to pat them (like his dad does).


I found this sweet sailor suit at the opshop and made Theo wear it a lot. He's also started putting things in his pockets recently, like rocks and food scraps.

Reading | A Bone of Fact - David Walsh
Watching | Outlander (urgh, I can't wait for it to come back in April!)
Listening | Tiny Ruins, Ben Folds, Head and the Heart & Rufus Wainwright
Making | I've been working on commissions and doing a little bit of painting, addressing envelopes, but haven't been doing many creative things lately. I guess it was my first uni-free month so there was no forced creativity. Next month I'd like to start on some fun little creative projects. My current course is on break at the moment until February, so I'm excited to have a whole month of free creative time.
Purchasing | A sweet Dear Creatures dress in Launceston that was 75% off! I'm considering going back to get the same dress in a different colour.
Looking forward to | My brother and niece visiting in January for a week, getting to work on my studio and garden and working on creative projects.

I'm not much of a resolution maker, but my goals for the new year can be summed up in three words: organisation, creativity and health. How about you?

Happy New Year!

A few weeks ago, while my step sister Jaime was staying with us, we took a trip to Hobart to show her around. When we visit Hobart we usually just stay with friends, but I thought it would be fun to book two rooms for us at The Alabama Hotel (which I've been ogling online for months). I bought tickets to see Ben Folds with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra 6 months prior, not knowing who we'd get to mind Theo that night, so Jaime was kind enough to stay back at the hotel while C and I had one of our extremely rare evenings out - thankfully Theo slept the entire time.



The hotel was really lovely. It calls itself budget boutique accommodation, so there are shared bathrooms and the facilities are simple, but it has a lovely vibe, comfy rooms, the sweetest decor and a wonderful little bar and reading room downstairs with a balcony that overlooks Liverpool Street. It's a nice big step up from a backpackers/hostel but not as pricy as a hotel. It was very comfortable, cute and affordable ($80/night) and I highly recommend it.







Ben Folds was fantastic. It was probably one of the best shows I've ever seen. Even though I've loved his music since I was a little kid (my brother made me a mixtape in the late 90s which I played a lot), I didn't quite realise just what an amazing singer he is, masked beneath his Southern accent and slightly nasal tone. An exceptionally talented musician. And seeing him with the symphony was a total treat. He even made up a song on the spot and directed each part of the orchestra to play along.




I started reading A Bone Of Fact which was in the reading room at the hotel and I got pretty hooked on it. It's a memoir by David Walsh, professional gambler and owner of MONA. I hope I can buy myself a copy sometime, it was very engrossing.




Theo loved the balcony and wanted to wave at the people in their cars below on busy Liverpool Street.







My recommendations for visiting Hobart:
Stay | The Alabama Hotel
Eat | Machine + Room For A Pony + Shoebox Cafe
Shop | Salamanca Market
See | MONA
Wander | Botanical Gardens
Dance | Rektango