feb, 15th - limi's cloak....

day 374:

my mum, Limi's lola, made this sweet limi-and-the-wolf cloak for her first birthday. i love it (of course i do....it's grey.) Limi can stick her hands through slits in the sides so it also gives me a great excuse to invest in arm warmers.

i love it not only because we selected our own grey wool and fine french-floral lining.....but because it brings back a flood of memories of my sister and i designing outfits and my mum whipping them up on her sewing machine.....always including a last-minute-stitching-dash to finish it and we'd normally be throwing it on second before dashing out the door (sometimes it even included being stitched into the outfit or a metal-detector-buzz of safety pins holding it all together (sorry liz hurley but we did it first...yes, the pins were on the inside....but sometimes they also ended up on the outside))

i can remember from about the age of six, my sister and i picking out our own fabrics and 'designing' outfits....and it hasn't stopped. since my imagination far exceeds my skills, I have to rely on my mum, my sister and my sister's incredible dressmaker in Hong Kong, Mrs Kwok. just see what happens when i try and do it myself - day 258

anyway, i hope that with my mum, my sister and mrs kwok's help.......i can bring the same sense of creativity and individualism to Limi's life......

feb, 14th - valentines day....

A.'s valentine gift to me this year....homemade dessert

day 373:

although A and i we love going to restaurants (fine dining, budget canteen, quirky experience....as long as the proprietors are passionate about what they do....then we love them all in equal measure). but we don't venture out on valentine's day....on valentine's day, every type of restaurant suddenly becomes a theme and you feel like you're dining in noah's ark - 2 by 2 by 2 by 2. you're usually so crammed in that you may as well be sitting at a long communal table.

for us, asking the person at the table next to you to stop jabbing your ribs with their elbows, really kills the romance. the last couple of years, we've ignored valentine's day to focuse on our wedding anniversary instead but this year i'm suggesting a new valetine's day tradition.....one that we can share with Limi in the future...

a big bowl of popcorn, pink juice for everyone, handmade hearts  and an old classic movie...maybe one day we will find ourselves back in a warm climate and can even watch the movie outside on a big sheet whilst sitting on a picnic blanket.....


for this year.....it's ugg boots and His Girl Friday.

feb, 13th - click, click....

Top Baby Blogs has reset their votes...pretty please throw a vote our way by clicking on the below. It just takes two clicks....you can vote every day by using the button on the right....it doesn't win me prizes or badges to wear but it does mean that i might continue to meet people....and if they're anything like the people that i have already met then they are warm, witty, inspiring, creative and make me laugh-out-loud....so definitely worth meeting!!

so thanks for every vote.

day 372:

and here's a small snippet captured with my brand-new obsession......

when i first fell in love with Hipstamatic (day 115).....i said, wouldn't it be amazing if they also made an iPhone app that captured video as a vintage 8mm style movie.

well it's here.....8mm vintage.

Come fly with me by Frank Sinatra

feb, 12th - breakfast faces 2....

day 371:

a second instalment in the Limi breakfast faces (see day 350)......

Vegemite kisses....

what would breakfast be with the one-raised-eyebrow......

and lovely smiles.

feb, 11th - godparents....

day 370:

Limi with her godmother Sangeeta.  Sangeeta is a good friend and lives around the corner. She met Limi when she was 2 days old, has kept us sane over the past 12 months and also been our highly overqualified baby-sitter.....she was the brave one who looked after Limi on day 56.

feb, 10th - what a difference a year makes.....

day 369:

this time last year. 5 days old.

feb, 9th - mary had a pair of little lambs......

day 368:

a stylish friend sent me a link to these delicious woollen numbers......i love their Victorian feel. made from recycled jumpers and leather..... you can buy them via woolybaby on Etsy.

Josie Marsh the creator of woolybaby is passionate about her shoes (doesn't that always shine through in the product) ....and she has posted a couple of sweet anecdotes around her shop....like this one:

"When I was in first grade, I took a pet lamb to school. Yes, really! It went under the table and peed and that’s about all I remember about it. On our small farm we had several sheep that we used for meat and my mom washed, carded, spun, and knit with the wool. Maybe taking that lamb to school was the beginning of my love of wool : )"

seriously, how can you resist.

they even come in adult sizes.....i may be tempted to replace my much-loved-chocolate uggs soon......

pics: Josie Marsh

feb, 8th - word of mouth....

day 367:

word of mouth is a wonderful thing.....i love finding out about some extraordinary thing through talking to a friend.....and of course with the power of the internet you get to hear about so much more.....my early Hipstamatic addiction (see day 115) was through a friend of a friend posting some incredible pics on fb......

and today, on reflecting that this blog is now just over 1 year old (my very first post on day -1)....i thought about how many other inspiring blogs i have found through 'word-of-mouth' blog posts along the way (many through my favourite blog that i mentioned on day 282)

this blog takes my breath away.....i literally sigh when i open up the page......Pia Jane Bijkerk's photos are unbelievably beautiful. she's also created these so-my-kind-of-thing-sourcing-beautiful-things-from-out-of-the-way-places books for amsterdam and paris....

and the Amsterdam Made By Hand is  Limi's favourite book this week......well who wouldn't love looking at this special picture book.

feb, 7th - proof.....

day 366:

our nanny sent this little clip to us today....(it's phone quality sorry).....Limi's first real steps.

1 year and 1 day......and the house officially has a toddler.

feb, 6th - 1 today....

day 365:

happy birthday honey-bee! 1 today.