Raw

I am intrigued by the concept of raw food.  Its not for me as a complete lifestyle choice because that would mean giving up this:

 

And roasts, eggs benedict, chocolate fudge... mmmmm

But I do feel we could probably benefit from eating a bit more raw foods.And when you think about it this should be fairly easy - its the ultimate fast food, no cooking required.  But strangely its not.  I think its because eating raw means being organised.  Case in point lunch Tuesday (2:30 pm A's nap time - you take it when you can get it), I reached into the pantry to grab a tin of baked beans (Watties of course).  I was thinking cheese and bean toasties but then I remembered I was trying to eat more raw foods.  10mins later I had this:


and it was good.  But the point is I needed to have a red cabbage, broccoli, chickpeas (which i had precooked sooo... not raw, shhh), in my fridge, nuts in my freezer, and a good quality vinaigrette.  And that involves good organisation.  Today it was a handful of ham, a few cherry tomatoes, and some crackers and humus, (cause I need to hit the supermarket again).  But hey, a little at a time.  Hopefully as I eat more raw, I will get more inspired and learn to shop better at the same time.

Wish me luck

And have a healthy week

*K*

PS.  If you need inspiration for raw food ideas try:
Kora Organics (yup, Miranda Kerr's Blog)
Kemis Raw Kitchen (Also see this months Peppermint mag)
 Goddess in the Raw, raw mocha brownies - now that doesn't sound like too much of a hardship!



Elsewhere

I've been slack. 
And A's been sick (just a cold nothing major). Which has lead to broken sleep.  And broken  sleep is really hard to catch up when you have a 6month old.  (Six months, where has the time gone!)?
And we've had a weekend in Sydney, which I thought would give me lots of awesomeness to write about, but, alas, did not.
And so here I am linking to other peoples amazing thoughts and ideas from the across the bloggesphere.

There's some great art out there.  I would love to wander through  this instalation.  But even better is the art you can own and love, like these clever and quirky textiles by Jane Denton, (via Fancy). 
This week Etsy's blog also had a post about accesable art.  Yay.

Peonie and Poleroids post on her twins turning two makes me smile, and worry, cause I have all those fun and games to look forward to, (ekkk!).

A race track tee shirt.  Loveing this idea.  A potential Fathers Day pressie I'm thinking.

Have a good week.

*K*

Hearts

 

Just in time for Valentines day, my cousin took part in the amazing Chain Link Heart project.
I cannot begin to imagine what it would be like not to have A.
I can't imagine what it would have been like to never bring her home from the hospital, all those hopes and dreams you have as your belly swells, just disappearing, lost.
I cannot imagine how hard it would be to begin to to get back up again. 
Which is why I greatly admire people like Jen. Their bravery and their creativity, and their ability to find beauty from the saddest of situations, astounds and inspires me. 
Happy valentines to all those who have loved and lost, who walk around each day with a part of their heart missing, and somehow still see magic and magnificence, who still get up each day ready to love and live again.  I am sure somehow, somewhere, someone will give you what you need to feel almost whole again. 
And as for me, this Valentines, I will hold my daughter and husband close, and be grateful that I am blessed enough to have two beautiful people holding my heart together.

Happy Valentines
*k*

Elsewhere

So out there in Blogland I was inspired by:

Making your own font (over at Decor8) sounds like fun. 

LOVE this concept of Melbourne photographer Kristen Cook, of documenting her childrens Januaries every year .  It made me laugh and cry and hug A way too tight cause I know its gonna go way too fast. (discovered via Mum the Photographer)

Art/ photography/ reflections.  It reminds me to look up more often, and take in the beauty of simple moments. 

City Map Quilts - Sleeping under Paris every night, sounds good to me! :)

Have a fabulous week!

*K*

Amor Amor - Monster Love!

I have been shopping.

First up, two new babies have arrived (yay!) and secondly A seems to be suddenly growing out of all her clothes.

 

Luckily I found a shop that solved both these issues (sorta - A will need more clothes but we have a a start).  Amor Amor is the brain child of three talented Colombians who now call Australia home.   Here they create quirky, unique monster themed clothes, cushions and paper goods.  The limited edition range of clothing uses soft cottons, water based inks and features amazing hand drawn artwork. 

The skirt I ordered for A is beautifully finished, and so sweet.
I was so pleased with it, and the speed that it arrived, that I brought more stuff. I got her a onesie and another boys onesie for one of the new bubba's.

Its awesome to find a range of funky boys clothes that's not dominated with insipid baby blues, but is cute while retaining a bit of attitude.

I'm totally eying up these colour yourself cushions for my next purchase.  Brilliant idea! Its such a shame A is no where near to being able to colour.

Perhaps you too will find something fabulous at Amor Amor for your little monster!

*K*

All images from Amor Amor, please ask permission before using.  Thanks.

Elsewhere

Just back from a wonderful holiday and trying to catch up still.
So elsewhere in the bloggesphere I've found:
A new blog - Unconsumption, via Etsy's blog.
While on Etsy check out this amazing paper art.  I'm particularly enamoured by the star in the last image.  Breathtaking.
Loving the concept of this book by Pia Jane Bijkerk.
Hidden supprises in this clever cute cake,
Speaking of cte, is this igloo not the cutest attempt to get on side with a future mother in law?

Musings on Motherhood

Have I mentioned I have a BA in Art History and Anthropology? Well I do. And it is my anthropological background that I think gives me the strength to question and analyse the expectations of both me and my child by the world at large. 

I don't want this blog to become a mummy blog (nothing wrong with them, I follow several, (hank and lucy, the artful parent, and Kate Subrosa  (who unfortunately has stopped blogging) and began to well before the arrival of my little one).  In fact I want to use it to save me from being someone who can only talk about children and parenting - to remind me there is a wider world out there, but this blog, for me, is a 'scrapbook of things I find interesting' and therefore sometimes it will be about Mum stuff.

So as I struggle with the multiple options of sleep and settling, feeding, routine and try and make the decisions that may or may not impact my child and her world views, I find myself both seeking, and  ignoring advice from various quarters. 
I want to follow my heart when i comes to my daughter, it is my duty to insure she sees me following my instincts and beliefs, rather than following the norm and second guessing myself.  But at the same time the pressure not to 'create a rod for my own back' makes me read and read and read some more in order to feel more confident about my choices.
With the wealth of information on the multiple parenting 'theories' (no matter how contradictory, most are supposedly endorsed by 'experts' or 'proven' by science) I kept thinking of what other societies did when it came to parenting so I got off the parenting websites and looked at anthropological ones.  I have found them fascinating, but like all parenting advise you need to keep in mind what the motives of the author is. 

I will not sit here and offer parenting advise.  All parents should follow there own hearts, gut feelings and logic.  All parents intend to do the best they can for their children and i don't believe there is a right answer, but that we should do what is right for us, and our own developing families. 

However, if like me you want explore the wonderful diversity of motherhood and child rearing here are some sites I found interesting.

How They Do It  a cross cultural comparrisen on baby zone

AnthropoChildren is a mothers perspective in the feild.  Not in depth but peaked my interest and I will look into reading more of her material if I can hunt it down.

Motherlands An anthropological and Literary resource on becoing a parent in the age of globalisation

The Role of Cultural Factors in Human Breastfeeding: Adaptive Behaviour or Biopower ?

Trends in American Child Rearing

Other websites I think may be worth reading by parents, and almost parents 

Purple Crying about how crying is normal - which can come as a relief to many

Kelly Mom loads of advice on feeding, sleeping and other subjects as well.

Essential Baby the forums are great for getting a opinions and ideas from mums who have been there dont that, or are going through the same sort of thing.  Can be good for getting multiple veiwpoints on a subject.