31 and 32 Weeks of Gratitude

52 Weeks of More gratitude. More hope. More love.

Crap, has it really been that long? The calendar tells no lies.  I've been holidaying up and down the coast, catching up with friends and it's been so nice to spend quality time doing things I love with people I love. 

On the flip side it's also highlighted a few hard truths. One being, even though I've tried really hard to like the Gold Coast the fact is I don't really like it. It doesn't feel like me. I could go on about why but I won't. There is no simple fix. I've chosen to be here to be close to my family, and that hasn't changed. I love seeing my family re and I still want that. Now to just find a way to like it a bit better!

I do feel a smidgen better already just by coming to the realisation that I don't like it.  Sigh of relief. I can stop pretending now. I've kicked in to action mode and the first thing was to get my home life in better shape, starting with the laundry (always the laundry!) and a quick tidy up of the house this evening. My head feels clearer already with more thinking space and I got a surge of inspiration to sit down and finally share a few moments of gratitude from these past weeks.

 Mountains and windy roads.

The first bunch of fresh flowers in my new home. 

A present from my sister. Gorgeous soap from Melbourne. The scent is divine.

If you've ever found yourself living in a place that's not quite 'you' I'd love to know what you did to settle in and find your place.

52 Weeks of Grateful linking up with Octavia and Vicky. 

Winter giveaway: Winner(s)

Apologies for the delay and general silence in these parts. Life got very busy all of sudden.  Tonight though I'm home, listening to Sigur Ros, sipping herbal tea, by the beautiful light of a beeswax candle. A very cosy setting indeed to re-read the winter giveaway entries. 

Thanks to everyone who shared their winter rituals,  I've really enjoyed reading each entry. What struck me the most, and what was threaded through all of the entries, was love. And love sure makes all of us feel good! There was one entry in particular that through her words I could feel the warmth and gratitude of having someone else do something for you with love; and the beauty of being able to sit back and witness this morning ritual. 

Congratulations aluminiumgirl, a beautiful parcel is heading your way. 

And because I couldn't stop at one winner I've also got a little surprise (hint hint it's spicy) for Penny, because the image of the little ones eager for their delicious, healthy breakfast was just delightful and warmed my heart.

Book nerding it up in Byron

Morning sunlight with a cup of tea and one of the best editions of Dumbo Feather.

I'm book nerding it up in Byron for the weekend at the Writer's Festival. I'm super excited to have a date with Peter Carey on Saturday afternoon and a night of what I hope is thigh-slapping comedy with Judith Lucy and others. 

Sunday I'm meeting up with two gorgeous women from blogland, Nikki and Jay.  I love their blogs and I'm looking forward to all those things that make it special when you're actually with people in person... voices, movement, energy, laughter. 

Oh how I love the weekend.  Happy weekend to you xx.