one already!?

Our baby Sebastian has just turned one. I can't quite compute this first birthday milestone. The thought makes me smile and weep at the same time. Seriously, where did time go? This time last year I had finished work (whoop!) and was nesting like crazy - cleaning cupboards I never go into and stocking the pantry as if I'd never shop again. I remember walking/wobbling around town in a daze - hovering somewhere between excited and petrified yet too tired to act out either emotion. I wondered when this labour thing would start and how I would cope. It was surreal to think I was days away from meeting the little person kicking inside me. I loved those kicks. Now he's on the outside and is kicking right in front of me. It's still surreal. I am so in love. I still feel - like I did in those first days - that he knows more than I do about how to grow this mother-child bond. I'm just playing along. A puppet on his strings. Frightening, I know. 

** Thank you to my friend Sarah for taking this beautiful photo. The shimmering light kind of captures the dreamy love I felt for Sebastian in those early days, although the sleep deprivation helped make everything feel a little hazy. He was four months old here and we were on a family holiday on the Sunshine Coast. I remember this sunset - it was divine.

Image by Sarah

published pieces: Elisabeth Harvey and Michael Ableman

For map magazine's August eco edition I interviewed Brisbane fashion designer and photographer Elisabeth Harvey about her new sustainable underwear label, Nico Underwear. It's just become the first underwear brand in Australia to receive accreditation by Ethical Clothing Australia. Her story lives online here. I also interviewed American farmer, author, speaker and educator Michael Ableman about his life quest to encourage everyone to grow food. His piece lives online here. I loved these interviews.

the nursery photo workshop

My dear friend Sarah and I have signed up for this one-day photo workshop for beginners with the super talented Tim Coulson on the Sunshine Coast in October. We're more than a little excited although not deluded - we realise it takes years of practice and thousands of photos to become really good at photography. The goal is to submit photos with my freelance stories and to capture my baby's journey in bulging family albums. I've never been good at documenting my life. It's time to start.

** Last week, after much research and procrastination, I ordered my first DSLR - the Canon 60D with the 18-200 mm lens - and have since been obsessively checking the post box, willing it to arrive.

  image by tim coulson

birthday art for baby

I've decided to buy Bassie a piece of art every year as part of his birthday present. As his collection grows with him, I hope each piece and the story it tells will spark his imagination in some magical way. For his first birthday, I think I'll order this Hobo the Bear print (above) by illustration artist Jayme McGowan. Just looking at it makes me smile. The James and the Giant Peach and the Flight by Kite prints are cute-as-pie too. Jayme sketches her illustrations, then carefully cuts and layers them to create miniature paper scenes, which she then photographs. They're kind of like theatre sets, except built with pencils, paper, tweezers and teeny scissors instead of timber, hammer and nails. Here's a time lapse video of her creating a piece for an advert. So clever. 

image and art by Jayme McGowan

the first day of spring

It’s because of Bassie that I’ve started this blog. Our boy, Sebastian (Bassie for short), arrived in September 2011 and has made our lives brighter, for sure. Now we really know what love is. While I'm at home with Bassie I'm working as a freelance writer so the challenge is to muster the brain power and energy to write while the boy sleeps or when my hubbie or my mum are on baby watch. I’ve started this blog to capture and share things that are important to me - naturally, Bassie rates highest on that list and then there's my writing work, the books I love to read, and my quest to learn photography. I'd also like to share ideas from other mums, writers and creative types about how they live, work and pursue their creativity. I’d say I’m a pretty private person so this whole blog platform feels a little odd, but I figure it’s more likely to breed good than evil. At the very least, I hope it inspires my little sister to start a blog about her life in Italy. It's the first day of spring today. How poignant!

image by Damien Bowerman