Bring back a bit of Berlin

Longing for a bit of Berlin this week.  Smith Street was as close as I came to feeling anywhere near it and I must say I was pretty delighted to be there.
This Ramen store was a highlight (Thanks Sally!!).  I'm hoping to get back for another bowl over the weekend.  I tried both the pork.....& the cashew (shared them with my friend... just in case you're thinking oink, oink).  They were seriously amazing!!
I also LOVE that Big Dreams have opened a new store in the old bead shop on Smith Street. Do you remember that Melbourne relic?
Pined over a couch in Modern Times and made a purchase at the Smith St Bazar.  A Christmas present that's so spot on (or so I'm hoping).
Loving this list of Melbourne vinyl stores to help arm me for some serious summer sounds these holidays.
Enjoyed Ron Gutman's TED talk on Smiling & Brother David Steindl-Rast, a Benedictine monk, talk on "the gentle power" of gratefulness.

I've established a weekly ritual where I listen to an interview, while cooking, over at On Being.  This weeks interview was with Matthew Samford, The Body's Grace.  It's a beautiful interview on the mind-body connection.  Matthew is an author and yoga teacher.....who has been a paraplegic since the age of 13.  Describing it as 'inspiring' seems a little lame. His experience is mind-blowingly profoud.  I'm hoping his book will be in my Santa stocking this Christmas. No subtlety there, hey LF?

The countdown begins tomorrow.  Hope you have your advent calendar at the ready. Let the fun begin xx

What's going on?

Things seem to be happening behind the scenes here at the moment.
I've been consciously spending less time online & more time doing.....things.
Our annual screen printing took place the weekend before last.  Sorry since they are Christmas presents I'll resist posting pictures until after the big day.
There's a knitting project for a friend. I wont say any more. It's a secret.
Writing - a little project I'm working on elsewhere. Also a bit of a secret.
Slowly going through the notes I took on our trip and marveling at the buildings.
Reading... this novel.... & this  Love 2.0......  My local bookstore is reading a book by neurologist Oliver Sacks called The Mind's Eye for their next book club so I snaffled a copy today. It's next on my hit list.

A country trip with friends, staying here & a desperately quiet carnival were all part of the beauty which made up our weekend.

Hope your days have been fun......even without any trace of the sun!! What's going on Melbourne?? x

micro moments of love

I came across this gorgeous interview with Dr Barbara Fredrickson today.  It's one that gives us hope in building on our resources to establish better choices and responses to the challenges we all face in life. This interview is 12 minutes and Barbara's genuine, natural beauty absolutely resonate throughout.

Dr Barbara Fredrickson is Kenan Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Award-winning Director of the PEP Lab at the University of North Carolina. Her research reveals how micro-moments of love and other forms of positivity nourish your health, wisdom, and longevity. She has twice been invited to brief His Holiness the Dalai Lama on her research (link found via mindfulness4mothers.com Thanks Kellie!)


Enjoy xx

Who'd have thought....Juggling...to be the super hero of brain training?

Loving this ABC series at the moment, Redesign My Brain, with Todd Sampson.  It gives us all a little hope in dealing with our weaknesses.

x

My lovely friend  BM just left a link for home made juggling balls in the comments.  I thought I would share for all those interested in increasing their brain capacity. Thanks BM!

The wise words of Sylvia Boorstein

I listened to this interview with Sylvia Boorstein while cooking dinner on Sunday night.  It is a beautifully wise discussion on 'What we Nurture.'  I especially loved the tale about the two wolves, it really makes you think about which one you feed. I've been recalling snippets of the interview ever since.  Sylvia has such a gentle and wise way but her words have a powerful impact (**another clip which explains & expands on  Syvlia's 'wolves story' beautifully is this one by neuropsychologist Rick Hanson).

On a lighter note.....I also love the hours of fun over at Mr Printables and definitely want to try out this hip hop yoga! You can read Sammy Veall's inspiring story of how hip hop yoga came to be over here.

Slowly, after our big trip I can feel myself creeping back into the swing of things. Enjoy x

In Praise of Slow

We are trying to hold onto all things holiday around here.  It's amazing how quickly the everyday creeps back in and you loose the spaciousness that surrounds a holiday.

I wrote a few notes last week, while still away, listing all the things I loved about our trip.  I wanted a reminder so when things crowd in on me I can find my way back to some sort of 'holiday' feeling. Part of my list revolved around not being so accessible..... I really loved my 3 months of few phone calls, text messages and emails. There's so much freedom in letting go of all the surplus communication in life.  Vast amounts of space open up and so many more possibilities are apparent. The automatic and compulsive comparisons just drop away too.  At Telunas we met a successful businessman man who goes there 3 times a year to work on new ideas.  He sits looking out at the ocean where there is no email, twitter or endless distraction from the online world and he works. It is where he comes up with his best plans and feels the most inspired.

The biggest test is maintaining that space in a world that is so instant, so on and so big on over-communication.

Like me, love me, link me, tweet me, text me, call me, IG me, Facebook me, Skype me, email me...... phwaaaa.....after stepping away for three and a half months it feels a little like..... bombard me, baby! It's no wonder I've been drawn to read this, In Praise of Slow, since returning.  It's a book about challenging the cult of speed. 'Savoring the hours and minutes rather than just counting them. Doing everything as well as possible, instead of as fast as possible. It’s about quality over quantity in everything from work to food to parenting.'  (It also feels fitting after Indonesia. They are true masters of savoring the minutes).


It really is something a holiday demands you do, slow down.  Now I just need to bring that to my everyday. xx


PS. Z is like a new kid.  Back to his energetic self and loving life back at kinder with his buddies....I really underestimated how much he would miss his little friends while away.

Telunas....heaven and ....dare I say.... hellish?

I just want to get one thing straight.  When I say 'hellish' I am not talking in any way about 'Telunas'.  Telunas is totally heavenly.  The staff are incredible, the food delicious, the white sandy beach is remote and the water so warm you can lie in the shallows for hours. It is a destination that seems to be one of those well kept secrets but if you find yourself in Singapore with a couple of days to spare do head to Telunas.  It's a 3 hour ferry trip from Singapore to the Riau Islands in Indonesia.  

We were virtually the only people at the resort for a couple of days and it was very relaxing.....the perfect wind down to our trip......until Z became sick.  It put a slight damper on things. The staff were wonderful making bowls of porridge to settle Z's tummy and delivering them to our room along with isotonic drinks, hugs and constant well wishes. I've written so much down about this place while lying alongside Z on the bed as he wrestled sleep and acute stomach pain. I'll write more about Telunus once the dust settles on this crazy illness that has found us in an Emergency room the last 3 out of 4 nights.  

On returning from Telunas we planned to spend our final two nights enjoying the decadence of a 5 star hotel in Singapore (half price on lastminute.com .....we thought we deserved the splurge). Mmmmm, well it was not quite as we imagined. When we pulled into the driveway the porter insisting on helping me with my bags, one a 'sick bag' full of Z's vomit....not quite the Versace the porter is used to handling! Instead of soundly sleeping on the soft king sized bed we 3 found ourselves sleeping on hospital beds under the brash lights of an active emergency ward. Our king size bed empty, our amazing breakfast was replaced by McDonalds at the hospital and instead of packing and last minute shopping we were waiting on ultrasounds, blood tests and urine samples while praying Z would be well enough to fly by 9pm the next night.

The doctors in Singapore were brilliant.  One delightful doctor even helped us out to hail a cab at 4am, in the rain, instructing the driver where to take us, he handed over a hand written letter of referral for the next hospital and called ahead to prep the emergency staff to ensure we were seen immediately. I can't speak highly enough of the treatment we received at both Raffles Hospital and KK Children's Hospital in Singapore. We were also ever so grateful to be there and not somewhere where we didn't speak the language.

Now we are home and how sweet it is to be here..... back in our own beds...... It has not quite been the homecoming we anticipated but hopefully tonight we manage to sleep through without Z writhing in pain and us making a late night mercy dash to Emergency.  We are all so crazily exhausted.... so apologies if I'm out of touch while we get ourselves together here.  

xx