a bit of sharing a bit of me...

top of the morning to you all...

as i was packing for france-

{at the last moment as you know- seeing as i got my dates a little mixed up- sooo relaxed is the countryside living !?!?}

i received a thought-provoking & lovely award from a new friend....mira...

the *super comments* award....

she's a new gal on the block...with 4 boys in tow...
she's not been blogging long...but the first post of hers i read told me soo much about her...
she is a total sharer...& i feel like we *found* one another at the beginning of her bloggy journey which is kinda special i think....

so i kept her little *award* in my back pocket, so to speak, whilst we were travelling through france...

i just wanted to really think about the questions that the award comes along with, before i shared them with you all...
so now i am back...full of answers....ready to share...

so mira & anyone who's got a moment & a pot of tea or a glass of wine in hand....
thanks for letting me ramble to you...


why do you blog?


ahhh...it literally makes me go ahhh.
i find that my moment of blogging each day keeps me connected to myself...to *who i am* & to what *is important to me in life*.
i began blogging i guess, with the direction & drive of building up my sewing buisness *Miss Sew & So*
however it became very clear, very quickly, that my blogging heart belonged to sharing, & recording, our life as a family living abroad.
each & every post i like to fill with beautiful images of the things that make up my life- everyday *visual* beauty is very important to me....
some people like to paint...i like to photograph & build on those images...blogging allows me to share these moments...

what are your 3 best memories?


undoubtedly the birth of our three children...-but i count this as one memory- as the blessing from having children is making a family...becoming a mother...my memory will be not of their births as such- but of their gift to me- the gift of motherhood....

a VERY special second was a kiss i shared with my husband in the meat district of paris-when i was pregnant with our first daughter...it was one of those moments...y'know those moments when you allow yourself to recognise that your life, at times, is pretty perfect.....

a third....would be our journey here to england...three little kids...a 4 day journey from sydney to the backstreets & eating houses of dubai to our village in lytham england...the memories of the 3 of them on a plane- excited & ready to take on anything we offered to them i will never forget...
my husband & i shared many a moment, across their three little heads, knowing we were doing something that would shape us as a family forever...

if you could change your name what would it be?


my brothers children have done that for me- & i am VERY happy with their loving use of it...
*mimi*....


what are 5 things you can't live without?

my family- i am their rock & they are mine..

laughter- we have alot of it in our house & it resolves MOST issues...

travel- it fuels an acceptance of a differences-all people have a story & are equal, it teaches you tolerance & opens your eyes to the beauty of our entire planet not just ones birthplace...
travel has shaped our family more than i think we can yet imagine...

sunshine- i am a beaches gal-born & bred with sand between my toes...i will always return to a life of beach towels on the line & sunscreen in the tote- summer & winter...surf boards on the lawn & sand in the car...it's what makes our family who were are...

friends- living abroad makes your prioritise....the friends who have been *part* of this journey are the ones we will *love* forever....they know who they are.....

four best books?


to condense a life time of reading to four books is a HUGE ask...

but the books that made a difference to my everyday- to the way i personally enjoy see the world are:

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Dirt Music by Tim Winton
Breath by Tim Winton
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

Tim Winton is possibly the most wonderful writer we have in australia...but part of me realises that to really understand his writing & his subject matter you need to *be* australian...

a unique & interesting fact about yourself?


i studied & lived in tokyo city for a year and a half  with two friends after meeting my husband at 21...
it was the hardest & most wonderful solo journey i have ever made...
it's not necessarily a city i would choose to live in again- but the creativity & history of the country will stay with me forever...i grew in independence & self-reliance in tokyo & as one of the most populated cities in the world, somehow it gave me a sense of peace i believe i could now only find in a place of natural space & beauty...
perhaps it's age related, as i see my eldest daughter look totally content & relaxed amongst the crowds & the chaos of a london street...i need the car-less streets of a city like venice now to achieve this state of peace in an urban environment!


what do you love about yourself?


i have learnt soo much about myself in this move abroad...perhaps one of the greatest gifts of travel is an acceptance of yourself...the individual traits you admire in others- you can suddenly see in yourself...or perhaps you allow yourself to see them for the first time...without criticism?

i admire my attitude to change...- i love my approach to the big things in life...my take it by the horns & get on with attitude...
i can mull over the small incidentals of the everyday for hours...workshop them till my family have all left the room....but when faced with the big decisions in our life i am confident & strong, reliable & loyal to the end...

the best movie ever made?


for me- movies represent times in my life...

there was a time when i announced that Ferris Bullers Day Off  was the best movie ever made!
there were times it was Breakfast At Tiffany's, Funny Face & anything Audrey H shon in...
i had a mad & long love with Doctor Zhivago...

currently i have my two favourite & simple  fall-back movies...the non-thinking kind...the magazine-instead-of-a-great-book kinda movies...{don't judge me to harshly- most times i'd rather read the gaurdian than sit down to a movie!}

Marley & Me
and
The Holiday

if it were freaky friday who would you change with?

i have to say i wouldn't mind being Ferne Cotton from radio 1, BBC for the day...just to have that voice & mad fashion sense for a day...the tatoos, the seriously long blonde hair, the brogues, the rock tour bus lifestyle.....*way cool*& very removed from my way of life!


what is the best thing about being a woman?


becoming a mother from being a daughter...


a birth right to choice that woman of my generation do not even question, thanks to the woman that came before us...

the ability to multitask...

lipgloss...


& the unspoken understanding that a woman is always the head of a household...

life....-another cup of tea & a long reflection...i think the rest of the day may be blue skies and kiddo time...i guess i just feel a little thankful for what i have now that i see it in front of me...


i completely enjoy opening a post that someone has taken time over...a post that lets us know how they think about specific topics...i'd really like to pass this onto one lovely woman whose photos & blog i adore...she is about to embark on a very personal, very committed photographic journey..so i need to catch her before she gets too busy creating...

the lovely Amy from the beautiful blog that is...lucky number 13

you'll love her...