Some things I love #1

Inspired by the wonderful ButWhyMummyWhy, I have decided to try and share a few of my favourite things on a semi-regular basis. I know I have been a bit of an absentee blogger recently, what with holidays with baby and our ever increasing social schedule, but I am hoping to get back into it over the following weeks.

Something I read: interiors magazines. Too many of them. Our house is filled with Belle, Inside Out, Vogue.... Seeking inspiration for our rebuild.... For me, its a very exciting project, if somewhat daunting. We have barely touched this house in the 7 years we have been here (knowing full well we were going to demolish) and the last time we bought a piece of furniture - our couches - it took us 9 months to decide... Hence getting in early with the research. We have a full house to decorate. Scary times.

 

Something I watched: We are ripping through The Good Wife at a cracking pace. I never watched this the first time around and am delighting in the storylines, the clothes, the relationships, the clothes... I can't wait for the next episode.

Something I wore: running shoes. Getting back into training after a few weeks off. Too much wine, food and lazing about on holidays made it hard this week!

Something I listened to: sick of Baby Einstein, we have moved onto classical for our car trips. Georgie is yet to be convinced but she seems to be digging Amici Forever..
 

Something I cannot live without: our recent trip to Margaret River has revived my appreciation for artisan chocolate and there is none better than Bahen & Co. Their 70% dark chocolate with roasted almonds and sea salt is the bees knees. More on this soon!

So are there some things you can't live without?

Kitty xx

On travel with children: they joys and challenges...

 Georgie having lunch at Cullen

I make no bones about it - having children (or in our case, a child) is the best thing that ever happened to Mr K and I. It's also the hardest thing we have ever done.

I know it's a very tiny first world problem, but the one thing I have struggled with over the last few months has been lack of - or broken - sleep. We have had a bit of a rough trot on the sleep front - what with 5 teeth (including 4 molars) coming though since mid-December (one more still to come) and three colds.

 Tiny footprints: Early morning walks at at Smiths Beach

Our trip to Western Australia was fabulous, but no picnic. Poor Georgie never settled into the time zone shift which meant for some very very early (3am) mornings for Mama and Papa. Despite that, we had a wonderful time and Georgie was on her best behaviour for much of the trip. We visited some fabulous wineries: Stella Bella, Cape Mentelle, Cullen and the always Fabulous Moss Wood (hello Erika!). All worth visiting if you are in the Margaret River vicinity, especially Moss Wood.

For us, it was the first time on holidays we really had to balance the needs of a toddler and our own desires. Our pre-baby wine region visits used to consist of 8-10 wineries a day, involved and complicated discussions with winemakers about crop yields, irrigation, vintages, oak and tannins, a quick stop for lunch and long, complex dinners.

Our trip post-baby allowed us to visit approximately two wineries per day (taking turns to alternate the baby wrangling) with a lunch in-between and a long stop at a park, duck pond or other such baby friendly activity. In some respects much more relaxing, but requires a lot more planning.

We are off to Hawaii in May. I am hoping for another, slightly more relaxing trip and that Georgie will slip a little better into the time zone. And perhaps she'll like the beaches a little better there.

Kitty