The colourful, geometric / graphic awesomeness of Roksanda Resort 2016. Check out more pics here!

( photos: style.com )

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If you have a thing for vintage lamps, you might want to check out the eclectic collection of bases which are currently on sale at Mod Pieces. Hurry up though, 40% off sale ends June 21st!! I kinda want them all...

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This summer I'm loving...

one | two | three | four | five | six | seven | eight

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And in many cases, it is.

I've witnessed many a dog casually wander into a boutique with their owner- sometimes even cafes and house inspections! A stroll on 24th St in Noe Valley any given Sunday morning will deliver the frequent canine encounter.  Outside the Farmer's Market a multitude of panting pups eagerly await their owners who are picking up their fresh produce for the week. And, of course, beautiful dog parks abound and are usually rife with activity.

The city is seemingly perfect for us and our massively spoilt furkid, Sukie.

The only way San Francico kinda misses the mark on the dog front is their rental property policies. Many properties will claim that they are dog-friendly. It's the usual riff- "We love dogs!"  which will then be followed by these oh so-common caveats- "Small dogs only", "Pets have to be under 40 lbs", or "No 'aggressive' breeds".  Sometimes you'll simply get a long and, oftentimes, baffling list of strictly forbidden breeds.  I mean, Dalmations? Really?

Considering the overt fido-friendliness of this town, the vast challenges we face as owners of a large dog of mixed breed seem strikingly incommensurate. :(

*Sigh* 

BUT... we are slowly and steadily navigating these confusing new waters and will hopefully secure our next home in this city soon. Fingers crossed!! 

So, enough with the griping and onto happier pooch-related matters! Here's an adorable find for all the dog lovers out there...

Plum and Ashby is a stunning UK-based home accessories brand by Vicky White. I'm simply loving the products inspired by her gorgeous pup Bertie- especially the ceramics! Way to combine perhaps my two favourite things in the world- homewares and dogs!

Take a gander at the whole collection here.

( photos: Plum and Ashby )

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So apparently this is Summer in San Francisco, huh? It's a bit hit n' miss in terms of the California sunshine we've heard so much about!  I'm hoping, however, that whatever the season and wherever you may be, these colourful finds will put you in a Summer party mood! :)

flowers | napkins | cake stand | bowl | pillow | dress | platter | party horns | elephant candle

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Yep.

Cos, you know, we hadn't done anything CRAZY recently and needed to fill out quota.

The whole process started about 7 months ago and it's been one giganormous rollercoaster ride ever since. The short of it is this: Mark was offered a job at Google in San Francisco!!

GOOGLE!!!

So, we left our extremely comfortable, happy and, let's face it, SPOILED ROTTEN existence in our hometown Melbourne, Australia and hi-tailed it all the way to the USA. The Bay Area is no joke. Property and rent prices are sky high as masses of people trying to squeeze into an already high density, tech-frenzied, fast-paced town. NOTHING here is easy. But when Google calls, you come running!! And we did. 

To say that this whole process has been a challenge is the understatement of the millenium. We've been through every headache from trying to apply for work VISAs to working out where we're going to be buy our underwear from now on. 

But I won't get into all of the craziness now, at least not yet. Let's just say that, despite the monster challenges we continue to face, this is possibly the most exciting adventure we've ever been on and totally worth the blood sweat and tears! 

Mark and I have moved into a temporary Airbnb for a couple of months in a very, very cute suburb of SF.  We're still exploring, still learning lots and still getting our bearings...

Thankfully, Jordan, of Oh Happy Day, has been an absolute godsend!! She has been so welcoming- showing us around all the awesomeness of SF, inviting us to a dinner party, helping us get settled. That's Jordan in the pic with the gorgeous flowers- I'm sure you recognise her little red Fiat! (Photo taken by Paul Ferney). I simply had to get her a gift for being so awesome (bottom left). 

Amazingly our super-anxious rescue pup Sukie has settled in extremely well. She used to be an absolute wreck when it came to any slight change of routine but she has adapted so quickly and easily to this whole new life!! Admittedly, faster than I have!!! She even had to endure a 14 hour flight in air freight and she used to be terrified of confined spaces! She was in a bit of a daze and slightly traumatized after the ordeal, but she recovered quickly! She's LOVING exploring her new backyard in our current rental and dozing in the California sunshine- when it actually bothers to make an appearance, that is. (The pic of her in the grass was perfectly captured by Mark). 

Also, I would be remiss if I didn't make a note of just how proud I am of Mark for getting this amazing job at Google. He went through a particularly gruelling interview process and successfully made it to the other side! Even more impressive is that he's been so great at navigating this whole process of moving to an entirely different country- which is no small feat! He's provided us with such a wonderful opportunity and I'm so incredibly grateful!! 

We've been living in a constant state of transition for the last 7 months. The continual uncertainty has been a huge challenge for us at times- we don't know what's going to happen next or where we'll be living (our lease runs out in a couple of weeks and we still haven't lined up our next place!!), but at the end of the day, it's all just part of this INSANE adventure. We don't know what the future will bring... but, in some strange way, that's actually part of the fun.

Finally, apologies for being away from this blog for so long. It has been an overwhelming experience and I do have a tendency to retreat when things get too much... I do, however, want to document this whole crazy ride here. So much to tell you....

Hopefully, back with more news soon!

Toodles! :)

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Despite this condition, I have managed to pop another gift tag printable up in my shop!

Add a burst of bright colour to your holiday projects- gifts, table-settings, you name it- with these 'painterly' tags. I've actually supplied three variations within the one PDF- "Joyeux Noel", "Noel" and "Happy Holidays". Just $2 (USD) for the digital file. Print as many times as you like!

Grab your printables right here!

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Grab your watermelon gift tag printables here!

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Adore Home magazine recently asked me to create a festive holiday project for their annual printed issue and so I designed these mini toucan printables!  They make cute place-setting cards for tropical-themed summer luncheons, gift tags or even tree decorations for the festive season!

You can check out the full project with instructions in the gorgeous Adore Home annual printed issue available here or in select newsagencies across Australia.

(photo: Adore Home)

Download the free printable right here!

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The shop is very much a work in progress at the moment, but I hope to fill it up, bit by bit, as time goes on. Would love to hear your thoughts on what you'd love to see there in the future! Greatly appreciate your feedback :)

Check out my brand new shop right here!

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'Face Paint' paper ornaments from Kate Spade Saturday.

Elegant, geometric brass ornaments from Kristina Krogh.

Letterpress paper ornaments from Banquet.

Polygon ornaments from Land of Nod.

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So, my weekend ended up being unexpectedly eventful. Among the highlights was some shopping and a yummy lunch at Mighty Boy Eatery, a trip to the Melbourne Design Market at Fed Square, a slow perusal of the awesome books at Metropolis Bookshop, some homemade dumplings from a stall at the Sunday Market at The Arts Centre and a brief stop at the NGV to see the supremely colourful and kooky "Express Yourself" exhibition by Romance was Born. How was your weekend?

cushion | lamp | ring | ceramic herb markers | outfit | cup | table | face mirror | scarf | bow tie

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Discovered on one of my wayward excursions on Instagram- the works of Melbourne artist Stephen Baker. Awesome.

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Cute, quirky colourful curiosities. Perhaps unique gifts or treasures for your own collections...

evil eye | toy police cruiser | soap |  stickers | beaded doll | crescent moon | vase | lemon card | kids shoes | slug

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It's about this time of year that I basically start setting myself up for the biggest disappointment ever.

I usually get so overwhelmed in the planning that hardly any of my ideas see the light of day. All my gift shopping ends up last-minute-week-before; dashing all hope to find or make gifts that are thoughtful and unique.

This year I pray that I've learned from my past mistakes but, in all honesty, over the last month or so the extravagance of my daydreaming has hit new bounds. I have to remind myself: Keep it simple. Don't be over-ambitious. Set your mind on only a handful of achievable projects.

The good news is, however, I have started my Christmas gift hunting early this year! If you're a bit of a creative nut like me, I would highly recommend this strategy! Especially when you're as details-oriented as I am.

Anyway, during this season, I hope to share many of my finds with you on this blog. Perhaps it will inspire you to start early too. Here's the first round...

kids sweater | mortar and pestle | clutch | tea | card | tray

Ok, so it's actually the gorgeous packaging that sold me on the Flutterby range of teas from T2. I have, however, sampled both flavours and they are really tasty! I particularly like the Flutterby Kisses fruit tisane. The great thing is that the label peels off easily so that when the tea is finished you can re-use the pretty tin to store other teas!

Finally, how stunning is this box set of copper patterned notecards?! 

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