Hello friends! 

I’m a super slapdash blogger these days, but never mind, here I am again. 

My Sunday matinee of choice, which I’m watching while wrapped up like a giant pink burrito in my exceedingly cosy (and very pink!) dressy gown, is Julie & Julia. 

Have you seen it? 

It is a charming film about the magically intertwined lives of American cooking legend Julia Child and a post 9/11, Queens-based, cubicle dweller, blogger and foodie Julie Powell. It’s a feel good film about food, marital love, exploring creative outlets, and it is served up with a sweet dollop of romance. I’m a mega fan of Amy Adams, Meryl Streep and Nora Ephron. So much talent! A perfect Sunday afternoon film. 

Aside from afternoon movies, I’ve been enjoying snapping photos of the glory that is autumn in Melbourne. 

I just CANNOT get enough of it. Can you? 

This glorious old house is just near the post office that I scurry to every few days, toting Very Important Packages. I couldn’t resist whipping out my phone and snapping the gorgeous branches, light and ironwork. Sigh. So beautiful. 

On the book front, I started reading this last weekend, Option B by Sheryl Sandberg & Adam Grant. So far I am finding it really sad, and helpful and bolstering. I must finish it, my bookish mojo is hovering around the same low level as my bloggy mojo lately, but I always love the feeling of being lost in a book. 

Got any tips to help me get back on the bibliophile track? 

And for a seasonal treat, I bought myself new sheets! 

Is there anything more comforting and pleasing than the two-fold joy of finally finding cute and affordable printed sheets (on sale!) and then having them arrive on a day where you were able to wash and LINE DRY them?! I think not. They will never see an iron, just like me! I love them. 

While we’re in my bedroom (oooh saucy!), I will soon be framing a few new artworks – a collection of heart shields – and hanging them over my bed. The first one arrived this week. 

As some of you know, I’ve been having a few health issues recently, and I decided I need some good vibes in the form of paintings/sketches/collages above my bed, which I can draw strength and inspiration from. 

Ergo, #heartshields. 

My super talented Pipster pal Dawn painted this piece, and I am utterly delighted with it. Dawn was gracious enough to allow me to request some elements I wanted, and she surprised me with others. Can’t wait to frame and hang it. 

You should most definitely read Dawn’s blog Kangaroo Spotting and follow her on Instagram. She’s super rad! 

{You could even buy one of her incredible abstract works and hang it above your bed, in your stairwell, or on your living room wall. #notsubliminal #shamelessplug #notsponsored}

Autumn sunshine is the BEST sunshine of the whole year. 

Just look up! Isn’t it beautiful? 

******

In this life, we never know what’s around the corner. Never. 

We think we do, which is how we plan and keep going I’m sure, but we are at best, back seat drivers in the ride through life. 

One day I was feeling badly short of breath so I went to the GP, and she sent me off to get an X-ray. A few hours later – heart failure. Bam. Plan B. 

A lovely Instagram friend of mine just got diagnosed with cancer. All of a sudden, she’s in the midst of a massively unanticipated Option B pivot. She is navigating the ups and downs of absorbing shocking news, scheduling surgery, and she is still looking up, and drawing strength from her family and many friends. Bam. Plan B. 

We make so many plans, and while some of them fall beautifully into place, some of them crumble around us. 

We can’t control that part. Oh, we wish we could but we can’t. 

We have to hold our plans and dreams loosely.

Sometimes when Plan B drops out of the sky on us, we forget to blog, to paint, to create, to breathe – because we are consumed with getting our heads around the new realities we are facing. I am hoping this is a temporary lull. 

There is something I can do right now – a simple, deeply symbolic, powerful act – I can look up. You can too. 

I can look up, and I can take photos of the beauty I see. 

And I will. 

Feel free to join me. 

We’re all under the same sky. 

 

Annette x