Happily Ever After...

So by now most of you have met some of the most important people in my life...My boyfriend, my mum, my friends here, here and here, but you haven't met the most important fur person in my life. If you peg me for some crazy dog lady right off the bat, I can't say that you'd be completely inaccurate! This little muppet is smart, cute and further more she's all the way from South Korea! Ladies and Gents, may I present to you....drum roll please......Sydney!

her first day at the dog park

Although she doesn't have a stroller or a wardrobe larger than mine (I'm not that crazy....yet) there's not much I like to do without this ball of fluff and it's thanks to a LA based rescue organization Happy Ending Rescues, that we even met!

Sydney all grown up

Happy Ending Rescues is a pretty remarkable organization that finds homes for dogs from South Korean dog farms, where the animals are raised like cattle and slaughtered for their meat...I know, sickening to even think about. If you have the home and the heart to give these beautiful animals a family, then you won't regret it! I know it's a little cheesetastic, but sometimes when you think you're rescuing something, you end up being rescued yourself!

Let's give it up for the pooches!

The Untied Life...

Sometimes it feels asthough we live in a world where we plan everything, everyone has pretty much every minute accounted for and we're all exhausted! Imagine throwing it all up in the air and making choices based on the moment that you find yourself in.  Two of my Australian friends Holly and Cameron, have spent the last 7 months in 7 different countries immersing themselves in local communities and culture.  They left behind any regiments of Western society in search of the rawest human experience.

Teaching Buddhist Monks and Burmese Refugees English (no, I'm not kidding) and saving hitchhikers from a days walk while loaded with fruit and veg, led them to an orphanage specialized for children with HIV.  They loaded these enthusiastically vibrant children with film cameras and after teaching them the basics, set out to understand what the world looked like through their eyes.  What they discovered was nothing short of magic!

Here's a couple of sneak peeks into the lives of two humanitarian free spirits...

What made you want to travel?

Cam: There's a community of free spirited people out there who have very little in common apart from the thirst for an organic cultural experience... Even though I had no idea what I was in for, I had that desire. These are the people who ignite my thirst for life.

Holly: I wanted to contribute and give back to humanity.  The only way I felt that I could determine how to truly achieve that was to immerse myself in their culture. I needed to understand what it was like to live the life of these people in order to determine what I could do. 

Advice for people who are wanting the same experience?

Holly: Go to a travel agency and write down all of the tours that are available in the areas that you'd like to see. Then definitely don't do any of those! Ask travelers and locals the places in their area where there are no westerners. Then go!

Cam: If someone had nothing more than $2000 saved, I'd say go and buy a one way ticket. Learn to listen to yourself, follow your instincts and let go of any compulsion to plan!

Best Memory?

Cam: Just one? In general, the genuine joy for life that was on the most impoverished children's faces and the gratitude of locals for the smallest gestures.  

Holly: Riding on the back of a Motorbike in a boarder village between Cambodia and Thailand and 30 children chasing after us screaming in English, "HELLO!"

How have these experiences changed you?

C: It has opened my heart and mind in ways I never knew possible. Realizing that everyone has an innate desire to get by. Everyone's trying to do their best to live, whether that's a 9-5, a 20 hour work day at the market or selling a cow. I have now learned to be grateful for every moment that I find myself in. Whether it's good or bad I accept it for what it is and just keep moving forward. Control is an illusion and acceptance is key. 

H: While discovering what these peoples truths were, I also discovered the truths within myself. I remember taking the wrong bus and ending up somewhere in Northern Thailand by myself. I was frightened, scared and melancholy just to name a few! Because of the multitude of heightened emotions experienced in such a short amount of time, it was one of the most powerfully beautiful experiences I've had to date. Through all of these challenges I have found my bliss. Something I never could've anticipated.

One thing they both agreed upon was openness. Be open, stay open and life will be open to you...

girls, girls, girls!

This weekend was all about girl time. DIY facials, the perfect red lip, late night hot tub rants, mimosa brunches and hitting up some low key LA hot spots. Our destination of choice was newly established neighborhood pub, The Surly Goat.  With 27 beers on tap, a hot dog stand and some fabulous in house games to keep you saying "just one more round", it's safe to say we had a blast! 

When we returned home in the wee hours of the morning, it was time for a couple of rounds of slurred charades and some late night noshing!  What better way to feed a few tipsy girls than some delicious warm banana bread smothered in Nutella.

If you haven't met Nutella allow me to introduce you.... {insert name}, this is Nutella. This hazelnut chocolate spread will be your culinary equivalent to a soul mate. I suggest that you invent your own ways to spend as much time with your new life partner as possible!

...now with all this girl time under my belt, it's time to spend some time with that boyfriend of mine for a much needed date night!

dream house

When I was a little girl my dream house looked something like a cross between barbies bright pink love shack and the nature inspired Swiss Family Robinson tree house... Needless to say I wouldn't be the easiest client for an architect at age 5. Thankfully things have changed a little and my ideas are a little more feasible... I think!

I've been crazy busy lately designing a fabulous engagement party (stay tuned for pics) but wanted to share with you a design inspiration of mine. Quite simple her name is Nancy Meyers.  Some of you may immediately know her by name, but if it's not ringing any bells I'm sure her repertoire of films will jog your memory.  She's responsible for such films as The Parent Trap, Father of the Bride and more recently, Somethings Gotta Give and It's Complicated.  Not only is she known for these cinematic gems but she's also made quite a name for herself in the architectural design world.  The homes occupied by Diane Keaton in the Hampton's and Meryl Streep in Santa Barbara epitomize the same easy opulent living that I go crazy for.  I could see myself quite easily slipping right into either one of those dreamy estates and living out my life quite peacefully!  For now, I'll stick with my humble LA abode and aim to recreate some of that loveliness while I work towards that future!

Now, to make it happen...

Thank you Mum!

This is the first mothers day that I've spent with my Mum in I don't know how long and I'm really excited to be celebrating her up close this year. We were chatting today about life lessons and she had a couple of pearls that she shared with me that I thought I'd share with you... Enjoy!

Be wise about who you share your true heart with.  It's okay if that group of people is small, it should be! Make it an elite club with an exclusive membership.

Once you've found those people, love them fearlessly and with a passionate, reckless abandon.

Iron your clothes.

Give back in anyway that you can.  Even if it's only an ear or a smile do it as often as possible. These small gifts will change you.

Life is a series of ups and downs and how you handle the downs are an important part of your story.  Learn to ride those slopes with grace and faith.  Things will get better, you can grow if you choose to and most importantly let go.

Forgive.

Learn what's real and what's just noise.  Don't add unnecessary stress to your life and learn how to deal with what already exists.

Find your passion and feed it often like a greedy, glutinous animal!

Keep it simple. All of it.

Laugh as often as you can. Laughing changes your frequency and can be one of the most healing things you can do for yourself.

Wear sunscreen.

Don't allow other people to do to you, what you wouldn't allow them to do to your child.

Never stop growing.

Happy Mothers Day mummy! I love you!

The Art of Celebrating... Good Times 101.

There's nothing like being surrounded by a community of people who share in a common joy!  Be it simply a friday night family dinner (more on that later), or the wedding of your dreams, celebrating life's big and not-so-big moments are really what I'm all about.  Believe it or not, there is an art to creating a truly memorable celebration and the biggest secret of all is that everybody already has the essential tools needed to pull off a truly memorable event.


The first key ingredient is of course a reason to celebrate.  Showing gratitude is a great way to find something to honor. What are you grateful for?  I encourage you to find reasons to celebrate your life and the lives of others around you. It's actually a great habit to get into! To be honest, some of my favorite celebrations are the ones that don't necessarily commemorate any 'great' event at all and if you stick with me, I'll be happy to show you exactly what that entails!


The next key ingredient is your community.  Find your tribe! Whether that's three, four or thirty-four people, sharing joy with other like minded folks is truly a gift in itself.   Lastly, one of the biggest conundrums to creating any event is big $ question... How much is this 'good time' gonna cost me?  For me personally, the quality of event really doesn't have to be proportionate to the amount of money you spend. It's really the people you've gathered combined with the heart and the thought that goes into the affair. That's what people will be left with long after you've paid the bank balance!