180/365 Pelican Power!

8:15 am | Main Beach Byron Bay.

Hello little guy! I've never seen you here before but you look at home :)

179/365 Organic Miracles | WIN a Moringa Detox Day in the Byron Bay Hinterland

One of the funny things that can happen when you are completing a #365 photo challenge { like I am } is that some days you take a crazy amount of shots and put together an über-big post only to realise that you didn't save anything for the 365!

That just happened here :) Hello Creative Business Women's Morning Tea post!

So I went back through the photos I had edited from Sunday... was there anything pretty that didn't make the post? Ahhhhh, yes! Loooooooook!

This photo of the Organic Miracles iced-tea { avec masses of beautiful mint #love } came out of the final post because - well, because it was too green!!! Hahaha. I couldn't find the right spot in the visual rhythm of the story for a blast of green. 

I also didn't include this image, below, of Sahar from OM because I had two others of her in black and white { she is stupidly photogenic } - one featuring her gorgeous crochet dress - and um, yeah it was busting some green :) So I'm going to include it here now too!

Perfect. 

And then something serendipitous happened - I visited the Organic Miracles site to get the links I wanted for this post - and discovered their new competition... Oh! Win a Moringa Detox Day in the Byron Bay Hinterland? Yes please! 

And in the true spirit of sharing the love I'm sharing it here :) Details below. Get entering!

WIN A MORINGA DETOX DAY IN THE BYRON BAY HINTERLANDS

Organic Miracles is so excited to be sharing this very special day with you in the forest. This will be the first event of many at my beautiful abode in the Byron Bay Hinterlands. The day will be spent detoxing with a 6 juice cleanse, moringa tea, yoga, meditation, sauna, hot tub, body scrubs, nature rainforest walk and witnessing the miracle of life. I have been waiting to open my home to all women who would like to experience a day of true nourishment and connection. The first event is invite only and of course to our winner of the Moringa detox day. The winner can bring a friend to share this magical day in the rainforest. I will keep you posted with upcoming events.

TO ENTER: Please LIKE us and SHARE this post on Facebook or FOLLOW us on Instagram @organicmiracles, repost photo and hash tag #organicmiracles

The detox day will be drawn randomly on Saturday, July 26th 2014 and announced on the Organic Miracles Instagram page and Facebook page. The detox day will be held on Saturday, August 2nd 2014

Let me know if you enter and double-triple let me know if you WIN!

It sounds like it will be an amazing day. I may well be entering myself because believe it or not I actually didn't get to taste the tea on Sunday { I often miss things because my camera steals my complete attention!  Grrrr pretty photo / #teafail } and I just read that it was a mix of Organic Moringa, ginger, raw honey, saffron, lemon and mint iced tea. Le sigh. Add some yoga, a hot tub, body scrub and a dash of juice cleansing?! Booyah!

Do you like to detox?

Amber. XO

178/365 Palazzo Versace

Date night alert! Getting into the decadent spirit of things before our dinner reservation at Vanitas at Palazzo Versace last Saturday night.

Sigh. I heart Palazzo.
Dare i say - my fave hotel in Australia?!

So yeah, we like to leave the state on date night ;) That's how we roll - they're rare enough that we need to make them special!! Got to work on that parenting/date-night balance. It's only been ten and a half years. Hahaha!

Droolsome foodie-phile photos to come later this week...
Amber. XO

177/365 Dolphin Kayaking

I often park near these kayaks when I drive to the beach in Byron. And I always think to photograph them because they remind me of the layered rainbow ice blocks I loved as a kid. Were they called Rockets?? 

But it's been a long time since I went out Dolphin Kayaking. And, I think I might have to change that soon! When the water warms up. Early Summer. It's a date. Who wants to come with me?

Amber. XO

The Instagramed Life | Late June 2014

Helloooo World!

My instagram looks kinda like this this week :)

Lots of pretty sunrises and sunsets. And coffee. And cats. Yeah, well one cat.  Love.

Come have a peak.... and say hello! XO

176/365 Abandon | The Wreck. Byron Bay.

12:35pm Thursday | The Wreck. Main Beach Byron.

Abandon.
I liked the juxtaposition. 

175/365 Weeds and Wildflowers

Creating a beautiful life is about being present, open, grateful. It's in the sweet little details.

You don't need extravagance.
Sometimes you just need weeds and wildflowers.

Yes?

Newrybar Chic

It's taken me a week and a bit, but I'm starting to process the photos I took when Claire flew up for our Girl Date weekend :) 

At the airport waiting for the plane to arrive. 

Stuck to the glass. Looking like this little man next to me I'm sure. 

Reunited!

We head to Newrybar, in the hills between Ballina { airport } and Byron. 

Claire is aka The Shabby Chick and I want to take her to Country House Antiques to shabby-browse. And well, it's across the road from The Harvest so we have to pop in there too obviously!

I promised a selfie or two :)

The Harvest is one of my go-to cafes. It's laid back, with a gorgeous deck to catch the sunshine and a fire for the coldest of days.

We needed sunshine. And coffee. Perfect.

Hmmmm.... 

For someone who has best-friended a photographer Claire has minimal patience for my art. YES I DO NEED TO PHOTOGRAPH EVERY COFFEE! HANG ON!! NO YOU CAN'T DRINK IT JUST YET! * hee hee *

She responds with a strategically placed business card. Pah! ;)

Mine :)

Lunch is served.

After we eat I have to photograph some of the delights spilling from the open-kitchen. Beautiful home-y treats...

Chefs at work.
Don't you love an open-kitchen?!
Also, I don't think I've ever seen a cooler Bacon and Eggs on Toast tattoo. Like.

With our caffeine addictions under control we jump back in the car.

Next stop Banaglow for some dog-loving. Then down the hill to Byron...

#tobecontinued

174/365 The Morning After

No filter.

Just mother nature being a babe ;)

How to: Hold A Lazy Afternoon Tea

Glimpses of Sunday-just-gone's lazy afternoon tea with friends { I may or may not have only gotten out of bed about an hour before I took these photos ;) }.

How to:

+ Invite your neighbours and new family friends around to have afternoon tea at 4 on Sunday.
+ Make sure you're out of your pyjamas by at least 3pm.
+ Send husband { and eight year old } to the shops half an hour before guests arrive.
+ Ask ten year old to set the table { he picks flowers = bonus points! }.
+ Get out the pretty glasses and bowls.
+ Make pink milk and serve in cute juice jars with stripy straws for the kids.
+ Pop snacks on table { dispensing crackers from their packaging is optional }.

Voila! One very-lazy afternoon tea: ready. 
Ummm, minus the tea. Yeah, we ignored that bit ;) Champagne anyone?

Do you have any of  your own lazy entertaining secrets?
Please share! XO

173/365 Burnt-Orange Perfection aka A Byron Sunset

If you follow my instagram you would have seen the amazing pink sunset that Byron turned on last night [ I shot a very windy but very pretty video from The Pass ]. 

But before the sky turned pink - it looked like THIS. Ahhhhhh, mother nature just blows my mind sometimes!!

Wild, rugged, burnt-orange perfection. 

172/365 Happy Sunday

171/365 There Is A Fun Way To Do Almost Everything!

My MANTRA { when I remember it - hahaha } is : There is a fun way to do almost everything!

1. Hand out the cleaning jobs. 

2. Turn up the Run DMC. 

Woohoo! One shiny-clean house!!!

Okay, it's not always that easy but this totally worked this weekend :)  What's your best tip for getting kids { and husbands! } involved in the household chores?  Amber. XO

170/365 First Class

A sneak-peak from my latest homewares shoot on the Gold Coast... I can't wait to show you more! (p.s. there's one extra shot I shared on facebook and twitter if you're impatient ;) xx

169/365 Rainy School Days

I think that rainy days are made for staying in and being snug so I'm still not used to putting my little bugs on the school bus but ahhhh, they love it rain or shine. 

This is Ten

This is M.

Buster and M went to kindergarten together :) And suddenly - apparently she is TEN. 10! Ahhhh, that's right - Buster is ten too... * mind explodes * !! I can't even keep up - where did all of these amazing almost-as-tall-as-me young people come from?!

I love ten.

Buster teaches me new things every single day. I love watching him grow, expand, change. But it was extra-lovely spending time with a ten year old girl. Funny, smart, with a mind of her own! Very cool.

This was a bit of a spontaneous sunshine photo-shoot, the same afternoon I took Atlas and Everest's photos in Byron { yes! M's lovely mama Michelle is the mutual friend I mentioned sharing with Claire }. The light was just too perfect not to - so I asked her { and her mum! } and we took photos for five minutes. That's all. But I really do like them...

The sunshine girl! This is ten.