250/365 Sunset Paradise

Sunset | Northern New South Wales. Australia.

{ Every time I drive past these canefields at sunset I have to pull the car over. Nature's beauty never ceases to blow my freaking mind. }

Where are your favourite sunsets found?
Amber. XO

248/365 These Instagram Days

Some recent moments through my instagram lens. 

Are we insta-friends yet?? Come and say hello to me! 

Amber. XO

Travel With Kids: Paris | Sneak Peak

Paris.
#comingsoon { I'm starting to sort them. Finally. Woohoo!! }

Have you travelled with your kids? 
Tell me about your favourite journey! 

Amber. XO

214/365 The Big Prawn

Who knows where I am this rainy Monday morning...?

212/365 The Road To Mullumbimby

One of my favourite views.
The road into Mullumbimby, directly aligned with Mt Chincogan, at Sunset.

211/365 Frankie God Of Hair | Brunswick Heads

Frankee God of Hair. As seen in The Footbridge Cafe.
Brunswick Heads.

Hahaha. So loving this! Come to be a devotee...
Are you scared or are you in?!

Amber. XO

Tuscan Afternoons { When You're Not in Tuscany }

When I woke this morning, it was weirdly hazy.

And it's funny because it was also warmer than usual, and as I stepped outside, I felt like I was somewhere else...

The warmth and the subdued light.

Then, this afternoon as I drove north along the Pacific Highway towards the Gold Coast I realised that it was smoke; there was obviously a rather large fire just to the south of Tweed Heads and as the sun started to set everything was turning to honey.

And I was in Tuscany. 

Beautiful, beautiful Tuscany! Ahhhhh, to travel when you are not travelling. Dreamy bliss!!

I pulled the car over to breathe it in and capture its glory. A few minutes later as I crossed the Tweed River the golden ball of sun slipped deeper into the smoke and turned into a perfect crimson sphere. There was nowhere to stop so that moment just stains my memory with its beauty right now... but I at least have this one to share with you.

When was the last time you were transported to another time and place? Tell me, tell me.
Amber. XO

200/365 Bangalow Nights

Bangalow nights.

192/365 Home. First Light.

Home. First light.

The winter sun shines on this photo { taken in Thailand a lifetime ago } by our front door each morning. Such a beautiful way to welcome the new day...

190/365 Roadtrippin'

Roadtrip yay! Traffic boo.

189/365 Strawberry Net Self-Love

My husband gets a lot of parcels delivered.

Mostly it's books but the postman and I are always chuckling about the day when he might just have something for meeeeeee { not that I'm needy of course - never! Lol } so I came up with a solution: Strawberrynet.

Yay! And I - finally - got a FREAKING parcel ;)

* happy dance *

I first bought this Estée Lauder cleanser as an early birthday present to myself when we were in Paris last year. I bought the moisturiser too and went through it pretty quickly { I love a rich moisturiser, but I also break out easily, so I have to be a bit careful with which products I use. Right now my skin is happy with a Clarins eye cream and an inexpensive Olay 7 Wonders cream so I'm not going to change my routine } but I was amazed at how long the cleanser lasted - I've only just run out now which pretty much means it lasted me 6 months. Good value!

And there is a funny story; after countless post-France flights { Milan to Abu Dhabi / Abu Dhabi to Bangkok / Bangkok to Singapore / Singapore to Bali } we were boarding our flight home from Denpasar when they refused to let me take it in my carry-on. I was under the impression that a cream cleanser was okay, seeing that it's not exactly a liquidy-liquid; but apparently not. There was no way I was going to get past them { unlike Buster's play 'bow and arrow' set that airport staff confiscated at Bangkok airport, but then returned when he cried!! KT had won it for him in Dubai. The sentimental kid - not that he'd admit it ;) } so I decided to dispense the more-than-half-full tube into a collection of smaller containers I had in my bag much to T's horror! Hahaha.

Yes, it may have been about midnight, and yes I was travelling with two hungry kids { there is NO gluten free food at Denpasar airport in case you were wondering } and yes I may have been slightly delusional. Let's just say -  I was in need of small victories. Take that uber-cautious airline staff!!

Anyway, so yeah. I have a new one now. And a Calvin Klein lipgloss (freebie). And I'm no longer dispensing from a jar. Whoop! And I ordered it gift-wrapped too :) #winning.

What was the last little { or big } present you bought for yourself?
Amber. XO

p.s.  Claire just texted me to tell me that she bought herself A DIAMOND RING today. Ha! So I'm not feeling quite as decadent anymore. Lol. But still - how cool is that?! Must add "buy own diamond ring" to my long-term to-do list ;) xxx

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

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

165/365 Byron Blue

Byron Blue. Sunday. Looking out over the bay full of whales and dolphins and surfers. 

163/365 Byron Bay: Rainbows in Paradise

3:45pm | Byron Bay Hinterland. 

I don't have anything else to say (except that Blogger doesn't let you upload portrait images at a high enough resolution!!). 

161/365 Jessica and Savannah

1:15pm | Main Beach. Byron Bay.

Canadian travellers Jessica and Savannah are only in Byron for two days. And pretty much had the beach to themselves.

The First Day of Winter

Hello Winter! It does look kinda chilly in this photo but I promise you it's all just an illusion :) #IloveAustralia

Paris Baby! The Sneak Peak Post

I've been talking about posting more of our travel photos recently, specifically some images from Paris. 

But I have a few boring techie delays. Namely that I need to sort out all of my drives and sync them to my new Macbook Pro. Which is basically code for: the Paris shots aren't on my computer! Boo.

Luckily, I do have some to show you - a few shots that I had posted to another blog while we were away but that most of my Rainbow Mama readers [ yes you, hellooooooooo! ] probably haven't seen yet! 

I miss Paris a lot... 

It feels a bit like some grand adventure I must have dreamt right now, sitting back in my own house here in Australia. But it wasn't a dream :) And I'm going to love revisiting Paris along with you when I finally put all of the images together. 

But until then - enjoy this sneak peak! 

Amber. XO

What's YOUR favourite city? x

p.s. I have a new facebook like button at the bottom of each post! 

Can you see it's lil' blue self there? Please click on it and share the love :) 

Merci beaucoup! xx

141/365 Tracing Memories Along Metro Tracks | Paris

My one and only 'souvenir' from our six weeks in Paris... 

I especially love when the boys and I trace journeys and locations and stories across the tracks. Until my tea goes cold. Which is bad. But good at the same time :)

Favourite tea cup aside, I have a drillion-squillion photos from Paris that I really should edit and post. Do you want to see them? XO