Bad Berneck, Germany

What a couple of weeks it has been. After an extended week working on the vineyard due to weather and the selling of our favourite car we have headed east. A lovely couple have generously lent us an apartment in the small town of Bad Berneck, Germany. For the next 2-3 weeks we will be relaxing here soaking in the colour of autumn, eating german sausages, trying out the local beers and have a special two week visit from Kims parents!
-morgan

OsLove

Well as our time here in Oslo comes to an end we look back with such joy at our time here. Honourable mention to our super host Adeline for a saweet week. Not only did she house us in her awesome apartment, but being a certified tour guide and knower of all things coffee and fun, made for some rad times. Boating, tram-ing, busing and walking around this beautiful city streets, museums and coffee shops has left our hearts filled with joy and our wallets emptier than when we came. This is a place we would come back to with PLEASURE...
-morgan

cherry trees

This past week has been rather frustrating waiting for our pay to be finalised so we can pack up and head to our next destination. One thing that has made the waiting worthwhile is the cherry trees. We have watched these trees blossom, the leaves turn green and the fruit start to grow. The cherries have just started to ripe in the last few days and we have taken much joy climbing the trees, picking the fruit and eating cherries to our hearts content.
Morgan grew up visiting this house in summer and eating these cherries, and it has been nice to do these things together with him.
-kim

Printemps v2.

Since we had our first glimpse of Spring a lot of things have changed around here. The roads are currently lined with poppies and iris' are popping up everywhere. The Luberon mountain seems to smile down at us, and all the trees that were pruned back are starting to show new life. We are surrounded by beauty.
-kim

diy letter cushions

Since we arrived in France I have been slowly gathering sewing materials to create things again. This week I picked up some fabric for €1 a meter, so I could finally make these letter cushions I have been wanting to create. They are really easy to make, so you can make some too.


You will need: some fabric, stuffing, pins, scissors and something to sow with. I don't like the cost of buying stuffing brand new, and so I picked up a teddy bear from an op shop and recycled the stuffing from that.


Cut out a template in the shape of the letters you want to create and pin them onto the fabric. Cut out the letters. You want to have the fabric with the wrong sides together, because when you sew them you will be exposing the raw edges. This means the shape of the letters is more defined, and I quite like the way it looks.


Sew around the edge of the shapes, leaving an opening for the stuffing to go in. Once it has been filled with stuffing, sow up the opening, and you are done. If you get a chance to try this please let me know, I would love to see what you create.
enjoy.
-kim

red carnations

For the last few weeks I have been tempted by the fresh cut flowers at my regular markets, and this week I gave in and came home with these beautiful red carnations. I don't often treat myself to things, but when I do I love how much simple joy I get out of them.

I thought I would share a little of that joy with you





enjoy
-kim

our home.

For a while I have been wanting to do something like this. About a year ago I started reading The Selby and since have wanted to share a little virtual tour of what for the last year and a half we have called home. We have about one month before we start selling most of our possessions and clearing this little apartment to prepare for our one way trip to Europe.



When we first moved here, it was very scary, the apartment is built in the steepest street in Queensland, it is always dark and cool inside and when it rains, everything stays wet and the man who built it simply threw together with odds and ends from scrap shops. As Kim and I tend to collect a lot of treasure/junk we have filled this apartment very rapidly, with lots of beautiful things. Sadly, now we must sort, sell, throw out and reminisce of all our nick nacks.


Hope you enjoy our home as much as we do/did.
-morgan

the fox, the crow and the cookie

mewithoutYou - The Fox, the Crow, and the Cookie from David Bell on Vimeo.

One of our favourite bands is mewithoutYou. They are currently recording their fifth album which makes us very happy indeed. Here is a film clip of theirs from their last album. Its been stuck in both our heads all week and has been playing on repeat. Enjoy.

ps. some other music loves at the moment are:

Foster The People
Cataldo
Valley Maker

Have a listen.
Dare you.

-morgan

little joys.

One of my favourite things to do when I have Friday off fortnightly is to go out for coffee with morgan. The best cafe in our area is only open monday to friday, so if you want some good stuff, you have to make an effort during the week to get there. When I was at uni I used to drink about 3 coffees and 2 energy drinks a day. That was not a very good time in my life. Now I am a lot healthier with coffee, I only have a cup about once a week, and only if I know it will be good.

The last 3 weeks have been pretty hectic with lots going on at work, lots of sowing pillow case dresses, and unfortunately we have both had the flu. I had not had the time to go and get a coffee from my cafe in over 2 weeks. Yesterday, however, I did something I have never done before. On my 30min lunch break, I jumped on my scooter, rode 10mins to go an have a quiet little coffee all by my self at my favourite little cafe. It did me wonders. It was so lovely just to escape the office, even just for a short moment, and feel the cold winter breeze on my face and sit and enjoy my existence.
- kim


Last year I worked in 2 schools, one in the beautiful hinterland hills and the other in a low social economic suburbia. The school in the mountains was about a 15 minute drive further than the suburbia school. I found that the scenic drive would always relax me and give me a fresh start to the beginning and the end of my days. When driving to the suburbia school I would always still have home in the back of my mind coming to work, or work in the back of my mind coming home.

This 10-15 minutes of a mountain drive was enough to change my whole perspective on the rest of the day. In moments like these sometimes I decide to drive the 'long' way, just to enjoy the scenery or maybe the music I'm listening to in the car. I'm not endorsing extra fuel consumption, but taking time to do something and actually enjoying it is something I struggle with. I am a time management freak. So, my challenge to you and myself is, take time to do something just for you, dont worry about the clock or what anyone thinks. Soak in the little joys.
- morgan

ps. Diana wrote a lovely blog about taking care of yourself which you should definatley read.

winter time

Its pretty freezing cold riding on my scooter to work and back, pretty glad I have sweet glasses to keep the icy wind out of my eyes.
-kim

visit the middle east

For the last four years I have been fascinated by the band 'The Middle East'. A great bunch of guys and girls with such a passionate heart for music and Jesus.

Their new full length album 'I Want That You Are Always Happy' which was released today, is stripped back and raw, getting into their Neil Young/Country roots, and is lyrically beautiful. I can't wait to see them play agin.

We used to go see them for $5 when they were all poor and about to break up as a band, but then they released 'Recordings of the Middle East' and have since toured the world, performing with many great acts.

If you don't already love them, please check out this great act from kim's hometown... Townsville.

happy birthday MORGAN!!

Guess what! Its MORGAN's birthday today! Ahhhhhh wooo.



morgan, i love you so much! you are the best friend a gal like me could have. we are going to have so much fun celebrating you and your life this week. i hope you feel loved today and excited for the year ahead.
bfwbf (aka best friends with benefits forever)
-k

Beruit _ Cheap Magic Inside

These two men inspire us so much. Vincent Moon and Zach Condon.

We hope this brings you real joy today.
-m&k

BEIRUT _ CHEAP MAGIC INSIDE from Vincent Moon / Petites Planetes on Vimeo.

ps. this the whole album of the flying club cup performed live, so if your in love, buy the album.

joy...

Some days, life is a struggle. This last week was one of those weeks. I was sick with a cold, things were pretty frustrating at work, and my couch just keeps getting ripped more and more. As much as I patch up the holes, the old fabric just seems to tear, and I can't keep up. As the week went on I realised how much I am constantly moving and not always stopping to slow down and find joy in the little things.

Like most people, life after 5pm is pretty hectic for me. After finishing work and racing home, I move from one thing to another before trying to get to bed at a reasonable hour to be ready to wake up and do it all again.

But this past week I slowed down.
I made sure I looked around me, and saw why I am so grateful for many things in my life.
I went on more walks to the lake near my house, and spent more one on one time with morgan.
I sat there for half an hour, and took the seeds out of a pomegranate
and... I embraced my new addiction, embroidery.

Not much changed, but making the decision to see the joy in the little things, changed my outset of my days. By choosing to have a great day, and take it one step at a time, and especially doing more of the things I love, I had such a wonderful week.

I hope you have a great week this week, and that you can find tremendous JOY in the things that make you smile.

Listener - Wooden Heart

oh dear. they have stolen our hearts.

The other day a new friend of ours shared this video with us, which resulted in the purchase of an album from Listener straight away. We hope you can take the time to give this a listen and let it impact you.
If your into this, even a little, please check out some other bands we like which are similar... mewithoutYou, Kevin Devine, and The Homeless Gospel Choir.

Also, we have just discovered the website Bandcamp a great initiate in music purchasing for both artists and fans. Many artists have also chosen a 'name your own price' purchase, and this website offers 90% of the sale going directly to the artists. There a heaps of artists to choose from, so go take a look, and purchase some new music.

ps. happy australia day.

christmas cheer.

is there anyone yet to find their christmas cheer? this will get you in the mood...

Some friends of mine, Holly and Grace have been making a video each day in the count down of the 12 days to Christmas. This is todays... Enjoy.



You can find the first and second days here and here.

Updated:

Here is the full list of days so far..

first, second, third, forth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth....

i made: a christmas tree p2.

So this years tree.. is made from FABRIC.


It was morgans idea. We were at finders keepers markets in Brisbane a few months ago, and morgan saw a felted stuffed sowing machine. It was so cool, and he suggested this year our tree would be a fabric stuffed tree...


I didn't have any stuffing to use to stuff the tree so started again, and decided some sticks (or chop sticks) would be great to prop it up. It works so well, and we used some scrap red and white striped fabric my friend jo gave me, to make the baubles. Its pretty small, but so have all our other tree been. I also had a great time with my sister this week making paper chains to decorate the house. Its beginning to look a LOT like CHRISTMAS indeed around our place...
::kim::

I thought a big, green stuffed tree with a brown base and big yellow star would be an amazing Christmas tree this year. However every year since Kim and I have made trees together, they have never turned out as the first original thought. But this years tree is GREAT, made from chopsticks and recycled fabric, I love it. I had alot of fun making the little baubles. Kim is so talented and a whiz on the sewer.
::morgan::