Favourites

 The last few weeks have passed in a blur of appointments, writing, trying to keep warm and undertaking domestic duties. Reader, I’ve been looking for a new Ruby-Slipper-friendly coworking environment that will suit me and my intern Kate. Melbourne is truly a veritable hub of coworking spaces, with venues such as the Electron Workshop (where I’ve been treated to a day of work and a champagne breakfast), Queens Collective, the Hive and Nest all proffering hot desks for willing creatives seeking vibrant workdays. We look forward to reporting to you from our new home next week! In the meantime, today’s blog is the second in my Voices of 2014 #myfamilylens posts using the mini-marvel that is the  Olympus OM-D E-M10.

The theme of today’s post is ‘favourites’. I thought twice about calling the post such, as ‘favourites’ worth documenting usually mean something wildly exciting or out of the ordinary. But in the peak of a Melbourne winter when one is consumed with layering thermals and turning the electric blanket onto level 6, favourites are something quiet, lovely, comfortable and comforting. Like my beautiful Salus Body ylang ylang candle, which is without a doubt the best home fragrance product I’ve enjoyed. Soy wax, truly fragrant even when not lit, I’ve been lighting this and reading classics (I started Wuthering Heights again last night).

Another favorite thing of mine to do is meet up with my good friend J for a yarn about life and a book-swap over breakfast. J and I were friends at high school, and rekindled our friendship a few years ago. Our lives are very different – but in some ways we have more similarities now than we did as teenagers. We have exchanged Jon Ronson books (The Men Who Stare At Goats, Lost At Sea, The Psychopath Test) several times, and at our most recent delicious breakfast at Little Henri in Thornbury, she gifted me this book on an autistic boy’s perspective of his life, The Reason I Jump.

Of course, baking is a favourite. Please forgive the fact that I ATE this banana-walnut loaf all up before I managed to take a photo of it. I made it for afternoon tea last Sunday, when I watched my beloved Magpies get mangled by Essendon. Them’s the breaks, I guess. This photo was taken using the unique ‘templated photo’ feature that the Olympus OM-D E-M10 provides, along with wi-fi connectivity that allows direct download of photos from your camera to your smart phone. A little like Instagram, the Olympus OM-D E-M10 recognises a wide array of scenes (if you’re not into manual photography) and allows you to take ‘image within image’ photos like my banana-walnut loaf meisterstuck.

Hanging out with my husband is definitely a favourite! He helped me take these photos in East Melbourne on a windy Sunday afternoon – my smile belies how we were both freezing our hinies off. Wearing: Dejour Jeans (look hot and wear these bad boys whether you’re fat, thin or in-betweeny), Zola shoes (just had these re-soled for another year or two of adventures), Ally fashion top and Wilderness Bazaar earrings.

‘Phoukham’ earrings by Wilderness Bazaar are number one on this favourites list! I like big earrings and I cannot lie … and these delightful sustainably-made danglers are both lightweight and bring the drama. Add to favourite.