This Is What An Australian Summer Is All About

Long busy days on the beach

and long warm nights BBQing with mates.

Could we get any luckier? I'm so thankful that I can bring up my children in such a fantastic environment.

You Couldn't pay me enough to play tennis in this weather!

Jeez it's hot!!
43 degrees or 109.4 for those of you working in farenheit.

Same again for tomorrow with the next few days almost as bad.

Now I love a hot night more than most but it's nearly 10.00 pm and it's 32.7 dgrees (90.86). That's even wearing me a bit thin.

Yesterday was just as bad but it doesn't seem so hard when you're doing this ....

or hanging out here ...

What on earth possessed me to leave a summer paradise for stinking hot Melbourne?

Maybe the fact that Moondoggie started kinder today!

Bugger education!

42c / 108 f

Question - Do your eyeballs shrink when they dry out?

Thank you for the picture.

Summer

We have had the most wonderful Summer. Day upon day of glorious weather, days spent at the beach exploring rock pools, learning to body surf at high tide, hours on end of just hanging with the cousins, swinging in the hammock reading trashy mags (me, not the kids). What more could you ask for. It has been so fantastic to watch the kids have the sort of summer we had when we were young. Lots of freedom, salty skin and flopping into bed exhausted at the end of a long hot day.

And of course Surfer Boy could not resist building something - so waa laa! A cubby.

And thank you to everyone who was so sympathetic to my plight after the great cat pee disaster. Much appreciated.

Heading back down the beach tomorrow so stay well.

It's A Good Day For A Hat Today

Spring has Sprung at CHALK

I spent most of the day yesterday trying to fit all our new stock into the shop in some semblance of order. Customers were very understanding and stepped politely over piles of tees and baskets of squeakers as I tried a bit of re-jigging.

It is always such a fun time of year when all the new seasons stock starts arriving - as I ordered it all about 8 months ago I get a real kick out of opening boxes and seeing everything again.

It also gives me hope that summer is indeed on its way... in our shop at least.

I took home some bathers for the Gidget to try on as I couldn't resist. It's the first year we've done anything more than a spattering of girls bathers and they look so summery all hanging in a row. They are only $28.00 each so I think I'll have to get a couple of pairs.

Yellow Snow

The kids and I took a drive down to the beach house today, and what a glorious day to do it. The town looked like it was in dress rehearsal for summer. It was worth the drive just to see this vista. Photos like this have always made my heart sing - I must have dozens taken from the same spot over the years and it still thrills me.

I think there is even a photo just like this in Mum's album of Mick and I many moons ago!

The loveliest sight was the blanket of yellow flowers that has been thrown over the Bellarine Peninsula. I know these are weeds but they are just gorgeous. Every paddock, roadside verge and spare inch of grass is starred with gold. We kept catching our breath as around every corner there was a new delight. What a gem of a day!

Littlehorn

Last summer we stocked a brand called Littlehorn which is owned by Anita Horn-Cosgrove. Anita lives in Bali for much of the year and is married to Sean Cosgrove (former owner of Mooks, M-One-11 and Stussy stores). She involves Sean and her 3 kids, Sheriff 5, Sweeney 3 and Cash 1 the whole way through the Littlehorn design process, letting them choose styles and select their favourite prints, or even design their own items for the collection.

Littlehorn was a great success and we've got some gorgeous pieces again this summer. I particularly love this skirt with the patch pocket but unfortunately for me they only come in small sizes so Emma misses out on this gem.

More Littlehorn styles will be arriving throughout the season so I'll keep you posted.

Thanks to Simone Ryan for her stolen sentence.

Flashback Friday 1982

This is a bit of a cheats Flashback Friday as this is of my beautiful husband (on the right), not me. Most photos of me pre '85 are still in Mum and Dad's albums and as they are away I can't get my hands on them.

I LOVE this photo.

This is how I remember James, a salt encrusted surfie dude with a shock of blonde fringe. James was in my brothers group of friends down at Point Lonsdale where we spent our holidays. To me, three years older, they skirted around the periphery of those lazy summer days. I was always aware of James - as you may know I have a thing for slim pretty boys! - but it wasn't until I spotted him again in his 20's that my radar went off.

I particularly love the fact that compared to his mate Bolly, he was so slight, the board is hardly upright! Bolly is also a part of my childhood as our parents are good friends, his brother was one of my first buddies and their house was just up the hill. The asbestos shed in the background, the old mals, the dunes, the tan, they all evoke such strong feelings in me. This is Australia in summer as I knew it.

And this what Bolly's brother Steve and I were probably doing on that day!

(I'm on the right in the navy bikini with matching hair ribbon no less!!)

summer is coming

You may not realise it, especially those who are freezing their buts off here in Melbourne, but summer is officially on its way!

Ben's all ready for summer!

How do I know this you may ask.

I know this because today couriers kept dropping off multiple boxes of stock from our lovely suppliers and if I'm not very much mistaken they are chock full of SUMMER CLOTHES!!! I'm itching to get in there on the weekend and gaze at all the summeriness (nice new word I just developed). I just know it is going to smell of coconut oil and sand is going to spill out of the pockets of all those pretty summer dresses.

As soon as I can I'll post some preview photos so you can all see what the fashionable 4 year old will be wearing this season!

Bizarrely enough, while dreaming of 40 degree days, sunburnt shoulders, and zinc stained t-shirts, the kids and I are planing a day trip to the Dandenongs tomorrow to see ourselves some snow.

We were meant to go today but as we were getting ready Grandpa rang and offered to take them to Scienceworks. I was unceremoniously dumped and off they went to catch some science germs. As luck would have it the rain, and some dive bombing Peregrine Falcons forced James home early and we met for coffee and actually had an uninterrupted conversation. Believe me this is a rare treat these days.

Kids happy, Jen happy, falcons happy!

Still Winter in Stars Hollow!