six

Our little (big) girl turned six yesterday. I can not believe that we now have a six year old!
I've never been one to get too emotional on birthdays.. I usually don't find them any more sentimental than any other day but for some reason I felt very emotional yesterday as I watched Sophie blow out the candles on her cake.

Six is such a big age. I am constantly surprised at how independent and grown-up Sophie already is.
She is no longer a little girl. Sob.

Happy birthday Sophie!

hubble + duke

For the past few weeks I have been very busy working on an exciting little project.

My gorgeous friends Rosie and Jo and I have started a little business called 'Hubble + Duke'.
We started with the idea of making screen printed baby leggings but it very quickly expanded into a whole range of products including gorgeous little leather baby moccasins and many other products that we plan to launch in early 2014.

Everything is handmade by the three of us and with 8 kids between us there is no shortage of little ones to test the designs of everything we make. It's been such a whirlwind few weeks as we only came up with the idea about a month ago and within that time we have registered the business name, designed prototypes, had labels made, sourced suppliers and created a web site! Sleep is well and truly a thing of the past!

For those who have been reading my blog for a while you will know that starting a handmade business has always been a dream of mine and I can't believe that it is finally becoming a reality. Of course I wouldn't be able to do it on my own and I am so grateful for my amazing, talented friends who I can now call my business partners.

Although we plan to officially launch early next year we have made a limited amount of our little leather baby moccasins in tan and chocolate brown that are up on the website now.
You can also follow us on Instagram (@hubbleandduke) and on Facebook.

Yay!

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"A portrait of my children once a week, every week"

Sophie: Best friends are awesome!
Henry: This little boy.. what a little sweetheart!

Playing along with Jodi's '52' project

girls style book: a giveaway

If you have not come across these beautiful Japanese sewing books then you are really missing out! They are just so beautifully styled and have such simple, elegant patterns.

So I have decided to giveaway one copy of the gorgeous 'girls style book'! All you have to do is leave a comment below and I'll draw the winner on Monday 9th December!

There are no conditions to enter this giveaway but if you would like to follow Grow. Cook. Sew. on facebook or instagram that would be lovely!

Good luck!

EDIT: The winner of the giveaway (according to the random number generator) is number 3! Congratulations Imogen Eve!!

lazy weekends

I have been doing an online blogging course called 'blog with Pip' with Pip Lincoln of Meet me at mikes fame. It has been so awesome and I finally feel like I am getting my blogging mojo back. Not to mention all the awesome people I have (virtually) met during the course. (Hello!)

This week we had a little assignment which was to take 5 photos of our weekend. Our weekend was pretty lazy as I have been getting over a horrid virus that left me in bed for 4 days straight last week. Ugh! I have never been so sick in my life!

It did, however, give me a bit of time to catch up on lots of bloggity blogs (as my husband always calls them). Here are a few great posts I read this week:

+ 12 eco-friendly gift ideas -just in time for Christmas!

+ These beetroot, quinoa and chocolate muffins look amazing!

+ Check out Anna's awesome Brooklyn abode!

+ Excellent tips for getting a better nights sleep, and

+ A fabulous Christmas giveaway (if you are good at writing poetry!)

Would you like to share a link to something great you read this week?

P.s Look at the roses in our courtyard!

the best books: sewing for kids

I have a bit of an obsession with books. The way that some women collect bags or shoes, I collect books! I can easily hang out all day in the local bookstore and I constantly have a new book (or ten) at the top of my want list.

I have so many books about craft, sewing, interiors, gardening, eco-living, etc. that I thought I should start sharing some of my collection with you. First up.. the best books about sewing for baby and child!

1. Oliver + S 'Little things to sew' by Liesl Gibson.
This book is full of awesome things to sew for kids.. not so much clothing but more accessories like hats, bags, art smocks, scarves and the most adorable tutu you have ever seen. The book is perfect for someone who has quite good sewing skills and most importantly.. it's just a damn good looking book!

2. 'Making children's clothes' by Emma Hardy.
This book has 25 sewing patterns for ages 0-5. It contains lots of very wearable items that are easy to make (dresses, tops, pants, hats, etc.) so it's perfect for someone who is learning to sew. I used it a lot when Sophie was young but I always left all the bells and whistles off the patterns (I'm not a fan of too much poof, if that makes sense? I like to keep things simple) but a great book all the same.

3. 'Simple sewing for baby' by Lotta Jansdotter.
This book is awesome, as is everything Lotta Jansdotter does. I've taken to stalking her on Instragram.. she probably thinks I am crazy (and I probably am.. I do have every single book she has ever written!)
This book is filled with very cool, very easy to make projects that are perfect for little bubbas. So many of the patterns would make excellent gifts and the baby yoga pants are awesome. Ten out of ten!

4. 'Girls style book' by Yoshiko Tsukiori.
Anyone who has come across these Japanese sewing books and fallen in love with them will be over the moon, as I am, that they have finally started to print them in english! The girls style book is just adorable. Even if you never make a thing in it, it is worth having just to look at the stunning photography and styling that these beautiful Japanese sewing books have become famous for.
This book contains patterns for girls aged 2-10 and is best for a fairly advanced sewer.

5. 'Happy Homemade Vol. 2' by Ruriko Yamanda.
I bought this book in Japanese years before they released the english version and I was probably seen jumping for joy when I saw they had released the english version, although strangely the instructions are still a little difficult to understand. This book contains patterns for boys and girls aged 2-8 and they are probably the nicest patterns I have ever seen (think simple, elegant designs).

6. 'Carefree clothes for girls' by Junko Okawa.
Okay, I have to admit that I have never actually made anything from this book yet but it looks awfully nice on the bookshelf. If Little House on the Prairie released a sewing book this is what is would look like! Lots of linen and unbleached cotton in rustic, down to earth patterns. I get the feeling you should disconnect your electricity and spend your morning milking a cow before you attempt to sew anything from this book!

So that's my pick of sewing for kids books. Stay tuned next week for the best general sewing books (there are a lot of them!) and in the next few days I will be giving away one of the books above! Yay!

(P.s Sophie took the top photo above.. just in case you were wondering).

What's your favourite book about sewing for kids?

dinner twist

A few months ago a friend of mine told me about 'Dinner Twist'. It's a weekly box delivery that provides four delicious recipes and all the ingredients that you need to cook those four recipes. I really liked the idea because thinking of what to make for dinner every night (night after night after night) was driving me absolutely bonkers! 

The number of times I found myself leafing through cookbooks with nothing jumping out at me or standing in the supermarket with two cranky kids at 4.30pm thinking "Umm..." was getting ridiculous. The monotony of having to think about what to cook every night was also sucking away my passion for cooking.. So I decided to give dinner twist a go.

I'll be honest, when I first mentioned to Tom that I wanted to try dinner twist he though it was a silly idea. He said "we have so many cookbooks (we do.. more than anyone I know actually.. they are my weakness) .. why don't you just choose 4 recipes and order the groceries online and it will be exactly like getting dinner twist but much cheaper". He had a point, but I really wanted to try it. I also really liked the fact that it was run by a local couple who lived in the next suburb.. I love it when people have an awesome idea and then actually do it. (As opposed to people like me who have lots of ideas but never do anything about it). I think it's great to support small, local businesses.

When the first box arrived I was so impressed with the quality of the produce. The bread was from a local artisan bakery, the quinoa was from the local wholefood shop, the meat from a local butcher.. Everything was fresh, local and looked delicious. 

The recipes were easy to make, healthy and unbelievably yummy! But best of all, they were interesting meals that (often) I hadn't cooked before.. I was hooked!

We have been getting dinner twist for the last few months now and I am not joking when I say that Tom has often come home exclaiming "Dinner twist is the best thing ever!".  It's hard to believe that the simple act of having someone plan your dinners for the week and then drop off all the ingredients you need could make such a huge difference, but it has honestly changed my life.

My cooking skills have improved ten fold, we eat much healthier and far more interesting food (even though I always thought we ate quite well before), we waste far less food because we only get what we need delivered and most importantly.. I don't have to think about what to cook for dinner anymore! 

The recipes never take more than 1/2 an hour to cook and we always have enough left-over for lunch the next day. It's awesome!

Dinner twist provide two types of boxes: the family box and the foodie box. We get the foodie box as we like trying new and interesting dishes and so far my kids have been happy to eat almost everything I have made. (The jerusalem artichoke soup was possibly the best thing I have ever eaten in my life!)

At the moment dinner twist is only available in Perth.. so if you live in Perth.. Click here! You will be so glad you did!

(This post was not sponsored at all.. just something that I absolutely love and wanted to share!)

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"a portrait of my children once a week, every week"

Sophie: At the fair with her cousin Ella
Henry: A (very) rare quiet moment. This little man is usually go, go, go!

Playing along with Jodi's '52' project. Do you play too?