Tropical holiday staple: Block print headwrap

The hand block print scarf from Jaipur worn here as a head-wrap is a trusty friend on many of my trips and I never leave home without her or one of her many sisters. You have seen me wear it here as an after swim cover-up and I use it as a versatile classic that morphs into what I need for my every day requirements.

The fabric gets softer and the colours better with every wash, the soft hand-woven cotton dries easily and makes any outfit better and I genuinely feel like it is one of those must-haves I can't do without. This floral print on has been created using natural dyes on wooden blocks with light weight Indian cotton and the sheer weave of the fabric feels light and soft to the touch. Each scarf varies from piece to piece, even the same design in the same colours, making each scarf special in it's own way.

I was wearing it as a head-wrap here to dry my hair post a dip in the sea in Koh Samui. We left the beach to scoot up a hill to get to a water-fall and walked through the tropical jungle to get to this mossy little spot full of abandoned little homes and ancient life size figures.

Along with the scarf I threw on my every day island attire of a random cotton singlet, bright embroidered bag made by the Hmong tribe, denim cut-offs and canvas slip-ons. The scarf was also a little something to keep me warm after a day full of adventures.

Waterfall by the beach

We spent a wonderful afternoon at this amazing beach with wonderfully clear water and a little waterfall on the side. I wore the usual hand blocked tent dress that suits the current summer weather here perfectly.

I have the exact same dress in another colour that has made an appearance on this blog post in 2013! I find these cotton anarkalis beautifully flowy in their billowing glory (some may call it shapeless). The fabric gets softer and wonderfully worn-in with every wear and wash and I cannot get enough of these.

Weekend getaway from Sydney

We got slightly tired of the urbanscape and escaped to the Southern Highlands in NSW for a weekend. It was a glorious weekend of exploring tiny little country towns, eating fresh produce, walking/ driving along dirt tracks and rivers, splashing about in waterfalls, spotting wildlife, drinking the local beer, exploring markets, buying plants and generally having the most tranquil break from the hectic end of year rush.

I wore easy breathable cottons over bathers with either a pair of flip-flops or my trusty Palladiums, carrying just two pairs of shoes is an achievement for me. I used to be someone that packed a bunch of unnecessary stuff when travelling and I think I am getting better at packing stuff I actually use and not much else.

Here I am wearing my favourite hand-block print fabric shorts and men's shirt with a simple leather cross-body and my boots that I can walk/ hike for hours in. The landscape around the area was stunning and trust me the pictures don't do it justice. There were miles and miles of rolling meadows, quaint farm-houses with farm animals and wild kangaroos, stunning cliff faces with massive waterfalls dotted with myraid colours of wild birds plus the colours of the land and the greenery were straight out of a painting. Seriously beautiful stuff that is being sorely missed now that I am staring out at a construction site!

A road trip around lush tropical rain-forests, watching the sun-set behind undulating landscape and chatting with friendly locals (while cuddling their furry babies) have to be some of my top favourite things to do. And the best part was, a lot of the holiday decor was beautiful, earthy, hand crafted and lacking the tackiness of plastic baubles flooding Sydney right now. I came back refreshed, rejuvenated and with some great ideas for holiday decorations.

What are your summer weekend away favourites?

Hand block-print and Vintage Wool

It has gotten cold in Sydney now and I dress like a grandma who likes to be completely insulated from the cold, albeit with a bit of block-print or Bandhani thrown in. These aren't so much outfit photos as they are 'look at my favourite-st puppy and I wore hand block-print and vintage wool grand-ma cardigan to play with her'. This is what I call my put everything warm I have in layers and refuse to stay indoors look.

Size doesn't matter

Anaarkali: Anokhi, Silver: India, Shoes: Topshop and Bag: Funkis

I love strong shapes and easy silhouettes that play with size and proportions in silks, linen, cotton, khadi or any natural breathable fabric. This anaarkali is from Anokhi, they didn't have my usual size so I went two sizes up as I really liked the stripes. I love the easy, flowy fit of the garment in a size much larger than is deemed fit for me. And as I wear the same items of clothing summer, winter, autumn, spring or monsoon I wear this dress all year round with tights/ jeans and thermals in winter and just by itself on warmer days.

Garment size is a concept that I have always consciously tried to do away with and my closet consists of every size from extra extra small to large. I truly believe I wouldn't like this dress as much as I like it if it fit me any tighter and I love anything with pockets. As usual I wore it with worn-in leather and silver from the heartland of India.

Maxi skirts and cats

We woke up today to a glorious, sunny, beautiful day and ofcourse promptly decided to go to the beach. Although normally I like isolated coasts and avoid Australia's most famous beach, Sunday is market day at Bondi and off we went towards non-shopping-mall goodies. But by the time we got to the water it was getting darker with the clouds threatening to erupt as well as the wind being nasty, so off we went exploring the little lanes, peeking at gardens and ofcourse petting furry cuties who decided to say hello. Here's a few pictures of what I was wearing as well the Bondi just before it started to rain. I know most people like to post pictures of sunny beaches but I really find the seashore exceedingly beautiful even in the rain plus hardly any people and lots of seagulls, win win.

Since I wanted to wear something I could take off easily and I am trying to not always reach for my cut-offs, I went for my second favourite thing, a flouncy skirt in a print that makes me miss the sights and sounds of India. Gauzy cotton skirts have been my favourite since I was little and the paisley and flowers on this one make me feel like a wood nymph (I have been waiting FOREVER to discover I have some magic in me). Funny thing is, I have the exact same skirt, in the same colours (which you've seen here) that I justified buying because it had elephants at the bottom not flowers! I am starting to think there might be a problem but as they make me feel pretty I am going to ignore the existence of an obsession and simply say I LOVE printed maxi skirts.

And since I had already resisted the temptations of my denim shorts, I wasn't strong enough to resist a plaid shirt (another one of my wardrobe staples) and also I am not one of those people who think repeating outfits is a crime. I want to hold on to my goodies for a lonng lonng time, that means I will definitely wear them heaps and anyway I am not one of those bloggers who will apologise for repeating items of clothing. I am trying to reduce my consumption and not be part of the use once and throw mentality. While walking about we found this garage door covered with a divine tie-dye bedsheet and I couldn't resist taking a picture in front of it and look how cute is the Ganesh on it. I can't wait to make a tie-dye shirt and draw or embroider Ganapati to make it even more awesome. And on top of all the Ganesh goodness meeting not one but two feline beauties today was the highlight of my day and yes, I am one of those people who spam instagram feeds with pictures of cats.

So basically I rambled on and on just to say, I went to the beach, wore a pretty skirt, saw an amazing bed-sheet and met cutie kitties. Hope you'll had a wonderful weekend whatever you did!

Printed maxi+some jewellery: India, Swimmers: Tiger lily, Plaid shirt: Op-shopped Levis, Suede boots: Witchery, Leather bucket bag: Vintage