Handloom dress in a rainforest

We went away to the tropics over the festive season and I could not get enough of the rainforests and the waterfalls. Skipping barefoot over the rocks or the fallen tree trunks, swimming in the stunning natural water holes Australia has to offer and not having to worry about impending deadlines gave me time to truly revel being in the moment.

My bruised mind and soul come alive in places like this and I dressed to pretty much blend into the background. I have this tremendous love for breathable fabrics made into wonderfully crafted, flowy dresses that will survive the rigours of my adventures and won't slow me down.

I like certain silhouettes and I stick to them but I still want something different, a little detail here or a certain something there. I am also very discerning in my shopping habits and will most likely actively seek out independent women owned businesses over chains.

The dress in the photos was bought from this totally fabulous lady, Abhilasha who works with women artisans to craft absolutely wearable pieces of art for her Pune-based brand Ek Dori. I love the fact that the fabric is handloom-ed cotton and find this dress incredibly flexible. I can wear it with just about anything in my wardrobe ranging from denim shorts with the front of the dress tucked into the waist to pairing it with sarees. I have had it only for a few weeks and worn it tonnes and I have a feeling it will just get better as it ages.

Walking by a rivulet in a rainforest

The cold is well and truly here in Sydney and winter has officially begun, which is why I am looking back at pictures of wonderful weather and of wearing bare minimum clothing. Here are some photos of our road-trip during a long weekend, leisurely exploring national parks, walking by rivulets, looking for waterfalls, drinking chilled beer and wearing block print wisps as swimsuit cover-ups.

Can you tell I don't do winters well? Ah well! Planning our next sojurn to the city of lights will have to keep my mind busy and away from the thoughts of puffer jackets and thermal underwear!

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?

Travel Photos: Erskine Falls, Great Ocean Road

Here are some photos from when we went to Melbourne and drove up the Great Ocean Road, it was a spectacular ride but I get car sick so the highlight for me was the beautiful Erskine falls we walked down to and scampered around in the cold.

There is a reason I

Floral block print cotton in a magical rainforest

Remember when I was talking about buying same dresses in different colours over and over again here? Well the dress in these photos is the exact same dress as this one just in brown, when I like something I really like to go all out and get all different versions of it. Do you do that too?

Shawl Shenanigans

Every winter I get completely enamoured with a shawl or few and have one of them (or many) wrapped around myself for the entire season all day every day. More often than not they are bright colours with embroidery, mirrors, tassels definitely pure wool and hand loomed to perfection. This year the two obsession includes this one from Bhuj and another Patola shawl :)

This one is Bandhani with mirror work, hand loomed as well as hand dyed worn with a brocade mini in a rain-forest. I don't think there is a more perfect way to wear things other than exploring deep in the foliage surrounded by mossy, slippery rocks, waterfalls and ferns. Hope you're having a wonderful weekend.

Calm Sights and Sounds

Ancient woodland, sunlight pouring through a canopy of trees, the gurgling of a tiny water-fall and a tranquil pond at the foot of it surrounded by mossy rocks. This was the place I spent my birthday this year, dressed in comfortable cotton block-print, carrying a fabric bag and dozing by the beautiful sounds of birds and nature.

Rainforest adventures in the cold

The pictures above were taken ages ago when we went walking in a wonderfully green, shaded rainforest full of tall trees and ferns. We walked and climbed for eons to get to the foot of a spectacular water fall and just stared at the sheer beauty of the water cascading down the rocks and the foliage.

The stunning national parks of Australia are endowed with flora, fauna, canyons and beaches that are just a spectacular balm to the eyes. Large areas of untouched forest in many cases sites of many important Aboriginal Australian sites, outstanding tropical foliage and long stretches of the coast backed by lush bush. Most of the national park are a wonderful blend of culture and nature, reminding us that living in nature is natural to us and not the centrally air-conditioned world we live in.