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.

Hand painted Kalamkari duster

Last year a lovely friend in Pune (hey Archu!), bought this amazing hand-painted Kalamkari fabric and had this duster jacket made for me. It quickly became my most favourite thing to wear with pretty much everything.

I've worn it here with ripped light wash jeans, a Guns n' Roses tee, a vintage leather backpack and platform brogues from Jeffrey Campbell to go to a picturesque waterfall in a natural park in Sydney's north shore.

What is your favourite way to wear Kalamkaris?

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.

Block print anarkalis in winter

Wearing yet another block print anaarkali but have just slightly rugged it up for winter, you have seen similar dresses here, here, here and here. The whole point is that I wear similar things over and over again because they are easy, comfy and make me happy, I needed to feel happy today..let's say I had an eventful Friday night and a painful Saturday morning.

So I just put on a happy block-print tent, drank lots of fluids, hung out at pretty parks by the water in the afternoon and playing with my sketch-book in the evening. What does your weekend look like?

Wilderness Sunsets

These pictures were taken when we went mini-camping in the mountains a few weeks ago, it was still pretty cold but we were pretty cosy sleeping in the van. One of my oft repeated wishes is to travel all of Australia and New Zealand in a campervan, I can't wait till we do it.

Anyway this was the last sunset in the cold mountains just before we headed back to the city and it was spectacular. Trust me the pictures don't do the skies any justice, we could have sat and stared for hours!I have never seen so many glorious shades of orange, pink, purples and the bare trees just made things even more weirdly beautiful. I was wearing a bunch of layers under my vintage lambswool sweater and was raring to run up and down the hills. It's times like this that make me thankful I moved to this beautiful continent. Having said that though I am still obsessed with my upcoming trip home and to the desert.

Roadtrip Day One: Mountain Sunsets

We're back from the outback and really inspired from all that we saw and experienced; being away from most things modern did us a lot of good.We started off from the city and crossed the Blue mountains region to the very centre of NSW and camped in the middle of no where with dusty red earth, barely any cellphone network and a whole lot of fun.

The trip was visually inspiring but also so much more in the sense that one gets so much time to think and reflect while driving past spectacular fall foliage and quaint small towns. Lately I have been feeling the urge to maybe reduce the burden of having so many belongings and go back to having a smaller collection of things that are fabulous to me. Lets see how far I am able to pare back.

I have always been drawn towards comfortable clothing in natural fabrics that let my skin breathe and accesories that mean something to me. The earings in these photos were something I admired long ago on a friend from Columbia who promptly took them off and gave them to me, this vintage beaded belt was something picked up on travels and my various sweaters have so far been worn in multiple continents. I hope to continue to love my things, resist picking up things from impersonal shops and build a collection of truly eclectic items that mean a lot to me.

Here are a few pictures from our first sunset from the trip. Hope everyone had a relaxing break.

Jungle jardin

My balcony seen here over a year ago has become a little green haven where I always feel at peace.

In the summer the foliage makes me feel like I am in the tropics and in the winter by the heat of our portable bbq I've spend many hours reading or just sitting doing nothing. I can't wait to have even more Buddhist flags to create a play of light and shade, its a constant work in progress this yearning to bring the jungle into my home.

Here are a few photos of my everyday attire around my plant babies, nothing special just a few pictures taken right after I'd been pottering around rearranging the greens. Life isn't about always being dolled up for photos, sometimes comfy old clothes and dirt under finger nails feel better than being 24/7 selfie ready.

Yes, I am wearing four anklets at the same time and I think its too little, I yearn to have heaps of silver on my hands and feet at all times.

Hope everyone has a wonderful start to the week!











Skirt: One teaspoon, Teeshirt: Vintage/thrifted, Jewellery+embroidered slippers: India Bag: Burma

Ride the lightning

I embroidered these shorts a year ago because I was astounded by the amount of denim cut-offs I had and I didn't think I would wear them as much as a plain pair. But I forgot that wearing neutrals and all that nonsense about minimalism is complete nonsense to me..

So here we have a vintage Metallica tee fluttering over a pair of hand embroidered denim cut-offs and boots I can't seem to take off. Hope March has been treating you well, happy almost Friday world.

Bright greens

I fell off my bike last night and my right leg is skinned and bruised but I still couldn't resist taking these pictures in a lush corner of the city.

I have this skirt in four colours now and even for me its a bit much...Have a wonderful weekend everyone.