Naomi Pelletier's blog

Shusha Toys

What's not to love about these clever kids toys from Shusha, well just working out how to buy them I guess is the only down side. You can check out more of their stuff at their website, here. I know my son would really love them and is not long off being able to embrace the joys of stacking. I might have to get me some blocks of wood and non toxic paint and go to town. 

MICHAEL WOLF PHOTOGRAPHY

via photo-michaelwolf.com

Michael Wolf's photography is so compelling, I've become a wee bit obsessed with it. I am about to start a Hitchcock study with my grade 10 media class. So I'm all about the  idea of the voyeur and the notion of the gaze, which is so prevalent in Hitchcock's work. It can be see quite strongly in Wolf's work. Most notably in his 'Window Watching' series. In which you have to ask the question is this ethical, am I participating in and in turn becoming a peeping tom by viewing this work?

I saw a moment of myself in one of the photo's a women on her mac book watching the television. A sad indictment perhaps of my life at the moment. His biography on his website states that 'the focus of the german photographer michael wolf’s work is life in mega cities and documents the architecture and the vernacular culture of metropolises.' I love that word 'vernacular'. An odd noting that is somewhat off topic is that throughout his biography there are no capitals used. Is this deliberate? Is there some kind of anit-capitalisation movement out there that I'm not aware of? I have digressed, check out his work it's enthralling. You can find his window watching series here and some interesting background on his installation series ' the real toy story' here.

 

Green Avenue bench collection | Recyclart

via www.recyclart.org

I think this lovely bench would sit quite nicely under my dining table. Perfect for a family of three.

Spring


So Spring has sprung and all around me I see signs of life blossoming. My backyard is teeming with flowers just waiting to be pollinated. This is the first year that my lemon tree is showing signs of life and I’m desperate to have a reason to make Limoncello. Living in Mackay most backyards have a mango tree, ours is old, a bit tired and only manages a dozen or so mangos every season, most of those the possums eat. Our Macadamia tree had an excellent run last year and I’m hoping it does the same this year. Apparently they need a particular bee to pollinate the flowers. 

Spring in the tropics does kinda feel like summer in Sydney. Every year when that warm scent of spring fill's the air I find myself getting ridiculously homesick. I miss my home town and I have such beautiful summer memories of Sydney. They most likely seem even more rosy now that I have a little one that I’m chasing after. The unfettered years of lazing on beaches have past for now.

In my 20’s I lived in Sydney’s Eastern suburbs and summer time meant catching a bus to Neilsen park, hiking around the cliff and nestling into one of the coves for the day. Preferably with cold beer and books. I remember one particularly balmy summer night, a big group of us had spent the day, that shifted into the night at Neilsen Park. Swimming, reading and soaking in the sun till our skin was bursting with vitamin D. Beaches at night are curious places, gone are the noise and energy of the day. This night the air was still heavy with heat and we all dived in trying not to think about harbour sharks. The further out we swam the quieter the stillness became and the bigger our movements felt. The phosphorescence in the water meant that we glowed with a glistering aura that radiated into each other. Those summer memories are so full of sweetness and this is just one of many. They almost always involve, the ocean, the harbour, the sea. Oh, I want to dive in for the first time, so many times again. 

I took Louis to the beach last week, it wasn't peaceful but it was beautiful in it's own way. My fearless boy diving into the ocean, clearly completely unaware that you need to learn to swim before you launch yourself into the sea. In Northern Queensland at low tide the ocean escapes such a distance away you really need some mechanical mode of transport to find the shoreline. What the tide leaves though are large sand warmed pools. The perfect spot for a soon to be one year old with a bucket and spade. Moments of sand encrusted watermelon madness give way to giggles of splashing and water delight. So a new summer memory is made, to file away for a winters day and take out like warm sunshine.

 

Sniffle Co. — Woody

via www.sniffleco.com

I have always been a Woody Allen fan, despite the dubious nature of his personal life, his films have been the back projection to my life. So many of his films are a homage to New York and I have dreamed of travelling to the city and listening to Allen play his clarinet at the Hotel Carlyle’s cafe. I think I would wear this little badge when I went. If you'd like to add a little neurosis to your lapel, you can find it at Sniffle Co.

the little dröm store — Twin Triangle Necklace : Mint green series / Grey series

via thelittledromstore.bigcartel.com

I'm a little obsessed with triangles at the moment. I have triangle print shirts and would love to add a little more geometry to my wardrobe. For less than $40 you can bring some triangles into your life. These necklaces can be bought at the Little Drom Store.

How To Make A Cloud

via thefarmchicks.typepad.com

How could you go wrong with a skill like this? I would like several of these hanging from my sons ceiling, maybe with a few rainbow coloured raindrops falling from them. Check out the tutorial here.