Once my dear friend had a little child in CHOP (Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia) with a scary infant heart surgery. 
That place is AMAZING. And heartbreaking.

Walking past numerous doorways, seeing through the glass windows in the doors, beautiful Arthur Rackham illustrations framed on the walls, messages from patients, and heartbreakingly inspiring photos of little children battling things one never should have to, I just yearned to be doing something useful with my life. 

‘I should work in a hospital supporting people who save babies!’ my heart cried.

Then, why am I a fashion designer?
Continue reading Tea Pots and Scrub Buckets →

As I raked leaves this afternoon, I came upon some pinks, purples and blues amidst the yellows, oranges and browns. I was reminded of sweet little flower ‘deposits’ that I had noticed strewn around the church property a couple of weeks ago. I wasn’t sure who had done this pretty work, but I figured it must’ve been my son and/or others of the regular church boys…. although it seemed kind of odd that they would do that. I later remembered that there had been a kids’ tennis camp on the property a few days prior, which had included a number of girls . ‘Ah, yes, that’s it!’ I felt sure it was they who had adorned the lawn so.

I think it’s fair to say that girls – female humans – are so much more into prettiness and visual pleasure than are their male counterparts. From a young age, we dress up our dolls, we decorate our bedrooms, we prettify ourselves and our children – and why? I reckon it’s because we want to please others – not in a submissive kind of way, but in a way that brings joy to others. Why? Because we want to connect with them. The older I get, the more life I live, the more I recognise and realise that, for women, it all* comes down to this: connecting with others.
Continue reading Connection – aka What Girls Do →

I heard a comment the other day whilst we were visiting the dentist that made me smile. My eldest daughter has a plate and was there for her regular checkup. The younger two children were with me in the waiting room playing happily with a bunch of mismatched toys that the dentist had in a box. The random dinosaurs, army men and astronauts with missing limbs combined with the ill-fitting lego pieces didn’t seem to deter them from the imaginary world they then created in the waiting room.

The dentist appeared with Rebecca to explain the next steps, only to be interrupted by my littlest daughter asking the dentist if he could “please move over”. Her armless army man was attempting to climb the reception desk and the dentist was standing in the way. He looked down at her and then at my son and commented that it is so refreshing to see children playing in his waiting room rather than stuck in front of a phone or tablet or some other electronic device. He had forgotten what it was like to watch children ‘playing’.
Continue reading The Art of Playing →

Marriage is a complex and layered thing. Loving (and continuing to learn to love) another person is a full, and deep, and nuanced experience. To see someone, learn their way of speaking, understand their body language, know how they think and act, understand their moods, and decide that you love that person and want to be forever with that person is a thing that is dense with knowledge, emotion, and a connection to the spiritual level. It can look like a simple natural world thing of daily interactions, but sometimes we can see and feel more of these layers than usual.
Continue reading Getting Back to the Warm Fuzzy Feelings →