the farmer wears prada

Monday, 5 August 2013

Saturday, 20 July 2013

Hut and Manor Candles

Always on the lookout for a little light in my life - new candles to burn in my home - I have found the most beautiful range by Hut and Manor.

Made in Australia from soy wax, the candles come in 3 scents – Rose and Coconut, Violet and Lime and Frankincense and Myrrh. The packaging is simple, sophisticated and stylish and the glass votive is as sexy and subtle as the fragrance they burn. Designer Alex Conrick created the Hut and Manor line with the aim of “filling your home with happiness, laughter and love, with family and friends”. Available online soon from www.hutandmanor.com. Available now at Appartamento 57 in Woollahra, Sydney.

Sunday, 14 July 2013

What a Difference a Year Makes

When I first started The Farmer Wears Prada a little over a year ago, I was not working - at least not for money - and I was needing my own creative and emotional outlet as I was struggling to adjust to giving up my career in Fashion Retail, being a new mum and living with my family on a farm. For anyone following my blog this past year I say a big THANKYOU! It has served as some much needed therapy and has been something I could call my own. If I have shared anything that has provided some inspiration or amusement or encouragement or even plain old interest, I am over the moon. It has helped me through some dark days and some great ones.

My aim when I began was to blog something new each week. For the past 8 months I have been working on a new business www.haute-to-have.com - an online jewellery store, which is about to launch any day. As I have been juggling running a business from home, together with managing a household, family and farm, my time to devote to myself and my blog has been less and less. I am excited to be working again – I realize that I am much happier as a woman/mother/partner/friend/family member when I am a professional girl as well. I am eager to get back to my blog regularly this next year, as I embark on another life chapter with my eboutique. Watch this space.

Cool and covetable jewellery from all over the globe. Launches August 2013.

Tuesday, 4 June 2013

You've Changed

It has been two years that I have lived on the farm full-time and 3 and a half years since my partner bought it. Lately it feels as though the city has been all but beaten out of me.

I bought a Toyota Hilux SR5 4X4 Diesel last week. Black, side steps, nudge bar, tow bar and trailer wire harness. Quietly it is hot and I love it, but I gave up my BMW and have now fully committed to the practicality of country motoring. No more soft push-open cup holders. You gotta put in some work and pull.

Most days I find myself wearing checked shirts (albeit by Isabel Marant) and Ugg boots (Stella McCartney circa F/W 2010) so I am glad that Grunge is back as sometimes I feel like I am slipping when it comes to my high fashion roots. My designer wardrobe and stilettos are wasted on a trip to the local vegetable stand. I still make at least two Paris Hilton outfit changes a day but it is usually because I have dirt or chicken shit on me from when the dog has jumped up.

Days go by when I have not left the island. I have not seen another person or car other than my partner and our son (and my new Hilux). We went out with friends in Sydney a couple of weeks ago and my partner had to drag me home at 3am. I could have kept going until at least the sun came up and the ugly lights were on. I used to be the first to leave a party, happy to be a bit elusive. Now I barely get off our property, let alone into the city, I am a die hard trash bag. When friends and family come for a weekend or lunch, I am that lush who drinks and talks a lot and feels like I have used them as therapy as I don't get enough human contact. A homemade Dirty Martini while I am cooking our son dinner feels like a 10 course degustation at Le Maurice in Paris or a Cosmopolitan at Bulgari Hotel Milan. That was then, this is now.

If dirty feet are the sign of a happy heart mine are black as soot - but what the hell happened to me?

Thursday, 9 May 2013

Gratitude

Our son had a Febrile Convulsion last Thursday. It is a seizure caused by a sudden spike in fever which leads to a short burst of abnormal electrical activity in the brain. It is quite common in children. Their undeveloped system basically shuts down and needs to recalibrate itself. It can happen once and never again, or it can be a regular occurrence, however children grow out of it usually by about 6 years old.

My partner had left for work early and I was getting our son ready for day care. He had a slight fever but nothing out of the norm of teething. He seemed happy as always. I noticed him straining a little so I put him in front of the TV while I ate my breakfast at the table behind him. A minute or so passed - he was unusually quiet watching cartoons so I checked him. He had vomited. He was blue, his eyes were in the back of his head and he had stopped breathing.

I freaked out, but was strangely calm - we are so isolated on our property and I was by myself, so it was only me that could do anything for him at that moment. All I could think of was brain damage with lack of oxygen. I cleared his throat – I had to pry open his jaws as they were clenched due to the full seizure. He vomited whatever he had choked on and turned pink again. I placed pressure on his back to clear anything else and called 000 in a panic as he was still seizing. I had no idea what was happening. The operator talked me through the situation and told me to lay him on his side and keep him cool – that it was most likely a Febrile Convulsion. She called the paramedics and stayed with me on the line until they arrived. We live about 45 minutes from anywhere and they arrived in 25. The seizure lasted the whole time. As soon as they walked in the door my son sat up like nothing had happened. The only thing he said was “uh oh”. My partner met us at the hospital – he made a 45 minute F3 drive in about 5 minutes. We were both so shaken, but after spending the day in Emergency, our son was given the all clear. We have all come down with the most revolting gastro the past week – let’s just say we have lost at least a few kilograms. Our son has been such a soldier and smiled through the whole thing. He is saying words and recognises pictures that he did not before the seizure - it is like he has been struck by lightening. One plus that has come from his episode. The brain is an amazing thing.

The experience reminded me of how precious this life is and how grateful we should be each day for our blessings. I say this every day usually, however it is now more clear than ever for me. We all have our own lives to live, our paths to take. The things that happen to us along the way and how we deal with them make us who we are. I really empathise with parents who have a sick child and who have to spend days, weeks, months in and out of hospital – how stressed and concerned they must be 24/7 to see their little person so helpless. To lose a child must be heart-wrenching and I can not imagine how difficult that journey would be. I know I was not ready to hand over ours. We tend to fight for causes close to home - I share this story to bring awareness to a very common medical condition.

For more information on Febrile Convulsions and how to treat them go to:

Kids Health - The Children’s Hospital at Westmead

Sydney Children’s Hospital Randwick