Amanda Brooke

Amanda Brooke Wedding

I know that some readers have seen photos that I posted from our wedding back in March, but I haven't told you about our day...not in detail anyway. Now that I have some more photos to share with you I thought it would be nice to finally write about our special day.

 

Dean and I had originally planned to be married in 2011, 6 weeks after the birth of Ben. It didn't go to plan. We changed our date to March this year and kept all of our plans in place to marry locally at the beautiful Brandy Creek winery. As I counted down the weeks (until 3 weeks before the wedding) things just didn't feel 'right' and I literally begged Dean to consider going back to our original plans of marrying at home. He and many others thought I was crazy. If I was crazy it was a good thing because once the decision was made everything fell into place beautifully and it was a wonderful day. It just felt so special to marry at home, my favourite place in the world.

After 3 weeks of working bees and frantic mowing, pruning and cleaning we married in our backyard with my two brothers escorting me down the aisle (my father is deceased) to Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow'. We followed my children, first Max pulling Ben in a billy cart (lovingly made by Dean and his father especially for the day - as Ben wasn't walking) followed by Jess. We were married by a lovely, local celebrant, Vicki and wrote our own vows. During the ceremony Deans cousin read a beautiful hand blessing. We signed our marriage certificates to an acoustic version of 'You and Me' by Lifehouse sung by local singer, Julianne Bremner and we greeted our guests as husband and wife to Newton Faulkners 'Dream Catch Me'.

Our ceremony space was our backyard. I decorated the backdrop with doily bunting and a vintage cloth covered our signing table. We had white timber look-alike chairs for guests and standing space on our back verandah. It was simple.

My something old: My shoes & dress

My something new: My custom hairpiece from Etsy by LuluSplendour & ear rings

My something borrowed and blue: My mum's embroidered vintage hanky

Our flowers were purchased from a wholesale flower supplier, from my favourite local nursery Kurinda Rose Nursery and gathered from friends and family. The bouquets were made by a friend and my mother and I assisted....which if you read my first post about our day you would know that I really enjoyed it! The bouquets contained dahlias from a prize winning local grower, succulents from our garden, roses, snowberries, lisianthus and dusty miller. I wrapped our bouquets in velvet ribbon, a wide band of vintage lace and finished it off with an engraved disc by Giggle and Groove, layered over a vintage pearl button.

Our reception was held in a large marquee set up in our front yard. The marquee was decorated with paper bunting made by my mum, vintage books, tea light candles and I displayed our flowers in preserving jars and vintage vases. I created a display of photos of our family members on their wedding days, a special table for my father, a corner where guests could create photo messages for us instead of a traditional guest book and we had a play corner for little Ben. It was simple and as we only had 3 weeks to gather everything we were all very tired...but very happy!

This image was taken by me prior to the ceremony

We had a family friend supply us with nibbles, guests BYO'd their drinks and finger food was supplied by  locally based Debritz catering. Their food is beautiful and we were so grateful that they were available on such short notice! Our wedding cake was simply chocolate and vanilla cupcakes displayed on 3 cupcake stands and these were made by a friend, Expressions 4 Impressions. We had our first dance to Newton Faulkners 'If This Is It'.

This image was taken by our neighbour

Overall it was a small budget wedding with all clothing bought pre-loved, on sale or we used already available items from our wardrobes. My mum made our boys tie and bowtie. I made the invitations and all signage for the day using chalk paint on large timber boards. Yes, we could have done it simpler in many ways but I am happy with the decisions we made and as they changed many a time (as many of our suppliers and helpers know) I am grateful for the way things turned out!

Four months have passed since the wedding and each day that I go out into our yard I am reminded of our special day, our vows and the love I feel for my husband. I am glad we got married at home.

Thanks for visiting,

Amanda x

P.S These images (unless specified) were taken at our place by a friends cousin, Michelle of Michelle Couling Photography. Please do not copy these images, however you may link to them if you wish.

 

 

Home truths

I'm back. The fog is lifting and I can see the way forward. These last few weeks have been both frustrating and rewarding as I sifted through my thoughts and dug deep into where the heart of my blog lies. I have also been faced with new challenges at home with my husband away overseas I'm having to take on some of the extra tasks. At first I was overwhelmed by the extra work. The bitter cold that confronted me first thing in the morning when I collected firewood made me curse. But day by day I have come to enjoy this task. I soon forget the cold when I am immersed in deciding what size logs we need for the fire.

Through my work around the home it has always been easy for me to understand why I have chosen this lifestyle for our family. I feel comforted by a vase of cut flowers on the windowsill, a pile of nappies that need stuffing, a fire that has been freshly lit, the smell of freshly baked rolls, the linen drying on the line under the veranda and watching small hands work alongside mine.

The truth is that it won't always be about sharing the comforts with you. Life isn't always simple, frugal, creative, green and calm here. But I will be honest and I will be authentic. My voice has returned and it comes from my heart. Live Life Simply is a blog that shares my journey as a work and stay at home mum striving to live creatively and sustainably, teaching our children important living skills and doing it together, as a family.

Thanks for visiting,

Hallway organisation

I can be impatient. Once I get going on an idea I just have get stuck into there and then...well...not always, but most of the time! In the very wee hours of the yesterday morning I came across a 'command centre' in a hallway where everything had it's place and it was conveniently located close to an entrance. I wanted one. I almost started clearing space then and there! I measured, listed pieces I might need to create one and when daylight broke today I got started.

This is what was here before. A part of our home I enjoyed, but it wasn't functional.

This is how it looks now.

I wanted to buy an Ikea Expedit piece, baskets to fit etc, but I managed to use items from around the house to make it work. It doesn't look as pretty as my old sewing display, but it feels like it will be very functional and I really like the idea of having everything in one convenient place. The baskets at the top hold my handbag, shopping bags and one for Little Eco parcels to be sent to customers. There is a shelf for shoes (mostly school shoes) and underneath is space for the nappy bag and the kids school bags. I hung a noticeboard above it and plan to only attach school and kids things that need attention.

This is set up at our front entrance which we rarely use, but as there was no space to create something similar at the back door it had to be the front. I imagine I will change this around a bit as time passes and commitments change, but for now it is just good having everything in one space.

Do you have a similar space dedicated to keeping your family organised?

Thanks for visiting,

Amanda x

 

 

 

Buddhism for Mothers

A few years ago a book changed my life. Simple Abundance. I wrote about it here. A few weeks ago another book came into my life in much the same way and I am embracing and reading it with passion.

 

The Complete Buddhism for Mothers. It is 3 books in one volume - Buddhism for Mothers, Buddhism for Mothers of Young Children and Buddhism for Mothers of Schoolchildren. It kind of follows me around the house...yes...it is one of 'those' books! I hadn't heard of it before, read a recommendation or a review...but I was destined to pick it up, buy it, start reading, start practicing and begin some shifting and changing. I am living more patiently, more aware, more mindful...and I am only part way in.

This book is for every mother and you don't need to follow or even understand Buddhism to practice the advice and embrace the authors own journey. I love it. In as many as a few weeks I feel more in tune with me, more aware of my children, and less angry.

I am uncomfortable to admit it, but I think that most of my anger and frustration as a parent comes from when my children interrupt my thoughts or interrupt my the simplest tasks. By being more aware and living in that moment I am able to tune out of my thoughts (and I am learning to minimise the thoughts also) and into them. I am able to carry on a task without the mindful chatter and take notice of them and their needs. I am enjoying my children more and feel like I am slowly becoming happier to be around too.

I didn't purposely seek this book out, but I have been searching for something and I think this might be it. Are you searching for something to guide you as a parent?

Thanks for visiting,

Amanda x

P.S I haven't been asked to review this book. These are my own words and I just wanted to share as this book as it is making a positive difference to my life.

 

Some more wedding snippets

These pics were taken by our neighbour...a beautiful and treasured wedding gift for our family. We ended up with two photographers and I will share our favourites from our other photographers album very soon.

Enjoy!

Thanks for visiting,

Amanda x