A wonderful few days! We spent my birthday in Kyneton, a charming country town not far from where we live. Lots of cool shops - children's boutiques, organic delis - have sprung up there in the last year and it is a very pleasant place to spend a morning, but it also has some fiercely good charity shops and I couldn't resist adding to my collection a 1950s tea set and a number of vintage tea towels, cake stands and children's books.


For Paul's birthday the boys and I gave him 40 gifts, mainly home-made bits and pieces, but also some special things and a few novelties like a garden gnome, a whoopee cushion, a 1970s Airfix kit and some temporary tattoos. We had a birthday tea party and Jules and I made 40 cupcakes, decorated with Love Hearts (thanks Pip!).


We had a gorgeous dinner with friends at The Grande, a recently refreshed restaurant and hotel in Hepburn. It is beautiful and has a tiny cinema downstairs that we're planning to visit soon. Everything is vintage, including a lovely art deco bar. And divine Turkish-inspired food. If you visit Daylesford you must dine at The Grande!

But our celebrations didn't stop there! Our birthdays co-incided with the annual Italian Festa in our town. Daylesford and Hepburn have a Swiss-Italian heritage and there are always lots of celebrations at harvest time. This weekend we joined in the Town Parade with the other families from the pre-school and primary school, we ate polenta and pizza and watched bocce, we saw fireworks and - best of all - we saw the Circo Fantastice Grande, a trio of children's circus groups from Daylesford, Smeaton and Melbourne that knocked us out, it was amazing! Jacob was particularly inspired and has been practising balancing acts with Rita (his cat) in the bathroom!

So a wonderful few days, made even more special because our Tea Towel was reviewed by Michi Girl (on my birthday!) and we were inundated with Lark orders. Hurrah for special days, friends, charity shops, the circus and good food!

ANZAC DAY in Australia. We made giant poppies, medals and paper doves, and Paul took the boys to the local Anzac Day march. And thanks Pip for the recipe for Anzac Cookies, here is Jules making some (of course, more of the mixture was eaten than made it into the oven!).

The Miggy Tree is a book that every mum would be delighted to receive and every child would be thrilled to read.

The Miggy Tree was written as a gift by Karl Yeomans for his mum, Margot, more affectionately known as Miggy, to celebrate her 50th birthday.

In 2006, when Karl was only 33, his life was tragically cut short by a malignant brain tumour. Shortly after his death his wife, Julie Buxton, decided to bring this wonderful poem to life as a beautifully illustrated book and a precious gift for their two year old son Marlow and his grandma, Miggy.

Karl’s eloquent and quirky prose is complemented by a set of exquisite illustrations by Anna Walker, whisking us away to the magical, whimsical world of The Miggy Tree.



Margot is a family friend of ours from Melbourne. You can buy this beautiful book here, and support the Cancer Council. It would make a wonderful gift for your Mum.

I just finished off a batch of girl's tops, which will going on to the all-new Lark website when it is launched next month.

They are based on a sewing pattern my mum actually used to make for me, which I would wear with a polo neck or skivvy in winter. I have used up lots of my vintage fabric stash for the tops - the design seeems to work well with everything from 1950s roses to this 70's Holly Hobbie print.

A sneak preview of some of the new things that will soon be available at Lark, and my website is about to get a major makeover too! I'm so excited! And Happy Birthday Lily & Agathe, what a year it's been but the shop looks fab sweetie, and I've loved working with you (if you can call it 'work', it doesn't feel like it!). xxx

I'm thrilled that Little Salon in Fitzroy, Melbourne, is about to become a Lark stockist, as it's such a gorgeous shop. And MiniDecor, which is fab for online gifts, has just placed a new order. On their homepage you can see Jack (my friend's one-year-old) chewing one of our knitted carrots!

Phew, the school holidays are over! No really I am sad, it's been a gorgeous fortnight. We hunted for Easter eggs, saw the world's longest Chinese dragon, went to lots of fetes, festas and festivals, admired some paintings and generally had a very fun time, with beautiful weather to boot! We will all be sad to get back into our normal routine next week.

This morning I went to the Docklands craft market, in a beautiful spot right on the harbour in Melbourne. My friend Mia was running a stall for Lark and we sold quite a few things. I met some nice people and was pleased to bump into Dana, as we have been following each other's blogs but never actually met before! Dana makes some lovely baby gear and is starting an Etsy shop soon!

Lark has come over all 'British' recently, and we have added this wonderful tea towel to our range of products. It's based on a vintage WWII government poster that I have above my desk. I believe the original poster was never released as it was intended to only be issued if Britain was invaded, and it was largely forgotten about it turned up recently at a second-hand bookshop in the North of England.

I think it makes a marvellous tea towel and I will be giving one to my mum and all my friends (hey, everyone needs this kind of advice, me especially!). If you like it, you can place an order via our website here (Australian people) or here (people outside Australia).

Thanks to mod*mom, I have just become a member of the Junior Society, a new club that is all about exploring great design for children. Click here to view the Merit Badges and become a member yourself!