What’s one new thing that you started/learnt during COVID?
2020 was such a strange year. It was unprecedented, unpredictable, restrictive and also meaningful. I re-introduced myself to a lot of activities like sketching and painting that had dropped off over the years. However, one new thing that I started last year was baking! 
As they say...cooking is an art and baking is a science. I have never been the kind of person who would measure every ingredient to the last gram and follow a recipe to the T. After an excessive amount of baking cakes, cookies, pies, banana breads, quiches and turkish pitas, following a recipe and also creating new ones is my new skill! And it was a ton of fun to bake with my 5 year old!
How did you stay active during COVID?
Who knew COVID kilos was going to become a reality! I was never a ‘go to the gym and do squats’ kind of person. Prior to COVID, eating healthy, Zumba (sometimes) but mostly walking a lot in the city kept me fit. During COVID, apart from going on walks with my family, I also started an exercise program with my neighbour. We found this awesome online fitness enthusiast named Chloe Ting on YouTube and we followed her exercise programs to get fit. We did it together in our backyards to keep each other accountable and also have fun. After all the baked goods I was consuming on a daily basis, HIIT workouts were a necessity!
How did you juggle mum life during COVID?
Juggling work, home, blog and social media and most importantly mum life was a true challenge! We had decided to isolate completely and not send our daughter to kinder but home school her instead. Which with both my husband and I working full time made it quite difficult. But as I say, when the going gets tough, the tough get going...and we survived the year! I created a lot of different art and craft activities to keep my daughter engaged and happy through the day while I was working. A lot of cubby houses and forts were built with bedsheets, cushions, throws and dining room chairs. We hung a lot of new artwork that we were making everyday and wore a lot of handmade jewellery. We played a lot of tea parties, learnt to play basketball and backyard cricket, baked a whole lot of cakes and cookies and watched every episode of ‘Bluey’ and ‘Peppa Pig’. Christmas came early to our house and making ornaments and decorating the house kept the little one busy as well. We spent time as a family going for walks, barbecuing in the backyard, gardening and also getting ready to start school in 2021. My daughter also features in a lot of the campaigns I work on. She loves spending time with me and helping in my campaigns as much as I love it!
How do you find having such an online presence, can it be difficult?
I like having an online presence and sharing my daily musings. Having said that I hope I’m not an over-sharer. Through Instagram I’ve made so many like minded friends who live in different parts of the world, it is truly mind boggling. And what is more mind boggling is that each and everyone of these amazing humans are so supportive, motivating and share experiences that we can all learn from! 
Sometimes finding inspiration to be creative on a daily basis can be a challenge but that's when I introspect, take a break from social media and regroup. Photography has always inspired me and I find taking photos of random compositions really inspires me. Whenever there is a creative block, I pick up my camera and just head out or take photos of my daughter.
What makes you happiest in life?
So many things….but being around my family and friends would be number one! Spending quality time with my daughter and watching her grow up with an amazing group of little friends in a beautiful country. Learning a new skill. Taking photographs and creating visual stories. Random compliments on my photos on social media from a stranger from across the globe! Or just sitting on the beach on a sunny afternoon with my family making memories makes me happy!




Why did you decide to start an Instagram?
A picture is worth a thousand words. I decided to start an Instagram account to share my visual stories, and my random musings in little squares. Also having a design blog that was getting a lot of attention, the Gram seemed like natural progression. It also quenched my need for photography and styling brands all in one. However, never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that so many people would appreciate my styling and photography. I am amazed everyday by the appreciation and encouragement that I receive!
What’s your favourite part about having an online presence?
Sharing my life stories and special moments, collaborating with some of my favorite brands and ticking them off my ‘bucket list’! But most importantly, offering my honest and organic views to all the people who read my reviews and like my photos.
What is the best campaign you’ve worked on?
There are so many that it’s difficult to choose only one. The Aarke collaboration is a memorable one! It's easy to do a great campaign - style and photograph when you work with an amazing brand and product! The Koena collaboration is very dear to me because of their corporate social responsibility and the Koena dermaceutical cream is just incredible for your skin! The Six Barrel Soda Co collaboration was so much fun to do as I had the creative freedom to experiment and create new recipes with their delicious syrups and I didn't mind the constant taste testing either!  

I loved working with Only Essentials. Their masks and the hand held sanitising wand was probably the most used product in 2020 in my home! And I will continue to use them this year as well. I also loved the creative freedom I had on that campaign and the ingenious product! 

The Birde campaign was my daughter’s most favourite! Their product is innovative and just top notch! The Balsam Hill campaign from a couple of years ago was a personal favourite as their trees are beyond amazing and I had been coveting them for years! I love working with Spotlight Stores...they are a phenomenal brand and the creativity that I can show on their campaigns really fulfils my creative brain!

Another fantastic campaign was the one I collaborated on with Northcote Pottery. Their planter pots are gorgeous and it was a fun campaign to do with my daughter and I learnt so much about gardening! There are so many incredible brands, too many to list that I work with that deserve a mention as they are amazing and unforgettable! But to me, I love working with the people behind the brands, that makes a campaign fun and truly memorable for me.
The food you make looks amazing! What’s your favourite thing to make?
Thank you so much! Who knew I could bake! I certainly didn't. My favourite thing to bake is a mixed berry and white chocolate bundt cake with lemon icing. It’s a family favourite! My favourite dish to cook is homemade turkish pitas with slow cooked Moroccan lamb shanks. Just thinking about it makes me hungry!
Favourite skincare product?
My favourite skincare product be it day or night is Sunscreen. I live and swear by it! 
Apart from sunscreen, there are only a few other skincare products that I use as I have very sensitive skin and so does my daughter. For daily skincare, Koena is steroid and fragrance free and has made a real difference in counteracting my eczema and my daughter’s dermatitis which can flare up due to stress or any environmental change. I also love using Mustela, their body balm and Dry Skin bath oil is organic, hydrating and amazing for soothing stressed out skin and great for my daughter’s skin type. I also love the micro-dermabrasion paste from Rodan + Fields and the Green Tea and Ginko serum by Advanced Natural. These are skincare products I use everyday. 
What fitness product from Only Essentials could you not live without?
My favourite product from Only Essentials would be the biodegradable cork yoga mat. I love it because it's made from 100% natural, sustainably-sourced premium materials and is super comfy to work out on!  I also like their pro-stretch bands for strength and resistance training :) 
Cork Mat: https://onlyessentials.com.au/collections/yoga/products/yoga-mat-cork?variant=34295143891076
Pro Stretch Bands:
https://onlyessentials.com.au/collections/strength/products/stretch-bands?variant=34282655776900
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