march + april

march and april of 2012 are in the books.  check out the pictures of the day!

window shopping: birthday edition

My 30th birthday is coming up in a few days!  There are a lot of thoughts I have on this, but more on that later.  I thought it might be fun to do a little birthday window shopping around the net.  Here are a few of my favorite items right now.

I've been wanting a pair of saltwater sandals for a while now.  I would love to own every single color because I think they are that adorable.

I adore skirts.  This is my latest skirt crush from Target.

A fun little camera to add a different element to my art journal pages.

Who doesn't want/NEED a little Marc Jacobs in their life?  

every girl needs their lovely candles.

As the weather starts getting colder here, these would be perfect with boots!  I first saw these adorable socks over at rockstar diaries.  Pick up your own pair here.

I have had a bit of a nail polish addiction lately.  I'm in love with these colors from essie. 

1) haute as hello. 2) mint candy apple. 3) main squeeze. 4) muchi, muchi. 5) lapiz of luxury. 6) neo whimsical.

My latest photo editing software is lightroom, and Totally Rad has came out with lightroom presets to help with photo editing.  I love presets!  They are so much fun to play around with!  

This bag caught my eye the minute I saw it.  The color is perfect, the little bow makes me so happy.  

and finally.....

yes people. you have no idea how much i miss this.

luv!  luv!

cafe ♥: the baron

 I have a dream of one day owning my own vintage store and cafe.  I'm still not one hundred percent how those two dreams fit together, but my desire is to own a business that is a "treat" for people to come to.  I want people to walk into my storefront excited about what they will experience, come in and be inspired and refreshed, and walk out the doors giddy; ready to take on life.  


Sydney has some of the greatest cafes in the world, so I figure my time here will be a great chance to discover, take notes, and daydream about the future.  So welcome to a new feature on the blog, cafe ♥. 


This week I visited a cafe that just vibed with me, The Baron.  Sadly, I didn't have a lot of time to snap tons of photos, but here are a few snapshots that I grabbed.  

Some things I loved:  The menu is printed on kraft paper and given to you on a clipboard.  Water is served to you in old whiskey bottles.  I ordered an iced coffee, which included a scoop of vanilla ice cream and had a short black straw.  My brother Brock and I have always had a thing for black straws.  I think it stems from watching Laguna Beach.

Dane ordered a Phoenix, which is a completely organic cola from New Zealand.  I'm not much of a cola girl, but this was smooth and lovely.  One of my favorite drinks here in Australia is the sparkling lemonade, so I am hoping to get my hands on a Phoenix lemonade someday in the near future.

The decor of The Baron is right up my alley, which could also be known as something you would pick up out of an alley.  This wall had been covered with "junk" wood, vintage fold up seats lean against the wall, and of course, we all know my obsession with vintage bikes, but a vintage yellow bike...happiness!


If you want to read more about The Baron check out their website and menus here.  I promise I will return and bring back more!

window shopping: rain boots

It has rained for two days straight here in Sydney.  I can't help but dream I had a pair of these lovelies to get around in.

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botanical

Surrounding myself by nature has always brought energy into my life, and I have always loved photographing nature because it is so fleeting.  I went on a bit of a nature walk a few weeks ago with the goal of capturing the many different plants that live in my neighborhood.  These are some of the pictures from that walk.  I am so glad that I did, because now, most of these plants have already disappeared as autumn quickly moves in.

lately.

A lot has been going on in the life of the Wutke's lately.  Here's a bit of an update.

Lately we get super excited about mail from our friends and family back at home.  Those stamps that read USA are gold to us!  Dane and I discovered that we have received one letter every week since we have been here from the great USA, which truly has been a blessing.



Lately, we celebrated two of our new friends' birthdays, Mathilda and Mark.  As a result we got to play with sparklers at a surprise birthday party for Mark, and enjoy a spread of desserts at Mathilda's party.  

Lately, I had a stare down with a cockatoo on our balcony.  After almost one solid hour of us both constantly peaking over our shoulders, it flew away.  Therefore, I am saying, I won.

Lately, I have been volunteering at creative night at the church with scene set up.  Creative night is for anyone involved with the creative side of the church, be it music, design, production, really anything!  Each week they create a different scene for people to walk into and enjoy.  This is one of my favorite projects that we did last week.  Fill milk crates with jars of candles, and then stack them on top of each other.  You would think it would be too hot, but it isn't.  The holes in the milk crates allow just enough oxygen in to keep the candles burning and create enough distance from the next crate to keep the plastic from getting hot.

Lately, Dane and I really want a puppy.  We can't imagine having to say goodbye to our own puppy after two years (it would be way too hard to get it back into the USA) so we settle for visiting the pet stores on a regular basis and dreaming of the day when we will one day have one of our own.

Lately, I have been doing a lot of art journaling.  Often the floor and bed in our room look like this at the end of the day, and I love it!

Lately, the birds of this land are making me smile.  My housemate Mel found these two lovebirds sitting on our back porch, sheltering one another from the rain.  It made my day!

And for those of you who have committed to pray for us, here are a few specific requests.

1. Dane is walking, praise Jesus.  We truly believe it is a miracle, considering the doctor told us he would be on crutches for 2 to 3 months, and he was off them and walking in one.  He still has swelling and pain so please pray for continued recovery.

2. Dane is also looking for a job.  We are praying that he will find one that will work along with his school hours, and be something that he will enjoy.

3. God has been doing some pretty awesome works in our hearts while we have been here.  So lift up a shout of praise for us all!  Chains have been broken, lives have been healed!

4. Pray for God's provision.  Not only in Dane and my life, but many of the Hillsong students as well.  Life here isn't cheap (I should do a blog post of price comparisons for you all someday).  So we are praying for jobs for our friends, food for them to eat, and just generous people to come into their lives and bless the socks off of them.

Please know that we love you all dearly.  xoxo the kids down under