At times the lead up to Christmas can seem a little frenzied. There’s the rush to get things done before the end of the year, the pressure of finding perfect presents for the special people in your life, and the flurry of end-of-year gatherings. In amongst all this, it can be nice to take a step back, slow down and notice the tiny details that surround you. Sometimes the things that happen quietly in the background can be amazingly beautiful.

Highlights of our weekend:

* Coffee and croissants at Reverends on Brunswick Street.

* New shoes. I’m rediscovering Nike in my quest to find shoes that I can spend all day in.

* A visit to The Tea Centre resulting in the purchase of a new teapot from The London Pottery Company.

* Shopping in the Valley.

* Fox! He’s by Scoops Design, and is part of a set of three which are now dotted around the apartment.

* Skyfall at the Palace Centro Cinema. What a great tribute for the 50th Anniversary of Bond.

* Getting into the Christmas spirit, aided by a divinely scented candle from Ecoya’s seasonal range, it’s called “Holiday in London”.

I hope your weekends were as lovely as ours!

I had a wonderful day filled with good friends, lovely food and beautiful new shiny things.

Tonight’s weather made for another spectacular show in the skies over Brisbane.

Brisbane was hit by a series of amazing storms today – strong winds, heavy rain, lightning and thunder, the works. We were out and about when the first one struck.

I watched today’s solar eclipse the old-fashioned way – with a homemade pinhole viewer.

I’ve always loved the colour of the sky here. At times it has an intensity that doesn’t look real.

There was a second layer, but it obviously disappeared pretty quickly…