Hi lovelies,

Some weeks the glimmers feel easy to find.

Other weeks, they ask you to look a little closer.

This has been one of those weeks for me.

I’ve found myself feeling a little flat as the reality of preparing for the Affordable Art Fair starts to sink in. Deadlines have a funny way of bringing both excitement and pressure, and there is a lot of faith involved in being creative. You put time, energy and money into something long before you know what it will become.

Perhaps that is the strange rhythm of making art. There are moments of joy and inspiration, but there are also moments of wondering if you’re doing the right thing and whether all the pieces will come together.

So this week I’ve been reminding myself to look for the small moments that lift me. The little sparks of beauty and connection that are always there, even when life feels a little overwhelming.

Here are this week’s glimmers…

Glimmer One — A day with my daughters

One of my greatest joys in life has been watching my daughters grow into adults who I genuinely love spending time with.

This week we had a beautiful day together in Melbourne, visiting the Cartier exhibition at the NGV.

I think one of the unexpected gifts of motherhood is that, as children grow, your relationship changes. The days of being needed in the same way are replaced with something new — conversations, shared experiences and friendship.

I feel so lucky that we have created a tradition over the years of visiting exhibitions together. We go to look at art, but we always come home with something more valuable — a new way of seeing the world.

Glimmer Two — The unexpected lessons from an exhibition

The funny thing about visiting exhibitions is that the things you take away are not always what you expect.

My daughter, who loves diamonds, was definitely drawn to the incredible jewellery at Cartier. And honestly, who could blame her? The craftsmanship was extraordinary.

But what stayed with me was something quite different.

Looking back at these creations from another era, I found myself thinking about how much we once celebrated beauty, detail and personal expression.

Jewellery, clothing, interiors and architecture were filled with colour, craftsmanship and individuality. They weren’t afraid to delight.

It made me wonder if we have become a little hesitant to express ourselves. Sometimes it feels as though we’ve become so good at editing ourselves that we forget the joy of surrounding ourselves with things that make us feel alive.

I don’t think the lesson was that we all need a diamond necklace (although they were certainly beautiful!).

Perhaps it was simply a reminder to embrace the things that bring us joy. To choose colour if colour makes us happy. To fill our homes with objects that tell our stories. To celebrate the details that make a space — or a person — feel unique.

Perhaps beauty isn’t an extravagance after all.

Perhaps it is one of the quiet ways we remind ourselves to really live.

Glimmer Three — Studio days

Most of this week has been spent painting.

There haven’t been any dramatic breakthroughs or huge moments of inspiration. Just showing up, putting paint on canvas, making decisions, changing my mind and slowly watching the work reveal itself.

Sometimes creative work is like that.

Not every day feels magical. Sometimes the magic comes simply from returning.

Glimmer Four — A little cinnamon bun philosophy

We ended our gallery day at a pop-up café dedicated entirely to cinnamon buns and all their delicious variations.

I know… not exactly a hardship!

But it did make me think about something I’ve struggled with throughout my life — the idea of indulgence.

Somehow, treating ourselves can feel uncomfortable. As though we need to earn it first. I’ve even found myself being judgemental when I see other people freely embracing indulgence, which is something I’m trying to let go of.

Yet put a beautiful piece of cake in front of me and somehow all those rules soften. (Perhaps I have some double standards when it comes to cake!)

Maybe that’s because a shared coffee and something delicious isn’t really about the food at all.

It’s about pressing pause.

It’s about saying, this moment matters too.

Life asks a lot of us most days. There are responsibilities, deadlines, endless decisions about dinner and all the ordinary things that fill our lives.

A cinnamon bun doesn’t solve any of that, but for twenty minutes it reminds us that joy doesn’t have to be saved for special occasions.

Perhaps these little treats aren’t indulgences at all.

Perhaps they’re tiny acts of care.

Glimmer Five — The practice of noticing

Writing these glimmers each week has become a little ritual for me.

There are always moments when I think, “I don’t really have five things to share this week.”

And then I start writing.  Almost every time, I realise they were there all along.  Maybe that is the point.

The glimmers don’t always arrive wrapped in glitter. Sometimes they look like an afternoon with people you love, a painting slowly taking shape, a beautiful exhibition, or a cinnamon bun shared over coffee.

They are small reminders that even in the busy, difficult and ordinary weeks, there is always something worth noticing.

I hope you find a few of your own this weekend.