Life is busy and in this high-tech, fast-paced crazy world we live in, it can be easy to overlook the little things in the outside world around us. When we moved from our rural small town in Australia to the vortex of Los Angeles I was beside myself that my little nature-loving child’s soul would be sucked dry from the concrete jungle she was now living in, that her love for chirping birds, little insects and the sacred twig would soon be a faded memory. She proved me wrong though. While I pined for my tall trees and croaking frogs (who knew I would actually miss those bad boys?), she kept her blinkers on and found beauty amongst the cracks of the concrete - a little bug, a ‘beautiful rock’, crunchy leaves - things I was missing while blinded by the billboards, traffic and smog. My little three year old taught me that no matter where we lived, we could still enjoy the beauty this world has to offer, and has opened my eyes up to so much I was missing!

Her little wake-up call inspired me to focus on bringing the outside in for our family and celebrate the beauty of nature inside our home as well as out. Precious ‘collections’ of seashells, rocks, twigs, dirty old feathers and other random items made their way to decorate windowsills, fill baskets and become her favorite playthings. We began a ‘nature table’ at home with a pretty cloth, a plant and then collected and handmade items that reflected the season to enjoy and remind us of the goings on out in mother nature. Here in southern california where the seasonal changes are so slight, it’s especially lovely to have this little shrine to nature in our home and remember our place in the big wide world out there.