Welcome to Ma Belle Vie….

This is our view of Mt Wellington from our driveway….this snowfall only happened yesterday..So nice to be able to walk outside and see it every day

Bonjour everyone and welcome to a brand new blog…..for those of you who’ve been following my blogs for a while I’d like to say thanks for sticking around and I hope you continue to enjoy being here…..For those of you who are new here I’ll take a minute to explain what’s happening…..In September 2012 I started my blog Seek Joy which was then known as Home, Love & Life As I Live It…quite a mouthful hey lol…..and while I loved the blog it had a couple of name changes but all the posts from it are here in the archives….Then in December 2016 I started another blog called Maison Chic Designs which was all about living a French way of life while living in Australia….I’m a self confessed Francophile and love everything about France and her culture. However, my hubby injured himself not long after starting this blog and both blogs suffered and this one in particular sat in limbo with nothing happening but it was always in the back of my mind……then in June of 2017 I started my green beauty blog called Beyond the Mirror…..this blog is the most current and I love it to bits. It’s all about my journey from using mainstream cosmetics and switching over to completely certified organic and natural skin care, makeup and house hold products while incorporating as much gut healing health tips I can.

Russell Falls up on Mt Field…….Spectacular to watch…

So why the new blog you might be asking. Well as you can imagine writing three blogs and managing 4 Instagram accounts (one for each blog plus my health one) is very time demanding. After trying to balance everything for so long there was always one area suffering and not getting the attention in deserved. I certainly didn’t want to give any of them up as they’re all my passions but I needed to free up my time and give some time back to my family. So this is when I decided to merge the three blogs into one new blog and now we have Ma Belle Vie…..Ma Belle Vie translated is My Beautiful Life and being as I love blogging and sharing on instagram the daily things I get up to, my love of everything french, skin care, makeup and life in general I couldn’t think of a better name than Ma Belle Vie.

My Rustic French Kitchen From the top of the stair in our living room leading down into the kitchen/dining room..

From the other side of the room near the back door…..

Looking out the kitchen window…..It gets beautiful sunshine coming in….

If you’ve been following me for a while then you know in December last year my family and I moved from Western Australia to Tasmania and while we love it here it’s been a big change and a lot of getting used to things working very differently to over home. So today I thought I’d share a few pics of our little chateaux kitchen/dining area, the view from our drive way and a beautiful place we visited last weekend called Russell Falls. Today is really just an introductory post to welcome you all but I’ll be back regularly with updates on family life, french finds and all things green beauty and health…..enjoy the pics….

Michelle x

 

Moving House or House Removal?

Good morning and happy hump day to all of you where ever you may be this minute. As you may know we’ve just moved house a week and a half a go and boy what a mission it’s been! I’m really hoping this is the last move for quite some time because it’s so much work it’s not funny. Which got me thinking is it really moving house or a house removal?? While you don’t uproot the actual house and take it with you it sure feels that way. By the time you have everything in boxes and bags and loaded into a trucks, cars, trailer and do 2 or three trips it kind of feel more like a house removal.

I’ve always preferred setting up house as opposed to packing it up. Unpacking never seems as much work but then you have the fun of trying to figure out where everything belongs in a new house. And that’s the bit I love most, that’s my designer/decorator side of me that says ‘woohoo now the fun really begins…..’ I’m pretty sure only us designer guys and gals get it lol…

It’s no secret I couldn’t stand Capel after only a few months and it was literally our friends on the other side of town that helped keep me sane…..we’ve all heard of a one horse town right? Well Capel must be the horse capital in W.A lol and that was fine because there’s nothing more beautiful than driving down the road and seeing a lovely mare….However! Capel also believes in being a one street town! Everything you need (the bare necessities and I do mean bare) are on the one and only main street of town. ‘That’s great’ I hear you thinking and it probably is if you don’t mind spending every other day travelling to either Busselton or Bunbury to get something as simple as jocks and sock! Yep not even anywhere in Capel to buy something to cover your bum and feet….and don’t even get me started on the lycra crowd hehehe oh boy…..

Our little beauty down the road that we used to keep an eye on….One of the better attractions in Capel….

OK I know it sounds like I’m bitching but there were some positives to come out of living in Capel. My wonderful hubby finally found a job he loves doing and does less hours for much better income than his previous job, I discovered just how strong my love of design is and started doing my diploma of interior design/decoration (though I have to say I also started it because after 2 months in Capel I was going stir crazy lol), I rediscovered my love of pilates and working out and I also started doing Jamberry Nails for some extra income which I love as you know from previous post. We made some new friends and explored new places. Francis and Bec both grew heaps and loved country life. Luke lost a lot of independence really but now we’re somewhere he can start getting that back……..unfortunately the con’s outweigh the pro’s but I do believe we were in Capel for a reason and I also believe we left Capel at the right time for a reason…..While Capel is a lovely little town to visit on a stop through to Perth or Busselton it’s not somewhere I’ll be moving back to any time soon…hence the house removal hehe…

Pilates on my reformer

Bec’s old room

Francis’ old room

So now we’re in a new house and while the area is a little more suburbia than country than I’d like I’m happy with our location and new house……I’m enjoying setting up the house which believe me is still a work in process but it’s getting there and thankfully the beach is literally 5 minutes up the road! Thank goodness for that…… As I’m still setting up I’ll have pics of the new place up in a day or two…….So now I’m off to do the mum thing and get the kiddies some lunch before putting Francis down for a nap….

So I hope you enjoy the rest of your day and the week ahead….take care for now..

Au revoir

Michelle xo