meal planning monday.

after bb cooked for us last week (one of the exhibits is below, rolled and roasted pork loin, so DELICIOUS!), i'm ready to get back in the meal planning saddle again!



tonight, bb is meeting up with his brother for dinner, so i'm having some home-made bread, with some home-grown tomatoes sliced up on top. oh and cheese. always cheese.

tomorrow night, i guess i should cook some real food. maybe a chicken curry. yep, yum.

wednesday night is ncb night! i'll grab some dinner there and leave bb to fend for himself.

i'm working late on thursday so i'll throw some chuck into the slow cooker and cook up some pasta before i leave for work.

friday night, i have the night off! yahoo! tres exciting! plans, we have none! so i might whip up this salad, i meant to a couple of weeks ago but it never happened.

saturday, bb and i are heading to a birthday afternoon tea, i'm sure we won't feel like eating as there is bound to be tonnes of delicious food there! perhaps we can throw together some kind of mezze platter. with cheese, obviously.

sunday night, i'm thinking a roast. roast chicken to be specific. lots of green vegies. perfect.

what are you eating this week? are you a cheese fan too?

coming to an op-shop near you!

i've been thinking the last couple of weeks about the yarn that is currently in my stash...
a lot of it was bought from op-shops, or inherited from my nanna and great aunt, and the large majority, is rather disappointing to knit with.

so while i was doing my thinking, i came to the conclusion, that all the junky, acrylic, novelty yarns that make up the majority of my stash, were holding me back somewhat...
thinking about knitting with these wools that i don't like, was making me lose motivation for knitting, which is something that i love!

after a little sort, this lot is off to the op-shop!



4989 grams worth of wool.
that's almost FIVE kilograms!



and the large majority of it was this wonderful fluffy stuff! so very on trend for 10-15 years ago ha ha!

i emptied what was left on to the kitchen table to assess what i have... and also to share on instagram, there's been much chatting about wool stashes over there, and well, there was a bit of a dare to share ha ha!



all of my stash now fits onto my dining table!
though i did realise after putting everything away, that i didn't include my little collection of cottons... i keep them in an old beauty case, with a pair of 4mm needles, for dish-clothing on the go.

do you ever feel restricted by what you HAVE to knit with? what does your stash look like?

green love.

i flipped the lid on my green house, to share what's growing under there at the moment!



a veritable swathe of green! so exciting!

there are little onions sticking their heads up!



while at mum and dad's on the weekend, i convinced mum that the best place to grow onions would be the chookyard!
these little guys will be getting some slightly bigger pots soon, and then heading back to the farm on mother's day weekend to be planted out in the chookyard. they'll be out of the way, and free to grow and grow and grow!

i've also got some little cauliflower seedlings poking their heads up!



mum is intending to refill her vegie garden with chook manure and some fresh dirt and let it settle over the winter months, so i'm not entirely sure where these guys will live...
i intend to repot them though, to give them a little bit more growing room while i work it out!

there are also a whole heap of cuttings hanging out in my little green house too!



rosemary, ivy and lavender!
i've got to get some rose cuttings happening too!
bb and i are in the process, the very beginnings, of looking for our first house to buy. and i want to make sure i'm not leaving my plants behind when we eventually move out!

aaaaaaaaaand there's these guys...



in my last seed purchase, i popped some nice organic garlic bulbs in my basket too! their little heads have popped up, and once again, i can't wait to harvest. only 2803702149 months to go right?
there are also a couple of spinach leaves popping up too! this was where i grew my modest little spinach patch last year, there must have been a few seeds floating around still as i certainly haven't planted any more!
oh, and way in the background there, is bb's chilli plant! i don't think we'll harvest anything off it this year, as it is WAY too late (and possums, bloody possums!) but it's a nice bit of greenery. and bb remains hopeful!

what's growing in your patch at the moment? are you planning your winter crops? or are you heading into spring?

lend me your arms.

one of the newest trends in knitting, is to ditch your needles, and use your arms!
i thought i'd jump right in...



it was super fun, and i very vaguely followed this video...
vaguely, because i kept knitting until i ran out of wool, far exceeding the recommended 23 rows.



this wasn't the end of this particular blanket though... i was unhappy with the shape, it was super wide, but not very long. it also wasn't particularly neat...
i've since pulled it out and re-knit it, with fewer stitches cast on to hopefully get a squarer shape. it wasn't nearly as successful as i wouldn't hoped though!
it's still super wide, and again, not very long!
it IS a lot neater though! well until sampson got his head stuck in the weave and ran into another room with it around his neck! silly kitty!

i'm still debating whether to pull it out and re-knit it AGAIN! though i am slightly put off by my attempts to fix another little mistake yesterday...

the pouffe, i was unhappy with because the knitted cover was too loose? well it lost quite a bit of that cover when i ran out of wool for the aforementioned blanket...
the inner part that i'd sewn originally, i decided to cut up and re-assemble... but managed to make ENORMOUS! i don't have enough stuffing to fill it, let alone enough wool to re-knit to cover it!



hopefully i'll find a bit of time over the weekend coming up to pull it apart AGAIN, cut it down in size and re-assemble it once more.
and then find some time to re-knit the cover... this might take a while to be 100% finished ha ha!

have you tried arm knitting? do your pets get tangled in your work? do you have crafty fails too?

not meal planning monday.

strange right? but this week, bb is home from work on holidays, which means he's in charge of the cooking!
he does have a rough plan of what he's going to cook, but nothing set in stone. i'm just excited not to have to worry about it! i'll be coming home from work the next two days to a cooked dinner! can't wait!

so while there's no meal planning happening here tonight, i thought i'd share some pictures and stories from the last couple of weeks... i definitely haven't been blogging as much as i'd like, so i've got some catching up to do!

i'm super excited as i've propagated my first succulent!



these little jelly beans fell off a plant i was transplanting so i popped them straight back into the pot they came out of! very cool!

bb and i have been hanging out for mondays...



my favourite show at the moment... not going to lie, we're about to watch the newest episode now!

i spent a night on the farm over the weekend, and mum gave me these!



they were destined for the op-shop but one of mum's friends asked if i'd like them, and well, my mum knows me well!
think i'll be sharing some of the projects that have made their way onto my to-do list from these babies!

good friday saw me throwing together my first ever batch of these....



hot cross buns! i used this recipe, but didn't include any sultanas... because i didn't have any!
they were pretty delicious, and lovely and fragrant.

one of my lovely friends celebrated a birthday last week, so i picked her up a little something i knew she'd get some use out of...



now i keep looking at this mess...



and thinking how nice it would look all wound up into cute and compact yarn cakes!
might need to buy myself one too!

and finally, i'm eagerly hanging out for the next non-clue for this non-mystery knit-a-long!



i love georgie's patterns, and i love the way this is looking already!

have you grown succulents before? do you watch game of thrones? does your partner cook dinner sometimes? do you have a yarn winder? are you knitting along with georgie too?

swatching.

today i've had the day off from work, and it's been a most indulgent day.
i've been knitting, pretty much the entire day!



i've knitted swatches for georgie's knit-a-long. i've decided to knit it with the last of my murano from bendigo.
and my swatching has calculated i need to use a 4.5mm needle for the body, though i cast on the collar with a 4mm.



i've also knitted a swatch for a test knit i'm doing. it's for a beanie pattern and it's knitting up really nicely!

i've also been working on ANOTHER little project, using this big yarn...



it's leftover from the pouffe i knitted up last year, that i am still NOT happy with. not that i've done anything to fix it up mind you...

do you knit swatches before you start projects? what are you working on today?

meal planning monday.

monday again! the speed at which these weeks are flying by is scary!



tonight, i'm going to whip up this recipe! it should be light and delicious and refreshing, and be good for lunches for the next couple of days too!

tomorrow night, i'll throw together some meatballs. quick and effortless. perfection!

wednesday night is ncb night. i'll grab some bolognaise out of the freezer and cook up some pasta ready for bb when he gets home, i'll eat at ncb! yahoo!

thursday night, i'll grill up some roo burgers! will hopefully get the chance to bake some bread to sandwich them between too...

friday, i'm NOT working late as it's good friday. i'm not working at all! huzzah! i'm hoping for a super lazy day at home, getting a little bit of housework done, and hopefully getting something in the slow cooker early in the day!

saturday night, after work, i'll be heading down to visit mum and dad. another holiday on sunday means another day off from work, so i'll be getting in some farm time! huzzah! can. not. wait!

what are you eating for the week? do you have plans for the easter long weekend?

on the sticks.

i've had this post in my mind for the last couple of days... but with the changeover to non-daylight savings time, i still haven't quite gotten used to the fact that it is dark by the time i get home from work, and darkness = terrible photos!
i either need to get myself a bit more organised in the mornings and get some snaps off before work, or put together a light box. probably both ha ha!

anywho, although i haven't been blogging, i HAVE been making!
well knitting more specifically...



a wee little pair of socks for the wee nephew. as i knit these up, i envisioned knitting many more pairs of little socks... babies keep growing apparently ha ha!
can't wait to see these auntie-made socks on some cute little feet!

speaking of socks...



i cast these on at the request of my cousin, she was after some wooly knitted socks, and that is definitely something i can do!
the yarn is on a cone from bendigo woollen mills, originally purchased at bb's request i think...
this is my first sock on double pointed needles AND with proper sock wool (3ply) and it is sloooooooow going! the needles and wool are so skinny, and the weave of the knitted fabric is so small! they look great though and should be SUPER warm!
i just hope they fit!

and finally... my on-the-go project.



a beanie! my first bitsa beanie for the festival this year.
these are always a bit of fun to make as i just pull some random bits out of the stash and knit them together! i alternate the colours and textures as i feel like it, it's very free-ing ha ha!

and knitted up on a circular in stocking stitch, it's the perfect project to pick up and put down at any time of the day, walking to and from the car to work, in my lunch break or while waiting for food, heck, even while sitting at a red light (shhhhhhhh!)

what are you knitting at the moment?

meal planning monday.

oh hello monday!
today marks the start of a week where i'm feeling semi-organised, and a LOT less stressed than the last couple of weeks!

anywho, let's talk about food for the week...



today, i've got a conference in the afternoon for work and have NO idea what time it finishes... i've thrown some beef ribs in the slow cooker with some other stuff... a la this recipe. i'll whip up some sweet potato mash when i DO get home, and maybe steam up some green beans too!

for tomorrow night, i've grabbed some roo burgers out of the freezer, and baked some bread rolls yesterday morning. delicious burgers for dinner!

wednesday night, i'll grill up some chicken skewers, serve them with a salad, and maybe some rice.

thursday night, i'll grab some bolognaise out of the freezer... i'll be working late, so i'll have some pasta pre-cooked, and ready to be re-heated with the sauce when bb and, later, i get home.

friday night, i'm hoping to head out to the grand opening of a new little yarn shop. i will try and be strong and not add to my stash... but no promises can be made!

saturday night, i'm hoping to whip up some pizzas... pizza and footy and knitting, perfect saturday night non?

and finally sunday, bb and i are heading out with some friends to grab some malaysian. i've been told that the place we're going is amazing! can't wait!

april.

you can always tell the state of my headspace for the week, by whether i manage to get a meal plan up for the week...
no meal plan - i'm all over the place!

a stressful start to the work week for me, with my boss away, but more so, for bb, who has worked all weekend, the last two weekends to get a project done that launched monday! i've missed him and our little routines, so hence, my all over the place-ness!

oh well, onwards and upwards!

the goals i had for march, were kind of achieved half-way... i made it halfway through the fitness plan for the month, and about a week into my healthy eating plan before everything fell apart. i think i ended up eating more junk food in the other 3 weeks of the month, than i had all year combined! not helped of course by the stress factor bb and i were both feeling...
i think i was being a little too strict on myself as well, which is why it all fell apart. i think i'm much more a moderation girl, as i tend to rebel against rules, even the ones i set for myself (especially, really...).

on the crafty front though, i achieved most of my goals... i finished this and even started and finished a similar one too!

i also made a little blankie for my newly born nephew (he was born monday, i am dying to go for a visit and a cuddle!) as well as a couple of dishcloths for cath and days for girls.



that reminds me, i need to get them in the post to her today! as well as that second heart scarf!
the second scarf is going down as my first sold knitted project! it was bought mainly from pictures on instagram i think, and i was so excited sewing on a label, and packaging it up to send last night, so awesome!

anywho, it's april now! enough dwelling on the past!

my goal for this month is to get some beanies happening... really. need to get onto this one really soon...
though i have promised my cousin a pair of socks too. and while looking through my stash for a suitable bundle of wool for her socks, i found some yarn that i'd forgotten about to make myself some socks as well! oh, and now that my little nephew is born, i'm sure i'm going to want to knit another little something for him too!

beanies nicole, beanies!

what are you plans for the month ahead? do you get distracted from what you should be making, by something you want to be making?