my creative space.

this week there hasn't been a whole lot going on creativity wise...

just a fairly large amount of this!



i was hoping to get this little gem FINISHED over the weekend. did. not. happen.

the balls i'm working for seem to be never ending, so this has been what i've been up to for the last week...
sometimes accompanied by a cider, or a movie, a big cup of tea or a tv show (i've just finished re-watching the west wing, and started on gilmore girls), or none of those things because i'm in the car!

lots of action for this blanket in any case!

here's hoping i'll have it finished by THIS weekend, as i am SUPER keen to work on something else for a bit!

what have you been working on this week? do you have any balls of wool that just go on forever?

green love.

oops, running a bit late today as it's been a pretty massive one!
i woke up (late, boy did i ever need a sleep in today!) on the farm, and got busy as soon as i could!

mum and i spent the morning planting out some wee green things we'd been growing from seeds...



a little patch of beans which i'm super happy with. i'm thrilled because these little guys came from seeds that i SAVED from our crop last year. yahoo!
definitely need to do some more of that this year!

and these wee fella's have been planted OUT of the garden bed.



we wanted them to have lots of room so that they can ramble and grow as much as they need to. and hopefully grow lots of lovely pumpkins! yum!

as well as beans and pumpkins, we also planted out a whole heap of onions (a bit slower going in than i'd have hoped, oh well!), more seeds (snowpeas, beans, corn, lots of exciting stuff!) aaaaand we were supposed to plant out tomatoes too, though we ran out of time!

i feel like we really worked hard, but there was someone working harder than us...



good bees!
now if we can save some of the fruit this little guy is helping to make from the birds, it'll be a good year!

what's growing in your patch today? did you get out and catch some sun?

meal planning monday.

woweeeeeee last week was a big one! lots of BIG days at work, as well as a full day of work training (AND ballet on the same day) meant a VERY tired nicole. needless to say, the meal plan wasn't stuck too THAT much. but it was enough ha ha! we did pretty well considering...

i'm pretty excited to get to use a whole heap of fresh and seasonal vegies this week, after picking up our vegie box on saturday.



tonight, i'll cook up a couple of fresh lamb chops, that i'll pick up from the butcher on my lunch break. and i'll pair them with some creative sides to get to using some of the vegies from our box.

tuesday night, i'm heading down to the country straight from ballet, so bb will be on his own. i've got the day off from work though so if i'm feeling in the mood, i'll whip up a batch of curried carrot soup, which never ended up happening last week. we'll see ha ha!

wednesday night, i'll be coming home from visiting mum and dad so will be giving ncb a miss this week i think... need a night at home to mentally prepare for the week of work ahead (yep, it's wednesday. retail work = weekend work) and if i'm home, well i'll throw together a batch of jamie's pork ragu. with lots of spinach added to the sauce, and a big side salad i think. hopefully my oven will be back in action too, and we can have the ragu on freshly baked bread!

thursday night, i might whizz up some spinach pesto (so much spinach, in the garden and in the fridge from the vegie box!) and pop it with some pasta! simple and easy AND i can whack some in the freezer for next time too.

friday night, i'm working late. satay chicken in the slow cooker should do the trick. deeeeelicious.

saturday, i'm not actually working!!! it's my weekend to work so that is kind of a big deal ha ha. bb and i have got plans though, which should keep us out of the house for a good few hours, but should give me a bit of time to get into the kitchen and get something delicious cooking for dinner. i'm not sure exactly WHAT at this stage, but something delicious for sure!

oh and sunday, well i'll be working. i'll leave bb in charge...

what are you eating this week? what's your favourite vegie dish?

sunday snippets.

playing along with {tinniegirl} and her sunday snippets.

a few pictures, and some words, summing up the week that just was.



yesterday, i explored a little bit of brunswick and couldn't help myself taking a picture of this fantastic verge. so much colour and greenery. why would you want to grow grass when you could grow all this awesome stuff?
i was in brunswick to pick up my very first grown and gathered vegie box. it was SO packed full of goodies, i'm so excited to put together some recipe ideas to get through it all!

this is pretty much what my friday night looked like.



a quiet night in with a lovely little tipple to drink and a PUZZLE to do.
it has been years and years since i did a puzzle, but last sunday it was all i could think about.
it was pretty awesome to switch off and just concentrate on finding similar pieces to fit together.

this guy.



he always know how to make housework 'fun'

and by fun, i mean a little bit harder than it has to be. lucky he's cute.

bb and i went on a little roadtrip this afternoon, to help his mumma settle into her new abode, moving furniture and such.
and i got to hang out on my parent's farm for a bit.



check out this teeny tiny birds nest!
it is in the most precarious of positions, in a little branch overhanging a lane, only about a foot off the ground!
super cute though!

and speaking of super cute...



this was a photo i took of a nest that has been used for many years in the woodshed by a family of swallows. it's quite high on the wall, so i used my camera to see whether there were any eggs in the nest. i got quite the shock to see the above little heads peeking up at my camera! 5 little baby birds, SO CUTE!

and lastly...



a teeny treat, from a work training session earlier in the week. i hadn't had a butterfly cake in SO many years.
it was an amazing trip down memory lane.

are there birds nesting near you too? when was the last time you had a butterfly cake? do you like to do jigsaw puzzles?

my creative space.

this week, i've been working on a little commission project. i was sent a picture of some wee little baby booties from a school friend, asking if i could recreate them.
i've been working on them in little stretches, over the weekend, and bits and pieces after work too.

the hardest part, not working from a pattern, has been to get the shaping right...
this was my first attempt.



and the shaping is not right at all!
they look super odd, and this was after many attempts too! lots of frogging and re-stitching went into this little finished product and i was still not happy!

so i started over. completely different tact with the way i was putting everything together...



aaaaaaand much happier! it actually looks like a little boot, which was EXACTLY my intention! yahoo!

now to make another to match... and some cute little ties to pretty them up too!

and just as an fyi, i'm using bendigo woollen mills classic in cream and bendigo woollen mills colonial in grey. both held double and hooked up with a 4.5mm hook.

what are you working on at the moment? do you ever make up your own patterns when you're knitting or crocheting?

green love.

phew! it's been a busy week so far, lots of work, some dancing and never enough sleep, but that's just what i've been doing!
my garden has been busy too, even if i've been too busy to be out in it.



my spinach has gone absolutely ballistic. almost too ballistic as it's quite close to going to seed... and by that i mean, it's trying but i keep pulling any buds off that form so i can get moooooore leaves!
i'll have a good pick of the leaves tonight to veg up the meatballs that i'm making for dinner. deeeeeelicious.

even though i've barely been outside in my garden so far this week, i did get quite a bit done around the yard over the weekend, including getting all these little guys repotted into bigger pots.



i also decided to leave them OUT of my greenhouse. time to harden up suckers!
don't mind my scraggly lawns either, they're on this weekend's to-do list...

after i freed up the bigger pots that the roses were in, i got to some more re-potting jobs too...



well i made a start in any case. i have another 21098341 little weenie tomato plants that need bigger pots too, just need some more compost to put them in... another job on this weekend's to-do list ha ha!

i shared a picture of my bay tree last sunday, as i thought it was doing some pretty good things...



but check it out now!! i feel like it's almost double in size! one happy little vegemite bay tree indeed.

and speaking of happy, my grapevine is looking pretty pleased too.



despite being nearly overtaken by the raspberries, the grapes seem quite happy in their little corners of the planter box. and *touch wood* nothing has decided to eat the living daylights out of them yet either... maybe it's the eggshells? fingers crossed everything stays untouched!

now to remember to keep the water up to everything...

what's growing in your patch at the moment? do you grow your own bay leaves? or spinach? what's your favourite way to eat spinach?

creatively challenged.

or maybe a more appropriate title would be 'time challenged'...

i signed up for clare's 2nd creative challenge after kicking myself for not signing up for the first. what i didn't take into account though, was a supreme lack of time!!

i had plenty of time to think about what i wanted to do, just not enough to achieve what i wanted to do though...

my two clues were...



a snowflake, and the colour 'wisteria'.
and my mind went one place...



to this amazing little pattern book, full of beautiful lace inspired crocheted patterns (written by this lovely lass) and i've been picturing an 'anya' made up in this purple cotton i have lots of ever since.



should make a perfect christmas present!

do you ever have the absolute best of intentions, and not quite come through with the goods? did you join in with clare's creative challenge?

meal planning monday.

after my amazing dinner on friday night (evidence below ha ha) i'm feeling pretty inspired to get some good grub going!

bb and i roasted a chicken last night for dinner, and i whacked the carcass straight into my slow cooker with some braised onions and carrots and fresh herbs from the garden. lots of chicken stock inspiration happening. and by that i mean soup. mainly because there's fresh chicken stock, but also to use up the vegies that are in the fridge.



tonight, i'll throw together one of bb's faves, curried carrot soup.

tomorrow night, i'm off to ballet, so soup will be on the menu again, potato and leek this time, and the slow cooker will do the hard yards while we're at work!

wednesday night, i'll mix it up a bit, not soup! meatballs instead! i'll pack up the red sauce with broad beans and spinach though. must get through those vegies!

thursday night, i'm working late! i'll set bb up with a nice steak, and i'll have something in my break at work. it's always so hard to know when to eat when i'm working late...

because i'm working thursday night this week, i've got friday night off! woop woop! i'm thinking it would be nice to head out for dinner. and i'm trying to convince bb that the best option is brothl... eating there once a week isn't too much right? ha ha!

saturday, i'm intending to head out in the morning to a farmer's market! i want to stock the fridge up with beautiful seasonal produce to get me inspired for the week ahead! but also to get me inspired for dinner on saturday... and maybe sunday too ha ha!

what are you eating this week? have you eaten at brothl? did you like it? what's your favourite farmers market?

sunday snippets.

playing along with {tinniegirl} and her sunday snippets.

a few pictures, and some words, summing up the week that just was.



friday night was spent at finder's keepers and it was the PERFECT way to end the working week. it was lovely to swan around, saying hey to people i knew and checking out everyone's amazing wares. there seemed to be quite a few completely new stalls which was awesome!

post market fun, myself did a friend, headed into the city to grab some dinner...



i had been wanting to go to broth'l since they opened their doors. the idea of a zero waste restaurant is awesome and very well executed.
i loved every second of the experience, trying out kombucha for the first time, and getting to watch our dinner being prepared right in front of us, all the while checking out the shelves of pickles and vinegars and supplies. so awesome!

one of my purchases from the market was put to good use in the sunshine yesterday,



i planted out a bunch of watermelon seeds, and have sussed out the best place to set up the sunflowers as well (everywhere, they're going everywhere!). the beetroot will need a soaking before they go in, and also something to be planted into! i used up all my potting mix supplies repotting all of my rose cuttings, oops!

this guy was sure helpful with my gardening efforts...



jumping out at me while i was pulling weeds, scaring the absolute pants off me! so helpful!

and in slightly annoying news...



my oven is being a crank tank! 2 and a bit hours in the oven yesterday, and this is what i got! harrumph!!!

my sourdough starter has sadly gone BACK into the fridge, after months of getting used daily. not happy jan!
though maybe now i have room in my life to make my own kombucha ha ha!

what have you been up to this week? have you tried kombucha before? or made your own? did you head to finders keepers too?

green love.

oops. running a little late with this post! a flat out couple of days at work, as well as post-work commitments have left me with a lot less time than i'd anticipated i'd have this week.
not to worry though, i'm here now, and ready to share what's growing in my garden this week!



is this not the happiest little herb garden you ever did see?
well as long as you don't look at the thyme that is... the thyme is not so happy, in fact i think it might be a little bit dead... but the oregano, rosemary and parsley are going absolute gangbusters!

this little plant next to my front door has popped out some flowers to say hello!



it's only flowering on the side closest to the house at the moment, a little strange but pretty none the less...

speaking of flowers, my rose is having a little crack currently.



it's not been particularly successful thus far, but it's absolutely covered in buds, ready to try and try again!

my neighbour's rose though?



spectacular!
i love the colours of these flowers, and it's taken all my will power not to sneak out with my secateurs and liberate a few blooms.

what's growing in your patch this week? are you a sneaky flower snipper? what do you do with all your herbs when they're growing like crazy?

socktober.

just before the weekend, an excellent thing happened...



two became one. the single, lonely red sock, became a PAIR of socks!
my super fancy new knitting needles were the motivation i needed to get them finished up, and well, that last little bit of sock was a heck of a lot easier to knit with needles that didn't bend at the slightest inkling of pressure. needless to say, my tension was much improved on that home stretch too!



so happy was i to see the back of them, i may have immediately cast on another pair. well after knitting a tension square or two that is...



yep, another two-at-a-time pair! i'm loving this metal circular needle too! the stitches slide so smoothly along!
a lot more so than the interchangeables i'm knitting this pair on in any case...



not too worry though, it's not nearly as difficult to knit with as those silly double pointed needles were (lesson: never buy knitting needles from large chain craft stores)
these beauties haven't grown much (though i did finally flip them in the right way to show off the k1p3 rib pattern, i likeeeeey!) as i have been distracted by the previous purple pair.
though i AM already thinking about casting on the next one too...



you can never have too many socks on the go in socktober though, am i right?
the question will be though, how many can i get finished by the end of the month??

are you a sock knitter? what's the quickest you've ever knitted a sock?

meal planning monday.

whew what a gigantic week! and a busy day off for me yesterday! i'm a bit pooped, so i'll be relying on this little meal plan to keep me motivated ha ha!



tonight, i've got a fresh lamb rack in the fridge ready to go in the oven to get roasty with lots of fresh vegies. should be delicious!

tomorrow night i'm off to ballet, pretty much straight from work. better pop a chicken curry in the slow cooker before i leave for work.

wednesday night, is ncb night. i'll grab something while i'm there and bb, as ever, will be fending for himself!

thursday night, i'll grab some of the tonnes of leftover roast pork that's in the freezer, and whip up a pork ragu to go with some pasta. perfect!

friday night, i'm heading into the city to check out the finders keepers market with a friend. we'll grab something for dinner while we're in there. there are about 228041984 places i'm keen to try in the city, so i'm sure we'll find something great!

saturday, bb and i are heading out to celebrate his mama's birthday! two nights out in a row, i won't even know myself!
so we'd better cook up a good old roast sunday night, get us back in the home cooking state of mind! maybe i'll break out the preserved lemons i whipped up months ago...

what are you eating this week? plans to head to finders keepers?

sunday snippets.

playing along with {tinniegirl} and her sunday snippets.

a few pictures, and some words, summing up the week that just was.



i am so proud of this little bay tree with all it's new growth in the last couple of weeks.
just a little bigger before i start picking leaves for cooking i think. want to let it get nice and established first... and i should get through all of the store bought ones i have too i guess!

there's been lots of these kitty hugs happening lately.



sampson has been extra snuggly at the moment. particularly in the morning, normally just as i should be getting up and out of bed ha ha!

and these lily whites got their first showing of the season today.



this is about as tanned as i ever get. so you all better keep your sunnies on ok?

i've had a pretty massive week at work this week, so there haven't been a lot of pictures snapped to be honest... not ones that i haven't already posted here that is ha ha!
so instead of sharing lots of pictures, i thought i'd share a couple of cool things i'm liking at the moment too...

first up, lexi of pottymouth mama, is doing her annual frocktoberfest gig, to raise much needed cash for ovarian cancer research. it is somewhat of a silent killer, with no simple screening tests available, meaning that often it's not caught until it's too late!
there are lots of ways to donate, either by making a donation here, or there is this lovely shop partnering up with lexi to help raise funds, by donating a percentage of their sales for the whole month!
pop over and visit lexi to check out all her frocking antics, and sponsor her if you can!

i've also started reading the coletterie blog recently, and i am LOVING the round up post that sarai pens every friday. i find myself clicking most of the links as they're all so interesting to read! very cool!

ok, maybe i have one last photo...



this little guy popped out to say hello earlier today when i was moving my pots around. cute. potentially annoying and destructive, but cute ha ha!

what's happening on your sunday? what's something awesome you've read this week?

pinspiration.

i don't do a huge amount of pinning, but the large majority of what i DO pin, just sits on a board and never gets looked at...
i think this is a big problem with pinterest, but i'm trying to start to use some of them...

in recent times, i've done this, and this one (need to do some more come to think of it...), i've made a few of these and i've cooked quite a few recipes from this board...

there was one pin that has been on my mind though, and i just had to give it a go!



they came together quite well, but they took quite a bit longer than i'd first expected... and there was the small detail on me KILLING my stick mixer blending the newspaper up...
but i'm still keen to make some more though. i've got lots more seeds i want to get into the ground, and am almost completely out of receptacles to plant them in!

the idea of making something that i can use like this, that will then help to improve my soil by composting in, well it's pretty rad actually!

have you made anything from things you've pinned on pinterest? what sorts of things do you pin?

my creative space.

as always, i have a couple of things on the go this week...

i'm working around and around on this little granny square.



the balls of wool i've been using are definitely not as full as they were when i started, and well, it's grooooooowing!
it's nice to see the changes right before my eyes!

i also started a little something... that i was swatching for last week...



a pair of socks! i so LOVE this colour. so SO much!
i couldn't resist not casting on with the wool once i'd finished my swatch... particularly because i'd borrowed this book from my local library and i was desperate to give the technique a go!

it's going quite well, except for the whole not having sufficient time to knit them!

i also kind of wanted distraction from the blasted red sock... i splashed out and purchased a set of decent dpns, in lots of different sizes so that knitting the remainder of the red sock will be a dream. and well, i thought i could start something new while i waited!

however...



my new needles arrived earlier in the week! so now i have no excuses not to finish up that silly red sock quick sticks!

i also may have picked up a couple of extra things from the online store i purchased the dpns from. new supplies to keep knitting my socks two-at-a-time!

what are you creating at the moment? are you a dpn sock knitter? or a magic loop sock knitter?

green love.

after posting my goals for the month last week, i've got lots of garden progress to show this week!

there are lots of things happening with my berries.



flowers and baby berries on my strawberry plants.



fresh leaves on my blueberry.
i was starting to get a bit worried about this guy, so i'm very happy to see this little bit of greenery.

and my raspberries?



well they're up to their old tricks and have just about taken over everything in this planter box! my poor little grapevines!

there's also quite a bit happening under my greenhouse too...



lots of teeny tiny tomato seedlings have popped up and i am THRILLED!
i'm projecting forward quite a bit to the end of summer, lots of juicy delicious tomatoes. well they're quite a ways off yet!
and don't worry, i gave them a good drink after i snapped this pic, they were looking super dry!

and also...



there's one lonely little pumpkin too!
once this little guy gets a little bit bigger, he'll be heading down to the farm as i don't have room for it here! but i do have room in my life for fresh, homegrown pumpkins!
and there i go counting my chicken before they're even close to hatching! oops!!

do you forecast your crops before they're even in the ground too? what's growing in your patch this week?