feeling charitable.

when i wrote my list, of 24 things i wanted to do before i turned 25, i included on it to donate to charity.
bb and i are in a fairly nice financial situation at the moment, so it makes sense that we could donate to some charities!

one that i definitely wanted to get involved with, was kiva.
the idea behind this one is that you don't actually donate, but loan money to someone towards a project that will make their (and generally their community) a bit better off!
you even get to choose where your loan is going and read up on the intentions of the person. very cool!
pop over here to have a read and maybe even make a loan yourself!


i've also been following lexi's quest to wear a dress everyday and raise money for ovarian cancer research. she calls it frocktober.
her posts are tres entertaining, as are her daughter, tiny's, many and varied poses!
pop over here if you'd like to pledge something towards the cause.


i've also been following the goings on over at let's get maybelle to the ellen show and there's lots happening! auctions, special products and a website!
very cool!


have you been supporting any charities recently?
which are your favourites to support?

a quick one.

last night, i popped along to SAY, and knowing full well that i'd have access to an overlocker, i took along a project that's been in the making for some while...
over a year to be exact!!!

once i re-threaded the overlocker and got it working... i managed to get this done...



a couple of hours and learning on a new machine, i'm pretty proud of my efforts!
it's a little misshapen in parts, and everything is unhemmed, but it fits and it has POCKETS!

now if only i could get those finishing touches done some time soon...

meal planning monday.

phew! i made it through my massive week at work last week, and managed not to get take away too many times, thanks to my meal plan!
yesterday though, instead of having a roast, i bought some fresh mince and made some burgers. it was far too warm to have the oven on all day!



but now, for the week ahead...

tonight, i'll be making that soba noodle salad, i had planned for last wednesday. a late night for bb at work, meant we ate dinner separately. i think i had a sandwich :| but second time's the charm, right?

tomorrow night, bb has requested indian. so i think we might head over to our local, stopping off for a bottle of wine on the way... sounds fab!

for wednesday night, i've got some delicious looking pork chops from the butcher. a little caramelisation in a frying pan, and then into the oven and they'll be amazing!

thursday night, i'll cook up some lamb cutlets, and serve them up with a fennel and orange salad. can't wait!

friday night, there's a certain market event happening in melbourne town. i think i'll be grabbing some dinner before/after/during browsing and shopping the stalls...

saturday night, is party night! toasting the last hurrah to a friend's single life before she ties the knot next month. things could get messy!

and on sunday, i'm anticipating something greasy. and a lot of time spent in bed 'resting'


what are your plans for the week ahead? new recipes to try?


the home of meal planning monday

realisation.

today, while i was catching up on reading blog posts in bed, i came to a horrible realisation...

for the last couple of weeks, whenever i've received a blog comment, i've cursed and cursed when i can't reply due to the commenter not leaving an email address to reply to!
then this morning, after reading cam's post, i was lead to carmel's post, and realised, I was a NO-REPLY BLOGGER TOO!

due to changing to a google plus account as my blogger id, i'd automatically become a no-reply blogger!
what's more, i had no idea how to fix it!
i followed this post, to put things right. now i'm off to have a play with my google plus settings to see if i can get it to work!

drama!

something to leave you on though...
a quote i came across via here.


you are never too old to seat another goal, or to dream another dream.


isn't it lovely?
happy sunday!

the to-do list.

you know when there's something that you really need to get done,
but then it's the last thing you want to do...



well this little bag of goodies is calling to me right now.
tomorrow, my sweets, tomorrow.

what's calling to you at the moment?

it's getting green....

i love this time of year!
everything is coming back to life and it puts a big ol' grin on my face!



my strawberries are getting their leaves back.
they seem to like their new home too! i can't wait for them to go a little wild and get a bit over-grown looking!



the irises are in full bloom, colouring up a little corner of the backyard :D
they've grown a heap since last year!



and my grapes are back in full force!
i'm hoping they'll get a bit of growing done this season and cover up a bit more of the boring trellis :D

heck, maybe i'll even get some grapes this year!


how are things looking in your backyard so far?

my creative space.

oops! a day late!
and my first forgotten day for blogtoberfest! oops!

anywho, today, in my creative space, i'm working on some sewing.



some production-line type sewing.
some super-secret hens night production-line type sewing.


what are you creating today in your space? join in over here!