linking it up.

i feel like i've been a fairly slack blogger of late, a very lazy blogger. i've been linking up to memes and not looking at other peoples links. i've been signing up for bloggy linky posts, and not advertising on my blog. and it's blogtoberfest and i haven't even entered any giveaways!!!
very very slack!

the other day, i signed up to rie's universal craft blog directory.



a massive directory to find lots of crafty bloggers!

then, this evening, i added myself to the australian women bloggers directory.
lots of linking happening here! and i'm going to put some buttons in my sidebar. yep, i am.

now i'm off to enter some blogtoberfest giveaways, read over last weeks my place and yours posts and make a start on some ears for my first softie.

hope your weekend is going well!

things that are making me smile.

this, from here




these, from here




crocheting this, from here, for this.

and remembering a great night last night. met lots of lovely blogging folks, well put faces to twitter and blog handles. lovely lovely lovely!

happy long weekend to melbourne peeps. happy weekend to everyone else.
i'm working all weekend so i mayyyy be a fairly silent weekender! enjoy all!

wordless wednesday - obsession.

bunting along.

i've been getting bunting in the mail almost every day the last couple of weeks. there's nothing better than receiving a letter in the mail, especially when it's full of such lovely, colourful flags :D



these beauties are from jill, faith, lauren and rachael.


and these are from jules, lea, beberouge and sophie.

so many beautiful flags using so many different techniques :D thank you ladies!
and they're definitely getting me through the ick list which today is featuring ironing, microwave cleaning, dishes and cleaning the floors. ick!




i've got lots to look forward to after the ick though. i'm making a curry from my new cookbook for dinner and i'm going to have a scroll through softie designs on ravelry. i've got a big basket of wool next to the couch to get stuck into :D
i've also got a parcel waiting at the post office, the suspense of waiting to go and pick it up is killing me ha ha!

my place and yours.

i'm joining in with vic and playing along with my place and yours.
the theme this week is my pin cushion, chosen by the lovely nic.

now i'd hazard a guess and say there are at least three pin cushions floating around my house...
i have one that i guess gets the most use, but this one is by far my favourite (and unconventional)


yes, you may recognise the fabric, i've posted about it before...



definitely an unconventional pincushion, but it is highly convenient :D

there's a nice big list of pincushions over with vic!

sunday suppers.

another (mostly) successful week of meal planning AND another one planned.


this week:
sunday - delicious roast chicken, yes, the one we were supposed to have on friday night, still good though :D
monday - a long day at work for me, followed by a staff meeting. a quick and easy pasta bake is definitely on the cards, lots of protein, lots of carbs, lots of cheese, nom!
tuesday - i treated myself to a new cookbook on friday, a cookbook full of curries! going to try out a thai green curry from it on tuesday, can't wait!
wednesday - ncb night. brianna will be over for dinner and i'm working all day! something quick and easy, chicken pad thai should do the job.
thursday - heading off to a little soiree and will probably catch up with some crafty peeps for dinner. no cooking for me :D
friday - bb has requested fish and chips, so i'll bake both in the oven :D oven baked chippies and some crumbed and oven baked fish fillets.
saturday - another long saturday at work for me, hoping that bb will whip us up something delicious, maybe some steak sandwiches? fingers crossed!

ps. do you like the picture? it was the first thing that popped up when i searched 'dinner' in pinterest. picture originally from here

my creative space.

isn't particularly creative at all this week.
yesterday i was feeling pretty bogged down, quite overwhelmed in fact. every now and again, i feel like i'm completely in over my head. there's just a bit too much going on and absolutely no time to get it all done.
there's a few too many ick things on my to-do list that are overshadowing all the great and fun and creative things i want to get done.
all these thoughts and feelings make me want to curl up in a ball and not do anything at all. and this in turn causes me to feel guilty for not using my time more productively.
it also makes me not such a fun person to be around, just ask my work colleagues from yesterday or bb when he got home from work. no fun at all!

today i'm tackling those icky things.
i've got a pile of mending to do. nothing big or overwhelming, just stuff i keep putting off that has been plaguing the back of my mind. a pair of pants to take up for bb, a button to sew back on a work shirt, a shoulder pad to sew back into a dress.



i've also got a beanie to finish that's been on the go for a looooooooong time. it's 80% of the way there and i think getting it to 100% will make me feel pretty good.

there's also a big pile of dishes (ick) but i'll tackle them after work, post post-work manicure :D

small, achievable things ticked off my mental to-do list to make me feel good!

all this is the main reason for me being absent the last couple of days from blogtoberfest. i don't think the commitment to blogging every day has been helping these feelings of 'too much to do' and guilt. something had to give and it was blogging (and to a lesser extent twitter). i'm therefore relinquishing myself of the commitment, if i post every day for the rest of the month, i do, if i don't, i don't.
there! take that feelings!!

less angsty creative spaces over here.

getting my bunt on, part 3.

last thursday, i finished off the very last parts of my bunting swap flags, wrote on all of the cards and sealed everything up into envelopes.
would you like to see my flags?



i couldn't decide between using crochet or sewing to make my flags, so i just used both!
i backstitched in wool along the seam of the two sides and then crocheted into the backstitching :D


i also used my bunting stamp to make little cards to send with the flags :D oh and i stamped the envelopes. basically i just had a stampy good time!




i did put off posting this ta-da because i didn't want to spoil the surprise for anyone. there's nothing better than a nice surprise in the mail :D
massive thanks to rachael for organising everything. i can't imagine how hard it was to co-ordinate all those bunting flags to go to different places. clever lady!

flea market finds.

it's been a while since i've played along because honestly it's been a while since i've been op-shopping. i think you really have to be in the right state of mind to go op-shopping, you've got to be in a patient mood to sort and sift through stuff to find the little something you're looking for.




thursday afternoon, after posting off my bunting flags, i popped into my local op-shop and almost the first thing i saw was this little milk jug, which perfectly matches another of my finds!

i also found a bigger jar for my rice and a couple of pairs of work pants for bb. i then went back to the same op-shop the next day with a friend and found a couple of work skirts and a nice sweater dress :D

more flea market finds with sophie

sunday suppers.

yep so i missed posting yesterday. saturday is a big black mark on my blogtoberfest record. but i'm cool with it. i was sick and was super tired from working all day, and anything i wrote probably would've been a total snooze-fest! i've decided instead to post twice today, and well i bet it's still saturday somewhere in the world :D

anywho, back to blogging! meal planning worked quite well for us last week, i even fancied things up a bit on monday night, cutting up the pork fillet, marinating it and serving it with salad in some tortillas i had hanging around :D flexibility in the planning is nice ha ha!



so this week:
sunday - my mum is coming down to stay the night and i think we'll head to the pub for dinner. gotta love a pub meal :D
monday - i have the whole day off work (to spend with my mum, naturally) so i'll have a bit of time to rustle up something nice. roasted rack of lamb. yum!
tuesday - working til 5.30 means a quick and easy dinner. pork chops and steamed vegies will do the trick i think.
wednesday - working again! chicken pad thai will be nice and quick, oh and super delicious!
thursday - more work, ho hum. steak sandwiches with heaps of salad. i even bought some new olive oil so maybe i'll attempt a mayonnaise :D
friday - a day off but a big day of op-shopping planned. i think i might spoil us and cook up another roast! chicken this time. yep!
saturday - i'm going to leave in bb's capable hands. i'm working all day and he's at home. definiteley his job ha ha!

hrmm that all sounds pretty yummy!
do you have meal plans for the week?

i'll be back a bit later with some flea market finds!

etsy friday finds.

the lovely margaret quite often posts some etsy finds on a friday, so this week i thought i'd join in!

i'm always on the look-out for some cute hairwear to dress up my work uniform and these are some of my favourites on etsy at the moment... (click on the pictures to be taken to the original etsy post)

as you can see, i'm a bit of a fan of flowery head pieces. and vintagey metal pieces. oh and newborns. yup, they're alright too!

apologies for the tres late post, i got called into work until 9pm last minute AND i can feel a head cold coming on. oh and i'm working all weekend! roll on monday ha ha!
hope your weekend is fabulous!

my creative space.

today in my creative space, i'm working on something a little different...




a doily rug. major inspiration from here. pattern motif from here. i do intend to alter the pattern however as it's not sitting as flat as i'd like it to and i have this feeling that no amount of blocking is going to make it! i have a feeling i'm going to be doing a LOT of frogging and re-crocheting today!

more creatives spaces, over this way!

how does your garden grow - wordless wednesday.

play along?

getting my bunt on, part 2.

my bunting swap flags are all made! they just need a little bit of tidying up (they have embroidery marker all over them!) and they'll be ready to be sent off!
as well as getting my flags prepped to send today, i'm working on a little decorative element to add to my packaging... a little lino bunting stamp!




now this stamp has been a long time coming, many many months ago, tinniegirl was moving house and brought a whole heap of her crafty stuff along to ncb to recycle. one of those crafty things was a set of lino cutting tools which i gratefully took home with me. the following fortnight at ncb, cathie brought along a little square of rubber for me to try my skills on.
they sat together in the top drawer of my crafty chest for all this time but now they're out and working together beautifully! the last time i tried my hand at lino cutting was in year 10 and was using actual lino. this was a massive pain as lino is not the most pliable surface and it has to be heated to make it a bit nicer to work with. rubber however, smooth as silk!
i will definitely be buying some more of this stuff :D



thanks for your generosity lovely ladies!

now i'm off to tidy up those bunting flags, as well as grabbing out my paints and getting stampy!

planning.

yesterday i had a bit of a clean up of my garage. eagerly, i moved the old cabinetry that was against one wall and it literally fell apart! as i've been planning a bit of a makeover of the garage anyway, now i get to do the job good and proper and you know what that means...
scouring the internet for inspiration!
i've been trawling pinterest and this is what i've found so far (click the pictures for their original sources)














i think i'm definitely have to get some opping done to find exactly what i want, but i'm hoping i can get it looking pretty nice by the end of the year!

hope your monday wasn't too tedious!

sunday suppers.

i'm taking a leaf out of the lovely ppmj and committing my meal planning to writing this week.
do you plan your meals for the week? i've found that it's a great idea for bb and i! we do a big shop once a week, that way we have all the ingredients ready to go when we get home from work or wherever!
we've been planning quite well the past couple of weeks however we fell off the bandwagon last week and had ridiculous amount of take away, i think i only cooked one night! not great for our health or the health of our budget!



this week:
sunday - we originally had a bbq planned but the weather has put a dampener on those plans, good old sunday roast of lamb instead.
monday - i've got training in the city and bb is working. a nice and easy dinner of pork fillets and salad planned.
tuesday - a day off from work for me but tutoring in the evening. another quick and easy dinner, steak and salad sandwiches.
wednesday - bb is on his own tonight as i'm off to ncb to craft and celebrate a birthday.
thursday - another day off from work for me, chicken and noodle stirfry, i'm going to try and 'wing' a delicious sauce to go with everything, wish me luck!
friday - another quick and easy dinner as i'm working until the evening, tortellini with a spicy tomato sauce.
and saturday - out for a celebratory dinner with a friend who will hand her honours thesis in the day before, good luck anna!

hopefully it'll be easy to stick to, now that i've committed it to paper (er, screen?). well surely it couldn't be too hard, i'm out for dinner two nights out of seven!
what are you up to this week?

grateful.

today i'm grateful for a few things.
i'm grateful for the life that i live.
i'm grateful that i have a steady job, and that my partner does too.
i'm grateful that i have my degree, even though i'm choosing not to use it right now, and the debt that i owe from my studies to get it are not forcing me from my home or life or lifestyle.
i'm grateful for my family and my partner and i'm grateful for the knowledge that they're always there for me.
i'm grateful for my health. and the health of those that i love. in case you don't already know, cancer fucking sucks, sorry for my french there...
and i'm also grateful to be maid of honour. i'm going to have you soooooo organised brianna!

sorry, sappy grateful post today, mainly inspired by this actually...
what are you grateful for? join in here.

vintage crochet friday.

this week i thought i'd play along with lara, every week she posts a picture of a vintage crochet project, some hilarious and some not too bad actually...
i was looking through a magazine series that my neighbour gifted me before she moved, to find some crochet edging ideas/patterns.




this magazine series is really great, there's a section for just about every craft imaginable!
and there are a LOT of vintage crochet images in it too!

bikini anyone?

flower motif jumper.

a very flat looking blouse.

something to hang in the window.

and my favourite of all, the crocheted string bag. i LOVE the pose. the props. the accompanying outfit. so neat!

hope you've got a great weekend planned!

my creative space.

i wracked my brain all day yesterday, trying to think of a topic for today's post, completely forgetting that thursday is my creative space day! silly me!!!



today i'm working on some repairs to a well travelled blankie. one you might remember seeing before...
my first blanket effort hasn't held up to toddler time quite as well as i would've hoped, but it's very repairable. and it's a good indication just how far i've come with my crochet. i'm looking at the joining that i did with this blanket and wondering what the hell was i doing! hopefully the latest blankie holds up a little longer :D

more creatives spaces, over this way!

wordless wednesday.

play along?

tuesday afternoon.

after a busy morning of house and yard work, this afternoon i'm relaxing on the couch, watching a movie.
however, as i'm completely unable to sit still for any period of time, i'm partaking in some couch craft.



pinning bunting flags together while watching 'love and other drugs'.
afternoon well spent in my books :D i just hope i get a bit of time to sew them together today too!

what did you get up to this afternoon?

getting my bunt on.

a couple of weeks ago, i signed up for the bunting swap. with the deadline fast approaching (15th Oct), i really need to get my behind into gear and start cutting/sewing/crocheting some bunting flags into life!

i've got my suitcase of supplies ready to go. literally overflowing with vintage fat quarters and opped bits and pieces, i've got no shortage of materials...



and i've got inspiration coming almost daily in the mailbox, my bunting flags have started to arrive! Thanks ruth, alison and lionesslady!



did you join up to the swap? have you already sent your flags, or are you like me and leaving it to the last minute?
happy monday!

in the bag.

i've been wanting to do a post like this for a while, i'm pretty sure almost every blog i read has done one at one stage or another and now i will too :D
i finally got around to taking the photos, well i was cleaning out my bag and happened to have my iphone in my pocket and it even had charge left in the battery (it's forever going dead due to the silly amount of apps i have open constantly...)
so this is it, the contents of my bag...





2 pairs of sunglasses (i have no idea why you'd need more than one, in case you were wondering.)
my purse
a tissue holder (hand embroidered by the lovely steph)
blistex
adhesive hooks (for the much mentioned, slow action design wall for above the bed, it will come together SOMEDAY!)
deoderant
hairspray and hairbrush (neither of which get much use...)
glasses (alex perry, NOT with a big diamonte, or any sparkliness at all actually)
vintage gloves (they fit really well and keep my hands toasty)
a watch (should wear it on my wrist and then perhaps i wouldn't be perpetually late for work...)
a container of mixed nuts
2 sets of headphones (again, no idea why there are two...)
handcream
pens and a sharpie
bright red lipstick (again, doesn't get much use)
my keys
and a torch (we have a very dark lane that runs behind our house that i occasionally have to walk down. i can normally never find it though, as it's hidden amongst the rest of the crap in my bag...)

ok, well that's everything i think... going through and writing a list like this is kind of helping me to evaluate what actually needs to be in my handbag (ahem, 2 pairs of sunglasses?), maybe i'll have a bit of a clean up :D

care to share your handbag?

blogtoberfest!

oh hello october, or should i say, blogtober!
it's blogtoberfest time again and if you'd like to join in the fun, pop over and visit cathie and sign up!
i'm playing along for the second year and will therefore be posting (hopefully) everyday for the month of october!
before i start on my to-do list for this month, let's quickly recap on the month just passed...
i wanted to get a few bits and bobs done around the yard, which with all the lovely weather, i managed to get done with no trouble at all...

i got some seeds in the ground (basil, peas, beans, snow peas and corn) and replanted my strawberries into a hanging planter. the little wheelbarrow i had them in was much too shallow and the soil dried out almost daily leaving them looking very sad.
they're much happier in this bright little planter. and look how much the ivy has grown since last time!



i also planted some colour around.
pansies in this boot shaped pot.




and some more pansies and some daisies too in my flowery planter box. must remember to keep the water up to these over the hotter months...




i did get all of my drawers painted too, there's just no picture as it would mean i have to clean my kitchen floor and that's not going to happen any time soon...

so now october, what do i have in plan for you...?
apart from blogging every day, i really hope to get lots of little crafty things done (so i have something to blog ABOUT you see ;D)
i really want to get started on some things for christmas (i volunteered to have christmas at our place this year and i have LOTS of big crafty plans), i also finally want to get some things made to maybe sell (hopefully in time for christmas too :D) and i have a feeling i might be getting onto some wedding-y crafts too.
on the (boring) home front, i want and need to get the outside of my house looking nice (read, de-cobwebbed) and also the inside of my garage. it needs a good clean out and i want to get the walls prepped for painting!
oh and did i mention, blogging every day?!? hopefully with this nice and full list, i'll have plenty to blog about!

what are your plans for this month?