a quick pair.

finding myself with a free hour and a bit before leaving for my weekend away this afternoon, i thought i'd grab my sewing machine out and whip myself up a quick pair...



a quick pair of pyjamas that is...

i picked up this fabric a few weeks ago from lincraft.
they were having a sale on flannelette!



now they're all packed and ready to go! i hope they're nice and comfy!



what have you whipped up in a little window of time lately?

my creative space.

today in my creative space, i'm packing!!!
i've got lots of crafty things planned for my time away this weekend!



i've got my granny stripe packed! we're heading up into the hills so it'll hopefully keep me warm, as well as keep my hands busy.



and i've got some of my new wool packed... i've got kina plans and sock plans and beanie plans!
lots to do!



oh and i'm filling this basket up with woolly goodies too! lots of balls from my stash and my knitting needle roll and crochet hook wallet.
inspiration for my fellow holidayers :D

what are you creating today? are you joining in with kootoyoo and her creative spaces too?

meal planning monday.

ooh! the week that just passed was SUCH a meal planning fail! despite my best plans, there was not a lot of cooking happening up in here! a lot of takeaway was eaten ha ha!
onwards and upwards!



do you like that?
that was my lunch prep for the week. that i did this morning. and mayyyyy have been the reason that i was late to work!
oops!!

tonight, i had a hair appointment, so i bought some premade tortellini and sauce for bb to cook. it wasn't take away, but it wasn't far off...

tomorrow night, i think i'll make burgers. i've had a bit of a craving for them the last couple of nights, so tomorrow night will be the night! i think i'll add pip's secret ingredient of grated haloumi! i'm interested to see how they taste!

wednesday night, i've got a co-worker coming over to go over a presentation she's making next week, so i think i might make a big pot of vegie soup. must remember to do the prep before work... oh and maybe throw a loaf of bread together too!

thursday night, i might throw a roast into the oven. maybe that chicken that i was hoping for last week... should be delicious and the perfect little cosy and romantic meal to share with bb. it'll be the last for a while because i'm off on a little getaway for the weekend!
i'm tres excited as i get to relax and knit and crochet and eat good food AND most importantly, spend some great quality time with all of the lovely ladies in my family!
i can't wait!

are you up to anything exciting this week? are you cooking yummy things?
pop over and visit pink patent mary janes for more meal planning monday inspiration!

beanies away!

earlier in the week, i sent off a stack of beanies to the beanie festival!



it's always an exciting trip to the post office, and now the wait begins...
i'm always excited to see how many of my beanies actually sell! oh and i wonder if i'll get any feedback this year...

ta-da!!

after my wool shopping expedition on the weekend, i finally had enough wool to finish off my bamcal blankie!

i decided on a scalloped edge to finish off the edge of the edge.



and although it's a little wonky due to the slight different sizes in the squares, i think it finished it off nicely.



it's been loved and used on the couch over the last few months, but i'm super happy that it's all finished now.

and so is this guy.



it took me almost 18 months, but it was well worth the wait, i LOVE it!
now, what should i make next...

what have you finished recently? or have you started something new?

nailed it.

a few weeks ago, during a particularly sleepless night, i came across this in angie's instagram feed. angie is the new shop girl for the canberra creatives shop and her advertising seems to pop up at just the right time (for my craft supplies that is, not my wallet :P)

anywho, after a few days, my washi collection had grown exponentially!



i had a couple before, but i more than doubled my collection with this purchase. oops!

apart from using them to wrap a few gifts over the last couple of weeks, i've also been using my new patterned washi to spice up my nails.



i've dubbed friday mornings nail time, as it's a somewhat awkward time for me. i have to head to work for 8 hours afterwards, so i generally don't want to get to doing anything too strenuous. manicures are perfect ;)



i think i might look into buying a white polish, to go underneath the tape to make the patterns really pop.
at the moment, the white of the tape gets a little washed out once i pop clear polish over the top...

are you a washi tape fiend too? what do you use your washi for?

meal planning monday.

another week has flow by, and it's monday again! phew!



tonight, i've got some lamb chops that i'll pop in the oven, nigella style

for tomorrow night, there's some leftover pesto that i whipped up on the weekend, it'll go well with some pasta, some fresh spinach and some feta. delish!

wednesday night is ncb night, and seeing as how i never really get to eat anything i cook before ncb, i'll leave bb to fend for himself and have dinner at the cafe where we meet. the food there is really great!

thursday night is actually my late night at work this week, i was horribly confused last week, i didn't realise that i WASN'T working thursday night until tuesday evening, as i was falling asleep! anywho, late nights mean slow cooker nights, and thursday night i'll be trying something new to us! mongolian beef! should be nice on some fluffy rice. fingers crossed!

friday night, i have the night off! maybe i'll make those pies i was talking about last week ha ha!

saturday will be my SIXTH day of work in a row, so i'm thinking the last thing i'll want to do is cook... i think i'll ask bb to take me out. dinner and maybe a movie? sounds great!

sunday will hopefully be a quiet day at home. followed by a quiet dinner at home. i think a roast would be perfect! maybe chicken? it's been a while since i roasted up a chicken! i'll make some lovely stuffing and get the skin nice and crunchy. yum!!

i've also got all of the fixings for a delicious and healthy chicken salad to take for lunch this week too!

i'm joining in with pink patent mary janes and her meal planning mondays

what are you eating this week? cooking anything new?

road trippin'

yesterday, i had a plan.
well it wasn't just my plan... brianna and myself, as well as her husband (he played driver), jumped in the car and headed up the calder to BENDIGO!

i was excited because it's a 4 hour round trip, meaning 4 hours of un-interrupted knitting time



our destination in bendigo, was one i've been wanting to go to for a while now...



and boy did i enjoy myself!
i had a very hard talk with myself before going in, 'now nicole, you're not to buy anything that you don't have a project in mind for...'
and for the most part, that worked...



this was my haul!
and boy do i have plans for it!
there'll be several pairs of socks, a beanie (for our faithful driver), a little blankie, a milo or two, a kina too and probably some more socks thrown in for good measure.
a suitcase full of plans!

i have some things i need to finish off first though.
the beanies need to be finished (the ends! i hate them!), they need tagging, oh, and they need to be posted. and then i have my bamcal blankie to finish too! i bought another ball of navy to finally finish the scallopy edge!

then i'll have the big decision about what to start first! eep!

have you indulged in any retail therapy lately? how's your wool stash looking?

food revolution day.

yesterday, i noticed pip, posting lots of things about food revolution day, and after a little googling and reading, i discovered that it was definitely something i'd want to be a part of...
and knowing that i had the morning off (i got my night shifts at work confused, still working friday night this week!) i put my brain to thinking about something i could cook to take in and share with my co-workers for lunch...
a soup? a casserole?
i knew that whatever it was, i didn't really want to have to go to the supermarket in the morning to get ingredients... then it hit me!

bolognaise!
i had mince in the freezer, onions and garlic in the pantry, 29084309 cans of tinned tomato and a whole heap of dried pasta.
perfect!



oh and i threw together some no knead bread last night too!

i'm actually pretty excited to head into work and share all this delicious, homecooked food with my co-workers!



oh, and when i get home from work, there's some cashew chicken in the slow cooker too!

a very foodie day indeed!

are you joining in with food revolution day? what did you cook today?

my creative space.

it's been a frigid, wet and blustery old day in melbourne today.
i was somewhat thankful to be at work and out of the weather, except that i would have preferred to be at home in bed. or in front of the heater with my knitting...

so that's what i'm doing tonight!



not before i munched down on an enormous plate of roast lamb and vegies for dinner. it was the PERFECT dinner for such miserable weather!

but now, i'm getting down to business...



knitting up the final beanie to send away to the beanie festival. i've almost got them ready to send... maybe by the end of the weekend!

what are you up to in your creative space today? playing along with kootoyoo and her creative spaces?

i'm loving...

bloglovin!

i signed up a couple of months ago, and i LOVE it!
it is definitely as good, if not better than google reader!
well actually, it is better... i'd never been able to find a way to comfortably read blogs on my phone before bloglovin and now i can!
it's brilliant!



i love that it syncs between the online version and the mobile version, so if i read some posts on my phone before bed, and then i read some posts on my laptop at breakfast, i'm not having to skip through posts i've already read!

oh, and they have a next button type function, just like google reader, but better, because it tells you how many posts you've got left to read.
sheer brilliance!

have you found your alternative to google reader? or did you never use google reader to begin with?

meal planning monday.

monday again?
after working all weekend, and having a quick trip to visit mum last night for mother's day, as well as popping over to visit my grandma on my one day off for the week on wednedsay, this week has FLOWN! seriously!

i always feel a bit lost after working a full weekend so hopefully getting some meal plans down for the week will get me grounded...



tonight, i was supposed to head out on the town for a performance that bb's brother was in, but after getting home this afternoon from my whirlwind mother's day visit, i collapsed onto the bed! i was pooped! i heated up some left over pizza for myself for dinner. so gourmet!

tomorrow night, i'll whip up a quick curry before i head off to pilates. red chicken curry. yep, that'll do it!

wednesday night, i'm thinking a roast, roast lamb in fact, with lots of roasted vegies and some steamed greens.

thursday night, i'm working late! a bit of a change to the schedule with that one! i'm so used to working late on friday nights, i won't know what to do with myself thursday morning ha ha! i'll pop cashew chicken in the slow cooker as i never quite got around to it last friday night...

friday night, i WON'T be working. i won't know what to do with myself friday night either! i have no doubt that there will be football on the tv... maybe i'll make some pies! chicken and veg in fact! i haven't made them in AGES! i hope i haven't forgotten how ;)

saturday night, i'm going to try and organise that dumpling date i was banging on about last week. i completely forgot that i had a work dinner on last saturday night...

sunday night, i'm hoping to have a quiet night at home... hopefully preceded by a quiet DAY at home. hopefully i'll get some bread baked and some soup made and maybe something slow cooked for dinner. pork belly? i think so!

pop over and see what the lovely pink patent mary janes is cooking this week too!

what are you plans for the week? did you have a happy mother's day?

my creative space.

today in my creative space, i'm sorting my beanies out to send away to the alice springs beanie festival



while i'm sorting and counting and tagging and then probably knitting a couple more...
i'm thinking about the way i feel about making these beanies...
i'm feeling like these aren't really my thing anymore... while they're fun and a little therapeutic to make, i feel like i'd get more enjoyment out of making something i can use or wear, or gift to someone so they could use or wear it.
even though i'm sure the people that purchase them at festivals, do wear them, the enjoyment i get out of them just isn't the same...
so, on that note, this will be the last year i send beanies away to the festival i think.

onwards and upwards!

what are you up to in your creative space? are you joining in with kootoyoo and her my creative space fun?

the great british sewing bee.

early last month, my twitter and blog feeds were absolutely a-buzz over this show, the great british sewing bee. and for good reason, it's FABULOUS!
it's reality tv about SEWING! i thought i'd died and went to heaven ha ha!

there are only 4 episodes, all of which are available on youtube... it's well worth checking out!









and afterwards, if you're a complete fangirl like me, you can check out tilly's blog as well as lauren's blog about her new haberdashery store!

do you watch reality tv? have you seen this show already? what did you think?

meal planning monday.

it's monday again which means it's meal plan time!
hopefully i can stick to it a bit better this week...



tonight, we're having a roast! a kangaroo roast in fact... the one we were maybe supposed to have last thursday night... it'll still be good and i'll serve it with some roast vegies!

for tomorrow night, i think i'll pop some osso bucco in the slow cooker. i'm hoping to make it to pilates tomorrow night for the first time in weeks! cue sore abs on wednesday...

wednesday night is craft night! i think i might throw a curry together... and i'll treat myself to some dessert while i'm out ;)

for thursday night, i'm hoping to find some nice looking lamb chops to make this delicious number.

friday night, working late again, so i'll definitely be slow cooking... but what? maybe some cashew chicken? it's been a while and it's an old favourite!

on saturday night, i'm hoping to organise a dumpling date with a work colleague and her man. hopefully it comes together because dumplings are delicious, and so is good company ;)

and sunday? well i'll leave sunday up to bb. i'm working all day AND i have an 8k run planned for that morning before work... i'll be lucky if i even make it to dinner time ha ha!

i'm joining in with pink patent mary janes and her meal planning mondays.

what are you eating this week? care to share your meal plan too?

may.

another month already! goodness me!
i've got lots of goals this month, no surprise there...



lots and lots to get done!
meal plans and crochet and organisation and sewing and baking and gardening!
can't wait!

what are your plans for this month?