august.

why hello there! a little bit of a blogging break was had over the month of july.
i completely and totally felt i needed a little time away from this space, to have a think about how i was feeling and to rest up. a little hibernation if you will...

i'm back this month though, with a few goals for this month and a couple of new ideas for what i would like to do with this wee space.



july was a purposefully pretty slow month for me. well kind of... i wanted to avoid this space to get to doing some of the things that had been building up and building up since the start of the year.
and now, a few long term knitting projects are off the needles, the unread magazine pile beside my bed is whittling down, and the number of unread blog posts in my bloglovin' feed is low and staying low.
i've also been making sure i get some movement in my days, committing to my 10 000 steps a day for the large majority of the month and the last couple of weeks, taking measures to bring my diet back in check.
the whole process is definitely making me feel a little bit better, and yesterday i woke up with more energy than i have in MONTHS! it feels awesome!



my goals for the month ahead include finishing up a hat that i started during the week, finishing up a beanie i'm writing up a pattern for (eep!) and making a start on the re-knit of the jumper i knit for bb (i frogged it a year ago! that time sure went quickly...). i finished the swatch for it last night, so i'm hoping after a wash, my tension will be ok and i can get started on it straight away!
the other big project on my to-do list is my box of mending! i've got two garments (a dress and a skirt) that need re-zippering, and a dress that needs the waist band altered. my sewing machine will be out and proud on my dining room table for a few weeks i think. i'll aim to get one garment fixed a week... we'll see how that goes ha ha.

i also want to get back on the meal planning bandwagon. i'm hoping to save some $$$ this month by not buying food at work for the entire month, and to maybe even keep track of my savings to keep me motivated.
i'm also hoping to keep moving, with at least 10 000 steps a day, and maybe even a take a few runs too. i ran for the first time in ages last weekend and it felt really great! my 5k run took me nearly an hour, but i think i can improve on that time for sure.

what are your plans for the month ahead? feeling motivated?

sunday snippets.

playing along with {tinniegirl} and her sunday snippets.

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



last weekend, i spent a bit of time cleaning mortar off these 'foraged' bricks to add to my brick retaining walls. they're foraged because i found them in the while ha ha! there are a lot of dumped bricks in the back lane behind our house!

i've been making up these little yoghurt pots to take to work for something sweet after lunch.



a scoop of homemade jam (or lemon curd in this case) a couple of dollops of organic yoghurt and a sprinkling of granola. deeeeeeeelicious.

while i was away this weekend, i attempted the 1000 steps with a couple of my cousins and my auntie. they well and truly beat me up there!



it is a pretty steep climb and i definitely need to do it a bit more often, as i was s-t-ruggling to get up the hill!

to recover, most of the weekend looked like this...



crochet! and knitting of dishcloths for days for girls. there was also wine, and much chatting.
aaaaaaand...



cake! i made this sourdough cake recipe, but substituted the eggs for a little bit more coconut oil and some water to veganise it up!
it was super yummy!

what have you been up to this weekend? have you done the 1000 steps?

march.

phew! last night was a bit of a late one...



but my february goal, to cut up and baste all of the fabric i'd bought for my hexie quilt, is done!
my other goal of getting back to running regularly, not so much! i went for a couple of runs, but not nearly as many as i wanted to! oh well!

my main goals for this month are to eat super healthily, and to establish a really prolific exercise routine...



i've set up this magnetic whiteboard on the side of our fridge using this workout calendar as a guide. i'm hoping to mainly use the workouts linked, as well as running for cardio!

on the crafty side of things... i want to get this finished! as well as knitting up a little bebe blanket for my very first niece or nephew, and maybe making a start on some beanies for the festival! i received an envelope filled with information on it yesterday and it made me realise i need to get my butt into gear!

what are you goals for the month? did you set goals for february? how did you go?

little lovelies.

every week, i try and share a little list of lovely things that have happened throughout the week in my neck of the woods, to try and keep myself looking on the bright side of things.

i mixed up this cake mix as promised...



as well as it being my bloggy birthday, i also had a co-worker with a birthday sunday too! i baked them up and took them into work as a bit of a happy birthday gesture!
hopefully it helped make her day a bit special (particularly because she was working, poor thing!)

i also started on one of my february goals



i pulled on my ridiculously BRIGHT exercise clothes, and went for a run. it was only a short one, but yesterday my muscles were aching a lovely ache, and i'm keen to pull those hyper orange runners on again this morning!
it was really fun!

this guy didn't just want hugs last night...



he also wanted to steal my chesse!
he's lucky he's cute i tell ya!

and lastly, this morning, i'm getting back to one of my favourite past-times...



list writing!
what i want to get done today, tomorrow, in the garden over the year... lots of lists!

what have you been up to this week? what has put a smile on your face?

february.

unfortunately, my new frankie diary doesn't have space in it to write monthly goal lists like it did last year... but that doesn't mean i won't keep writing them!

this month, i'm trying to keep things simple, so i don't get too overwhelmed.



so my only two goals for this month are...
*get running - my body is craving it, and this is definitely a craving i can give into.
*get hexy-ing - i've got quite a bit of fabric, ready to cut up and stitch up and i haven't touched anything to do with hexies for months and MONTHS!

nice and simple huh?

what are your plans for the month ahead? setting any goals for yourself?

little lovelies.

every week, i try and share a little list of lovely things that have happened throughout the week in my neck of the woods, to try and keep myself looking on the bright side of things.

burger dates with my bestie



the most delicious food comes out of food trucks. for sure.

gifts from clients at work.



he was super stoked i was able to fix his glasses so quickly after he'd sat on them.
i'll be remembering his name ;)

my shadow.



he'd follow me around all day if he could.

and getting moving again. in my new shoes.



it felt pretty good, now to keep it up!
definitely getting inspired by this awesome lady and her exercise habit!

what been happening this week to make you smile?

ride 2 work day.

yesterday was national ride 2 work day. a day that encourages folks to ditch their cars in favour of riding their bikes to work!

after an unexpected sleep in (i'd wanted to be on my bike by 7:30, i wasn't even out of bed then!) i dragged my butt out of bed and jumped on my bike!



it takes me between 15 and 20 minutes to get to or from work on my bike, depending on how long i have to wait at traffic lights, or, like today, how strong the headwind is after a long day at work, and how long you therefore walk your bike ha ha!
there's ONE hill on the way home that gets me every time...

did you ride your bike to work today? was it super windy?

little lovelies.

every week, i try and share a little list of lovely things that have happened throughout the week in my neck of the woods, to try and keep myself looking on the bright side of things.

this week, there's been lots of new stuff happening!



new wool to start a new project.
i think my favourite part of buying wool in bulk like this is to play with it! stack it up, make it look pretty!



lovely brianna picked me up this clock from ikea.
it's soon to become a modpodged hexie masterpiece! it should look great up around the house!



my parents bought this cute little cross-stitch home from their trip to the states. i can't wait to get it done and framed up in a little black frame.
i think it'll look great up on my wall!



oh and speaking of things that i had brought back from the states for me, a brand new pair of running shoes!
how lucky am i??

maybe this is the inspiration i need to get running again ;)

what little lovely things are making you smile this week? do you play with your new wool too? or enjoy the odd ikea hack?

a great day.

around this time last week, i was posting about how shitty my day had been... not this week!

i started the day with a little lie-in before setting off with a work colleague to get some exercise in for the day.



we headed up to the dandenongs, to run the infamous 1000 steps!
we ended up walking, at quite a slow pace, the lyrebird trail...
turns out, we're not very good at reading signs...
we walked DOWN the 1000 steps on the way back



there were a LOT of tired looking people heading up. eep! i do still want to try it out though... glutton for punishment! luckily, it's a pretty beautiful place to be!

after we'd traipsed back down the steps, we headed a bit further up the mountain, in the car this time though, to sassafras, for brunch.



i had this delicious looking baguette! we then had a bit of a wander around, looking around the local shops.
it was great fun!

a bit of work to get done in the afternoon, both around the house, and for my job, and then i was off for a bit of a knit and natter at a fortnightly craft group, where i had another delicious meal out!



oh, and some dessert!



not a bad day at all!!

oh and before i forget... today's a month of prompt is cream...



this is a dress bb's mum bought me for christmas! isn't it gorgeous? i've got it hanging up so i remember to take it and get it altered... 4 months into the year, i still haven't remembered... oh well!

how was your day? have you got things lingering on your to-do list you keep forgetting about?

ouch!

over the weekend, i came across this...



it was while i was waiting for bb to exit the bathroom, so i figured, why not?

i got through about 5 minutes before bb exited the bathroom, and then proceeded to make fun of me!

i felt like a bit of a tool, and it was starting to feel a bit hard, so i stopped.

even though i just thought it was a silly thing to waste 5 minutes doing, BOY am i sore!
who'd have know i really don't use my back/side muscles that much!
i'm also feeling a little pathetic because i didn't even get halfway through the video!

definitely setting this as an end of month goal, i WILL get through this video. even if it kills me!

what fitness goals have you set yourself lately? do you want to play along and try this video out?
put some cool music on and shake that thing :D

at my house...

today at my house...
i'm not really spending much time at home at all!



i'm at the gym.


and at the hair salon. do you like my new 'do?



and then to work.



i did manage to pick up a little something from someones hard rubbish pile on the way to work too... it's broken and horrid looking but not for long!



maybe when i'm done i'll come home and knit :D
my teddy bear is nearly finished! soon it'll just need some sewing stitches and stuffing then it'll be flying up to queensland for a quick visit to steph and then onto a new home.
what did you get up to at your house on monday?