valentine's day.

bb and i don't really make a big deal of valentine's day...
we're in this for the long haul, not just one day a year ha ha!

to be honest, i've gotten home from work, to an empty house (bb is catching up with family for dinner) and am getting some hugs in with this guy...



a quiet night in, with a cheeky vodka and cranberry, some cheese and crackers for dinner, and some crappy reality tv to watch.
sounds perfect to me!

do you celebrate valentine's day? or maybe you're like clare and donate to a worthy cause today?

my creative space.

this week, i think you could probably guess what i've been working on...



more hexies!

my total for the month is up to 252! and i'm ALMOST out of the fabric that i cut out at the start of the month...



i feel another day of cutting coming up this weekend... and maybe a trip to the patchwork shop to pick up some more hexie papers! i opened my 5th packet of papers last night, which means i almost have 500 sewn up!
i also did a quick calculation last night (which i'm sure i've done in the past) and realised i'd need over 3000 to get the size i want! eeeeeeeeep!

in other news...



i cast some knitting on too! i was getting itchy fingers sitting at traffic lights (bad nicole!) and on the walk from my car to work and vice versa.
this is a request from a friend of a friend to re-create a much loved beanie. i got my hands on it, and took a bunch of photos and reverse engineered the pattern a bit... hopefully it comes together how she imagined it would!

what are you creating this week?

green love.

this week in the garden, something super exciting has happened, i grew tomatoes!



when i first discovered them, i actually had a lot more growing...
something else has ALREADY discovered them, and has been having a happy munch. GAH!

thankfully, touch wood, nothing has noticed these guys too much...



and i've been able to pull a few off most days while i've been watering and have a little nibble.
they're really sweet and delicious!

i STILL haven't got this poor little pineapple in the ground!



i meant to pot it up last night after work, but i went to bed instead. 12 hours sleep, don't mind if i do!
it's growing a quite impressive root structure while it waits to get into the ground though... pretty cool huh?

this little strawberry plant that i was given for christmas, seems to be doing ok, despite it copping a lot of heat from the afternoon sun.



the few berries i've eaten from it so far have been delicious and sweet and there seems to be lots more flowers popping up too!

and finally, when all else fails in the edible side of the garden...



these pretty things always seem to be around to brighten up my mood! despite them being out the front and again, copping a faily enormous amount of hot afternoon sun, they don't seem to mind.
as long as i water them frequently that is ha ha!

what's growing in your patch this week? do you have pest problems where you are? have you ever planted a pineapple top?

ruby's nest.

last friday night, i headed into brunswick, to celebrate the opening of a very cool little shop...



ruby's nest is the brainchild of jay and anna and is a reinvention of the olive grove studios.

their new space is bright and airy and perfectly shows off the beautiful and colourful products.



as well as wonderful handmade clothes, there is also a large array of homewares, jewellery and accessories available.

the night was wonderful, with anna and jay being amazing hosts. delicious and refreshing things to drink, as well as lots of cheese, fresh fruit AND cookies and lollipops made by this lovely lady!



everyone also received a goodie bag (which is what anna has in that tray ha ha!), in which, was a super cute pair of wooden owl earrings!

the "studio" part of the existing olive grove studios, are still up and running, and were open for inspection on friday night too!



we got to have a little peek into this lino printing studio, chatting with the couple of ladies who do their amazing work there!

and then there's the floors in this place...
like polished concrete on over-drive.
so cool!



and cool floors, mean the standard blogger shot, feet included!

i was lucky enough to head out for dinner and gelati with three lovely ladies afterwards too.
it was an awesome night!

have you been along to ruby's nest? what did you get up to on friday night?

meal planning monday.

a few last minute events came up last week, so the meal plan didn't go 100% to plan... but i'm hopeful for the week ahead!



tonight, we're having pizzas! it's happening! i've been really looking forward to it the last couple of weeks and it just. hasn't. happened. but tonight, it's happening. the pizza dough is ALREADY out of the freezer, and happily defrosting in the fridge!

tomorrow night, bb has requested this thai noodle salad again. i may have rolled my eyes when he suggested it, but as he pointed out, it has been a couple of weeks...

wednesday night, is ncb night. i'll grab something while i'm there, and i'll grab ben something delicious looking from the butcher.

thursday, i'll try another 'save with jamie' recipe. pulled pork peppers with easy baked risotto sounds good. mainly because i have almost everything i need for it already!

friday, valentine's day, and i'm working until 9. oh well. i might whip up a vindaloo in the slow-cooker, it's one of bb's faves, but something i don't cook a lot because it is just a little too spicy for me!

saturday, bb has volunteered to cook a bbq. should be awesome!

sunday night, i'm thinking a roast, weather dependent of course.

what are you eating this week? do you make your own pizzas?

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, i took my box of washi into work, and went a little crazy on my water bottle.



a co-worker and i have the same re-usable filter bottles so i wanted to make sure that we wouldn't get them confused!

i also threw together some tortillas to have with dinner during the week, just like i planned.



i swapped my nights at work during the week so i could go out on friday night, but i still managed to get slow-cooking on thursday night. rolling with the punches!

speaking of night's out...



this is a snap from friday night. i'll share a bit more about it in a post during the week, but it involved getting a lift home from a lovely lady. thanks karen!

working on thursday night meant i didn't get to help cam celebrate her special day! but i'm super grateful that it was a day that she was here to celebrate! have you had the chat?

oh and i've been getting out most mornings, as early as i can to get everything watered.



we've been having heaps of warm days in melbourne town the last couple of weeks, but everything is surviving with the water it's been getting!

and finally, today is #spcsunday! support an australian owned business today with some spc baked beans on toast, or maybe some two fruits and ice cream (bulla ice cream is an aussie owned business too, just so you know!)

what has been making you smile this week? will you be eating some spc today? do you like washi tape?

bloggy birthday!

i realised only an hour or so ago, thanks to pink patent mary janes posting about her blog's birthday, that it is also my blog's birthday too!!

five freaking years of me blathering on about the things i'm dabbling in... crazy!



i didn't have time to whip up a birthday cake for the occasion, being that i only remembered in the last hour, so the above is some-what of a promise...
a delicious looking packet of cake mix goodness. to be whipped up soon, maybe tomorrow, if the temperature dips to something below 35 degrees!

how long have you been blogging for? when is your blog birthday?