Flowers In Her Hair...

I love wearing flowers in my hair. For a couple of years, I basically wore a flower every single day. It's a look that I'm still completely crazy about... is there anything more feminine than a pretty flower in your hair? I think not! Oh, and with a pristine white dress... sigh. Anyway! The reason that I'm day-dreaming about such things is a special little shop called The Honeycomb. I've bought from The Honeycomb before and could not be happier with the clip and comb that I received (it even made it into my 365!) Today, with nothing better to do, I decided to visit my favourite shop. And now I have to share what I've found, because it's wonderful!!!!

Bronwyn - Spring lavendar clip

Blue Jean Baby - floral hairclip

Vineyard - floral head wreath with ribbons

Coquette - whimsical floral comb



Summer BBQ - whimsical hair comb

Brighton - floral clip

Cherry Pickin - fruity floral clip

Gossamer - floral crown

That Gossamer Crown just kills me!! Oh if money grew on trees... I'd have a standing monthly order with this shop! Beautiful.

What I Did 365 - Day 201

I've been without laundry facilities for the last couple of weeks while tiling and other prep has been going on, and on Saturday I clapped my hands in glee when Chris hoisted my bored and lonely washing machine back into its spot in the laundry! Finally, I could wash my clothes from the luxury of my own home, rather than lug them to Mum's and lug them home at the end of the day (a privilege I was super thankful for, don't get me wrong). It really is the little things eh? I mean, when else would I get excited about an annoying household chore?

What I Did 365 - Day 200

Ain't she pretty?! She might be waaaaayyyyy out of my price range (like, more expensive than our new dining table is going to be!) but nobody can stop me gawking at her. Chris and I hit about 10 different furniture places on Friday - he had the day off to deal with our plumber, and I had the day off because my office decided to close (woop!) so we tore up the town. We bought nothing, but we looked and looked and looked. I actually got sick of furniture shops. Our last stop was the beautiful Empire which I knew would be way too pricey, but I couldn't resist taking a wistful look. And that's where I fell in love with the chair above. It's OK, I'm wise enough not to even try and justify putting it on layby. I like my money too much. But if I was richer, Miss Yellow Chair would be coming home with me for sure. Anyway. Gush gush gush. You get it. Furniture is fun. Let's move on.

Friday evening was spent back at Roxby (for the second time in a week!) with a bunch of girls - some of which I haven't seen in sooooo long! It was a fun night of chatting and catching up, but my day of furniture shopping ended up getting the better of me and sending me home by about 9.30! Whew.

What I Did 365 - Day 199

Oh! Oh! Another kitchen picture! Even I'm getting tired of looking at all these progress pictures I think! But here's a new one anyway. This is our freaking beautiful floor in all its glossy white glory! On Thursday I came home to find that the floor was basically done - grouted and everything! Our hearts had a massive tile-party. And we practised standing on the floor a lot. I'm sure that this time next year, we're going to be experiencing much grief when we walk barefoot on the chilly tiles, on a cold and dark evening. But this week, it's one huge mundane novelty! The dogs thought so too, opting to lay their warm bodies down and rest on the tiles rather than in their cosy, smelly bed. We're all winners!

What I Did 365 - Day 198

Hmmmm. Please excuse that weird overlapping overlay. I don't know what's going on there! Today I discovered Picnik's Textures tool and I wanted to play, but it doesn't translate all that well to the Polaroid frame! Learning is fun, right?

Last Wednesday I returned to work following my giant assignment run! It was a pretty normal day at the office - until about midday when I discovered that there had been a big box sitting behind my chair the entire day. With my name on it. Eeeeek! My super sweet Anthropologie plates had arrived!!! It was definitely a perfectly-timed reward for all of the hours I spent straining my brain and forcing down coffee. Now that our kitchen is but days away from completion, I'm going crazy just dreaming of hosting luncheons and tea parties! Soooooo close!

Note: You should probably know that with renovations coming to a close soon, my 365 is going to be pretty reno-heavy for the next week or so! Sorry for my lack of variety, but renovations have this crazy way of consuming your every thought and hope! I can't wait for the day when I can stop going on about this process - but until then you'll ust have to bear with me! *wink wink*

Indoor Plants Can Be Cool!

I'm a huge lover of indoor plants! At the moment my pretty plants are all outside, thanks to renovation craziness. But I can't wait to bring them back in - having fresh, green, alive plants in your living space is so great! Yesterday this fun slideshow popped up over at the Ninemsn website and I really enjoyed viewing it! I found it inspiring, and am now dreaming of displays of pretty indoor plants, so I figured it was only fair to share!

What I Did 365 - Day 197

"You better not buy anything...!"



Hahaha. Poor Chris. Any time that I mention the word "shop", this is the response I get! I think it's fair. I've certainly been on plenty of spending sprees lately.
Anyway! Yesterday was my last day of uni for the semester - I'm giddily excited!!! I had mentioned to my family the night before that I would be celebrating with a chip roll at George's Kebabs - a kebab place on campus that has won all of our hearts. Chris, who used to study at Curtin and is well-versed on the deliciousness of George's, got a sad little puppy dog look on his face. It felt awkward not to invite him! Tehehe. It was actually really nice, having my man come out to see me and indulge in a chip roll. There's just something so tasty about a chip roll with chicken salt, a bit of cheese, and a mountain of lettuce!! Chris also added bacon and BBQ sauce to his. Mmmm. It was the perfect last-day-at-uni lunch... and then as a bonus, my last class (which normally runs from 5-8pm) finished by 6.30! Win! Now I'm back to full-time hours at work, and my evenings and weekends are mine! All mine!

What I Did 365 - Day 196

Monday was my Dad's birthday. Although I was at uni for most the day, I did get to take some time out for dinner with my family at Roxby, a Thai restaurant around the corner from their place (where I was effectively living!) I'd never been before (although I'm going again this Friday!). Before Roxby opened up, the building used to be a Lone Star - we spent many birthday dinners there when I was growing up!! Now it's very pretty inside.

Anyway, my Dad. I've never known anyone with more ideas and dreams than my Dad - I think I got my day-dreamy tendencies from him!!! My Dad is strong, and loves fiercely, and I am so proud to be his daughter. I love him so much! I'm so blessed to have such an incredible family - we've all been through a lot together, and there's a lot of love.

What I Did 365 - Day 195

The last few nights have been pretty darn social... but the days have not been quite so glamorous! I've been working on 4 different assignments for uni, all due within 24 hours of each other... stressful, right? I handle stress pretty well, so long as I have a neat and tidy space to spread out my books and knuckle down - which is just not our house at the moment! Thankfully my parents have graciously opened their dining room to me and my study requirements, and they have even donated a very cute study buddy/foot warmer to the cause! I've literally stayed at my parents' over the last couple of nights, working away until the wee hours of the morning and then grabbing a few hours of sleep on their couch. The life of a dis-organised student hey? As I type this, I'm actually sitting in my last class for the semester, about to hand in my last assignment... making the 4am bed-times over the last two nights sooo very worth it!

What I Did 365 - Day 194

Alright... I've been holding out on you. I've never mentioned the teeny tiny fact that I have a twin bro. It's just never come up. And he's sort of embarrassing. We don't hang out as such. Every now and then he just shows up for a night, tears up the town, then disappears again. One thing I will say for him is that he's always had a killer mullet!
OK. Lies. That's me up there. Yes, it's a somewhat strange alter-ego but it works for me! Haha. Saturday night was my pretty friend Kristin's hen's night! And we all dressed up as men for the occasion, as you do. The thing is, I have way too much fun putting my man on! Tehehe. I enjoy the shock value, and I enjoy making my friends laugh. Plus there's something so entertaining in pulling on Chris's "Chick Magnet" T-shirt, stuffing a cushion under it to form the world's greatest beer gut, and throwing a high-vis vest over the top for good measure. I know, it's strange, but fun can be found in some crazy places!

Possibly the only down-side to my costume was that it was too bogan for the Belgian Beer Cafe, and I was asked to remove my high-vis vest before entering the establishment. Sigh.

What I Did 365 - Day 193

Gush! It's the pair of ladies that I love! On Friday night we hit the town... first stop was Grill'd (can't believe it's been soooo long since the three of us got our Grill'd on!) The burgers were delicious, naturally. Despite the full-ness in our tummies, we braved the icy wind and strolled over to San Churro for a warm chocolatey fix. Mmm-mmmm! Is there anything lovelier on a cold night than a thick Spanish hot chocolate? Well, Kat and Hatti apparently rate snuggling a little bit higher, but they still enjoyed their hot beverages as far as I know...

Next (and final stop) was Hatti's abode, where we chilled in the living room until the daring time of 11pm, at which point we were kicked out by the Nanna known as Hatti! And thus ended our action-packed Friday. Smile.

What I Did 365 - Day 192

You know those days when you just feel crappy, you're dreading the weekend ahead because of all the work you have to do, and you're unable to walk on half the floors in your house because it's being sealed and/or tiled? That was last Thursday for me. And those factors combined with half-price blocks of Cadbury chocolate at Coles is just a recipe for disaster... What can I say? I fully believe in the credibility of chocolate therapy!!!

Just... to be clear. I did not eat four blocks of chocolate on Thursday. I just bought them. Because possessing them feels almost as good as eating them.

What I Did 365 - Day 191

Nothing screams "I have 4 assignments due in less than a week and I'm renovating and working 30 hours a week at the same time!" like a trek out to the middle of nowhere for a date night. The lovely folks at Disney provided my office with a complimentary double pass to see Pirates of the Caribbean 4 a whole day ahead of the rest of Australia, and seeing as I hadn't actually gone to the movies since January, I threw logic aside and snatched it up! The only problem was that the movie was showing in Belmont - freaking ages away from home! Still. It was a fun night, and the most amazing break from the busy-ness of life at the moment. I really enjoyed it, but I can't tell you that means it was a good movie - I'm pretty easy to please! The high-lights? Seeing my first ever 3D movie (where have I been?!?! Right!?!) aaaaand... Chris dropping half the bucket of popcorn all over the floor before the previews even started. Ha.

We Have Tiles!

Things are happening to our floors! Tiling isn't complete yet, but last night I came home to a half-tiled meals area which made my day! As you can see here, Cupcake deems the tiles to be suitable for sitting on which is always handy! The tiles are actually a bit ugly in this photo (again, I ask: why do I use my iPhone for taking important photos???) but in real life they're a pretty off-white with hints of grey. They took me 3 weeks (and 3 different tile shops!) to choose! It's such a good feeling to see them looking like a real floor!

What I Did 365 - Day 190

Amongst all of the busy-ness of life at home lately, it also happens to be crunch-time at uni. I have four assignments due next week. Four! One of which I haven't even started yet... stress stress stress! During my break at uni this week I decided to clear my head and treat myself to a burger at Burger Edge (around the corner from campus), with a side of glorious golden onion rings. Drool. Definitely a brilliant lunch! I then finished it off with half-price waffles at Gelare next door (it's a Tuesday special). Sheesh. I felt like exploding all the way through my next class, but it was a fun little food expedition, and it must have powered my brain because I managed to write 200 words on an assignment while I finished off those waffles... Woop! I just can't wait till this time next week, when it's all over for the semester...

What I Did 365 - Day 189

Curtis! Hey buddy! To most people, the closest they will ever get to Curtis Stone is by watching him on TV. But he also happens to be my shopping buddy. He greets me at Coles when I shop after work, and tells me that in order to cook like a Master Chef cooks, I need to shop where a Master Chef shops. Handy info, no?

So as I've been harping and harping, I currently can't cook. But on Monday we decided to push ourselves and make burgers for dinner. This involved a lot of tricky man-handling of the BBQ as it was stuck in/under/around a whole heap of stuff. But it was worth it. The highlight of the experience for me though? Grocery shopping. Being greeted by Mr Stone's life-size cardboard cut-out, picking up my little black basket, trawling the meat section for pre-made patties... I actually glanced over at the deli and thought "Oh! Just look at all the beautiful fresh food!" I miss cooking, people. I miss doing a big grocery shop, loading up my fridge, and then creating beautiful, exciting meals. It turns out I don't just love great food... I also love the process of creating great food. Self discovery of the day!

What I Did 365 - Day 188

Chris and I have recently been getting into The Block (a 3-season renovating game show). Yes, we've ticked off another box on the 'boring old married couple' checklist - not only are we doing our own renovating and talking non-stop about renovating, we're now also watching TV shows about renovating. Oh, and we mock them. When they do things wrong, we scoff! When they cut corners, we berate them! We're the people who shout in disgust at their TV! Oh gosh.

Anyway, watching The Block has inspired me to keep a record not only in pictorial form, but also in the form of a video diary. It bums me out that I didn't think of this to begin with, because I know I'm going to get a lot out of watching this video in years to come. But it's better to start now than never. So Monday night was my first video diary entry. I have to admit, talking to myself on camera is a little weird.

Oh, The Agony Of Shoes!

I excitedly received a big delivery from Forever 21 yesterday, and I wasn't disappointed with the cuteness of everything I bought. Until I visited them today and discovered that they are now selling these.

Seriously? The day after I promise Chris that I'm locking away my debit card, these perfect shoes appear out of nowhere?!!?!? Ouch. It doesn't help that the 2 pairs of Forever 21 wedges that I received yesterday (here and here) have demonstrated that Forever 21's wedges fit me PERFECTLY. Oh what a little whinger I am... Owned and acknowledged.

My Pretties...

Carousel Plates

Fleur De Lys Salad Plates

Anthropologie is my happy place. When Chris and I went to California a couple of years ago I made him take me out to the nearest Anthropologie shop - probably about an hour from his Dad and step-mother's place in Long Beach, in a cadillac with no air-con, on a scorching Summer day. What can I say? The man loves me, and I love Anthropologie! And him. I love him more. But Anthropologie was a huge novelty and I couldn't leave the states without having visited this elusive store where all the trendy American bloggers buy their beautiful things. And it didn't disappoint - it housed the most beautiful displays I'd ever seen in my life! I browsed around for more than an hour just soaking it in, and trying to find lightweight, adorable souvenirs I could justify purchasing and packing into a suitcase (I settled on a set of salt and pepper shakers, a flower for my hair and the Domino interior decorating book). So that's my background when it comes to Anthropologie.

Imagine my delight when they started shipping to Australia! It's horrifically costly, but worth it as a one-off indulgence every now and then. Which brings me to the plates above. The world's most perfect sets of plates for high teas or brunches are on their way out to me, and I'm giddy about receiving them! And now I'm locking away my debit card so I stop spending so darn much...

What I Did 365 - Day 187

  

"That's why you'll always find him in the kichen at parties" - technically not true. You'll always find Chris playing poker at a table full of like-minded gentlemen at parties, but I needed an excuse to put that bleeping annoying song in your head! (See the Ikea ad at the bottom of this post if there are some dots that need connecting. I work on assumptions sometimes). Now I know it looks like I've neglected to flip the photo above around the right way, but if you look closely you'll see that it's actually perfectly correct. Chris is clearly 'hanging about' at Ikea, checking out a kitchen display from a whole new perspective. I'm just kidding. Ikea currently have on display a fully upside-down kitchen! Pretty cool! My long-suffering husband agreed to pose so that I could properly document this phenomenon. And then I flipped the picture upside down for good measure. Anyway, needless to say we didn't travel all the way out to Ikea just to take photos with their upside-down kitchen, as wonderful a novelty as it was! We were there strictly on business. The business of renovating! (Are you sick of that word yet? I AM!!!!!) We managed to purchase every last bit of our kitchen on this particular trip to Ikea. It was such a huge achievement! The only downside being that we were there for almost 4 hours finalising things with the kitchen department. Funny, naive things we are - we actually imagined the trip was going to be fairly quick and easy. Or maybe that was just me. Chris lost his faith in Ikea a long time ago, before most of you were even born! Ha. I'm rambling. That's probably because thinking about Ikea makes me delirious now. Just watch the ad:

  

Fun fact: they play the full version of this song (and video) on a loop beside the upside-down kitchen. Just to ensure that the song is stuck in your head for the entire time that you're shopping.

What I Did 365 - Day 186

I'm becoming a total lazy-boys during the renovation process. Well, not in terms of things getting done. We're killing all that. But in terms of arranging three solid meals each day... yeah, that's not happening. To be fair, I don't have a means of cooking, but the bad thing about this is that I'm losing the habit of cooking daily! My Mum has been cooking just about every dinner for us in the last couple of weeks, despite the fact that she's recovering from various surgeries and illness. We're so well looked-after - I don't know what we'd do without her! Seriously. And her food is the best comfort food - apricot chicken, casseroles, cous cous, pasta... we eat well in our house right now! But I can't wait to give her a break and begin cooking myself in my own kitchen. Each day we get closer...

What I Did 365 - Day 185

Our boys currently have a bit of a home-away-from-home. By night they sleep soundly in their beds in our house (although at the moment their living space is our 2-square-metre entry way!) and by day, they hang out at my parents' with their buddy Uncle Leon! Let me tell you... my family are saints for putting up with the shenanigans these three insane creatures get up to each day! I think they'll be even more excited about the end of our renovations than we will be!!! The photo above is of Dog having a chill moment on 'his spot' on the couch in my parents' family room. Like he owns the place! Actually, that face kind of says "Home? We have to go home now? Are you sure?"

What I Did 365 - Day 184

I love receiving packages in the mail! Thanks to my recent online shopping habits, this has been happening more and more often lately. On Wednesday I was stoked to receive my 2nd order from We Love Colors. I was absolutely in love with the tights I received from my first order, so these brought me much delight! I'm starting to accrue quite the collection of hues for my legs, which is perfect timing because the weather is getting cooler and cooler! If anyone out there is thinking about purchasing from We Love Colors, I can't recommend them enough. The tights are durable and lovely, their international shipping fees are extremely decent and they are pretty fast at getting orders out. Oh, and their style blog is completely fun and inspirational for styling ideas, and I've discovered a bunch of cute fashion bloggers through it! Winning all around.

What I Did 365 - Day 183

I title this one "Sweet Procrastination". As I've mentioned before, Tuesday is my day at uni. Last Tuesday I went to my 8am class and then decided to skip the next one (my 12-2pm class). With a whole heap of time up my sleeve, I made the mature decision to head to my parents' and catch up on some assignment work, distraction-free. Yeah, so that didn't happen. I tried for a while to work on my assignments (4 of them, all due within 2 days of each other) but ultimately the pull of procrastination won me over. Tuesday's procrastination tool was baking! Steph and I decided to bake a big batch of honey jumbles, but when it came time to make the icing we discovered that the task of beating eggs just wasn't possible as Mum's mix-master was out of action! Oh noes! Luckily we whipped up a batch of experimental icing laced with far too much food colouring, and decided to top it off with the array of sprinkles that Mum had in the pantry. Our honey jumbles were now more like a 4-year-old's birthday party! Win! After the huge effort of baking and decorating I also ended up skipping my 5-8pm class too. Erm... yeah. Just because I enjoy being a student, doesn't mean I'm always super good at it!!!!

What I Did 365 - Day 182

Instead of focusing on the nasty graininess in this photo (not even a premium account at Picnik could help me fix this one!) I would like you to admire my hot new purple wall! The colour is called Plumbago and since this photo was taken, it has now completely coated every wall in our kitchen! Yes, it was a sweet, sweet day when Chris compromised on all that was manly and agreed to let me have a purple kitchen. It may have had something to do with the fact that I had been rooted in the same position at Bunnings for over an hour, tearily pouring over paint swatches, crying "Which colours do I pick? None of these are right!" Purple is my favourite colour, and turned out to be the obvious solution to my problem! Anyway. This is how we spent last Monday night. Completely logical, staying up past midnight to paint when we both had to be up before 6 the next morning. Ah, crazy young things we are. And by crazy, I mean stupid. And by young, I mean stupid. And by things, I mean fools. Stupid stupid fools. Ha. I'm just kidding. Getting the painting done in the kitchen was worth the tears. Did I say tears? I meant fierce resolve! Ah heck. I don't even know what I'm saying any more. Just thinking about painting turns my brain to jelly!

What I Did 365 - Day 181

Belated, but I'm finally blogging about Mother's Day! I way blame Blogger for this - I was all set to blog my heart out on Friday and do a big old catch-up on my 365s, but Blogger had other ideas and was down for maintenance basically all day and then all night as well! Oh well. Here I am now anyway, playing a game of catch-up between assignment work.

Mother's Day  was a big one for us! We spent the morning emptying out our kitchen and laundry. Goodbye washing machine. Goodbye fridge. Goodbye oven and cook top. Goodbye trestle table that we were washing dishes on. Then we went to have a delicious lunch of finger food with Chris's family. It was a lovely, cruisey afternoon and Susan (Chris's Mum) really went nuts with all the food she put out! Yum yum yum!

The evening was spent at my parents', enjoying delicious Hans Cafe (pseudo-Thai food) in front of Master Chef (naturally)! Overall, an excellent day with our families, and incredibly productive at home as we prepped for our tiler (and great neighbour!) to get started. Whew.

Oh, and the photo above is me and my Mum. While we've been doing it tough this week, she's taken such amazing care of us - dog-sitting, cooking meals, doing laundry, running our dishes through her dishwasher... those household chores that you take for granted until you lose the functionality of your kitchen and laundry! Bring on the end of this renovation!

And this is why we water our lemon tree...

Mmmmm... lemons!!!

So Cute It Hurts!

I'm currently at my parents' house 'studying' in their beautiful spacious dining room! I'm shivering a little because I left my cardigan out in the car, and there ain't no way I'm picking up my lazy butt to go get it!! The solution? I'll imagine that I'm snuggling up to one (or all!) of these!!!

Dexter Large Stuffed Guinea Pig Plushie

White and Brown Mopsy Bunny

Razzie Stuffed Guinea Pig

Corky Large Stuffed Guinea Pig

 Sky the Stuffed Bunny Plushie

Bart Medium Sized Stuffed Warm Fuzzy Plushie

Calico Bunny

These adopt-able little fuzzy butts are available at Zygopsyche - possibly my newest favourite shop! And hey, if any of my friends out there were thinking about randomly gifting me with something that will make me smile - I'm pretty sure I overheard little Razzie up there begging me to send him on his way to warm, sunny Australia! Just putting the word out there on his behalf! *wink*

.... OK but seriously! He's perfection!

What I Did 365 - Day 180

I'm going to name this picture: Hatti And The Plate Of Unrecognisable Mass. Mmmmm. Who doesn't love to tuck into a plate full of mystery? Ha. I am so kidding. The only thing wrong with that plate of food was my ability to photograph it correctly. On Saturday night I spent the evening with my dear lady friend Hatti. It was a cruisy night of cooking dinner, flicking TV channels, and chattering away like a pair of galahs. I got to teach Hatti to make chicken schnitzel (yummy!) and she got to admire my minty green tights. Win-win, really!

Saturday itself was probably more social than it should have been with our impending renovations in mind... I spent the afternoon at the foreshore with Amy, coffeeing, thrift shopping and paying a visit to the import candy store. It's nice to catch up with people, and so needed - I feel so swamped by all the housework and assignments going on at the moment!

What I Did 365 - Day 179

We are nothing if not dramatic! Last week we had arranged that our tiling (and more serious renovating process) would be happening in the next three weeks or so, giving us plenty of time to prepare. On Friday, our amazing tiler (who also happens to be our neighbour!) let us know that he'd had a client postpone and could start Monday! Soooo exciting - but blimey! So much prep to squeeze into the weekend! The photo above documents our daunted faces. As worried as we were that we wouldn't get everything done in time... sometimes it's great to have that kick in the butt to get things happening. Tiling ain't an easy process - because we're tiling like half our house, we're now living out of our garage. The fridge, the washing machine and various cupboards are all residing out there. Fun fun fun. But I did hear them chattering excitedly about moving back in and dancing on the new tiles. So we're all winners in the end.

What I Did 365 - Day 178

Mmmmmmm. Friends, is there any greater feeling than cocooning yourself under a doona on a cold cold night? Obviously there isn't. It's one of life's great comforts, and the reason the humble doona was invented you know! Please excuse the mis-matched pillows (we're renovating - I can blame all of my house's problems on that, right?). After piling on more and more blankets each night over the last few weeks, Chris and I finally made the call on Thursday night - it was DOONA TIME! In celebration, I've decided to make a list of the reasons that doonas rock the cake:

1. They are big and fluffy and feel totally luxurious

2. They make life so much easier - making the bed is as complex as grabbing an end and flicking. Perfectly made bed at your disposal!

3. Quilt cover sets are pretty, and in order to justify buying them you should own a doona

4. You cannot get tangled in a doona like you can in 5+ blankets

5. Doonas = Winter is coming - and that's the greatest perk of all!

Mum

I'm going to take the opportunity of Mothers Day to tell you how amazing my Mum is. She's a person who I will always look up to, and whom I go to for advice almost on a daily basis. We've always had a great relationship, even when I was a less-than-sparkling teenager. I never understood when my friends at school vented about the daily fights they were having with their Mums, and I was horrified to imagine speaking about my Mum in the cruel, nasty way they sometimes spoke about theirs. Our family respected and believed in each other, and we were always honest about everything. Mum (and Dad!) raised us the way that I plan on raising our kids some day. Mum and I usually see each other once a week, and we talk on the phone at least every second day. She looks out for us, cooking us meals each week while our kitchen's compromised, and baby-sitting our crazy dogs during days where lots of work is being done on the house. She sees needs in people, and she fills them - sometimes with some sacrifice to herself. She's amazing, and I love her so so much.

This last year has been incredibly tough on my Mum - she's been in and out of hospital and various surgeries, for weeks at a time sometimes. It's been a horrible rollercoaster, but Mum has battled hard and kept strong (even when she hasn't felt strong at all). I'm so incredibly proud of her, and more thankful than ever to have her as such a huge part of my life. She's truly my best friend, and my angel.

I love you Mum. Happy Mothers Day to the greatest Mum on the planet!!!

Green Legs and Glam?

*I use the term glam loosely - but my peacock headband, that could be glam right???*

So I've decided to be an outfit post-er. Not because I think I'm ridiculously good-looking, or because I think my stylin' is rad... but because I enjoy seeing other people's outfit posts - it's fun to see what people wear on a day-to-day basis. I love people who dress creatively. I wore this outfit to the foreshore for coffee with my dear little Amy today. Despite the fact that it's Winter next month, I realised soon after hopping out of my car that a) it wasn't the temperature for tights, and b) it wasn't the temperature for the hot cappucino I'd just ordered. Ah, Perth, you mock me so!

I love the fun that a pair of coloured tights adds to an outfit. And I love that even though Australian stores deny the importance of coloured tights, they are so easily available online. AND... I love that our Aussie dollar is so strong. It's basically the perfect tights-purchasing economic climate!

I'm actually planning to share much deeper thoughts than these in my outfit posts, but it's 12.15am and my brain is fried like a fritter. A juicy golden pineapple fritter.

Skirt (worn as dress): Crossroads 2009
Shoes: Rubi
Tights: We Love Colors
Belt: Jeanswest 2004-ish
Headband: Claire's
Necklace: Diva

xxoo

What I Did 365 - Day 177

Oh, me and my wigs! Yesterday I was super excited that one of my recently eBay-purchased wigs had been delivered. It was supposed to fulfill a lifetime curiosity of mine - what would I look like blonde? In real life though, it's kind of a strawberry blonde, almost orangey. Not quite what I had in mind, but after a little bit of styling I came to enjoy it! We had planned to prep for the never-ending kitchen renovations, but instead ended up spending most of the evening next door, hanging with our amazing neighbours! I was pretty sheepish showing up at their door, rocking the look above (haha). But it turned out to be pretty fun! One of their girls is dying to play with wigs now. Cute! My favourite part of the night though was when Chris complimented me on the way I'd styled it. Whoa, what? He's a manly guy, and never seems to consider the way I style anything, so that kinda blew me outta the water! Guess he likes me blonde-ish! I can definitely see myself having some fun with this wig...

What I Did 365 - Day 176

Pyjamas. How great are pyjamas?? How do you spell pyjamas? I spell it like this: pyjamas pyjamas pyjamas. On Tuesday night we were both deliriously tired after going to bed at 1.30am and waking up at 5.40am for Chris to get to work. Icky. Thankfully, I knew exactly what was coming after my melt-off-your-skin hot shower - yep, I'll say the word again: my PYJAMAS! I remarked on Facebook a couple of weeks ago that wearing my flannel pyjamas is like wearing a hug, and I think that's worth publishing here! Plus, everybody wants donuts printed on their PJs. It reminds me of a pillow case I had as a kid - a picture of Snoopy and hundreds of ice cream cones floating around him. My favourite pillow case ever. Now these are my favourite pyjamas ever. I'm wearing them right now, even!

What I Did 365 - Day 175

You so need to hear the tip that I'm about to give you. It will change your meatloaf forever! Before you stick your meatloaf in the oven, slice up a bunch of little bake-at-home bread rolls, layer them on top of the meatloaf, spray them with some olive oil, and sprinkle on some oregano. Cover the meatloaf with foil and cook it in the oven until it's almost done, then take off the foil and cook another 10-20 minutes to crisp up the bread. It's like eating your favourite song! It was certainly the highlight of our Monday night - the night itself SUCKED because I was up till 1.30am finishing an assignment. Ouch!

What I Did 365 - Day 174

There's a party in my apron and you're all invited!!! Hahaha. Come on, I had to go somewhere with the seedy grandma face! So Sunday night was the season 3 launch of a little show called Master Chef. No big deal... except it's the greatest show on the planet! It inspires me big-time. I was this close to sending in my application (I spent like 2 days making it perfect!) - not because I think I'm a good enough cook, but on the off chance that if I did get through, I would have the most amazing cooking experience of my life! In the end I was too chicken - I definitely have a long way to go with my cooking skills, and I am OK with that. Chris and I headed over to my family's to cook up a Master Chef Launch Dinner Party. Soooo gooooood. It was kinda heavenly cooking in an amazingly well equipped chicken, with a gas cook top. Oh, my heart! So what was on the menu?

- Pioneer Woman's chicken parmigiana

- Mum's roast potatoes

- Pioneer Woman's mushrooms stuffed with brie

- Steamed asparagus

- Garlic breadcrumbs

- Sticky date pudding (lovingly referred to as Sticky Tape Pudding in my family)

Oh, how we ate. And watched Master Chef. Which was almost as good as the food. Ha. I'm just so excited it's back! Master Chef brings me those feelings of snuggling up on our suede couches, listening to the rain and eating broccoli and cheese soup or chilli con carne. It's the greatest Winter activity ever!

My only complaint is that thanks to the amount of garlic, oil and wine consumed on Sunday, not much sleeping occurred in our house. That was kind of annoying. Even worse when three out of six of us (myself included) got up feeling pretty darn ill. Ah, the sacrifices we make for rich food hey?

What I Did 365 - Day 173

On Saturday we had the pleasure of seeing two friends, Chris and Danielle, get married! I love weddings, and I have to say that Danielle was probably the most elegant bride I've ever seen! Plus, you can't go wrong marrying a guy called Chris in my opinion! As usual, Chris and I couldn't help reflecting on the whole process of getting married as we sat there next to each other. A few months ago I posted a wistful little reflection about how I miss the new-ness that comes after a wedding, and I have decided to upgrade those thoughts. Yes, those 'firsts' after getting married are exhilarating - waking up next to each other, moving in with each other, going on holiday together - and I miss that light-headed excitement, and waiting for it to sink in that it's all real. But in the last two-ish years since Chris and I had our wedding, we've grown and formed a freaking amazing marriage, and I'm so appreciative of the place we're in. As fun as those newlywed firsts are, the last two years of finding our pace has been so much better. Isn't marriage cool?! It's actually a more amazing journey than you can even fathom at the beginning...

What I Did 365 - Day 172

Ah, Friday. The night of opportunity, when trendy young things tear up the town and trendier young things stay at home and work on impending assignments. Correct? Friday night I had the house to myself (I cannot for the life of me remember where my husband was, but I clearly recall his absence). I spent the night alternating between an e-portfolio due a few days later, and episodes of Seventh Heaven. Oh yes. Seventh Heaven. And up till this point I had pretty much fooled you into thinking I was heaps cool. So anyway. This assignment was a massive struggle for some reason, which is a crying shame because it's just so pretty! I could harp on, but I won't. My fingers deserve a break from the blog essays I've been writing lately.

What I Did 365 - Day 171

Woops! I just realised I got my days mixed up - this post relates to last Wednesday, and therefore should have gone before the post above. Erm... yeah. This is the kind of rustic charm you come here for, right?

So anyway. Easter. Do you know what I love about Easter? I mean aside from Jesus, who is obviously the point of the season. Looking at the picture above, can you perhaps guess? No, you probably can't. Because you were thinking "Klara looooves Easter eggs", weren't you? But guess what - I don't love Easter eggs. They are all right, but nothing worth gushing over. However, what I do love is...CHEAP Easter eggs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ha. I love going to the store the day after the Easter public holidays are over, and loading up my basket with half-price Easter eggs! It's so exciting! To me, Easter eggs are the perfect little amount of chocolate - if you're trying to limit your intake, it's so easy to just grab a couple of little Easter eggs to bring to work for a little chocolate hit. Way better than having half a block of chocolate looming in the pantry, screaming "You only took TWO LITTLE PIECES OF CHOCOLATE?! But I'm unwrapped now! What about the ants!? WHAT ABOUT THE ANTS!?" My blocks of chocolate all scream that at me, hence why I eat so much chocolate - once the block is open, it demands that you eat it. But Easter eggs are so demure - they're separately wrapped so they don't judge if you only eat one. Before Easter, they're expensive. But after Easter they're such a bargain, the good reasons for purchasing them start to stack up.

So in other news, I can write lengthy paragraphs on Easter eggs and the personalities of different chocolate mediums. Awkward.

What I Did 365 - Day 170

Guilty pleasure time!! Interesting fact (disclaimer - I use the word interesting loosely): I am so not into flavoured coffees any more. They had their time to shine, didn't they? A few years ago I never even considered ordering a coffee without some kind of super-sweet flavour mixed in - hazelnut, butterscotch, irish creme, caramel... oh how new options excited me! My sweet tooth must have exploded because my taste for flavoured coffees seemingly disappeared overnight a year or so ago. Probably a good thing, because I can only imagine the sugar-cancer I was getting from the Gloria Jeans Mocha Caramelattes I was so prone to consuming as often as possible. ANYWAY. Strangely enough, there is one flavoured coffee which I still adore a little bit - the Muzz Buzz Snickerl Latte. I know, talk about a sugar overload, right? And yet every now and then, this is the coffee that I crave above all else. Last week my dear sister Nahn borrowed a flower crown off me to wear to a work party on Friday (something about a royal wedding or something?) and as a thank you (I'm guessing) she came equipped with a Snicker Latte. And it was consumed with much joy.

What I Did 365 - Day 169

OK, so remember my recent little cry about working public holidays? Well, I wasn't giving you the full story - you see, as a student I'm actually not a full-time worker right now. Last week was a uni break and so Tuesday - which is my rostered day off each week - was left wide open! It was a public holiday (hooray for Easter and Anzac Day combining forces!) so Chris was home. While I mostly had to work on an assignment, I still got to enjoy the day like a lady of *somewhat* leisure! We slept in, cooked garbage eggs for breakfast (Chris's very favourite breakfast ever, I'll have to share in more detail some time!) and joined the Fields for a double date at the gym. That's right, we're that cool. Smirk. I made a slow-cooked Indian lamb for dinner and we enjoyed a quiet night in front of the TV watching Criminal Minds. It was a perfect little break. 

The photo above is a little snippet of my idea of a good day at home. I love watching Chris playing with the dogs! I think that's Dog's surprised face - weighing 20-ish kilos, he doesn't often get picked up off the ground. Tehehe.

What I Did 365 - Day 168

Booooring vegetables! Right? Beans, zucchini, carrots, celery... how bland can you get? Luckily for these vegetables, they were destined for a very exciting purpose... delicious minestrone!!!! Inspired by the cool change in weather lately *happy cry* I decided to cook up a big juicy pot of soup. And inspired by our new gym membership *we're getting there slowly* I decided to pack that soup with vegetables and other such healthy junk. Minestrone was the obvious choice! My recipe came from Kat-Kat's dear mother, Cheryl. The first time I ate Cheryl's minestrone, I went into a soup coma! She cooks it GOOD. I managed to beg the recipe off her, and now I can recreate it in my own *currently deconstructed* kitchen. It's still great, but not the perfection that I wistfully remember! But psshhhhht! I ain't complaining! The fact that it's finally soup weather is enough of a WIN for me!!!!!!!!

What I Did 365 - Day 167

Easter Sunday. I dragged myself out of bed at 5.30 yesterday morning to join my Paradox family in a short hike up a hill in Kwinana in time to catch the sunrise. It was magical watching the sun appearing through the clouds. We could actually see the rays start to shine through first - amazing. I've never actually seen sun rays coming up over the top of a cloud before. It was a really beautiful, peaceful time to pray and reflect. We are so incredibly blessed. After a while we went back to Brad and Lisa's for a family breakfast of chocolate hot cross buns, croissants and cereal. What a great start to the day, I loved it. Unfortunately Chris was working from 8am until midnight so I really missed him, but it was still a nice time. After breakfast was our Sunday service and communion, and then I went to the grocery store to FINALLY stock up our hungry fridge! I spent the evening at my parents' with my family, my cousin Sophie and my Nanna. We had a BBQ feast! It was a really fantastic day, although a little exhausting - I was in bed by 9.30!!!

What I Did 365 - Day 166

Awwww. What a happy Saturday! On Saturday morning I had brunch with the two greatest besties in the world! We so love brunch! We headed to Crumpet in Vic Park and just about died over their amazing breakfast options. The highlight of the menu at Crumpet, unsurprisingly, is their home-made crumpets with honey. Although I ordered mushrooms on ciabatta with asparagus and poached eggs, Kat shared a bite of crumpet with me. Good grief. I can't believe that at the age of 25, I have never eaten a crumpet that hasn't come out of a packet. My life and perception of crumpets has been changed forever. Drool.

After breakfast we battled the post-public-holiday crowds at the shops for a while and then headed back to Hatti's where I took a lot of photos. I know you want to see them. So I will oblige!

"We are the 3 best friends that anyone has had!"

"Psssst! Don't tell anyone, but I think Hatti would look great in a tiara!"

"A tiara you say? I mean, I guess I am pretty royal!"

"Come here, peasant. Her highness deems you worthy of a tender back-pat."

"Well... that was less fulfilling than we imagined! Crumbs!"

"I think the only way of saving this situation from being awkward is just to walk away..."

"No! Come back here you! I'll show you!"

"Auuuurrrrggghhhhh!"

That last picture makes me chuckle...