52 Weeks Happy (30/52)

Hello there bloggy friends! How has your week been? Mine has literally disappeared.  The second half of the year is hectic for us and I am finding the time slipping away from me.  October especially is going to be crazy and I have been using most of my spare time to try and plan ahead for that month.  But until then here are some other things I have been doing this past week...

1 - Isn't this the cutest thing you have ever seen!!! Corey was working nights last week and we spent the night at my parents house.  Imogen & dad crashed out on the lounge together and I couldn't resist sneaking a photo.

2 - Last week I tested out a new recipe and made some delicious & healthy breakfast muffins.  I have been eating these daily and am about to run out.  Hopefully there are some leftover bananas this week so I can make more.  Check out the recipe here.

3 - This week I dyed myself some shoes.  I was so happy with how this pinterest project turned out.  It was my first turn working with dye so it was a bit of trial and error but they worked out well in the end.

4 - I am a bit of an organising nerd!  Lately I keep feeling like I am forgetting things.  So one morning last week I sat down with my diary and got the next few months in order.  Fingers crossed this cures my forgetfulness!

5 - I started a new sewing project this week.  Yes, I already have one big project (my scrap quilt) on the go but I felt the need to start sewing something for me.  I am pretty excited about this top and I only have sleeves, buttons & hems to go!  Fingers crossed I'll have something to show you next week.

6 - On Sunday we went to visit my cousin and his too cute for words baby.  I got a little preview of what life with two kids would be like.  Hectic!  But aren't they just the cutest little monkeys ever!!!

7&8 - What could be happier than a giant cupcake?!  I was so excited to get the chance to use my giant cupcake tin again to make this cake.  It was a lot of fun to make and although I wasn't in love with the finished project at first the more I look at it the more I love it!

9 - Big big happy story to go with this picture.  At lunch on Saturday they were running a comp to post pics at the venue on instagram and have a chance to win a $50 voucher.  I found out today that I won!  Yay me!!! I am pretty stoked because I never win stuff.  Plus the food was delicious so I am very much looking forward to going back.

So how has your week been? Have there been any special moments to make you smile?

Anna's Giant Cupcake

This past weekend was my adorable work friend Anna's 30th birthday.  We went out for a lovely lunch and she asked me to make her a birthday cake.  Her request was for a giant cupcake with a cherry on top.  I jumped at the chance as I have had the wilton giant cupcake tin for a few years but have only used it once.

I made the cake out of chocolate mudcake.  To make sure both portions were cooked evenly I filled the bottom half first and baked it for 15 minutes. Then I filled the top half and baked it for the remaining time.  Because the bottom half is a bit bigger this ensured that both halves cooked the same.

To give a real cupcake look I left the bottom half bare.  The top half was iced with buttercream icing which I tinted with sky blue gel colouring.  The cherry was made out of fondant and had a small piece of green wire in the top for a stem.  I was pretty excited to also get the chance to use my giant sprinkles.  I bought these ages ago just because I thought they were cute and this is the first time I have used them. I think I need to make some more giant cupcakes so I can use them again!

The chocolate mudcake recipe I used for this cake is a new one to me.  I got it from the Planet Cake book and I am so happy I tried it out.  Everyone raved about it!  Even my sister liked it and she is hard to please when it comes to chocolate cake.  I am going to be lazy though and instead of typing the recipe out I am going to direct you over here where you can grab the recipe.  Be sure to let me know if you try it and what you think!

Ombre Dyed Shoes

I am on a pinterest project roll I tell ya!  This week I finished a project that I pinned rather recently.  Dip Dyed Shoes!  When we were out buying birthday presents last week I saw plain white sneakers in Kmart for $3.50.  How could I resist grabbing a pair at that price?  Luckily that shopping centre also had a little craft store so I was able to duck in and grab some dye at the same time.  I gave the shoes their first dye that afternoon.

Now the original tutorial for these shoes uses a lighter coloured dye.  Being that I used a darker colour I ended up dying them twice.  The first go had a nice ombre look to it but they just weren't as dark as I wanted.  So this week I gave them another go and I am in love!

I used a tall pot to dye these shoes so that I could fit both in at the same time.  That way I could make sure the colour changes were at the same place on each shoe.  My biggest tip though is be careful with the vaseline.  If it gets onto the canvas that point won't dye properly.  Apart from that this project was super easy!  I think I will need to make a yellow pair like in the tutorial for summer too.

Banana Blueberry Breakfast Muffins

This week I found a delicious sounding healthy muffin recipe on pinterest.  Much to my frustration it was one of those pins where all the ingredients are listed in the caption then when you click through it leads you no where.  So annoying!  If anyone does know of the original source to this recipe please leave me a comment below so I can give credit where credit is due.

But, I decided to give them a go anyway and literally just chucked everything into a food processor and let it combine.  With the blueberries I added the correct amount to the batter and processed it but then also added a few extra to the top of each muffin to make them a bit prettier.

These muffins are honestly delicious!  They are not your typical muffin and are much healthier for you. They would be perfect to grab for breakfast if you are rushing out the door.  I forget to have breakfast a lot these days so having something like this handy to grab is a lifesaver.  If you wanted to make them a little sweeter you could always swap the blueberries for some dark chocolate chips too.

 

Banana Blueberry Breakfast Muffins

3 bananas (riper the better)
3 cups oats
1 cup almond milk
2 eggs
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup blueberries (plus extra for topping)

Pop all ingredients into a food procressor.  Blend until smooth.

Pour mixture into a greased muffin tin.  Top each muffin with additional blueberries.

Bake at 180* (170* fan forced) for 15 minutes or until a skewers comes out clean when inserted into the middle.

52 Weeks Happy (29/52)

1 - Corey had the week off last week so we got to have some extra family time which was nice.  On Monday we headed out bright and early for a walk around the lake.  It was a lovely way to start the week!

2 - Raw Choc Mint Slice is where its at people!  Get on it right now.  This sweet treat is not only delicious but guilt free.  I will be making this again very soon.

3 - When Corey bought his new car the sales agent gave us movie tickets when we picked the car up.  We took the chance for a daytime date while Imogen was at daycare and went and saw The Heat.  It was as funny as I was expecting but it still had some good spots.  And who can complain with a date day!

4 - On Friday Imogen was at daycare again so we headed out for a lazy lunch at a new to us spot near home.  I had an chicken avocado melt and it was delicious! I am majorly craving avocados lately.

5 - Over the weekend we headed down to Brunswick Heads to visit Corey's brother.  We did a spot of fishing in the sunshine and Corey caught a few fish.

6 - Driving time = crochet time! It was only an hours drive each way but that still gave me time to make some progress on my something pretty blanket.

7 & 8 - I ventured into green smoothie territory this week!  First I tried out a blueberry smoothie with just a handful of added spinach.  But last night I stepped it up to a full on green smoothie.  It was pretty delicious!

9 - I finished my scrap quilt top!  Woo hoo!!!  I am pretty pumped that this top is done.  Now I need to get some batting and backing fabric so I can finish it up.  Fingers crossed I can get that done in the next week or so.

What has been happening in your world this week? I hope there have been a few moments to make you smile!

Imogen's Ear Warmers

After Imogen's ear infections I decided she needed something to keep her ears warm.  She won't keep hats on but she seems to be okay with headbands (or so I thought).  So I knitted her up a few headbands.



These were the quickest easiest projects I have ever made.  You literally knit a rectangle.  The orange one I cast on 10 stitches and knit in garter stitch until it was big enough to fit her head.  I then knit another garter stitch rectangle for the bow.  After stitching them together I simply wrapped some yarn around the two to give the bow shape.



The mustard yellow one I did a bit different.  Because the orange one was quite stretchy and Imogen kept pulling on it I decided to make this one in stockinette.  I didn't want the edges to roll but so I did three rows of 2x2 rib on each side.  This time I cast on a heap of stitches to what I thought would be big enough to get around her head.  Then I did 3 rows of rib, 6 rows stockinette and another 3 rows rib and cast off.  Simple!  I then attached a flower I made ages with a pattern I can't seem to find at the moment.  Unfortunately, my thinking was wrong and Imogen keeps pulling these off her head too.  Oh well, at least they are cute for the 5 minutes she wears them!

52 Weeks Happy (28/52)

Happy Tuesday everyone!  Here are a few snapshots of what has been making us happy this past week.

1 - I have been hitting the juices this week.  My favourite is still my usual apple, watermelon and ginger but I have seen a few recipes around for some green juices that I am going to try this week.

2 - I made my first ever custom order for my business.  I made 20m of hessian bunting for a client to be used in a photoshoot this past weekend.  If you would like anything custom made please feel free to pop over to my facebook page and pm me.

3 - Imogen has been pushing our coffee table around so we decided to buy her a walker.  Unfortunately, she thinks it is more fun to ride it like a bike.  Oh well! At least she is getting some enjoyment out of it.

4 - This is the best thing that happened this week!!! We got out invitation for my sisters wedding.  It is coming around so fast.  I am so excited!!!

5 - I finally got around to finishing a little pinterest project this week.  It looks so cute! I'm so glad I finally got my A into G and finished it.

6 - What could make you happier than going to visit your mum and being sent home with half a cake!  My sister and I have been talking about this cake she used to make when we were kids for ages so last week she made it and we got half a cake each.  Yum!!!

7 - Raspberry Chia Pudding! This stuff is amazing. This was my breakfast at our farmers market visit on the weekend but I am going to try and recreate it myself.

8 - Isn't Imogen the cutest gangster ever!  She is rocking out a beanie from my friends clothing label.  It was so adorable on her.  And perfect for the current cold snap!

9 - Good luck is heading our way! Corey found a four leaf clover in the front yard on the weekend so hopefully this will be bringing us some good luck soon.

How was your week? I hope there has been a few moments to make you smile!

Pinterest Project Win!

I pinned this project over on my pinterest ages ago! In fact, according to pinterest it was pinned a year ago.  Well finally I have got around to making it and it turned out super cute!

When I first saw the idea I bought some blue paper for the background and spray painted some cheap ikea frames white.  Then I promptly chucked everything into my sewing room and didn't look at them again.  When our new yellow pages were dropped off last week I knew it was time to get this project finished.

I used a heart shaped cookie cutter to mark my shapes on the map.  The banners are a standard shape in Microsoft Word that I added a text box to.  This project seriously took me about 15 minutes when I finally sat down and did it.  I can't believe I didn't do it sooner!  I must admit I love a pinterest project win.  It sure beats a pinterest fail! Have you found any projects on pinterest that have worked out really well for you?

9 Months

Imogen turned 9 months yesterday!  Isn't just crazy how fast the time goes.  But that means only 3 more months till her first birthday.  Woo hoo!  This past month was a rough one.  Imogen got sick for the first time and she didn't do it by halves.  First she picked up hand, foot & mouth.  Then when that was clearing up she got a throat infection and ear infections in both ears.  We were quarantined in the house for nearly 3 weeks.  It was hectic!  The first few days were ok but by the end of it we were both losing it.  I'm happy to say she is feeling back to her normal self now.  She is even eating some new foods!  Corey managed to get Imogen to like bananas which she would never eat for me.  She also started eating avocado.  The trick is to pop it on a sandwich and not give it to her by itself.  The biggest moment of the past month though is that Imogen started daycare! I am looking at going back to work shortly and wanted to make sure she was settled before then.  This will be her third week and she is loving it.  The teachers are so sweet and the kids are adorable.  Here's hoping she doesn't pick up any more sickness though.  I don't know if I can cope with that again just yet!

52 Weeks Happy (27/52)

OMG the last week went so fast! Even Corey was saying how quick it was going and it usually drags for him being at work.  It's like someone hit fast forward on the world.  No matter how quickly it went we did manage to squeeze some fun stuff into our days.

1 - Now we all know that food makes me happy!  This week I tried out my sister's bacon & red lentil soup.  It was delicious! Not as good as when she makes it though.  Do you ever find that things always taste better when someone else makes them for you?

2 - I also discovered the deliciousness that is chia pudding this week.  If you want a healthy sweet treat then you need to try this. I am a sucker for dessert and I have been using this as my healthy option.

3 - When I first gave Imogen avocado as a puree she hated it.  This week I decided to try again by making it into sandwiches.  She is loving it!  Unfortunately, I also discovered how good avo is on corn thins and have been eating all her avocados.  Woops!

4 - There is something about wrapping presents that makes me really happy! I love buying presents and wrapping them all pretty.  Unfortunately, this one was for a 4 year old boy who couldn't care less about my wrapping skills.  Oh well!

5 - I am so proud of myself this week.  I have been wanting to get out and start walking for ages and finally this week I started.  I went for a walk around a lake near our house Monday morning and this morning.  It is a great start to the morning and I am hoping I can keep my motivation up to keep going.

6 - I finally finished and shared my comic print top this week.  I have had the idea for this top in my head for a couple of months and I am so happy I finally got around to it.  The finished top is one of my favourite me made items in my wardrobe.

7, 8 & 9 - Last weekend we took Imogen on her first camping trip. I must say it was a raging success!  Luckily for us she is on mostly finger food now so feeding her was a lot easier.  We didn't have to worry about taking purees and being able to heat them up.  All we needed to take were bottles.  For breakfast Imogen had a vegemite scroll from the local bakery that was the same size as her head! But don't worry she didn't eat it all herself.  I think we will definitely be taking her on more camping trips in the future.

How was your week?  Did anything special happen to make you smile?

The Last of the Comic Print Material!

Last week I finally finished the last of my comic print material.  I bought this material a few years ago now.  I made a gathered skirt out of it originally for myself and the left over sat in my stash until recently when I made Imogen a dress.


The pattern is Butterick 5890 which I also used for my mustard floral blouse I made during me made may.  I did everything exactly the same except this time I left the collar on.  Honestly, this is the quickest sewing project I have done in a while.  Apart from the basic gathered skirts I have made this is the best quick satisfaction project I've ever done.


What I love most about this top is the little added wow factor that comes from the exposed zipper.  It takes this top from cool to awesome!  After taking these pictures I realised there is a major gap in my wardrobe though.  Black pants! I have no black jeans or pants.  But don't you worry, I rectified that this weekend.  No doubt this top will be getting a lot of wear this winter!

101 in 1001 Update

It's time for another update on my 101 in 1001 project.  I have been trying to keep track of how I am going this year in lieu of new years resolutions.  I am hoping this helps me to ensure I complete the entire list this time.  Fingers crossed!  So here is where I am at at the moment.

The Stats
28 - Items Completed
10 - Items in Progress
73 - Items Left to Complete
701 - Days Left
9.6 - I need to complete an item every 9.6 days

So since my last update I have:

9 - Made all the items in my mending pile

20 - Knit colourwork

49 - Run 5k

71 - Watched One Tree Hill Season 9

72 - Watched True Blood Season 5

79 - Made customised teacups

80 - Made a piece of wall art

My in progress items have been a bit varied since my last update.  Some have jumped up dramatically and some have made no movement at all:

3 - Make all the unused patterns in my collection (6/38) - +2 since last update
10 - Make myself 20 new dresses (6/20) - +4 since last update

15 - Crochet 10 items off my ravelry queue (6/10) - +1 since last update

18 - Knit 10 items off my ravelry queue - (5/10) - +3 since last update

29 - Try 50 new recipes (45/50) - +26 since last update

53 - Have 30 items of handmade clothing in wardrobe (18/30) - +9 since last update
57 - Learn 10 new hairstyles (5/10) - +2 since last update

69 - Take monthly photos of Imogen's first year (8/12) - +3 since last update

88 - Have monthly date nights with Corey (10/34) - +5 since last update
98 - Try 20 new restaurants (2/20) - +/- 0 since last update

At this stage I think I am doing pretty good.  I have been trying to do 3-4 items each month.  A lot of my items are seasonal though so they are having to wait until particular months.  I have already written myself a list of items I want to try and tackle before my next update in October.  Fingers crossed all goes to plan!

Have you ever done a 101 in 1001 list? How did you go?

52 Weeks Happy (26/52)

Can you believe that the year is half over already? Crazy isn't it! I must admit that I am pretty excited to be into the second half of the year.  It is always my favourite part of the year because it is where my birthday, Corey's birthday and Christmas take place.  This year though it is going to a whole new level. We also have Imogen's first birthday, my sisters hens weekend & kitchen tea and my sisters wedding.  It is going to be a fun, fun next 6 months! In the meantime, here is what has been happening this past week.

1 - I finally got around to making something to hang above Imogen's cot.  A lovely personalised piece of wall art that fits in perfectly with her rooms colour scheme.  It was super duper simple! I shared a tutorial here if you would like to make one yourself.

2 - I've been making some good progress on my scrap quilt.  I have now sewn together half of the rows.  I am hoping to have the quilt top completed by the end of this week.

3 - The latest Donna Hay Kid's magazine came out this week and I snapped it up asap.  I love this magazine! I wait all year for it to come out.  It always has the coolest birthday party ideas in it.  Also the recipes are always so simple & delicious!

4 - Roasted chickpeas are the bomb! I made mine with olive oil, rosemary and garlic.  They definitely soothe the chip craving in a healthier way.

5 - The most exciting thing to happen this week is that mum and dad bought a new dog!  Isn't she adorable. Her name is Saffron.  But we like to call her Saffy the Staffy!

6 - Sunday morning we enjoyed a bit of a lie in and snuggles with our little monkey.  It was a nice slow start to a rainy day.

7 - Also on Sunday we visited the new Bunnings that has opened up near us.  They had free pop corn and fairy floss so being the child that I am you know I couldn't say no!

8 - This made me so happy this week! I finally cast off my heart sweater dress and it turned out even better than I had expected. I love it!  Perfect for the rainy weather we have been having lately.

I hope you have all been having a good week.  Has anything special happened to make you smile?

I Love Winter!

Okay, you might think I am crazy by that post title but I really do love winter! It's my favourite time of year.  Curling up on the couch with some knitting and a cup of tea. What could be more perfect!
My latest knitting efforts were cast off last week.  Thankfully the rain cleared for a couple of days so I was able to block and photography my new jumper dress.  I am pretty stoked with how this turned out.  I used the I <3 Me pattern by Pickles. It was a fairly simple knit for the most part.  It's a basic jumper dress with hardly any shaping.  The hardest part is when you get to the colourwork.
This was my first time doing any sort of colourwork.  This think this is the main reason the project took me so long.  I was going gang busters until I hit the colourwork.  From that point progress slowed right down.  I found that this series from By Gum By Golly was a real help being a first time colourworker.  I even have plans to do a few more colourwork projects now.  If you haven't tried it before give it a go. It wasn't anywhere near as hard as I was expecting!