Petticoats & Peplums

Sew Weekly - Red

2012-02-21T07:17:00.000+10:00

I just managed to get my post up in time for the red challenge on Sew Weekly last week. If you would like to check out more details on the skirt I made then pop on over here.

I have been a bit slack on the blogging and commenting front lately. I got hit with a bug and have been a bit sick and have been finding it hard to get my motivation back. This sketchy posting may continue for a little while while I try and get my mojo back.

My Place & Yours

2012-02-12T19:34:00.001+10:00

I have been meaning to take part in my place and yours for so long now but I always forget to post something. This week the theme was on the wall and I knew I already had some pictures I could share for this theme.

This is the wall collage that I put together in the kitchen of our new house. There was a big blank wall and as soon as I saw it at our inspection I knew I wanted to do a collage there.

The letters I made myself with some scrapbooking paper, paint and paper mache letters from Spotlight. The clock and the Mr & Mrs Lane sign were both wedding presents. I bought the birds from Target and the hoop prints from Typo. The pot holders I was lucky enough to win in a giveaway that Casey did a little while ago. They were the perfect colours to add into our collage. Now hopefully I will get my act together and keep posting as a part of this meme cause it is lots of fun. If you want to join in head over here.

Nurse Graduation Cake

2012-02-08T20:58:00.000+10:00

Today was my friend's last day at work. She recently finished studying nursing and has gotten a graduate position which she starts next week. To celebrate we had a little party at work and I made the cake. Unfortunately, she was horribly sick today so she only ended up coming in for an hour but she absolutely loved her cake. I'm glad I was able to make her last day a little bit special. Here are some pics....

This cake is far from perfect but I am pretty happy with how it turned out. It's only the second time I have attempted a fondant covered cake. Last time it was a lot cooler so the fondant was easier to work with. Summer is not the best time to work with fondant on the Gold Coast. But I am still happy with how the cake turned out and I know the more I practice the more I will improve.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake

2012-02-06T20:44:00.001+10:00

Last night my parents, my aunty and my cousins came round for dinner and to see our new house. Late in the afternoon I decided it might be nice to make a cake so I quickly whipped up this Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake. The recipe cake from an old women's weekly cookbook called Cakes & Slices. This cake was delicious!!! If you are a fan of peanut butter I highly recommend giving this recipe a try. Just cut small slices because it is quite rich.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake by Womens Weekly

Cake
125g dark chocolate chopped
125g unsalted butter
2 tsp vanilla essence
1 1/2 cups castor sugar
4 eggs, separated
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1 cup self raising flour
3/4 cup plain flour
1 cup milk

Icing
90g butter
90g packaged cream cheese
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
2 tbs honey

Melt chocolate over hot water and cool to room temperature.

Cream butter, sugar and essence in a small bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolks one at a time then beat in chocolate and peanut butter.

Transfer mixture to a large bowl. Stir in half the sifted flours followed by half the milk. Stir in remaining flour and milk.

Beat egg whites in small bowl until soft peaks form, fold half into mixture, then fold in remaining. Pour into a prepared pan.

Bake in a moderate slow oven for 1 1/2 hours. Stand for 5 minutes before turning onto a wire rack.

For icing cream butter and cream cheese in small bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in half the sifted icing sugar and half the combined peanut butter and honey. Beat in remaining icing sugar and peanut butter mixture. Spread on cooled cake.

Enjoy xo

I'm Popular

2012-02-05T14:11:00.000+10:00

Ha ha what a lame post title. I hate thinking up posts titles. But I digress. I am super duper excited because my winter sailor pants post on Sew Weekly is on of the top 5 most popular posts from the last week.

If you haven't had a chance to read my post yet then pop over here to check them out. Don't forget to check out everyone else's creations too because there are some amazing ones on there.

January Reading List

2012-02-04T15:21:00.000+10:00

So this year I am reattempting my goal of reading 52 books from last year. Last year I only made it to 40 books. This month I have only read 3 books which is a pretty slow start to the year. I am hoping I will beat that amount next month. But for now here is my reading list from January.

Saving Rachel was a book that was only 99c on Borders when I was buying ebooks for my new reader. I grabbed it because of the price and I'm so glad I did because I loved the book. It's a super quick read and it sucks you in straight away. It is a thriller/mystery type book and I must say the twist at the end is worth the read.

Seriously, I'm Kidding was the first book I bought for my new ereader after Christmas. It is the most random book I have ever read and it is hilarious. It is literally just random little thoughts and stories that Ellen has decided to share. I love Ellen! Anyone who loves her tv show has got to read this book because it is hilarious.

Minxy Vintage was a Christmas present from my mum and dad. I have read this from cover to cover multiple times and it is so inspiring. It makes me want to cut up and customise all my clothes and shop for vintage at the same time. Everyone needs to own this book!!!

So I am hoping in February to step it up to 4 books for the month. Fingers crossed I can reach that goal.

Sew Weekly - Down Under

2012-02-02T07:34:00.001+10:00

This week's theme on Sew Weekly was to sew something appropriate for the opposite season to what you are facing at the moment. Obviously, for me that meant sewing a winter garment. I decided to make a pair of sailor pants that I have been wanting to make for ages.

To read my full post about these pants pop on over here. And make sure you check out what everyone else has made. There are some very brave ladies in the US making bathing suits who have even dared to model them outside....in the snow!!!

Harry Potter Birthday

2012-01-25T07:05:00.001+10:00

Last week my work friend Sally had a birthday and it was our turn to spoil her as she does for everyone else on their birthdays. We were pretty pumped about it and me and two other girls spent a few weeks planning. Sally is a massive Harry Potter fan so we chose that as our theme for the day. Here are some pics....

The entry into our office was Platform 9 3/4. We got the inspiration from here. It was super simple to do and looked fantastic. The party was last Tuesday and we still have this hanging on our door now!

The birthday banner in Gryffindor colours of course!

Her desk was then surrounded by streamers, balloons and golden snitches that we cut out of coloured paper.

We made a heap of these posters here and printed them out to hang all around the office. These have also stayed up since the party. I of course had to do some baking so I made owl cupcakes, golden snitch oreo balls and the old favourite rice bubble slice.

Now this is my absolute favourite part of the day. Let me just preface this by saying, in the interest of full disclosure, I DID NOT MAK E THIS CAKE! This cake was made by one of the very very very talented girls that I work with. We are trying to convince her to start and business and I am trying to convince her to give me cake decorating classes. She is an absolute genius!!!!

In case you don't read Harry Potter the Monster Book of Monsters is a textbook that they are prescribed for one of their classes and it is alive and tries to eat everyone. Michelle did an absolutely fantastic job recreating this book for Sally's cake. It was freaking amazing!!!! I can't wait to see what we can come up with for Sally's birthday next year.

Sew Weekly - Buttons

2012-01-24T06:53:00.002+10:00

We are all moved into the new house and back online. There is still a bit of unpacking to do, most important being the sewing room, but we are settling in nicely. Now that I am back I can share with you the dress I made for the Sew Weekly challenge last week which was buttons. I chose a pattern with bound buttonholes and my first attempt was passable. To read more about my dress head on over to my post on the Sew Weekly here.

Unfortunately, I had to skip this weeks challenge because of moving. But fingers crossed I will have the sewing room unpacked very soon so I can whip something up for next week. To read what others created in this week's challenge which was "Made This Look" pop on over to the Sew Weekly.

Our Wedding - The Dress

2012-01-17T07:10:00.004+10:00

I had a request for some more information on my wedding dress and I figured since my sewing room is all packed for the move now is as good a time as any to share.

I bought my dress when I was visiting my sister in London in March 2011. It was the very first dress that I tried on! We look at a few other shops afterwards but I couldn't find anything I liked anywhere near as much. And the even better thing is between the dress and my two petticoats I only spent around $400.

My dress was from Vivien of Holloway. It is just their basic shape of dress but in a nicer fabric. I bought two petticoats also from Vivien of Holloway to wear under it. They are the softest most comfortable petticoats I have ever worn. I think I might dye one of them now so I don't just have two white petticoats lying around.

Another thing I loved about the dress was that it was completely boned and fit me so perfectly that I didn't have to wear a bra. Win!!! The only alteration I made to the dress was to made the halter neck strap a bit thinner. Vivien dresses all have quite thick dramatic neck straps so all I did was fold it in half and add a few stitches to keep it in place. So that is the story of my wedding dress. I was so happy with it and I think it suited my style perfectly.

Day 9-16

2012-01-16T07:40:00.002+10:00

I've been a bit slack on the photo a day challenge. We are moving at the end of this week and I have also been preparing for a birthday at work tomorrow so things have been a little crazy. It has resulted in me doing a bit of catch up photography over the weekends but anyway here are the photos I have taken...

Day 9 - Daily Routine

Day 10 - Childhood

Day 11 - Where You Sleep

Day 12 - Close Up

Day 13 - In Your Bag

Day 14 - Something Your Reading

Day 15 - Happiness

Day 16 - Morning

I might be a little slack on blogging and commenting this week as I have a lot of packing to finish up. Hopefully I will be all unpacked and back into it next week.

Sew Weekly - Accessorize

2012-01-13T07:27:00.002+10:00

I don't think I have mentioned it on here yet but this year I decided to take part in the Sew Weekly challenge. Basically, the lovely Mena from The Sew Weekly invited everyone to sign up if they would like to take part in trying to sew 1 item a week for 2012. Challenges/Themes are posted at the start of each week and you have until Sunday evening to have something sewn up and posted to the Sew Weekly blog.

The first challenge was called accessorize and you had to choose an accessory as the inspiration for your garment. I chose these heels which Corey bought me for Christmas 2 years ago. The problem is I never wear them because they are so amazing and I just could never find the outfit that was special enough for them. Corey has been nagging me about wearing them for ages so I knew as soon as this challenge came up they would be my inspiration.

I knew I want to make a nice lace pencil skirt to go with them but at first I envisioned it in a nice grey. Fate intervened while I was perusing my local Spotlight when this lovely navy lace jumped out at me. I realised then that navy would compliment the light purple of my shoes perfectly.

Here are the nitty gritty details in case you haven't been reading the Sew Weekly blog lately.

Fabric – 1m of Blue Cotton Poplin from Spotlight = $5.99
- 1.5m of Blue Romance Rose Lace from Spotlight = $19.95
Pattern: Simplicity 2605
Year: 2009
Notions: 7″ zipper, thread & 1 hook & eye = $0.99
Time to complete: 3.75 hours
First worn: Sunday, 8th January 2012.
Wear again? Definitely! I am saving this for our next date night to wear out to dinner. (I actually ended up wearing this to work the other day)
Total price: $26.93

Our Wedding - First Dance

2012-01-12T07:09:00.000+10:00

I had a comment on my last wedding post asking what song we eventually chose for our first dance. I thought it would be nice to share it with everyone. I love this song!!! I found it via youtube having never heard it before and as soon as I heard it I knew it was a winner. I played it to Corey and he agreed and the rest as they say is history.

Our Wedding - Reception

2012-01-11T07:01:00.000+10:00

Alrighty, we're getting pretty close to the end of the wedding posts. This posts is a few of my favourite photos from the formalities part of our reception. I have decided not to post photos from the latter part of the evening as there are a lot of photos of our family and friends and I am not sure if all of them would be happy with these photos being posted on the blog. So here are a few of my favourites from the first part of our evening.

Alrighty, so I have one last post that I want to do to show you guys some of the details and some things that we made for the wedding. I am really happy with how everything looked on the day and it wouldn't have happened without a lot of help from my mum and my bridesmaid Mahnee and of course Corey. Those photos coming up soon!

Day 6, 7 & 8

2012-01-08T20:33:00.000+10:00

Day 6 - Makes You Smile

Nothing makes me happier than new balls of yarn waiting to be made into something. Especially when they are in such delicious colours as these. I won these three balls of yarn from Plus 3 Crochet a little while ago along with some fabulous goodies she made herself. I was very lucky!!!

Day 7 - Favourite

Roxy is most definitely my favourite thing to take photos of. She is just too cute that I can't resist getting the camera out whenever she is around.

Day 8 - Your Sky

This is a shot of the sky while we were at the Farmer's Markets this morning. This was taken from the spot where we enjoyed breakfast.

First Project of 2012

2012-01-07T13:47:00.003+10:00

My first project for 2012 was a super quick and easy one. I made it in just over an hour while watching tv. It is that simple and easy to do!

What is it you ask? It's a headband...

Pattern: It's A Cinch Headband
Yarn: Moda Vera Marvel 8 ply
Needles: 6mm
Time Taken: 1.25 hours

It is basically just a simple garter stitch headband with some yarn wrapped around to cinch it in. You can wear it to the side but I like to wear it on top so it looks kind of like a turban. This probably isn't the best project to be making since it's summer on the Gold Coast but it was a nice little project to get me back into the swing of making things. I realised the other day that my yarn stash has started creeping up again. I think I need to start my stash busting efforts up again.

Our Wedding - Post Ceremony

2012-01-05T11:13:00.001+10:00

I thought it was about time I added some more wedding photos. These are a selection of my favourites from after the ceremony. There are quite a few so be warned you may want to grab yourself a cup of tea before you begin.

Michelle did such a great job on our photos that I am having a very hard time choosing my favourites. We got around 1100 photos from her which I cut down to 428 when I loaded them onto facebook for our family and friends to see. Then I have cut them down even more for these posts. The thing that scares me is having to pick our favourites to print. How the hell are we meant to choose??? The next post will be our reception photos which again is going to take me ages to cut down to stay tuned.

Day 5 - Something You Wore

2012-01-05T07:54:00.002+10:00

I haven't actually worn this yet but I will be tonight when we go out for dinner for my father-in-law's birthday. I love this dress! I just bought it on our holidays from a little shop in Terrigal.

A Photo A Day

2012-01-04T07:32:00.002+10:00

To kick start the year and to help me get my head around the new camera I got for my birthday I have decided to take part in Fat Mum Slim's January Photo A Day Challenge. Here are my first four days prompts.

Day 1: You

Day 2: Breakfast

Day 3: Something You Adore

Day 4: Letterbox

Okay, confession time. My day 1 photo was taken on day 2. My day 2 photo was taken on day 3 and my day 3 photo was taken on 31st December. But my day 4 photo was taken on day 4. Now, from this point onwards hopefully my photos will get taken on the right days but either way at least they are prompting me to take more photos.

2012 Resolutions

2012-01-01T21:10:00.001+10:00

Source: flickr.com via Barbara on Pinterest

I am a list person so it is within my nature to want to write a list of new years resolutions. Lists help me to have something to work towards and are very helpful in motivating myself. Today I took a moment out to sit and think of some things I want to achieve this year. They are nothing major just things that will help me make sure I am using my spare time wisely and being productive throughout the year. Here goes....

Visit A New Part of Australia
I realised when we went to Europe how little of my own country I have seen. When you tell people you are from Australia they ask you if you have seen so many places and the majority I say no to. I would like to play tourist in my own country and visit some places I have never been before. I would love to visit Perth or Tasmania and also see the Great Ocean Road.

Plan Some Weekends Away
We spend a lot of our weekends at home at complain a lot that we should have made plans. We talk a lot about going for a weekend away to Byron Bay or the Sunshine Coast but they never happen. This year I am hoping we can change that.

Sew 30 Items
I would like to redo this goal that I set myself in 2011 as I failed last year. I am hoping this year I can focus a little more on my sewing and get a bit more done. Fingers crossed this year this goal is a success. (4/30)

Knit 15 Items
I wanted to up the number of knitted projects for 2012 but I am also adding in a goal for crocheted items (see below) so I thought if I up'd the number I might be being a bit too ambitious. (1/15)

Knit A Garment For Myself
I suck at knitting clothes for myself!!! I have made 3 cardigans and all have turned out crap. The first was because I used the wrong wool so it stretched out, the second I made a garment that wasn't my style at all so I didn't wear it and then the last garment I made I used too small needles and didn't realise till it was finished so again I never wore it. All I make for myself now are scarves and beanies and I really want to make myself something I will actually wear. I tend to wing things a bit when I make scarves and beanies and I think I can't do that with garments. All I need to do is be a bit more patient and pay more attention and I should be right. Hopefully!!!

Crochet 15 Items
In 2011 I taught myself how to crochet and in 2012 I would like to put this skill to a bit more use. I am aiming to crochet 15 items this year. (0/15)

Read 52 Books
This is another redo of a failed 2011 resolution. I only managed 40 books in 2011 so I am hoping in 2012 I will be successful in my reading goal. Corey bought me an ereader for Christmas which I have been carrying with my everywhere. I think this will encourage me to read more as I will never be without a book if I keep this in my bag. (3/52)

Sew 10 Vintage Patterns.
Last year I wanted to start sewing with vintage patterns which technically I did. But I only made 1 so this year I have set myself a goal of 10 vintage patterns. I have a few at home I would love to make so all I need to do is get started. (0/10)

Exercise 3 Times A Week
We went really well with our exercise from when we arrived home from Europe to just before the wedding. Once the wedding finished we had birthdays and Christmas to prepare for and the gym got pushed to the wayside. I am really hoping that we can get back into the swing of things this year and keep up with our exercise schedule.

Make Our House Feel Like A Home
We have been living in our house for 2 years and I still look at it and hate how it looks and feels. I think mostly that is because I hate our house but also it is because we haven't really decorated to make our house feel like ours. We are moving at the end of January and I am really excited to make this home feel a little bit more us. I already have plans for our bedroom and the guest bedroom and kitchen. I can't wait to get started!!!

So there you have it my, slightly ambitious, new years resolutions for 2012. I really hope that I can be successful with my goals this year. Fingers crossed!

2011 Resolutions

2012-01-01T10:31:00.000+10:00

Hello 2012! I am very excited to see what you have in store for us this year. 2011 was a very exciting year for us with trips to Europe, new jobs and our wedding festivities. 2012 is probably going to be a bit more low key but hopefully just as fun. Last January I made a few resolutions for myself and of course now it is time to see how I went with them all. They were nothing too major as I am also doing my 101 in 1001 but still gave me a little something to aspire to.

1 - Read More

My aim was to read 52 books this year but unfortunately I did not quite make it. I am still pretty happy with what I did manage to read. I hit 40 books in December (yes that means I only read 1 book in December). This is a major improvement for me though considering all I read in the 3 years previous were text books and magazines. Before uni I read a lot but when uni started I just didn't have the time. When I graduated in 2010 I was in the habit of not reading so it just continued. Having said that I am pretty happy with having read 40 books in 2011.

2 - Introduce more vintage into my wardrobe.
At the end of 2010 I decided that I wanted to start wearing vintage clothes. I had always admired the vintage style but was never game enough to purchase anything. I made my first purchase at the end of 2010 when I bought 2 dresses to wear for Christmas. In 2011 I wanted to expand my vintage wardrobe and I have definitely been successful at this goal. A trip to London in March saw my vintage wardrobe grow considerably. Since then there has been many purchases via etsy, ebay and in person at various vintage stores that we have passed in our travels. I really feel like this year I have come into my own style a bit more and I definitely feel more comfortable about who I am and how I dress.

3 - Start sewing with vintage patterns.
So I didn't give myself an actual number of patterns to sew with so technically I can call this one a success. I did only sew 1 vintage pattern though. I used an 80's pattern to sew a pair of high waisted shorts. I do own a few more vintage patterns which I would love to make but as you will see by my next goal my sewing exploits this year were a bit slack.

4 - Sew 30 things in 2011

This goal was an epic fail with only 17 items being sewn this year. I really wanted to sew more this year but with a month taken out for Europe and October - December being a total write off with birthdays, the wedding and Christmas I just didn't get anywhere near as much as I wanted achieved. I am happy with what I sewed this year though. They are all items that I love and I am very happy with how they all turned out.

5 - Knit 15 things in 2011

I am so happy with how much I managed to knit this year. I love to knit but I get a little slack when a project takes too long. Something I would love to achieve this year is to knit a garment for myself that I actually wear. I have knit myself a few cardigans in the past but always end up wearing them once and then getting rid of them. Usually this is because I stuff them up somehow so that they don't fit comfortably or I knit something that isn't really my style anyway. I am hoping to change that in 2012.

6 - Bake More (at least 30 things).

I love to bake and 2011 was definitely a good baking year for me! One thing I am really happy with is the birthday cakes that I made this year. I have been wanting to make some fun themed cakes for ages and this year I definitely achieved that. My burger cake I made my dad is one of my favourite cakes I have ever made. I am hoping I can continue to make fun cakes like this again in 2012.

So, how did you all go with your 2011 resolutions? Have you made any resolutions for 2012 yet? I have a few things I would like to achieve much the same as this year but I will be back to post about those later.

On 2011

2011-12-29T16:30:00.000+10:00

I spotted this meme over on Rainbowtatt and thought it was a great way to round at the year. I can't believe 2011 is over already. Here is a bit of reflection on my 2011.

What did you do in 2011 that you’d never done before?
Got married!!! Traveled to Europe. Climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Went to the gym consistently for more than a month (we went really well from when we got home from Europe till the week before the wedding then slacked off).
Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I made a few resolutions and completed a few and failed a few but I plan on doing a post on that soon. Probably not before the end of the year though.
Did anyone close to you give birth?
We had two new nephews born into the family this year. Two of Corey's sisters gave birth. Krystal gave birth to her fourth in June and Kellie gave birth to her fourth in September. They were named Levi and Braxton.
Did anyone close to you die?
No family members but a close friend lost his little sister which was devastating.
What countries/states did you visit?
Europe - London, Barcelona, Dublin, Rome, Venice, Florence, Munich, Berlin and Paris. Airlie Beach - Queensland for our honeymoon. We are also currently in Copacabana on the Central Coast of New South Wales visiting my aunty and uncle.
What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?
Time to sew. I didn't get anywhere near as much sewing done this year as I would have liked. Most of my spare time was taken up by wedding preparations. Now that the wedding is over I am hoping 2012 will bring back my sewing mojo.
What dates from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
November 12th - our wedding day!
What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Getting married to the love of my life!
What was your biggest failure?
Allowing myself to get stressed out over wedding preparations. I really didn't want to be one of those brides.
Did you suffer illness or injury?
Nothing major.
What was the best thing you bought?
My wedding dress!
Whose behaviour merited celebration?
All my friends and family who came and help celebrate our wedding day. Especially all of those who travelled from interstate and overseas to be with us.
Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
A certain cousin. That is all I will say on the matter.
Where did most of your money go?
Our wedding and our Europe trip.
What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Our wedding and our honeymoon. The best two weeks of my year.
What song will always remind you of 2011?
Sexy and I Know It by LMFAO. This had a very entertaining moment at our wedding and now I can't stop singing it.
Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? happier in some areas and sadder in others.
b) thinner or fatter? thinner thanks to my gyming efforts.
c) richer or poorer? richer only because I wasn't working at the end of last year.
What do you wish you’d done more of?
Slowing down and appreciating the things that have happened this year.
What do you wish you’d done less of?
Stressing.
How did you spend Christmas?
Unwrapping presents with Corey, lunch at Corey's parents house then headed back down to the Coast to see my family. We ended the day curled up on the lounge watching Christmas movies.
Did you fall in love in 2011?
I began the year in love and finished it even more in love!
How many one-night stands?
Wow, what a question! Corey and I have been together 8 years this year so those days are far behind me.
What was your favourite TV program?
Criminal Minds.
Did you make a friend with anyone that you didn’t know this time last year?
Yes, my new friends from work.
What was the best book you read?
I really enjoyed the Hunger Games books. I also read Minxy Vintage which I got for Christmas and loved it. It has inspired me to start customising some vintage!
What was your greatest musical discovery?
Imelda May. I heard her just before we went to Europe and bought both her cd's in Dublin and have played them over and over again since coming home.
What did you want and get?
A new house! We were just approved for a new rental property a few days before Christmas. We move at the end of January.
What did you want and not get?
Um, nothing important. I think we have done pretty well this year.
What was your favourite film of this year?
Planet of the Apes - I didn't expect to like this movie but I really enjoyed it.
What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 24 this year. On my actual birthday I went to work and was spoilt rotten by my work friends with a decorated desk and baked goodies and loads of presents. That night we went to my parents for dinner. One the weekend before my birthday we went ice skating during the day and then out to teppanyaki for dinner with some family and friends.
What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Being able to buy a house instead of moving into another rental. But such is life and we will keep saving and aim for that next year.
How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011?
Have fun and be true to myself. Stop worrying what other people think of what I wear.
What kept you sane?
Corey.
Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
You can't go past Ryan Gosling. He was gorgeous in Crazy Stupid Love.
What political issue stirred you the most?
Same-sex marriage is a big one for me. Especially having gotten married this year it just seemed a lot more important to me that everyone be able to have the chance to experience the joy that I did on my wedding day.
Who did you miss?
My sister who spent most of the year living in Europe. She came home 10 days before our wedding but is now moving to Melbourne in a matter of days.
Who was the best new person you met?
Sally and Anna my two office mates from work. They are so much fun and keep me motivated and loving my job.
Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011
Sometimes there are a people in your life that you are better off without and although it might be hard in the long run you will be better off if you just let them go.
Quote a song lyric that sums up your year
Baby it's youYou're the one I loveYou're the one I needYou're the only one I see.Come on baby it's you.
You're the one that gives your all.You're the one I can always call.When I need you make everything stop. Finally you put my love on top!
Love On Top by Beyonce

No 78 - Climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge

2011-12-29T15:37:00.005+10:00

It's been a while since I have crossed anything off my 101 in 1001 list which is a bit scary considering my deadline is in August 2012. Only 8 months to go!!! Corey has wanted to climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge forever so I bought it for him for his birthday (the climb that is not the bridge...lol). I was a little nervous at first but once you get through the first part where you are climbing on see through walkways it is okay. The section you climb on is so wide and made of such thick steel that you feel pretty secure. Here are a few photos we got from the trip.....

Apart from the first one I am pretty impressed with how these photos turned out. They are actually printed photos that I took photos of with my iphone to be able to load them onto here. They turned out pretty okay considering! The originals look great and I am so happy we decided to get them all printed out. Corey loved his birthday present and I would definitely recommend doing the climb to anyone visiting Sydney. The view is definitely worth it!!!

Our Wedding - Ceremony

2011-12-24T18:08:00.003+10:00

Thanks for the lovely comments on my last wedding post. We are very happy with how all the photos have turned out. So I figured the natural progession after the last post would be to show you the photos from the ceremony. I have chosen a few less than last time. Here are my favourites...

I love looking at these photos and seeing how happy everyone was. It truly was a magical day and I am so so happy with how it all turned out. I probably won't get around to posting more photos for a few days as we are off to visit my family on the Central Coast on Boxing Day. I hope everyone has a very merry Christmas.

Our Wedding - Pre Ceremony

2011-12-23T14:36:00.003+10:00

I am so excited to be able to share our wedding photos with you all! We got the link to our online gallery last night and I spent hours looking over them. They are amazing!!! All our photos were done by Michelle Stewart Photography and I can't recommend her enough. She is fantastic! There are over 1000 photos which I am culling down to my favourites to share but there are still heaps so I thought I would break it down over a few different posts. This first one is all my favourites from before the ceremony.

Okay in the next post I might try to cut it down to a few less photos. It is just so hard to pic out the favourites. I will hopefully get some more up tomorrow for you all to see. Enjoy!

2011 In Review - Photo Heavy

2011-12-20T07:21:00.000+10:00

I can't believe that 2011 is nearly over! This year has gone so quickly it just amazes me. I feel like it was only yesterday we got engaged and now we have been married for over 5 weeks. Crazy!!! I thought it would be fun to do a quick review post with some of the fun things we did this year. I am hoping to do a review post for my new years resolutions too before the year is out. So here goes...

January - taught myself to crochet.

February - spent the weekend at my aunties farm in Wandoan.

March - went to Europe to visit my sister.

April - moved blogs!

May - took part in 1 pattern 7 bloggers.

June - had engagement photos taken and made what I think is the best cake I have ever made!

July - Made my first fondant decorated cake and was featured on One Pretty Thing and Polka Dot Bride.

August - entered my first craft competition and came third.

September - branched out from crocheting only granny squares.

October - took part in Blogtoberfest and had a birthday.

November - this was our busiest month of the year. My sister moved home from London, I had my hen's night and kitchen tea, we got married and had an awesome honeymoon!

December - so far December has been busy but I don't seem to have a lot to show for it. I have done a bit of sewing and a bit of baking but that's about it.

2011 has been a busy year and it has pretty much revolved around prepping for the wedding. Now that the wedding is over and I am really excited to see what 2012 has to bring. Hopefully it will mean us moving house because our current one is getting a bit small for us. I am also hoping we will be able to do some small holidays to explore some new parts of Australia. Who knows what will happen but I have a feeling it is going to be a great year!!!

Amber & Craig's Wedding

2011-12-19T07:37:00.002+10:00

This past weekend my family and I headed south to Evan's Head for the wedding of my aunty. The wedding was on a lookout over the beach at dusk and was the perfect setting for a perfect wedding. Here are some photos Corey and I took on the day....

I love weddings and this one was no different. We had a great time and I am just sad we don't have another wedding to go to for a while. Congratulations Amber & Craig! We wish you all the happiness in the world.

Marlee's Christmas Dress

2011-12-14T07:47:00.003+10:00

Wow that is a very unimaginative title! I hate coming up with post titles. They always sound so lame. Anyway, as you probably guessed I have finished another Christmas present. This time a dress for my niece Marlee.

I used a Get Creative pattern from Spotlight and made her a size 2. She is 18 months so I am hoping it will fit her for a little while. It's hard sewing gifts for kids cause I can't go measure them to make sure I am making the right size so I just have to wing it.

Marlee is the only girl in a family of 4 kids and everything she owns is super duper girly. I thought this fabric was super cute and the pink trim made it that touch more girly.

I took such great care with this dress to make sure that the inside was just as pretty as the outside. I think when you are making something for someone else it makes you work that little bit harder to make sure it is right. When I make something for myself and I make a mistake I figure I am the only one who will know so it won't matter.

With this dressed I made sure all the seams were neat and bias bound the sleeves. I even went so far as to attempt a lapped zipper. For my first attempt I think it worked out pretty well!

So that is one more Christmas present out of the way. I only have one more thing that I want to make for Christmas presents and I have 1.5 weeks left to do it so I think I will be fine. I have only made 3 full presents this year and a couple of little things to pop in with other gifts. Next year I am hoping to be able to make a few more things not just for presents but also for around the house. But I have plenty of time to think about that!

Blogger App & Hair Advice

2011-12-11T09:10:00.001+10:00

I have had the blogger app on my phone for a few weeks now but never used it so I thought I would give it a whirl. So for my first post from my phone I thought I'd ask some hair advice. I am totally digging Cheryl Cole's red hair but not too sure if it would suit me. Thoughts???

Deck The Halls

2011-12-05T06:43:00.001+10:00

On December 1st we have a tradition of putting up the Christmas tree, watching The Grinch and baking cookies. We were thinking of changing our Christmas tree this year but since we only have used ours once we figured it would be a waste of money. I wanted to get a white one and do rainbow decorations but instead we stuck with what we already had. Maybe in a few years we will change it up!

I love our Christmas tree! We bought it from Big W last year for $20 and it is the bushiest fake Christmas tree I have ever seen. All our decorations came from either Big W, Kmart, Target or Myer (on sale). There are also a couple we got as gifts. This year I am hoping to make a few to add to the tree but it depends if I get time. Christmas is fast approaching so I might run out of time before I get a chance.

This year I was super prepared and made sugar cookie dough before going to work in the morning so all we had to do was cut them out and bake them that night. I made Christmas trees and snow flakes and iced them with royal icing. These were super easy to make! I took them to work the next day to share around the office and everyone loved them.

The snowflake cookie cutters I got a few years ago in a Christmas themed apron swap and this is the first time I have used them. The come in a few different sizes but I used the smaller ones so I could get more out of the dough.

I really love Christmas! It is one of my favourite times of the year. December is going to be super busy this year but I really just can't wait for Christmas.

Christmas Time Is Coming!!!

2011-12-02T06:55:00.001+10:00

Christmas is my favourite time of year! Everyone is so happy around Christmas and I just love it. I meant to post these yesterday but pinterest wasn't playing nice with me so you get them today instead. These are just a few fun Christmas ideas that I found on pinterest. Not sure if I will get to try any of them out but hopefully I will. I am loving the cupcakes and cookies the best!

Source: thelovelycupboard.com via Emma on Pinterest

Source: craftycupboard.blogspot.com via Kat on Pinterest

Source: sweetlyscrappedart.blogspot.com via Casey on Pinterest

Source: freshpoppydesign.blogspot.com via Lauren on Pinterest

Source: olderandwisor.blogspot.com via Katina on Pinterest

Source: parties4me.com via Kat on Pinterest

Source: christyrobbins.blogspot.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Source: buddingbaketress.blogspot.com via Kat on Pinterest

Source: Uploaded by user via Dolores on Pinterest

Source: junkgardengirl.blogspot.com via Jodie on Pinterest

Source: purlbee.com via Devon on Pinterest

Our Wedding - Getting Ready

2011-11-30T07:53:00.001+10:00

I just realised this morning that I do have some photos from the wedding day that I can share with you. These are photos that were taken by myself and my bridesmaids while we were getting hair and makeup done. We spent most of the morning just us girls and my mum while dad ran around getting a shave and organising lunch for us. We had so much fun with my hair and makeup ladies. My hair was done by Di from Di's Hair Design and my makeup was done by the lovely Gemma of Embellished Makeup. I highly recommend both of these ladies for any weddings on the Gold Coast or in Brisbane.

So hopefully these will tide you all over until the professional photos are received. Fingers crossed that is soon because I am dying to see them!

Christmas Crafting

2011-11-28T07:09:00.001+10:00

I know everyone is hanging to see wedding photos but unfortunately I don't have any at the moment so in the meantime I thought I would share a Christmas present that I made before the wedding.

This blanket is for Corey's nephew for Christmas. Luckily I know none of Corey's family read my blog so I am safe posting this. This was super duper simple to make. It obviously just a bunch of granny squares joined together.

I made the blanket 7 squares x 5 squares and it is the perfect size for a little baby. It is made with 8ply wool from Spotlight. It took 1 ball of dark green, 2 light green and 1 white just in case anyone was wondering. This was super duper simple to make which made it the perfect thing to get my mind off wedding stress in those last few weeks. I have 2 more presents I want to make for Christmas so I better get cracking on those. Only 4 more weeks!!!

Strawberry Milkshake Cake

2011-11-27T11:44:00.001+10:00

When we were in Airlie Beach I asked Corey what cake he wanted me to make for his birthday. The conversation when like this.

Me: What type of cake do you want for your birthday?
Corey: Strawberry milkshake!
Me: Ummm, strawberry milkshake flavoured or shaped like?
Corey: Shaped like.
Me: Okay. Just a 2D one.
Corey: No, 3D.
Me: Oh....okay.

What the??? I had no idea where to start. I googled it and I couldn't find any cakes shaped like a milkshake, strawberry or otherwise. So I had to get the old brain moving on this one. I decided to use my Wilton 3D cupcake pan and I made 2 bases and 1 top. I sliced the bases into 3 pieces and layered the two bases together then added the top.

I iced it in a buttercream icing that I flavoured using strawberry ice cream topping. I had to add in a little pink colouring to get the nice pink colour. Then I topped it with white buttercream icing, some sprinkles, a wafer biscuit and a cherry.

I must say I am not entirely happy with how this cake turned out but Corey loved it. It is a bit too messy for my liking. It is so stinking hot here at the moment that making icing is not the easiest thing in the world. I liked the top part but then I ran into the side of it when I was smoothing out the bottom and mushed it so now it looks a bit messy. But I must say it tasted great!!!

I am just happy that Corey liked it! You would never guess that this giant pink cake is for a guy that just turned 25. I can't wait to see what he requests next year!

Happy Birthday Corey!!!

2011-11-25T07:33:00.001+10:00

Happy Birthday to my most wonderful, sexy husband. Your a quarter of a century now. Go you! Hope you have an amazing day even though you have to work. I will be keeping my fingers crossed for you that it rains so you can come home early. I love you more than anything in the whole wide world and I hope that you have the most amazing birthday ever. Love you xoxoxo

Our Honeymoon

2011-11-22T07:26:00.001+10:00

Since I don't have wedding photos to share yet and I don't envisage having them for a couple of weeks I thought I would start with showing you our honeymoon first. We had a week off after the wedding and headed north to Airlie Beach. We stayed in a gorgeous resort and had a very nice relaxing time. We basically did nothing for a week but swim, shop and lay about. We took a couple of trips out to the islands to see Daydream Island and Whitehaven Beach and do some more swimming and relaxing there. It was lovely!!! Here are some shots from the week....

It is so hard being back at work!!! I feel like I left my brain on the beach somewhere. I better go back and have a look for it :) Now that I am back I am getting pretty excited for Christmas. I have a couple of Christmas presents I am hoping to make and 1 I have already made. As soon as I take some pictures I will share it here.

Mr & Mrs

2011-11-21T07:35:00.001+10:00

Hi guys!!! We arrived home last night from an amazing week in Airlie Beach for our honeymoon. I can't wait to get out wedding photos back to be able to show you. It was such an amazing day and we had so much fun. I can't wait to see the pics. Until then here is one taken by one of our friends. Hopefully there will be more pics to come real soon.

My Hens Weekend - Part 2

2011-11-10T20:01:00.002+10:00

So day 2 of my hen's weekend involved a lovely afternoon at my parents house having afternoon tea with all my girls. My sister, mum and Mahnee slaved away in the kitchen all morning making some delicious treats for us all to enjoy. It was an awesome afternoon and really nice to get the girls together and just have a chat. Here are a few photos from the day....

All in all it was a wonderful weekend and I was so happy to be able to spend it with all my closest friends and family. I can't believe the wedding is in 2 more sleeps!!! I am freaking out but I can't wait. It is going to be an amazing day!!!

Hens Party - Part 1

2011-11-08T19:13:00.002+10:00

So last weekend was my hen's party which consisted of two parts. Part 1 was on Saturday night and began with a vintage hair & makeup lesson but La Viola Vixen of Brisbane Burlesque & Beauty. It was so much fun!!! Viola show used heaps of different hair styles which I got to try out on each other and then we got to choose which one we wanted for the night and she helped us recreate it. Then she took us through how to do vintage style makeup. I had so much fun doing this and I learnt so much. Afterwards we all headed out to the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner before heading to Swinging Safari for some drinks and fun. Here are a heap of photos from the night....

Getting my hair done by Viola.

Little victory roll I did in my mum's hair.

My bridesmaid Mahnee and the victory rolls I did in her hair.

Mid makeup

Getting makeup done by Viola

The girls on the balcony of Mahnee's stunning apartment in Surfers Paradise.

My finished makeup

Me, my mum and my sister dressed and ready for dinner.

Amy, Kat & Hayley at dinner

My gorgeous sister Hayley

Me and my alabama slammer

My giant onion ring

Mahnee and me, mahnee's hair by me again.

Me and the girls from Corey's side of the family

Me, mum and Hayley again.

This was such an awesome night and a big thank you must go to my awesome sister Hayley and my bridesmaid Mahnee for all their planning and time that put into this night. It was loads of fun!!! Stay tuned for photos from the kitchen tea.

Unicorn Beanie

2011-11-07T07:09:00.002+10:00

This weekend I was finally able to gift one of my knitting projects to its recipient and now I can share it with you. My darling friend Maria from Movie Mazzupial and I share the same birthday and I wanted to knit her something this year. Unfortunately, I was a bit slow and didn't get it finished in time so I had to give it to her this weekend at my hen's party (more on that to come in another post). Maria is a massive fan of unicorns and purple so I made her a unicorn beanie.

I did a bit of googling and couldn't find a pattern specifically for a unicorn beanie that I really liked so I made up my own. I used this earflap beanie pattern and then this cone pattern. With the cone pattern I started with 36 stitches and did a few extra decrease rows to make it bigger. For the ears I used the ears from this pattern. The mane was quite simple but time consuming. All I did was cut strips of yarn double the length that I wanted the mane and then I double them over and used a crochet hook to pull the loop end through the beanie and then the loose ends through the loop. That is probably not a very good explanation and I would be happy to do a tutorial but it will have to wait until after the wedding.

So that is how I made the lovely Maria a unicorn beanie. I forgot to get a photo of her wearing it so here is one I cropped down of here from the hen's party.

OMG it's wedding week!!! I am freaking out already and it is only Monday morning. Not sure what my posting will be like this week. I do have a few things to share but not sure if I will have time. Let's just wait and see how I go.

Welcome Home Hayley

2011-11-04T06:39:00.002+10:00

It's been a couple of days now since my sister returned home and it feels like she was never gone! Hayley and her boyfriend Kieran landed on Wednesday morning and Kieran's parents, my parents and I went to the airport to greet them. After the airport we went down to the beach for brunch and a swim to welcome them home. It was the perfect chance to play around with my new camera so here are a few photos from the day.

Dad with our sign.

Mum with our sign. Aren't my parents adorable!

My mum and Kieran's mum.

First hug off the plane.

Happy to be home!

Hayley's favourite food for brunch. There were also oysters.

And chocolate brownies & apple pie!

Gorgeous day at the beach!

Hayley, Dad & Kieran

Roxy missed Hayley too.

Roxy waiting for some food to fall off the table.

Chillaxing and reading magazines.

This weekend is my hen's weekend which is going to be awesome fun. I have a couple of other things to share with you guys as well but just need to find time to photograph them and post them. It's getting busy now. Only 1 week left till the wedding!!!

Brain Suckers

2011-11-03T07:49:00.001+10:00

For Halloween at work we were allowed to dress up but since we had meetings throughout the day the girls and I needed something small we could wear in the office and take off for our meetings. When I saw this pattern over at Louie's Loops I knew they would be perfect.

These were so quick and easy to make as well. I made 3 and I think I will be making a few more because everyone in the office loved them!

I put little hair clips on the bottom of them so we could clip them into our hair and take them out when needed. The girls loved them and now they live on our desks as our little office pets.

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T07:13:00.001+10:00

I can't believe October is over already!!! Where has this month gone to? That means that from tomorrow we are in wedding month. How exciting!!! My sister comes home Wednesday and I have my hen's weekend this weekend. Then next week will be countdown week. Anyway, today being Halloween we are having a Halloween morning tea at work and everyone is baking something. I made brownies!

These are a hybrid of a couple of ideas I saw around the internet. I made brownies and iced them green. I then used white icing and chocolate icing to do the details. Super duper easy and super duper cute!

I am so happy with how they turned out! I wanted to make some skeleton gingerbread men too but I ran out of butter and couldn't be bothered going to the shops. Maybe next year! So this is also the last post of Blogtoberfest. I am pretty happy with how I did. I only missed 1 day. I am really happy to have taken part in this again and I think I will definitely be back next year. Thanks to tinniegirl for organising an awesome month of Blogtoberfest and thanks to everyone who participated and visited my blog this last month. It has been great fun!

Wedding Crafting

2011-10-30T21:55:00.001+10:00

This weekend at mum's my main aim was to get a couple of wedding things crossed off the list. I am happy to say that I got two of them marked off. I managed to make 111 place cards for our reception and some reserved signs for the ceremony.

I made the place cards in Word and printed them onto a textured cardstock. Then I had to cut them all out and fold them. It was time consuming but easy!!! I am really happy with how they turned out. They are simple but pretty.

I also wanted to make some signs to reserve the front two rows at our ceremony for family. I wanted to ensure that my grandparents, parents and Corey's family got good seats. I know this is pretty standard but the last wedding I went to people sat wherever and took up all the seats and when the bride's family arrived no one moved for them. So I made these little reserved signs. All I need to do is tie some ribbon on and they're all done.

I have a few more projects I want to do for the wedding but they are pretty simple and shouldn't take up too much time. The major one is our seating chart which I can't wait to share. Hopefully I will have that up by the end of the week.

Hanging in the Garden

2011-10-29T12:35:00.001+10:00

This weekend I am sleeping over at my parent's while Corey and his mates take over our house for his bucks party. This morning I decided to play around in the garden with my new camera. Dad has planted so much stuff that I haven't even got photos of it all but here are a few shots.

Roses dad planted for mum.

Tomatoes

Basil

Banana Tree

Lemon Tree

Spinach

And of course I needed to squeeze in a quick photo of Roxy.

I can't wait till we have a proper house so I can have a decent garden like dad's. Dad planted some herbs in some little pots for me to take home so that is the extend of my garden at the moment. When we get a proper house with a decent backyard I want to plant a mulberry tree and a lemon and a lime tree. One day....

Work In Progress

2011-10-28T21:42:00.001+10:00

I feel like I haven't posted an actual project in a while even though I have been working on a few things so I thought I would post a quick work in progress photo....

I took this photo the day after my birthday with my brand new Nikon D90 that Corey bought me. It is actually finished now but I can't post proper photos until it is given to its intended recipient. Stay tuned for those soon!

Halloween

2011-10-27T07:19:00.001+10:00

I really wish Halloween was bigger here in Australia! I think it is an awesome excuse to get all your friends together and dress up in costumes and have a massive party. We do stuff at work so I am looking forward to that but I wish I could walk the streets in costume and not stick out like a sore thumb. I saw these videos floating around the interwebz and just had to share....

1 Week

2011-10-26T08:00:00.004+10:00

This time next week my sister will be landing at the Gold Coast Airport after being overseas for 18 months. I haven't seen her since we left London in April and I am so freaking excited that she is coming home. Yay!!!!

Birthday Love

2011-10-25T07:52:00.001+10:00

Firstly, thank you to everyone who left me birthday messages on my blog yesterday. They were all very sweet! Yesterday, I had to work but I was super spoilt and it was a pretty awesome day. I arrived at work to find my desk all decorated for my birthday. Then the girls baked up a storm and we had a lovely morning tea. Then to top it all off the spoilt me with some adorable presents. Here are some pics from the day....

I also got a really cute apron but I didn't get any photos of it. I will have to get some next time I am baking to show you all. It is a super cute retro style half apron. So thanks again to everyone for the birthday wishes. I had a really awesome day!!!

24.

2011-10-24T07:42:00.001+10:00

Today I am 24!

Today I am going to work.

Today I get to celebrate my birthday with my darling work friends.

Today I woke up to beautiful messages on my facebook and blog wishing me a happy birthday.

Tonight I get to have dinner and celebrate with the most amazing Movie Mazz who is also having her birthday today.

When I was a kid I always thought I would be married with kids by the time I turned 25. Here I am on my 24th birthday 3 weeks away from marrying the love of my life.

Today I am happy!

Today I feel loved!

Birthday Celebrations + A New Dress

2011-10-23T18:16:00.001+10:00

Yesterday was my birthday celebration day and it was loads of fun! We went ice skating in the afternoon and then went out for dinner with some friends and family. Ice skating was so much fun and hilarious to watch some people try and ice skate. Corey's nephews were hilarious. Unfortunately, we didn't get many photos but here are a few from the day.....

And this is my new dress! It is made with Vogue 1094 which I bought to make a dress for my aunty's wedding. This was meant to be my practice dress but now I am not sure if I will make it again as I found an awesome vintage dress that my parents got me for my birthday which I may wear instead. The material is some sort of cotton blend from Spotlight. I used the bodice pattern from the dress which I shortened then added an a-line skirt. If I do make it again I think I will do a circle skirt next time. Tonight we are at mum and dad's for dinner so there will be more birthday related photos tomorrow.

Ice Skating

2011-10-22T07:58:00.001+10:00

Since my birthday is on a Monday we decided to celebrate over the weekend instead. Today we are going ice skating and then out to dinner with some friends of ours. Tomorrow we will be having dinner with my parents. I am so excited for ice skating!!! It is one of my favourite things to do. I wish Corey and I could look this dapper while ice skating....

source

Book Shop Wish List

2011-10-21T06:48:00.002+10:00

Last night Corey and I went shopping and I got stuck in the book shop for a pretty decent amount of time. I got distracted by all the pretty books in there!!! I said to Corey if he didn't have any ideas for my birthday present yet he could just buy me a book shop gift card. So today I thought I would share what books I am hoping to buy next.....

source

Are you guys like me? Do you get stuck browsing in the book shop for hours? I do it every time we go to the shops!

p.s - it's my birthday in 3 days!!!!!!!

A Nothing Day

2011-10-20T07:35:00.000+10:00

Hey there! Today I have literally nothing to say and I had this big idea to check out what I posted on the 20th October 2009 which was the last time I took part in Blogtoberfest. The first line of that post was "I really have absolutely nothing to post about today"!!! Apparently October 20 is a consistently nothing day for me each year. How random! So because I can't think of anything to post I thought I would leave you with this cute picture....

source

Cinnamon Scrolls

2011-10-19T07:19:00.001+10:00

Over the weekend I felt like doing a bit of baking so I pulled out my recipe book and tried to find something I could make without having to go to the shops. The result was these cinnamon scrolls.

Cinnamon Scrolls from Best Recipes

Dough
3 tsp dry yeast
1 cup warm milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup melted butter
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
4 cups plain flour

Filling
1 cup brown sugar
2 1/2 tbs cinnamon
1/3 cup softened butter

Icing
8 tbs softened butter
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
1/2 cup cream cheese
1/2 tsp vanilla essence

Mix all dough ingredients until a smooth ball forms. Leave in a warm place until doubled in size. Punch and roll out until approximately 1/2 centimeter thick.

Filling - beat butter until creamy, add sugar and cinnamon and mix until smooth. Spread over the dough and roll dough up lengthwise. Cut into pieces and place on greased tray. Cover with a towel and leave for about an hour.

Heat oven to 190*C and bake for 10-15 minutes until brown around the edges.

While buns are baking beat icing ingredients together and spread over each roll while still hot.

This are best enjoyed straight out of the oven or warmed slightly in the microwave. Enjoy!

Happy Anniversary

2011-10-18T07:31:00.000+10:00

Yesterday was Corey's and my 8 year anniversary. We met 1 week before my 16th birthday at a friends house and have been together ever since. I can't believe that 8 years has past and we are about to get married. It seems like only yesterday that we met. I am so glad that I met Corey and I am so freaking excited to be marrying him in less than 4 weeks.

I was lucky enough to come home from a long days work yesterday to some gorgeous flowers, a bag of my favourite lollies and dinner ready on the table. I love you baby millions and millions xoxo

Rose Petal Cones

2011-10-17T07:08:00.003+10:00

Just a super quick post for this Monday morning. Here is a photo of the doily cones I made to hold the rose petals at our wedding.

I have managed to fill one basket with half the cones now I just need to find another basket to fit the rest in. I am hoping to find one either at the op shops or maybe someone I know will have one I can borrow. Fingers crossed!!! There is not a lot more wedding crafting that needs to be done by me now. The main things I have to do are our seating chart and our place cards but basically everything else is done. And I am getting some help on the seating chart from a very lovely friend. It's a nice feeling to be nearly finished!

Fabric Stash

2011-10-16T11:08:00.002+10:00

Since I had such success with my wool stash busting I thought it might be a good idea to have a look at my fabric stash too. I pulled everything off the shelves the other day to check out.

I have not got anywhere near the fabric stash that some people in blogland do. I have never been one to just buy fabric without a project in mind. I am always to scared I won't buy enough so I just don't bother.

Pulling all the fabric out made me realise that I mostly have a lot of pinks and neutrals. It has made me realise I need to branch out a bit with my colour choosing. There are other colours I like but for some reason when I pick fabric for projects I am always drawn to pinks or neutrals.

So if you add to these piles of fabric some red spotted fabric that I am working with at the moment and some red plaid fabric that is sitting on my desk waiting to be sewn up I have 26 pieces of fabric that need to be made into something.

I already have a project planned for the white and red cherry fabric. It is actually sitting on my table with the pattern pieces waiting to be cut out. I also have the red dot fabric I mentioned earlier already part way sewn into a dress and I have a top cut out of plaid fabric waiting to be sewn up as well.

So I think I will aim to sew up a quarter of the fabric like I did with the wool. That means I need to use 7 pieces of fabric before I buy anymore. A quarter worked well for the wool and I managed to do it quite quickly too. Hopefully I will be able to say the same for my fabric stash shortly. I am still working on my wool stash too. Now I am allowing myself to alternate between doing a project with new wool and doing a project with stash wool. Hopefully I will start to get rid of some of the old wool that is in my stash and some of the old fabric now too.

A Quick Vote

2011-10-15T07:35:00.000+10:00

So, uh, well it seems that October 14th went amiss in my Blogtoberfest posting schedule. Or I just didn't post. So just quickly if you could spare a minute to vote did I.....

a - not post due to being abducted by aliens and not having any access to my laptop.

b - not post because there was a massive sale on at Spotlight that caused me to spend a whole day shopping.

c - not post because Friday 14th October fell off my calendar and therefore I didn't think it really counted as a day.

d - none of the above.

Cast your votes now!!!

My Creative Space

2011-10-13T07:41:00.001+10:00

Today and I playing along with Our Creative Spaces. To join in head over here. There are a couple of things in my creative space at the moment. A little crochet has been happening....

And the start of a new sewing project....

Excuse the crappy pics. I took them last night when I got home from work so the light was all gone. The crochet is a Christmas present and the sewing is a dress I hope to finish to wear on my birthday which is in 2 weeks. Fingers crossed I get it done by then!!!

Wordless Wednesday - Photos With Friends

2011-10-12T07:16:00.003+10:00

Join in Wordless Wednesday here.

Wedding Cake Stand

2011-10-11T18:01:00.001+10:00

We were lucky enough to be lent a cake stand by some family friends of ours. It had been made for their daughters wedding a few years ago and has since been used for a few birthdays. When it was given to us we were told we could do whatever we wanted with it. Here it is at their wedding.....

And here it is now....

Excuse the crappy photo. It was a rainy gross day so the light was a bit sucky. We gave it a few coats of white spray paint and trimmed each tier with some ruffle trim that I bought from Spotlight. I am very happy with how it turned out. I need to have a look at it with cupcakes on it though so I can see if it is too much white. Next batch of cupcakes mum makes we are going to test it out. If it is too white I might add a thin pink ribbon to the top of the ruffle trim. Not too sure yet. So 1 more thing crossed off the wedding to do list. Only 4.5 weeks left now. Scary!!!

Beary Cute Beanie

2011-10-10T07:24:00.002+10:00

Now that I am allowing myself to buy yarn again for new projects I wanted to make sure I was still using up some of my stash yarn as well. So, I have decided that every time I make a project from new yarn I have to make a project from stash yarn as well. This is what I made after making my wedding bolero.

Pattern: Osito Infant Bear Hat
Yarn: mystery 8 ply from my stash
Hook: 4mm (G)
Start/End Date: 28th September/2nd October

This was the quickest beanie to crochet and it turned out super cute. I crocheted the beanie in one sitting then left it hanging about for a few days before I did the ears. If I did it all in one hit it probably only would have taken a few hours. All the babies in the family are probably going to be too big to wear this when winter rolls around again so it has found its way into the gift box. Hopefully someone has a little baby around winter that I can gift it to. I was thinking if someone has a girl I can add a little bow near one of the ears to make it into a girl bear.

Sunday Snippets

2011-10-09T14:52:00.002+10:00

Today I decided to join in with Tinnigirl and post some snippets of our weekend. These are all courtesy of my new iphone which I am loving.

My delicious breakfast on Saturday morning.

Some wedding crafting....

More wedding crafting.

Corey and Clarence with the freaky saw dude at Movie World Fright Night

Corey sharing a coke with Dan

Chillaxing at the farmers markets

Corey totally spanking me at Words With Friends

Little miss cola bear.

What did you guys get up to this weekend? I hope it was nice and relaxing for you all.

Halloween Baking Inspiration

2011-10-08T12:26:00.001+10:00

At work for halloween we are having a little party. Everyone gets to bring a plate and it has to be halloween inspired food. I have been searching the web looking for inspiration and here is what I have found...

source

I think I am leaning towards doing something Frankenstein themed. I know one of the girls in my office is doing oreo ball eyeballs and another girl is going to make something mummy themed so I thought I would pick Frankenstein as my inspiration. I have a little while to think about it still so we'll see.

Tweet Tweet

2011-10-07T07:32:00.000+10:00

A really quick post from me today cause I had a late night and am super tired this morning. My question for you this morning is do you tweet? I joined twitter when I started this new blog and I wrote about 5 tweets and then it sat there saying nothing for ages. This week I bought an iphone and downloaded the twitter app and now I can't get away from it. It is an addictive way of voicing the crap that goes on inside my head. So if you would like to hear my random shenanigans then feel free to follow me on twitter. I can be found under the username pettisnpeplums. My profile is here. If you tweet let me know if the comments so I can follow you too.

Oh Sew Rosy

2011-10-06T07:35:00.001+10:00

Recently a close family friend of ours Deb went into business with another lovely lady named Amy. They run a business called Oh Sew Rosy who run sewing classes for all skills levels and age groups. They also run crafternoons and crafternights where you can byo your project and get assistance from these lovely ladies on anything that you may be having trouble with. They also have an online store where you can find all your fabric and pattern needs. If you are wanting to learn to sew or have children who would like to learn to sew or even if you just want to meet some like minded people then I highly recommend Oh Sew Rosy. These lovely ladies have a wealth of sewing experience and will help you to learn in a friendly and positive environment.

Nigella's Breakfast Bars

2011-10-05T07:15:00.000+10:00

I saw this recipe pop up on another blog last weekend but can't for the life of me remember which blog. I showed the recipe to Corey and even he though they sounded yummy so I knew I had to make them.

Nigella's Breakfast Bars

1 x 397g can condensed milk
250g rolled oats (not instant)
75g shredded coconut
100g dried cranberries
125g mixed seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, sesame)
125g natural unsalted peanuts

Preheat the oven to 130°C/gas mark 1/2, and oil a 23 x 33 x 4cm baking tin, or use a throwaway foil one.

Warm the condensed milk in a large pan.

Meanwhile, mix together all the other ingredients and then add the warmed condensed milk, using a rubber or wooden spatula to fold and distribute.

Spread the mixture into the tin and press down with the spatula or, better still, your hands (wearing disposable vinyl gloves to stop you sticking), to even the surface.

Bake for 1 hour, then remove from the oven and, after about 15 minutes, cut into four across, and four down to make 16 chunky bars. Let cool completely.

Wise Words

2011-10-04T07:24:00.001+10:00

I have been feeling a bit under the pump lately with the wedding fast approaching and work picking up like crazy too. I have been starting to feel like I don't have enough time to do everything and it is starting to stress me out. When I saw the above quote it made me realise that I need to make the most of the time I do have each day. I sat down and wrote myself a list for the wedding and now I can start working through it and crossing things of that need to be done. There is nothing major just lots of little last minute things so hopefully with a bit of time management I can knock some things over and stop freaking out. We'll see....

Wedding Bolero

2011-10-02T14:57:00.000+10:00

When I first tallied up my yarn stash I told myself that before I bought anymore yarn I had to use at least quarter of my stash first. I had roughly 44 balls of wool to use and after a few different projects I realised I had actually used 13.5 balls of wool. Yay me! So to treat myself I decided I could buy wool for one new project. I have been thinking for a while about knitting a bolero for the wedding so instantly knew that would be my first purchase.

Pattern: Anna's Wedding Bolero by Pickles
Wool: Moda Vera Shiver
Needles: 6mm dpn's and circulars
Start/End Date: 17th September/26th September

Even though I am getting married in November out where we are getting married it can get quite cool when the sun goes down so I wanted a little coverup to keep me warm. I bought myself this gorgeous pink chunky wool from Spotlight because it was a perfect match for the colour of my shoes. I started knitting this up straight away and finished it in under 2 weeks. It was super easy to knit up and I am so happy with the finished product. I can't wait to wear it on my wedding day!

Blogtoberfest 2011

2011-10-01T20:47:00.001+10:00

It's that time of year again....Blogtoberfest! I did Blogtoberfest in my first year of blogging which was only about a month after I started blogging. It helped me get into the swing of blogging and allowed me to find some great blogs and meet some great blogging friends. Last year I didn't take part but this year I decided to jump in again.

If you don't know about Blogtoberfest it is a month long blogging "festival" run by Cathy over at Tinniegirl where participants post every day throughout October. People have giveaways, you can find loads of new blogs to read and meet some new friends in the blog world. If you want to join in jump on over here to sign up! Now that day 1 is done I have to think of what I can possibly blog about for the next 30 days...

Maria Dress Pattern

2011-09-30T06:33:00.002+10:00

A few people have been asking about the pattern I used to make my Maria Dress. There has been a bit of confusion because of my sudden bout of dyslexia when I was writing the post. The pattern is Simplicity 3780 not 3078 like I said. Sorry about that!

This is the pattern above. It is a super easy pattern to use and very easy to modify. It's a great one to add to the collection. I hope that clears everything up!

A to Z of Me

2011-09-28T17:47:00.001+10:00

I have seen this little quiz floating around on a few blogs and thought it would be fun to do. If you do it too let me know in the comments so I can check it out.

A. Age: 23, I will be 24 in October although I have already been telling people I am 24.
B. Bed size: Double!!! It sucks. We desperately need a bigger bed. I think it should be our first purchase after the wedding is paid off.
C. Chore that you hate: Dishes. Everything else around the house gets done easily but our dishes always pile up. We need a dishwasher bad.
D. Dogs: Love them!!! I desperately want a bulldog puppy but we aren't allowed dogs in our house.
E. Essential start to your day: Cup of tea. If I don't have a cup of tea with my breakfast it throws my whole day off.
F. Favourite color: Yellow and pink. They are so bright and cheerful.
G. Gold or Silver: Silver. Gold looks hideous on me. My wedding ring is white gold.
H. Height: 171cm (5'7")
I. Instruments you play: I played violin and trumpet up until grade 9. I want to start playing something again but I am not sure what.
J. Job title: Events Coordinator
K. Kids: Not yet...
L. Live: Gold Coast, Australia
M. Mother's name: Laurie-anne
N. Nicknames: Kat, Kitty Kat, Sultana
O. Overnight hospital stays: Never. I had knee surgery a few years ago but it was day surgery.
P. Pet peeve: Bad drivers.
Q. Quote from a movie: "Sea Monkey Took My Money" from Nemo
R. Right or left handed: Right
S. Siblings: 1 sister who is older than me by 19 months.
T. Time you wake up: 6am on weekdays and around 7pm on the weekends.
U. Underwear: Um, yes...I don't really get this question.
V. Vegetable you hate: Peas and Beans
W. What makes you run late: When I get distracted playing in my sewing room
X. X-Rays you've had: My chest as a kid, my teeth recently and my knee a few years ago. I also had an MRI on my knee.
Y. Yummy food that you make: Cakes & cupcakes
Z. Zoo animal: Elephant or Meerkats

My New Vintage Dress

2011-09-28T07:01:00.002+10:00

A few people said they were interested in seeing my new vintage dress I bought from Kitty's Vintage & Kitsch when we went up the mountain the other week. I managed to convince Corey to take a few photos for me on Sunday before we went to the Farmers Markets.

Excuse the dodgy picture. It was very early in the morning especially for a Sunday. I was so happy that it was good weather that day though so I could crack out my new dress. This week it has gone back to being really windy and little too cold. Hopefully that won't last long because I am really looking forward to some Spring weather.

The Maria Dress

2011-09-26T07:12:00.002+10:00

The second thing I managed to do over the weekend was finish a dress I have been working on since the start of the year. I cut this out before we went overseas but never got around to sewing it up. Last Saturday I finally sat down and started and this Saturday I finished it.

I used Simplicity 3780 which I used to make my hawaiian dress last year (posted on my old blog). I have one more idea for a dress that I could like to make with this pattern and then I will stop. I think 3 of the same dress will be enough don't you.

I am calling this the Maria Dress because my friend Maria loves the colour purple and every time I see it I think of her. I am trying to add a few different colours into my sewing because I noticed the other day I tend to use pink, white, red and black quite a lot. I am thinking more yellows and greens are in order. Although I do have a couple more red things up my sleeve.

I am really happy with the inside of this dress. The bodice is lined so I decided to make the skirt and everything as neat as possible too. I get a quiet sense of satisfaction wearing a dress that I know looks just a good on the inside as it does on the outside.

I haven't been sewing nearly as much as I would like to be so I am really hoping to change that for the rest of the year. I have a list of things I want to make for Christmas presents and for myself for Summer so hopefully I can get cracking and have some more sewing projects to show you soon.

Jeans Refashion

2011-09-25T16:18:00.001+10:00

This weekend was a busy one for us. My most productive day was Saturday because Corey spent it out on the boat with his mates and I managed to get a bit of sewing and knitting done as well as a little bit of housework. The first thing I did was a quick refashion I have been wanting to do for a while.

I bought these jeans on sale from Sportsgirl a couple of years ago and loved them but I don't tend to wear bootleg jeans anymore. I have been wanting to make them into skinnys for ages but haven't gotten around to it. Finally on Saturday I spent about an hour pinning, sewing, repinning and resewing to turn them into these....

I am pretty happy with how they turned out. Even Corey was impressed! He thought I had bought new jeans so when I told him they were old ones I refashioned he was pretty shocked. I think he was happier I hadn't spent any money then in my sewing skills. Now I am going to be on the lookout for more pants to refashion when I go op shopping next.

Oreo Truffles

2011-09-23T07:51:00.001+10:00

Last night Maria came around for dinner and I decided to make oreo truffles for dessert. If you live in Australia oreo's are on special at Woolworths for $1 at the moment so if you want to make these get in quick and stock up on oreos. I think I might buy a few more and keep them for Christmas so I can make these again.

All you need is 2 x 150g packs of oreos, 250g cream cheese and some white chocolate. I used white chocolate melts because they were also on special but you can use whatever you like. I used this whole packet to cover my truffles.

First, you need to crush your oreos into a powder. I used a stick blender but if you don't have one you could always put the oreos in a snap lock bag and crush them with a rolling pin.

Then chuck it all in a bowl and mix together with your cream cheese till you get the consistency above.

Then you need to roll the mixture into balls. I had a bowl of water and wet my hands every now and then to stop the mixture sticking to my fingers. Once you have made all your truffles melt your white chocolate and use to coat the truffles. I just dropped each truffle into the chocolate and used a couple of small spoons to roll them around and make sure they were coated.

Once they are coated line them up on a tray and pop them in the fridge. At the last minute I decided to add some sprinkles on top for a bit more colour.

I had mine in the fridge all day but I think a couple of hours would be plenty. These are so quick and easy to make and super tasty. I made mine before I went to work yesterday and I think they took me about 20 minutes. If you want a quick easy dessert that is also delicious give these a try!

Orange Butter Cake

2011-09-21T07:43:00.003+10:00

About a week ago the father of one of the ladies I work with passed away. Today she is coming back to work so in an effort to make her feel loved to show her that we were thinking of her I decided to make her a cake. I wasn't really sure if it was appropriate but it is the best way I could think of to show her I was thinking of her. I made Orange Butter Cake and it smells delicious. Hopefully it tastes just as delicious.

Orange Butter Cake from Australian Women's Weekly Bake

150g butter softened
1 tbs grated orange rind
2/3 cup caster sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups self raising flour
1/4 cup milk
3/4 cup icing sugar
1 1/2 tbs orange juice

Preheat oven to 180*C/160*C fan forced. Grease a deep 20cm round cake pan.

Beat butter, caster sugar, rind, eggs, flour and milk in medium bowl at low speed until combined. Increase speed to medium and beat for 3 minutes or unti mixture is smooth and changed to a paler colour. Spread mixture in pan.

Bake cake for about 40 minutes. Stand cake in pan for 5 minutes before turning onto rack to cool.

Combine sifted icing sugar and orange juice in small bowl and spread over cooled cake.

Enjoy with a cup of tea and some good company!

Petticoats & Peplums

Sew Weekly - Red

My Place & Yours

Nurse Graduation Cake

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake

I'm Popular

January Reading List

Sew Weekly - Down Under

Harry Potter Birthday

Sew Weekly - Buttons

Our Wedding - The Dress

Day 9-16

Sew Weekly - Accessorize

Our Wedding - First Dance

Our Wedding - Reception

Day 6, 7 & 8

First Project of 2012

Our Wedding - Post Ceremony

Day 5 - Something You Wore

A Photo A Day

2012 Resolutions

2011 Resolutions

On 2011

No 78 - Climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge

Our Wedding - Ceremony

Our Wedding - Pre Ceremony

2011 In Review - Photo Heavy

Amber & Craig's Wedding

Marlee's Christmas Dress

Blogger App & Hair Advice

Read More - November

Deck The Halls

Christmas Time Is Coming!!!

Our Wedding - Getting Ready

Christmas Crafting

Strawberry Milkshake Cake

Happy Birthday Corey!!!

Our Honeymoon

Mr & Mrs

My Hens Weekend - Part 2

Hens Party - Part 1

Unicorn Beanie

Welcome Home Hayley

Brain Suckers

Read More - October

Happy Halloween

Wedding Crafting

Hanging in the Garden

Work In Progress

Halloween

1 Week

Birthday Love

24.

Birthday Celebrations + A New Dress

Ice Skating

Book Shop Wish List

A Nothing Day

Cinnamon Scrolls

Happy Anniversary

Rose Petal Cones

Fabric Stash

A Quick Vote

My Creative Space

Wordless Wednesday - Photos With Friends

Wedding Cake Stand

Beary Cute Beanie

Sunday Snippets

Halloween Baking Inspiration

Tweet Tweet

Oh Sew Rosy

Nigella's Breakfast Bars

Wise Words

Read More - September

Wedding Bolero

Blogtoberfest 2011

Maria Dress Pattern

A to Z of Me

My New Vintage Dress

The Maria Dress

Jeans Refashion