Life Lately // All The Things!

'Kevin' the cat who's taken to living on our front porch

Wow, it’s been ages since I’ve posted anything, let alone an update on what’s been going on around here – and let’s be honest that has been a lot! So, what has been keeping me from updating this little space on the internet? Mostly my complete lack of internet! Since I moved into the new house we have had nothing but the measly mobile data supplied on our phone plans – not quite enough for blogging! I’ve missed writing (and reading all the other wonderful blogs) a lot but I have been finding ways to keep extremely busy while I’ve been sans internet. Here’s what I’ve been up to of late:

Working, working and working! Work has been crazy busy and I’ve yet to have a day off this term, as well as taking on a big project that’s eating up some of my free time as well, It’s hard but I’m learning new skills as well.

Planning a big party that we held last weekend – watch this space for all the details (I won’t drop the ball again, promise!)

All the cleaning and unpacking! We’re not finished yet but the house has been scrubbed within an inch of its life and I’ve unpacked enough boxes to build a small house out of! The end is definitely in sight, even if a few doors are still kept firmly shut against the mountains of clutter to be sorted!

Getting rid of carpets! It’s certainly not a task I anticipated embarking on so soon after moving into a new place but the dogs managed to rip a hole in the hallway carpets within days of moving in – so I started the monumental task of ripping them out, stripping back the awful 80s adhesive underlay, sanding and polishing… I’m currently on step two due to a complete lack of time but it’s been great to see the wooden boards emerging. I’m also very glad for my prior experience in my old house as it means I’m not stressing about it – I know just how long this task can take and I also know how satisfying it will all be once I have it looking nice!

Quadrant ensuring that there was no way Mark could leave her at the shelter!

Quadrant cat – another stray has wondered into our lives and taken up residence in our lounge room (not to mention Kevin, the cat that’s decided to live on our porch, definitely not a stray but still wants to live in our house!)

And here are the little things filling my day to day with joy:

My new literary obsession! 

Watching: old episodes of Hart of Dixie - pure escapism in the best form!
Reading: American Gods by Neil Gaiman - I just started and I already love it.
Listening to: the contented purrs of a cat that's finally found a loving home (not to mention the loud yelling when she's hungry!)
Cooking: not much - I'm still drowning in leftovers from the party!
Feeling: Tired - I've had so much going on lately that it's doing me in! In the best way possible!
Planning: lots of lessons in the unlikely subjects of Biology and Cooking!
Loving: the idea of a relaxed weekend at home.
Enjoying: starting to see some progress around the house.

Little things of note:

• We've booked all our eating spots for our holiday to the States and I'm finally starting to get excited (food makes everything seem real!)
• I've signed up for the next Hogwarts Running Club medal which means I'm still in the running for the Challenge Medal at the end of the year!
• My craft room/office space is starting to take shape - after nearly two years without one I'm more than a little excited!
• The Quadrant cat has been half killing mice so they crawl away and die and I have to hunt down their bodies before the house starts to smell too bad! (I'm sure you were all dying for that piece of information!)

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Life Lately // Life is Actually Pretty Good

Breakfast in the Barossa after a 6am wake up to get my car serviced 

Our lives are filled with Pinterest perfect images and the perfectly coordinated tones of Instagram, the curated lives of bloggers and the perfect shot posted to social media - it's enough to get you down! You find yourself wondering why your life isn't as pretty, perfect or well lit as all those online but, of course, neither are those shining example we find and greedily pin to our virtual pin boards. They are but a snap shot, a perfectly curated part of someones life, after all, who uploads a photo when they are sick in bed or when the dishes haven't been done in a few crazy day or you continuously seem to forget to bring the broom home from the other house (just me? ok then!)

A sneak peek at my new house with all it's red bench tops and faux wood panelling - definitely not Pinterest material!

These thoughts have been whizzing around my head a lot lately and, while I don't tend to document this stuff on my blog, I though this topic was maybe one I needed to write down and put out there. How do you write a lifestyle blog if you don't do anything interesting? I kept asking myself that and putting off posting until I did something 'blog worthy' but, of course, that's the wrong approach - my lifestyle blog should showcase my life and actually, my life ain't half bad right now!  

The hallway! A full 'before' house tour to follow - watch this space!

People who know me IRL know that I'm a bit of control freak (this is where I lose people because they are laughing so hard at the understatement of the year!) - I have to do everything myself because, in my mind, I'm the only person who can do it 'right,' most of this stems from my need to prove that, actually, I am very capable and I don't need someone else to tell me how to do things. This mentality has both been great, because I learn new skills and have become very capable in many different areas, and really stressful, because I need to do it all myself and really hate people helping - unless they are prepared to default to my clearly superior (read the sarcasm) way of doing things (i.e. letting me be the queen of my castle - and not always a nice one at that!) All that to say - sometimes I stress a lot, sometimes I need to step back and remind myself that life isn't always a perfectly curated Instagram feed, sometimes I need to remember that even if my life isn't picture perfect it can still be pretty damn great! So today I'm grateful my house is a mess because moving to my new home is taking precedent over cleaning; I'm grateful for coffee on the go because I don't have time for a relaxing cup of tea; I'm grateful for all those people who are still offering help despite my exacting standards and I'm grateful for you - whoever you are, reading this blog, being a part of my life in any way - thank you!

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10 things that made me happy this week

There has been a lot of happy and a lot of busy in the past two weeks since our house finally settled! It's great being homeowners but also really hectic as we had such short notice of settlement that we had to madly clean the place and prepare to move in. Some work still needs to be done before we can move in but we are in full swing packing and preparing for the final moving day! During this crazy busy time looking for the little happy things has been extra important, here's what made the cut this week:

1. A couple of easy days at work - extra appreciated in this busy time.
2. Finding and watching Crazy Ex-Girlfriend on Netflix.
3. Finally finding someone to put fences up at our new house.
4. Leftover roast lamb for 3 days - easy, no fuss meals are the best!
5. Getting around to making a Facebook page for this little blog - follow me here
6. Ticking off another book from my reading goal - 10 down, 40 to go!
7. Having an electric kettle at both houses so a hot cup of tea is always within easy reach.
8. This dress being back in stock at Modcloth.
9. My own version of a ploughman's plate for dinner - crusty bread, sharp cheddar, crisp apple and chunks of mettwurst, yum!
10. Broadchurch being back on TV for its final season.  

*** Happy sharing inspired by Rosie ***

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10 things that made me happy this week

Source - If I was less broke I would be very tempted by these!

This weeks happy list is very much a celebration of the simple things in life - it's been busy and filled with the fuzziness of many sleepless nights (the bi-product of a dog recovering from surgery and rebelling against the strict no walking rule!) but that has enhanced the simple joys of family time and relaxation on the couch! Without further ado, my happy list:

1. A pile of library books waiting to be read.
2. Getting the go ahead from the vet to resume full activity with Akela again! 
3. Pulling out some of my old favourite recipes and getting back in the kitchen.
4. Late night Hamilton karaoke - Starring me as Hamilton and Mark as Burr.
5. Lunch at O'leary Walker's in Clare with one of my best girls, Rosie!  
6. Trying out Walt's Chilli (with a few of my own modifications) - turned out pretty good, if I may say so myself.
7. Getting out my paperwork so I can, hopefully, start getting some work soon.
8. Cups of tea with biscuits - accompanied by one of those library books.
9. Watching the first few episodes of Outlander -  It's a promising start and I'm looking forward to watching more.
10. Planning for another day in Clare this weekend - looking at potential wedding venues!

*** Happy sharing inspired by Rosie ***

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10 things that have made me happy this week

This week has been a pretty big one for me with some very exciting things happening! Let's get straight to all the excitement:

1. Getting engaged! Mark planned out the most amazing proposal (and picked out an amazing ring) - details to follow, watch this space!
2. Securing tickets to go see Hamilton while we are in San Fransisco next year!
3. Charlie the Choo-Choo arriving in the mail.
4. Wrapping all of the Christmas presents and putting them under the tree - I felt a tiny bit of my usual Christmas spirit returning!
5. Glancing down at my hands and seeing my ring at odd times - makes me smile every time (yes, I'm in a bit of a sappy mood this week!)
6. Giving the bunnies their papaya tablets (to keep their digestion all running smoothly while they moult) - they get so excited to gobble them down and it's adorable!
7. Hidden Mickey nails.
8. Cuddles with Akela - he was in a sooky mood yesterday and I loved every minute of it! 
9. Starting to look at all the first wedding details: Honeymoon ideas (Disney World is looking like a possibility at this point), theming (again with Disney - don't tell me you're surprised!) and colour schemes... All very exciting!
10. Watching movies with my classes on my last work day - such an easy and enjoyable way to finish of the working year. 

*** Happy sharing inspired by Rosie ***

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Goals: 30 before 30

source

At the end of last year, when I had just moved house and gone through some pretty tough times, I wrote this list. 30 things I want to achieve before I am 30 years old. Since then my life has changed drastically all over again - some positive but also many negative. For the last 12 months I have quietly got on with some of these tasks but for many others the list has been pushed aside and forgotten about. As I have mentioned in previous posts, I have been feeling very uninspired of late, so I have dug that list up and I've decided to post it on here! Accountability and all that!

So, a bit of preface to the list: I will turn 30 in July of 2018 that give me just over a year and a half to complete the list! Also, I've had to change one item on the list. Those who know me IRL know that I had a dog when I wrote this list, she was my very best friend, one task involved her and us working together, when she passed away in February of this year I was absolutely gutted. I did not intend on getting another dog and I thought my list would just stay at 29 before 30... But, a chance encounter with another puppy softened my resolve, enter Akela - This little boy has gotten under my skin and into my heart, he in no way replaces my beautiful Echo but he has helped me heal. Consequently I have changed my initial goal to one shared with him, in honour of my beautiful Echo.

With that preamble out of the way, here's my list! I promise to post updates between now and my 30th birthday!

1. Go on another overseas holiday
2. Move into a bigger house – preferably my own!
3. Get my blog off the ground with regular posts and readers
4. Perfect my blog design
5. Start an Etsy shop (or similar)
6. Get my arrow and snowflake tattoos
7. Get a good sized Christmas tree and fill it with homemade and special decorations
8. Get back into running
9. Complete one of my manuscripts
10. Make crafts from my Pinterest craft board – including learning new skills
11. Get back into scrapbooking
12. Holiday around SA (camping and pet friendly)
13. Get to know my local area
14. Get a new camera and learn to use it properly to take great photos
15. Be confident in myself and be more assertive (work through my anxiety)
16. Live a healthier lifestyle (run, eat better, drink more water)
17. Entertain more
18. Decorate my house – including a gallery wall and styled shelves/mantle
19. Read through my (current) Goodreads list (was 78 books now down to 47)
20. Organise my house and schedule
21. Get on top of the sewing/craft projects I have planned
22. Start a herb and vegi garden
23. Get a puppy and work to train it/ form a bond (Akela had not been named when this addition was made!)
24. Be a good bunny mum – make sure they always have plenty of toys and a balanced diet
25. Have regular ‘date nights’
26. Have regular ‘pamper nights’
27. Learn to make my own beauty products – bath bombs, scrubs etc
28. Spend time with family
29. Start a regular ‘smash book’ type journal    
30. Enjoy life!

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Pupdate: Akela

When I first did my 'introducing' post for Akela I had had him for about a week and he was only about 10 weeks old. Now he is just past 5 months old and has been part of our lives for about 3 months I thought I would give you a little update on his progress. Here's what you need to know:

• He now weighs over 20kg and stands at 60cm tall (to the withers)
• His tail and ears are both still too large for his body.
• He is very smart and is picking up commands and general obedience very well - his puppy destruction has mostly been confined to cardboard and papers.
• He is very vocal and lets us know if anyone walks past the back gate or comes to the mailbox.
• He is quickly learning his own strength and to change it based on his opponent - he is very gentle when he plays with Jack but knows how to rough and tumble when he's playing with a larger friend.
• He now sleeps most of the night through, only getting up once to go outside.
• he's very snuggly and thinks he's a big lap dog... I may encourage him a bit! 

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10 things that have made me happy this week

Those that read yesterday’s post will know that things have been a bit hectic and overwhelming for me at the moment, this is all the more reason I need to keep focusing on these posts and focusing on the little happy things going on in my life at the moment, so let’s dive right in, here is this weeks 10 things:

1. Reading one of the best books I’ve read in a long time The Hate List by Jennifer Brown – I was so engrossed I read it in two days.
2. Looking at pictures of Akela from when I first brought him home – where has my little puppy gone!
3. One Facebook groups attempt at flooding out all of the American election coverage on our newfeeds – made my Facebook feed such a happy place for the day (think cute animals, geekery and crafty goodness)
4. Wearing my acetylcholine necklace to work – I’m sure no one else recognised it but it felt rather fitting.
5. Getting my hair done last Saturday – including requisite puppy related conversations with my lovely hairdresser.
6. Crossing things off of my to do list – gives me a little room to breathe.
7. Ending the working week with more days lined up for the following few weeks.
8. Wearing a skirt and short sleeves and not getting cold.
9. Seeing my little rescue bunnies Scully and Mulder get comfortable enough to flop down and snooze out in the open after breakfast.
10. The service we got from the vets when Akela had his little accident, they were kind and accommodating and even sent us a quick text message this morning to check up on him.  

*** Happy sharing inspired by Rosie ***

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