Thankful Thursday #1

I have been a long time lover of Lisette's Thankful Thursday posts, and when my UK twin, Leona jumped on board as well, I just knew it was something I should do. In the stress of the past months, it has been all to easy for me to push the good things aside, and I really want to focus on the positives this year, as I'm sure it can only help improve all aspects of my life. 

Things I am thankful for this week

Moving in with Jake

I am so thankful that this is finally happening for us! We sign the lease and pick up the keys on Saturday and that is just so amazing to me!

Mumma bear's generosity

I'm a bit short on cash this week what with having to scrape together $900 for the bond for our new place and having my car insurance run out at the same time. Even though my family is a one income family, mum always puts our needs first and is always there to help with even just the little things. I'm very lucky to have such a fantastic mum!

Fellowship of the Bloggers

So, if you haven't heard yet, some bloggy pals and I have started a new blogging collective and I am truly thankful for it this week! Tilly, Gemma, Sam and Magdelena are such fantastic, supportive people to have in my life and I am thankful for how close this new venture has brought us together. Bloggers are the best!

Arbonne

I know you are probably wondering why I am thankful for my business, and no it's not because of the business aspects of it. Arbonne skin care, hair care and cosmetics have transformed my skin and hair. I've never been so confident in my appearance and not only that, but Arbonne has helped me to reconnect with so many friends, and make so many more! After moving back from the Gold Coast, having a business that forces me to get out there and be social is exactly what I need and so I am incredibly thankful that I have this opportunity! 

Decorating inspiration for my new home!

This is such an exciting post for me to write for two reasons:

1. Jake agreed on the unit and we gave a deposit yesterday while we wait for the lease to get drawn up, so the little beachside Lennox Head unit is ours! Yeeeeee! I can officially start happy dancing! and...
2. I'm introducing you all to a brand new collaborative blog today which is SUPER exciting and pretty much supplying endless amounts of happiness to me right now, so that's brilliant, hey?

Now, a few of my favourite bloggy pals and I have gotten together and look what we made! A brand new collaborative blog called Fellowship of the Bloggers which is open for guest posters now! There are five of us on the admin list and we have been working very hard on getting this blog up and running! It's a labour of love, so I'm so excited to be introducing it to you all today! It's still beginning stages, and we haven't yet got our pretty, new layout installed but it's been such a great thing to be a part of and I'm so excited to see where it might take us and where it might fit into the blogging community. 

The best part of blogging is the friendly, supportive community and we wanted to create a place where we can all come together, share posts and encourage each other to try new things and be the best that we can be! One of the things that makes us unique is that we are an international blog, with bloggers from four different countries. We have monthly themes hashed out for all of 2014 and if you'd like to contribute, please shoot me an email on my personal address or on the collaborative blog email (fellowshipofthebloggers@gmail.com) and one of the admins will get back to you as quickly as possible!

Now, onto the juicy of this post! My first FOTB post went live today and it's my decorating inspiration for my new home! Here is a preview and a link if you fancy popping over and checking it out:

Pastel Decorating Inspiration on FOTB

Exciting News!

So, some much-needed exciting news came mine and Jake's way on Monday that I just couldn't wait to share on the blog! After four months of looking for our own place in Lennox Head, we have finally been approved for a place! YAAAAYYYYYYYY!

Now, it's only a small, 2 bedroom unit and not at all the home of my dreams, but it is incredibly cute and from the moment we walked in the door, I could just see all our stuff in the rooms and picture the way I would have it decorated. I was so anxious waiting for over a week to hear back from the real estate, but finally we got the word that it is ours if we want it and I'm so relieved!

Now, Jake thinks we should look at another place that the same real estate is advertising, but I'm not so sure. We have been waiting for this for so long that I just want to jump right in! I can't wait to finally be living with my other half, to have my own space again and to start on this next phase of our lives together. If I can talk Jake around to making the leap and signing the lease, we could move in this weekend! I can't wait to show you all photos!

'Eat me" easy chocolate biscuit recipe

On Wednesday, I went shopping with my best friend to use up some of the vouchers she gave me for Christmas and my birthday. One of these vouchers was for Typo, my absolute favourite stationery and knick-knack shop and I was very excited to use it, despite dreading having to narrow down my loot to just $50 worth. One of the fantastic little thingymabobbies I bought in Typo was an "eat me" cookie stamp - a purchase which fits in perfectly with my resolution to eat less packaged, preservative-riddled crap this year and do more home cooking of meals and snacks from scratch - a resolution which is no mean feat for a biscuit lover like me who just can't pass up a couple of bikkies with my daily cup of tea. 

Anyway, Thursday afternoon saw me eager to try out this nifty little purchase and thus I was on the hunt for the perfect, easy cookie recipe to try my stamp on. Originally, I planned on making sugar cookies, but the ridiculous amounts of sugar and butter that every recipe I came across called for turned me off - I didn't want to have to run to the shops to buy more sugar and butter, and besides, I was after an easy staple recipe that I could whip up any time to satisfy my biscuit cravings. Then I found this little beauty - a chocolate biscuit recipe with only a handful of ingredients in much more reasonable quantities than the sugar cookies! Satisfied with their deliciousness after testing them out with a couple of cups of tea, I decided that this little recipe, which I originally found on bestrecipes.com.au but altered to suit my tastes, was too good not to share!

Ingredients:

3/4 of a cup of butter

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (you could use 1 teaspoon vanilla essence if you don't have extract)

1 1/2 cups plain flour

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup cocoa powder

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius.
2. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar using an electric mixer on low. 
3. Add egg and vanilla and beat thoroughly.
4. Sift the cocoa and flour into the mixture and combine using your hands.
5. Once combined, remove the mixture from the bowl and place it on a rolling mat for kneading. If the dough is too sticky for kneading, add extra flour and knead until it reaches a smooth, doughy consistency that can be easily rolled with a rolling pin.
6. Roll out your dough to about 5mm thick. Use a drinking glass cookie cutter to cut out whatever shape you like. I was exciting and made circles.
7. Place the cookies on a tray lined with baking paper about 1cm apart and bake for 10-15 minutes, depending on your oven. If you have an awesome cookie stamp like me, press that into each cookie just before baking. 
8. After your cookies have cooled, make yourself a cup of tea, sit back, dunk and enjoy! 

Friday's Finds: Ticking something off the wish list

Remember back in October when I wrote about my ultimate thrift wish list? Well, I recently was able to tick one of those very special items off the list as I came into possession of a set of vintage Nally Ware canisters!

I bought them off ebay for a pretty reasonable price, and they are in good but well used vintage condition. The set is missing the flour canister, but I'm confident I can pick a lonely one up some place or another. I'm convinced they are the perfect addition to my future kitchen, and I can't wait to get my own place again so I can get into decorating mode!

Mod Couples

I came across snaps from this fantastic photo series by Carlotta Cardana on a couple of blogs this week, and once I clicked over to her website and read her description of the photo series, I just knew I had to share some too! It focuses on Mod Couples - couples who belong to the subculture that is passionate about the 1950s and 60s aesthetic and music, and what struck me in particular about this series is what Carlotta Cardana had to say about the styling of it:

"I decided to focus on couples because I am fascinated by the way their identities blend together to produce something larger than the sum of its parts. Within the formality required by shooting with a medium format camera, I don’t “direct” the couples by asking them to pose in a specific way. Instead, I let them assume a pose that feels natural to them. I believe that in the subtleties of their posture, a lot is revealed about themselves – as individuals and as a couple."

She also let the couples choose their own clothing and scene for the photos so that it reflects their own sense of style and "the world depicted in the pictures is entirely the world they have created for themselves."

I've always wished that Jake was into the whole vintage thing, too. I dunno about you, but I wouldn't mind stepping into any of these couples' worlds, would you?

Sunshine, Daisies, Butter Mellow, I have a bike that is yellow

Yesterday, Jake and I took a trip to Brisbane to pick up my new bike from Reid Cycles. The bike was my birthday gift from my parents and Jake and I have been waiting to receive it for weeks now, so you can imagine my excitement to finally take it for a ride yesterday afternoon! Reid Cycles' customer service is absolutely atrocious and it has taken 7 weeks for my bike to come despite being told it would be ready by the 6th of December (not to mention the fact that I paid extra for a basket on the front which still wasn't in the shops today and will have to be posted to me in a few weeks' time) but I am just so happy to finally have it!  

Since we were in Brisbane, jake and I decided to make the most of the day and took a stroll around South Bank while we were there, stopping for lunch at a little Italian joint and... 

Getting Max Brennar! This is the choc fudge brownie sundae that jake and I shared. It was totally delicious, but we soon realized that lunch was probably a bad idea when we walked out with aching tummies and half our food left on our plate. I hate wasting chocolate! 

We finished off the day with stopping at a few surf shop outlets on the way home for a spot of shopping where jake bought me the most awesome pants ever and were glad to get home to little, old Lennox Head after a big day in the city despite having such a lovely day. 

Friday's Finds: adding pieces to collections

There is something wonderful about finding new pieces to add to existing collections in the op shops and I was incredibly lucky to pick up these two pieces in a half off sale at my local Salvos store on Thursday while out shopping with a good friend. 

I really love the floral motif on this little Arcopal casserole dish. It's the first I've found in decent condition in an op shop that still has a lid! 

I just had to bring home this Corning Ware coffee pot, too because it matches the tea pot from my last post! I don't drink much coffee but its hard to pass up a matching pair, right? 

The same Salvos store also saw me buy a very special piece of furniture which I would like to call the bargain of the century at just $12.50 which you will have to wait to see next week, as I need Jake's muscles to pick it up and so won't have it home until Monday. Rest assured it is an absolutely beauty, though. 

Have you had any great op shop purchases lately? If you write similar posts, please leave a link below. I'd love to check out your fabulous finds!

Back in the saddle

Well hello there beautiful readers! I hope you had a fantastic holiday season and a splendid start to 2014. I wasn't planning on not blogging over Christmas, but you know, sometimes life is just so great you don't have to hide behind a computer screen! The last few weeks have been so busy for me and I have really enjoyed just living in the moment and forgetting all about taking photos of everything and blogging. I have missed this little outlet though, and have plenty of ideas for posts and projects as I settle into the New Year, but I thought I'd start today with recapping what I've been up to since you last heard from me.

 Just two days before Christmas, I had a birthday! The day was absolutely perfect, too. I woke up to receive the most gorgeous gifts from my little sister who spoiled me rotten and spent the majority of the day with my beautiful best friend who drove down from the Gold Coast to spend the day with me. We exchanged Christmas and birthday gifts (she spoiled me rotten as well), had a yummy lunch where I introduced her to oysters, gossiped, ate ice cream and I swear when it was time for her to go I nearly cried! She is the most awesome human on the planet and I wish we lived closer! The rest of the afternoon was spent with family and other close friends. I was brought to tears by how perfectly my family and friends know me, by their beautiful cards and gifts and by he massive bunches of flowers which I found adorning my house while we shared a delicious dinner together. My main present from mum, dad and Jake still hasn't arrived yet, but by the time the day was through I had honestly almost forgotten how excited I was to get it - the day had been so perfect that nothing could ruin my happiness.

Christmas went way too quickly, in my opinion! Going from mum and dads , to nan's, and then on to Jake's, I really felt like we didn't get enough time with anyone on Christmas day. The food was absolutely fantastic though, and I swear I ate enough for four people at each house we went to. Christmas afternoon was especially amazing to me. Jake bought his niece a heap of kites and he and his brother stood on the verandah flying them while Molly and I watched from below. Because I lived on the Gold Coast for the better part of last year, Molly and I haven't really had the chance to get close and she has always been a little shy with me but Christmas day was a whole new experience for the two of us. She decided to be my new best friend, leading me around the house with her, nuzzling into my neck for cuddles when it was way past her nap time and sharing grapes and cherries with me which she brought over two and three at a time from the fruit bowl. Spending such quality time with family made Christmas day magnificent in my opinion.

Jake has had three weeks off over Christmas and it has been amazing being able to spend time together through the week. Weekends go way too quickly, so I've enjoyed actually seeing him every day for the last little while. Plus, we bought a massive TV and it's awesome.

 I've been super lucky to actually get to see my best friend, Darci, twice more since my birthday! These photos were taken in a Photo Booth when Jake and I went on a burger eating and arcade game playing adventure with Darci and her boyfriend, Alex the other night. We had a great time and it's awesome knowing that even though we no longer live close by we still get to see each other often. Next Tuesday I'll be back up there again to indulge in shopping and Disney movies and I can't wait!

Well, there you have it. What I've been up to the past few weeks! Hope you found it at least a little bit interesting and I would love to hear how you have spent the holiday season. I conveniently left out the part about drunkenly singing songs about sausage rolls on New Years Eve, but I'd love to hear your New Years anecdotes!