See You Next Year February!

This month we spent a lot of our free days together driving back and forth from Newcastle looking at potential new rentals. We didn't have much luck though.

I shared some things that make me happy,

everyday moments,

and some dresses that I need.

I visited my friend for a city date

and Luke & I made one of my favourite Sunday pizzas yet.

This month we spent a lot of time focusing on looking for a new place to live. Luke & I have made the decision that we're going to be moving back to Newcastle as soon as we can find somewhere to live. We made this decision a couple of months ago and now the time has come to start organising this big change & we've been driving back and forth to house viewings whenever we possibly can. Moving is the worst, I cannot wait to be all settled and unpacked already. Aside from house hunting, we've been keeping a low profile this month, which hasn't been hard with the wet weather we've been having here.  The colder season is definitely going to be a challenge with Romy, she really likes being out and about so I don't know how she'll take her first winter. But I most certainly am looking forward to bringing my cardigans back out again. See you later February!

Today

Yesterday I went to house viewing in Newcastle that we're keeping our fingers tightly crossed for, it isn't in the most ideal suburb, but it has everything that we are after. The viewing was late yesterday afternoon so applications were to be handed in at the office today, so we had to fax our application forms. Luke had a little trouble with the fax at his work, and I ended up having to rush to the post office and pay to fax the forms off, which cost me $16! I couldn't believe it, however I was feeling far too frantic to worry about how ridiculously overpriced such a simple task could cost. In the end faxing the forms turned out to be a much bigger ordeal than it should have been, and the receptionist mixed a couple of things up with the faulty batch of faxes we sent first and the real estate called Luke to say that it didn't go through. So around midday I started to get really worried that I might have to do more running back and forth for the applications, but everything got sorted. For most of the day I felt like a zombie running on empty after a sleepless night with a teething 10 month old who only would be consoled by slight bouncing, so my focus was quite scattered from lack of sleep and stress. My day got a lot better when my Mum dropped in on her way home from work with lattes, and then I had a surprise visit from my friend Elle & A. 

February Links

I came across this absolutely delightful blog at the end of last month, Postcard Daydreams

When I first moved out of home I used to constantly worry that my car was going to randomly break down in the middle of a busy intersection, so I used to keep a worry doll in my car. I don't know if it helped, but over time I worried about it less. This post reminded me of that.

Curious about bonsai? My friend Elle has started a blog to document her Elbonsai Adventures from square one.

This post on changing your dreams was super inspiring.

You learned everything you know about life from a giraffe in the back of a dark van and other signs you grew up in Australia in the 90's. This was so, so good!

These fantastic tips on how to simplify your home.

Some people are just so darn awesome, especially these parents. 

My friend Felicity has her own blog designing service and she recently shared some new designs she's been working on. Felicity has helped me out with almost all of my blog design installations, and she is such a sweet heart! Check her out if you're looking for a new blog design!

I almost stopped breathing for a second when I watched this!

I really enjoyed reading this post about how to save to stay at home, the comments are also really great for extra saving tips. 

>>> Enjoy

8/52

"a portrait of my daughter, once a week, every week in 2014"

The Bear did not hold back this week, and oh boy, there have been some tantrums! At times it can be a little difficult to take her tantrums seriously and acknowledge that yes, taking the remote off her makes her sad because she is just so darn cute, even when she cries. Lucky these little meltdowns don't last for long. There were a couple of times today that we started to laugh at the same volume her crying was so it would change her tune, and it worked almost every time. A couple of months ago the Bear worked out that when she coughs it catches out attention, so the fake cough has made a mysterious return this week, only this time around she is far more unsubtle about aiming to get our attention. Everyday gets better & better with her.

Pizza Sunday

Nacho Pizza

The pizza place where we buy our pizzas when we are too lazy to make them has a pretty tasty nacho pizza that Luke occasionally opts for, so I suggested we make our own version of it for pizza sunday. It is just topped with corn chips, so we put our own spin on it and it made it a little differently. 

For our nacho pizza we sprinkled a small amount of cheese on the base, and spread our simple nacho mix to cover the base. Our nacho mix was taco sauce, tabasco sauce, mexican spice, lentils, capsicum, mushrooms and baby spinach diced finely. We put the pizza in the oven just like that and in the last ten minutes or so of baking, we pulled the pizza out and sprinkled crushed up corn chip pieces & the top layer of cheese over the pizza. The corn chips were crushed up into smaller 1cm pieces, so they weren't too small. We then topped our pizza with sour cream, guacamole & sweet chilli. Fresh avocado pieces would have been much better, but like always the Coles near our house never has anything so we weren't able to buy any fresh avocados today. 

Our version of nacho pizza is definitely one of my favourite pizzas we have made, with our balsamic pizza being a close second.

Pin Of The Week

[ here ]

A couple of years ago I saw on a home improvement type show a bedroom makeover that implemented a birdhouse for a bedside table, and it's something I've wanted to do ever since. I think it would be a great idea for a children's bedroom. Especially lining the back of the birdhouse with bright & fun patterns to match the rest of your bedroom decor.

Currently

Reading:  New issues of Frankie, Feast & Renegade Collective. 

Watching: Luke & I have really been getting into Parks & Recreation lately, there is something really quotable every episode. Mostly from Ron Swanson. Also, Andy has really grown on me in the later seasons, its going to be a crying shame when I run out of episodes. I mean, especially consider there aren't any new Mindy episodes. And Pretty Little Liars is only once a week, but I do spend the other six days of the week thinking about what Ezra has to do with Ali, its driving me insane!

Listening to: Nothing new of late as I have made next to no time for looking into new bands. On rotation at the moment is Odd Future, Lykke Li, The National, Miley Cyrus & Fiest. 

Thinking about: How nice it would be to find an awesome rental within the next four weeks. Our current lease finishes at the end of March, but we've been given the green light to move out whenever we like because our real estate knows how crazy our neighbours are. We've looked at a couple of places, but now that we have Romy to factor into our decision making it really narrows down our choices. So there will be lots of positive thinking and awesome rental envisioning happening around here this next month!

Working on: A pizza menu for my friends new pizza shop he opened up just before Christmas. I whipped up the first menu last year and am now working on a new, refined version of the menu. I will be super glad to cross this off my to-do list so I can start working on some things for myself.

Loving: Salads for lunch. I usually eat my lunch when Romy retires for her afternoon nap, and some days I really couldn't be bothered if we've had a rough morning with teeth grief. So anything that takes longer than two minutes I usually don't bother with. But I wanted to work on becoming more interested in making my meals so when meal times come around I don't spend any time thinking about how its going to take forever so I won't bother, and just get stuck into making it. I've just been making simple salads with roasted vegetables on the side and its been well worth the extra effort! Pushing myself to become a little more motivated is also something I am loving this month!

Planning: On stocking up on lots of pretty coloured wool to make a shit load of pom poms for a DIY project I came across on Pinterest last week. Its been a while since I threw myself into a hands on creative project and if I can get everything done off of my current to-do list this DIY will be an even greater guilt free reward to myself!

6 pm

Thursday, 20th February 2014, 6 pm

On my home this evening from a disappointing house viewing. I'm hoping we'll have better luck next week. 

Twin Peaks Lust

Twin Peaks Mountain Collar Clips

"My Log Does Not Judge" Log Lady Tote

Set Of 6 Twin Peaks Post Cards

Welcome To Twin Peaks Phone Case

Once a year I get the Twin Peaks itch and need to watch the series. Sometimes I only watch up until Laura Palmer's killer is revealed, and other times I watch the whole series. It is such a shame the show got cancelled, I feel as though if Twin Peaks was to have its day right now it would be quite successful. But like so many other wonderful things  (90210, slouch socks, rollerblading and 10c tattoo bubblegum) it belongs to the 90's.

My Happy List

Fresh Flowers

When I turned 24 I decided that I would give the whole having fresh flowers around the house thing a go, and secretly wished for my birthday Luke would buy me some as a surprise birthday gesture. I hadn't told him that I had had a change of heart, and he had ordered some for my birthday all on his own. That birthday I got a couple of bunches of flowers and my mind was made up forever, flowers are okay! So each week (well, when we remember), Luke & I buy a bunch of fresh flowers for our kitchen table. Luke has mentioned in the past that he was secretly glad I had come around to flowers because he actually likes having them around the house. Everybody wins!

7/52

"a portrait of my daughter, once a week, every week in 2014"

This week has been quite difficult for our little Bear, her teeth are on the move and boy oh boy are they giving her grief! Romy likes to stick to her routine, she likes to have good hearty sleeps and she really likes her food. But not this week. On the plus side, she has been pushing herself a little bit further each day to practice her standing skills which she has just started to do in the last week. Today I put all of our throw cushions on the ground for her to climb over and I caught her using them to push herself up. We thought living in a rental with stairs would be an issue, but so far so good. There have been a few attempts to climb them, but she quickly loses interest and remembers that her most favourite thing ever is to push our tall standing lamp over! 

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

Things have been a little quiet around these parts because we've been stuck inside from the week long wet weather without internet for the most part of the week. We live in a low range internet area so when it rains there is no going anywhere, no internet and definitely no washing. It is safe to say that I don't like this kind of weather!

A Modcloth Wishlist

Inlet's Get Together Dress

Prowling Around Town Dress

Sunroom Serenade Dress

Library Assistant Dress

Pin Of The Week

[ this sadly is not in my yard ]

Can you even believe somebody has this in their yard? 

Hot Tip

Last year Luke & decided to budget for our Christmas presents a lot earlier than we usually do, which took a lot of pressure off the closer it got to Christmas. In the past we have always left it until the end of November to start thinking about presents, and two weeks before Christmas we actually go to the stores and get the presents we aren't 100% happy with because of our lack of planning. So mid last year we started putting $20 each a week into an envelope that would be our 'present fund', for Christmas and birthday presents. And it was a raging success! By cutting down on impulse purchasing, and buying things I just don't need on a weekly basis, I was able to contribute that money to our present fund each week instead. That is $1040 a year (or $520 if you budget $10 a week)! And if you have left over after Christmas it sure wouldn't go astray with the end of year sales you could treat yourself to!

7.10 am

Thursday, 13 February 2014, 7.10 am

While I was in Sydney on Tuesday Romy pulled herself up into a standing position for the first time. While it would have been nice to see her do it for the first time, I am just as happy that she did that for the first time in front of Luke as he usually misses so many of her firsts because he's always at work. And this morning she was just as keen to show me pulling herself up on our bed head. There is no going back now, this little bear will be crawling before we know it!

My Happy List

Pretty Little Liars

Have you seen it? Its about a stylish group of teenage sleuths trying to solve the mystery of their missing friend while being stalked by the elusive 'A' who is somehow involved in their friend's disappearance. This show is so addictive, and actually scary! The first couple of episodes of the show were initially off-putting for me and I found them hard to get through for the first time, but after those first couple the characters really start to develop and thats when shit gets real. I can't wait until season 4 is released on DVD, I will most definitely be rewatching from season 1! While 'Pretty Little Liars' isn't a deeply profound or meaningful contributor to my everyday happiness, I still really do enjoy it and thought it deserved a spot on my list considering how much time I've spent lately thinking about it. Waiting for next weeks episode to see what Spencer has come across is going to be hell!

Daily Adventures: In Sydney

Today Luke & Romy had a daddy-daughter-day, and I visited my good friend Lara in Sydney. I got to drool over her new things from Ikea, try a Nespresso coffee + a different type of herbal tea, drive through the city in her fancy grown up car, go on a lunch date & stroll along King St. It is always nice spending time in the city, and it was really nice to explore a different suburb this visit. I usually stick to what I know, but lately I have been making more of a conscious effort to try new things and step outside my comfort zone. It still feels really odd to be away from Romy for an entire day, but it was good for me to have some time for myself. Luke has been suggesting something like this for a few months now but I haven't been ready (other than the occasional shift at the cafe). So many wonderful and exciting things are happing in Lara's life, it was very lovely to catch up on everything and I think I did a pretty good job to not gush about Romy the entire time (like I tend to do)!

6/52

"a portrait of my daughter, once a week, every week in 2014"

This week Romy has been kicking her legs like crazy, every time I walk past her she is kicking something. I think she is itching to start using her pins, the last couple of mornings she has been leaning on us and pushing down on her little legs. Our little bear is extremely determined, and rougher than ever this week!

Daily Adventures: A Monday BBQ

Today Luke, Romy & I went to our friends house for a BBQ. Renee & I meet up for coffee every week with our babies, but this week we threw a spanner in the works and had a lunch BBQ with both of our little families. We had such a lovely afternoon outside drinking pear cider, talking about Renee & Simon's upcoming wedding, eating delicious food (Renee made the tastiest chocolate cheesecake!) and watching our babies play together. It was a perfect Monday afternoon!

Pizza Sunday

Roasted pumpkin, spinach, feta, rosemary & pine nuts

For this week's pizza I took the ingredients from a quick and easy salad my Mum likes to make for bbqs & parties; feta, spinach, roasted pumpkin, pine nuts & balsamic glaze. For our pizza version we left off the drizzle of balsamic glaze & roasted the pumpkin with rosemary. My Mum usually uses baby spinach leaves for the salad, but we already had silver beet spinach so we used that instead (hot tip: olive oil over the spinach will stop it from burning in the oven). 

Luke really enjoyed this topping, but I felt like there was something missing. Maybe a spicy tomato paste would have given it a little bit of a kick. 

1.15pm

Sunday, 9 February 2014, 1.15pm

Today Luke, Romy & I went to our friend's daughter's first birthday party. This was Luke's first time going to something baby related as he usually has to work on weekends, so it was especially nice. It was however an eventful drive there as we got slightly lost and Luke spilled coffee all over his pants minutes before we arrived! On the plus side, Romy didn't spew over her party dress & enjoyed the party!

Pin Of The Week

[ here ]

An attic space doesn't just have to be the space in-between you and your roof, with coats of white paint and Ikea shelves for your craft supplies. It can go in the opposite direction and become a space to just sit and be. But you will need some sort of cute garland. And pillows, you will always need pillows!

8 am

Friday, 7 February 2014, 8 am

Even though I really don't like getting up early, mornings are my favourite time of the day now that we have Romy. That first little morning smile through the cot slats are the best, and she is always so excited to see us. After Romy has her morning milkshake she usually likes to crawl all over us in bed, but more so all over Luke. Getting to spend that hour altogether in bed before we start our day is my favourite.

Making Time

This quote has been running through my mind lately serving as a great motivator to get things done. I find myself wanting to do things, sometimes something super small like rearranging a space in our house, or an illustration, and I say to myself "when I have the time I'll do that". And eventually the idea fizzles out because I never find myself any closer to doing it. This year I've committed to setting myself monthly goals so I can give a small group of things a lot of attention for a month rather than allowing myself the whole year to get around to it. And this month I would like to make more time for the things that I enjoy, and more time for the things that need to be done. 

My Happy List

Postcard parties with my friend Lara

Somewhere along the lines my friend Lara & I started sending each other postcards. This has been an ongoing thing for a couple of years now, and every time one arrives in the post it really brightens my day! While we both have separate types of humour, our friendship has taken on its own odd sense of humour over the years that keeps our postcard party interesting. Romy had a pretty rough afternoon today, so when Luke brought the mail in on his way home - a postcard from Lara in one hand and a takeaway latte + mint slice in the other - it really made my day! It's always nice receiving something other than a bill in the mail. 

12.35 pm

Wednesday, 5 February 2014, 12.35 pm

The last couple of days Romy hasn't needed much encouragement to go down for her lunchtime nap, and has pretty much been falling asleep through her lunch bottles. I think this teething gig is taking its toll on her.

5/52

"a portrait of my daughter, once a week, every week in 2014"

As each day passes more of Romy's personality starts to come through, and it is very clear that she is going to be a daddy's girl. On Luke's days off work she will follow him around the house quietly whispering to herself, 'dad dad dad dad dad', and will only be settled by him in the evenings, which means I am basically their third wheel. This week Romy's top vampire teeth started to come through, so there have been a couple of long nights with extra hugs. She was so keen to use her new teeth that she started to bite the adjustable side of her cot over the weekend!

1.45pm

Tuesday, 4 February 2014, 1.45 pm

While Romy napped today I got out my craft box & some old magazines and made some cards to put in the post later in the month. I set myself a goal this month of sending out four pieces of snail mail, and I'm already halfway to accomplishing that little goal. It was a nice way to spend my rainy afternoon, I forgot how fun making magazine collages could be. 

Today We

Today we ate home made bagels for breakfast and read the Sunday paper

Romy had a Dr Seuss kind of breakfast of green eggs & ham

We filled out rental applications before we went to a viewing for a sweet little cottage

And had Grill'd afterwards on the way back to the coast

We got home a little later than expected from the house viewing with all of the afternoon traffic. Romy didn't mind though, it just bought her extra playing time when we got home to make up for the travel time spent in the car today. On Luke's days off she likes to be around him as much as possible, so if he's in the kitchen, she's in the kitchen. It was nice having a low key day altogether, hopefully we can find a new rental soon so we can get back to making plans on Luke's days off. Enjoy your week!

Pizza Sunday

Balsamic mushroom + onions with fresh cherry tomatoes & feta

This week Luke & I thought we would try something neither one of us has had before on a pizza, balsamic. For a while there one of our favourite dishes was balsamic mushrooms with grilled polenta, & while we haven't had that particular dish in a while, we do like to caramelise onions & mushrooms to have with our eggs every so often. 

 

To caramelise the onions & mushrooms, heat a pan with oil & sauté the mushrooms & onions adding sugar & balsamic vinegar

To avoid burning the feta, Luke pulled the pizza out of the oven & added it on just before it was ready 

And it was delicious! 

8.45 pm

Sunday, 2 February 2014, 8.45 pm

It was almost 9pm when Luke & I sat down to eat dinner. Romy has been teething pretty badly this week and getting her into bed of a night has been a bit of an ordeal. We went for an evening walk to try and settle her & she fell asleep three blocks from our house. Lucky we prepared everything for our dinner before we left so it took a total of two minutes to assemble.