Last Post.

This will be my last post on Tastes Like Love. I made the decision to jump ship and start a new blog a couple of months back, and that is what I've been working on. My new blog And Together We is where I'll be from now on. Thank you for reading along the past couple of years and for all your sweet comments.

This Week

I took my new sewing skills up a notch and made a scatter cushion cover for a friend

It was mine & Luke's 5th wedding anniversary

We celebrated our five years with a five course dinner

Romy kicked her ball around outside all week

And we spent most of our mornings and afternoons outside

On Thursday Romy slept in until 9 am (!!!) & we had a late breakfast at a new favourite bakery

Saturday Style / Corners

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When decorating a space the corners can sometimes be the hardest part to work with. When you put certain pieces of furniture in them they can close the rooms flow and often sit awkwardly. I have been guilty in the past of just keeping bookcases and such in the corners because I didn't have the foresight to move them over a little and put something next to them to open up the space a little more. Corners don't have to be The Challenge in decorating your home and creating a dynamic space.

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The First Half Is Over

So far this year Luke & I have given ourselves a taste of giving old furniture a second run with a fresh coat of paint. We made cocktail jugs up on Sunday afternoons throughout summer. We spent more time outside together having afternoon picnics & playing in the park. We moved to Newcastle & our new place has a perfectly functioning oven so now I bake sweet treats and make an effort with dinner. Romy turned one! I cut off my ponytail that I rapidly grew during my pregnancy. Romy & I went to the Gold Coast for a Mother Daughter Weekend with my family. We celebrated a friends engagement (together AND on a Saturday night, which is an obscenely rare thing to do with Luke). My friend Ally & I have started a little side project together that has kept me busy for weeks now. And my mum started teaching me how to sew. 

It didn't feel so long ago that I was thinking just how different things would be half way through the year. Well, it is now halfway through the year, and things are most definitely different to how they were from January, and last July seems like a lifetime (too dramatic?) ago. When I look back on the past six months I feel like I have wasted a lot of the year & that is something I want to keep in mind for the last half of the year -  to keep focus and not waste copious amounts of precious time.

Hello July!

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2014 seems to just be passing me by! It is now officially the middle of the year and I have to shake that 'new year' feeling that I usually cling on to for as long as I can. I spent most of June quite focused working on new illustrations for a side project with a friend, and while I was really inspired with my illustrations I struggled to find/make the time to post on here. And I didn't even feel bad about it. Prior to moving back to Newcastle I was posting quite regularly and putting a lot of my creative energy into blogging and not a lot into drawing or design. So for me, June was spent sorting out my priorities and I'm feeling really positive about it. I don't want to keep saying to myself 'oh, I'll do that later', because later keeps getting pushed back farther and farther. And you know what they say - "it's later than you think". 

This month I want to read two books, draw four illustrations, try out a new dinner recipe, bake a fruit loaf, post three times a week, print photos from the last few months & spruce up our blanket box with a coat of paint. 

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

This kid likes to pull faces, let me tell you. This week Romy started to really refine her 'cranky' face with one raised eyebrow and all. It's the face she pulls at me when I go into her room first thing in the morning, and it is almost as good as a big cheesy smile. She knows we find her 'cranky' face funny and a sly grin usually comes straight after. Her cheeky personality is definitely shining through more and more each day.

How Do You Like Those Apples?

Apple Deep Dish Pie 

 Apple + Peanut Butter Cookies 

 Apple Farro Salad 

 Curried Apple Soup 

Lately I've had more of an interest in trying new recipes & experimenting with everyday ingredients in a different way. One everyday ingredient that I'm enjoying using & that is pretty darn versatile is apples. My favourite & first choice of apple is the Pink Lady apple, I like to grate it & add it to our coleslaw mix & salad wraps. I read in a magazine a few years ago that someone added grated apple to their spaghetti bolognase & while that seemed weird to me at the time I totally get it now! It also goes quite nicely in quinoa dishes and salads. Now that it's getting to the colder months I'm pretty interested in trying out the curried apple soup, I don't know how it would go but it sure sounds interesting!