What I'm listening to now...

Lately I've been searching for some good tunes and it just so happened that I was driving home from work today and heard a song on the radio that I love (I had only heard it once before but loved it and could never find out who sung it, until tonight). I did a google search (Google is honestly the BEST resource, I have no idea where we'd all be without it!!) and I found out that the song "I Need You Now" was by a little country band called Lady Antebellum.

Now I know what you're thinking... ugh another country band shout out, but seriously, this band is really good! The two lead vocals are by a girl and a guy and their music is so easy to listen to, I'm really liking it (I'm listening to the songs play on my laptop now). My fav song so far is the one I heard on the radio "I Need You Now", it doesnt even sound country (not like that real western twang or anything) its got a more acoustic/folky vibe to it.

I recommend to check them out, even if you're not into country that much or you don't mind a bit of it here and there, I may be onto a winner! lol Their album is titled "Need You Now".
Some tracks that I'm liking are "American Honey", "Need You Now" and "Our Kind of Love".

Ellie x

Raindrops on my veggies...

So I'm home from work this arvo to work on my uni assignment, and have just finished it!! Hurrah! A 2 page fact sheet on Hyperparathyroidism in horses was actually more interesting than I thought. (If anyone is interested I'll email you my fact sheet! hehe just kidding!)

Anyway, after a gorgeous shower of rain last night and today I ventured outside after my study sesh and thought I'd snap some piccies of my veggie patch because it has been AGES since I've posted about it!

So here they!! Some piccies of my gorgeous and homegrown veggies!! (Some are still growing and not ready to eat yet, but I love the look of them anyway!)

(My newly planted broccoli seedlings...)

(Some rain drops on my baby spinach leaves...)

(My first strawberry bud)

(My favourite piccie... Our onions sprouting up!)

(The rocket and baby spinach veggies that we've been enjoying in salad and on homemade pizzas for about a month or so now! mmm)

So to give you an idea of where these yummy veggies are growing exactly I thought I'd post you a picture of the patch:

Here's where all the magic happens!! lol Okay, so its only teeny tiny, but our backyard isn't all that huge and for my first veggie patch I thought I'd start out small and see how I go! The main patch is planted in a medium sized poly molafos drum that my dad gave to me, it works great and I managed to fit quite a few veggie seeds in there. The other is a tiny "tomato tub" that I got from Bunnings for about 9 bucks! I'm using it to grow my strawberries and some broccoli, at least while they're small anyhow.

I'm loving gardening, and cant wait until the rest of the veggies are ready to harvest! Now that I'm getting a handle on gardening I'm wanting to plant more and more! Roger loves it too. The veggies are just outside our kitchen window so we can get out there whenever we're cooking to pick the stuff that we need!

In other news, I mentioned in my last post about my current crochet project, the "waterfall" scarf. Well because I am almost done I thought I'd post you some quick pics to show you how its turning out!

I love the flowy look it has and how it twists with each row crocheted. I have one more row to finish off but I need to get another ball of Heirloom Alpaca wool because this project pretty much swallowed up the 2 other skeins that I had. I should be finished by the end of this week and will be starting a new project on Saturday in crochet class.

Until next post,

Ellie x

Day Dreaming...

So whilst I'm in the middle of printing scientific journal resources for my latest Uni science assignment (sounds boring hey??!) I thought I'd drop by my blog and say a hello to everyone out there in "Blog-Land".

Lately with work and uni being so hectic I've been daydreaming of holidays and relaxing times on the beach! I mean who doesn't wish that they were on holidays somewhere warm right now?! Its been sooo freezing here in my part of the world! So I thought I'd share some day-dream piccies with you out of my digital photo album!

Here are some gorgeous pics from my last holiday in January with Rog, we went to Fiji for my 21st birthday and stayed at the new Intercontinental Resort! It was just perfect!

(The amazing sunset from one of the Resorts restaurants over looking the beach. Sooo Pretty!)

(Me and Roger horse riding along the crystal blue beach on my birthday! Ahhh, such a beautiful part of the world to visit!!)

More crochet news in the next day or two. I'm currently working on a gorgeous "waterfall" scarf in a white 100% Alpaca yarn by Heirloom, its going to look excellent when it's finished! Piccies to come soon!

Until then, happy day-dreaming and here's hoping we all get to go on some holidays soon!! :o)

Ellie x

I love washers...

I love the look of crochet face washers or dishcloths. Tonight I finished my second washer using the first crochet pattern I ever got in my crochet classes. Its a beginners washer pattern that is a really good starting point for new crocheters because it uses 3 main techniques (single crochet, double crochet and treble all in the same washer!).

I'm pleased with how it turned out, I used some gorgeous blue Cascades cotton rich yarn in my stash (My stash is growing as I'm becoming slightly addicted to buying yarn!!)

I don't think it'll be my last washer as I plan to make many more! They just look so cute folded and stacked in my bathroom!

More crochet news to come in my blog this weekend after I have class tomorrow, I'm going to be starting a new project that Jodie is going to pick out for me. I'm excited to sink my teeth into something new and just as excited to share it with you all!

Happy Weekend! :o)

A busy bee...

So my poor blog has been slightly neglected lately as work, uni and social life activites have taken up a lot of m time in the last week or so!

I haven't got a great deal to report on, but felt that I should post nonetheless! Last week Roger and I ventured down to the big smoke (Sydney) for our freind's wedding. Ohhh I LOVE weddings, the romance, the dresses, the food, all that lovey stuff! I'm such a sucker! lol

Anyhow, this wedding was special in particular as it was the first "cultural" wedding that I've ever been too. Rami (is Egyptian) and Azi (is Persian) so the ceremony and reception were both very cultural and interesting to be apart of.

(The gorgeous bride Azi and her very happy husband Rami)

Of course Azi was a gorgeous bride and Rami was so adorable when it came to his speech about his beautiful new bride (I think I shed a tear... told you I'm a sucker!) One of the great parts of the reception was the professional Belly dancer hired by the bride and groom as entertainment! I thought this was such a cool touch! She got the crowd all in the dancing mood and got the bride and groom up for a dance!

(Rachel the belly dancer teaching the bride and groom a few moves)

(Me and our friend Jess rockin' the wedding in red! We didnt plan the colour co-ordination I swear!)

Weddings are such a good time to catch up with friends and family and Roger and I were so glad to be able to do this while spending such a special day with some beautiful friends! Thanks Mr and Mrs Ghattas!! (hehe)

After all of this great "holidaying" in the city I made it back home and back to reality. Uni has started back for me so a lot of my spare time is going to be devoted to study :o( I have been working on a few little crochet projects (and will up-date with pics soon!)

Also, I had my first sewing/quilting class last wednesday! It was great, I bought my fabrics and other equipment and cut all of the fabric into squares to make my first ever "raggy" quilt! I can't wait until its finished! I have another class tonight where I will have to start to sew it all together. I will definitely take some pictures and post after my class (and after I figure out how to use my mum's sewing machine! lol)

Until then,

Ellie x

Sew on and sew forth...

Sooo, after my last post or so about wanting to learn how to sew I decided to get a wriggle on and find out where abouts I could learn or join a class here in town and I found one! I'm going to be joining a class of ladies at the local Quilt shop! I'm super excited!

My class starts on wednesday night (and if I enjoy it and don't suck too bad at it lol, I'll continue to attend classes on wednesday nights!) Colleen, (the organiser and shop owner) has said that once I get down to the shop before wednesday I can figure out what "beginners" project I can get into and purchase some fabrics! Mmmm, I'm starting to become obsessed with GORGEOUS fabrics! After blog surfing again today I found another beautiful and amazingly creative fabric webiste, this time based in the US.

The site is called "Hawthorne Threads" and has such a cute site, I loved it the moment I clicked on it! Their logo alone tells you how pretty all of their fabrics are!

You can find their online store here and can follow their blog here. Check it out, you'll love it!

Also on my blog/net surfing expeditions I came across another crafty inspiration, and I'm sure you've all heard of her and her designs (but I'm a bit behind the 8-ball as I'm new to blogland/crafty websites and bloggyness). Her name is Amy Butler! (Amy Butler Designs) and I'm LOVING her crafty work!! She dabbles in all things creative, but by far her best work (in my opinion) is her fabric and sewing patterns! I just love her eye for great fabrics and colour schemes! Just check out these gorgeous examples of her works:

You can find her site and links to her shop here. PLUS, on her site she offers FREE pdf downloads of some of her patterns (how great is that??!), so I plan to tackle one of her gorgeous quilting projects one of these days... of course after I learn to sew this week! :o)

Ellie x

The Lacy Cowl

I FINALLY finished it! My poor neglected Lacy Cowl project that I started quite a while ago! Today at crochet class down town at Jellywares I finished it off and I am soooo pleased with how it turned out!!

Once again it was almost impossible to take a photo of myself wearing it but hopefully you get the idea of how it looks!

I have to admit, the pattern that I used (which you can find here) was a little difficult for me to work out, but it was worth the little confusion because it looks awesome! The colour is great (being blacky-charcoal it will go with everything and I'm thinking that I'll wear it to work and "spruce" up my uniform! lol)

Now onto other projects!! I am still yet to have finished my second baby bear beanie (I only need to finish 1 ear and its done!!).

I am looking at making a slouch beret now in a new gorgeous yarn that I just purchased! (Yay) I'm just trying to find a pattern on Ravelry that I love, will keep you posted!!

Ellie x

Food Rampage!

Yes, I'm on a bit of a food rampage at the moment whipping up new recipes when I can! I know i've mentioned this site alot lately but I've found the yummiest soup recipe on here!! http://www.homelife.com.au/ you've done me proud once again!!!

I'm not a huge soup fan but after this one that I tried and tested for the first time last night I think I'm growing to like it! Who would have thought that Aspargus and Pea's would taste soooo great together!!? Well it does and I was so surprised at how delicious this recipe turned out!

Roger was just as surprised as me at just how nice this recipe was, and I will definitely recommend it to anyone! Give it a go!! It was perfect for this chilly weather!

In other news I received a great little package yesterday with some gorgeous fabric in it that I ordered from this nifty online store. Thanks Corrie, I love it! I have NO idea what I'm going to use it for yet, but I think its super cute and will look great at what ever I enventually make it into! If I can get into a sewing class maybe I could use it sooner!?

Also last week I finished off another quick project that I mentioned in an earlier post - my Design Sponge face washer! I love it, it turned out great, love the colour and I'm planning on making some more!

Funky Fabrix...

Ever since I started getting into crochet and getting back some creative-ness in my days I've been really interested in learning to sew. Of course during school I learned a little bit in Design and Technotlogy class (DT) but school feels like a lifetime ago and I can't even remember how to thread a sewing machine anymore !! (It's sad, I know!)

I'm really keen to learn and I'm going to look into classes here in town because during my internet/blog surfing I've come across soooo many gorgeous patterns and fabrics and I'm busting to start making my own things.

Some friends from crochet class last week have referred me to this gorgeous site, "Funky Fabrix" and I am HOOKED on it! It's such a cute site and there are so many pretty prints and gorgeous fabrics on there that I can't decide what I want to buy (because so far I want everything!! lol).

I've earmarked some fabrics that I'm loving:

As you can tell I'm liking the floral designs! lol There's just too many to choose from, I could be here all day uploading the one's that I like!

They've also got a great blog and you can find it here.

Happy fabric shopping! :)

Ellie x

Winter Warmer

Brrr, it has been so cold here at home lately, I'm not sure how bad its been where you are but if it's anything like at my house it's FREEZING!!


When it's cold I love nothing more than staying home in my winter woolies and curling up on the couch, but since I need to work to make a living (damn) I'll settle for other winter warmers and I found just the right recipe that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy when I look at it, it's a yummy Rice Pudding.


This was my first attempt and I'm pretty pleased with how it tuned out. I got the yummy recipe from here.

It was super easy to make, and I whipped the base of it up in about half an hour, it takes about 40 mins in the oven and you're done! The perfect dessert to any winter dinner!!

What are your favourite winter warmer recipes??

No Pink, No Play!

Happy Birthday to my lovely big sister Miss Kate for yesterday! The big 24!! lol You are getting old girl!! (Just joking!!)

Last night was Kate's birthday party, we all had to wear something pink to join in (Girls only!!)
We had an awesome night drinking pink champers and eating marshmellows and strawberries, not to mention the pretty pink cake made with love by our cousin Khan!!

It was a great night to spend time with my 2 sisters and mumma (see piccie above) as well as with other family like my beautiful nan, aunty Rell and little cousins!

In other news, the night before Kate's party, whilst Rog was out with his mates from work to watch the footy, I stayed home in the warm (and in my cosy dressing gown!) trying to whip up a quick beanie for Kate. She had asked me a few weeks ago to make her one (the same as my first beanie I made with the HUGE flower on it) and I only just got my act together and started making it the night before her birthday (so like me to leave it to the last minute!).

I was very lucky and got the beanie done in a couple of hours. I am loving tge chunkiness of the 20ply Nundle wool and how quick it works up to make a project! I was surprised at how quickly I finished it!



It doesn't look like much at the moment but once I get the flower done it should look great. I'm hoping that she'll like it, she did ask to have a black beanie made with a pink flower but I decided to reverse it. Plus once I saw this gorgeous dusty pink colour in the chunky Nundle I loved it and thought it would look great made into a beanie for Kate.

The flower is still a working progress and doesn't look much like a flower at the moment but I'm hoping to get it done sometime this weekend or early next week so I can still give it to Kate not too far after her birthday!

I've also managed to complete the body of the Baby Bear Beanie # 2!! It's looking super cute (just like the other one) and the colour has turned out really nice, the minty green is great for a baby boy. All I need to do is whip up the ears and I'm done... Oh and sew in the left over threads.

Until next post, lets hope you're having a great weekend and maybe working on your own crafty bits and pieces!!

Ellie x