Inspired

Hi there friends, once again I have been caught in the whirlwind that is life and have had no time to blog.

Ok, I lie. I had time to blog last week when I took a week off work to get stuff done and to take a break but the urge to blog did not come over me. Sometimes you've just gotta go with the flow... you know?

Anyhow, this week has been a busy one, and as I sit at my office desk I feel mentally and physically tired. I have not been treating my poor body that well on the food front - I haven't been eating takeaway junk or anything like that and have been working out hard as normal but I know when I get busy and stressed I rarely cook proper meals for myself and I get by on the old bowl of cereal or smoothie for dinner here and there.

I can tell I need to nourish my body better next week so meal prep this weekend is crucial. Not nourishing your body with good amounts of food can be just as bad as eating a truck load of junk - I need to remember this.

In light of all of this 'exhaustion' talk, I wanted to share a couple of things that are inspiring me at the moment. All this talk about food brings me to a fantastic blogger and business woman who I mentioned in my last post.

Sophie Hansen of Local is Lovely released her book this week, (titled the same as the blog) and I am super excited to read it. Her blog is beautiful and she shares so many great pictures of her life on the farm, recipes and the amazing food she produces and makes into glorious meals. I just placed my order and cannot wait for it to arrive!

This cooler weather is making me miss working on my parent's veggie patch which sadly has now died. The summer was brutal to the patch and I was battling to keep it alive last year and my parents have not had the time to keep up the maintenance since.

Now that I live in the city and have no yard I am having to resort to 'patio planting' inspiration! I have sighted the cutest planters on The Block Shop's website. (Yes I am addicted to that show!) These jelly planters are about $55 or so and would look super cute hanging on the patio (they also come in different colours). I'm not sure they'd work for veggies but I'd settle for some yummy herbs or a pretty weeping plant.

I am heading off to Bathurst this weekend to attend my godson's baptism. I have never been asked to be a god parent before so I feel so honoured and excited that my friend would ask me! It should be such a great weekend. The weather forecast is looking a little chilly so I need to be thinking about stocking up on a couple more winter knits! I love a change in the season!

Stay happy!
E, x

Tree change

As I sit in my outer-Sydney 'burbs apartment on this sunny and beautiful Sunday I can't help but miss the bush.

I'd be lying if I said I missed everything about the bush, but sitting here in the city hearing the leaves of the perfectly placed and manicured trees blowing outside my window makes me miss the 'real' fresh air and the proper smell of old gum trees and true nature.

It's no surprise to me that I miss home. Everybody at some stage in their lives will miss the place where their roots lay. I miss our farm and one day hope to go back there, maybe on a more permanent basis, who knows.

I've been reading a lot of blogs lately, and I don't know if it's just because I'm drawn to them because we enjoy the same things, or if there is a gal trend happening, but a lot of people seem to be getting back to the 'original' ways of doing things. So many more people seem to enjoy the humbling feelings we get from growing our own veggies or making our food by hand. Deep down we seem to search for that 'grounding' that getting back to basics brings us.

I miss growing veggies, I miss collecting eggs from our hens. I miss the smell of my horse and the tangle of her knotted and rouge mane.

I miss riding on the back of a motorbike across hard and cracking ground with the sun boiling down on my (pasty ha!) white skin!

Deep down I want to move to the country and live peacefully, growing our own food, raising our own cows and living in the moment. Right now, I'm not sure we are in a position to do this, but there is an urge in me that wants a change.

There are so many great things about living in this city, but boy are there some magical things about living in the country.

I've noticed over at Retromummy's blog she has had some guest writers blogging about their 'tree changes' and most seem to be about going back to the country! And one of my favourite 'country', foodie blogs at the moment that makes me pine for home is Local is Lovely. Check them out!

E, x

Brisbane Bound...

Last week the bf and I took a trip to sunny Queensland!

It was the most perfect time to get away as I hadn't had a day off work since Christmas and I was getting a little stir-crazy and needed some time to recharge.

We flew into the beautiful city of Brisbane on Thursday morning to meet seven of our friends for a long weekend adventure.

The bf has a long love affair with heavy metal music so we all decided we'd tag a long to the Soundwave music festival held on the Saturday. I don't go much on the heavy metal, but it was a great excuse to catch up with friends and have a weekend away in a new city.

Surprisingly I had never spent much time in Brissie (except for a night or two on a school excursion back in year nine!) It is a beautiful city, and so different to Sydney.

We stayed in the Bridgewater Apartments in Kangaroo Point and it was the most perfect location for what we were after. A good sized apartment will a beautiful swimming pool, a short stroll to the river with a great cocktail bar and restaurant on the corner. What more could we have asked for?

Now, let me get to the cocktails. Ah-mazing! We used the nearby Shelter Bar (part of the Story Bridge Hotel) as our "starting point" most nights and it was great! The presentation they put into their drinks (particularly the cocktails) and their food was fab!

My friend and I were drinking the $10 cocktail special (served on Friday nights as part of their 'Flavour Fridays' special) that were served in the cutest mason jars - I'm a sucker for a mason jar! And because we were drinking the cocktail special we got to enter into a competition to win a $125 Swarovski crystal voucher, and guess what??? I won the voucher on our first night at the bar! Suffice to say, the Shelter Bar is my new favourite hang out.

New earrings I purchased with my winning voucher!

Brisbane put on great weather for us too. I had been down before we left Sydney as I studied the forecast for the weekend and it said rain for all four days. BUT, mother nature pulled through and we had amazing sunshine plus cooler overcast weather for the festival. Winning!

We made a short trek up the coast on Friday to try our hand at Go-Karting! We visited the Big Go-Kart track only 21kms from Mooloolaba and we all had a ball (especially the boys who seem to always get their competitive racing faces on when anything with a motor is involved!)

We stopped in at my favourite beach in Australia (so far... I haven't seen them all), and had lunch at the Mooloolaba Surf Club (another of my regular hang-outs when on family holidays growing up).

I was surprised at how quiet Brisbane city was. Walking around the CBD and river on Sunday was so different to a day in Sydney. There weren't a lot of people, no rowdy noises, just beautiful scenery and lovely people.

On our final night the boys tried their hand at the casino (not me though, I was knackered and went home for an early night). It seemed a go on the pokies was "meant to be" for our friend Simon - he put $10 in for one hit (despite his gf telling him he'd spent enough that night!) and made himself a sweet $6,000!!!!

Holiday paid for. Lucky duck!!

All in all, it was the best weekend away! Brisbane, you put on such a good show, I am falling for your sunny charm. I hope we meet again soon.

E, x