You, Me & Miss E

Today I am grateful for...

2012-02-10T15:01:00.000-08:00

Ambition!

Ever since about September last year I realised exactly what I wanted to do with myself this year!

I decided that I wanted to get myself together and go back to university and finish my degree in Graphic Design. As I was tripping around Europe I got a sense of "drive" come over me, a feeling of certainty and I knew that I was ready to work hard towards something that was not only going to make me happy but also be helpful towards my life in the future by hopefully opening up some career doors!

I feel grateful that I have a new found sense of ambition that drives me to look towards good things in my future and pushes me to work hard and strive for good things!

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What are you grateful for this week?

Share it with us over here at Maxabella's.

#febphotoaday challenge - Days 6, 7 & 8!

2012-02-07T14:09:00.000-08:00

More pics from Fat Mum Slim's Feb photo-a-day challenge!

Day 6. Dinner

I can take no credit for this yummy dish! It was thoughtfully prepared by my local Thai takeaway restaurant! lol Yummy Beef panang

Day 7. "Button"

This is a pretty bow button from a gorgeous (and my favourite!!) blouse that I bought from Top Shop in London!

Day 8. "Sun"

This was my wake-up view this morning! Sunlight streaming through my blinds! Good morning world!

You can follow along with Feb photo-a-day on Instagram (Follow me!! I have a new tab on my sidebar, check it out!)

Soooo many people all over the world are following and participating!

Join us!

Dreaming of some retail therapy...

2012-02-05T21:13:00.000-08:00

My re-location to the Riverina in NSW is getting closer and closer and although I am going to be sad about leaving home and my family and friends I am excited about one thing....

SHOPPING!!

I am a shop-a-holic. I admit it. I cant help but love a good "shop", some retail therapy is always good and it feels like I haven't had a good old shopping trip in a long time!

One thing that my lovely little country town doesn't have is good shopping!

I've become accustomed to online shopping and boy is it handy!

I thought I'd make a nice little list of my fav online stores that I stop into on a regular basis - some of them have been tempting me too much lately with new season fashion online! Ahhhh autumn/winter-y stuff is looking so cute at the moment! I'm excited for the cooler seasons to start (I can't believe I'm saying that because I usually LOVE summer, but winter is looking awfully stylish so far!)

If you're like me and are living far from the shops or just prefer to shop from home (in your PJ's - gotta love that! lol) then check these sights out:

1. Sportsgirl

I can't fault Sportsgirls' online store! I've had multiple purchases from these guys and all of them have shown up and packaged well. I even often get a cool little freebie when I buy stuff (I got a USB stick once, very handy!!)

They have a great return policy and I've never had troubles with sending something back if it doesn't fit right.

Plus I am in love with their new season stuff! So cute! Loving the new winter-y colours!!

Oh, and the "Sale" section online is always a must-see! Some awesome stuff goes on sale here, it also doesn't take long before something that is new goes on sale, so if there is something you love but don't love the price tag, wait a little while and it could end up a good $30 cheaper soon!

They have FREE shipping Australia wide for all orders over $120!

2. Betts shoes

Every girl loves shoes and so do I! Betts have some awesome heels (and flats), but I've mainly purchased heels online here. They are really prompt with their delivery and I'm always happy with my purchases!

Plus, their new season shoes are always so trendy! And they have awesome sales too!!

3. The Body Shop
Okay, so the Body Shop isn't exactly in the "clothing" department but they do sell make-up and gorgeous products! I have been using Body shop makeup (mostly their foundation and powders) for a few years now and I love the stuff! I am also currently using a face cleanser by them and it feels devine!

I've purchased tonnes of stuff online with these guys and have never had any dramas with delivery or anything! I love the Body Shop!

4. Forever New

Another one of my fav stores! This chain store sells the most pretty-girly stuff and I love it! I don't usually buy their clothes online (their range is much better in store) but I am addicted to their accessories!

One word... Bags! They stock the cutest bags! I love them

5. Tony Bianco

Ah, my new favourite love!! I am quickly getting addicted to Tony Bianco thanks to a good friend of mine who is also a big lover of Tony Bianco shoes and bags! This week was my first purchase from the online store so I cant comment on how quickly the item gets to me just yet, but I am so excited to receive them! I've browsed their online store many a time and have never been disappointed in what they are offering. Some of their boots... OMG! Love!

They have some good sales online too! Generally Tonys' shoes are around the $170+ mark but you can be lucky enough to get online and find a bargain for about $60 - $100!! Sweet!

The bags online are just gorgeous too!

Plus they offer FREE delivery! Gotta love that, its just like shopping in the store!

Okay, you're all geared up now - Get shopping ladies!!! :o)

#febphotoaday challenge, Days 3, 4 & 5!

2012-02-05T13:18:00.000-08:00

Playing catchup here on my blog as I haven't been posting my daily photo-a-day challenges on here! (I do however, post them daily on Instagram and you can find me under @elliemaree12)

Here are days 3, 4 & 5!

Day 3. "Hands"

Day 4. "A Stranger"
(this guy was at a BBQ that I went to on the weekend)

Day 5. "10am"
I took a shot of my Dad's busy work diary, he has 10am free for a change!

Today is day six! The challenge is to take a photo of dinner.

What are you having?

In this lifetime...

2012-02-02T03:19:00.000-08:00

What is your biggest fear?

Snakes? Spiders? Clowns? Death?

I used to think that my biggest fear was dying or losing the people that I loved the most. Death is scary, the thought of never seeing somebody ever ever again in this lifetime is a horrible thought. Of course this is something that still frightens me like crazy but lately I have been feeling scared about other things, U have had this feeling or urgency to complete everything that I have ever wanted to do.

I'm scared of running out of time and not doing everything and anything that I have always wanted to do.

My biggest fear is not having enough time.

I think maybe as we get older we start to realise that time goes by so fast, we understand that we cant control everything and sometimes we get so busy that things that we used to want to do fall by the way side so we can get our "normal" jobs and day-to-day life work done.

For me I'm starting to get scared. I'm twenty three, I feel like I may have wasted the last three or so years of my life "fluffing" around, chopping and changing my mind, moving away and then moving back home again, starting a degree then deferring it, falling in love and then back out again. I feel like I am only just now starting to realise what I want out of life and all of the amazing things that I want to do with my time.

Tonight I was sitting beside my dad on the couch as he read the newest issue of the Outback Magazine. He was admiring all of the gorgeous cattle herds and farms that cover the pages of this issue. He was "Ooohing" and "Ahhing" at how beautiful these properties looked and we both admired how great their lives looked, just being "Farmers" living off the Land. I love farming, and having grown up with my dad and his dad being graziers on the land I have always thought that I might end up on a property somewhere down the line. Now that I am finally choosing to finish my degree in Graphic Design over the next two years, I feel like my "farm-girl" lifestyle is getting further and further away.

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As I saw a picture of a farm-girl in the magazine my stomach sank. I thought, "How great would it be to just be a "farmer" like this girl?". I told myself, "maybe in another lifetime". I felt a little sick at this thought and I got scared.

"Maybe in another lifetime?". We only have one lifetime. I want to be the farm-girl and the graphic designer and the horse enthusiast and the fashion-ista and the avid traveller all at once! Is it possible to do all of these things in one lifetime? This lifetime? Am I running out of time at twenty three?

For some reason I used to feel like when we decided what we want to be once we became "grown-ups" it meant we had to stick to it. You decided to be a nurse, that's it... you're a nurse. Now that I am older and realising that I have a passion for a whole swag of things (farming, design, photography, agriculture etc) I'm starting to believe that if you work hard at it, you can be as many things as you want to be, all at the same time. There doesn't have to be limitations just because of a chosen profession!

I am going to start telling myself that it is possible to be the fun, graphic design-y, crafty, country farm girl all at once. We don't have to choose one particular path, we can have it all in this lifetime!

The key is to start working towards it NOW!

I'm not going to wait around to contemplate and change my mind and get confused on what I really want to do. I'm going to throw myself into everything that I enjoy and enjoy doing it and I'm going to do it well!!

Time to get over my biggest fear. I have plenty of time, as long as I start now!

(Me and my Dad riding our horses on our farm)

What are you afraid of in "this lifetime" ?

#febphotoaday challenge, day 2!

2012-02-01T17:09:00.000-08:00

Feb photo-a-day challenge, Day 2. "Words"

Yummy words in Donna Hay's magazine this month! Mmm, lets get cooking!

I have been sooo slack in the kitchen department lately, hoping this months mag will give me a bit of inspiration!

Follow along with #febphotoaday on Instagram thanks to @fatmumslim !

#febphotoaday challenge!

2012-01-31T23:40:00.000-08:00

So this month I am attempting to follow along with this lovely Bloggers "February photo-a-day" challenge!

Its going to be a tough-y since I don't always get some spare time to be creative but I'm determined to give it a crack! I was all geared up to do it last month but got too busy and sadly missed out!

Anyhow, here's how you can join in too!

Head over to Fat Mum Slim's blog and read this post with the details on what the daily photo challenges will be and just share your piccies!

I'll be posting mine on my Instagram feed (you can follow me using my name elliemaree12, or search this #febphotoaday tag to see every ones daily contributions)

I'll also be trying to post via my blog as well just in case some of you aren't up with Instagram yet (if you aren't, I totally recommend it!! Its an awesome little free iPhone app! Check it out!)

So here is my Day 1 posting. "My View"

I didn't see a great deal today. I'm still recovering from my wisdom teeth operation from last week (boo), I'll most likely be back at work tomorrow. So today my view was me curled up in bed watching OTH re-runs!

Until tomorrow, take care

Does eBay work for you??

2012-01-30T16:04:00.000-08:00

Late last year I decided to give online selling a go. I have an electric guitar that I am desperately wanting to get rid of and thought the best way to sell my little beauty would be to list it on the very popular online market - eBay of course!

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Unfortunately after about FIVE re-lists and numerous price reductions I still couldn't sell my darn guitar!

And you're all probably thinking, "whatever... it's probably an old dusty piece of crap that no-body would have wanted anyway" but you would be wrong by saying this!!

My little electric guitar is in fact in great condition, with 1 x teeny tiny scratch on the front! Mint condition otherwise, I kid you not!

I tried everything to make the item look more appealing, I was willing to throw in everything I owned that was related to the guitar (e.g. an extra pack of strings, a case, a stand, a tuner, some picks etc etc) and still not one bite.

I'm beginning to wonder if eBay works at all? I mean, it must do! I've bought many things off eBay before and if it didn't work for anybody (not just me) I'm sure the site would have shut down by now. I know one thing for sure...

It isn't working for me!!!! :(

Does eBay work for you? Have you ever sold anything on eBay before? If so, how did you find the selling process? Was it difficult? Did you need to re-list a bunch of times and reduce your asking prices??

Or are there other online ways to sell items? I posted on my Facebook several times to entice local people and friends to bid or buy on my listed guitar but still I had no luck.

Fill me in on your experiences folks! I'm keen to learn and even give this whole eBay selling thing another crack!

Any tips or info would be appreciated!

Once was a wise girl...

2012-01-27T14:59:00.000-08:00

This week I am grateful for painkillers!

Yesterday I travelled with my mum to a city called Orange to have surgery. I'm no longer "wise" people! I had 4 wisdom teeth removed and am sooo thankful that I have trusty painkillers and a good old "Jaw ice-pack" to help me get through (thanks Jen for lending it to me - you are a champ!!)

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So today (and probably for the next few days) I'll be lying around feeling my puffy cheeks, eating mushy foods (I've worked out that mash potato and gravy is a good, easy mush to swallow with out chewing lol) and sucking back on these good painkillers ever 2 hours!

What are you grateful for this week?

Check in and join us over at Maxabella's here.

Happy weekend people!

Its been waaay too long!

2012-01-23T01:27:00.000-08:00

For those of you that have been following my blog for a little while now you may remember that in 2010 I quickly became addicted to crochet and knitting. Well, after a very looooong break from the needles (and hook) I have finally picked up a project that has been patiently waiting for me to show it some tender love and attention!

Knitting - I'm back!!!! (lol)

This little number is the soon to be finished (hopefully) "Wurm Cowl", and you may remember me posting about it way back here.

Here's hoping I can get my crafty mojo back! I am hoping to get this little cowl finished and I want to tackle an easy pattern for a knitted blanket. I have an old couch of Mum and Dad's that I'll be using at my new flat for uni so I want to knit a gorgeous throw blanket for it.

If you know any good patterns or have seen some on Ravelry comment below, I'd love to hear about them so I can soon get a wriggle on with it!

Living on a budget...

2012-01-19T01:25:00.000-08:00

The phrase "saving money" has never been something I have ever taken so seriously before in my life until now. It's true that when you are a kid you don't really take spending money as seriously as we do when we are grown ups.

I have been so extremely fortunate in my life so far that my parents have supported me through almost everything that life has thrown at me, and most times they have always been there to offer financial support or backing if I needed it.

Now more than ever I am starting to FREAK out about my finances. Today I officially got enrolled in my Graphic Design uni course (YAY) after multiple conversations with my uni since October trying to get enrolled properly. I have rented myself a cute (and very tiny flat in Wagga Wagga) so I can live and go to uni and now that things are starting to unfold and the beginning of semester one is looming I am really having to think very hard about my finances and how I am going to go about saving (and making) money while I am at uni.

"Save your pennies" is going to be my new mantra.

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I'm not going to lie though, I do have a bit of a shopping problem!

PLUS, ever since I got back from my trip of a lifetime to Europe last year I have not thought about anything else than to travel again. I'm already looking up flight prices back to London at the end of this year providing my finances can help me get there!!

I decided the best way to learn about living on a budget is to Google it, right?! (Where in the heck would I be without Google?! Seriously people! lol).

Here are a few things that I learnt during my Google research:

1. Saving money is one of the hardest things that any one person will have to do in their lifetime. (No sh*t Internet!) - Savings Guide.com.au

2. Some good tips for saving money, from here: Cook at home often, brown bag lunch at least a few times a week (as in, make your own lunch in stead of buying it), instead of buying books borrow them from a library, ride a bike or try to carpool as much as possible and plan vacations ahead of time.

3. I found a really handy "Budget Planner" online from a Government website! Its actually pretty handy once you add in all of your own expenses and things. I've still gotta work it all out but it looks pretty handy to me!

Check it out here.

4. Also on this same website there is a link to a "Savings Goal" calculator which helps you work out how long it will take to reach a certain goal (i.e another expensive overseas trip!)

How do you save money? Or what are your handy tips to living on a budget?

Fill me in on any secrets you may have in a comment below!!!

A letter to my younger self...

2012-01-16T20:57:00.000-08:00

Isn't hind sight the most amazing thing? The most amazing, annoying thing!

I've been thinking lately, and I often wonder what I would have done differently in life had I known all of the things that I know now that I am 23 years old. I often think, "Damn, I wish I had known that before" or "If only I had thought of that before I did this!" Yep, hindsight is a beautiful thing.

I've learnt a few things in my life so far, and if I had the chance to go back as something like the "Ghost of Christmas Spirit" (lol) to my childhood and explain a few things to a younger version of myself I wonder how differently I would have handled life.

If I could go back, here are few things I would say...

Dear Ellie,

Sometimes life gets really tough. There are bad days and sometimes there are even worse days, but having good friends and family around will always, always make it easier. And even though as a kid you might think that a bully at school who is teasing you about having braces or a funny haircut seems like the worst thing in the world, just know that it isn't. Most of the time, if the bully is a boy, he is only teasing you because he either likes you, or he is just jealous at how amazing you are!

When you find yourself wishing that your school days were over, stop! School is the one place where you can make amazing friends, spend time with them all day, learn together, laugh together, play together (with little responsibility) and go home at 3.30pm. No real job lets you do these things!

Never count the days away. Once you hit your "adult years" time goes so fast you might not even remember what day of the week it is because everything flies by so fast!

When you find a good friend, hold onto them! Like good jeans or good shoes! They are hard to find and keeping them close will only help you out in life when you have those "tough" days.

Always wear sunblock! Especially you, Ellie. You have the most pale skin, even if your friends don't wear sunblock, wear it!!!! A bad sunburn is the worst thing!

Don't worry too much about money, but don't over spend on pointless knick knack-y crap or funny trends that might go out of fashion after one season. You'll find that one day you will just end up throwing away a heap of junk that once upon a time you thought was pretty and ended up being utterly useless, then you are just throwing away good money.

Try not to pay attention to what people think about you and your choices. Your family and friends mightn't always agree with your decisions, if you don't agree with them its OK. Value their opinions, they are only trying to help.

Fall in love when you can. Be honest, kind and stay true to yourself no matter how hard the person you are with may try to change you. If something doesn't feel right in your relationship, it usually isn't. Stick with your gut instinct. Don't bend over backwards to please this person, a relationship is a two way street and things should be equal.

Break-ups hurt. Good friends and family will help you get through it. As much as you don't want to hear it, it really is true that only time will make you feel better. Travel also helps!! Just remember that no matter how bad you feel, don't blame yourself! You didn't break, the relationship did. Don't let anybody make you feel bad for that!

Don't be afraid to dream big. Don't let anybody make you feel bad for being a "dreamer" or don't feel silly if people tell you that you are off with the fairies! Your imagination is a great thing! Enjoy it, use it and dream about as much stuff as you want! No dream is too small! If you think you can do it, you can!!

Lastly, enjoy life! Have fun! Don't stress so much. Things really aren't as bad as they seem. Find someone, (or several people) who make you feel good about yourself, and who genuinely enjoy your company and all that you have to offer as a person. Don't take yourself too seriously, find a job that you enjoy and enjoy doing it! Study hard, laugh lots and make the most of your "free" time - it doesn't come around all that often!

(Photo credit to my Aunty Barb - she took this pic when my sisters and I stayed with her in Sydney years ago! I'm the one on the right at the back!)

If you could write a letter to your younger self what would you say? I think I could go on and on forever!

This week I'm grateful for...

2012-01-13T14:34:00.000-08:00

This week I am grateful for

Sleep!!!

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I have totally taken sleep for granted this week. After a few too many late nights (in a row) and I'm starting to feel my age (I'm newly 23! OMG! lol).

I will never ever again think that I wont run out of "beans" after too many nights of little sleep. I am currently sitting at my work desk (on a Saturday.... I know, working on a Saturday is lame!!) and I'm dreaming of chugging a couple of Redbull's and plodding my way through the big day that I have planned thinking that I will forever be grateful for sleep!

A sleep in tomorrow sounds FABULOUS!!!!

haha

Playing along with Maxabella over here. Join us!

Happy New Year - I've been so slack, Sorry!!

2012-01-10T18:51:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year Bloggy Friends!! I have been soooo slack over the last 11 days of the new year!

I have been vacay-ing in Sunny QLD for about 10 days and didn't take my laptop and apparently my IPhone doesn't like me to blog on it (I wish I could figure this out because this would make Blogging on the run so much easier!! If you know how drop me a comment pleaaase!)

* My beautiful cousins Brinley and Kahlie (growing up way too fast!) *

Anyhow, the start of my year went very well. I spent the last 10 days lapping up the gorgeous weather on the Sunshine Coast at a gorgeous place called Mooloolaba. My whole family went as well as my Aunt, Uncle and their three kids and even my Nan (Mum's Mum) came along for the trip!!

* Beach time - Catching some sun rays! *

We were so blessed with good weather and perfect beach time, we couldn't have asked for a nicer time. Now I am back to work (currently at my desk.... straight back into reality for me!)

* Me and my little cousin Jack on New Years Eve bringing in 2012! *

I have so many exciting things planned for this year and so far the first few months of my year are filling up SO fast already!

For starters, its my birthday tomorrow!! I can't believe that it has been a whole year since my last birthday! I can remember writing this post on last years birthday and it feels like yesterday in a way. Boy have things changed since this day and I am happy to say that they have. I have come such a long way since this time and feel that I have grown into the best version of myself (maybe I could work on a few more things but I am definitely a very happy girl with everything in my life at the moment!!)

I'm hoping to kick my Blogging up a notch this year. I am heading back to uni this year and am going to be relocating to Wagga Wagga to study... BIG changes to my everyday life folks, but I am staying positive and excited about all of them!

More news to come about uni as it gets closer (late February!)

* I got a new hair do on the coast!! Thanks "Elenbi Designs" *

I hope your new year has kicked off in an excellent fashion wherever you are!

This week so far...

2011-12-21T17:24:00.000-08:00

We're on the countdown folks!

The countdown until I don't have to come to work in the morning (until the new year), until we can drink and eat festively (and become festively plump!!), until I can kick back on the beach in the sun AND the mighty countdown until Christmas!!!

This week for me feels like it has been dragging on and on and onnnn!

Its only Thursday, I mean what the?!

Anyway, here's my week so far in pictures!!
What have you been up to this week?

This week has seen me put up Chrissie lights at home on Sunday, kick back trying to relax before things start to get really hectic at home (we're having Christmas at my parents place with my aunt, uncle and their kids so we are all preparing for the big day!), I had a catch up with little "Tan" the calf who is still residing in the paddock behind our house (she is finally off hand bottled milk!! Woo hoo!), I gave myself a quickie fix up mani for a dinner last night and added some "sparklies" (I think they look festive!), I spent last night celebrating my friend Hope's 18th birthday (she's in the piccie with her 2 sisters Zoe and Brooke - they remind me of me and my sisters! Happy Birthday Hopey, finally legal!! hehe) and lastly Bazzie our Blue Heeler was feeling the love and tried to snuggle up in my lap at home and got snapped by the camera!

Ahh, still so much going on this week! Tonight we're having a "pre-Christmas" get together with my mums entire family as my aunt and uncle and their 4 kids have come to visit for a few days before Xmas, tomorrow night my little sister Jessie flies home for Christmas (YAY!) and then Saturday Santa comes and I'm off to "slip-and-slide" (yes I'm still young enough to do this lol) at a friends place for a Xmas Eve BBQ! Hopefully I can snap some embarrassing pics of the event! haha

Gotta love the holidays!!

Merry Christmas

Better late then Never!!!

2011-12-18T14:02:00.000-08:00

So with only a small handful of days to go before Christmas arrives I finally got my act together and put up our Christmas tree and even decked the house out in Chrissie lights (thanks to a few helpful bodies on the weekend!!)

Here is a sneaky pic I took of the lights last night when I got home from my sister's place.

Its not the best shot and the lights look SO good from the road, I'll hopefully get another pic before Santie comes!!

I figure its better late then never when it comes to getting "Christmas-y"!!

I wanted to post a piccie of my gorgeous Christmas tree but my little Sister is flying home on Friday to spend Christmas with us and she wants it to be a surprise so I'll post once this happens!

Are you organised for Christmas? Any last minute shopping happening this week (like me... Oops!) ??

Late for work.... again?!

2011-12-13T14:42:00.000-08:00

Are you a morning person? Do you enjoy getting up early and greeting the sun as it wakes up?

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Well, once upon a time (when I was still a teen back in high school) I used to love getting up early, not "wasting the day" in bed, no sleep in's for me!

What has changed??

Now, I struggle to drag my sorry ass out of bed at 730am!! Often I get to work looking like I literally crawled out of bed, into my car and to my desk with no evidence of making myself look "decent" for the day ahead. Its starting to annoy me how little an attempt I've been putting into my morning rituals of getting ready for work.

Does this happen with age? Is it because I'm getting older? Or is it just pure laziness?

I'm thinking it might be the latter! So I've decided to start thinking of ideas for my "New Year Resolutions" and this is on the top of my list....

It's time for a change, starting with this! No more looking scruffy and dishevelled at work, uni or anywhere (in public that is... I still love my nights in my pj's on the couch watching One Tree Hill re-runs! Aint no body going to tell me to look flashy for that! hehe)

More New Year Resolutions to come. Have you started thinking of any yet?

One of those days

2011-12-12T22:44:00.000-08:00

With the rush lead up to Christmas happening really quickly and the lingering "holiday" period teasing me (because I cant WAIT to revel in it!) I'm currently finding myself in the midst of one of "those" days.

You know...... one of those"blah" days?!

That's when I turn to one of my best friends for comfort and calories...

Yep, Ice-cream (my love) and chocolate all in one.

Mmmm New Zealand Natural Chocochillo.

(Ice-cream often makes most things okay again.)

Thank you for comforting me on my "blah" day. Lets hope tomorrow will be better :)

New beginnings... Or old ones that are finally starting!

2011-12-04T19:47:00.000-08:00

With the end of the year fast approaching I seem to get that feeling of "new beginnings", New Year resolutions and I start thinking of how I am going to tackle the new year that is about to unfold.

I find myself writing out Christmas cards to people that I love and don't get to see very often. I read out what I have written and often they read similar to last years cards, mostly about how I haven't had a chance to spend much time with these friends and hope to see them more in the New Year.

Its sad that as you get older you start to realise that those good "old" days spent frivolously with friends at school or at home soon become the good "current" days where things change and we get older and busy and the days roll on by so fast that even last Christmas felt like yesterday! (OMG 20 days until this Christmas!)

I'm starting to understand that even though things change and people grow apart (or more so move away from each other) it doesn't always mean that its a bad thing.

Change can be good.

Don't you think?

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As I sit down and look at what new things have happened in my life towards the end of this big year I can safely say I have a big smile on my face and feel content.

Change has been a really big constant in my life this year and although at the time some changes felt kind of yucky, I am accepting that the new changes are good if not great!!

The end of the year brings people together and always brings me a sense of new beginnings, or I like to think of them as old beginnings that were suppose to happen but just haven't had a chance to start until now! lol

What "new" (or old things) are you looking forward to this year or into the new year?

Firstly I am trying to get all of my Christmas shopping done!!!

Oh and P.s, on random note, I am currently trying to sell my electric guitar on eBay!

Its a whole guitar start up pack with and amp, stand and guitar bag included!

The link to my eBay site is here, if you know of anyone keen to start learning or someone who just wants a guitar for the hell of it please check it out! Sadly it turns out I am not the musical "guitar" type lol and I want to sell it to someone who will use it rather than it just collecting dust in my house!

Drop me a comment if you want any more info!

Happy Monday! x

Still here!!!

2011-11-28T18:38:00.000-08:00

Hey Bloggy friends!

I feel so bad that I haven't checked in lately, time has crept up on me and I'm starting to fall in a heap with the amount of things that I have going on at the moment, and to top it all off its December this week!! OMG!!!!

I'm so unorganised. I haven't bought one Christmas present, I haven't even bought my Christmas cards to send to all of the friends and family (and this is a tradition for me that I do every year - I'm usually organised with this!)

I need a good kick up the butt to get myself into gear before its too late and all of my family will be receiving "IOU's" for Christmas!!!

I have however been spying on this years kikki K Christmas gift guide in some spare Internet time that I have had. I've earmarked a few goodies that I like! I love kikki K with all of its organisational and stationary goodness!

Check out the website here and the best part is - you can shop online!! (That's great for us folk living in the bush that cant make it to the city before Christmas, gotta love that!)

Anyhow, hopefully I will have some more interesting news to share soon!

Take care until then

7 Days of Shoe love...

2011-11-14T12:29:00.000-08:00

Instead of "Tuesday Ten" this week I thought I'd do 7 days of shoe love.

7 occassions for 7 shoes I'm loving right now! (If only I could afford them all... and have enough cupboard space to house them all! Oh well, a girl can dream!!)

Show me your MO!

2011-11-13T21:45:00.000-08:00

If you're like me you may have noticed that there are a lot of guys walking around this month with those funny looking moustaches (or "mo's" as I like to call them).

That's when you know it's "Movember".

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Usually I'm not one to like a mo on a guy (I grew up with my dad who has a strict "shave every day" kind of policy and I have never seen him with facial hair before, so it's kind of been instilled in me to think this way too I guess!) but when it comes to Movember I think I am warming up to it.

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Even though a lot of my guy friends are starting to resemble Mario and Luigi, or some greasy looking Italian guys that I met at some beach parties in the Greek Islands earlier this year I have to say that I am kind of proud of them.

Movember is such a good cause and even if the guys participating don't really know why they have taken an oath not to shave their faces for the entire month of November and just want to annoy their girlfriends and wives for the month, I am still throwing out a big "Good on ya!" to all of the guys involved.

In my experience its almost impossible to get any guy to take an interest in their health so the more mo's the merrier I say!

To donate to Movember click here.

Show us your Mo's boys!!! hehe

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Weekend Wrap Up

2011-11-06T02:17:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is Monday isn't it?! Oh crap! It comes around so fast doesn't it?!

This weekend I got up to some fun things, but still feel like the time has flown by way too quick (why can't it do that when I'm drowning in paperwork at the Office on a Tuesday arfternoon at 3pm when it feels like the week will never end?!)

For starters I finally got my car back from the mechanic!!!! Hallelujah! I'm sure I haven't mentioned this before but lately I have been having the hardest time with my cute little Barina (Beep Beep is her name). Her brakes were failing and causing me grief (even though she is only 6 years old!!) so I had to truck her off to the closest Holden Service department (which happens to be 300kms away. Gee living in the bush has its perks *wink*)

After a few weeks away she is finally home and running like a champ! Here I am taking her on a "victory lap" (the 300km trip back home). Reunited again! haha

Also this week I lashed out and got another manicure (I am sooo addicted to these now.) They are so cheap (because I only get my real nails painted and don't go with any acrylic add on thingys) and they look so good, it saves me trying to do it myself! Once again I chose an OPI colour called "Barefoot In Barcelona". I love the name, especially since I was barefoot in Barcelona this year back in August - ah memories! I've already ordered this colour online to add to my own collection I love it so much!

Last night I had a great night out with my good friend Jess.C. We haven't been out on the "town" together in such a long time it was nice to catch up over some wines and get our dance on!

This is what I wore out last night. I was trying to take a picture to send to my sister in Townsville to see if she would approve of the outfit or tell me if it looked terrible (I've never worn high waisted shorts out before so this was something new! I am in love with them now! So comfy, especially on a warm night when you're dancing around everywhere! lol)

Please excuse the state of the bathroom bench and the "crinkly-ness" of my clothes. (This shot was pre-iron!)

So today was spent lazing around watching re-runs of my favourite show, One Tree Hill with a slight headache from those darn wines last night! lol

I'm not too excited that its Monday tomorrow, but hey, everyday is a gift. I'm going to embrace this week!

How was your weekend? Fill me in, drop me a comment below! :o)

This week I am grateful for...

2011-11-04T16:21:00.000-07:00

This week I am grateful for having such amazing friends.

Through everything that I have gone through this year family and friends have been the most important thing to me.

They are there through ups and downs, they make you laugh, drink with you until you are stupid, dance around silly with you, drag your sorry ass off the couch when you're feeling down and they never cease to surprise you.

I've made so many new friends this year in Australia and overseas and I never forget the ones close to home that keep me smiling all week.

I feel so grateful to have amazing friends there for me.

I'm thinking of you all this week (you know who you are!)

Thankyou!

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Playing along with Maxabella over here.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-11-01T21:49:00.000-07:00

Playing along here. Come and join in too!

Tuesday Ten

2011-10-31T14:07:00.000-07:00

10 things I want to do before I die. (In no particular order!)

1. Visit the "top 10" best rated beaches in the world!! I think after visiting Fiji, Boracay Island, Barcelona, the Greek Islands and Sicily I've seen quite a few Ah-mazing beaches but I want to visit the TOP rated beaches everywhere!

2. Finish my Graphic Design degree and eventually open my own design business. (Uni starts back in Feb 2012, here I come!)

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3. Make a million dollars somehow.

4. Own and build my own home. (After making a million dollars this shouldn't be that hard right??!)

5. Own a jacuzzi hot tub. After my weekend spent with friends in a gi-NORMOUS 10 seater awesomly hot hot-tub I decided that I want to own my own. If I did this little baby would be used all year round!

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6. Finish working on my family tree (and learn more about my extended family.)

7. Visit Africa and the Egyptian pyramids.

8. Win a really big award for something special!

9. Find the love of my life, and me be the love of his life too :)

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10. Okay this one sounds silly and pointless but I really want to be able to wear a pair of skin tight tights out with some killer heels and not feel uncomfortable or self conscious! (Hence killing my self at Body Pump class tonight! lol)

I could go on and on and on about what I want to do before I die but we'd be here forever!!
What's on your list to do before you die??

Ow My Head!

2011-10-29T17:55:00.000-07:00

Okay, I know people say this frequently but, why do we drink?! Ow my head hurts from last nights festivities!!!! lol

Alright, I admitt... It's kind of a good hurt since I had such an awesome time with some great friends!

This was me before I hit the town with my girl friends for a six course dinner and some yummy wine (maybe a tad too much wine! haha)

It has been another busy week with work and exercise and socialising with friends but it has ended nicely and I am feeling super happy which is great! I haven't got a great deal of news to share and am a little boring with my blog updates this week but I'll try and kick back into full gear next week!

Oh, also I have been admiring my "green thumb" work watching my hydrangeas plants starting to flower - they are in full bloom at the moment and are just gorgeous! These are my favourite flowers and I can help but smile when I see them.

How have you been this week?

Mixed Moods and Daydreaming...

2011-10-25T20:03:00.000-07:00

I'm a bit all over the shop this week. One minute I'm happy the next I'm feeling off. I guess these are the joys of everyday life aren't they?!

Something that lifted my mood earlier in the week was these pictures that my friend posted of Facebook for me to see. When I was in the Greek Islands back in August this year we, (Me and my friends Jess and Nikki) went swimming in the most beautifully clear water I have ever seen (mind you it was freeeeezing this day, I was such a sook and the girls had to beg me to get in the water! lol)

Jess ran to the shop across the road and bought an underwater camera and this week we all finally got to see what the pictures turned out like! (If you haven't used a disposable underwater camera before - you can't actually see what the pictures turn out like until the film is developed - like back in the old days when we would take pictures on film!!)

They turned out great!!!

The only problem is they are making me day dream of being back on my gorgeous holiday and back at the beach! Time just flies past way too quick these days, so I try to cherish every moment I get and take as many pictures as I can so the memories always last!

Thanks for sharing the piccies Jess!!! :o)

This week...

2011-10-23T01:17:00.000-07:00

Reflecting on this past week, I think I've learnt a few things....

1. People can and will always surprise you. Whether its a good surprise or a bad one, people are constantly surprising me. I'm learning that some people aren't really as they seem, and some people are really making me smile.

2. Exercise is my friend!! After a long couple of weeks getting used to being back at work and getting my "groove" back with exercise (lol) I've noticed such a change in how I feel in the morning and my motivation levels have sky rocketed! Yay!

3. Fake tan is my new best friend! Thank you to my good friend Jess.C who has motivated me to attempt fake tanning at home. For as long as I can remember I have envied girls with a beautiful sunny glow when Summer rolled around and this week I decided to bite the bullet and try a bit on my ever-so pasty and white legs. Well Jess you were right! I am now addicted to this tan. I love it, my legs look so golden and sunkissed and all this without an inch of sunburn! Hooray!!! lol

I'm using this awesome product by the Aussie label SugarBaby. I swear by this stuff!

4. Meeting new and different people is great!! After my life changing trip to Europe I came home feeling like I could tackle anything. Now I am throwing myself into new and different things in attempt to meet different people. I've met some awesome people and now spending some time with these "new friends" is making me really happy! Its not so scary putting yourself out there and getting into different friend "circles", I've learnt it can turn out to be a really good thing.

5. Gardening is not just for Nannas! I am loving getting into our garden and veggie patch. I am currently throwing myself into "reviving" my poor neglected basil plant that I thought had died already. Come back to me little Basil!!!!

6. Also along the lines of exercise, I am STOKED that online shopping is becoming more and more popular with general stores. I shopped up a storm at Running Bare online. Check it out if you (like me) need a makeover when it comes to your work out clothes. (I can finally retire my "Year 6" memorial t-shirt from making appearances in our local gym. lol) Plus, its also another awesome Aussie brand! Yep, I'm flying the flag for shopping in our country! hehe

7. Lastly, I am discovering a new love obsession with Sundays (not just Saturdays!) Today was a beautiful day and I've had a big smile on my face almost all day! I love the weekend.

How has your week been?? Fill me in, comment below!!

Summer colour

2011-10-22T04:47:00.000-07:00

New nails....

I am loving OPI nail polish at the moment, I am addicted!

This week I got a mani done here and decided to go a bright "summery" colour and picked this cute coral pink. Its by OPI and is called "My address is Hollywood". I just love it!

Bring on the heat and the sun! I <3 Summer already!

Pumping it up!

2011-10-17T17:03:00.000-07:00

When I was overseas I wrote a list (a long one!) of everything I needed (and wanted) to do when I got home and back into reality.

Very close to the top of this list was to get myself back in shape! I loved every minute of indulging overseas but I have to admit, the amazing food and drink did get the better of me and I wasn't loving the "pudgy-ness" I was starting to notice growing all over my body!!

This week I am dedicated to a "fresh start" and whipping myself into shape!

Last week I tackled the enormous task of making myself go back to a local Body Pump class that I used to attend earlier in the year. (If you haven't heard of Pump - check it out here!) Despite hardly being able to walk for about 3 days after the class, it actually felt really good!

So this week I am even more keen! A good friend of mine has also been lacking motivation so we've been pushing each other to walk in the mornings and do other exercise stuff at night. I am loving it so far! Its amazing how good you feel once you get started!

I figure with Summer fast approaching what better time to start then now right?!

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Why is it??

2011-10-14T02:30:00.000-07:00

Why is it always when things seem to be traveling along smoothly and pretty well that there always seems to be one big fat bump in the road that throws you back a huge step wondering what the hell happened?!

Is it a law or something that as soon as you are happy and OK things go yucky again?

I'm having one of those days.

I'm not going to let it get to me though, I'm trying so hard to be positive about everything important in my life at the moment and so far (up until now I guess) it has been working for me.

Life is all about learning to deal with the curve balls. (This is what I think anyhow!)

I'm going to end today on a high note with positive thoughts of tomorrow and the weekend to come (Yayyy the weekend!!!)

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How has your day been?

tgif!!!

2011-10-13T17:15:00.000-07:00

I am channeling some Katy Perry today!

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Thank God it's Friday!!!

I have had a killer week of exercise, my body is in so much pain from my first "pump" session back after my big holiday and I am stiff as a board trying to hobble around the work office! lol Its quite sad how sore I am really! I'm determined to whip myself back into shape for summer!!

Anyhow, I am so glad that it's the weekend! Yay!

What are your plans??

I am in love with this jacket!!!

2011-10-12T02:27:00.000-07:00

I have been eyeing this jacket off for weeks now! I am in love with it!

It's sold online (and in store) at one of my favourite overseas shops that I spent waaay too much money in when I was in London - Topshop !!

Its only about $80 or so and I haven't been able to find an equivalent that I love as much in an Aussie store just yet!

This is my imaginary outfit that I plan to wear with it when I eventually give into myself and buy it!! lol

I LOVE turquoise and aqua at the moment! How cute are those Steve Madden sandal flats?! ($81 from asos.com)

You can also buy a really similar black maxi dress like this one online and in store at Just Jeans for around $70!!

What goodies are you lusting over at the moment??

Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-11T18:44:00.000-07:00

Playing along here.

Blog Overhaul!!!

2011-10-11T00:30:00.000-07:00

If you haven't noticed already (and I hope you have because its pretty darn obvious lol) "You, Me & Miss E" has had a makeover!!!

I love it and I hope you do too!

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Thanks to the very talented Katrina from The Media Maid, my blog is looking fresher than ever!!

Thanks again Katrina! I LOVE IT!!

What do you think?!

A quote to love...

2011-10-10T00:57:00.000-07:00

I don't often hear quotes but lately people around Blogland seem to be dropping them like hotcakes and I like it!!

This one I read recently and I love it.

Good things don't always just land in our laps, and sometimes, when you're sad or down we can't expect to feel good or happy until we work at it ourselves. We need to create happiness in our lives by putting the good vibes out there! (I've learnt a little about that this year especially!!)

What do you think?? Have you heard any good quotes lately?

Mustard love

2011-10-02T22:03:00.001-07:00

When I was lapping up all of the ah-mazing shopping in London last month I noticed that the colour "mustard" was proving to be really popular in most shops.

Unfortunately for me, I can't wear clothing in "mustard" or yellow for that matter due to the fact that I have such pale skin. When I do attempt to wear it I look really washed out and often a tad sick!

If you are anything like me in this way, fear not! We can still don this trendy colour, just in the way of accessories!! Yay!

Thanks to the help of Polyvore, I've done some imaginary shopping and put together some mustard-y pieces that I love! You might love them too!!

My favourite pieces from above have to be the large bag in the main picture - looks awesome against the checked print shirt ($98 by yesstyle.com), the heels ($92 by Jessica Simpson) and the cute thin belt which would look awesome around the middle of a pretty lbd ($37 by Zara.com)!

Gotta love imaginary shopping online. I just wish I could buy all of these things!!

Ellie........x

Found it!!!!!!

2011-10-01T23:01:00.000-07:00

I have been hearing this song around the traps for a while now and thanks to this lovely blogger and her post way back here I have managed to find out who sung it and what it's called! Yay, don't you love that feeling?!

It's called "Somebody That I Used To Know" by Gotye. If you haven't heard it already, click on the clip above - I love it!

Ellie............x

What do you think about....

2011-10-01T15:37:00.000-07:00

....Organics??

I mean, organic anything? Food, cleaning products, beauty products, shampoos ... whatever!

Over the past few days I have been thinking about all of the crap we put into our mouths and on our bodies in the way of preservatives, chemicals and what not in all of the products we eat or use daily, it really gets me thinking. I have developed an interest in what it means to be "organic" and I'm interested in learning more about the benefits of using organic products.

I mean, it makes sense doesn't it?

When I was staying with friends in Holland last month I was blown away and so inspired by their way of living on their gorgeous little farm! They have a veggie patch to DIE for, they make all of their own food from their fresh produce and its just delicious, and they know exactly what has gone into their meals and I love that!!

I noticed as I rode my push bike through the farm land and into Aalten (a small town in the countryside) that the Dutch people really are the fresh food and produce people! I went to a small market and the produce was amazing! The flowers were so gorgeous, I was in love.

It has totally inspired me to get our garden and veggie patching going properly again and to focus more on homegrown, fresh produce where I know exactly what has gone into my food.

Do you grow your own veggies, or make your own "organic" products to use at home?? What do you think about organic stuff??

I'd love to hear all about it!

Ellie..............x

Book Worm

2011-09-30T14:22:00.000-07:00

Whilst I was overseas I had the biggest craving to start reading again. Some days I had some spare time to chill-ax and picking up a book and reading it (and finishing it!!) was such an awesome feeling! I rarely ever just sit down at home and enjoy a good story.

I read 3 books while I was away and boy, I was so lucky to have picked such awesome ones!!

One of my favourites turned out to be the very popular "The Help"

I can not say a bad word about this book. The moment I picked it up I was hooked! Its so well written about such an amazing and touching topic, I just flew through the pages and enjoyed everyone of them.

For those of you that mightn't have heard about The Help here's a little synopsis to wet your book worm taste buds!!

"Set in Mississippi during the 1960s, Skeeter (Stone) is a southern society girl who returns from college determined to become a writer, but turns her friends' lives -- and a Mississippi town -- upside down when she decides to interview the black women who have spent their lives taking care of prominent southern families. Aibileen (Davis), Skeeter's best friend's housekeeper, is the first to open up -- to the dismay of her friends in the tight-knit black community. Despite Skeeter's life-long friendships hanging in the balance, she and Aibileen continue their collaboration and soon more women come forward to tell their stories -- and as it turns out, they have a lot to say. Along the way, unlikely friendships are forged and a new sisterhood emerges, but not before everyone in town has a thing or two to say themselves when they become unwittingly -- and unwillingly -- caught up in the changing times."

(synopsis from here.)

It is a powerful book and absolutely makes you think about life in the 1960's. I would highly recommend it to anyone who is in search of a great read!

I am also equally excited about this book as I am about this.....

It has recently been made into a movie starring Emma Stone, Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer! Here's a peek at the trailer - It looks fantastic!

Ellie...........x

It's never too early...

2011-09-28T15:26:00.001-07:00

... to write a Christmas list!!!

When I was in Singapore airport last week, I had a 7 hour lay over time between my flight in from London until my flight left for Sydney, so in amongst the jet lag, like any shopaholic girl I hit the many shops the airport had to offer!!

Whilst chilling at the Thai cafe (yes I was eating Thai food whilst in Singapore - I love Thai food!!) I noticed a HUGE billboard hanging from the roof about a new camera that seems to be taking over the DSLR scene.

I love my Nikon DSLR camera with a passion and have had it for about 2 years now but I'm always feeling like it weighs me down just a little.

If you're anything like me and love to drag your camera around everywhere with you (and you happen to have a bulky DSLR camera too), you'll know what I mean when I say that I'd love a camera that takes the same quality pictures as my big bulky Nikon but is a LOT lighter and more easily portable.

Well folks... it's here and I've found it!!!

The new Sony NEX 5N camera with changeable lenses and AWESOME quality pictures! Its just like a DSLR but a lot lighter and smaller!!! Yes!

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Now, the NEX 5N is the top of the range at the moment, but there are some cheaper models (but still just as awesome) that came before the 5N, like this cutie... the NEX C3 (it comes in pink!!)

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I got the salesman at the airport to give me a few prices so I could weigh up how much damage one of these beauties would do to my wallet and I was a little surprised.

At the Sony store at the airport the NEX 5N was on sale and came with 2 lenses was only going to cost $979 AUD! I think thats not bad at all!

Now I don't know much about Sony cameras as I've never had one before but the sales guy did a pretty good job of winning me over! lol The cameras were sooo much lighter than my normal DSLR but had just as good a quality.

If anyone knows anything about Sony camera's (whether they are good or not) please drop me a comment!! Because I have a backup camera just in case.... I also test drove the Lumix GF2 by Panasonic which seems to offer the same sort of deal.

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Which do you think is better, Sony or Panasonic Lumix??? Because I think either one of these may be added to my Chrissie wish list!!!

Ellie..............x

What the heck is Polyvore??

2011-09-28T00:20:00.000-07:00

Its no secret that I am an internet junkie and probably spend waaay too much time reading blogs, watching youtube, shopping online, wasting time on facebook etc etc so its no surprise that lately I have been hearing quite a bit about this site called "Polyvore".

So being curious I naturally checked it out, signed up to make an account and started fiddling around with it. I'm finding it pretty funky!

It's a fashion site where you can create your own outfits and ensembles and display them in a pretty and funky way so you can share them with friends all over the internet.

I'm sure the site offers heaps more than this but I haven't been playing around with it long enough to know the rest of the details (lol).

This is my first attempt at a "set", I decided to whip up what I am planning to wear out this weekend for a girly night with a freind I haven't seen in ages!

(My dress is really similar to this one but isn't lacey and is a little more fitted at the bottom.)

I have to admit, its pretty fun mixing stuff up and pretending I can afford some of the ridiculously expensive clothes they have on the sites databse for you to use when creating an ensemble!!

Check it out, you might enjoy it too!

Ellie............x

A new addition...

2011-09-27T14:18:00.000-07:00

I really know I am back in the "bush" (and home!) when Dad brings us a new baby poddy calf home to bottle feed for a few days!

This one is a fresh week or so old and is such a cutie, her name is "Tan".

We'll be taking her back out to the farm this long weekend providing the weather holds out (its raining here today).

I wouldn't mind keeping her around for a little longer... Im such a sucker for a baby animal! lol

How's the weather at your place today??

Ellie...............x

Back in the Land Down Under!!!!

2011-09-26T18:13:00.000-07:00

I'm back!!!!

I have to say, as sad as it was to leave Europe/the UK and all of the amazing sights and people I had been meeting there it is always, always nice to get home dont you think??

I have just finished loading up the washing machine with the MOUNTAIN of clothes I need to sort through and wash and have attempted unpacking all of the souvenirs and goodies I managed to stuff my bag with to bring home (including some cheese from Amsterdam - made it through customs - YES!!) lol

I have so much to catch up on, blog about and organise for my life now that I am back home, feeling great and looking to the future! I have soooo many plans for the next few months (and years to come) and some awesome stuff to share with you.

I can't wait to get back into blogging along with you all!

More news to come, stay tuned - I hope you followers are all still out there!!! :o)

Oh, and I thought I'd share a few of the HUNDREDS of fav pictures I took on my adventures! I am having the biggest struggle trying to upload all of these pictures! OMG, who would have thought someone could take so many!! haha

Ellie..............x

I have missed you!

2011-09-20T09:14:00.000-07:00

Hey there bloggy friends! It's been such a long time since I checked in and I have to admit I have absolutely missed blogging lately!!!

I am currently still on my travel adventure, today is my 50th day of travel and I have just touched down in Dublin, Ireland!! It's a chilly 12 degrees here but I am so excited to be here!

Sadly my big trip is coming to an end and I will most likely be back in Australia next week omg!!!! I have soooo many pictures to upload and share with you, tonnes of clothes to unpack, souvenirs to share with my family and friends and some down time to catch up on before I have to get back to reality!!

So many great things have happened to me in the past (almost) 2 months and I am feeling happy and better than ever! I hope you all feel the same too!

More news soon....

Ellie............ x

Summer has come early for me

2011-09-02T03:11:00.000-07:00

For me this year my winter was nicely cut short as I dived into summer in Europe.

I have to say, summer here hasn't been too harsh, I think probably because I caught the tail end of it. Most of the time I have spent it hanging by the beach or pool.... not too shabby at all!!!

I am still struggling to upload my photos but for some reason I managed to upload this one (strange that its the only one that worked???)

Here I am with my friend Jess earlier on in the trip just kicking back in Greece.... ah it has been nice! hehe

Ellie.......x

I'm still here!!

2011-09-01T01:22:00.000-07:00

Hey there Bloggy friends, I am just dropping a quick note to say I am still here and hope to be updating my blog with some more piccies of my travels very soon!

At the moment I am in the gorgeous Holland countryside and am falling in love .......bad!

I can absolutely see myself living here, its so green and beautiful, the little squirrels are running around the garden along with the rabbits and birds and the horses and cattle grazing are just beautiful! I can't believe how much of a contrast this farming place is to our little dry spot of land back at home in Australia!!

I am off to take a bike ride into a small nearby town to take some more piccies of this beautiful place. I m currently having troubles uploading my photos but hope to sort this out soon. I think it may have something to do with the fact that most of the settings on this laptop are in Dutch!!! haha

I hope you are all happy and well! I hear the first day of spring in Australia has been beautiful in some areas. Bring on the new warmer weather I say!!!

Ellie...........x

The city of Looooove!

2011-08-21T09:54:00.001-07:00

... And boy do I love it!!

I'm talking about Paris of course! I was lucky enough earlier this month to spend 4 nights in this pretty city and found myself falling in love with it! We of course didnt get to see a HUGE deal of the city in only 4 days but I saw enough to know that this place is stunning!!

The highlight.... definitely riding bikes all over the city and seeing all of the sights. PLUS, dinner on the lawn under the Eiffel tower watching the light show! A-mazing!!!

See for yourself....

More news to come soon

Ellie............x

A quick message about a great cause...

2011-08-15T00:46:00.000-07:00

Just taking a quick break from my posts about my Europe trip to help spread the word about a charity that my friend Anna is raising money for.

The charity is called Bravehearts which is an organisation that helps raise money and awareness about child abuse which I think we can all agree that child abuse is totally unacceptable in our society.

More information about the founder and goals of Bravehearts and their White Balloon Day can be found on their website here .

Some of the services of this great foundation include providing counselling, advocacy and support to victims of child sexual assault and their non-offending family members while educating the wider community and lobbying for change.

My friend Anna is generously choosing to raise awareness and funds for this foundation by completing a half marathon run at the Sydney Blackmores Running Festival later in September this year.

Her goal is to raise $5000 and she would appreciate donations of any kind from those willing to help!

You can donate towards this cause on Anna's fundraising link here.

I think this is such a great thing that you're doing Anna, I'm very proud of you and wish you all the best on your run!!!

I hope you can all get behind this amazing cause :o)

Ellie..............x

Bye Bye Sicily....

2011-08-13T01:01:00.000-07:00

If I could assign one word to Sicily it would have to be HOT!! The weather was INSANE, especially coming from our Aussie winter, it was a bit of a shock to get back into the heat!

I managed to get some piccies to highlight our time in Giardini Naxos, the beach was amazing!!!

And of course being in Italy I had to eat gelato!!! In fact I ate ALOT of gelato!!! Yummmmm
Bye Bye waistline lol

Rome in pictures...

2011-08-04T08:28:00.000-07:00

Over the last three days I have spent my time walking the streets of Rome taking in some sights and devouring tonnes of pizza! YUM

I have managed to snap some pictures of this gorgeous city in all its glory and history. I love this place and I have only been here for such a short amount of time.

I will be leaving Rome tomorrow morning to head to Sicily but will be back to Rome in mid-September to take in more of the major sites.

What a gorgeous place!

Ellie........x

Ciao Bella!!!!

2011-08-03T04:39:00.000-07:00

Ciao from Rome Bloggy friends!!

I have made it to Europe! I never thought that this trip would come around soooo quickly but here it is already!

I am in Rome until Friday where I will be heading off the the beaches of Sicily for a week! It is so very hot here at the moment and the beaches will be beautiful!!

At this stage I can't upload any of my pictures of Rome but I hope to keep you all posted with some snap shots very soon!

Italian life is beautiful!

Ellie......x

Took the plunge...

2011-07-28T01:13:00.000-07:00

Okay folks, I never did give you the outcome of my "Not so phone savvy" post back here.

I decided to take all of your very useful and great feedback and advice about iPhones and finally took the plunge and bought one of my very own!

Yep... I've joined the masses and I am slowly getting the hang of these AWESOME phones! You were all sooo right! I don't know why I didn't get an iPhone earlier!!

I've even worked out how to take a selfie and all!! hahaha

Thanks again for all of your comments and feedback, it's very much appreciated!

Ellie........x

Down to the wire...

2011-07-27T16:45:00.000-07:00

Less than a week before I head off on my adventure overseas and I am getting "down to the wire"

...............................

Let the packing begin!!!!

reality tv... I heart thee

2011-07-24T21:54:00.001-07:00

Okay I know there a lot of you out there that truly HATE reality TV but I have to confess, I actually kinda like it.

In fact, I would go so far to say that there are some reality TV shows that I LOVE!

Now before you click the little "x" in the top right hand corner of your screen, hear me out. I by no means am one of the MTV generation followers and die to watch an episode of "Flavor of Love" or "A shot at love with Tila Tequila", in fact these kinds of reality shows make me wanna puke!

But at the moment I am totally digging the kind of reality TV that shows inspirational work and discovers a bunch of really talented and crafty people!

I'm totally in LOVE with "The Block" at the moment and after scrolling through Facebook I found Katrina Chambers' blog and etsy shop, and am now an even bigger fan of her and her sister Amie's work on The Block more than ever!

(image)

And at the risk of sounding totally addicted to the show I need to have a little rant about the judging last night on the show of the girls main bedroom and en suite. I personally think these girls have been a little gypped throughout the competition and have totally kicked ass at their room reno's!

(images)

I am definitely rooting for the girls to win their challenges and room reveals this week!

What do you think??? Do you watch the show??

Ellie..........x

A day in the country...

2011-07-17T01:33:00.000-07:00

Some days its good to just get out of the house and see some of the "Outdoors."

So despite the drizzly, rainy weather today, my little sister Jessie, her little pooch Lil and Me accompanied my Dad and Pop out onto a property on the outskirts of town to do some farm work and get out of the house.

I love these opportunities to spend time out in the bush and with my family. I always have my trusty DSLR camera in hand to catch some happy snaps of the good times and the great outdoors!

Even Lil enjoyed the time out and about and got her little "paws" in the mud!! Cute!

All in all it was a great day out and helps to clear the mind and gives me a chance to breathe in some fresh country air! Gotta love that!!

How was your Sunday??

Ellie............x

Cuuuuute!

2011-07-14T01:25:00.001-07:00

Just had to share this CUTE pic I found whilst scrollling through the web.

(image)

Naaaaaw, I want to take this puppy home!

Happy Thursday!

Ellie.........x

Too Busy To Blog

2011-07-13T01:00:00.000-07:00

Whoaaa have I been a slacker at Blogging over the last few weeks or what?!

I have been nothing but busy dear Bloggy friends and feel very bad for not updating my blog on a more regualr basis. :o(

You see I am currently in the middle of getting organised for a BIG over seas trip and will be jetting off to Europe in less than 3 weeks!!!!

(image)

There has been so much excitement leading up to the trip but also a lot of planning, organising and a little bit of stressing trying to get my passport and things in order so the trip can go ahead!

So I thought it was time to update you all on my upcoming adventure and I will hopefully be blogging before I fly out!!

I hope you are all happy and well

Chat again soon

Ellie...........x

Hanging with the pooch

2011-07-03T01:00:00.000-07:00

Since my sisters don't have any kids just yet, our pets become our babies.

Now that my little sister Jessie is back in town visiting, I get to spend some quality time with her pooch and my little "niece" Lil!

Nawww she's a cutie....

Ellie............x

Not so phone savy...

2011-06-29T01:27:00.000-07:00

Do you "iphone" ?

As in....... do you have an iphone??

I know I'm probably showing that I am waaaay out of the phone-tech loop when I admit this but I'm yet to have joined the masses and jump on the Apple band wagon and buy one of these super smart - high tech phones.

(image)

You see, today my beloved Nokia (an older version... not that old though) started to show its age and is playing up indicating to me that its most probably on its way to mobile phone heaven. It's sad because for as long as I've been able to have a mobile phone (probably around 8 years) I've always had an easy to follow standard Nokia phone which I could always navigate through super well.

(image)

Now that I am on the cards for a new phone I am pondering whether to take the plunge and join the masses of iphone owners and users. (I'm not that phone savy you see!)

So I'm just throwing it out there for some advice from some other iphone owners...

Are they hard to use? Is it worth getting one?

Do you like your iphone?

Any feedback is much appreciated!

Ellie..........x

Wordless Wednesday

2011-06-22T04:41:00.000-07:00

What a sunset, on a day when I was trully happy... Ahhhhh paradise!

Playing along with Wordless Wednesday over here. Link up!

Ellie..........x

Words to live by...

2011-06-21T20:49:00.000-07:00

(image)

On days like today... I am really trying!!

Ellie.............x

The Wurm...

2011-06-16T01:06:00.000-07:00

This week I cast on Cat Readings version of "The Wurm Cowl" that I have ravelled here.

I've decided that this pretty project will be for my Mum.

Mum does so much for so many people she doesn't even realise it. So I'm making this for her as a gift! Everyone deserves a gift everynow and then to say thanks!

It's an easy going pattern, made with yummy Malabrigo worsted. If you've ever checked out The Wurm pattern before you will know its an easy combo of knitting and purling. I love it.

As you can tell I've hardly done anything (only 3 rows of garter, 5 rows of purl and 1.5 rows of knitting to be exact!!) but I have a feeling this will be a quick knit and I love that!!

You might also be wondering about my Little Rufflte. Don't worry, I haven't lost motivation! I actually ran out of yarn (don't you hate that!?) so I managed to pick up some more Malabrigo and will hopefully have it done and dusted soon!

More knit-news to come soon.

I'm playing along with Kootoyoo's creative space here. Whats in your creative space this week?

Ellie..........x

Lusting Lush...

2011-06-14T01:49:00.001-07:00

On a recent trip to the big smoke (thats Sydney for all you NSW folks) I got my "retail" therapy on (not that I really needed to because I TOTALLY blew my budget, Oops!! What girl doesn't on a shopping trip, I mean really?!)

Anyhow, I came across the most devine smelling shop I had ever smelt.

I was so surpirsed when I entered the shop dropping the "Oh Wow!" and the "How Cool!" lines at everything I looked at.

Now I'm no "greeny" as such but I am totally into healthy, organic, handmade stuff and that goes for things that I use on my body too (i.e. cosmetics, cleansers, shampoos etc) so when I came across Lush I fell in love!

This place is cool!!

Check it out - here.

It's got a similar vibe to The Body Shop but is a little different too. When you're in the shop you can get your hands into all of the product testers, feel the texture of the face cleaners, smell the bath soap melts and fizzy bombs and even get a free facial!! You'll find shampoos and conditioners, gift packs, neck creams, face masks, perfumes... ah all the yummy things a girl could love!

I'm in love. I'm off to spend some online dough on my order now. hehe

(All pictures from here )

See you again soon :o)

Ellie.........x

Searching for Paradise???

2011-06-01T23:18:00.000-07:00

Hey ya'll,

How has your week been treating you as of late? I hope only good things have happened and only smiles were shared around!

I've been thinking lately...

Change is in the air and I am looking at a possible relocation from my current home town!

It's such a scary thought for me and I'm nervous and kind of excited all at the same time but I have been wracking my brain thinking... where should I move? What's a nice town to go to? Where's a good place to 'start over' so to speak???

(image from here)

So Bloggy friends, I'm putting it to you! Where would you go or where do you think is a nice place to live? It could be exactly where you are, or your dream city/town?!

Any thoughts or ideas would be great! Leave a comment and let me know what you think!

Hugs

Ellie.......x

My Creative Space - This here mess...

2011-05-26T00:18:00.000-07:00

In amongst all of the mess that we have to deal with everyday I feel like no matter how bad we feel and how bad we think we hate everything there are some things in amongst it all that still make us smile.

I've been trying hard to do this lately. For a couple of weeks now I've been happy to wallow and be sad and deal with a crummy situation (and sometimes I still do feel happy to do this) but I can't deny that there's at least a couple of things that have helped me feel good.

I've been plodding along with this "Little Ruffle" for about 3 weeks so far (sad I know, I'm a bit of a slow knitter hey?!) but I am slowly getting the bulk of it done. I hope by this weekend to have the ruffle part started and then I'm on the home stretch!

This is one of the things making me smile. It mightn't look like much now, but stay tuned!!

I think sometimes it's important to acknowledge the things that are making us happy - no matter how small or silly they may be.

What's making you smile today??

I'm playing along with "my creative space", come play along over here.

Ellie........ x

In my garden...

2011-05-22T04:29:00.000-07:00

Today in our town a storm was brewing.

Thunder was rumbling off in the distance and the sun was barely peaking through the overcast clouds. It was a typically chilly autumn day but there was a special feel to the breeze that enticed me to get out of the warmth of the house and explore outside & the garden.

Autumn can be such a pretty time in the seasons don't you think??

Now is the perfect time to be knitting. Its chilly and sometimes dreary outside and all I want to do is stay in and knit. (My granny status is rising!!! hehe Just kidding, knitting is SO not only for grannies!)

At the moment I am busily working on my "Little Ruffle" scarf that I am so excited to be making. What a gorgeous pattern, but very time consuming! It is taking me a loooong time to get the bulk of the scarf done and lots of continual knitting and purling rows (47 inches to be exact. At the moment I've done about 34 inches and counting...)

I am trying so hard to hold myself back from starting a new project until I cast off on the Ruffle because I don't want to lose interest because I really really want to be able to wear my Ruffle before the end of winter!!

Next up on my "to-do" list is this gorg number, made with yummy Malabrigo Worsted of course!

I can't get enough of Malabrigo yarns at the moment. Luckily for me Jodie at Jellywares has PLENTY of Malabrigo to purchase in her shop so I am stocking up when ever I can before she sells out!

My Ruffle is being whipped up in the beautiful Malabrigo Silky Merino and I am head over heels in love with this yarn. I think I love this yarn even more than I love the Malabrigo worsted. Its silky and shiny and soft! I definitely reccommend if you can get your hands on some - do it!!!

Okay, enough lusting over yarns, I'm off to bed. I can't believe that the weekend is over already, where did it go? Time doesn't seem to stand still for very long anymore!! I think its a sign that I am getting old! LOL

Good night Blogland.

Ellie..........x

An Old Fav is a New Craze...

2011-05-10T21:15:00.000-07:00

I haven't been knitting for all that long (in fact, I learnt to knit when I was little by an old babysitter but never followed through with it until I was inspired by this friend to pick up the needles again early last year!!)

I'm sure it's been a love for a lot of you out there for a reaaaaally long time.

Lately online I have been noticing that more and more people are following the trend of hand-making gorgeous knits and it is becoming a "trendy" craze again!

(I think it's been trendy all along... but thats just me!! hehe)

Check out the popular Sportsgirl drive to get like-minded crafty peeps to start their love (or re-vive their love) of knitting by creating "Knitting groups" in major cities around Australia!!

Who would have thought that Sportsgirl would jump on the band wagon!

(All pics are from Sportsgirl online)

I noticed when I was in the city a week or so ago that Sportsgirl are also using the "Make-Do & Mend" slogan as part of their new Winter line. It seems that everybody is getting back to the "old" way of doing things - personally I LOVE this! I think more people should embrace handmade goods!!

Check it out at their site here where you can read more about their craft-kick!

Who do you think might jump on the knitting wagon next??

Ellie......x

Knitting for the soul...

2011-05-09T16:53:00.001-07:00

Hi Bloggy Friends,

I am so sorry to have kept you hanging without any word of my where abouts lately.

I've been going through a hard time at the moment and am dealing with some tough life stuff so I have been hiding out for a while to get myself back together.

(image)

During this time I've been slowly doing some knitting, I think its good for the soul don't you?

I hope to be back to normal soon.

Ellie........ x

Farm Girl...

2011-04-26T19:29:00.000-07:00

Hanging with my special horse and friend "Splash" at my parents home.

Gotta love the farm life!

Ellie...........x

Still at it...

2011-04-25T15:46:00.000-07:00

I'm still working D's niece's beanie... and am just adding the final touches!

More (and better) piccies to come once I've sewn everything together and made it look super pretty! :o)

Ellie ........x

Get out of Town!!

2011-04-25T01:58:00.000-07:00

Well that's exactly what Roger and I did this Easter! We hit the road on Thursday afternoon after work to head to the small township of Mudgee.

We love Mudgee and every time we visit, our time there always confirms just why we love it so much. I think I've put on about 5kgs in food and wine alone!!!! (Not even Easter eggs! Poor effort hey!? lol)

Because Mudgee is almost halfway between were Roger and I live and where Roger's Mum and sister live we thought it would be the perfect place to meet for our long weekend.

We did some winery touring, eating scrumptious food (and drinking wine of course), visiting the Farmers Markets (Ooooh I LOVE the markets there! So much cheese, olives, wine, oils... droooool!!!) and I even managed to find a cute little "Wool Shed" yarn store that sells their own home grown wool!

All in all our little "get-away" was a huge success!

No matter how far away you go from home and how beautiful it is, its always nice to come home isn't it? Ahhh, I'm relaxing at home now with some nice scented candles burning and my fav Sugarland albums playing scrolling through Blogland... Bliss! hehe

Happy Easter Bloggy friends, I hope your weekend has been spent with lots of smiles with family and friends (and choccy eggs!!!)

Ellie..........x

Malabrigo Love and Crochet Goodies...

2011-04-18T18:11:00.000-07:00

Ahhh Malabrigo...

Now I know this yarn is the most blogged about yarn in the history of yummy yarns but let me tell you... there is a reason! This stuff is just so darn nice and squishy and yummy and Oh! It's just too good!!

I'm bustling in the nights to get some crochet beanie's whipped up for one of my bestie's niece's and for the first beanie I am using more of the gorgeous Malabrigo worsted weight (like what I used for the Little Red Beanie not too long ago).

This time I'm making the little girls beanie in a hot fuschia pink and the colour just pops! Perfect to adorn a little girls little head this winter!

(Below, Beanie # 1, still a WIP)

Because my friend D loved the last beanie I made for her she wanted another 2 made using The Dainty Daisy's shell stitch beanie pattern again, and I'm loving this pattern even more everytime I use it! It's a winner for sure - so quick, easy and effective!

So tonight I am hoping to have beanie # 1 done and # 2 in motion.

Stay tuned for finished piccies!!

How has your week been so far?

Ellie........x

Make what you would buy!

2011-04-14T03:06:00.000-07:00

I LOVE being a crafty person and I love being able to share it with friends and people that I care about.

While out tonight for a dinner date (at the chocolate shop!!! hehe) with my good girly friend Heidi, we went into one of her favourite retail stores Witchery to browse (since we both currently cant afford a mega shopping spree lol)

Whilst scoping through the store "Ooohing and Ahhing" at all of the cute things we wished we could buy tonight she pointed out to me a gorgeous mega chunky and mega long khaki knitted scarf that she LOVES!

Much like this one...

(image from here)

Oooh it was yummy, but at a price of $79.95!!! Whoa!

I reassured Heids not to worry, there was another way to get the pretty scarf and that would be for me to make one (and at a fraction of the cost!!).

She was stoked.

So now on my ever growing "list of things to make" is Heidi's "witchery-knock-off" scarf. I can't wait to cast on!! Isn't it an awesome feeling knowing you can make garments you'd lust over in big expensive shops?! I think so!

Ellie..........x

In search of the perfect birthday card...

2011-04-13T04:26:00.000-07:00

It's a very good friend of mines birthday coming up very soon (this week to be exact - I'm a little slow on the organisation side of things!!) and I've got her present all ready to go but I wanted to find a sweet little handmade card to go along with it.

Where else to look than the place that houses all of the great handmade things... Made It of course!!

Here is what I found from Misiu "Handmade Thingmebobs"

I'm loving the cutsie owls and the real "handmade" look it has. Too cute and perfect for my bestie. Go check the store out, you might find a neat little gift as well! :o)

Ellie.........x

Purls of Wisdom

2011-04-10T15:14:00.000-07:00

Ah, it is so nice to be in a town (for the short term) and be able to go into a bookstore to buy books (rather than what I settle for most days and buy online!).

Yesterday Roger and I did a big stroll around Wagga checking things out, shopping and browsing and as soon as I saw the bookstore I jumped and raced in to see what I could find.

(As I've previously mentioned in other posts), some of you may know that I have a terrible habit of buying gorgeous books and never getting around to reading them, or half reading them and never finishing. Well I committed the crime yesterday of buying yet again another book but this time I am convinced that I'll use it!!

I am slowly and surely falling into a deep love with knitting and it's sad because my skills aren't that great. Never fear though, I am determined to be a master of this gorgeous craft and "Purls of Wisdom" is going to lead the way!!

I was so exited when I opened this book and took a quick "pre-purchase squiz". I haven't found a book yet that explains knitting so well like (the author) Jenny Lord does! There's so many little helpful hints, how-to's and tips that will help me overcome those knitting obstacles. She teaches the basics like how to cast on/off, how to make an i-cord, how to increase etc etc.

She also includes some cute patterns that help put into practice the learning's from the book! I'm in love with this book already and can't wait to get home to my local yarn supplier (Jellywares) and stock up on some yarns to tackle a new project with my new found knitting confidence!!

I think I'll give these little hand warmies a go now that the weather is feeling chilly!!

I hope you all have a great week, I'll be back to normal and home again this coming Saturday (I cannot wait!) Hopefully I'll have some new knitting to share with you!!

Ellie..........x

Must have patience

2011-04-05T03:23:00.001-07:00

So some of you may be wondering... what the heck happened the Ellie's "Lady Kina" cardi?!

Well folks, despite being hugely overwhelmed and bogged down by chemistry experiment reports, tonight I decided that I needed some "down time" from study and added a couple of extra rows to my cardi.

So here's a sneak peak of the (almost finished-but not quite) cardi.

(PLEASE PLEASE excuse and ignore the grey sweater shirt I have on under the cardi, I've been hanging about in comfy clothes all day at uni and was so not bothered to change into a nice singlet that would have looked better under the cardi to take pictures in! LOL)

I'm thinking at the moment that I may have made the "collar" part of the cardi a little too big (around the neck) but I'm sure it shouldn't look too bad once it's done and sitting right.

All that is left to do now is finishing knitting the garter stitch edging and then sew up the arm seams!!! How exciting!

Not far to go!

I'm off to do some more study.

Keep smiling :o)

Ellie..........x

Hitting the study books... again!

2011-04-03T01:40:00.000-07:00

Hey there bloggy friends, I have once again been missing my special Blogland time as I'm "on the road again" headed to another uni session slog for 2 weeks on my university campus!

I'll be studying my little heart out for the next 2 weeks starting bright and early tomorrow morning with a 4 day chemistry lab session! (secretly shaking in my boots with nervousness!!! eeek)

(pic from here)

I'll try my very best to pop in over the next 2 weeks to catch you up on some of the happenings around here but I can't promise to be too interesting and crafting (unfortunately)

:o(

Hope to see you all again soon!

Ellie ....... x

Makings...

2011-03-22T14:33:00.000-07:00

Amoungst the other busy things that I have been doing lately is this little project that I have been working on here and there when I can.

"The Claudia Scarf" by Rebecca Jackson.

This pattern is so simple yet looks so effective, especially in the gorgeous Malabrigo sock yarn! I love the colours and the flecks and different shades of purples through it. Everytime I sit down and work on this pattern I'm excited to see what colour will work up next!

Once I got the hang of the pattern sequence it is smooth sailing for 85 rows and then another 85 along the other end! Its repetitive but one of those patterns that doesn't require too much concentration (I like to call them "TV patterns" because you can still glance up and watch your fav tv show whilst working on the scarf! lol)

This yarn is soooo soft and beautiful, its such a dream to work with and would reccommend it to anyone to use. I can't wait to see this little project all finisnhed and ready to be worn out and about. We've had a cool change in the weather here today and its getting me excited about winter and all of the yummy things a knitter and crocheter can make!!

See you soon

Ellie.......x

Day dreaming...

2011-03-17T19:58:00.001-07:00

When I should be working, or studying or creating and crafting I can't help but be day dreaming...

I'm thinking a holiday would be nice! I'm dreaming of the pretty sights we saw in NZ late last year....

Ahh to be on holidays again!!

(some quick pics I took while we were in NZ last year... so beautiful over there! I feel for the people affected by the horrible earthquake that has happened recently in Christchurch. This is one beautiful country!)

Okay, I'm getting back to work now.

See you tomorrow :o)

Ellie......x

Missing in action...

2011-03-15T01:50:00.001-07:00

Whoa it feels like forever since I have been hanging out in Blog Land, and poor You, Me & Miss E has been neglected slightly, SOOOOORRY!!

I have been one SUPER busy girl over the last couple of weeks. I've visited friends, been out of town, worked my butt off, been to birthday parties and tried to get my butt in shape!!

I thought I'd better drop by and say "Hello!" and let you all know I am still here!!

I have been a tiny bit crafty lately, (not as much as I wish I had been) and have started a gorgeous new project with some yummy yarn and will be posting more about this tomorrow!

See you then!

Ellie.......x

Kina progress...

2011-03-02T22:31:00.000-08:00

This week in my creative space I have been slowly making progress on

my Lady Kina cardi.

It's growing ever so slowly, as I add another purl row here and another knitted row there. No matter how long this little number is going to take, I'm very much in love!

I'm about 2cm off casting off for the sleeves and I'm guessing that once this is done its pretty much more smooth sailing of the stockinette stitch right to the end... perfect!

I'm determined to get this cardi finished because I have a nasty habit of starting gorgeous projects and not getting around to finishing them!

Not this time folks!!!

What do you think of the colour?? I'm feeling very much into blue at the moment... in case you couldn't already tell! lol

Whats been happening in your creative space this week??

Ellie .......... x

A morning of sewing...

2011-02-25T21:09:00.001-08:00

Today in stead of my usual Saturday morning ritual of hanging around the house, cleaning, relaxing or shopping, I signed up for a sewing class at Jellywares!

Jodie had asked me last week if I wanted to learn how to make one of her famous "Shirred Summer Dresses" and I jumped at the chance!

Once I got into the shop and we'd discussed fabric options I went with a light blue cotton fabric and decided to make a shirred top in stead.

So we got sewing, with my pattern instructions in hand and Jodie helping along the way, I came up with this cute number that I just LOVE!

(Please excuse the roughly made bed in the background!!!!)

We added a small amount of white lace "ric-rac" looking material to the bottom for a little something extra!

I've still got enough fabric to make some straps if I feel like it, but I'm kinda thinking that I'm loving this shirt just the way it is... strapless!

I had so much trouble trying to take a picture of myself in this shirt, so my photo's mighten do the shirt justice but you hopefully get the gist!! lol

My next sewing project is going to be a little tester for myself. I recently purchased some GORGEOUS small samples of Yardage Design's fabrics and for a while now I have been keen to attempt to make some "yo-yo's" on my own. I'm hoping that they'll look super sweet attached to some bobby-pins as hair clips or as brooches or even attached to a crochet beanie project!

These should keep me busy tomorrow and are suppose to be relatively easy, so we'll see!!

Mmmm someone in our neighbourhood is cooking something super yummy and the smell is wafting in to my house!! I'm jealous, yummo!! hehe Not to worry, I'm off to get ready for my sister's farewell dinner out on the town tonight!

Whats on the menu at your place tonight??

Ellie

My creative space

2011-02-23T17:58:00.001-08:00

This week in "My creative space" I'm working on another order from a friend and work colleague for a baby flower beanie for her God daughter.

I decided to use The Dainty Daisy's shell stitch pattern again because it is just too cute all worked up and would be perfect for this little baby girl!

I'm using Malabrigo worsted yarn again in a yummy apricot colour. This yarn is sooooo nice to work with and these beanies hardly make a dent in one skein!! (Gotta love that!)

I'm just putting the finishing touches on the beanie and then I'm going to make a start on the BIG flower I plan on adding to the side of the beanie. I can't wait to see it all finished, its so cute already!! (No clucky jokes please hehe!)

Even though my friend told me that this little girl is a newborn I've opted for making the next size up (3months - 6 months) at the hope that the baby will get more wear out of it.

My pictures aren't great but I'll definitely upload some more once its all done!

I'm also still plodding along on my Lady Kina cardi... its working up nicely and will update again soon!

Ellie x

Ooooh I'm loving....

2011-02-17T19:36:00.000-08:00

Do you scroll through the pages and pages of the amazingly inspiring patterns on Ravelry and dream about sitting at home in a comfy spot knitting or crocheting all of your loves?

I DO!! I'm guilty of this on many occasions and today is no exception!

There seems to be so many awesome patterns popping up all over the place and it makes me want to buy yarn and hooks and needles and bury myself in craftiness! LOL

One pattern really caught my eye today, and I am loving it to bits! Sadly I think it may be a little too difficult for my "beginner-ish" knitting skills, but I'm still going to dream of making this pattern anyway!

The Cowboy Cowl by Pam Powers

Oh I love!

I think its so cute and perfect for winter. I love cowls and I can see myself wearing this pretty in the coming cooler months.... Ah a girl can dream!

What pretty patterns or projects are you dreaming about??

Ellie x

Oh, P.s If you haven't heard of Ravelry yet... (I'm pretty sure most of you would have!) definitely check it out! Its a whole database of knitting and crochet patterns for crafters EVERYWHERE!

:o)

My creative space

2011-02-16T23:40:00.000-08:00

This week in My creative space I am casting on and knitting my Lady Kina cardigan.

I'm loving this pattern and can't wait to be able to wear this cardi for this coming winter!

I'm using some gorgeous Cascades Heathers yarn in a to-die-for blue. I love this blue and think its sooo pretty! I'm really loving blues at the moment!

Here's a piccie of what it should look like once I'm done...

Hopefully this blue beauty will fly off the needles. More to come soon!

Ellie x

A penny for your thoughts...

2011-02-16T18:22:00.001-08:00

Lately I have been thinking (once again!!!) about an online store. I mentioned a while back that I was looking into starting a Made It store online and I'm getting very keen to give it a go now! I'm very inspired at the moment and want to try my hand at it. Can't hurt can it??!

I've made a few crafty things here and there over the last few months, some I have kept and others I have given away but I'm wondering whether I should be making a whole swag of things predominantly for the store OR would it be okay to just show pictures of items that I have made and then when someone wants to purchase, I can custom make each item to their likings??

What do you think?

Would you prefer to be able to see something online and love it, click and buy... OR would you rather see something that you like and like the idea of being able to change the colours or buttons or bits about it?

I'm thinking either way may work and maybe I can do a bit of both in the store (have some things made and ready to go and others can be custom made to order)

Hmmmm... any thoughts would be lovely!

Ellie x

On the menu...

2011-02-15T00:35:00.000-08:00

Tonight I tried out a new recipe by one of my favourite cooks and authors, Donna Hay! Oh Donna Hay does soooo many amazing recipes, she is a goddess in the kitchen and tonight I attempted to follow one of her yummy recipes to see if I could be the "goddess" of the kitchen for a night!

I love risotto and it was one of the first dishes that Roger and I ever made together. The last time I attempted risotto on my own it turned out a little less than great! I hadn't followed the instructions properly and managed to not put enough liquid in with the rice that the it ended up turning out a lot harder than "al dente"!

Not tonight though! I followed the recipe correctly (I even added a little extra to make the servings larger and it still turned out great!)

Mmmm. This was a winner! It was super quick (only 40 mins in the oven - long enough to have a shower, a glass of red and relax for a bit!) and tasted quite nice. The bacon flavour came through the dish the most, I probably could have added a tad more pepper but this is minor in the grand scheme of things I reckon!!

I would definitely recommend giving this one a try. I found it online on Donna's website.

Bon' Appetit!

Ellie x

The Little Red Beanie

2011-02-12T21:06:00.000-08:00

In my last post I mentioned that a good friend of mine had asked me to make her a cute little beanie for a friend's two year old daughter. Well I finished it and here it is....

The Little Red Beanie, made using this pattern. Oh so cute!!

The Malabrigo was absolutely BEAUTIFUL to work with just as I had heard and I hardly made a dent in the ball with this super quick pattern! It feels sooo soft and squishy, I can't wait to give it to my friend to give to the little girl that will be calling this beanie hers!

The beanie flower was made using some left over Alpaca wool from my stash. It Its fluffy and whispy and adds nice texture to the look of the beanie. I decided to add a rustic-y wooden button as well to finish it off. I'm loving this beanie.

The pattern was so simple to follow and comes in sizes for a new born all the way through to a 10 year old child - gotta love that!!

I hope you love it D, and I hope your little friend loves it even more! This was such fun to make expecially knowing that its going to be a gift for somebody!

What have you all been up to this weekend??

Yummy Yarn

2011-02-10T23:54:00.000-08:00

This week I am feeling very chuffed! One of my best friends has asked me to make her friend's daughter a beanie for her birthday. This is my first "official" order to make one of my crochet beanies for someone and I feel so happy that I've been asked to craft something special for a friend!

So I got asking... "What size beanie... what colours... pinks, purples, girly??" because I'm so excited to start this little project and get back to my "crochet roots" so to speak. I love to crochet and it was the craft that lead me to be so in love with handmade goodness and also lead me to blogging about all things handmade!

So my friend D informed me that the little Miss that the pressie will be for is 2 years old and our colour scheme is to be red and cream. I'm excited to use these colours because for a little girl its a little different than your standard pinks and purples (even though I'm such a girl and LOVE these colours too!! hehe)

So when I raced down to my local yarn shop Jellywares to load up on the yarn I need to get this baby started I found that Jode had finally received her order from Malabrigo yarns Uruguay and I was really excited! Its always nice to try out a new yarn especially one that is suppose to be really really nice to work with. So I though, yep, I better be getting myself some Malabrigo yarn for my first order project!

This yarn is YUMMY! Soft and squishy and comes in so many pretty colours (hand dyed colours to be exact!)! The red is beautiful and perfect for what I need.

Now all I need to do is get this project started and luckily it happens to be Friday and the weekend seems like the perfect time to get this beanie hat started!

What have you got planned for the weekend??

Ellie x

A new knit...

2011-02-06T19:17:00.000-08:00

So as promised, I managed to find some down time here and there between the study and get the very pretty "Leaf" scarf pattern started! I am so in love with this pattern already!!

Susan B. Anderson, you are a genious!

This pattern is so easy to follow and quite quick so that I'm not losing interest and I get to see the pretty leaf pattern form before my eyes!

I'm whipping this little beauty up in a Nundle 20ply, caramel coloured yarn that is so yummy to work with. Since we've had a cooler change in the weather over the weekend I am definitely feeling comfy knitting up this winter project!

The great thing with this pattern is that you can make the scarf as long or as short as you like, you've just gotta continue the leaf pattern over and over as many times as needed.

I can't wait to watch the scarf grow - more pics to come once it's finished!

What are you working on at the moment?

Ellie x

Red dirt, Black mud, Deep water!

2011-02-04T13:21:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I got to get out of the office (yay!) and head out "bush" to our property on the Darling River. Well, we got to part of our property on the River. You see, our property has been flooding over the last couple of weeks and is now cut off!

We had strategically parked cars and motorbikes in areas around the property so that our Managers would be able to still take a boat ride to the car or motorbike and continue driving to parts of the property that can't be reached otherwise.

One of our cars that was parked on the town access road was cut off this week when we had another 2 inches of rain on Thursday night and a small creek (that connects to a large creek) filled with LOTS of water. My Dad, our friend Reg and I headed out to farm to try and get the ute moved from beside the creek and take it back to town. But this plan didn't quite work for us!

The small creek that had filled with water was a lot larger than we had expected and the ute was a lot more bogged than we anticipated!

So I took off my boots and we walked through the flooded creek to get to the ute to try our best to dig and push and get the ute out. But she wouldn't budge!

We tried our darnedest but the mud was like thick sticky clay that I even got bogged in a couple of times! It was humid and hot but I had a ball even though our ute is still stuck in the mud! We're hoping that it doesn't rain before Sunday when we'll try again to get the ute before the creek floods completely and sinks it even further!

It might not look too bogged in these pics but believe me, this ute was going nowhere!

So the big day out at Budda was slightly unsuccessful but even though we couldn't do what we needed to do I was so happy to be able to see our farm in flood! It doesn't happen every day around here and after all of this water goes it might not happen for another 10 years, who knows?!

Our land is looking green and fertile and hopefully after all of this rain our cows will look healthy and fat! What a season we've had so far!

Ellie x

All things chunky!!

2011-02-02T22:20:00.000-08:00

Lately I have been very busy and slack on the Blogging front and I must apologise for this!! My life has been very hectic with uni and work stuff going on that I just haven't had the opportunities to sit down and Blog about creative goodness or even do anything creative for that matter!! How sad! :o(

So... on my mind at the moment I've been thinking of all things winter-y. Sounds silly I know! Especially since the weather around here has been sooo far from chilly or winter-y its not even funny!

I can't help it though! I've been scrolling through the pages and pages of Ravelry patterns and have been finding some very cute and fun looking patterns that would be perfect for winter. I have also fallen in love with CHUNKY yarn all over again!

I used some Nundle 20ply chunky yarn for my first ever crochet project and last week (when I felt like I had some more time on my hands) I whipped up a gorgeous chunky winter cowl out of some Cascades 20 Ply Magnum. Yummo! I love it! You can get the pattern from Jodie for FREE when you purchase a skein of chunky yarn in Jellywares on Marshall (here in my hometown). I will post pics as soon as I've taken some!

I fell in love with chunky yarn so much that I needed some more of it, and my online shopping junky urges kicked in and I attacked the Nundle Wool Mill online shop and purchased 2 more skeins of the Nundle 20ply!

I love this yarn and after purchasing my first skein from Jodie, I have been hooked! I have some big plans for these two skeins (... if only I could find some time!! lol)

I've been lusting over these cute patterns in particular...

"Leaf" scarf by Susan B Anderson

"Drifted Purls" scarf by Jennifer Lang

I'm thinking I could definitely make the Leaf pattern with the caramel coloured chunky I just purchased! How exciting, I hope to get this little beauty started soon!

Also... (I'm nearly done talking your ear off! hehe) you've probably noticed that I've been making a few fiddly changes to my blog set up as late. I LOVE blogging and really enjoy feedback so if you're not digging the new "simplified" version of You, Me and Miss E please feel free to let me know! I'm thinking simpler is looking good and I have now managed to widen my post sections so I can fit more in along the page! Yay!

Let me know what you think! What have you been up to lately?

The Icing Swirl Hat ... a very slouchy version!

2011-01-29T00:02:00.001-08:00

It's finished! My first Ysolda knit the "Icing Swirl Hat", mine is a very slouchy version!

I decided to use the "larger" size in the pattern and ended up with a very slouchy but Oh so comfy beanie beret. I love it and it is going to be perfect for winter when its super chilly. I can slop this on my head and be toasty all day long!

I also think I may have stuffed up and added a couple of extra rows and this enhanced the "sloppy-ness" but I'm not too phased. It's all part of learning really and this pattern was a great one to learn on.

I think as a relatively "beginner" knitter the only way to learn is to make mistakes, and if the pattern changes slightly I tend to try and role with it! Like in this pattern! I still love this slouchy beanie and LOVE the colour too! This was definitely a great starter Ysolda pattern and I plan on building up my knitting skills through practice to tackle another Ysolda knit!! Watch this space!! :o)

Stylish Blogger Award...

2011-01-27T13:01:00.000-08:00

I was recently contacted by a lovely Blogger friend (Tamara) who nominated me in the Stylish Blogger Awards!!

I am very surprised to have been nominated and have been seeing LOTS of awesome Bloggers all around Blogland being nominated so I feel very lucky, thanks Tamara!!

So according to the rules I have to do a few things...

Firstly I need to link back to whom ever nominated me (Tamara of One Craftee Mumma! Thanks again, You're very sweet!)

Secondly I have to mention 7 things about myself.... Okay here goes...

1. I was born and bred in a small country town and have always LOVED the country. I've moved away a couple of times but always find myself back here and now I have a reason! I met my lovely partner Roger here at one of the Mines where he works as an Engineer.

2. I have 2 sisters, (one older and one younger) and we are all SOOO different! During our schooling, kids at school didn't believe that my older sister Kate and I were even related because we look so different!

3. I am currently studying a science degree at university (a BA in Equine Science to be exact) via distance education, but have always loved craft and arts and design. In fact when I left school I started studying at a private arts college in Sydney in an Advanced Diploma of Communications and always thought I'd end up working in design... but here I am today!

4. I LOVE to travel! So far I have spent time in India, The Philippines, Hong Kong, Fiji and New Zealand most recently.

5. I spent my 18th birthday in India teaching Kolkata children to speak English whilst on a Pilgrimage in 2007

6. I am a huge worrier. This is probably my biggest struggle, I tend to worry about unnecessary things and jump to conclusions before I need to! I'm currently working on this bad habit!!

7. I LOVE to Blog! (In case you hadn't noticed!!) When I learnt to crochet and knit last May I became so inspired to craft and share my crafting and everyday life I guess and I love it!

Okay... I think that's it for the "7 things about me". Lastly I need to pass this award on to somebody else who deserves it so I'm going to throw it to Jodie at Jellywares!!

Jodie is an awesome blogger and a good friend and I have been following her blog for quite some time now so I definitely think she deserves this award! If you don't know of Jellywares, head on over and check it out!!

That's all from me for tonight. I'm having a quiet night in, catching up on some study tomorrow morning and then off to another knitting "Stitch and bitch" session in town! I can't wait to craft up a storm and share it all with you tomorrow afternoon!

See you then!

My first Ysolda knit!!

2011-01-25T00:48:00.000-08:00

So back here I was talking about how much I wanted to try and make something by the awesomely talented Ysolda Teague. Well.... this week I did it!

Thanks to my friend Jodie of course who helped me start it all off in knitting/crochet class last weekend! I was soooo excited to start the gorgeous pattern from this cute book which I am now a happy owner of...

I LOVE this pattern book and all of the great projects in it! This is the first book by Ysolda, closely followed by her Whimsical Little Knits 2 (which I plan on adding to my collection very soon!) I am already planning my next knitting project from in here!

My first Ysolda knit is this little beauty...

It's called the "Icing Swirl Hat" and its a gorgeous (and actually quite simple surprisingly) slouch beret hat. For something different (because I've already done a crocheted slouchy red beret) I decided to make this baby in a nice blue 12 ply Cascades yarn. So far I am about 3 rows from finishing!!

So far its a little hard to tell how its going to look as a finished project but I am sooo pleased with it and excited to finish it tonight and try it on!

Look out winter here I come!!

I'll post pics as soon as I get this little one finished!

Happy Australia day for tomorrow too folks! I hope you've got something "Aussie" planned! I'll be attending a BBQ and hanging by the pool no doubt. It's suppose to get up to 44 degrees here tomorrow! Crazy hey?! It's definitely summer time!

Currently Reading... A Home Companion

2011-01-20T19:21:00.000-08:00

When we were in New Zealand in December last year I stopped by your everyday bookstore to have a sticky. I LOVE books and have a terrible habit of buying lots and never getting around to reading them. This year I am determined to attack my bookshelf to start (and finish!!) reading the books that I never got around to reading!

Whilst in the bookstore I came across the book "A Home Companion... My year of living like my Grandmother" by Wendyl Nissen. Wendyl is a New Zealander and a great writer at that.

I don't know about you, but I love reading and hearing about alternate, organic methods of doing things and Wendyl is all about natural, new and different ways to make your life greener!

So far the book has documented the first few months of Wendyl's year of trying new "green" methods for making things around the home like organic pest spray, laundry liquid, beauty products and even sunscreen! At the end of each chapter she includes recipes for these things (also recipes for some foods too!)

I'm really liking this book! If you're not into reading a book and prefer to get stuff via the net you can visit her website here and you'll find all of her recipes on there too! Great huh!?

Are you reading anything at the moment? Any recommendations? I love a good book recommendation!

A little bit country...

2011-01-20T01:34:00.000-08:00

Lately I've been listening to some older albums that I have loaded onto my laptop and I'm finding some old songs and artists that I'm loving all over again!!

Right now I'm listening to Miranda Lambert's album "Kerosene". This was Miranda's first album and I remember loving her debut song "Bring Me Down" when it was first released and now I'm falling in love with it all over again!

Yep, it's a little bit country but I love it! Her music is truly catchy and is great to listen too!

I think you might dig it too! (even if you're not into country music)

What music are you listening to right now??

A beautiful parcel

2011-01-17T23:44:00.000-08:00

This week I received a beautiful parcel from my Aunty Barb. Boy was I surprised when I opened it!

You see, my Aunt has been working on a new label called "Living Tiny" for quite some time now and last week she emailed me to let me know that she'd be sending me some samples of fabric that will form part of her new line of hand screen and press to go with the Living Tiny range.

When I found the little parcel sitting on my desk at work I was soooo excited to see what she had in store for me and I was BLOWN away!!

Not only did I receive some absolutely gorgeous samples of her hand screen printed fabric and paper, I also got some snap piccies of some of the products that will embody the label when it launches in February/March this year.

I'm so proud of Aunty Barb and everything I have seen so far has really inspired me! I can't wait to make something beautiful out of the small samples!

Here's a sneak peek at what I received... (I'm positive you'll LOVE it!)

Above at the top is what Aunty Barb gave me as my birthday pressie - her first screen print! I love it! Below are samples of some of her printed fabric designs. I'm in love with the birds... too cute!

^^^ More cute fabric samples of the Chook print. ^^^

^^^ Aunty Barbs original "Geoffrey bird" designs printed on paper ^^^

I can't wait to see what else "Living Tiny" has got in store when it officially launches this year!

If you're interested to see more from this line keep an eye on this
website for more details!

Well done Aunty Barb, and thank you for sharing some of your amazing work with me! I can't wait to see more!! xxoo