Happenings

I've been all over this country side in the past week. Well, not entirely, but it sure can feel like it when you travel nearly 800kms back to my home town and then another 200kms further to visit our family farm.

A little distance never stopped me.

I absolutely LOVED getting back to my home town last week to see my friends and family. It was the best week, and I managed to cram as much as I could into almost seven full days.

A few snap shots of what has been happening with me lately.

Firstly, I finished off Kate's Mary-Jane's which no longer resemble the typical "Mary-Jane's" but are adorable and comfy none-the-less.

I also managed to whip up a squishy cowl neck warmer for my dad on Tuesday afternoon. Dad spends some mornings on the motorbike on our property and it can get mighty cold this time of year. I hope this warmer will do the trick. I felt so at peace sitting and knitting in my parent's garden. I miss it just thinking about it. Sitting on the patio with our family dogs beside me and the sun going down over the yard is pure magic to me.

[Both project details can be found on Ravelry here.]

Also pure magic - visiting our family property. A few friends and I headed [further] west and spent two nights 'roughing it' in our swags in the bush. I love camping and it is becoming a tradition with our friends now. I love every bit of it. Even when my hair starts to smell of smokey campfire. I love it.

Seeing my horses was definitely a highlight. I miss them so much.

I can't wait to get home again. If we lived closer I feel like I'd be there all the time. There really is no place like home.

E, x

Kate's Mary-Janes: a WIP

Happy Easter friends! I hope you are spending it with family or friends. Unfortunately I couldn't be with my family this year with the distance too great for me to travel for just the weekend, so I am bundled up in my house doing the 'house-y' things and about to get stuck in to some more crochet!

I have rekindled the flame that is my love for crochet. I knew it would happen sooner or later and I am loving it!

Thanks to the second instalment of the Jellywares autumn yarn club, I have a yummy skein of Malabrigo Rios yarn in the shade Jupiter all the way from Peru (via Cobar, NSW, hehe) to use for my next project.

I have been promising my big sister Kate a pair of these Mary-Jane slippers since about 2010 when I first started crocheting (slack sister award goes to….), so when parcel two of the yarn club arrived I knew it would be the perfect time to make a pair for her.

So far I have completed the bulk of the first slipper, I managed to get hooking last Sunday afternoon while procrastinating uni studies ( and the slack student award goes to...)

I am loving how they are turning out! The variegation in the yarn adds a little something special too. What do you think???

I am hoping to have the pair finished this weekend so I can pop them in the post first thing next week!

Enjoy the Easter break! I'm off to eat some warm hot-cross buns and sip on a cup of peppermint tea I purchased from these lovely farmers at the Orange producers market a few weeks a go.

I'll see you soon,
E, x

A little crochet catch-up

Boy have I missed crafting! When I first learnt to crochet from this talented blogger I fell in love hard and fast! There's something about sitting on the couch on a Sunday afternoon with your fingers busy hooking away at a little something special.

I have been off the 'hooks' for a little while due to all of the happenings in my life in the past year or so, but as soon as my good friend Jodie announced she was starting an Autumn yarn club, I knew it was the exact excuse I needed to get some 'me time' back and pick up the crochet hook again!

It took me an entire month before I actually got around to starting the first project of the seasonal club, in fact, the second instalment to the club showed up on my door step last week so I knew I couldn't put off starting any longer!

I got a little nervous just thinking about crocheting again. It sounds silly, but I thought I might forget everything I learnt. I was even panicking thinking I might not remember how to tie the little knot in the yarn to connect it to my hook! I laugh at this now because, like they say about riding a bike, I hadn't forgotten a thing!

I sat down on Friday night after a long day at work with a glass of red (I know, how classy of me) and a chick-fick on TV, and started hooking. If it wasn't for the red wine putting me to sleep I probably would have finished that night, but in stead, I poured myself into bed and finished the next day.

A lovely, plum coloured facecloth to adorn our bathroom for the start of the Autumn season.

This little pattern was so nice to work on and was such a cinch! If you're thinking of learning how to crochet any time soon, this pattern is a must for beginners! It works up super fast and you learn some good basics, plus the pattern made by the 'tulip stitch' looks quite detailed (so you can fool all of your friends into thinking it's a tricky pattern - how clever of you! *wink*)

You can find the rest of my project details here on Ravelry.

Also last week, as well as finding my yarn club parcel tucked under the door mat by my postie, so too was my book delivery from  Local Is Lovely.

The book is just gorgeous and with some great yarns about Aussie producers and some amazing recipes too! I was so excited to get two parcels at once - the old fashioned 'snail mail' gets me every time!

E, x

Orange F.O.O.D Week producers markets + the Agrestic Grocer

Yesterday I spent the day in the Central West. Some may say I am mad to have driven about 6 hours (round trip) just to visit the Orange F.O.O.D Week producers market, but I don't care! It was the most beautiful day and it made me appreciate farmers and producers even more than I already did.

F.O.O.D Week is on annually in the city of Orange NSW (roughly three hours west of Sydney) and I had been busting to get to one of the events. Some of the really popular events had already been booked out by the time I realised I wanted to go, so the producers market on Sunday was a must for me.

I read something on Facebook last week promoting people to shop at their local farmers market. Basically the post said if you were to stop shopping at your local supermarket they wouldn't notice the loss in business. If you in stead purchased your produce from a farmer's stall at the market you know where your money is going and are supporting the farmer 100%, your purchase might even save their farm.

I am in love with shopping up at farmers' markets. There is something about buying wholesome, fresh food and meeting the people who grew it.

Walking through Cook Park on my way to the markets. Such an enchanting park, don't you think?

So off I drove to Orange for the day with Trav's esky in tow. As well as heading to the markets, high on my list of things to do while in Orange was a visit to the Agrestic Grocer. I found their Facebook page through another blogger and they were also a part of the F.O.O.D Week events. I was expecting a quaint little cafe with some fresh produce and coffee but was blown away at how nice a business this was!

Located on the Wellington Road side of Orange (a little way from the centre of town), this restaurant is so beautiful and has the nicest, wholesome feel about it. I wanted to stay all day.

Plus, all of the producers I met at the market stock their products at the grocer so anybody from Orange (and visiting) can purchase home-grown goodness when ever they feel the need!

One side of the business is dedicated to the groceries and produce and the other side is the restaurant with kick-ass beer garden and live music! You can feast on locally made goodies and drink fresh brewed beer or coffee all day.

Everything about this place made me smile, I only wish we had somewhere like this closer to home! (A new business venture perhaps??! ha!)

This one trip to Orange to indulge in the gorgeousness they have on offer has made me really think about where I spend my money and how I want to live my life. Living more simply is something I am aiming for this year (and for the rest of my years) and if starting small and being mindful of where my food comes from and who I am supporting whilst buying it is a step closer to that, well then I am off to a good start!

E, x

Inspired

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Stay happy!
E, x