Where I'm Hanging These Days

The reason I've been absent from the blog in such a while is because I've found some new online places to hang! Yes, I am definitely still blogging, just in new online spaces :) You can find me at Wheatbelt Local, an online community created to connect, inspire and assist local Wheatbelt residents: www.wheatbeltlocal.com.au And you can find me at my new personal blog, Lovisa Dreams: www.lovisadreams.wordpress.com I hope to see you over at my new hangouts and hope you enjoy them as much as me :)

Sophie Goes Paleo: Day 2/30

Day 2 - 1 September 2014

I ate //
Breakfast - nothing (which is really bad but I was in a real hurry this morning)
Lunch - capsicum and tomato salad
Dinner - steak, mushrooms, capsicum and broccoli
Snacks - berries, capsicum and egg, sultanas and assorted nuts

I ate (but probably shouldn't have) //
Cream (in the mushroom sauce... but it was a really little bit, and dairy is not technically 100% ruled out in the Paleo diet)
One spoonful of chocolate pudding (okay, I was really hungry this morning and couldn't resist!)
Chocolate Egg Roll (we had visitors from Taiwan so I had to try one - even if I didn't need it - and I'm not sure of the exact ingredients but maybe it might pass as Paleo)

I'm craving //
Some delicious food I've seen Facebook, including Lia Farm Life's rocky road and this yummy jam roll. I've said that when I am no longer on such a strict Paleo diet the rocky road will be one of the first things I make!

I'm feeling //
Hungry... pretty hungry! Today, since I didn't have a proper breakfast or lunch I was eating a lot of little snacks, which didn't really fill me up and just left me really hungry... so I'm going to try and have fewer bigger meals in the future :)
Inspired... I am loving the Paleo Grubs site, which has some great recipes that have got me really inspired. Paleo doesn't have to be eating plain vegetables all the time - there are some awesome recipes! The chocolate brownie and strawberry fruit strap look great!
I think this week should go okay :)

Sophie Goes Paleo: Day 1/30

Last night, after eating dinner and not feeling so great, I made a decision. I decided to go Paleo for at least a month.

In case you're not aware, basically the Paleo diet consists of eating only what our Paleolithic ancestors would have eaten, being lots of fresh meat and vegetables with some fruit and nuts. That also means no grains, sugar or dairy (although that can be disputed!)

It's seems hard - I'll admit that, but I am committed to the idea since the benefits are enormous: weight loss, clearer skin and more energy (if you stick only to Paleo-approved foods and regular exercise). And it has been said that the first month is the hardest so that is why I am willing to stick it out for one whole month.

I will try to update here every day for the next month just to keep myself accountable!

Day 1 - 31 August 2014

I ate //
Breakfast - one egg, one bacon rasher, a couple of cherry tomatoes and a few slices of avocado
Lunch - chicken and vege stir fry with freshly squeezed orange juice
Dinner - two chops, one serve of mixed veges
Snacks - Capsicum sticks, sultanas

I ate (but probably shouldn't have) //
Two marshmallows (oops!)
A half a milo (thought a bit of dairy would be okay... totally forgot about the actual milo!)
One finger taste of chocolate pudding mixture

I'm craving //
Chocolate pudding Bonnie made for desert! And red velvet cake that I was going to make yesterday!

I'm feeling //
Pretty normal... the day went okay (food was fine) but no miracle changes (it's only day 1!) I'm feeling a little unsupported when everyone else is eating different food, but know that I am making the right decision. I'll just have to convince the rest of the family to join me!

Do you eat Paleo?

Beautiful Birthday Cake {and a little update}

I made a cake. I've made a lot of cakes, but I am pretty proud of this one! Isn't it so pretty? Made for my mum's birthday tomorrow, the end product is not only pretty great (it didn't taste bad either), but I had so much fun making it... it was such a fun challenge! Inside, the cake has three layers - vanilla cake, followed my frosting and marshmallows, then chocolate cake, topped with frosting and chocolate and then finally another vanilla cake.

Anyway, I haven't updated Sophie At Home in so long... and I sort of miss it, but I've had so much going on, in particular a very exciting (very time consuming) other blogging project... more details to come! Also, we bought an old house in the little country town of ours which we will be renovating, I can't wait to share updates :) My Cert III in Design Fundamentals course is also going really great and I'm enjoying it so much. My life at the moment is pretty great (cake helps).

How are you?

OOTD // New Glasses

Scarf // Target, Singlet top // Target, Pants // Target,  Jewellery // Lovisa, Watch // Ripcurl, Shoes // Grendha for Novo, Frames // Raybans for OPSM

This past Wednesday I got some new glasses.

Not only do they have the added bonus of being so clear and beautiful to see through, I simple love the frames! I had my last frames for two whole years and whilst they suited me when I first chose them back at the start of 2012, I will admit I was a bit sick of them... This time I chose big black frames! I haven't had black frames since my first pair of glasses in 2007, but even they were thin. I think for a long while I've been trying to make my glasses as unnoticeable as possible. This time however, I'm totally owning them and LOVE them!

Also, when I went to get my glasses, I got some contact lenses to try. It took quite a while for the optometrist to get them in when I was at the shop and I have not yet been successful at home. My eyes must just be so sensitive! Really, who would want to wear contacts but when you can wear beautiful glasses like these?!

Hope you've been having a great week x

Wattle Cottage // Dining Room Inspiration

Floorplan of Wattle Cottage (not to scale)

It has been WAY too long since I've shared an inspiration post for a room in Wattle Cottage, or really just WAY too long since any posts or ANYTHING has happened over at Wattle Cottage! I really want to change that though, and don't the above examples just inspire you? Well they inspire me!

Quick Craft // Colour Block Wooden Mobile

These days, mostly when I'm feeling creative and looking for inspiration, I head to Pinterest. There's millions of ideas on Pinterest and you can't really log off Pinterest without feeling inspired. But then sometimes I feel like the ideas were never actually mine in the first place. Sure, it's fine to adjust and modify projects others have already done, but you feel so much better when the idea was yours originally.

So, a few weeks ago, when I was feeling creative, I headed outside for inspiration. I got a spark of an idea and it grew from there until I had a colour block wooden mobile. 

1 // Collect your materials - five wooden sticks of varying lengths, one longer stick for the base, a roll of twine, five different coloured craft paints (I chose white, blue, pink, green and yellow), a paintbrush, a hot glue gun and scissors.

Please note that this is a QUICK craft, so I didn't sand, prime or seal the sticks, but you can do so if you wish! I did go for smooth sticks though and scraped off all the bark before beginning.

2 // Use the paintbrush to paint the bottom part of your stick. I probably painted 2/5 of each stick, but it depends on the size etc.

3 // Allow the sticks to dry (which you will need to do standing up, I just poked them in some soil), before doing another coat so that you get a nice thick, even coverage.

4 // Glue the end of the twine onto the opposite end of a stick (a couple of cm down) and wrap the twine around the stick, adding small dobs of hot glue every now and then so it is nice and secure. Repeat for all the sticks. When you reach the end of the stick, I just added some more glue in a way so that the twine was facing up.

5 // Attach all the sticks to the longer base stick. You can choose whichever pattern you like but I went for a triangle sort of shape with the biggest stick in the centre, and smaller ones on the edge. I simply tied the twine around the stick with a double knot and a dob of hot glue for security and so that the sticks wouldn't move.

6 // Use the same method as above (tie and glue) to attach a piece of twine that will be used to hang the mobile.

7 // Display and admire! And isn't it gorgeous! I'm in love... I just love how the natural textures of the wood and twine are combined with blocks of bright colour, the perfect combination :)

This is a super easy craft that I can definitely recommend, have fun!

Quick Craft // Glitter Jars

I absolutely adore setting the Christmas table (or any table settings) and these gold glitter jars made their way onto our table for Christmas lunch this year. The gorgeous gold glitter also means they would work for New Year's too... or really just for anytime, anywhere for a glitter lover (like me!) I will warn you that you will probably create a big mess when making these jars... but at least it's a glitter mess!

Jar 1 // Glitter Stripes

You will need // double sided tape, glitter, scissors, jar, sealant (optional)
What to do // Wrap the jar in double sided tape stripe s(measure if you like, but eyeballing it is easy enough!) By sticking two (or more) widths of tape next to each other, you can add extra visual interest by having different size stripes. Peel off the double sided tape cover and sprinkle (or dip) the glitter over the sticky stripes. Optionally, seal the jar so that the glitter stays for a long time :)

Jar 2 // Glitter Dipped

You will need // white paint, paintbrush, glitter, jar, sealant (optional)
What to do // Use the paintbrush to coat the bottom section of the jar with white paint. You can measure but I just eyeballed the straight line and applied a thick coat of paint. If you want a nice even, thick coverage, apply a second coat. Whilst the paint is still dry, sprinkle glitter all over the painted section! Wait for the paint to dry and then seal if preferred!

I love the way the jars look with a white tablecloth and rustic wood length, but there's so many things you could use the jars for. Wouldn't they be a pretty way to store some paintbrushes or pencils?

How did you set the Christmas table? Or did you go for a casual BBQ?

2014 Resolutions

2014 is going to be great. I just know it! Here's what I hope to do this year...

Grow my blog // Last year I didn't have the resources and things to really grow my blog, which I'm sad about because I think in some ways it took a backwards step. I really want to change that this year. I know it's easy to say when I'm on holidays but I hope it will be easier because I'll be living in Busselton (instead of boarding). I have lots of ideas for studio spaces and the like to make my dreams become a reality!

Embrace opportunities // I'm doing lots of new things this year, so I'm sure there will be plenty of new opportunities! I really want to be the best I can be and not be afraid to say yes.

Exercise more // I hate exercise. But I really want to change that! I might never love exercise (okay, I know I will never love exercise), but I can still try! I have this idea in my head that lying next to the beach this year will mean I can go for lots of nice long walks and runs. First things first, I plan on getting an iPhone armband and an app to record my moving!

Sew more // Again, this was something I couldn't do last year but hope to do more of in 2014. I really want to sew myself a piece of clothing or two and more than anything, a quilt. I simply love quilts and would love to have a go!

Improve my photography // Already, I know my photography has been improving but truthfully I hardly know how to use my camera! I want to learn more functions of my camera to be able to get better images, which of course... translates to better images on the blog! I love nothing more than blogs with nice big bright photos :)

Eat healthy // Originally this was going to be "eat nothing from a packet". That was a bit unrealistic though (and I've already broken it!) but I really want my diet to be great this year. I know that already my diet isn't that bad, but it could definitely improve! I'm talking lots of fruit and veggies and homemade foods. I will have to pack lunches again (first time since I was 11!!) so will be looking at some healthy, easy options.

Be nicer // I really want to be a nicer person. Not saying that I'm mean, but I know that I can get really angry with the people closest to me for no real reason. So this year I really want to be nicer. I always want to have a smile on my face and be someone people love to be around! I want to make other people smile and feel special so hope to send more random snail mail letters and awesome birthday (or just because) gifts and notes.

Explore more of WA // I love this gorgeous state of mine and hope to see more places I've never been. A weekend or two per year we like to do places we've never been before (Yealering in 2012, Dalwallinu in 2013) and this year I'd love to go to Esperance and up further than Dalwallinu to Meekatharra and the like.

Make the most of things // We only live once so I just want to make the most of every day and every opportunity!

Do more design work // I love designing things and have designed many posters and invites for community and personal events (all just because I love it!) This year, I will be starting Cert III in Design Fundamentals so I really want to consider doing some design work for other people. (Contact me if you're interested!!)

I know it's a lot to commit to, but since it's now on the web, I really hope I can make all these resolutions come true.

What are your resolutions for 2014?

Photoshoot // Cute Cousins {O + E}

We had Christmas at the farm this year and we had lots of family come down. Odette and E hardly ever see each other, but they are just so much alike! They are born only five days apart, are the same height and have the same hair! I really wanted to take some photos of them together since they hardly ever get together. Then on separate occasions I took some individual photos of the gorgeous girls. It was so much fun and I'm so happy with the end results! The memories are the most precious though. I hope these girls stay friends forever.

Happy New Year!