august.

i'm a day early with my monthly goals, but for good reason...
i've got quite the reveal tomorrow, but i'll save it for tomorrow...

now, for the month just gone... i'm quite proud of what i managed.
i got some things finished, and started something new. i also celebrated my mum's 50th birthday, with all of my family.



and august?
well i've already said i have big plans. but those plans are for this space...
i've also got big plans financially this month. august is my birthday month and when bb asked me what i'd like for my birthday, i announced i'd like to save some of our money. live frugally for a bit.
i'm hoping to save some cash by cutting back on the more luxurious things we indulge in, dinners out, buying lunches, getting manicure (well that's just me...), wool shopping (yep that's just me too...) and well, you get the picture.
i am absolutely desperate to get our foot in the property market door and i'm hoping that this month of saving will get us one step closer.

this month of saving, will mean lots of meal planning, and lots of working through my stash. doesn't sound like such a bad thing to me at all :D
i've got bamcal squares to work on, some more wool for my granny stripe and i've got my reversible wrap to finish!

i'm also hoping to finally get to the 5k mark with my running. i've been working on it for a few months and i am so very nearly there!


do you have big plans for august?

meal planning monday.

another busy week calls for another week of meal planning!
i've got big plans for budgeting in the coming month and i'm thinking only the most stringent of planning will make them happen...



tonight, i think i might actually make this carbonara... it didn't quite happen last week and i was very much looking forward to it...
must remember to put bacon on the shopping list as that's where it all fell apart last week!

tomorrow night, date night! being the last day of july, i think we might head out to our favourite thai place :D very much looking forward to some red duck curry!

wednesday, i think i'll definitely pop something in the slow cooker. after a big day at work, coming home to an almost cooked dinner of tomato spiralli beef will be most welcome.

for thursday, the slow cooker will be in action again. lamb and sweet potato with a rice crust. yep, that'll work :D

friday i'll be working late. satay chicken in the slow-cooker. bb can pop on some rice when he gets home. dinner will be ready by the time i finish work!!

i have this weekend off from work so i've many plans. one of which being delicious steaks with salad and some home-made onion rings. i've been wanting to make some for ages!

sunday, i'm hoping to whip up some fresh pasta... not sure what i'll end up doing with it, maybe some fresh linguine, maybe some egg yolk ravioli? only time will tell :D


do you have meal plans for the coming week?
what have you been cooking lately?

sunday snippets

playing along with tinniegirl and her sunday snippets.



how has your past week been?

my creative space.

i've started something new!

a couple of weeks ago, i went along to southside brown owls and was absolutely inspired by the number of ladies whipping up this reversible wrap.
i had a bit of a peruse of the pattern, and asked lots of questions and decided i could definitely have a go!



i'm using bendigo woolen mills luxury in mink. and lovely chunky wooden needles :D they knit quite smooth however they are super pointy! they put a hole in my thick canvas bag yesterday!

what are you creating today? pop over and here and join in the fun!

a few finishes...

i mentioned last week, that i'd been working on a few things... so today i thought i'd share some finishes with you!

first up, this cute little doorstop.



i was sick of having random things holding open my bedroom door (heatpack, laptop case, pile of books), so decided to whip up a little door stop. i used some fabric from my stash, which i believe was gifted to me by the lovely anna. i do love it when people share their de-stash efforts :D thanks anna!

next up, a beanie (or two)



this awesome pattern was thought up (and written down) by the amazing lisa and is available for purchase here!
it knits up super quickly and the texture is amazing :D
this is actually the third i've made. the first is still unfinished. the second, went to a co-worker for his birthday. and this one, well this one is a birthday present too!

i've also finished this little project. it was a wedding present for two lovely friends, in celebration of their marriage. years ago, the bride requested i make her a crocheted cactus...
it just took me a while...
i stupidly forgot to take a photo to share once i was done though... clever work nicole!

i've also made a start on something new...



a little something to contribute to wendy's full circle project!
just for something different, i'm painfully un-organised! the entries were supposed to be in last friday! luckily wendy has said i can enter a little late. if you've still got an entry, you should send her an email!


have you finished anything lately?

nostalgia.

while i was spending the weekend in the countryside, mum decided to do a little spring cleaning.
my brother and i went through all of our old school books, from prep to twelve and had a little bit of a reminisce...

the coolest thing i found was this... a travel diary from 1996. the year we travelled around the west coast of australia.



i certainly wasn't the most wordy of seven year olds but there are some nice memories there :D

what have you been remembering lately?

meal planning monday.

after a busy weekend, meal planning is definitely high on my agenda this week!



tonight, i'm intending to head to the seafood man, and pick myself up some fresh salmon fillets. some fat chips and a big salad. dressed with some balsamic mayo. yep, perfect moonday night meal :D
tuesday night is date night :D but i'm intending to have a bit of a quiet one... eating in, maybe some chicken with 40 cloves of garlic. perrrrrrrrrrfect.
wednesday, i'm heading into the city for a study day. i'm planning lunch with bb, and i'll be putting some lamb and rice in the slow cooker to make this pilaf.
thursday, i'll be working all day! something quick and delicious and easy is what will be on the menu, delicious-sounding carbonara get in my belly! nice green side salad and dinner will be done!
friday night is a late night at work for me. i think i'll make sure there's something delicious in the slow cooker for when bb gets home. maybe a curry. nice and easy and most importantly, delicious!
hoping to have some lovely folks over for dinner on saturday, but i'm also working all day... hoping bb will be ok to cook a roast. he's really good at those :D
sunday, i'm at work all day again! hoping bb can whip up something delicious! it's so lovely to come home from a massive day at work knowing that dinner is sorted. probably why i love my slow cooker so much ha ha!

what are your meal plans for this week?

sunday snippets.

a busy week and weekend for sure.

the last few days have been spent down in the country, preparing and celebrating for my mum's 50th birthday.



playing along with tinniegirl and her sunday snippets

a quiet one...

it's been a bit of a quiet one all round at the moment...
not many words happening around here...
however, that doesn't mean i haven't been busy, i've actually had lots of finishes lately.

getting the time to photograph and blog them though.
soon i'm sure though ;)



meanwhile, i'm working on another honey beanie, and catching up on this week's masterchef.
what did i ever do without the internet and catch-up tv?

have you been busy lately? or quiet? or maybe both?

meal planning monday. on a tuesday.

i had a fairly late night on sunday (for no particular reason, just couldn't sleep) which meant that yesterday, i was a complete zombie.
it wasn't until late last night, when i was reading through my google reader feed and came across ppmj's post, that i realised it was monday, and i hadn't made a meal plan for the week!



monday, so er, last night... i made an aberdeen sausage in the slow-cooker. i was maybe supposed to make it last friday night. but i managed to run out of time before work in the afternoon. sometimes i'm not so great at time management :D

tuesday night, also know as tonight, is supposed to be date night. however (i've just heard) that we have other plans... i love finding out things at the last minute...

wednesday, i've got plans for chilli con carne in the slow cooker. we even found some delicious corn chips to have with it... should be delicious!

thursday, i'm going to pop a chicken in the slow cooker, with some spices. spicy roast chicken. yum!

hopefully my time management will be a bit better before work this week and i can get a fragrant pork curry in the slow cooker. it'll definitely be nice to come home from work at nine to a hot cooker dinner.

saturday, i think i'll request bb takes me out for dinner. he owes me a date night for the midweek mishap and i think i definitely need a pub steak :D

sunday, we're heading off to a little soiree in the afternoon so i don't think we'll be needing any dinner...


what are your meal plans for the week?
the home of meal planning monday.

june in photos.

this past month, i've been playing along with chantelle, and her photo a day challenge. keeping track of my month in photos :D



i'm all ready to play along with the july challenge too!
will you be playing along?
i'm over on instagram as @coleyann