why.

i've been listening to the slow home podcast for quite a while and the episodes always get my mind going, thinking about things in different ways and from different perspectives as well as giving me lots of ideas in ways to slow down and simplify...
last month though, brooke and ben spent the month (on mondays) talking about their 'why's', as in why they do what they do. the values and beliefs that shape their long and short terms goals and daily life too.

i loved this concept, so have been doing quite a bit of thinking about it...

the first part of the podcast series introduced the concept of what a why is, the ways that it can shape your life and world view and in the second part of the podcast series, the how-to begins.
brooke recommends writing your eulogy. what would you want said about you at your funeral? what parts of your life would you want people to remember?
after a bit of pondering, i realised that what i would want remembered of me, is my hard work to make our house a home. a warm and safe place that is welcoming and nurturing. and despite working hard at this, to have had time to be there for those that need me, children, partner, family and friends.
they're the things that are important to me.
the third segment involves pulling values out of that eulogy, boiling it down to a couple of key words to help shape those everyday decisions and the fourth makes recommendations of how to use those values to actually shape those everyday decisions.
the values i gleaned were home and quality time, and i'm really already starting to think about them when i'm making decisions on the daily.

have you ever worked on an exercise like this? are you a slow home podcast listener too?

sleep tips.

i have a confession to make, baby ag, he's a pretty good sleeper... and by good sleeper i mean, he wakes every 3-4 hours for a feed. unless he doesn't... sometimes it's more often, sometimes less. just like a baby he he.
that hasn't stopped me not getting decent amounts of sleep though... oh no. there has been many a time when i just could. not. get. to. sleep.
infuriating!

i've tried and tested many a solution though, and these are what have worked for me. fingers crossed they might bring you some relief too!

mindset - the more frustrated i got with myself for not getting to sleep, the harder it was to actually get to sleep. my mantra was 'i am resting' no matter how sleep deprived i was, and how much i desperately wanted to get to sleep, even resting, lying there with my eyes shut was better than faffing about folding washing and such.
this didn't necessarily stop my mind from racing though, worrying about every. single. little. thing. the thoughts i had in these sleepless moments were RIDICULOUS!

enter meditation - running through some mindfulness exercises while i was lying there resting definitely helped quiet my mind down. sometimes. sometimes it didn't, but whatever happened, i was resting. much better for me than housework.

keeping warm - i realised after a few sleepless nights, i was waking myself up completely whenever i would get up to feed ag because i would allow myself to cool down so much. my neck and shoulders were exposed in the maternity singlets i was wearing and my bare feet were freezing on our painted concrete floors. cardigans and knitted socks were my saviours, keeping me toasty while i was up and about and allowing me to settle back into sleep a little easier once ag was fed and asleep again.

keep off the screens - sometimes, i'll conk out to sleep watching something on tv or my laptop, when i'm tired. when my brain wants to be awake though, when it's racing and it's 3am, the moving pictures and sounds will do nothing but stimulate me! even looking at my phone will generally send me down a rabbit hole of reading things i don't need to, most likely adding to the worries i'm feeling rather than alleviating them.
the only exception i give myself to this is if i'm going to listen to a meditation track on my phone, or listen to some white noise if there's a noise that's bugging me.

brain dump - if there was something my mind just WOULDN'T let go of, i would write it down and then action it the next day. it might've been to send a message to someone about something specific, or something i was curious about and wanted to google, even something i'd just remembered we needed to grab next time we were grocery shopping. whatever it was, it could wait, i needed to be resting.

trust in your partner - this was probably the one that was the hardest for me to reconcile... and the most ridiculous. bb is such a great dad, and me second guessing his decisions when it came to ag was silly. he's way better at settling ag than i ever will be, because there's only so much milk the boy can drink, even when it's all that he wants just because he can smell it on me! and his patience with ag when he's really upset, well it's second to none. the heartbreaking cries, the ones i'm physiologically unable to ignore, that fill my eyes with tears, well bb can deal with them a whooooole lot better than me! thusly so, when bb is on duty, i shut the door or i put headphones in if i need to, to get the time to myself that i might be in desperate need of.

ok, so this might be a bit of a rambly little list, but it's what helped me get through those first few tough months of new motherhood... hopefully it might help someone else too!

finish something.

the thing i'm finishing with today is november.
it's been a pretty crazy month, and i don't really feel i'm ready to finish with it yet... i had so many plans, not all of which have come to fruition.

i feel like this past month has absolutely FLOWN, surely it was just yesterday that it started?



november was my month to get organised, for the nightmare of december ahead, but here i stand, 30th of november, seemingly no more organised than on the 1st.
bugger.

i also didn't go quite so well with my running every day goal...

oh well, onwards and upwards i guess

how are you going organise-wise for december? how did you go playing along with a month of my creative space?

sucked in.

a little secret about me, i LOVE me some terribly cheesy reality tv.
however, after vocal talent show-ing myself out over the years with australian idol... there was no way i was intending to go anywhere near the voice!

but then, flicking channels while waiting for the biggest loser to start (i did mention i'm a reality tv tragic...), this happened.......




that cute dress, the song (one of my absolute favourites!), oh, and her VOICE!

absolutely sucked in!

are you a reality tv tragic too? please tell me yes ha ha!!

day 12.

i thought i'd share another of our christmas decorations today. or multiples of them...
bb and i bought these little tinsel trees just after we moved in together, in the post christmas sales.



i'm pretty sure we payed something ridiculous for them, like 50 cents a piece, but they're the perfect way of spreading some sparkly christmas goodness throughout our whole house!
this year they've taken up residence on the dining table, the bathroom shelf, the hallway table and our bed head.

also, have you entered my giveaway yet? you could win a very nice hand-knitted cushion! all you have to do is leave a comment on that post! easy as pie!
i also extended the deadline because i mayyy have forgotten to draw it on sunday. still time to join in :D

day 9 - catching up.

oh hello, goodbye weekend. wasn't it over in a flash! oh and little to no blogging on my behalf! slack, slack, slack!!
i've also been slack on the giveaway front! i was supposed to draw it last night at 6 and completely forgot!! i think i might extend it til next sunday, same time, same place ok? i'll set myself a phone reminder so i won't forget again!

anywho, the 9th day of christmas! i was recovering from my morning of pampering...
and also heading to work.
not a lot of christmassy type stuff happening so i thought i'd show you my violet!




this little beauty has moved with us on our last house move and has just gone from strength to strength.
it was flowering when i bought it, reduced to less than a dollar at k-mart if my memory serves me correctly, and since taking up residence on the kitchen table, has been in flower continuously for what seems an age!
it got some more room to grow here and seems to be loving it :D

do you have any special plants that have a story? i'd love to hear!

also, don't forget to enter my giveaway!

day 8.

today has been a pretty rad day! my lovely bb set me up for a blissful morning of luxury.
he got me a lovely bath bomb and instructed me to have a good old soak when i woke up, after he'd left for work.




he'd then booked me in for a deep tissue massage in the city. the whole getting my kit off in front of a total stranger was tres weird but i'll feel better for the rub down in the long run :D




we then met up for lunch! bb was able to take a bit of a longer lunch break than normal which was lovely. we headed to one of our favourite places to eat, cookie.

yummy pork belly in red curry and a duck salad. oh and a pimms :D




the view was pretty nice too. lunch with a view, with nice company and amazing food. best.




i then headed home while bb finished work and we spent some nice relaxing time together when he got home.
all in all a pretty great day :D

what did you get up to today?


also, have you entered my giveaway yet? you could win a very nice hand-knitted cushion! all you have to do is leave a comment on that post! easy as pie!

day 6.

today, i started on getting everything into the frames i found yesterday. i even hung this one on the wall!



unfortunately, it didn't stay on the wall for very long. gah silly sticky hooks! one day i will own a house where i can put real hooks in the wall when and where i want to! one day...



and that 'find' i mentioned earlier...



this awesome lampshade! i drove past it three times, and convinced myself i didn't need it.
that was until this lady posted this photo! then i knew i had to pick it up!
so i have big plans for this one. but not until i finish some other projects i have on the go! focus nicole, focus!



also, have you entered my giveaway yet? you could win a very nice hand-knitted cushion! all you have to do is leave a comment on that post! easy as pie!

day 4.

please excuse my lack of blogging yesterday. i was a little, under the weather... ahem. moving on...
i thought i'd share some of my favourite christmas ornaments, ones that have a story ;)




this one was one of the first ornaments bb and i bought to go on our tree. from an op-shop. we were poor students after all!
in fact, we didn't even have a tree when we bought this one, we had a dress mannequin, in a very pretty green dress!




this was an ornament that i was taught to make by a very lovely lady at a market where we were both selling items. i was selling jewellery and she was selling handmade christmas ornaments. i can't for the life of me remember how to make them as it was about a zillion years ago, but it's pretty and memorable none the less.




this was another handmade number. i guess the first i'd made that i'd be still happy to have on my tree. so simple but so pretty!



and this is the newest addition to my tree, from the lovely and thoughtful yvette!

what are your favourite ornaments?

also, have you entered my giveaway yet? you could win a very nice hand-knitted cushion! all you have to do is leave a comment on that post! easy as pie!

day 3.

on the 3rd day of december...




we finally put up our tree!!!
i'd been waiting for bb and i to have time together to get it up and today it happened.
happy days :D
heading off (hopefully soon) to a lovely ladies engagement party. just waiting for a ride...

have you entered my giveaway yet? you could win a very nice hand-knitted cushion! all you have to do is leave a comment on that post! easy as pie!

day 2.

on the 2nd day of christmas (or december even...) i managed to get a couple of decorations up.
our cheap and cheerful wreath. it lives on our front wire door and means we can't open our front door 100% and i spend the entire month sweeping glitter off the front porch. luckily i like glitter :D


and this little tiny house. i won it in a giveaway at the end of last year but it didn't arrive until after christmas. this clever lass put it together and it is just the cutest!
the cute little figurine is from this lovely lady and was hidden in this post.




i also used a gift voucher i had and got some false eyelashes applied. verrrrrrry interesting experience that's for sure.




i like how they tuned out but not sure i like the process of them being applied. having to sit still with my eyes shut for an hour + is not really my cup of tea...

have you entered my giveaway yet? you could win a very nice hand-knitted cushion! all you have to do is leave a comment on that post! easy as pie!

december.

today's the 2nd of december which means there are not many days at all until christmas, and then only a few more until it's 2012. is that freaking anyone else out??
after some serious thought yesterday, i've decided to play along with car in her advent blogalong. i'm liking this daily blogger caper :D even i i am officially already a day behind...




so what did i do on the first of december? i worked, and so did bb, no time for christmas tree decorating on our front. i did however manage to buy advent calendars for us both.
mine was this horrible commercialised freddo one. one year i would loooooove to have an awesome home-made advent calendar like cathie's or vic, but for this year, when i'm feeling beyond time-poor, freddo will do me just fine ;)

i'll be back tomorrow with post number two, and maybe even three but in the mean time, what are your plans for december?
reviewing my november plans, i think i almost got everything done...




except for the slow knitting project that is, that one is still on the go. in fact, you've even seen it now. and it's actually up for grabs! lyndel made her decision based on my (terrible) photos and has picked the granny square cushion.
pop over here to enter the draw to win :D

now december, i think my main goal is to make it out alive :| christmas is always one of those tricky times, but most of the time it just does my head in!

what are your plans for december?
xo

the month that was.

this past month of blogging has actually been great! playing along with 30 days hath november has been really motivating and has caused me to blog about things in my life i normally wouldn't and to look for inspiration in places i normally wouldn't too.
i've thoroughly enjoyed having a topic each day to blog about and i'm pretty proud not to have missed a single post (some of them were a bit late, but they did get there in the end...)

speaking of which, i'd best get to today's topic, 'three wonderful things that happened this month'

the first of which, was that i won some giveaways...


this wonderful cook book from sophie.




and this amazing pattern book from lisa! i made a special trip to a local wool shop to buy some extra nice yarn to lace up :D
the patterns are quite well written and i would highly recommend it!

the second wonderful thing that happened was that i was invited to the opening of a very cool little shop.



betty's place officially opened last saturday and is somewhere i'd highly recommend you stop by! especially in the lead up to christmas ;) the lovely magdalena, or her hubby will be there to help you out!

the third wonderful thing actually involves this very post!
this post is number 300! 300 posts of me nattering on, who'd have thought!
i thought i'd have a little giveaway to celebrate, to say thanks for reading all my silly words and looking at my pictures and even making the occasional comment. it's awesome :D



the prize for this giveaway is one of two cushion covers... neither of which is 100% finished, but i did pop into spotlight for all the necessary finishing touch items! they'll be finished verrrrrrry soon!




unfortunately, you do not win your choice of cushions, this lady does. i owe her a cushion from back in may! i am such a slack crafter sometimes! so i will let you know once i get them to lyndel, and she has made her choice, but until then, dream of both i guess!

to enter, all you need to do is leave a comment on this post, easy as pie! oh and it's open to everyone, international readers and all!
i'll draw the winner sunday the 11th of december (at 6pm my time), it should hopefully arrive before christmas that way :D


i would just like to say a big thank you to des for running everything. it's been a lot of fun playing along!

some place i'd like to visit.

one word.




that word is paris.

maybe 2012 is the year?

where is some place you'd like to visit?

a year ago.

so this is a picture of myself one year ago. sitting on the side of the tarwin river, failing to catch a fish.
there was cider though, and good company, which made the whole not catching fish thing ok really.
oh and i'm wearing my favourite dress!

what were you up to a year ago today? do you have a picture of it?

something i'm looking forward to.

so very many things i'm looking forward to really...
christmas, the new year and exciting opportunities it will bring...



fun crafty times and the possibility of meeting fellow blogger types. also a holiday to canberra :D

hopefully more career growth in my job :D

and who knows, maybe i'll even get some of the things done around the house i've been harping on about all year!

exciting times ahead that's for sure!

what are you looking forward to?

the purse! eep!

so the topic for day 25 of 30 days hath november are 'the contents of your purse'



eep! do you really want to see that? goodness knows what's in there! well ok, i know, 329875293 cards for varying uses and some spare change.
how about the stylised version of what's in my purse?




a couple of business cards, my bank cards, a metcard, about $12 in cash, 4 pearl earrings and a spare car key. nothing too exciting really...

EDIT: i'm realising (based on everyone elses posts, that purse means bag. so click here for a read of that one!

what do you keep in your purse?

it means a lot.

one thing that means a lot to me is this...



nope, not silly self portraits with big cheesy smiles, just the smile itself.
sometimes when i'm feeling a bit blue, i think to myself, as long as i can put a smile on my face, things can't be too bad!
by that logic too, happiness is something that means a lot to me and i guess it's something that can be a bit elusive at times. i definitely know that i'm slowly figuring out the things that make me happy and can therefore make sure i do those things more often :D

big smiles!
one of the many things that mean a lot to me.

what is something that means a lot to you?

8 things.

a list of 8 things that some people probably already know about me.

- i'm terrible at sitting still. in fact it's probably the biggest reason i get so much crochet and knitting done.
- i enjoy wearing large rings. the bigger the better. it's considered quite the comedy act at work.


my newest ring purchase. made by the clever girls at finikigirl.


- if i was born a boy, i would've been called drew. when i was told this at the age of 12, i refused to answer to nicole, only drew.
- i have developed a very expensive and unhealthy relationship with shellac. i am forever spouting it's amazing abilities :D see above picture for evidence!
- i prefer savoury to sweet, 90% of the time.
- i enjoy cooking dinner. i like providing delicious food for myself and my bb. i hate cleaning up after said cooking though. dishes urgh!
- i watch wayyyyyy too much tv.
- i can NOT wait to put up my christmas tree. i am hanging out!

care to share 8 things about yourself that most people don't know about you?

travels.

so i know i shared a travel story already, but i have another. except this time it's mostly just pictures. apologies about the quality of the pictures, they're from my scrapbook. the scrapbook i put together when i got back and haven't written a single word into. very angry at myself now as i don't remember all of the things we did everyday!
anywho, this is my school trip to japan in 2005.














yep, that last one is pretty kooky. i definitely wouldn't be able to sell stuff in tokyo!

where have you travelled to?