Bobble

We bought some Bobble water bottles today. They have been pretty awesome so far. James has drank about 4-5 bottles of water since we got them, I've had 2, but it's a massive improvement on the water we were drinking before. :) They were surprisingly cheap for how nice they are and the use we should get out of them, so I think we're both really happy with the purchase. :D

My New TOMS

My Silver Sequinned TOMS.

I took photos!! So, TOMS. As I may or may not have said, I had seen a lot of different people wearing TOMS in my online world. I had heard a lot of people talk about how much they love them, how comfy they are, and just how plain awesome. Now that I have my own, and have been able to wear them I can confirm they ARE super comfy, and super awesome. :)

My Other casual pair, I wear these ones a lot.

One things I feel that is very important about TOMS, and don't remember reading anything about is the amazing cause they are dedicated to. People may have mentioned it, and I just forgot, but I first really found out about it by visiting their site. For every pair of TOMS you buy, they donate a pair to children in need.
The donations started in Argentina, and have since grown to help children in many other countries. Shoes are important, shoes are needed. They give three very good reasons why on their website, One for One Movement:

1. "A leading cause of disease in developing countries is soil-transmitted diseases, which can penetrate the skin through bare feet. Wearing shoes can help prevent these diseases, and the long-term physical can cognitive harm they cause."
2. "Wearing shoes also prevents feet from getting cuts and sores. Not only are these injuries painful, they also are dangerous when wounds become infected."
3. "Many times children can't attend school barefoot because shoes are a required part of their unifrom. If they don't have shoes, they don't go to school. If they don't receive and education, they don't have the opportunity to realize their potential."

So, if you've been interested in TOMS but haven't bought a pair yet, go now! Go buy some! They are totally worth it!

(And if you want to read some more check out their Giving Blog)

We went for a walk

We went for a walk today. We've kind of wanted to get out a bit more in Canberra, but the weather hasn't always been inviting...plus I didn't have the shoes for it. BUT Once I got my job I decided I could spend some money on some nice walking/running shoes. We have been out for a couple of runs and walks since then. It feels good. :) I love the gentle ache I get after exercise. So today was nice weather, and we took advantage. We went for a walk around the suburby area James' family lives in, a walk his mum had told us about. It was REALLY nice. The views were lovely, the weather was nice, and there were a lot of butterflies (there was a bit of the walk which was like walking through a wasp nest...so many big, weird fly things...but that was short). :) AND I took photos!! Yays!!! So here's some photos from our walk:

My new shoes! Nike Free Run +2...I believe.  

I enjoyed the walk. Hopefully we can go on more. :)

Quote to Inspire #17

Drawing by me, Quote from Albert Einstein.

A little Christmassy update

Salmon pate.

So Christmas was pretty awesome. We got up around 9ish, had some tea, etc. I was extremely tired and ill feeling as I had managed to get a blocked nose, but whatever. We opened presents pretty early so that we could get working on some final jobs before everyone came for Christmas at 16:00. I got some pretty neat things...I will try take some photos. I am very grateful to have received stuff. :) Very nice of people. So after that we got on with little jobs, like getting ice, moving tables, preparing dips etc. I had a nap because I was tired. We had some prawns, and some scrambled egg on toast with bacon and smoked salmon. Was a pretty nice morning/early afternoon. Then people arrived!!

I am happy to say the salmon pate went down well. :) AND it came out in the moulds, which is awesome. Very happy. We sat around, chatted, drank some yum Champagne cocktails. It was nice. Dinner was super yum. Had a prawn cocktail starter, and then lots of yummy meats and veg for main. The lamb was particularly good!! I then snuck away for a little chat with my family, and returned for dessert: white chocolate mousse with mango, pistachio and raspberries. It was good. :D We also made some Gingerbread men to have with tea and coffee. Yums!!!

Our awesome Gingy's, James made, I iced.

Today we went round to James' grandparents for lunch. There were gifts from the previous day that had not yet ben opened, so we had all that to do after a yum lunch. I got a pretty awesome gift from Matt and Michelle...some "Rabbit with Big Pointy Teeth" slippers. If you don't recognise where they are from you may very well need to educate yourself with the awesomeness of Monty Python!

My new slippers.

Attacking James' leg! 

Evil bunny!!!

The rather funny Certificate of Authenticity.

I'm loving them. For those of you who are not aware of this rabbit, you may want to watch the clip below...or the whole of the Monty Python and the Holy Grail movie. :)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

I'm pretty sure I used this photo last year, it's from the Chalet.

Wishing everyone a MERRY CHRISTMAS! Mine has been pretty awesome thus far. Taking a break between main course of dinner and dessert to see if my family can skype, and then back to this not so odd feeling Australian Christmas.

I hope you all have a wonderful day wherever you are! Merry Christmas everyone!!

Christmas Eve To do

Photo from Last Xmas.

Oh man is/was there a lot to do today!!! We started off pretty good, full of momentum. Got up for 8 to go for a run (James, Will and I). We all decided we are super unfit due to our out of breathness after like ever little bit of running, so we're going running every other day, and playing some kind of sport on the other days, like Basketball or Cricket (I may not partake in the cricketness...we'll see). I then showered, and then James and I went out looking for some awesome blue trousers. Blue trousers were part of my new Xmas outfit...but they didn't fit nice, and I wasn't going to spend money of something I wasn't happy with, so we went at got an iced-drink. The trip wasn't a total waste since we found some gingerbread shaped cutters, yays!
I was then super pumped to get back and make Salmon pate...but people had woken up. I'm a very odd people but non-people person. I LOVE working at Reception and my new job with kids. I adore the talking to people, learning about them, and happy company. BUT when I have things I want to get done, people bug me, I don't like people being around, especially for house chores, I tend to do them when I have an empty/relatively empty house. So no Salmon pate making...plus the kitchen had turned into a non-workable room again.

I've spent the afternoon either hiding in James' room (which I have tidied in my hiding time) and helping James with some tidying. Today is super tidy day, Christmas is being held here tomorrow. So EVERY room and ALL of outside is getting a super tidy. I don't know what to do, it's not my house, I don't know where things belong...so I'm just hiding, feeling a bit useless. :P

We're also planning on going to see some Christmas lights this evening, making the gingerbread men and the Salmon pate and going the the midnight mass...it's no wonder my back is hurting. :P

So yeah, Christmas Eve is feeling a bit more hectic than usual...so I thought I'd ramble about it here. Hope you all have a stress-free Christmas Eve. Have a coffee, play a board game, enjoy the weather...and lets hope you haven't left all the tidying until today! :)

Advent wish list #24

Found on pinterest.

Have a super duper awesome Christmas, please! :)

Advent wish list #23

Bobble water bottles.

I don't know if you have heard of them or not, but these bottles seem to be big around the world. They are made from recycled plastic bottles, designed to stop the waste of plastic water bottles, and filter your water to make it all clean and like shop bought water. Pretty awesome. They are Bobble water bottles.

I'm not the kind of person that drinks lots of water, despite knowing that we need a good amount of water a day to stay all fit and healthy and stuff. I do, however, find that if I have a bottle of water in my bag with me, or just nearby, I tend to drink a lot more water...so having a water bottle is actually good for me. I did have a plastic bottle back in Geneva I quite liked, and enjoyed using, but I don't have it with me. Plus I totally love the idea of these bottles, so yeah, if you REALLY wanted to get me something, and thought "Hey, a water bottles a cool idea" then I would love to receive this from you. But don't worry, because I'll happily buy it for myself anyways. :)

Advent wish list #22

Another item from the Australian Kookai. It's so pretty. I think it would be perfect for an evening party. :) Simple but perfect.

Advent wish list #21

Europa Cushion.

More Jonathan Adler. I'm not like super crazy about the Europa cushion, but it fits in with my personalised cushions theme. :P Plus, we love Europe. I love the Zebra one though, pretty awesome. If I was to get just one of the cushions I have posted about, I think it would be that one (I would still be very happy with any of the others...why else would they be on my list?), but that Zebra one is cool. :P

Zebra cushion.

What's your favourite Jonathan Adler cushion?

My TOMS arrived!

My new shoes!

My TOMS arrived today! I'm so happy they got here before Christmas!! :D Now I can wear my little Christmas planned outfit. Yays! Plus, they are super pretty and comfy, and I lucked out on getting the perfect size, double Yays! :D

I may take some nicer photos of them in the coming week, and maybe share a bit more about what TOMS does exactly, but I am a tad tired from my day of cleaning floors, table, toilets, bins, changing nappies and keeping a bunch of kiddies happy (not to say I don't love it!). So some time in the coming week, and I have noticed I have a tendency to say this and never follow through, but no more! I WILL! :D

Nap time. Toodles.

Quote to Inspire #16

Drawing by me, Quote from C.S.Lewis

I've decided to try and turn weekends into my creative time. It helps me feel more peaceful, and makes me happy, so I'm planning on perhaps drawing the inspiring quotes from now on instead of using photos, but I may use both. We'll see. :)

Advent wish list #20

Two of my favourite things in one: Michael Buble and Christmas songs. Awesomeness! :D I am liking his versions of the songs. Mmmm. Here's one for you to hear. :)

The last month

Found on weheartit.com

The last month has been a bit of a hectic month. So much has changed. After about 2 weeks I was getting upset I hadn't found a job yet, after 3 weeks I had one. When speaking to people in my job I realised just how quick 3 weeks was to get a job and started to regret not enjoying the time before it. I've not really being making the most of any of the time I have, I've been feeling rather low. I believe I may be stressed. In a conversation with my mum she mentioned I had probably gone through some of the most stressful things a person has to over the last month. I haven't gone through the top 10 most stressful, but I have got a pretty long list of things that are stress inducing. I did the research, like I do, and found a list with scores by Holmes and Rahe, the 43 most stressful things that lead to illness. Hehe...already sounds so bad. I put the list in excel and got James to go through the list and mark how many times each event had happened to me in the last month, that way it's not me making it worse than it is. It's supposed to be done over a year of a persons life, with  a score of 150-299 meaning risk of illness is moderate and a score above 300 means you are at risk. I think my score for the last month was something like 244. Hehe. I don't wholly trust these sort of things, but I think I can at least take away from it that I may be stressed, and so maybe start trying to be nice to myself and focus on more positives. I'm working on it. :)

On another note, the pretty shoes I ordered look like they won't make it here for Xmas...which is a bit poo because I had incorporated them into my christmas outfit. Ho hum, I suppose now I don't need to buy the dress to go with them. :P Back to the drawing board!

Advent wish list #19

Photos found on weheartit.com

I'm all about the food at Christmas...maybe not al about, but the food is one of my favourite things about Christmas, along with the music, the decorations, the happiness. These Christmas tree cupcakes look awesome! They are probably super tricky to eat, but who cares, look how pretty! :P I remember seeing somewhere on the internet that you can make the tree by putting an upside down strawberry on the cupcake and piping the green squirty things around it, doesn't sound too complicated to make. So, I'd love to give it a try. Help with music and a yummy chocolate drink would be muchly appreciated!

Advent wish list #18

Isn't it pretty? I'm sure it could make most simple t-shit and shorts outfits look so much cooler. I like the colours in it too. Yes please!

Art washes the soul

I shower when I'm sad to hide the tears. - by me!

Don't worry, I'm not sad. I've dedicated this weekend to doing arty things: drawing, preparing some quotes to inspire, making sure all is in order with my blog, and dreaming. I also plan to get some other little bits and bobs done, but I really wanted to take some time out to do some of the things I love and that make me feel at peace. I'd thought up this drawing when I was crying in the shower on Thursday, and wanted to draw it whilst I remembered. It's one of the few drawings I've thought up that has actually turned out as I imagined it. Score! I'm very happy with it. I feel emotion from it, and I like that. :)

Hope you're all having a wonderful weekend. Off to read lots of inspiring quotes now!

Advent wish list #17

When I was little I got a card with this picture on it, I'm pretty sure it ended up in a frame.

Pocahontas! This used to be my all time favourite Disney movie, it's now a very close second to Beauty and the Beast. I love the colours, I love the songs, I love that she can talk to nature. It's such a lovely movie, I would love to add it to my eventual Disney collection!

The Artist

I think this movie looks amazing. I can't really say I'm fascinated by the era it's depicting, since I haven't read into it or know much about it, but I do love their music, and the outfits, the energy and the dances. So wonderful. I would love to watch this movie, even if I have to on my own, it just looks so fabulous.

I think maybe with my time off I should research things like this that interest me. I always loved researching fascinating things. :)

Advent wish list #16

Gorgeous skirt from the Australian Kookai.

I love this skirt! And the top! The whole outfit is gorgeous! I don't know if I'd wear it in Australia...my dressing has gone very casual...but maybe a beautiful outfit like this is just what I need to start dressing all lovely again! :P

Today

I found the above picture on Pinterest, man I love that site. You can check out my boards here. I have a whole board for inspiring whatnots, they are great, uplifting and all about living a happy life...I'm just not very good at remembering them. I think I may very well need to have some of them hanging up on walls to help me remember.

Today was a bad day. I don't know why, my mood was just very low...I'm thinking the three boys, well...I call them boys, they were aged 13, 19 and 21, playing X-box, talking boy stuff and running around like kids probably didn't help. I think the fact I don't have my own space does get to me every now and then. I was hoping today would be super fun, my day off after 2 full days of fun but tiring work (I fell asleep at 9 yesterday evening), but somehow it didn't turn out that way. I'm going to have to try harder in the future to get up and do things I like, go make my own space, get outside, draw, be creative. Happiness is a choice, and I let my bad mood get the better of me.

Tomorrow I'm working again, and I have a good to do list for the weekend. :) I'm allowed the odd off day. :P

Advent wish list #15

Michelle Armas - Eggplant.

Another art wish. I love Michelle Armas' paintings. They are the kind of paintings some people would claim they could do themselves, or their 3 year old could do, but really they can't. It takes talent to get these kind of paintings right, you need to have a very free flowing mind...I'm still way to organised and rigid in my drawing to be able to do anything like this, which is probably why I am so drawn to these. They are beautiful. I especially love 'Eggplant', which is the painting above, but all of her paintings are beautiful. I wouldn't mind having one in my eventual home! :)

Advent wish list #14

Aries Zodiac cushion.

I said there would be more Jonathan Adler love on this list. MORE CUSHIONS! This time instead of our initials, our star signs! Awesome, I know. None of the stuff I want to decorate my eventual home with actually matches, but still, how cool? Right? I can hear you shaking your head at my sillyness...but oh well! I even like how much the two go together. :) Awesome! So yeah, Zodiac cushions please.

Gemini Zodiac cushion.

Quote to Inspire #15

Drawing by me, quote from Pablo Picasso.

Advent wish list #13

Strawberry Santa's.

Can we please make these strawberry goodies for Christmas? Having Christmas in summer is a bit weird. On a summers day filling, warm, baked goods don't seem quite as appealing as on a cold, dark night. Solution: strawberry christmas goodies! Love these three ideas and would love to try make them! They make me smile.

Santa Hat Brownies, recipe found here.

Scrummy Strawberry Christmas tree, recipe found here.

Mmmm...I'm not even sure if I'm a strawberry fan, but these do all look tempting!

Work!

I got me a job! It's casual work, so only when they need someone, but I will be working in some daycare centres. Yays! I did 2 hours today at one of the centres to get a feel for it, and so that they could see if I was suitable and I now have 3 shifts for this week. It's awesome! I am happy to be getting working! Yay!

Advent wish list #12

What Happened? Bandages

These plasters are pretty awesome, I wouldn't mind having these for any cuts I get. Hehe, I especially like the What Happened? ones. :) Awesomeness.

Cry About it Bandages

Summer?

The remains of the hail in the back garden.

Today James and I went to the Plaza to get me some clothes. My new possible job has an all black dress code, not too tight or short, got to look presentable, etc. etc. and I didn't have anything black (I know, I was surprised too). Since I have a sort of trial run tomorrow I thought it would be best to turn up well presented and dressed to the dress code, so we went out to get a black outfit. The shopping was a success, I look like I should be working in a restaurant or a childcare centre in my little outfit. BUT whilst we were shopping there was a HUGE storm. It started got super bad just as we were deciding what to get for lunch, with the lights in the shopping centre all switching off for about 30seconds, and thus all the machinery not working afterwards. So it took a while for us to get a meal, since tills weren't opening, but we got something. In the mean time there was some MASSIVE thunder, I jumped, quite a bit. It was LOUD. The rain just got heavier and heavier. James got a call from his mum saying it was actually hail and telling him not to drive until it calms down. So we wondered around the stores some more. It most definitely was hail, you could hear it everywhere you went. It was so heavy the roof was actually leaking. It was pretty cool.
It eventually calmed down and we left. The drive home was quite interesting. There was one HUGE 'puddle' (it as kind of too big to call a puddle) that we had to drive through, and some of the trees we drove past had been knocked over by the storm. It definitely didn't look like summer.

The view out of the car as we drove through the 'puddle' 

The view out the front from in the 'puddle'

Poor tree.

This isn't a very happy, pretty post, but it was a pretty awesome storm. It supposed to be similar weather the next few days. Yays! :P I wonder when I'm going to experience the "Australian summer" I've heard about!