in pursuit of organised-ness

We have been planning a pantry at our house for quite a while. Both hubby and I love to cook and we own many gadgets, as well as a vast collection of ingredients. We do have a big kitchen with plenty of storage - it just turns out its not quite enough... ;) It's also annoying that stuff ends up in the back of the cupboards so we end up buying more of stuff that we already have because we just can't see it. Anyway, we decided to turn our under the stairs cupboard into a pantry. It is right next to our kitchen, so its not too far away, and is an ideal size. We (well, by 'we' I mean hubby) emptied it out a while ago and painted it white. Then a few weeks ago the shelves were put up.  And last weekend we got the time to actually move stuff in. It still needs a bit of sorting out, and I want to put pretty labels on jars and shelf liners. Plus I need to sort out my spice storage. But I think it's looking pretty fab so far. I saw the idea for this plastic-s...

I'm on day 9 of my #5aDay challenge & so far it's going ok. Some days (like the weekend) were a bit of a struggle as I was out and about and my eating gave way to drinking. But even then I managed to eat 5 different fruit & veg. It's beginning to wane a bit at the moment due to lack of planning, but I thought I'd share with you some tips that have helped me so far on my challenge. Get your fruit & veg delivered We stumbled upon a veg box delivery service and it has definitely helped make sure I get my fill. Instead of going to the shops and just buying what we need, we plan our meals around what we have. It means we will often get items that we wouldn't normally buy, and get a good variety. I know this isn't going to practical for everyone, but I would definitely recommend it if you can. Plan your meals and... If you don't get a veg box delivered (and even if you do) take some time to plan some meals and buy what you need. Making sure you...

I haven't had as much time for knitting and crafting as I'd like this last week. Mainly because of work committments, Evie being awake a lot more, and planning my birthday celebrations!! Yes, it's my birthday tomorrow, and today is my last day in my twenties. And I don't feel a day older than 17. I will say my twenties have been pretty great. I met my current husband. I graduated uni. I moved into my house. I got married. I gave birth to my daughter. I've made some great friends. I've met some amazing people. So all I can really say is - Thirties, you've got some living up to do! :D Onto crafting news, I have finally finished all the knitting for my first fairy, just need to find the time to sit down and sew it all together. Hopefully it'll be ready for FO Friday.

It's finished! The duffle coat from Debbie Bliss' Ultimate Book of Baby Knits, was finally finished on new year's day. It's a lovely coat and a great fit for Evie. I made the 3-6 month size and it does have a bit of room to grow into. The knitting (all garter stitch) was very straight forward, unfortunately my making up needs a bit of work - but I won't let this put me off. The yarn used - Debbie Bliss Rialto DK - is lovely and soft and I love the colour. Plus I have 1 and a half left over balls of yarn, so may make a hat. I am  so pleased with this. I love the hood and cute little pockets, and will most likely make it in the next size up. (I would love to try and scale it up for me, but I think that's a bit beyond my skillset at the moment.) Now off to Tami's blog to see what everyone else has been up to...

I've had my days a bit out of order this week so completely missed WIP Wednesday yesterday. Here is what I am currently working on. It's the Blossom Tree Fairy from Fiona McDonald's 'Knitted Fairies' book. I am using yarn from my stash, as per my January challenge and don't have the recommended yarns, but  have found quite good alternatives and it should look almost similar. I'm looking forward to seeing the finished fairy and get a feeling this could become quite addictive....

I did start this item on my list and created a blog though it was more general wellbeing rather than just beauty. However, I didn't stick to it. There are several reasons for this. 1. It is not my area of expertise. I know how I get by, but I don't wear make up every day nor do I experiment much, I buy beauty products based on its packaging rather than what it'll do for me, and I am rubbish at maintaining any kind of beauty regime for any serious length of time.  2. There are so many (much better) beauty and lifestyle blogs out there mine was just lost amongst the noise and didn't really offer anything different. 3. I wasn't getting much out of it. So I decided not to persue this any more. Instead I will focus my blogging efforts on this one, my craft one and my cake one . Each of these blogs I get something out of, and while they are not niche by any stretch, I know enough about each topic to hold my own in the 'blogsphere'. I also have another id...

It has come to my attention that I have been a bit slack at keeping on top of my 101 Things in 1001 Days list . With the start of a new year has come a renewed enthusiasm to start working on it again, especially as this is my last full year. With that in mind I have started item number 50 on my list. Take a photo every day for a whole year. (Yes, I would choose the longest year to start this!) I started on January 1st and will be posting photos to my tumblr blog and to an album on Facebook . I imagine there will be plenty of photos of Evie, but I do hope it will be a good representation of my year and what we get up to.  This is also a way for me to spend more time using my Canon 500d Digital SLR camera and get back into photography, I may even sign up for a photography class....maybe. If you are doing Project 366 please let me know in the comments below and leave a link to your blog or photos so I can take some inspiration from you. With regards to the other...

Happy New Year!  What a year 2011 was.  The highlight being welcoming my beautiful daughter into the world. I am really excited by 2012, I have so many plans and ideas - crafty and otherwise - and so many interesting opportunities and ventures ahead. But most of these will be covered on my other blog . As you know I like my lists and challenges. It helps keep me organised and focussed, and this little blog has encouraged me to try new things, read new blogs and actually focus on finishing projects so I have something to show for FO Friday . And the promise of a new year is an ideal time to set some new crafty goals. 1. To have a fnished object to show EVERY Friday. 2. To work my way through my Crafty Bucket List . That's it. I have a lot to focus on this year but I don't want my crafting to take a back seat and I hope this blog will encourage me to keep going. And now, for my January Challenge - to use the yarn in my stash. I have plenty of yarn that's been hang...

Happy New Year! I am actually really looking forward to this year. I have a BIG birthday coming up in less than two weeks. I get to do a lost more firsts with my daughter - her first holiday, easter, a wedding, her birthday. I have plans for growing my cakey business. I have plans for my crafting. I have an exciting project with my best friend due to launch very soon. All-in-all, its exciting and I am feeling pretty positive. However, with all this planned I will need to be a lot more pro active than I have been, more organised and motivated. As you know I love my challenges and like to set myelf goals, even if I don't always meet them. They are there to motivate and encourage me, and I think a big part of it is not being distracted if I miss a day and just getting straight back into it instead of giving up completely. Here are my new year's resolutions. 1. To continue on my eternal quest to have a clean & tidy home. This includes sorting out the attic, understair...