Thankful Thursday {with a dash of cushion}

Here's to wedding planning that only leaves you more excited each day {two days and two hours to go}, to air conditioners that make it feel bliss inside when it is stinking hot outside, to boxes that sort my mess, to a supportive family and to cushions that make the couch that more comfortable! Cheers.

What have you been thankful for lately?

Not Long Now

Two days and twenty hours until I get to marry my best friend! So excited. Everything is happening now. Today - I picked up my dress, Mr J picked up his suit, the groomsmen suits arrived and so did most of the bridesmaid dresses, we finalised the service order and the days schedule. Tomorrow - I am getting some colour added to my skin, finish some decorations and we rehearse our ceremony. Friday - we set up our venues, the girls get their nails done, clean my engagement ring, freak out a little, watch movies and hope to get a good hour of sleep that may only become minimal. The day that I have dreamt of for years and been counting down since December 2012 will be here before we know it.

While I got some down time to myself today, I began writing a small letter to my one true love. I began to list some words that describes Mr J to soon realise that no amount of words could ever describe how much he means to me and how much I admire the man he is. The best part is, I get to be his wife! {Apologies to those who don't fancy the lovey dovey stuff but if anytime gives a girl permission to say it, it should be around her wedding}.

Scrap Paper Quotes

For those of you that have more scrap paper that you know what to do with, this project could be perfect for you! Simply cut out some letters to form quotes that you love. Use these as posters for your home or even on homemade birthday cards. Something as simple as this could brighten someone's day.

 {This one lives in my kitchen) 

{This one lives above the toilet in our bathroom}

Living in a Unit - Tip 2 - Blank Walls

We all have those walls that are blank. Walls that just beg for attention and scream for love. Why not add a personal touch to the place you call home in a form of artwork! Sounds easy right? It's actually not, especially if you live in a small space, it is quite tricky when all your walls and angles are strange. Finding the perfect shape frame is near impossible and then finding the motivation can be harder than climbing Mt Everest. I was in that boat until I came along this idea (pictured above) - nothing more than a long piece of string and some pegs. A piece of string which allows me to hang our best memories and rotate them day to day. I also see a future for some of my most loved postcards and prints here too. Something unique but something me.

What fills your walls?

Happy Australia Day

{Image sourced from Pinterest} 

Happy Australia day everyone!

Today, in a beautiful 34 degrees celcius, we were blessed to spend the evening next to a swimming pool, a barbecue, listening to the hottest 100 with treasured friends. How did you spend your day?

Good on these guys who received our national awards!
Australian of the year: Adam Goodes
Young Australian of the year: Jacqueline Freney
Senior Australian of the year: Fred Chaney
Australian's Local Hero: Tim Conolan 

While we celebrate the country we live in, Ellen DeGeneres, Kirk Franklin, Vince Carter and among others are celebrating their birthdays too. To see other historical events that happen on this day over the past years, go here.

For those of you lucky enough to get tomorrow off as well. Enjoy!

My Day in Photos {mostly}

One week until Mr J and I tie the knot. Can.Not.Wait. Today we woke to eggs for breakfast to prepare us for a day of cruising in a friends classy car. We stopped for lunch at this great bakery and continued our drive to have another sneak peek at our wedding reception location and photo spots. Excitement is up to boiling point. We finished the day with a relaxing bbq with family friends. Today was a super sunny Saturday that left us smiling. 

I hope your weekend has started with a blast!

The Company of Friends

When some of your closest friends invite you over for a homemade meal, board games and a drink out of these glasses, there is no way you would say no. We certainly didn't. A night with Ben and Laura is always a night to look forward to - we laugh, we catch up, we plan future holidays, we eat amazing food and we add to our board game knowledge. Last night was different to the rest as we learnt how chips are made and as their first anniversary of marriage creeps up we flicked through some of their gorgeous wedding photos. We are always thankful for their company.

What do you love doing with your friends?
Happy Friday Everyone!

Thankful Thursday {with a dash of homemade art}

Let's charge our glasses to homemade art that is a reminder that happiness is in the ones around us, to the relationship between toast and toasters that leave the house smelling yummy, to a new home for our television and dvd's, to days spent in my childhood home and to parents who always put a smile on my face, to catch up dates with beautiful friends, to moments spent in front of this great show and to a fiancé who loves playing games as much as I do. Cheers!

What are some of the things you have been thankful for lately? Please share!

Living in a Unit - Tip 1 - Storage Furniture

Fitting a kitchen, dining area, living space, bedroom, laundry, toilet and bathroom inside a 60 metre square three bedroom unit is a challenge in itself, let alone adding a person (soon to be two!) plus a house full of their clothes, shoes, dvd's, books, appliances and art. Mr J and I accepted this challenge when we purchased this cosy space in June 2013.

So, I hear you asking how do you give everything a home and keep things tidy? The answer is every piece of furniture must have storage! Last night, a beautiful pine television cabinet was delivered to our unit from a friend who is moving homes. The cabinet has helped my sanity as I no longer have to pull out one dvd from my bookcase to also have five other dvd's, six novels and a recipe book fall on top of me too. Instead, my dvd's get their own home and no matter how messy it can get behind those doors, the mess is hidden (for now).

Don't get me wrong, the unit has days when it looks like a wild pig has visited, doing laps and backflips leaving the place in a 'pig sty' but knowing that everything has a home and that an hour of tidying allows me to feel comfortable when guests come over makes things so much better.

Any storage is good storage.

See other posts about our unit here.

Shopping for the Home

What does a women do when she can't decide whether to buy cutlery or placemats with a voucher received as an engagement present? She ponders the decision at the cafe across the road of course! The chai latte defintely helped me reach a decision to go with the 60% off cutlery set. Bargain. 

Have you ever hit that stage in life when shopping for the home becomes more exciting than shopping for yourself? I have. Maybe it is because I fear those dream jeans will hug my hips too tight or the dress that looks divine on the rack will let me down once I put it on. Whatever the reason, if I was to choose to stop at a home decor store or the fashion store - I would choose home decor right away. Here are some of the things I have spotted and added to my wish list:

1. Proppmat Chopping Board 2. Strandmon Wing Chair in Svanby Grey 3. Kvarnvik boxes with lids 4. Print by Sevenly 5. Alarm Clock 6. Claro Candles (not shipping internationally yet though) 7. Pegasaurus magnet 8. Scout Soap Dish

What is your favourite piece of home decor at the moment? I would love to hear from you in a comment below! 

Weekend In Photos {mostly}

How was your weekend? Our weekend was full and fun. Mr J, my greatest childhood friend Lauren and I drove six hours across the Victorian border to set up camp for a beautiful wedding on Saturday. We played these road trip games on the way over, ate fan tales, admired the beautiful country scenery, challenged each other in board games, mingled and fell asleep to the rain on our tent. Bliss. 

Thankful Thursday {with a dash of travelling}

I charge my glass to the men in my life who find driving relaxing when I can find it a chore, to beautiful friends who get married, to six hours of travelling with my two best friends, to blogs such as this one, this one and this one that inspire me, to calendars that keep us on track, to streets that share the same name as me, to a fiancé who makes the best bacon, egg and cheese toasties and to countdowns that tell me I only have sixteen sleeps until our wedding! Cheers.

What have you been thankful for lately? {I would love to hear from you in a comment below}

An Introduction to the Unit

Mr J and I purchased the unit while we were engaged. It is small - only sixty metres square. One bedroom, one room with living/dining/kitchen, one room for bathroom/toilet/laundry plus a small shed, undercover carport and a small garden. It is all we need. Moving one bedroom worth of gear from my parent's home to the unit wasn't too hard, but the challenge is avoiding clutter and finding homes for new purchases and gifts. Day by day I'm learning new 'unit-living' tricks, as well common 'moving-out-of home' things. Throughout my adventure of unit ownership and married life (in seventeen sleeps!) I hope I can help other's living the same life, as well as be excited to receive advice from anyone been there or doing the same.

Here's to cozy places we call our home!

His & Her Mugs

I have seen these cute mugs all over pinterest and it has been on my 'must make' list for approximately one whole year. The day finally came when I bought the materials and created my own. Do they wash well? A tad of the texta faded on my mugs after I hand washed them, however nothing that can't be fixed. Defintley do not put them in the dishwasher and for a longer-lasting personalisation use a good quality texta (rather than the recommended 'sharpie'). Great gift idea.

2013 In Review

{photo sourced from pinterest}

HAPPY NEW YEAR! To all of my family that I count as my best friends and friends that have become family, thank you for all of your support, encouragement and memories that we have shared over the past year. Can't wait to see what 2014 has in store for us!

2013 Highlights:

1. Mr J and my engagement party

2. A weekend serving at KCO

3. Camping at Mambray Creek

4. My first teaching placement

5. Spending a long weekend in Melbourne with family

6. Buying and moving into Mr J and my first home

7. Celebrating Mr J's birthday with a day of surprises

8. Making art

9. Hosting meals

10. Spending days with family in my home town

11. Visiting Lauren P at her farming university

12. Becoming the closest of friends with a wonderful couple from church

13. Having date nights with Mr J at home

14. Cheering on the power and visiting Aami stadium for the last time

15. Mr J and my breakfast date to East Terrace Continental Cafe

16. For a day of unfortunate events that left me feeling grateful for the people in my life

17. A weekend serving at SAYCO

18. A day spent at Victor Harbour eating fish & chips and playing mini golf

19. Cheering Mr J as he did Movember

20. Eating and playing games at Hungry Hippos

21. Attending the Adelaide pageant for the first time

22. Hosting a Body Shop Party with the girls

23. Buying my own Christmas tree

24. Going to Swan Reach for young adults retreat 

25. Celebrating four years with Mr J

26. Celebrating Farnder's 70th Birthday in style

27. Attending Adelaide carols with family

28. Spending Christmas with loved ones

29. Relaxing at Port Elliot with Mr J's family

Favourite Songs:

Oceans (acoustic) - Hillsong United

Wanted - Dara Maclean

The Big Parade - The Lumineers

Where the Sprit of the Lord is - Hillsong United

I Won't Give Up - Jason Mraz

Favourite Movie:

About Time

Favourite Series:

Packed to the Rafters

Favourite Books:

For Women Only by Shaunti Feldhahn

For Men Only by Shaunty Feldhahn

The 5 languages by Gary D Chapman

The Meaning of Marriage by Timothy Keller

Feminine Appeal by Carolyn Mahaney

Things I am looking forward to in 2014:

1. Getting married to the man of my dreams

2. Game nights with friends

3. Getting another year closer to graduating my degree

4. Living with my best friend

5. Using our free movie vouchers

6. Going camping

7. Hosting dinner parties

8. Turning twenty-one

9. Starting a new personal bible study and book

10. Improving my cooking skills

2014, let's do this!!