sHoPaHoLiC

I totally didnt realise that yesterday was my 100th post, so instead I am celebrating my 101st post today!
To celebrate I did some shopping (ok both events were completely unrelated but we can pretend) and thought I would share some of my amazing finds.
I went out to our factory outlets which i think are pretty good for getting basic pieces or cheaper on trend things. I ended up only spending $85 and got two cardigans, two hoodies, two skirts, a scarf and a beret. I am pretty impressed with myself if you cant tell. Here is some photos of my favourite pieces....

Two skirts, the flower one is so comfy.

Scarf and beret ($1 each), their actually making me look a little forward to winter.

And my absolute favourite - how cute is that little deer?

I also bought this ring yesterday after seeing it featured on my teacups in peony. Check out the little owl shop such gorgeous jewellery thats affordable and unique. There are a few other pieces I have my eye on such as this matching camera necklace and ring.

I am also in love with this necklace after seeing it on Down and out chic. Check out Cuteability another great jewellery shop on etsy.

So i think I will be putting away my credit card for a little while. Anyone else have shopping plans for the weekend?

Thankyou so much to everyone who joined the stationery swap. Emails assigning partners will be going out on the weekend.

P.S Want some great new music to listen to? Look up Angus and Julia Stone or Tegan and Sara. I have only just discovered these wonderful bands and  am already in love with both.

Swap closing soon

Just a little reminder that if you want to participate in the stationery swap it closes in 9 hours.
Thank you so much to everyone who is already participating. I am looking forward to partnering everyone up over the weekend. You will receive your partner by Monday! Any issues please email me.

Contact

I love to hear from you and make new friends so please feel free to email me at timeaftertea (at) gmail (dot) com

I am also (against by better judgement) a twitter addict so join me here.

A little mailbag and a SWAP update!

Incoming...

Firstly, this gorgeous envelope from a swap - bot decorated envie swap. I love the Alice and Wonderland theme as I cant wait to see the movie. Did you know the actress who plays Alice is originally from Canberra, cool hey? I also love that she addressed it Megan "Sparkle" I wonder if she did that on purpose?

This is a postcard from a swap bot postcard swap. It is all the way from London and I just love it!

This gorgeous letter from Melody. She is only 13 and abolutely blew me away with her insight, not like any other 13 year old I have meet before! I love that she covered the envelope in random facts.

Outgoing....

Both of these envelopes were made from the vintage calendar i bought. I ended up making twelve of them as I was so happy with the way they turned out.

I bought some little Golden Books from the op shop last week to make some envelopes with. This is my first attempt.

Only a little mail bag today. Uni is really kicking my butt at the moment and interferring with my letter writing and blogging. Hopefully I will be able to catch up on the weekend. My mum and sister are coming to visit this afternoon to stay for two nights. I cant wait, I miss them both so much. Were having a big cook up tonight which should be fun.

Now for a swap update! As you may have seen the swap closes at 12am on the 26th February (this Friday) just note this is Australian time if you are joining from overseas. I have sent out emails to all those who are interested in participating, if you do not reply to this email you will not be apart of the swap. If you have not received an email please let me know as soon as possible. I will be sending out emails over the weekend notifying people of their swap partner. You than have until the 16th March to send out your package.

Gee, i hope that all makes sense please feel free to ask questions, and once again thanks for participating. At the moment we have over 30 swappers which is more than I could have ever anticipated, you have made me one happy little camper :-)

SPOILT

This week I have been so spoilt with beautiful packages from other bloggers and lets just say this is a week I have needed it. Without going into details my emotions are all over the place and I am not quite sure when things will be going back to normal but I should be ok. Anyway off on a tangent again, have a look at my goodies.

This lovely little package full of beautiful stationery from Micaela. She is probably the sweetest girl i have ever meet. How gorgeous was the envelope she sent it in, and I fell in love with the postcard of Audrey.

The next one I received as part of Danielle's Knick Knack exchange. The lovely Catherine in New York sent me these gorgeous earrings that she made herself from Marino Glass. Love them, I put them straight on.

Than lastly this morning I got up and this was waiting for me from Summers Valentines Day Swap. The gorgeous Michelle sent me this beautiful package with a love necklace, a cuff that i am wearing right now and some other fun tidbits.It was wrapped beautifully but i was too excited to wait to open it. Check out her gorgeous etsy shop.

Thankyou so much to everyone for their gorgeous packages you really have made my world a little more cheery.

Oh and dont forget to join my stationery swap before the 26th February if your interested!

Two things I love around my home..

I have been loving reading everyones posts about what they love around there home and decided that it was time to join in. If you want to join in check out the lovely bacwoods fern.

My first thing is this old world globe which i got just yesterday. I was driving into our complex just as one of our neighbours was about to throw it out. Without thinking i stopped and asked her if i could have it, she didnt seem to mind but afterwards i thought it might have been a bit rude, but I am happy I saved it from the bin.

This gorgeous teacup is my second item. My friend bought it for me for christmas after I mentioned i liked it when we were out shopping. I am yet to drink from it, its just two pretty.

What are your two favourite things this week?

A stationery swap

I have wanted to host a stationery swap for a long time, and I have decided to just put the idea out there and ask for people to join in.

The idea is you send your partner some stationery whether it be paper, envelopes, postcards, pens, ribbons etc feel free to use your imagination and in return you will receive a package full of lovely stationery. The stationery can be handmade or store bought or a mixture of both. It would also be great if you could put a little letter in with your package.
Also please spread the word about this swap it would great to have lots of people participating!

Image

The fine details
The maximum spend is $15 but if you go over a little that is ok.
The swap would be international so if your not happy sending overseas please put in your comment with your country of origin.
At the moment there isnt a close date for this swap, I will leave it open until we have enough participants and than advise of a close date. Hopefully the swap will take place in March.
Please don't sign up if you have no intention of participating, its not fair on your swap partner.
To join leave a comment below with your email address :-)

Mailbag and a swap.

Incoming -
Postcards....

From Marta in Lublin

I love this stained glass postcard from Kelly in New York.

This wonderful postcard from Taiwan

And finally this one from Roseann in San Antonio

An adorable Valentines day card from my sister.

Letter....

From the queen of letter writing Bianca. I borrowed the photo from her as well.

Outgoing

Letters....

Swap.....

My gifts I sent out for the Valentines Day swap - cupcake wrappers, cupcake toppers, chocolates and my two favourite photos from my trip to Paris. My partners three requests were, cupcakes, chocolate and pink.

Uni is really taking up my time and it is only the first week. I really want to keep blogging and letter writing reguarly, this means that I have to be more motivated and organised. I am starting to write a to do list every night so I can be focused. I think one of my biggest problems is trying to do ten things at once than not finishing any of them. How do you stay organised? Any tips? I am off to try and make some vintage envelopes before bed. I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentines day, i had a lovely breakfast made for me and a beautiful card with some scratchies which i managed to win a whole $14 from.

I also had an idea to hold a stationery swap. There is quite a few swaps happening at the moment so it probably wont be happening for awhile but just wanted to see if anyone is interested?

A wonderful giveaway and a lovely blog

Don't you just love it when you stumble on a beautiful blog? This morning i headed over to The madness of mundanity to check out Laura's give away that I had been hearing about. I am so glad that I did because not only is her giveaway wonderful but her blog is beautiful and I love, love that she works in a vintage camera shop, i find that very romantic, imagine the people that you would meet and the experiences they would share.

To enter Laura's give away you must fill out "a getting to know you questionnaire" that she created, so here goes...

 

I always... brush my teeth before leaving the house, kiss my boyfriend before i leave for work in the morning, have peanut butter on toast for breakfast, have my mobile phone with me, check my blogger dashboard at least once a day, have room for dessert.

I sometimes...spend too much money when i go shopping, clench my teeth when i am stressed, forget to turn off the hair straightener when i leave the house, have just garlic bread for dinner, ditch going out for spending time in my pj's watching movies, miss the bus.

I never... complete my to do list, brush off time with friends and family, bite my nails, have money left the day before pay day, get up before 6.30am. 

Want to join in the fun head over to The madness of Mundanity.

Pieces of Me... a little late.

This month....


I like the constant rain for two days straight, finding amazing postcard at the National museum, having breakfast cooked for me on Valentines day and heading to the markets.
I don't like my 5000 word tax assignment that is due tomorrow and the fact that uni is taking over my letter and blog writitng time.
I want you to know i think i might be addicted to swaps. Am currently trying to get my knick knack exchange ready to go.
I've planned to be more productive, i need to get out of holiday mode.
I want to say to someone special Happy Valentines day to all those in the blogging community!

Want to play along, check out Notes from the toothfairy

Wedding songs in lure of Valentines day.

 Image

Most women dream of their wedding day from the time they are little girls. The dress, the flowers, the place, the season and probably most importantly the man. For me though it has always been about the music (ok and the man) i think music has such a powerful presence at any occasion so today I am going to share my four wedding song choices in celebration of Valentines Day.

Walking down the aisle: When you say you love me: Josh Groban

Signing the Registry: You and me - Lifehouse

Walking out of the church: Burn your name - Powderfinger

First Dance: Sampson - Regina Spektor

What were your wedding songs or what do you want them to be?

Nb: I am not engaged or getting married I just wanted to share a little of my wedding dream

Guess where I am going?

This morning I woke up with a dreadful hangover from a friends dinner party last night, a little too much sav blanc for me. I got up headed to my computer to check my emails and guess what? I had an email saying I had won tickets to "The Burlesque Hour" from the lovely Lady Smaggle (check out her blog if you havent already). I am so excited I have always wanted to go to a burlesque show and it was just what i needed to make the day a little brighter. Have you ever been before, did you like it? If your in Canberra you should come along I think it will be alot of fun!

Book Swap and Book Club

Hello All, I hope everyone had a great weekend. Mine was extremely busy with a welcome home party for my housemate and catching up with my best friend who was visiting for the weekend.

Guess what arrived on Friday morning? My bookswap book from Nahl. It looks like a really interesting book and I love that it has such a strong connection to Nahl because it is based in home town. It was also the first letter/package I have received from Pakistan so that also made it special. I am hopefully going to be able to sit down and read it on the weekend.

My friend also held her first bookclub on Sunday afternoon. It was alot of fun we got to sit around and eat cupcakes and drink ice tea and discuss one of my favourite things, books. The first book we read was 'The Reader', we discussed it for an hour which surprised me and I enjoyed hearing about the different impact the book had on people. I have to say I saw the movie first and loved the movie and the book, everyone else read the book than saw the movie and hated the movie, which i think is interesting. I think people (including myself) get attatched to books and the image they have in their heads of the characters and the scenes and i think that it is hard for movies to compete with peoples imaginations. The next book were reading is Mao's last dancer. Anywho I am rambling and have to go to class in 20 minutes. First day back and I am lacking enthusiasm, not a good start.

Ps Does anyone know a good blog designer this place needs a makeover and I am hopeless?

Mailbag - pretty postcards and envelopes.

This week I was so excited with all the mail I got, mostly postcards, I will share my favourites with you!

From a swapbotter in Canada

From Emily in Texas

From Veera in Finland

An - ting in Thaiwan - how cute are all the little dolls?

A cute map of Spain, unfortunately I couldnt read the name on the back.

Than this one that I adore, I mentioned on postcrossing that I liked Audrey and look what I got. I was super excited!

I also recieved this letter from Patty as part of her project to send 365 letters, as you can see I am number 21.

The one above finally turned up from Lauren who sent this letter a few weeks. Unfortunately customs had opened it and taken out the tea that was inside. I had the choice to pay $50 and have it sent back or destroyed for free. Unfortunately my wallet made the decision and the tea is getting destroyed. Thanks for the lovely thought though I am sure I would have loved it! The envelope is gorgeous.

These are two envelopes I made out of a calendar that I got for $2, I am really happy with how they have turned out.

And lastly in my exiting mail news I was featured as the pen pal of the week on We’ve got paper, check it out here, if your interested.

Happy Mail days!

Body Love Wednesday

Ok, I am going to put it out there I dont really enjoy exercise. I have never been a very co - ordinated person so never excelled at team sports, I am also a wee bit lazy and would prefer to a read a book. As I get older though I am realising how important it is too exercise, it reduces your risk of alot of not so nice diseases and gives you a good release of endorphins. So to try and make it more enjoyable I am trying to spice it up and do different things each week. At the moment my weekly routine looks a little like this -
Monday - Netball
Tuesday - Spin class
Wednesday - Pump
Thursday - Yoga
Friday - Cardio session at the gym
Saturday/Sunday - Swim/Walk
This is the plan for the month and than I will try and change it around again. What do you do to make exercise enjoyable? Whats your favourite workout?
And on the weightloss front I lost another .5kg Yay!! Its a slow process but I feel like I am getting there.

Thankyou so much for everyones lovely comments yesterday. It made our anniversary a little more sweeter being able to share the story with you guys.

This is OUR story

Yesterday Brendan and I celebrated our three year anniversary. However our story stretches back a lot longer than that and if you have the time I would love to share it with you.

Brendan and I were born 6 days apart in the same hospital and our mothers were even in the same room at the hospital. We spent a few fleeting moments in the same room too before I was whisked off too celebrate my first christmas with my family.

Our paths crossed again when we were in Year Six. We went to different schools but were both making our confirmation together at the same church. On the day of our confirmation my mum told me that I had been in the same hospital room as a baby with the blonde haired boy and that I should go up and say hello. For some reason I plucked up the courage to go and talk to him and started with the great one liner "Hey, so our birthdays are pretty close together" (I was 12 at the time). To which he replied " Uh, do you know if they have cut the cake yet?" and ran off on me. I was humiliated to say the least, thanks mum.

Than when I got on the bus for my very first day of high school who should get on at the next stop, yup the blonde boy who had humiliated me at my confirmation. We didnt talk for awhile and I am not even sure if he recognised who I was but after awhile we got talking and became great friends. We even dated for a little while in Year Eight but spent most of high school as best friends.

After high school we remained good friends and both ended long term relationships. I moved to Canberra to start university and he went off to Scotland to live for a year. Through the whole time we would email each other a few times a week and call when we could afford it. After 9 months of not seeing each other I made the journey home to see him when he got back from Scotland. I dont know what it was when I saw him again but for some reason I just thought he was the one I wanted to be with and luckily he felt the same way.

We had a long distance relationship for a year and than finally Brendan moved to Canberra to study teaching and last year we moved in together. We have our ups and downs but the good always outweighs the bad and as cliche as it sounds I am extremely lucky to have my best friend as as a partner. I definately think fate intervened a number of times in my life to ensure that Brendan was apart of it.

Paying it forward

Paying it forward has been floating around blogland and I think that it is definately representative of the community of people who do blog. I was lucky enough to get to participate through Brittan's Little Owl Arts blog and now in return I get to pay it forward!

How it works;
* I will handmake a piece of jewellery for the first 3 people who comment on this post and would like to play along. If you are one of the first three please leave an email for me to contact you on.
* I have a year (365 days) to complete my mission and send off the goodies! This way you dont know when to expect your parcel.
* There is no telling what those things might be, or when they will show up in the post, it's a mystery.
The fine print;
Since this is ‘Pay It Forward’. You, my dears, must do as I have done and post a similar blog entry yourself, hence Paying the handmade bloggy goodness Forward and keeping the fun going.

I am so excited for this little project, I hope you will join in on the fun!

Image