Brain zapper

Watching TV turns me into a zombie, yes literally the walking dead. I will sit down to watch something for ten minutes and emerge from a television coma 3 hours later. Its like I am hypnotised and cant pull myself away. After work when I am tired and just want to switch off , switching on the television seems like the easiest option.
After 23 years I have realised that this is not the healthiest or most constructive way to unwind. Especially now that working full time means I have less me time, I don't want to be wasting it all watching tele. The winter months are just around the corner and I think it is time to break bad habits before it gets too hard.
I am all about moderation and completely switching off isn't really practical in my household so I am limiting myself to watching one show a night. On the weekends I am going to try to only watch two hours a day - max. I use to think people who gave up TV were crazy but now I am thinking they may be onto something. I am sure I will struggle to give up my emotional attachment to the cast of my favorite shows but I think it's time to make the break.
What is your routine after work? How do you switch off and unwind? Or do you stay active till bed? Have you given up TV? I am keen to change my routine and would love to be inspired.

spontaneous shopping

I am just going to put this out there, if you haven't already figured it out from reading my blog, I love to shop. It isn't just going home with the new purchase, it's also the thrill of the chase. Writing out the list, researching prices, going into the shops, having a coffee to contemplate your options then going in for the kill. The last wallet I bought I visited the store no less then six times before I purchased it.

Then sometimes you come across something you just can't resist, or stumble upon a crazy sale and your usual strategy flies out the window. This seems to be happening to me more often lately and this is what I have bought home in my basket.

Ring from Equip

Bag from a stall in China town

The clothes in the last photo are all from Dotti. I sometimes think their clothes are overpriced but at DFO they were having a crazy sale and hardly anything I bought was over $7 so I couldn't really resist. 

My spontaneous shopping is over for now though as I start saving for my trip to the US (less then 5 months!!) and I am worried that my faithful laptop is on the way out, so its time to save, save, save.

Easter weekend.

I still cant believe that we got five days off, all in a row. They went far too quickly, quicker then any work week goes. My weekend was jam packed and full of my favorite people. On Friday we made the four hour drive to Griffith, the home town to a number of our friends and a popular Easter wine festival. We were welcomed with a huge seafood spread for Good Friday and then lounged on the grass in the sun. I ate so much for lunch I couldn't fit in any dinner which is disappointing as it was so delicious.

Saturday the weather was absolutely beautiful, the sun was so hot that I ended up having to strip off my cardigan and stockings. Perfect day for a wine festival. We got coffee (which took forty minutes to make, really bad service) and a sausage roll and were ready for action.

The festival cost $5 to get in and was $21 for six glasses of wine, plus there were lots of food stalls selling delicious snacks. It was kind of the perfect Saturday good food, wine, sun and friends.

My first fairy floss in over 10 years.

We made our way back to Canberra on the Sunday and picked up my sister and her boyfriend from the bus stop. Monday was ANZAC day and we played two-up (we came out on top again two years in a row) and went out for dinner. Tuesday we went shopping and I went a little crazy in Dotti as they were having an enormous sale, pretty much everything I bought was $7 will share my finds soon. We spent the afternoon putting together our new bed, last nights sleep was pure bliss after putting up with our broken bed for the last 6 weeks. I then dropped Leah and James back to the bus to head back to Sydney.

Today was back to work and I somehow managed to catch a cold but have decided it was worth it to have such an amazing weekend. I hope everyone else had a great long weekend!

Tomato and fennel soup

I am addicted to soup at the moment, I just cant get enough. I love that one batch stretches over lots of meals. At the moment I am really into this tomato soup, and wanted to share the recipe. It is perfect for the Autumn weather and is something to look forward to at lunch time.


Ingredients
1kg of tomatos
2 brown onions
1 Fennel bulb
3 cups of vegetable stock
2 cloves of garlic

Method
1. Chop all the ingredients, it doesn't need to be pretty as it will all be blended lately .
2. Put oil, onion, garlic and fennel in a pot and cook until soft.
3. Add tomatoes and veggie stock, bring to the boil and then simmer for half an hour.
4. Add salt and pepper to taste.

5. Blend in a blender or food processor.
6. Put back into pot to warm up and then serve.

This recipe is so delicious and easy to make, enjoy!

Seeing red

I have wanted to wear this dress with a red cardigan for months. The only problem was that I didn’t actually have a red cardigan. I finally picked one up at the red spot boutique (Target) yesterday. So of course the first thing that I did was put this on for work today. I feel as though I am channelling Emma Pilsbury a little bit.

Brendan and my outfit photos are so amateur. I never quite know what to do and our camera is pretty lame. Oh well, you have to work with what you've got.

The handbag is one of my favourites. I got it 18 months ago from Hong Kong. My sister always jokes that it’s an overnight bag – not a handbag. What can I say? I like to be able to carry lots of “essential” items around with me. No wonder I always have a sore shoulder.

Tuesday is always such a busy day. I have food coach in the morning and RPM at lunch time and then dinner with my friend Zoe. How has your Tuesday been?

Wet weekend

On Saturday Brendan and I ventured to Sydney to go to the Doncaster races at Randwick.

It ended up being the wettest day Sydney has had in ten years.

Very inappropriate weather for going to the races, with 18,000 people trying to squish into the very limited covered areas.

Getting dressed for an hour and a half was completely washed away as we stood in the rain waiting for the taxi. We lost two umbrellas to the elements.

But we had a wonderful time, I even bet on the right horse to win the Doncaster.

This is the only photo I have from the day( and the lighting and quality is terrible), too busy trying to keep dry to take photos.

What did you do on the weekend?

a girl and her shoes

If you follow me on Twitter you may have heard about my shoe haul on Saturday.

Brendan and I quickly popped into K-mart and I decided to have a little look at the shoes.

Brendan nearly had a heart attack when I emerged from the shoe section with six pairs in my basket.

But they came to a grand total of $60 so I have no regrets. Even though I have had to live off $17 for the last three days.

These are my favorite pair, my obsession with floral knows no bounds.

Cooking competition

I mentioned last week that my friends and I were having a little cooking competition based on the tv show My Kitchen Rules. Well last Sunday night it was my turn to have everyone over and it went pretty well. I have never cooked three courses for anyone before and it took me all day!
I hadn't cooked any of the recipes I used, which is completely against everything they say to do on the show but unless people wanted tacos and a banana paddle pop I had to branch out a little.

My tomato and fennel soup was probably the stand out for me, it was just the perfect blend of flavors. I will share the recipe this week. It is so easy and I ended up making another batch for work lunches.

The goats cheese tart was probably the biggest stressor, I was so worried that it was not going to taste good but it actually worked out pretty well. I joked at one point that I had a tart in crisis which was met with the reply that I am a tart in crisis. Good friends right? I am going to try and perfect the recipe before sharing. I served it with a fig, rocket and spring onion salad with balsamic vinegar. I am very into figs right now.

Lastly, I made a strawberry cheesecake, I wanted to so something with chocolate but decided to take a risk and totally go out of my comfort zone. Cheesecake is tough and I really struggled to tell if it was cooked or not and then whether it was set. I wont be trying it again anytime soon but it was pretty good for a first attempt.

I am pretty happy that my go is over and now I can just sit back and enjoy everyone else's cooking.

shock horror, a little mail post

Wow it has been so long since a mail post, I have been really slack and have a huge pile to catch up on but I will get there eventually.

 

I participated in Alyssa's Beat the Xmas Blues swap and was partnered up with the lovely Charity, who sent me the gorgeous package above, I absolutely adore the bicycle necklace.

 

This was the package I sent out to Charity, full of my favourite things jewellery, stationery and chocolate.

 

Packaging for the swap.

 

I have slowly, and I emphasis slowly started catching up on my letters. Here is a letter to the wonderful Micaela.

A very over due letter to Belen.

And a first letter off to Jasmine.

Food coach update

Awhile ago I mentioned that I was about to start seeing a food coach. Well I am now six weeks in and so far it has been a really positive experience. I was at a point where I wanted to lose weight but couldn't do it by myself. My food coach is great she is really supportive and has given me so many useful tips that have been easy to apply to my every day life.

Some people have asked me what the role of a food coach is and I thought I would just give a quick run down. Pretty much I keep a food journal of everything I eat and we highlighted my weaknesses (i.e chocolate and ice cream everyday). She then gave me tips on how to manage this and to initiate healthier choices. In addition to this we do measurements and have a general chit chat every week. So far I have lost 3kgs which I am really happy with and definitely leading a more healthy lifestyle.

I don't want to jinx anything but I feel like I am coming out of the hard part. Getting rid of old habits and starting to reinstate a new routine seems to be the toughest part. Ignoring 3pm sugar cravings and ordering a healthy meal when your friends are eating delicious pizza or hamburgers. Making time for the gym when you really want to lie on the couch and watch True Blood.

Source

I thought I would share a few of the personal things that I have found really work for me. These are just my personal experience so take from it what you like and leave anything else.
Always be prepared - having a well stocked fridge, my lunch packed every night for work the next day and snacks in my handbag has reduced the amount of bad takeout I buy or chocolates that I buy on the run when I am hungry.
Sugar and alcohol should be associates not good friends - this is where I have made the biggest change. I love chocolate and wine and it is not something I am prepared to give up completely but I am moderating my intake. I could eat chocolate and ice cream every day but sugar is so hard to break down so I have limited this to a few times a week and not more then once a day. If I am going to drink I try and have red wine.
Move the way you like - I dont love exercising. I really have to push myself to get out there and do it. There is no point pushing myself to exhaustion as I wont want to exercise the next day. Instead I wake up and see what I feel like doing that day. If I really, really dont want to exercise I dont make myself as I am trying not to connect exercising with negative thoughts.
Eating healthy doesn't necessarily mean eating less - I am actually eating more and on a more regular basis. Keeping full on healthy meals reduces any binges that I can be prone to and seems to reduce sugar cravings. I haven't given up junk food completely, I think that is unrealistic considering how much I love pizza and ice cream just trying to moderate how often I have it.

Office space

I am in the middle of a massive Autumn clean out, reorganisation and decoration of my home study. It has been something that has been getting to me for a while now and I finally took action this afternoon. Of course now I won't be able to sleep until its all finished. The cleaning and organisation is easy but I am on the hunt for decorating ideas. I am so lucky to have such a big space to work with and I feel like it has been going to waste, hopefully some of the following inspiration will help me figure out what I want.

 Country Living

Source

Analyssa Benedict

Between Naps on the porch

I have also been scouring apartment therapy and I think the main thing I am getting is that I have to be paitent and wait for decorating treasures to appear rather then rush the project. I wish I could paint the walls, but renting doesn't allow for it. I don't think I would be able to resist a yellow or pink feature wall. I will give a photo update soon.

P.S Thanks so much for all your kind comments on the previous post. Am going to catch up with everyones blogs over the next couple of days :-)