Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep

"Now I lay me down to sleep,

A bag of peanuts at my feet,

If I die before I wake,

Give them to my brother Jake."

I just love that I grew up on M*A*S*H. =)

Image courtesy of http://www.talkingpix.co.uk/InterviiewWilliamChristopher.html

I am desperate for some good bed linen. A doona cover and some sheets and pillow cases that do not fall under any of these categories:

• stark white
• brown
• pale/pastel
• too floral (I share with the boyfriend, after all)
• stripy
• spotty
• boring
• child-like
• "modern"
• make the bedroom look stale

I would really like bed linen that

• is interesting - can start up a conversation
• has some detail
• has some colour
• is boy friendly without being dull
• makes the bedroom look welcome and cheerful
• is different

Please help me guys, I'm sick of the way my bedroom looks. And if you possibly have any tips as far as bedroom decor is concerned, I'd love to hear them, including where I can find stuff for my bedroom or what I can do to liven up the room.

I can't even find pictures of what I mean, but I have an idea in my head. 

I'm just sick of my room being so bland and boring. I never want to be in there.

Any ideas will be gratefully received.

Thanks for listening.

x

Another Quiet Weekend Over

I had a fairly quiet weekend; worked a bit, bought some magazines, a bit of study, cooked some delicious soup (Split Pea and Prosciutto), baked some Shortbread with Passionfruit Cream, visited the relo's in Mornington (and got there by myself without a map - so proud!), did some knitting, watched heaps of movies (including Stranger Than Fiction, which Matt hadn't seen, and is now obsessed with), picked up some new glasses - which I'll post about later because I forgot to get photos of - and looked after Matt. It was still a good weekend though. At first I was a bit sour but it ended up being really good.


I still haven't finished the scarf (and I have knitted more since these photos), but this just gives you an idea of what it's going to look like.

Cardigan: Cotton On, Dress (worn as top under skirt): Supre, Skirt and Belt: Sportsgirl, Tights: Metalicus, Wool and Needles: Lincraft.

I'm such a proud little knitter!

This is maybe half the length that I want it to be. I'm hoping I wont give up on it and I will actually have it finished this year - I have a habit of getting bored of my projects and stopping them before I'm finished.

Here's the wool that I bought, and I have bamboo needles (can somebody say, 'sustainable'). It's such lovely wool, it looks a bit old fashioned, I reckon.

Gosh, Matt is cute. Drinkin' his tea and being all snuggled in the jumper I bought for him. I swear, most of the time when we are at home, at least one of us has a mug of tea in hand. At least it's not soft drink!

Naw, there he is again.

Here's a few things I'm listening to at the moment;

CSS - Left Behind

Yeasayer - O.N.E

Supergrass - Moving - Lisa got me into this one big time. Love it!

Have a lovely week everyone, and forgive me if my posts are dwindling, I have exams coming up very soon and one more assignment to do. 

And, if anyone in Melbourne is interested, Savers is having a 50% off sale today only, and you should go if only because I can't!! Savers' Sale

PS. If I ever mention a recipe that you think you might like, let me know, I'm always happy to share.

x

Hey there sugar!

Actually, Goodbye sugar!


A while ago, inspired by my friend Paula, who I worked with at the time, I decided to go two weeks without chocolate, and did so successfully, which I was pleasantly surprised about. After doing so, I wanted chocolate less often, and felt very refreshed! So recently, after a long time of frustration over my acne and some inspiration from another friend, Terri, who has undertaken a crazy detox that I don't think I could ever do myself, I have decided to take my last attempt one step further and go without refined sugar for two weeks.


This means I can still eat fruit (fructose) and milk (lactose) but nothing that has sugar (glucose), so no alcohol, no scones from work (Aargh!), no over processed flour products (white pasta, white bread - not that I really eat that anyway), and nothing with added sugar at all.


I'm hoping that by doing this I will improve my skin and that after I finish I will want to eat products with refined sugar in them less often, it might also have a bit of a detoxifying effect that could be useful because I'm very stressed out and highly strung at the moment!!!


Luckily for me, I live very close to the Queen Victoria Markets so I can get plenty of fresh fruit and lots of dried pulses to cut down the amount of processed food I eat. If you have any ideas for snacks during this period, I'd love to hear them - just don't say carrot sticks! PLEASE!


Also, I plan on cooking Polenta for the first time and I'm very excited! I'm going to try this recipe, but use chicken thighs instead of beef mince (Free Range Chicken, of course!). Delish!

Image from cuisine.com.au

Wish me luck!
x

Dress ups box

I thought I might post some of my more memorable costumes over the years for your enjoyment/possible inspiration.

1940's Pin-up with Anthony, for Boun's 30th, 2009

The evolution of the 1940's Pin-up costume into the Yellow Polka-Dot Bikini costume that I made (without a pattern) for the La Trobe University Wodonga's Sexual Deviants Ball 2009.

This was my Wood Nymph costume for a fairy picnic my then, not-yet-housemate, Lisa had in the Botanic Gardens in Albury, 2009. Hair and make-up by my sister, Alysia, and I made the head piece from a dead vine I found.

We had an 'F' party for my lovely British friend, Flora, when she went back to England. I was a flamingo. My sister, again did my make-up. Another costume of 2009.

This was originally a badly made bridesmaids dress for my dad's very tacky 3rd wedding. I brought in the skirt to make it a pencil skirt, shortened it and added the black belt and wore it to a Mad Men party. 2009. My sister (the genius!) made my very short hair into this fantastic beehive and did my makeup.

I think this was the first costume I ever made; Wonder Woman for the Heroes and Villains night at Sodens in Albury. The DJ duo, Culture Vulture, who were regulars back then, deemed my costume the best, and I won the $50 bar tab!

This one was a sports themed party, Joe's 21st, 2009.

At my 13th Birthday, I was a witch. 2000.

At my friend Anthony's 21st, a 'Things That Go Bump in the Night' theme. This costume was my sister's idea, and she did the hair and make-up. I thought I made a great spider!

Most recently, this is what I wore to the lovely Dayna's 30th birthday, which was a Vintage theme. So proud of my hair because I did all myself - I don't usually.

So, what do you think?

x

Something old to something new.

As promised, here is the dress that I bought from Savers last week and altered. I'm so proud of myself for seeing potential in this, and that I didn't make any mistakes when altering it.

All I really did was alter the hemline, but I think it works. I even wore the new dress to the Groovin the Moo festival I went to yesterday, which I will post about later.
x

Crafty Ventures

After Uni yesterday, I plodded along to Lincraft at Australia on Collins for some white thread and an unpicker for a project I plan on doing tomorrow. Of course, I ended up having a bit of a browse through the fabrics (quilting fabrics are my weakness) and the wool section. A group of seniors were also having a bit of a browse together, and they were incredibly cute. 'Ooh'-ing and 'Aah'-ing at pretty much everything and 'I guess we'll all be knitting tonight!' was said several times, which was very entertaining. Inspired by that, I also bought two balls of very thick wool and some bamboo needles - 'I only ever use bamboo needles now.' 'Yes, me too.' 'Oh, your bamboo needles are just beautiful Maggie' - so cute!

So when I came home, instead of studying, I started to knit a scarf with my brand new wool and needles and finished both balls of wool in one night!! Only problem is, the wool is so thick that the scarf is only 1/2 a meter long - haha. So now I've got to buy, what, 5 more balls of wool to finish the scarf. At least it will be nice and thick and warm for winter, because I am really ill-equipped for Melbourne Autumns, let alone the winters.

Pictures soon, when I am finished.
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