New Home

Our new house is amazing. Just sayin', I am completely in love… Aside from it being FREEZING in the morning (it's only Autumn here!), and on a main-ish road, it is absolutely perfect for us!

The doggies have been having a ball in their new backyard:

Radley's found about 6 bones in our backyard!

Suzie licking her lips

Play-fighting over some bones

Unpacking was the worst part of moving (and this is only half the boxes!):

Being Slack & Moving

WHAT A LONG TIME IT'S BEEN! 

I cannot believe it's been 6 months since my last post… SLACK!

Since my last post:

• I've been to Bali and had a ball with my sister, boyfriend and friends - Pics below
• Quit my job in Sydney, started another job
• Quit that job
• Boyfriend got a promotion
• Moved to our nations loooovely capitol (CANBERRA)
• Started a Patisserie course
• I got a job at a VEGAN bakery
• Started working out like a crazy woman

SOOOO that's a lot of changes being made to my life in the last 6 months! 

I have obviously kept up with my vegan lifestyle with my beautiful partner, and we have been very busy with our 2 little rescues and 1 nosy kitty. 

Our lives in Canberra so far have been fairly hectic, namely because Travis has been jet setting a lot with his new promotion, travelling over the country doing training and being special, while I've stayed at home and looked after our fur children… It has been great, but stressful, and a little lonely!

The house we're living in is adorable (pics to follow), and the area we're living in is beautiful. I am grateful to have what we have here :) and we are making friends slowly (which is probably the best way to make friends) 

So I will be posting more frequently again, and will be MUCH more dedicated to doing some fantastic things in and around Canberra!! 

Many things to follow. WATCH THIS SPACE! 

Some photos from Bali

Things I'd like to do this year

I thought if I write down some things that I have been meaning to do this year, then I might actually do them!

Things I want to do this year:

• Go to Bali - I already have this one planned for September, but I thought I'd add this one to the list mainly because I'm super excited to be going, and because it is something I want to do this year! ;-P (starting the list off easy)
• A cleanse!
• Go to the snow - Trav and I have a mutual  love for the snow and snowboarding (even though he is much better than I am), last year we managed to go down to the Snowy Mountains (3 hours south of Canberra) twice, and had so much fun there together! But this year it is half way through the snow season already and we haven't yet been :-( We will hopefully be able to go before we go to Bali.
• Renovate the bathroom -  this one is SO necessary! The villa we live in was built in 1980, and when Travis bought it the entire house was in nearly original condition (kitchen, carpet, paint, bathroom). So last year we renovated the kitchen ourselves, and we have painted the entire house twice (Ughhhhh! Painting is probably my most hated house-reno job so far!), but the bathroom is the one that we haven't gotten around to yet. Hopefully we can get it done by November at least! I am so excited to have a new bathroom already! 
• Teach Radley to shake - Radley is a lovely pup, who is so cute and snuggly, but he is very easily distracted. I would love to be able to teach him a few new tricks to distract him when he sees Domino - like shake and roll over - because at the moment he is woeful! 
• Cook a grand vegan feast! - I have wanted to try my hand at making a fabulous vegan feast for a while now, but I am still not super confident with  my cooking abilities.. So a goal for this year is to cook an amazing array of dishes to serve to friends or family and show them how delicious vegan food can be! (Unfortunately most of them still think all I eat is salad)
• Buy a new oven - I've been oven-less for over a month now... enough said :-( 
• Do a creative writing course - I love writing, I went to uni to become a writer, an editor, or a publisher, but became too scared of showing people my own work, and dropped out of the course. I'm not sure why, but I have always hated to show other people my own words... so I guess having a blog is a remedy of sorts. Now I think that I am finally comfortable enough to actually submit something, so I will give it a go! I will post more about the course once it starts...
• Finish all of the books on my "to read" list! Unless you couldn't tell by the ridiculous list above, I am a procrastinator from waaaaaaayyy back! I have trouble finishing things once i start them... (hence the list) and sometimes there are books that you may not be 100% enthusiastic about from the beginning, and those are the ones I have the most trouble finishing... Although I am proud to say that this year I finally finished Wuthering Heights, which I had notoriously picked up and put back down over 30 times before I finally did finish it....... needless to say I was devastated with the result....

If I think of anything else that I really should get done this year I'll make sure to add them, and I will cross things off as I finish them! 

Check out my Instagram, Pinterest and Goodreads for more! 

Another weekend gone..

I've always scoffed at people suffering on my social media from "Monday-itis", but lately I have been sighing and shuffling and generally moaning about having to go back to work on Monday.
I'm not sure why - maybe commuting, getting up early, being bored - but it is definitely getting me out of sorts.
It is funny though, because I don't hate my job, I generally don't mind public transport (though if my train is over 5 minutes late - that's when my inner Hulk emerges), and I enjoy having a schedule that I must follow every day as it keeps me organised and accountable.

I think my issue is that after I have been home all weekend with the dogs and Travis, and getting a chance to walk around in my "comfy clothes" with no make-up on - I miss being home. I love the idea of a day spent snuggling on the lounge in my happy pants and over-large t-shirt, with a series of whichever show I am addicted to at the time on and eating as much as I want. I LOVE those days. They're my absolute favourite! But I know that if I did that every day I would become fat, and severely deficient in vitamin D :-P ..But it is nice to think about those days, and hope that your weekend can include one of those days.. sometimes it can help me to get through the week!
But this is where I think the issue lies.. I look forward to those days relaxing so much that I am disappointed if I don't get to have one of those days on the weekend, and I end up depressed on the Monday, wishing I could have had just one more day to do NOTHING! Selfish? I think so. Lazy? Definitely!
I know that all of you have had a Monday back at work and wished that you could have had that one more day to sleep in, have a scrummy breakfast, then do nothing!

So.. back to the main topic! The weekend!
We had a productive Saturday: cleaning, bought a new vacuum (finally - we had needed to replace our haunted vac for ages!), washed the smelly puppies and then went out for dinner and drinks with friends.

Sunday I attempted to get washing done - and failed. Mostly because I was too busy catching up on Game of Thrones, and because I REALLY didn't want to do anything! :-P
...I finally finished season 3 of Game of Thrones at least! I think it helped to be in my comfy clothes for those final episodes.. I had a few moments of tear-induced hiccups, and I may have sobbed a few times (but it's ok because I was home alone).
I am kind of outraged that they ended the season half-way through the book! It frustrates me having to wait to see how they will create a few key moments in the book.
Have you read any of the series? You can see where I am up to on my Goodreads page. If you've watched season three, I am sure I'm not alone in my grief!

I think it is time for me to do more interesting things on the weekend. Travis mentioned my boring-ness, and doesn't know how I can stand to do what I do when I have nothing else to occupy my time (other than things that don't exactly excite me). Oh well. I think that is when the "each to their own" motto comes in handy. :-P
I am sure there are some amazing things to get up to in Sydney every weekend, and every week I plan to do something fabulous, but I lose the energy to do it as soon as Saturday rolls around, so maybe I need to set myself a weekly plan to do something fab every weekend!
Hmm.. that has me thinking! A new goal perhaps?


Don't forget to check out my Instagram and Pinterest for more!

My Little Family

Suzie

Suzie is a 6 year old English Staffy that we adopted from the RSPCA in May 2012.

Suzie 

She had kennel cough, fleas, was severely malnourished/underweight and had recently given birth to a litter of puppies.

After months of healthy meals and walks she gained weight and energy, and is now completely content to sleep on the lounge or bed all day until we come home from work. She receives lots of kisses, cuddles and food every day and is spoilt rotten by Travis.

Suzie likes: 

FOOD 

Lower back scratches

Crusts

Walks

Tug-of-war

Suzie dislikes: 

When we leave for work

Being outside

Raw carrots

Radley

Radley is a 2yo Kelpie x Staffy that we adopted from the pound the day he was to be euthanised in April 2013.

Radley - being cuddly

Radley was a stray who had been in the pound for months before we saw him on their "kill list" and decided to adopt him. 
He, like Suzie, had kennel cough and fleas, and his tail had been cut off at some point in his poor life.
Radley shadows everyone through the house - begging for attention and love. He is such a softie, we can't imagine what life would be like without him anymore!

Radley Likes

Ear scratches

Getting into cupboards

Chewing.....everything (my glasses, lounge cushions, books...) 

Broccoli

Chocolate - much to our displeasure

Radley dislikes:

The vacuum cleaner

Domino

Bedtime

Domino

I adopted Domino from the RSPCA as a kitten 4 years ago.

Domino - reading

She can be quite temperamental, but loves to snuggle with Travis in the mornings after I get up to go to work. 

She is very protective of her food, and if she can get to it, she will! 

Domino is like a perpetual kitten, she is slight, and very playful! As soon as the lights go out at night, she seems to think that means it's time to play! 

Domino Likes:

Sharing Pillows
Sitting on any computer/paper/book you are using
Staring at me until I wake up
Food
Attacking feet from hidden places

Domino Dislikes:

Being ignored
Dogs
Pills

Travis

Travis is the best boyfriend anyone could ask for, he is considerate, kind, and compassionate.

Of course we have our moments - someone forgot to do the washing up, or whose turn it is to turn the light off before bed - but neither of us would be happy if there weren't little things to argue about every now and then ;-) 

Travis likes: 

Triple chocolate chip anything

Sit-coms

Vintage watches

Snowboarding

Superhero movies

Travis dislikes:

Public transport

Olives

Chick-flicks

Working on weekends