Wednesday Wisdom

Bedside

My bedside table at the moment. Looking at it, I realised how sentimental most of it was!

Vintage globe; given to me by my late grandfather who gave me the travel bug!

Silver tray: A gift from my Nanna who used to serve scones on it!

Voyager Augusto candle; reminds me of the hot summers day we spent in Capri on our honeymoon!

Ellie Saab perfume; Ben bought it for me after i watched a documentary about how it & the bottle were made on the flight home from Paris.

Tiffany Necklace; a 5 year anniversary gift from Ben. We bought it in the New York store on our first trip there together!

And the Michael Kors watch i was going to buy myself on the way home from our honeymoon on our stopover in Seoul. 

However, a typhoon in Korea meant our flights were cancelled & we got onto last minute flights with other airlines with only had a 5 min stop over (in singapore), so i had to buy it online when we got home :)

The gold & blue necklace is from Oxford;

I bought it while Ben was in there getting the gromsmens suits for our wedding (lost focus obviously!)

Byron Holiday!

I am so excited, Ben & i have booked to spend the week in Byron Bay for the first week of February. We have wanted to go for years! 

Last time i was there i celebrated my 20th birthday with some friends & this time we will be there for my 31st....wow...

Anyway, as I'm sure things have changed a lot in 11 years, id love everyone suggestions on great shops, restaurants, cafes, things to do (besides laze on the beach!)...anything really! The only thing is that we won't have a car as we deiced to fly up & avoid the 2 ten hour drives so we had more time there - but always happy to ride a bike anywhere thats not TOO far away! :)

Fitness, clean eating & Michelle Bridges

Im not sure if i told you this, but 6 weeks ago i started doing the Michelle Bridges 12 Week body transformation. Generally I eat very healthy food & am active; in saying that i need to eat smaller portions, pick less & have less treats (& less wine!) and also be MORE active. I'm one of those types that loves exercise when I'm out doing it, but has a mountain of excuses, or has a million things to do before i prioritise exercise. I am also a type 1 diabetic who puts on weight easily, & like most of us, find its hard to get off! I am also terrible at sticking to things - i start with the best intentions but tend to fall off the wagon easily or loose focus! So....thought i'd give this Michelle Bridges thing a go!

Each week you get a food plan with all the recipes and there are also 6 days a week of workouts to do.

So how am i going? 

Well first things first, i have lost 3kgs in 6 weeks - not a lot, but i figure slow & steady is the best way to loose weight.
And christmas makes it hard to totally stick to it to be honest! 

I have found the food side of it great - its all very balanced, clean & it does make you realise how large your usual portions are! I haven't craved anything, but have been on occasion a bit hungry after dinner. 

The thing I'm enjoying the most though is the exercise. 

Here i come to the main point of this whole post; my brain seems to have shifted in the last month, my daily workout is now my priority - i enjoy it, it makes me feel good & i haven't been making excuses not to do it. Instead I've been finding ways TO do it! If it was hot, i used to say 'its too hot today, its not good for me', now i go to the air-conditioned gym. On boxing day i wasn't feeling well (might have something to do with all the wine & pudding the day before - hey it was xmas!), but i still went for at least a walk with the dog & got out in the fresh air. 

The clean eating & the exercise has also meant i have heaps more energy, my mind is clearer & my skin  is totally clear & glowing, I've also noticed how white my eyes are! So apart from the weightless, there are other great things about being just that bit more healthy. This isn't really a new years resolution post, but in 2013 i will definitely be doing more of what makes me happy (& healthy) & continuing on this cleaner lifestyle. And heres some fit-spiration for you if you need a boost! 

Good things...

Saw this a while back thought it could be a fun thing to do!

Via

Bye Bye 2012

Wowsers was 2012 a big one!
Turned 30, married to my best friend, (& all the celebrations that went with it), had our dream honeymoon in France & Italy for 6 weeks, (& saw the end of the Tour de France on the Champs Elysses!) became an aunty (twice!), had my appendix out (that was a surprise), celebrated one year of Sally Rhys-Jones Interior Architecture & had some great jobs finished!
And my husband (who is a police officer) has just found out he has been transferred to a new station, (much closer to home & much safer!)
And because of his job, he always has to work on new years eve - so today we are having our celebrations during the day - I'm meeting him down at palm beach (he is riding his bike!) and we are going for a dip, hiking up to the lighthouse & having lunch at the Boat House!
I hope you all have a lovely end of 2012 & here's to an amazing 2013 full of happiness & wonderful experiences xxxx

My week

If you follow me on instagram (sally_rhys_jones) you would have seen most of these - but heres what I've been up to the past week! 

Baked far too many gingerbread men that were promptly devoured by my husband.

Hosted our yearly girls xmas brunch - seriously - i love any excuse to a) decorate b) cook & c) drink bubbles! 

I found the cutest little snow globes for everyone too!

Finally got an hour by the pool on xmas eve! (before it got stormy again - Sydney is having some weird weather!)

Woke up on xmas morning at my in laws & had a rainy morning breakfast before heading to my sisters house & then to my husbands family.

Was seriously spoilt with some of the divine things below! 

Books I've wanted forever, a new black handbag (patent & rose gold = yum!) & a vintage crystal decanter!

And of course ate way to much! 

This whole plate was handmade by me, my mum, my mother in law & our neighbours! 

Rum balls are my xmas specialty!

The only spot of post xmas sale shopping I've done so far were these Kiehls Limited edition (sass & bide) Creme du Corps body lotions 

(half price on the sass & bide website & come in the most amazing packaging!)

And this morning, just cause we hadn't eaten enough already, we had brunch to celebrate Bens Aunties birthday.

Lots of eating, more bubbly & swimming in the pool with the kids - fun! 

I made baked eggs with fetta & spinach with sides of roasted tomatoes & mushrooms!

Reading over this post has reminded me how truly lucky i am.

Hope you all have had a wonderful xmas break with your loved ones.

xx

Christmas Playlist

With Christmas day on tuesday i thought over the weekend might be the time to compile your Chrissy day playlist! 

Yes, this is a great list, but um, Hello! Where is 'All i want for xmas is you' by Mariah Carey?!

Or any of Michael Buble's covers! Ill be adding those to my playlist!

6 sleeps!

Good lord there are some amazing christmas images floating around in Pinterest!

Gives me the warm holiday fuzzies!

ODC Insider; Wallstudio & My Sweet Prints

Today I'm having a chat with Janette Baker, the woman behind My Sweet Prints & Wallstudio. 

When i started my blog a few years ago, i recall Janette was one of the first people who commented on one of my posts and its been great to see how successful her business has become. Its such a pleasure to see her prints hanging in friends homes! 

I found it really interesting to hear about Janette's background & also about the newer venture, Wallstudio (hello flamingos & pineapples!). 

I hope you enjoy it too!

Name: Janette Baker

Job description/ Role:

Owner and Designer of My Sweet Prints and Wallstudio canvas art.

Educational background:

I started a Bachelor of Business in Banking in Finance, as my gap year saw me working for an investment bank. But after getting through the first year I realised it just wasn't me. So I studied Graphic Design at Shillington College which was a fantastic hands-on studio environment. When I finished my Design studies I worked at ACP Magazines in advertising design on the Homes titles. It was amazing to work on my all-time favourite masthead Real Living as well as Belle and House and Garden.

Does what you studied at university relate to what you currently do?

Having done the first year in a Business degree has turned out to be invaluable as it gave me the basic knowledge in, accounting, marketing, management, law etc. I would have been pretty lost over the last three years in small business without that fundamental knowledge. And of course my Design studies are what gave me the skills to start the businesses in the first place.

Tell us a bit about My Sweet Prints/Wallstudio?

My Sweet Prints is a range of prints, most of which are personalised and typographic in nature. There are lots of children's/nursery design but also beautiful wedding/love/home prints. And Wallstudio offers three collections of contemporary, on-trend and affordable canvas art; The Abstract Collection, Welcome to the Tropics and The Wallstudio Classic Collection.

What are your favorite pieces?

I just love the 'Welcome to the Tropics Collection' which features Pineapples, Flamingos, Palms and has such a bright summery vibe to it. But I also love 'The Abstract Collection'.

How has your work evolved since you started?

I guess I started out focusing on children and nursery prints with My Sweet Prints as that has been my own focus with two small children of my own. And now with Wallstudio I get to design things that I love for myself, my own home and asthetic.

Who are you clients & how do you find them?

The My Sweet Prints customers are generally women with young children and we are so thrilled to have lots of loyal customers who come back to order prints for each child, their friend's new arrivals, marriages etc. We have been really lucky to have been featured in many magazines and newspapers over the years. Hopefully we have the same success with Wallstudio!

How did you find starting your own business?

I started My Sweet Prints on a whim over three years ago. I had designed a few prints for friends and everyone kept saying 'You should sell them!' so I set up an etsy shop and it all started from there. We now have our own online site www.MySweetPrints.com.au and over 35 shops who stock our prints. My sister-in-law Sue now works with me too! I started Wallstudio canvas art back in 2011 as I wanted to offer affordable, on-trend canvas art featuring bright colours and patterns. But shortly after launching it, I fell pregnant with my second son, and Wallstudio sort of fell by the wayside. We have now spent a lot of time researching and designing a new range consisting of three collections which make up the new-look Wallstudio and we are so excited about it!

Did you start off doing this ‘on this side’ while you worked full time?

No, I started My Sweet Prints when I was at home looking after my first son.

How have you marketed yourself & your work?

When I first started My Sweet Prints I sent out a mini press release to blogs and websites and I have advertised on a few blogs from time to time but I've found social media to be a great form of advertising as I've had a blog (www.MySweetPrintsBlog.blogspot.com) for nearly three years as well as twitter (www.twitter.com/mysweetprints), facebook (www.facebook.com/mysweetprints) and instagram (@mysweetprints & @wallstudio).

What is your favorite part about running your own business?

I love the reward of seeing your business grow, getting orders from return customers, lovely emails and recognition in press. 

I also love the flexibility of being able to work from home.

And the hardest?

As much as I love working from home I find it really hard to juggle looking after the kids, working, and growing the businesses (which is something I seem to be able to spend endless time on).

What does your schedule in a typical day at work look like?

I don't really have a schedule as I work around the kids and when they are sleeping whether it be day or night. But I usually try and spend at least an hour or two on work every day. Luckily Sue looks after the day to day admin, customer service and the packaging and posting. So I'm able to spend time on business development, marketing etc.

 

Who or what inspires you?

I'm a magazine addict so I get lots of inspiration from home and fashion mags but also things like window displays, colour and nature.

Any favorite websites/blogs/magazines?

My favourite design websites are decor8, Jen Bishop's Interiorsaddict, and The Design Files. 

Magazines are Real Living, inside out, Belle, Adore, Lonny and Rue.

Favorite drink?

It would have to be coffee... with two little boys giving me the run around day and night I can't live without a morning coffee!

And outside of work what do you love to do in your downtime?

Spending time with my family and friends. 

Shopping, eating out and just generally any quiet time I can manage to get (silence is golden when you are around kids all day).