Loving - Pip Boydell

Ok, so i saw some of her work a little while back when it was exhibited at Brisbane interiors institution Black & Spiro. 

Loved it...then it slipped my mind. A few days ago i came across Pip Boydell on Instagram & proceeded to look through every single one of her images. Boy oh boy am i in love! Delicate hand drawn & coloured watercolours of seemingly all my favourite things?! 

Hydrangeas, striped bikinis, a bottle of reef oil, slices of watermelon, a cut passionfruit & a shimmering fish! 

I think Pip has seen inside my head & illustrated it all!  Ok, I'm going to stop gushing like a crazy woman now :) 

Check out more of her work & buy prints of these slices of heaven at Pip Shining. 

All images via Pipshining

Sunday Breakast

Im really embracing this whole clean eating thing at the moment.

After around 8 weeks of eating (mostly) clean i can see the difference in my skin, eyes & energy levels.

The other night i had a diet soft drink with artificial sweeteners in it (after not having any for 2 months) & i broke out in a rash on my legs! 

I guess my body is getting used to all the 'good stuff' too! Interesting! Don't get me wrong, i still have a glass of wine here & there & today i think we are off to yum cha for lunch, but when I'm at home & as much as i can I'm trying to eat clean.

Thought id share one of my fav breakfasts at the moment (& what I'm eating right now!)

100g blueberries

25g rolled oats or natural (un toasted muesli)

Teaspoon of shredded or desiccated coconut

a couple of pecans or walnuts crushed up

100g of greek yoghurt (Evia from Harris Farm is my choice!)

Almond milk 

2013 - this is your year

I have to say, this time of year always has me feeling all inspired - you know that warm fuzzy, 'the possibilities are endless' type of inspired? There are so many great bits & bobs floating around - i particularly liked this one i saw on Pinterest the other day.

Cool Kids

There must be something in the water....

Everyone around me is having babies (not me just yet!) and I've been seeing some of the coolest nurseries lately. 

Stone Sourcing

I've just been out to Bankstown to one of my stone suppliers to look at potential slabs for a kitchen I'm doing at the moment.

Wow there were some amazing pieces of marble out there! Took a few snaps to share :)

My favourite - Calacutta marble 

Check out this amazing Onyx

not what i was looking for but i had to take a photo of it it was so beautiful!

After the stone expedition, i met my hubby (who is a policeman out there) for lunch at An Restaurant for some to die for Pho - if you like Vietnamese food, Bankstown is the place to be!

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