Happiness...

Reflection time! I've noticed lately that my blog has taken up a new focus. Formerly a blog for documenting my forays into the world of crafts and indie business, it's now moving toward a more substantial theme: my heart. My 365 project has really kicked this off, and has made me realise that I so prefer blogging about the little things that make each day special. Solution? This is how I'm going to blog from now on. The only problem with this is that the name and URL of this blog just don't fit my new blog image. For the last couple of months I've been laying down the ground-work for a brand spanking new blog. And it's now pretty much ready!

As my blog develops and grows, you can expect some of the following features:

- Cooking adventures and RECIPES!!!!
- The continuation of my 365 project (all previous 365 posts have bee transferred over too)
- Outfit posts (eeeep. Still getting used to that one)
- DIYs
- Features of my favourite online shops
- A new and exciting Kitchen Garden Project
- Plenty of random fun!

I'm so excited, and have already been making the new blog feel like home! So my advice - hop on over there!! Do it!

Her Happy Heart

See you there!!

xxoo

Forever 21 Shoe Madness!

I know it's old news, but I like, totally, just discovered the cheap fun that is Forever 21! I've heard of it before, and appreciated fellow bloggers in their Forever 21 clothes, but yesterday during a particular boring class I may have whipped out my debit card and invited these into my home:

That is not one wedge!

Booooooooots!

(Sorry you had to find out this way Chris... I blame the super-beefy Aussie dollar. My story and I'm sticking to it!)

Unfortunately, my feet are still itching to don these ones too:

Hello cuties!

Flowery goodness...

Sparkle sparkle!

My feet could be so sweet!

Oh, what's a girl to do? I know Forever 21 is cheap crap, but it's also very fun!

What I Did 365 - Day 177

Oh, me and my wigs! Yesterday I was super excited that one of my recently eBay-purchased wigs had been delivered. It was supposed to fulfill a lifetime curiosity of mine - what would I look like blonde? In real life though, it's kind of a strawberry blonde, almost orangey. Not quite what I had in mind, but after a little bit of styling I came to enjoy it! We had planned to prep for the never-ending kitchen renovations, but instead ended up spending most of the evening next door, hanging with our amazing neighbours! I was pretty sheepish showing up at their door, rocking the look above (haha). But it turned out to be pretty fun! One of their girls is dying to play with wigs now. Cute! My favourite part of the night though was when Chris complimented me on the way I'd styled it. Whoa, what? He's a manly guy, and never seems to consider the way I style anything, so that kinda blew me outta the water! Guess he likes me blonde-ish! I can definitely see myself having some fun with this wig...

What I Did 365 - Day 176

Pyjamas. How great are pyjamas?? How do you spell pyjamas? I spell it like this: pyjamas pyjamas pyjamas. On Tuesday night we were both deliriously tired after going to bed at 1.30am and waking up at 5.40am for Chris to get to work. Icky. Thankfully, I knew exactly what was coming after my melt-off-your-skin hot shower - yep, I'll say the word again: my PYJAMAS! I remarked on Facebook a couple of weeks ago that wearing my flannel pyjamas is like wearing a hug, and I think that's worth publishing here! Plus, everybody wants donuts printed on their PJs. It reminds me of a pillow case I had as a kid - a picture of Snoopy and hundreds of ice cream cones floating around him. My favourite pillow case ever. Now these are my favourite pyjamas ever. I'm wearing them right now, even!

What I Did 365 - Day 175

You so need to hear the tip that I'm about to give you. It will change your meatloaf forever! Before you stick your meatloaf in the oven, slice up a bunch of little bake-at-home bread rolls, layer them on top of the meatloaf, spray them with some olive oil, and sprinkle on some oregano. Cover the meatloaf with foil and cook it in the oven until it's almost done, then take off the foil and cook another 10-20 minutes to crisp up the bread. It's like eating your favourite song! It was certainly the highlight of our Monday night - the night itself SUCKED because I was up till 1.30am finishing an assignment. Ouch!

What I Did 365 - Day 174

There's a party in my apron and you're all invited!!! Hahaha. Come on, I had to go somewhere with the seedy grandma face! So Sunday night was the season 3 launch of a little show called Master Chef. No big deal... except it's the greatest show on the planet! It inspires me big-time. I was this close to sending in my application (I spent like 2 days making it perfect!) - not because I think I'm a good enough cook, but on the off chance that if I did get through, I would have the most amazing cooking experience of my life! In the end I was too chicken - I definitely have a long way to go with my cooking skills, and I am OK with that. Chris and I headed over to my family's to cook up a Master Chef Launch Dinner Party. Soooo gooooood. It was kinda heavenly cooking in an amazingly well equipped chicken, with a gas cook top. Oh, my heart! So what was on the menu?

- Pioneer Woman's chicken parmigiana

- Mum's roast potatoes

- Pioneer Woman's mushrooms stuffed with brie

- Steamed asparagus

- Garlic breadcrumbs

- Sticky date pudding (lovingly referred to as Sticky Tape Pudding in my family)

Oh, how we ate. And watched Master Chef. Which was almost as good as the food. Ha. I'm just so excited it's back! Master Chef brings me those feelings of snuggling up on our suede couches, listening to the rain and eating broccoli and cheese soup or chilli con carne. It's the greatest Winter activity ever!

My only complaint is that thanks to the amount of garlic, oil and wine consumed on Sunday, not much sleeping occurred in our house. That was kind of annoying. Even worse when three out of six of us (myself included) got up feeling pretty darn ill. Ah, the sacrifices we make for rich food hey?

What I Did 365 - Day 173

On Saturday we had the pleasure of seeing two friends, Chris and Danielle, get married! I love weddings, and I have to say that Danielle was probably the most elegant bride I've ever seen! Plus, you can't go wrong marrying a guy called Chris in my opinion! As usual, Chris and I couldn't help reflecting on the whole process of getting married as we sat there next to each other. A few months ago I posted a wistful little reflection about how I miss the new-ness that comes after a wedding, and I have decided to upgrade those thoughts. Yes, those 'firsts' after getting married are exhilarating - waking up next to each other, moving in with each other, going on holiday together - and I miss that light-headed excitement, and waiting for it to sink in that it's all real. But in the last two-ish years since Chris and I had our wedding, we've grown and formed a freaking amazing marriage, and I'm so appreciative of the place we're in. As fun as those newlywed firsts are, the last two years of finding our pace has been so much better. Isn't marriage cool?! It's actually a more amazing journey than you can even fathom at the beginning...

What I Did 365 - Day 172

Ah, Friday. The night of opportunity, when trendy young things tear up the town and trendier young things stay at home and work on impending assignments. Correct? Friday night I had the house to myself (I cannot for the life of me remember where my husband was, but I clearly recall his absence). I spent the night alternating between an e-portfolio due a few days later, and episodes of Seventh Heaven. Oh yes. Seventh Heaven. And up till this point I had pretty much fooled you into thinking I was heaps cool. So anyway. This assignment was a massive struggle for some reason, which is a crying shame because it's just so pretty! I could harp on, but I won't. My fingers deserve a break from the blog essays I've been writing lately.

What I Did 365 - Day 171

Woops! I just realised I got my days mixed up - this post relates to last Wednesday, and therefore should have gone before the post above. Erm... yeah. This is the kind of rustic charm you come here for, right?

So anyway. Easter. Do you know what I love about Easter? I mean aside from Jesus, who is obviously the point of the season. Looking at the picture above, can you perhaps guess? No, you probably can't. Because you were thinking "Klara looooves Easter eggs", weren't you? But guess what - I don't love Easter eggs. They are all right, but nothing worth gushing over. However, what I do love is...CHEAP Easter eggs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ha. I love going to the store the day after the Easter public holidays are over, and loading up my basket with half-price Easter eggs! It's so exciting! To me, Easter eggs are the perfect little amount of chocolate - if you're trying to limit your intake, it's so easy to just grab a couple of little Easter eggs to bring to work for a little chocolate hit. Way better than having half a block of chocolate looming in the pantry, screaming "You only took TWO LITTLE PIECES OF CHOCOLATE?! But I'm unwrapped now! What about the ants!? WHAT ABOUT THE ANTS!?" My blocks of chocolate all scream that at me, hence why I eat so much chocolate - once the block is open, it demands that you eat it. But Easter eggs are so demure - they're separately wrapped so they don't judge if you only eat one. Before Easter, they're expensive. But after Easter they're such a bargain, the good reasons for purchasing them start to stack up.

So in other news, I can write lengthy paragraphs on Easter eggs and the personalities of different chocolate mediums. Awkward.

What I Did 365 - Day 170

Guilty pleasure time!! Interesting fact (disclaimer - I use the word interesting loosely): I am so not into flavoured coffees any more. They had their time to shine, didn't they? A few years ago I never even considered ordering a coffee without some kind of super-sweet flavour mixed in - hazelnut, butterscotch, irish creme, caramel... oh how new options excited me! My sweet tooth must have exploded because my taste for flavoured coffees seemingly disappeared overnight a year or so ago. Probably a good thing, because I can only imagine the sugar-cancer I was getting from the Gloria Jeans Mocha Caramelattes I was so prone to consuming as often as possible. ANYWAY. Strangely enough, there is one flavoured coffee which I still adore a little bit - the Muzz Buzz Snickerl Latte. I know, talk about a sugar overload, right? And yet every now and then, this is the coffee that I crave above all else. Last week my dear sister Nahn borrowed a flower crown off me to wear to a work party on Friday (something about a royal wedding or something?) and as a thank you (I'm guessing) she came equipped with a Snicker Latte. And it was consumed with much joy.

What I Did 365 - Day 169

OK, so remember my recent little cry about working public holidays? Well, I wasn't giving you the full story - you see, as a student I'm actually not a full-time worker right now. Last week was a uni break and so Tuesday - which is my rostered day off each week - was left wide open! It was a public holiday (hooray for Easter and Anzac Day combining forces!) so Chris was home. While I mostly had to work on an assignment, I still got to enjoy the day like a lady of *somewhat* leisure! We slept in, cooked garbage eggs for breakfast (Chris's very favourite breakfast ever, I'll have to share in more detail some time!) and joined the Fields for a double date at the gym. That's right, we're that cool. Smirk. I made a slow-cooked Indian lamb for dinner and we enjoyed a quiet night in front of the TV watching Criminal Minds. It was a perfect little break. 

The photo above is a little snippet of my idea of a good day at home. I love watching Chris playing with the dogs! I think that's Dog's surprised face - weighing 20-ish kilos, he doesn't often get picked up off the ground. Tehehe.

What I Did 365 - Day 168

Booooring vegetables! Right? Beans, zucchini, carrots, celery... how bland can you get? Luckily for these vegetables, they were destined for a very exciting purpose... delicious minestrone!!!! Inspired by the cool change in weather lately *happy cry* I decided to cook up a big juicy pot of soup. And inspired by our new gym membership *we're getting there slowly* I decided to pack that soup with vegetables and other such healthy junk. Minestrone was the obvious choice! My recipe came from Kat-Kat's dear mother, Cheryl. The first time I ate Cheryl's minestrone, I went into a soup coma! She cooks it GOOD. I managed to beg the recipe off her, and now I can recreate it in my own *currently deconstructed* kitchen. It's still great, but not the perfection that I wistfully remember! But psshhhhht! I ain't complaining! The fact that it's finally soup weather is enough of a WIN for me!!!!!!!!