My fitness journey....

A couple of weeks ago I decided enough is enough!!! I need to start feeling fantastic, not just mentally by physically especially.

I couldn't work out why I was losing my zing, even when I had a decent night sleep. As simple as my revelation may be, it dawned on me I am so unfit. Before I had Hudson I was & had always been quite fit & extremely healthy. Until your body has been in that state & then not, it becomes very obvious in all aspects of your life.

I have put on about 10kgs, some left over baby weight & a few chocolate bars more, hehe. I want to move it & have been trying very hard without any result but a lot of excuses. I am too tired, I am too busy, I can't with the kids, my knee is sore (which always is), I just need to relax. It wasn't even a new years resolution it was just a decision I made one morning as I was putting on my jeans which always feel firm on my waist. I knew this muffin top & I had to break this friendship.

So I have joined my local gym which is very shiny & brand new. It's 15min walk from home or 5min drive in the car leaving, no excuses for not getting there. It has a FREE crèche for the kids, as part of my membership. Both of my kids are quite clingy to me, but I have decided an hour of separation for us would be fine, they will cope & besides they will be together.

image from here

I have also bought 6 weeks of personal training sessions with a trainer to get me going & to help me towards my goal. To date I have had 3 classes with my trainer & all I will say is OMG!! OMG!! I can now see & understand why they are worth every cent they earn. I have never worked so hard in my life, or been so sore either. Normally if I was alone & it got too hard I wouldn't stop, but slow down to a more comfortable pace rather than pushing myself to make those changes my body needs. As hard as it's been I am enjoying it a lot.

Food....This is my week point. I have a reasonably good diet but my weakness, like most of us is that little piece of mouth watering chocolate, a sweet biscuit, a small bowl of ice cream later at night when you have the peckish urge. I am going to make a real attempt to kick that habit, that's right a habit!! Half the time I am not even hungry it's the sweet urge that over comes me that I give in to. I am getting a meal plan soon & will share what my trainers plan of attack will be. I have a hunch it will be less carbs & sugar & more protein & vegetables. I can cope with that, it's my chocolate love that will challenge me.

images from here

To date my weight is 75kgs (I can't believe I am writing this), I am 168.5cm tall & wear a size 12. Some may say not too bad, it's not horrendous but this is about a fitness journey, & a journey to give me that zing back. ENERGY ENERGY ENERGY is what its all about. I know for a fact the fitter you are the more you can handle as you have the energy to do it. I am looking forward to a few changes in my diet also, again I am going to be looking for foods to give me energy & make me full.

Wish me luck on my journey. Any tips from your own experiences would be lovely.

So here is my journey &

Cushion size comparison

Here are some customer cushion orders being posted today. I wanted to show you so you can see my 2 cushion sizes side by side.

Reading measurements can be one thing, as you grab your ruler or tape measure, but to physically see the difference in 'real life' so to speak, has a totally different impact. It really is a substantial difference when you look at them this way.

I am LOVING the larger side soooooooooo much.

Cushion Love on Friday - 8

I received this garden gnome for Christmas & I just adore it. I love how he is somewhat traditional looking & best of all he doesn't have a football guernsey on. While we are still building the pool out the back I haven't allowed him to sit in his natural habitat.....The domestic garden.

There is something daggy, quirky, cute, yet very cool about garden gnomes. While wondering today where he was going to reside when the time is ready, I suddenly thought, I wonder if there are cushions with the friendly little people on them. This is what I found.

Not only are they adorable, how amazing is the work involved? All hand painted & hand embroidered, they are exquisite.

Both images can be found here & here.

Have a great weekend everyone.

My Australia Day was celebrated with American friends......

Happy Australia day all!

I spent my day today not in the typically Australian way, including BBQ's, covering myself with Australian merchandise, or even hanging out with friends. My Australia Day was celebrated with American friends, the Disney kind. Today hubby, Hudson, Charlotte & I headed off to the convention centre in Melbourne to experience the Disney Live Rock Concert.

We started it off with my babies smiling for the camera.

Disney friends kicking it off with a bang....Goofy, Minnie, Mickey & Donald!!

A romantic performance from Aladdin & Jasmine.

Ariel & her gorgeous mane of auburn hair.

So excited.....Jesse, Bulls eye & Woody.

Too much for Charlotte, she fell asleep 3/4's of the way through.

A finale with all of the characters.

Final goodbye.

Closing curtain.

It was a good show, a little long in some parts as I could here kids getting restless, including my own. I think it would have been better with more audience interaction, as when they did do that, the audience came alive. I was happy to see Minnie Mouse, she is a favourite of mine.

Props were great. The best part of all was seeing Hudson smiling during it, I could tell he was really enjoying it. Also Charlotte pointing at Minnie when she first came out was so adorable, she did the whole ooooohhhh sound.

I would definitely recommend it if you can still go.

Something for me...

I don't many things for myself these days, as I love to buy for the kids.

Gone of the days of a 2 income full wage & no one else to support....Ahhhh how I remember those self indulgent times.

Anyway I bought this hat for myself & thought it was so cute I just had to share it.

Larger cushions....now available

Over the weekend I finally got to perfect my larger cushion covers. I have decided to go with an envelope style closure & I am extremely happy with the end result. You can see my post with the larger uncovered cushion insert here.

They are a lovely upgrade from my regular size cushions, not too large but definitely big enough to create a gorgeous impact.

So you can visual I have basically doubled them & have gone from an approximate A4 size to A3. There actual dimensions are 40x30cm.

This by the way is a new robot design, I thought it was about time I did some robots flying around in outer space.

The back of the cushion is a soft envelop closure. Covers can be removed & be washed. However....please remember this is a highly decorative fabric that I print on that is not created for high laundering purposes. Hence why my cushions are purely decorative & not for sleeping.

They are now available in my shop, all you have to do is select whether you would like a regular or large size cushion. If you prefer to to shop in my madeit or etsy store you will need to select the listing that's says "Upgrade your cushion to a LARGE size".

My first KitchenAid experience

I received a KitchenAid for Christmas from my lovely husband. I have wanted one for a while, one of my friends has one, & I loved hers the first moment I looked at it. Not that I am a brilliant cook, or should really be need something so extravagant, but I just loved it. I actually enjoy cooking when time permits, & like many, I must be in the mood to try new recipes. My passion should I use that word so lightly, would definitely be making sweets. There is nothing more satisfying for me to smell something sweet & delicious whether is be going in the oven, on the stove or popped in the fridge. Yum!

So here is my new baby........She lives on my kitchen bench as at the moment as I need to find a space tall enough to keep her.

It was my sister in-laws birthday the other day so it was a perfect opportunity to have my first play. Also because my nephew has egg & dairy intolerance's, I offered to make something so he too could enjoy the sweet feast.

It was a rich chocolate cake that I made, nothing to out of the ordinary. What I wanted to show was how perfect my butter cream icing looked for the topped of the cake. Yeah yeah I know, nothing riveting buy I can't get over how perfect it looks. Really, it was so smooth, my other little beaters never performed like this. MMMMM just look at it, a perfect blend of nutalex (dairy free butter), pure icing sugar & cocoa.

Soooooo impressed!

Besides looking great it tasted good too. Awfully sweet though, & with the sprinkling of Milo on top.

My next big challenge will be coconut macaroons, I love those & have always failed making them as my little beaters could never whip those egg whites well enough into the lovely soft peaks needed.

Larger cushions....will be here soon

For the last 18mths the requests for larger cushions have become far more frequent. My research on what size on want, the shape, how I will create them has also been quite time consuming.

I am happy to show you the new insert size I have purchased, it's 40x30cm & I LOVE it. It's not too large & overwhelming, it will make a great statement on you bed, couch or favourite chair.

Here it is, (the insert) photographed on Charlotte's armchair.

I have intentions of designing cushions specifically for this size. I will also be making it very easy for customers to simply upgrade their cushion from the regular & well known petite size, to this gorgeous new size. I will keep you posted on that development which isn't far away.

Under the Sea

I am working furiously on new designs & will be happy to say most of them are complete. It's a very exciting time for me when I can start showing you what I have been up to.

While I was away we spent a lot of time at the beach, & also did some looking around under rocks to see what we could fine. I love the sea & it's beauty & have a tendency to daydream a bit, wondering what is going on under the water were I can't see.

What's there?

Who's there?

What colour is it?

Is there 1 fish or many?

I am a fan of the zoo, & the aquarium, & I could spend hours watching all creatures swimming. I love their beauty & their effortless gliding in the water, it look so smooth and gentle. I love the idea of a MASSIVE fish tank at home, just like this one below....How cool is it?? But just don't like the idea of all the maintenance.

image source

So I decided to have an under the sea design theme. I knew I wanted a vintage style tug boat, starfish, seahorse, sea grass, jelly fish & of course fish. I found these fabulous images below to get the ball rolling, giving me shapes & colours to work with.

images from pinterest

This is the end design result, still in a drawn format, but they are ready & waiting to be made into cushions, doorstops, a bunting & some ready to hang wall art.

After what felt like days & days of tweaking (which was only a whole night), changing & redrawing I am very happy with the result.

Are you a fan of the sea?

I am back.....Am I ready for 2012?

It only felt like a few days ago that I was finishing my last orders for Christmas, which then followed my a load of cooking for Christmas day, & then frantically packing for out holiday to Phillip Island.

Here we are January 6th already....

I don't feel like going into resolutions, mainly because I don't have any as they always seem to come unstuck. The only goal I really have personally is to incorporate some daily exercise into my life again, I am going to call this is rejuvenating an old habit.

Today I would love to share some of my favourite photo's from Phillip Island.

Charlotte's first experience on the beach. Those little legs & chubby feet initially struggled in the sand. It wasn't long & she was keeping up with everyone else.....well kind of.

Hudson doing the Rock Pool Ramble. This was a great experience for the kids, located at the area where the penguins come in from the ocean every night. He got to look at crabs & touch several sea anemones.

The week consisted of so many beach visits, walks, trips to the large play grounds, & the giant jumping pillow. The weather was perfect. I didn't get to snap up as many photo's as I would have liked as having my camera on sand, near salt water & on play grounds because a struggle. Not to mention my worries of someone stealing, or standing on it, if I left it in my bag.

I can certainly say I had a ball & it was just awesome to spend so much 'playtime' with the kids. In saying that like most parents know, it wasn't much of an R&R holiday, monitoring the kids 24/7 & coming home to LOADS of washing.... I am buggered.

Well it's the 6th January already & I have jumped back into 'work mode' a little faster than I had hoped. I am always excited about the new year as everyone is generally full of ideas, inspiration & goals they want to achieve. I do have lots of new ideas coming to Tiges and Weince, new designs, I am trying to develop a larger cushion, I am introducing a new artwork line, & amongst all of that starting to collaborate & complete the NEW Quirky and Quaint 2012 collection.

Am I ready for 2012? Yeah I think so.