HEALTHIEST SUMMER EVER

This is me, circa 2009/2010. 

This was a super exciting period of my life.  I'd just gotten over being sick for a while and on every day I was well enough to read, watch and learn, I read, watched and learned everything I could about food, health, nutrients, the benefits of exercise, keeping stress levels down and the effect what we put into our bodies has on our health.  Preventative medicine through food and lifestyle was my everything.  It was (and still is) my biggest passion and hobby.  Health is everything and without it you really have nothing (all the money in the world can't buy you out of most illnesses).

I'm channeling this level of passion and remembering my insane love for health as I head toward summer and being a bride.  I want to be the healthiest and fittest version of myself ever.  

Spring seems like the perfect time to start and I'm excited to check back here with what I do and how I go.  

Anyone else feeling inspired by the start of Spring?

WAIKIKI

Last stop on our US trip - Hawaii.  Well, really only Waikiki.  I wanted a break somewhere sunny and relaxing on the way home (plus any break up in the plane trip was good news to me by this point), and Hawaii is really the only logical spot.  We settled on Waikiki just because it was close to the airport and we figured it was the first step to seeing Hawaii.  I never said we were creative.. 

Waikiki is definitely pretty.  The water is crystal clear and warm (and you can go out hundreds of metres and feel totally safe) and the surrounding landscape is beautiful - but apart from that it's pretty much Surfer's Paradise.  It was fine for 4 nights as a stop over and we had plenty of fun drinking way too many cocktails and Duke's (5 words - fish tacos and waffle fries), but I wouldn't really go back.  It did however make me desperately want to go back and see some of the other islands.  I can only imagine how gorgeous they are.

The other amazing thing about Waikiki were the locals.  Every single one we met, from our driver (Tony's transportation!  He was hilarious but I can't find any number.. ), to the waiting staff and the shop assistants were absolutely beautiful, warm, friendly people.

Sadly apart from staff most of the people in Waikiki were tourists (Aussies or Japanese). We would have loved to get out of the city and meet more of the locals, but this was the end of our trip and we honestly just couldn't be bothered.  We pledged to return instead.. 

Pretty cute shopping centre!

We stayed at the Outrigger Waikiki on the beach and yes, we paid a fair bit extra for that 'partial ocean view' room.  So incredibly not worth it.  The room was OK, pretty basic, but clean and the bed was comfortable. Duke's was underneath our hotel which was a definitely perk.  If I return I'll definitely be at the Moana Surfrider which was 2 doors down.  If I hadn't prepaid everything I would've moved... 

Walked the shops, drank cocktails, eat and lay on the beach is pretty much all we did.

Perfect water.. 

Half way through our walk to the Ala Moana shopping centre.  Worth a look I guess, but didn't buy too much.

I really was over photos by this stage so I seem to have not taken photos of anything we actually did.  

I won't lie, it is pretty.


So who else has been to Hawaii and where should I stay/eat/play on my return?

x

MY WEEK THROUGH INSTA

Last week was a pretty quiet and boring one for me.  Last Friday (9 days ago now, it seems like yesterday) I had some pretty big dental work that left me in a bit of pain and then with terrible sinus pressure headaches for a few days.  It resulted in a couple of days off work and a serious amount of watching 'Orange is the new Black' (addicted).  By Thursday I was almost as good as new and now I just have a dull ache.  Let me just say one thing - if you get a root canal, get a crown!  Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.  Ever.

Onto my week through Insta..

This was Monday morning..  I was feeling pretty terrible and the gorgeous Munro would not get off me.  Purring and cuddles galore.  Nothing better.

I think this was on Thursday when I was finally feeling good and the sun was out!  Miracle!  Nothing changes my mood like the sun being out.  I seriously am a different person in winter compared to summer.  I try not to be but I am.  I'm a bitch in winter.

... So of course on Saturday when it was 21 degrees (!!) I was outside half the day on the lawn with food and magazines and a beach towel.  As it should be.
Though at 3pm it got pretty cool and I was forced in.  Not to worry...

.. as on Saturday night M and I joined his family for my sister-in-law's birthday.  Oh to be 25 again!  We ate at The Third Wave in Port Melbourne which, especially for my 'pescetarian' self, did not look promising.  But I was pleasantly surprised - that may have been the best salmon I have ever eaten.  Just perfect.

This morning involved serious amounts of berries to recover from the Mars Bar birthday cake that followed last night's meal.  More sunshine - very promising for the last week of winter (hip hip..)

And then today I worked on a vineyard out country which was relaxing but also incredibly tiring!  The huge amount of berries didn't fuel me for very long and we got home just in time for The Block, some beer and a (terrible) fish souvlaki from a local fish and chip shop (our usual was shut.  Should have had toast..).

I had an amazing weekend after a really crappy week and I hope I can carry this refreshed feeling right through Monday, despite the hundreds of things I still have to catch up on at work after time off last week.  Some early starts are calling.

Have a beautiful Monday! x

LOUNGE ROOM RE-PLAN

I already have a few of these elements and I can't change them (like, the couch, or the dark coffee table).  

Too many ideas in one spot.

tan leather cushion //  grey sofa // black & white cushion  // small basket // white vase // black & white rug // pink rug // giraffe print // white cushion // coffee table // book //  palm //  light // armchair 

NO-BAG LADY

The problem with not liking too much stuff and keeping things minimal is that everything becomes a big purchase, so for over 6 months I've been looking for a new bag... but I can't find one I like.  Anywhere.

The closest I can get to something I like is that one on the bottom left from J Crew, and even then, it's not love.

The rest - Pink, Gold, Black, Pattern.

Any tips on where to look for bags or are they just all terrible at the moment?

I won't ever spend a fortune on a hand bag, so Net a Porter will not be the solution to my problem.

Anyone know any amazing handbag creator on Etsy?  I can hardy be bothered searching anymore.

(MORE) TINY HOUSES

So I'm guessing anyone that already has an interest in tiny houses already frequents Small House Bliss.  


Just a few images I adored for a Sunday morning....

This place on a hot Summer night.  Yes please.

From when I was 8 years old until I was about 17, I wanted to be an architect so much.  I had books and books of floor plans I'd done, programs for building houses on the computer (archaic by today's standards).  I had samples of materials and wrote myself client briefs.  I gave up when I realised how hard I'd have to study in year 12 to get in (and threw everything out.  I know, silliness).  Even though one of my total bffs is an architect and I have seen how insanely hard she had to work to get there and how hard she now works to earn money from it, I still regret that decision.  

Though I guess there's nothing really stopping me learning to build a tiny house from retired containers now (would have to be container as my full time work is as a supply chain manager - oh what fun!).  Well, apart from no where to build it.

All images from the gorgeous Small House Bliss 

PINTEREST?

I'm always late to take up technology, but last year was the year of the upgrade for me - my 1994 commodore got swapped for a sparkly brand new car.  My non-touch screen phone was traded in for an S4 (the best and brand newest at the time, so unlike me!), and I discovered the land of Instagram and Whatsapp.

Despite this, and despite my friend L promoting it's features and encouraging me to just give it a go, I never got into Pinterest.

Last week, that changed.

Who would have known that folding magazine page corners is not the only way to be able to go back to beautiful images you want to refer to later for inspiration? (apart from everyone but me).  Insane.

So.. do you Pinterest?
I'd love to stalk your boards...

Follow me @stuffsheloved on pinterest.

The only thing I'm not great at is making my own comments on each image. 

Does anyone do that?

And now, some of my favourite pins so far...

Perfect mix of earthy and modern.
(Have I mentioned I love interiors??)

Although M & I have done a lot of work on our back yard (there was nothing when we got here, well, there was a mud pit), we still have a long way to go.  I adore beautiful backyards that are not too structured and look as cosy as the inside of a beautiful home with little surprises and gorgeous places to sit and read a big or just get a new view of your property (this was done so well at McAlpine House in Broome where I stayed last year).  So many great gardens on Pinterest.

From childhood I have always loved sleeping close to the floor - mattresses on the floor give me the best nights sleep.
Sadly M thinks I am mad, so we do not have a mattress on the floor.

I'm a big fan of exposing either legs or arms in it's extreme form.  Nothing better than a tiny skirt or shorts and a jumper, or long, preferably loose-fitting pants and a cami.
I'm not super huge on style stalking but I loved this.

I'm a total loser and love reminding myself through prints that I really do have an amazing life and that nothing is all that bad.  

A few metres of sheer fabric and I could totally make this window covering.

Hope to see you on Pinterest and if not, I'm sure I'll be using a few of my pins here in posts to come..
x