Pink sofa for grey sky days.

Decor Design Review

After days of full, beaming sunshine, humid heat and swims at the beach with almost everyone in the city, the clouds have come over to give us some relief. Today's grey sky and cool change means cups of tea, cosy-ing up on the couch, reading and watching these pretty sweet Kinfolk films. If only I had a pink, plush sofa...

Bikram Diaries.

Image from Pinterest

Summer is just around the corner here in Australia and it's time to get serious about getting into shape for bikini season! I usually train twice a week at a class at my favourite gym, Spudds. It's an intense 45 minute workout that combines cardio, weights and boxing. This coupled with my weekly netball game keeps me pretty active.

A couple of weeks ago my work friend received an email about a 31 day Bikram Yoga Challenge at the yoga school across the road from our office. She was keen to do it and asked if I wanted to join. I said yes and the next week we signed up, paid our money and committed ourselves to 31 days of one and a half hour yoga practice in a 40 degree room. Just typing this out make me wonder what the heck I was thinking when I said 'yes' to this madness. But not one to shy away from a challenge (yet), I am determined to stick this out.

Walking into the carpeted hot room for the first time in a long time I was hit by the wall of heat and instantly felt like a wilting flower. Half way through the first class sweat was dripping from my body and coming out through my hair. I paced myself through all of the poses and recognised the ones I needed to improve. By the end of the first class I felt proud of myself yet totally overwhelmed by the prospect of going to another 30 classes!

For the last month bikram yoga has been my second priority to work. Setting a 5am alarm to get up and go to class each day (I chose to do it first thing in the morning to avoid not wanting to do it after a long day at work), packing my clothes, showering, getting dressed, washing my clothes and doing it all again was a constant and sometimes exhausting cycle in itself.

Having now finished the challenge, successfully (!!!), I can look back on those days when it was all too much and know that when you put your mind to something and you perservere, through the good and the bad, you can do absolutely anything. For me personally the mental benefits of completing this challenge have been far more rewarding than the physical. Yoga teachers say some pretty wise things and one saying that I now think in my head almost every day since is "mind over the matter". Something might be really frustrating you, whether at home or at work, and you can't help but stew on this one thing - this is when you need to put your mind, and all of the amazing energy and power it has, to forget about the pesky problem and move on to the next thing.

Life is full of highs and lows. Whether you look at the highs and lows of each day or week or month, they happen to everyone. Knowing how to focus on putting the lows into perspective, to focus my mind on pushing through them with positivity and sometimes taking a step back from things that are out of my control has made me feel like a much balanced person... now I understand what people mean when they want to be "balanced".

I'm not sure if I will ever do another 31 day bikram yoga challenge but I can safely say that I will continue with at least regular classes and look for new types of yoga to practice and would definitely encourage anyone and everyone to at least do a few classes to reap some of the lifelong mental benefits!

Crafty: Dipped Cans DIY.

Cleaning up after a recent Mexican fiesta affair, aka nachos for dinner, we had a few empty cans ready for recycling. The next morning I was on Pinterest and spotted this pin which inspired me to rescue those empty bean tins and get crafty! In a similar vein to the painted pots I did last year, the steps are really easy and simple. Besides empty and clean cans (with labels removed) all you need is some masking tape, paint and a paintbrush. Put the tape around the can where you wish and paint below making sure not to get any paint above the tape. Do one to three coats and when completely dry remove the masking tape and you will have the finished product. Super easy, super quick.

I used blue, pink and yellow acrylic paints that I had lying around however I diluted the colours with white so they would be more pastel like. I was pretty chuffed with the end result and in turn took my little cans to work to give my desk some much needed organisation. 

What neat DIY projects have you tried?

Halloween.

I have always been a bit festive. I love holidays like Christmas and Easter, or any occasion with a theme. Whenever Halloween would roll around when we were young my sisters and I would watch back-to-back special Halloween episodes of all of the shows on Disney Channel. We would live out our Halloween fantasies through the TV shows because it is not widely celebrated here in Australia. One of the benefits of living out of home is being able to do what ever you want - in last night's case it was celebrating Halloween! I made a black and orange tassel garland, covered the chairs in fake cobwebs, made these cute jack-o-lanterns from plastic cups and Donna Hay's jack-o-lantern pizzas! After dinner we took our food comas to the couch, ate some candy and watched our favourite Halloween movie The Haunted Mansion. It was the perfect spooky night in.

Spring Cleaning.

Spring has arrived and I'm ready for a good old-fashioned spring clean. The thought of a big clean can sometimes be so overwhelming that you put it off and never end up doing it to the extent you originally wanted. Raise your hand if your guilty? Over here, yep me, I'm guilty! This time I thought I would break it down to the area that I use most in my home, my bedroom, and focus on giving it a little TLC. Let's start with the wardrobe shall we?

1. Hello Wardrobe!

If you are like me and you get dressed every day then I'm guessing that your wardrobe can get a little hectic and unorganised? Amiright? Here are some quick tips to give your clothing domain it's own spring gleam.

- Put away all of your heavy winter coats that you won't be needing in spring. Leave a selection of jackets that you can pair with your lighter spring/summer clothes for those cooler nights.

- Keep two of your most worn jeans hanging for the in-between days before it starts to really warm up. Put any other jeans or pants you won't wear again in winter away with your coats.

- Give your closet some organisation. It makes everything easier in the morning when you can find what you're looking for in its proper section. From left to right I organise by dresses, pants, jackets and tops. Between these sections I sub-categorise with day dresses, night dresses, dress pants, jeans etc etc. A little bit anal but also a little bit handy when you're looking for that top you really want to wear but can't find and you need to leave the house in 10 minutes flat!

- Any clothes that you don't want anymore try on again and if you still don't want them make a pile to donate to charity.

- Go through your shoes, give them a little wipe to remove any dust or marks and then organise them into sections like flats, heels, sneakers etc. Same with your bags and accessories.

2. Hello my good friend Mr. Bed!

- Nothing says 'spring clean' like a set of freshly washed sheets! I like to give my a really good clean by using the hot wash setting - I feel like it would kill any unknown and unwanted germs.

- Change up your bedspread! You may have a spare set in the cupboard that you could get out for a bit of a change or if you're a little flush with the cash indulge yourself in a new spread. May I suggest something bright and fun for all of the happiness that spring and summer inspire?! Here are a couple I have been eyeing off this one and this one.

3. Hello giant pile of magazines by the bedside!

If you're a giant magazine hoarder like someone else I know quite well, then you will have lots of magazines next to your bedside that you haven't read in months but can't quite part with. Yes, that's me again, guilty! I find it really hard to part with my magazines but in such a small space like my room anything that piles up can make the space feel very cluttered which isn't fun. Alas I have found a helpful solution!

You will need some binders, loose plastic sleeves and some dividers. Go through the magazines and tear out what articles you want to keep and put them in the plastic sleeves. Use the dividers to put the articles into sections. For example my sections include: fashion, beauty, writing and living. That way you are saving room and saving the best parts of the magazine. Remember to recycle them when placing them in the trash!

4. Hello vacuum and cleaning products!

Let's be honest, it's not a spring clean unless you actually do some cleaning. Put on some music and break out the vacuum. And give everything a once over with the spray 'n' wipe. You will feel all the better and cleaner for it.

5. Hello new room accessories!

Once you have done your spring clean reward yourself with a little something something for your space. This could be anything like fresh flowers, a new vase, a scented candle, some fairy lights, whatever tickles your fancy! You've worked hard, you deserve something new to celebrate!