My Ring + Wedding Bits

So here is my first wedding related blog post - one of many I'm sure! So far all I have done in regards to planning is read through a few wedding magazines, buy a wedding journal and started a Pinterest board. I think I'm going to tackle the planning very slowly as I really enjoy planning events and I've always seen my wedding day as the highlight of my 'event organising' and crafting life. I also kind of want to soak it all in and enjoy being newly engaged for a little while. 

I'm really looking forward to making so many different things for my wedding and I've already decided that I would like to make my bridesmaids dresses and as much of the food as I can for the day. I just really enjoy making things a lot, and I can't wait to share some of my wedding projects here! 

I've also including some better close up pictures of my ring. It's such a beautiful and unique ring and what makes it even more special, is that Matt designed it himself and worked with a local jeweller for about five months to get it exactly right! He even included little details, such as the small engravings on the sides that were apparently very popular in the 1950's but haven't really been done much since, which gives it a real antique feel (also I might add that the 1950's is my most favourite era!). I would have never been able to pick a ring anywhere close to as lovely as this one, and I'm so very lucky to have a guy that knows me so well!     

Red Riding Hood

Winter has well and truly hit Tasmania now and even though it is freezing cold at the moment, the days have been really beautiful and sunny lately. These photos were taken on Saturday morning after Matt and I had our weekly Nutella hot chocolate from one of our favourite cafes. I don't love having my photo taken, but I asked Matt to take some photos of my outfit for me so that I could share it here. I think I might like to start posting some of my outfits more often as I love seeing what other people are wearing on their blogs and I think it would be nice to have a collection of some of my nicer outfits.

I've worn this red cape or 'riding hood' a lot over the last few weeks. My mum gave it to me a few years ago and I've recently rediscovered it as I was cleaning through my wardrobe. I don't have a coat at the moment and can't really afford to buy one either, so this little cape has been doing the trick!

Also, did you notice my lovely new ring? Matt and I are engaged, which I still can't quite believe (it only happened 10 days ago!). He designed the ring himself and it is so beautiful and unique. I will definitely share some more photos of it soon!

Lovely Things | Lilac

{Via tamsinjohnson}

{Source Unknown}

{pineneedle collective}

{we heart it}

{Via souvenirs of a girl}

I LOVE colours, but one colour that I have never really liked is purple. Maybe because I'm mainly drawn to pastels or maybe because I think it's such an unnatural colour, either way all I know is that it has been my least favourite colour for as long as I can remember. Which is why I have found it really strange that I have been very drawn to the colour lilac lately! 

A few times this month I have noticed my love for lilac... First, while I was looking through Reid Cycles vintage lady bikes I was surprised to find that the pretty lilac bike (pictured above) was my favourite colour option (I even preferred it over the mint green lady bike!), and secondly I've started crocheting a new granny square blanket out of some of my mums woollen scraps and have enjoyed using a scrap ball of lilac the most! 

So because of my new found love, I have decided to share a collection of pretty lilac pictures with you today. I hope you like them as much as I do!   

Things to do...

...Over the Easter break.

{Image credit: Lemon Drops}

+ Go to the Harvest Farmers Market

+ Go to Evandale Market

+ Start a new granny square blanket

+ Light the fire

+ Continue to fix up my new space

+ Go op-shopping with Matt

+ Make two new dresses for myself

What do you plan to do over Easter? 

Lovely Spaces

{Kikki-K}

{Nordic Design}

{Convoy}

{Ikea}

{Bellebird Handmade}

{88 Forever}

I have been a little bit absent from the blog over the last few weeks, due to the fact that my bedroom and workspace has been flooded because of a leaking pipe under our house. The pipe has been fixed now and my space is slowly starting to get repaired (we have to replace most of the plasterboard and rip out the carpet due to water damage). But until it is fully repaired I have no where to do any sewing, making or anything to take photos of to share here. 

I live with my parents, but am pretty lucky to have a living/workspace/bedroom area that is separate from the main part of the house all of my own. While my space is getting repaired I have been living in my parents living room and sleeping on the couch which I have to say I'm getting pretty sick of. To keep my spirits up I've collected a few images from Pinterest on how I might like to style my new space (the upside of all this hassle!). Looking forward to sharing this new space with you hopefully very soon! Janelle xx

Brisbane Vintage Shopping

As mentioned in my previous post, one of my favourite things to do in Brisbane is to visit the amazing vintage/antique centres. We managed to squeeze in a visit to two antique centres while we were in Brisbane, one in Woolloongabba and one in Paddington. They were both amazing! If you're planning on visiting either of these antique centres make sure you allow a couple of hours in each one as there is so much to see! Also, I recommend spending a whole day in Paddington as there are quite a few antique shops and lovely boutiques that are worth seeing, as well as a lot of cute cafes to eat at such as this one. Here are some of the photos I took of our vintage shopping trips... 

Have you been to either of these antique centres before? I wish Tasmania had big antique centres like this one. I'm already looking forward to visiting these ones again next time I go to Brisbane!  

Our Brisbane Trip

 Things have been a little quiet here on my blog lately as Matt and I have been spending the last couple of weeks in Brisbane for a holiday and to see two of our best friends get married! We had such a great time away, exploring the city, eating great food, going out for coffee and spending time with all of our Brisbane friends. This was only my second time to Brisbane and it's safe to say that I've fallen deeper in love with this beautiful city. 

One of our favourite days of the trip was an afternoon spent at Southbank. We had a late lunch of fish and chips with some frozen yogurt to follow and walk around and looked at every restaurant menu in the area. We also ended up going to the cinema and watching a random movie just because the tickets were so cheap! After the movie we went to Max Brenner and had some thick Italian hot chocolate and chatted for hours and hours. 

We spent a lot of our time eating and going out for coffee. Some of our favourite places we went to were Bare Bones Society, Pearl Cafe (pictured second), West End food market and Bonsai Botanica (pictured third), where Matt had three of the best coffees in his life (he's a coffee snob) and I had a delicious flour-less chocolate cake. 

One of my favourite things to do in Brisbane is visit some of the amazing vintage/antique centres. We went to one in Paddington which I had been to before and to another in Woolloongabba which I had never been to. They were both amazing and I will share some more pictures of them in a separate post soon! 

I so badly wanted to take these sweet little canisters home, but there was no way they were going to fit in my suitcase. 

On one of the last days of our trip, I was really pleased that we were able to squeeze in a beach day! When we arrived the whether started to get really wild but cleared up after we had some breakfast. Even though the pictures don't show it, the waves were massive due to a cyclone in north Queensland, which made swimming a little less enjoyable then I was hoping for. 

It was such a good two weeks away! Looking forward to visiting again, hopefully soon!