52 Weeks Happy (20/52)

These posts have made me realise that the number 1 thing that keeps me happy is food.  Namely experimenting with new recipes.  So on that note I am sure you won't be surprised to see that the majority of my pics below are food.

1 - I found this raw vegan lemon bar recipe on Instagram.  I have been trying to find healthy sweet options so that I can cut down on the amount of crap I eat.  These are only sweetened with dates so they are extremely healthy!

2 - On Wednesday my mum, Imogen and I accompanied my sister on her hunt for a wedding dress.  It was such a fun day!  Just ours girls doing some shopping. What could be more fun!

3 - Thai Chickpea Burgers! I know I have shared this recipe before but they are seriously becoming a favourite of mine.  We have made them once a week since first trying them.  You should all give them a go.

4 - What could make you more happy then baking a rainbow cake.  I recreated the cake I made for my niece for a friend's nieces birthday this past weekend.  She loved it and I am so happy it turned out so well.

5 - I have flicked through the I Quit Sugar book by Sarah Wilson a million times in various shops but finally decided to take the plunge and buy it last Thursday.  If anyone is looking for it Big W has it for only $22.  It has some amazing recipes which I have on my to do list.

6 - 8 - This weeks pinterest recipe testing included Peanut Butter & Honey Granola, Blueberry Breakfast Cake & Pizza Muffins.  Now all these recipes were delicious and I will definitely be making them all again.  But the best out of the lot of them were these pizza muffins. They were freaking amazing!!! If you have a spare 15 minutes whip up a batch of these, now.

9 - This crazy kid makes me smile every day! Apparently this is the way all the cool kids sit in their strollers.  I honestly don't know how she manages to get into these positions. It's safe to say she will be getting strapped in from now on.

So how was your week?

Quick & Easy Kimono Jacket

A little while ago I was lucky enough to win some gorgeous silk crepe de chine from the lovely Sophie at Cirque Du Bebe.  When I received the material it felt so soft and buttery all I wanted to do was wrap myself up in it.  I had no idea what I was going to make with it so it sat in my stash.  Every now and then I would pick it up and look at it but couldn't decide on a project.

Then the other night I was thinking I should make myself a kimono jacket.  I own a couple and I love them and I figured they would be pretty simple to make.  I did a bit of googling and came along this tutorial.  It looked pretty easy and I knew I had the perfect material for it.

On Saturday I had the urge to wear jeans and had already worn my two me mades that went with jeans.  So during Imogen's morning nap I decided to see if I could get this made.  Seriously, if you want an instant gratification project make a kimono jacket.  This literally took me half an hour to make.  If you made it in jersey it would be even quicker.  I am thinking I would like to make another in a nice printed jersey if I can find one.  I think it would be the perfect introductory project to sewing with knits.

Me Made May Update 3

Another week down in Me Made May and the weather has been wreaking a little havoc with my outfits.  It has been getting cold and gloomy and given that only a few of my me mades suit those truly horrible days I have been a bit worried how I would get through the month.  Here is what I've been wearing this week.

Day 11

Red Lace Dress

Blogged here

A brand new make for my friend's wedding that I only managed to finish the night before.

Day 12

Green Boyfriend Cardigan

Blogged here

Our first rainy day of the week saw me wearing my first repeat for the month.

Day 13

Kate Spade Inspired Skirt

Blogged here

The sun came back out today which gave me a chance to wear this sunny skirt.

Day 14

Grey Vintage Shorts

Blogged here

Another rainy day and I was a bit stressed about what I was going to wear until I remembered these shorts and teamed them with some tights.

Day 15

Hawaiian 50s Dress

Blogged here

Clearly the rain and sun were tag teaming this week.  As soon as I saw the clear blue skies I knew I had to grab the chance to wear this summery dress.

Day 16

Mustard Flared Blouse

Blogged here

And the clouds were back!  I spent the morning bumming around in my pyjamas while I finished this new top just so I could wear jeans.

Day 17

Purple Spotted Dress

Blogged here

I love this spotty dress but the zip in it is super dodgy.  Although you can't really tell it is bugging me no end so I think I am going to rip it out and redo it.

I'm really hoping this weather starts playing nice or you are going to be seeing the same outfits repeatedly for the rest of the month.  I do have plans to try and make another version of my new top so I can wear jeans again.  Fingers crossed!

Mustard Flared Blouse

If you have been following along with my Me Made May outfits on instagram you would have seen this new top yesterday.  Yesterday was a bit of a gloomy, cold day on the old GC.  Luckily it was an at home day so I spent the morning bumming around in my pj's until I finished this top to wear.


The pattern I used for this top is Butterick 5890 which the lovely Lizzy picked up for me in their last pattern sale.  I made view B without the collar because I wanted the front to be cut on the fold rather than 2 pieces.  I also preferred the look of the shorter sleeves on version B.  When I first tried this on I wasn't sure of the neckline.  It's a lot higher than what I usually wear and I was worried it looked a bit funny.  The longer I wore it though the more I liked it.  For my next version, however, I think I will lower it slightly as the fabric I want to use has a large scale print so it might be a bit overwhelming.


My two favourite things in this top are the sleeves and the bias bound zipper seam.  The sleeves are lined which saves you having to hem them which saved a lot of time and created a lovely clean finish.  The instructions included for the zip were not a way I had ever tried so I decided to give it a go.  You basically basted the seam shut then sewed the zipper onto the sewn seam and unpicked the basting afterwards.  Afterwards I decided to bind the seam with some pink bias binding.  I think it looks pretty cool against the yellow.


Again, with this top I tried to make the inside just as neat as the outside.  This is a little personal goal of mine for this year.  It's taken me a while to realise that the more care I take with the finishing the longer my me mades are going to last.  Sometime last year I had this epiphany but I was still lazy with finishing.  My garments were only neat inside when I could be bothered.  But this year I am trying to make all my makes neat and tidy inside and out.  So far I am doing pretty well.  I am so happy with how this top turned out that I am already planning a second version.  For a person who never makes tops I think I will be rectifying that gap in my me made wardrobe very soon.

A "Blah" Knit

So a while ago I decided to use up some stash yarn by knitting Imogen a little dress.  I started the Golden Child Dress but wasn't loving the pattern on the bodice.  I decided to skip the pattern and just knit it in plain stockinette.  I thought it could just be a cute little winter jumper dress for Imogen.  However, I forgot that without the lattice pattern being knit the top wouldn't have the same shape as it was meant to.  I finished the dress, blocked it and photographed it.  It was a bit boring and plain and just a bit blah.


So my question to you dear readers is do you have any suggestions of how I can jazz this knit up a bit? I am just not loving it at all.  It's not a big loss considering I just used cheap stash yarn but it did take a bit of time to make so I would prefer it not to be a total loss.  Any and all suggestions are greatly appreciated!

52 Weeks Happy (19/52)

This past week feels like it just disappeared!  I can't believe it is the middle of May already.  That means it's only 5 more months until Imogen turns 1.  While I am excited to plan her party I would rather she stay a little baby forever.  Here's a few things that have been making me smile this week.

1 - I tried a couple of new recipes this week.  The first was this delicious curried lentil soup.  Perfect for the rainy winter weather we have suddenly been having.  The second was a healthy pancake recipe made using banana and oats.

2 - Imogen learnt to stand up this week!  This was a pretty exciting moment.  She was very pleased with herself!  Now she just has to learn how to get back down again.

3 - Corey & I got a chance to dress up this past weekend to celebrate the wedding of our darling friends.  I managed to finish my dress the night before luckily otherwise I would have been turning up in the nude.

4 - Lastly, I was massively spoilt on Mother's Day with three gorgeous pairs of shoes from Bait Footwear.  There are a few others I want from there too so I will be saving my dollars to get myself a few more I think.

How has your week been? I hope you have had some moments to make you smile!

Red Lace Wedding Guest Dress

This past weekend our friends got married in a gorgeous little ceremony on the Gold Coast.  When the wedding invitation first arrived I decided I would make myself a dress to wear.  I spent a while searching for inspiration and after getting some advice on twitter about where to get some nice red lace I picked up some gorgeous lace with a scalloped design from Darn Cheap Fabrics.  Now before I go on I must say the ladies from Darn Cheap were a massive help.  I had multiple emails with two lovely ladies and they sent me swatches of all the laces they had in stock.  Once I had decided I ordered via email and my fabric arrived the very next day.  Now I am not getting paid to say this I just love finding a great shop with affordable fabric and great service!  Now onto the dress....


The dress is a hybrid of two patterns.  The bodice is from vintage Simplicity 5343 and the skirt and sleeves came from New Look 6723.  I had used this bodice before when making my sewing dare dress and I knew that it fit well so I decided to use it again rather than having to fit the bodice from the New Look pattern.  Also, the new look bodice has princess seams and I didn't feel like trying to match the lace on those seams.  As the skirt was partially gathered it was really easy to match it up to the alternate bodice.  I also lengthened the skirt pattern a little bit.


The dress is lined in a red cotton poplin.  After cutting all the pattern pieces I hand basted the lining and lace together and worked through construction as if they were one piece of fabric.  I took a lot of time on this one to make sure the insides were just as neat as the outside.  I'm pretty happy with how it all turned out!  I used bias binding the hem the lining and for the neckline.  The perfect finishing touch was the hand picked zipper which I finished sewing in at 9pm Friday night.  I am so happy with how this dress turned out and that I managed to get it finished in time.  For my first time working with lace I think I did pretty well!