New Years Eve

As we watch the sun set on 2014, before we dive into our resolutions, goals and plans for the coming year, take a moment to reflect upon what you have achieved this year and soak up the final evening of 2014. I hope it's a sweet one. 

See you in the New Year x

Kokedama plant ball - DIY

I recently came across this craft, kokedama at Biome, $25. So I decided to try it as my December DIY project. 

What you'll need: 

Peat moss (available from your local nursery)

String/twine (to tie up your peat moss. Fluro is a fun choice or try something more subtle such as a natural or hessian twine)

A plant (to... plant!) 

What to do:

1. Soak the peat moss in water. Once saturated, wring out the peat moss and shape into a ball.

2. Bury your plant into the centre of the peat moss ball

3. Wrap your peat moss ball with the string

DONE!

Voila!
Mine is a little bit wonky, but definitely passable.

The peat moss will dry out gradually (no need to water the plant for the first few weeks) and stretch into the twine. Spritz the plant as needed and water into the stem of the plant with small amounts of water very occasionally (you don't want to over water and cause the centre of the plant ball to rot) Simple!

So, what do you think? Will you try making one yourself?! (A particularly great idea for #trashfree housewarming and thank you gifts)

x

PS: I'd love to see your creations!

Christmas reads

image from here

The holidays are the best time to get stuck into the never-ending reading list, especially when the weather keeps you indoors. So here's my pick of must read books for the festive season. 

Anything by Sophie Kinsella. (The author of 'Confessions of a Shopaholic') Fun stories that just leave you feeling good. 

Girls Night In series. Short stories by various authors. The perfect read for a good night in!

The Happiness Project, Gretchen Rubin. One woman and her year long quest for the true meaning of happiness, and the many means and ways to get there

Gorgeously Green, Sophie Uliano. Learn how to DIY your way to green, in 8 simple steps. (Check out her website, tutorials and recipies. So good!)

Down to Earth, Rhonda Hetzel. A firsthand guide to simple living. (Also a lovely blog for a more personal insight into Rhonda's day to day, simple living practices)

For a #trashfree solution for all the book-a-holics out there, donate/buy your books at the Lifeline Bookfest, local charity shop, second-hand bookshop or organise a book swap with your friends or bookclub! 

What books are on your reading list these holidays? 

#trashfreechallenge - Christmas cleanup

Image from Reagan and Rose

Some tips for a trash free Christmas clean up...

1. Recycle your gift wrapping. 

You could save it for next year (we used to do this as kids) put it in the recycle bin, or compost it! This year we used brown paper and decorated it with stamps, string, feathers and writing (instead of a card). And it's easy to compost!

2. Lay the table, traditional - ceramic plates, linen napkins, pots that can be cooked in, served in and stored in (rather than plastic wrap, prepackaged container and other waste) It looks beautiful and is totally #trashfree 

3. Decorate your tree, table and home - naturally! Instead of the typical decorations and tinsel, use plants, pinecones, greenery, flowers, glass jars and candles...  Get creative! 

3. Dish up your left overs for boxing day lunches and share with friends. And if you have any left over left overs, compost what you can.

4. Re-gift! If you don't love it, thrift it, re-gift it or donate it to a Christmas charity.

5. Give #trashfree gifts. This year we're loving these Mini pie jars (these would also be a great DIY idea), this beautiful book to encourage a simple living lifestyle, a simple gardening kit - to start their green obsession, and these gorgeous natural soaps 

Or try this!

Rather than exchanging gift with everyone in your family (especially if you have a large family) why not allocate one gift to exchange per family member. My friend Pippa and her family does this and it seems like a really lovely way to maintain the excitement of exchanging gifts without blowing the budget. 

Do you have any great #trashfree tips for the Christmas season?

x

Happy Christmas!

image (above) from here

x

#trashfreechallenge

image from Lorna Jane

PS: LOVE this website!

#trashfreechallenge - 2. Package free purchases

Challenge #2

Purchase unpackaged products - 

Sketch by the amazing Dawn Tan, via the Design Files

What's in your trash? Strange question but for a good reason, I promise. Because once we know where our trash is coming from, we can work towards minimising or eliminating it! 

Step 1. Take a picture of your trash (this is your "before" picture), write it down.

Step 2. Find an alternative.

Can you buy this without packaging? Compost the trash? Reuse or recycle the packaging? Make it yourself? You may need to do a little research and get organised with your storage and clean packaging alternatives but it will be well worth it.

Step 3. Get to it! 

Get the tools you need. Get organised. Set started.

If it feels a little too overwhelming to tackle the entire kitchen, start small. Try eliminating one packaged item each shop. It may seem insignificant but every bit counts.

Tips

- Make your own wherever possible 

- If there is something you just can't go without, buy local where possible, compost where possible and recycle any packaging if necessary.
- Find local suppliers to reduce your food miles. 

- Going trashfree with friends? Why not buy bulk together (and save money in the process)
- Grow your own fruit and vege. If you already do, why not swap with others to save.

One of those days...

image by ohaymrdth, via here

Do you ever have one of those days where you just wake up in a funk? 

Today was one of those days where all I wanted to do was build myself a quilt nest and ignore the day away. And I just couldn't shake it. What cheers you up when you're feeling grumpy? 

A good movie? My favourite Christmas movie. It never fails to leave me feeling happy. Oh, and this wine infused sorbet.

A long walk with your favourite playlist or ebook? This beautiful song has just hit my playlist.

A cafe and a book? This one is next on my reading list.

...What are your tips for a dreary day?

#trashfreechallenge - 1. Say no to plastic

Do you shop once a week? And how many plastic bags do you use to carry your weekly shop? 4 bags or more if you're a single person, maybe 8+ per family? So 4-8 bags a week, over 52 weeks of the year... That's 200- 400 plastic bags every year!
Or you could just get yourself some sassy, stylish, reusable bags and never bother with the plastic bag ever again.

Challenge #1.
Swap plastic for canvas (or other reusable bag)

Our picks:

This beautiful, hand woven basket $54.95  from oxfam

A beautiful variety of recycled cotton canvas bags, $25.95 from here

Stylish herringbone jute tote $34.95 from biome

Light weight but strong, polyester bag by Australian company Envirosax

TIP:

WASH YOUR BAGS regularly! 

Have a separate bag for meat, chicken, fish and other items.

Be smart about your shopping bag hygiene.

Want some more options, check out this post from Cool Mum Picks

#trashfreechallenge - The trash free challenge

I recently read this article that popped up on my newsfeed, about living a trash free lifestyle. The author Lauren, is a 23 year old woman living in New York City, and has done just that. By starting small, banning plastic bags and unnecessary food packaging, and working her way up to producing her own personal and beauty products, Lauren has lived a trash free lifestyle for the past 2 years. (check out her website here) Incredible!

image from here

Ever since I read this article I've been seeing so much waste. I'm astounded at how much of it is deliberate and so unnecessary! And it got me thinking... Could I do it? Could I go trash free?
So... I've decided to embark on a challenge

Trash free challenge #trashfreechallenge

Would you like to join me?!
I will chart my journey and hopefully some of you will come along and take the #trashfreechallenge with me! Each day we will eliminate one trash contributing item from our lives until eventually, we will be that much closer to being totally trash free, together!
I want to see your journey too! Show us your daily challenges, ingenious ideas for avoiding waste, your favourite stores that support your challenge, your empty bins and success stories by using the #trashfreechallenge
And finally... Challenge some friends to join you in becoming #trashfree.



What to do:

1. Take the #trashfreechallenge 

And let people know about it! 

Pledge your commitment to the #trashfreechallege
on facebook, twitter, instagram or other social media 

2. Challenge your friends to join you!
Tag them in your posts and get them onboard! 

3. Subscribe to this blog (at the bottom of the page)
keep updated with daily challenges to stay on track

4. Do it!

Let's make this happen!

The Carry on Challenge - What I Wore

What does 8 weeks of carry on luggage look like? This! These outfits took me from New York City to the lake side Luzern, Switzerland, to beaches of the Cinque Terre, Italy and home again.
(I didn't take these exact items/brands but very similar)

Tips:
- Find what style suit and stick to it. I know shift dresses suit my shape so I packed a variety of them with a few variations on the style.

- Choose pieces you can dress up or down in fabrics that travel well. 

- Don't overpack. Think about the outfits you wear on a daily basis - you have your favourites that are worn over and over and items that are hardly worn and are very event specific. If you're having trouble deciding, try this for a month: Turn your coat hangers to face the same way. Each time you wear an item, hang it back facing the other way. This will create a short list for the items to choose form when you pack to travel.

- Accessorise! Keep the outfits basic and mix it up with small accessories - a scarf, a bold necklace or a bright lip. 

Have you travelled carry on only before? What are your top tips?

x

To dance and to do in NYC

Beautiful Bryant Park (one of my favourite spots in NYC)

The motivation behind my coming to New York (apart from just being in New York!) was to take lots of dance, acting, singing classes. So, I finally jumped on the subway and headed uptown to Broadway Dance Centre for a Broadway Jazz class with Sue Samuels.
I stayed around after class to watch some of the other classes going on... it blew my mind! It's crazy the amount of talent crammed into one building! There are Broadway professionals brushing up on Advanced classes, all the way to absolute beginners, old and young, who attend the Basic and Beginner classes as well. Classes begin at 9am daily (7 days a week through most of the year) and run all the way through to midnight some nights!
The genres/styles of dance are also so varied and different to the styles I've experienced before (which makes sense because each class is essentially a reflection of the teachers training, preferences, style, etc.)

After class, I met with two of the other girls staying at the Residence and we wandered through Bryant Park, past Korea Town and back to Broadway. They were talking about the places they've been in New York since arriving and tips on the best places to go... I definitely need to add another page to my New York City 'to do' list!




What's on your New York City 'to do' list?!

x

New York Nuns

After the first weekend in New York, I left our Airbnb studio and took a taxi across town to check into the Sacred Heart Residence, my home for the duration of my New York trip.

Sacred Heart is a women's residence. Women of all ages and nationalities can stay here for various lengths of time for work and study while they find their feet in the big city. The Sisters who operate the residence are very sweet although are women of few words. (Also, most of the Sister speak only Spanish and I sadly do not. So although we tried, the lines of communication were not terribly strong)

The building is a beautiful Brownstone in the heart of Chelsea, with cafes, shops and beautiful tree lined streets in the surrounding blocks. It's also right near the Highline, around the corner from the Upright Citizens Brigade (home to many SNL actors), the Joyce Theatre and just a few blocks from the Chelsea Markets.

Most of the women staying at the residence were in New York for creative persuits - many were studying dance, some were artists, and a few were undertaking internships in their fields of study. I made quite a few really lovely friends in the few short weeks that I was at the residence.

The residence didn't quite look like the beautiful pictures on their website, but it was a great location (and very safe), a great opportunity to meet some awesome people from around the world and the perfect place to base myself for this adventure. (The only thing I would change is to bring a kettle with me. Too many nights sneaking cups of tea past the Sisters, up to my room!)

  

Street level entrance to the Sacred Heart residence (the most beautiful old doors 

and decorative screens at the entrance.

The main entrance from the first floor landing. A little run down but I can just

imagine its former life. (I had a quick peek and there were beautiful marble

slabs under the red carpet. Can you imagine how beautiful it was in its day!) 

The first level lounge room.

The street level dining room. This was a great meeting place for the residence

(I thoroughly enjoyed catching up with everyone on the days I could drag myself

out of bed early enough)

The basement level entrance to the laundry (fun to explore the hallways 

and rooms down here but not my favourite place to be at night - daytime 

laundry sessions only!)

Beautiful signage and reminders of the history of the building and the many

lifetimes lived out within these walls. If these walls could talk!

x

Hello New York!

My childhood friend (who now lives in Canada) decided to visit for my first weekend in NYC. Yay! We went with airbnb (have you tried it?) and managed to rent a great little walk up apartment in the East Village for the weekend. Cafes, cute restaurants and little shops on every block (there was even a fire escape to sit out on and drink wine in the evenings, which we didn't even notice until we were leaving!) We loved it! 

Some of our favourite things...

EAT

My favourite spot in the area was a little place called Freemans restaurant. 

A little gem at the end of an alley way. Aged mirrors, cosy rooms full of books and taxidermy (it works, trust me) sweet staff and amazing food. It's Alice in wonderland meets hipster NYC.  

- Freeman Alley off 191 Chrystie St, New York

Tip: Try the artichoke dip, it's amazing!

DO

Biking around Central Park. So fun! We hired a bike for an hour and cycled the whole way around the park. Whew! Great way to see the park, get your bearings and soak up the beautiful Summer weather. The traffic is a little hectic to negotiate at first (cyclists, rollerbladers, walkers, runners, dogs, etc etc) but it's totally worth it.

TRY

A Hershey's Kiss! Drop into Hersey World on Broadway and be welcomed into the store with a (free) Hershey's Kiss, yum! (You can also do this at the Lindt store on 5th Ave) There's nothing like chocolate to sweeten your visit to New York!

x

(Thank you to Holly.H for the lovely image of Freemans)

Welcome to New York, New York!

(above: East Village on a New York night)

I arrived in NYC late in the evening, hailed a yellow cab (New York moment!) and headed over to my Airbnb apartment in the East Village. After getting very lost, an absent airbnb host, many expensive calls to my host and the search for a mystery cafe where the key was now waiting for me... I had arrived! A bit of a rough start to the trip but I made it!

These tips about NYC taxis would've saved me so much trouble.

Airbnb is great! But make sure you follow these steps to ensure a smooth stay in your holiday home.

Don't get caught without snacks when flying, especially on long long haul flights. (Jetlag plus hunger sickness does not make for a happy traveller)

x

The Carry on Challenge

A carry on case is all I've packed for my 8 week Summer trip abroad... Crazy, right?

It's a challenge to myself. I like the idea of travelling simple. Stepping off the plane with one bag containing everything you need... striding past baggage, out of the airport and being whisked away in a taxi before everyone else has even started the struggle with their luggage.

The reality was a little less efficient and ever so slightly less glamorous than I'd imagined (I may have watched "Up in the Air" a few too many times) But I did it! (See what I packed here)

x 

Wanderlust

#17 

First stop: New York, New York!

x