{CHRISTmas decor + traditions}

{advent}

{diy envelopes full of goodies via abeautifulmess}

{match boxes with goodies + notes - link}

{ornaments on tags - link}

{numbered paper bags with goodies - link}

{pegs + packages - link}

{punch board - an oldie but a goodie - link}

hello lovely friendlikins!

how AWESOME are these advent ideas, to get you excited for the reason for the season! ok, so technically advent started yesterday - but i've been sick + hence, am unprepared! if you, like me, haven't made an advent calendar yet - hopefully these will inspire you + me to get our advent butts into action!

do you know what advent means? is it just about eating those tiny gross chocolates in santa calendars? i hope not! here's what john piper says about advent:

'For four weeks, it's as if we're re-enacting, remembering the thousand of years God's people were anticipating and longing for the coming of God's salvation, for Jesus. That's what advent means - coming'

if you'd like to find out more, piper says more over here.

let's get excited about celebrating our AMAZING saviour JESUS!

love love

 {lizzie}

  xoxo

{instagram photo a day}

{november edition}

hello lovely friendlikins!

how are you this fine + dandy day? hope you've had a good monday lovelies! since we hung out last, we've said goodbye to spring + hello to summer! crazy pants! here's what the end of my spring looked like according to le instagram challange alla november:

2. {i did this today}

{snuggles with moose, whilst i was sick on the couch}

3. {p is for...}

{pretty patterned fabric}

8. {someone i miss}

{my friendlikin josie, who has been in the philippines + currently in japan - come home soon! }

17. {5 o'clock}

{afternoon nap}

as you can see, not a whole lot happened in november + so i didn't do so well with the challenge. this was due to tommy + i being quite sick. i've had a SUPER awesome chest infection - coughing ALL through the night, keeping poor tommy awake to the wee hours of the morning!

there's been a whole lot of listening to terry pratchett's story, jingo + watching episodes of grimm + crocheting + napping/sleeping + of course all of the coughing!

how was your november? did you get sick too? there seems to be a lot of bugs going around with the bipolar weather - doesn't know whether it's summer or winter!

now IT IS summer + i'm looking forward to my birthday + related celebrations! all the CHRISTmas parties + birthday parties + new years eve fun times. i'm excited about doing advent + making decorations to celebrate the reason for the season + selling some goodies on my etsy store!

what are you looking forward to this summer?

wishing you lovely summer adventures!

love love

 {lizzie}

  xoxo

{i LOVE...}

{stitch}

{table cloth fleurs}   {abstract}   {wall hanging}

{pretty centre}   {stitch your jumper}   {close up}

hello lovely friendlikins!

HAPPY THURSDAY! how are you this fine day? hope your'e ready to soak up the sunshine today - cause there's going to be plenty of it! i thought today i would share something that i've been really loving lately/have always loved - embroidery! whether it's cross-stitch, tapestries, crewel stitch, vintage or abstract - they ALL tickle my fancy! do you like to stitch? what kind of stitchy goodness do you make? the other night, i was itching for some stitch'n. so i retrieved my woollen tapestry thread + i've started on a 'make it up as i go along' project, which shall feature on our walls {probably not for a long time, due to the time consuming nature of it}. i really love the process of making things. crafting something that didn't exist before now + each day watching it evolve + change. i really enjoy sitting + crafting, taking things slow. will you take things a little slower with me? get out your crafty projects, sit, relax, and feel restored for a new day!

hope you have a lovely day : )

i'm off for a bike ride in the park!

love love

{lizzie}

 xoxo

{52 things before 25}

{tea party inspiration}

{pretty tea cup}   {cakes}   {dandelion cushion}   {lovely bunting}

{granny square cookies}   {candy bar}   {floral dress}

{floral dresses}   {embroidered cushions}   {strawberry milkshake cake}

hello lovely friendlikins!

wow it's already september, the sun is shining, the birds are singing, flowers are blooming + there are babies everywhere! have you noticed that spring is in the air? spring + autumn are my favourite seasons. not too hot, not too cold + lots is happening in nature! whether it be leaves turning into fiery shades of awesome or flowers popping up all over the neighbourhood. i'm looking forward to picnics in the park, making + wearing lovely floral dresses + enjoying the sunshine + all that the LORD blesses us with. i'm looking forward to achieving more on my '52 things before 25' list + also noticing that there are only a few more months until december 9th... there's plenty more on my list to get done, so i've got to get my butt into action! also kinda freakin' out about turning 25... 25! thats half way to 50. a quarter century! whilst i come to terms with the whole age thing, i'll be planning my big *cough* 25th *cough* BIRTHDAY PARTY! i didn't have a 21st, so i thought a big 25th would be dandy fine : ).  since there should be plenty of sunshiney goodness i'm thinking it would be lovely to have a TEA PARTY, with an abundance of baked goodies, bunting, sun dresses + bow ties! a picnicky crafternoon full of fun times sounds dandy fine to me : ). hopefully i can figure out how to make some granny square cookies like the ones above - how cute are they?!

well, i've got plenty of things to do!
hope you have lovely, productive, joyful spring days too!

love love

{lizzie}

 xoxo

{52 things before 25}

{letter writing}

{confetti}   {vintage mag envelope}   {envelope artistry}   {pretty envelopes}

{a nice surprise}   {type a letter}   {stationery}

{table of inspiration}   {mod paper dolls}   {washi tape}   {knitting stamps}

hello lovely friendlikins!

how are you this rainy chilly day? at least it is here in sydney australia. how's the weather where you are? it's autumn here, is it spring there? i thought i would share with you another of my {52 things before 25} projects/goals!

for those who need the low down - i'm trying to achieve 52 things this year before i turn the big 25 in december! eek! i'm getting old... it's hard to remember how old you really are when your'e friends are mostly younger than you, and when most people think you're 18 yrs old + your husband is 25. how wrong they are! anyways,  for many years - approx. 10 years, i've struggled with sickness. it's quite a long time + it has held me back in ALL the ways. but this year i'm making it an epic year of doing the things i've wanted to do + actually enjoying life + making the most of it!

without my faith in my AWESOME God i wouldn't have been able to get through it but feel so blessed for all that He taught me through it. like patience + trusting fully in Him + knowing His AMAZING character + promises are what brought me through. i really believe that He is preparing me for something great, something that will bring Him glory!

i want to make the most of the time that i have here on earth + i want to love those around me as much as i can! one way i'm going to do this is by sending lovely letters full of awesome goodies to some lovely lady friends : ) maybe you could join me in writing letters, old school style to a friendlikin too?!

thank you God for stationery!
{so much papery goodness...}

love love
{lizzie}
 xoxo

p.s. if anyone knows where the awesome pic of the stationery is from - do let me know, i want to give them due credit! thanks friendlikins : )

{lizzie's life lately}

pretty fleur

hello ello friendlikins!

how are you this fine autumn day? hope you've had a lovely week full of life's adventures! sorry about the lack of posts this week, i've been sick on + off. but today i'll bring you up to date with the happenings.

{monday}

lil alex

duplo blocks - fun to play with, painful to stand on.

i started off the week spending the day with hannah, steve + lil alex. my lovely sister-in-law + her fam! we had toasted sandwiches for lunch, nomnomnom... then it was play time for alex + i, + move furniture around + get organised without a little munchkin around for han + steve. alex + i spent a fun filled few hours at soft play. there was much car racing + opening + closing of doors + milkshake drinking. a jump or two on the jumping castles + a slide down the elephant slide. we had a lovely time : ) we later met up with tommy + had a delish moroccan chicken dinner.

{tuesday}

  my element eden knit off comp scarf in the making!

thanks kaeliface!

a day on the couch crocheting + knitting. followed by pub trivia with our lovely community group! also scored some really lovely wool from kaeli {thanks!} + some crafty things to make for ryan!

{wednesday}

tasty treats

delish muffins

pretty plate

i spent the morning in the park eating breakfast, whilst crocheting + {cough} pinning... followed by lunch with tommy + his mumma {aka nonna}, at the bookstore tommy works at. a toasted chicken sandwhich later + nonna + i were off to bake! we had a lovely afternoon baking choc-chip cookies, apple + cinnamon muffins + banana, date + oat muffins. which we nommed for afternoon tea when tommy arrived.

{thursday}

snuggles with bumble

yesterday i was feeling quite sick. i felt my sinuses were going to explode! i did as much couch sitting + crocheting as i could + then after a big glass of water was back in bed + slept off the pain til tommy came home. normally tommy has band practice for thief urban but last night we watched a hitchhikers guide to the galaxy + rush hour - the hubby's choice but i tre enjoyed them!

{friday}

upholstery fabric bunting

loving my new bamboo yarn!

which brings us to today. my plan is to blog up a storm. aiming for a few posts today! also to get as much bunting sewn + granny squares crocheted as i can for my etsy store! if you haven't checked it out yet you can head over here. should be restocking this weekend - lots of woolly scarves to keep you toasty warm as it grows more chilly + lovely bunting to keep your spirits up during the grey weather!

thanks for stopping by lovely friendlikins!
do stay for some chai, muffins + some crafty good times!

love love
{lizzie}
 xoxo

{dream home}

{dream home intro.}

lovely wooden home via pinterest

for the last month or so tommy + i have been dreaming up our dream home! it's so exciting! have you done some dream home planning yourself? how have you gone about it? we've been spending many hours on iview + youtube watching grand designs, restoration man, and restoration home. we've been thinking + planning + sharing ideas + making floor plans {i did mine over here}. we've been sketching + thinking what we need + what would work best + tommy's even been researching the joins of the structure!

beautiful verandah + bunting via desire to inspire

with very little money coming in, we knew that with our skills + enthusiasm we could build our own dream home. but HOW can you afford to build your own home if you have no moolahs? i hear you say. well, the plan is to buy some cheap land, say $10,000 - $15,000 in the bush, in a national park, somewhere that we can afford to build our dream home. with tommy's experience with wood work, with making drums + guitars, with helping his dad build their deck + with his ability to learn anything that he's interested in from youtube - whether it's dslr cameras or how to make dread locks, he's learnt it {and it AMAZINGLY stays in there!}

a tad small but it sure is cute via apartment therapy

as you can see we are VERY excited! being gen y, we never though that we would be able to afford a mortgage + we don't want to be stuck  paying for rent + the crazy rising prices of electricity! so building our own place, pretty much off the grid. with water tanks, chickens, solar panels, veggie garden, fruit trees + maybe even an alpaca!

beautuful veggie patch via pinterest

as it's a 5 - 10 year goal, we have plenty of time to try to save some money where we can + to keep planning + dreaming + learning + growing in skills + knowledge that will be valuable to create our very own dream home!

another lovely wooden home via pinterest

the plan is to regularly blog about it all here, so as to share what's happening + to make sure we don't think about it all the time + also not completely forget about it too! i hope that you too will consider to live greener + be excited about living more simply, no longer letting society make you a consumer - helping the rich become richer!

things to do now - being green! via simple mom

love love
{lizzie}
 xoxo

{52 things before 25}

challenges for 2013

hello ello friendlikins!

how be you on this fine day? hope all is fine n dandy : )

i thought i would finally share with you about my {52 things before 25 - challenge} that i've set for myself in 2013!

as i said in my previous post - its all about:

<> 52 things before 25
- a challenge that i created for myself
- it involves many things i'd like to do before i turn 25
- it incorporates many things that encompass my 3 main goals of 2013 {relationships + health + getting things done}

so what does this look like? i made a list of 52 things that i would like to achieve - things that are daily, weekly, monthly or one offs! anything from reading a book a month, to having a crafter-noon with the girls, to buying a typewriter! i'm excited for this epic year of getting things done! can you tell? haha are you excited to live with action over intention + carpe diem {seize the day!}? my lack there of was my inspiration for my 52 things, and since it's my 25th birthday this year in december {that's a quarter century - eek!} i thought that would be a good kind of due date!

lets have a looksies shall we?!

52 things before 25 {1-27}

52 things before 25 {27-52}

first i made a list of all the things that i wanted to achieve in 2013 + then i went through them to decide what would be daily, weekly, monthly or a one off!

then it was onto the fun part of colour coding with STICKERS! yay! lots of colours is what tickles my fancy + keeps bringing me back to check out my list of things to do, my goals + purpose driven year.

we're nearly a month into the year already! wow... well i better get a move on, there's lots to do! don't get me wrong, i haven't touched on things here + there - but i haven't quite gotten into the full swing of things - the main thing is that there has been progress!

how's your year been so far? any plans/challenges/goals/resolutions? would love to hear how it's going + be inspired by adventures to be!

p.s. sorry about the sideways pics - i'll need to learn how to get them the right way round! any tips? there's always google + handy dandy youtube!

love love

{lizzie}

 xoxo

{new years eve + resolutions}

{merry CHRISTmas}

our diy paint chip CHRISTmas tree!

hello lovely friendlikins!

merry CHRISTmas + happy new year! hope your holidays have been full of fun times + adventures + rest + lots of memories made for years to come! did your holidays involve travelling over the seas? or more of a stay- cation like tommy and i? due to tommy only having CHRISTmas day and boxing day off work, it didn't feel too much like a holiday. but we did have the blessing of house sitting for a friend {lovely chelsea + her fam} whilst they were adventuring around thailand. it was so lovely to have a lovely big home, with three extra kitties for bumble + moose to play with!

our gorgeous bumble + moose!

how was your CHRISTmas day? were you at the beach or did you travel to see extended family or just lunch at home with your parentals? tommy + i had a lovely seafood lunch with his parents - comprising of salmon + prawns + roasted veggies. we spent the afternoon making paper snow flakes to string up to decorate their home for the big CHRISTmas dinner two days later!

here are some pics from our CHRISTmas: 

crowns for all

crown time

our token xmas present

xmas party pants

bling bauble

snow flakes!

wright tradition - cocopops for xmas breakkie

oliver brown pre-CHRISTmas fun times!

{happy new year!}

how crazy to think its already 10 days into 2013?! are you still recovering from new years eve + general holiday party mode? whats your year looked like so far? tommy + i had a very quiet new years eve - involving junk food, a few friends, and a few dvds. we didn't even watch the fireworks - which i think was a first for me! how were they? oh what was the pic on the harbour bridge?! we did watch veronica mars, beetlejuice and fantastic mr fox - of which i recommend all three be on your list of things to watch in 2013 if you haven't done so already!

{new years goals}

are you excited about the year ahead? i know i am! so many things to plan + look forward to : )
i've been working on my 2013 planner since november 2012 - its pretty epic, as it's going to be an epic year!

LOVE my kikki.k planner 

yep she's chunky

but she's pimped out with all the sweet hook ups!

new year means new years resolutions! to start fresh, to live with purpose + do good. you should totes check out this video - i think it will help in helping you figure out what not only what you want your year to look like, BUT YOUR LIFE! what are your new year's/life goals?

mine look a bit like this:

new years goals!

so as you can see my 3 goals for the year are to focus on relationships, to be healthy + get things done. how did i come to this conclusion i hear you say? first up, i thought it would be a good idea to have just a few things on the list so that i would remember them. secondly, i wanted them to be things that are important and also things that i've been struggling with lately.

as i've been sick, stressed, anxious + busy - for most of 2012 really {more on that another time} my relationships have suffered + i haven't had the energy or concentration to get much done. i got the idea to have 'a year of...' from my friend josie. she's had a year of prayer + a year of joy amongst others! so this is my 'year of relationships'. to work on my relationship with God, with family and friends.

i'm excited to see what the year holds, how God will work in my life + those around me. to be a good wife, child of God, sister, daughter, aunty, and friend! it's a year of change + making the most of the time we've been given. CARPE DIEM!

i'd love to hear what your goals + inspiration is for the year! hit me up in the comments section below. stay tuned for more new years goals + challenges for 2013!

love love
 {lizzie}
  xoxo