My 2014 Planner

Choosing a planner or diary to use for the year is a big decision. Well it is for me anyway!

I want it all, and I want it to look gorgeous at the same time. 

Harder to find than it sounds!!

Last year , I reviewed and used the gorgeous Personal Planner ( See post HERE) and I loved it!! 

It had everything I needed, was a great size to pop in my handbag or nappy bag and it still looks as good today as it did when I first received it! I would have been more than happy to re order a Personal Planner ( You can read more about them HERE) , had a group of friends not decided to all go in together and order Erin Condren Life planner's. 

These Planners come from the US and shipping is pricey for just one, however when ordered with a lovely group of girlfriends, shipping was affordable and delivery was super quick!! An offer I simply could not refuse!! I mean, come on?! A pretty diary, personalised cover and gorgeous colours on every page? SOLD! 

So ... I thought I would share a few piccies of my planner for 2014! 

There are plenty of designs and styles to choose from and there are many choices for the inside bits and pieces.

There is also a pretty big variety of additional products that work well in conjunction with the Planners. I bought the pens/textas, a pen holder that sticks to the inside cover and elastics to go around the outside to keep it closed.

After my Personal Planner last year, I knew I had to have photos on the cover again. I just loved that about my 2013 diary!

The planner in size in relation to my Personal Planner. See how this years diary is still in great condition? And believe me, I hammered it. It came everywhere and was used everyday!! Like I said, I would definitely re order in a flash!!

I just love the colours inside and the gorgeous patterns. After the pastel colours of my 2013 diary its a nice change. 

There are places to write your goals or notes and spots down the bottom for a meal plan, exercise info etc.  Not to mention, plenty of space per day for all your appointments and entries.

Stickers galore to help you customise your diary to suit your needs and family.

And again, plenty of cool additives like labels, catch up cards, a zip lock sleeve for receipts etc and again, the most gorgeous patterns and motivational sayings all the way through.

So there you have it, a closer look at my choice for a planner/ diary for 2014. I have had quite a few requests to see some more features after sharing it on Instagram , so I hope it this has satisfied your curiosity! 

 A change is as good as a holiday and I have fallen in love with my planner, inside and out!! The colours, the cover, the sayings, the features!! To die for!

Have you chosen your diary for 2104? Do you even use one? Is it as hard for you as it is for me to choose just the right planner?

Good luck!! 

PLEASE NOTE:

 I have NOT been paid to write this post, nor compensated for my review, it is purely out of the kindness of my heart. In an effort to share the love and my recommendation! 

All opinions and pictures are that of my own and are written with honesty.x

Organising and Tizzy- ing!

As you all know by now, we have moved towns and houses in the past 6 months , and we are now in a rental property.
This is an entirely new ball game and situation for me, as we have always owned (paying off) our own home and I could do just as I pleased with our rooms and walls. If I wanted to hang something I could, if I wanted to drill something , hubby would! ha
However, that is no longer the case, and I am finding I have been quite reluctant to decorate and personalise our rooms, even though I know you can do a lot with soft furnishings and some command strips, I guess the idea of not having free reign puts me off.

Sooooooo, to encourage myself , and perhaps a few of you at home, reading along, I thought I would start up the 'Organising on A Budget' Series that I ran on the blog a fair while ago.
Do you remember the Laundry post, The Shared Wardrobe , Pantry Door Organising , Laundry Cupboards, Our Main Bathroom  and of course, the popular Toy Room Makeover ?

Well I aim to do the same thing with our rooms and spaces in our new house, all with a small - as - possible budget , the least impact on the walls and existing house (rental conscious) and as best as I can from a town with not much choice in the way of shopping (Kmart and supermarkets is about the extent of it ).
Even though we have only recently moved into this house, it was a fast and thoughtless move, in the way that my husband had to work the day the removalists came, we had just a few days to get the house in working order and not much thought was put in to the placement of items etc. Now we have had a bit of time to live and use the areas, the problems and lack of efficiency are evident!! But not for long!

I am armed with a list of rooms, spaces and cupboards that need help and a revamp, and  the wonderful world of the Internet to inspire, and supply the goods.

Wish me luck!!
And if you have any ideas, hints or tips that you would like to share, I would LOVE to hear and see them!!
I would also love to see any revamps you may have done at your house, before and afters are my fav!! I am looking at popping some others that have been shared on the blog also! So flick me an email, or message me on Facebook if you would like to be included!!

Cheeky Finds...

One of the biggest things (other than my family) that I miss about our new town , is the lack of shopping. I know there is the wonderful thing called the internet, oh believe me, I KNOW! However, sometimes you just crave a little wander. The useless, time wasting thing called 'Window Shopping'. 

One of my favourite past times was perusing the isles of my local cheapie shop, or looking with awe at all the pretty little boutiques. 

I wanted to share a few shopping finds that I have found and purchased recently. Some online and some from places you would least expect it!

Our kids needed new bathers as we are at the pool 3-4 times a week , and I am quite particular about what I buy, as in the styles. I can never find Rashie and bather bottom sets for the girls and refuse to buy 2 sets to just get what I want. Then low and behold , I find these sets at Woolworths and for just $6 for the boys boardies and $9.20 for the girls sets , bargain!! 

Do you remember these? Well I sure do! We used to have them as kids and would use a spoon to scoop out the ice!! And only $2 from Woolworths. The kids are loving them!! (and so is Mummy for her adult juice!!)

Now I didn't buy any of these but Woolworths have some fantastic Christmas Gift ideas in stock and at really reasonable prices too!

Take these Ride on bikes for example, our kids loved theirs and they are fantastic for holidays for chucking in the boot for impromptu park visits. $30 each

I have a terrible obsession with Jelly sandals. They are perfect for living in the Pilbara. I can wash them off, they don't get affected by the dirt colour and they don't scuff or mark. And these beauties were only $20 from Just Jeans! 

 I am loving the gorgeous disposable plates and bowls from Kmart and they match my decor for this year perfectly!! Only $2 a set!

And all the gorgeous and cheap plates etc at Kmart , I may have bought 4 of the divided plates on the bottom, they were also $2 each!

And some more gorgeous Jelly sandals. This time from Seed, and they have been worn to death already! 

And last but not least, our little Angus has developed quite a love for the Planes movie characters (without actually seeing the movie) and for his recent birthday, I picked up these Tshirts and boardies for just $5 a piece from Woolworths. He loves them and they are washing and wearing so well! 

Have you found any good bargains recently? Feel free to share on my Facebook page or here in the comments!! 

Enjoy and happy shopping!

Halloween

Halloween.  Such a controversial topic.

In our home, we love Halloween. We love the crafts associated (I will share a few simple ones we did tomorrow), we love to decorate the house and we love to dress up. 

Seeing as though it is also Angus' birthday, it has made the organising and celebrating a little hard but we seemed to hit the jackpot this year!

By mid October our front cupboard unit (the first thing you see when you enter our house) went from this;

to this;

A simple display with some goodies I have picked up quite cheap over the years.

And who can resist the fake spider webs?

And this year we received a new goodie to add to our decks.

My MIL is a fantastic patchworker and sent this up to us!! Awesome hey!

Stella also had a dress up day for school, and she asked to go as a Vampire! I didn't think she even knew what a vampire was but they were obviously talking about it at school! 

Thankfully my Mum sent up some costumes from the cheapie shops as we don't have any of those in our new town!

The most gorgeous Vampire I ever did see!

Stella's teacher also dressed up as a witch and looked fantastic and decorated her whole classroom with spiderwebs, signs and bats etc. It looked amazing and the kids were all so excited and stoked!

And that arvo/night, we all headed off to a Halloween party at a friend of Stella's house. 

All the kids were invited which was fantastic and I think they looked so cute (and Angus had a ball on his birthday night)

At the party (which was a bit out of town) the kids did Trick or Treat (only going to the party holders families houses in the street) , watched a Halloween movie, had some dinner , played with glow sticks and had fun with a pinata.

All in all, the day and night was a heap of fun , and thats what it is all about for our family and children!

Our baby is Two!

I can not say it enough, but kids grow up too quick! Especially my cherubs. You just want to bottle up their littleness and stop the clock. But then again, growing up means new adventures, a whole lot of excitement and more independence. 

Thats what I'm afraid of!!

We no longer have any babies in our home :( 

Our little Angus Frankie turned TWO on the 31st of October, a Halloween babe was he.

It was an exciting day for all, none more so than his big brother and sister who shower him with love , every second of every day. ( Well maybe not every second! They all like to fight like cat and dog too!)

They were excited about the cake, about his little party and about his presents!

So here it is, a birthday for a beautiful little boy. Our little boy. 

And it only feels like yesterday that I wrote this;

It has become tradition in our home to decorate the kids doors for their birthday morning. It makes them feel special and builds the excitement for whats to come!

                                    

                                              Which is lots of presents!! 

                       

I just love capturing the look on their face when they first see their presents!! Priceless. And the party that are waiting in the flanks to help the unwrapping!

                        

And he got a bike from his Grandma and Poppy!! Excitement plus (but jealousy from Max and Lacey as they don't have one yet , bad I know, but are getting one from the big man at Christmas!)

                       

                       

He was chauffeured around the house by his big sister for most of the morning and loved every second!

We decided to throw him a little party with a few friends and their kids, seeing as though we aren't near family anymore and wouldn't be doing the birthday dinner and cake with cousins.

And with his birthday being Halloween too, we had a Halloween party to attend that night so cake and candles in the morning it was!

Someone was so tempted but very patient as I was setting the food out for the party. I was mean and made him wait until people arrived to eat. So he sat here for about half and hour. Watching, waiting ......

I kept the party and decos very basic!! Shock , horror and surprise for me I know! But it was a busy week leading up to the day and he had a ball regardless!

                          

                         

Some simple Goodie bags from Woolworths with bubbles, a lolly pop and a few lollies, nothing too major!

                         

I presented Angus with the Womens Weekly cake book with a few days to go , and despite all the attempts from his siblings to try and convince him to have a certain cake, he chose this!! Good boy!! Nice and easy for Mum!

                         

It was a simple , 2 tiered butter cake with chocolate fingers and Curly Wurly chocolate for the front gate!

                          

                          

                          

And then it was over. And now we have a big 2 year old, that is toilet training (and nearly mastered it), doesn't sleep with a bed rail on his bed anymore and is just one of the kids!

He is loving, affectionate and by golly is he active and mischievous. But we wouldn't have him any other way! 

Where did the time go?

Thats right .... too quick!