It really is! What you think about you bring about and I truly believe that once you become oriented towards looking for things to be grateful for, you’ll find that you’ll always have more to be grateful for. Life works beautifully like that.
Gratitude means noticing simple pleasures alongside all the big stuff, and the practice of consciously giving thanks improves our lives immeasurably – making us happier, more resilient, less stressed and healthier. Cheapest and easiest high you’re ever going to get!
So, without any further ado, here’s what’s making me happy this week…
1. Pallet Projects + Home Organisation
Over the weekend, we went on a bit of an organising spree and our apartment has never looked better! It’s amazing how a few little tweaks to your living environment can completely change your outlook, especially when you’ve been prone to saying things like “I’m really over this place, we should move, like, now!”
Remember my Pallet Love post? Look what we made with the pallet I picked up off the side of the road! You liiiiiike? We also turned our couch into a king size daybed (sounds wacky but it’s awesome) but I’ll wait until we finish it off with a heap of chunky new cushions and some beautiful throws before I show you the pics. You need the full effect, you see.
2. Head + Face Massages
I walked through the door last night and after flopping down quite dramatically on our fab new daybed, Ramai, being the rockstar that he is, pulled off my shoes, gave me a big squeeze and proceeded to give me the best head and face massage ever.
At first he thought it was funny to smoosh my face around and stretch my eyebrows and mouth to the side (hot look, seriously), but after a lot of mmming and ahhing from me, he went all out with an amazing head massage. Yum. I’m obsessed with people touching my hair/ head/ neck/ face – I instantly relax and get pins and needles (the good type) all over my head. I just LOVE it. Do you?
*** I know this picture doesn’t exactly depict a face or head massage but it’s funny anyway. Nice Speedo’s my friend.
3. New Reads
Some lovely new books have taken pole position on my bedside table, including:
1. American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
2. You Are Not Alone: Michael, Through a Brother’s Eyes by Jermaine Jackson
3. When My Husband Does The Dishes by Kerri Sackville
I’ve also read 2 great e-books in the past week – Kim from Dream. Delight. Inspire’s book Turning Your Dream Job Into Reality and Annabel Candy’s Successful Blogging in 12 Simple Steps. I recommend you get your hands on both, lots of wisdom contained in those beautifully PDF’d pages!
4. Op Shop Finds
Check out my loot! I hit the jackpot last week at the op shop, all for the sweet price of 25 clams.
The plan is to paint the mini-peacock chair white and put a pot of drapey vines on there for my hens party soiree. It’ll go perfectly with what we have planned.
5. Beauty Bits ‘n’ Bobs
Picked up some new cheap and cheerful beauty products that are making me smile.
1. Rimmel 60 Seconds nail polish in Instyle Coral: the perfect coral. Awesome with a tan.
2. Maybelline FIT Me Foundation: still haven’t worked out what foundation I want to try out next so I bought this one to tide me over while I decide.
3. Maybelline Shine Sensational Lip Gloss in Cranberry Crave: as I’ve mentioned before, I have a lip gloss obsession and I don’t think I’ve ever left Priceline without purchasing at least one tube of thick-but-not-too-sticky gloss. Yesterday was no different. Hopeless.
Oh and I also got a pair of (not that cheap) Tweezerman tweezers last week. Um, how come no-one told me how good these things are? Pluck, pluck!
6. The Village Markets
It was the ultimate summery day on Sunday and my morning started with a walk up to the The Village Markets. The girls are doing such a great job getting quality designers to TVM to showcase their wares, I love stopping in every fortnight! Plus it gives me a chance to see my girl Megan from Drowning in Decadence and have a big chat as we watch the stylish shoppers stroll by.
Anyway, on Sunday I picked up an incredible necklace from new stall Amilita ($79 and she donates 10% to Indian charities) as well as a cute colourful bag from Lilac Skin for $20. YAY!
7. Melbourne
I’m heading to Melbourne tomorrow for the Problogger Event on Friday and I’m super excited! It’s going to be a fantastic opportunity to connect with other bloggers and meet some of the lovelies that I chat to online in person. My beautiful friend Erin is flying down now too so we’re going to have a bit of a girly weekend with two out of three of my bridesmaids (and yes, wedding dress shopping is on the cards!)
Basically, it’s going to be an amazing weekend. I heart Melbourne forever.
8. Honouring + Accepting
Danielle LaPorte says “Whatever is on your plate got there because you said yes to it – in the fullness of ambition and desire and wanting to eat life whole.”
Eat life whole. I love that. It’s me down to the very letter. Munch munch munch! The thing is though, I’ve had a nagging feeling that I’ve filled my plate up a little too much lately so I’ve decided that in order to get through the next few months of wedding planning, end of year madness and complete the big work projects I’m working on, I need a bit of perspective. And doing that means pulling back to posting around four days a week here. I love this blog too much to plaster “filler posts” all over it every day of the week and it’s important to me that I spend more time getting inspired and crafting posts I’m proud of than rushing to get five half-hearted posts done a week around everything else.
I’ve had so many married friends tell me to enjoy the wedding planning process as much as possible, so I look forward to having one spare night a week to do so! I know it will lead to me feeling saner, calmer and more present on the Big Day as well, which can only be a good thing.
It feels nice to honour myself like this, it’s new for me to pull back (just getting over the guilt now, ha!) but in my old age I’m learning that when the scales are tipped too far one way, other important things slide off. I realised the other day that I’ve been rushing to get home from my morning exercise sessions lately (or cutting them short) to get things done on the computer before work and I’ve also been less inclined to spend the time whipping up delicious, healthy meals, which is something I usually love doing. It’s the little things like these that all contribute to a very happy Rach so I’m going to make it my mission to get back to that sweet spot over the next few weeks.
Little Lovelies:
+ Enjoying girly time with lots of cute bubs crawling around at my lovely friend Megan’s baby shower (can’t wait for her lil baby girl to arrive in a month) + finding out that the designer we want to do our wedding invitations can do them for us (can’t wait to show you all!) + planning my birthday celebrations + the new show ‘Ringer’ – we’ve watched five eps and I’m getting hooked + Rekorderlig cider… YUM + guinea fowl feathers + my Inky Co. notepads – best! + seeing other people’s holiday photos and being really happy that they’re having the time of their life (and also knowing that our honeymoon next year is going to ROCK!) + stacks of new magazines + lace + summer storms.
+ Phew, that was a biggie! And you know what I’m going to say next: What are you grateful for? I’d love to know in the comments – let’s spread the magic! x
Images: 1. Lauren Elise Crafted 2. This is my atelier 3. What Katie Ate 4. Amy Tangerine
Oh my gosh – how AMAZING does the palette look? You are too talented. I can see that little gem all over Pinterest!
And I completely relate to having quality over quantity when you’re blogging. I stepped back and did the same thing and it’s such a GREAT feeling knowing every time you post you’re proud and excited to share what you have. I must say though, I’ve never seen a filler post on here – every time I click on I love what you write and enjoy all the goodies you find!! x
No new sunnies this week Rach?! Haha…
Love that little pallet thing you’ve got going on! Looks rad.
On the make up front I’ve been using Maybelline Super Stay, it’s pretty good! I’m always changing my foundation & lookin for new ones though… Give us a heads up if you suss a new one!
I’m loving the amazingly sunny days Sydney is having at the moment.. Makes things so much sweeter when the sun is shinin! I’m all over my sweet new bargain dress purchases on the weekend too, scored two for $60, and they’re not black for once.. Even better! haha.
xxx
Fun fun fun! Enjoy the Problogger event–so many people are flooding Melbs for it :) Luckily the weather is on track to be AMAZING!
oooh i love love love the bag Rach! and SO cheap! scored some awesome little goodies this week! P.s i have that same nail polish, it’s one of my favourites!
Serena: Thanks so much for your comment, and haha, should have posted a more ‘Pinterest-friendly’ pic hey ;)
At this point I haven’t had to put filler posts up (well, I hope they don’t come across that way) but I’d hate to get to that point over the next few months as things ramp up with our wedding and work.
Funny thing I’ve noticed with wedding planning is so much of it is time dependent… as in, certain parts need to be done 9 months out, or 6 months out. Because of our hold up with our last venue, we were already running about 5 months behind schedule which is why we’ve had to zoom through the tasks extra quickly!
Thanks for your lovely words… and likewise, I love that your articles are well thought out. You can see that you’ve given yourself the creative space to let the good ideas percolate to the top. xx
Sian: Nope no new sunnies.. but I did make a very in-depth sunglasses rack this week (um, not really… it’s a wooden coathanger!)
We’re going for the rustic look with the pallet but yeah, loving it. And I’ll definitely keep you posted on the foundation front, might go and get a few samples from Myer/ DJ’s/ Mecca over the weekend.
YAY for sunshine and new dresses! xx
Christine: Is it? Oh YAY! Even more excited now xx
Jo: Super cute, hey! Her stuff is really cool… she’s on Facebook under ‘Lilac Skin’ too, check her out. And yep, this shade goes with everything — and is fine for work. I do get a few looks when I bust out the black or light blue/ purple in the office. xx
Ooohhh where did you find those pallets?? I so want to make a big day bed for our backyard! And your bookshelf looks fabulous (especially covered with wonderful op shop finds). I completely agree that a little change around makes things feel so fresh at home. I cannot wait to get some new/second hand furniture and get my interior decorator on over the summer :)
Love this post as usual!
I love the pallet makeover! It looks fantastic and I think your styling is fab.
You’re friends are right, enjoy the wedding planning process. We loved it and it makes that one day last even longer.
Looking forward to meeting you at the Problogger event!
I found the pallet that we made the bookshelf out of on the side of the road in Molendinar (near the big Lifeline op shop) and then we got some others from the industrial estate in Burleigh. Hunt around near printing places/ factories — there are quite a few around.
Big yes for interior decorating projects! xx
Love that new necklace. It’s hot! I have to get to those markets. Every time I’m on the coast it’s on the alternative weekend. Booo!
My happiness this week = skype sessions with my family + nights out with people I had never never met (but fell in love with quickly) + epiphany moments + laying in bed listening to the rain on our roof + finding old handwritten letters + travel talk x
Thanks so much Christina, look forward to meeting you too, it’s going to be an awesome event!
Claire: ooh, love your list as always. The handwritten letter thing has been coming up a bit for me lately (lots of people commented about sending/ receiving snail mail on my Inky Co giveaway and it got me thinking). That’s it, I’m going to write someone a letter this week… they’re so much more meaningful aren’t they?! xx
ps. Totally agree with it being pin-worthy… it is up on my pinboard right now ;)
WOW!!! you lucky little thing!! Look at all your new fab goodies and all in one week.
You must share with me, what Op shops do you frequent on the coast, as i have never come across some many cool things as you have (probably cause you have bought them all – ha ha)
I was down Bangalow way over the weekend and went for a sneak peek at Health old Wares & the cute little vintage shop next door – after reading your post, and my goodness, they have some amazing things… my man and i spent ages in there looking at ALL the stuff, only disappointment was the price, very x-y.
Love your pallet stand, so cool. I saved a few pallet inspired pieces over the past few months on pinterest, hope i can one day replicate for myself at home too..
Love you blog Rach – sar x x
Hi lovely Sara! Thank you for all your support of In Spaces Between, means a lot. My fave op shops on the Coast are the big Salvo’s at Molendinar, the big Lifeline at Molendinar (found the pallets right near there) and also a few around Mermaid – there’s one on the highway opposite Vintage Espresso that’s usually got a few bits & pieces. It really is the luck of the draw a lot of the time and I’ve been particularly lucky!
Let me know if you make anything with pallets, would love to see xxx
Thank you so much for the eBook shout out! *blush* I am so thrilled that you enjoyed it!
We must be feeling similar at the moment. I have been feeling a little overwhelmed this week (taking a holiday unfortunately often means chaos afterwards, doesn’t it?) and have been feeling guilty for not ticking enough things off the to do list. It’s exhausting and I need to now focus on giving myself a break and not pushing myself to burn out.
Good luck with all the wedding planning, I hope it is all going well despite the shortened timeframe. Sending lucky vibes!
Have an amazing time in Melbourne. We’ll definitely have to catch up next time you’re here! :) xx
for foundations ive just started using Kit’s bare minerals. Im in love with it,it seems to blend to my skin tone perfectly! took me ages tofind a foundation i like. its light to medium coverage though so depends what sort of coverage you are after. love your happiness posts, they remind me to focus on the little simple pleasures in life and enjoy each moment.
It’s an remarkable article for all the internet viewers; they will get advantage from
it I am sure.