Please welcome....Melissa from Wife in Training!!

I am in the superb chaos of house-packing for our move. My dear and new friend Melissa, fellow-blogger extraordinaire, is kindly guest-blogging for me so that you lovely readers have something to read while I am engaged profoundly in moving my family overseas.

Melissa writes a wonderful, funny, fascinating, insightful blog about her life and interests over at Wife in Training. I love her wry sense of humour, the fact that she is really well read, and that she has a unique and poignant interaction with her daily life. Also we have in common...Indiana! She fell in love with the state when living there a few years ago, and is insanely jealous that I am moving there soon.

Melissa is doing something fun for us - a series of responses to one of my Pinterest boards, kind of stream of consciousness, and a great way of getting to know her as well as comparing your response to gorgeous images.

Here is the board. Check back every day for Melissa response to each picture, and go say hi to her over at Wife in Training!

My Pins Week 1

I have just joined Pinterest thanks to an invitation from Tiffany Bird of Simply Modern Mom. It has completely revolutionised how I interact with the web, and I've only used it for a day. Every week I am going to share with you my favourite pins. These are the images and links I have collected through my followed blogs and other places which are inspiring me right now. A thing of beauty must be shared!

Follow the links to the different sites below.

Knot Me Tie Skirt
Edible Chicago
Time Gone By Dress
Life's Too Short for Fitted Sheets
Neopolitan Style Pizza
Colour Palette Eggs
Fresh Press Stationery

A Morning in the Life of... and a much-needed confession

This is how my life goes most mornings, but as you'll see a little later on in my morning I made a decision.

Woke up and prayed with my family - here (note pink fluffy blankets)

Had crumpets and maple syrup, and fresh Americano coffee for breakfast (made with our special stove-top espresso maker)

Got kids dressed and ready for school
Enjoyed peace and quiet while reading my daily blog feeds

More coffee, shower, clean up kitchen, sit down to my computer. (This is the view from my workspace)

Get hungry.
Decide to make new yoghurt cake recipe my mum sent me.

Just mix everything in one big bowl and put into cake tin or alternatively makes about 24-25 cupcakes.

1 cup plain or vanilla yogurt

1 cup sunflower oil

2 cups sugar (I use about 1 1/2 cups)

3 cups self-raising flour

pinch of salt

3 extra large eggs

1 tspn vanilla

mix together with beater until smooth.

180 degrees for about 45 mins  (usually little less) or about 20 mins for cupcakes

Why is it that, no matter how hard I try, I can't manage to make cupcakes without a mess?

Now, with a fresh cupcake (no frosting because I ran out of icing sugar) and a cup of tea, I will tell you the decision I made.

I have been reading a lot of what I would call "creative" blogs for the last few weeks and they are all beautiful. Each might have a different focus, such as parenting, photography, fashion, interior design, craft. I find them inspiring, but I was reminded this morning of something important.

It read the blog Stuff Christians Like. It challenged me to write more.

You may have noticed (and this is the confession) that I have been posting a lot of short posts with pictures and links. This is because I have had serious bloggers block, and did not have anything to say. So in essence I was being lazy. The thing with pictures (very image-heavy blogs) is that they don't take any mental work, or brain-power to appreciate. You look at it, you get inspired, and it's done. Reading a blog, absorbing the ideas and perhaps critiquing them, takes more time, more mental energy. And yet that is the kind of blog I want to write. 

So, my decision is that I will try to step up to the plate on this one. I have had a few weeks of experimenting with my blog, and now I am going to try and make it my very own instead of a clone of other creative blogs. That is dangerous because I might lose all my readers! But I am tired of trying to create something that looks like a thousand others.

Don't worry, I will still post pictures! But I will attempt to get my brain bubbling again and put some thoughts down as well.

Thanks for your patience while my blog personality matures!

Inspiration from A Totally Normal Woman

I love it when I see a blog designed by a totally normal person just like me, trying to do things I aspire to do, like style and redesign homes with everyday items. Have a look at Pepper Design Blog for projects and style that is within everyone's reach.

I especially like her collection of organising ideas for the Ikea Expedit range of shelving. I can't wait to go buy some!! (When we move to the States that is).

A little taste of fashion while you have your morning coffee

DreaMiy the Picnic Girl: The Picnic Girl’s List: 2009 Fashion Favorite

Inspiration

I've moved into a new house, with space for a fabric, craft and yarn stash, a sewing table and a kitchen with a big space for kids to hang out while I cook. Creativity, here I come! The websites of these very talented ladies have got me inspired to get my blog going again.

Check out these beautiful pages with ideas to help you get through the most dreary of days or occasions.

This picture is from Vanessa Christenson's blog V and Co. which has a wonderful relaxed, slightly crazy feel which is how I like to go about most days, so her site fits well with me.

Click here to visit her blog.
I have not connected more with any blog than that of Simply Modern Mom, which has engaged me enough that it is one of the first things I look at each day and it really gets my brain oiled in right-hemisphere gear (iow creative!). What I like most about her site is that it is clean, uncluttered and yet SO beautiful. 
She is running a great project at the moment called Project 52: Date Nights - Dating my husband one week at a time. She is collaborating with women all over the world for date night ideas to last a year. I love that these women love their husbands enough to make the effort.

Tiffany Bird who writes the blog makes the most beautiful things like these crocheted hair clips. You can buy them in her shop.
Check out the sidebar for a link to Project 52: Date Night.

Finally, I have started my first tutorial - a hanging storage tunnel for my daughter's room, using quilting fabrics. Check in soon to see the full tutorial and result! I hope one day I will be able to have the impressive collection of work and writing that these lovely ladies have accomplished.