Re-establishing Yoga Goals | Yoga

Recently I have been experiencing a rut with my yoga practice. I am down to one session a week at the moment and to be honest - I feel like I could miss that too!

Last year I made these yoga goals. I feel now like I put too much pressure on myself to meet all my goals each week. Whilst I was hoping making these goals would help to extend my yoga practice, they have made me not enjoy my practice as much as I used to.

I think it is good to take time to re-evaluate your goals (in all aspects of your life) so today I am sitting down and re-establishing my own yoga goals.

Here is an overview of my own re-established yoga goals for my home practice.

1.  Practice yoga at least 1 morning on the weekend and every night before bed

I know now how difficult it is for me to try and attempt yoga throughout the work week at home. I find it much easier to fit in my yoga practice on a Saturday / Sunday morning. I would also like to include more night yoga to relax my ever-racing mind before bed.

2. Push myself to attend both my yoga / stretch classes even if I do not feel like going

Sometimes I find it is very easy to find an excuse not to attend a class. I really want to push myself to go to all my classes as I always feel better afterwards. It is sometimes just the thought of going that is so hard!

3. Include more meditation into my practice

This is one of the hardest thing for me to incorporate into my practice. I enjoy relaxation at the end of my classes, however I can never seem to sit still for long enough. My mind races with all of the other things I should be doing. I am going to try a few guided meditations to help me stay focused and clear my mind. 

4. Keep a consistent yoga routine, adding in new poses every-so-often

Last time, a couple of my yoga goals talked about adding a new pose every week and trying a new routine every week. I thought this would be a good way to help me extend my practice - I was wrong! Not having a consistent practice routine has meant I am all over the shop and as a result I have lost a lot of interest in my yoga practice as it all became too hard. Now I want to try and keep a consistent yoga practice, and slowly add in new poses when I feel the need. 

You will notice these are quite different to the goals I had set out last time. I am in a completely different head space at the moment and need a more consistent / basic approach to my yoga practice.

Are you a goal setter? Maybe it is the list maker in me that loves to set myself goals.

xx

 

Life Update and New Project Sneak Peek

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Thank god it's nearly the weekend! I have had a crazy few weeks back at work. You think your getting somewhere and then you turn around to find more piles of paper to deal with!

I thought I would check in and let you known what I have been up to recently and give you a sneak peek of an exciting new project I have coming up.

Etsy Resolution

I am currently involved in a project called Etsy Resolution run by Etsy Australia. It is a 4 week "course" to help you really establish your Etsy shop in the market. As you probably know, I have my own little shop on Etsy, Little Miss Lorraine, which I would really love to grow this year. The 4 week program runs through everything including setting up your Etsy shop, taking great photos, pricing items and how to utilise social media. If you have your own Etsy shop I highly recommend you sign up to this course!

Tailoring Course
I have also signed up for an online tailoring course run by the Burdastyle Academy. I really wanted to take my sewing to the next level this year, especially when it comes to making / refashioning clothes. This course teaches you how to make your own patterns, how to adjust patterns and a few basic repair techniques such as replacing a broken zipper. I am really looking forward to doing a few more sewing courses this year so watch this space to see my progress.

28 Day Yoga Project 

Candace from Yoga by Candace has just released a blog post detailing her new yoga project for February after the success of her strength project throughout January. I have to admit I haven't done very much yoga in the last 2 weeks of January which I am very disappointed about! I am hoping to be more proactive during February so I am looking forward to this next project. I will be posting pose updates here so keep an eye out!

Exciting New Project...

I have a very exciting project coming up very soon which I cannot wait to show you. It is something I have wanted to do for a while now and I've finally got my act together to make it happen. The picture above might give you a clue as to what the project is about...blog post up this weekend about it!!

I hope you have all had a wonderful start to 2015 x

xx

 

Birthday Body Shop Skincare Haul | Beauty

I was very lucky to receive this amazing Body Shop skincare pack for my birthday recently. I find these packs can be a bit hit and miss sometimes - some have products that I would never use! However I love everything that came in this pack and cannot wait to try them out.

Here is what was included:

Wild Argan Oil Massage Soap & Shea Soap

Shea Body Whip & Shea Shower Cream (I am using these at the moment and am in love! The shower cream smells amazing, and the body whip leaves my skin silky smooth and hydrated)

Wild Argan Oil Shower Gel, Wild Argan Oil Body Butter & Wild Argan Oil for Body and Hair

Mooring Body Butter & Mooring Body Scrub

All in all a great pack of skincare! I will definitely be trying out everything in this pack - which also came with a pretty blue body scrubber and a gorgeous 100% bamboo bowl. 

xx

 

Checking In | Lifestyle

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What a crazy couple of weeks. I have been a little MIA lately - I've had a few lifey things happen recently which have taken the front seat.

On the weekend I took some time out from the craziness and attended a "Spring Wellness" workshop run by Tammy, personal trainer / lifestyle coach at Vis Novo Health, Sam Efraimsen, yoga instructor at Adelaide Yoga Flow, and Dana Bell, a goal setting coach. I feel so inspired and motivated to make a few changes to my lifestyle (blog post on this up soon.)

Also look out for a couple of blog posts coming up soon with tips on how to create the best atmosphere for your yoga practice and creating a relaxing bath environment. These are the 2 things that have gotten me through craziness of the last couple of weeks!

- J x

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Bullet Journaling | Organisation

I first learnt about this amazing organisational system after reading this guest post on The Organised Housewife and instantly fell in love with the idea.

In short, bullet journalling is a system of bulleted lists that enable you to fully organise your life.

Here is a basic overview from the creator of the Bullet Journal

There are a few things I really love about this system.

1 | Everything is in one spot

The bullet journal is essentially a diary and a list maker all in one. This is great for me, because it means I only have to carry around one book instead of a diary and a book for my lists.

2 | It keeps you accountable

I love the "migrating" feature of the bullet journal. This means if you do not finish something you can move it to another day. I go back at the end of each day / month and see what tasks I have not completed, and if they are still relevant, I add them to the next day / month. This way, I am not forgetting tasks I may not have completed.

3 | It is easily customisable for your needs.

I will run you through my version of the Bullet Journal system below, but I love how customisable the bullet journal system is. One system will not work for everyones needs, so it is really important to find a system that lets you make it your own.

My Version

Here is a look at my bullet journal and how I have adapted it to suit my needs.

First of all, I chose to use this journal from J. Burrows. I love the cream colour of the pages and the fact the lines are 6mm apart - this gives you more space! I also love the pocket at the front of the book. This is where I store my monthly calendars and tabs. They suggest using the Moleskeine notebook as the ideal journal for the Bullet Journal system - but they are really expensive!

I also purchased this pen and these tabs. I chose this pen because it has 4 different colours (much nicer than the old black, red, green & blue!) so I can use different colours for things such as events, bills, appointments etc. As you will see below, I am not using the index system, so the tabs will help me to be able to quickly find what I need.

The first page of my journal is my key. I based it on Dee's from decade thirty. I ended up basing a bit of my journal on Dee's because I love the way she set everything out.

On the next page, I included a yearly calendar - these always come in handy! I found mine at Life Your Way. I attached it to the page with wash tape (on sale at Spotlight)

Now we move into the monthly tabs. At the beginning of the month I have a monthly calendar (also from Life Your Way) this is where I record events / appointments and also bills. On the next few pages I list my tasks for the month. Like Dee, I have included a margin on these pages to make it easier to migrate / prioritise tasks. At the beginning of each month, I look back on the month before and see what tasks I have not completed and I merge them into the next month.

After I have listed my monthly tasks, I move onto my weekly tasks. Each day I write down any relevant tasks, appointments and events I have. As I move on to the next day, I check on what I have not completed from the day before and migrate them to the next day (if they are still relevant)

At the back of my journal I have general lists (in the Bullet Journal System these are referred to as "Collections.") Like Dee states in her blog post, one of the main pluses of having these "collections" at the back of the diary this is that the monthly and weekly pages can flow on from each other.

After using it for just over a week, I am seriously loving this system already. I have definitely been more organised and a lot more productive.

Let me know if you are using this system and what tweaks you have made!

- J x

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Feeling Thankful | Lifestyle

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I went for a walk along the beach after work today and saw the most beautiful sunset (unfortunately iPhone photos could not do it justice!) I sat on the beach for a while and thought about how thankful I am to live in such a beautiful county. With all of the bad that is currently happening in the world, sometimes we need to stop and take a step back and see just how good we have it.

I encourage you to take some time this weekend to stop and think about what you are thankful for.

- J x

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Megan-Clemente Combination | DIY

This dress is my second garment from my Love at First Stitch book by Tilly Walnes. It is a combination of the Megan dress and Clemente skirt. You can find the post on my first Megan dress here.

I was inspired by this pin on Pinterest. 

I made a few changes to the Megan top including making the top longer and replacing the dart tucks with straight darts. Originally I was just going to take the darts out all together, but realised the top looked frumpy and had no shape, so I decided to add in longer straight darts. 

I love the gathers in this dress, however because this material is quite stiff and the Clemente skirt has a lot of material, the skirt was very flouncy. I decided to take the skirt in slightly which made the it sit a lot nicer.

After undoing this zip 3 times I decided it was finally time for an invisible zipper foot! As I have an older style Bernina, it was harder to find the right zipper foot to fit my machine. There were a few stores in my area that stocked them, but I wasn't prepared to pay the $50 they were asking! I finally found this one on eBay for $27 (including postage) and received it within a week.

I am so glad I finally invested in one as it was so so easy to use. I used this great instructional video from Craftsy (free!) to install the zip.

Tilly always stresses the importance of finishing off your garments properly. By going that extra mile to finish off the raw edges, press the garment and hem it neatly, it will always look like a professional job.

I am really happy with how this dressed turned out! It will become a favourite during Spring and Summer.

Have you made anything from Tilly's book? I love how easy it is to customise the patterns to suit your needs.

- J x

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Yoga Girl Challenge | Lifestyle

There are always a few yoga challenges floating around Instagram. They usually consist of a different pose each day for a month. These are great for improving your practice and getting you out of your comfort zone, however once the challenge is over - that's that!

I was really excited to see the yoga challenge set by Rachel Brathen (aka Yoga Girl.) This challenge is very different to any other yoga challenge I have seen. The idea of this challenge is for these things to happen after the 21 days are up. They are a starting point for changing your life for the better.

If you read my Yoga Goal post, you will already know I have been trying to include yoga more into my everyday routine. These challenges will continue to help me change my lifestyle.

I encourage you to give Rachel's challenge a try and if you are not into yoga, try and relate the above to your everyday life. I believe the things listed above are things we should all be trying to do everyday.

Namaste.
- J x

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Organising my Sewing Patterns | DIY

You will have noticed from this post on cleaning up my craft supplies, I am trying to get a bit more organised with fabric, wool, general craft supplies and patterns! I have just finished organising the paper / printed sewing patterns I have so I thought I would share what I did with you.      

A friend recently posted this article from Craftsy on my Facebook and after reading through, I found it had a few really good ideas for organising and storing your sewing patterns. I really liked the first and second ideas, but space wise decided that the first idea of storing patterns in a folder was the best one for me!

I had a look around for the expandable sheet protectors (you can find them here or here) however I found they were quite pricey. Instead I opted for these Premium Sheet Protectors from Marbig (I purchased mine here.) They are a lot thicker than normal sheet protectors and worked well for me!

To make things easier to see, I made up a cover sheet for each pattern which included a picture of the pattern and the items that are needed to make the item (i.e. fabric, zips, buttons etc.) This allows me to quickly refer to what I need for a pattern, without having to get the instructions out.

I find that having them in the folder makes them really easy to flick through, and saves me a lot of storage space.

How do you organise your pattern stash? Are you a fan of PDF patterns or do you prefer traditional paper patterns?

- J x

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Weekend Yoga Practice | Lifestyle

A little insight into my Yoga practice this past weekend. I love starting my Yoga practice with sun salutations as they are a great way to warm up the body and get your blood pumping. There are many different variations of the sun salutation and I would encourage you to include them in your yoga routine.

I had a bad cold last week, so I haven't been able to do a lot of yoga (you may have read about my goals here) but I am back up and running this week! Even fitting just 10 minutes of Yoga into your day will make a huge difference to your overall health.

Namaste.
- J x

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Megan Dress | DIY

The Megan dress is my first project from Love at First Stitch by Tilly Walnes and I am pretty happy with how it turned out.

This dress was relatively easy to make (Tilly includes fantastic picture instructions with all her patterns) however I would probably not reccommend this pattern for a beginner.

I love the way this dress fits. The darts and dart tucks ( a first for me!) ensure the dress hugs the body in all the right places.

I really like the use of the invisible zip. This was the first time I had used one, however it is not very easy (or cheap!) to get an invisible zipper foot for my machine. I watched a few YouTube videos and eventually worked out how to install an invisible zipper with my normal zipper foot. 

There are a few things I will work on for next time. The sleeves stick up a bit, so I need to work on my gathering. My dart tucks were far from perfect (I think I should have pressed them slightly better) and I need to get way better at installing an invisible zip. 

Overall I am happy with how this has turned out and I will certainly be making another one...very soon!

- J x

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Natio Finds | First Impressions

I picked up three products from the Natio range at National Pharmacies a few weeks ago and couldn't wait to give them a try! Here are my first impressions.

Complexion Perfection Foundation Sponge

I had heard a pretty good first impression about these sponges by Amy from Bottled Beauty and couldn't wait to try them out myself. Personally I love makeup brushes as I think they give a more natural look and don't use as much foundation as sponges, however I was pleasantly surprised by how good these sponges are. It does take more time to apply your foundation, so I can see myself using these only for special occasions, however the end result really is flawless. 

Clear Pores Detoxifying Face Scrub with Jojoba Beads

There were a few mixed reviews about this product online so I was interested to see how this scrub worked for me. A few of the reviews mentioned the lack of exfoliating power due to the gentleness of the scrub. After only using it a couple of times (it should only be used 2 - 3 times a week) I quite like the way it has been making my skin feel. Acne wise - I will need to use it for a bit longer to see if it has any impact!

Intensive Moisturising Night Cream

My skin has been feeling quite dry this winter, so I decided to give this night cream a try. I have been using it every night since I purchased it and so far am pretty happy with the results. I wake up with a lovely, smooth hydrated face.

I use the facial scrub and night cream as part of my overall skincare routine. I find that by trying to stick to this routine, my skin looks glowing and healthy. Look out for an updated skincare routine post soon.

A little something to remember when reading skincare product reviews - all skin types are different. Something that might not have worked for someone else may work for you! Most products have a mixed reaction, however if a product has mostly negative reviews, I would usually stay clear.

- J x

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