Week in Review: 13 - 20th July - Celebrations, Goodbyes & Connecting with Women

My companions - Tea & Tissues

• Celebrated Ms S's birthday. Intended to stay for a couple hours. Stayed out past our pumpkin hour
• Hazy food shopping due to above
• Group food preparation - goulash, garlic bread, cucumber salad and cupcakes! Fab team effort all!
• Friends over to eat above
• Brunch for 8. Hard to find anywhere to accommodate this sized group! So fab to catch up
• Rozelle markets with Mrs M - for the last time before they leave...Oh the memories
• Bought wedding dress (i know it is a big one but it was such a surprise! I had no intention of even looking at one that day...)
• Urban chicken sighting
• Fish & Chip dinner - yay for occasional non-healthy indulgence!
• Teary goodbye to Mrs M & Mr J - I know we'll see you soon but I can't just pop in to Perth!
• Received coat rack The Man and I ordered. The Man did a fab job of piecing all the little bits together!
• Beautiful new diary arrived. It is (sigh) beautiful.
• Google hangout meeting with a group of women located around the world. Inspiring
• Face to face catch up with accountability buddies for a change. So nice!
• Made a bunch of phone calls organising people and things
• Caught up with creative friend for doggy date and catch up fun. Frustrations vented and ideas created!
• Now I am sick...I rarely get a cold...so I'm frustrated! There is so much I want/need to do and just don't have the energy or brain capacity to tackle. I have rubbed my nose almost off...

Week in Review 7th - 13th July 2012: Arienne Got Her Groove Back

I tell you, coming back from holidays is tough work. Tough with a capital 'T' I say!

I've steadily been trying to get back into the swing of things back home. One of the things that has helped was relocating my office from near the kitchen to a bright airy room upstairs. And because of that (and with the help of some beautiful new bits of stationary) I am back and on track! Yippee!!!

So this week has been a hodge podge of love, friends, doggy, kitty, rearranging and beautiful life/work planning:

• Caught up with lovely friends with good news at local cafe
• Bought some delish gumboots (that didn't cost the earth):

• Rearranged the downstairs furniture to create a cozy corner (including The Man, dog and doonas for added warmth):

• Washed Zander the dog (finally! pooey!)
• Had scrumptious lunch at local malaysian eatery (Asian food, how I missed you on our Croissant and Cheese Euro jaunt)
• Don't tell anyone, but we bought takeaway from above eatery to have for dinner that night too...
• Lovely accountability buddy catch up after 6 weeks being unaccountable
• Date Night with The Man at local pub
• Created my own blog planner (can't wait to print in colour!):

• Stationary shop visit for inspiring new tools
• Mr & Mrs S arrived for a few days before they move to whoop whoop (booooooo)
• Google Hangouts meeting for new group I'm involved in
• Oooh and started my new office set up as can be seen in Photo 1!
• Uploaded a bunch of pics from Hungary
• Wrote some snail mail correspondence (love pen and paper!)
• Ordered a gorgeous coat rack to solve our coat mountain
• Found my new blog crush at A Life of Perfect Days. Isn't she awesome?
• Wrote Monthly Dreams, The Power of Intention and Cross-Stitch Creativity posts

What about you gorgeous Savvy She? What did you get up to?

Make it as you wish SSSs!
Arienne xo

The Power of Intention

Found On

The idea of Intention has been floating around my world for a while. I have absolutely realised the power of setting intentions for the big and the small things in my life.

When you set a conscious intention for a meeting, a holiday, a night out or for your year, your subconscious starts focussing you on things that can help achieve it.

Speaking with a friend the other day, she told me that when she set up her business she set an intention of making a salary of $70,000 in her first year of operation. The result after 12 months was something like $69,900. Pretty amazing huh?!

So what intentions are you setting?

Make it as you wish SSS!
Arienne xo

Cross-Stitch Creativity

The original photo the cross stitch pattern was made from

My friend Kate Tribe is creating some original cross stitch patterns and will soon have some for sale for your crafting pleasure!

During a wonderful crafty brunch, she put one of my photos (of The Man and I) through a software and created a pattern for me. I thought it would be an ideal gift for The Man's mother when I met her.

I had originally planned to complete the project before I left but unfortunately ran out of time. Luckily I found an awesome craft store next to the Sacre Coeur (Mon Dieu, Sacre Coeur!) during our Paris travels and bought the supplies there.

I started the project on the 7 hour train ride from Paris to Provence with much encouragement from my fellow retreaters. I continued crafting throughout my free time in Provence showing my progress at each evening's 'Show and Tell' session.

Here is some of the progress and the finished product!

A wonderful crafting position in the Conservatory (that we kept calling the Observatory) in the beautiful house we were staying at.

 

The first thread colour put in

Later that day

The finished product on the future mother-in-law's mantlepiece

Ta da!

I am sooooooooooo please with how it turned out and really happy that she loved it. It was so nice to give a handmade gift rather than a store bought one because I think it shows a level of forethought. I'm tempted to do another one for ourselves...

Make it as you wish SSSs!
Arienne xo

July 2012 Dreams/May Review

Me in front of The Basilica in Budapest

May and June were supremely busy and amazing months in the land of Arienne and The Man. The trip of a lifetime to Europe to connect with some amazing women and meet the future-in-laws was a dream come true. I spent the 5 weeks immersing myself in the experience (hence the lack of blogging compounded by our lack of good internet access!).

Now were back in Oz and reconnected with the little black monsters (Zander The Dog and Charlie-Bear The Cat, who were very well pampered and cared for by friends Ms T and Master S). Trying to get back into the flow of things at home, but it is sooooo cold compared to sweltering Hungary!

Without further ado here are my July dreams and the recap of the May ones...

JULY DREAMS

1. Implement monthly ideas night with The Man - because man, when you get our brains together something magical happens :)
2. Rearrange furniture in living room
3. Create new winter routine
4. Start Wedding Planning
5. Create outline of my ideal planner
6. Start a new crafting project
7. Streamline my life tools
8. Find a great pair of gumboots
9. Spend 2x sessions with visual journal
10. Upload the rest of the Hungary pics
11. Have 2x date night with The Man
12. Set up new office
13. Organise office paperwork
14. Create biz plan outline

MAY REVIEW

1. Running first workshop under Savvy Sassy She! May 20th and would love to see you there - it really is a practical life enhancing and life affirming day - Completed - fun, awesome, great group of ladies
2. Prepare for month long trip in Europe - Completed - was quite prepared although those last few days before we left were HECTIC!
3. Set intentions for Paris/Provence Art and Yoga retreat with someone I've wanted to meet for 5 years now - Kimberly Wilson! - Completed - Intentions are powerful! I set them and they all happened.
4. Celebrate my birthday :) - I have to say that probably because I was so busy with the workshop and trip plans that the birthday was hurriedly celebrated - it feels like a blur
5. Meet The Man's parents, friends and extended family! - Done! I loved them, they loved me - all is well :)
6. Design brief as below - Oh there are changes in the midst...
7. Activities for Hungary/Paris and accommodation - Active and accommodated very well!
8. Yoga 3x a week before trip - Not done, though doing 2 sessions of yoga a day on the retreat got me lithe and limber
9. Gifts as below - Ooooh, the cross stitch for The Man's mother turned out lovely!
10. Write plan for SSS Oh there are changes in the midst...