as most of you may not know, my fiance and i recently bought our first home!
so i have been completely wrapped up in that for the past few months and have really tried to get it organised and running exactly how i want it (which has been a mammoth task). i think i have finally reached a happy place with it and managed to find some time to get back on here and write a blog post!!

through the purchase and set up of our home, i have tried to be as eco and environmentally friendly as possible. especially through my purchases of kitchen, cleaning and bathroom items!
its definitely easy to get wrapped up in the convenience and availability of single use products when setting up your home; they seem to be the cheaper and less time consuming option.

i have picked a few of my stand out eco-friendly items that i highly recommend to everyone. they are all things that are easy to add into your lifestyle and help you do your part for the environment.

first up is my favourite change and purchase.
my Face Halo; i picked this one up after hearing about it from beauty guru Chloe Morello who is a part owner in the company. basically it eliminates the single use makeup wipe (which take 100 years to decompose!!!!). not only does using the face halo eliminate makeup wipes from your routine and day to day life but also the chemicals that come along with them!
the face halo uses halotech fiber technology and you literally JUST have to add water. it is the best thing i have ever purchased!!! super affordable too, its roughly 3 for $30AUD. they are super easy to clean, you just have to wash it with some soap (any soap) after each use then machine wash it every week-few weeks depending on how often you use it. you get up to 200 washes per face halo!!
i can't recommend this product enough - it truly works!
https://www.facehalo.com.au/

next up are two products that i use weekly and reduce a significant amount of plastic!!
they are my reusable produce and shopping bags. if you are like me and love food shopping then these are a must! not only are they convenient and money saving, they also really help the environment.

here in Australia, the supermarkets sell reusable plastic bags that you pay 10 cents for per bag and you are meant to bring them back and keep using etc. but i often find 1. you forget to bring them with you 2. they end up breaking after a few uses and 3. people just treat them as a single use throw away anyway.
so i decided i would purchase a set of reusable shopping bags and a set of produce bags when we moved in. (i can confirm i use them every week without fail).
the produce bags are exceptionally handy, i use them for all my fresh fruit and veggies and they can also be stored in the fridge if you can't be bothered emptying them when you get home.
the reusable shopping bags speak for themselves, they allow me to organise my shopping as i am walking around the store and are easy to transport to and from the car.

i also make sure i have fold up carry bags in my handbag at all times, so if i ever get stuck at the shops and need a bag i always have one!
https://www.biome.com.au/reusable-bags/2380-onya-weigh-reusable-fruit-veg-bags-set-of-5-9340655000477.html
https://packingsorted.com.au/

one of my favourite kitchen purchases are my food savers! i use them for tomatoes, onions and garlic that aren't being used. these are great because they eliminate the use of cling wrap or other single use plastic storage and keep my left over vegetables fresh.
they are perfect for when you only use half an onion or half a tomato or one clove of garlic and want somewhere to store the remainder. (although it isn't ideal that the food saver it self is plastic, it does last a long time and can be washed etc).
i definitely recommend these if you cook and want an alternative way to store your half used vegetables!
https://www.amazon.com.au/Hutzler-Classic-Food-Savers-Set/dp/B019Y6BWOI

reusable coffee cups are something i have been using for years and swear by them! these days you can get so many different styles and designs; it would be hard to find something you didn't like. i have been loving the Frank Green cups, i have both the original and stainless steel version and they are by far my favourite reusable cups!
i generally use mine for when i am leaving the house, i will take a coffee from home and it always stays warm for my journey. i also like to pack my small sized one in my bag for when i feel like a coffee when i am out. they really do help with eliminating landfill and can be used for so many other beverages aside from coffee!
https://frankgreen.com.au/


lastly but not least, is another reusable beverage item - a stainless steel drink bottle. like the coffee cups, you can also get these in a range of styles, designs and sizes. i particularly like the ones by Swell and from Kikki K (which i am currently using). the good thing about a stainless steel drink bottle is that you have the option of carrying both hot and cold beverages. they are perfect for summer when you want cold water that will stay cold all day or for winter when you prefer to take a tea with you.  these also really do reduce the rate of plastics entering our oceans and landfill and would literally last you years without replacement.
https://www.swellbottle.com/
https://www.kikki-k.com/au/shop-by/category/reusables/stainless-steel-drink-bottle-woodland-11222601.html?cgid=shop_by-category-reusables#start=4

so these are just a few of my favourite eco friendly things i have incorporated into my new home. i hope i have inspired you to make some changes in your home too. if every one of us started to do even one of these things every day or week, we would really make a difference.
i have put a link to each of the products i use.

hope you have all been well
thanks so much for coming back :)
stephanie xxx

for valentines day this year i thought i would steer away from your typical gift guide or date ideas post and share with you my engagement/proposal story!

for those of you who don't know, my now fiance proposed to me just before we embarked on our holiday around New Zealand and a day before our 3 year anniversary.

Where: Sydney, Australia
When: 31st of October 2018

so firstly, i will give you a quick idea of how it all panned out. we were going on a cruise to New Zealand departing from Sydney (see previous blog posts) and had planned two days in Sydney beforehand to celebrate baes birthday and our anniversary. i had pretty much organised the entire holiday and had every detail sorted, until bae asked what we were doing on our first night in Sydney (the 31st). He said he wanted to plan dinner so we could celebrate our anniversary separate from his bday.
basically from here i was like well... that's a little strange considering he hasn't organised anything else so far. i kinda had an idea he would do it on this holiday. so once he said about dinner, i 90% thought that is when he was going to propose.

we flew in Sydney early in the morning on the 31st, checked in our bags at the hotel and then spent the remainder of the day shopping. bae disclosed no details of dinner and just told me i needed to be ready for 7pm and to wear something nice for a fancy restaurant.
as the day progressed, he seemed pretty relaxed and calm so i started to doubt whether he was actually going to do it or if i had made up this magical idea in my mind (haha).

the time came to get ready and everything was still normal (i was internally freaking out whilst trying to get ready but). bae was literally just watching Netflix on his phone so i was like ?? surely not.
anyway, as it got closer to 7pm he said "okay im going to order an uber and head downstairs, i will call you when to come down". so here i am like why can't i know where we are going?

i got down to the uber after his call and he was sitting in the front seat holding his suit jacket - which i automatically knew wasn't normal because he hates sitting in the front of ubers. we drove for 10 minutes and it was dead silent so im trying to make conversation about Sydney as we drive past to distract myself from what might happen.

we pulled up to this park at the bottom of this street overlooking the Sydney Harbour Bridge. at this point i am thinking okay so maybe the uber dropped us off in the wrong place and we have to now walk across this park to some restaurant that has amazing views of the harbour?

as we started to walk across the park which felt like a 5km walk (it was really not even 500m but i had heels on and was freaking the eff out), we saw a lady holding her phone taking a picture of the view. this is when he asks me to put a blindfold on and hold his hand. BASICALLY i lost it from here, i was internally a mess but trying to keep it together on the outside.
(just quickly, i am probably the worst person to be blindfolded ever because 1. i am the most uncoordinated person ever and 2. i like to know everything at all times).


so we get to these stairs and bae is trying to guide me down them whilst wearing heels and a blindfold which was never going to happen! so he had to carry me (which would have looked hilarious), he puts me down and we continue to walk for a bit.

i am told to take one step forward and stand still...
he then asked me to take my blindfold off..
and that is where i saw the love of my life on his knee with my dream ring (in the biggest ring box ever might i add).
it was PERFECT.





he organised the whole proposal through a lady who owns a company called buythecow. i was lucky enough to have a professional photographer capture the moment and take photos for us afterwards that we will literally cherish forever.
after we took a few moments to take it all in and enjoy the setting, we headed to dinner at a family owned Italian restaurant with a view of the Harbour.

basically the whole night was perfect and it still feels like a literal dream. i don't think it really sunk in until we returned home 2 weeks later. i am SO excited to be marrying this man and to start planning out wedding together.

xxx

i can't believe Christmas has been and gone already! i thought i would share with you what i got for Christmas again this year as these are always my favourite type of posts to read! this year i got a lot of stuff from my wishlist which i am super happy about, like these Peter Alexander Grinch Pyjamas. they are super cute and i can't wait to wear them!


my fiancé also got me the Cordially Invited book and this Calvin Klein set which were also on my wishlist. i am looking forward to flicking through the book and i am obsessed with the Calvin set they feel SO luxe.
i also gifted myself the travel mug from Kikki K, as a pledge to be more environmentally friendly in 2019.


from my in-laws i got the Crazy Rich Asians DVD and a new Marc Jacobs Daisy perfume along with some other gifts (not pictured). i can't wait to watch Crazy Rich Asians again, i loved it when i saw it in the cinemas!!!
my boss got me the blush Nine West clutch, i am still obsessing over this colour!
she also got me the Beauty Blender Delight set and the Clinique products!


this year Myer did a little beauty box which has mini versions of their top selling beauty products. this is what i got from Mum and Dad, i am looking forward to trying some new products out but also to have the perfect travel sizes of my favourite products.
i got a Quay Australia sunglasses holder from my fiancé aswell, it holds four pairs of glasses and folds up neatly. this will be perfect for travel!
my brother got me the Mecca Maxima Bananarama Set which was also on my wishlist.


these have to be some of my favourite gifts! firstly the Kikki K wedding planner from my sister, which she even got monogrammed with our initials! this was such a great gift and i can't wait to start using it in the New Year.
my sister also got me the Two Faced Sugar Cookie palette which is too die for and has a great shade range. it also smells amazing too!
and finally my fiancé got me the Meghan and Harry Pop Vinyls!! there are two reasons that he got these for me; 1. because i literally love them and their wedding was GOALs and 2. because they look like us (haha). he says we should put them as wedding toppers on our cake.

i hope you all had a wonderful Christmas this year! if you have done a post or video about what you got aswell this year then definitely feel free to link me as they are some of my favourite posts to read!!

the last day of 12 Days of Christmas and Blogmas is here!
its Christmas eve!!!!! Christmas eve is definitely a close second to Christmas day, i love it! i definitely feel the most festive the day before Christmas, it also means its finally time to watch Elf and The Grinch!

anyway for day 12 i thought i would touch on how i am preparing for the new year and what some of my resolutions for the new year are. as well as reflecting on the year that has been and how i want to set realistic goals for 2019.

Resolutions 
i decided that for 2019 i want to set realistic and achievable resolutions that have goals which i know i can meet.
one of my resolutions for the new year is to be more environmentally friendly. i am going to do this by using a reusable coffee cup when buying coffee instead of the paper/plastic ones they give you. i decided to gift myself a new travel coffee cup for Christmas to help push this resolution along. i also am going to bring reusable shopping bags with me when i go regular shopping. currently i only use reusable shopping bags for food shopping but i have decided i am going to keep one on me at all times so i never have to use/buy a plastic bag again!
by doing these two things i hope i can start making a more conscious effort to be more environmentally friendly and help save our planet.

another one of my resolutions is to take more notice of what i am consuming and how i am burning off what i consume. i want to take more care of myself and my body from the inside out.
i want to cut soft drinks and takeaway food out and really focus on my physical activity more. i would love to get back into a routine and love the gym again. i am going to help push this resolution along by going to the gym everyday in the 3 weeks i have off after Christmas in hope that can help me get motivated and into a routine for when my work year starts again.

finally my last resolution for 2019 is to stop letting other people affect me and stop staying in environments that don't make me happy just to please other people. i think sometimes we just get so comfortable in our lives that we forget to stop and think if this is really the right environment for us and our mental health.
i generally am the type of person who doesn't like change so i tend to just stay or continue doing something because its 'comfortable' so in the new year i want to stick up for myself and move on if i need to. i have learnt you can't grow if you are stationary and always doing/being the same. basically in 2019 i want to grow and challenge myself more.

Reflecting on the year that has been 
2018 has been a ride, probably one of my favourite years but also probably one of my most steadiest years. i didn't really move much or change much, i pretty much just stayed in routine. but either way 2018 went ridiculously quick, i can't believe that it is basically over!!

i created some awesome memories in 2018, rekindled some friendships, loved harder and spent a lot more time with family and friends. i went on two unforgettable holidays, got engaged, worked harder then i ever have and grow a lot as a person.

i definitely learnt who i want to be as a person and what i want for my future. i am starting to realise what and who is important and what steps i need to take to achieve a well balanced life.
i learnt that self care is important and to not let people bug you, if you don't like who they are or what they are about then they don't need to be in your life! this is SO important to know!!!

i hope 2019 is a healthy and happy as 2018. i hope it helps me grow and teaches me new lessons. i am so thankful for the life i live and the health i have. i hope 2019 blesses me with the same.

Plans for the New Year
lets start with plans for NYE, at this stage there aren't any but to be honest i think i would be happy to have a really quiet relaxed NYE this year. i wouldn't even mind if i was asleep by the time the clock struck midnight so i could be up early and have a productive first day of the year but we shall see!

in terms of plans for the new year itself, we have our engagement party in March and a trip to Melbourne in April. otherwise i assume we will just take the year as it comes. i am definitely excited for our engagement party and then the wedding planning that will follow (its going to be crazy i can already tell).

who knows what the year will hold but here is hoping it is a good one! i can't believe its already 2019 SO CRAZY!!!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
thankyou so much for sharing another 12 Days of Christmas with me. i love doing these and can't wait to be back again next year. every year, i enjoy blogging more and more and i am definitely looking forward to seeing what opportunities 2019 brings for me.

love you all
stephanie

Day 11


day 11 is all about doing it yourself.
normally i am not a DIY kind of girl but i thought i would give making my own Christmas cards a go this year.

i am going to be mostly using the Kikki K Paper Lover's Christmas Book and other various crafty bits i have around the house. realistically you can probably use whatever you like when it comes to making cards.

i like Kikki K's Papers Lovers book because it has pretty much everything you need inside; from paper to stickers, lettering to envelopes you can basically make a card from scratch. Kikki K also include little boxes, ornaments and mini cards if you don't have time to make them yourself.

i decided to make cards for just my family this year, i don't think people appreciate receiving a card on Christmas as much as they would on their birthday so i thought i would just keep it at immediate family.


what you need:
- card or paper of your choice
- stickers
- white paper
- lettering
- envelope
- pen
- glue stick
- sticky tape
- scissors

how to: 
1. take the piece of card or paper you want to use as the exterior of your card, this may have a pattern or design on it that you want to display. cut it into the size you want your card to be, if its not already in the desired size.
2. get a piece of plain white paper and either cut it so it is smaller then the exterior piece of card (so there is a border when placed inside the piece of exterior card) or leave it so it is the same size as the exterior card. glue it to the exterior piece of card.
3. now fold the card in half so it makes a 'card' and is openable and closeable.
4. decorate the front of the exterior card with your choice of lettering, stickers etc.
5. now on the inside of the card where you wish to write a message, you can either place stickers to read a desired message such as 'merry christmas' or 'happy holidays' or you can write this with a pen.
6. write a message in the card to your loved one and you are done! (place in envelope if desired.)

i hope this little DIY helped in some way, writing instructions has never been my strength!
Merry Christmas.

2018 overall has been a pretty great year. obviously there has been a mixture of ups and downs but i have enjoyed this year and what it has offered.
as we draw to the end of 12 Days of Christmas and 2018, i thought i would share some of my favourite moments and memories of 2018.

there is no surprise that majority of my favourite moments from this year are when on holiday or with bae. we managed to accomplish quite a few things together this year, one of them being that we got engaged! so this year is definitely not one we are going to forget anytime soon.

in no particular order here are some of my favourite moments and memories from 2018:

Getting Engaged (31/10/2018)
this was probably the most unforgettable moment of the year, i still can't believe it. how he managed to pull something this big off without me not expecting it, is CRAZY.
he proposed on the day we arrived in Sydney before we embarked on our 2 week cruise around New Zealand, at this gorgeous spot called Lavender Bay that looks out over the harbor and at the bridge.

Melbourne Trip for my 21st Birthday (21/04/2018)  
Melbourne is one of our favourite places to go, so it was definitely fun to celebrate my 21st birthday there. whenever we go to Melbourne we literally shop till we drop and this trip was no different. i actually got my first Louis Vuitton on this trip so that was extra special. can't wait to return again in 2019!

New Zealand Cruise onboard the Ovation of the Seas (02/11/2018)
i am so sad we are home from this holiday, its been well over a month and i still am in holiday depression mode. it was just so fun and we had the BEST time. i want to go back!!
not only was New Zealand amazing but so was the Ovation, there is literally not one thing i can say i didn't like about the trip all round. it was SO good, i definitely recommend going to New Zealand and on a cruise at least once in your life!

Hobbiton, Tauranga New Zealand (09/11/2018)
this was by far my favourite day we had in New Zealand! we literally got up at the crack of dawn and made our way to Hobbiton where they filmed Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit. for those who don't know Hobbiton is home of the Shire which is where the little hobbits live. it was the cutest place EVER, they have put so much detail into the little homes and into the layout of the whole thing. this is a must do in your lifetime even if you haven't seen them films, it is just the best!!! (also extremely good for pictures haha)

Port Elliot Trip (12/05/2018)
at the start of this year i was a little obsessed with bakery donuts and Port Elliot has one of the best bakeries in South Australia so bae and i took a little road trip down and picked up some goodies. we made a day trip out of it and explored Victor Harbour and the surrounding areas whilst we were down there. i remember that it was particularly freezing that day especially on the coast but we had so much fun and it was definitely one of my favourite days this year.

i hope you enjoyed a little insight into some of my favourite moments and memories from 2018, i would love to know yours so please feel free to share them with me!!