This week I have decided to focus on getting some decluttering happening in my household. Now that I am working full time it is getting that little bit harder to keep up with the housework and my main problem is that we have so much 'stuff'. I find it hard to get rid of things but over the last year I have realised that what we accumulate in our homes is mostly just 'stuff' we don't need or even use.

I am one of the worst in our home for collecting things. I have always been a collector and I need to stop. Not only is it throwing away my hard earned money but it's also just a big massivecollection of assorted crap that once I have collected I never look at again.

So.....

I am back to cruising around the good old Pinterest page and I have been 'researching' clever ideas and hacks to keeping an organised home. I thought I would share a few good reads with you today for Motivational Monday so that maybe if you are having similar  hoarding  affections of silly items, you too can join in with me on getting our lives back to order.

A great read from The Decorista. I love the idea of a 30 day plan! This was one of my favourite reads.
http://www.thedecorista.com/blog/2015/2/10/30-days-to-domestic-bliss-the-challenge

 This great read from Maison de Pax is really cool because it doesn't tell you how to declutter but offers tips on how to keep a clutter free home.
http://maisondepax.porch.com/2015/01/decluttering-tips-5-habits-home.html

 For a more thorough guide to organising your home, room by room I found this blog post from House Mix super interesting and helpful.
http://www.housemixblog.com/2014/07/03/how-i-simplified-and-organized-my-house-room-by-room/
And in keeping with the nutrition side of things here are some clever tips from Vintage News Junkie on how to keep your fridge organised.
 http://www.vintagenewsjunkie.com/whats-in-your-refrigerator-organize-it-for-good/

 
I will keep you all updated on my progress as I go room by room. I know my blog is intended for health and nutrition but I truly believe that an organised home will lead me to being a happier and less stressed person which will play a big part in my health and wellbeing.

Let me know your tips and tricks in keeping a clutter free organised home in the comments!

Stay Happy and Healthy
Liane Xx

As most of you know I have recently changed careers to start a hairdressing apprenticeship and I am now working a lot more hours than I was before in the cafe. My new career has made me a lot happier as I feel that I now have more stability in my life and I feel like I can now help my husband in supporting our family.

The change has improved my mood and general health I believe because I am less stressed out all the time. However with the longer hours and fewer days off it is really important that I spend some of my time on looking after myself and having quality ME time! Now that my husband also works harder and longer hours it means that I have to try and balance my life with family time, husband time and me time and I have that quite difficult.

The last few weeks I have managed to get into a little routine. Wednesday has now become my special day to myself and I now have one Sunday as a family day and one Sunday as Date day with my hubby. So far things are getting better and I feel like i'm finally getting used to the new routine.

I believe that everyday needs at least one day where they can not just relax but also just to sit back and have your own thoughts, your own down time to mull over what has happened in your week or life, time to treat yourself or just time to do something you enjoy without having any pressures from anyone. My Wednesday I only get until 3pm to myself but it is the perfect amount of time to unwind.


On a Wednesday I generally drop the kids off at school, grab a coffee from my old work girls and say hello and then do my weekly food shop. The rest of the afternoon is spent either treating myself to getting my nails done, maybe shopping for myself, watching a movie, writing, reading or maybe even doing some baking or sewing. I get to sit in my own silence and just think. Lots of planning comes from a Wednesday and we all know how much I love to plan.

Today I have spent my afternoon reading and writing and coming up with a new exercise routine because my current one is not working out for me at the moment. I am also doing some meal prep for the rest of the week.

I just want to encourage you all to take some time out for yourself once a week. For some of you with younger kids I know from experience that this can be hard so even if you can just try and get an hour or two to yourself a week or maybe once a fortnight spend a day to just relax. I highly recommend it for your own health and sanity. It really is needed. You can't have the energy to be there for others if you haven't put some energy into yourself first. 




What do you like to do as part of your 'me' time?

Stay Happy and Healthy
Liane Xx

image found on pinterest

Today I thought I would share with you all some of my favourite motivational songs. The songs I listen to when I need to empower myself to get up and go. Songs that push me or make me feel like I can do anything I put my mind to.

Songs have always been a huge influence in my life. No matter what I am feeling there is always a song that expresses my feelings or makes me feel better. Music is one of my most favourite joys alongside reading.

Because I have not had a very good week as far as keeping motivated goes I thought I would start this week full of positivity and what better way than throwing on some tunes and getting my spirit back. I hope you enjoy.

My top ten motivational songs:

Always Look on the Bright Side of Life - Monty Pythons

Today was a beautiful day here in Adelaide with an awesome 36 degrees. I am so happy to finally be seeing some sunshine. It just seems to have been winter forever!!

I found a box of Cacao powder in my cupboard today, that I had bought a while ago and only used once so I decided to use it today to make up a yummy smoothie for my afternoon snack. When I visited Bali back in February one of my favourite drinks was Avocado juice because they always put chocolate around the edge of the glass and it was absolute HEAVEN! I am not joking, it sounds like an odd combination and I was skeptical at first but oh my god! heaven in a glass.

Raw Cacao is the healthy substitute for chocolate and is full of antioxidants. When creating something like a smoothie you should always use a non dairy milk as dairy blocks the antioxidants and you won't get the same benefits. Raw Cacao has many health benefits such as:

Mood enhancer
Energy booster
Helps lower blood pressure
Shinier hair and stronger nails
Immune system booster 
Reduce heart disease 

Thinking back to Bali and the beautiful avocado juice I decided to use my cacao powder as a replacement for the chocolate and try out a new smoothie combo! Here is the recipe for you guys to give it a go if you feel like a yummy healthy snack or a quick on the go breakfast.

Cacao & Avocado Smoothie

serves: 2
time: 10 minutes
 

1 cup of ice
1 banana 
1/2 an avocado
1 teaspoon maple syrup or agave nectar 
1 tablespoon cacao powder 
1 cup almond milk or soy milk or coconut milk 

Place all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. 

I was shopping this week with the kids and when we stepped in Target we saw that they had already started their Christmas stock on shelves! Oh my golly goshness can you believe that Christmas stuff is already out? I can't believe it! It just does not fell like I should be thinking of Christmas already. 2015 has been such a fast year and it is making me think the last few days that maybe life really is flashing before my eyes.


Due to this thinking I have been sitting down today and reviewing my "bucket list", which just so happens to be HUGE!! But I was thinking of how many things I want to do in my life and how I really need to get into gear and start crossing a lot of my list off. So every week I am going to try my damn hardest to try and either accomplish a task or get started prepping to complete a task.

I really do think I need to get out there and sort it all out.

Speaking of Christmas I have decided that for my Christmas treat this year I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to get myself a new camera so that I can start working on some vlogs for both here and youtube. I have been thinking about starting my own vlog for a long time now but I really want to get sorted and get it happening. I think if I can organise a camera for Christmas and start researching filming and editing I will be able to start my vlogs in 2016. I am super excited and I will be looking at some vlogging ideas in the meantime.

It is the long weekend here in Adelaide this weekend and I am totally loving it. I have spent it with my husband and we visited the Market Shed on Holland St today. We had the yummiest Banh Mie (I think that is how you spell it haha) and enjoyed eating it in the gorgeous sunshine, listening to a lovely young lady sing with her guitar. We also went for a drive down to Glenelg and just sat by the beach and had a browse. I treated myself to my very first waffle today! I was super impressed and I have become a huge fan. I chose a waffle topped with banana and icecream. YUM!

I hope you are all enjoying your long weekend and if you have anything you would like to see me vlog about next year feel free to let me know. I would love to hear about your ideas.

Stay Happy and Healthy
Liane Xx