Happy Blog Day!!

Today is National Blog Day! Hooray!! Its been fantastic reading about blogs other people read that I thought I would add my list too (and put off the fact that I need to get to sleep asap...I really don't want to go to work in the morning)
I recently cleaned out my google reader, ihad become ridiculous with 1000+ posts to read, which meant that I wasn't reading anything- too overwhelming! Its back to a more manageble number, with blogs that I really enjoy. For the most part my favourite blogs to read are the ones where I 'know' the person, or at least feel like I do through their writing or photos- the ones that  speak to me I suppose :)
To celebrate I'm linking up with Nuffnang and sharing six blogs that I enjoy and am inspired by-
Apartment Therapy
Is fantastic for ideas and inspiration around the home.
Frankie Magazine
Frankie is one of my all-time favourite magazines and their daily blog posts are a favourite- always something quirk and interesting to read. I'm looking forward to the new Smith Journal, the blokey version on stands Monday.
Sometimes Sweet
Danielle is a Mum of 1, a school teacher and a great writer. I love reading her Tattoo Tuesday posts
Sweetpolita
Fantastic food styling and delicious recipes, reading Sweetpolita always leaves me wanting to go bake. I wish I had the patience to create the amazing cakes she does.
Tara Whitney
Tara shares her photography on her blog, along with snip its of her family. Her recent post on Thinning the Herd really spoke to me.
Pencil Box
Katie is an American artist living with her son Max and partner Matt. She shares bits of her life and the most glorious photos of her day- seriously beautiful shots.

and and extra one for goodluck...
HelloGiggles
Is almost like a magazine of blogs, everyday there are new blog post, funny stories, illustrated tweets written by a large aray of interesting people. Definitely worth checking in on everyday.

And now I really better get to sleep...the alarm will be going off far to soon!
Hope you've had a lovely day,
Lauren xo

Get With The Program- Sick Week

I can honestly say that I did not feel well this week. It started on Saturday in Melbourne with a migraine like headache and blurry vision which lasted until Tuesday morning, included my usual exhaustion and some crazy hormone issues meant that I had to really push myself again this week. I did go to the doctor on Thursday and he has ordered me to get a large array of tests done and hopefully by this time next week I will closer to working out what is exactly wrong with me- because I am certainly not myself at the moment.
None the less I persevered through and made it through my training plan- with the exception of Friday where it was suggested to me by both my pt and doctor to have an extra day of rest.

This week I burnt a total of 8963 calories-
Monday- Personal Training (1059 calories)
Tuesday- Boxing (1565 calories) Pump (1614 calories)
Wednesday- Boxing (1332 calories)
Thursday- Personal Training (840 calories) *this was the day I felt like absolute death*
Friday- Rest Day
Saturday- Personal Training (1438 calories)
Sunday- Cardio (1115 calories)

Things to note this week- I didn't really break any barriers this week in my training but on Monday I did complete 1000 metres on the rower in 4:04 seconds, on level 10 resistance. I also signed up for round 3 of the 12wbt this week- I really need the kick up the bum food wise with this whole weight loss thing.

This week I plan on-
Monday- Cardio (90 minutes)
Tuesday- Boxing & Pump
Wednesday- Boxing
Thursday- Personal Training
Friday- rest day
Saturday- 30 minutes of cardio + Personal Training
Sunday- Cardio (60 minutes)

This week it is my turn to share a recipe and I have been inspired by the lovely Kate who made cold rolls earlier in the week.
Lauren's Cold Rolls & Dipping Sauce
Serves 4- 242 calories a serve

Cold Rolls
8 Rice Paper Round (22cm)
50g Vermicelli noodles, cooked via packet directions
1 cup Cabbage shredded
1 cup Capsicum thinly sliced
1 Carrot julienned
1cup Bean Shoots
2 tbsp Mint
2 tbsp Coriander
I chicken breast, butterflied and grilled, thinly sliced
Dipping Sauce
4 tbsp Hoisin Sauce
1 tbsp Crunchy peanut butter
Water
Squeeze of lime juice

Calorie count taken from Calorie King

Begin by making the dipping sauce- stir together the hoisin and peanut butter over a gentle heat, add enough water to make it smooth and runny (mine in the photo isn't a runny as I would like). Add lime juice at the end. Pour into a serving dish.

Make the cold rolls- place rice paper wrapper in a dish of warm water for 30 seconds, fill with cabbage, noodles, capsicum, carrot, bean shoots, mint, coriander and chicken. I always make the mistake of overfilling my rolls and end up with a great big mess- so beware :) If you check the back of the rice paper rounds there should be instructions on the easiest way to wrap them- but start by folding over the top, encasing the filling, wrap up the sides and then roll all the way up. Continue through these steps until you have 8 yummy cold rolls.

Serve 2 cold rolls with a spoon of the dipping sauce- Delicious!!
Change about any of the filling ingredients depending on what you have on hand and what you prefer to eat. My sister Jess hates coriander so I tried to make hers without, and they are also delicious with prawns :)

Hope you have a great week!
Don't forget to have a look at what Tatum's been up to this week, when she blogs later on tonight. She's fitted in some great beach runs this weekend in Adelaide.
xx Lauren

Today...

Outside my window...sun is shining, birds are singing- its gorgeous winter day

I am thinking...my brain is in overload atm- I need to make some lists

I am thankful for... & grateful for Tatum and her heartfelt, couragous headshave on friday

I am wearing...pink canvas shoes, jeans, black top, black $2 opshop cardi & aqua scarf

I am going to... the supermarket in about 10 minutes

I am currently reading... the latest copy of Frankie

I am hoping... that my blood tests come back ok

On my mind... blogging...so many things I want to write down

From the kitchen... nothing- I need some water though

Around the house... Fresh flowers from the Farmers Market
One of my favorite things... the silent house- and Jassie wanting to stay with me this morning :)

A few plans for the rest of the week... gym, cleaning, organising, uni work, some sewing

One photo to share..

Beyond proud of my big sister!

 Hope you are having a gorgeous Sunday,

xx Lauren

Friday Pinterest Find- the yellow edition

Today is Daffodil Day, the day designed to raise money and give us hope for a brighter, cancer free future.
My amazing sister is shaving her head tonight after raising over $2500 for this special cause. If you wish you can go HERE and donate to Tatum's head shave, every single dollar goes to help the fight against cancer.
In honour of today I have put together some of my favourite Yellow pinterest finds.

Happy Friday,
xx Lauren

Gotye- Somebody That I Used To Know

I loved Gotye song Hearts a Mess a few back, it sits predominatly in my road tripping playlist. I distinctly remember him playing the drums at the Aria's in his socks- its weird the things you file away in your brain isn't it.
I heard Somebody that I used to know a few weeks back, but in my chronic radio station flicking never actually caught who it was, until this weekend when my friend Ali played it- instant happiness! Such a beautiful sound.

"But you didn't have to cut me off 
  Make out like it never happened 
  And that we were nothing
And I don't even need your love"

 

Do you have a new favourite song this week??
What radio stations do you listen to- or do you flick through them like me??
xx Lauren

Lesson Learnt

My Car

Yesterday I discovered that I am not invincible.
Tragic.
I knew that I was running low on petrol but in my fabulous wisdom decided that there was no way the car would actually run out- that only happens in the movies- and to my mum! Alas 5 metres from the petrol station my car stopped dead.
Playing the damsel in distress I thought I could convince someone to help me push the car just that little bit back to the petrol station, but of course no one was willing to stop.
An expensive lesson to learn...$32.75 later I had a jerry can with 5 litres of fuel, new funnel and a whole heap of mess. To ashamed to go back to the same petrol station I drove to the one 20 meters down and road and vow to never, ever ignore the flashing petrol light again.

Have you ever run out of petrol?? Did some nice person stop and help??
Please tell me I am not alone.
Hope you are having a lovely day,
xx Lauren

#girlsweekend 2011

This weekend I went on my annual (two years in a row makes it annual right?!) trip to Melbourne with three of my gorgeous girlfriends, Ali, Kirsten and Bec. We picked up cheap plane flights on a whim and Kirsten organised us special accomodation at the Sofitel thanks to fantastic Accor staff perks.

After we finally arrived in Melbourne (4 hours sitting in the plane for the 1 hour flight was not high on the list of things to begin the weekend) we took ourselves off the the museum to see the Tutankhamum exhibition, we wandered along Brunswick street and I finally went into the fabric shop I was ogling at the other week. We drank champagne, went out for a fancy dinner- Ali's smoked Patagonia toothfish was amazing!, drank espresso martini's in the casino bar, collapsed into the worlds most comfortable bed, slept for a whole 8 hours (first in many weeks), ate more delicious food, shopped Bridge Road, drank more coffee, gazed at our amazing view from the 46th floor, ate in china town and spent time being together.

It was absolutely fantastic and good for my soul. I now feel recharged and ready to start tackling my growing list of jobs!
Thankyou for an amazing weekend girls...I say lets book in for May 2012?!

Tonight there is an auction on Verri Charmed to raise funds for Tatum's headshave on friday. There are gorgeous items up for grabs and all proceeds will go to a fantastic cause, the auction will run from 8pm (sa time) tonight until 9pm (sa time) Wednesday.

Hope you are having a lovely monday, I'm off to play netball and then hit the gym to work off some of the champagne calories :)
xx Lauren

Get with the program - Pushing myself

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 I had to push myself hard this week. Everyday on my drive to the gym I was running through all the different excuses as to why I could go home and curl up on the couch...I was tired, I was feeling sick, I had a headache, I could go later, I went yesterday, no one would know if I missed it...seriously ALL the excuses I could come up with. On monday I even sat in the carpark for a couple of minutes trying to find the reason why I could go home. But I didn't, I put my shoes on, one foot in front of the other and trained everyday because I will not fail!

This week I trained Monday- Friday, before I left on Saturday for a girls weekend in Melbourne. I burnt a total of 8648 calories-
Monday- Cardio (1319 calories)/ PT 45 minutes (1196 calories)
Tuesday- Cardio 30 minutes & Pump (2088 calories)
Wednesday- Boxing (1307 calories)
Thursday- PT 45 minutes (1263 calories)
Friday- Cardio (1475 calories)

The best part is always at the end of a work out when you hit that hour mark and know that you have done your job. I am going to take myself to the doctor this week. After feeling exhausted for over a month and some random brusies popping up on my legs (when I'm not a person that brusies easily) I think I should probably get myself checked out and make sure I am all healthy. I'm thinking that with my increased fitness levels I shouldn't be as tired as I am, but at the same time I'm struggling to remember that last time I had more than 5 hours sleep and perhaps its just an effect of that. -note to self get to bed earlier!-

This week I plan on:
Monday- Cardio/Netball/PT
Tuesday- Boxing/Pump
Wednesday- Boxing
Thursday-PT
Friday- Cardio
Saturday-PT
Sunday-Cardio

Lots of exercise planned for this week, mostly to counter-act my weekend of fun in Melbourne and because I had the opportunity to have 3 different personal traning  (all with my trainer Stefan) and thought it was a good opportunity. Monday and Saturday's pt are shared with my little sister Jess which adds a different dimension too- and makes it cheaper :) This week I am also going to make sure I take my measurements, its time check in on whats happening there.

Tatum has been cooking up a storm all week and is sharing a fabulous recipe on her blog today along with her progress for the week. Hop on over and check it out!

What exercise have you been up to this week? Have you been Getting with the program too?? Please share with us- we need lots of motivation too :)

Happy Sunday,
xx Lauren

Friday Pinterest Finds

Happy Friday!!
So now that I am at the tail of my jet-setting I am looking forward to having some time to get down and crafty. So many ideas and so little time (I'm still desperately trying to catch up on my uni work...nearly there!!)
Pins from my Crafty Stuff pin board...inspiration overload!

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Are you up to anything crafty this weekend??
Or are you on pinterest and I'm not following you...please let me know so I can! <3 finding new boards to follow.

I'm off to back my suitcase and get read for an early, early flight to Melbourne in the morning. A long time coming girls weekend. We have tickets to the Tutankhamum exhibition at the museum, a booking for a fancy restaurant dinner, shopping and market plans, a visit to the casino and generally just a fabulous time! Its been too long since I had the chance to just hang out with these girls! Its going to be fabulous...as long as I can work out what on earth to pack and how to do in on board luggage only eeek!!

Have a gorgeous weekend,
xx Lauren

The Living End - Pictures in the Mirror

At least 10 years ago (I can't actually remember when, it was probably earlier than that) I came home from school one day to ask Dad if he would please buy me a cd from this band I had just discovered The Living End. Being the cool music guy my dad is, he promptly went to the cd draw and pulled out the cd for me! Thus the beginning of my love for Chris, Scott and Andy- and the double bass. Seriously if you know a guy who is a) ridicously tall b) has a shaved head and c) plays the double bass please send him my way :)
It impossible to pick my favourite The Living End song, but Pictures in the Mirror is associated with some good memories so that is my pick for today.

 

What are you listening to today?? Is there a band that is still your favourite after many years?? Happy Thursday,

xx Lauren

Shaving for Cancer

My sister Tatum is pretty damn amazing.
She is fabulously creative, she is kind, loving and shares so much. She is so very passionate in what she believes in and she is an incredible mumma to her four kids. I am beyond lucky to have her as a best friend.

Next week she is shaving her head for Daffodil Day and the Australian Cancer Council.
You are able to read her reasons HERE and you are able to go HERE to donate to the cause. Tatum is aiming to raise over $2500 and she is already 63% of the way there.
Friday is the big day and we are organising a cocktail party to shave Tatum's head, you can find details HERE and email Tatum to RSVP.

To coincide with the shave, one of my other fabulous sisters Sam is hosting an auction on Verri Charmed, please keep an eye out over the next couple of days, the auction will begin on Monday 22nd August and she has some gorgeous things up for grabs.

Thankyou,
xx Lauren

Get With the Program

Oh man! What a week, I had all sorts of fabulous plan that fell in a heap when I discovered on tuesday I had a uni assignment due on wednesday (I handed it in on friday) and had sewing for saturday's market to do too (and I still didn't get the sewing finished!) So as a result I didn't have a chance to make the recipe and take a fabulous photo to share. None the less I have a recipe for you (and it is better than what I had planned!)

Thankfully my planned training happened. This week I burnt a total of 8402 calories by-
Monday: Cardio 90 minutes (1773 calories)
Tuesday: Boxing (1452 calories)/ Pump (1445 calories)
Wednesday: Boxing (1507 calories)
Thursday: Personal Training 45 minutes (1160 calories)
Friday: Rest Day
Saturday: Cardio (1065 calories)
Sunday: Didn't make it (sick...*cough* *cough* hungover)
*Things I want to remember from this week- I did 8 chin-ups without my trainers help, 500m on the rower in 2:02 seconds, it was pointed out to me that I can actually run- and do run- even though I'm insisiting its impossible so I need to stop using that excuse and get my arse into gear with the c25k program. Exercising post market day is really really hard, but just showing up at the gym makes it happen!

This week things are a little quieter so making it to the gym shouldn't be an issue. I plan on doubling up as much as possible though, to make up for today and I am off to Melbourne on Saturday for a girls weekend and will be having a good time :)
I plan to:
Monday: Cardio/PT
Tuesday: Boxing/Pump
Wednesday: Boxing
Thursday: Cardio/PT
Friday: Cardio

The recipe I want to share with you comes from Michelle Bridges "Crunch Time Cookbook". I'm a huge salad fan, they are quick, easy and incredibly tasty. This is one of my favourite salads and most of the ingredients are usually hanging around my place.
Beetroot, Chickpea, Basil and Fetta Salad

Serves 2
315 calories per serve
440g can whole Baby Beetroot, drained and sliced in half (268 calories)
400g can of Chickpeas, drained and rinsed  (214 calories)
4 handfuls of baby spinich (47 calories)
1/4 red onion thinly sliced (8 calories)
2 tbsp torn basil  (1 calorie)
40g Reduced fat fetta (93 calories)
Pepper

Combine beetroot, chickpeas, spinich, onion and basil in a salad bowl.
(If you want tip it out onto a serving platter now)
Sprinkle over the fetta and season with freshly ground black pepper.
If you need some dressing, a splash of balsamic goes nicely.

I also make variations of this salad (normally when I'm using up things from the fridge and pantry) and  substitute the chickpeas for a tin of lentils (305 calories) instead, or I change the fetta for ricotta (47 calories for 3tbsp of extra light). When you're feeding more people adding some grilled chicken breast (165 calories for 100g grilled) is a great way to stretch out the salad and another variationg is to substituing the beetroot for 300g of roasted pumpkin (156 calories).
Calorie counts are from Calorie King

Tatum will be posting about her week soon, we've had a busy weekend together taking Green Dandelion to market and tonight we are having a special mexican fiesta with Kate and Jane to work on some exciting plans.
Don't forget to let us know what fitness plans you've been making or if you make our recipes, we would love to share them with everyone. 

Have a fantastic week!
xx Lauren

Friday Pintrest Finds

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Team that poster with the words from Bob Harper on Chantelles blog today

"Decide that you're worth it enough. If there has to be someone in your corner, it has to be you."

and that is my message of the day :)

Hope you are having a happy, sunshiney day!

Oh and one last reminder that I will be at Mathilda's Market tomorrow (Saturday 13th August) from 9-1 with Green Dandelion. If you're in Adelaide and have a chance please pop in and say hi!

xx Lauren

Foo Fighters- Walk

I am lucky enough to have tickets to the Foo Fighters concert in December, along with 2 of my sisters (Sam are you sure you can't buy a ticket?? There are still Gold GA avaliable!!) 3 of my lovely friends and a couple of other great people I know! Its good to know we have fabulous music taste :)
Love love LOVE the film clip for Walk- it makes me smile, Dave Grohl is just awesome!  

What Music are you listening to this week??
  xx Lauren

Be Confident

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xx Lauren

Random Fears

There is no hiding the fact that I am a little weird, I'm happy to embrace it, I figure it makes me an individual and thought I would share some of my completely random, silly fears...and its the reasons that make me just that little bit more weird :)
Moths

I can not stand them, having to look at a picture of one makes my heart start to race. I know I'm not alone with fear moths, but the reason why might be somewhat unique...I fear that the scary moths are trying to eat me alive (don't laugh!).

Escalators

I hate using them- specifically when going down, I always fear that I will fall over and crash to the bottom, embarrassing myself.

Elevators

Getting into a very full lift gets my heart racing...I will much prefer to take the stairs! (Oh and its not a fear of being stuck in a a lift, and I have been before, its more the claustrophobia)

Ladders

The thought of climbing a ladder freaks me right out- I don't like the unpredictability of them...I don't feel safe at all! I feel the same standing on a chair, but its not the height thing, I like being up high.

Massages in shopping centres
.

Last week my intense need for a massage made me try and conquer this one, but it certainly wasn't a relaxing experience! I'm not sure what I fear the most about having a massage in a shopping centre, but it freaks me right out!

So there you go, a few really random bits about me.
Do you have any random fears??
All images from Pinterest

xx Lauren
(Oh and I must add, I will never be able to come back and read this post- the painting of the moths is freaking me right out, as in when I scroll to the top of the post I'm looking in the other direction!)

Get With The Program

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 Before I starting jetsetting all over the place I was trying to record all my weekly exercise, keeping a dairy of where I was at, where I'd been, and where I was heading- making myself accountable. Along with this I have been following the Michelle Bridges 12 Week Body Transformation. I can not give enough praise for how wonderful the program is- there is no hidden magic pill to it, it teaches you that to lose weight you need to eat less (and healthy) and move more (and often). It has changed my life!

edited to add: I was asked how much Michelle Bridges 12wbt is, Kate answered in the questions for me, but I thought I would mention it here too- it is $200 or there is a weekly payment program too. If you click on the link above you can find out more information, you can also check out the facebook page. Pre-season for round 3 begins next week- I'm signing up again :)

Tatum followed the same program last year and when we were talking about it recently we came up with the plan to turn it into a bit of a feature and take it in turns each week bringing you a recipe of 400 calories or less, along with our excercise diary- I'm going to share both the results and plan for the week ahead. This week you can head over the Tatum's blog to see her delicious recipe for Singapore Noodles.

This week I burnt a total of 8023 Calories by:
Monday: Cardio (1304 Calories)
Tuesday: Boxing (1610 Calories) /Pump (1272 Calories)
Wednesday: Boxing (1594 calories)
Thursday: PT (1111 calories)
Friday: Rest Day
Saturday: PT (1132 calories)
Sunday: Market Day- run out of time :(

In the coming week I plan on:
Monday: Cardio
Tuesday: Boxing/ Pump
Wednesday: Boxing
Thursday: PT
Friday: Rest Day
Saturday: Cardio
Sunday: Cardio

So lets see how the week goes- I can't wait to share my recipe with you next Sunday!
We would love it if you wanted to join us and Get with the Program, as Tatum said we can all help each other get our mindset right!

Have a fabulous healthy week,
xx Lauren

Pinterest Friday Finds

With all the travelling lately, and my new found addiction to twitter (follow me @laurenboase) I haven't spent any where near as much time on pinterest than I have in previous weeks.
So today I am sharing some old favourites out of my pinterest files-

I have mean love for rainbows and pyrex :)

Life really is awesome!

One of my favourite Beatles tunes <3

All of todays images have been taken from here, you can check them out along with the millions thousand-odd pin's I have anytime you'd like :)
Now I'm back to the sewing table...Green Dandelion's first appearance at Lollipop Market is less than 48 hours away...eeek!

Happy Friday!!

xx Lauren

Paper and Glue

A couple of weeks ago I travelled with Tatum, Ali and Lou to Camp Mojo in the Hunter Valley.
A long weekend of creating, giggling and drinking wine out of plastic cups.
 

Camp Mojo challenge "A song Title"

Photo by the gorgeous dQ, Sue's July sketch challenge at e2c

Photo by dQ, challenge by Amanda at e2c

Photo by dQ, challenge by Amanda at e2c

The weekend made me remember how much I love playing with paper & glue and how much I need to make time to play some more.

What have you been creating lately??

Happy Tuesday,
xx Lauren

Are you Ready?

I heard Are You Ready? on the plane to Sydney the other week. Fatty Gets A Stylist is the amazing Kate Miller-Heidke and her husband Keir Nuttal.  I think its all kinds of fun with a very cute film clip...granted it may just spin you out if you watch it after a few vodkas!

"have you got your coat?
and some lippy on?
just keep it simple

are you all cashed up?
i can lend you some ?
well i'd be glad to 

have you had a think
and a warm up drink
now! now! now! now!"

What new music have you discovered lately??
xx Lauren