{ five things }

~ enjoying the cooler weather (& glorious rain) after what felt like a very long stretch of very hot & humid weather.

~ I've been working on my first batch of silver for the year.

~ some cute patches: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

~ spent a while chasing a butterfly around the garden the other afternoon - this is one of maybe three good photos I got, but I had fun regardless.

~ might have to make this chocolate cake again sometime soon...

{ five things }

~ hope everyone has had a lovely Christmas, ours was pretty quiet - family, lots of food, a trip to the beach & just trying to survive the heat

~ we've been home about a month now - our trip was amazing, we visited Latvia, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Denmark, Netherlands & Scotland, took lots of photos, ate a few pastries & just generally had a good time

~ new to my playlist 1 | 2 | 3

~ I kind of fell in love with cardamon in baked good while we were in Sweden - we're still eating Christmas goodies at the moment, but I'm on the lookout for a good cardamon cake/biscuit recipe to try in the next few weeks

~ can't quite believe that it's almost 2019, but here's to a beautiful year ahead...

1. arnarstapi, iceland \\ 2. riga, latvia \\ 3. stockholm, sweden \\ 4. rosenborg castle, denmark \\ 5. amsterdam, netherlands

{ five things }

  ~ busy planning an amazing European adventure with my sister Amy - we're visiting Latvia, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Denmark, Netherlands & Scotland. We're planning on castles, fjords, amazing landscapes, beautiful cities, good food & new experiences

  ~ I've been listening to this beautiful song

  ~ recently finished reading A Treacherous Curse, the third Veronica Speedwell mystery - if you like a fun mystery/adventure with a feisty heroine, then I recommend you give this series a go

  ~ really enjoying following Kat (Gartur Stitch Farm) on her blog + instagram

  ~  the blossoms have started blossoming - spring is almost here

five things | cover versions

I'm pretty sure it was one of my sisters that suggested a series of 'five things' posts - books, songs, foods... the possibilities are endless really.

Being pretty bad a narrowing down lists of things (& forget about picking favourites most of the time) I figured that if gave myself more specific parameters, then it might be easier to actually choose. So, since my playlist on YouTube features quite a few covers, this seemed like a good place to start...

These are in no particular order & I'm going to admit right off that I'm not always familiar with the original versions, I've just come across the covers & enjoyed them...

~ Paradise (Peponi) - The Piano Guys
This is one of my favourite Piano Guys songs & one on the list that I do know (& like) the original version of, but I think I prefer the cover - there's just something really special about this version...

~ Wrecking Ball - Sarah Blackwood, Jenni & Emily
This is one of the songs where I don't know the original, but I love the vocals in this version, so I'm quite happy just listening to the cover.

~ Sara Bareilles - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Sara is one of my favourite artists & I know & like the song, although it's not something I listen to a lot. I really enjoy her version - although I basically love most of the things she performs...

~ Radioactive - Lindsey Stirling & Pentatonix
Totally unfamiliar with the original of this song, but love the violin/cello + vocals in this version.

~ Somebody That I Used to Know - Walk off the Earth
Again - don't know the original song very well (I have heard it though) - but love this cover. I really like their version of 'Trouble' too.

I could add several more songs here, but I'm going to make myself stick to just five...

five things | home

1. Hugs, warm welcomes, familiar faces & lots more hugs.

2. Been doing lots of baking since I got back - not that I did without cake-type goodies while I was away, but I really enjoy the making process too. Firstly, lemon & poppyseed cupcakes, Mum & I baked a biggish batch of honey cookies, then buttermilk cake with sultanas (recipe here) & finally cheese scones with dinner the other night.

3. Rainy days, cold winds, cosy fires, lots of blankets, hot tea & winter sunshine.

4. Sorting through lots (& lots!) of photos, remembering, having fun starting to play around with a few - figuring out how & which ones to show & share is kind of a challenge, but it's a fun sort of thing to have to decide (how many photos of Paris is too many? is there such a thing?).

5. Cuddling the wiggly, snuggly, super-cute fur ball that is Holly, who loves having her belly rubbed, is super happy when you say 'Hello' to her & was (thankfully) excited to see me when I got home.

five things | Miss Holly

1. She is more or less convinced that the only possible place to sleep during the day is on someone's lap - which is super sweet, but kinda makes it hard to get much done.

2. When she's playing the build up to her pouncing is super cute - she waits, gets ready, waits, gets readier & then bam! whatever toy she's after is in trouble.

3. She had a lovely time exploring when we took her with us to Bundaleer Forest, a little unsure at first, but she soon got over that. (also, she is, I swear, wearing her harness & lead, it just doesn't look like it in the photo).

4. Ants fascinate her - she'll spend ages sniffing, following & trying to catch them.

5. In the evening, after a good play, she will curl up on someone's lap until bed time. Usually it's whoever grabs her, but sometimes she'll decide on someone & refuse to settle until she gets the lap she wants - it's uber cute :)

You can find plenty more cute Holly-ness over on her tumblr.

five things | getting ready to go

1. I've found myself going between being really excited (I'm going to Europe!) & really overwhelmed (I have so much to do/decide/plan), so I'm trying to find the balance - have a little freak-out & then get back to it. I seemed to manage some measure of calm in the last week of preparation, so tried to hang on to that.

2. Lists. Lots of lists. Where to go, what to pack, what still needs doing, things to buy, things to make...

3. Reading guidebooks gets me feeling excited, but can also somewhat overwhelm - there's so much to see/how do I decide/what if I miss something - and I have to stop & remind myself that it's all going to be pretty amazing & new & there's no possible way to see everything anyway.

4. Advice will come from all sorts of people - the trick is to listen & then decide which bits to take on board, because you can't (& probably shouldn't) follow it all. "It's much less scary once you are actually doing it" is one piece I'm holding on to.

5. Working out what to pack is tricky (I'm sure I've ended up packing stuff I won't need), but it's one of those times where I've just had to decide & go with it. It seems my palette is mostly blues, greys & purples, with an occasional pop of other colour - I never would have said that blue was my colour, but at the moment, it seems to be.