:: I'm Going To Be An Aunty Again ::

Exciting news! My younger sister is pregnant! SO exciting! This time two years ago we were celebrating my other little sister's pregnancy, and now I am all excited to become an Aunty again. My sister is due a few days before my nephew's birthday, so my nephew could get a baby cousin for his second birthday!

And here's the best bit ... they're having a ...

Little girl!!!

Look at those little ballet shoes! Couldn't you just die? My sister is obsessed with ballet. Obsessed. She has been dancing since she was 12 and has spent most of her time either dancing or working at her ballet school. Needless to say, she's over the moon to be having a little ballerina.

They decided to have a cupcake gender reveal party to tell all the siblings what they were having. Such a cute idea!

I love all the creative ways to let people know if you're having a boy or a girl! I first saw the cupcake/cake gender reveal party idea on Pinterest. There are so many creative people out there!

Would you find out? How would you let everyone know? I'd definitely find out. I take my hat off to people who decide to wait 'til their baby is born - I couldn't stand the suspense!

:: All That Glitters ::

A few weeks ago Mr LG and I took off to the beach. We decided we needed to get away for a weekend and just relax. I love going to the beach. I think that, one day, I'd like to live closer to the ocean. But for now I'm happy to be a little over an hour away.

I love the way the sun glitters off the water. You've got to wonder if that's where the original creators of glitter came up with the idea.

Sunrise is my favourite time of day. It's so calm and serene. I'm lucky because on the East Coast, the sun rises over the ocean. Two of my favourite things rolled into one!

Yesterday was my blog's second birthday! Stay tuned for a combined birthday 100-followers give away!

:: Accents ::

I tend to get overly excited when I see a blog post where a blogger has posted a video of themselves. I love knowing what you all sound like, what faces you pull when you talk, do you move your hands around a lot (I do!) ...

So, with this in mind, I took a few little videos while I was at the coast for Easter. I got home and uploaded them to my computer to listen/watch and nearly died of shame. The video is of the beach and only my voice and really, after hearing what I really sound like ... I have no idea how I have any friends. My voice is so annoying! Does anyone else hate how they sound in videos? Worst.

A couple of years ago I visited some friends in Sydney and they could all tell I was from Queensland. Apparently that means I talk really fast and my voice is slightly nasal. Nice. I don't think I talk too fast in the video below, but in real life I think I probably do.

Okay, enough hesitating ... here's what I sound like!

PS. 106 followers? What? When?! Time for another give away soon, I think.

:: Recipe - Gluten Free, Dairy Free Rocky Road ::

In the week leading up to Easter my work mates and I kept bringing in chocolates for everyone. One of the guys in my team went one step further and made everyone rocky road (except me, he gave me a block of gluten free, dairy free chocolate - so nice of him!). Ever since then I have been craving rocky road.

Fast forward to Easter morning where I received a huge amount of lollies and dairy free chocolate from Mr LG and my Secret Easter Bunny (like Secret Santa - cute, no?). Winning! I realised I had enough ingredients to make some makeshift rocky road. The reality is, I threw a bunch of ingredients into a bowl and hoped for the best, but I've had a few people ask me for the recipe after I posted a photo of it on Instagram, so I thought I would share it with all of you. Obviously, if you don't have any food allergies, you can just adapt this recipe back to 'normal'.

:: Gluten Free, Dairy Free Rocky Road ::

:: Ingredients ::

300g gluten free, dairy free chocolate (I used Sweet Williams)

150g gluten free marshmallows (I used Eskal)

100g Jelly Bellys (I used fruity flavours like cherry, blueberry and peach)

3-4 table spoons desiccated coconut, plus extra to sprinkle on top.

:: Method::

1. Chop marshmallows into quarters, place in a bowl with Jelly Bellys and coconut.

2. Melt chocolate until it has a smooth, creamy consistency. Make sure not to burn it.

3. Pour melted chocolate into the bowl containing dry ingredients. Stir until mixed.

4. Pour into a lined tray and spread to desired thickness.

5. Refrigerated until set. Enjoy!

See? Super easy! And oh my gosh, so yummy! This afternoon I contemplated skipping gym, but realised that in order to be able to devour this rocky road I needed to go to the gym. Totally worth it.

:: Autumn 'Spring' Clean - Week Three - Main Bedroom ::

So ladies (and gentlemen?), I bring you the Week Three edition of the Autumn 'Spring' Clean. While I was cleaning/sorting our bedroom I realised it looks a lot like student accommodation in there. We have our clothes on metal racks and shelves as our only wardrobe is an antique and modern coat hangers are too wide for it (so now the wardrobe houses our shoes).

When we first moved in we decided not to hang any photos/prints on the wall because we intended to paint. And here we are, a few years later and still no paint on the walls! As a result, we only have a few photos around the house on hooks that were already there (and we even removed a bunch of hooks!). The result? Some very bare walls that are very noticeable in photos!

:: Main Bedroom - Before ::

We borrowed Mr LG's brother's amazing vacuum cleaner and did a huge anti-dust blitz on the room. Who knew under beds were so gross? We even vacuumed the dust/mites out of the mattress!

You can see a green patch - one of our potential colours (but not the winner).

:: Main Bedroom - After ::

See? Bare walls! Oh, and can I draw your attention to the dark teal colour the previous owners painted the top section of the walls and roof? We have ridiculously tall ceilings (12 foot), but when you walk into the main bedroom you feel like ducking a bit because it feels so small. I can't wait to bring some light back into this room one day!

Winter clothes are now washed and in my shelves/rack. I haven't quite given up all my Summer clothes, but it won't be long now!

The Hunger Games and an original Game Boy. Heck yes!

So, there you have it. That's my bedroom. Kind of boring, if I'm being honest. These before and after photos aren't as dramatic as I was hoping, but you wait. Oh, you just wait. Next week is my spare room, and that is a disaster zone.

:: The Autumn 'Spring' Clean - Week Two - Kitchen ::

Week Three of the Autumn 'Spring' Clean has come and gone, so I thought I should show you some before and after photos from week two - the kitchen. I admit, I took my kitchen before photos when there was some dishes to be washed and bench clutter, otherwise the before and after photos would be much like my bathroom ones - not much difference to be seen in photos (instead, the difference is something that can be felt).

:: Kitchen - Before ::

We are lucky to have quite a large kitchen (unlike our bathroom!). I'm not a big fan of the 90s cottagey feel, but it's a nice spacious room with high ceilings which I love.

:: Kitchen - After ::

Yay, less clutter!

We don't have a rangehood over our oven, so our kitchen gets greasy quite quickly. I scrubbed those cabinets to within an inch of their life, and as a result the kitchen feels so much cleaner now. Having less cluttered bench tops and cupboards, and no out-of-date food hiding in the back of the pantry is awesome - but it's the lack of grease is what I notice the most.

I have great plans for this kitchen in the future. I'm thinking lots of white and lots of natural lights, with a bit of antiquey vintage flair. Here's my kitchen inspiration board on Pinterest.