:: 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.

:: The Hunger Games / Beauty and the Beast ::

Little town, it's a quiet village. Every day like the one before.

Little town, full of little people. Waking up to say ...

There goes the baker with his tray like always. The same old bread and rolls to sell.

Every morning just the same, since that morning that we came, to this poor provincial town.

Look, there she goes the girl who's strange no question.

Dazed and distracted, can't you tell?

Never part of any crowd, 'cause her head's stuck in the clouds. No denying she's a funny girl ...

There must be more than this provincial life.

Oh! Isn't this amazing?

It's my favourite part because, you'll see ...

Here's where she meets Prince Charming ...

But she won't discover that it's him ...

'Til chapter three.

Right from the moment that I met her, saw her ...

I said, "She's gorgeous!"

And I fell ...

So, I'm making plans to woo and marry [her].

There must be more than this provincial life.

Just watch, I'm going to make [her] my wife!

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So, I guess you can tell I've seen The Hunger Games! Gracie and I saw it together on Sunday. It was Gracie's second time and she loved it more than ever because she was able to pick up more details on her second viewing. I'm seeing it again this Friday with Mr LG. It's all I've talked about for weeks, so he is intrigued to see the movie and read the books that have me so obsessed. I can't wait to hear what he thinks!

Have you seen it? What were your favourite parts? Was there anything you would change? I will discuss my thoughts in more detail once I know more people have had a chance to see it.

May the odds be ever in your favour!

[No source, from Pinterest, uploaded by original user]

:: The Autumn 'Spring' Clean - Week One - Bathroom ::

Well, the Autumn 'Spring' Clean is off and running! Gracie and I have been hard at work for two weeks now. I don't know about you guys, but I love having a clean house. Most of the time my house is tidy and presentable, but it's not clean. You know, the kind of clean where you come home and it feels so nice to see sparkling floors and gleaming windows. We live in a really old house. It's almost 100 years old. And, as such, there are a few things that need a bit of tinkering - one of which is the bathroom.

It's no secret that I hate our bathroom. It's a small space with poor ventilation, the previous owners tiled it themselves and to save money they spaced the tiles a little too far apart (so we have lots of grout!), and they gave it a quick lick of an odd brown colour that doesn't cover the walls properly, and don't get me started on all the wood in a wet room! I tend to neglect our poor little bathroom because it causes me so much grief.

Bathroom - Before

As you can see in the photos, it's not the most attractive of bathrooms. I scrubbed it for over two hours. I scrubbed those tiles so hard that grout started falling off. And to my dismay, when I stood back and surveyed my work, there was no difference! But, I will admit that it feels nicer in there now that's it's been scrubbed to within an inch of it's life.

You can see the original white colour in the top left-hand corner of this photo. Oh how I wish they'd left it that colour!

Bathroom - After

(I promise I cleaned it!)

You can see faded bits of the wall where old cabinets were attached before we decided to take them down. They were made of wood and were warped from all the moisture in the room. We have great plans for this bathroom as soon as we get the money - I'm picturing lots of white and lots of light!

Do you have a dream bathroom? I've started a bathroom inspiration board on Pinterest to keep track of interesting, pretty, functional, and fabulous ideas I find.