Dear November...

Read October's letter here

Sleeping Under Stars

A couple of weeks ago, after being inspired but yet another of Carly's many sheet fort posts, I decided it had been far too long since I had made one of my own. Because it's very nearly summer here it's also getting way too hot, so what better way to make the most of warmer nights than sleeping outside under the stars?

My bed was made of a futon on top of our old trampoline so it was insanely comfortable even before I filled it with cushions and pillows, but the best part was probably the fairy lights strung up above it. Last December we had hung them up for my sister's 21st and then just never taken them down again, which was lucky for me!

The whole night was wonderful, from having the light from the newly full moon shining down on me to waking up in the middle of the night to what seemed like all the animals in the garden chattering away, it's definitely something I'll be doing again and again!

x Erin

The Glow Run

About a week ago I ran in my first 5km event! It started just as the sun began to set so we were running in the dark covered in glowsticks and glowing paint. I'll admit I was nervous beforehand but it turned out to be for nothing because I ended up getting a new PB time, 29:08! It made me wonder how much more I and everyone else could achieve if we stopped doubting our abilities so much. I'm not talking about running here, but just everyday life. How much do we prevent ourselves from doing things we want out of fear that we're going to fall short? How much might we surprise ourselves if we actually plucked up the courage to give it a shot?

If we all stopped doubting ourselves who knows what we might achieve.

x Erin

Music of the Moment || November

I love the way that music can connect to a memory in your mind, so when you hear a song back months or years later you're reverted back to wherever you were and however you were feeling when you were first listening to it.

Here are some of the songs I've been listening to recently. You can play the songs here on 8tracks (plus a bonus favourite since I was a genius and tried to make a playlist with seven tracks on eight tracks.)

What songs have you been listening to on repeat recently?

x Erin

Recipe || Overnight Baked Oats

Good morning! (or evening, or afternoon). I thought today I'd show you a completely scrumdiddlyumptious breakfast recipe that I've fallen in love with. I originally found it on Ella's blog and knew I had to try it right away. I have oats for breakfast pretty much every morning so I was excited to find a way to mix things up a little!

You will need:

- A banana

- Blueberries

- 2 cups of rolled oats (I used about 1.5 cups and it served 3 of us)

- 1.5 cups of milk (I used almond milk but you can use whichever you like)

- 1 tbs of honey

- 2 tsps of baking powder

What to do:

The night before...

1. Cut up your banana and put a handful of blueberries into your baking dish

2. In a mixing bowl, mix your oats and baking powder

3. Add in your milk and stir through until the oats have been covered

4. Add in your tablespoon of honey and stir it through

5. Transfer your oat mixture into your baking dish

5. Top with more berries or any other berries of your choice

6. Put it in the fridge to sit overnight while the oats soak up all the flavours!

The next morning...

1. Preheat your oven to 190˚C/375˚F

2. Optional: Sprinkle some ground cinnamon over the top of your oats

3. Pop the dish in the oven and bake for approximately 30 minutes (until the top gets nice and crispy)

4. Dish it up and enjoy! (It's delicious both hot or cold)

I shared mine with my Mum and sister and the recipe probably could've served 4 people!

Let me know if you try it or if you have any breakfast recipes that I should try out!

x Erin

Let's Go Visit The World

I'm a collector. Always have been and always will be. Stamps, jars, coins, books, you name it and I probably collect it. But I also collect memories no matter how unextraordinary, of the places I go and the people I meet. I may not have seen more than just a speck of the world so far, but I plan to, and when I do I'll have somewhere to remind me of my adventures. My very own wearable journal.

Patches on the front of my shirt were made by the talented Carly

"Chain Free Elephants" patch made by Pebbles for Nepal to support their wonderful work.

x Erin

PS. Everyone keep their fingers crossed, because in the next week or two I'll be finding out whether I can add the flag of the USA to my jacket for next year.

Body || Yoga Basics

Hello lovelies! I hope your week is going wonderfully, and if it isn't there's still time to turn it around! Perhaps a few minutes of yoga will help you clear your mind and gain the energy you need to power on through whatever the day brings, and isn't it a happy coincidence that that's what this post is dedicated to today!

At the end of September I made it my goal to do a little bit of yoga every morning before breakfast throughout October. Nothing major, just some light stretching for 20-30mins to kick start the day. Now let me tell you that if something starts to feel like a chore to me I'm going to stop doing it, but this never happened and I stuck to my goal for the entire month. There was something about slowly letting my mind and body wake up together which was refreshing, instead of just shocking my system by jumping headfirst into the day.

Yoga seems to have this stigma attached to it where it's either done by little old ladies or really fit young people, but I promise that isn't the case! It's for anyone and everyone and you do not need to be flexible to begin.

If you've ever wanted to give yoga a try then this might be a sign to begin! Here's a couple of beginner poses and a sequence which will ease you into practice in no time. So what are you waiting for, let's begin!

Sun Salutation:

Sun salutation is probably the most well known sequence of poses (with many variations) and it's a great way to warm up your muscles. Even just repeating it a couple of times will leave you feeling calmer, since it's all about focussing and moving with your breath.

1. Starting with the pose that you see at the top of the diagram: Mountain Pose. Inhale through your nose and lift your arms over your head. You can push your pelvis forward and lean back a bit if it's comfortable.

2. As you exhale through your mouth, dive your body forward into a forward bend. You don't need to be able to touch the floor, just go as far as you want into it.

3.  Inhale though your nose and place your hands next to your feet on the floor (you can bend your knees) then step one foot back so you're in a lunge shape.

4. Bring your other foot back so you're in a plank position (holding your breath).

5. Exhale through your mouth and lower yourself down to the floor. Inhale and push up into a cobra position.

6. Exhale through your mouth and lift your tailbone so you're in a downward dog position. Try and press your heels into the mat.

7. As you inhale either walk your hands back to meet your feet or your feet forward to meet your hands.

8. Exhale and slowly stand up until you're back where you started. Inhale and lift your arms above your head, then exhale and bring them back to your side.

You're done! Now repeat as many times as you'd like. That wasn't too hard now was it!? Even just a couple of these sequences before you start the day are really beneficial.

Here's a couple of other poses you might like to try inserting into your practice too. Yoga is very much about doing your own thing, so why not play around with different shapes and see what works for you!

Have you ever tried yoga? If so do you love it? Hate it? Let me know!

x Erin

Outfit || November

Oh hey there!

So October is officially gone, and it's seemed to have dragged all the Spring weather with it, leaving November to now be classified as Summer. Seriously, was one more month of perfect temperature too much to ask for before the sweltering Australian summer? Apparently.

Anyway, if you've been around for a while you might remember me making this pinafore a little over a year ago. How has it been so long!? (Also, you can see how much my blog and I have changed since then. Hopefully for the better though.) It's still one of my favourite things I've made because you can mix it and match it to go with a variety of things.

I hope you all have a wonderful November, there's still plenty of times to achieve things in the 2 months that are left of 2014!

x Erin