Garden Corner

My latest garden project wasn't exactly in the garden. I finally put up our balcony boxes and planted them with both pansy seeds harvested from our old balcony and forget-me-nots from our wedding favours.

I like the idea of bringing old favourites into our new home and I can't wait to see these flower this summer! 

Make It Monday - Baby Bedding

We've had one set of bedding since Isabella was born so recently I decided to make a second set which matches her room.

I didn't have a pattern. I just measured the original set and improvised an envelope closing. I may add buttons to the duvet cover later if needed but so far these are working.

This was an easy, simple project but I'm loving pulling this happy sunny room together.

Weekly Wisdom

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The Saturday Update

We've had a lovely week here.

At the weekend, Nico's grandparents came over and we made some good progress with the garden and house. We were doing our paleo experiment and had a lovely lunch with them.

Dad arrived on Monday and although we didn't get out much due to the weather, he and Isabella had great fun together. We also got lots more done on the house and garden including the last bit of painting - the hallway.

Isabella has started pointing at everything and saying 'there' - in English and German! That's been really fun.

On Thursday we had lots of friends and family over for coffee and cake. It was a wonderful day.

Then yesterday we drove up to Schneverdingen for Nico's grandad's birthday. Another lovely family event.

Today we are having a quiet day getting ready for another family visit from my mum and gran.

Have a lovely Easter weekend.

My Week with Paleo

For the week leading up to my birthday, Nico and I followed the autoimmune paleo diet. It's quite extreme - meat, vegetables and fruit mainly, but we liked it. I even got used to burgers for breakfast!

There are many pros and cons. First to the positives:

• I felt really good. I think the diet could help me reduce my colitis medication.
• I got back into cooking. We picked up three new recipes that we'll be eating more often and I enjoyed being in the kitchen again.
• I lost a couple of kilos. This wasn't my reason for doing the diet but it was weight I can do without.
• The recipes were mainly ones where you can cook in bulk and freeze some for later.
• We started eating as a family at the kitchen table more often

The downsides:

• The diet takes quite some planning and until you build up some recipes, it can be repetetive.
• I'm not sure how healthy it would be long term - no carbs reminds me of Atkins which got a lot of bad press.
• By the end of the week, I started to get tired. It may have been the coffee ban or it may be that we need to work on portion sizes.

On the whole we enjoyed the experiment. We're going to be trying to do more of this in the long term and with some tweaking. 

If you have any kind of dietary difficulties, I'd really recommend giving this a try. It really helps me.

Thoughts on 30

So today I turn 30 - the big 3-0!

Somehow I thought that this would feel like a huge milestone. The first birthday I remember remembering was my seventh. I thought I would feel really different - be more grown up somehow. I think I did feel a little different at that age.

More recently, birthdays seem to fly by and I don't feel hugely different. I always thought I would feel more 'grown up' at this age.  This time though, there is a lot more to reflect on. Even though I don't feel older, I can look back on many achievements. I have an MA, a job I love, a house, amazing friends, a wonderful husband and a beautiful daughter. I have everything I hoped I would have at this age, and count myself very lucky for that.

Today will be a nice celebration with friends and family. I'm feeling really good and excited for this new decade.

April Goals

:-) Things to do this month:

• Finish painting in the house.
• Tax return.
• Opticians appointment.
• 3 sewing projects.
• Take a family photo.
• Ring Isabella's nursery.
• Reduce medication.
• Unpack the last boxes.

(Smiley courtesy of Isabella.)