Watch yourself. How have you been spending your time lately? What thoughts have you been giving time to lately? 
                                        www.woodwatches.com/g/findyourownhope
What thoughts have you been giving time to lately - I think is one of the most important questions to ask ourselves. Time and time again (yes I keep making time puns) I notice I get back into some not so helpful thought patterns. 

The first step is to really try to listen and pay attention to your thoughts. When you recognise these unhelpful and destructive words acknowledge them but then REPLACE them with words of encouragement. Sometimes we have to be our own coach. We’ve got to look out for ourselves 

How damaging it can be when people say awful things to bring us down in life, but I don’t think we ever realise how harmful it is when we do it to ourselves. It can become so natural, just like clock work. 

So take some time out of your busy life to focus on you. Take your watch to check the time, and leave your phone behind. Stay present and aware of your thoughts. And when it all feels too much - one of the quotes that helps me get by is - All in good time ️ 



Lots of love xx


Wooden Wrist Watch

With busy schedules, brain fog and chronic illness sometimes books aren't the easiest to read or commit to. So I have found magazines to be a calming alternative. The way they are broken down into sections and articles make them much more manageable. I love how the variety of topics always keeps me engaged.



So I have been branching out and trying new magazines over the last few months. I wanted to share some of my favourites with you all!

UniquelyMade 

...is a new magazine collated by Leon Ernest Connell. It features articles, artworks and creative pieces from a wide range of contributors. It talks about pain, perseverance and mental health. They are soon launching an online publication too - so keep an eye out! And the exciting news is... I was lucky enough to feature in their Spring 18 issue that came out this month! So go check them out :P

Breathe

I truly love this magazine - it provides insight into the way we live, along with our wellbeing and mindfulness. The articles are a decent size but are easy to read and are always accompanied by incredible photography. I love their ideas for getting creative too.

Frankie

... a classic magazine. I love the variety of their articles from real life stories to rants, observations and crafts. I especially want to talk about an article from issue 82. They featured a fellow blogger and dysautonomia sufferer. Coming across this article was such a happy surprise because it is so rare and touching to read about someone who has a similar condition to myself. It was lovely to read and really brightened my day. I think raising awareness of chronic and invisible illnesses will help sufferers to feel less isolated by informing others. I am a huge believer in sharing our stories and struggles because I think it is a great way to learn, grow and help one another.

Bella Rae 

... is a newer magazine designed for adolescents and young adults. I love how they promote the importance of self-love. As well as the effort they make to teach and remind us to embrace our uniqueness and individuality. It is from Toowoomba and I really love how not only is the production close to home but also the stories they feature.

The View from Picnic Point Toowoomba

A few weeks ago my sister and I ventured off on a 24 hour round trip. We have always wanted to see  the sunflower fields and when we found out the flowers were dying off it quickly put our plan into action.

On our way we stopped in at Lake Apex for a picnic lunch. It's such a lovely place to relax by, with hardly anyone there. It may be lacking in people but not in wildlife -  there were so many beautiful different types of birds.

After we drove all around searching for the beautiful flowers and followed the directions given to us by friends and articles online. A popular route is the 'Sunflower Route 11' of course - HOWEVER after driving this route I can safely say there are no actual sunflowers on it (well not anymore anyway). We called up the local Warwick Information centre - something I would definitely recommend you do if you ever go - and we found out from the locals that the signs are in fact old. The route is no longer laced with sunflowers like it was a few years back. The locals proceeded to tell us the best spot is 1 km from the Glengallan homestead. Having driven hours we stopped at the beautiful homestead on the way and had a milkshake :P

We left at 11am that morning we finally came across the sunflowers at 4pm, but oh my it was worth it. I could not believe how beautiful they were! It seemed almost never ending.



The next day we went to Picnic Point in Toowoomba for breakfast. The breakfast was delicious and the view was amazing! I have been to Toowoomba once before and couldn't believe I had never been to this place! It's so lovely and super easy to get to.

Before leaving Toowoomba, we stopped at the lovely Queens Park Gardens. Toowoomba being famously known for its incredible gardens, as always it did not disappoint.

And that was our 24 hours in Toowoomba. I had a lovely weekend and can't wait to go back to the lovely country town sometime soon. Have you ever been?

They say time is an illusion. But whether we like it or not our lives revolve around time. We have become dictated by it. I joined up with JORD watches to explore this idea more and see how we can work around 'time' in a better way - along with cute wooden watches. 

Society is obsessed with time. We map our lives around it. I guess it's just the way it is, but time was (and sometimes still is) something that makes me anxious. I worry about being constricted to a time frame - I’m not like everyone else, what if I take longer? I also worry about the time I have missed since being sick. Years I can’t get back. 

But this is the wrong way of looking at time.

Time is a good thing or it can be if we make it. I haven't used a watch in a while - I just rely on my phone. However, this means wherever I go my phone comes with me - which I really do not want. I get so distracted, seeing messages and notifications, it makes me continually think. Which stops me from living in the present moment. But since having a watch, I am loving the transformation of my relationship with time. I can check the time and simply focus on the time. I am not distracted by everything. And I'm not going to lie, I am kind of surprised by how much I love it and how much it helps me stay present. 

As I said before, time is a good thing if we make it. So watch yourself (pun intended) because it is easy for us to stress about time and this is simply wasting time over time - confusing right? What I am trying to say is, just be mindful and stay focused, we can only handle one thing at a time. I viewed time as my enemy but I’ve made it my friend. Because I wasted precious time worrying, when I could have been living.

Time and watches give us structure, and if we use them correctly they will helps us to make the most of the time we have.

So here’s a little **giveaway ** (click here to fill out the form) and sneak peak into JORD's wooden watches - so you can make the most of time whilst looking pretty ;) 

They carry both women's watches and men's watches - but most are honestly unisex if you ask me. I think the wooden design is so unique 







Luxury Wooden Watch

• Second hand records from an op shop (usually about $1 each) 
• Silver cake stands/platforms from bargain city ($3) 
• Plant holders from kmart ($5-$6 depending on the size) 
• Adhesive glue from bunnings (I tried two different types Shelleys KwikGrip and I can't remember the other ahah but anything that's stronger than regular craft glue should be good) 

I've been seeing these straw hats all over the instagram lately and figured why not try make one? You can also personalise the writing to suit you. You don't need many materials, time or much skill to make one :P It's a great DIY to do in an afternoon no waiting for paint or glue to dry - super easy and quick :)


All you need is:

• Hat - I got mine from Kmart for $7 
• Hot glue gun (I tried craft glue as well, but did not find it very effective)
• Sequin string or ribbon 
• A pencil and scissors 

Pick the Words 

First you need to decide what word or phrase you are going to write on your hat. I chose Sea You Later because I'm a sucker for puns but here are a few others online if you are looking for some inspiration.

Lay Out and Trace 

I started laying the letters out free hand for the first two words, but would definitely recommend tracing onto the hat first! It makes your gluing a lot easier!

Trace your letters onto the hat and line up the string or ribbon to check before going ahead and gluing.

Glue it on and Touch up

Now you are hot gluing you have to be prepared to move fast! This is kind of tricky at first but you get the hang of it as you go.

At the end I went over some areas with more string to make the words bolder and to cover up my gluing mistakes :P









And that is all! I hope you guys enjoyed it and try it yourself! It's easy and quick :) Let me know if you have one of these hats or have tried making one! What do you think of this trend?

 As I'm sure you all know, the embroidered trend is everywhere this year. Recently I was looking online and came across some embroidered shoes on boohoo - not wanting to pay shipping or for $40+ shoes I may only wear for the season I decided to make them 😊



I had done embroidery in Home Ec at school in grade 9 and that was about it. I have no fancy sewing skills for sure! This isn't as hard as it looks 😋

The great thing is you can chose your own design and colours and make it as unique as you want! You don't have to sew flowers, you could do animals, quotes or pictures whatever you'd like!