2018 Health Kick?

Hello Creatives!

Twenty Eighteen has finally arrived and I can’t help but want to make it a reason to start new and make some changes in my life – beginning with my health. 

I go through these phases where im super unhappy with my body, so drastically change my lifestyle for a short period of time, then once im feeling better about myself again i let myself go and its a vicious cycle! I just cant seem to maintain the motivation! Anyone else feel this way?

I would love some tips and tricks about how to stay motivated. I will be starting full time work on the 22nd of this month, and im hoping that it will push me into a routine that ill be able to keep up with (really hoping that without being able to have ‘lazy days’ on weekdays, ill be able to stay focused).

I dont currently have a gym close to me, or the money to pay membership for one, so im really hoping ill be able to find a home work out program of some sort that ill be able to follow! Any suggestions?

Ive had a go at a few free apps, but so far the Nike Training Club app is my favourite! You can create a plan and it will give you different work outs to complete in order to reach your goals. Theres options to complete work outs with out without equiptment, and from beginner to advanced and low intensity to high.

I pretty much need some motivation so if anyone wants to give me a kick up the arse, go ahead! Haha!

Until next time,

Lana xxx

Snow Day!

Hello Creatives,

How are you all? In between George and i’s masters graduations (you can find that post here!) we took a little trip down to Telford where my mums side of the family live and we managed to hit the snowiest few days Telford has seen in at least 6 years (apparently…)!!

George said himself that he hadn’t seen snow as deep, fluffy and heavy as it was since he was a child (and the boy is now 24!), so it was great fun for us all. Isn’t it funny how snow can turn the most mature of adults into children in a split second! Snow balls were flying left right and center, snow angles being made in every fresh patch of snow to be seen. It was soooooooo much fun! And thanks to previously working outdoors as an Ecologist, I had wellies in the boot of my car to wear!

The car park of the hotel we stayed in unfortunately didn’t grit their land so my wee Ford Fiesta was left there to gather snow whilst we used dads Range Rover to tackle to roads!

Here… look at this… this took forever to clean (cheers to George’s mum/my mother in law/Claire for my scraper! It saved the day!):

Unfortunately due to the mad snow, our booked family Christmas dinner at the Iron Bridge had to be cancelled as all roads leading to it were closed to do weather and the restaurant itself lost power – oops!

But as one of my aunties lives in Lawley, there’s a little local pub within walking distance, and it was the perfect spot for 10 of us to enjoy each others company!

Here we are, loving life:

Snow days don’t come around too often here in the UK! How do you enjoy your snow days? Are your christmases white? Or hot? I’d love to know!

Until next time, and Merry Christmas for tomorrow!

Love Lana xxx

Goodbye Nottingham, Hello Bristol!

Hello Creatives,

Wow it has been complete madness since the beginning of October.. I left on a solo trip on the 6th October to Malaysia to visit family that I hadn’t seen in 6+ years and surprised my last grandparent – I’ll do a blog post all about it, it was hectic, but amazing! I was back home on the 16th and that’s when it got busy!

My mummy and daddy arrived for a visit two days later and in that amount of time I managed to bag myself a job and find out I’ll be awarded with a Merit for my Masters at my graduation in December!

But just as a little update on our lives…

We have also packed up all our belongings from our lovely two bed flat in Nottingham, and moved down to Bristol to start our next adventure!

Long story short, it was becoming far too expensive to continue living where we were whilst unemployed, as now that we’re no longer students, a whole load of other bills were coming through – e.g council tax.. just under £140 a month?! Ouch – we thought it would be much more financially viable for us to relocate into Georges mums house whilst our job search continues! (I now have a job, but I’m able to commute!)

So today we unloaded all the boxes, half into storage and half into the house. So. Much. Stuff. I can’t wait to see what Bristol has to offer, even if we are only here a couple of months!

Anyway, tomorrow is Georges 24th birthday, and I can’t wait for cake! (He’s a wee photo of us from the other night at his aunties 60th birthday party!)

Next update soon!

Love Lana xxx

I Tried Rug Punching!

Hello Creatives!

So I've heard many names (I believe latch hooking may be one?) and seen different techniques but I've given it a go with what I have, and I have found that I love Rug Punching! I've also found it's a great way to use old scraps of yarn that are too short to crochet!

So don't go getting all excited and expect some wonderful creation, I've simply spelt out LOVE on a piece of burlap/hessian and forgotten to take photos of my progress…

Or maybe I'm saving that for another post

I used a crochet hook as I am yet to purchase a rug punching tool (which looks totally cool, in a really nerdy way)

Here we go:

I did this completely free hand, as apparently I don't own pencils anymore! However I managed to get myself some and then proceeded to add some floral decoration to the outside by drawing outlines to follow!

I haven't decided if I want to fill the background in yet as I love the way it looks currently and I may end up turning it into a wall hanging or frame it!

I'll post an update once I've decided what I'll do next… or if I can't decide and need some opinions!

Rug punching seems to be growing in popularity lately, and I want to make a stool cover/topper at some point! But unfortunately my Masters Thesis deadline is fast approaching and I have some serious writing to do – I reaaaaaally don't want to!!!

Have any of you tried it before?

Until next time,
Love Lana xxx

My First Crochet Pillowcase

Hello Creatives!

On the 2nd of July it was my 22nd birthday so George and I decided to jump on a plane to Spain to spend it with my family! I really wanted to bring a gift along with me, but had been so busy that I hadn’t been able to pick anything up, so naturally I decided to crochet something! 

I started the night before we flew off, and realised I wouldn’t be able to finish my project before we had to leave, so I decided to bring it with me!

I decided to crochet a pillowcase that matched the houses ‘theme’. 

Here was my view whilst I crocheted away on the plane:

They loved it! I’ve found that I’m not the best at joining squares together. It seems to be even whilst I do it, then once I’ve joined it all together I just don’t think it looks right!

Above is my pillow case on the sofa in our Spanish home!

Any improvements I could make? I should have taken a photo of the back, but the pillow is fully removable so that the case can be washed if needed!

Love lana xxx 

How I organise my yarn!

Hello creatives! 

So up until a week ago, my yarns were A MESS. I kept getting new baskets to put it al in, but because I’m not organised enough they’d get all tangled and I’d forget half of the stuff I owned because I couldn’t see it! I’m sure you’ve all been there…

But after managing to kill my Aloe Vera plant (mum replanted it when she visited and it DID NOT agree with its new soil) and wanting to replace it, my boyfriend and I made a little trip to IKEA – my favourite place!

We left without the aloe vera plant (whoops), with some new sofa throws, a table runner, some tongs, AND MY NEW CREATION STATION! 

I wasn’t even looking for a new way to stash my yarn, however – you can fight me about this – thanks to the BEST BOYFRIEND IN THE WORLD, I was treated (without any prompting, and he was the one that suggested it) to my wonderful new storage: 

It’s still a little messy, some colours have now been used and I’ve added few more additions to the stash (he was kind enough to point out that I was missing a ‘proper’ orange 😂) but I am ECSTATIC about it. 

The rail which normal people would use for clothes was £6.50 with each column of pockets at £4 each! – just incase there’s any of you who like it as much as I do and live in a place that’s tight for space… (but we’re moving soon, woohoo!).

I couldn’t not share this, it brings me so much joy! And I’m so glad the other half is so supportive of my messy hobby, he’s even agreed to let me have a crafts room in the new place – A WHOLE ROOM FOR CRAFTS! 

I’m currently working on a granny square blanket in different tones of grey after a bit of inspiration from Pinterest, which I will definitely be sharing with you once it looks more like a blanket and less like a hankercheif 😂

Lana xxx 

I Tried Tunisian Crochet!

Hello, Creatives!

So I’ve recently given Tunisian Crochet a go, and I absolutely love it! I’m currently doing it on regular crochet hooks, but my Tunisian Crochet hooks are on their way in the post! I love how similar it looks to knitting, but isn’t! 

Here’s theee different stitches I’ve managed so far (I can’t for the life of me remember the names of them): 

Is it just me or does Tunisian Crochet work a lot quicker than other forms? I’d love to make a blanket or a cardigan out of Tunisian Crochet! 

Have any of you tried it? And tips, advice or fun things to make with it?

I’m horribly sick with the flu currently, bundled up on the sofa with a toilet roll and constant hot drinks! But Crochet is keeping me going haha! 

Love, Lana xxx 

Project and life update… 12/02/17

Hello creatives,

So I’ve been really slow with progressing on any projects recently! With having my masters research project proposal due, and being between cars whilst mine was in the garage, I’ve been slacking!

Throughout the night last night my other half was up every hour after being hit with his third lot of norovirus! The poor thing is so unwell and the doctors will definitely be called first thing in the morning. It is not normal to have norovirus three times in 3 months! We think he could be picking it up from the hospital/medical school that he’s currently studying in. 

We have recently started trying to be healthy again after being seriously lazy with our eating habits. Healthy smoothies for breakfast and more home cooked meals! Yesterday’s was a homemade chicken and spinach masala and booooy was it gooood! (I was very impressed with myself) and I even made enough for leftovers today! 

As george was up sick all of last night, he has been in bed all day today, therefore leaving me with the day (and the telly) to myself! 

With all this time, what I should have been doing is starting my home workout routine, however I picked up the crochet hooks instead! Whoops! 

Between cleaning the flat after a week of visitors, and checking up on george I’ve managed to come up with this single crochet soft toy (not complete as you can see…). Don’t ask me what it’s going to be, because I couldn’t tell you haha, and the arms look a bit like chicken wings hahahaha! I’m just playing around with it at the moment, but I really like the idea of the limbs and body all being one piece!

More progress has been made on my chunky double crochet blanket, and I’ll definitely need another 200g ball of wool to get anywhere near done! I’ll have to find somewhere to take a full photo of what has been completed so far!

Fingers crossed that george recovers as it looks like we may have to scrap plans about his mum coming to stay with us next weekend as we can’t afford to spread the illness! It also looks like our Valentine’s Day dinner booking will have to be cancelled on Tuesday unfortunately (I’m gutted because it’s the yummiest fancy steak house, but obviously health comes first). 

Hope you have had a weekend full of rest!

I’ll keep you updated,

Love, Lana xoxo 

Project Updates – 3rd Feb 2017

Hello, creatives! 

I told you I’d keep you updated on projects, and that’s exactly what I’m doing, woo!

Current projects:

Bunny Soft Toy: 

I finally finished her! She’s got all her limbs now and is currently sat in my yarn basket waiting for her dress to be made! 

I absolutely love her and all her little imperfections. I can’t wait to develop on my soft toy technique (especially attaching/sewing everything together) and develop some patterns for you all! I need to work on the ears a little bit before anything can be finalised! 

Double Crochet Chunky Blanket: 

I absolutely love sitting on the sofa watching telly and endlessly double crocheting (US terms) away at this chunky blanket. I recently finished my last ball of yarn and have recently purchased another, I love the change in colours! 

It’s going to be a while before this is finished, but I’m okay with that!

Granny Square Blanket:

These poor squares have been neglected. Some of them have had a white/cream edge added to them ready to be sewn together, but I’m pretty sure I’ve only completed 9 out of about 40 squares! 

No photos of these!

Wooly Hat: 

Oops, mummy’s going to be angry! I still haven’t started it! I keep telling myself that it’s going to take such a small amount of time that I can put it off a little longer… 

Surprise gift for a best friend:

I’m half way through this now, it’s a little amigurumi animal (keeping the rest a secret however..) and it just needs patching together and some eyes before it goes in the post to her! Photos will be uploaded once she’s received it!

Added projects:

I know I already have too many on the go as it is (with a masters degree on top!) but I couldn’t help myself.

When I purchased the new ball of yarn for my chunky blanket, I also picked up some super soft chunky yarn fit for some baby bits! My eldest cousin being pregnant is one of the most exciting things for myself, my other 12 cousins and the rest of the family, and living on the other side of the world to them makes me want to crochet endless bits and bobs to post over!! 

I haven’t started anything yet, however I’ll be sure to update you when I do!

I’d love you opinions on my current projects as well as some suggested ideas for new ones!

Next update coming soon!

Crocheted with love, Lana xxx

Snack On Life!

In order to be able to open up on this blog, i realise the more you know about me and this blog itself, the eaiser it is to relate. So lets start with this blog. I previously posted about my struggles with finding my feet with this blog (and i guess the fact that im still figuring it all out).  You can have a read here if you fancy!

The name of this blog was originally (and still in the URL) BlueHillSpace. You’re probably wondering whyyyyyy?  Well, honestly, picking a name for a blog is super duper difficult as youre stuck with it FOREVER (kind of..). I wanted something with meaning, something that would catch on, and something that i wouldn’t regret. It originated from the street that myself and my other half lived on in Wales when we started this blog up. It was called Brynglas Road, “bryn” meaning blue, and “glas” meaning hill. Pretty straight forward right? I guess it had meaning, and will always tie this blog to its birth location, and “space” highlighting the blog as a space for creativity.

Honestly, i guess i grew out of it in a way, especially when the clothing line ‘Zero Space’ came to an end. And i changed (the header name, as the URL is unchangeable) to Snack On Life, Freshie. I thought “freshie” sounded ‘cool’ and connected the blog to university life more, urgh such a bad idea, and as you can see i got rid of that preeeeeeetty quick. I also added the tag line of ‘what do you do when everything’s new?’ quite simply because it rhymed, nothing was new, i was in a very familiar place doing the same old familiar things…

“Snack On Life!”

Snacking is probably one of my favourite things, and although the message behind the slogan “Binge on life” would have been a lot more meaningful, i like snacking, it means you can take a break and when you feel like it, snack again.

“What do you do when everything’s new?”

Only recently coming back to this blog have i found my tag line VERY fitting. I will be moving to a new city, a new university, and a new living situation (although having lived with George for the past two years, we are now in our own apartment rather than shared accommodation!). Everything will be new, even down to having my first new car!

So what DO you do when everything’s new? Well, what im going to do is blog about it! Take it all in and blog about the experience.

Are you starting something new? Let me know! I really want to engage more!

Here’s to NEW,

Love Lana xxx