renewing my sewjo

Lately I've really struggled to get into my studio and sew.  This has been really getting be down lately so last week I decided to put my work aside and sew some things from my heart.

Here are some of the results

These, along with a few more, will be for sale on our facebook page very soon

Do you like them?

Shan x

I was hooked on a drug...

and that drug was sugar. I say was because I'm currently trying to detox from it and get this terrible addiction under control. I have read a lot about sugar addiction. I have detoxed several times before, but those detoxes always included dairy, alcohol, sugar, processed junk and meat. After each detox I always felt amazing, but slowly let the sugar and other things creep back in. 

Easter nearly broke me this year. I was at work for four 10 hour shifts and surrounded by chocolate. I lost control and felt absolutely terrible by the end of it. I decided then to do something about it.

So here's week one of my sugar detox, loosely based on Sarah Wilson's "I Quit Sugar" book. I jumped straight into week 3 and cut all fructose out of my diet, including fruit.

Scared but inspired I start Day 1 with no fructose. I made it through fairly easily and felt quite good at the end. I was hunting for sweets after dinner so made myself a fructose free hot chocolate which really helped

 

Day 2 again was easy enough and I was really enjoying trying to make my meals a little more varied and healthy each day. Lunch today was roasted beetroot and pumpkin with green beans and grilled haloumi. So delicious. I'm having to get my head around adding more fat into my diet but loving it.

Little sweet treats like this really helped. This is natural peanut butter, rice malt syrup, cacao powder and shredded coconut. So delicious with a hot cuppa!

Day 3 and I'm feeling the detox today!! A constant headache and the feeling of being cold to the core. I combatted this by eating, eating, and drinking a lot of tea and water. By the end of the day I felt a little better. I went to bed hoping it wasn't going to last long but knew it was part of the dtox that just had to be ridden out.

Lunch today consited of steamed brocoli, grilled haloumi with cracked pepper and lemon. It was delicious and really made me feel better.

Day 4: My headache is gone but I still feel cold. I had to say no to pavlova and birthday cake tonight which was hard but I felt great afterwards not caving in

Day 5: I know why they do it but it still always amazes me why people need to be so negative when others try and change for the better. Anyway I feel great today. 

Today I made up a new batch of coconutty granola with a chocolatey twist and it was divine! 

Day 6: I'm feeling really great. No cravings at all. I feel full when I eat and content. After dinner my head is still telling me to go and look for some sugar {from habit} but my body truly doesn't care for it. I resisted lollies and birthday cake at a party today VERY easily.

So there you have Week 1 done and dusted!! I am feeling great and hopefully I can continue

Shan x

Better than icecream...

... According to my girls

This simple and delicious dessert is a huge hit with my little ladies

It's simply one ripe or over ripe mango and 3 heaped tablespoons of Greek yoghurt blended until smooth and creamy in my magic bullet or blender

The consistency ends up like a mousse and needs to be eaten with a spoon

This mix we also put into icy pole molds and freeze for a healthy cold treat on these hot summer days

Would love to know if you make it for your little ones and what they think?

Shan x

lazy {but productive} saturday morning

I don't about your house, but ours is go go go. The weekends are usually no different. The girls are up at 5:30am EVERY morning and we just get up and make the most of the day. This morning though I was tired. A late night out with girlfriends for dinner and a few wines last night, chatting to the wee hours the night before and I'm feeling it. The girls and I have the day to ourselves so after snuggles in bed we had breakfast, showered and got dressed. While they were eating breakfast I made a big pot of vege soup for dinner tonight and some fresh mango and yoghurt icy poles as a little treat for dessert.

I then decided to do some crafting with the girls and make some art work for their grandparents for Christmas. My girls love nothing more than to craft. I had printed out these templates quite awhile ago but we just never seem to get them done.

After a quick demonstration....

... the girls set to work.

We used coloured ink pads and baby wipes to keep clean. The girls loved doing this activity and it kept them busy for nearly an hour.

We will get some frames for each picture and then wrap them up for christmas pressies.

Now off to watch the girls dance like ballerinas to classical music while I sip of nice hot cuppa tea.

Are you making handmade gifts for your family and friends this year? If so what are you making?

Shan x

something for me

we're well into spring and with summer on it's way i'm wanting to freshen up our bedding. I've started with a crisp white doona cover and some gorgeous pale blue sheets all in 1000 count egyptian cotton

next i'm working on making some scatter cushions to brighten things up

fabric is on it's way but here is a picture of the first one I whipped up this morning

i just love it, do you?

shan x

introducing spring love

welcome to our new range at missy melly

inspired by flowers, mint, navy and the warmth of spring

as always we have delicious clothing that your girls will love to wear as it's practical and comfy

the range can be ordered via our facebook page

enjoy

shan x

MY health kick

So today marks the day I have officially lost 25kg and over a 1/4 of my body! I have had several friends, work colleagues, strangers ask me how I did it. So this is MY story. Of course everyone is different and we all choose our own ways to make things work, but after a lifetime of yo yo diets I've finally found my groove.

I had to stop saying it was baby weight as my babies were were 4.5yrs old!! So I signed up to Michelle Bridges 12WBT but to be honest I didn't use it at all. I had a quick look and didn't really like it so went on my own. Saying that several of my friends have done it religiously and have had amazing results, but I guess I needed to find something for me that was going to be doable for the rest of my life not just 12 weeks.

I decided to calorie count and start moving more. I downloaded the app "myfitnesspal" to my iphone and started adding up everything i ate each day. I put myself on a 1200 cal restriction for the first 6 weeks and then changed it to 1200-1400 as I wanted to be able to do this forever. I also started to move every day. 30 min walks to start with but increasing to an hour 6 days a week. I bought a heart rate monitor and aimed to burn 400-500 cals per day 6 days a week. I did this strictly for 6 weeks to to get going. Several of my friends and work colleagues have used this app and as long as you stick to it they have lost weight. Saying that a few of them use most of their calories on unhealthy foods which in the long run will come back to bite them. It does go to show though that you can lose weight while still being unhealthy.

I then downloaded the app C25K which is the couch to 5km running program and started doing that. I couldn't do week one for several weeks and that was only running 30secs at a time. But I persisted and did each week as many times as i had to and made sure I ran all the sections they asked before going up to the next week. Eventually I ran my first 5km and now am running 10km. I also joined the gym and started doing body pump classes as I knew I had to increase my muscle mass. 

Now I do walking/running/swimming or something cardiovascular twice a week, weights twice a week and yoga or body balance once. So I don't do anything 2 days a week. Some weeks I do more and some I do less, but I stick to my caloric intake most of the time.

I have lost 25kg and have 5 more to go. When I get to that goal I will try and keep the exercise going and increase my calories slowly til I find a balance

So that's it in a nutshell. This has not been easy but it has been doable. I cannot described to you how awesome i feel and how much better life is now. My little girls notice it too and their attitude towards healthy foods and exercise has changed dramatically already. 

Shan x

introducing 2 of my new friends....

i have started a new blog and i would love to invite you over for a visit. this blog will still be going with all things missy melly but for a look at the WHOLE me you might want to add Frank and Mavis to your friends lists

you can find me here... Frank and Mavis

have a lovely day x

taking time for me

the past 2 years has been flat out... my business has gone from strength to strength and i'm not sure if i was ready for it all. this is the last year before my baby girls start school and i am not ready for that. you see i have to drop BOTH of my little girls off on the same day and come back to an empty house. in fact i may be still in the fetal position lying in the carpark at the end of the day or intoxicated in my PJs crying. who knows! but what i do know is that i need to spend more time with them now. real time. being present. being whole. being mumma.

so i have made the decision to close custom orders for missy melly for a while. i'm not sure how long yet but for a while. i need to be a mum again. i already leave my family every second weekend from 7am -7pm to do my intensive care nursing and that is really enough.

i will still be creating, still have items up for sale and missy melly will be back very soon but please understand why i need this time out

any questions can be emailed through to me at missymelly@hotmail.com anytime

have a fabulous day and thank you to all of my amazing supporters and customers for your support. i am truly blessed

mothers day classic and competition winner

so at the beginning of the year i could not run for 10m... i shit you not... i would be panting and huffing and light headed and generally feeling awful... so i started at that... just 10m at a time and walked between

yesterday saw me complete my first fun run at the mothers day classic in melbourne and i couldn't be prouder of what i have achieved

i found the run quite easy as i did the 4km and i have been running up to 6.5-7km in the past few weeks at home

i would never have thought that i would have been able to run the whole distance when i signed up a few weeks ago

my official time was 27 min 35 secs... not near my best time for 4km but when you're running in the masses and up 2 hills you go a bit slower

also i'm so glad to announce the winner of our guess my time competition and am please to announce that

BEC GOODWIN PARRY

guess my time perfectly!!! well done Bec... please email me at missymelly@hotmail.com to claim your prize or one of gorgeous swing dresses!!!

huge thank you to billy mac clothing for supplying our tees

and a huge thanks to everyone who has supported me on this amazing journey so far

i love you all

shan x