meal plan I account for the girls and do something that is easy to prep and serve, in case I get called into work myself. Tonight we're having roast lamb!

Ok, time for a craft post! 

For those of you who don't know me personally, I'm one of those people who is incredibly creative. I'm also one of those people who gets distracted very easily - a condition we call "Hey, look! Something shiny!" Because of this, I tend to bounce from one creativity to another with incredibly ease and nothing getting completed. In the storage unit right now I have about 3 small plastic tubs and a portable craft case of papercraft supplies - card stock, hole punches, stickers, ribbon, etc. In various corners of Mum's place I have tubs and shopping bags of sewing supplies - mostly fabric that I've bought in the last six months that I'm absolutely going to make something with. Some day.

My current obsession at the moment is crocheting. You guessed it, there is a tub and a basket of yarn and half made blankets all over the place. The intention is to finish it all and put it up for sale on Etsy. One of my commitments this year is to put action behind my "intentions". My life is full of "ideas" that never got any action behind them. Get the feeling my business mentor shakes his head at me a lot...?

So, I'm putting it out here for my small band of readers to keep me accountable! I am currently crocheting these totally adorable little tops and dresses. If you're into crocheting and want an easy pattern to follow to get the idea, this is where I learnt the foundation pattern. 

Crochet baby top or dress by marinella marifu6a

I hope everyone has had a fun and relaxing holiday period. Some of you will still be on holidays, some will be back to work, and some aren't lucky enough to have had a break yet. I hope you get one soon!

Instead of new years resolutions this year, I've come up with a small list of commitments instead. I've already made some business commitments with the Entrepreneurship group I'm part of, but I've also made some commitments to my health and lifestyle. One of those commitments is to turn digital devices off at 9pm, or an hour before I go to sleep, each night. I've been having a few auto-immune flares over the last couple of months, and a lot of this is being put down to poor sleep patterns. Sleep is so very important to managing your health, even when you don't have health issues like I do. Quality sleep is just as important as the quantity, and with all these screens we're staring at until we close out eyes every night, the chemicals in our brain that regulates sleep patterns is not being produced. So one of the steps I'm implementing is to elminate screens an hour before I go to bed. That means my phone is turned onto Do Not Disturb and the iPad and laptop are shut down. 

The only problem I realised with this plan, is that I use my phone as my time-keeper. 

So now I have a clock!

How awesome is this design! This now has pride of place on the wall at the end of the bed, so I can see it while I'm reading in the evening and keep an eye on the time. 


I've also made the commitment to post more on the blog, Instagram and Facebooke, so stay tuned for more activity from Aunty Button in 2017!

A couple of weeks ago I stumbled across a new product in the health food isle of the local supermarket while looking for some sugar/dairy/gluten free chocolate. It was basically three ingredients - dates, cashews and cherry flavour. And while it was great to grab a packet to satisfy my snack craving, a friend and I chatted over Facebook about how easy it would be just to make our own.

So I decided that that was exactly what I needed to do. Instead of the cherry flavour I added some cocoa and peppermint essence to my date/nut base to make choc mint snacks instead. And they were dead easy to whip up. Even Mum tried a couple through the week and loved them. I think I'm onto a winner!
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The mixture will look like crumbled biscuits, but will mould together nicely in your hand. Use a spoon to scoop mixture out and mould into a small ball in your hand. Continue with the rest of the mixture (I got approx. 12 balls). Put in a container and leave in the fridge for about 30 min to harden. Store in the fridge. I don't know how long they will last - mine were all eaten in 3 days!

This is a great recipe to whip up before picking up the kids from school, or to throw together in the morning when you need an on-the-go snack. Enjoy experimenting with different flavours too!

Me and the Bestie have been discussing food dehydrators for ages. Neither of us likes the fact that most of the 'good' dried fruit (strawberries, pineapple, mango, etc) have sugar added to them. These fruits are naturally sweet enough without the added nasties, thank you! Preservatives are also a big thing for my Bestie, because her eldest is allergic to them, and just about all dried fruit have them too.

So we've been talking. And talking. And still neither of us had one. They are just too expensive given our current economic climate.

And then Facebook advertised Groupon. Groupon had food dehydrators drastically reduced. Unfortunately the promotion is no longer available, but if you're not sure what Groupon is or how it works, wander over and have a look around, here.  You might just find a bargain on something else you've been looking for. It was a little bit of a risk for me, I have to admit. I'd never purchased from any of these kinds of sites before, but I knew this has been around for a while, and I actually signed up with them ages ago, but ignore the emails more often than not. But for a saving of around 75% I figured it was worth a shot. I did do a little research on the brand, and it seemed to be ok.
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I love Chrsitmas! Probably more than I love birthdays, actually. But I don't like Christmas before about the middle of November - mostly because in our family there are birthdays right up to mid December. It's a little hard to worry about Christmas when you're still on the birthday path! 
The thing about Christmas crafts, though, is you really need to start in August if you want things in your Etsy store in time. You guessed it, I've been Chrsitmas-ing! 
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I came across this pattern by accident while searching Pinterest for a pattern for crochet bells - does anyone else get completely distracted wandering around Pinterest? I was really intrigued by the idea of a crochet advent calendar, so thought I would get some yarn and give it a go. The pattern is from Erica @ 5 Little Monsters, and you can find it here. As you can see, they are the cutest little things! This is actually the first time I've followed a pattern that wasn't for granny squares, so I'm pretty stoked with the outcome. The first few look rather, um, practice-like, but as I got the hang of the pattern, and changing colours, they began to look just like little socks. 

The plan now is to mount some Christmas ribbon on a wooden board, and use some of those darling little wooden pegs to hang the stockings on. Some little tags with the numbers on to count down to Christmas Day, and gifts to hide inside. For something other than lollies or chocolates, there are heaps of suggestions on Pinterest. Of course!

It's Spring in Australia! Yay! Cheer! Get Excited!
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We have had a really good winter in Melbourne this year, and I am well and truly done of it! The cherry blossoms have been out for a few weeks now, and the days have gradually been getting a little warmer. I am very much ready for more Vit D and sunshine!

Because it's the 1st of September, it is also the first day of #sugarfreeseptember. My bestie posted this on Facebook yesterday and there are quite a few of our peer group taking part. With the lifestyle I follow I'm not supposed to have refined sugar or artificial sweeteners at all, and I watch how much natural sugar I'm consuming.  So you think this would be an easy thing for me to do, right? Nup. About four weeks ago I started a three week "I'm going to eat what ever I want" binge. Not a great idea, but hey I'm human too! So while I've been pretty good for the last week, I did eat 6 lollies in class yesterday because our Tutor likes to spoil those of us who actually attend. This challenge is a way for me to re-start my discipline when it comes to food.
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