Guest Blogger - Jacana

It's Tuesday and it is time for another getting to know you session in my guest blogger series.

If you missed my news about guest bloggers you can read about it here

If you'd like to participate please drop me a note to

nellie@mccarthydesigns.com.au

This week my guest blogger is Susan 

Susan's blog is Jacana and  having only recently found Susan's blog I really enjoyed getting to know her a bit better through this guest post, I hope you enjoy it too.

      Why did you start to blog and how long have you been blogging?

Michellefrom Home, Love and Life As I Live It is the person who is responsible for getting me hooked on blogging.  She use to be my neighbour. We both watched the Movie Julia and Julia around the same time and how she blogged her way through her goal. 

A few weeks later Michelle began her blog and then I began a blog called Dragonfly-Realisation.  I decided just like the movie Julia and Julia I would find a goal based around something that I loved and whilst I attempted to achieve the goal I would blog about it.  Dragonfly-realisation was about getting 365 books given out as travelling books in 365 days.  I am pleased to say I achieved this goal and possibly got a few children reading and save some books from landfill.

I enjoyed the blogging experience so much that I then started Jacana.  Jacana is a bird that I use to see every day when I lived in the north-west of Western Australia.  I use to think how amazing it was that this bird always looked like it was walking on water.  The locals use to call it the Jesus Bird.

What do you mainly blog about?

I blog about my thoughts, my dreams and my goals.  However if something that is happening in the world or around me that takes sparks my fascination, I also write about that.   I am a school teacher so I also blog about ideas from the classroom.  As a reader I also have a page in my blog of the books I have read so far this year.

However, I mainly blog about my goals.

Do you have a major goal and what is it?

I set myself a goal at the start of the year to attempt to make a few ripples in the world for the better (small delicate ripples, just like the Jacana Bird).  My goal is to do the things we all think about, but never get around to doing. A few examples of these type of things include, sponsoring a child in Cambodia, I joined the Kiva website and give loans to people around the world trying to make their life better (such as education, house, business etc) and I donate my time to a local charity story to name a few things. 

Another goal I am aiming for currently is to give more time to myself.  Get fitter, look better and do things that make me happy.   To change my attitude from putting myself last all of the time, like many of us women do.

Aiming to go from this

to something more like this  

Hence why you can now finds posts on my blog like how to dye your eyelashes at home.

What is your dream job?

So far in my life I have been a dental nurse, a shop attendant, a function co-ordinator, a tour guide, a flight attendant, a book keeper, a secretary, a remote mining camp manager, a beautician, a barmaid, a babysitter, a receptionist and an employment officer.  I enjoyed each and every position; however none of them were my dream job.

Five years ago I made the move to get my dream job. In my forty’s I went back to University and studied.   Which at times was a challenge because of my work in my husband’s business and I am a mother to 4 children, all who were still at home when I started my teaching degree.   I am now doing my dream job which is an upper primary school teacher.

What does a normal day for you look like?

A normal day is probably fairly boring to others but exhilarating to me.  It is filled with teaching children how to learn.  

  

What is the most used appliance on your kitchen?

My slow cooker

It is my dream machine.  It works like magic ..... In the morning I throw ingredients into it and I come home after school to a meal.  Da Da!    Right now it is turning ingredients into a pumpkin and leek soup.

Do you buy things for your house because they are pretty or because they are functional?

I am Miss Functional.  I usually, only purchase items for the home that are needed and serve a purpose. 

However if you look hard enough in my home you can see glimpses of some pretty things that show who we are.

A statue that goes on display every time our son who is with the Australian Army is sent to a war zone.  She recently stood as a reminder for over 14 months whilst he served in Afghanistan.

  

There are signs of my love and fasination of dragonflies.

  

Small signs of my husband’s fascination with Budda from our many trips to Asia

Are you a homebody or a traveller?

We are definitely travellers.  Our passports have more stamps than our children’s exercise books from school.   We have plans in place to eventually base our home in Kuala Lumpur. 

Each year my husband and I take time out to travel overseas together.  We have a fascination with Asia.  So far I have spent a lot of time in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, New Zealand and Japan.   I have also spent a little time in Indonesia. 

At times we also travel for work, my Husband’s business.  This mainly takes us to our favourite country China.

I backpacked Australia as a teenager.  Also having previously having been a flight attendant for Ansett Airlines I am very well travelled in Australia.  I have also lived and worked all in every state of Australia, except Tasmania. 

As I am married to a work-a-holic, so the children’s school holidays are left to me and them.  I have taken my children north in a campervan for a long holiday and south by car for short weekend trips.  They have also been to Queensland with me.  I plan on taking my daughter to Melbourne this year for some mother and daughter time.

All of my children have been overseas.  Two have a fascination with Europe and have done university exchange programmes there.  And of course my son, the soldier has seen the worst places on earth.

We are definitely a family of travellers.

How do you relax?

I work hard so that I can afford to travel.  When I am travelling, I am relaxed.

Where do you get your inspiration from?

I live in a town that is on the ocean’s doorstep in the south west of Western Australia, south of Perth.  I find this place is full of inspiration, even on a grey winter’s day.

Thanks Susan, it was such a pleasure hosting you today as my guest

Please pop over and say hi to Susan she has a lovely blog that I am sure you will enjoy.

I would love for you to join in and be my guest just email me to

nellie@mccarthydesigns.com.au

xx

Guest Blogger - Peaches & Maple

Happy Tuesday & welcome to another getting to know you session in my guest blogger series.

If you missed my news about guest bloggers you can read about it here

If you'd like to participate please drop me a note to

nellie@mccarthydesigns.com.au

I promise it's not hard and getting to know more about each other is fun :-)

Today's special guest is the lovely Cas who blogs at 

Peaches & Maple

I love Cas' style and always enjoy my visits to her blog, if you are a sticky beak like me then you will love the  tour of her house. 

Go over and have a look.

Why did you start to blog and how long have you been blogging?

I started blogging just over a year ago as a way to record the renovating and decorating process of our first home, but since then blogging has become so much more to  me.

What do you mainly blog about?

I mostly blog about renovating our home and decorating it in country-coastal style, which essentially means painting everything white and throwing seashells around ;) But occasionally I'll blog about  family life, recipes and blogging itself.

What does a normal day look like for you?

Well, generally I open my eyes in the morning, work through the fleeting moment of existential dread, kiss my husband goodbye, drag my kidlets out of bed, pack school lunches, herd the kidlets into their uniforms, yell at them to make their beds or I won't give them breakfast, feed all the pets we have somehow accumulated, put the washing on, unstack/restack the dishwasher, hang the washing out, fly out the door, tell the kidlets to tuck and roll at the school gate, stop at the supermarket to restock on items that I swear I'd bought only yesterday with the grocery shop, grab a coffee, put the house back together, bash out a few blog posts, paint some stuff white, organise dinner, pick kidlets up from school, ferry them around to their various extra-curricula activities, come home, help kidlets with homework, fold washing, cook dinner, kiss my husband hello, kiss my kidlets goodnight, go to bed with a book, fall asleep within five minutes still holding said book. Nope my day doesn't have any full stops either, just a lot of commas.

Most used small appliance in your kitchen?

That would be the kettle! Oh and the electric beaters come a close second because we bake a lot of cupcakes :)

Do you buy things for your house because they look pretty or because they are functional and serve a purpose?

I mostly buy things for the house for their aesthetic value, but if I have to buy something functional then it has to look pretty too.

What is your dream job?

The one where you get to sit and look at decorating books all day and eat lots of cake without getting fat. I don't think it's been invented yet.

Do you have a major goal this year and what is it?

I basically just want to get as much as humanly possible done on our house. We are currently finishing off the ensuite and laundry and I would like to get the bathroom, toilet and kitchen done too. We shall see!

Where do you get your inspiration from?

I used to love reading decorating magazines and had a massive pile of them at one stage, but I have found that a lot of them are being overrun with advertisements these days. I still have a collection of my favourites though, that I will refer back to frequently. I also have a couple of interior design books sitting on my coffee table that I leaf through quite a lot. But I would have to say that blogs are by far my biggest source of inspiration...real girls like you and me just doing our own thing and making our homes attractive and comfortable with what we have.  The supportive, sharing aspect is what I love the most about blogging in the DIY and decorating niche.

Are you a homebody or a traveller?

My husband and I are very much homebodies whose idea of a good time is a movie and a block of chocolate. Occasionally, we do get itchy feet though and then we'll plan a holiday.

How do you relax?

I love to read. A lot. Especially at this time of year, my husband, our kidlets and I will just mooch out by the fire and read for hours. 

Thanks Cas, I loved reading your answers and it was great to get to know you a bit better. 

Please pop over and say hi to Cas and while you're there have a look around she really does have a lovely home and a few tutorials for you to browse through too.

xx

Guest Blogger - Home, Love and Life As I Live It

Hi and welcome to my first Guest Blogger post. 

If you missed my announcement you can read more about this series here

My very first guest is the lovely Michelle her blog is called Home, Love & Life As I Live It

I met Michelle through blogging and we connected instantly. We have so much in common and I have really enjoyed getting to know her better and chatting throughout the day on Facebook or via emails.

Michelle happily offered to be my guest and graciously shared more about her and her life. I hope you enjoy getting to know her better as much as I have.

Why did you start to blog and how long have you been blogging?

I started Blogging because I love to write and get to know different people. I hoped my blog would lead me to people with similar interests to myself and thankfully it has. I have been blogging for 9 months now and I love it each and every day and enjoy reading fellow bloggers blogs as well.

What do you mainly blog about?

I blog mostly about my life, family, decorating my house and life in general. If I should learn a new skill then I like to pass that on to my readers as I believe we can all teach each other something even if we think we can’t.

What does a normal day look like for you?

A normal day for me starts at 5am when I get up with Chris as he’s getting ready for work. Once he’s left I make a coffee, sit down with my laptop while everyone else is asleep and blog or catch up on blog reading or emails. I like to do this early as it’s the only time of day I have complete quiet. Then once Bec and Luke are up (usually around 7am) the day starts with the usual breakfast, then tidying up, maybe run a few errands in town and then home to some gardening, looking after crazy animals and planning how to decorate the rest of my new home.

Most used small appliance in your kitchen?

This would undoubtedly have to be my coffee machine....I can’t go a day without a good cup of coffee and though I try not to drink too much some days I just need more than one cup  J

Do you buy things for your house because they look pretty or because they are functional and serve a purpose?

Hmmm this is a tough one....I would have to say a bit of both...I recently bought a new doona cover as I’m decorating with a new scheme and have to say this doona cover was bought purely out of prettiness.....I always try to buy for functionality first but sometimes functional isn’t pretty enough so I’ll wait and see if something pretty and functional combined will come along.

What is your dream job?

This is hard as I have a lot of interests which I would love to turn into a career....my first and foremost dream job has always been to be a hairdresser...these days I would love to write a column of some sort, interior designer or a photographer.....

Do you have a major goal this year and what is it?

In the blog world for myself my goal would be to develop my blog to the best it can be and have a whole lot of new visitors. Personally my biggest goal would be to become a mum again....

we’ll just have to wait and see how that one goes..... J

Where do you get your inspiration from?

I think I get most of my inspiration from what’s going on around me within my family and friends. I also find I have some amazing friends (they know who they are) who inspire and encourage me when others don't. If I find I'm lacking inspiration then I head to the beach as I find some time there always refreshes my mind and soul.

Are you a homebody or a traveller?

I think I would class myself as both...I love my home and my creature comforts but I love to get on the road and explore new places. Ideally I would love to take a year to travel and take lots of photos but I think that will be waiting until Chris retires..

How do you relax?

I love music and I’m a huge country music fan...yes people I love the country so stop with the faces hehehe.....I find even if I have work to do as long as the music is going then I'm relaxed. However when I'm just 'relaxing' I love to have a coffee and a chat with a good friend or go for a drive with Chris and obviously when the weather is good it's straight to the beach for me.

Thank you Michelle for being my first Guest Blogger, it was so lovely to learn more about you and your life.

I hope that you all enjoyed reading Michelle's answers and please pop over and say Hi to her at her blog:

 Home, Love & Life As I Live It

If you want to participate in my Guest Blogger series, I would love that! Just send me an email to

nellie@mccarthydesigns.com.au

xx

Guest bloggers welcome!

Yesterday I mentioned that I would like to start a regular post for guest bloggers. To start with I will be asking everyone the same 10 questions so that we can all get to know you each other a little better :-)

Thank you to the wonderful ladies who have responded already and offered to be involved. That's great and I am so excited. 

You don't need to have your own business and it doesn't matter whether you have been blogging for years or you have only started, I would love to hear from you and have you participate.

If you are interested send me an email to nellie@mccarthydesigns.com.au

Thank you to everyone who had a look at my Event Styling section on my website. I really appreciate your feedback and your comments gave me a lot to think about.

Last night I spent many hours researching Wordpress and different options for hosting my blog and my store both on my own domain and at this stage I have decided to leave it all as it. I have added some pages to my blog and some new ones to the store that feature some photos of my work. I will be adding more as I go but having only just started my own business I am not sure that I will be able to find many of different events :-(

I am not thrilled with the options I have on my store to display photos but I will keep working on it. It is probably a case of the user not the website :-)

xx

PS. I have a giveaway running on my Face book page, for more details visit here