Life as I Know it // Working From Home

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I talked to my boss the other week and luckily I'm going to be able to continue working for the same company but from home in Invercargill. But I need some advice from my friends!

I'll have to set up a little home office. For a start I will be staying with the bf's parents while we look for a house, so my first home office will be temporary. I need some advice from all of you!

I'm a little worried I'll get out of bed, put on my dressing gown and start working. I'm not sure that's the best idea motivation-wise! Plus if I wanted to go anywhere at lunch time I would spend half my lunch hour geting ready to leave the house. I will still be working standard 9-5pm hours as I need to keep in contact with my boss during the day when I'm working on projects.

One thing I am looking forward to is being able to spend a bit more time on my blog and baking and cooking at home. With the complete cut down in travel time to work and being able to switch from my work computer to my personal computer in a couple of minutes hopefully I'll get some more exciting blog posts done!

Do you work from home or know someone who does? What tips do you have to stay motivated/keep on top of work? Have you seen/written any blog posts that will help me? What sort of things should I have in my home office? (apart from a computer, etc which will be provided) Help!!

Life as I Know it // Snow Day 2011

The view looking out from the mall carpark

The view looking up my St

The view from the top of my St

Hershey not too impressed with the white stuff

 Me making snow balls! (love my new hand-knitted headband from Trademe!)

Well hello! I thought I'd share some more pictures of the snow that graced Dunedin with its presence last week. Snow is usually a big deal around here, it's not too often we get it right down to sea level. The whole city usually grinds to a halt!

The bf and I went out for lunch to the local mall. The forecast was for snow, but we weren't prepared for how quickley it arrived! We were at lunch for half an hour, when we came out everything was white and we had to get people to push our car up the exit ramp so we could leave the carpark! After a hairy trip home, we left the car at the bottom of the hill and walked up. It was actually quite nice for a change, we walked to the supermarket to buy dinner and a few essentials (including hot choc and hot cross buns!) and introduced our puppy Hershey to the snow for the first time.

While it is pretty it was treacherous the next day as the whole lot turned to ice overnight. The bf had to stick around for an extra day (which was nice!) as he was unable to get back to Invercargill.

How did you go in the snow? I love it! Even though it can be inconvenient. And I ruined a pair of socks that I wore over my boots the next day so I could make it down  the hill safely!

Yes I am Still Alive!! Be Back Soon...

Me in the snow on Sunday

Wearing: Purple Jacket - Recycle Boutique, Grey Polarfleece - Shanton,

White T-shirt - Supre, Grey Nordic patterned tights - Columbine (Farmers), Black Skirt - Cotton On,

Boots - No 1 Shoes, Grey Beanie - The Warehouse

Hello Friends! I am still alive. I've been trapped in a snowy wonderland for a bit and haven't had a chance to take any outfit photos lately. I'm getting onto it though and will hopefully have some new posts up for you soon!!

Hi to all my new followers, I think I've checked out most of your blogs now, remind me if I haven't!

I've been working on a few changes to the layout of my blog too so hopefully I'll have that up soon.

Better go, I think my cheese rolls just exploded all over the sandwich press...bye!!

Cupcakes - Margarita Cupcakes

A comment was left on my Rhubarb Cupcakes post about margarita cupcakes - and I couldn't get them out of my head! I had some girly drinks last weekend and thought it would be a good chance to try these out. 

I used a plain cake mix that I can get from the Sugarcraft Guild I belong to, but you could just use a plain cupcake mix, like the recipe on my post above. I added a bit of tequila and some lime juice to the batter, as well as a pinch of flaky sea salt. The icing I used was the same as for the Rhubarb Cupcakes, with lime juice instead of lemon juice and a little bit of green food colouring. To finish them off I sprinkled a little bit more flaky sea salt over each one.

They were so tasty! It was really nice with the little bit of salt on top, it stopped them from being sickly and kind of broke through all the sweetness. 

We spent the night making traffic light drinks with Midori and  Grenadine - yum! My friend who wasn't drinking drove me home later and was happy to be paid in leftover cupcakes!

Are there any other flavours I should try out? These ones were so good! What's your favourite flavour? 

DIY Storage Solutions - Jewellery

I'm always after pretty, cheap ways to store things around my house, and these seemed perfect to store my jewellery. I found them at the Mosgiel Salvation Army a little while ago and they were a bargain at only a couple of dollars each! 

I use the little plate for my little earrings and the sugar bowl (I think that's what it is) for my larger, dangly ones. I keep seeing more of them at the store so I need to think of what else I could keep in them!

How do you store your jewellery? Do you hang up you necklaces, etc?

Outfit Post - Grey Days and Tutu's

 Grey Cardigan - Mosgiel Salvation Army, T-Shirt - Factory,  

Purple and Black Scarf - Unknown, Tulle Tutu Skirt - Recycle Boutique, Tights - Kmart,  

Boots - The Warehouse, 'Love' Ring - Lovisa

I took these photos outside my house last weekend, so they're a little bit old! I love this little house, it's a art deco townhouse. It's very compact which is great when you're trying to heat it and it has character and personality which I think every home needs! This is the view of the house once you emerge from the path through the trees before you get to the front door. It's so nice living hidden in the trees over looking the North End of Dunedin. 

This was my Saturday outfit for running some errands, including a visit to the local bakery for a cream donut, my weakness when it comes to bakeries!

I have had this tulle skirt for a while but haven't got around to photographing it until now. It's quite a fun skirt to wear and I always feel like a bit of a ballerina when I put it on! 

So many outfit posts include these boots. I do wear them all the time, and for the price I paid and the amount of wear they are getting I think they're holding up well!

I hope everyone had a great weekend. The bf made a quick weekend visit (I haven't seen him for 3 weeks) before heading to Invercargill to start his new job. I'll be going down in about 3 weeks, I've told my boss at work I'm leaving so it seems real now! Exciting times ahead!

Cake Decorating - Heart Cupcakes

A friend ordered these cupcakes the other day as she was leaving her job to start in a new position with the same company. She wanted chocolate flavoured cupcakes with a pretty coloured icing and girly decorations. 

I used a cake mix I can get through the Sugarcraft Guild for the cupcakes and a basic frosting recipe for the icing. They came out pretty good! She loved them which was great! With the money she paid me for them I purchased an ice cream scoop so all my cupcakes are the same size and some tiny little cutters in a variety of shapes (one being the little hearts on these cupcakes) I have decided any money I make from cake decorating should go towards new equipment, so I can update my already large collection and make even cooler decorations and cakes in the future!

These pictures will also be up on my Sequin Corner Cakes blog in the next few days. I hope I get to do more orders soon, it's so fun and I love getting feedback!

What do you think of the cupcakes? What simple decoration would be your favourite for a cupcake?