My house progress

Thought it was about time I updated you on the building of my house.
It's starting to get so exciting, it's actually looking like a real house (if a house had no walls!?). Anyway, we have had only minor hiccups along the way and are generally running to schedule (touch wood).
See the piccos below of what we've been up to (okay I haven't done much, but what my boyfriend and his crew have been up to).

My man building the garage frame 11/03/13

Frame is up! 23/03/2013

Me (looking disgraceful after LMFF) painting the fascia 23/03/2013

Fascia is up. Eaves being hung. I painted those eaves too! 06/04/13

Roof is on (although you can't see it from this angle). Wall insulation starting to go on. 20/04/13

Windows starting to go in. That's the back of the house, my future bedroom! 20/04/13

Bec's boyfriend (my boyfriend's brother) has been busy rouging in all the electrical wires. 24/04/13

So, unfortunately, a number of our windows and stacker-slider doors were damaged in transit, so we've had to send them back.
On a happier note, the timber cladding (silvertop ash) has arrived so that can start going on while we wait for new windows and doors!

Next time I update you, it will really look like a house, walls and all!


♥ Holly xx

Fitspo Friday

Last night me and my bf booked our flights to Paris (and the return flights from Barcelona), I am officially ridiculously excited!!!!
We're leaving on July 31st, so when we get there all the way over from little ol' Australia, it will be the 1st of August and it will be summer! (summer is from start of June to end of August, in case you didn't know)
We are travelling from Paris, down to Bordeaux, across the border to San Sebastian and lastly to Barcelona (and maybe another place of two depending on how it all pans out). We have got three weeks to explore these wonderful and most wondrous places.
We chose this time of year deliberately because we want to relax on the beaches of south west France and Spain - and HOPEFULLY we will have built our house by then too! 
However..... so Bec might be extremely consistent in her health and fitness routines (read about her health dedication here, here, here and here), I, alas, am not *sad face* (that chocolate seems like a great idea at the time and generally I prefer sleep to sweat). 
Now these Europeans get around in nothing but a skimpy bikini bottom and I can't even confidently strut around in a full-covering bikini! So I've got some work to do.
Hence, I have frantically searched the web for some seriously inspirational bodies! I need to get my butt in shape.

I do take some comfort knowing I have a solid 3 months (well 3 and a half months) to tightly tone myself into a cellulite and flab-free goddess. Okay maybe not a goddess, but I need some improvement! 

Anyone else in this situation?
 
This is the beginning of my journey to a fit fab and fantastic figure.

Is these super amazing bodies can't inspire me, then I have no chance at all...

Oh, and if anyone has any ideas about France or Spain, please pretty please let me know. We've never travelled in Europe before and any advice, suggestions would be much appreciated.

♥ Holly xx

All images from tumblr

Adventures of late. 12 week challenge.

Hello Hello!
It's been a while since I've spoken about fitness or the challenge....
Don't worry, I haven''t neglected the 12 week challenge... completely, well at all really. I have still been working out like a motherf***er but let's just say the Easter bunny came... and I caved at the sight of a Lindt bunny... and maybe a hot cross bun.... and possibly a few other random chocolates.... Never mind.


Over Easter my bf and I decided that it was a good time to get away and have a little holiday. We wanted to go up the coast, and he had been dying to camp. After hearing great reviews from friends who go every year, we decided to go to Crescent Head. Crescent head is midway between Port Maquarie and Coffs Harbour, which for those who don't know is on the Northern Coast of N.S.W. Which for those who are geographically challenged... is in Australia.

We split the drive in two and stayed with relatives in Canberra for a night both ways. This meant that it was pretty much two drives of 7.5 hours.

If you already follow @poodlestalkers on instagram you may have already seen some of these pictures (taken from my iphone). If you don't already follow us... you should start :)



A cider by the beach.... heaven!





Apologies for the quality of this image!



How amazing are these photo's! Crescent Head is such a beautiful place and is only a small little town. I really recommend it for those who want to relax.

We ended up coming home a day early because it rained and we were on the verge of a camping disaster... think flooded tent.

We must've looked like we were really struggling with our tarp because numerous fellow camping neighbours often came up to us with their "camping advice". It was borderline embarrassing, but funny at the same time.

I'm  not sure when the next camping trip will be... I think we will have to be a little more prepared! Such a great few days though and I managed to sneak in some amazing beach runs.

Speaking of running, and fitness.

I completed my first long run a few weeks ago. If you remember I was really nervous (you can read about it here) because I'd never run over ten km before, and this run was 15km.

The fun run was a fundraiser for The Royal Children's Hospital.

The race was completely fine! I had a really steady and good pace going and I manged to run the whole way. My finishing time was 1 hour and 33 minutes. Not too bad at all! Especially for a first time 15km effort!

The orange t-shirt I have on below is hideous.... they should have chosen a better colour for the run and maybe more people would've bought the extra fundraising item.



All nervous for my 15km run!





Spot me!



L'Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival

L'Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival

Poodle Stalkers hit up LMFF on Friday night.
We literally had the best time and have decided to make it an annual event. We only got our tickets a week ago so outfit planning was frantic! Gah.

Holly's outfit:                                                      
Top: Wayne Cooper                                                                  
Bag: Chanel (my fave)
Pants: Bardot
Shoes: Rubi
Accessories: my cuff is Breile, my watch is DKNY and my necklace and earrings are Tiffany. Lipstick is MAC (Viva Glam - Nicki Minaj)

Bec's outfit:
Top: A t-shirt I stole from my bf, can't say i own too many tee's from 'TopMan' but this is one, and I love the stripes!
Bag: Marc Jacobs
Skirt: Topshop leather number which I absoloutley love.
Accessories: My bangle was from Forever New and my necklace was a gift from my bf it's from Mimco.
Shoes: Tony Bianco... aren't they amazing!

This is what we wore!   

We went to Runway Show 5, which was supported by Harper's Bazaar and showcased these designers:
Sass and Bide
Arthur Gallan
Bassike
Ellery
Christopher Esber
Easton Pearson
Karla Spetic 

Some highlights:
Ellery: I adore this brand and they definitely bought it on Friday. Think stylish, sophisticated and daring all in one. Short shorts, leather, blazers... loved it all.
Sass and Bide are one of my favourite Australian labels and they definitely did not disappoint us! Think suits, white on white, total black and pops of neon. Everything was sleek and structured.
Bassike teamed geometrics with a galore of black and white outfits sometimes with a touch of red.
I have to say, one of the highlights of the show was Arthur Galan. But it really was so amazing.
If you want to see more from the show we went to you can check it out here

The show was fabulous, the models were gorgeous, the music was pumping, we had great seats and we enjoyed a glass of sparkling while we watched! We also got a copy of Harper's Bazaar on the way out.

haha we had so much fun taking weird looking pics of ourselves in the blue light. Avatar orrrrr....

We downloaded the LMFF app for extra info.

Afterwards we visited the L'Oreal Powder Room, where we both got our lips done (Holly got 'Pink Passion' and Bec got 'Cassis Passion.' We also picked up a goodie bag each that had a mini hairspray, shampoo, conditioner and treatment tester, as well as a primer, nail polish and eye shadow. Score!

The girl doing my makeup was such a sweetheart!

After we were all lipstick'd up, we headed next door to the Woolshed pub, where we enjoyed a few more wines along with some dips, squid and salad.


After all that we made our way to Crown Casino. Rest your mind, we're not gamblers (ok we might have bet $4 in the Miss Kitty pokies machine, but that's all, pinky swear), but we have a serious soft spot to indulge ourselves at The Waiting Room Bar at the end of a night out, it's very much our guilty pleasure. So, as usual, we thoroughly enjoyed an Espresso Martini each.

All in all it was a great night, that we finished off by strolling home and a few more glasses of red xx



How good is our view! A great end to a fabulous night.