We have some great plans in the woodworks for our new little etsy store. Joel and I have been busy making some fabulous handmade earrings to sell soon. -So keep your eye out for them.
But until then, I have posted some awesome jackets up for sale, be sure to check them out!
Click here to find my Etsy store or copy and paste: https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/LaPomPair into your search bar.
Happy shopping all!
We did it! Yes it was hard, but yes it was fun and yes it was totally worth it!
I bet you want to see some pictures don’t you? I don’t know why I didn’t made this post sooner really. Welcome to our journey:
This is our lovely tandem bike, Daisy. We picked her up off gumtree a few months prior and gave her a beautiful face lift and paint job. Joel spent countless hours fixing up the bike and getting it into tip top condition, its amazing how much work you need to put into a touring machine like this.
And its quite surprising how many people thought it was painted as something other than a cow; such as a Zebra, Giraffe or Dalmatian (alright, I will let you get away with Dalmatian)
^And this is everything we needed for two people on a six week camping trip strapped on! We each had one pannier for clothes, toiletries and personal items on the front and packed T-shirts that we were happy to share. On the back we had two big panniers; one for food and the other for sleeping matts cooking gear, first aid kit and everything else that could fit. On top of that sat our giant double sleeping bag (totally worth the space and weight) and the actual tent. -You might be able to spot a frisbee in there too.
On the front handlebars Joel converted an old camera bag into the perfect removable pouch to store all our valuables and gadgets so we could lock up the bike, grab the front bag and be gone.
Maybe I will write another post about packing and gear, because by gosh there is a technique to it. And during the process I became quite proud of our system.
This is the tandem captain Joel, saying a last goodbye to the mainland.
Breakfast in bed/inflatable sleeping mat. -Not too shabby
This is Adam, and who would have thought we would meet someone accidentally so many times! We ran into him maybe 5 times in different places on our journey, so much that we almost expected to see him wherever we went. It was crazy.
This picture was taken at Falls Festival after all the punters had gone home. Everything the boys were wearing was scavenged from one camp site. We couldn’t believe how much waste everyone left behind -so so so many tents, mattresses, hats (as you can see), food, rubbish, clothes and just stuff. Whyyyy?!
In the picture above you will see me with the cutest wombats I have ever seen. The photo was taken seconds after seeing the allusive Tasmanian Devil on Maria Island. There are no cars on the island so you have to walk or ride around it- Bliss.
And you cant go past miniature ponies without saying hello, right?
What an adventure!
Did you notice that my helmet was made into a duck? I think there is a real market for novelty helmets that could be broken in to. The bill/visor was the best addition for the brutal Tasmania sun, and the googley eyes are just great. Always.
So many photos and stories, so little acceptable page space.
If you have any questions, leave them below. I’d love an excuse to do another blog on our trip.
On a bicycle built for two.. Its only a month until we leave now, so it’s starting to get real!
Six months ago there was no way I would even consider bicycle touring around anywhere, in fact this time last year I was only just getting on my bike in the city and it scared the bejeezus out of me! So many fast cars, so many hills (at least in Brisbane, where I was at the time), so much effort, -how could anyone consider this enjoyable?
Well something changed between now and then because cycling is now my main mode of transport and I hardly bat an eyelash when some young hooligan is fangin’ it down the street in their sports car next to me.
What a trip, so we have planned to ride down to Port Melbourne and catch a ferry across to Tasmania, then ride along the east coast for 6 weeks, stopping to volunteer at Falls Festival over new years then catching some of the Mona festival before flying home from Hobart. I have never been to Tasmania before and I’m so excited that this will be the way I first experience it, very slowly but surely.
Ive been doing a fair bit of training for this. As well as riding everywhere I can, I have been doing upper body, core and lower body workouts. Using some weights, going on some runs (until I get the inevitable side stitch), a bit of yoga here and there. Ive accidentally taken a timely break from all this over the past week so I will have to re-motivate myself and get back to it!
Joel and I have taken the tandem and ridden on some lovely rail trails around Victoria. We usually try to ride around 40km which is what we are planning to ride per day in Tas, or about 2 hours. We have all the gadgets now, a speedometer and a little sound system to make the ride very very sweet.
So about this tandem, Joel bought it a couple of months ago, after we decided at tandem cycling around Tasmania together in my summer break would be the best idea ever! We did a whole lot of eBay/gumtree watching and finally found the perfect-ish bike! We didn’t really know much in the world of tandems, so as long as it spun it was great. Its a retro french Gitane bike, which impresses everyone who knows about bikes apparently.. Score!
Joel’s has done a lot of research since then and has been working really hard for weeks and weeks to get it to tip top condition. And my request to paint it like a cow was fulfilled, which was bucket loads of fun!
Has anyone else done a tandem cycling tour before, or cycled around Tasmania? I’d love to hear about your experiences.
Watch out Tasmania, we are coming for you! (with lots and lots of love)
I’m back with another green tea recipe and this time it’s in spherical form. Join me in creating these guilt free little snacks to get you through the morning slump.
For these bliss balls you will need:
-desiccated coconut, cashews, walnuts, sunflower seeds, poppy seeds, chia seeds, hemp seeds, quick oats, nut paste, vanilla essence, filtered water, matcha green tea powder and dates for some sweetness.
And for outer:
Coconut, bee pollen, poppy seeds and extra matcha powder.
Method: Mix all your ingredients together in whichever form you like. I whizzed mine in a blender for a few seconds then moved onto hand mixing when I realised that a blender can only get you so far..
If you like a chunky consistency you can just roughly chop the nuts and dates then mix with everything else.
Make sure the mixture feels like a sticky dough so that it holds together nicely then cover in your favourite toppings.
Pop in the fridge for 10 minutes and you are good to go. Bring some to class too woo your mates or devour them all yourself. I won’t judge.
Happy rolling! x
One of the most nurturing things we can do for ourselves is to take a beautiful warm bath and have some me-time. And to step that up a notch I like to add some relaxing and detoxing ingredients into the mix. Continue reading
Soulful September has arrived. I have been thinking about this day for months.
I originally wanted to jump into the deep end and try to do everything with the peace and mindfulness of a zen monk but since the day has finally arrived and its not a distant dream anymore, I may have to be a bit more realistic.
So what nurtures my soul the most?
No 1. Nature. -Tomorrow I’ll be embarking on my first road trip along the iconic Great Ocean Road and getting reacquainted with my tent and the great wilderness during our camping trip in the Grampians. I’m quite lucky that this coincides with the start of Soulful September as I don’t have to put a lot of effort in to get my daily nature fix for the next few days.
No 2. Exercise. -I would love to confidently say that I will do yoga every day of September, and I will give it a shot but won’t make any promises that may cause me guilt later on.
So as you might know, I recently completed the 8 week I QUIT SUGAR challenge.
This is my reflection of the experience:
1. Sugar is in everything
If you have ever attempted a challenge like this then you know what I mean. It is a shocking revelation and an eye opening experience to start really noticing what is in our every day foods. It is expected to have to give up deserts and a few breakfast options, but I started asking restaurants and cafes what I could eat on their dinner menu and would walk out with no options. Sugar, in your risotto? Really? In your curries? Even in your sausage rolls? What is wrong with you? What is wrong with our society? Even the ‘healthy vegan’ restaurants I went to struggled to serve me something without sugar in it. Continue reading
On the weekend my boyfriend and I decided to make a spontaneous trip to Philip Island, which is about a 2 hour drive from Melbourne.
Joel was keen to do a Qi Gung class at Abbotsford, so we got up early and I read a book while he relished in ancient tradition. Afterwards of course, we had breakfast at Lentil as Anything. If you haven’t been there before or know what Lentils is about, check out their page here.
There was a farmers market going on outside the restaurant so we went for a wonder and look what we found: Continue reading
I had the best pancakes of my life this morning! And I’m so excited to share this recipe with you.
Get ready for a taste sensation:
Before you go ahead and make the pancake batter, boil or steam some fresh chopped pumpkin with a little dextrose and a pinch of himalayan salt. Once cooked, whizz it up with a stick blender and add to this mix:
Pancake Batter:
Gluten free self raising flour
Shredded coconut
2 Eggs
Little bit of Dextrose
Cinnamon
And of course, whizzed Pumpkin
*(Make sure to fry the pancakes in a pan with loads of ghee or butter! Don’t be afraid of butter, saturated fats are ace for the body, contrary to popular belief)
Now, caramelise some sliced banana in butter (no sugar needed, bananas are so beautiful and sweet cooked on their own)
Here comes the fun bit: Stack up your pancakes, top with the bananas, butter and drizzle with maple syrup if you are daring.
Enjoy my friends!
It’s the last week of the sugar free challenge for me, but that doesn’t really mean a lot as I’m determined to make this a normal part of my diet and lifestyle.
Since I am writing this on the 15th of July, it has just become apparent to me that today is the middle of winter (well, by the calendar’s standards). It can only get warmer and sunnier from here right? Thank goodness for that.
My tea consumption has been directly reflecting this situation. As well as my favourite Madam Flavour -Jasmine Green tea with Pear, I’ve found myself loving the Vanilla Sleepytime tea by Celestial Seasons -I don’t know how on earth I only just tried this tea for the first time, I have known this brand for my whole life. I have always dealt with insomnia and vanilla is my fave! It’s like this tea was designed for me. Ooooh yum.
Now, I’ve been learning a lot about the vitamins and nutrients in food and can I tell you something? Liver is the biggest superfood that ever was!
But offal is a no go zone for me, theres this mental barrier against it. It just freaks me out. But since liver has super high levels of essentially every vitamin, we could all forgo the morning’s green smoothie and just bring some pâté to your next dinner party. Joel was right into the idea and when we saw some organic frozen chicken livers at our health food store he jumped at the chance.
Now I must admit, it actually tasted quite nice once he was done with it. But it is going to take me a while to get over the mental ickiness of eating organs and consent to eating some at my own free will. But if you are cool with the idea, make some for yourself! It is just so good for you. But of course make sure that it is organic, as the liver is first in line to store and deal with toxins.
My weekend adventure consisted of dropping our lovely housemate to the airport as he was headed for New Zealand and taking his van to the Macedon ranges and sleeping in the bush. The rain, hail and extremely low temps didn’t get us down as it kind of just added to the experience. The last time I slept in a van was when I was in New Zealand, and I was more than happy to evoke those memories. It felt very similar this time round, we even found some more weird mushrooms! Nature continued to amaze us, as we were delighting in a morning bush walk between bursts of rain we saw trees frothing. Tiny bubbles were coming out of the trees, like little suds. What is that about?
Pepper and Pomegranates 