Commitment to the 12 Week Body Transformation

I have committed to participate in the Michelle Bridges 12 Week Body Transformation, kicking off on 11 February. The goal that I'm working towards is increased fitness, but more importantly a smaller waist. You'll be able to look back at past posts and see that my measurements are not my best point, not in regards to being too big or too small, but just not in proportion (according to sewing patterns!).
It is currently "Pre-Season" for the 12WBT, and we have to go through a number of tasks, the current one being 'Say it out loud' - so I've posted in the 12WBT forum, on FaceBook and Twitter my commitment to the challenge. Hopefully this will help me stay on task and actually complete the challenge.

Mary. Queen of Scots

(1542 - 1587)

Queen of Scots

• Mary was the only surviving heir to King James V of Scotland. She was only 6 days old when her father died and was crowned when she was 9 months old. 
• A marriage was arranged for Mary to the Dauphin of France and she was sent to live in France when she was just 5 years old, living Scotland to the rule of competing regents. 
• The reign of King Francis II and Queen Mary in France was short lived, with Francis surviving for only 1 year after his coronation, after which Mary returned to Scotland. 
• During this time England had gone through the children of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I was on the throne. Many Catholics saw Elizabeth as being illegitimate (as her mother’s marriage to Henry VIII had been declared invalid) and considered Mary to be the Queen of England as well as Scotland. 
• Queen Mary married her cousin Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, however their marriage was short lived, as Lord Darnley died in mysterious circumstances just 2 years after their marriage. 
• Some historians point to Mary as a key figure in the plot to kill her husband, after Darnley had her private secretary, David Rizzio, killed in front of her under suspicion of being her lover and father of her child. 
• This marriage did, however, result in the birth of a son, James, who would later become King James VI (Scotland) and I (England). 
• The Earl of Bothwell, who was charged (and later acquitted) of Lord Darnley’s murder, kidnapped Mary and later married her. 
• This marriage was also short lived as the couple were driven apart through war, with Bothwell going into exile, being imprisoned in Denmark becoming insane and dying just 10 years after kidnapping and marrying Mary. 
• Mary was forced to abdicate from the Scottish throne in favour of her son James and ended up in protective custody in England where she expected assistance from her cousin Elizabeth I to regain her throne. 
• When assistance from Elizabeth failed to come Mary participated in many plots to free herself, regain her Scottish throne and take Elizabeth’s throne. 
• These plots led to her trial and execution by beheading.

This post is part of my "Well behaved women rarely make history" series.

Elizabeth Woodville

(1437 - 1492)

The White Queen

• Was married to Sir John Grey who fought on the side of the Lancaster’s in the Cousins War (the War of the Roses)
• After her Lancaster husband was killed in a battle against the York family, she proceeded to marry the York King Edward IV
• Edward IV and Elizabeth married in secret, and there were continuous rumours throughout her life saying that she had bewitched the King into marrying her, a commoner
• Her marriage to Edward IV produced a total of 10 children, which were added to the two sons she bore to her first husband
• She claimed Sanctuary at Westminster Abbey twice – once when the previous King, Henry VI, was reinstated and Edward IV was in exile. And once after the death of her husband Edward IV.
• Her two royal sons, Prince Edward and Prince Richard, were imprisoned in the Tower of London after the death of their father
• Prince Edward was ostensibly there to await his coronation, however his Uncle (and ‘Protector’) changed his mind and claimed the throne for himself, becoming Richard III
• The two Princes then disappeared – they are now known as the “Princes in the Tower” and it is unknown whether they died or natural causes, survived or were murdered.
• Elizabeth’s daughter, Elizabeth of York, married Henry Tudor (after he defeated her Uncle Richard III) and gave birth to Henry VIII – making Elizabeth Woodville the paternal Grandmother of Henry VIII.

This post is part of my "Well behaved women rarely make history" series.

New Year, New Me!

I'm not usually one for new years resolutions, in fact my resolution for the past couple of years has been "take more photos". And while I've put my camera in my handbag, and have a camera on my phone, I never really succeed in taking more photos.
But this year I have been encouraged by some friends to join them in a bit of a fitness push for 12 weeks, specifically the 12 Week Body Transformation which is run by Michelle Bridges - check out www.12wbt.com.

My goal isn't really to lose 'weight', but to lose some fat. My measurements are currently:
Bust - 33"
Under Bust - 30" (this is where I found I put on a heap of weight in the last 12 months)
Waist - 29"
Hips - 39"

From my post in January last year, "Baby Got Back" you'll see that really I'd just like to be in proportion. In order to do this I need to lose some waist, really about 4 inches. So that is my goal: get my waist measurement to 25" - hopefully while keeping my boobs at 33"!

A photo from January 2013 - unfortunately showing my belly and under-bust fat! Let's hope there is an obvious difference at the end of this program.

End of year Cross Stitching

As usual I have a cross stitch on the go - although at the moment I have two, and one of them is left over from Christmas because I didn't finish it in time! I think I started this Christmas cross stitch when I got home from my honeymoon in November, but it was just a little more detailed than I had anticipated and I didn't get in finished in time to give to anyone for Christmas...so maybe next year!

So that I don't get too frustrated with continuing to do a Christmas cross stitch after Christmas, I started a new vintage inspired cross stitch. I wasn't sure who I would give this to, but then one of my friends gave me some fabric she had bought from Ikea which will go with this cross stitch perfectly, and so she will receive this once it is finished and has been turned into a pillow.

I'm also hoping that 2013 will bring me more time to craft and more time to blog. Fingers crossed!!

Madame Clochette

I am lucky enough to have as my sister the fabulous Madame Clochette! And for my recent wedding she gave me the most spectacular gift, a custom made handbag. It was so custom, that she had secretly contacted the designer of my wedding dress, Wendy Makin and ordered matching fabric. She then attached my new initials to the front of the bag. If that wasn't special enough, even the way she packaged the bag was amazaing!

I also chose to use Madame Clochette bags for my bridesmaids, rather than very expensive flowers that die!! They were also matched to the bridesmaid dresses, and accessorised with individual charms.

Madame Clochette bags in action.
To order your own, visit her Etsy store Madame Clochette, like her on Facebook or read her blog.

Viktoria Novak

I have to admit that I have been thinking about getting married for quite a while, especially when you consider the fact that I was single for much of this time!! When thinking about dress and veil options I always thought that I would want a Mantila veil with lace around the edge...but what if I had a lace dress!! Decisions, decisions!!
When it got closer to the possibility of getting engaged, I started thinking about things more seriously. And when a wedding expo came up where a certain milliner would be displaying her designs, I thought "hey, why don't I go along and try some on, just to see if anything suits me!" And what do you know, something suited me!
Viktoria Novak helped me try on a couple of different head pieces and they were all so beautiful. She also told me that something could be designed especially for me. And then I noticed the bouquets...these beautiful brooch bouquets that I had seen pictures off but I hadn't seen in person. Well they were just beautiful!
So I had my solution - my head piece and bouquet would be made by Viktoria Novak. Now I just needed a proposal.

Then he proposed! Yay! And we set a date, and when I called Viktoria she did point out that since there was more than 12 months until the wedding, and I didn't have a dress yet, that she could book me in but I needed to organise some other things first. She was very helpful in giving me support and advice during the process of styling my wedding.

Once I had my dress and colour theme sorted I took a trip to Viktoria's Sydney studio and we got planning. I took a swatch of fabric from my dress, brooches from my grandmother's and my mother's veil from the 70s. I tried on only a couple of head pieces until I found one I liked, and when Viktoria arranged the blue tulle from m Mum's veil on the back of the head piece I have to admit...there were tears!!
I looked at the bouquets next, and there was one that was almost perfect...but I'm so fussy! So Viktoria took out the feathers, added some pink, added my grandmother's brooches and tulle from my Mum's veil to create the most perfect of bouquets!

On our wedding day I received so many compliments, as a bride normally does, but there were so many specific compliments on my head piece and bouquet, and how they suited my dress and my personality so well. I now get to keep my bouquet for ever, as well as my head piece, and now all I need is an excuse for my next Viktoria Novak design!

I do have one HUGE complaint about visiting the Viktoria Novak Studio: it's such a horrible temptation! I want everything! And I swear if I win lotto I will spend the rest of my life wearing Viktoria Novak designs and I won't care what anyone says - hats are always appropriate!!

Visit Viktoria's website to see the range of beautiful designs!

The photos below are from Melissa at 'A Shot Above the Rest'.