On the 24th August 2013, I started this blog when I published my very first post.

That means, a couple of weeks ago, this baby blog of mine celebrated it’s second birthday.

In blog speak, that’s otherwise known as a second blogaversary.

Already.

Two years on, this blog looks a little different (thanks to a redesign last year) but the general content has been consistent: regular fashion updates, peppered with occasional family friendly travel tips; food reviews, entertaining styling inspo and recipes; beauty reviews and tips; home wares and interiors how to’s, shopping guides, and product reviews; seasonal gift ideas plus regular book and movie reviews.

I’ve worked with and featured some great brands here on the blog too as I’ve strived to bring you the best, most up to date and relevant information I possibly can.

It’s been a great ride.

I love the community we’ve built here and would LOVE it if you helped me shape the direction of the blog for the coming year.  You do this informally through the year of course with your likes, shares, comments and lovely emails which tell me what content resonates with you and what you’d like to see more or less of. Thank you for doing this.

Today, I’m asking you to help me by completing my reader survey (which you can complete HERE). It’s a slightly more formal and structured way for you to have your say, but it helps me and the agency that represents me in a big way.

I would be so grateful and appreciative if you would take the time to complete it. Plus, one lucky person will win a $100 Westfield voucher. So don’t delay and start it HERE. Good luck!

As promised, I’ll answer YOUR questions here in the meantime. As some of you may know, I put out a call on Facebook last week for readers to hit me up with anything they’d like me to answer to say thanks for participating in my reader survey.

So here goes:

Kirralee asked: “How do you keep your house so tidy? Your IG pics are always immaculate!”

Thanks so much Kirralee.

I’d love to say that my house is always tidy and clean … but it isn’t.

Sometimes the photos you see have mess just to the side. Remember you’re seeing one angle or area of the room, which is often an oasis in a sea of mess!

For example in this photo, while the room looks clean and tidy, just to the left of the jug are a week’s worth of Mr 4’s Duplo constructions!

I also get a bit of help to keep on top of it. The lovely Diedre comes to our place every fortnight or so to do the big jobs (bathrooms, mop and vacuum) and I try to keep things tidy in between times.

My new Dyson has really helped me to keep on top of our living room (especially the falling dining table debris) in between times too. I can vacuum our living room rug and all our bedrooms in one twenty minute charge period.

Caitlin from Twist of Cait asked: “I’d love to know how you like to store and organise your stunning accessories like bracelets, necklaces and earrings, its always a challenge for me!”

Thanks Caitlin. The short answer is I have a lot of different vessels – ceramic bowls, dishes, perspex jewellery storage and tins which house my, ahem, rather substantial accessories collection on top of my dressing table.

If you’d like more info and details about where I’ve found my storage (pictured below) check out my How to Store Accessories post.

When I travel, I also use a small tackle box from Bunnings, below, as it has lots of little compartments so my jewellery doesn’t get tangled and I can see what I have at a glance and there is a slide lock too so it all stays in place.

Annette asked: “In a similar vein to Twist of Cait…for those of us with limited wardrobe space, what is the best way to store clothes. Do I hang woollens or fold them? FWCSP’s (First World Clothing Storage Problems!)”

I hear you Annette, working out how to best store our clothes can be tricky, especially when you’re trying to strike the balance between optimising space and caring for your clothes.

As a rule, I fold all my knits and woollens although I do hang a few lightweight merino tops.

My chunky cardigans and jumpers are folded on the top shelf of my wardrobe and I keep my thin cardigans and tops on a separate shelf, as you can see above. I also fold my jeans, tees and long sleeved cotton tops.

Justine asked: “Your garden always looks beautiful. How do you do it?”

Thanks so much Justine. We had our garden designed by a landscape gardener seven years ago and they did some ongoing maintenance (we planted over a hundred box hedges) for a few years after that while we were busy having babies and in a general domestic fog.

We’ve been trying to keep on top of it ourselves over the last couple of years with mixed success. A couple of weeks ago, we had two gardeners come in for the day who totally cleaned the place up. It wasn’t cheap but they achieved more in a day than we could feasibly achieve over a couple of months.

We’re now looking to plant another couple of camellias and some colourful ground cover for Spring.

Mr SnS is rather handy in the garden too. He likes to get out, weed and hedge trim from time to time. He recently planted some potted colour, above, which has brightened up the yard too.

I also find weeding therapeutic and find it’s a job I can do outside while the kids play.

Helen asked: “Wondering if you struggle with the wardrobe cull? We all love new items but then things get out of hand if you’re not getting rid of older stuff. Especially when you buy classic, quality items it’s harder to cast them off if they’re still in good condition. An ongoing conundrum here!”

Wardrobe culling needs to happen but it can be hard to know where to start, particularly if you haven’t done it for a while.

I get rather attached to my clothes and don’t like to part with them but I’m getting much better at having regular culls. As I am regularly being gifted clothes these days, I need to stay on top of it, as things can easily get a bit out of control.

I don’t do it all at once though – that would take too much time and head space.

Like de-cluttering the house one draw at a time, if I have a spare half an hour or so, I chose maybe ten items of the same kind i.e. all skirts, and try them all on. They then go into one of three piles:

1. To a slimmer/smaller friend (clothes I love but I can no longer fit into);
2. Donations;
3. The “It fits, I love it and I just can’t bear to part with it” pile which I keep. If I don’t wear them over the next 6 months though, they’re out. How’s that for tough love!

I’ve recently become aware of a number of Buy and Sell Groups on Facebook which are great places to sell branded clothing such as Gorman and Country Road, including current season, which can be a great way to recoup what you spent too.

Well, that’s all from me for today but please, don’t forget to complete my reader survey HERE and be in the running to win a $100 Westfield voucher. Thank you so much!

Have you got a question for me? How would you answer any of the questions above?