Crocheted Cacti

I've been bed-ridden for the last few days with mastitis - ick! Super fucking horrible, and just before Christmas is NOT the ideal time to get sick! Luckily I sent hubby to the shops on a last minute expedition, and I'm feeling marginally better today so I've been able to get on with some last minute Christmas preparations (can you see a theme here?!)

I finally got around to doing my little bits of Chrissy baking but MOST importantly I finally finished off my little crochet cacti that I'm giving as a present this year;

The pattern comes from Simply Crochet #22 (my fave number!) and I just thought they were SUPER FUCKING CUTE!

Our Early Christmas went swimmingly - except for a drama with Pop's boat motor, which meant no crabbing for us! But we had a super relaxing day eating good food and chilling out in the shade down by the Estuary, my Big Man had so much fun opening all of his presents (to be honest it kind of feels like Christmas is over already)

I know I say this a lot, but I really do love Christmas. Even though we only have a small family over here, it's still special to me. 

Merry Christmas everyone! I'm off to paint my nails a festive red and get ready for Santa's visit!

Christmas DIY's.

I'm all for Christmas DIY's (obviously), over the years I've made truffles, crocheted baubles, stubby holders, and all sorts of kooky and fabulous bits and pieces for the wonderful people in my life.

This year I've been lazy (okay, MOST years I am lazy, then absolutely frantic on Christmas eve trying to finish off six half-done crochet presents and pulling my hair out) but this year I have been SUPER lazy, and I find myself with less than a week until Christmas and pretty much absolutely nothing done. I headed down to my local Kmart and picked up a few of their Preserving Jars for $2 and have filled them with some ingredients for sweet, delicious cakes, added some pretty tags with instructions for baking ("Date & Banana Bread" and "Orange & Sultana Loaf") YUMMO! Then I topped them off with some pretty wrapping paper that I picked up from Big W and voila, instant DIY Christmas, minimal effort required!

I apologise if my photo's are really crappy quality, with this dodgy computer monitor I can't tell what the colouring is like in my pictures AT ALL! Sad, sad times.

Another DIY that I am SUPER proud of isn't even one of mine, my Bestie sent me a fabulous photo frame that she made for my family and I LOVE IT. She's basically the opposite of crafty so the fact that she even went to the effort just warms my cockles!

HELLO! Amazing present from my beautiful best friend!

Another thing we (okay - I) really need to get on to is the Christmas Baking, the kids have made this years Christmas Cake with Ma (as is tradition) but I am way behind on all that I add to the mix, eek! And tomorrow is the day that we are going to have a "half-christmas" as my eldest is going to Darwin with his Dad for Christmas and I didn't want him to miss out. We received a lovely old Christmas Bikkie book with some cutters from a lady that I used to work with, her children are all in their 30's now so she said we would be much more likely to use it - lucky us!

Umm, super cute!

And finally, for good measure, here is a picture of my boys pretending to be presents! (This year I'm not putting the presents under the tree until Christmas eve - I'm not having a repeat of last year!)

"Look Mum, I'm a present!"

I'M BACK!!

With a vengeance! Haha. I have FINALLY set up my silly smashed laptop through an old computer monitor, (it looks like shite but it means I can finally blog again, praise Jebus!

SO much has been going on lately, my little brother moved out of my Granny Flat so I have been setting it up ever so slowly to become my Craft Room/Cafe/Escape from my children (trust me, every parent needs one right??) Mind you, they don't seem to respect the idea of personal space and "Mum's Area" anyway, so usually we all end up hanging out there. Still, baby steps! It just feels good to start getting things organised, and it gives me a place to do Wedding Planning (and Christmas present wrapping!!) in peace! I have so much planned for our Wedding, at this stage it's mainly only decorations but I still find it super fucking exciting! I'll share some of my bits and bobs later on down the track!

I've been joining in with the Fox In Flats style dare again this month, I love the December one because it's always #DAREcember, and I do enjoy a good pun! I also like having an excuse to get dressed everyday. Okay, it's not really an excuse, more just motivation to actually put in a bit of effort with my appearance, cause as a SAHM I know I can get a little complacent about the way I look, and then I start to feel like shit, and then things just spiral out of control and all I want to do is eat chocolate in my underwear (which of course is a good thing, but not when you're in that mind frame!) So if any of you are that way inclined you should pop on over to the website and have a gander at what Miss Andrea has to make you feel SO much better about yourself!

I've also been lusting after lots of goodies, Christmas time always makes me go a little feral because I'm bombarded on all sides by so many pretty things (I'm actually a bit of a sucker for advertising, I'm not stupid, I know that it is designed to make vapid people buy, buy, buy, but I enjoy looking at different things and trying them out for myself) does that mean I am one of those stupid people, even though I know that's exactly what advertisers set out for?? Anyway, regardless of that we are on a tight ship at the moment and I'm trying so hard to be good. Christmas always makes me want to spend a lot of money on everyone too, and I'm nowhere near finished my Christmas shopping yet either which SUCKS because I know I have bills coming up that I need to be putting money aside for!

Enough blather and depressing budget talk, here is a couple of things I've been keeping a beady little eye on;

This stunning Emily and Fin dress off ASOS for $77

This sweet clutch purse off Etsy seller Reabags for $49.92. 

These extremely Christmassy "Celebration" tumblers from Target Australia which are currently on sale for $16

Ah, so pretty. I must admit I'm longing for very whimsical things lately, maybe it comes from being surrounded by boys 24/7! What sort of things are you lusting over in the lead up to Christmas??

Mobile Lovin.

Hey guys, I know it's been AGES since I've posted, I still haven't fixed my laptop! So I'm just checking in with a quick mobile post, how is everyone going getting ready for Christmas? We have been pretty busy, doing lots of baking, trying to be frugal! I love that I can make presents for people and it's fairly cost effective! We've also been getting crafty in preparation for our wedding, I've been trawling through craft books figuring out what sort of things we want to get done. It feels like everything is coming together quite nicely! 

I hope you've all been smashing my loves. Enjoy the holidays!

Children, and the naughty things they do!

Hello fellow tea enthusiasts, it's been ever so long since my last post but my dear, darling small child unfortunately smashed my laptop screen , so I have been sans computer for a month or two now. Suffice to say I was not very impressed, and I'm currently typing this on my iPad with my new bluetooth keyboard so I'm a little slow and unused to it! Besides that, life has been basically cruising along as normal, we're recovering from a particularly severe bout of the flu at the moment, which means the last week has been spent in bed or on the couch. I hate spending so much time doing nothing though, I guess that comes from being a Mum, or perhaps it's just a woman thing, but I can't stand sitting still doing nothing, all that wasted time!! The house is still relatively clean though, so thats counted as a win! I am feeling really god-awful about my appearance though, something about being sick that just makes you feel downright shit about yourself isn't there?? Maybe its the fact I have been living in my pyjama's and trackies all week, I've lost my mojo!

It feels good to be semi-human again! I think today will be the day that I get dressed nicely, and hopefully I can play netball tonight, I've missed out on the last two weeks (one cause I was interstate for my friends wedding, one due to the flu) so tonight I'm going to dose myself up on Drixine, Lemsip and Throaties and maybe play a back position instead of centre like I usually do!

The weather is definitely getting hotter, as I'm sitting here typing this we've just had a nice refreshing thunderstorm. It's made it so much cooler than yesterday, thank goodness. Our pool is all cleaned and ready for swimming though and I spent yesterday cleaning up our outdoor area and BBQ so it's all ready for some lovely summer nights outdoors. Still not quite the same with my best friend oversea's all summer but I guess that just means I'll have to drink all her share of the Strongbow! Sucks to be her! Haha. I also now have an empty granny flat out the back because my brother and his boyfriend moved out, so I have a summer project of making it into a beaut little escape from the kids! Just kidding, I'm making it my craft room and our spare room, so when people come to visit they have their own space and don't feel like they are imposing on us (plus they will be able to sleep in without the kids jumping all over them in the mornings!) Win-win! I love thinking of new idea's for my house. It sucks that its so open plan though, I hate open plan living, it limits every room within your house, such a pet peeve of mine! But I guess it's something that I'm stuck with so I'd better embrace it! I just want to get rid of my shitty teal coloured laminate benchtops in favour of a nice new timber benchtop! But all of that house renovating will come after the wedding, better not get too ahead of myself!

It must be time for a cuppa, I'm glad my bluetooth keyboard seems to work well! What have all you lovelies been doing in my absence? I hope everyone is well!

Wednesday Want List

It's hot. Summer is well and truly on it's way now and while most of me is already hating it, there is a part of me that is super excited to do some summery shopping! A few items on my wish list are:

This stunning Bossy playsuit from PEPPERMAYO for $49

This sweet one piece from ASOS for under $20! (May have already purchased this for myself)

This awesome beach towel from Cotton On Aus for $29.95

This stylish maxi for long pub lunches from ASOS for under $25. (Another that's been purchased)

And this sweet little mesh panel singlet from Ally Fashion for only $12.99!

I'm a sucker for a pastel, or a floral, and spring/summer is the perfect time to bring them out! Shop on!

Stiletto Nails?

How do we all feel about acrylic nails? Or even press on/glue on nails? I'm in two minds about them, (okay, I've never actually had acrylics before - social anxiety means I do not like getting people to do things for/to me) but I think they need to be REALLY well done to look any good.

At the moment though I'm really liking the look of stiletto nails, something about a hand full of blood coloured claws just appeals to me, (I'm not morbid - I swear). If you don't know what stiletto nails look like, here's a few examples;

Via Pinterest

Via Pinterest

Via Pinterest

Delightful right?? Now I just need to get over my fear of people and get some done!

Actually, I can't really do that anyway because I play netball every week, but a girl can dream!

Wedding Planning

I'd just like to say, I have an extreme love/hate relationship with wedding planning. I find it blissful, looking through so many beautiful ideas on Pinterest, and imagining in my head my absolutely perfect day, but every time I try to translate it over into something that I can actually use for my wedding it's just not quite the same.. I'm semi-crafty, so I plan on doing a lot of D.I.Y, but we are getting married interstate so I still need to think of how I plan on carting everything over there. BUSY TIMES AHEAD. I've picked my dress, I've picked my gorgeous bridesmaids, we've picked the location and we've picked the base ideas for the menu (a couple of spit roasts for roast gravy rolls - ummm... yum!!) but I still have only 1/4 of the invitations made, and we haven't even finalised the guest list yet. It's all very exciting though, and I have plenty of time to potter along and pull things together, I just can't wait for my gorgeous Maid of Honour to finish her round-the-world expedition so she can come home and help me - champagne included, of course! (Fingers crossed she relocates to somewhere a lot closer to me this time too!) A part of me just wishes I was getting married tomorrow, planning is stressful! But at the same time it's super exciting, and I know the only things that I really need is hubby and a celebrant, and ultimately, nothing else really matters!

I really enjoy that I'm an easygoing person. I couldn't imagine being a bridezilla. I just want to have fun!

Link to my Wedding board on Pinterest: Just in case you want a look.

My beautiful man. I can't wait to be his forever.
(Who am I kidding, I already am.. but still, can't wait for wedding of the motherfuckin' year!)

#ootd

It's sunny, it's a Tuesday, my kids are happy, my house is semi-clean. Life is good!

MINKPINK dress that I picked up on sale from a little boutique.

I'm addicted to sunnies, this pair were a steal off eBay, approx $2.50

Impending Fitness

In 3.. 2.. 1..

Just kidding, but in reality, I do need to start upping my fitness levels. I'm the kind of girl who has every intention, but no motivation or willpower to stick to anything, in fact, the only regular fitness that I've done for the last 4 years is play one measly little game of indoor netball a week (with time off to have some babies, and for a particularly horrendous rolled ankle) but getting a little bit older, and just feeling all round general shittiness that's associated with poor diet and lack of exercise has made me take a long hard look at my priorities, and I've realised that I don't want to be an unfit couch potato any longer. Don't get me wrong, I'm definitely not going to turn into some clean eating, gym bunny.. But I would like to put in just a smidge more effort than I am currently, maybe some more walks with the kids, less movie nights with the hubby, and definitely no more hash brown eating competitions with him (for the record, I'm the winner!) So I purchased a Kambrook Blitz2Go and some new workout gear, and hopefully, this positive mindset is here to stick around for a while, because I want to be better than I am. (And hey, who doesn't?!)

Current fave purchase!

What I'm Wearing**

Thrifted hat from Sportsgirl; Plain tee from Kmart Aus & Gold Disco shorts from Cotton On

Tee, skirt and shoes from Cotton On (Rubi Shoes) & kimono jacket from Kmart Aus.

Quontom dress from ASOS, sandals from Rubi Shoes and sun hat from Big W.

**Didn't realise this didn't post last week guys! A little bit dated but I'll upload it now anyway, time to screw my head on straight I think! Eek!

Books and Car Trouble

I have the worst luck with cars, they stress me out! I'd be happy if cars just ceased to exist! (Well, I do appreciate the ability to get places quickly) but even so. If you're wondering where all this stems from, I borrowed my Mum's car yesterday and before I'd even got it out of her driveway I managed to disconnect her window electrics and lose her window down inside the car door, it's happened once before so I know it's not really my fault, but it was the cherry on top of an already average day, so I was NOT a happy camper. It also resulted in me missing out on lunch with a friend, POO-tacular.

The only good thing that's happened to me lately is I've started reading the Hunger Games series',  I can't believe it's taken me this long to read them! They are so freaking good! I've also just read the Divergent series too, also another one that I've supremely enjoyed. So that's why I've been on the down-low, quiet time for the last week or so, I also had a mini tech break, I think it's important to pare back every now and again and just focus on the really important things in life, cause lets face it; the Internet is shit. However, I am back! Partially at least. I just bought my diary for next year so I've got that to organise, and I'm off to Victoria in two weeks for a friends wedding so I'm getting super duper excited for that too! I'm feeling a little blah and stagnant. Taking the boys out camping next weekend so I'm hoping that fixes me up a bit, it'll just be nice to get out of town for a little while, plus camping is my absolute top-notch memory of being a kid, and I'd love it if my kids felt the same way when they're older. I know C-Bug will love it, he's the blokiest little squid I know and he's not even one and a half yet, I can tell already that he's going to be the one with broken bones. Ugh! 

Anyway, just a quick catch up for now, I'll do a proper post a little later! Have a fab afternoon loves!

Time Out

Life sure gets busy, doesn't it? Make sure you take some time to yourself, even if it's just a cuppa in the garden.

Must have.

Okay, it didn't take me long to fall off the wagon and buy myself something new, but it had been so long since I've been in to Kmart and I've been lusting after these shoes since I saw them on their Instagram. It must've been fate because they only had three pairs left, all in the wrong size, but as I was walking away, dejected, I spotted a little leopard toe poking out from behind a pair of discount boots. Lo and behold, size 8! I think I'm in love;

Shoes, shoes, fabulous shoes!

It doesn't get much better than this!

Pop on into Kmart Australia to pick up your pair for $20!
(They also come in all white or black with a metallic look heel!)

These Lee Cooper for Big W jeans have also served me really well this season. They've been my go-to pull on's for popping down the shops, an absolute fave for feeling instantly chic too! 

(I'm back on the wagon now guys, I promise!)

Shop your Wardrobe (or Floordrobe in my case!)

SO, it's really no secret that I have an affinity for shopping. It really doesn't matter what I'm shopping for, I just love to do it, but with the prospect of our wedding looming, (hello, expensive wedding dress!) teamed with the fact that mortgages are NOT so fun, I've been trying to cut back on the unnecessary spending (working in varying degrees, I am a professional at convincing myself that something is indeed necessary) oops! So I've decided to do the old "Shop your Wardrobe" and hunt in the dim recesses for long forgotten clothing items (probably still with tags on!) and every time I feel the urge to spend, calculate roughly how much I would have spent and put it away in our savings account instead. I figure if I document my adventures on here, then I'm more likely to stick with it as I'm publicly accountable.

SO to conclude, today marks my first day of NO UNNECESSARY SPENDING, wish me luck! I'm sure as hell going to need it! (Disclaimer, I have one package from ASOS on the way in the next week - that doesn't count!) Now I'm off, to go and dig in the floordrobe for something delightful to wear today!

NO TRACKIE ZONE!

I love a good trackie day, but sometimes I find myself reaching for the trackies more often than I should. After a while, it seems that all I've been wearing is trackies and my self esteem hits that inevitable all time low. NO ONE feels sexy wearing house clothes day in - day out, no matter what people say! (This is why I love the Fox in Flats Style Dares, they force me to wear proper clothes!) But if we aren't in the middle of a style dare, my favourite trick is to chuck on a pair of jeggings. (Is this shock horror?! Am I uncool? I don't care!) They are comfy and I feel a thousand times sexier than I do in horrible old trackie-daks. I know they may not be everyone's cup of tea, but jeggings (and leggings too) make me feel like a normal, functioning person. My favourite pairs that I have on rotation are from Target Australia, that I have in black and red, and a similar pair in a navy blue. I'm regretting not buying their hot pink corduroy lookalike ones too! Bright colours are an instant pick-me-up, and team with a comfy oversized tee it's effortless cool.

Red Jeggings and Stripes = Nauti-COOL

Oversized Knit Tee from Rivers Australia is comfy chic.

I also enjoy a good side-bun. I feel glam and don't need to have my hair brushed/straightened to do it nicely! What are your tricks for getting out of a fashion rut? Do you like trackie days? Are you anti-jegging?! (I'm also partial to a good comfy skirt!)

Hello Monday!

G'day loves!

We've been some busy bee's here the last couple of weeks! My little bro turned 20 and we had Father's Day this weekend so we've been doing lots of nice family things (and of course still recovering from being sick - feeling MUCH better now!)

SO to recap what we've been up to in our absence, a quick post!

Our (wall-hung) TV broke, so we've had to take that down and buy a replacement, which (of course) doesn't fit on our bracket. Which means we have a nice big ugly bracket in the middle of our wall AND a TV that is way too big for our little corner cabinet in our front lounge. (This is not complaining, this is me being thankful that we have a nice shiny new TV that is rather huge and feels excessive - I feel like we are slightly more accomplished now!)

I took the kids to Caterpillar Park for the first time, AMAZING! It may not have a lot of fun equipment but I love the big shady tree's and the fact that it is completely enclosed! Makes it so much easier to sit and have a chat with friends while the kids can play where they like and not worrying about them running off onto a road or getting lost! Will definitely have to go there more often, I also didn't know they had BBQ's there! Nice to know for future birthdays (especially as a certain someone turns 4 next month!)

My brother turned 20 last Friday so we did the family dinner thing at my fave restaurant.. Hans (I guess I'm just a classy bird, but really, what's not to love!) and then Saturday night had a few quiet drinks to celebrate. I'm not sure if him turning 20 makes me feel old or not. I think once he turned 18 I didn't feel so old any more because he could do everything legally and after that it's all down hill isn't it!? Haha.

I'm really enjoying the family time lately. Coming in to Spring is always nice, as much as I love Winter there is always something amazing about fresh flowers and clean air. Season's change is always so delightful. If only we could get rid of Summer life would be perfect! (Oh how I loathe you, Summer!) Thank god for air conditioning and my pool!

I hope you've all been well. And enjoyed a fabulous Father's Day! (Our's was spent with Hubby severely hungover! Sucker!)

Building metalworx with Ma

Bucket head.

Mocktails in the backyard with my Mum.

Skeleton Man!

Pinching another kids trike at Caterpillar Park.

Essential.

Today's essential beauty item:

Yes, I am aware this is a baby product, but it is an absolute life saver on my poor cracked nose and dry, cracked lips. Being sick is not fun, and this has been a particularly nasty one doing the rounds! I think I'm finally on the mend (touch wood!), and just in time for the start of Spring and another fabulous Fox in Flats Style Dare for the month of September. So gear up, and get sassy! 

Nature's Care Paw Paw Balm in the 100g size is exclusive to Woolworths, around $7 for the tube. (I got mine a while ago, and can't remember the price off the top of my head, oops!) Also please excuse my glare-y photography, I really can't be arsed today!

Feel fine, my Springtime friends (and Autumn if you happen to be elsewhere!) Much love.

Lady in Red

So I did a thing, red hair;

It's just a rinse, but I felt like something a bit different. (I think I hate it already, ha!)