...now Mumma

2012-02-23T22:49:00.000+11:00

About 10 seconds after I took this photo, Leo pushed back on his chair and smashed his head on the floor. He has a booster strapped to one of our dining chairs and he went straight back and then WHAM! You know when you see these things happen in slow motion and just can't stop it. Leo got a nice big bump on the back of his head and was very upset. Poor little thing.

The salad was nice though, when I eventually got to eat it - beetroot, baby spinach, spring onion, chick peas and feta (dressed in olive oil and lemon juice). Yum yum yum - and another Michelle Bridges recipe. Yep still eating all of her food for lunch and dinner. My breakfast is usually weet-bix or homemade toasted muesli...which is not exactly in her book, but I just don't have to time to make egg white omelettes and mushrooms and things like that.

Oh and tonight we kind of broke the rules too - celebrating the new job, so we went down to the local pub/bistro and I ordered the biggest burger on the menu, and Raff ordered the biggest steak. With lots of chips. And then a piece of cake hehehe

Stressed out sewing

2012-02-22T15:23:00.000+11:00

We have had quite a stressful time in this house this past few weeks or so...

My husband had some bad news re. his job, which has finally turned into some good news. I feel like I have hardly spoken to him especially in the last week, he has been so busy negotiating offers and options. The phone has been transplanted to his ear!
Luckily he has such a great reputation in his field that he has been a bit of a wanted man. So we can now relax about that.

His Dad has also been quite sick, so the worry of that on top of job negotiating has just been mega stressful.Anyway things are looking up now and breathing can resume.

So while all of this was going on, I started whipping up this skirt for Rosie the other day when I had moments of 'me time'.I was influenced by a skirt I saw at Seed a while ago. I'm going to call it my patchwork skirt.

It has a bit of this and a bit of that from my fabric tub. Some green and white polka dots I bought when I was pregnant with Rosie that I made wraps with. Some purple and black polka dots which is who knows how old from my Mum's fabric drawers. Some reasonably new-ish fabrics I bought from SL on sale, some op-shop fabric and my fave in the middle there - the girls gardening is a fabric called 'Rosie's garden' that I bought on sale from the Remnant Warehouse.

I think I may have got a bit carried away when I did my measurements as the hem of the skirt is 2.4m and Rosie's little waist is about 50cm. I pieced 12 rectangles together at double the width I meant to....So it's a new 'dancing' skirt for her which she can twirl and whirl around in. A good mistake :)

Rosie loves it!

Polka dot fail

2012-02-16T14:54:00.001+11:00

or Sizing fail.
or That will teach me to be lazy and not make a muslin or measure properly as I go...

I bought this lovely McCalls pattern (6503) on ebay a couple of weeks ago and have really enjoyed putting the whole thing together. But, it just don't fit right.

1. I think I should have cut a size smaller
2. I think the fabric was wrong wrong wrong
3. I should have fitted it as I went, instead of being impatient and just wanting to finish it.

So now I have a dress which feels like a size too big and can't be worn now in summer as I will be 'gaping' all over the place. My own stupid fault.

It's a shame as I love all the little details of this dress - the ruffled edge around the collar, the 'fitted' waistband (when it would actually be fitted hehe), the crossover and little gathers under the bust.

I cut the correct size of me according to the measurements on the pattern, but it's just so roomy around my boobs, plus the fabric is so floppy it all just flops down around there making me look like I lost my chest. Boooo!
Atleast the fabric only cost me $5 from the op-shop, and the pattern cost me about $8 (incl. postage) - but I would definitely use it again so nothing lost there. Next time I will use a thicker cotton, or something a bit firmer.

However, I think I will be able to salvage it for when it gets cooler. I can wear a cardigan over the top with a belt over the top, or just on the dress and that should cover a multitude of errors.

So lessons learned, once again...
Do not be so impatient Helen. and MEASURE!

(and my god, I need to clean the mirror in my bedroom, it is bloody filthy!!!)

Pattern haulage

2012-02-07T22:24:00.000+11:00

Some new patterns to add to the collection! They're all from the 70s and bought in two different op shops. Only one will fit me, the rest are for Rosie.....that's if she allows me to dress her in 70s style clothes when she is 8+. I can get away with it now, but there may be a cool or not cool thing going on by then.

This is the one that will fit me and one I will have to make for Rosie straight away as she is already growing out of her size 4 wardrobe and is in size 5....and some size 6. She is quite tall for her age I think and is also very slim (like me at her age!).
She will be 4 in a few weeks time - can't believe it!

Floral dress

2012-02-07T14:18:00.000+11:00

Well here is my new dress, it's Simplicity 2360, and I just did the basic non-flouncy version. As you can see I chose the 70's floral fabric because I thought the other one was a bit sheer and I didn't really have anything to line it with.
I wore it today to the daycare drop-off and a quick walk around Dulwich Hill.....where I was sweating so much because it was so HUMID. Then I thought it was a good idea to stop in at my favourite cake shop and have a hot chocolate. The cake shop that is always hot inside, where I ordered a hot drink and Leo didn't want to sit still and I got so flustered!
Anyway!
I'm happy with how it turned out - it needs the belt though as it could be rather sack-like...
I am such an un-photogenic person too that it was hard to photograph it without it looking like I'm wearing a floral sack! I also am headless hehe

The bodice area is pretty nice, I actually don't mind the high-ish neckline on this dress and I also really like the V at the back. You might be able to see the little bow-tie thingie I added at the back....that's there because I ended up with a hole because I cut that bit too low before adding the binding etc. Next time I will learn!
Anyway it's a nice casual dress which I would make again!

Btw - anyone go to the Lincraft 50% off all fabric sale? I went yesterday and reminded myself why I never go to Lincraft. Because it's shit. That must have had the worst sale turnout I have ever seen - ie. there was NO-ONE in the store. I did a lap pretty much and walked out - the fabrics were very average and nothing caught my eye.
When Spotlight have a 30% off sale I can't even get near the counter!
I know Lincraft nearly went out of business a couple of years ago, maybe they should have...
Once upon a time they used to be a very good store, I wonder what happened...
Very average.

Next project

2012-02-03T22:19:00.001+11:00

This is going to be my next dress to make!
I'm going to try view A first.

I received the pattern in the mail the other day, cut it today and have been placing today (then was interrupted....).
The fabric is from an op-shop, I would say it's cotton-y, maybe it's a blend of something, but kind of slinky and seems to crush easily. I would say it's going to be a nightmare to sew with ;)

Progress...

2012-01-31T21:54:00.001+11:00

Here is a sneak peak of my dress so far...
It takes me soooo looooong to finish anything in this house! I only have a couple of things left to do - make the belt and a little bow thing for the back to cover a hole....(oops)...I'm improvising ;)
Yesterday I sewed the hem using a stitch I had never used before, I think it's called a blind hem. Yes it is called a blind hem. Funny the things you learn when you don't want to hand sew a slip stitch all the way around. Except I didn't use the right foot, next time I will!

It would have been done by now if I hadn't had this weird back thing the last few days! I bent over to get a torch out of the cupboard on Sunday afternoon and this jolt of pain went across my back/pelvis and all of a sudden everything hurt and I was very uncomfortable and in pain.

It's a build up of years of having a crap lower back (sway back, mild scoliosis), 2 pregnancies, carrying 2 children and picking them up and other things at strange angles.
My back must have said - enough is enough!

Anyway, I saw an osteopath today and he said I have an inflamed disc. All I can do is be careful, ice it and that's it. Apparently putting heat on it is wrong...which I have been doing since Sunday. Oops again. The pain has eased atleast, so hopefully it will be gone in the next couple of days.

Latest

2012-01-27T22:25:00.001+11:00

Half an hour of torture at Eastgardens shops to see this Chipmunks show...ughhh the things I do for my children hehehe. Their voices are so irritating and you could hardly understand them talking (or miming to the cd backing tape). Torture. Rosie liked it though, Leo was a bit uninterested.
Can you guess I won't be going to see the movie.

Bought a couple of new (old) books from the Salvos the other day - lovely illustrated ones from the 60s and 70s. To-po-san is my favourite - a mouse that travels all around Europe. I love the illustrations!

I also picked up a couple of metres of this pink fabric with little bugs on it, I am guessing it is from the 80s....I thought it would make a cute dress for Rosie. The dress patterns are pretty cool - one is from the 80s (again), not my most favourite decade, but I thought both dresses were 70s style so I picked them up. So very flouncy!

And a couple of little tshirts for Leo - the 'Easy Tiger' one is a Wayne Jnr (ie Wayne Cooper's kids clothing line) and the HotDog one is from Gap. Cute!

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We've had a pretty uneventful week here - I'm sick of the rain and humidity, can't do anything outside, kids are stuck inside.
I did start my dress though! No swearing at the sewing machine (or myself) yet, though I have managed to eff one thing up so far which I will have to find some creative way of fixing up....

Hair

2012-01-23T14:33:00.000+11:00

Hair whinge.
I'm so sick of my hair. Once upon a time I had dead straight hair, then I grew up a bit and it went really wavy and thick. As the years went by the curls tamed down a bit, but the waves stayed, the thickness also disappeared and now I am left with dull, thin, half straight (underneath), half wavy hair (on top), that's also a bit wiry, FRIZZY and GREY!! I have to dye it or I would look like a nanna. OK maybe it doesn't get that grey, but I do get a lot of grey hairs that are noticeable.

I've always loved having long hair, it's a bit of a security blanket, it hides my face. I get it cut shorter every now and then, at the moment it's shoulder length...cut only a few weeks ago and already it's driving me crazy. I don't know how to control the frizziness. Some days I want to cry about it, yes I know that sounds so superficial. I just don't know what to do with it. Some days I just want to cut it all off, short, but I wouldn't do it as I would look like a man. I'm tall, sometimes I wear masculine clothes, ie tshirts and jeans, I don't think I have a feminine face. So I would look like a man.

Cryyyy.
Should I go to one of those hairdresser-y type shops and ask them what I can put in it? My biggest problem is when I have just washed it and leave the house, it turns into a frizzbomb, I just wish there was something magic that would just hold it down a bit more and keep it 'together'.
I use anti-frizz shampoo and that does nothing. I could wash it in $500 shampoo made from golden honey extract and unicorn silk and that would do nothing.
Am I just 'blessed' with shit hair?
I would love to post bad photos of my bad hair (when it looks like I have a birds nest attached to the back of my head and I look homeless), but it's too embarrassing.

End of hair whinge.
:(

2012-01-14T22:12:00.000+11:00

Last nights dinner - homemade Pho...cheats healthy version from Michelle Bridges book. This is the second time I've made it now and it was sooo yummy! It's very quick to make - ie. does not involve boiling up a pot of bones and offal (awful) stuff for hours.

Tonight's dinner was toast! Four pieces with vegemite, peanut butter and nutella. hehehe. We had our dinner for lunch today so an easy dinner it was. Raff is off playing with first gig with The Dirty Earth tonight - he was so edgy today, a bit (a lot) nervous! He hasn't played a gig in atleast 6-7 years I think. They play 70's influenced rocknroll - MC5 mixed with Black Sabbath I reckon, lots of Big Muff and Tube Screamer guitaring and they have a brilliant singer, she has such a good voice. Anyway they are playing right now as I type this, so I hope they're killing it!!

I'm sitting here doing nothing really, effing around looking at nothing on the web. I haven't started that dress yet, I think I fell out of the mood the last couple of days. The pattern is staring at me on top of my sewing box. I feel so lazy. Maybe tomorrow will be the day...

Whiny stuff

2012-01-13T15:43:00.000+11:00

This was my (lengthy) facebook status yesterday:

"saw puss in boots today at burwood. good kids movie but would never go back to that cinema. we were there at 9.30am, had not cleaned up from night before, foyer was filthy, food and shit all over the floor. toilet had gigantic monstrous live cockroach running around on the floor (plus it stank). disgustingly yuk. feel like writing a letter of complaint. plus it cost me $32 for 2 people to see a movie (leo was free). why are movies such a rip off??? no wonder we never go to them."

Having a little whinge!
I'm not really a letter of complaint writer, but I feel like being a writer for this. We don't go to the movies very often, I'm not a big movie-watcher, I've only gone a few times in the last year to see movies for Rosie. It cost me $32 for us to go, which I think is so freaking expensive to sit in a room and look at a screen....

The part I want to complain about the most though is the cleanliness of the cinemas - does anyone think it's gross that there is still shit all over the floor from the night before? We went to the toilets as well and apart from the massive dead cockroach on the floor, there was also a MASSIVE live one running around. Rosie didn't even want to stand on the tiles because she thought it was going to run up her legs. Plus the toilets totally stank so bad like old wee. Really, really gross.

Wouldn't you open your business the next day with clean floors and clean toilets?! I don't know, am I expecting too much for my $32??

We won't be going back to that cinema anyway!

Decisions

2012-01-10T21:15:00.000+11:00

I bought this Simplicity 2360 pattern on ebay a week or so again after seeing it made a few times on different blogs. I am going to start with the plain short sleeved version first to see how it goes. Last week I got a couple of new fabrics from Spotlight - the really flowery one is one of their retro style fabrics (70s!) and the other one I copied off Little Betty when I saw it on her blog and had to get it too (cos I love the colours and paisley-type pattern).

So now I have to choose which one I'm going to use! I know the 70s flowery one is going to be WOAH PATTERN!...but because it's such a basic dress it should go ok?
In photoshop last night I fiddled around (and copied again - this time from Bernie and I) and tried putting the fabric into the pattern pic.

Anyway, such earth ending decisions!

I'll probably fall out of the mood again tomorrow, or whenever I get around to start doing this, and end up making something for Rosie or Leo again.

It's so much easier making kids clothes...

Raiding...

2012-01-09T22:00:00.000+11:00

I had a peek through my MIL's pattern box the other day...peek peek peek....and I found these 70s beauties. Do you reckon she would mind if I stole them all? hehe

Raff's parents live in Wollongong in a 60s red brick house which is like a time warp. I was looking in the linen cupboard for clean pillowcases and I found them. I also found a time warp of old sheets!

These are some of them....There are also packets of new sheets that have never been opened from 1970-something!

Plus a few pairs of knee-high leather boots from the 70s, shoes from the 70s, this that and the other from the 70s! It's a shame I'm twice as tall as Raff's Mum so nothing fits me ;) (Well not really twice as tall, but a lot taller!)

Hi There

2012-01-02T15:03:00.000+11:00

Today I bought two new lovely 'Hi There from Karen Walker' dresses, on sale! So happy! As pictured above the Tuscany dress and the Beth dress.
I have to say that I am so in love with her dresses! They are the best vintage-style modern dresses that are affordable that I have seen in ages that actually fit well! I tried on about 6 dresses and could have tried on the whole range...I was at the racks thinking 'ooh I like this one, oooh and that one, and that one! And that one!'
I had three in my hands that I definitely wanted to get, but thought this was a bit over the top so I just got these two. I love them! Can't wait to wear them!
The third one I am going to keep looking out for hoping it will pop up on sale somewhere...would like to post a pic of it but can't find one on the web. It was polka dot sailor style....need I say more why I still want it!!!!

ex-mas

2011-12-30T15:54:00.000+11:00

Thank god christmas is over!

Thank god 2011 is almost over!

Next year I am aiming to be more productive with my time (somehow), earn some more money on top of my freelance work (somehow), get a bit more artistic again. Somehow I will find time for this...

Our xmas was tiring - I love it for the kids sake, but for me I can take it or leave it. I like to give out my homemade xmas presents, but don't need presents for presents sake. I don't even need 'token' presents (which are usually crap), I'd rather have nothing. Gawd how ungrateful do I sound. I am such a xmas scrooge! Raff and I don't exchange presents and I asked for nothing from no-one!

It was fun seeing Rosie and Leo's reaction to their presents - we got Leo a big tonka truck almost the size of him, and Rosie received a new bike. They got a few little things to go with the 'big present', but I aimed to not overwhelm this year. Too many things and they don't know what to do with it all and forget about other presents. I'd prefer for them to appreciate a few special things.

Anyway xmas talk over, one more day of 2011 left and I plan to RELAX....and then relax into 2012 by going to bed early and waking up refreshed :)

5 years

2011-12-22T22:42:00.000+11:00

Last Saturday, Raff and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary :)
Who knew on that day 5 years ago, we would have done so much in that time. Some of the highlights would of course be giving birth to Rosie and Leo and buying our first family-sized home!

Here's a picture from our wedding - we had it up at the lookout at Mt Keira in Wollongong on a Sunday afternoon. It was relatively small wedding (about 50-60 people), I wore a $50 dress I bought from ebay (shoes also from ebay, cardigan from op shop, handmade sash belt thingie), we chose all of our own (rocknroll) music to play, we had no bridesmaids/grooms-men....and it was the best day ever! Not stressed about minute details, just lots of smiling and having fun with family and close friends.

Next year we will have been together 10 years. 10 wonderful years in which we have achieved so much together, I think we make such a great team. We can be such opposites sometimes ( a lot of times hehe) - Raff is a real talker, I am very quiet. Raff is a numbers/calculator/money man, I can be quite hopeless with money. I don't mind cleaning etc, Raff could walk past a pile of clothes on the floor 1000 times and wouldn't pick it up hehe. We both love music though, and trawling through real estate listings (obsessed), eating good food (especially Asian food), op shopping, having family time with the kiddies, and just hanging out at home being together and doing home stuff.
Best 5 and 10 years of my life :)

Sweet treats

2011-12-20T22:29:00.000+11:00

I have been cooking up a storm this past week - I've done my four different fudges and omg they taste so good. Even through my haze of headaches, runny/blocked noses...they taste good. I made a plain dark chocolate one, choc caramel, cookies and cream and a walnut chocolate one. I've hardly had any sense of taste and smell this past week and it freakin sucks, makes it really hard to taste test stuff! This must be my billionth sinus infection for the year and I'm slightly over it. Next time it happens they can scan my head and see wtf is going on up there.

Anyway! I have also made four batches of rocky road using milk and dark chocolate and lovely innard bits of marshmallow, shortbread, cherry, toasted coconut and toasted macadamias.

Aaaaaand, there have also been four batches of iced gingerbead biscuits made and two more need to be made. I love these little ginger-y pillows with delicious sweet vanilla icing on top. YUM.

Rosie's daycare teachers each received a little hamper this week with a combination of these things inside - I hope they liked it!
I have to make up 6 more family hampers and 2 for our neighbours and I will not be touching another sugary treat again for a while.
All of this cooking totally defeats the purpose of being on the Michelle Bridges diet at the moment! I have kept to my healthy eating though with all of our meals though....still being good :) Maybe my lack of taste/smell has been a blessing in disguise - it makes me want to not each much because it's a waste of time cos I can't taste it!

2011-12-13T14:39:00.002+11:00

Another little dress for Rosie! I used a lovely light cotton from Spotlight and this pattern which I picked up at an op shop a few weeks ago. It's so summery...but even though we are in summer now, we are still wearing winter-y clothes due to this weird temperature drop we seem to be experiencing in Sydney.
Hopefully Rosie will be able to wear it on Christmas day.
The dress has a lined bodice, 2 pockets on the front and cute little spaghetti straps. Those straps were a nightmare, I discovered that I need a loop turner to get teeny weeny skinny things turned out the right way without wanting to jump off a building. I did it with a knitting needle and a pin....nightmare x 4. Next time I do anything like that I will buy the bloody loop turner.

Not sure if I will sew anything else before Christmas.
I will be baking batches of iced gingerbread biscuits, rocky road and 3 or 4 types of fudge - dark chocolate, cookies and cream, choc caramel and choc macadamia. Let's just hope they all turn out...
Or there will be more wanting to jump off a building.

This week or so...

2011-12-10T21:27:00.001+11:00

We put our tree up on December 2nd, it's a fake one and only half decorated because anything lower than Leo's reach got yanked off. No lights either because I'm scared we'd burn the house down, or Leo would try and electrocute himself.

Inspired by the tags by Emerald and Ella - I thought their stitched tags were really cute, so I bought some cheap shipping tags from Officeworks and sewed by own. Sorry again to another company trying to make money, but I think $8.95 for 8 gift tags is a total rip. I paid $8 for 100 tags and I can sew as many as I like....

These are our Christmas cards this year - made by Rosie and myself. I saw this very cute idea via this site, ours are a bit different. Firstly I can see our reindeer are a bit more 'tanned' than the original...but I used brown paint instead of ink, and we also stamped them with cut potato stamps instead of thumb prints. And then I used a gold pen for the antlers. But the little googley eyes and pom-pom noses are the same!
When we were doing the stamping it looked like poo splodges everywhere, or chocolate. Hopefully everyone likes their poo splodge reindeer hehe

One of our dinners from this week - a crunchy vegetable salad. We are still on the Michelle Bridges 'diet' and all is going well, I'm just 3kg away from my goal! But now these last kgs are the hard ones to get rid of and this xmas season is going to make it harder.....but I'm sticking to it and even bought another one of her books (Crunch time recipes) for some variation on what I'm cooking.

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Other than all that....2 weeks til Christmas! I need to wrap all the presents and assemble a bike.....
It's also our 5 year wedding anniversary next weekend, god that went quick! We don't do presents here (for us adults), so we'll probably just go our for a nice lunch or something. Presents for presents sake, stuff for stuff's sake - I just got over it, if Raff or I need/want something we just go and get it whenever.
Especially after I had children I realised I didn't need presents, it's much more fun for me to celebrate their birthdays and Christmas and see them give and receive.
I used to be such a collector of 'stuff', probably filling a void, who knows. I loved buying retro type collectables, but now I hardly buy that stuff unless I see it really cheap.
Anyway off on a tangent!
Christmas - 2 weeks - can't wait to see my kiddies faces on xmas morning!

Another finished project

2011-11-26T21:30:00.001+11:00

This is Leo's handmade christmas present for this year - a cute little sailor top which I have made using a vintage pattern. It was a fiddley little thing to make! Lessons were learnt once again, the biggest one being don't use a thick-ish cotton drill with a light-ish weight cotton....especially for the neck facing. Whoops. I should have faced the neckline with the same fabric as the main part of the top. Well I will know for next time.
Anyway Leo is not going to care about these details - he can just wear it!

In other pre-Christmas news - I have pretty much finished my Christmas shopping, before December has even started! I only have to get a drink bottle each for Rosie and Leo and then get all the stuff I need to bake/make with for the xmas treats I will be making for edible pressies. I'm thinking I'll make the iced gingerbread biccies again, they were so yummy when I made them last year. Then I want to make rocky road and chocolate fudge - loving the look of this, so I may be inspired or copy...;) And maybe I can make something else to throw into the mix - I just don't know what it is yet...any ideas? Something that can keep and doesn't need to be refrigerated.

So now that I will have the whole of December off, hehe, I need to start another sewing project. Maybe two more cushions to go with the pair I made the other week. Or really I should make something for me...........if I can ever choose a pattern and fabric to go with it. I am so fussy.

Latest in photo

2011-11-22T22:15:00.001+11:00

A couple of weeks ago we went out to dinner, CHILDLESS (!!) for the first time in atleast a year and a half, down the road in Brighton-Le-Sands. We went to this place and oh wow it was yum! They were having a set menu that night which made it easy for us. Food just kept coming out and it was delicious. yum

A few days after it opened, Leo and I visited the new Ikea store at Tempe. We got there early and hung out in a restaurant area for half an hour for the showroom to open. It's pretty big there and nicely laid out and nice and cleeeean. I didn't dawdle through, sort of power-walked it, got what I went in for and got out before 11am. People were already hovering in the carpark for spots...

Fruit salad! I make 2 big bowls of this a week. It's my new chocolate/lollies :) but I only eat a little bit at a time. Anyway, all this healthy eating stuff must be paying off as I have now lost about 5kg in 4 weeks and am pretty happy with that!

One of the cool op-shoppy things I bought last week...or was it the week before. Anyway, this cute little sailor top for Leo cost me $1. I love a bargain like that. Other op-shop things can be seen in my flickr folder.

I bought these 2nd hand patterns at the Salvos last week - they were having a big SALE of the non-sale-like type.... ie. They brought out all the good stuff they've collected from out the back. Put higher prices on it and tried to sell it. These patterns weren't cheap in op-shop price land, but they were nice, so I bought them. The money goes to a good cause right? Anyway my faves are the girls sailor dress and the vintage costume pattern. cute!

Yummy breakfast from Michelle's book - egg, mushies, tomatoes all sprinkled with feta. Very bloody tasty I must say ;)

Another yummy Michelle dinner - was meant to be octopus thai salad, but I am not into eating octopusses...so made some chicken mince instead. SO it's like chicken larb! It was BEAUTIFUL - so light and tasty, but very filling. yumyumyum I'm going to make it again this Friday night. yum

aaaaand last picture. Yes it is beach towels. Very very nice Sheridan beach towels which I bought on sale from their site. I have wanted some of their towels for a long time as when we got to the beach all 4 of us share 2 towels....which aren't even beach towels. I love these towels and their retro style and they have fringing! I love fringing!

The end :)

Done!

2011-11-11T22:16:00.001+11:00

Yay I finished my cushions! I made two of them in dribs and drabs over the last couple of weeks. They are not 'perfect', as in, all the triangles don't match up perfectly (learnt some lessons here on grain of the fabric....) and I also feel like a bit of a plagiariser.....but I love these cushions. All the materials are from Spotlight - zips, cushion inserts and quilters homespun fabric and would have cost me less than $20 for both. I prefer this price and some of my time and effort instead of about $200.

I winged it pretty much the whole way, I started with a basic sketch with measurements and colour placement and then started cutting squares. These turned into half-square triangle blocks which I then sewed all together. The back has a zip to do it up, which I placed on the far side (not the seam). I then made my black piping (for the first time!) and sewed that to the triangled side which was then sewed that to the back. Done! Shove that cushion insert in and take a pretty picture :)

So now I want to make some more!
Children need more than 2 new pillows to spill food on and smear with crap ;)

btw - 11/11/11 today. Remembrance Day. I did my 1 minutes silence standing in the bike section in Kmart trying to shoosh Rosie and then explain why everyone stopped what they were doing and were quiet for a minute. Don't think she really understands, but never too young to try and explain things.

New project n stuff

2011-11-04T22:13:00.000+11:00

My latest sewing project is two new cushion covers for the lounge......as you can see greatly inspired by these beautiful cushions from Ferm. Or maybe greatly ripped off hehe
They are pretty pricey from that shop and I can't justify $90 per cushion (plus postage). These ones will cost me less than $10 for the covers, plus the cushion inserts. Sorry shop.

Today I have been sewing and cutting half square triangles, next step is ironing them nice and flat, then joining them all together. I will also be attempting piping for the first time ever around the edges. Have not yet decided whether to zip the back up or do an overlapping flap. Maybe a zip would be neater......
Such massive decisions (not).

In other news, Ikea has opened up the road from us (5 short minutes away!)...is it sad of me to be excited about a shop opening?! I have been going to Ikea for a loooong long time, since the 80's when they had a shop at Blacktown. They also used to have one at Gordon - a little tiny one! It's been cool to watch it being built, such a huge building, made even better that they kept the one of the original buildings from the site at the front. But there doesn't look like there is enough parking!
Anyway, I think I might go visit next week...early....not that I even want to buy anything, just to have a look. I also enjoy putting together flat pack furniture, it does not scare me. I like puzzles hehehe. Am I a rarity? I always wonder what the fuss is all about when people freak out about this stuff.

Here is an example of the yummy food we have been eating lately. This is a poached chicken salad with asparagus, baby spinach, chick peas, grilled baby tomatoes, broad beans with a lemon juice and olive oil dressing. I am loving this stuff. Weigh in tomorrow, if I lose another kg I will be a happy girl!

Monday

2011-10-31T22:25:00.000+11:00

Well I ended up losing just over 1kg - not bad for 5 days effort!

I hope I lose another 1kg this week and the next and the next....etc etc. My plan is to get rid of 7kg, but I would still be happy with 5kg. The good thing is that I haven't gone out of the healthy BMI range, I'm still in it, even though I'm not at a good/happy weight (for me). I would not even say that I am 'fat' - I just want to tone up and get my diet healthy again. For months I have gone sugar/fat-crazy, totally crazy, and I knew I was doing it to myself and knew that it was going to have bad results.
At least I still fit into my clothes this time hehehe.
But the plan is to fit better :)

The good thing again, is using this Michelle Bridges book, it tells me what to eat, the calories I'm eating, gives me a shopping list, daily exercises. Everything is done so I don't have to think and can just focus on cooking healthy but yummy food and doing some exercising to go with it.....and I feel guilty if I don't do it. So I do it!
This sorta sounds like an ad for her book - well it isn't, I bought it myself from the the shops and am just enjoying it (and husband is too, he loves all the healthy stuff I'm cooking and watching me exercise).

I also dyed my hair yesterday - chocolate chestnut (one of the 'casting' colours - I like them because there's no ammonia in them). Another thing that makes me feel better, like a very cheap trip to the hairdresser without actually going. I look a bit more presentable now and not like a straw head with grey hairs growing everywhere. I would hate to see my hair if I just grew it out without dying it, I think I would look about 50 (so many grey hairs boohoo).

Now I have been browsing the Modcloth site and favourite-ing all these cute dresses in my head. They have too many nice things, nothing that I need though. I need other things like some good organic, natural skincare stuff and Rosie needs some new sandals for summer (her toes go over the front of last summers) - I was thinking I'd get her some of those saltwater sun-san sweetheart ones because they are too, too cute.

Now back to browsing :)

It's time...2011

2011-10-28T22:21:00.000+11:00

Back in September last year, I was very dedicated and very good and changed all my eating habits and lost about 7kg.Fast forward to this year and I think I have tried about 3 times to do the same thing and failed miserably every time.

BUT NOT THIS TIME!

I'm back into it again, but this time I bought the Michelle Bridges book 'Losing the last 5 kilos' and I'm following it very strictly. I'm not eating any chocolate or lollies or chippies or biscuits and just eating the meal plans in the book. The first 3 days were really hard and I had headaches for all of them....and I was STARVING. Now I'm at the end of the 5th day and have no more headaches and am no longer starving. Plus I have been exercising every day!
I think what works for me is that I need to go cold turkey with chocolate/sugar, all or nothing. If I allow myself one tiny piece a day, that just grows and grows and eventually turns into a bar, or more... plus the biscuits, and the lollies. I am such a sugar addict.

Anyway, tomorrow I am going to weigh myself and hope I have lost something.
Or I will cry!

More sewing

2011-10-28T15:33:00.000+11:00

I finished this little 60's dress for Rosie yesterday.
The pattern is from an op-shop and wasn't as basic as I thought it was going to be because of the lined upper bodice bit that makes the collar and armholes nice and neat. I learned a lesson not to be so hasty and sew seams which weren't meant to be sewed yet...so a little bit of unpicking was done. oops.

I love the little bows on the front - I was going to do the buttons but thought it looked a bit 'dentist's uniform-ish', especially the version with the high collar.
Rosie loves it anyway and can't wait to wear it in summer, or when the weather decides to warm up. It is a bit confused here lately - really hot week, then the temp just dropped off again to around 20 degrees. Up again tomorrow and then down again next week. I don't know what I'm wearing any more. I took the flannelette sheets off the bed, then the next night it was freezing, we've even had the heater on again. Confusing!

The latest (again)

2011-10-26T22:51:00.000+11:00

I can't believe October is almost over and there are now less than 2 months until Christmas. Crap.Time to start getting stuck into the xmas shopping....I'm cutting back this year. Especially for my own children. They are young, Rosie doesn't even like Santa (still) and I think too many presents is overwhelming. So a few things each and that's it!I have made one of Rosie's presents already - just another one of those little smock tops. Except I made it longer this time and added some yo-yo's on the front...which I put on after I took the photo!

Fabric from Spotlight - a Japanese-y one which is really nice, lovely colours and print and nice feel to it.Rosie loves it when I make clothes for her and will sit next to me and watch me sew - I can't wait to teach her how to do it one day!

A couple of weeks ago I was washing some of my old band tshirts and Rosie spotted this one and said 'this one is mine!' So my old AC/DC top is now hers (and eventually Leo's). It was too short for me now anyway, so I cut some of the sides off and a little bit off the bottom. Re-sewed the sides and tah-dah - new top for Rosie which she wants to wear all the time.

Then on Monday night I found out that it was 'character dress-up day' at daycare. Slightly late notice! Rosie wanted to be a fairy and the wings she owned were half wrecked (needed new elastic to fit over her arms), her crown was broken (thanks Leo...)...the only thing working was her wand. So I decided to very quickly whip up a fabric crown, initially inspired by Suzy, then inspired again by these sites. I had no felt big enough though, so I did a quilty version. Flowery fabric on the front, some batting and red fabric on the back + some covered elastic and a few button 'jewels'. Anyway Rosie LOVED it and wore it all day and then again today.....We have had a holiday too (yay), which I will write about tomorrow or the next day or when I have 5 seconds spare!Too tired now.Going to bed.

The latest

2011-10-06T16:33:00.000+11:00

It either been rainy/grey/cold here lately, which has kind of been matching my mood. I don't like writing stuff when I feel like a grump, so I say nothing. So much for some lovely spring weather, I think it's forgotten to come out.
To be honest I don't even know why I feel grumpy, maybe it's almost 4 years of unbroken sleep catching up with me.

While I have been writing this, Leo has tried to grab the mouse away from me, pooed his pants in front of me and now just thrown his sandwich crusts all over the floor which I cleaned this morning.

I have been in a little bit of a sewing mood the last week or so. I took a quick trip to Spotlight last week and bought a few fabrics which were on special so I could make a few quick things for Rosie and Leo.

This is what I bought. All of them were $5/m apart from the starry one.
So now I have made a pair of spring/summery pants for Leo from the animal print.

I also made a pair of pants for Rosie from the purple floral one, I tried to insert a triangular 'flare' on each pant leg...it kind of worked, but I tried it again on another pair I made with the triangles print. Worked much better with more of giant pleat insert...

And then I dug into my fabric box and made a cute little smock top. It's a size 4, but fits perfectly at the moment. I want to try it again and make it a bit bigger and with a bit of a thicker cotton. This one was verrrry thin, I suppose good for a hot day!

This is the pattern, I have also made the skirt from it. 1977 style!

I still have made nothing for myself. Each time I get the patterns out I lose interest and end up making something for the kids. Quicker, easier, less having to measure my measurements........

Not much going on

2011-09-27T22:31:00.002+10:00

After about a month of feeling slightly average, I think I'm starting to feel normal again. I am eating badly (meals are good but my snacking is BAD) and need to be strict with myself again and actually stick with it.

I have been listening to heaps of Nirvana since the 20 year anniversary of the release of 'Nevermind' - it's like being back in highschool. Nevermind has stood the test of time though and sounds as good to me as it did in 1991. Damn good album.

I have managed to do some sewing the last couple of days and it feels good. Stress relief.

Apart from that...........not much else going on :/

(snore)

ipad

2011-09-14T14:54:00.003+10:00

Trying a blog post on our iPad. It's hard to type on this thing and I keep missing the space bar.
Having a day at home today as I still dont feel 100%. my throat is starting to feel funny again and ive had a headache the last two days. We have been to the doctors 3 weeks in a row.
I am. Not using any apostrophes as it's not on this silly keypad. Annoying
Rosie is painting and I'm having a cup of tea ( and 2 bi cues. So much for my diet. But I could not be effed when I feelnsick)
Bi cues..wtf is that 2 bi cues. It won't let me type BICCIES. There got it.
Not a fan of auto correct or auto fill the text in to guess the bloody word.

Hving a family lunch on Sunday and I have no idea what to cook. Wll I brave cooking pasta for italians again when I am not italian. Last time I did it though it was a success and I got 'the licence' from Raff's dad. And I can't just cook one meal, it has to be 2 courses plus dessert. Plus the nibbly bits beforehand.
I dunno, feeling so uninspired to cook anything lately. I lost my sense of taste and smell for days which is not much fun.

End of post via ipad :)

---------------------------------------------------------------

wow that worked so well i had to copy, paste, email myself, and post this from my laptop!

Annoying moment of the day

2011-09-09T14:51:00.000+10:00

I hate it when I go to the shops and have to walk past the skincare stand with the harassing staff who come up to you when you walk past to try and suck you in and sell their stupid skin cream. One of them was really harass-y today and pretty much said I had crap skin! I already know my skin is shit! I've known it's shit since early teenager times and don't need you to tell me too you annoying shit! Plus it was a man - obviously has no idea how to sell something to a woman because that's not the first thing I would say if I was trying to sell them skincare.
And I bet it looks even worse at the moment because I am STILL SICK and I have my period.
I should popped a zit off in his face. Or picked my nose and wiped it on his shirt.
(obviously I would not be brave enough to do either of those, but it's nice to dream)

Once they went up to Raff and said his liver wasn't working properly and you could see it in his skin. wtf. there is nothing wrong with his liver.

Anyway it annoyed me.
The end.

But this ad makes me laugh hehehe

Todays buys

2011-09-06T14:24:00.001+10:00

2m of red and white polka dot fabric and vintage single pink floral pillowcase for Rosie's bed.

A cute silky top for me from MinkPink, but from the op shop ofcourse. I love the colours!

Lovely cotton peter-pan collar top for Rosie.

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I have been sick for about a week and am getting my energy back now so I thought I'd go and visit an op shop to get back into it hehe.
This is the longest snotty head I've had for a long time, usually it clears in a day or so, but it is still hanging on here. Yesterday I succumbed and went and got some antibiotics, so 3 of us are on them at the moment (me + both kids). I always seem to get that horrible 'pressure head' feeling where your whole head throbs when you blow your nose or when your sinuses clear. Ow.
Plus we have all (except husband) have had conjunctivitis...passing it along the line....mild cases of it thank god.
Poor Raff had to cook dinner for his own Fathers Day, I was not much fun or much help. Have not felt so shocking in ages.
Now I have to go to the dentist today and don't want to go, we have a family appointment. I think I can probably handle a quick check-up but not much more. Am picturing myself having a coughing attack choking on my own snot with all the dentist crap in my mouth. I know I am meant to have a filling, but am hoping to avoid at all costs.

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p.s. a good site to check out - Buy Nothing New month

Op shop love

2011-08-22T15:07:00.000+10:00

A cool bedspread I bought last week - original tag still intact!

In my blog-reading the other day I came across Jacinta from ModelMumma's post about op-shopping and sat there nodding my head. Yes yes yes! It's so true.
Normal clothes shopping bores me. I can go out any day of the week to any shop, whether it be a physical shop or online and buy one of a thousand (or more or less, who knows!) of the same thing.

What I LOVE about op shopping is the thrill of the chase! The uncertainty of what you might find and when you find something perfect - WILL IT FIT?!? I love going through the racks...well I don't love it all the time, I guess you have to be in the right mood...I just love searching for treasures.

My love affair with op-shopping started in the early 90s when I was a poor student who couldn't really afford to shop anywhere else but op shops! Back then they were actually cheap and I would pick up some great things. I had my 2nd hand clothes and my sewing machine and that clothed me during my years on austudy ;)

One of the best things about op-shopping is the money I save - but also the money I do spend is going to worthy causes. My whole family wears 2nd hand clothes, my husband even wears them to work and he works in a corporate office and has to look professional. A while ago we got an Oxford suit, which looked like it had been worn once, for $20. You wouldn't even know!

I go op-shopping every week and usually get at least one thing. Years ago I would get a lot more vintage/retro clothing, but now I hardly ever see it. In fact it's so bloody rare, it's like a miracle if I do find anything vintage.
Most things I buy these days are kids clothing that are almost brand new and are of expensive origins that I giggle with glee with when I pick them up for a few dollars hehehe. Even better when the tag is still attached!
Last week I picked up an Osh Kosh B'Gosh dress from Rosie for $3, a Seed tshirt and a Yo Gabba Gabba Muno tshirt for Leo, for a few dollars each.

They have really jacked the prices up a lot though over the last few years. So much so that sometimes it's cheaper to go to the normal shops and buy it brand new (ie. when kmart etc type kids clothing is on the racks). I guess op-shopping got very trendy and they took the opportunity!

Anyway I'm going again tomorrow so I wonder what I will find... :)

Time to design

2011-08-14T22:56:00.001+10:00

I'm loving pinterest!
Can you see a theme in my 'Home' pins - grey, white, black, orange/red/white, mid-century modern....
I'm collecting ideas for my loungeroom and bedroom mainly as they are in desperate need of an interior designing. My bedroom especially is a very blank canvas - I kind of know what I want to do with it but don't know where to start. Well I should really start with a bedhead - I know which one I want (or this one)....but they are so expensive!!
We have a lovely Danish teak chest of drawers (from Great Dane) and a matching pair of bedsides that are also a great base to start with. I just want to update our bedlinen, curtains and get some decorative cushions. Everything is WHITE at the moment and soooo BORING.

In our loungeroom, our cushions are OLD, daggy, vomited on (hehe), are from spotlight, ikea and the salvos and are VERY much past their use-by date. I have been looking at them for about 10 years and have had enough. Leo is getting past his vomiting on everything, every morning phase, so it's starting to get safe to upgrade!
I just don't know what I want in here. We have two large grey lounges and some beautiful Omann Jun Danish rosewood furniture (sideboards and shelving). Of course I want to continue my mid-mod design style....just don't know where to start again, or maybe it's the money holding me back....or making the wrong decision!
Maybe that's why 2 years later living in this house, I have still done nothing in this room....I am such a procrastinator. I can't even decide where to hang a picture.

Anyway - I have decided though to stop putting it off and get this house looking nice and not like everything has been dumped and kept where I left it after we moved in!

Mih Moh Meh

2011-08-02T14:41:00.000+10:00

Roof of Harrys Cafe de Wheels at Tempe formerly Deno's diner...funny how a change of name/business can make a ghost town of a business/location become hugely popular (when the food isn't even that good)

Two weeks of un-inspiration later, I still don't know what to write about on here...but I'm sick of looking at the picture of mac + cheese so I had to write something. I think that week of rain didn't help - totally un-motivating! My poor children were house-bound apart from a really exciting (not) trip to the supermarket.

I think I am failing my diet, I have eaten chocolate, not a lot of it, but I still ate it and a few bags of chicos..... I blame the cold weather making me want to eat more. I haven't even got on the Wii yet - and it's batteries are flat....and I haven't changed them....in a month.

LAZY!

I haven't sewed anything lately. My nights and any snippets of free time during the day have been filled with freelance work. I'M TIRED. I'm really enjoying a project I'm working on at the moment though so it's not so bad.

I went to that 40% off fabric sale at Spotlight twice over the weekend and bought NOTHING. Although I think the size of the queue put me off more than anything and nothing grabbed my eye either and I don't like buying stuff for the sake of it.

Both my children are sick with head colds at the moment. Leo got his first, I thought it was just teething (which it is too - the 2 top front teeth are about to pop through), but now Rosie has it too. I'm next. Raff had the flu the other week - the full body version. I'm surprised I've caught nothing yet. Though I have had some major headaches in the last couple of weeks.
I went on the pill and every time my period came, a massive headache came with it. That teamed with some other stupid shit the stupid pill seems to do to my body, has made me go off it again. I gave it a 3 month trial and it FAILED! It didn't even really do anything good for my skin either. Soooo back to being fertile it is ;)

Rosie is funny and requesting Mustang every time we get in the car or when I play music on the stereo at home. What good taste she has hehehe and for a 3 year old too hehehe totally influenced by her Mummy ofcourse.
I guess I'm not helping by playing them all the time. It's rare these days that I get so into one band and want to listen to them constantly.
And even try to play along to them on our new (kids) drumkit (that I bought from the Salvos for $20!!). I think I have some rhythm but I'm too big to sit at that thing hehe

I'm loving pinterest at the moment - I've been putting all my ideas/dreams/wishlist up there for our future (maybe!) home reno in the Gong. There are too many nice things around!

This week...

2011-07-14T15:09:00.001+10:00

I had to try this Macaroni cheese recipe from Corrie from Retromummy (which she got from the Pioneer Woman) - I had never added mustard to mine before and also SO MUCH CHEESE. But it was so yummy, and I added extra mustard on top - but you have to eat it steaming hot though so it's nice and gooey.

A couple of nights later I made prawn laksa - cheats version, using a jar of paste. Prawns, noodles, bok choy, cabbage and spring onion. Yum!

I finished a second pair of reversible pants for Leo - this time with a very cute elephant print. I've since finished another pair, this time for Rosie, in a very bright and bold floral cotton drill that she chose. They debuted at daycare this week and lasted well and were nice and snuggly.

Mini apple and coconut cakes - I made these on Tuesday and they were sooooo yummy. Lovely and moist and fluffy. They didn't need the icing either as they were quite sweet. I'm trying to find some recipes to make for healthy snacks for Rosie and Leo - I wouldn't class these as healthy though!

10+ years ago I wanted a fringed jacket like this one (from Forever New) - why couldn't they have had them back then! I wouldn't buy it now as it's kind of impractical for me, where am I going to wear it?? Plus it's $230.
Her hair is nice too hehe

New pants

2011-07-04T22:18:00.000+10:00

Here are Leo's new plaid pants - nice and soft woolly fabric on the outside, comfy red flannelette on the inside. I actually finished something within two days (worth of naps) for a change! They are also reversible, so it's 2 pairs of pants in one :)

I got the pattern from this book which I bought on ebay before Rosie was born. Yes it looks a bit 80's dag-o-rama on the cover - but it's full of basic/classic patterns that are easy to put together. These pants are super-duper easy because they are only 2 pieces (plus I added the extra 2 pieces for the lining ofcourse).

Today I bought some more fabric from Spotlight to make another pair - vintage style elephant print that I will line with a coffee coloured flannelette. No more tracky dacks every day for Leo now, he can look a bit more stylish ;)

Then after that little project then I am going to make something for me!!!

I went through my pattern box today and picked a few out....now which one to choose! My eye is drawn to the red dress in the bottom right corner and the peter-pan-collared dresses in the bottom left.
(btw, don't you think the lady in the top left corner looks like Sarah Jessica Parker!?)
I love going through all my patterns! They are 95% bought from op-shops and mostly from the 50s/60s/70s - if I got stuck into them all, I would have a very full wardrobe!

One of those days

2011-07-03T22:25:00.000+10:00

End of the weekend - cranky Mummy day.
I don't even know why I am so angry!
Hmmm ok well maybe it's because I have gone cold turkey again with the chocolate and sugary treats. It was my new financial year resolution - 'LAY OFF THE CHOCOLATE YOU CRAZY WOMAN'. I don't think I was as bad as last time, but it slowly crept back in again to make a daily appearance. No good!

So it's back to chewing on raw almonds and carrot sticks, back on the Wii (it's been 120 days since I was on there last - I checked today, it even teased me that it had forgotten my name...cheeky piece of electronics!), back to lettuce leaves and un-carby dinners. I guess if I can do this in winter, I can do it any time!

Amidst all my crankiness today, I did manage to get a bit of sewing in to calm my nerves. I'm currently making a pair of winter pants for Leo - woollen plaid type fabric on the outside and lined with red flannelette. They will be reversible too! Anyway I can't finish them today as I discovered I had no elastic left. So hopefully I can get to spotlight tomorrow (and put my horse blinkers on and walk straight to the elastic stand, pay and walk out.....AS IF!) and finish them yay.

I think my next project should be something for me!

Want!

2011-06-30T21:56:00.000+10:00

Marimekko converse!
Drool!
I also love the colourful patchwork-y style ones too. $100 is steep though for converse! Why is such a cheap shoe so expensive!? Rubber and canvas....mark-up times one billion percent!

Apple dress

2011-06-27T22:42:00.001+10:00

Rosie's new dress - as made by me last week. I used an old pattern (from 1974) I bought from an op shop a few years ago. So much fun to sew on a decent machine - no lock ups, no needle snapping in my face, no thread bunching up and forming into huge knots. I lengthened it just a touch and also added the binding on the sleeves and skirt hem. I love it! The fabric is a cotton drill I bought from spotlight a few months ago, it's very 60's and the colours are lovely and bold.

Anyway Rosie can wear it tomorrow to daycare (and hopefully not destroy it hehe).
Now I need to decide what I'm going to sew next. Poor Leo has been a bit neglected in the old sewing department - I think I'm going to have to make him something....maybe some winter pants that aren't tracky daks!

Where did the baby go?

2011-06-26T22:16:00.000+10:00

Where??
I no longer have a baby, I have a toddler!
Leo turned 1 on Saturday! We had a family party with a yummy lunch made by moi (Italian x Greek meatballs with risoni, grilled vegetable and bocconcini salad, lazy coleslaw and bbq-ed chicken) and a big chocolate cake which I attempted to make look like a lions face. It looked OK...I give myself 6 out of 10....

Leo was so happy all day and was loving everyone's attention. Ofcourse he had no idea what was going on, but it was fun. Rosie is enjoying all his new toy presents hehe. We bought him a Tolo tractor and trailer set and a Brio pounding bench. I love the Brio wooden stuff - lovely bright colours, well made and collectable. Rosie and Leo have a few Brio things now and they will be the toys I save for their kids :)

I went through the day looking at the clock remembering everything that happened on the day of his birth. Funny how I remember it all so much by the clock, maybe that was a good side effect of being induced (not that I had any bad side effect of being induced - definitely a positive induction experience here).

Leo is taking more and more steps in a row and I would say he will be walking properly within a few weeks. He just gets SO EXCITED every time he stands and starts walking towards us. He also gives himself a round of applause and is so proud. Very cute.

Leo has celebrated being 1 today by whacking his head on the floor and mailbox a number of times...he seems to have a permanent bruise along the top of forehead. Poor thing, I guess that's the bad side effect of learning to walk.

Btw - I love the Golden Book above where I stole the name of this blog post from. I remember having this book when I was young, and I found a copy for Rosie in an op shop. The illustrations by Eloise Wilkin are gorgeous (I love all the illo's she's done for different Golden Books - she drew young children beautifully).

Btw again - my new Janome is so great to sew with. Gotta remember to take a pic of the new dress I finished for Rosie on Friday. Love the pattern and how it all turned out. Now what to make next.........hmmmm............

Slowly....

2011-06-20T11:29:00.000+10:00

Slowly (finally) updating my blog a little bit. No more cute birdies!
I even added an about me page!
How advanced ;)

The latest in photos

2011-06-12T22:03:00.000+10:00

I had my birthday and my cake was totally delish! I used this recipe from Taste which was just gorgeous eaten at night after the kiddies had gone to bed...cake slightly heated in the microwave with some cream poured on top. YUM

Some of the books I bought from the Salvos last week. I always go through the kids book section, you never know what gems you can pick up! I would have to say 95% of our books come from op-shops.

Looking down this street in Enmore/Marrickville brought back so many memories when we were at the park last week (Enmore Park). I used to live just down the road, lived there about 4-5 years, walked up and down Addison Rd a million times, used to go to the Vic on the Park (the pub on the corner) all the time to see bands. What a different life I used to lead. Young and selfish!

Very, very yummy pumpkin soup I made the other night. Made with leek, a pinch of cumin, jap pumpkin, carrot, swede, stock and all processed up so it was lovely and creamy. Served with a dollop of plain yoghurt in the middle and some Indian paratha on the side. Wasn't so happy with how they turned out though, next time I will try a different recipe.

Lunch yesterday at Malacca Straits on Broadway. I had a super-duper craving for Malaysian food after watching Masterchef on Friday night. So off we went and had laksa, nasi goreng and Hokkien Mee. Spicy and very yummy!

I made these pants for Rosie this week on my newwww sewing machine ;) I used a pattern I bought from an op shop ages ago. Very simple with nice side pockets which I lined with cute anchor fabric. This photo is totally rubbish though and doesn't show the cool 70's style-ness of them. It took me all bloody week to make them though as I had 10 mins here, 30 mins there...interruptions...etc etc!

21 again!

2011-06-02T15:05:00.000+10:00

It's my birthday today! Happy birthday to meeeee.
Having a day at home as we're having a dishwasher installed. kitchen is currently disaster zone...wish birthday girl didn't have to clean it up :/

There is also a delicious (hopefully) choccie cake waiting for me in the fridge...

35 today...getting old-ish...

On its way to me...

2011-05-30T22:05:00.000+10:00

Just bought!
I saw this jacket in Sportsgirl a couple of months ago and liked it...and today I noticed it on their site for $100 off...so I bought it!
The tunic top/dress I saw for about 5 seconds on 'The Circle' this morning and loved it - so I sought it out today and added that to my cart too heheh
Yay - birthday presents to myself! I can't wait to have a nice warm jacket to wear that isn't daggy and hasn't been sitting in my wardrobe for 10+ years

I am also a very lucky lady and have received a very nice Janome sewing machine for my birthday (which is on Thursday). It's a simple computerised one and I can't wait to use it! The lady let me have a play with it in the shop and it felt soooo nice to sew with. I don't even have to use a foot pedal and can press a button to start/stop. Fancy! (compared to my Jaguar clunker hehe) It also has automatic button hole maker. Magic! Not that making a button hole is hard, but it's nice to be able to sit back and let the machine do the work!

So I am loving my birthday week!
Now all I have to do is make myself a birthday cake (probably chocolate) and clear out some kitchen cupboards to make way for our new dishwasher. I CAN'T WAIT TO NOT HAVE TO WASH UP EVERY NIGHT!!! Slightly excited...I haven't had a dishwasher since moving out of home over 15 years ago. I am in the 21st century! WOOHOO!

Loving

2011-05-26T22:35:00.000+10:00

Totally loving this Sheridan 'Keiko' quilt cover and pillowcase from their 'Pop' range - so very 60's/Scandinavian style. I have this urge to hit the 'buy' button....but am procrastinating/decision making as usual ;)

I love the colours and pattern - but is it too crazy for my bedroom hmmmm
The colours are definitely on the right path...
hmmmm
hmm

It's time to go....

2011-05-24T14:40:00.000+10:00

...Old sewing machine!
Seeing as I will be the birthday girl in a week and a bit, I have requested a new sewing machine for my birthday. This is the only present I get all year so I have to make the most of it hehe
I'm hoping any sewers who may read my blog can suggest a machine for my use. I think I would like a Janome and want to spend about $400. I have no idea what that will get me...I am also more of a clothes sewer than a quilting type person.

My current machine has been giving me the total shits for years now and I think I've been very patient with it - but enough's enough! It is a Jaguar that I bought for $199 at Bondi Grace Bros in 1996. I think I've got my $199 worth.
The thing I do like about it though is it's very solid and heavy - are new machines like that now? My Mum bought a Brother machine a while ago and she said it's very light and not as good as she'd hoped....

Anyway, any advice would be very much appreciated!

Life

2011-05-21T22:58:00.000+10:00

I have to admit, I have been a bit of a grump lately. Or maybe just not inspired enough to write anything on here. Or think that my life or thoughts are quite trivial compared to what others are currently going through.

So I thought I would write a happy post about my two greatest achievements - Rosie and Leo.

Rosie
Currently 3 years and 3 months.
She is going through a bit of a 'defiance' phase, but to be honest I am loving her confidence! Rosie must take after me a bit, a little bit shy like her Mummy, she was sometimes scared of other kids or didn't know how to deal with them at the park, for example. Now she happily plays with anyone at the park and at daycare and with our friends children. I just love watching her interact with other kids and have so much fun (and not want to come home :).

I love how she is so very clever - memorising books, doing puzzles that are above her age, drawing people with arms and legs, faces with eyes, nose and mouth, hair on their heads.
Rosie knows her alphabet, but has known it before she was 2! She is also a master of counting and easily goes up to 20 and can keep going...we are now trying to teach her very basic addition and also how to tell the time. Rosie loves to learn new things.
She loves to help me cook whatever I might be cooking in the kitchen. Especially sweet stuff hehe. Rosie is also a great eater and has no issues with vegetables and fruit - she loves yum cha, Asian noodles, dumplings, soup (must have been Asian in a former life hehe).
I love how she comes looking for me in the house when she's been busy on her own for a bit and wonders what I'm doing...
Rosie is so well spoken, I have to forget she is 3 sometimes. She is excellent at pronunciation and remembering words and meanings. She also loves to sing and can hold a tune! I have to laugh though when she sings my songs (ie. rock music), especially, everybody loves a chubby dude by Turbonegro. It's hilarious.
Now that Leo is mobile, it's great to watch them interact with each other. She gets right down to his level and crawls around and helps him to play. Rosie also wants to feed him all the time!
My favourite thing of all though is when she randomly comes up to me and gives me a hug and says 'I love you Mummy, soooo much'. :)

Leo
Almost 11 months!
Leo is now the master crawler and can get from one end of the house to the other in the blink of a eye (it feels like). He is so fast! He loves to bang on my laptop, play with power cords, bang on the heater, bang on doors and cupboards, pull all the books out of the cupboard, pull all the toys off the shelves, tip Lego all over the floor, vomit on the floor and wipe it all around with his hands, scream really loudly and smile afterwards, bang on everything, rip anything that's rippable....and it's all so cute!
He is also pulling himself up on everything too, obviously a very frustrated walker - he just wants to walk!! He kind of shuffles along the side of the table but doesn't have the balance thing figured out yet to let go.
I love when he knows he's doing something naughty (ie. heading straight to the computer as soon as I walk out of the room), he will try and get there faster and then laugh at me. He has the most beautiful little gummy smile (with 2 tiny teeth). His whole face smiles.
Leo can clap hands but is not waving yet. He likes to give his reflection in the mirror his dummy though. He loves his dummy and so do I :)
His two sleeps a day are sometimes only being one sleep a day....I guess that's coming now that he's getting closer to 1. He is a pretty good sleeper though - a totally different child to Rosie who still hates her own bed. Leo can settle himself and can sleep through the night....just no sleeping through at the moment with all the teef all starting to pop out.
He is our beautiful golden-haired boy!

I was always worried before I had Leo that I didn't know how I could love another child as much as I did Rosie - but it's true what everyone says - you just love them as much. The second Leo was born it was instant love. The same with Rosie. I have such vivid (and happy) memories of both of their births and had the absolute most instant connection (as I sure all mothers do!).
My children and my husband are my life :)

Nice

2011-05-19T15:42:00.000+10:00

Loving this (minus the bedhead, don't really like that).

My head is so full of house-y stuff at the moment, it's all getting too much. So much so I'm actually feeling quite uninspired, or maybe just overwhelmed with thought. Confused?!
Gonna make it worse this weekend with the Home Show on at Darling Harbour.
Argh!

Outfit of the day

2011-05-10T22:21:00.000+10:00

The glamorous (realistic) life.
This is what I wear when I get home and don't have to go anywhere, or noone has to see me and when it's COLD! Like yesterday, when it was cold standing in the sun.

Trackie top from Target
Trackie pants from Kmart
Slippers from Target
Watch from Kenneth Cole Reaction

Once the sun hits it peak and starts to slide down to the west, it doesn't shine in our loungeroom anymore and it gets a bit chilly in here. I have already been blasting our heater on an off during the day - feels like winter is here now!

I'm also having some tired weeks. My once perfectly night sleeping child (Leo) is now waking up every 5 minutes (it feels like) and I am up and down all night like a yo-yo settling him back to sleep. He is growing some teef and is recently crawling, so he's had a little disruption I think...
I'm hoping once he gets used to it all, that he will go back to his lovely sleep-thru-the-night self and I can feel normal again. Not like death warmed up. I thought I had struck the golden child this time around....I hope he comes back. I can't handle two bad sleepers!

I will whisper that Rosie, my 3 year old, is currently asleep on the kids fold out couch on the loungeroom floor and I will soon currently carry her into my bed...where she sleeps every night...shhhh!

(Please someone tell me I'm not the only one who has to do this!?!?)

(Or maybe I am - wahhh!!!)

2011-05-06T15:26:00.000+10:00

Today:

- I think I have been up most of the night putting Leo's dummy back in (bloody teething!) and putting him on his side.
- Breakfast
- Baths
- My shower (10 minutes of peace....sort of)
- A bit of playing til Leo's morning nap at 10.30am
- Get dinner made so it can slow cook all day (bolognaise sauce)
- Make some biscuits with Rosie
- Do some tidying, housework, blahblahblah (boring stuff)
- Fix my sunglasses and then cut my thumb open under my nail with the screwdriver. ow
- Leo wakes up around 12pm, we all have lunch. Leo has chicken and vegies with rice (pureed-ish) and Rosie and I have gourmet toast with vegemite and peanut butter...
- Try to organise a card to send to my Mum for Mother's Day
- Leo decides to whack his head on the floor
- Finally we all get in the car and go to the park down at Kyeemagh
- I get angry at stupid people because stupid people have decided to wreck parts of the park (I don't know what it is with idiots around here, but nearly every park has been vandalised in some form). Now this is usually an excellent, fenced in, shade-clothed park near the beach, so it's a shame the dickheads have gotten to that one as well. Argh!
- It gets really windy and cold and not so much fun there anymore
- We go for a quick walk to look at the water, but it's just getting too cold.
- Mummy gets a hot chocolate hehe, Rosie gets some hot chippies
- Too bloody cold to even stay there and drink/eat so we go home
- Rosie is obviously tired when we get home and gets all cranky, so I get cranky...

That's where I got to yesterday before my half hour of me-time was up and Leo woke up crankier than ever!
So now it's the next day and this is the first time I've sat down again.
Our loungeroom stinks like vomit because apparently we had a vomit-a-thon in here while I was vacuuming the kitchen. Leo did his usual weet-bix vomit and then Rosie decided to choke on saliva and bring all hers up too. Nice.
So the floors are washed too. Just gotta get the stink out of this rug!!

We've been to the park again today and Leo refused his morning sleep this morning so he fell asleep in the car on the way home before we even left the carpark.

We've been asked about 3 times at the shops today to have some revolting baby 'portraiture' done. I HATE those suburban shopping mall set-ups - could they get any more tacky? Motorbikes and horrible teddy bears and hats as props. Spew.
I can take better photos on my basic point and shoot digital camera.
Plus they lady who asked me called me 'love' and had no teeth.

Then I saw a wonderful example of parenting while at park. This father was there with his 2 kids, talking to them in German which is fine, I encourage anyone to get their kids to be bilingual. BUT IF HE COULD SPEAK ANY LOUDER AND SHOW HOW WONDERFUL HIS GERMAN IS my god. And then he spent the WHOLE TIME he was there playing with his bloody mobile phone.
And then when they were leaving (while still playing with his phone) his son ran out onto the road almost in front of a car.
So then it was my turn to speak loudly and tell Rosie to hold my hand while we cross the road, we don't just run out.
What an idiot.

Now we are home and I don't know what to cook for dinner. It's Friday and I could not be bothered!
I would like to go to bed at 8.30pm and not wake up til tomorrow at 8.30am. WILL THAT EVER HAPPEN AGAIN?!?
;)

2011-05-04T22:38:00.000+10:00

My head is in house planning mode at the moment. Here is my attempt at being an architect....I am definitely not an architect hehe. Drawing house plans is fun though, I wish I could bring them to life more...make them into 3D visuals. Not sure if that's going to happen, I will have to try and do something dodgy in Illustrator as I do not have any CAD software (not that I could even use it).
I am also in house picture collecting mode too - gathering ideas for kitchens, decks and loungerooms, windows, doors....Yesterday I discovered the Home Show will be on in Sydney in a couple of weeks so we will definitely have to go to that!

Anyway, why am I doing all this?
Well, we're planning our future a bit and will maybe be renovating our house in Wollongong with plans to move into it in the next year or so. Rosie will be starting school in 2013 and we would like to be down there for that.
Our house in the gong is a bit 'old' and needs a bit of a spruce up, especially the horrible kitchen. The benchtops are tiled...need I say more....

So it's all Home Beautiful mags, Inside Out, Real Living, Belle, post-it markers etc etc and a head full of ideas!

Oat and choc chunk + macadamia cookies

2011-05-01T16:12:00.000+10:00

Ingredients

* 150g unsalted butter, at room temperature
* 1/2 cup lightly packed brown sugar
* 1/2 cup caster sugar
* 1 egg at room temperature
* 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
* 1 cup plain flour
* 1/2 tsp baking powder
* 2 cups rolled oats
* 75g white chocolate, coarsely chopped (or choc bits)
* 75g macadamias, coarsely chopped

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Line a large baking tray with non-stick baking paper.
2. Use an electric beater to beat the butter and combined sugar in a medium bowl until pale and creamy. Add the egg and vanilla, and beat until well combined.
3. Sift the flour and baking powder over the egg mixture. Add the oats and chocolate, and stir until well combined.
4. Roll tablespoonfuls of the mixture into balls. Place on lined tray. Flatten slightly. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until light golden.
5. Set aside on the tray for 5 minutes to cool before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

(Recipe adapted from Taste)

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Here is another excellent cookie recipe! Rosie and I have made these about 4 weeks in a row and along with the choc chip cookies I posted a few weeks ago - these are also up there in the best biccies ever stakes.
The chocolate chunks are what makes them, together with the yummy chewiness! The 2 cups of oats also makes them partially healthy........well maybe hehe
10 out of 10 :)

Happy chocolate day

2011-04-25T22:26:00.000+10:00

Easter is over and our house is full of chocolate. This time of year is definitely not one to try and be on a diet - my chocolate-free diet has gone completely out the window. Though it has been out for a little while...(naughty).
I think I'm going to have to go cold turkey again before I go out of control (again).
The poor wii-fit has been a bit neglected too :( I really don't want to put on a layer of winter blubber with all the wintery comfort food heading my way and hot chocolates...so I'm going to have to really kick myself in the bum and get back into it.

We've had a lazy family holiday at home this past week. Lots of playing time, yummy lunches and a trip to the Family Show at Moore Park. I've been to the big Easter Show once in my life and have no desire to return in a hurry. The Family Show was a good scaled down version, plus it was free to get in. Rosie went on a few rides including the Flymotion trampoline harness thingie which she wanted to go on as soon as she saw it. I was very very surprised she wanted to do it and she kept hassling us 'til she got her way hehe. And she loved it! It was funny to watch, especially since she is so light and could hardly bounce off the trampoline as her feet would barely touch it when she came back down hehe

Leo has also started to crawl in the last few days - yay! He's 10 months today!
He finally figured it out and is already on a destruction path through the house - mostly ripping books and trying to open cupboards which he's not allowed to open. He is such a different child to Rosie, she was (and still is) so soft and careful with things and has never ripped a book in her life. Leo gets a piece of paper in his hand and RIPS it with force and tries to keep ripping it and then eat the little pieces. He also wants to eat grass, weeds and leaves all the time outside and thinks it's very funny. He also wants to eat power cords and pull everything off the table. When I say 'No!' he looks at me and thinks it's a big joke and gives me a very cheeky smile. Naughty!
Needless to say, the playpen is out and he sits in there when I'm not in the room hehe

New boots

2011-04-18T16:08:00.000+10:00

Got to love new boots!
Raff and I went out for a spot of shopping yesterday and I picked up these cool boots for $99. Leather and cowboy-ish style = perfect for me! I also bought a pair of over the knee socks from Sportsgirl. Raff bought a very cool black leather jacket and some jeans. Rosie and Leo got nothing haha. Well Rosie nearly got a pair of shoes, but they didn't have her size. Boo! She is squeezing her 8.5 size foot into a size 7 pair of shoes at the moment - I am a bad mother.

Anyway, this is what I wore today. Excuse horribly messy hair, it's my in-between washing day....bit greasy :/

Ruffley Top - Jag
Cardigan - op shop
Skirt - Cotton On
Tights - Ezibuy
Boots - Wittner

The boots are pull-on and god it's hard to get them on! It's like a 5 minute wiggle-a-thon to get my feet in. I have high arches, so it's hard to get around the 'bend'. Usually I can never get zips up my calves with other knee high type boots, but these ones are fine.

I also love my $5 bargain skirt - I am a fan of mini skirts, always have been...but some days I wonder if I'm getting too old for them. Last night I asked on facebook if I was getting too old and everyone who answered said no! SO I guess that's a bit of a vote of confidence...
I just don't want to look like I'm trying to be 18 again! Though I do only wear minis if I wear tights/stockings underneath...don't want people to see my underwear!

And one more thing - my tights! I bought these off Ezibuy and they are the best tights I've owned. They are staying black for one thing (not fading in the wash) and are nice and smooth and great to wear. They also have little zips down at the ankles. Love them.

The end :)

Today

2011-04-13T22:02:00.001+10:00

Here is our apple harvest for 2011 - 4 whole apples....
This is after a year of Raff putting so much TLC into our badly neglected trees. The year before we had so many apples, the parrots were eating them, they were falling onto the ground in bag loads and we just had to throw them away. Looks like it's better to neglect your trees.

The same has happened with our 3 peach trees which produced a grand total of nothing! Whereas last year there were so many and they had been very neglected by the previous inhabitants of our house.
Oh well!

No apple pies this year ;)

Not that I feel like making any at the moment, I swear I have been sick with a stupid cold for a month and it will not go away. It's the slowest progressing cold ever and has completely drained me.
I just want a good nights sleep and it's not happening at the moment with a tooth in Leo's mouth finally breaking through. He is waking up every few hours wanting his dummy back in his mouth, or panadol, or milk. wah!

Today I burnt 3 of my fingers touching a gas hotplate thingie on our stove. Stupid. I didn't think it was on, so I checked and went to jiggle it around a bit to get the flame working. But it had been on, so now my 3 most used fingers on my right hand have a lovely little burn on them. Pain!
It's nice washing the dishes or doing anything really with burnt fingertips. God I am stupid.

Today was also the day of flannelette sheets going on the bed! I think a bit earlier this year, but it's gotten a bit chilly at night and I just love the comfy warmness of flannelette.
Sometimes that's the most favourite part of my day - climbing into bed and just letting my body relax (until I hear Leo murmuring in his bed...or Rosie will wake up in hers, get upset and run into our room and climb into our bed and wake me up just at that point of me going to sleep).

Today I made wonton soup for dinner, but I made the wontons kind of taste more like dumplings. Yummy food to eat when you're not feeling 100%.

Today I also did 2 loads of washing in my new washing machine, played with Leo and Rosie inside and outside, ironed some shirts outside while watching Leo and Rosie play, tidied up numerous times, and everything I seem to do daily.

And now I think I'm gonna go to bed.

Thinking

2011-04-11T16:19:00.000+10:00

I think I want to change the name of this blog. I am not a 'mummy blogger' and I think the name kind of makes it sound like I am. Not that there's anything wrong with being a mummy blogger, I just don't want to sit solely in that basket.
I have been playing around with a new heading design for up the top (for ages...), but I am such a procrastinator, I just can't make up my mind whether to change it all.

Such big decisions........
Well not really.
These are the things that fly around in my head when I am the only one awake in my house, and it's late and I should be asleep too...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well I wrote that the other night and I still want to change it.
I have a couple of new names in my head and will have to stop procrastinating soon. Or maybe I could be very original and just use my name hah
I'm feeling a bit un-creative lately, even my facebook status updates are very uninspired. Maybe it's all these pimples weighing me down hehe.

Hmm ok this must be world's most boring post :/

The best choc-chip cookies EVER

2011-04-06T15:51:00.000+10:00

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
(Makes 30)

Ingredients
125g butter
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 egg
1½ cups self raising flour
½ cup Cadbury® Bourneville® Cocoa
¾ cup Cadbury® Dark Chocolate Chips

Method

Preheat oven to 160ºC.
Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy.
Mix in vanilla essence and egg.
Stir in flour and Cadbury Bourneville Cocoa.
Add Cadbury Dark Chocolate Chips.
Place teaspoons of mixture on greased baking tray and bake in moderate oven for 10-15 minutes.

(Recipe from Cadbury)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rosie and I made these biccies again today - they are THE BEST choc-chip biccies ever. I have made them heaps of times and it really is a great recipe and very easy too (ofcourse). Everyone says they have the best recipe for choc-chip cookies...but seriously, THIS IS THE BEST ONE!

They are not crunchy, they are soft and chewy, almost like a little cake....mmmm
I have to have so much self control to not keep eating them!
And Cadbury will love me too as I think their choc chips are much better than the Nestle ones hehehe. Not that Cadbury people will ever see this or anything hah
:)

Recipes!

2011-04-03T16:00:00.001+10:00

I have had a few requests to post up the recipes from my Lebanese/Middle Eastern/Mediterranean lunch....
Before I post these recipes, I must preface this with - I am not Lebanese, so these recipes are probably not 100% authentic, but they worked for me and were yummy!

Unfortunately, I have NO photos - not a single one :( I was flat out all morning preparing and then when the food was served I didn't even get a chance to take a picture because everyone was digging in! I'm sure you know what hummus looks like...

Anyway, here they are :)

Hummus
400g (1 can) chickpeas - drained and rinsed
1 garlic clove
3-4 T tahini
2-4 T fresh lemon juice
1/4 t ground cumin
Extra virgin olive oil

Method:
- Put all but 1T of chickpeas into food processor, add the garlic and process to a thick paste
- Add tahini - process until blended
- Add lemon juice, cumin and salt to taste and process until creamy
- For a thinner dip, add a drizzle of olive oil while processing (I also added a bit of water to thin it out a bit more so it wasn't so thick).
- To serve - transfer to serving bowl, sprinkle with saved chickpeas and drizzle with oil. Add a sprinkle of smoked paprika and parsley. Done!

(Adapted from 'Meze' - Beverley le Blanc)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yoghurt and Cucumber dip (Tzatziki/Cacik)
1 garlic clove, crushed to a paste w/ 1/2t salt
300g Greek yoghurt
2 T extra virgin olive oil
2 T dried mint
1-2 T fresh lemon juice
1 small lebanese cucumber
S+P

Method:
- Put everything, except cucumber, in a bowl and mix
- Coarsely grate cucumber into a sieve resting in the sink and use your hands to squeeze out the excess moisture. Add to yoghurt mix.
- Add extra lemon juice and S+P to taste, if you wish
- Cover and chill in the fridge for atleast 2 hours.

(Adapted from 'Meze' - Beverley le Blanc)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Beef Kofta
1 piece of bread's worth of fresh breadcrumbs
1/2 c fresh parsley
1/2 c fresh coriander
1/4 c fresh mint leaves
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
500g mince
1t dried coriander
1t dried cumin
1t paprika (I used smoked)
1/2 t all spice
1/4 t chilli powder
S+P

Method:
- Process breadcrumbs first
- Then add everything except meat - process
- Then add meat - process until it forms a thick paste.
- Mould a heaped Tablespoon around a skewer into about a 7cm pointed sausage - repeat and place on a lined tray.
- Brush kofta with oil and cook under a preheated grill for 5-8 mins (turn once) - or cook on the BBQ (that's what I did).
(My mix made about 12 good-sized koftas)
(I doubled this recipe for my party of 9)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shish Taouk
1kg chicken breast
1 T olive oil
1 T tomato puree
1 T crushed garlic
1 T garlic sauce/toum (I didn't have that so I just added a bit of extra garlic)
S+P
Juice of 2 lemons

Method:
- Cut the chicken breast into 2cm pieces and place in bowl.
- Add the olive oil, tomato puree, garlic (and garlic sauce), S+P and lemon juice
- Mix well to coat the chicken and leave to marinate for atleast 1 hour or overnight (best!)
- Thread chicken onto skewers and cook under grill or on the BBQ

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

M'Juderah (Lebanese rice and lentils w/ onions)
1 c basmati rice
1 can lentils - drained and rinsed
3 onions - chopped
1 t cumin
Olive oil
S+P

Method:
- Cook the rice w/ the absorbtion method so it's nice and fluffy
- Meanwhile mix the cumin with the onions and fry til well cooked (crisp!) in a frying pan or on the BBQ
- When these are both cooked, put in a big bowl with the lentils and mix, add olive oil and S+P to taste. Done!
(I doubled this recipe for my party of 9)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cabbage Salad
1/2 a cabbage - chopped finely
4 tomatoes - diced
good bunch of fresh mint leaves
4 spring onions - chopped finely
Juice of 1 lemon
Olive oil
S+P

Method:
- Put everything together in a bowl.
- Add lemon juice
- Add olive oil and S+P to taste
- I kind of made this up as I went, but it tasted BEAUTIFUL.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I also made a simple lettuce and cucumber salad, fried up some halloumi, and served everything up on the table for everyone to pick and mix what they wanted. Don't forget to also serve it with freshly baked Lebanese bread! I recommend our local bakery for yummy fresh bread (Peace Bakery in Arncliffe), but there are so many makers around, if you get it fresh it's good from anywhere (though I would say to avoid the stuff you buy in woolies/coles/aldi as it's always so dry).

Oh and to top it all off - serve baklava for dessert or other similar Lebanese sweets and treats. Or you could make it yourself if you are brave (not me this time) and have the time. I bought our dessert from Said Pastry in Arncliffe. Their baklava was DELISH!

SO there you go!
Easy recipes with a very yummy result :)

Girly stuff

2011-04-01T22:12:00.000+11:00

I have been in the worst mood all week and now it's Friday night and I am EXHAUSTED. I'm not usually one to suffer from PMT, but I think I am hormonally all over the place at the moment. Something changed in my body this time (after giving birth to Leo), I think my hormones are a bit effed up. I wasn't like this after Rosie was born!
Cranky mummy - not someone I like being! I hate being a crank!

I haven't been on the pill for a loooong time (8 years maybe!) and I'm thinking of going back on for a while to maybe balance me out again.....oh and also to get rid of this horrendous zit plague which seems to have attacked my body.
I swear it's like I've gone back in time to 15 again when my skin was truly shithouse. I thought once you got out of puberty your pimples disappeared?! Looks like mine's been going for 20 years.
No magical lotion or potion on my skin has EVER fixed me up. NOTHING.

It's actually a bit depressing - almost 35 and my skin looks like a 15 year olds. And not just my face either.....neck, chest, shoulders and LEGS. My poor legs look like some teenager's face. Thank god for the cooler weather so I can cover them up and no one has to see them.
:(

Oh woe is me.
Sorry for the sooky post - but I felt like a whinge and had to get it out.
Hopefully tomorrow morning I will wake up feeling refreshed and a bit more chirpy now that I have that out of my system.

Food!

2011-03-26T22:29:00.000+11:00

We are having a Lebanese themed lunch tomorrow....or maybe partly Middle Eastern with some elements of Mediterranean. We live near a large Middle Eastern populated area, so their delicious food must be rubbing off on me....especially on Mondays when our neighbours have a big family gathering and cook yummy food on their backyard charcoal bbq. The smells waft over our fence all day and it's very mouth-watering...

Anyway, tommorrow the menu I have planned is:
- Beef kofta (on the BBQ)
- Chicken shish taouk (on the BBQ)
- Sausages (hehe for the children who don't want so much garlic meat)
- Homemade hommous
- Homemade tzatziki
- Lebanese bread
- Basic lettuce salad
- Cabbage salad
- M'Juderah (Lebanese rice and lentils w/ onions)
- Halloumi
- and baklava for dessert

Hopefully the Italians like it hehe ;)
I thought I would try and break away from the norm of pasta, pasta or pasta.

10 years ago

2011-03-21T16:42:00.000+11:00

I guess like anyone else, you never know what you'll be doing in 10 years time.
I occasionally go through my old news posts on my old hellcity site to remind myself of what I was doing 10 years ago.
This is what I wrote:

-----------------------------------------------

DAREDEVIL pics up now*, from that green square gig. and also a new band of the week - this time its hank williams III even tho he's not a band.
last week i got an email from this guy in the US claiming that my site had an amazing resemblance to his - after checking it out i saw that he had ripped the flames from my homepage and the general layout and idea. he tells me he didnt steal my flames or anything else. it was all just a co-incidence! and what an amazing one at that especially when he just redrew my flames in reverse! this kind of thing always makes me wonder how stupid some people think i am - u can tell first glance that its the biggest rip on the planet, but they have the hide to tell me they didnt copy. 'apparently' he got 'his' flames off a sticker and tries to tell me im wrong. duh - i think id know if i drew them or not, my memory aint that bad. anyway he must be guilty as the his site has now been 'adjusted' and MY flames have been removed, wouldnt it be great if he had left it there a few more days so we could have all had a big laugh. here's what one of the guys from the australian infront forum did for me, the 2 flames have been overlayed and seem to match up perfectly - amazing! wow! look at that! and he didnt copy! yeah f'ing right...
news other than that - tomorrow night i should be hitting the annandale to see the stonerphonic tour featuring rollerball, thumlock and bobsledge. yayyyyyy. i guess me and my camera will be snappin some more. im really looking forward to seeing thumlock again as i havent seen them in ageesss (due to laziness) and maybe this time rollerballs singer wont be off on another planet again.
only 2 weeks and 1 day til we see KISS at the superdome! apparently they'll be on rove live next week, so it looks like i have to sit thru an hour of his shit again to see them. you am i were on this week, right at the very frigging end - uhh - i had to listen to a jonbonjovi interview and see some dumb dork fly in on a hellacopter. tim rogers and his wife have also just had a little baby girl called 'ruby' the other week. i think he will make a good father as he seems so besotted with his wife and anything they make together must be amazing for him. so congrats to timofi.
recent musical purchases >> elvis - blue hawaii, 2 deus cds, kiss - dynasty (with the poster still inside!), kiss - alive II, you am i - get up, 2 wildhearts cds. all for bargain prices cos thats the kinda cheap person i am.
ahh shit, i forgot to mention warped in my news somewhere. hell im getting out of my routine! ummm ok well i hope rage has a 2nd try in getting that strychnine girl video up again. dumb fukkers. i still cant believe they skipped it last week...

-----------------------------------------------

It's funny because, little did I know I would end up marrying the guitarist of Thumlock and having 2 beautiful children with him.
I went to that gig at the Annandale but I didn't meet Raff 'til about a year later. I would have seen Thumlock many more times within that time period too.
We met by chance. I think it was fate and now I wouldn't change my life for the world.

Gosh I used to swear a lot in my news writing too. I've toned it down a bit now haha. And I also seemed to never use capital letters either. LAZY!

I still remember that guy stealing my flames illustration from my site too. He kept emailing me claiming he didn't - yes he must have thought I was very stupid. He had just reversed it and re-drew it, it was such an obvious rip!
That's the fun of being a designer and having things on the internet. I've had a few things stolen over the years, but not for a long time now.

Now I wonder what I'll be doing in 10 years time....

* the Daredevil pics are here

Love Hate

2011-03-18T11:21:00.000+11:00

I FINALLY ordered some clogs and these ones are on their way to me from the other side of the world. Very exciting. It only took me weeks and weeks to make a decision...
I am sometimes not very good at making decisions as I like to think about things for ages and make the right decision. So things can take a while with me hehe

The other day I managed to pick up my first pair of jeggings for $4 (op shop) - couldn't pass them up. They are actually made of denim though (not denim looking lycra - wouldn't touch those ones!) and pretty much look like jeans except they have an elasticised top.

I LOVE THEM!

I know people either love or hate these things. I even saw a hating group on facebook yesterday hehe. ok there are quite a few 'i hate jeggings' pages - got to love some of the titles 'I hate it when girls wear jeggings and 'forget' to wear a skirt', 'I Hate Jeggings on girls, when they don't fit/ are not Tight!', 'I HATE JEGGINGS THEY LOOK STUPID', 'I like your jeggings. Lol jk!! What? Couldn't you afford jeans?!'
hehehehe

Anyway - they suit me fine and I love how they remind me of the comfiness of maternity jeans. Elasticised top ahhhhh, daggy but oh so very comfortable. No-one can see it anyway once you have a top on, so I don't care!

I also picked up a cute stripey top from the salvos for $3 - I NEARLY bought this gorgeous peter-pan style collar dress, but then I noticed just before I paid for it, this huge, un-fixable hole that could not be repaired no matter how hard I thought about how I could fix it. Damn.
Aaaaand, I bought a cool pair of charcoal skinny cord jeans from Myer last week, with a cute spotty top.
Like this, but polka dot (the stripes to me don't really work with that collar when I tried it on)

I am hunting for a leather jacket too - I keep wishlisting all these ones on ASOS, then I go back to look at them again a couple of days later and they're all bloody sold out! Like, sold out forever, we are never restocking them :(

Anyway I am enjoying, very slowly, building up my winter wardrobe. I just wish it would hurry up and cool down as I'm well and truly over hot weather now. Looking forward to living in my jeans again...and my jeggings hehe

Outfit

2011-03-14T11:38:00.000+11:00

It's time to do silly poses and make funny faces trying to take photos of myself in the mirror (which desperately needs a clean...). I thought I might occasionally start putting up some outfit of the day type posts. On days I feel good.
Now that the days are (very) slowly getting cooler, I am starting to wear my autumn/winter wardrobe again which I much prefer to summery clothes. I love jeans and layering tops, wearing lots of black/red/leopard, jackets and boots etc etc

SO anyway, here I am today. This is pretty normal outfit for me. It's Monday and I've taken Rosie to daycare and then walked around the local shopping strip (bought a few groceries, went to the deli and did a touch of op shopping).

Leopard top - Sussan (I think Autumn '10)
Denim skinny 'pedal pushers' (don't know what else to call them!) - Sportsgirl (op shopped)
Black converse - Hype DC
Studded belt - 2nd hand
Black bead necklace - 2nd hand

Back

2011-03-05T11:52:00.000+11:00

Back from our holiday and I feel so tired I think I need another holiday.
This picture is driving down the Pacific Hwy early in the morning, approaching Macksville. Loved the distant low lying cloud sitting in front of the mountain.

Choices

2011-02-21T22:16:00.000+11:00

Which ones do I choose?
(Am ignoring all who say 'neither!' hehe)
I do like red (ofcourse), but I'm sort of leaning towards the brown ones....
They are not Swedish Hasbeens, but they are from Sweden! The Hasbeens are just a bit too much on the pricey side for me ($200+ to get them here), so I went on a bargain hunt :)

Such big decisions...........

In other news - I got my hair cut again! Wow, I didn't wait a year between cuts this time. It's darker than last time and the hairdresser put some blonde bits in the front that go into my fringe. I also had my fringe thickened up a bit as the last one was a bit wispy.
I love it! Raff says I look like one of those cool trendy mother types from Newtown. I don't mind that comparison as many years ago I lived in Enmore, right next to a pub, and strolled up and down Enmore Rd/King St about 1000 times a week. hehe. Getting back to my roots!

You can also see my new op-shopped top - very nautical. I wore this to the hairdresser with some navy shorts and my red sandals. Raff asked me where I parked my yacht.
Hilarious!

Wee and poo

2011-02-17T22:09:00.000+11:00

(If you don't like reading about wee and poo - stop now!)

Ages ago I spoke of my desire to have Rosie toilet trained, I think it may have been even before Leo was born...

Well, I think we may just about be there! I have tried books, star charts, rewards...and nothing worked but patience, praise and kindness. Even just this last week we have had huge improvements in the poo-ing department. Rosie was getting scared of doing them and was holding them in for days (uncomfortable!) and then finally freaking and letting them go in a very teary (and probably painful) way.

Now the last few days we have a new girl at home who is happy to go when she needs to and we now have 'Mr Poo' in the toilet or potty who we wave goodbye to and say 'have a nice swim'.....

She has mastered wees and will go anytime, anywhere and will also happily go off by herself and do them without me having to tell her or having to follow her.
We still have night nappies, but none during the day unless we go out for ages and toilets may be scarce....

So, I am pretty happy. I had a goal in mind to have her TT'ed by her 3rd birthday and that will be in a week and a half! Very proud of my little girl.

Now, the next thing on the agenda is getting her to go to bed at night in her own bed and staying there all night..........

Sharp dressed (wo)man

2011-02-11T22:52:00.000+11:00

All my favourites seem to be in fashion this coming season!

Leopard print
Nautical (stripes)
Seventies + flared jeans
Leather
Double denim
Colour!

All the things that I get hassled/teased about liking are IN! I'm set! Cos that's all I have in my wardrobe - striped tops, leopard tops and skirts (and now new red leopard jeans), flares, leather accessories and lots and lots of denim....

Lace is also apparently in, but I'm not really into lace as outerwear so I might give that one a miss.

Seeing as colour is in, I checked the Witchery site to see if they think it's in too - but they are still so freaking BEIGE. What is it with that shop?? They have gotten so boring I don't even bother looking in there anymore. Snore.

I have noticed that the 'vintage' floral look (from the 80s) is still going strong in the shops - I'm so not into this one. Those patterns bring back too many bad memories from the first time it was in (late 80s). The bustiers that seem to go with it and the abundance of crop tops around are also not floating my boat. Unless you're a size 8 and 16 years old then I don't think you should be wearing that stuff.

I'm going to love double denim - I've never had an issue with wearing top and bottom denim (eg. denim jacket and jeans), it's rocknroll and Turbonegro denim demon. I practically lived in this type of outfit 10 years ago and covered the front pockets of my denim jacket in cool badges of cars and bands. I can relive my early 20s hehe

Things on my hitlist are:
- more lightweight jackets (I'm seriously lacking in the jacket department - not going through another autumn/winter wearing just cardigans!)
- leather jacket (my current one is 10+ years old and looking a bit too worn)
- red jeans and/or cord jeans
- new biker style flat-ish boots that actually reach my knee
- stock up on leopard things
- red + white striped top
- black/grey/red low scoop neck tops
- striped tights and over-the-knee socks
- clogs

I also desperately need a haircut again - my fringe is almost hanging in my mouth and the greys are getting a bit too out there...
I definitely want the fringe again, probably a bit thicker this time now that I'm used to it. Chocolate brown colour with either some thick black chunks through it or a fat blonde chunk underneath....hmmm thinking...

(Images are from Zara and Asos I think...)

Mixtape memories

2011-02-10T16:23:00.000+11:00

My latter highschool years and uni/tafe days were the height of my mixtaping days. Back in the early 90s, of course, there was no internet so I found new bands listening to the radio (mostly local community stations), from magazines, fanzines, friends, pen-friends, other people, mailorder, music shops....etc!
(now I am lazy and mainly use the internet)
I was so addicted to finding new music back then, obsessive even. CDs were starting to come into the shops too, so I would go a bit silly and spend all my money I earnt working at KFC on them. Music was my life! I guess when you're 16 it sort of is (next to having crushes and chasing boys hehe)

I made so many tapes it's ridiculous and creatively labelled them all 'alternative' and made fancy little covers for them all with coloured paper and coloured pencils. I would even tape over old album tapes (cover the holes with masking tape!) because I would run out of blank ones.

And now I have nowhere to play them! We have not a single tape player in this house. I know I have an old walkman in a box somewhere, might have to dig it out and see if it still works.

Anyway, here is one mixed tape I used to listen to all the time (gosh it's bringing back so many memories looking up all these songs on youtube).

Side A:
Hole - Over the Edge
Cosmic Psychos - What
Hoss - Green
TSOL - It's grey
Tad - Jinx
The Fluid - Cold Outside
Accidental Tribe - Some Mojo Alien
Monster Magnet - Snake Dance

Side B:
The Factory - Path through the forest
Kim Salmon and the Surrealists - I declare
Teenage Fanclub - December
Buffalo Tom - Sunflower Suit
Superchunk
L7 - Wargasm

2 minutes in my brain

2011-02-08T11:56:00.000+11:00

I woke up the other night to the sounds of Leo crying out (normal) for which I presumed was a midnight snack ;)
When I got to him I found him COVERED in vomit - the entire contents of his stomach type of vomit - which was everywhere....all over him, under him, on the sheets etc etc
So I cleaned him up, changed his bed sheets, changed his clothes, gave him some milk and put him back to bed.

Two minutes later I was up again to the sounds of vomiting!
Leo had spewed everything up AGAIN, EVERYWHERE! This time I called out to Raff to come and help me...which then woke up Rosie, so she got up and started freaking out and crying.
Raff saw Leo and the vomit everywhere and then said he felt sick too. I didn't want to say I also felt sick - but I knew why I felt off because I was panicking in my brain that Leo was really sick and I'd have to take him to the hospital. My mind loves to race 100 miles an hour in these situations. I am excellent at thinking the worst.

We'd just had that week of hot weather and had had a (borrowed) portable aircon blasting in our lounge room all day.
So I thought Leo had a lung infection! Or we'd all caught Legionnaires disease. What were the symptoms of Legionnaires disease?
No this is silly, I have NEVER heard of anyone catching that disease from a portable aircon in Australia.
Did he inhale some vomit? Was he going to choke all night on it and get an infection from that? Leo had pneumonia when he was born so his lungs are weak! I have to go to the hospital!
What if he'd choked on his vomit and died....now I'm comparing him to Bon Scott and Jimi Hendrix...
What if he had salmonella poisoning from his dinner (chicken)....but I'd fed him that before and nothing happened...

So after we cleaned him up again - I put him back to bed again and climbed into Rosie's bed so I could listen to him.

THEN HE STARTED VOMITING AGAIN!!!!

This time I managed to get in quick and took him straight to the bathroom and let him puke in the sink.
SO now my mind was reaaalllllly racing and I felt like I was going to puke too. My god.
I changed him again and we put a massive towel in his bed to absorb any more vomits.

Back in bed again for Leo and I got back into Rosie's bed and just lay there listening. Leo quickly dropped off to sleep and was breathing all phlegm-y, but he seemed fine and didn't stir again until morning.
I think I lay there for an hour or so with my mind going crazy thinking up all the diseases we all had. Meanwhile I was trying to breathe deeply to get rid of my nauseous stomach - it eventually went away and I slowly managed to talk myself out of all the silly thoughts in my head.

Leo was fine the next day - just doing his normal milky spews.
He has had a bit of a runny nose and cough during the last week, so I think it was the last of the gooby stuff catching in his throat and making him choke.
I am such a worrier though.
But it's normal when you're a mother right? Right???!?

Red shoes

2011-02-03T16:06:00.000+11:00

My excellent red sandals arrived and I haven't stopped wearing them!
They are so very comfortable and really well made - lovely thick leather with nice and simple stitching.
I have been transported back to Everton Park State School circa 1981 :)

Life skills

2011-01-30T22:02:00.000+11:00

I read this article in the paper before about many Gen Y women being unable to do basic 'female' skills these days - the skills being cooking, ironing, sewing, driving a manual car, baking lamingtons etc
The article in the actual paper had an inset of some girl saying she couldn't cook, burnt toast, went out every night to eat etc etc. The way she said it sounded like she was almost proud to be so ignorant of cooking. To me it sounded pretty idiotic. How are you meant to survive if you can't even cook yourself dinner?

I think it's pretty sad women are losing these basic skills - they are not just 'female' skills, but basic life skills. My Mum taught me to cook/bake, sew, knit, etc at a very young age. I learnt to drive a manual car as soon I could once I was able to get my learners license at 16. When I moved out of home at 19 I could look after myself - cooked dinner, baked, sewed my own clothes, drove a car around....
Thank god I could, or I wouldn't have been able to survive as I practically lived off the smell of an oily rag.

I have been reading through some of the comments on this article and people are really getting their back up (defensive!) over it! Calling it sexist, what decade are we in, women that can do this (for men) are 'house slaves', ALL women want careers these days, we're all too busy.........

Oh well - I must be terribly old-fashioned! Poor old me being so oppressed by my husband! Hah! I have enjoyed doing all these 'female' skills since I was young and will keep enjoying them and plan on teaching my children these same skills (girls and boys). They are important for living and they need to learn to look after themselves as they won't be living with me forever!
I would hate for my daughter to move out of home and have to survive off takeaway and send a shirt off to the dry-cleaner because she didn't know how to sew on a button...

Sad...

Shoe lurve

2011-01-27T11:21:00.000+11:00

To escape the heat yesterday (36 degrees), we drove to our local Westfields and stole their air-conditioning for a few hours. There was hardly anyone around which was even better, and we wandered around casually looking for bargains.
I managed to finally get a pair of black sandals from Wittner for half price. Yay! They are comfy and all leather and I love the chunky buckle. It will be nice to wear something other than converse or closed-in shoes for the rest of summer.
I have been on the lookout for sandals of this style - I'm not a fan of 'thong' style ones with something between my toes. I find those really uncomfortable and they rub the hell out of my skin. Ouch.

I have another pair of sandals in the mail on their way to be from NZ - I have been eyeing these off for a while (in red ofcourse). They remind me so much of shoes I used to wear at the start of primary school in Brisbane, in brown though!
They are also quite similar to those Saltwater sandals, but I chose the Douglas ones instead. Plus they're not as expensive (plus free shipping from NZ).

Now I have just one more shoe craving - Scandinavian-style clogs! I have wanted these for aaageessss and now that they have come into mainstream fashion (and I think out again hehe), I should be able to find a bargain pair somewhere!! Gotta love those quick trends :)
I want either red, black or brown ones, and preferably a lower heel so I can actually wear them (I never wear heels - too uncomfy for me now and way too impractical). So now I am on the lookout! Would lurve to get some Swedish Hasbeens - but they are quite pricey!
I love these the best!

They totally tick all the boxes in my 70's fashion requirements!

7 months

2011-01-25T14:58:00.000+11:00

Leo is 7 months old today.
Hard to believe that time has gone so fast already. 7 months ago at this time I was getting ready to push! I was in agony at this point and the downward pressure was very, very...pressurising!
Leo is now closer to being 1 now than a newborn baby - even though time has gone quick, it does sort of feel like we've had him for ages. It feels like he's always been here.

He is approaching sitting up stage, he's still very wobbly at the moment and just flops over if I try and prop him up. He is, however, an accomplished roller :)
I just noticed yesterday that the very beginnings of his first tooth is starting to pop through his gum. That explains why he has been such a crankypants lately - not that he's got the cranks all day, he just has these 'episodes' which last a while.......

He is a mostly happy baby and loves to SQUEAALLLLLL at the highest pitch and volume he can do. It's loud and noisy and I love it, especially when we're out in public. It's a very happy sounding squeal and I have seen it bring a smile to other people's faces too.
Leo gets A LOT of comments on the colour of his hair. It's a gorgeous colour - like golden honey blonde-y brown. If that makes sense. When the sun shines on it, his head glows. I love it.

He is mostly enjoying his food, I think Leo has a sweet tooth like his Mummy ;). Sometimes he will get really angry if I feed him savoury, especially at dinner time, or if there is no yoghurt with his dinner. He will happily eat natural yoghurt, apple, mango, pear, custard, carrot....sweet things. Not such a fan of broccoli it seems. Anyway, he'll get used to it!

He just loves watching Rosie do anything and bursts out into fits of laughter if she does a dance in front of him or runs around or does some funny walk. Lots and lots of giggling. I can't wait til they can fully interact with each other.

After a shaky, scary start, we are so happy to have Leo in our lives. He is loved so much by all of us and Rosie is dyyyiingggg for him to crawl or walk so she can play with him more (and boss him around).

Purchases Pt.1

2011-01-19T22:16:00.001+11:00

(Click to see this pic bigger - it looks totally shithouse small!)

Yay I ordered something online the other day and it was delivered yesterday!
My previous clothes ordering online has been a bit hit and miss, but I must say I'm really happy with my purchases.

I saw this jacket from Barkins at DFO the other week - I ummed and ahhed a bit and didn't get it. Then regretted it...and wanted to buy it online....then put it off....then the other day I noticed they'd dropped the price! So I bought it and a top and skirt too (also reduced).

I love it all! The jacket is a great fit and fits right into my rocknroll style and I love the sorta cropped cut (esp. in the arms). I am a tall girl (178cm) so I never find jackets long enough in the arm that fit well around my body (and I won't go on now about how I can never find pants long enough...). So I don't have that worry with this, as it's cropped!
I love the punkiness of the skirt, especially the zips. The colours are also pretty cool and it's a great length.
Another thing I liked about Barkins was their sizing - their 12 really was a 12. I hate when you go to some other shops and their 12 is more like a size 8. How I wish it was compulsory to have universal sizing in ALL shops.

So I'm really happy.
Now I want to order more clothes from other shops - I think I'm gonna try something from ASOS as they have free worldwide shipping at the moment. And I'm also going to order some sandals (footwear - even riskier!).

(Please excuse my horribly white, almost translucent, legs in the pics above. I AM SO WHITE! I think there is nice white and too-pale white - I sit in the second category. Today I actually bought some moisturiser for my legs with tanning stuff in it....lets see how that one will go....)

Pork Meatballs with Vegetables

2011-01-16T16:03:00.000+11:00

Ingredients
500g pork mince
2 T freshly chopped coriander
2 garlic cloves - crushed
1 T soy sauce
S + P

2 T oil
2cm piece of fresh ginger - finely grated or cut into thin matchsticks
1 clove garlic
1 red capsicum - cut into small chunks
1 zucchini - cut into sticks
1/2 can cut baby corn
3 T soy sauce
fresh coriander leaves to garnish
fresh cooked noodles to serve (I used egg)

Method
- Mix together pork mince, coriander, garlic and soy sauce and season to taste with S + P. Roll into small balls and chill in the fridge for atleast 30 mins

- Heat a wok and add oil - when hot, add meatballs and cook for 8-10 mins until browned all over (turn occassionally). Transfer meatballs to plate and keep warm.

- Add ginger and garlic to wok and stirfry for 30 secs. Add the capsicum and stirfry for 5 mins, add zucchini and corn and fry for 3 mins.

- Return the meatballs to the wok, add soy sauce and fry for 1 min until heated through. Serve immediately onto fresh noodles and garnish with coriander.

-----------------

This is one of my new favourite things to make for dinner - it's very easy and doesn't usually require a shopping trip for special ingredients to make it! You could really use any combination of vegetables.

Sometimes I prepare the mince mixture early in the morning and let it marinate all day then make the meatballs as I'm about to cook them and throw them in the pan as I'm rolling them.
You could also be a bit lazier and just fry up the mince mix as is without rolling them into balls.

I am a bit of a mince fan and always have a bit of it stored in the freezer. But instead of just making spaghetti all the time (snore), I'm trying to find and try lots of different recipes using mince that aren't boring (and are also healthy!)

Come on! Bring it on!

2011-01-11T16:30:00.000+11:00

Surely people shop online and buy clothes and can give me some more shop suggestions.....come on! I know I am not the only person who reads my blog!
Suggestions are very welcome from anyone....................please??

Back into it!

2011-01-10T21:55:00.000+11:00

Alright - I've had my few weeks off from my 'diet' and now I'm back into being strict with myself. I didn't go too silly, but I did have a few sugary treats over the Christmas period. Naughty!
The Wii is also missing me...I haven't used that for about 3 weeks too, and it's asking for me when Raff uses it heheh....oops.
So today was processed-sugar-free and I will stick to this 'til at least March 1st (when Rosie turns 3).

I have 3 more kgs to lose (or maybe 4 now hehe). So I can't get lazy now - so close to the end! Though they do say the last couple of kgs are the hardest to lose. Hope not!

OK I am now writing this in my sleep....
Gotta go to bed.
SNORE!

Crap shopping

2011-01-04T15:45:00.000+11:00

I have had absolutely no luck with any post-christmas sales shopping.
NONE!
I think I must be too fussy or too tight - or both. Just can't seem to part with my money. I have even tried on clothes I would not usually go for, just to try something on and see what it's like...no good.
I don't buy 'seasonal' or 'on trend' clothes just so I can look good for this summer/autumn/etc - I like my clothes to last more than 3 months.
Why is this so hard??
I know I am stuck in a bit of a rut - ie. I know what I like, what suits me etc, and I seem to buy the same thing over and over again with slight variations. I go straight to the black or red clothes, or to stripes or polka dots, or to clothes with a 50's/60's/70's influence. Maybe it's this 80's fashion comeback in the shops in the moment which is preventing me from buying anything. Too many flashbacks to my early teens! Too many crop tops (no way!), ugly florals, saggy baggy beige stuff. Ugh!

I don't know what to doooo!
Raff is sick of going shopping with me, and I can't just go out for the day on my own at the moment as I am, ofcourse, breastfeeding Leo so I have a max. of 3 hours out of the house.
Booo!

I have been looking at online shops though. Does anyone know any good ones with reasonably priced clothes (doesn't have to be in Australia, as long as they ship here)...Anyone? Anyone??
I've been looking at Asos - so not that one!

It shouldn't be this hard!!!

We went op-shopping today though and I managed to pick up a pair of All-Star boots for $7 which is pretty cool, and a black and sparkly fitted dress too...which I can't really wear yet.
I seem to have more success with other peoples old clothes than brand new ones hehe

Happy 2011

2011-01-01T21:42:00.000+11:00

whitest legs this side of white town

Happy New Year!
Today has been a total scorcher - 40+ degrees! What a welcome to 2011...
We spent the day at the farm (in the southern highlands), usually a much cooler place to be, but this time hotter than Sydney or Wollongong. I was d-y-i-n-g...

I spent the eve of it chasing a massive huntsman spider around my parents-in-law's house trying to kill the stupid thing. I hate spiders, especially HUGE ones almost the size of my hand. Stupid thing followed me around the house and I used so much bloody fly spray on it. It took ages to die and then Raff eventually squashed it when he got home again from his brothers house.
Rosie and I spent half an hour in the bathroom hiding from this spider. It was after 10pm and we were both exhausted. I couldn't step on it or squash it as the sight of it was making me feel sick and I kept getting covered in a rash of goosebumps. Plus it was wider than my foot and I thought it would jump on me.
Yes I am very weak.

Everyone seems to talk about their new years resolutions this time of year (naturally). I never really make any. I just want to continue trying to lose my excess weight - I did only have about 3kg to go. Though it may be more now as I have sort of 'slipped' in the old diet department in the lead up to Christmas and new year. But tomorrow I will be back on my sugar/fat ban and back into my Wii Fit exercise regime.
I can't be going too bad though, I managed to fit into and buy a pair of size 10 shorts yesterday. Happy! I am usually a size 12/14, depending on the maker, so that was nice...but probably a one off....
When I am size 12 all over I will be content with my weight and will try to maintain it! Well, not 'try' - I WILL maintain it :)

Almost Christmas

2010-12-20T21:26:00.000+11:00

German gingerbread biscuits - recipe here

4 days left and it's Christmas - I think this must be the most organised one I've had in years. Must be the more children you have, the more organised you get.
In the last few days I've made about 90 chocolate balls and just over 50 of those biccies above. Two absolutely delicious recipes and hard to resist when packing up little gift bags....

I still have another double batch of the choc balls to make for family and our neighbours, and a double batch of the gingerbread biccies and rocky road. My diet has gone a bit off the rails in the last week and will have to get back on track post boxing day. I'm gonna have to eat lettuce every night this week to compensate for the saturated fat and sugar attack I'll have on Saturday.

Anyway - I have enjoyed making these food treats as presents for adults this year. I have only bought 'shop made' things for Rosie, Leo and our nieces/nephews as I think they're really the only people who should be getting these types of pressies. I told everyone not to buy me anything, Raff and I don't buy each other anything - we don't 'need' anything and get things when we actually do instead of for just the sake of it.
I have enjoyed the lead-up to xmas a lot more this year though than others - probably because Rosie has been enjoying it more (even with the Santa hate). Maybe the xmas tree has made our house a bit more festive...
Anyway again - I can't wait for Saturday morning to see Rosie's face when she unwraps all her presents (who she says will come from Mummy and Daddy, not Santa haha).

Happy Christmas!

Greek meatballs

2010-12-16T17:11:00.000+11:00

Now I am not Greek and these are probably not the most 'authentic' - but they are very easy and very yummy for a quick weeknight meal.

Ingredients:
450g mince (I used beef)
1 egg
1 onion - finely chopped
2 gloves garlic - crushed
1 T fresh mint - chopped roughly
1 T parsley - chopped roughly
3/4 fresh breadcrumbs (I used 2 slices of bread)
oregano
juice of half a lemon
S+P

Bottle of tomato pasta sauce (I used the Aldi Casa Barelli 500g sauce w/ Basil)
1/2 c of water
1/2 c peas
250g packet of microwave rice (I used Aldi's one again)

Method:
Mix all the first ingredients up in a bowl, then form into little balls (whatever size you want - I did small ones)
Heat some oil then brown the meatballs in a frying pan (with a lid)
Once browned - throw in the tomato sauce and water
Put the lid on and walk away and come back in half an hour (maybe jiggle the pan around once or twice in that half hour)

Heat the peas up in the microwave
Heat the rice up in the microwave

Distribute peas and rice amongst bowls, serve the meatballs and sauce on top!
Delish!
Lovely, moist meatballs and so tasty (and easy and very cheat-y too with the quick rice. I use that stuff when I can't be bothered hehe)

Hairdo

2010-12-10T21:54:00.001+11:00

Did I mention I got my hair cut the other week?
I can't even remember!
I had a fringe cut for the first time in a long, long time. Probably as long as primary school, back when my hair was straight-ish (it started going wavy/curly in late primary school. Then it went really curly for a while, then wavy again and now it's slightly wavy and slightly straight).

My post-preggo hair is in the 'all falling out' stage and my hairline was (is!) getting thinner and thinner...So a fringe was the answer to cover up my falling-out-y hairline and my big moon-face hehe.
Anyway - I love it! Really, really love it - it's a wonder how good a haircut can make you feel. I had been feeling so frumpy and my hair was a total shocker (grey hairs, split ends, rough looking, dull, boring, shit etc etc). Now I feel a bit more presentable.

Now, the next step in making me feel less of a frump is...new clothes!
But...
I need to lose my final 2.5 kg and then I will go kerrrrazy!

snore

2010-12-10T17:00:00.001+11:00

I have two sleeping babies in my lounge room - one of them (Leo) on me so i can't move! i'm typing one handed and sideways. leo has decided he doesn't like to sleep in his cot now during the day. some days i'm lucky and get him in there at the 'right' time. other days the only places he will sleep are in his rocker or on me...
another 20 mins and i'll move him off me - i always like him to get in one sleep cycle (40 mins). it's funny some days when he wakes up on the dot - 40 mins, time's up!

we braved the shops today...now it is just getting too busy...in and out!
bbq tomorrow with some friends and i made some brownies before just to heat up the house a bit more....it's bloody hot today!!

ahh well this is all very boring.
leo has woken so i shall now move too!

December

2010-12-03T22:07:00.000+11:00

Christmas tree and Pepernoten - a Dutch biscuit made for Dec. 5 (Sinterklaas)

The final month of 2010.
Summer is here, Christmas is almost here and the year is just about over.
I managed to finish all my Christmas shopping before December even started! Thank god, the shops are getting ridiculous and I think I want to stay away from them now.
The only Christmassy things left I have to do are write cards, wrap presents and make some food gifts to give to family and Rosie's daycare teachers.
I managed to pick up a stack of Designers Guild xmas gift bags at the Salvos last weekend. So I'm going to make chocolate balls, iced gingerbread biscuits and rocky road. I have been testing recipes and giving the results to Raff to take to work with him to hand out to his colleagues hehe - all positive feedback so far!

We put up the Christmas tree on the 1st - the first proper tree I've had since moving out of home 15 years ago! Proper tree as in a big tall one, we didn't get a real one. Rosie seems to love it, though she is still not keen on Santa. Another disastrous Santa visit/photo this year - oh well! Maybe one year she will like him, otherwise it looks like Santa won't be visiting this house!

Leo will be 6 months old on Christmas day - I can't believe it! He seems to be going through a 'I don't want to sleep much during the day' phase at the moment. It's like he woke up one day and decided to change his whole daytime sleep routine. I'm struggling to get 2 proper daysleeps out of him! It's hard. Poor Mum is a bit of a cranky Mum at the moment - not my finest hour. What with starting freelancing again and Leo not sleeping and Rosie 'testing' me at the moment - arghhh I feel like the biggest crankypants on earth. But I'll get through it - I've done all this before and survived!
Just have to not stress.

We have also started Leo on solids and he seems to like it - tomorrow he will try some pumpkin for the first time. I think this boy will be an eater! Not like Rosie - some days I think she would live off fresh air. She eats well (as in good, healthy food), but never a huge amount. I think she may have been an Asian girl in a former life though as she will eat anything noodles/rice/dumplings/yum cha related hehe

Re. my weightloss - I'm 7kg down now and about 2.5 to go and I'll be at the target weight. YAY! I am right on track and can feel it in all my clothes. All my jeans are now baggy...looks like I will need some new ones ;)

ohhh Devdas has just started on SBS - I wish I had the energy to stay awake and watch it. I don't think my eyes are going to make it ;) Aishwarya Rai is so beautiful!

Time for bed!

New Shoes

2010-11-30T21:13:00.000+11:00

Finally got some new shoes!
Lovely new comfy shoes, in my favourite colour RED. They are made by Ecco and I lovvve them :)
They are a lot more comfortable than my flat-footed converse (though I do still love my good old converse hehe) and are good for my pram walking...maybe the first pair of shoes I've bought in ages that actually support my feet.

Now I have just been browsing the Jigsaw site and have seen all these beautiful dresses. Unfortunately, very impractical for myself at the moment. And also very expensive!!
I shall keep shopping with my eyes!

Shopping...again

2010-11-26T21:53:00.000+11:00

What an up and down week.
I've had 2 days of feeling totally rubbish - thanks to my 'monthly visitor' being back and in full force! I never usually feel like that, I'm hoping it's just because I haven't had a period in 14+ months!
Yes it's a lovely way to start my blog post - talking about my period....
My usual unending patience became the shortest it has ever been!
Poor me and everyone surrounding me :(
But now I feel better again, so all is OK!

Leo, who is now 5 months (when did that happen?!), must have picked up on my crazy hormones and has also been a crankypants for 2-3 days. Didn't want to sleep, general crankyness, didn't want to play, didn't want to do anything... But today he has also calmed down, thank god! Calm mummy, calm baby :)

I went shopping for clothes for him today - trying to spend a Pumpkin Patch voucher we were given. Why is it so hard to buy anything in that shop?! I find it very over-priced for the quality and it's all very samey-samey. I ended up getting him 3 tshirts for summer and a little pair of shorts. A little teeney weeney pair of shorts which cost $27. That's how much I pay for shorts for me! There's like $2 worth of material in them (if that!).

I have ended up buying nothing for this birthday party we're going to - I found something in the back of my wardrobe which will do. It's sort of like a shirt dress thingie with little puffy sleeves, fitted at the waist and is mini-skirt in length I bought it almost 2 years ago in one of those Table Eight clearance type shops for like $10. Obviously noone liked them as they had a few - probably not Nanna enough for the Nannas! More like something you'd find in Bardot or something!! It's cute and I'll wear it with black tights (it's black and white). It's a dress that's breast-feeding friendly because I can unbutton the top and whip one out hah! hehe
I did have a very quick look in the shops today, but I just don't have the time or concentration when I have Rosie and Leo with me. So mini shirtdress it is.

Eventually I will need a shopping day or morning or afternoon to myself as I have NOTHING TO WEAR!!! It's looking very sad in my wardrobe, I didn't realise how little I had in there to wear this summer. I have about 3 tops, one small (in length) pair of denim shorts and that's about it. I have had to resort to wearing my bloody maternity knee-length denim shorts because I have NOTHING!!
And they are saggy baggy, extremely unflattering...
I was obviously very ruthless in my last wardrobe chuck-out.....reminder to self....do not go through wardrobe when pregnant and think you will never wear that again....

Oh and we also had a quick walk-around the new Westfield in the city last weekend. Very shiny! I wanted to look in GAP but was very disappointed. What's with all the winter clothes?! It was kind of boring, although the jeans did look good - I would go back and try them. We had yum cha at Sky Phoenix (yummy but $$$!) and Santa photos in Myer. Once again, Rosie hates Santa and she freaked out and didn't even want to go in the room to see him. Oh well! We got a photo with a very sad face where she sort of looked 'surprised'. Maybe next year.......
And I even finished my Christmas shopping - before December even started! YES!

Clothes for those 30+

2010-11-20T17:38:00.001+11:00

I am pretty fussy when it comes to clothes shopping and maybe people may call me pretty stinge-y too. I hate paying heaps of money for clothes! Especially when I used to make most of them years ago (as I said once before) and know how much fabric is worth (and how much crazy mark-up is put on stuff).

Anyway, I'm going off on a tangent!

I want to buy an outfit to wear to my FILs birthday lunch - something smarter than just 'casual'. My wardrobe is looking very dire and everything is so old/stretched due to wearing it while pregnant! So I want something new and snazzy - and since I've lost 5kg now, I think I deserve it!

I've been researching online so I don't spend forever walking aimlessly in the shops and just CAN'T FIND ANYTHING I LIKE! It seems once you get over 30, you have to dress in one colour (beige/brown/grey/black) and it just seems so very boring. Witchery is the main culprit! I have resorted to looking at shops like Valleygirl and Bardot to find something not so...old/boring/plain...

Though I don't want to look 18 either.
Even on the Westfield site - it's either dress like a 16 year old or like a 50 year old.
What am I going to wear!?!
Today I even bought fabric to make a skirt if I get desperate...

I have 2 weeks to find something!!!!

And it can't be a dress either! Breastfeeding! Has to be top + pants/skirt/shorts...

5 minute Fruit Crumble

2010-11-11T10:29:00.000+11:00

(Unfortunately I have no picture for this as we ate it too quickly)

I made this dessert while preparing dinner the other night - a very easy adaptation of the Fruit Crumble recipe from the NZ Edmonds Cookery Book.
So you need:

1kg bottle of Peach Slices (I had Goulburn Valley ones since last Xmas in the cupboard :) Alternatively, you could use about 2 cups worth of any stewed fruit. I just used the peaches as I had them handy.)
1/2 cup plain flour
1 t baking powder
75g butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup oats
2 T brown sugar

- Preheat over to 190 C
- Drain the juice out of the peaches and place them in an oven-proof baking dish (I used a round 25cm ceramic pot)
- Put the flour and baking powder into a bowl, rub in the butter to form 'breadcrumbs'. You could also put it all into a food processor like I did and let that do it for you ;)
- Mix in 1/4 c sugar, then mix in oats
- Sprinkle the 2 T sugar onto the fruit
- Put the oat mix on top of the fruit
- Put in the oven and cook for 30-40 mins (til the top is browned)

Yummy yum yum!

House inspiration

2010-11-10T17:04:00.000+11:00

House similar to ours in Bexley - hope they didn't mind me taking a photo ;)

I have a folder on my computer called this and it's filled with photos of others peoples houses interiors/exteriors/gardens that I like. I 'borrow' them from real estate sites, decorating sites, shop sites, etc etc etc. Anyway I'm sure I'm not the only one who does this!

Currently I'm looking for garden inspiration for our front yard. I want to keep our garden neat, mostly symmetrical and English country garden style with a slight modern twist. Even google maps street view are helping me out at the moment, where I look at 'rich' suburbs and try and see how they've done their gardens hehe
Raff has dug out two strips down our fence line ready for some English or Japanese Box plants - now we just need to buy them! I had no idea you could buy plants off ebay either, so we will most likely get them from there as it seems a lot cheaper. We will get little tiny hedgelings and be very patient and wait for them to grow....as we need about 50 plants this is the best way to do it!

I even found a site where you could buy ready-made hedges - you just transplant them into your garden. I would love to do this, but hmmm I think it will be a bit pricey. Lucky I am so patient, I will get to grow my own!

The photo above I took today on my walk to Bexley. They have hedges down their front fence line which I like. We seem to live in a pretty hedge-y area, so there is inspiration everywhere. Lots of Nanna gardeners too with precision cut hedges and manicured gardens (love it!)...so I hope they don't mind me peeking over their fences and maybe taking a sneaky photo...

Code of the Road

2010-11-09T12:20:00.003+11:00

I love Danko Jones!

Love!

Our food garden

2010-10-27T13:15:00.000+11:00

Our tomatoes are growing!
This year Raff has planted big ones and sweet little ones. He loves his little vegie/herb garden. Raff's parents run a farm in the Southern Highlands and this is his little piece of it :)

At the moment we have growing - tomatoes, 2 kinds of lettuce, strawberries, rosemary, Italian parsley, coriander, chives and basil. We did have rocket and broccoli. I would love to plant some lemon-grass, more coriander (can't get enough of it!), Vietnamese mint (do you think I can find it anywhere???!!) chinese broccoli and cucumber.
Summer means lots of salads and yummy Vietnamese and Thai food which I can't get enough of at the moment.

We have everything growing in tubs so we didn't have to dig any holes in the ground (mostly because we are both so indecisive and didn't know where to dig the hole...) and we can move it around the yard depending on the season/where the sun shines. Having it raised is good for our backs too - we never need to bend over to get things out.
Raff made most of the soil too from our compost heap. Clever, and cheaper.

The whole of the back of our back yard would have been a garden once, but I think it grew over many years ago. Croatian people used to live in our house so they would have had a great vegie patch. There is also an old smokehouse out there which is now used as garden shed. I often wish for a cyclone one night so I can wake up in the morning and it has magically blown away though. It's a fugly homemade secondhand tin contraption that looks like it's about to fall apart. It's a total eyesore.
We also have 3 peach trees, 2 apple trees, and a lemon and orange tree out the back. It's pretty good living here.

At the moment we are also concentrating on prettying up our front yard. A couple of weeks ago Raff dug a garden out the front and we now have a row of lovely dark purple lavenders ready to grow into a lavender hedge. We are also going to line each side fence with box hedge to soften the ugly tin-can (colourbond) fence we have surrounding our house (ugly but atleast it won't fall down I suppose).
I love hedges and English style gardens, so that's what I'd like to do out the front...it's slowly happening...

Germville

2010-10-24T15:45:00.003+11:00

Today I'm feeling pretty miserable. I have a head cold which doesn't want to go away and a headache which is into its fourth day. I wish I could just go and lie in bed and wallow in my own misery...and sleep. Unfortunately that is hard to do when you have two children who want a piece of Mummy all day. I am surviving on nurofens.
Leo is 4 months old tomorrow and gets his immunisation needles again on Tuesday so maybe the doctor can give me something too if I'm still feeling like shit. I also have a lovely cough which sounds as horrible as it tastes (mmm lung goop!).
Even a yummy plate of dumplings and noodles yesterday didn't make me feel better.
Boohoo me :(

What's even worse is today I ate McDonalds and now I feel like I've put back on all the kgs I've lost. I'd also die for a piece of chocolate. How one stupid cold can make me undo all the good work I've done. I think I'm also getting my period back again after 13-14 months...another reason to feel like crap!

I will resist the chocolate though.

I want to be in the mood for sewing! Rosie needs new shorts for summer, so I want to make those. But I'm not in the mood right now. I did make two skirts for her - one from a 70's pattern I bought years ago from an op shop for 20c, and the other I made up myself. It's a 3-tier skirt that I made up as I went along. Both skirts match her quilt though hehe as they're scraps from that. Hah! I don't waste fabric!
I love sewing so much, I just wish I had more time to do it. Once upon a time I used to make most of my clothes when I was a very poor student - either that or I'd alter clothes bought from the op shop.

I should make some of my own stuff again. The hardest things to find, for me, to buy are skirts. I can never find anything I like (I'm so fussy), unless they're denim skirts...and I don't need a whole wardrobe full of denim skirts.
Skirts are so easy to make, I should just pull my finger out and make some...

Now back to some more wallowing.

Lemongrass Pork

2010-10-21T14:29:00.001+11:00

Serves 4

500g boneless pork loin

2 lemon-grass stalks – finely chopped

4 spring onions – thinly sliced

1 t salt

12 black peppercorns – coarsely crushed

1 T sunflower oil

2 garlic cloves – chopped

2 fresh red chillies – seeded and chopped

1 t soft brown sugar

2 T fish sauce

2 T roasted unsalted peanuts – chopped

Ground black pepper

Cooked rice noodles – to serve

Coriander – for garnish

1. Trim excess fat from pork – cut meat across into 5mm slices, then cut each slice into strips

2. Put pork in bowl with lemongrass and spring onions – mix well and cover bowl with cling film and leave to marinate in fridge for at least 30 mins.

3. Preheat wok, add oil and swirl. Add pork mixture and stiryfry over medium heat for about 3 mins until browned all over.

4. Add garlic and red chillies and fry another 5-8 mins over medium heat until pork is cooked through and tender

5. Add sugar, fish sauce and chopped peanuts and toss to mix, then season to taste with black pepper. Serve immediately on a bed of rice noodles, garnish with coarsely torn coriander leaves.

Notes:

I had no pork fillet, so used pork mince instead (we seem to be the house of mince at the moment). I used chilli sauce instead of fresh chilli as I had none, still worked well! I also replaced the peanuts with cashews and added about 2 T lime juice when I added the fish sauce etc. I also added a bit of broccoli for a bit of colour.

2010-10-19T12:40:00.000+11:00

7 weeks down and 3.5 lost on the dot!
6 to go though! I will see how I go but, don't want to be too skinny hehe

I am channelling my inner-Asian and cooking/trying a lot of different Asian meals - apart from salads/vegie-based meals, they are one of the healthiest things I've found to cook.
Tonight we are having lemongrass pork. On the weekend I made rice-paper rolls with chicken. Still making the Thai beef/pork spicy mince (larb). Last week I made beef and gai lan stir-fry. So yummy! I borrowed a book from the library last week or SE-Asian cooking. So many nice recipes!

Today I am in my uniform of jeans (flares yeah!), black LS top and black cons. I seem to wear the same thing everyday with a change of top! I really need something new to wear on my feet that aren't cons and are better for walking and more supportive. I thought something from Rockport would be good - but all their styles are just not me.
Then I found these shoes from Ecco:

I want them!! me me me all over - and they're RED! of course :)

So I want them and also some red saltwater sandals and some new denim shorts that aren't short shorts or skintight 3/4 length jeans (both I which I own and don't feel right wearing at the moment. Though I did wear the short shorts when I was about 3 months pregnant with Leo because it was so bloody hot!). Some shorts that sit just above my knee that are 'slim fit' but not cutting off circulation hehe

Although to buy any of this stuff, I need money and that is something I don't have at the moment. So I will keep dreaming!

Me

2010-10-09T10:00:00.000+11:00

Today I am feeling good - almost 6 weeks of my 'diet' and I have lost almost 3kg! This morning I have tried on all my pre-pregnancy jeans and THEY ALL FIT!!! I can finally put my maternity jeans to rest. FINALLY! It feels good I can tell you.
If I can keep up this weight losing pace then in another 12 weeks I will have lost all the weight I want. I will be at pre-pregnancy with Rosie weight hehe.

I am still doing the Wii Fit about 4-5 times a week and mostly focus on the aerobic stuff - ie. running and hula hoop. Then I do a little bit of muscle exercise, the 'bike ride' (which is walking on the balance board) and the skateboard. The funnest thing of course is skateboard - I love it hehehe. Maybe I should get a real one haha and see how long I last on it....probably 2 seconds.
We are eating really well though - I am really, really enjoying cooking our healthy but very tasty dinners. Still no chocolate or cakes or sweets. I am good!

Leo is now 15 weeks old! He just gets cuter by the day and is being a very good boy and only getting up once a night for the last 5 nights. Let's hope this is a new trend. I love the shape of his head and his hair colour. He is getting stronger and stronger with his head, but isn't the biggest fan of tummy time. Maybe he will be now though now his neck is stronger...

Rosie is 31 months old and I am trying to toilet train her again. We had some success this morning with a wee in the potty. She also did one the other morning. Yay. Nothing is consistent though and I think I might have to do the hardcore training soon - ie. no nappies and lots of wees all over the floor. We have a great book though (finally found one - and at the op shop too!) about Prudence and her potty and it has a nice clear message and actually talks about wee poo and body parts. Better than the fluffy ones that talk about nothing that I read before.

Other than that, Rosie still continues to be such a clever girl. I love the way she talks and she is slowly coming out of her shell more and more which really pleases me. I love to see her play with other kiddies, it's cute the way they interact.
She loves to pick out her own clothes - mostly it's her 'tar' shirts (guitars on them) and matching socks. She loves to listen to rocknroll in my car and kicks her legs around the whole trip.

Life is good.
oh and I have done some sewing too. Feels good!

Help!

2010-10-05T14:41:00.000+11:00

How do I get rid of that stupid blue gradient at the top of this page!? Anyone??? Please!

Latest

2010-09-27T13:17:00.002+10:00

We have had a busy week - Leo was baptised last Sunday, then my brother stayed with us all week, I think I have cooked more than ever, we had a lovely visit from a lovely friend on Friday, airport visits, a day at Fox studios playing in the park, drinking euro beer (not me!), browsing stalls etc etc! Plus all the 1 billion things I do in a normal week.

I am still on track with my weight loss, even after going slightly off the rails in this past week. No chocolate though! More like heavier meals and a few naughty biccies, a chicken schnitzel and chippies! oops. Still, I lost some weight again (phew) and I have now lost about 2.5kg since Sept 1st. Not bad!
I can feel it in my jeans as they drag on the ground and my stomach looks less pudgy. Raff says it's gone off my face.
I do my Wii Fit about 4 times a week and have a mega-walk one day. Not sure how I'm going to go this week though as I have developed a little head cold and am not
feeling the greatest. But I still want to lost something! Even if it's 100g!

I am enjoying cooking lots of tasty healthier recipes. The Thai spicy pork mince salad is a big fave at the moment. I'm gonna make it tonight!

Leo is now 3 months old and a big, big boy. He is over 7kg and is such a beautiful little thing. I love his chunky thighs and soft skin. It's so easy to make him smile and gurgle and coo, I love watching his little personality come out.
Rosie has been wonderful with her little brother - she always wants to play with him...especially when I need to change his nappy ;) I don't think she has ever been jealous of him. I love it when she says 'Hello Leo!' because it sounds like 'Hey-yo Yeo' as Rosie's L's sound like Y's.
Being a mother to two little children is the best!

Still going!

2010-09-22T15:42:00.000+10:00

I'm still going with my 'diet'. 22 days in and I'm going strong, no more crazy cravings for chocolate. i snack on fruit, nuts, little bits of dried fruit, chopped up vegies and the occasional 1 biscuit a day...if i even have it. sounds BORING i know, but i'm used to it and my body has gotten used to eating smaller meals. i allow myself 1 hot choc a week (instead of 1 every day, plus a sweet treat to go with it...)
i'm also doing my wii fit most days or going for a big walk.

so far i have lost just over 2kg which i'm so happy with - atleast this effort is paying off! i have noticed it in my jeans as they have shifted down my hips a bit and the cuff is dragging on the ground ;)

Rosie is also eating better. Every day she was asking for a treat/choc/lolly...and she has stopped doing it!

leo has woken. enough for now.

time!

2010-09-14T13:15:00.000+10:00

typing one handed while i'm feeding leo (again).

i haven't eaten chocolate or sweets for 2 weeks (with the exception of raff's birthday tiramisu) and i'm feeling good!! the first few days were KILLER! but i'm fine now.

i'm roughly following a weight watchers eating plan and doing pram-walking and doing wii fit. so far i've lost about 1kg so i'm on target. it will be a slow process, but i'm going to stick with it. wii fit is funnn! i feel like a bit of a goose doing it sometimes - but you def work up a sweat!!

trying lots of new recipes - especially loving thai pork salad and vietnamese rice paper rolls.
this will be a short post! i just never get a chance to sit down uninterrupted and write at the moment. all is good though :)