Finally! *phew*

Things have indeed been quiet around here!  Or, you possibly may have heard loud screeching noises like a large cockatoo or a Velociraptor and wondered what all the noise was about......

I've been working hard on a new project that is due to be finished at the end of July next year.  It should be around 50cm long and hopefully less than 4kg.  It's taking a lot of eating and sleeping to keep this project going and creative time has flown out the window along with my breakfast (and lunch and dinner.....)

After 18 months of heartbreak, frustration, loss and disappointment we have finally been given permission to stop worrying and accept that there is a little one on board that will be joining us next year.

So, when I start feeling better in a couple of weeks (fingers crossed) you can expect that there will be a renewed sense of creativity and urgency to 'get things done.'

I can't wait.
x x x x

You suck! (not you personally)

The person who sucks is the ***hole who stole my daughters handbag on Tuesday.  While she was riding the Postman Pat ride at Eastland shopping centre some idiot stole her handbag and purse.  I guess they got what they deserved when they found nothing inside but junk (AKA 2 years old's treasure).  Serves you right for stealing a 2 year old's purse stupid person with no self respect what so ever!
*fume*  *rant*  *fume*

Where have I been?

"Hello?  Hello?"  I hear you say.

You may have noticed that life seems to be getting in the way of my creative endeavours recently. 


What have we been doing?
We went away to Phillip Island last weekend with a bunch of friends and it was awesome.  Moo loves to socialise and enjoyed the attention of 9 adults and copious amounts of bacon. (Thanks Uncle Si.)
Her busy schedule of toddler smoozing has kept me on my toes as well as tennis (yep, you heard me, I've been playing tennis), swimming and weekly dates with the cousins.  I've also been having all kinds of medical appointments to try and help us achieve our goal of a playmate for Moo. 
Next year Moo's off to preschool for 3 days a week and things will hopefully calm down for a while.  She's definately not one for staying home and being a wall flower so the only way to keep her from practicing mountain climbing on the furniture is to go out.  (Did I tell you I went to get her up from her nap and found her perched on top of the wardrobe?  Gar~)
So, to cut a long and boring story short, we've been busy doing nothing exciting and I haven't been sewing much.
I hope I will be back soon with something exciting.......    ; )

Yep, it's been pretty quiet

I started sewing up a nice jacket for Moo but that is now on the back burner until my Mum gets back.... I need assistance!  It's a bit more complicated than anything I have previously attempted.
Tonight while watching a DVD I cut out a dress for Moo - red pinny with retro Sesame street sheet applique.  I just need to wizz off to Spotlight this week and get some Vliesofix and red cotton (ran out ) so I can finish it.
And in the news front.... Moo fell over this week and bit a hole in her tongue.  GROSS!! This morning we went to vist my hubby's brother and family.  While there my SIL went into labour and we now have another girl in the family!!  Woo hoo~~  They already have two boys (3 & 1 years) so I'm so glad for the sake of her sanity that she had a little girl.  Let's hope she's quiet and retiring and not a little tear-about like our Moo! ; ) *wink*

Enjoying the quiet

Moo is asleep.  I've been planting flowers in the garden.  White, pink and purple.
The sun is shining.  The sky is blue.  There's a slight breeze.
Stupid crows are being loud and ruining my peace and quiet.
Stupid crows.

I'm keeping calm. I'm carrying on.

This week feels like I have been chasing my tail all day, every day. 
This morning's effort:
8am  Got up, bathed, dressed and fed Anni & I
Did two loads of laundry and hung them on the line
Packed Moo's bag for creche, including her lunch box, full change of clothes etc
9am  Packed all my FIL's deliveries and mail that have arrived here whilst he's been on holiday into the car.
Jumped in the car and took Moo to creche
9.30am  Went to FIL's house to sort out some stuff for his business
Got a phone call from hubby and had to go immediately to bank A, get a bank cheque and transfer funds into bank B (a 15 min drive away from bank A) so that our new car could be delivered this afternoon.
10.30am Rushed back for my doctor's appointment.  Didn't have time to come home and pick up records..... tried to remember what was on there for the doctor.......
Got accupuncture.
Went to Bunnings and picked up all the painting stuff for our bathroom.
12pm Picked up Anni and drove out to Hubby's grandad's house. Took him out for lunch.
1.30pm Drove home, unpacked the car.  Unpacked Moo's bag, washed her hands, changed her and put her to bed for her nap.
Crashed in a heap!!  And somehow, it's already 3 o'clock.....
Off to make a well earned cup of tea now.
*sigh*

You've gotta go there....

My brother's best mate's patisserie featured in The Age Newspaper's Epicure section this week.  Check it out (and other delights) here.

This is what they said......

"City in Delicious Bites
Join Allan Campion and Michele Curtis on a trip to Melbourne's finest foodie destinations. Here they choose the best........
 Le Croissant
 Probably Melbourne's best vanilla slice. Three layers of housemade puff pastry are layered with creme patisserie and topped with chocolate-feathered white fondant. Available by the slice or as a large cake."
1204 Toorak Road, Burwood. 9809 2263

You know you want to visit and get a yummy cake.  Go on.  Do it!


Andy made our wedding cake.  It was a beautiful chocolate mud cake with ganache icing - almost too good to share with the guests!  Maybe we should have gone with a vanilla slice cake????  Mmmmm, *drool*

Don't know if I atually want to see this doc or not......... *insert horrified scream here*

If you know me, you will have been ear bashed... listening to me ranting over eating local/organic and not using personal products that contain petrochemicals etc, so on and so forth, blah blah blah.
But what about all the plastic in our lives..... what about electricity and running water and plasma screens? And cars!
How far do you go and what is the price that you will pay either way? This looks like a great doc!

Today's math lesson

x ( a + b ) = GIANTmess

where
x = a full container of Johnson's baby power
a = toddler in bedroom for nap time
b =  uncanny climbing ability

Please note that the amount of mess is proportionate to the creative ability of the toddler and the amount of fluids remaining in their drinking receptacle.

Mother's happiness is said to be inversly related to such an incident.

Oh, the humanity!

Oh, The Temptation from Steve V on Vimeo.

I love this video - kind of reminds me of myself when there is cake.....

In other news, I managed to pass my driver's license test today.  Watch out folks!

Imagination

This is what happens when Moo combines her face making magnets with the inside of her fold out sofa!  I think Dora looks waaaay better like this! he he he  Not too sure why the apple has a nose though.......

Bitty booties

Couldn't decide which photo to use - flash or no flash?

I made these booties for my niece using this pattern from Heather Bailey's website. I made them out of thick polar fleece instead of felt which turns out quite well if I don't say so myself. I hope my SIL likes them.....

Op shop find

I have had a lot of luck op shopping lately. Mostly clothes for Moo which haven't really been blog worthy. A pair of brand new with tags Thai fisher pants for moi. Hurra!

However, this is my pièce de résistance and I just had to share.

I found something very similar here which leads me to believe that it is possibly circa 1940-ish. I wonder how it ended up in the op shop? Somebody lovingly kept it for all these years.... it's in such good condition. *sigh*

Now all I need is a sweet little baby to wear it........

Cooking in hotel rooms

This video is great....

It's nice to see someone else who is as crazy as me and really cooks in hotel rooms! Hubby thought I was crazy bringing my Trangia camping stove and Bodum travel coffee press (link is not quite the same model that I have) on our 6 week Europe trip . But when we had bacon and eggs and fresh coffee for breakfast he wasn't going to start complaining...... I so wanted to say, "I told you so." But I'm a good wife and so I just said, 'I told you so.' he he he

Some other things I cooked up on our travels:
Hungarian goulash
Burritos
Lots of different soups
And just as many pastas
It's amazing what you can cook up - you just have to be careful not to get busted or set off the fire alarm...... ; )

Our last holiday we actually graduated to a serviced apartment with a kitchen. It really took the fun out of it!

Sydney travel review ; )

Well, of course I can only review the things we did but here goes.....

To get there we drove our own car to Melbourne airport and left it in long term parking ($99 for 3 days) but worth every cent when you are dragging around bags and a 2 year old. We flew Virgin Blue and I have nothing but praise for their totally cheap and cheerful service. We were able to take our stroller to the gate and the staff were all very nice to Moo, engaging her in conversation and even letting her say hello to the pilots in the cockpit when we boarded! I didn't think those things happened in our post 911 world..... The onboard refreshments were fairly priced and tasty. I even got my organic fairtrade coffee - woo hoo~ Our baggage was ready as soon as we got to the baggage claim and it was just like taking a bus!

When we arrived in Sydney it was 8am on Sunday morning. (FYI it was 18 degrees when we left Melbourne and 10 when we arrived in Sydney!) A friend picked us up from the airport. (Thanks Bob!) Although I'd heard horrendous things about Sydney traffic it was plain sailing straight from the airport to Bondi. (Something to do with it being the wee hours of Sunday? Probably!)

We spent the day with our Bondi buddies, enjoying the perfect weather and the beach. I wouldn't have gone to Bondi if it weren't for Bob and Clare but I'm so glad we did. It was just lovely! Moo loved the water and we had to really hold onto her because she wanted to run into the waves (and the rip!).

In the afternoon we made our way (again by car with no probs) to where we were staying on Pitt Street. We stayed at Meriton Serviced Apartments and I highly recommend this as a place to stay if you are travelling with a young family. It is right in the middle of things so it's not far to go anywhere (we mostly went on foot). Moo had her own bedroom and we had a kitchen, 2 bathrooms and a living area. Most importantly it had a washer and dryer so we could bring limited clothing which cut down on the baggage and it also had a DVD player so we were able to bring some chillout DVDs for Moo (and us!) We were able to prepare simple meals and take Moo swimming in the hotel pool to fill in some time. It was expensive but only compared to a backpackers! It was on par with a 4-5 star hotel but without the pokey space - I just coudn't imagine what it would have been like with Moo sleeping in the evening and Hubby and I whispering to each other in the dark for a few hours.....

To get around we mostly went by foot. Sydney is quite compact (it seemed) in comparison to Melbourne so it was quite easy. The streets are all well laid out and signposted (not like many cities I have travelled to!) We also took the Monorail (awesome! Expensive but fast and convenient), the train (expensive, dirty and with a Bronx feel) and the airport shuttle bus from the hotel (I thought we were going to die but hey, I'm still here!)

Now, I couldn't have a holiday without enjoying some food, could I?
Best: Buffet breakfast at the Sofitel. What can I say but, 'Mmmmmmm.'
Worst: Lunch at the Aquarium. The usual hideously expensive food courty type food. But Moo was asleep in the pusher and we had an airport bus to catch to we ate when we could.....
Most disappointing: Cupcakes on Pitt. The icing was YUMMY but the cake was too dry for my taste.
Where we stayed there were heaps of Korean shops and restaurants so I pigged out on the usual Korean fare. Much cheaper and authentic than Melbourne. Chinatown on the other hand is much better in Melbourne in my opinion.

Sights: Bondi beach, Darling Harbour (Opera house, bridge and ferries), Sydney Tower, Aquarium.

I loved our day at Bondi. The weather was lovely, the water was a warm 18 and it was, well, perfect! The aquarium was very disappointing - Melbourne's is much newer and nicer, I think. I wouldn't bother going to Sydney Tower (the entry fee is ridiculous) but it's a nice thing to photograph from the outside. I think Darling Harbour is my favorite place (not that I've been to many places around Sydney) because I love the water, the cafes and maybe because everytime I've been there the weather has been beautiful.

I did take some pictures but am being lazy about downloading them....... Next time.....

It has more than one use...

I never thought when I bought a massaging shower head that I would be using it to 'massage' out a giant poop that Moo managed to trample into the lounge room rug....... (and Mr Potato Head and wooden bear (who had to be chucked)) *sigh*

Now I need to have a shower and use it on my neck after fulling stressing over whether to just throw the rug away or not. Why do these things always happen when your exhausted with a headache???



(And now I'm wondering what kinds of weird hits I'm going to have for people searching for weird massage shower head attachments.......!!!!!)

I like......

This Etsy seller, Sarah Jane. Have a look at her shop here.

All has been quiet on the creative front. Been busy busy busy with all kinds of things. Passed round one of my driver's license test! Part two in about a month. Watch out folks!
Off to Sydney on the weekend. It will be Moo's first time on a plane and she is very excited. She's been to the airport a few times to drop off or pick up various relatives but never been through 'the doors.' I've busily been writing lists and thinking about what to bring without having to carry too much.... mission impossible with a toddler preschooler? We'll see.
I've put together a 'busy bag' to keep her entertained while waiting to board, while flying, while travelling and catching buses and trains. After we come back from Sydney we are off to the lake to visit my folks so it will be quiet here for a little while (longer.....)
Hubby finishes up his current job this Friday and will start a new one in two weeks. Going from small business to mega corp..... crazy times!

Lost and found

Last week both I and my SIL lost rings. Hers was a diamond engagement ring. Mine a gold ring that my Mum gave me that was made for her by my Dad and doesn't fit her anymore. Both were on fingers but somehow slipped off and were gone. Both of us panicked. Both of us turned our houses upside down. One of us searched through the contents of their children's pants - just in case. One of us (both?) went through the garbage and vacuum cleaner contents.
About a week later both rings were found. One in a clothes drawer and one in the linen closet. Huge sighs of relief all around.

(Don't worry Mum, I've changed the finger that I put the ring on so it can't slip off again. Bloody winter and the curse of the shrinking fingers! Come summer I will have to rearrange again due to SFFS, othewise known as summer fat finger syndrome.)

Did you see me?

This afternoon I retrieved a ladies' Puch bicycle from my FIL's garage. She's a very dark maroon with shiny handlebars. I gave her a wash and named her Priscilla. I told her that she needed a nice basket for the front and a bell that says, 'Ting, ting.' Then I took her out for a spin.

In my head, it looked like this.......

In reality?
Well, puffy, red faced and with jeans and a cardy and less pretty hair (with helmet of course). Fun though!

Can't wait for Moo to start riding so we can go out together with a thermos of hot chocolate and a baguette. *dream*

Add this to the list.....

... party dress by Oliver + S. Here is a lovely picture of how it can look made up..... *sigh*

... so pretty.... so glad I have a little girl! (nothing against boys, they just don't usually wear pretty dresses)

* NB - cheapest found on amazon.com!