Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Look, it's me!!!



Lookie Cookie, it is me over at Fat Mum Slim

Thanks to Telle, it was lovely chatting to you :)


On a side note to do with weightloss: I am skinnier now than I was at my wedding. WOOT!!!

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Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Pearls of Wisdom

I was walking down memory lane in the car the other day, and I got thinking about our wedding. Specifically the 'Wishing Tree' we had at our reception. We asked our guests to give us a tip to have a happy marriage/life.

Anyway, we had a great laugh reading at the 'wisdom' we were given (ok, so it wasnt the brightest idea to give this to drunk people, there is some wisdom for brides to be) when we returned from our honeymoon. There were the usual "dont go to be angry", "always have one hobby that is your own", "don't forget your friends" and "remember that sex fixes everything" (that might have been from a drunk friend who is single). But something rang true from one of our guests: "Never expect husband to do things to your standard. He can't. He isn't wired that way. That is why you love him"

Now, it isn't anything profound, but it has sat with me in the last 18 months or so, and it is true. Far too many times have I heard myself say "Urgh, why couldnt you do it my way" because he doesnt fold towels the way I like, or because he can turn a blind eye to Mt Washing in our loungeroom.

These are the things that make me feel like I am needed at home, that I have a purpose, and that I make a difference to our lives. He is himself, which whilst at times, annoying, he is the man I fell in love with 5 years ago, and who I still love today.

Ok, before I get too soppy, check out Blog This and enter your pearls of wisdom

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It's Tuesday and I can't wait


Picture of Christian Louboutin Rolando platform pumps from Google

To go shopping on Friday in the city. I have a big day planned, I have my car booking for for a service at 8.300am (which means I need to leave home at 7.15am :O ) and then onto Melbs for a shoe shopping frenzy, before seeing my doctor in the afternoon. It has ben a while since I have been excited about general shopping (that doesnt involve the house)

If you want to play along, check out Buttons by Lou
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Sunday, September 27, 2009

for your viewing pleasure

actually, for my view pleasure.

I have always been one of those people who hates tv's in the bedroom. I dont know why, as I had one in my room as a teenager (to save my parents from having to watch Neighbours and Home & Away (oh the shame!)). Just, when Brian and I moved in together, I said no tv for the bedroom.

Until now. Husband wanted to watch some James Bond movie, which I had zero interest in, especially considering I have movies from iTunes to watch. So, I am in in bed, trying to browse the net on my laptop, as well as watching movies.



Now to convince the husband to buy a tv, and another Apple TV (why can you not network these things dammit!). And whilst I am at it, better convince him to hang it too. And put in a new powerpoint for me.

Hmm, I may need to bribe him with all these requests
And it isnt really working for me. So I am considering a tv for the bedroom. But on certain conditions. It must not look like a tv. Which, incredibly, I saw a post about on The Happy Home Blog, who directed me to the A Penny Saved Blog about how to disguise a wall mounted tv!

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For C.



Sorry everyone else, just pointing something out to a friend. Man Blogger sucks some days
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Saturday, September 26, 2009

What shoes would you wear with this dress?

I have my friends wedding in 4 weeks, and finally got thee to the shops to find a dress.

I wanted a simple black dress, but apparently there is nothing out there in black (that looked decent), so i ended up with this little number from Myer


It comes to my knees, and I obviously need heels. I am loving the closed round toe shoes currently, but seems they are all sky high, which means in three steps time I will be face-planting the dirt.

What do you think?


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Friday, September 25, 2009

Kitchen Plans: Updated

Not a lot has happened around the house this week, I have been down and out with the flu, and the husband is back at work, much to his disgust!

However, on Wednesday we were sent our kitchen drawings:



The wonder of technology allowed me to replace their kitchen drawing colours, with ones pretty close to what we have chosen (Doors: Laminex Pumice, Benchtop: Lunar Stone Diamond Gloss).










We had a few mishaps, turns out we couldnt have our oven where we had it origionally, due to the heat of the oven door when open. So it was moved to next to the fridge. Which suited me fine, until husband pointed out that all the wiring was set to the old design. Under the plaster. Shit. So it needs to be moved at some point.

But that is where we are up to. Still waiting on the father in law to come and paint the inside and outside.

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Thursday, September 24, 2009

Prada Love



I think I am in love.


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Tuesday, September 22, 2009

The First Fill


I have been meaning to write this post for a few days, and I keep forgetting, and when I do remember, I am busy with work.

So today, when I am sitting on the couch with a cold and asthma, I have all the time in the world.

Now, I had a bit of a mishap with my appointment. I turned up to the surgery at 7.45am the week before last, only to be told that "no, Mr J is not here today, he was here yesterday though".

Harmph, I asked for a Friday appointment. Oh well, I just got up before the sun, and travelled an hour and a half for nothing, but hey, all good :D

So I made an appointment to see my surgeon the following week. It wasn't to be, my surgeon's wife was being induced that day to give birth to their third child (the first boy). But I was offered an appointment with his partner, which was good enough for me.

So Friday came, I went down to Melbourne's outter west (read: boganville), to see some man I have never met. I jump on the scales (my slackness for the last week has seen me not loose any more weight this week (bad april, bad april)), and then I laid on the bed. They position a pillow under my lower rib cage, and I am told to relax. A short jab later, the needle is in, out comes the air from the band, and in goes 2.5ml of saline goes in.

I have noticed a huge difference after this fill. I thought I had to chew food before, well that was nothing. I can't eat much, and I now take even longer to eat a meal, much to the husbands disgust.

But it has been good, before I was feeling like I was eating too much compared to what I thought I should be eating. I am feeling better within myself, especially when I have to throw out work pants because they are too big on me!

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Monday, September 21, 2009

Lovin thy mirror

Well actually thats a bit of a lie, I dont love the mirror at all. BUT, I do love this mirror



From French Dressing. It would look fantastic above our fireplace in the lounge room. Pity about the $1,000 price tag :(

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Sunday, September 20, 2009

Wall Decals: Chalkboards

A recent conversation on Twitter sparked my interest to look on Etsy. I found these, which I am considering for the wall to the side of the breakfast bar.





I am loving these ones for childrens rooms.






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Saturday, September 19, 2009

Infertility: some thoughts

I use Twitter to keep in contact with a small group of people. Often these lovely ladies (I think the only male I have on Twitter is my husband) spark some interesting conversations.

Todays conversation was infertility, and why we are being dealt these pretty shitty cards. My friend Kel posted about a blog when summed it up pretty well, especially this part:

"What do I think God meant when he gave me infertility? I think he meant for my husband and me to grow closer, become stronger, love deeper. I think God meant for us to find the fortitude within ourselves to get up every time infertility knocks us down. I think God meant for our medical community to discover medicines, invent medical equipment, create procedures and protocols. I think God meant for us to find a cure for infertility.

Frankly, if the truth be known, I think God has singled me out for a special treatment. I think God meant for me to build a thirst for a child so strong and so deep that when that baby is finally placed in my arms, it will be the longest, coolest, most refreshing drink I've ever known." (From My Face Tube)

I often go through the "why me". For some time it did my head in. And somehow, I realised that god (if there is a god, I am not a deeply religious person) doesnt deal out things we can't cope with. S/he obviously knew that I could cope with this, and come out the other side, having learnt a valuable life lesson. It has made my marriage stronger, taught me many things, not only about the medical world, but about people.

I don't only dream of the day I have a baby in my arms, but the day my dear friends (who know who they are) also come out the other side. I hate that I have to go through this, but I hate it even more than my dear friends are suffering as well.

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Some kitchen alterations

As much as I have loved our kitchen renovations, I was starting to miss having an oven and a sink. Washing your dishes in a bucket isn't as easy as I thought. And, well, turns out BBQ and I don't mix too well!

So now that the plaster is in, it was time to put a sink in, and the old stove in back into the kitchen





It was bliss to be able to cook dinner on a cooktop tonight! I look forward to being able to do the dishes in the morning (did I just say that? God, I am sick!)
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Plaster. Lovely Plaster

I may or may not have spent a decent chunk of the week stomping around, as my plasterers were meant to arrive on Tuesday.

Tuesday came.

and went.

and Wednesday, and Thursday. Needless to say, I was not impressed. Our plasterer has always been awesome in showing up when he said he would.

But they showed up at 7.30 on Friday morning, and got right into it. When I returned from Melbourne, I was greeted by this:

They are coming back on Monday to do the final sand. I am so happy with it though, it has come up better than we expected. Though it echo's so much! But it is nice to not stare are insulation or weatherboards whilst sitting on the loo (I still dont have a bathroom door! Hopefully tomorrow)

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Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Etsy Lovin' - Children's Aprons

I am doing a bit of christmas shopping, and found the most darling little aprons on Etsy.



You can find them in Swanky Thread's store

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Tuesday, September 15, 2009

What I can go without

I live quite a privleged life compare to some. And I am extreamly thankful for this.

In the last week I have felt so lucky to have a relativly easy existance. A friend of mine, Stepford Dreams has been telling myself about her best friend who has cancer. A terminal cancer. To a beautiful young woman named Alli. The love she has for her best friend is amazing. Both women are so very strong in such a hard situation. They have both given me a new perspective on things, and on life.

So, I am going to make a conscious effort to go without complaining about the little things in my life, and to just be thankful that I am alive and healthy. I think we all get bogged down in the little, trival, dont really matter in the grand scheme of things, sh*t from time to time. I know I do, and I need to get out of it. I can go without complaining about my brother/boss/work/husband/renovations .

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It's Tuesday and I Can't Wait...

for a relaxing weekend spent with the lovely husband. I am thinking that if the weather is nice we might go for a picnic up the Grampians, or to the Dunkeld Royal Mail Hotel which was featured on Farmer Wants A Wife last night (hence the idea).

If you want to play along, check out Buttons by Lou
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The Walls: Part Four

I have been meaning to do this post for ages, but everytime I went to take a photo something got in the way, be it the mess outside, to my flat battery in the camera last night.


The new window and weatherboards on the side of the house. We need to order new flashing for the roof, but the old lot is doing a fine job right now. Oh, and you can see our *new* hot water system. My sister in law was lucky enough to get the government solar grant, and replaced their old hot water system with a solar one, so we claimed their old one. We figured that if it lasted us 6 months (it is only 6 years old, so should last longer than that) then we have got ourselves a bargain. My plan is to build a little lattice fence around it, as its kinda ugly to look at
And the finished back of the house, complete with wires for lights (yet to be chosen) and a garden tap (that the plumber put in the middle of nowhere, so it looks dickie from the side, as the tap sits so far out. NOT IMPRESSED!) I think we will put in a new bigger drain there, as it really is quite ridiculous.
(Spot the cranky cat, it hates me currently, as it was -2 degrees this morning and I made it go outside...mean cat-mummy)


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Monday, September 14, 2009

Spotlight on an iPhone - Cellar

Have I got an iPhone app for you!

Cellar is designed to help you keep track of your wine and remember what to buy next time you visit the liquor store, (thanks to the app's unique 'Garage' feature).Cellar is not just a list of wines in your cellar or wine rack - it's a visual, editable, swipeable showcase. It's an actual cellar! And when you've finished a bottle, if you'd like to keep it for reference in the future, store it in the Garage where all your archived bottles are ordered by star rating, ready to be repurchased and moved back to the Cellar.

I am not much of a wine drinker, but the husband is. So this is the way to go. There is nothing worse than standing in the middle of Dan Murphy's trying to remember what a bottle looks like, little own what it was, or who made it!

It is a few dollars from the iTunes App Store (sorry, I can't remember exactly how much), but it is well worth it!






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I make a good plumBer

I became the apprentice this weekend, to both a sparkie and a plumber. Unfortuantly for me, I have a slight cold, and say plumber weird, making it sound like plubber (the annoying birds).

The only adventure was when the husband disconnected our old hotwater system and connected our new one. When I turned the water back on, he realised that he left the water source (garden hose) connected to the old system. Sadly, he realised this after he flooded part of our kitchen.

I found it hilarious!

The plumbing and electrical work (and the un-modified kitchen plans)
The other side of the kitchen
The tapwork. I am currently dreaming about the day where I can wash dishes in a sink, and not a round bucket! Actually scrap that, I dream of the day where I can put dishes in a dishwasher

So that is where we are up to. Hopefully tomorrow the plastering gods arrive to make a mess. They are more than welcome to make a mess, as I am sick of hitting my head on wires for the downlights! Oh, and I would like some lights in the back part of my house (husband disconnected them as to not give the plastering god's a shock in the morning!)

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Outdoor areas



The outdoor area will be our next big task, and we have started to talk plans (I know, we should finish one task before we think about another, but thats not how I roll)

I love tropical gardens, and tropical garden furniture. I would love to live in an area warm enough to have a tropical garden. Oh, and I need to find my green thumb. I think I lost it around the time I lost my first tooth!

So I am starting to collect ideas. I love the above outdoor setting, as it is large, and is something a bit tropical. I am currently debating whether we need the 8 or 10 seater setting. I am leaning towards the 8, but I guess it will depend on the boy
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