My Pseudo Birthday

I shopped. And it was good but slightly stressful. And it was all within the rules of my shopping ban.

All week Mr B has been talking about taking Little Miss L and I to pancakes for breakfast in the city. Which is strange because Mr B never wants to do anything on the weekend. He loves his couch time, and NEEDS his couch time and I respect that.

Anyway, so on Friday Mr B came home and he and Little Miss L handed me a very heavy envelope. In it was a card saying 'Terrific 30' and a beautiful message from my husband and my daughter saying how much they loved me, how proud they were of me, how they think I am a good Mum, and how 36 weeks ago Little Miss L came into our lives and stole focus from my 30th birthday (which was the 10th February).

On the day of my 30th birthday I spent my last day of a total 10 days in hospital after giving birth to my daughter on the 1st February and having a significant operation that saw me lose my reproductive system because of the dreaded c word. Cancer. On the 10th, I didn't open any big presents or have a big party with my friends and family like I always imagined I would. But I had my health, I had my husband, and I had my daughter, who blessed my life by assisting the Doctors in finding my cancer at my first ultrasound. And I was so so so happy with that and didn't want anything more. And IT was gone. The c word was no longer there. And I was happy. I AM happy.

That seems like a lifetime ago. But in fact it was only 9 months ago. 9 months ago I was being wheeled into surgery without knowing what the outcome of the operation would be, who this little person was, what she would be like, if I would ever get to see her grow up. But here I am. Everything turned out so well. Even better than we could have imagined.

So, back to the card.

Inside the card was 36 $10 'gift vouchers' made especially for me by Mr B. He explained that the number 36 had significance because of two reasons. 1) because it was 36 weeks since Little Miss L came into our lives, and 2) because it was to celebrate 30 years of my life and 6 months of my shopping ban.

I was so shocked and surprised and felt so loved and special. Mr B doesn't often do big romantic gestures and in fact only usually does them every 4 years. Don't ask my why, I don't even know why, he just does. It always falls in the same year as the Olympics.

My initial reaction was 'No! I don't want this! I don't need to go shopping. I don't want to go shopping'. See what this shopping ban has done to me. Its conditioned me to not like shopping. I know. Crazy.

Anyway, after I'd had some time to think about it and Mr B assured me that it was ok to shop, and I was only allowed to spend it on myself, I started planning my purchases. And this is where the STRESS started. What to get? I've got $360 to spend on whatever I want. But its my 30th birthday money so I don't just want to buy everyday ho hum items, I want to get something grand and keepsake so I will always look at it and say 'That was my 30th birthday present', but I actually need to get some basic things for summer - a hat, shorts, togs, etc. But that's BORING. Ugghhh.

So, I've bought two things so far - a Clinique Chubby Stick Moisturizing Lip Colour Balm in Whoppin' Watermelon. I love it. Its so soft and the hint of colour is just gorgeous, plus the cool chubby twist up stick is pretty awesome too. Ok, I know this is not a grand 30th birthday type present, but I've wanted one for a while now, and well, its my pseudo birthday and I'll buy a lip balm if I want to.

And then I also bought a beautiful big glass vase by Georg Jensen. It was on special from David (Jones, that is) and was tall with a narrow opening, which is what I've been looking for in a vase for a loooong time because all of the other vases I own (cheap ones) have a wide opening and my flowers just flop out and look silly, but this vase, it makes a cheap $9 bunch of roses from Woolies look spectacular.

And so now I've got $230 left to spend, and I feel like I can call my vase my 'big keepsake 30th birthday purchase' and now just buy stuff that I want/need. Now I've just got to figure out how best to do that in the most bang-for-your-buck kind of way! Stay tuned.

And, if you're still reading this - well done you! I think this is my longest blog post ever in the history of my blog!

C xo

Fashion Friday: Nautical

I can't believe its Friday again. This week has gone so fast!

Today's Fashion Friday post is a bit uninspired. We're having a day around the house and running some errands so comfort was the key factor here:

Dress: second hand Katies dress (inherited from my Mum)
Belt: vintage
Flats: Barkins

What have you got planned for the weekend? I've got BC on Saturday - we're reading The Carrie Diaries by Candace Bushnell. I know. Quality reading. I'm allowed to say that because I picked the book. I'm a bit of an SATC fan so I wanted to read this to see what it was like. I'm a bit 'meh' over it.

Mr B is also planning on taking us girls to pancakes on the weekend. Yummo. My fave!

Hope you all have a fab weekend.

C xo

Meal Planning Woes

via Pinterest

Meal planning. I hate it. Every night trying to think of something yummy but healthy, easy and quick to cook for dinner. It requires so much effort, and organisation and planning. We do a weekly grocery shop, but if I don't get my butt into gear prior to the shop and pick a few new recipes to try out, we end up eating the same meals... usually an easy mexican night (burritos or tacos), spaghetti, some kind of stir fry, steak and vegies, chicken kebabs and salad, meatballs and vegies.

Lately I have been trying to mix it up a bit. I introduced 'meatfree Monday' which means I HAVE to get creative and make something tasty and new because Mr B will not settle for bland (he loves his meat). A new fave is corn fritters with chilli relish and salad.

I also have a lot of recipe books, so I went through them and picked a few recipes out that I knew picky Mr B would like, and I've tagged them with a little yellow sticky note to remind me that we've had that recipe AND it got the thumbs up from Mr B. I'll often forget about recipes that we've tried and liked, so this is a good reminder for me.

But sometimes I just get so frustrated with the whole meal planning and cooking dinner process... Its tough! For just one night I'd like Mr B to take control in the kitchen and cook ME dinner... actually, I'd like to challenge him to do it for a whole week including doing the grocery shopping. Then he'd see how hard it is. I know he can cook. He's actually quite good in the kitchen, and I always love watching him because he's very careful and exacting with how he does things, and he likes to pretend he's a Jamie Oliver type cook talking to the camera and explaining what he's doing. But he uses the old excuse of 'you're better at it than me' and says he'd rather take us out for dinner than cook it.

Hmmppphh.

And next year, when I return to work for 3 days a week, its going to be even more annoying and tough! Working AND having to do groceries and meal planning and look after a baby. I think I'm going to have to implement some kind of Mr-B-cooks-on-certain-nights roster (yes, you heard right Mr B)!

C xo

Signature Scent

Do you have a signature scent? Or do you have about 5 different fragrances that you wear when you feel like it?

I'm the latter. Currently I have Chanel Mademoiselle (my fave), Marc Jacobs Daisy, Miss Dior Cherie (nearly finished), and Body Shop Vanilla sitting on my dresser.

I'm on the hunt for a new fragrance to add to my Christmas wish list. I find that I'm attracted to the floral and the musky/oriental type fragrances at the moment.

So far, these are my Top 5:

Naughty Alice by Vivenne Westwood

Michael by Michael Kors

Lou Lou by Cacharel

Nina by Nina Ricci

Gucci by Gucci

When I was at my Nan's house over the weekend, I got to sample a few of the bottles she had (she had Lou Lou and Nina). I always prefer to spray the perfume on my skin and smell it a few hours later to see how it changes and reacts with my skin. You don't get the same effect when you spray it on those bits of cardboard.

C xo

Quilt love

How divine is this gorgeous, textured quilt?

I love the colour as well. It looks so serene. And it goes perfectly with the floral pillow. I would love this for our bedroom. You can buy them here.

C xo

Chocolate Fudge Bars

I have made this slice twice in 2 days last week... It is seriously that good. And chocolatey. And fudgey. And easy. And quick. Which is exactly what you want and need. I found it on Chantelle's blog Fat Mum Slim which is an excellent read. You should check it out.

C xo

Fashion(ably Late) Friday: Packing

I'm sorry for the late Fashion Friday post. Its been one of THOSE days *sigh*. Little Miss L woke on and off continuously between 1:30am and 4:00am and then at 4am she decided that she was ready to start her day. She always wakes like that when she's coming down with a cold... and low and behold what happens today, the runny nose starts, the constant sneezing begins. So we had lots of cuddles and couch time today.

I must say though, that starting your day at 4am makes for a very productive day. I'd done three loads of washing, pureed some apples for Little Miss L, made the bed, washed my face, done the dishes - all before 8am. But a 4am start means morning tea is at 8:30am - out came the chocolate slice and a big frothy home made soy latte. I figured I'd been up for 4 hours already so it was ok. And then my Mum arrived just before 10 with big coffees from McCafe. She is a life saver.

Anyway, back to the fashion. I thought I'd show you what I'm packing for my trip up north. We're going for 4 days and 3 nights. I always find it hard to pack. What if the weather changes and I'm not prepared? What if I change my mind and don't feel like wearing the outfit I packed? There is no such thing as 'packing light' when it comes to me. I like a selection of outfits and options just in case!

Here's what I packed:

• Undies, bras and pj's
• 3 x dresses (one casual and two that can be dressed up just in case I go out somewhere)
• 1 x black jersey skirt
• 3 x tops which I can wear on their own or layer
• Cream blazer
• Workout gear (for the afternoon walks with Little Miss L)
• Nude wedges (can be worn casually or dressed up)
• Black Havaianas
• Tan flats
• 2 x belts (one leopard print and one brown)

Actually, I think this is considered 'packing light' for me! Are you a good packer? Or do you overdo it like I do?

Hope you have a lovely weekend planned my sweets!

C xo