Early birthday dollars well spent...

Hi Dolls,

How beautiful have the last few days been!? I've even been able to catch up on my gigantic basket of washing. Speaking of washing, I even washed the inside of my washing machine. I have never done that before, and you could tell - Eek! To be honest I didn't even know that it needed cleaning. The thing washes, right? I thought it would just wash itself! Anyway, it's sparkling now!

My husband goes for Carlton in the footy (AFL). I am a Collingwood supporter (match made in heaven right!?). I don't follow the football as much as I used to (possibly because my husband coaches and has a game and two nights of training every single week as well as his AFL team and by the end of the season I am over it!) so our daughter is going to go for the blues too. I figure he loves his footy and he will be the one to take her to the games (very noble of me isn't it!). Her little footy jumper fits her much better now. This was actually the first thing we bought our little munchkin and was how we announced that I was pregnant to our families!

It's my birthday tomorrow and I can't wait to go out for breakie with my husband and little girl, followed by a spot of shopping. We haven't gone out for breakie in ages, so I'm really looking forward to it! I hope I also get a nice card... I'm totally not hinting... I'm also having the family over tomorrow night to celebrate so it should be fun! I got a bit of early birthday shopping money so went off to DFO last night with my husband and Piper. Our first mission was to find my husband a suit for his sister's wedding next week. Only a man would leave it so last minute - obviously my outfit and Piper's outfit were sorted ages ago. We ended up back at good old Fountain Gate in the end and got a suit from Man to Man and I must say he does look pretty spunky. It was quite reasonable too, I just can't justify spending thousands on a suit that is worn rarely. Hopefully I will have some pics soon after the wedding next week. We also strolled past Ruby shoes while we were at DFO and had a little looksie. I got these awesome boots (the picture really doesn't do them justice) and some cute pink flats.The boots were only $20 and the flats were $5! Total bargain, how could I say no? These are still at Cotton On and Ruby shoes stores for full price so I was wrapped! I bet my sister isn't when she reads this because she paid full price the other day! Hehe...

I also picked up a few casual tops from Susanne Gray and a couple of cardies from Katies. I got this cute bag at Katies. It was 25% off the sale price and I ended up only paying $11 for it!

My mother-in-law picked up a couple of super cute Lonsdale jackets for Piper from Rebel Sport. They were originally $50 each but picked them up for $10 each.

I am also loving best & Less at the moment for baby & kids clothing & accessories. Piper has been so spoilt! I got this top and dress for $5 each among numerous other things. I was a bit naughty, but nevermind - I definitely have a well dressed baby.

I took this pic a few nights ago and thought I would share with you. This is from our video monitor. As well as being a total time waster (I could sit there and watch her sleeping all night) it is super handy. Sometimes, she makes noises in her sleep and when you go into her room she can wake up. With the video monitor you can just check it and see if they are unsettled. If they are, you can go in and check on them, but if not you don't have to disturb them. My sister-in-laws got us this and it is great value.

 Until next week, stay safe!

No muffin top here!

Hi Dolls,

Last weekend I went to the T'Gallant winery for my sister-in-laws 30th birthday. We had a wonderful time and a really beautiful day. The food was amazing, the wine was fabulous, the company was fantastic, the service was perfect and the venue was spectacular. We started with a wine tasting where I decided that I must chuck a few wine glasses in my purse on the way out, they were gorgeous. Then I found out there was no need as you could purchase them from their cellar door instead. At the wine tasting I tried Pinot Grigio for the first time among many others and it was so yummy. I also had the Mascato and that was devine! I think I could be a wine drinker after all. We then had a delicious two course meal. I had salmon croquettes with beetroot and then braised duck with ricotta and spinach gnocchi. I stuck to the mascato throughout lunch. I must say, I didn't have much drink training in the lead up to this day but I was quite surprised that I didn't actually end up napping under the table after lunch. We all travelled there together in a mini bus so we had no excuse but to 'get on it'!
Check out their website if you are interested - http://www.tgallant.com.au/

Miss Piper had her first case of the sniffles this week, so we spent the first half of the week at home. It's awful when they are sick. There's not much you can do and you would do anything to take on their sickness instead. She has now come good though and this morning she had a playdate with her little friend Miss Indi Winter. These two little besties met through their mummy's at baby birthing classes! They had such a fun time chatting, having lunch and playing together. Both proud mummy's took so many photos that I now can't decide which one to put up on facebook! The one where they are both smiling or the one where they are holding hands or... I can't put them all up... can I? It's hilarious what you do to get a good photo - I'm glad I'm not the only one who dances around trying to get the perfect picture! When they held hands accidentally on purpose we both yelped with excitement. Both babies got such a fright they stopped holding hands before we could get our cameras out!

It's funny the things you think you might need before your baby comes along. I seriously had everything you could think of, but when you actually start using these things you 'had-to-have' you quickly learn that most of them are really not very practical at all. While I was waiting for my little one to come along (sounds a bit nicer that pop out) I searched everywhere for the perfect nappy bag. I stumbled upon a Marc by Marc Jacobs nappy bag on shopbop.com. A bargain at just $200 with free delivery. Obviously I had to have it. I talked my husband around and was very proud of my purchase. BUT... when I actually started using it I realised that it just wasn't very practical. The bag was massive and as it only had smallish handles it would not fit over the handle of my pram. It had to go in the storage part of the pram and basically took up all the room. If you are anything like me and like to shop I found there was no room left to hide all of the shopping bags from my husband... I mean... well anyway. You just don't realise these things aren't practical until you try them out. So I ended up at Target the other day with my husband and saw that all nappy bags had 30% off. I found a gorgeous red canvas one that was $50 (bargain) down to $35 (double bargain). How could I not? It had a long handle that would fit over the handle of my pram and free up room for the rest of my 'bargains' underneath. It had heaps of different compartments, a bottle warmer and even a special place to put the dummy. Imagine my husbands surprise when I told him that we needed one. I spent all that time talking him into the other nappy bag and telling him how great it was and that he could tell everyone he has a Marc Jacobs nappy bag (yeah right) that he could not believe what he was hearing. I told him the Marc Jacobs nappy bag would still be in use and we could still put all the toys and blankets in it for when we go visiting people. Perfect, and it is for it's new function! I don't think my husband is so sure...

So with my new nappy bag and our tax return on its way I managed to get an advance and went shopping! I think I forgot how good shopping actually was and how amazing it felt to actually spend some money.
          I live in thongs. Black havaianas are a wardrobe staple for me, but now that I am a mummy I thought it was time to invest in something that would actually keep my little toes warm. I got these awesome boots from Williams. Devastated I missed the 30% off sale just days before but I loved them, so I forked out the $140 anyway. They are so comfy and actually fit really well. Like so many others, I find it difficult to find a pair of boots that fit nicely around my calves. These are perfect and flat so I can last all day long in them.

I also got a pair of bootleg jeans from Katies

I got a couple of things from Susan as well. They have 50% off the marked sale price at the moment. Do yourselves a favour and get down there. When they do a sale, they do an amazing sale! Katies also have 50% off the marked sale price on some items and I got an awesome bright orange jacket that was $90 down to $20! My husband says that it's a red jacket and it is called tomato red, but I think it looks more orange.

I stumbled across these free Kewpie doll printout labels from My Poppet and thought I would share. They are just too cute! Be sure to check out their FaceBook page. http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fmypoppet.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F08%2Fkewpie-labels-free-printable.html&h=RAQC_hRZAAQBb7tXP57P0AeBb7apW4pF58wNiYmNKO9iPkw

By the way, it is national lipstick week this week, so everyone get on board and crack open the red lippy!