Roly Poly!

Hi Dolls,

Sooo… Piper rolled from her back to her tummy this week! Eeeee…. Just a little bit excited and so damn proud of my little pumpkin! She has been on a roll (literally!) ever since! As soon as we put her down now she is rolling from her back to her tummy and back again grabbing and playing with her (many thousands of) toys. We've also been having fun dressing up and having photo shoots in baskets - Watch out Anne Geddes!Nothing can stop her now, she’s growing up so quickly! Before you know it I’ll be back at work - luckily enough to be going back only part-time. As much as I can’t wait for all the different stages she is about to go through (walking and talking etc.) it will mean that I'll have to be back at the office and that I’ll be missing out on every single moment with her. Anyway, I’m making the most of now until my maternity leave is up.

I haven’t updated since before my birthday really. So here goes….

The girls and I got together to try and plan a surprise baby shower for my bestie. She is due next month and didn’t want to have a baby shower. My first thought was, why!? I guess it’s a bummer not being able to celebrate with some bubbly or a bit of kabana and cheese but that just wouldn’t do for us. I understand not wanting a big fuss, but it’s a really big deal to be having a baby and we had to celebrate it in some way. A friend suggested having a lunch at a local restaurant with just the girls so it wasn’t a huge gathering, just an intimate celebration with her closest girlfriends. So I invited the mum-to-be out for lunch with the girls in the disguise of a lunch for my birthday. I know, I’m that good of a friend, I gave up my birthday for her! So I picked her up and we arrived fashionably late to a table decked out with balloons and presents. When I dropped the mum-to-be home and finished unpacking the car with all her surprise pressies, I said to her, I bet you didn’t think you would be bringing home this mountain of baby presents! It was a lovely lunch and I think we pulled off the surprise for her!

So, for my actual birthday, my husband took Piper and I out for breakie. We went to my favourite breakfast spot – Mocha Jo’s. It’s in Glen Waverley and it is amazing. The food and the atmosphere are fabulous. My go-to breakie meal without a doubt (I get the same thing every single time) is poached eggs on ciabatta bread with smoked salmon and avocado. Delicious! We then went into The Glen shopping centre for a spot of shopping and got our wedding rings cleaned at the jeweler we purchased them from. He cleans them for free and they look brand new again. I get all my jewellery from there now – KT Jewellers. He is lovely and has some beautiful pieces. He will even design from scratch to suit your budget. We then hit up Chadstone shopping centre and I scored a new hair curler. It’s a Babyliss Pro 25mm ceramic curling iron from Hairhouse Warehouse. I will do a separate blog on this baby very soon. It is awesome and I think I’m finally starting to get the hang of it without burning myself! Seriously, I have a ripper of a burn on my hand - ouch! I also managed to get some bobby pins thrown in. Can’t go past a good set of bobby pins. These ones actually hold and stay put. They were around $15 for 999! They always go missing, but this will take a while for that to happen now! We also visited Ferguson Plarre and picked up my birthday cake! A strawberry cheesecake. I had been drooling over it for weeks and couldn’t just buy it for nothing, right?... Right! So I waited for my birthday and it was well worth the wait – it was yuuuummy! Make sure you try the custard tart and chocolate éclair too… I heard they are amazingly scrumptious….! The family came over for a BBQ the night of my birthday and I was showered with gifts and money to go shopping (!) for some more gifts! My sister got me some gorgeous body shop sparkly body lotion and a beautiful silver necklace with my name cut out alà Carrie Bradshaw.

I updated you all on my sister-in-law’s and new brother-in-law’s wedding last week, but I forgot to show you Piper’s outfit from the store we shall not name. I think it’s just too adorable to not give Piper and her outfit a mention!

Last week we also had to say goodbye to a beautiful member of our family. The gorgeous silky terrier Phoebe who grew up with my husbands family. I know you are in a better place now little baggarty chicken… RIP…

Until next time lovelies…

Going to the Chapel...

Hi Dolls,

We finally had my sister-in-law and now new brother-in-law's wedding last Friday. It feels like we were counting down for ages and now it finally happened! It was seriously one of the best weddings I have ever been to. In the top two I'd say! Everything was just perfect and full of little surprises! Such a magical and special day!

The hair, the makeup, the accessories, the flowers... everything was just beautiful.

The ceremony was held at their local church. I was lucky enough to be asked to do a reading. The ceremony was short and sweet and just beautiful.

Afterwards there was photos and the weather held up long enough to do this in record time. They had made a list of all the photos they wanted with family and friends and this was such a great idea - no one was left out and they went so quickly! The bridal party then trotted off (well I should really say elegantly glided away) to the next location for more photos... in a stretch Hummer! Awesome!

The reception was at the Doyle's Bridge Hotel. It was a beautiful venue set on the water surrounded by all the boats and yachts. The bridal party were introduced and came in separately with different funky little dances and pumped everyone up for a fabulous and fun night. The bride and groom(!) even had a sneaky outfit change in between the ceremony and reception! A couple after my own heart! A long dress at the ceremony was changed for a shorter little number for the reception. The groom changed into a pair of shorts.
The bridesmaids wore a beautiful yellow colour, each with a different neckline. The bride's white dress had a matching yellow bow and shoes.

There was just so many great things, they had leaned a dance routine for their first dance with lifts and all!
Instead of a guestbook, there was a fingerprint tree which will look fantastic framed on their wall. Each guest put a fingerprint on an outline of a tree and wrote their name under it. A great idea instead of an actual guestbook that just sits in the cupboard and never comes out to play.
The speeches were even great, and it doesn't always happen this way at a wedding. I was so proud of my husband who did a beautiful speech for his sister - it didn't leave a dry eye in the place. I also loved the joint bride and groom speech which was hilarious and so touching. I loved the way they separately thanked each groomsmen and bridesmaid. You choose these people to be part of your special day, so it was nice to know why they each meant so much to them.
You could just feel the love between the two of them and could tell they were meant to live happily ever after. I know, I know, I'm getting a bit corny now but I just love a wedding, you know!

I can't wait to see the wedding video and all the photo's.

Have fun on your honeymoon in Fiji!

To the bride and groom!

P.s - Thanks everyone for all the pics I pinched from Facebook... obviously I left my camera at home!

Royal eyeliner... fail!

Hi Dolls,

Let me get this straight, I quite like the royal family. I mean, I remember princess Diana's wedding and I was there on the couch with a cuppa and a block of chocolate with a billion million other people for Kate and Wills' wedding - just waiting to catch a glimpse of what she was wearing. But... what is with the eyeliner? Heavy handed or what? I've thought this for a while now and thought it might get better, but it hasn't. It's just too harsh and she needs to relax! I commend PK for still doing her own makeup - it looks fantastic, she obviously knows what she's doing and what suits her... except for her eyeliner!

What do you think? Does Kate wear too much eyeliner and should she tone it down a little bit or do you like this look?

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!

I've been getting my craft on!

Hi Dolls,

I have been busy busy this week. I got stuck in lincraft (again!). I got a heap of stuff and have been glue-gunning away making cute little headbands for my lil munchkin. It's so much fun being crafty and I have a huge to do list for things in my home - not just baby stuff. I've been scrolling through and watching tutorials on Pinterest.com and have custom made headbands to go with all of Piper's little outfits. Here are a few I made earlier.

I have been putting Piper in headbands pretty much since she was born. Mainly because they are pretty, but also in the hope that when she is older and she is wearing a hat or sunglasses in the summer time she might not feel the need to rip them off - here's hoping! My sister-in-law was making headbands among other things for Piper while I was pregnant. Yep, I couldn't wait to find out what I was having. So, before she was born I had the cutest hand-made cot mobile and pram-tie going around. Everywhere I go, someone comments on how gorgeous it is! Here is a sneaky peak of the cot mobile and our baby girl's nursery. I hung lanterns over her change table. There are white cane baskets with pink gingham inserts under the change table. I put a dandelions decal on the wall. I even hand sewed crystals all over the top of the mosquito net (took me ages!!). My sister-in-law made the canvases hanging on the wall as well using white fabric, pink and white polka-dot ribbon and buttons.

Did I mention that my other sister-in-law is getting married next month? I'm so excited and cannot wait, gosh I love a wedding! We all went Mother-of-the-bride dress shopping last weekend. It's top-secret so I can't say too much. Only it cost a bomb and looks magnificent. We went shopping at the Burke Street Mall. That place is huge! Piper was an absolute nightmare - she slept most of the time and we barely heard a peep out of her, she was the perfect little angel! I behaved myself as well, but did get myself a new pair of Nike runners. I needed them, I swear! I've even used them already (shocked? I know I was!). They actually make me want to exercise. I guess we will see how long that lasts!

Ooo, I also got a dress for the wedding! It is also super top secret... but I will tell you it was from Diana Ferrari and it was $150 discounted to $130 with 50% off. So I ended up getting it for the bargain price of $65!! Absolute bargain, I couldn't pass it up! Gee, bargains make me happy!

I caught up with my girlfriends as well for brunch. We went to Switch at Fountain Gate shopping centre. It was great to catch up. I think sometimes life just gets in the way and you forget how long it's been. I must make the effort to do that more often.

I didn't realise until I started thinking about my week, how much running around I actually do. It seems like I'm never home! We also went and visited Belinda and her brand new 3 week old baby girl, Aleeyah. What an adorable little girl, and such a gorgeous name. I had a cuddle and she felt like she weighed just a breath of air. It made me realise how fast Piper is growing up, she is 4 months old already!

This week, my husband and I also had our first proper date night without Piper! We went for dinner at Outback Jacks. So many people rave about how good the food is here, but I was a little disapointed! My steak wasn't cooked very well and was really fatty, so I don't think we will be going back again anytime soon. We then went to the movies and saw Red Dog. I loved it! Ok, ok, I cried as well, but that's not unusual - I cry in almost every movie! It was an Australian film and it was really good. If you're a dog lover, it is a must-see for sure.

Anyway, I'm off to enjoy the lovely sunshine. It's such a beautiful day!