Start Your Week Off With..

• The French Toast Paradox by Forages & Finds 
• Lunch Date with Blue Feather Style 
• Illustrate Your Grocery List with Goodnight Little Spoon 
• Cat Paintings by Diamond In The Dark 
• Organizing your fridge by The Organized Housewife 

Luke & I went to the movies this morning to watch A Few Best Men, there were so many moments throughout the movie where I felt awkward and embarrassed for the Best Men. Go see it though, it is pretty funny! I also found the perfect computer desk for my new Mac today! Make sure you check out The Organized Housewife blog. My sister texted me the blog last week - thanks Ash! 

Have a good little week!

Can We Sit In Your Truck?

Today at work a couple came in for some afternoon teas and coffees. They own a big old fashioned fire engine truck that they use for parties, events etc. And they were driving it today, and it was parked right in front of the cafe where we could see. The other waitress that was working today, Bridget, asked if we could take photos sitting in their 'fun engine', which they were totally up for! It was a pretty funny way to end the working week. 

Luke & I didn't really get up to much this week because we've both been working, and on his days off I worked. Although on Tuesday we had the day together and we went to see The Muppets movie early in the morning which was ah-mazing! The little kids at the cinemas were super duper funny with their reactions to the movie, and their singing! I also had a little date on Friday night with my mum to watch The Descendants.

Luke & I are going to have a couple of drinks to finish our Sunday off and watch the mens final in the Australian Open. Fingers crossed for Novak!

I hope you all had a great little week!

A Customer Sat On My Foot

I'm not recounting my favourite episode of Jerry Springer. This actually happened.

Thursday at work we were super duper busy being Australia Day & all. I went to take an order from a customer, and stood in the only space I could - behind her chair. When she heard me she stood a little to adjust her chair to look at me directly and sat the chair back down on my foot. I asked her 'could you please get up you're on my foot', completely unfazed and unapologetic she moved her chair. I also moved my foot back and she put her chair down on my shoe AGAIN, and I quickly lifted my foot and my shoe ripped. 

It was all kinds of awesome. For the remaining five hours of my shift, my shoe basically had a mouth. It was also a gloomy, wet day so my little toes got wet (and dirty). 

My Little Book Club

I love going to bookstores, buying books, and finding a little nook for them in my lovely bookcase. I love everything about books.

I just never commit to reading them straight away. So, I've made a little pile to start off with on top of my bookcase, and I'm going to read my way through it.

(Don't be fooled by the book mark in 'On The Road', Luke is currently reading that.)

My Sister bought me 'Encyclopedia Of The Exquisite' for my birthday late last year, and I've been itching to read it. It has really delightful illustrations throughout, and its beautifully designed book. I'm a sucker for a good looking book. And Penguin Classics.

Start Your Week Off With..

• Down memory lane with Mermaidens 
• The many uses of coconut oil by An Organic Wife 
• Ways to be a fag hag by Cheeky Cheeky 
• Their rituals by The Beetle Shak 
• Have a loaf of blueberry bread with All Things Classy 
• Remember the time I got hit by a cop by Adventures In Mediocrity 

For the first time in a couple of months I had a Saturday off, which gave me a little bit more time to blog peruse. This week I came across a quick recipe for blueberry bread. I'm not sure why it never occurred to me before to try it, because I like banana bread and such, and blueberries are one of my favourite things. So my next day off I'm defo going to whip this one up! I'm also quite keen on coconuts, and my cousin who is a naturopath has been preaching about coconut oil for years, so this post has finallllllly sold me on the stuff! One of my new favourite blogs, Cheeky Cheeky, provided the world with some amazing advice on making friends with gay men, which is not only genius but really freaking hilarious! I highly recommend you pop on over to her blog and say hello, she's constantly on the hunt for a new bff!

I've never been a Monday hater, infact they have never bothered me. I was more so bothered by Tuesdays for some strange reason. This morning I woke up with a solid eight hours of sleep under my belt and didn't even snooze my alarm when it went off. It was generally a good day today at work, and the day went by at a nice pace. A sweet lady asked me about my Magritte tattoo on the side of my wrist and to my surprise she actually knew what I was talking about! I get asked about it so so so so so much and nobody ever knows who Rene Magritte is, so it really made my day to converse with her. She gave me some helpful tips on pursuing my artistic aspirations, and is quite an accomplished artist herself. I sussed out her website this evening, and her work is fantastic, check it out!

Have a great little week!

Don't Make A Spectacle

New Glasses!

I've wanted new frames for a while, but wanted to wait until I needed to update my prescription.

While Luke & I were at the shops about 2 weeks ago, we were walking past Spec Savers and I went in to look at new frames and they had a spare appointment so I ended up walking out with new frames! Well I had to wait 8 days for them. I also bought prescription sunglasses, which have proven to be anything but daggy.

They felt to big on my face the first couple of days, but I have been given so many lovely compliments that have eased me into them even more!

Busy Bees

Luke & I had quite the eventful day together. 

We were little busy bees crossing things off our to-do-lists.

I had an 8.30 am appointment this morning, so our day started a little earlier than I would have liked. I defied my alarm for as long as I could, and gave myself little time to get ready. After the appointment, we went to the cafe where I work to have breakfast & coffee. Trying new things is something I'm pushing myself to do, so today I tried blueberry pancakes. And aren't I a fool for putting it off for so long, as I always go for banana. And I also tried some of Luke's French toast. My boss made our coffees and as her & her gf were making them, I could see them huddled over & giggling. Rather than the normal cute little heart in the froth, they'd branched out and tried their hand at doodles! So that was a pretty funny start to the day. 

After breakfast we went to the shops to make a quick purchase - my new Mac desktop! I'm so fracking excited! My desk won't get here for a few days, so I won't set it all up until it arrives. Which gives me time to find the perfect decorative desk chair. Working on my new Mac will be so much easier having a bigger screen, 21.5" to be exact! Luke had a voucher for a book store, so while he was looking around I read some of the new children's books which generated an abundance of much needed creative motivation. I also picked up a new floral print dress from Cotton On, and a 'L' scrabble necklace from Diva for $2! I am a bit late to the scrabble jewellery phase, but I got on the wagon cheaply!

Aside from buying a new Mac, buying new mascara was on the top of my to-do-list for Thursday. As we were driving home I realised I had forgot to, so we pulled into the shopping centre which is closer to our house to get it and dinner things. Just to make my day more awesome, Rimmel had a buy 1 get 1 free purchase offer. And while we were close to the post office we finally got out passport photos taken. We've been meaning to get our passports for ages for our Fiji trip in March. And to finish our lovely little day together, Luke is going to make burritos and we're going to watch the tennis!

Guest Post / Brock Paper Scissors

 

Hi, I'm Joanna from over at Brock Paper Scissors. 

Lauren asked me to do a guest post answering some questions about myself, so here goes...

I first got into reading blogs a couple of years ago (sewing and cooking, then when I got preggo with Lola, baby blogs), but it wasn't until around June of this year that I decided to start blogging myself. I've never been good about keeping up with baby books, so I thought this would be a good way to document our daily happenings. So far, I've really enjoyed it!

A typical day for me (if Nico has preschool)...

Wake up to my alarm clock or Nico waking me up; whichever comes first

Get the kids and myself dressed and ready for the day

Get everyone fed and out the door by 9:00a.m., so we can make it to preschool on time

Run any errands I need to with Lola, while Nico's at school

Pick Nico up from school at 12:15p.m.

Come home and eat lunch

Nap time (this is the time when I get laundry, blogging and housework done)

After nap time, we all play until it is time to make dinner

Cook dinner and sit down at the table as a family to eat (this is really important to us)

After dinner and dishes, the kiddos get baths (thankfully, the husby does this)

This is followed by story time and bedtime for Nico (Lola stays up with us right now)

Dan and I usually hang out and watch TV for an hour or two

Bed time is around 10 or 11 for us (we act like old fogies)

I have plenty of weird quirks and habits, lol! Probably the one that annoys the Hubs the most, though, is that I have to check the closet and under the bed before I can go to sleep (not even joking). Gotta check for murderers, yo!

The highlight of 2011 has probably been our move from San Diego to Virginia (my husband, Dan, is in the Navy). While I loved the weather in SD, VA just feels more like home (Texas) to me.

This pic is probably one of my favorites! It's of the 3 people I love most in this world!

Thanks for sharing Joanna! 

I have a similar quirk, I check my house for uninvited guests when I get home!

Make sure you pop over to her delightful blog and say hello.

5 Things I do Everyday

 

I'm over at Life As Twiggy today sharing 5 things I do everyday. 

Come over & say hello!

Start Your Week Off With..

• Love letters by The Parkers Blog 
• Fun facts by Only A Flight Away 
• Maroon & Blue by Violet Lulu 
• My worst habit by Baby In Bulgaria 

So, these may be a small, sweet handful of posts to enjoy mid week rather than to start your week off with! Sorry about that. I had a coffee & banana bread date with my Mum today, have been working a lot, and the Australian Open has just started this week. So i've been a little distracted! However, there are some fun facts to start the week off as an intellectual with, some everyday romance, a fantastic outfit post/cute new blog to read, and horrible habit (that I too share!).

This week I've got a cute little guest post to share as well as pictures of my new glasses!

Have a good little week!

Beach Burrito

Yesterday Luke & I ventured into the city to have lunch at Beach Burrito in Newtown, and to pick up a (late!) birthday present for Luke from this amazing store called Holy Kitsch which is also in Newtown. Beach Burrito was pretty amazing, Luke had fish tacos and I had vegetarian chilli fries. The menus were the most amazing part though because of their colourful artworks. Afterwards we strolled along King Street and looked at books & all kinds of pretty things before we had some afternoon coffees. 

Also earlier this month I got a Secret Santa package from Croatia which I was so excited about! Only A Flight Away hosted a Secret Santa blog swap just before Christmas and you were paired up with a fellow blogger to buy a present. I was paired with Dolly from Unicorns, Heels & American Dreams . Click here to see what I sent her!

floral bow necklace, nail polish, Croatian hanging heart, tea.

Also, during the week my sister & brother in law made a fleeting visit to my parents house before they had a dinner date with friends. They had quick birthday drinks with Luke, and with the top half of a bin my parents repurposed I got the best photo of my brother in law Allan. 

And just quietly...

...look how big this banana is! 

You could almost make an entire loaf of banana bread out of this single bad boy.

Belated Birthday Boots Illustrated

New boots.

Last Tuesday I went to Newtown in Sydney by myself for the first time ever. I've never had a solo adventure to the city, so I was a little excited and nervous. I have no sense of direction & whenever I'm in Sydney I rely on whoever I'm with to get about. 

My birthday was about a month ago, and because Luke works so much and there aren't any places around the coast that stock Doc Marten's, I only just got my present last Tuesday. New black Doc's.

Here they are, illustrated rather than photographed.

Start Your Week Off With..

• Don't drown in a sea of sadness by Cheeky Cheeky 
• Button earring DIY by Manzanita 
• Tuesday tunes by Simply, Melissa Ashley 
• Pretty bird by We're All A Bunch Of Oxymorons 
• A desktop calendar by The Glue Gun Girl 

I haven't been around lately because I've been so busy working, but I have a mixed bag of posts to share - a simple DIY, a new little feature by one of my favourites, a sweet poem to make you smile, a new year treat for your desktop and a funny post by a blog I came across this week that I am smitten with! Have a good little week!

January Sponsors

   

   

   

   

   

   

Go say hello! 

For more info on button swapping, click here.

Also, the winner of nautical head scarf from the Lost Cabin store is...

Simply, Melissa Ashley! 

Woo hoo! I'll be in touch. Thanks girls for entering!