My Winter Style

I've been pinning (yes pinning on Pinterest) a lot of clothes for this coming Winter. I really need a revamp on my wardrobe, it is drab and boring. I just want some things that I can throw on in a hurry, because lets face it, I don't get a lot of time to figure out what to where with what anymore. But, things that are comfy and look nice as well. Some of my favourite finds lately are like that, but some are just pretty, nice and amazing. This is what I am thinking!

Love this basic All About Eve Blazer

Source: surfstitch.com via Karen on Pinterest

I got a pair of NEUW jeans for my birthday and I love them, so how about some rust coloured cords too!

Source: shop.neuwdenim.com via Karen on Pinterest

This Esther blazer is gorgeous, love the orange

Source: esther.com.au via Karen on Pinterest

Simple but elegant dress from Mod Cloth

Source: modcloth.com via Karen on Pinterest

Some Minnetonka Tramper boots, how comfy and cute!

Source: zappos.com via Karen on Pinterest

This cute Friends Of Couture Skirt, can't wait to see their whole winter range.

Source: shop.dangerfield.com.au via Karen on Pinterest

This MinkPink blazer will definitely brighten up a dull winters day!

Source: shopmarkethq.com via Karen on Pinterest

I think it is going to be nice jeans, boots and cardigans or blazer jackets for me this winter.
What are you 'pinning' lately??

One Lucky Dog

On Monday morning I remember sitting in the kitchen giving Ezra breakfast thinking to myself, I wonder what we should do today. It was literally 5 minutes later I heard a noise at the back door, I thought it was Joel stopping home for something, but I checked and there was Angus (the dog) scratching at the back door. WHhaaattt, last I checked he was in the front yard like usual. I let him in and noticed he looked really scared and thought thats odd. A few moments later a girl comes running up the driveway, and tells me she hit Angus with her car. I take a longer look and notice that he is all beat up, gashes in his legs and skin hanging off, all though I am really squeamish and I didn't want to look too close. She thought he must be really hurt, she said she hit him so hard it put a dent in her car, plus she was going 60km/h. The crazy dog must have jumped the fence and run across the road to the park, after 4 years of living here he decides to jump it.

It's a good thing Pei 's were bred to be tough, otherwise I think I would have lost my baby dog. We are still in shock that he came away from it so well off. He has 5 spots where he needed stitches, all on his legs. Some road rash and bruised lungs and liver. We are feeling very,very lucky he is still with us. Needless to say, I didn't get much done that day after all.

Today we bought some lattice and Joel used it to extend the height of the fence, no more escaping now!

 

 

8 months on

Our little man has hit the 8 month milestone. How quick 8 months goes by.

This is such a fun age, maybe I say that about every age, but they all really are. This kid keeps me on my toes, he is so fast, crawling from one end of the house to the other. Launching himself forward and taking off, usually straight for the bathroom, he loves to stand up holding on to the side of the bath. He loves to laugh, and smile and play. I can't keep him away from the bookshelves, he is drawn to them, pulls books out and tries to rip the pages out before I get to him. He pushes the chairs around the kitchen, and laughs so hard when we ask him if his dinner is "scrumptious. I think his teeth have been bugging him for the last few weeks, I hate to see him in pain, but he is such a trooper.  I am so grateful for his glorious 12 hour sleeps at night, it helps me to function so much better. He has started to refuse late afternoon naps, and that ok with me as long as he is pretty happy most of the afternoon. He is eating food like a champ, although I'm trying to figure out exactly what he wants because he doesn't like eating from the spoon anymore and just wants to feed himself. In the last couple of days he has started making na-na-na-na sounds, they are so stinking cute. He opens his mouth so wide and just can't stop saying it. I keep thinking he is saying Ma-ma-ma, Joel thinks he is saying Da-Da-Da, but really he is saying neither.

My heart feels so full when he grabs my head (pulls my hair) and gives me a nice big open mouth kiss (bite) on the cheek. I am so grateful for my amazing child. I feel extremely lucky and so thankful to have him in my life.

I hope you had a great weekend, mine is nearly over. It was fun, but I am exhausted!

Karen xx

I turned 29

Thursday was my birthday, I have embarked on the last year of my 20's. I don't really like the idea of turning 30, but I guess no one really does. This year it was all pretty low key, and I was still recovering from sickness. Still, it was a good day, and my husband looked after me! So here goes the last year of my 20's, what will it hold, what do I want to accomplish this year, how can I make it the best year of my 20's yet. I really want to make the most of this year, I'm going to sit down and write out my goals for the year, I'll post them once I figure it out!

Joel got me an AMAZING Red Velvet Cake from a patisserie that just opened on the street behind our house. I couldn't stop eating it all day, it was delicious. I got some gorgeous succulents to pretty up the front porch ( I keep killing the plants out there), an awesome glass kettle that will get some serious use due to my love of tea, some new NEUW jeans they are amazing, and a Havaianas cover for my iPad. I feel really blessed and loved this birthday. 

Easter!

I hope everyone had a lovely Easter, we are pretty lucky here in Aus, we get a four day weekend, so we had lots of good family time, and got none of the work in the garden we were planning accomplished. We have one side of a hedge planted, but we need to plant the other side, it is only really a tough job because there are some HUGE rosemary shrubs that need to be removed first.

We did however venture out on the boat on the Estuary with Ezra for the first time. He loved the hum of the motor so much he fell asleep in my Mums arms. Then he was happy just lying still, which is very strange for the little man who never stops moving. It was so peaceful and relaxing. We had dolphin visitors along the way, so many of them and so close to the boat. Unfortunately they aren't that easy to get good pictures of with an iPhone.

Chocolate stayed at a minimum this year, and that's probably a good thing, because I don't need to be over indulging in that right now!

5 Ways We Save Money on a Single Income

Just over 7 months ago we went down from being a dual income family (even though I was only working part time, and studying) to a single income family. It is a bit of a shock to the system because we were finally in a pretty comfortable place. I really don't want to go back to work, I love being a stay at home Mum, but it just means we have had to make some sacrifices and think a bit smarter in the way we do things. I really wanted to share some money saving tips we use, or try to use, that makes a massive difference in our day to day expenses!

#1. Plant a Herb garden: 
You don't need a lot of space just a few pots with your favourite, most used herbs. At the grocery store a back of herbs will set you back around $3, a live herb plant will cost you about the same. Just a little extra money for soil and a pot, but then you constantly have herbs at your disposal. So easy and this probably saves us about $10-$15 a week.

#2. Make Your own Beer: In Perth your lucky if you can get a carton of beer for about $40. If your buying a carton a week or every two weeks, that gets pretty pricey. You can get a basic home-brew set up for about $100. And then each 'kit' to make the beer sets you back around $33. This beer can last about 3 months you make so much of it. You can bottle it in recycled bottles and then cap them with new caps, or spend a lot of money on a beer fridge with kegs.  Not only does Joel's love of Home-brewing save us a heap of money, it is also an awesome hobby that he loves!

#3. Make your own baby food: The only time I have bought pre made baby food was a few times when we were camping. Other than that, I make everything that Ezra eats. At first I was pureeing everything and freezing it in ice cube trays, then putting them in labelled plastic baggys. I often stop in the baby food isle to see if there is anything I feel like buying for emergencies, and I walk away empty handed. Most of it is so simple to make, and is so much cheaper and more beneficial to babies if you make it yourself. If you don't know what to make, buy a baby cookbook. I just got a great one called Baby Tastes (www.baby tastes.com.au). If you integrate baby food with food you are already buying for the week, you have just saved a whole lot of cash.

#4. Plan your meals: Personally I think this is one of the hardest things to do. You can go to a recipe book and pick 5 different recipes, with completely different ingredients and end up spending a FORTUNE. Or you can try to integrate your meals so you are using many of the same ingredients multiple times in a week, it prevents a lot of wastage and saves money. For example maybe you buy a larger portion of mince (ground beef), use it once for Spaghetti, freeze the rest, then use it later in the week for Tacos or Burritos.

#5. Ride your bike to work: I know this isn't practical for a lot of people, but it is also possible for a lot of people who just drive due to convenience. Because Joel rides his bike to work, we are able to have just one car. I couldn't even tell you how much money that is saving us, hundreds of dollars. When we first moved back to Perth from the USA, we didn't have a lot of money, and had just bought a house, so we lived with one car that Joel got as a part of his job. I found a job teaching swimming, and invested in a nice road bike, and rode to work everyday. When Joel changed jobs, we bought ourselves a car, and then he started riding to work. The best thing about it is, you don't have to spend extra time going to the gym after work, your workout is done for the day and he loves it, he feels a lot of the days stresses are worked out in the ride home!

These are just some of the ways we try to save, I would love to hear the areas where you save money. I am always looking for new things to do to help the bank account out a little bit!!

I'm back and I'm having a BIG SALE!

In honour of being back in action, and starting to stitch again, I have decided to kick it off with a big SALE in my Etsy Shop. By big, I mean for two days only you can get 40% any item. Just fill in the Coupon Code: IMBACK at the checkout to receive the discount.

www.etsy.com/shop/yellowdandy

Pass it on to your friends!

My Most Useful Baby items

Life has been a little busy! I have good news though, in the last couple of weeks my little man has started sleeping through the night! Whooo Hooo. I feel like a new woman, even though his wake up time is usually about 5.45am, I can handle that!

I thought I would do a post on some of the most USEFUL items I have relied on in the last 7 months. I'm not including obvious things like a cot and pram, I figure most people realise those are pretty helpful items to have. I know when you are shopping around for baby stuff it can be so overwhelming. I always found tips from real Mums, who are in the midst of raising babies really helpful. So now that I am one of them, I thought I would contribute.

USEFUL item #1
Bumbo Chair

Once Ezra was old enough to hold his head up this chair was awesome. He loved being in it, and because it is so light you can take it anywhere. It was also recommended by the physio because no matter what I did he was only sleeping on the right side of his head. So this gave him some time to reduce the pressure on the back of his head and helped reduce his flat spot and strengthen his neck.

USEFUL item #2
Tommee Tippee Mesh sucker thingy (not its official name)

This item has really been so helpful, when his gums are hurting I put some ice blocks in it and he happily sucks away. When he is a little cranky or just in the afternoon "unsettled period" I give him some fruit in it and it keeps him entertained while I get stuff done in the kitchen. Such a great invention, they just suck the food through the mesh.

USEFUL item #3
Baby Carriers: Sleepy Wrap and Ergo baby 

In the early days I loved the sleepy wrap. It was so comfortable and easy to use, but once he started getting a bit heavier the Ergo baby carrier has been amazing. I did a lot of research about carriers because I have a messed up lower back and neck, and I heard some carriers were just terrible for back problems. I can wear my huge 7 month old in the Ergo without any pain or pressure, it is awesome. It is easy to put on and most importantly comfortable.

USEFUL item #4
Tummy Tub

We have a small bathroom with no bench space, and our bath is so deep and big it was just impossible for us to have any other kinds of baby bath. I thought these tubs were ingenious. You only have to put a small amount of water in them, so I can carry it, no drama. I can put it in the lounge room, near the heater to keep the but from getting chilly in winter, and we even took it camping to make the easiest way to bath a babe outside at the campsite. We used it until Ezra was about 5 months old, and then he moved to the big bath.

USEFUL item #5
Grocery home delivery
 I like this so much that I still have my shopping delivered. The other day I went to the store, thinking it was about time I started actually going in again. It was terrible, I forgot like five items, and spent ages going back and forth to different isles trying to find things. It took me so long, I had a cranky baby in the end, and an even crankier Mummy. I had to go back out later and get the items I forgot, and so I decided it isn't really any more expensive to get it delivered and the convenience is so worthwhile.


I am in no way being paid or benefiting from recommending these products, they are just things I have bought myself and found to be really great products. All photos are my own.
I may have to do part two of this because there really are some awesome products that make life so much easier!

Karen xx

A little time at Creche

Today I took a big step in motherhood. It was quite scary. It may not be a big deal to some, but it was to me. I have been feeling pretty limited (as I'm sure most Mums do) in my exercise options, really when you have a baby in your care it comes down to walking or running with the pram.  I have always been a terrible runner, and quite frankly, I hate it. SO I made a decision to get a membership at the pool. I love swimming and doing laps is actually a great way for me to clear my mind and think! The great thing is, that with the pool membership you can use the Creche for free.

Ezra will be seven months old in a few days, and is definitely way more aware of me, and when I'm gone. I think a few months ago he would be happy with anyone who smiled at him. These days, he is a bit  pickier. So I was kinda scared that he would hate me leaving him with strangers for half an hour. Only half an hour, I know. I think I was more freaked out than he was. He did great, played with toys, crawled around, and when I came back they were pushing him around in a stroller keeping him happy.

Before I was a Mum I didn't get how hard it was to leave them. You would think you would feel a sense of freedom when someone else is caring for them. You don't, at least I don't. You just think about them the whole time and wait for one of the Creche employees to come and find you and tell you your child is inconsolable.  Despite this, it felt soooo good to get a good swim in and start working on my fitness again!