Been a little while...

So it's been a little while since my last post...

 

Partly because I've been a little busy with work, life and trying to make the house look presentable even though the walls are coming down and the dust just keeps reappearing everywhere!!

 

Partly because I haven't been feeling the best... 

 

Today I am feeling much better (although I took a sickie from work - always the way isn't it!) but thought I would take the chance to get on top of my housework before the weekend and spend some quality time with my Ivy who has been going through a bit of what we're calling an "anti-everything" period...

 

By "anti-everything" I really do mean everything!! Every question we ask the answer has been "NO!!", we even went out for tea the other night for my brother's 23rd birthday and she even said

"no chippies"!! So I think a fun day full of "yes" is definitely in order!!...

 

The reason that I haven't been feeling the best is due to morning/all day sickness! I have been constantly nauseous, dizzy and exhausted, my skin's terrible and I feel like I've got an enormous belly already and I really shouldn't!!  eek!! (Yes there's definitely only one in there!)...

 

But other than that, I've still been feeling incredibly excited, although often emotional (I cried during Sesame St this morning!! - Gina had just bought home her adopted baby boy Marco...that's a pretty good excuse right?!?)

 

A friend of mine has kindly offered to take progressive belly shots during my pregnancy so I am really excited to see where that leads.  She is very creative and I'm looking forward to recording this beautiful journey on my blog...

 

This post is lacking a little as I haven't taken any pictures lately...

 

As motivation to take more pictures I am going to try to take part in Photoberfest (click on the picture to the right for more details).  So watch this space!!!

The search for the perfect dress....

My brother is getting married at the end of November and I am in need of a new dress!! Yes, I know I do have a few that would be suitable sitting in my cupboard, but it's my BROTHER's wedding so surely that justifies a new outfit?? Yep, I think so!!

 

So I'll be nearing 4 months pregnant at the time of the wedding so I'm not sure if I should look for a maternity dress (as I've also got two weddings of friends to attend nearing the end of the pregnancy) or just go for a flowy style non-maternity dress...

 

As google is my friend I've been doing a little searching and found a couple of examples of things that I like - I think my favourite at the moment is this one from Forever New

 



 

And I will look exactly like this model as soon as I put it on...Of course!!

 

(even with a preggers belly!)

 

I can always dream...

 

I quite like the simple and elegant style of this dress from Queen Bee and it would be good for the weddings later on in the pregnancy...

 

But I do not think it would be suitable for my brother's wedding in Brisbane, in late November where it is very likely to be stinking hot!!

 

There are a couple of options on ASOS that i've found...

 

but not sure if they're exactly what I'm looking for...

 

 

Maybe a little too short....

 

But then again I'm nowhere near as tall as the nearly 6ft high model is!!...

 

But I will have to be bending down and tending to a 2 year old so maybe not such a great idea!

 



Maybe a little too black for a summer wedding...

 

But could possibly brighten up with accessories?...

 

Hmm think I'll sleep on it for a while...

 

To be continued...





Let the renovations begin!

So this week has been a major step forward in our plan to renovate our home.  After talking about it for months we have really made a start and there is definitely no turning back now!!

 

The reason I say there is no turning back is because there is a whopping great whole in our family room wall...but more on that later...

 

At the start of the week I told myself that this would be the week that I got our colour scheme sorted.  Over the last couple of weeks I've bought 5 sample pots, none of which I was overly impressed with... 

 

The top 3 made it to the wall - the one on the right is the one we like, love the tone but we may still try a half shade just to see how it looks a bit lighter.

So i figured I had to look at it from a different angle and went to our local tile shop, Metro Tiles. I saw a floor tile that I really loved and then it all just kinda fell into place and I ended up with a colour scheme....

 

 

And the previously mentioned hole in the wall (and reason that there's no turning back!!)...

 

well here it is!!

 

 

Our electrician came around and took all the power of of the wall so that we can prepare to knock it down this weekend.  We had a building inspector come around a couple of weeks ago and for $100 he told us that it wasn't load bearing and did a drawing for us to show us a few things we had to do to reinforce some of the beams in the ceiling.  My hubby (who is pretty handy!) got all the ceiling stuff sorted so now it's all ready to 'rock n roll' (as Ivy would say)!

 

By the way, I think Miss Ivy has also caught the renovating 'bug' and has been 'painting' the deck with water the last couple of days...

 

 

20 Days to Organise and Clean your Home Challenge - Day 1

In an effort to simplify my home, and therefore my life I am taking part in the '20 Days to Organise and Clean your Home Challenge' over at The Organised Housewife.

I am a little late starting but this week I am going to do my best to catch up!

Day 1 -  you can read more about the challenge Day 1 here.

KITCHEN

Clean

Load Dishwasher - would love to tick this one off but unfortunately we do not own one :-( So yep I washed and wiped up a whole sink full of dirty dishes!! DONE

 

 

 

Wipe over Sink - DONE

 

 

 

Clean the Benches - DONE

 

Wipe down the Cupboard Doors - DONE

 

 

 

Clean the Microwave - DONE

 

Wipe over Walls - DONE

 

Clean Window and Window Sills - DONE

 

Dust light fittings - DONE

 

 

Declutter

 

Kitchen Benches - DONE

 

 

Organise

Under the Kitchen Sink - eek!! after all that cleaning and decluttering I really don't wanna even look in there...but here goes nothing!!!...

 

Before...now you know why I said eek!!

 

 

Emptied and cleaned...

 

 

and finally...TA DA!!

 

 

I still want to buy a few containers to help keep it organised but it's definitely a lot less overwhelming! I can see everthing that's in there and everything is easily assessable.

 

Day 1 = Done :-)

 

 

Decisions, decisions....

We are at the starting point of a renovation on our home (yeah I know, I'm pregnant and we're starting a renovation!! But that's how it normally is for us, all or nothing!!) and can I just say that I never in my wildest dream could have imagined how many different white's/neutrals there are out there...I've already bought 5 sample pots and I don't think any are the shade I'm after!!

I'm loving things like this...

 

 

Light, bright and lots of space is the aim of our renovations.

 

 



 

So today I'll be off to my local BMS once again to grab what will hopefully be the winning colour!

 

 

Wish me luck!! 

Carnival spirit is in the air...

We are lucky enough to live in a city which is known as "the garden city" and September is one of the most beautiful times of the year...

 

The weather has warmed up and the flowers are starting to bloom in preparation for the "Carnival of Flowers" which happens towards the end of September...

 

 

It was a windy day but the sun was shining and the colourful blooms just make you feel lucky to be alive....

 

 

Ivy enjoyed the freedom of running around and checking out all the different colours and smells...

 

I just love her adventurous spirit and inquisitive nature...

 

 

We met up with some dear friends of ours and the girls had a great time exploring and finding new places and things to look at in different places in the park...

 

 

And after a lot of walking on those little legs, had a little rest and just enjoyed the view....

 

 

And what a colourful view it was!!

 

 

Yep another lovely afternoon in our simple kind of beautiful life!!

 

 

Yesterday

Yesterday was a beautiful day...

I took my grandmother "Ma" and my daughter Ivy to the park and we had a lovely time enjoying the spring sunshine...

 

Ivy had a great time, as she always does in the outdoors but was a little bit camera shy...

 

 

There's just something about the fresh air, the colours, the peaceful sounds and the sunshine that is just so uplifting...

 

 

It's good for the soul...

 

I treasure these precious moments...

 

And will always remember this as the day we found out that Ivy is going to be a big sister!!!!

 

Yep, I'M finally FREAKING PREGNANT!!!! What an exciting day!!!