7th Anniversary. Outfit Post. Other Happenings.

Tomorrow, hubby and I will have been married for 7 years! We had an early celebration yesterday and had lunch at Sepia. 

A nice way to end 12 courses. Yes, 12 courses. This dessert actually defeated me. I could not finish it. That is a first.

Yum. We also started with oysters, double yum. It has been so long. I wished I could have washed it all down with wine but I'm still breastfeeding. My aim is to start drinking again by my birthday. Ha!

I finally wore something worth posting about, at least, I think.

I prayed for a cold day so I can wear my new coat which I bought in the middle of summer. Pity about the wrinkles on my clothes. I took the photos at the end of the day.

I love this dress so much and...

it even has pockets!

I haven't used a cute bag in so long.

Or heels. I think I'm cursed as these are the 4th pair of shoes that broke while I was wearing them. Nevertheless, it was so nice to walk around in heels. Heck it was nice to just be able to walk around without a baby wrapped around my legs or strapped to me while chasing a toddler or pushing a pram and at a leisurely pace.

The last time I broke a pair of sandals. I bought those blue flats then spilled petrol on the right shoe so now the bow on the right shoe is darker. I'm tempted to go back to the petrol station to douse the left shoe so they match again.

7 years, 2 kids and a mummy pouch later, I still fit into my wedding dress, basically.

For reference, this is how my dress looked on me on my wedding day.

I love my dress even if the original dressmaker didn't do the best job. I nearly bought another dress 2 weeks before the wedding but my usual seamstress who does all my usual alterations worked her magic. She added lace and beading (which I didn't want) and tulle under the train and made me a veil all in exchange for an air conditioner (ha!). At that point I didn't care anymore and I just wanted not to expose too much of my non-existent cleavage. I am so glad I let her have a play with it. The lace and the beading turned out to be my favourite part of the dress.

In other happenings, most of my time is spent preparing food, feeding, ferrying to and from daycare, in between I try to do housekeeping but you'll never guess it.

This little one is so adorable. Here he is passed out in the middle of playing still in a half seated position.

Here is Bubby enjoying his dessert and milk in his gum boots, on the park bench, under the tree, in the garden with the rainbow lorikeets.

I nearly bought myself a pair of gumboots as well with all the rain that we've been having.

Torrential downpour just as I reached the car before I could put Chububby in his seat.

I was soaked.

Later that day I slipped on the neighbour's driveway and sprained my thumb. I landed on my thumb because I didn't want to hurt my wrist. Still hurts but at least it's no longer black.

I must aim to blog more regularly.

The Oscar Goes To....

For the first time ever I am able to watch the Oscar's live. I'd like to thank Chububby for having a long sleep and letting me watch uninterrupted (except for the washing and the laundry and the sweeping and the ... you get the picture).

Who wins what is interesting and all but who wears what is what we really want to watch. Here are my favourites:

I love the way Jennifer Garner's dress moved when she walked.

This dress is gorgeous. The silhouette reminds me of Natalie Portman's Oscar dress when she won Best Actress for Black Swan.

And the winner is:

This dress is stunning! I loved the way she gathered up the skirt as she walked up to the stage. If I were to get married again I would wear this dress, though perhaps not quite so low cut.

Thank you Eonline for the photos.

So this is what it takes to get me out of my blogging hiatus. More on that on another post. 

An Unhealthy Obsession.

I used to have it with shoes. I used to have over a hundred pairs until I culled my collection and now I am cured of it. Can't say the same for scarves and bags.

I'm not the only one with an unhealthy obsession.

I don't know if I should organise them according to colour or pattern or designer. This is going to take all afternoon.

ETA:

These are just the blues and grey/creams. I ran out of hanger for the reds and yellows. I was going to say I feel better now, until I realised the hanger on the right is facing the wrong way. It annoys me just looking at it. 

Wishlist - Cross Body Bag

Getting out and about with two kids is a bit of a challenge. One of those challenges is how to push a pram with one hand, hold Bubby's hand with the other and keep my bag on my shoulder. (Yes, the important stuff. You should have guessed from the title of the post that this is going to be trivial.) My temporary solution is to use this wristlet:

The problem with it is that it fits my phone and keys and very little else. My purse is bigger than the wristlet itself, so it's still not that practical.

 I thought a cross body bag will solve my dilemma. Here are the contenders in the order that I tried them not preference:

1. DKNY

I think the strap is a bit long and I don't think it's adjustable. 

I like it converts to a shoulder bag for a dressier look. An early favourite.

In cream.

2. Guess

A bit too casual for my liking but it's a good size and on sale for $79 marked down from $198. I nearly bought it there and then. 

3. Marc by Marc Jacobs

I love the bow.

It looks so sweet. I'm just not sure that lambskin can withstand everyday wear.

4. DKNY

Quilted lambskin with chain strap.

 I look like a bag lady, a high end bag lady.

It looks very much like Chanel and if I was going to go for this look it might as well be Chanel. That will never happen as I can't justify spending that much on a handbag. Maybe if I win lotto, in which case I should probably buy a ticket. 

5. DKNY 

This one is also quite nice. I like the flap and the strap is adjustable. 

It's a bit on the small side though as once my purse is in it there's not much room.

6. MICHAEL Michael Kors

I've liked this bag for a while now but in bright blue. It's just a bit too big and heavy.

7. LV

LV Favorite PM. I like the strap options but I wished it came in the Damier as I'm not really a fan of the LV signature pattern. Also a tad exxy.

8. Coach

I think this is by far my favourite. I love the shape and the size. It's small enough not to be cumbersome but big enough to fit all essentials (purse, keys, phone, lip balm) plus room for a little extra (tissues, lip gloss, pen, small notebook, toy cars). It's leather and durable for everyday errands and also dressy enough for going out. not that I ever do. I only saw it in yellow, tan, orange and magenta and I kept going back to the bright magenta. I could only find a a picture in deep wine. I wished I took a photo but I just quickly ducked in to the store en route to picking up Bubby from daycare in the spare 5 minutes I had. I'm sure I'll be back to try it again. These things need to be considered very carefully.

While my birthday is coming up in a couple of months whether or not I'll actually get a bag is another thing. My laptop just died along with all my work files and photos (I guess laptops don't survive from being dropped from the kitchen bench and landing face down when they're turned on).  But hey, wishing is free, right?

Nappy Bags.

As Jerry Seinfeld might say, "What's the deal with nappy bags?" I have always wondered what other mums stuff in their nappy bags so I googled nappy bag contents. I had to laugh at some of those images. Firstly, I marvel at the size of some of the nappy bags and secondly, I marvel at the amount of stuff people think a tiny person could possibly need on one outing. I get that you'll need nappies, wipes, a change mat, a change of baby clothes and bottles and formula if bottle feeding or snacks if on solids. However, some people pack several outfits for every season/weather/occasion, toys, books, creams, medicine cabinet, kitchen sink... Seriously how long will they be away that 5 changes of clothes are necessary? Will baby really get that bored that every type of toy vehicle is required? Bubby was allowed two toys at most and they have to be small enough to stuff in a pocket I never had an actual nappy bag, I just used a big bag I already owned. My first few outings with Bubby I packed so much crap in my 'nappy bag' that I practically couldn't close the zipper. You know how when going on holidays you can pack your bag nicely but when you pack for the trip back you can't make anything fit? Well, it turned out like that every time I needed to get anything out of the darn bag. In the end I realised, I don't really need to bring that many nappies or a spare outfit for myself, or a spare muslin and spare blanket. Here are my nappy bag essentials

A napkin that I use as a burp cloth, a bib, a small washer, I also bring a spare onesie but forgot to include it in the photo, a change mat, nappy wipes and in the case I have three nappies, nappy cream and hand sanitiser, I can even fit my Filofax in there. I also have plastic bags in the pram for dirty nappies. So far, and I know we've only been getting out of the house for a week, the only item I've used is my Filofax. The nappy bag stays in the pram basket and I carry my personal items in a small handbag. And by small I mean it fits a purse, a phone, lip balm, lip gloss, keys and little else. I used to carry around a little camera but I now use my phone.

This is the nappy bag that I use now:

It's a medium sized shopper. There's still plenty of room in there for my shopping.

I started off with this. I liked how it's structured but that turned out to be a problem as once it's in the pram basket I couldn't fit anything else in. The cherry red colour and polka dots make me happy.

This is what I originally used with Bubby:

I've used this DVF bag for travelling. It fits a helluva lot but I soon realised I don't need a helluva lot.

Kuala Lumpur, January 2009. Shameless showing off of travel pic. I am living vicariously through this blog. It will be years before I'm brave enough to travel with kids.

I eventually just started to stuff my nappy essentials in my Totally PM which is the biggest everyday handbag that I own. I was even able to also carry around a bottle of milk in there.

Going out to see the grandparents is a different kettle of fish altogether. One needs lots of toys, the musical puppy, the baby swing, the travel cot...