Happenings

 1. I went on a Girl's Day Out with my mum - and no baby. It was so long overdue and really made me appreciate how much I can get done baby-free! We started at 9.30am and the day included a cupcake and coffee from Sweet Bakery and Cakery (pic below - such a cute tiny place) and visiting my Grandma and then... shopping.

 

To say I've been overdue for some decent clothes is an understatement. You know how you open your wardrobe each morning and mentally dismiss each option, e.g, I would go along the rack of tops and for each one there would be some reason I wouldn't wear it. "Too clingy", "Has a tiny hole in sleeve", "Need to wear something under it and can't be bothered dealing with that", "Not comfy enough".. etc.

I decided to literally unload my wardrobe of every single item on that list.

And when I looked back in my wardrobe, there were about 3 tops left that I wanted to keep. Eye-opening!

I realised then, that every single day I reach for jeans and a tshirt top. Every. Single. Day. They are what I wear.

Once I accepted this fact, I realised I need to get some good quality t-shirts/tops that will go with everything and last me for, hopefully years. Accepting that there are certain things I ALWAYS go for made this process so much easier and helped me to avoid buying rubbish.

I came home with 3 tops that will cover most occasions. Today I got a new tan leather belt. Now I just need some tan boots, a pair of comfortable heels (I have never found any comfortable ones, ever), and a cross-body slim-line bag that I can use for baby-free events instead of the nappy bag. And then I'll be SET with my new tiny but functional wardrobe.

[New Jade green simple T, and coordinating baby accessory]

 2. Aside from the wardrobe purge described above, I realised that having my hair presentable every day is super important to my ability to leave the house. I always dress casual, but if my hair is ok then I feel like I'm ready for anything. It takes me ages to deal with my crazy hair (it's actually an afro underneath the heat styling) but for me it's worth it.

3. I bought a new concealer. I know you don't care, but for someone who suffers from such severe dark circles under my eyes that I'm actually scared someone will call the cops on my husband thinking I'm being beaten, concealer is important. I wish I didn't need it, but I do, and the new one I'm trying (my first 'proper' makeup brand) is Estee Lauder Double Wear concealer. It's performing a lot better than my usual supermarket brands!

4. My daughter is old enough to go on Fluffy dates with me. I can't tell you how happy that makes me. A week ago, we went for a walk along the beach and then sat in a cafe (out of the freezing wind) and I got to sip my latte in peace while my little buddy sipped her fluffy like a little lady. I feel like I've been waiting for this day all my life.

{Photo is from her 3rd fluffy date with me and Daddy at Mojo in town}

She is also old enough now to enjoy going to the zoo and swimming pool and other fun activities - so good.

 5. I'm over buying house stuff. 
Maybe I got burnt out with the impossible task of making our 70's house into a gorgeously perfect classic abode without spending money, and whilst keeping everything practical for a young dirty family. Suddenly I'm over it and I have this gut feeling that this is not the right time to be throwing money into our house. FYI - our house is pretty perfect as is, it's sunny and spacious and warm and functional. I just have issues with the original 70's kitchen, brown vinyl floors, etc etc. And we'll get to those one day. I'm just starting to accept it probably won't be any day soon.

BUT I am loving my new coffee machine that I was given for my birthday, and I've been keeping an eye out for nice little latte cups. I ended up picking up these ones from Country Road on sale and I'm tempted to go back and get a few more.

{Husband doesn't know why I can't just buy huge mugs instead, but don't these mini ones feel a million times morce schmancy?!}

 6. Kid's clothes. Oh they are SO FUN. Ella has a lot of hand-me-downs which is amazing, but when I need to buy clothes I try to get them from Next (an online UK store) as they are so much cuter than most NZ shops. These sneakers I am going to have to keep FOREVER.
P.S Why must they grow out of everything after 40 seconds??

7.  Just for kicks, here's what we were doing at this time last year:

[Being sleep deprived and taking grainy phone photos in the dark, that is]

 My girl was cute back then, but she has my heart even more now, and most of the time she lets me sleep a bit more too :)