Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Viva Las Vegas!




Since having Mace, Mark and I have fantasised about a child free trip... All the places we could go, things we could do... We are very lucky that we get date nights, nights away and have a few interstate weekends away coming up, but we were dreaming of a week somewhere, and now we have booked! We are going back to Vegas!!! We love it there... There are better places (NYC anyone?), but we need equal parts pool/sun, shopping, partying, Vegas ticks all our boxes!


I am concerned about missing my babies, it will be the absolute longest I have gone without seeing them... But we can Skype every day, and they will be in the very capable hands of my family, who just adore them... And really, it's 9 days, in which time we will be totally rejuvenated as parents, and loved up as a couple, we need it! It's all good to be an awesome team as parents, but we made the kids out of our love for each other, so the idea of holding hands, lazy naked mornings, and knowing we have each others undivided attention makes me sooooo excited! Also, we went there on our honeymoon, so it has that extra sparke!!!



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Melbourne Victory Football Club Pledge...



I was working my butt off yesterday and didn't get a chance to watch this...  Watching this morning over a cup of chai while the kids play with Lego, it gives me shivers...  I am beyond excited about the upcoming season, and no, this isn't a sports blog, but MVFC is a massive part of our lives and that will be reflected from time to time...  We took our pledge in the roll over plan so all of the advertising isn't going to enlist us, but it does increase the excitement, Bring on next season already!!!  

Even more exciting is that this year we are going to 3 away games...  We had only ever been to one before, which we lost, but the energy and the march were awesome! The pro to going to more this year is more time with my husband, and getting to catch up with my best friend who is living in Brisbane, going to Sydney again and checking out Launceston (never been to TAS before!)...  There is a lot to be excited about in this next year...  A lot of it starts with the pros of the kids getting a little bit older and more manageable, makes for an awesome life!

Monday, July 30, 2012

OPI blues...




My royal blue Revlon express nail polish was rubbish! It was a replacement for some lovely dark blue nail polish I had before... The selection of blue I have is important to me because I like blue nails for Melbourne Victory football matches! So I went on the hunt for some new blues... I ended up deciding on OPI Blue my mind and OPI Yoga-ta get this blue, they are great! Especially Blue my mind, perfect to match my MVFC shirt! Together they will be a great combo for a base with accents... It is gearing me up even more for the start of our season!!!

(the photo looks like they are very similar, they are definitely similar, but not as close in colour as this pic shows)


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Mad Men...




When this show started we watched a few episodes, in line with my 'at least 3 episodes' rule, we stopped there... It just felt so slow, I couldn't get in to it! The other issue is that the actor who plays Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser) also played one of the worst characters on Angel, his son Connor... Just couldn't do it...

Recently I have been reading a lot about its awesomeness, so gave it another go... It is still slow and I still don't like Vincent, but I am digging it, really... Have powered through the first season and started the second... I am definitely finding it interesting now, the amount of smoking bothers me though! There is some good character development, which is key for me... The other pro is that it isn't obscene, so I can watch it while I cook, and the kids won't pick up any inappropriate language, etc...


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Friday, July 27, 2012

Watching babies develop...




It's so funny watching little ones develop their motor skills... Mace had his second experience with a babycino today, and his first solo experience as I was out with my munchkins on my own... Watching him trying to work out the best way to hold the cup and drink from it (his preference seemed to be whole mouth in with tongue out), was hilarious... There was mess, but you accept these things, especially of you still want hot chocolate in your life...

As if that wasn't enough of a treat, after Friday baking (baked chocolate caramel brownie again - yum!) no sooner had I photographed the brownie, he stole it! Right out of under my nose, so I inevitable caught it on camera... Cheeky sod! Nothing wrong with those motor skills!!!




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New The Killers Video - Runaways



Oh how I have missed you guys...

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

How a 3 year old views the world...

The wretched flu is still rife in our house, but within the madness there are definite moments of sweetness... Every night after Mark puts Mace to bed, he and Marley play with their (his?) ever growing collection of Lego, they have over 30 of those little mini figures (people)... She thinks that the hula girl looks like me, and the geek looks like Mark... I find it so sweet, after two kids my sense of self is touch and go, so the fact that she thinks I'm cute, I really dig!


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Sunday, July 22, 2012

Flu...

My most precious little girl came down with the flu hard yesterday... Kid didn't get out of bed all day, except to go to the doctors... This is a fidgety 3 year old, she is not into staying in bed! With soaring temps, lots of crying and whimpering, it was so upsetting to watch... We let her sleep with us, generally we don't allow this, and she coughed and spluttered all over me... I made a decision that this is it, we can all get sick, but we will be better before Cairns AND we won't be sick again until next winter...

I felt a bit off when I woke up do rushed to get the groceries done before it was too late! I started aching, feeling forgetful and dizzy, checked out and came home to the definite symptoms of flu... Been in bed with Marley most of the day... Alerted my boss that I won't be in tomorrow and am just doing the liquids/panadol/vitamin C thing... It's so awful because I am aware that my body is incapacitated, and I feel bad that I can't DO anything... Anything bigger then my iPhone is too much to handle... Sucks...

Mum bought the kids a bunch of gifts and Marley wanted a photo of her new crown... So here we are, in all of our misery...


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Friday, July 20, 2012

Friday baking... Butternut snap and chocolate tartlets...

Today's baking was more like heating, melting and assembling... No skill required! It's the butternut snap chocolate tartlet from taste.com.au
Delicious and easy...


Am still thinking about my chocolate caramel brownie... Next week I am making a birthday treat for one of my besties, but the following week my brownie is making a comeback!

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Thursday, July 19, 2012

Girls embellished sandals from Next

Marley is in love with her new sandals, another NextdirectUK shop... And they came well in time for Cairns! It's so nice to be able to get nice summer items in the middle of winter!


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Tuesday, July 17, 2012

New Nike air max 90 volt

Quite some time ago there was a 90 volt that was entirely bright, I wanted them to match our Melbourne Victory away kit, but made the decision too late and they were gone... I almost missed the boat on these too, and am so glad that I purchased before they passed me by... Now that they are mine, I need to get my away shirt ASAP!





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Care package!




My Aunts Michelle and Seka who are living in London at the moment, sent us a care package from their NYC holiday... Some awesome stuff in there! Marley was over the moon with her Backyardigans tshirt!!! The postman was on fire today... More to come!


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Monday, July 16, 2012

Mace's new kicks...





When I bought Marley's new kicks the other day, I also grabbed these for Mace! They just took a bit longer to arrive... I haven't seen these in Australia yet, so you will need to hit a UK spot if your little man needs these!

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Sunday, July 15, 2012

New art!




It has taken us years to get around to putting art up in our house... It's a long process... Finally we have got some more of Mark's art framed and ready to go in our hallway to keep his painting of Biz Markie company... One day it will all be done, but this makes me incredible happy for now!





Saturday, July 14, 2012

Aunt Lil's Chadstone




I am seriously into their caramel almond scroll, it's divine... My family love the pretzels, the salt and the cinnamon are the favourites...
Today there were no almond caramel scrolls so I got the banana caramel, still good, but not quite as awesome! Just saying that this spot is AWESOME! Go, go, go...

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Friday, July 13, 2012

Chocolate Caramel Hedgehog




If you hadn't noticed, Friday has become my baking day... In an effort to control my sugar intake, I am only eating sugar on weekends... Baking something delicious is like a reward for 4.5 days clean... Today my hearts desire was this
http://www.bestrecipes.com.au/recipe/Caramel-Hedgehog-Slice-L7365.html
And it is good! I did put more chocolate in the top layer, an extra 150 grams of dark chocolate, which makes is rich! Really rich, but so delicious! Was going to cut the tray into 6 pieces, went with 9, should have made it 18... Haha...


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Thursday, July 12, 2012

Marley's new Nike Dunks




With Marley just about in her new dunks, I spotted these and thought I would grab them for next size up! Had them shipped from the UK, and then saw them in Footlocker over here for a similar price! So if you have a little Miss, get your booty down to Footlocker before they are gone!


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Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Spotify... I think I love you...

If you haven't checked it out, you need to... www.spotify.com
We in Australia have been in the dark too long with regards to Spotify, a way to stream any music you so desire, for free... Well if you want ads, which I don't so am opting for a premium package for now on a free trial to see whether it is worth it for our family... Which I already feel like it is, for the consumer! Don't know how/if it benefits artists at all, but taking out the middle man, shop, cd, downloading time on iTunes, floats my boat BIG TIME! And on the premium package you can make tracks available offline so you can still listen out and about on your phone (app) if you so desire...
I have been on a hip hop hiatus since falling pregnant with Marley, so it's been nice to get easy access to stuff I have missed, old stuff that's on cd in my garage, and get to taste stuff that I really could never be arsed getting before... And loads of b sides from 90's bands that I just couldn't get in the 90's... There is also Marley, kid LOVES pop! Those LMFAO dudes, Kylie, Madonna and her favourite Lady Gaga, so having these artists at my fingertips with out any commitment is very exciting! On a baby tip, they have Yo Gabba Gabba, The Wiggles and The Fairies too, all CDs we have bought for Marley's room, now at the touch of my fingertips downstairs... And just when you thought it couldn't get any better, you can play other people's playlists!!! Which is lazy and exciting! So if you are in the mood for a sound, just play away... I am a fan, a big fan!
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New The Killers - Runaways

Things here have just been sickness after sickness, with a few good days in between each one...  Nothing good, or worth blogging about has really happened...  But today the new Killers song was put on youtube, and I am beyond excited, I love them, seriously love them...  And new album means new tour, right?  Still bitter that Brandon didn't bring his solo tour to Melbourne, but hey...

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Chesterfield Farm




Yesterday it was sunny and 18 on a winters day, and we wanted to make the most of it! We met up with The Cavey's at Chesterfield Farm, we love it here, a really nice local spot where the kids can touch and learn about animals... Was good to get out, and Marley and Hunter were just adorable walking all around the farm holding hands... A great afternoon...

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Friday, July 6, 2012

Nirvana shirt from Redbubble.com




So recently I have been obsessed with redbubble.com a site where artists can put up their work and you can buy it in whatever form you like, tees, prints, stickers, etc... Been wanting a new Nirvana shirt and ordered this one, it makes me laugh, except poor Kurt, looking so sad... Mark is putting his art up soon which is exciting because people are always asking about buying his work, and soon they can!

Also sorry about being so quiet on here, Mace is going on day 11 of sickness, hard to find inspiration! But he is on the mend, wooooo! The past two says have definitely been better!

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Brownies... Baking... Delicious...




As the kids get older and life gets easier (obviously winter still sucks), I find I am more able to bake... Friday has become baking day, because I try to avoid sugar through the week... Last week it was this divine caramel chocolate brownie (taste.com.au), and this week the 'slutty chocolate browine' featured on stay at home mums facebook page... It has a chocolate chip cookie base, a layer of Oreos and a chocolate brownie batter... We had it hit out of the oven with vanilla ice cream and it was wicked, though as a stand alone brownie I think the caramel was yummiest...


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Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Your child's first winter in childcare...

Is always shit...

We discussed this when deciding on having a second baby, it went like this 'that first winter in childcare is going to suck, we will all feel like zombies and we are going to hate it!' hit the nail right on the freaking head there! Having forewarning doesn't help a great deal in this case because there is close to nothing you can do...

The kids are in crèche one day a week, both since their first birthdays... I am not a fan of crèche, I had babies so that I could have them, it is important to me that for the first 5 years of their lives they are cared for by their primary and secondary carers, not paid staff... But girls got to work, and that is non negotiable... Crèche has benefits, but in winter I fail to see them, kids come home sick or fighting some germs every other week, it gets you down... This past 7 days Mace has had a full on chesty cold, we are talking snot, bad sleep, no appetite, bad behaviour, and Marley has been fighting it, and fighting with everyone... This week has absolutely sucked, I have almost cried at my helplessness and powerlessness several times, the tears just didn't have time to come! I am just venting, but if you are planning to send your baby to crèche, this awesomeness might just await you...




Even in all of the crazy, they do still have moments of sweetness...

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Monday, July 2, 2012

Oz Comic Con Melbourne

Melbourne's first ever Comic Con... Any first convention, especially on this scale, you have to make some allowances... No allowances could cover the debacle that this event was! We were lucky to arrive and somehow be ushered in quite quickly, before 10am, once in it was gridlock... Every way you could possibly turn there were people trying to move but getting nowhere, people getting angry and stressed because there was nowhere to move! Queues seemed to back up in every direction, for tokens, panels, Stan Lee autographs, which then resulted in queues just to browse the stalls... We decided to go out, get air and come back for the Sean Maher panel, as we edged towards the exit, we noticed a queue to get back in! They were at capacity and weren't letting people back in!!! So we went and sat in between the staging area and had some snacks... Due to the extremely dodgy queuing set up, which I won't even try to explain, we moved on, which was awesome because in our new spot Jason Momoa - Khal Drogo - Game of Thrones, walked past us, at this point, the highlight of my day... Dude is huge and surprisingly beautiful, but that may be my inability to separate the character from the actor...

We went in to the Sean Maher panel, the mics were low and the sound bleed from the other rooms was treacherous! I caught maybe 85% of what he was saying... Hunger Games panel was next, now if I knew that they were going to clear us out, I would have skipped Sean for Primrose, but I didn't, and it took 15 mins of that panel just to get out and back to the entrance! It was full so we decided to leave, and get a little space...

We went down south wharf, did some browsing, went for a hot chocolate at a lovely cafe, just chilling the eff out... An hour or more passed, and I really, really wanted to see Julie Benz, so we went back! 30% of the people were outside, 30% were in the Stan Lee panel which left us some time to browse in a way that wasn't a fire code hazard! Then Julie started, we got third row, and could hear every charming word! She's still gorgeous, funny and charismatic... I thoroughly enjoyed her panel, was sad it was over! My plan was to stay for Fran Kranz, but Mark isn't a fan and he had already spent my hour with Sean cruising around so we headed home!

I only hope that they sort out some of their issues for tomorrow! And maybe next year choose a venue twice the size!

After writing this I read about the people with tickets being turned away, that the doors closed up to an hour at a time! I am just glad we got in, would have been livid after organising a whole day of childcare just to be turned away!
























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Sunday, July 1, 2012

The Common Man south wharf

http://thecommonman.com.au/
39 Dukes Rd
South Wharf




You might look at the picture and think it looks like your Nanna's house? Looks like mine, well before she went into an old persons home... But it is The Common Man at south wharf, a really big airy, chilled out space filled with vintage furniture and dishes... The drinks are good, food looks good and the staff approach you like you are all mates! I actually thought two of the staff were parts of two separate groups, but they are just really chill in their approach... Dude joined us on the couch opposite to take our order, weird, but good... If you are in the area check it out!
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