Life Lately #3 – Simple Living

Fed Square – Melbourne’s meeting place, Parent’s retreat at Melbourne Central – I always look out for these now! It’s such a relief as soon as you enter one of these lol!, Melbourne’s street art, a day at the Melbourne Zoo, Spring st, lunch catchup at Oriental Spoon, the Little Library where borrowing books works on honesty, The Catholic Guy (TCG) event, Chinatown architecture, pretty boutique,  Laurent (I LOVE the almond croissants from this place!), the view of our apartment, Melbourne Central, Collins st buildings, Plantation choc and caramel tart (YUM!!), cafe life – Brother Bada Budan

Melbourne Moments

Still playing tourist as our floorboards are repaired. I’m going to miss living in the city where all I have to do is catch the lift downstairs  and walk out to meet the myriad of cafes and eateries that await me. Even though I have lived here all my life, over the past month and a half I have seen new things everyday that I had never noticed before. It pays to look up at the beautiful buildings and it pays to look sideways into the many lane ways that service Melbourne’s businesses for you never know what Melbourne secrets you just might discover.

During the past couple of weeks I also attended 4 out of the 5 event nights that TCG ran at our local church. It was an amazing event and Bruce was such an engaging speaker making well known readings and stories more relevant to our everyday lives. It was an inspiring set of talks that encouraged us to live well and go for our dreams all whilst putting God in the centre of our lives.  I bought a few books after the talks and below is an extract that I found in one of the books called “The Power of Simple Living”.

What would be the best gift we could give our children?

I think it would be the strength to live

simpler lives: the ability to find the greatest

joy in God’s small quiet gifts rather than in

prestige and money. What good does all our

busyness do, if our children do not know how to

appreciate a sunset or truly taste a sun-warmed

strawberry? But this is a gift we must first unwrap

ourselves. We cannot hope to give it to our

children in an e-mail we send them between

appointments at the office.

-Sadie Millhouse-

It really is the simple things in life that can be the source of happiness but do you take the time to appreciate these little things or are we  all too busy wanting to buy things we don’t need? One of the goals I set at the start of this year is to have a “shopping-free” month i.e. I must not make any impulse purchases or buy that pair of shoes I really “need’ or purchase that jumper that’s on sale! I really need to stick to my budget and hopefully after a month of not buying anything other than the grocery essentials I’ll get rid of some bad habits!

Autumn Days

Forever New Cape and hood coat, H&M t-shirt dress, Target scarf, Platinum No Waist Shaper Opaque stockings, Target flats

With such cool weather gracing Melbourne lately, I had to borrow my little sister’s gorgeous mustard colored coat with a nice big hood. It makes me feel like Little Red Riding Hood when I wear it and it is so warm! It’s surprisingly a size 16 but it was the only one left and totally worth purchasing. I feel so cozy when I’m wearing it, like I’m wrapped up in a nice big blanket as I walk around the city. As it is big and roomy, I always try to team it up with light, fitted bottoms or tops so that I don’t look too bulky. As the autumn leaves all and winter sets in, this standout coat brightens up even the grayest of days.

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FOMO – Melbourne Mondays

FOMO Thai, um Ped Krob, Crying Tiger, Moo Krob Tod

FOMO Thai – 171 Bourke st, Melbourne

Sorry for the late Monday post! I’ve had no net access at the apartment so I wasn’t able to schedule today’s post for the normal morning time. Better late than never though right?

Last week we were finally able to catch a table at FOMO Thai and the staff were friendly and helped us arrange the baby and the pram so we could dine comfortably. We sat near the kitchen and the wafting aroma made us order 3 dishes in a hurry! – it all smelt so good! The place has a very modern interior including it’s tableware – no jade green plates and saucers to be found here. Clean, fresh and crisp.

We ordered the Thai style crispy duck salad and for those that need a little help eating their veggies, this is a great salad to seduce your tastebuds! We also ordered the char grilled beef tenderloin medium rare served with tangy dipping sauce. The meat was so tender and was complemented nicely by the dipping sauce that came with it. Our third dish was the roasted pork bellies servied with 3 speciality condiments, definitely not for those who are on a diet but a must-try anyway because of the amazing crackling that is on offer with every piece you eat. Perfectly crunchy.

This place hasn’t been open for very long but if you want to check it out make sure you either make a booking or come in early so that you get a seat because it is always a full house at FOMO.

First time mums do YouTube

Aspirations

When I first found out  I was pregnant, along with all the other things that ran through my mind, I thought “Does this mean I won’t be able to dance anymore?”  For over 10 years I have been to late night rehearsals nearly every week, danced at clubs, events, and even in Rod Laver Arena. I could go out whenever I wanted and come home any time I wanted, even if the sun was coming up. These days I love being at home or at the park watching Baby get so excited when experiencing the most simple everyday things like smiling at a stranger and them smiling back.

In the course of our lives we have many roles to play – a daughter, a sister, a friend, a wife, a granddaughter, a niece, a trainer, a dancer, a mentor, a volunteer, a godmother to name a few. Out of all the roles I’ve had so far being a mother is the most life-changing and the most amazing – such a blessing that we have a cute little miracle to call our own. It is something I could have never understood until I had my own little bubba to take care of and love. I feel that in order for me to give the best of myself to Baby I should continue to pursue my hobbies and things that I am passionate about, like dance, because a happy and fit me means a happy and enthusiastic mummy! So just last week, myself and some first time mummy friends decided to fulfill our goal of creating a Mother’s Day dance video.

It was so much fun but also so very tiring. With the strong direction, editing and choreography from our friends this video has been possible so thank you to AR Films and Lanie De Castro for putting this all together. I also thank our baby daddies for being so supportive and encouraging. It’s funny how these days it’s the simple things in life like being in bed giggling away with my boys that can put the biggest smile on my face and make me feel so much joy. I hope you enjoy our video and if you have any questions or comments please comment down below!

Thank you for watching!

Blew me away

Cocolatte peplum top (similar here), Cotton On Body bottoms, Sportsgirl necklace (similar here), black heels borrowed from my sister, Australis nail polish in Kick The Bucket. On Daniel: Country Road polo tee, Rhubarb knit vest (similar here), Oishi M bottoms (similar here), Converse baby shoes.

Today’s OOTD post is simple with a pop of blue. With our stay in the CBD being extended I quickly had to shop around for something to wear on Mother’s Day – something affordable, something comfortable, something stylish. This is what I came up with Let me know what you think and what you wore for Mother’s Day! This was my first Mother’s Day celebration and it was a day filled with food, love, mummies, grandmummies and great grandmummies. Mother’s Day this year blew me away – the hardest but most rewarding job in the world was celebrated this year with a family bbq lunch, afternoon high tea and a delicious home-cooked dinner <3

Cupcake Central hosted our high tea experience this Mother’s day with delicious sandwiches and gorgeous sweets! Loved the rose water and pistachio meringues and of course my favourite – creme brulee cupcakes. There were pikelets topped with salmon and a creamy mint chocolate mousse – YUM!!

What did you get up to last weekend?!

-xx-

Switchboard Cafe – Melbourne Monday

Switchboard Cafe, Ground Floor, Manchester Unity Building 220 Collins St. Melbourne

As you walk along Swanston street past all the cheap clothing stores and potato cake-selling diners make sure to take a detour into the this building. On the corner of Collins and Swanston streets is a hole-in-the-wall cafe, a hidden gem where you can get coffee that, I promise you, will satisfy and warm up your entire day. I had heard so many good things about this place and when I finally found it I wondered how they were able to fit the La Marzocco machine let alone run a cafe in a space that is probably the same size as Harry Potter’s home underneath the stairs! But run a business they do and serving up amazing full-flavored coffee is the result! I will be definitely visiting again soon to try out more of their menu and to sit in the cozy little space for some people watching

 

Mini Priceline haul!

Make up haul – 2 day 40% off Priceline sale!

2 weeks ago I couldn’t help myself and stopped by Priceline to grab some products that have been on my list for a while – with 40% off all cosmetics I had to restrain myself from buying even more than what I came in for!

 Savvy nail enamel in Dark Cherry, Revlon ColorStay makeup in True Beige, Maybelline’s Color Sensational lip stick in 914 Vibrant Mandarin, Essence Long Lasting creme eye shadow in the color Raise the Curtain For… , Australis Paparazzi Perfect HD Blush in Screen Siren, Face of Australia HD eyebrow kit comes with 2 powders, wax, tweezers and a brush, Sally Hansen’s eyelash curler, Essence black eyeliner and smokey eye brush.

I saw on Instagram all the other Priceline hauls that were bought by other eager shoppers and although I didn’t go too crazy with the amount of items I bought I have thoroughly enjoyed using the ones listed above! Really affordable and great colors and pigmentation. Especially surprised at the Essence creme eye shadow as it lasts all day when you put it on! I use it with a darker matte shade from my Naked Basics palette and it works so well for everyday wear.

Hope you all had a great week and have an even better weekend!

Happy advanced Mother’s Day to all those who live in Australia

-xx-