This is me, but who are you?

Hi, let's have a little chat.

Come on, sit down. I won't bite - I promise.

Imagine me sitting here at my kitchen table. I've pulled up a chair, and I've got one foot tucked underneath me, and the other stretch-out on a newly-painted, yellow stool.

There's a bunch of two-day-old, yellow tulips sitting in a vase in the centre of the table, and we're sharing a hot drink.

You're looking a little awkward - you haven't been inside my house before, and we haven't chatted face-to-face either.

I'm talking too much to fill the silence (I do that a lot).

You've just noticed the rice on the floor that I haven't swept up from last night's Indian take away.

There's an ever-so-faint waft of urine lingering in the air. Sorry about that. J-Man wet the bed early this morning. Again.

As we listen to the distant, rhythmic tumble of the sports shoes drying in my clothes drier in my laundry below us we start to chat.

I tell you that I'm 28.

That I love peppermint tea, and am newly addicted to homemade Nespresso lattes.

I tell you about being a mama to my 5 and 3-year-olds, plus a step-mum to my 11-year-old, and the fact that my husband and I have a poor relationship with his ex.

I tell you that I used to be a Drug and Alcohol Counsellor and then a Primary School Teacher before giving it all up to become a mum and support our family business.

I whinge a bit about having broad feet and wishing I could afford regular mani and pedi treatments. Yeah. First world problem...

I share my dream of being able to escape our home town of Wollongong in August this year to celebrate my hubby's 40th birthday. Somewhere tropical, with lots of cocktails with colourful umbrellas in them sounds like a great destination.

I suppose this many will do...

So, what do you tell me over our kitchen table chat?

I'd love to get to know you better. I see you there, reading my posts quietly, without leaving a little comment.

But today (and always), I'd love to hear from you.

So, de-lurk. Pretty please?

Leave me a comment* and tell me about you!

How about you quickly tell me:

1. How old you are
2. Where in Australia/the World you call home
3. Your favourite drink that you like to share with a friend
4. Where you'd love to escape to this Winter

*Click the title of the blog post then scroll down to the bottom of the page. There's a little comment system there. Write your comment then add your name in the box that says 'Name'. You can skip the other boxes if you don't have a website or want to include your email address!


Four quick words is easy enough, isn't it?

Come on! I'll be your best friend - ha!

Have a great day anyway, and remember this one...

My Beach

Yesterday it was moody and overcast. It threatened to rain all day. It was brisk and I felt Autumn's chill nip at my kidneys.

I happily tucked my singlet into my jeans and donned an over-sized jumper to make sure I felt warm - I can't stand feeling cold.

I wrapped a loud, red scarf around my neck to brighten my day and keep me feeling toasty. Best of all though, I hid away my bad-hair-day with my favourite knit beanie. I looked a little like a gum nut, but who cares? I was warm.

J-Man and I spent the day together. We visited his sick baby cousin to deliver a vapouriser, and met my bestie for a picnic lunch to celebrate her 29th birthday.

Afterwards we had time to explore one of my all-time favourite places before collecting Miss E from school.

My favourite place? Thirroul Beach.

This is the beach where I first experienced that irritable, eye-watering sting of sunscreen in my eyes.

The beach where I first learned to run like a sand-crab and dive for short pieces of garden hose sticking up from the sand.

The beach where I'd cling to my dad's neck as he carried me 'out the back', like a baby koala would cling to it's mother being carried up a gum tree.

The beach where I learned to duck-dive under waves to swim out past the breakers.

And the beach where I spontaneously stripped to my knickers with my girlfriends to swim when we were 16, young, and carefree.

And yesterday it became the beach where I taught J-Man to hunt for sea glass.

With a keen eye he spotted half a dozen pieces to add to his new collection, as well as some beautiful shells too.

He's a curious, eager-to-learn, little explorer, my J-Man.

He stopped, squatted and pointed at every little stone or scrap of seaweed that had washed-up on the shoreline.

He playfully (yet fearfully) ran away from the rushing waves as they washed in with the tide.

I giggled and squealed as those same waves tickled my toes and wet my blue denim jeans, leaving a tidemark of sand up to my knees.

We wandered the length of the beach as inky, grey clouds loomed on the horizon. We watched seagulls weather the stiff sea breeze and listened to the roar of the surf and the rumble of distant, rolling thunder.

Overcast days at the beach like this are my favourite.

The powerful ocean and the rush of salty air makes me feel so alive and invigorated. Seeing the moody sky reflected in the colour of the surf makes me float on a pensive, yet peaceful cloud as I wander along the sand.

I loved yesterday at the beach. So often I grumble at the thought of overcast, sunless days. But this day I was reminded of their silver lining.

Yesterday turned out to be one of those accidentally special days, that I'll nostalgically remember always.

A favourite place, with a favourite boy.

::

Do you have a special day that you fondly remember with your kids?

Do you have a beach or a place that's 'yours'?

Diary of a New School Mum: The Morning Rush

Term 2, Week 3

Last week was the third week back at school. You'd think I'd be a little more organised and feeling more confident with the whole School Mum gig. But I don't feel that way at all.

It still feels like such a struggle every morning just to get us all out the door on time.

I'm tired of feeling like a lousy mum because we're so rushed every morning.

It's exhausting.

I know it will get easier as the kids grow bigger and can be more independent with getting themselves dressed and making their own breakfast, but right now my head's in a spin just thinking about it.

There are small things that I can do to ease the stress. Getting up before the kids to get a head-start on the day, and preparing Miss E's lunchbox the night before makes a big difference, but I'm not always (read: hardly ever) disciplined with this.

When I think to find a clean school uniform amidst the multitude of clean laundry baskets before the morning rush, this takes away a lot of my stress too. Some days I just wish I could dress her into her clean uniform straight after her bath at night time, and skip the whole pyjama business, just to save me a bit of time!

Aside from the issue of me feeling disorganised, I've been frustrated this week (and others) about the recurring question, "Can I please take a toy to school, Mum?"

It's really bugging me.

The school doesn't have a rule about not bringing toys - it's at the discretion of individual families.

Miss E insists she needs to take a toy to play with with her friend during recess and lunchtime. But she has now lost three toys - her favourite matchbox car and two Polly Pocket dolls.

Now that she's lost a third toy I've put my foot down and said, "No more!". I'm feeling like a Mean Mummy, but we don't buy her toys for them to get lost or stolen.

I've realised that she's probably just not old enough to look after her things properly in the playground. I'll revisit it next year when she's a little bigger. Her teacher has agreed that toys really shouldn't come to school as the kids commonly misplace them.

On the flip side though, my girl is feeling that she doesn't have anything to do at recess and lunch because her toys gave her company. I'm feeling a little sorry for her on this one. Friends at her age aren't particularly loyal and seem to be social butterflies who flit from one friend to the next. I guess this is one of those situations that she just has to learn to deal with. I can't rescue her from every uncomfortable situation.

But with everything else aside last week as actually a great week! The highlight was undoubtedly Miss E earning her first School Values Award. She was so proud to share her news as I collected her from class lines. She beamd as she shared that she had received her award during the school assembly in front of everyone for earning ten class tokens.

I later overheard her telling her Dad about getting the award. She told him that the best part was hearing how proud her Mummy was of her.

Nawww! Heart-warming stuff! And proud as punch I was!

How are you going with your kids in school this term?

Are they loving or loathing it?



::


Want more?

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

Week 7

Week 8

Week 9
Week 10

Week 11




Week 1
Week 2

Pottery Barn comes to Sydney AT LAST

So you've read about it online, you've watched it all on TV and you've seen the pictures stream through your Facebook and Instagram feeds.

I know, I know, you've heard alllll about Pottery Barn.

If that's you, then tune out to the next few sentence, scroll down and peruse the pictures before entering the giveaway below.

But if you managed to miss the big news that Pottery Barn has opened it's doors in Australia, then read on...

I shared last month about the four big sister stores opening in Sydney's Bondi Junction this May.

With Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, West Elm and Williams-Sonoma finally available in Australia, it's an exciting time for mums who love to decorate their homes.

Pottery Barn is not a giant warehouse full of ceramic mugs and vases.

It's soo-hoooo more than that!

It's IKEA-meets-Freedom-meets-Pinterest.

It's filled with gorgeous homewares to add stylish-yet-homely touches to your abode.

I tagged along to get a sneak peek of the stores last week and had an amazing time gushing at their wonderful products. I walked away feeling so inspired by all the ways I could add personality and some colourful style to my home.

These homeware brands are really best experienced in-store, but I have taken oodles of photos to try and re-create the experience for you.

::

I loved how coastal and fresh the stylings in Pottery Barn were.

The store had a very homely, 'grown-up' feel and I loved making myself feel home there, imagining it was my own (dream on!).

Whilst I soaked up the sparkling silver vases, corals and seashells I sunk into the most comfortable fabric lounge of my life. Seriously. This lounge was like a bed-come-beanbag - it was that luxuriously comfy!

Visit the store to test the lounge for yourself, if nothing else! You could spend an afternoon just sitting admiring the gorgeous table-scaping and interior decorating in Pottery Barn.

Pottery Barn Kids was adorable. I loved their monogrammed linen and sweet, girly bedspreads.

Everything was plush and of gorgeous quality. I don't think it would take my kidlets long to transform the pristine fabrics into a grubby shade of grey though!

My Miss E would drool over the pretty, pink-styled bedroom in-store, and J-Man would be in heaven playing with their wooden construction sets.

West Elm was definitely my favourite of the four stores. I'd love to go back and take my time to absorb it more though.

It felt much more relaxed and comfortable. I loved the more urban, eclectic and artsy feel to the interiors here.

I loved the raw and colourful style to the products in this store. There was so much personality!

Anything yellow just called my name in West Elm!

Finally, there's Williams-Sonoma.

If cookware can be luxurious, it certainly is in Williams-Sonoma.

The experience of walking through this store reminded me a lot of the Food Hall in David Jones in the city.

There's lots of quality food products, delicious aromas, french-inspired copper pots and a kitchen 'cooking school' to leave any cook drooling.

Every Foodie should make sure they take a wander through Williams-Sonoma to experience a food and cookware store like no other.

GIVEAWAY

I've got a really quick and easy chance for you to score a free sample from Pottery Barn Kids today.

It's as simple as being the first to respond by writing in the comment section below with which of these three monogrammed, personalised products you'd love to have for your child. 

The first to comment will claim that product and I will be in contact with you to arrange delivery. And to be fair, you can only claim one product per person.

Each product has a unique name on it, embroidered on by the Pottery Barn Kids' monogramming machine.

So if you have an Adrian, Alyssa or a Ross in your family, one of these products has their name on it!

- Boys beach towel (light and dark blue) - Adrian 
- Easter basket liner (pink and white) - Alyssa
- Easter basket liner (blue and white check) - Ross

Feeling like a fat, freckly Four Eyes.

When I was an early teen, and even a pre-teen I was very body-conscious.

I'm sure this wasn't unique to me. I know lots of girls my age were like this.

It was a difficult time to feel confident. I always felt like everyone was watching me, and critiquing my body as much as I did.

I suppose this is typical of this age. Feeling egocentric and 'on stage' seems to go hand-in-hand with being a teen, but it was very unpleasant none-the-less.

I always compared myself to other girls, especially the girls in my Dolly and Chick magazines as I read them in the privacy of my room. I never noticed anyone at school, on the street or in the pages of those magazines who looked as horrid as me.

In all honesty, I genuinely thought I was ugly.

I know now, that I clearly had a very distorted perception of myself, because in hindsight I can see that I was not 'horrid' looking at all.

I recall not even wanting to jump out of the car to quickly shove a video we had hired into the after-hours return shoot at the video store. I was too embarrassed that someone I knew might see me.

The mere thought of being seen by a peer in public with my geeky glasses and my flabby, size-8 bum sent my cheeks a glowing shade of crimson and my heart galloping at a rapid pace.

I'd clench my fists and feel my palms sweat as I'd will my parents to read my mind and understand that I just couldn't bring myself to carry out their simple request. I wasn't being lazy, I was just too embarrassed to be seen.

My self confidence was obviously very low, despite my parents always telling me I was beautiful. I just thought they were biased fools.

Notably, I was very conscious about several things about the way I looked:

1. Wearing glasses. I was a freaky Four-Eyes and loathed it. 

2. My face was covered in freckles. In my books, having freckles = Hideous Toad. 

3. Body hair. I inherited my father's hairy arms and legs. It was hardly the picture of femininity.

4. Body fat. I was convinced that I was a chubby, under-toned wildebeest (I wasn't).

Starting to wear contact lenses made a massive difference in turning my confidence around. So did mixing with girls who were down-to-earth and not focused on a superficial image. Hearing that a boy had a crush on me helped a lot too.

But I've grown up a lot since then. I think quite differently about myself and my body image. I have more confidence and don't place as much emphasis on my body or my face. Of course it still matters, but I don't lose sleep over it anymore. I'm just a lot more comfy in my own skin.

Gone are the days of being obsessed with hair removal, starving my body and smothering my face with heavy foundation. I've turned my back on the era of only wearing dark or baggy clothes to 'cover-up' and never EVER wearing my bikini without board-shorts to hide my bottom and thighs.

As I've continued to grow through my 20's and my body image has improved - despite the radical changes through pregnancy - I've come to see myself more accurately. The distorted curtain is beginning to fall and I'm seeing myself the way the rest of the world sees me.

Blogging and social media has had a big and unexpected role in this.

I put myself 'out there' a lot by having a mainstream blog.

I share photographs of my life on very public, visual platforms like Instagram and Facebook and get instant feedback from my audience.

I'll snap a selfie or share a photo of my kids and I and the feedback I hear is really positive about the way I look. I'm being told things like that I'm beautiful or that I have a gorgeous smile.

It makes me feel uncomfortable to repeat the compliments. Just typing them makes me cringe a little. There's still a little voice inside me that says 'Liars'. But for the most part I tell that little voice to shut-up and accept those thoughtful comments.

More than anything else, reading compliments about my appearance makes me want to apologise to my teenage self. I wish I could take back all those horrid, hurtful things that I said to her under my breathe over and over again.

Hearing feedback about my appearance is a reminder that my perception was so skewed back then. Now, 15 years on from my body-conscious days I'm actually listening to people complimenting me on my appearance. I can see now just how hard I really was on myself and still can be.

You might have seen this Dove beauty campaign going around on YouTube. Watch it. It's the perfect illustration of exactly what I've described. Women perceive themselves so harshly, when in actual fact everyone else perceives them very differently.

Where are you at with your body image?

Do you think you are harsher on yourself than necessary?