A man named Beautiful

The first time I saw him he was seated outside the bank, on a busy Sunday. He sat cross-legged on the path, talking at people as they passed him by. I watched for words laced with venom, wondering if I needed to cross the road to avoid him. Behind him was a wall of white paper, displaying his hand-drawn messages. As I got closer I looked for messages declaring the world was going to end, but instead was stopped in my tracks...

The words and pictures were of encouragement and beauty. Positive messages of hope and love. "Beautiful people," the man said with a smile from the pavement as we passed him by. I smiled from ear to ear. Amazing. Someone spreading positivity? Absolutely amazing. And not a request for money in sight.

From that day on I saw him more often, particularly on my early morning walk. As we passed each other on the beach he'd cheer, "Morning! Beautiful girl."

On the mornings that I'd drag Hubby {who was then my boyfriend} down to the beach he'd smile at us and greet us with, "Beautiful couple!"

We soon discovered that his name was Beautiful and he liked to spread the love. Each morning he'd walk the beach, flowers around his neck, sharing the love. I looked forward to seeing him, I always walked away feeling happy and ... beautiful.

Beautiful was a little bit of a mystery, we heard that he lived at a local backpackers hostel, but nothing much more than that. Winter came, the mornings were darker and Beautiful was no where to be seen.

It's been years since anyone has seen Beautiful in Bondi, but the rumours swirl around of his whereabouts. Some say he went up to warmer weather in Queensland {which I think is true} while others say he headed to Hollywood to seek fame {and hopefully fortune}.

Our local little newspaper, The Beast, is searching for him too, it seems he's missed by more than me.


Have you seen Beautiful anywhere? Have you ever been to Bondi and been lucky enough to meet him?

{image taken by me of a page in The Beast}

Easy peasy rocky road slice

Although I felt like I was a disaster at the cake-making for my sister's party, it was this one slice that was a real star. I heard people talking as I mingled around the room, "Is there any more of that rocky road slice thing?" or "Oh my god! Did you taste that chocolate thing with the snakes in it?"

The lovely Nadine shared the recipe with me on Facebook, and it seems to be one that she knows off by heart {correct me if I'm wrong Nadine}. It's simple, fun and a real hit!

Ingredients
1 tin of condensed milk
1 packet Nestle milk melts
1/4 cup coconut
1/2 cup chopped marshmallows
1 cup of chopped up jelly snakes

Method
♥ Put condensed milk and chocolate melts in a saucepan on low heat. Stir until melted and combined. Remove from heat to cool slightly.
♥ Add in coconut, marshmallows and chopped jelly snakes. Stir until combined.
♥ Place in a square dish {I used 20cm by 20cm} lined with baking paper. Place in fridge overnight, or until set.
♥ Once set chop into small squares.

Enjoy!

Love yourself more

As soon as I finish writing this blog post, I'm printing this picture out and taping it to my bathroom mirror. Love it {and should love myself more}. Once you've done the same head over to Gala Darling and read 10 easy ways you can love yourself more, the girl knows what she's talking about.

Happy Tuesday! I hope you're all loved up {with yourself, of course!}. xx

Cake-tastrophe

I mentioned last week that I was in charge of the cake table for my sister and her fiance's engagement party. I put my hand up for the job with gusto, and by Thursday I'd already burnt the brownies.

On Friday I called my sister in tears. It had been a hugely stressful morning with an array of toddler tantrums and a batch of undercooked red velvet cakes. "I've ruined them!" I sobbed down the line. My face went all blotchy and tears cascaded down my red cheeks, just as there was a knock at the door.

A courier stood in the doorway as I wiped my tears onto my sleeve and kept my sister on the line. "I didn't order anything," I muttered. He spotted my tears and wanted out, as quickly as possible, "You don't have to pay for it, just take it." {It was a kind gift from the people at Freedom I later learned}.

On Saturday morning I woke early to finish off the baking for the party. Last on my list were some lemon yoghurt cupcakes. I managed to ruin them, too. I sent off a text to my little sister 'I screwed up these ones too' {except with language slightly more colourful}.

And then I sat on the kitchen floor and sobbed again. I don't know why it mattered so much, but it mattered. My sister could care less. Once I pulled myself together I dragged myself downstairs to get a dash of hopeful sympathy from Hubby, "I ruined the cakes."

All he could mutter in his sleep state was, "Why did you do that for?"

We packed our bags and headed south for the party with a plan, we wouldn't tell anyone that I made the cakes {thank goodness no one reads my blog!}, and I'd stop off to a proper cake shop and pick up one on the way. Phew. Besides by the time cake-time rolls around everyone is pretty merry and drunk anyway, right?

I used to hate heading back to where I grew up, but I love it now. Love it. And not just because they have fancy baguette holders on their trolleys either. {That long neck beer in the bag was mine for the party. Kidding! It's champagne. To go with my non-existent baguette}.

The party was great {so great I didn't get my camera out once, oops!}. It was moved at the last minute to the local footy club, which made it even more fun. We all had a blast. Good food, good friends, lovely family and a beautiful couple to celebrate. And even the cakes went down well. Apparently burnt brownies are a little bit delicious {recipe to come later this week}.

Friday bits + bobs

Happy Friday! It's been a crazy week... but seriously we don't really have weeks that aren't crazy anymore. It kinda comes with motherhood, oh and working from home. Crazy.

Last week I asked on my Facebook page if anyone had any good cake recipes because I'm in charge of the cake table at my sister's engagement party. I've picked all the cakes from the recommendations and have been busy baking each evening. Multi-tasking is bringing me undone, so far I've burnt the condensed milk and stuffed up the brownies {put the wrong flour in and then burnt them}. I've got some baking-up to do.

It's been raining non-stop in Sydney for the past week, and I hear it's just as miserable down where the engagement party will be held. I think we'll just frock up and wear gumboots. Stylish!

I've had two emails to say that my dresses and shoes that I wrote about earlier this week are set to arrive, perhaps even on Monday. I'm so excited. I hope they don't disappoint!

My sister has entered a competition to win her and her hubby-to-be a wedding in the Whitsundays... and I'd love if you'd vote for her because I'm going to be a bridesmaid and how much fun would that be up in sunny Queensland? It's just one quick click {no signing up, no emails - just one click!}, and you can vote every day. It closes soon so I'd love if you vote here: VOTE please!

And just to show what a great guy my brother-in-law-to-be is watch this birthday dance video he made and sent to me last month on my birthday. The video made me cry tears of laughter. Seriously funny. Enjoy. x

{image via thecherryblossomgirl}

Letter to Lacey: Thirty Eight Months

Dear Lacey,

Oh my! Look at how big you've gotten! You're so cheeky. Any time anyone sees you, even if they haven't seen you for a week they say, "Wow, she's so big now!" You must be going through constant little growth spurts.

I love the cute little things you say. I need to start writing them down because I so quickly forget what you've said. There are a few you say all the time, like when someone knocks at the door, "Who body is it?"

Or I'll be busy downstairs and you'll call my name over and over again from upstairs, "Mum, mum, mum, mum, mum..." Eventually I'll say, "Yes Lacey?"

"Nevermind mum."

You like to push our buttons. Some day you take everything we have. Some days are better than others. One minute you can be making us as mad as mad, and the next we're smirking at your cuteness. Oh, you have us wrapped around your little finger.

We love you Miss Lacey. Happy 38 months.

Mama. xx

Clutter bug

My wardrobe has been overflowing for quite a while. It's been filled to the brim with an array of sizes, clothes from my pre-mum days, skinnier days and even pre-Hubby days. Clothes that I'd wear 'one day'.

The state of my wardrobe has had Hubby in various states of frustration, "You bring new clothes in, but no clothes are going out."

I have had so much emotional attachment to my clothes. It's not the memories created whilst wearing the clothes, but something a little bit more. To throw away the clothes, particularly those in sizes that are too small, would be admitting defeat. Admitting that I was fat, no longer able to wear them, but also admitting that I may never wear them again.

Instead of taking such a pessimistic approach to my wardrobe cull, I decided to give myself a kick up the butt and ask, "Would I really wear it anyway? Even if I could?"

And so I ruthlessly went through all my clothes, even those stored lovingly in the garage, and cleared the clothing clutter. I'm embarrassed to admit it, but over the weekend I donated FOURTEEN garbage bags full of clothes to charity. Fourteen. {And threw another 2 out}.

But the feeling. I feel good. I saved a few key pieces {beautiful dresses & my skinny jeans}, but the rest was stuff I was just hanging onto because I could, and felt I should. I was a little emotional as I went through my clothes and remembered times gone by, but after I was done I was on a cleaning high. In fact I still get a little buzz each time I open my almost immaculate wardrobe.

***

It's been two weeks since I wrote this post and forgot to publish it, and I can't even begin to tell you how good the wardrobe cull has been and how much difference it has made. I'm wearing different clothes, because they're within easy reach. I'm actually having fun with fashion. When I packed for our little trip away last week it's usually a stressful experience, but I knew where everything was. Bliss.

Do you have items in your wardrobe that you're hanging onto just because? Or are you super organised and someone I should envy? How long has it been since you had a wardrobe declutter?

{image}

Customised couture

Shopping should be fun, right? It's only just become fun for me. Before it was a painful experience of things being too short {I'm tall}, too tight {I'm tubby}, or not the right style... but I just had to make do a lot of the time.

Even shoes are hard to buy. I've always been a size 10-11 {huge!} and really there aren't that many options when it comes to shoes for a person like me. Interestingly enough {or not} Paris Hilton and I have the same shoe size. I do wonder how the poor possum gets by!

For shoes I've always tried my luck at Wittner, or Duo Boots or my last resort, Target. Miss Maxabella put me on to Shoes of Prey though, a customised online shoe store. They make your shoes the way the want them. In fact you design the shoes yourself, and just send it through. Pick a heel, a toe, a wedge, decorations, the colour, the material... everything.

They're pricier than I'd usually spend, but I ran them past Hubby {and he didn't bat an eyelid - he has a radar for ridiculously priced goods} and promptly went about designing a pair. I'm hoping they arrive in time for BlogHer. I'll show them off when they arrive and let you know what I think of them!

Just after I ordered my shoes I was looking for the perfect dress {or dresses - sshhhh!} to wear on my trip in the States. I came across eShakti. I read about a trillion online reviews before purchasing a dress but this is one that I grabbed. The brilliant thing about eShakti is that you can customise your dress to the way you like it. Want it longer, done! Want different straps, done! Seriously! I am so excited about getting this one in the mail {I'll review it when it does}. And hoping it arrives in time too. Why oh why do I leave things so late?



Do you have some recent fashion finds that you want to share? Or perhaps a well kept secret store you might like to reveal?

Who are the people that pick up hitchhikers?

We just returned from a trip up the North Coast, where we spent a few days. We headed up last week, and drove the long 8 hours home yesterday.

I was surprised to see a plethora of hitchhikers in my travels. Not on the highways, but in the small towns we visited. OK, not a plethora, but a handful... which is more than I see in Sydney.

When I think of hitchhikers, I usually think of young hippies on their way to warmer weather... but the hitchhikers I saw were older men, which surprised me. They almost looked cute enough for me to stop and pick-up. Almost.

I've never really picked up a hitchhiker before. There was one time, on my way through Bowral, {home of the wealthy and kind-hearted}, an old man was stopped on the side of the road with his car broken-down. We pulled up to help him and gave him a lift into town. My sister, who was in the car with me at the time, was almost a pro at the picking up hitchhikers business, having picked up one in her late teens on the way home one day. "He looked nice," she told us as we listened in disbelief.

I'm sounding narrow-minded, aren't I? The only real experiences we had with hitchhikers as we grew up was the ones near the Southern Highlands who had been murdered at the hands of Ivan Milat. Scary business. That's where my narrow mindedness stems from.

In my mid-teens my Dad hitchhiked to work a few times, much to embarrassment and fear. I don't know why he did it. We had two cars, or a train-line close to home. He stood by the main road in his suit and found his way to work {an hour from where we lived}.

"Who on earth picks you up?" I asked him, amazed that people actually drove him to work.

"Sometimes it's an old lady, other times it's guys that work near me."

As I drove past one particular hitchhiker, with my groceries in the back of my car and Lacey in the backseat, I hesitated for a mere moment and then drove on. I wondered, who does pick up people on the side of the road with their thumbs out, hopeful for a lift to where they're going? How long do they usually have to wait?


Have you ever picked up a hitchhiker? Do you have a heartwarming tale to shake me out of my small-minded judgements? Have you ever been a hitchhiker, perhaps?

Best ever zucchini slice

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that this is the best ever zucchini slice recipe. Ever. {If you have a better one leave a link or recipe in the comments and I'll give it a whirl and compare!}. We used to make all the time when I was a nanny. This makes a great take-to-work lunch, or easy dinner and can be frozen too.

Ingredients
1/2 cup olive oil
500g zucchini, grated
1 large onion, finely chopped
150g smoked streaky bacon, finely chopped {optional}
170g freshly grated parmesan cheese
150g self-raising flour
3 large eggs, light beaten
salt
freshly ground black pepper
5 cherry tomatoes

Method
♥ Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius. Oil and line and 25cm square tin with baking paper.
♥ Combine remaining ingredients {including bacon} except the tomatoes and remaining oil.
♥ Pour into the prepared tin and smooth over with the back of a spoon. Top with cherry tomato halves {as seen above} and drizzle with remaining oil {you can use less here, I always do}
♥ Bake for about 30 minutes until firm.
♥ Cut into 12-16 pieces and serve warm or cold. You can also freeze these to use for lunches or dinners. You could also make them into muffins, if you liked!
♥ It's yummy if you reheat individual pieces in a hot oven because the base and edges go super crispy.

This recipe is from Stephanie Alexander's The Cook's Companion. Thanks to Jo for finding the recipe for me.

Kids in the kitchen: Win a pack worth $450!

We bought this little step from Ikea when Lacey wasn't even two. We thought it would be fun for her to help out in the kitchen and be part of the action. She drove us a bit bananas so we put the step in the garage and forgot about it for a year or so.

A couple of weeks ago I bravely said, "Let's get that step out of the garage now."

Lacey 'helps' us with everything. She washes up every night, even though we have a dishwasher that we put our dishes in. She puts the microwave on, even when there is nothing inside. She even helps herself to things in the fridge, even when she's supposed to wait for dinner. Sometimes she likes to head over to where we keep our knives and explore a little. Cue one anxious mama who has to keep her toddler in eyesight at all times.

She does love to bake too. So every weekend we make something together. She puts the ingredients in, mixes them about, tastes them a trillion times and then tries to sneak some more secret ingredients in {paprika in the cake? No thanks!}.

A few weeks back Dettol sent through a humungous box filled with things for us to cook with. Seriously, the box was HUGE. It has everything you could ever need to decorate a cake, a bunch of delcious recipes and more. We were in heaven. I have one of the same boxes {valued at $450} to giveaway to one lucky winner.

Just so you know what you win, here's what's inside:

♥ Huge mixing bowl
♥ Cookie sheets
♥ Digital kitchen scales
♥ Cookie jar
♥ $50 gift card to buy ingredients
♥ Large & small trendy rolling pins {seriously cute!}
♥ Kid's apron & chef hat
♥ Mum's apron & chef hat
♥ Loads of decorating supplies - gel food colouring, edible glitter, candy stars, candy balls, edible stars & more
♥ Wipe clean recipe cards
♥ Dettol trigger surface cleaner & wipes
♥ Dettol no-touch soap dispenser
♥ Dettol hand sanitiser
♥ Glen 20 spray disinfectant
♥ POC Wipes and Trigger


To be in the running to win, just leave a comment below answering this question: What's your favourite thing to bake?


{boring bits}
Competition closes Saturday 23rd July
One entry per person
Open to Australian residents only {sorry}

The winner of this competition is: Corinne – Daze of My Life

One of THOSE days...

Yesterday was one of those days. Not groundbreakingly horrible, but just an accumulation of unbearable annoyingness.

I've used up all my internet and am existing on dial-up, prehistoric, slow as a grandma type speeds. In other words slow. Very slow. It's my fault. I downloaded a princess movie for Lacey from iTunes and that was it. Because I work online from home, it means that everything takes 6 times as long. This was where my frustration started.

Over the weekend we lost one of our car spaces. Car spaces in Bondi are like gold. You never want to lose them. But we did, and with it came deep sadness. I mourned for that poor car space. My car is now parked a kilometre from our house {okay, it's more like 300 metres, but still!}. Back to the car a little later on.

At exactly 1pm Lacey woke from her nap and was cranky, mad and more upset than I'd ever seen her. For 90 minutes non-stop she cried. Screamed. Writhed. She tugged at her little ear. I tried to work one handed whilst cradling a extremely cranky toddler whilst wrangling slow internet. At one point my brain near exploded from the stress of it all, so I made the call. The call to Hubby to share the pain. I spoke in broken sentences and told him I was going insane. He talked me down a little and I returned to the screaming. I then called the doctor and made an appointment to get to the bottom of the aching ear.

To get to the car I needed to carry a variety of things: My handbag {heavy}, a carseat {awkward}, a toddler, her three toy dogs, a stroller and my patience. So off we went. All the way to the car a kilometre {oh it sounds better than 300 metres} up the road.

In one hour I jam-packed in a doctor visit {diagnosed an ear infection, again}, chemist stop, banana-buying and back into the car to drive home. I saw behind the steering wheel before driving home and sighed. I'd got through it. Nothing major. Just a bundle of stress that I didn't need on top of a big workload.

Just when I thought I was home and happy a little voice from the back of car piped up, "Mama. I did wee in my undies."

And with that I laughed. Because there was nothing much else left to do.


Have you recently had one of those days? How do you make it better?

How to be happier: Hang out with a blogger

{Eden & I doing as bloggers do}

A while back I saw something on how to be a little bit happier. The expert gave some advice that really resonated with me: Get out with your girlfriends. She went on to mention that feeling you get after a really good time with the girls. Beforehand you might be saying, "I don't have time. I feel too frumpy. I'm tired. I won't go." But always after you've made the effort, you're buzzing a little bit inside the next day.

Want to know another way to get the buzz? Hang out with a blogger or two.

Before I had ever met a fellow blogger before I was a bit sheepish to admit that I blogged. Then slowly I met a handful of beautiful bloggers over dinner, and connected over things we had in common. Time passed by and more opportunities to meet with other bloggers arose and more friends were made. Each and every time I got the buzz afterwards. Just like my soul had been recharged. Hanging with my kind of people made me feel... good.

Of course for non-bloggers it might seem weird. Meeting people that you've met online might seem odd, and I know before I'd dabbled in it, I thought so too. I'm sure if I asked my brother about it {he hates online} he'd think I was a fruitloop.

It's not that we spend time talking about HTML coding, blogrolls and all things blogging, because quite often those topics never ever come up. It's just that we see glimpses into each others lives, and to meet is to get the real deal. Plus we all seem to get each other. It's kinda nice.

Of course, as with anything, there are trolls and dolls that like to stir trouble in the online world, and there are bloggers that you just don't gel with. But they're few and far between {in my experience}.

The excitement has just kicked in for me about BlogHer. I've gone from fretting to excited planning and I can't wait to spend time with my kind, my blogging friends - as well as meet new bloggers too.


How long has it been since you've had the buzzing feeling? Have you ever met a blogger or someone from online?

When Daddy dresses the baby

Oh boy. I should apologise to Hubby in advance for this post. Perhaps I should apologise to all child-dressing-fathers out there too, while I'm at it.

Where to start? Let's go back a little to a few weeks before I was married, at my hen's weekend. A gaggle of girlfriends and I rented a house on the water and had a bunch of fun being girls. For one of my girlfriends it meant leaving her bub overnight with her husband for the first time and therefore letting him make some pretty big parenting decisions, such as what the child should wear.

At some point over the weekend a picture came through of my friend's daughter. Her husband had sent through the picture of evidence he knew how to dress her with style, and we all had a giggle at how often they do it so... badly.

At that point I wasn't a mum, but I was a nanny. For me, dressing the kids was a plus-side of the job. I loved styling them up, and would often re-dress them if the parents had already done so before I arrived at work. Fussy? Yep. Too much time on my hands? Quite possibly. I kinda knew what my friend was talking about.

When I was 8 my Ma had to go into hospital for a few nights, so we were left in the care of my dad. We ate chocoalte, I remember, and for school my dad did a plait/braid in my hair and tied it with a HUGE pink bow. Dads just seem to do things differently. I'm still impressed by the plait my dad managed to do, and by the delicious chocolate eating that went on... but I did kinda feel like a big dork with my pink bow, yet wore it with pride because my dad did.

Last Friday I had to fly down to Melbourne for the day for work {where we went to the Motor Show and saw the girl from the Ford ad - see above}. It was an exhausting day which saw me awake from 3am and busy for the rest of the day. Just after 6 at night I flew back to Sydney, and was greeted by a very excited toddler at the airport.

After the hugs and kisses were over I looked Lacey over and noticed that she was wearing her pajama top with her jeans and jacket, and had been all day... even to Kindy. I smirked. That's what happens when Daddy dresses the baby, right?

I then peered down at her feet and saw her slipper boots {imagine white, fluffy over the top and a little bit Paris Hilton}, and knew that she'd played some part in her wardrobe too. She's since worn those shoes/slippers for every single minute since she got them from her Gaga. Even to bed.


Have you experienced any 'when Daddy dresses the baby' moments? Does your toddler like to have a say in what they wear?

Make for morning tea: Baked doughnuts

When I told Hubby that I was going to whip up some doughnuts, he asked how on earth I was going to cook them. "In the oven," I replied.

He kinda rolled his eyes and gave up hope then and there. Still, I continued. Lacey and I made the dough up in the morning, and left it for an hour or so to rise. My favourite part with any dough-making baking is the punching of the dough, once it's risen. I have to beat Lacey to it because it's her favourite part too.

The doughnuts got the thumbs up from everyone, even Hubby. They're light, different from a normal cinnamon doughnut, but delicious all the same.

Ingredients
1 cup low-fat milk
50g butter, melted
2 1/2 cups plain flour
1 1/2 teaspoons instant dried yeast
3/4 cup caster sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

Method
♥ Place milk in a heatproof jug and heat in the microwave for 30-40 seconds {do not boil}. Add 1 tablespoon of the melted butter and stir.
♥ Sift flour in a bowl. Stir in the yeast, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Make a well in the centre. Add milk and mix to form a soft dough.
♥ Place dough on a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes.
♥ Put dough in a lightly oiled bowl {use vegetable oil} and leave to rise in a warm spot for an hour or so {or until doubled in size}.
♥ Punch dough down {yay!} and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth. Roll out until 2.5cm thick. Cut 12 rounds from the dough using a 6.5cm cutter {I used a small glass}. Use a 2.5cm cutter to cut the middle out of the rounds {I used a bottle lid}.
♥ Place doughnuts on a tray lined with baking paper. Set aside in a warm place for 30 minutes. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 180 degrees celcius.
♥ Put doughnuts in the oven and cook for 10-12 minutes until golden brown and cooked through.
♥ Combine remaining sugar and cinnamon. Brush doughnuts with remaining melted butter and then dip in sugar mix. Place on plates and enjoy.

I found this recipe on taste.com.au.

Cry baby

I was about 10 when my aunt had her first baby. "I cry about everything now," she said, "TV commercials, pictures of children, anything."

Weird, I thought.

I rarely saw my mum cry. If she did it was never over TV commercials or pictures of children.

And then I became a mum, and I got it. The crying bug. I didn't cry at my own wedding. Before kids I could go months between tears. I couldn't muster happy tears, and sad tears were few and far between. But now... waterfalls.

It's like the doctor turned on a switch at the birth of Lacey, and somehow I'm more in tune with my emotional side. I have tears reading blogs, tears watching the news, tears seeing my daughter skip off to kindy, tears when people tell me stories, tears over TV commercials.

Last night I cried over a report on 60 Minutes about a mother losing her child {ssshhh Hubby said I wasn't allowed to watch it, but I did}.

When is the last time you cried?

{cute print by sycamorestreetpress}

Win a beautiful Belle Bijoux handbag!

Over the past month or so I've come to know a little bit about a lovely lady named Belle. The first time I heard her name was actually when I was ogling her beautiful handbags and then a few weeks later I found myself talking to her on the phone. Well, talking may not have been quite the truth... more gushing really. She's super lovely, and one of my kind of people. Kind, inspiring and just fun.

It seems Cosmopolitan agrees because they've made her one of their Fun, Fearless Female nominees. Belle is now a finalist {she made the top 3 in the entrepreneur category}, with the winners being announced later this month.

To celebrate Belle being a finalist {and hopefully a winner}, I'm giving away a beautiful Belle Bijoux Iris handbag {valued at $300}.

Simply leave a comment below answering the following question: Who is a fun, fearless female who inspires you?

Don't forget to vote for Belle too! You have to vote in each category but it seriously only takes a minute. Vote here.

{boring bits}
Only one entry per person
Open to Australian residents only
Competition closes July 18th at 11:59pm

The winner of this competition is Sif who's inspiring entry below gave me goosebumps and butterflies. Thanks for sharing, and thank goodness the world has someone like your mum! x

A little announcement + a Lenovo giveaway

Blogging has allowed me many great opportunities over the three years that I've been tapping away at my keyboard. I've talked about many of them here on my blog, shared the stories and the photos of our adventures. It allows me to work from home, doing things I love. It allows me to do, each and every day.

When Hubby, Lacey and I went to America earlier this year I said to Hubby that we should soak it up because we'd probably never, ever find ourselves back in the States ever again. Well I take those words back now... because next month I'm going to be heading over to sunny San Diego {well, I hope it's sunny because I certainly need to defrost from this chilly weather!}.

Lenovo recently launched a new campaign sharing how they allow inspired thinkers to 'do' {you can see a little more about it in the quirky minute-long video below}. I'd like to think of myself as an inspired thinker {well, I like to be inspired!} and am grateful that Lenovo are allowing me to 'do', do being head over to San Diego to the BlogHer conference alongside my lovely friend Sarah.

As well as generously sending me to the States, Lenovo are also giving one lucky Fat Mum Slim reader an IdeaPad Z570 {with features such as a high definition widescreen, top quality audio, long battery life and super-fast start-up to name a few}.

To be in the running to win this lovely laptop, simply answer this question in the comment section below: What do you do in your life? What inspires you?


The winner of this competition is Belinda. Thank you EVERYONE for your inspiring responses. I cried, smiled and laughed reading them. Thank you for opening up for hearts and sharing. x

{boring bits}
One entry per person only
Open to Australian residents only
Competition closes August 3rd 2011 at 11:59pm

P.S. In the interest of disclosing my relationship with Lenovo - they have kindly sponsored Sarah and I to attend BlogHer by covering our airfares, conference tickets and accommodation. Which I'm rather excited about, but also nervous about leaving my little family. Eek. I'm already fretting.