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two days till the birthday party

May 23, 2013 By corrie 20 Comments

Keira turns 7 this weekend. We’ve known about this for some time since she has been giving us the daily countdown each morning for the last few months. I think I’m still in denial but I can see this girl is growing up on me. And fast. I’m sure I didn’t start slamming doors till I was at least 10 years of age. But she’s a good girl and even said to me, ‘mummy I don’t mind if you don’t get me a present this year. I really don’t’.

Birthdays mean parties and parties mean work. And I am here to tell you that I have a lot of work to do before her party this Saturday. 24 little people will be gathering together with Keira to celebrate AND thankfully not at our house.

I do love the home party and we had a great one last year (you can read about it here) but this year we’ve gone with an art party at her art school. And as I sit at my house which needs a really good clean and I have a lot of blog work due, I’m so grateful that I’ve outsourced the party this year. All I have to do is food and the cake. And we’ve picked the apple cake from the Women’s Weekly Bumper Book of Kid’s Birthday Cakes. Great book by the way with all of the classics and some new ones.

But I will stress about the party and make way too much food and hope the cake turns out right. Because for some reason I can bake a cake on any given day of the year but ask me to bake a cake for a birthday party and I am bound to make a mistake or have a disaster. For Keira’s 5th birthday I just could not get the dolly varden cake to bake in our old oven. 3 times. Yep I tried 3 times before I resorted to cupcakes. Last year I did the pink rainbow cake and it was a huge success and I’ve put a few hints here.

So please excuse me from blogging while I get down to business. I need to plan the menu, shop the big shopping list, bake and decorate the cake and get those lolly bags underway.

Best birthday tip? Biggest birthday cake disaster?

Filed Under: baking, birthdays

muesli slice and cheats bircher muesli

May 22, 2013 By corrie 12 Comments

This post is brought to you by Woolworths Select

It’s been a while between recipes so I have two easy ones for you. And they are healthy. With the weather getting cooler I just have to share one of my favourite breakfasts. My cheats bircher muesli. Now this is a bit of a no-brainer and doesn’t need it’s own recipe card. BUT it is just so perfect for the weather we’re having right now. It’s really filling and really healthy and I rediscovered it when I was trying to lose the weight after having emerson. It can fill me up until lunchtime or mid morning and is so easy

Just take about 1/3- 1/2 cup of untoasted muesli. I used Woolworths Select Apricot, Almond and Date Wholesome Muesli. Place in a bowl. Cover with just a bit more boiling water than is needed to cover the muesli. Place a plate over the top of your bowl and leave for 10 minutes. I use this time to jump in the shower, grab a cup of coffee or make lunches. Remove the plate and make sure all of the water is absorbed. Give it a good stir. Leave the plate off for a minute to cool down then add a big spoonful of yoghurt. Enjoy. Its the nuts and fruits that really make this one a winner.

Now my next favourite recipe using muesli is a lunchbox and morning tea winner. It is actually the real reason we keep muesli in the house…………to make muesli bars. The kids can help you stir all the ingredients together and their favourite job is also pressing the mixture down into the tin with wet hands. Definitely a fun job to save for the kids as they love getting their hands in there. Please, please, please make sure that you use a nut free version of muesli if these are going to school or a children’s party.

The mixture tastes great too according to my assistant, Elodie. I don’t think I could do a recipe without a ‘helper’ in the kitchen

Woolworths Select have just released a range of Wholesome Mueslis that come in a variety of flavours for different tastes. And they are well priced too. Anyone who does the grocery shop knows that you can pay an arm and a leg for cereals these days. And judging by this photo it looks like I won’t be needing to buy muesli for a while. We are well stocked here.

We tasted all of the flavours and decided that Retro daddy’s favourite was the Original Toasted with honey & cinnamon. I also loved this one and thought to myself that it would be great sprinkled over some natural yoghurt for a healthy snack. I’m more of a natural muesli kind of lady so my favourite was the Apricot, Almond and Date because I just adore nuts in my muesli. And the Low Fat Untoasted will be my favourite when summer rolls around and I think about getting into shape.

The great thing about muesli is that you don’t need to do anything fancy with it and it’s a quick and healthy breakfast. And why not just have it with yoghurt for a snack or quick breakfast on the run. Not that I’m going to run out the door with one of my good glasses and silverware but just pop it in a little container and you’re off.

So keep an eye out for the Woolworths Select range of muesli next time you’re at Woolworths (in the cereal aisle of course) and work out your favourite flavour. And tell me how you eat muesli at your house or your best Bircher muesli recipe!

4.0 from 1 reviews

easy muesli slice

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

40 mins

Author: corrie

Recipe type: Baking

Serves: 16

What you'll need

3 cups Woolworths Select Muesli
125g butter, chopped
2-3Tbsp golden syrup
1Tbsp Vanilla extract/essence

Instructions

Place muesli into a large mixing bowl.
In a saucepan melt the butter and golden syrup over a low-medium heat and stir a few times. As soon as the butter has melted remove from the heat.
Stir butter mixture into the muesli and combine with the vanilla.
Tip into a lined square/rectangular tin and press down well with wet hands. It's really important that it's pressed in.
Bake in a preheated 180C/350F oven for about 30 minutes. The centre will be soft but the top will be golden brown. Be careful that it doesn't burn.
Leave pan to cool on wire rack (leaving the slice in the tin) then place tin in fridge for at least 30 minutes. Slice and enjoy.
The slice will be soft at first so it's best to leave it to cool well and then enjoy.

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Filed Under: baking, recipe, review, woolworths

my favourite ‘how to knit’ books

May 21, 2013 By corrie 14 Comments

Every time I share a knitting project I’m asked by you, my lovely readers, ‘how can I teach myself or knit’ or you say ‘I wish I could knit’. So I’m sharing 3 of my all time fave knitting books that have helped me (and Keira) and which live in my craft room. And these are the books that I will never get rid of. They are still handy to me now if I have a new technique or I don’t understand an acronym. SSK, SKPO, YF, KFB, M1? Do you speak my language?

Now first up is the very first knitting book I ever purchased and used. It’s a good one and I often recommend it to beginners who don’t know where to start. It’s called Baby knits for beginners by Debbie Bliss. It covers the basics with clear pictures and then has a range of patterns that are suitable for beginners right through to more experienced knitters who are looking for a classic pattern. In fact one of my favourite cardigans, the raglan cardigan with fully fashioned shaping , is in here and it’s such a great knit for a new baby or toddler.

The patterns are also great if you’re wanting to move on from scarfs and squares but simple enough to follow that you won’t be lost or stuck with half a knitting project that you can’t finish because it’s too hard.

Next up is a golden oldie that I picked up at Vinnies for $5. Love a good buy like this one. There are a few variations and different editions of this book but you can pick these up at op shops, 2nd hand bookstores, eBay, Gumtree and wherever you buy your 2nd hand books.

It covers everything, is super easy to read and suits all levels. There are pages and pages of different stitches and it’s a great reference book. And no matter what level of knitter or crafter that you are, everyone needs a good reference book. Definitely a winner this one.

And last up is a new book for our craft library that I’d wanted for a few years now. And I picked up this book as soon as Keira told me she really wanted to learn how to knit. It is full of photos and little rhymes to help little people learn to knit and it is written for children in easy to understand language.

We’ve been sitting down together doing the stitches and when Keira gets stuck she can look at the photo or revisit the rhyme and see where she might have gone wrong.

I also love the few pages on correcting your mistakes. So important for any knitter. This book really is clear and I think is great for adults too but is really great for little ones and includes cute projects for them to make.

And a last little tip, before I buy a knitting book I pop over to Ravelry, select patterns, put in the title of the book and you should be able to see what people have made and sometimes all of the projects in the book. It’s a great way to see if a book is worth purchasing.

Now, have I missed one? Do you have a favourite knitting book for beginners that you want to share?

Filed Under: books, knitting

day at the fair

May 19, 2013 By corrie 22 Comments

I won’t lie. Taking the whole crew out to a fair is not for the fainthearted. Retro daddy triple checked that I really wanted to do it – even as we were backing out of the driveway this morning.

For a few years I’ve driven past the signs and seen the traffic and crowds of people going to the Kamaroi Fair. This year I knew we had to go. We got there just after opening time and it was already busy and parking was a few streets away. But we managed to get everyone down the very busy road by walking in the ditch like a row of ducks. Of course we got to the main entrance and discovered there was a drop off zone (and used it for getting all the kids in the car safely home).

It was probably a little bit too ambitious for us to start with the craft hall but I managed to pick up something small for elodie from my doll making teacher. Elodie kept trying to put it back on the table so we left with a big bunch of tears and hit the craft area for kids.

This was girl heaven.

Pom pom making for my girls while my boys hit the organic sausage sizzle.

the mums on the craft tables were just so helpful and interested in all of the little ones who were at the tables. And it was so fun watching them making the pom poms. I love this photo….the joy of craft and making something is alive and well.

oh and the pom pom flowers were scented with lavender oil. so sweet.

Next up was face painting.

some cake, a play, the book store and some sushi, I tried to see more of the craft hall but only managed one big table then it was home time. I was really itching to try the food – vegetarian nachos, lovely salads and some delicious food but elodie had pretty much reached her limit.

Those of you with lots of little ones know that it’s always worth it when you take everyone out together and you can look back on it. But man oh man it’s a whole lot of work to keep 5 little people together, happy and fed when you’re out and about. But we did it. We survived and we’ll do it again. Creating memories right here.

If you get the chance to visit a steiner school fair it is a real delight for the kids. Ours had the ‘best day ever’ and we look forward to visiting Glenaeon’s towards the end of the year.

And you don’t need kids to visit! You can probably enjoy a longer walk around the craft hall, books and enjoy a coffee and some lunch on your own.

Filed Under: craft, markets, steiner

finishing off your knitting projects

May 18, 2013 By corrie 20 Comments

Do you love the thrill of a new project? Me too. Unfortunately that means I’m not the best at finishing my knitting projects off. Maybe most of my craft projects. Unless I have a tight deadline or somewhere to wear something to, I leave things with a small job to do. And hope I get to them eventually.

Take this little baby cardigan I made for retro daddy’s PA. It’s only been sitting in my craft room for a fortnight waiting for the buttons to go on. In the end it took less than 5 minutes to sew these buttons on and now it’s ready to head off in the post with a cute little baby outfit.

I love this project and you can find it on Ravelry here. The pattern is Granny’s Favourite by tiKKi and the wool is called Shetland 8 ply from Bendigo Woollen Mills. Now I’m sorry to say this came from the back room. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, when in Bendigo you just have to visit the back bargain room. It’s a treasure trove and I wrote about it here

Are you good at finishing your knitting projects or more of a ‘start a new project’ kind of knitter?

Filed Under: knitting

waking up to sad news

May 17, 2013 By corrie

Today I woke to the sad news that the blogger, crafter and founder of Whip Up and huge inspiration in the craft community had passed away. And so tragically. I can’t stop thinking about her loss, her missing partner and the family she has left behind.

She is the mother of two little ones. Do you remember growing up? Your worst fear was to lose your parents. And for a woman so devoted to her family and home life it is just so sad.

So keep her children and family in your prayers and thoughts today. It is an unimaginable loss and I know that the craft and blog community around the world will be coming together in a few ways to ease the pain and burden for her children

I never met Kathreen but she was a true inspiration to so many bloggers and crafters with her love and passion for craft. Her blog had been around forever. I adored her pinterest pages as she had so many boards and an eye for finding things. And she worked so hard as evidenced by her books, blog and work. Just the other day I was reading her book in the library while the kids were playing.

May she rest in eternal peace.

Edited to add that you can make a donation towards the trust fund set up for her two beautiful children here. And if you’d like to place a button on your blog there is a link in the comments on the Whip Up page.

Filed Under: blogging, craft

Thermomix cooking for your baby & toddler

May 13, 2013 By corrie 13 Comments

It’s about time we got a baby and toddler cookbook for the old Thermomix. I wish there were more cookbooks for the Thermomix lovers out there. Especially when it comes to dinner time for the family. That is when my Thermomix really comes into it’s own and helps me get a super fast dinner on the table while I’m off doing other things – like entertaining children and trying to keep them busy.

I was sent the latest Thermomix cookbook, ‘Thermomix Cooking for your Baby & Toddler’ by Louise Fulton Keats (granddaughter of THE Margaret Fulton) and it’s a great addition to your little home library. There are loads of great recipes for babies and toddlers but as soon as I opened the book I went straight to the family meal section. And started working out what I was going to make for dinner. Top of my list to make were the sausage rolls (great to keep in the freezer and also for kids parties), prawn and fish wontons, ricotta and spinach ravioli, carrot cakes with lemon cream cheese frosting and crunchy fish fingers (no more fish fingers from a packet).

The recipes are definitely what your little ones want to eat and what will also keep everyone in the family happy. There is even a macaroni cheese recipe which of course I will have to make however much it pains me because my lot would eat it 7 days a week. Retro daddy will eat something else because after 6 years of making it he is well and truly over macaroni cheese/tuna macaraoni/ any other variation I try on the old mac n cheese.

There is a really great page in the book about what foods to avoid, what age and the reason why. The start of each chapter also includes helpful advice and it was informative without being too long or indepth to read. It was also up to date. I think even mums second (or third or more) times around will learn a thing or two as well.

We road tested the sausage rolls and they were a winner. There is no salt or seasoning in the recipe so emerson ate 2 of the rolls and next time I might just season the mince for the adults as retro daddy and I love a bit of salt and pepper in ours. Huge hit and I got 3 trays of sausage rolls out of the recipe.

All in all this was a great book to keep in your kitchen if you have little ones in your house. My thermomix cookbooks are all in pretty high rotation in my kitchen but it’s the old favourites that really keep the family happy and I love how this book has some great new recipes that I know I’ll be making time and time again.

Filed Under: recipe, thermomix

making a quilt on mother’s day

May 12, 2013 By corrie 19 Comments

I hope that you all had a lovely Mother’s Day. I was woken up by the lovely Keira at my bedside, loaded up with presents for me. I hadn’t even opened my eyes yet but she wasn’t going anywhere. And there was no cold toast for me. Retro daddy admitted that he had looked up PW’s cinnamon roll recipe and wanted to make me some but then saw how long they would take and thought it was a bit ambitious. Instead he queued up outside my favourite patisserie for chocolate croissants and snails. My favourites. I do love that he wanted to make me cinnamon rolls though. He’s a keeper and always surprises.

We did church, a few tears, lovely to see a few mummy friends and we all had to get on the alter for a final blessing and photograph. So special. Mind you Tillie and Keira were hugging my legs so tight that I lost my balance at one point during mass which was pretty funny. Keira definitely embraced the spirit of mother’s day. Up to the cemetery with flowers, visit from my dad with flowers for me (he always buys me something for mother’s day!). Lunch and then it was quilt time.

I am always having a little conversation with myself to make more time for craft. And quilting is a craft that requires time and patience. And generally no kids in the room…..someone was allowed to play with fabric before I took a bit of time to myself. A few hours in my craft room, coffee and chocolate finger biccies and I finished a quilt block. Just one.

Ta da! This might take me a while but my goal is a lovely quilt to look like stacks of books to hang over emerson’s cot. 1 block down and 11 to go……………………

Filed Under: craft, my craft room, quilt, quilting

nicely iced mocha brownies

May 10, 2013 By corrie 8 Comments

This post is brought to you by Moccona

Chocolate and coffee are two of my favourite things. Put them together and you have a winner. And you know I love baking brownies. So I’ve combined a few of my favourite things into a delicious brownie using Moccona Flavour Infused coffee. I’m still loving the caramel flavour but decided to use vanilla for this recipe. And I still find myself opening the jar for a smell before I make the coffee…………….it’s that good.

Now the actual brownie itself doesn’t taste like coffee but has a really rich flavour and it’s the icing that gives it the delicious mocha flavour. And if you’re not a fan of icing just leave it off. But it’s the icing that really makes this brownie so give it a go. These are great to make for a special occasion or when you’re out to impress.

and the recipe……….here you go. And there is still time to enter my Moccona giveaway here. $500 Wheel & Barrow gift voucher anyone? But be quick. Winner will be drawn next Monday 13th May…….

mocha brownies

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

30 mins

There are 3 flavours of Moccona Flavour Infused coffee and I used vanilla for this recipe. You choose.....Vanilla, Hazelnut or Caramel.

Recipe type: Baking, Chocolate

Serves: 16

What you'll need

200g good quality dark cooking chocolate
100g unsalted butter
2 eggs
2tsp Moccona Flavour Infused coffee in about 2Tbsp hot water
1 cup Caster sugar
½ cup SR flour
½ cup plain flour
2 cups icing sugar
2Tbsp cocoa
50g softened butter
1 tsp of Moccona Flavour Infused coffee in 2 Tbsp water

Instructions

Melt butter and chocolate in glass bowl/microwave safe dish for 2 minutes 30 seconds on medium high in microwave and stir a couple of times inbetween.
Add sugar and stir well. Add eggs and stir well. Add in coffee, mix in well.
Now sift in flour gradually.
Pour into lined lamington tin or a greased silicone form.
Bake for 18-20 minutes in 180C/350F.
Remove from oven and leave to cool completely. Yes completely. No cutting slices for yourself yet, you need to ice it first.
Place butter in mixer and beat for a minute until soft and creamy. Add in sifted icing sugar and the cocoa. Now with the sugar add it in gradually with a dash of milk and the cooled coffee.
Keep adding icing sugar until you get the right consistency. Nice and thick and spreadable.
If you need more than 2 cups of sugar then go for it otherwise if it still a little runny then put it in a bowl and refrigerate at least 1 hour. Then spread onto the brownie.
OK so get your icing, spread evenly on the brownie and then refrigerate. Keeping it cool will give you nice thick icing on top.
And when you're ready to eat it just slice and enjoy.

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Filed Under: baking, brownies, chocolate, recipe

When do I blog?

May 9, 2013 By corrie 19 Comments

Would you look at that face! This little guy was climbing all over me in my craft room and into everything as I was trying to open a few parcels and take some photographs for a blog post coming up. He is still such an easy going little guy and is currently in his ‘exploring’ phase which means he pulls everything out leaving a path of destruction. Yesterday it involved 2 big jigsaw boxes and I had to pack them up faster than he could put pieces in his mouth.

Writing this blog keeps me very busy and I’ve developed a great little routine for writing and keeping on top of things. Well ‘trying’ to keep on top of things. I have a bad habit for leaving some emails to come back to them and then totally forgetting!!!! But I’m working on it. During the day I check emails and keep my Facebook page up to date. And I do most of that with my iPhone. And I take all of my photos while the light is good. Recipes are generally done on weekends when I can get a bit of peace and quiet. I mean IF I can get a bit of peace and quiet. I usually have a helper or three in the kitchen with me

I avoid using my laptop too much so I can be playing or outside and I also avoid switching my laptop on until after the morning school run. Chances are if I do turn it on then we’ll be late to school. If I really have to write something during the day or have something unexpected come up or need to take a phone call then I like to find our biggest Lego tub and tip it out on the rug. Everyone goes ohhhhhh and ahhhhhh and there is some quiet time right there. Works a treat.

Most of my work for this blog is done at night time. Blog posts and uploading of photos is done once everyone is asleep. It works so well because I can just think when everything is quiet and I’m not rushing around thinking what I have to do and when I have to leave for school pick up. And my drink of choice for night time is either coffee or peppermint tea. No wine. I think that is pretty key to being able to work at night. And to tell you the truth there are nights when I’d rather just switch off the computer and knit and I’ve been doing that a bit lately. I highly recommend it.

What’s your secret for working from home?

Filed Under: blogging

knitting for babies in winter

May 7, 2013 By corrie 29 Comments

It is freezing here today as I write this blog post. We’ve stripped back the carpets to floorboards, pulled off all of the blinds when the painting was done and now the temperatures have dropped. It makes for a cold house. And as soon as the weather gets cooler I start thinking about knitting.

And almost every year I set the very unrealistic goal that I will knit each little person a cardigan or jumper before the winter is over. And I never achieve it. I can’t believe I once promised retro daddy a jumper. Who was I kidding? I can’t even finish anything for myself. I just cast this pattern on for Emerson on Saturday night and it’s one of my favourites.

The pattern has a very functional name – Child’s Placket Neck Pullover – and it’s knit from the bottom up in one piece. Love that. I’ve made it before here and it’s from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. This photo kills me with its cuteness. Elodie just tugs at my heart strings and will always be my baby girl.

Anyway it got me thinking about favourite patterns. And I do have some favourite knits for little ones and thought I’d share them with you. My number one easy winter knit for babies has to be the Easy Baby Cardigan from More Last Minute Knitted Gifts. It’s a winner. Takes no time at all, knit in one piece from the bottom of the back right over to the bottom front edge. You then sew up the side seams and the sleeves in one go and you are done! My projects on Ravelry are here and here.

Now I do have a soft spot for Debbie Bliss patterns and one of my favourites that I’ve made a few times is the Ribbed Baby Jacket. This was knit up in Bendigo Rustic and so warm. You can find this project on Ravelry here and if you read the instructions on the pattern page here you might be able to download it.

Another Debbie Bliss pattern that I am totally addicted to is the Baby shrug. I think I’ve made it 3 or 4 times and it’s super easy. Also knit all in one piece (yes, can you see a trend here). You can see my projects on Ravelry here and here. Now this is Tillie – some of you might not have seen too many baby photos of her as those were crazy days when the twins were little.

A recent knit that I made for Elodie is just perfect for winter and it’s not a well known pattern but a really great one as it lasts a couple of winters due to the sizing. OK so the pattern is called Duck Soup and you can find the pattern here. My project on Ravelry is here and my model Elodie did a fabulous job wearing it. And the wool was just amazing. A Bendigo back room special and just perfect for a little girl.

If cardigans or jumpers are just looking way too hard for your knitting skills or available time right now then look for something small. For me that means hats and socks. One of the easiest hats to make and one of the very first I made a few times is the Simple Hat by Debbie Bliss. Knit on two needles or you could do it on dpn’s or a circular if you wanted. It’s super cute and lasts for a long time. I also have a super cute and easy crochet hat in baby and toddler size here. Please note that I use US terminology for my crochet!

These socks are super cute and are knit on 2 straight needles and then the back seam is sewn up and you have a sock. Just be warned that if you knit a pair of socks and lose one while out……well you will be very upset. Just saying. It’s not like losing a Bonds sock. Devastated could be the word.

That should keep you going for a while…………questions? What’s your favourite winter knit for little ones?

Filed Under: babies, baby, knitting

the creatives workshop

May 4, 2013 By corrie 10 Comments

A camera, a notepad and a pen. That’s all I was asked to bring to the Creatives workshop yesterday. I had a goal of taking my camera off auto and writing more from the heart. In all of these years of blogging I have never attended a course on photography or writing. When a vacancy came up I snapped it up without a second thought.

And I kind of had a bit of an ‘a-ha’ moment when I took my first photos in manual that looked good (all thanks to Tim by the way). And it clicked into place and I kind of knew what I was doing.

Now of course learning anything new means that there will be mistakes and I have even more to learn. And more things to buy. But there is plenty of time for all of that.

But why don’t you join me on my little walk to the water which I took with my camera set to manual (for the first time!)…………….

So much thanks to Tim for sharing his knowledge with us and helping me with my camera (I was an Olympus in a room full of canons) and to give me the confidence to get off auto for good. For good, people! You can see the love that Tim has for his life, his family and the people he meets through his photos and just looking through some of his photos leaves me in tears. A big thank you to Jodi for helping us become better writers, for the little yoga and visualisation moments, for giving me the confidence to see what I can write about it and for organising that delicious food.

To Belinda for having us in her home. To all of the other lovely ladies who were so warm, friendly and fun. I didn’t want the day to end and hope I get to meet you all later on in our travels. And I have say thanks to Kesh and Roo for being there with us for the day. Along with Tim they make up one of the cutest little families I’ve seen. Cutest.

So tell me. Are you still photographing in auto or are you in manual?

Filed Under: blogging, blogs, photos

Pottery Barn is open in Australia

May 1, 2013 By corrie 150 Comments

And I got a sneak peek and shop before the rest of Sydney. Talk about a special moment for a dedicated shopper like yours truly. And we were made to feel so special today with access to the store and meeting some of the amazing staff the day before the big official opening. In fact there were some fancy pants magazine people and Melissa Hoyer getting a tour just before we did.

And at the moment I am like a fountain of knowledge on Pottery Barn and Williams-Sonoma. Ask me a question and I probably know the answer. I was like a sponge today. Did you know that Australians are their biggest customers outside North America. And particularly Sydney siders so we got the first store. Did you also know that they spent a considerable amount of time and resources getting the pricing just right for the Australian market. And it shows.

The prices are much better than I expected and I passed that information on – from one mother of 5 children who loves to shop to the people in the know at Williams-Sonoma.

I was lucky enough to take the lovely A Beach Cottage who is such a sweetie and took that picture of me post-shopping. And does she not look like she’s in her second home here at Pottery Barn. She drove because I have height issues with the WBJ carpark and my multivan. I love that I told her that I knew the way and then managed to get us lost and take a few wrong turns. But we got there. That’s the important thing.

Security was on hand at the door as not everyone was allowed inside (only us VIPs!) and we started the day with Williams-Sonoma. Heaven. I mean everything was heaven but Williams-Sonoma was just foodie heaven. The yellow le creuset was a stunning wall of top to bottom heaven and is something to be seen and greets you as you enter. There are food demos and there was juice to taste and it’s all about the experience.

I have a real soft spot for the baking goodies and came home with just a couple of things for my kitchen. I’m dying to use the vanilla bean paste from Madagascar (just under $13 for the jar).

Roxan is the store manager and when I came back for some shopping she held my basket, helped me pick a few things when I told her what I like to bake and nothing was too much trouble! She has been working for Williams-Sonoma for over 5 years and is now in Sydney setting a very high standard for customer service here. I’m excited to tell you that I was the very first customer at that counter. Yes, little old me.

At the back of the store is the Cooking School headed up by Vlad who is very easy on the eyes. His passion is food and his new home in the cooking school is a super light and airy space. I am definitely coming back for a course with him. For the food of course, definitely for the food. I can see the ladies queuing up for his classes.

We were shuffled off down to West Elm next. I didn’t know what to expect with West Elm but this one is for you crafty, creative and eclectic tastes out there. Reclaimed wood, textiles, new York style and working new things in with what you’ve got is the word from Vanessa the creative director for West Elm. They like to collaborate with crafters and there are some aussie designers they are working with but it’s all hush hush. And pricing is reasonable. $119 for a gorgeous quilt set. My favourite was a shibori doona cover. Lots to love here and some really stunning cushions.

Next up….Pottery Barn. Heaven. Both Pottery Barn Kids and Pottery Barn are next to each other and share the same staircase leading upstairs. Also a lift for those with prams/wheelchairs, I do always look out for the lifts since I almost always am with pram. OK so downstairs just gives you a taster of what is come. and it’s luxurious homewares and inviting bedding. I fell in love with everything and can’t believe that the first thing I bought was potpourri! Potpourri.

All those gorgeous lights, towels, frames, clocks, candles and glassware and I buy potpourri. I can highly recommend anything in pomegranate and the heirloom rose and everything is smelling fabulous at my house right now.

In my defence I was seriously overwhelmed and knew I had to come back for a second look and let this be the trip to soak it all up.

I did fall in love with these wall clocks. All totally my style.

Pottery Barn Kids is full of everything you need for kids bedrooms and the nursery area is like nothing I’ve seen before. Especially for boys, stunning navy and white chevron that has emerson’s name all over it. Monogramming is done in the Pottery Barn kids area upstairs while you wait and costs $9 per item. It was great to watch the monogramming while we had our morning tea.

What you need to know

– you’ll find the stores side by side at the top of Oxford Street Mall and Grosvenor Street in Bondi Junction. A map is here.

– Park at Westfield BJ (unless you drive a VW multivan or need 2.1m clearance in which case look for street parking), look for NAB and leave WBJ, cross the road (walk don’t run) and then you’ll find where you’re meant to be.

– order online and have your goods shipped to you anywhere in Australia.

– get your Pottery Barn catalogues here and sign up to be in the know for your favourite stores within the group. Um that would be all of them for me. Finn has been coveting the Pottery Barn Kids catalogue because of the Star Wars bed set which thankfully is not like any other licensed quilt sets he usually has his sights on.

– there are some great activities for kids in Pottery Barn Kids and they love kids to come up and see them.

– monogramming can be done while you wait in Pottery Barn Kids (upstairs)

– get ready to shop and just feel right at home

– West Elm, Pottery Barn and Pottery Barn Kids offer free design services and will come to your house (if you live in Sydney) or you can do it in store and get some design help for your house. I’m going to use this for the kids bedrooms once the carpets are down upstairs.

A big thank you to all the special people involved in making today happen especially the lovely friendly staff of Williams-Sonoma and Tracy and her team. I met Leigh who was showing us around Pottery Barn, Vicki in Pottery Barn Kids, Anna the creative director of Williams-Sonoma, Roxan the friendly store manager of Williams-Sonoma, there was Vanessa the creative director of West Elm and so many more. It was a real honour to get a sneak peek and little shop today and I can’t wait to come back again! For those who like to brave the crowds the stores will open to the public tomorrow morning.

p.s you can see more of my photos on flickr and instagram. I couldn’t take my big camera as I lost my charger but made do with my iPhone and Blackberry

Filed Under: blogging, shopping

Retro Mummy in Sunday Life

April 29, 2013 By corrie 61 Comments

All the photos in this post were taken by the super talented James Horan – check out his websites James Horan Shoots People and Solas (his wedding photography business). Thank you James for allowing me to share them here.

Well yesterday I was in Sunday Life magazine (you can read it here) and I think I did a good job of keeping it kind of quiet in the lead up. I expected some backlash to the article and that’s ok. The world would be a pretty boring place if everyone was the same or didn’t have an opinion. And my blog would be a very boring place if I was too scared of what other people thought of me. I just did a session during my time away last week about how we need to get out of our comfort zone if we want to go anywhere in our life. So true. In every aspect of our life. Opening up your life and home to a big newspaper, yep that’s getting out of your comfort zone.

Anyway, I work so hard on this blog. If you’ve been here a while you know that. Late nights, answering emails, running my own website, taking all of my own photos, working with some of the biggest brands here in Australia and running all of my social media stuff that goes along with running a blog these days. 1am is the usual time I flop into bed each night. But I love it. L-O-V-E. I have the best life right now. And I get to be home with the people I love. It makes me happy. I’m one of those people that doesn’t like to sit still and always wants the best life ever.

I did the biggest clean up before the lovely Alex came over to interview me. We talked about loads of things – from the expectation that I was always going to go uni (and it had to be a top uni like ANU where I completed my Bachelor of Commerce), how my mum had a PhD in philosophy (womens studies!!!!) and Alex’s mum had a PhD too, how would I react if my girls didn’t want to go to uni and I even showed her the kids bedrooms with unmade beds and clothes in piles on the floor because of course I cleaned downstairs and didn’t get the time to make upstairs presentable. We talked about how my mum went back to work when I was in year 4 and I hated it. I had to catch the bus home and had a key to get in the door with my sister. We’d watch agro on tv, have a few biscuits and wait till she came home. Everyone else had someone waiting at home for them but both my parents were working hard to pay off a mortgage.

It did influence the way I wanted to bring up my family but I love that my mum wanted a career herself and for me too. She was an ambitious and hard working woman who only left work when the cancer in her brain left her too sick to work. Two school terms before she died is when she finally left work because she was just too sick. Even when she couldnt drive due to her treatment she held down a full time job with people driving her around…..in the last year of her life. She was that devoted to her career and I just wanted her to retire and spend her last year with family. She was a huge influence in my life and was so proud of everything I did.

I am crying right now as I write this. She was an amazing woman and I miss her so much. All she wanted was to give me the best life possible. She went without so I could do ballet, piano and horse riding. I was never allowed to wear thongs because when she was growing up in south west sydney they didn’t have money for shoes in summer so she’d always have to wear thongs. I didn’t grow up with a lot of money but my parents loved me so much and just wanted the best for me. And she is the reason why I am the way I am. And I know that Alex couldn’t write an article about my life story or every little detail about my life but I loved the article and photo. She is an amazing writer.

Having the photos taken was so much fun. A few days after the interview the most amazing makeup artist Shane came out. What a life she has led and the night before I thought I’d check out her website to see who was coming to my house. Oh ok she’s done Drew Barrymore and other hollywood celebrities as well as models and lots of Australian celebrities. Oh cool. Great, she’s coming out to the suburbs to do little old me. I love when she politely said she’d correct my eyebrows for me. The eyebrows I do myself. She was just lovely and what I would do to have my make up done professionally again!

Then James Horan the photographer arrived. What a character. We had a lot of fun during the day. And I had to laugh when I saw the paper yesterday with just 2 photographs….he took hundreds from 11am to 4pm! And the photo he did take was hilarious – I said to him ‘ living the dream’ and ‘welcome to the suburbs’. I hate washing! And James has ever so kindly allowed me to share the photos here so long as I link back to him. Easy. He was just so funny and it was like he was part of the family, the kids loved him.

Oh and I have to say a big thanks to my school mum friends who were texting me telling me how lovely I looked in the paper! I mean these are the ladies that see me everyday looking less than glamorous wrangling 5 kids and trying to keep them all happy. And my gorgeous readers and lovely people who know me who are just proud of what I’ve achieved. Thank you for your support.

Filed Under: blogging, retro mummy

highlights of the whitsundays

April 28, 2013 By corrie 16 Comments

So I’m home, back to reality with lots of things I need to do, school going back tomorrow and I’m still not sure if it’s summer or winter uniform plus I have soooooo many things I want to share about the fabulous trip. The first (and only) family holiday we’ve done to QLD was last year and it involved the multivan, 7 of us, plenty of pitstops, a crying 3 month old emerson, happy meals from you know where and lots of sunshine once we got there. When I heard that Emerson and I would be going to the Whitsundays courtesy of Tourism Queensland and Tourism Whitsundays. I almost had a heart attack. I’d never been and I couldn’t believe that I’d be lucky enough to go.

The schedule for the trip was tight and there were some highlights and some low points. Check in at Jetstar Sydney airport was a bit of a low point. The conversation went something like this

Check in lady: is there anything you need from your bag?

me (holding a 10kg baby almost as big as me, an overflowing nappy bag and a pram): no

Check in lady: Are you sure?

Me: No, I have no spare hands

Check in lady: Ok well you see your case is 5kgs over and you will have to pay $15 a kilo excess.

The man next to us was arguing with the check in lady but I’m just a go with the flow, this is a budget airline and I’ve watched a few reality airport shows in my time to know that there is no point arguing with the staff.

Me: That’s fine, we’ll pay it. My case is full of nappies, formula, baby food and lots of baby supplies.

Check in lady: Are you sure you don’t want to take your make up bag out?

Me: Yes I’m sure. I have no spare hands and my make up bag isn’t heavy.

So we paid the $75 excess luggage charge (if you fly jetstar and your bag is over 20kgs apparently you can buy excess beforehand online! who knew?), dropped off the pram at oversized luggage and I was off through security. Thank you Jetstar check in lady at the other end who waived the excess luggage fee and told me not to worry when I prewarned her I might be up for some excess luggage charges again.

A high point was watching sunrise every morning wherever we were staying! Thank you emerson for waking me between 5.30 and 6am every morning with your little sing song voice. In Airlie beach the cockatoos joined me on the balcony. And what a treat to make toast for 1 little person instead of 5. So easy!

A low point was the guy at the front desk of Daydream Island telling me he didn’t know where the nearest nappy change table was after I told him I had a really smelly nappy to change. Front desk of a family resort but no idea. We had 3 hours at Daydream but thankfully the gift shop at Daydream Island was a treasure trove for the little ones….I dropped $90 on necessary touristy treats for little people that they wanted after they’d given me a hug. The old ‘mummy we missed you now what did you bring us’. Yep, that one.

A high point was having my first mojito at Fish D’Vine/Rum Bar in Airlie Beach and their delicious signature crab dish. Kev who runs the show is a real true blue aussie character and even walked us out and closed the door of the taxi/minivan when we left early with the babies of the group. Definitely need to go back there.

A low point was when during one of the conference sessions they brought out the broken glass to walk over and overcome your fears. Suddenly I didn’t like the presenters at all and was wishing they’d leave.

A high point was after walking over the broken glass (yes, I did it) and realising that sometimes you have to face your fear, get your mind in the right place and just do it. It sounds absolutely ridiculous to me now that I’m home but I swear that glass was soft like carpet as I walked over it. I know. I have no idea what happened but something happened. It needs its own blog post. Oh and I was wearing my boom shankar skirt. Love that skirt.

And another high point was stripping down to our swimmers and getting in the water with all the other gorgeous ladies at Whitehaven. I can’t even remember the last time I sat down at the waters edge in swimmers with nothing covering me up. It’s probably before children. But everyone was having a ball and I just felt so comfortable to be in my swimmers and realised I have nothing to worry about. This is coming from someone who didn’t want to buy new swimmers.

Oh and the igloo martini sorbet at Hayman was a real stunner! They dim the lights and waiters bring out these glass domes with a tealight candle and a delicious scoop of refreshing sorbet. Of course no one ate anything until every person in the room had photographed or instagrammed that baby.

But it’s back to reality here………

p.s we were under absolutely no obligation to blog, tweet, instagram, or share this trip. It was left up to us. But once a blogger always a blogger. I was blown away by the beauty up there and look forward to taking all the kids up there one day soon.

Filed Under: babies, blogging, holidays, review, the remarkables