Thrifty finds

Hello from Perth! I am home for a few days, to visit the family and friends and do all of my favourite Perthy rituals. I have been greeted by a storm, but nothing can dampen my spirits. I spent the day opshopping with Mum (who is not a keen opshopper, but who did well for herself today none the less).

Firstly, I have someone to introduce you to. His name is Philipé and he is a lion:

He arrived at the office for my birthday, albeit a day late. A very cute and thoughful gift from the family in Perth, which brightened up (the day after) my birthday.

Back to my favourite hobby - thrifting. Perth op shopping is fantastic. The range, the prices, the opening hours... everything about the op shops here leaves Canberra to shame. It is little surprise therefore that I found some gems.

Today's finds merit more than one post, so here is the first installment:

Handmade platter/plate with 3D lips - $2

Handmade kitsch 2 bird jug - $1

Retro crochet multi purpose bag/stand/holder - a magazine holder to me :-) $5

Sweet Indian dress up for Bub- $6.50

I had a lovely day, and there is more to post tomorrow!

Macaroons et Petits Fours

At work we have a tradition. Whoevers birthday it is, has to bring in a cake or some other source of food to share with the work group for morning tea. It's a little strange having to buy a cake for yourself on your own birthday, but it works. People are too unreliable to buy for someone else!

These delicious macaroons and petit fours were from Croissant D'Or, a French patisserie in Canberra. The best part is, guess how much all of this cost me? A whole $12, with a voucher pre-purchased on Living Social. The macaroons alone are usually $2.40 each, so it was definitely a bargain. We enjoyed them with Quinche (green) tea from T2.

As birthdays are all about eating (and calories don't count), at lunchtime I enjoyed Canberra's best laksa at Asian Noodle House:

Mmmm delicious! Overall a nice day, but I probably would have preferred to take the day off work. I wasn't particularly productive, it doesn't feel right working on your birthday!

In shopping news, I have decided to buy a pair of wedges for summer... only problem is, I can't find the perfect pair. What do you think of these?

Bub didn't have an afternoon sleep at daycare today, and boy did we pay for it this evening. She was in one of those inconsolable, irrational, just totally overtired moods. On the plus side, she's already asleep so I have time to contemplate the stillness of the night...

Every year, on my birthday,
I think about how glad I am
that I was born,
how thankful I am

for all I have in life.

A Present for Me (And a Deal for You)

I have been doing more ebay shopping, and the latest is *another* pair of leather loafers. Unfortunately the purple pair I bought before are a bit big, but these fit perfectly:

My Dorothy Perkins order also arrived, and I'm thrilled with it! I only wish I had bought more... I can't really justify another order just yet, unless they further reduce sale items maybe ;-)

The start to this week has been uneventful. I am flat out trying to get tasks finished at work before my trip to Perth this weekend. I don't want to come back to icky work, I'd prefer to have it all done and dusted. In addition, tomorrow is my birthday and since I don't want to work particularly hard on my birthday, I have had incentive to be diligent. Tomorrow, the *birthday* post is likely to be all about food- one of my favourite things is eating (junk food) and tomorrow I shall be indulging to my heart's content.

We had a lovely weekend, which has energised me. Bub had a playdate and they were so cute together - here they are picking weeds and grass to create a pile of, well, weeds and grass, which they called a "house":

Add to this cuteness a delicious brunch enjoyed in the sun at Dee's Cafe in Yarralumla, and we have all the elements to create a warm fuzzy feeling:

You got it, they know how to poach their eggs, all gooey and delicious. Nothing annoys me more than hard boiled "poached" eggs.

Because I have absolutely no trouble self indulging, I bought my self an early birthday present today. It's the gift that keeps on giving (and no, I'm not talking about the flu). It's a super cheap subscription to Vogue magazine - $39 for 12 months. That's $3.25 per magazine, which sure beats the shelf price of $8.50 an issue. If you ever pay that again, you could have gotten 2.4615 magazines for the price of that one with this deal!

Nothing like a treating yourself but being thrifty at the same time... Get Yours Here if you desire :-)

I have been spending *a lot* of money on group buy sites lately, reviews and information to come in a separate post!

Meet me in the Garden

It certainly feels like spring! And it will be officially, soon. Take it from me, it’s not a good idea to leave a packet of dates sitting on the windowsill in your kitchen. All through winter this worked fine, but come (almost) spring and hello ant infestation! There certainly seem to be more bugs around, which is the only drawback about spring.

Some lovely photos taken in our garden, which make me smile:

The first cherry blossom

Some other white flowers – anyone know what these are called?

Male Australian King Parrot

Female Australian King Parrot

Crimson rosella

It's tantrum time!

Today was one of those totally out of character days for Bub. Granted she has been sick, and is probably still tired and not feeling great. But seriously, today’s behaviour was something out of a horror movie where the pretty little girl morphs into the devil’s spawn. Okay, a bit of an exaggeration, but you get my point.

 

First stop was Bunnings to pick up some things for the house. It was crowded, we couldn’t find what we needed and then they had sold out of almost everything we needed. Bub insisted on pushing one of the little children’s trolleys without any help. It was as if she was in some type of bizarre bumper car game where the aim is to hit as many people as possible, whilst running away and going way too fast. Said trolley had to be pried from her little hands, resulting in a loud, throwing herself all over the floor tantrum. 

 Really unhelpful, annoying little bumper car

Next stop was the supermarket. Tantrum number one was about the lolly aisle. Tantrum number two was about whether or not she could open her chocolate milk drink before I had paid for it.

Then we went to the butcher. “Don’t touch the meat”. She pokes her fingers into a packet of meat, making holes in the plastic.

The day didn’t improve when we got home. Crying, screaming, tantrums, NO I DON’T WANT TO, YOU ARE NOT MY FRIEND, kicking, hitting etc….

*Deep breaths* It’s over now, and tomorrow will (or had better) be a better day.

In happier news, the sun has been shining and it’s lovely and warm… it certainly smells like spring! Tomorrow I will post some photos of the lovely flowers in our garden, and the birds that have come to visit. Canberra certainly has an abundance of colourful birdlife!

The Fashion Fruitbowl

It's was all about fruit on the catwalks for SS 2011.

Stella McCartney, Moschino Cheap n Chic, not sure & Prada

The chain stores in the UK and US are on top of it:

Made by me on Polyvore.com

I have to admit, I am liking this trend but I think that the pieces will date quickly - so I wouldn't spend too much on a 'fruit' piece. Those flats are pretty darn cute though... (Charlotte Olympia Tutti Frutti leather and suede flats)

I found these super cute beaded fruit flats from Belle Bijoux:

A bit of a bargain at $30, reduced from $149... I don't think they would last long (loose some beads and they're done) and I probably wouldn't get much wear out of them (too blingy) but they *would* look mega cute with jeans.... The $20 postage fee puts me off, that's a little excessive for shipping within Australia!!!



Favourite Beauty Products

Here are some of my favs.

Favourite cleanser:

ASAP daily facial cleanser with AHA. I started using this product on my beautician's recommendation. At first I wasn't convinced, and at $45 for a bottle this stuff doesn't appear to be cheap. However, a little bit goes a long way so it actually works out to be a bargain. It's a glycolic facial cleanser so has active ingredients to break down dead skin cells etc. The best thing about it is that it's strong enough to use as your primary makeup removal product (but I'd recommend cleansing twice if you're also removing makeup). It's 100% Aussie owned and made, which warms my patriotic little heart!

Favourite face moisturiser:

Natio Daily Protection Face Moisturiser SPF 15. This has quite an interesting and strong smell, so it wouldn't be for everyone. I like the smell, the feel and the way my skin responds - no break outs. It also has SPF 15 which is a prerequisite for me.

Best body moisturiser:

Palmers Cocoa Butter. This stuff is cheap and smells delicious. I buy huge pump bottles and slather it on after a shower. It's a bargain product that does an excellent job.

Favourite haircare product:

Delva Solarcare Leave in Moisturiser. Nothing comes close to this product - it leaves hair looking and feeling shiny, healthy and soft. Other products claim to do it, but this is the only product I'd rave about.

Favourite hair styling product:

Fudge Urban Instant Smoothie. Now this one isn't a miracle worker, and I don't like it's coconut smell all that much... but it does de-frizz my hair on a daily basis without making it look and feel oily. I have yet to find another product that de-frizzes without making my hair into an oil slick.

Best eyeliner:

Lancome Le Stylo Eyeliner Pen. I'm not sure if you can get this in Australia, I bought mine overseas (x3, and I keep buying). It glides on easily and stays on well. Plus you can use the back of it for smudging, which is handy.

 Favourite eyeshadow:

Dior. Yep, I think Dior's eyeshadows are the best. Better than Mac. They glide on beautifully, stay on well and look stunning.

Most versatile and useful makeup product:

MAC pigment in copper sparkle. This one is great because I use it as a very vibrant eyeshadow, and it's also useful as a bronzer to highlight the cheekbones (and it makes you look more tanned).

Favourite blush:

Bloom cosmetics in Rosebud. This has gold undertones, and really suits my complexion. I have heard many girls rave about Nars Orgasm blush and this is apparently a very similar, cheaper product.

My current foundation:

Revlon Colorstay Active (this is discontinued, so when I finish my current bottle I'll have to try a new foundation). I like a foundation that goes on easily with my fingertips if I don't have a brush or sponge handy.

So, those are my must have beauty items at the moment :-) Is there anything I'm missing out on? 

I have not yet found an amazing:

-Body exfoliate scrub

-Face mask

-Lipcare product (and before you suggest Lucas Pawpaw ointment, I don't like lip glosses that I have to spread with my fingers!)