I found it: the perfect clay masque

I have two things to share today. The first is a product recommendation, the second is just funny.

On the recommendation front, you may recall from this post that I am yet to find ideal beauty products in some categories. The ‘to discover’ list is now shorter, as I have discovered a fantastic clay mask.

Aesop primrose cleansing facial masque

This does an excellent job at clearing up my blackhead prone chin area, and it is gentle enough for me to use twice a week. Lucky me having a friend who works at Aesop; with the staff discount she is going to buy me a big tub at 50% off :-) I have tried a few clay masques in the past and this is the first one I noticed an immediate difference with (plus I love the smell, but I wouldn't choose a clay masque for that reason alone). It really draws the gunk and goo out of my pores, leaving my skin soft and the pores less visible. The web shows mixed reviews, so obviously it works for some and not others... I am yet to try this all over my face (I have tested on the chin area) but even just for my chin (which is my number one problem spot), this is a winner.

The second thing is... Have you gotten yourself a replica Kate Middleton engagement ring yet? I saw this for sale on Living Social and I found it quite funny. Upon googling I discovered that Debenhams in the UK released a 6 pound version, which flew off the shelves and ranks as Debenham’s number one selling piece of jewellery, ever. Pretty much every chain store, supermarket etc in the UK released a replica ring. This is hardly surprising, given that the ring has its own fan site ( katemiddletonring.com ). I kid you not. I can’t believe I am so far behind the bandwagon, only learning about replica rings months after the wedding. My poor hands have been lacking such an attachment which would identify me as a tacky-jewellery-wearing prince hunter. 

No more time to post as I have been super busy at work, so you'll have to wait until next time to hear my gaudy product recommendations. In the meantime, buy yourselves a KM replica ring (and then throw a KM ring fan party, where all guests have to be adorned with several KM replica rings).

Super Sickness Record

Just when we thought we were in spring, and the sun had cheekily showed itself from behind the clouds and warmed our faces… the weather round here has been freezing, rainy and windy.  It’s the typical Canberra ‘it’s not really Spring, we were just toying with you’ mid-September temperature dip.  I’m not complaining, just observing. At least the maximums are higher than they have been in winter. 

 I actually don’t mind the cold weather that much. Who am I to complain, all rugged up with my furry dressing gown (which Bub calls my kangaroo pouch, because she comes underneath then pops out like a little joey), my long bed socks and the heater blasting out warmth. Everyone told me that the Canberra winter was going to kill me after spending so long in toasty warm Perth, but I have proved them wrong. With a smug grin I shrug my shoulders and say, “I never complained, I just didn’t find it that bad… I’m not sure what everyone complains about!”. In other words: I have superior cold tolerance, and therefore am a superior being. 

Far from being weak, I currently hold the super sickness record. I have not been sick (not so much as a sniffle, and migraines don’t count because they are not caused by germs) since early December 2010. That is 10 months of total wellness. In that time, Bub has been sick 3 times (which in itself is pretty good for a 3 year old who goes to daycare) and I didn’t catch anything. I have an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach that this means that when I do get sick, I will be really sick and bed-bound for a week… but let’s not dwell on the folklore or the science (whichever it is). 

How did I do it? I am not a mad vegetable juicer and I don’t take multivitamin tablets. Although, when I take the contraceptive pill and Bub asks me what it is, I tell her it’s my ‘vitamins’ (you never know what kids are going to repeat, in an embarrassing situation). I do eat a lot of fruit and vegetables and try to eat healthy, and I make time for more sleep than most. I lean backwards when I have to go near sick people (every so subtlety) and carry a mini hand sanitizer around in my bag (although I hardly ever use it). I think it must be the leaning thing that saves me.

I have a fabulous Aldi bargain to share with you. I saw this and thought, this is the best bargain I have seen ALL YEAR. You should all go and see if you can get yourselves one:

 

 Tomorrow (once you've all run out and snagged above bargain), I'll introduce you to our gorgeous new kitty cat. She is so naughty, but so adorable.

Queanbeyan Op Shopping

I was going to share my final Perth op shopping haul today, but I forgot to upload the photos - so that will wait. Instead, I will share my op shopping finds from today. I decided to take a trip out to Queanbeyan. It's in NSW, but about 20 minutes from Canberra city. If you missed the 'Welcome to NSW' sign, you wouldn't even realise that you'd left the ACT... According to Unencyclopedia: 

Queanbeyan is a small town on the outskirts of Canberra which fortunately for Australian Capital Territorians is officially located in New South Wales, making it New South Wales' problem... Also known as "Hell on Earth", and "That Craphole", Queanbeyan is home to many of the ugliest bogans on earth... Queanbeyan is known as the Home Of Landfilling Excellence (abbreviated HOLE)due to the native bogans stealing dirt and trash from neighbouring areas. The Queanbeyan city council received the landfiller's choice award in 2009 and it is still what they talk about everyday.

So as you can see, Queanbeyan is a bit of an in house joke. To me, it looks a lot like a big country town, and I find it quite quaint with the old buildings, concentrated main street, flower filled round-a-bouts and signs boasting "free parking", which are redundant because all parking in Queanbeyan seems to be free.

The best thing about Queanbeyan is the fact that there are 4 op shops, all within walking distance of each other, and all open most of Saturday. I have been told that the best op shopping in Canberra is in Queanbeyan (which is not Canberra), so I decided to check it out this morning. I have to agree, the op shopping there is good. Definitely comparable to Perth op shopping, so I'm a happy camper :-) I had a very successful day.

Firstly for the non-vintage, this cute Maxwell Williams teapot from the 'Crazy Horse' range, $4:

Soft bird scarf, with screen printed birds (and artist signature), $1:

Kelly Lane cardigan, $5. I wasn't sure about the bling on this one, but when I saw that it is 100% merino wool (and in perfect condition), I couldn't resist. Merino wool is a great all season fabric, so this will be the perfect spring cardigan:

Zero idea why this is showing up sideways- sometimes computers just don't make sense. I rotated and saved the picture, and it's the right way up on my computer. I rotated and saved one of the photos below too, and that one is showing up the right way... Technology and I don't mix a lot of the time.

 And now for the vintage! This tea set (5 cups, 5 saucers and a teapot) for $6 the lot. It only says "Made in China" on it so isn't anything expensive, but I like the pattern:

This beautiful vintage little girl's dress was $2. I couldn't resist, even though it won't fit Bub. The pattern is darling:

And finally, a vintage cardigan for myself, $6. I have too many oversized vintage jumpers and cardigans that I don't wear, but this looked good even with what I was wearing today so I couldn't resist:

Does anyone know why 2 of my photos are showing up sideways, and a third that I also rotated is showing up the right way?! Seriously annoying, and I don't understand it!

I spent the whole morning shopping, enjoyed myself immensely and spent a grand total of $24. And that is why I love op shopping :-)

I hope you're also having a lovely weekend!

Horrible Mirror Moments

Have you ever had one of those moments, when you’ve looked in the mirror and just thought “Oh my goodness….”? It may have been that time you realised you had something stuck in between your two front teeth for the whole job interview, or worse – black seeds stuck in several teeth. It could be that you realise your mascara has run or you have something hanging out of your nose. Arguably the worst experience is when you look in the mirror, and suddenly realise how much weight you’ve put on. It suddenly is clear that you have become a whale, and you can’t understand how you didn’t see it before.

I had one such moment a few days ago. My worst fears were confirmed in Perth when I tried on the bridesmaid dress that I have forked out $500 for (not my choice, or desire) and I could not do the zip up. In five months, I have gone from the dress being a perfect fit (even slightly loose) to being skin pinching, zip splitting tight. I looked like I was busting out of the boob tube like some kind of porn star gone wrong.

Two things have become clear to me. (1) You burn a lot of calories chasing after kids all day. Sitting at a desk in the office all day does not compare. (2) You should not play social netball if you are prone to clumsiness and bad luck. I broke my ankle doing so, and it is only now getting to a stage where I can start to do exercise on it again.

So, the diet has begun. There’s nothing like an already ugly $500 dress to motivate me, I refuse to be any more embarrassed than necessary wearing it. Consequently, I am hungry (all the time), grumpy (most of the time) and craving sugar (almost all of the time).  But hey, it has to be done.

In the spirit of healthy (and easy) cooking, I will share the super dooper easiest stir fry recipe ever. It is a staple meal in these parts, and it’s cheap, SIMPLE and tasty. Gourmet foodies beware; you are likely to be affronted by my inadequacy in the kitchen.

Super Dooper Easy Stirfry Recipe

Ingredients:

-Frozen mixed veggies. Choose an Asian stir fry mix if you want to be a little bit fancy. Of course you can buy Asian veggies and chop them all up, even carve some flowers out of fruits for the serving, but you'd probably be cooking a more elaborate recipe to start with if you had the time (or desire) to do such things.

-Chicken breasts, chopped into bite sized pieces. Use thigh or whatever else you have on hand, I just prefer breast.

-Sweet chilli sauce

-Hoisin sauce. I prefer Aldi's version, but they often don't have it in stock. I think it's specific to when they do 'Asia' catalogue sales.

-Soy sauce

-Rice or noodles (I use udon mostly)

(1) Add 3 tablespoons of hoisin sauce, 3 tablespoons of sweet chilli sauce and 2 tablespoons of soy sauce to the wok.

(2) Once the sauces are bubbling, throw in the chicken.

(3) When the chicken is mostly cooked, throw in the frozen veg. I usually just let them thaw in the wok (If I’m poisoning myself and others by doing this, please let me know. We’ve been fine so far…)

(4) If you’re serving with rice, you’re all done with the stir fry. If you want noodles, mix them in at this point (the precooked variety) and serve once the noodles are warm. 

Voila – simple, tasty and healthy. Super lazy, but it beats takeaways.

And it's a damn sight easier than this, which is what any slightly complicated recipe might as well involve for someone as useless in the kitchen as I:

Source: Carved Creations

The Unstoppable Food Baby

I eat because I'm bored. I eat for comfort. I eat because it tastes good. I eat because it's a social experience (especially in Canberra, where there isn't much else to do). I eat because I enjoy it.

Recent delights:

Salmon ramen and moyashi soba from Wagamama. I always go there when they have a 2 for 1 voucher promotion - this makes it really cheap. It's also great for kids when there isn't such an offer. You get a free kids meal with every adult meal, and the kids meal includes a freshly squeezed kiddie juice. Yumo.

Avocado and strawberry shakes from Pho Phu Quoc in Dickson. These are absolutely unbelievably delicious- my fav is the avocado. Have you tried an avo shake? They are amazing. I wasn't game to try one at first, but my friend was. I had a sip of her drink and now these are a regular craving!

A naughty colleague brought these in to work - $20 for 1.8kg of Jelly Bellys available at Costco.

My favourite Canberra pizza- 'Deli' pizza from Pork Barrell in Parkes.

Even these photos make me hungry :-)

It S'not fair

I’m not happy with Bub’s day care at the moment. Whenever I drop her off, I notice the snotty, coughing, sneezing kids everywhere and I think, if this were a good day care centre, those kids would be sent home as soon as they walk through the door. It’s not hard to tell that they’re highly contagious… On the other hand, when I’ve had Bub at home sick for 2 days, I have sent her to day care (still sick) on day 3 as I don’t want to spend another day cooped up at home, being nurse to grumpy child. So while I acknowledge that I’m a total hypocrite, I can’t help but feel annoyed almost every day when I drop her off. 

The other reason I am annoyed is because when I went to pick her up today, the day care room was absolute chaos. There was a ratio of ten 2-3 year olds to ONE carer, and the kids were getting up to all sorts of mischief and putting themselves in danger. Bub was crying because she had been scratched on the face by another girl, and the carer hadn’t even noticed. Apparently they are having trouble getting staff, but that’s no excuse – there are legal specifications as to acceptable child-carer ratios for a reason.

I can see some people reading this and thinking, OMG - I’d pull my child out of there in a second. The problem is, this is a *good* centre, one of the best even. We sure pay the price, it’s $25 more expensive per day than the centre just around the corner. Until childcare improves across Australia, most families will not be able to have 2 working parents. That’s from the perspective of people who can afford care (1 child is a damn sight cheaper than 2+) and have got a place in care – meaning it’s even worse for those who cannot afford it or are on endless waiting lists. *end rant*

As you may have gathered, I am not at all happy to be back in Canberra and back to work. I had such a lovely weekend over West; it’s always hard to settle back in here. Sometimes I think it would be easier not to visit home…

The good news is, on my last day in Perth I went op shopping again and found some amazing kitchenware – so my final Perth Op Shopping post will be the best of them all. I also had a lovely flight back, with 3 seats to myself to stretch out and relax. The movie was ‘Something Borrowed’ starring Kate Hudson, and it was okay- typical chick flick with nothing special, I wouldn’t recommend that anyone go out of their way to watch it.

Thrift Haul Part 2

Here are the clothes that I picked up during my op shopping adventures in Perth:

 Hot Options ditzy foral blouse, $4. A simple work top for those days when I can't be bothered looking good.

Basque dress $12.50. This dress is so slimming and gives my top half a lovely shape!

Vintage jacket. I don't know if I'll ever actually wear this, but I got it anyway because it was $1!

Picnic blouse, $4. Perfect for work.

 Impulse blouse, $2.50. Another cute one for work.

 Threadz knit, $5. A little bit witchy/strange but I might wear it.