stepping out

i remember when i was pregnant with my second child, loads of mum's told me that it's much easier second time round. mmm... that hasn't been the case for me. so not the case. the last 12 months has been a long road, adjusting to the multi tasking of two beautiful children and a household, myself and a small business. i am one super organised person, and it has even caught me off guard and disorganised. it takes me approximately 2-3 weeks now to respond to a text. and only today, almost 12 months after my second baby came along, do i feel like i've caught up on the washing. the washing. one small child has thrown the washing regime waaaaaaaaay off track. but today i've caught up. i'm not even going to go there with the gardens (ha-hum, weeds)...!

my bestie goes out for a coffee every day. sometimes twice. truth be told, sometimes she even goes three times, depending on her day! it might only be a takeaway, or she may sit in. but this is her thing, the thing she likes to do for her. and sure, she no longer has a baby in her arms, her babies are walking and talking, more independant. and right now, for maybe quite possibly the first time yet, i miss my own independance. i miss me, i miss real coffee, i miss "having the time".

so i decided that one day a week i would go exploring this beautiful city i live in. get myself out of the house for an hour, away from the nursery and the routine, away from the chores and abc 4 kids, and into the fresh air. to go and find a place i have yet to visit. somewhere new, somewhere different, somewhere hidden. somewhere that might brew coffee, so i can skip my usual nescafe that day, and sit with my little people, sipping on awesome espresso, people watching and exploring. meeting and greeting.

so i started doing this a few weeks ago and thought i would blog about the places i have visited, and share my finds with you. i've got three to catch up on, stayed tuned...

yummy mummies has checked in to : her blog

yep, at long last, i am feeling "back into it". back into business and back into the blog. i've been all caught up in our new baby bubble here, i've hardly had a spare minute to even look at my blog, let alone log into it! but you don't need me to tell you how busy life is, cause you've got your own going on too.

children are the absolute best and most fun time wasters there are. i love it. i love being the mum. i may whinge about being tired, it's true. i may be off in tired fairy land, that's true too. even this morning, i paid for my "quick shop" at coles, and headed off with both girls sitting in the trolley, but forgot to collect my 4 grocery bags. i'm tired, it's true. but i still love it. i love being the mum of my two little people. the boss. the mum.

i've got so many idea's and stories i want to share with you this year. i've got loads of product reviews coming up, some fashion tips and how-to-wear idea's, new winter stock to tell you about, and some changes happening to our shopping site also.

i might be a month late, but here's to twenty twelve. i hope YOUR twenty twelve is filled with awesomeness. check you back here soon x

loving : valentine's day paper goodies

valentine's day makes me feel all lovey, sweet, generous and calm. or is that the second trimester hormones kicking in?! either way, it's all making me feel nice today. i'm really loving this belle & boo card for valentine's day.

i'm also adoring the love is peachy valentine printables that sarah at style me gorgeous has made. it was only last week that i was saying to my partner how clever i think my graphic designer is, and then bam, she comes out with my fave of her collection thus far!

yesterday i ordered some pink and red pom pom's from the awesome daneve at ah-tissue for a little birthday gathering i'm having on the weekend. today i'm thinking i could use the pom pom's again for valentine's day, along with these other goodies, and spoil my valentine with a yummy home cooked meal and dessert and have a quiet romantic night in. just need to find myself a babysitter...

new resident photographer : naomi v photography

in our crazy july we were working hard with a few of my favourite ladies, to bring you some lovely eye candy on our shopping site. i've been busting at the seems to share this with you, and today i can! we have joined forces with the gorgeous and talented woman behind naomi v photography. naomi is our new resident photographer, and let me tell you, this lady knows how to work a camera! we have updated our home page images and filled the gallery with naomi's gorgeous work. go on, go over and have a look at our shopping site, and then come back here and let me know what you think!

so... a little more about naomi v, for those who don't know her... naomi is based in brisbane and specialises in wedding photography and portrait photography for babies, children and families. she is a mum of 3 and has such a fun and fresh personality, which is what you want from the person who is capturing your precious moments. naomi has a gorgeous blogsite, so please do visit it and have a look at her work. i'm sure she'd love for you to leave a comment on her blog posts if you like them.

i like to keep an image of my mini me, miss summer, on my home page. as you do. so my super lovely friend, candice from momie et enfant, helped to style a little photo shoot for the children home page image. summer is wearing a momie et enfant dress and bloomers, lots of pearl necklaces and bracelets, and mummy's most prettiest shoes (although mummy doesn't get to wear them much these days). i was hoping to use the image that's in my new blog header for the home page of the site, but it didn't sit in right, and it looks fab on the blog now anyway!

i cannot thank naomi and candice enough for all of your help with this. you girls are wonderful women and i am blessed to have crossed paths with you both and to now be able to call you both friends (thank you). here are a few images from our morning together.

i also want to say a massive thanks to 3 lovely photographers who have let me display their images prior to this mini makeover. kathy and grant from ashford studio, skye from skye rocket studio, and the lovely bree from breeze designs. you guys are the bomb!

i'm a winner :: art by jaz

do you like to enter competitions? do you ever win anything? i used to be the competition queen. pre mummy. pre time poor. i even won a 0.28 carat diamond through a napisan competition quite a few years ago, that was the second chance prize, the first prize was a 1 carat! when i got the letter from napisan saying i had won... the 0.28 carat... i almost shat my pants. i thought i had won the 1 carat! but was still very happy with winning a diamond fullstop.

i've been entering and joining in again on competition and giveaway fun. and look at my latest winning, gorgeous or what! this is the work from art by jaz. i found jaz through her blog and won these through her facebook page. ahh the online world and the people and work you find, i love it. i love jaz's work, and not just because i won something either! this image below is my favourite, lurve that peacock feather. now that i have these divine prints, i don't know what i should do with them. frame and mount them perhaps? i'm trying to start on a display wall in summer's room, perhaps one can go up in that? how do you suggest i display them?

who's space :: little pinwheel

over the course of starting my blog and relaunching yummy mummies, i have met some really lovely ladies and hayley from little pinwheel is one of those ladies. i started following the little pinwheel world almost a year ago, and the blog address immediately worked it's way into my morning web checks, almost to the point that i was feeling like a stalker! well that stalking has now turned into a cherished friendship between hayley and myself, and today i want to share with you a little peak inside the world of little pinwheel.

i look at the little pinwheel work space, and then i look around at my yummy mummies work space. hmm... am thinking i should spruce mine up a little and give it some attention and love like hayley has for hers! i have a thing for chairs and i love love love hayley's funky harry bertoia chair. don't you think it really sets the statement for the little pinwheel work space? and how god damn cute are those animal shaped elastic bands, they are definately over the top but completely awesome!

hayley is a fantastic writer and has a wonderful blog that i invite you to check out and follow. she writes from the heart and isn't afraid to tell it like it is. she writes a 'people watching' column on wednesday's that i find so interesting. in fact, every day hayley always seems to find great things to write about, be it her online store, her life as a mum, her life as a woman, or the amazing photography that she captures and shares with us. if you aren't already following hayley's blog, do pop over and check it out, it will definately put a lovely spin on your day, just like it does mine!

pink on display

i stumbled accross a gorgeous blog tonight and found this pretty picture in one of the posts. the blog is mimi loves and although i have no idea what is written as it's in a different language, i can still appreciate the gorgeous images she has used. there are a couple of reasons why i decided to blog this photo. the first is that i love pink. i always have since as long as i can remember. but i have found it difficult to decorate my home with the colour. most of my home is decorated with a lot of red. red highchair, red kettle, red cooking scales (and i don't even cook), red pillows, you get my drift. but seeing these kitchen stools in pink is really tickling my fancy! this area has been done so well with just a touch of pink. and those gorgeous chandeleirs! the second reason to the image is that another favourite blogger of mine, skye rocket studio, has been making the occassional post with display idea's for images. i love how this display area puts some warmth into the room with the pink. i just love it.

the nursery fairy

when i was home for christmas, i just had to pop in and check out this divine little shop that i had seen online and heard so much about. the nursery fairy is a family owned and operated business, in my home town of wagga wagga. it came about when the owners designed a nursery for their friends as a gift back in 2002. from there, a service for designing themed nurseries and rooms in the country area had evolved. and so the nursery fairy was born.

the gorgeous little shop, aka the nursery fairy headquarters, has got all of the newest and latest nursery goodies, things for babies, things for big kids and things for the mum-to-be (i spied a cute little pregnancy journal in the shop when i called in). the nursery fairy continue to offer their decorating services, and also host baby showers either in store or out. you can even create your own baby registry and share it around with your family and friends so once baby is here, he or she can be spoiled from head to toe in nursery fairy goodies!

this was my favourite from the store, an orange fish pouf. i tried really hard to think of a way to attach it to our car so we could bring it back home, but my plan had no chance of surviving, our car was jam packed on the way back, i'm suprised we even fit ourselves in!

photo credit: skye rocket studio

along with the store, the nursery fairy has a gorgeous little blog and online store. make yourself known and say hi to jen and all of the nursery fairies.

kreativ blogger award

i was awarded this kreativ blogger award from the extremely talented lady behind minilala nappies, carli. i'm feeling a bit honoured that carli has picked me as one of her 7 bloggers, thank you carli =)

this is how the award works...
1. copy the picture and post it on your blog
2. thank the person that gave it to you and link to their blog
3. write 7 things about yourself we don't know
4. choose 7 other bloggers to pass the award to
5. link to those 7 other bloggers
6. notify your 7 bloggers

this is a great way for me to spread some blog lovin, so here are just a few of my favourite ladies and their blogs...

:: little pinwheel an amazing woman with an amazing blog, you will fall in love with the little pinwheel story
:: piper + lily handmade baby + children's jewellery, clothing, toys + accessories. and is one of the many new suppliers coming on board for the yummy mummies relaunch
:: little sooti a cool blog with very cool finds
:: little diva designs christine finds the most gorgeous fabrics and creates to die for children's clothing + soft toys
:: skye rocket studio a beautiful photography blog from a talented lady in my home town
:: lil' rockers rock star head wraps and another new supplier coming on board for our relaunch
:: mini stylista jen has a heart of gold and if you're a mum who loves talking about kids fashion, you will love her shopping forum

and 7 things you probably don't know about me...
:: i am a shorty and measure about 152cm
:: i am absolutely totally addicted to the bold & the beautiful
:: i am a country girl, spending most of my life living in hay and wagga
:: i'm scared of the dark (there, i said it)
:: i have 72 pairs of shoes
:: i am a mary kay consultant
:: i've spent 12 years of my working life in admin offices

that was a bit fun, thanks again carli!

mommy & me photo challenge

i've recently started following a fab baby blog called kenziepoo, and i'm really enjoying reading rachelle's (the mum) finds and thoughts. this week she has posted a challenge, a mommy & me photo challenge. you post a photo of you and your little one/s on your blog and rachelle will pick her favourites and then post to her blog. are you a mummy, mommy or a momie? and up for a photo challenge? then i invite you also, to participate in some fun mum lovin!

this photo is of me and my daughter, summer leonie. we took this photo a few weeks back now, but it's been my favourite ever since. it totally captures summer's character and her sweet cheekyness! she is definately my mini me, although she looks a lot like her dad, every day i see more and more of me coming out in her. she loves to help with the house chores, she likes to push the pram now instead of being the one in it, she has to find her purple big beaded necklace before we leave the house, and the froth off the cappicino is no longer mine! having a baby and watching them grow and develop into little people completely blows my mind. i just love being the mum!