A bit of Bass

Over the years I've had a love-hate relationship with Nat Bass (aka Natalie Bassingthwaite)*.

Firstly, when she appeared on Neighbours as Izzy, my hubby developed a bit of a crush on her. So she was immediately sent to the sin bin.

But then she joined the Rogue Traders and I realised I quite liked their music - great to listen to while running.

A very pregnant Nat. (Picture source: Herald Sun)

Then she got pregnant about the same time as me, so that furthered her entrenchment in my good books. (For some reason I grew fond of all the celebrities who were pregnant at the same time I was.)


Subsequently, she chose a lovely name for her daughter, Harper. More brownie points.


And despite the fact she's now a judge on the X-Factor (which I can't stand). She's still holding firm on my "people I like" list.







And then today, I stumbled across pictures of Nat on her wedding day from the weekend.

Nat, with daughter Harper, in her gorgeous gown. (Picture source: news.com.au)

She looked stunning in an asymmetrical, heavily embellished white J'aton gown. I'm giving her a 9 out of 10 for the dress and full marks for the headpiece. I do love a good headpiece.

Nat Bass with her new husband, and former bandmate, Cameron McGlinchey.
(Picture source: omgnews.com.au)

And for further commendation, she chose not to sell the rights to her wedding photos and happily let fans snap pics of her outside their wedding venue. Lovely.

So there you are Nat. Most definitely on my Christmas card list this year. Congratulations on your marriage and I hope your wedding day was lovely!!


* Just to clarify, I have actually never met Nat Bass, so my relationship with her over the years has been purely one-sided. But she does seem lovely and I'd be happy to catch up for a coffee with her one day....

Mum-ology 101

Being a first time Mum is, among other things, the hugest of learning curves.  It's not until you bring your little bundle of pinkness home from the hospital that you actually realise how much you have absolutely no idea what you're doing. There's so much to learn and, as many people before me have said, babies don't come with an instruction manual.

The good news is you'll pick things up pretty quickly - you have to in order to survive. Every single day you'll learn something new, and before too long you'll feel like you've got at least a primary school level of understanding about your little poppet.

But every so often you'll discover something you had no idea about, or something that you really should have known all along...

Here's a few things I've learnt recently.

Nappy free time is great for clearing up nappy rash.
Nappy free time when your baby has the runny poos which caused the nappy rash, is fraught with danger.

Beware nappy free time!

Providing your baby with finger foods is essential for their development.
Cous cous is most definitely not a finger food.

Vegemite has just as much staying power as firm hold hair gel.

Even though your big, manly husband can happily rip the guts out of the stinking fish he just caught, he'll baulk at even the merest whiff of a dirty nappy.

Just when you think your baby can't produce any more poo. She can.

You can't rely on your pet dog to clean up all the scrambled eggs thrown on the floor at breakfast.

It is possible to have an entire conversation with a stranger about your baby's poos. Sadly.

So there you go, a few life lessons. Scary how so many of them relate to poo.

What have you learnt recently??

The best wedding invitation you'll ever receive.

I came across this this morning on my usual facebook cruising and thought it was just wonderful.

When I was planning my wedding the thing that really struck me was how there were not a lot of truly "original" and "unique" wedding ideas around. I guess with millions of couples having been married before me, most things have already been done at least once or twice

And while I know that this has probably already been done, I've never seen it before, so it's new to me.

It's also lovely, touching and personal. I'd be thrilled to get a wedding invitation like this one day.

As for me, the most unique thing we did on our wedding day was set up a photo booth for guests to write their wedding messages, rather than use a traditional guest book. I know it's passe now, but two years ago the photo booth was still cool and (relatively) unique. And while I would probably never go back and read a book of quickly scribbled messages, I've gone back to look at these photos a few times over the past two years. Here are a few of my faves...

Other great unique wedding moments I've witnessed? A bride wearing her absolute favourite already-worn fuschia pink ballgown as her wedding dress, another bride arriving at the ceremony in her Dad's Mack Truck, and personalised bookmarks as placecards for a wedding held in a library.  All unique (to me) and all cool for different reasons. The first, because my awesome friend was smart enough to know she didn't have to spend $2000 on a white dress to look beautiful. The second for the sheer novelty of the situation. And the third because I love double duty products (nevermind the fact that I didn't pick up on the bookmark/library connection until the next day!)

What's the most unique thing you did, or you've seen at a  wedding?

How to spend a fun Saturday morning.

What did you do with your Saturday morning? Well, I spent mine taking an "art journalling" class, with the lovely and talented Angela Churchill from Little Bits of Me.

"Art journalling?" I hear you say, "Never heard of it". Neither had I, until I stumbled across Angela's stall at our local mother's market. Basically, it's a kind of painting/collage/scrapbook/diary hybrid. If you want to know more about the ins and outs of art journalling, check out this article.

I went along because I'm currently having a creativity rebirth (more about that at a later date) and was keen to try some painting techniques. I'd seen some of Angela's work with art canvases and wanted to find out how she had crafted them.

The class was so much fun. There were nine lovely women participating, ranging in age from about 12 to about 60 (I think, hope I"m not offending anyone!) Everyone had a blast, and it was such a positive, encouraging atmosphere.

It was also lovely to be doing something purely for the fun of it. I think that's something most of us are missing these days - we're so focused on what we have to do, that we don't get time for what we want to do. It often seems selfish to take time out for ourselves, purely for pleasure, especially with a million competing work and family demands taking up all of our time.

But it's something I think people should do more often. I came out of the class with a spring in my step. Not because I'd created any kind of masterpiece. but because I'd had fun, and done something I had wanted to do, just for the sake of it.

I'm sure we've all got a few things we want to do? What's yours? Do you want to learn how to play the bagpipes? Go horseback riding? Jump out of an aeroplane (hopefully with a parachute attached). Do you think you can find some time this week to do it? This month? Before the end of the year? Go on, I challenge you.

Ps. In case you're interested, here's what I created in my three hour workshop in Saturday. Any offers over $3 million each will be considered...

Raindrops on roses....

...and whiskers on kittens.

You know how the song goes, so you may have guessed this post is going to be about my favourite things.

My favourite baby things that is. I've been a Mum a grand total of nine months, so naturally I consider myself an expert by now. Hardly.

But I have managed to come across a few products which I can describe as my absolute favourites. Things which have made my new life as a Mum a whole lot easier. I know most Mums are always on the lookout for such products, so here are my suggestions. Thought I'd share them with you.

The pram: Baby Jogger City Select

I have to credit my Mum for this one, she did the research and recommended the Baby Jogger City Select (which she later bought me as our baby present, thanks mum!). To describe it in one word. Awesome. It is on the pricier side (more expensive than a Strider, much less than a Stokke), but in my opinion, it's worth every cent.

Babies spend a long time in their prams - especially if you're like me and love to go for long walks (around the shopping centres...). So they have to be comfy.

We used the bassinet attachment for the first four months, but you can also use a capsule to make it into a travel system. It also serves double duty as a twin pram - with 16 different set up combinations - see the pic above. If you're thinking of having a second baby this pram will grow with your family.

What do I love best about this pram:

* Two seats can both face forward with the rear seat slightly above the front, so both babies can look out and see the world ahead of them. (I don't like the idea of one baby sitting behind and under the other seat).

* The fold mechanism is really simple and you don't need to bend down to pick the pram up. The seat comes off really easily, so it's not so heavy to lift into the boot.

* The bassinet attachment. Great for the early months when bubs sleeps most of the time - easy for nappy changes when out and about and we used this for our little poppet to sleep in our room for the first few weeks. No need to buy a bassinet.

* The brake on the handle. Easy to use, easy to see if it's on.

* Easy to steer and maneuvre - I can wheel it with one hand while restraining an over-excited sausage dog with the other.

* The "diamond" colour - we live in the tropics, so I wasn't keen on a black pram. This colour doesn't seem to absorb the heat as much.

* The storage basket is HUGE! Seriously. And really accessible. I can fit almost a whole week's worth of groceries in the basket. Very handy for shopping trips.

There's so much more I love, but it's time to move on...



The sunscreen: Arbonne Baby Care SPF 30+

The ABC baby sunscreen - non-greasy, rubs in easily, effective enough for the Central Queensland sun and made with 100pc natural ingredients and absolutely no nasty stuff. What's not to like??

Arbonne also do a great range of skincare and cosmetics for Mum, if you feel like spoiling yourself...

The baby wipe: Curash Fragrance Free

You're going to use a lot of baby wipes, so you better find some you like. I've tried them all (nearly). And this one is definitely my favourite. Strong, thick wipe with lots of moisture. I've found others to be too dry, too harsh, too soft. These ones are just right. And they're pretty reasonably priced. Especially if you get the bulk pack from Big W.

The swaddle: Wrap Me Up by Love to Dream

My little girl was born two months after her gorgeous little cousin, who grew like an absolute beanpole and was in size 0 by the time she was three months old. So, naturally, we got a few hand-me-downs from her Mum, my gorgeous sister-in-law. Unfortunately we couldn't use most of them, due to the fact that growsuits suitable for Adelaide in October aren't really suitable for Central Queensland in the midst of the most humid January in a long time.

One thing we did use however, was this little beauty - the Wrap Me Up swaddle. We started using it when poppet was about five or six weeks old. About the same time she started sleeping through the night (9pm til 7am). Coincidence? Maybe. But I wasn't willing to risk it, so she was zipped up in her suit every sleep time until she was about four months and started rolling over in her cot, at which time she moved into a sleeping bag. Soft and just the right amount of stretchy, it also comes in a lightweight version, which was perfect for our tropical summer. The genius thing about this swaddle is that it allows the baby to sleep with their arms up (which they naturally like to do), but still stops the startle reflex. It also has a double zip and a backflap, which means you can strap baby into the car seat or pram while they're sleeping, without taking the wrap off.

I can't rave about these things enough.

The moisturising cream and non-soap wash: Moo Goo Udder Cream and Milk Wash

Here's an equation for you. New baby = lots of nappy changes + paranoia about germs = lots of hand washing = very, very dry hands.

Enter Moo Goo Udder Cream which brilliantly protects and restores moisture to dry hands. I also use it as a nappy change cream and general moisturiser for my little poppet - it really helps her drool rash! Special mention here as well for the Moo Goo Milk Wash. It doubles in our bathroom as a hand wash and bubble bath (except it doesn't create bubbles, but poppet is too young to care about bubbles yet anyway).

Great range - and Australian made to boot.

The book: Save Our Sleep by Tizzie Hall

Okay, I know this might be a controversial one, but I truly did find this book very helpful. Save Our Sleep is one of those books that creates division, people either love it or they hate it. I'm a big fan of routines and my little girl fell into the routines really easily, so I was instantly a fan. Having said that, I didn't follow the book to the letter, particularly with the self-settling at night, which took my little poppet a few months to get the hang of. I'm not saying this book is for everyone, but if you like the idea of a routine and you're struggling to settle your bub, it's worth a look.

The Bib: Cotton On Baby terry towelling bib

Yet again another recommendation from another Mum. I got a couple of these Cotton On bibs as a baby gift from an absolutely super-duper-single-mum I know. They're the only ones she uses. In my head, they are simply the best bibs around. Extra wide for great coverage. Super thick for absorbency. And also, they have a press stud closure. Sure, I know everyone thinks velcro is the best bib fastener - until your baby turns nine months old and learns that if she tugs hard enough she can take it off. Press studs are the bomb. As are these bibs. I now have half a dozen or so and they're always the first to get pulled out at feed time.

So there you have it. My favourite (baby) things.

I'm sure the list will grow and develop along with my little poppet, but for now, I'm certifying these items as the bomb.

What are your faves? I'd love for more recommendations...

Happy Birthday Mum!!

Special day today - it's my lovely Mum's birthday.

As part of my "make every present I give this year" challenge, I've made her a little something. Unfortunately I didn't finish it in time to post it so that it would get to her for her birthday, so I've warned her it's going to be a little late.

But here's a sneak peek...

Hmmmm, what could it be?

Icy cool

I don't mind the odd cooking show, I've watched a few in my time. But I can't say I've ever actually jumped up from the couch straight away and made something I've seen on a show.

Well that all changed tonight, thank you Jamie Olvier's 30 minute meals.

Good old Jamie was making a really, really simple home made ice cream. And I mean seriously simple. Frozen berries, yoghurt and honey, smashed up in a food processor and thrown in the freezer.  The finished product looked so good.

"I could make that," I said to hubby. "We've got all those ingredients."

So off I went, dusting off the old food processor and making room in the freezer to sit the bowls upright to set.

One minute berry ice cream. By me, not Jamie.

And here's the finished result.

I used my very favourite Jalna Bio-dynamic organic natural yoghourt (yes they spell it with an extra 'O'). so it was a bit tart - but that's how I like it!!

I think hubby would have preferred it with a nice creamy vanilla yoghurt (without the extra 'O'). Maybe next time.

If you want to try it yourself, here's Jamie's recipe for his one minute berry ice cream.

Easy as. I think I may have to add Jamie's 30 Minute Meals book to my Christmas wish list.

I'd also like his kitchen. If someone could pick it up and drop it inside my house, that would be ace.

The first 5km.

I ran five kilometres today.

My trusty Asics Gel Kayano. I heart them.

Well actually, I jogged five kilometres, kind of shuffled really. But it was still 5km, with no walking and no stops.

Whether or not you're impressed by this piece of information will likely depend on how much of a runner you are yourself. I know for some of you out there 5km is a recovery run. For others 5km might seem like an insurmountable goal.

I remember when I first took up running/jogging/shuffling. My awesome housemate/running buddy and I used to go on our evening walks and when we got to a secluded lane way about halfway through our run we used to challenge ourselves to run the length of it - probably about 200 metres. This was no easy feat in those early days - especially considering my running buddy used to double over in fits of giggles every time we started to jog. Those were the days.

Slowly, slowly, slowly we built up our running, setting ourselves the goal of a 4km fun run - jetty to jetty and return at a local beach. When the day finally came we got there ridiculously early - about an hour early actually. So, tired of waiting around for the race to start, and more than a little intimidated by all the real runners who were starting to turn up, we decided to run the race on our own. We finished before the actual race even started. Yay us.

With our first run under our belts there was no stopping us. We moved up to a 7km run, a 10km, a 15km, and then finally onto the big one - a half marathon. 21.1km. Ouch.

Apart from giving birth to my daughter, the half marathon was THE hardest thing I have ever done. And speaking of my daughter, I was actually 7 weeks pregnant when I ran it. That's the excuse I generally use when someone asks how long it took to run - that number was much closer to three hours than it was to two and a half. But at least we didn't finish last - there was another duo trailing somewhere behind us.

Eager to go before our half marathon. I chose the before pic as the after pic is not pretty.

Sadly, my running days came to a halt pretty quickly after the half mara. Pregnancy fatigue and 5.45am run starts don't mix well unfortunately. So I hadn't really done any running for well over a year.

Until a couple of months ago. My old running buddy sent me a message - something along the lines of... "Are you getting pregnant again soon? If not lets do another half mara." Bring it - was my response.

So it's on. January 2012. Just over four more months to get back up to speed (not that there was ever much speed in our running schedule). Despite living 2,500km apart, we're still virtual running buddies - checking each others times and distances by text message and facebook.

And luckily, I've found a new running buddy up here in sunny Yeppoon. I met her at "Mummy and Me" fitness class, and despite her protests that she wasn't a runner, I convinced her into coming on a weekly jog with me. Today was the first time she had ever run 5km. So big props to you new running buddy.

She told me today she's not even contemplating a half marathon. Wonder if I can convince her?

Finger Paint Fun

I saw a morning tv segment recently about a toddler who was painting wonderful artworks, hosting a solo exhibition in New York City and charging thousands of dollars per painting. Well, technically her parents were in charge of the exhibition and the charging thousands, the little girl was just having fun squirting the paints around.

So with that in mind, and with father's day looming, I thought it was about time little Poppet and I cracked open the finger paints. Since the start of this year I've challenged myself to hand-make all of the gifts I've given people. So I thought my little one could follow suit. What fun we had.

Here is the finished result. Not sure it's gallery-worthy, but the Bear loved it and it has certainly earned pride of place in our home.

I've titled this piece "First Father's Day".

Here's a few shots of the mess we created along the way. Good times. Paint everywhere, of course. Yes, even on the back of her head. Don't worry, it all came out in the wash.

And I can't resist sneaking this last pic in. This is her new favourite face to pull. Not quite Blue Steel, but unique nevertheless.

Who knows, maybe a solo exhibition really isn't that far away...

Photography - Mr M

As some of you may know, a few years back I started up my own photography business, Sarah Jayne Photography. Down in the South East of SA, this little business was coming along nicely. But since falling pregnant, moving interstate, settling into a new job and learning how to be a mum, the camera has definitely taken a back seat.

But now I think it's time to get back into it. And where better to start than some photo shoots with my little poppet's gorgeous playmates from our mother's group.

First up, is Mr M. In the years to come this cheeky little monster is going to break hearts with those big, beautiful, blue eyes.

Such a happy little fella!

Check out those gorgeous eyes!

My favourite shot of the session - would love to know exactly what he's thinking here!

Everyone needs ruby slippers.

Is there anything more lovely than slipping your cold toes into a snuggly pair of warm slippers at the end of a hard day? I thought not.

I love slippers - almost as much as my sausage dog does - though he mostly loves to eat them. Me, I prefer to wear them.

So when I saw these little babies online the other night I just had to have them!

Designed by my second favourite man to fall into bed with, Peter Alexander. They're pink and sparkly, with a red velvet bow. Completely girly, with more than a touch of whimsy. What's not to love.

These ones are definitely staying out of reach of the sausage dog!

Jump in my car - the many adventures of Keg, the Super Sausage Dog.

Keg. A super sausage dog.

Like most dogs, our little Kegster loves to go for rides in the car.

(For those of you who haven't met Keg, that's him on the right.)

He always wants to sit in the front - like one of the grown-ups. If he's forced to sit in the back, he perches with his hind legs on the back seat and his front feet on the console. Lucky he's a long sausage dog. A regular length dog might not be able to do this so comfortably.

One time we leashed him up in the backseat. He barked for a while, but shortly after he went quiet. Too quiet. We almost forgot he was there. Until he jumped back into the front seat. That's right - disgruntled that he had been forced into the back, he chewed through the leash to free himself. Clever dog.

Another time, Bear took Keg on a drive to the shops to pick up some supplies for dinner. After he stopped to take a phone call in the car, he realised Keg had gone quiet. Too quiet. In the duration of that phone call Keg had nosed through the groceries and eaten half a pack of diced beef intended for our stir fry.

Moral of the story. When Keg goes quiet - he's up to something.

Back seat driver.

On another particularly memorable journey, we had stored the bassinet attachment of the little Poppet's pram in the middle of the backseat on top of some other luggage. Despite being tied up, Keg somehow managed to wangle his way up into the bassinet. And there he sat, with his head on the Bear's shoulder - for the entire 2 hour drive.


Needless to say the bassinet and everything in it got thoroughly washed before we put little Poppet back in it.

Keg never misses the opportunity to go for a drive. If I leave the door of the car open while I'm unpacking the groceries he jumps in the front seat and waits. And waits. And waits. Ignoring my demands for him to "get out of the car Keg!".

I don't even bother trying to coax him out of the car these days. I just leave the door open until he realises he's not going anywhere and comes out of his own accord.

Last time he did this I found him sitting in little Poppet's car seat. (Don't worry, she wasn't in it at the time) He was clearly drawn in by the scent of half chewed rusks mashed into the seat cover.

Oh, how our little Kegster loves to go for drives.

So it came as no surprise to me when our new next door neighbour knocked on my front door, asking whether the black sausage dog who just jumped in her car belonged to me.

Yes, the little monkey had obviously gotten out of the yard somehow (most likely when the Bear was towing the boat out). And after being so blatantly ignored for a ride to the beach with Dad, decided to try his luck with the neighbour.

Clearly it's time to talk to him about not getting into cars with strangers...

Blogging ADHD

Who said blogging was easy?

I started writing a post today about how I'm addicted to buying books for my baby daughter. (Seriously I just can't stop myself - I can always justify it with the old "books are educational" argument).

But then it diverged into a post about e-readers and how I'm avoiding them. Followed by a bit of a spiel about the dominance of online bookstores and a lament on the downfall of the entire bookstore industry.

And just to top it off, I began reminiscing about my favourite childhood reading material, the Sweet Valley Twins-slash-High chronicles. (ps. did you hear they're making a movie?????)

So there you have it - I simply can't nail down what my blog topic is tonight. So I'm going to leave it all for another day.

But I will share with you a pic of these gorgeous new board books I bought my daughter this week (just $6.84 each, thank you Big W book department). They also dovetail nicely with my rapidly growing fabric and sewing obsession - but that's a whole other blog topic...

Books about fabric animals - combining two of my favourite things!

Nana's recipes: Golden Syrup Rolly Polly

This little book is one of my most prized possessions.


















It's a recipe book given to me by my dear late Nana on my tenth birthday. It contains more than 70 of her favourite recipes, all carefully handwritten in her distinctive cursive script. It's wrapped in a metallic gold wrapping paper (which has wonderfully stood the test of time) and contains an inscription on the front page.



I still remember the day Nan gave me this book. I remember thinking it was just the best present ever. I still do.

I cherish this little book even more now, since my Nan passed away three years ago. I can open it and see her beautifully scripted words and it makes me feel like a little part of her is tucked away inside the pages of this book.

Some of Nan's recipes I now know off by heart - especially the tuna mornay and the banana cake. Over the years I've started to fill the remaining pages with many other favourite recipes I've gathered, so I use this recipe book fairly frequently.

But the other week I realised there are so many of Nan's recipes I haven't yet tried. Like most people, I've tended to stick to my favourites.

So I decided I should give them all a whirl - I do love a good challenge!

Last night, I started my challenge with the Golden Syrup Rolly Polly. My husband had a rough week at work, so I felt some comfort food was definitely in order.

Here's the end result...












And of course you can't serve it without a big spoonful of Double Dollop cream...











Here's the recipe:

Golden Syrup Rolly Polly

Dough ingredients:
* 1 cup SR flour
* Pinch of salt
* 2 tablespoons butter

Syrup ingredients:
* Golden syrup (however much you want!)
* 2 cups of hot water
* 1/4 cup sugar
* 1 tablespoon butter

Rub dough ingredients together with enough cold water to form a dough consistency.
Roll out and place in a pie dish.
Spread with golden syrup.
Mix together the hot water, sugar and butter, pour over the dough in the pie dish.

Bake in a moderate oven (180C) for one hour.



Love you Nan! Thanks for such a wonderful present. One day I will pass it on to my little girl - I'm sure she will love it just as much as I do.

Unexpected pineapples

I love those moments when, in the process of going about your daily business, something so wonderfully random happens to make you smile unexpectedly.

I had one of those moments yesterday, and I had another today.

After feeding my little Poppet her breakfast, I grabbed the Weet Bix covered bib to throw it in the laundry basket - and upon opening the laundry door, I found a pineapple sitting on top of the washing machine.

Presumably, my husband procured this little beauty sometime yesterday and when arriving home from work, popped it on the washing machine on the way into the house from the garage (where our laundry is bizzarely located).

There it stayed until I found it this morning. It made me smile.

I guess that's what happens when you live in the pineapple capital of Australia.

As for yesterday's random happy moment, my gorgeous (and brand spanking new) sister-in-law Teegan, announced she had launched her own blog - Brown Paper Packages.

Happy news in itself, but what really made me do a little chair dance was the blog's name. Teegs had recently asked what she should call her blog and when I suggested Brown Paper Packages (as the blog would contain all her favourite things), she told me that was already on her shortlist! They say great minds think alike, I couldn't agree more.

Go check out her blog when you can. Teegs has the most unique sense of style and is a lover of all things vintage, quirky and crafty. Looking forward to seeing what she puts out there into blog-world.

Does the world need another blog?

This is the question I have been pondering all weekend. Does the world REALLY need another blog?

Of course, the answer is undeniably "no". But I think perhaps my little world does - and so I'm starting one.

I have been toying with the idea of a blog for months and months and months. Actually, its longer than a year, as I remember I almost started one when I was living in South Australia, and I've just realised that yesterday marked one year exactly from the day we left our little home in Mount Gambier and started our journey up north to Yeppoon - aka Poontown!

So much has happened in those 12 months  - my husband and I moved interstate, we both started new jobs, met new friends and learnt how to cope with living a long way away from our family and all of our existing friends.

My little Poppet.

But most importantly - we had a baby. Our little girl, Ella, is now almost seven months old. She is simply divine and we treasure her more and more every day. Watching her grow and learn is quite simply the most amazing thing ever.















Those were the big things which happened. But there were also a few little things.

I went from being a full-time worker, to a part-time worker, to a stay-at -home-mum, to now, being a working mum. I got a sewing machine for Christmas and took up sewing. I rediscovered my love for crafts and took up crocheting. I finished my 365photo challenge. I set myself a new challenge to hand make every present I gave for a year. I tried to restrain my spending now that we were down to one/one and a half income(s). I returned to clinical Occupational Therapy work for the first time since my University fieldwork days (well over a decade ago). I took a step back from building my photography and freelance journalism business - realised how much I missed it and began (thinking about) building it up again. I started going to local markets - but began doing my groceries online. My favourite magazines changed from Cosmo and Cleo, to Women's Health, Practical Parenting and Real Living. I discovered pinterest and etsy. I spent waaayyyyy too much time on facebook and reading blogs. And that's just the start.

Hand-made. My new challenge.

So why a blog? Because I love to write. I really do. I wrote a lot when I travelled the globe as a backpacker. I've worked as a journalist both for a newspaper and as a freelancer for local magazines. My ultimate job would truly be as a features writer or columnist for some glossy magazine. I'm not there yet, but maybe one day I will be. And maybe this blog will help me on my way.

Also, I love to take photos - blogs need those, right?


I love creating and I love showing off - so on this blog I could show off what I've created.

Plus - my Mum hates me living so far away and always wants to know what I'm up to - so this gives her one more way to check out what I'm doing. 

What's it going to be about? Everything I love - photography, cooking, sewing, craft. And whatever else strikes my fancy.

Why now? Why not? There's no time like the present (apparently).

So, welcome to my blog - I hope you like it.

Oh - and what does the name mean? If you're a fan of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, you might recognise the phrase "Hello Poppet!" - uttered by one of the hideous undead pirates to the gorgeous Keira Knightley. I'm not sure why, but this is what I say to my little girl every morning. So that's what I'm calling my blog.

By the way, this is me, with my beautiful family. Photo by Marcus Jones Photographics.