This is the final hurrah, my last Wardrobe Wednesday in what I’m sure will be a long, long time – measured in kilograms! And perhaps seasons lol. Somehow I have gotten still larger, and somehow despite all predictions to the contrary I am still pregnant, …
39-ish weeks ago I started a Pinterest board for this room and I have been collecting ever since. The only hard and fast rule was that I didn’t want anything matchy-matchy. Ethan’s nursery in America reeked of co-ordinates and was totally themed floor to ceiling …
Dave whipped up these amaze muffins on gloomy, cold Sunday afternoon and let me warn you – this is not a recipe for your thighs but your mouth. These guys are SO good!
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup chopped dates
1/3 cup dried cranberries (or raisins)
½ cup butter, melted and cooled
1 cup milk
1 large egg, lightly beaten
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C. Grease a standard 12-cup muffin pan or line with paper baking cups.
2. In a large bowl whisk together the oats, flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Stir in the dates and dried cranberries. In a separate medium bowl whisk together the butter, milk, egg and vanilla.
3. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Use a rubber spatula to gently stir together just until the ingredients are mixed and moistened.
4. Divide the batter evenly between the 12 muffin cups. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the muffin pan for a few minutes and then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
Recipe adapted from The Brown Eyed Baker
Obviously I outdid my self with my kitchen exploits on Thursday, you know, pumpkin soup and homemade bread rolls for dinner so I kept it real and decided on Pizza Hut for dinner and once again had dinner organised by 9.30am! I am amazing. Work …
I made it. I survived nine months at work with only two sick days! I enjoy my work and have had a trouble free pregnancy so the decision to keep working for so long was not a big deal. Today was a different story though. …
Have you ever heard of mall-walking? No? It’s what old people do in the sweltering climes of America when it’s too hot to power walk outside. They don their shell suits and head inside for laps + air-con. I couldn’t fit in a shell suit if my life depended on it and we need sheltering from the rain and cold rather than the heat but Dave decided today that I needed to ‘GET OUT OF THE HOUSE’ and ‘GO FOR A WALK’ {his loud american self even louder than usual}.
So, I put up little resistance inwardly laughing at the naivety of the man – did he really think he would escape the mall with just a walk? A free walk. Too funny.
It was actually nice. E had decided that the lesser of two evils on offer today was to visit his great-grandmother instead of going to the mall so Dave and I were rolling solo. I don’t know why but being out in public and huge and preggo without Ethan makes me self-conscious. Strangers ignore you when you’re towing a surly 8yo, they don’t force conversations and ask ‘when the twins are due?’ or ‘is it my first?’. I’m not sure why it bothers me if people think Dave and I are expectant first time parents, but the assumption really doesn’t go down well. Though in saying that, we were out as a family and the Friendly Stranger assumed that Dave must be my ‘new’ husband and not Ethan’s Dad, simply because of the obvious age gap. People are lovely aren’t they?
So back to the mall, we were able to finish shopping for E’s bag of gifts from his Little Brother that we will take to the hospital with us, I crossed a couple of weird purchases off my mental list such as buying a regular 2 button mouse for my Mac because I simply can’t abide by NO right mouse button any longer. I got my eyebrows waxed which was awesome until the technician started some after-wax threading which is so damn painful it made hippo recoil! We found Ethan two pairs of Vans for $70! I loved them so much we bought him a size up for next year too;
A little peek into Country Road resulted in this win;
I had been coveting this shirt online for ages, it was in the SALE with an extra 25% off! {shop here, $48.65} Obviously this is a post-hippo-purchase {PHP if you will}, but I’m thinking button-ups with a breast-feeding tank underneath are going to be my new wardrobe staples in the coming months.
So, mall-working for preggo-exercise; 4 out of five stars. Dave wasn’t done though, round two involved Pak ‘n Save laps and shopping for food which wasn’t nearly as much fun : (
Two of my favourite things came together yesterday in an unplanned symphony of awesomeness! I had allowed myself Friday off work as I attempt to wind things up (and use a couple of leave days here and there before maternity leave kicks in!). This enabled …
I had to wait a while for some prints to arrive from the states, but now they are hung I’m feeling like the nursery is done…enough. The light in this room is amazing, it has East and North facing windows so stays bright all day …
Thankfully I have survived this enormous pregnancy without spending too much on maternity clothes, in fact I think I have only purchased half a dozen actual ‘maternity’ items.
Dressing has been made moderately successful by purchasing staples in large (and now XL!) sizes. I found pregnancy jeans really uncomfortable so tights have been my go-to for the bottom half. Definitely the best in comfort, quality and price were a pair I picked up from KMart for $10 in the standard women’s section. Layering has been key, I have to go to work five days a week so I have had to maintain a level of business-casual. This has been made easier by being able to wear layers with a smart cardigan or woollen coat over the top (not that I can button them!).
From top left to right, these are my staples that have allowed me to layer, keep warm and comfortable – though I am now totally over them and just wish to fit some jeans and a slouchy sweat!
1. Oversized tanks: Cotton On (3 for $25)
2. Glassons Ponte Stitch Detail Leggings (On sale now for $29.99) these have a super wide elastic waistband so are seriously comfortable and
are a really heavy fabric so are a little more substantial than your average leggings.
3. Any old black leggings. I have worn standard sizing pairs more than maternity ones.
4. Patch Stripe Knit Maxi Skirt: (On sale now for $29.99)
5. Cardigans galore. I picked up this one in a Country Road sale in a larger size than normal and have loved having a nice bright pop of colour to slip on.
6. My trusty thrifted-on-Trade-Me Levi’s denim shirt. The length of this makes it ideal to wear in the weekends with tights and tunics.
7. Maya maternity T’s and tanks from The Warehouse. These have washed really well and work perfectly layered over a tank.
Stuck on You is a fab company that I have worked with before, specialising in the coolest kids personalised labels and gifts. They are launching a new product line and to celebrate we are giving one of you guys the change to win a $25 …