A Milestone Birthday and a giveaway!

Yes, next week I turn 40.

  I have decided to celebrate rather than have a meltdown.

My Father recently said to me that as you get older Birthdays become much less about age and gifts and much more about spending time with family and friends.  I have thought a lot about this as my 40th has approached and I have decided to agree with him.  

(Side note to husband: this definitely does not apply to you R!  What's more do not even think of trying to tell me that my new, albeit expensive tennis racket is my 40th birthday present!!!! The cheek of it!)

Turning 40 is a significant milestone though and I do want to acknowledge it on the blog, so for all my lovely blog friends  I have a few giveaways organised.  

The first of which is a stainless steel drink bottle from Pottery Barn with a lovely rather William Morris like print of two parrots on it and a clam shell with an Ecoya Frangipani Soap to go in it!  To enter you must leave a comment.  You don't have to become a follower but if you fancy it you are more than welcome to!

Good luck everyone and yes you can enter multiple times by posting about the giveaway elsewhere and so on but please leave another comment telling me that you have done so!  The giveaway ends next Wednesday (the 26th of September).

I've been busy....

...but first,  Friday Phone Dump...

My sidekick, we both love Pablo & Rusty's

.

This is what he orders.  

I tend to have either a Flat White or a Piccolo Latte, depending upon the time of day.

Cute bedroom ideas from a magazine in a coffee shop... I think it was Country Style...

So love this!

And this!

Alfresco Emporium

Dinner with husband at Manly Wine, food so so.  Atmosphere... fabulous!!!

Armchair Collective (consistently good coffee, food and homewares!)

Love that orange piping.  Trying to convince husband to do something bold like this with the Parker Chairs he has in his office.

The Captain's latest art work.

It's a Thorny Devil!

Marc Jacobs Mouse Ballet Flats that I think need to come home with me. 

Also, think I need this.  My favourite drink is a toss up between a Pimms and a Champagne Cocktail!  

...and now to the busy side of things.  I have been organising a Trivia Night Fundraiser for 80 people and have been canvassing Sydney for prizes and donations!  Anyway, it is tonight so I have my fingers and toes crossed that it all goes well!!!  Have a lovely weekend everyone! xx

The apple didn't fall far from the tree after all.

 This is how I found him as we were about to walk out the door this morning.  Can you make out the cover?  I am beyond delighted.  (Apologies for the rubbish photo, I had to capture the moment quickly and get said child to school before the first bell at 8.25).

Advice needed....

Yesterday, about 6.30pm husband phoned me and said I know you won't be happy to hear this but I got the dates wrong for the (Ronald McDonald House Charities) Ball, it is actually next weekend.  Hmmm.  He is lucky it is Father's Day tomorrow.  Thinking I had plenty of time to get a dress for it I had bookmarked a couple of dresses online and made a hair appointment, but that is it...

My main fear is that I won't be able to find a dress this week, partly because I don't have the time to dedicate to shopping and partly because I don't want to spend lots of money on a dress I am not completely happy with and will get minimal usage out of, genuine Black Tie is not that common a dress code these days!  So... I do have a dress that I love, albeit one that I have got a fair bit of mileage out of already though, well for a floor length gown!  Bridesmaid at one wedding, guest at another and a St Vincent's Gala Ball a few years ago.  So my dilemma is, is it okay to wear the dress again next weekend?  There will be a few people that attended the St Vincent's Ball that will also be at this one, including colleagues of my husbands.

This is the dress in question.  I just took it out of the box so ignore all the creases!

This is what it looks like on.

This photo was taken at the Wedding but I wore it with the same wrap to the Gala Ball and wore my hair up in a similar style. Low bun, sort of messy and slightly to the right as the dress ties around the neck on the left.  Do you think if I change the wrap and do something a bit different with my hair I can get away with it?  There is a 2 year gap between wearings as well!  Or should I milk this for all it's worth and go and buy something new? I know, first world problems and all but would love to know all your thoughts!   

The Horse Whisperer ...

  The part of Sydney we live in is truly spectacular, a string of coastline dotted with stunning beaches on one side and the lovely calm of Pittwater on the other side.  In between there is a lot of national park and the odd rural hamlet.  We take a shortcut to the boys schools through one of the more rural areas and in doing so drive past several paddocks that are home to horses.  And yes,  I was one of those girls that was horse mad.  

Here I am aged around 15/16 on a pony camp.  Loving my very 80s Akubra (the hat) and my Drizabone that I have rolled up and hooked onto the saddle!  I think I must have been channelling The Man from Snowy River!  Although I am appalled that I am not wearing a helmet!! 

  This childhood love of horses has never really abated and I often stop at one of the paddocks we drive past on our way to and from school.  It is home to half a dozen horses and they always come over to the gate to say hello.  The other day though as we were driving home we came across one of the horses and a little Shetland Pony out on the road.  A bunch of people had stopped and there were a couple of men trying to catch them with a bit of rope.  Both the horse and the pony were very agitated and the horses in the paddock that hadn't yet got out were also very distressed, cantering up and down the length of the paddock beside the road.  

The two that had got out were in serious danger of being hit by a car as they were dashing back and forth across the road, dodging all the cars.  Fortunately, as more and more people came across the mayhem all the cars created a sort of roadblock that stopped the horses moving further along the road in either direction.  All the extra cars and people though certainly weren't helping to calm the horses.  

Watching all this from the safety of my car I was at a loss as to what to do until the Captain said to me, "Mummy I still have some apple in my lunchbox!"  I grabbed his lunchbox and jumped out of the car, one of the men yelled at me to get back in the car and that they had called the RSPCA and the Police and I was all like, oh yeah just watch this and waved The Captain's green lunchbox at him!   He probably thought I was crazy!  Ignoring the Shetland, (I figured he was probably a companion pony and would follow the other horse back into the paddock), I walked straight up to the horse and with one quick wave of the apple under the horses nose she was putty in my hands.  My audience of onlookers watched enthralled (if only they knew!) as she followed me calmly back into the paddock, the little Shetland trotting along obediently beside us!   I felt like the horse whisperer, it was hilarious!  The Captain is now working hard on me to start horse riding classes!  I guess it looked pretty impressive to a 6 year old!

Superheroes....

  The boys have never seen an episode of Batman, Superman, Spiderman or even Ben 10.  Nor have they seen any of the movies, nor have I bought them a single Superhero toy.   Yet somehow, (perhaps by osmosis in the playground?), they know each and every Superhero.   Wandering into the Converse shop, I had only been intending to purchase them a new pair each of the classic grey slip ons they both love.  I did walk out of the Converse shop with grey slips on, but I also walked out with these:

I succumbed to pester power.

For the first time ever I bought them a "licensed" product. The little guy got Batman Converse and the big one got Superman Converse.  In my defence, at least they are vintage prints.   They now wear them constantly, even with their pyjamas.

Oh please, please Mummy can I have these?  Even if they are so big that I can wear them as a hat?

Speaking of Superheroes, the King of the Superheroes made a reappearance this week:

This time he was escorted by his trusty sidekick, Super Little:

Together they embarked on an adventure inspired by a true Superhero...  Eliot jones, of course.

Yes indeed,  that would be a "Meteor-Busting Rocket Launcher"  that The King is sitting on!  It is sort of like the one Eliot has to save the world with...

Reader, please be aware that today you were saved by...  

The King of the Super Heroes and his confidant Super Little!  

Enid Blyton vs Beast Quest

Well, despite my best efforts it appears Enid Blyton hasn't quite made the cut for this one.  I know it is... a great disappointment.  The many years I have devoted to collecting First Edition Blytons, with the view to one day sharing them with my own children... has possibly been in vain, sniff.  He has become obsessed with something else.  The obsession part is all too familiar, the staying up and reading under the covers long after the rest of the house is asleep, the dreams about the characters and the nose continually stuck in a book.  Meal times, in the car, walking around, you name it, there is a book in his hand!  All of which is of course fabulous and I am delighted that he loves to read.  Curious, I picked up a copy of one of his Beast Quest books and was intrigued.  The author is Adam Blade (real name? not sure...) and he is prolific, there are 60 books in the series and counting.  We have 40 of them.  Hmmm, sound familiar?  Blyton wrote around 800 books over a 40 year period.  As Blade is only in his 20s there should be plenty of time for him to churn out some more.

Each book features a quest that the protagonist Tom (12 years old) and Elenna (his best friend) need to complete to help save the Kingdom of Avantia.  There are lots of dragons, weapons, wizards and beasts to keep things interesting.  The Captain clearly adores them and so I would recommend them to anyone looking for a series of books to engage a little boy starting out on their reading journey.