Lost Property

One of the things I find most frustrating is misplacing or losing items. Especially ones that have sentimental value behind them. Well, this week has been one of those weeks. Amongst other things, I have misplaced - (can't bear to say 'lost' at this stage), my sunglasses. Now, I know it may not seem that dramatic in the scheme of things that can happen in life. However these sunglasses were a christmas present from my husband and they were the best fitting glasses I have ever owned. They were also more expensive than I would usually buy as I find with two young kids they can easily be dropped, scratched and broken in a fairly short space of time. Given this, I have treated these glasses with extra love and care and have always made a conscious effort to put them safely in their case, so how could this happen! I am devasted. I have two more places to check tomorrow - the local skating rink or the kinder.. Wish me luck. I will keep you posted... Agh! I was trying to think of what lesson I have learned from this.. And it made me think about how important it is for us to always hand in items we find which are not ours. It could make a huge difference to someone's day..

Winter Fashion

I really love winter fashion. I like my jeans and a great top and cardi, this is what I live in. Cardigans are my weakness, and I must admit with some guilt that I have a cardi in most colours you could imagine. However in saying that, some date back to being 15 years old, but they are a simple addition to the wardrobe that is classic in style. We are getting in some great new stock in the coming weeks including cardigans and a beautiful cream trench, so I can't wait to get my hands on them. The jumper or cardigan is an easy buy too. If you own one that suits your style you know from then on what will be the best buy, therefore you can buy online without the anxiety that it may not fit or suit (although that is half the fun of buying online isn't it?). Although we own an online boutique and love people to buy online with us, one things I would not buy or sell online is jeans. They have to fit perfectly and unless you have the body of a supermodel, it is a trickly one. I love to shop, but shopping for jeans can be the most depressing outing. Oh well, we can't have everything our own way.

However, with all these positives the jeans, top, cardi look (when worn as a constant) can look a little boring. That is when it is time to grab some jewellery and express yourself. Of course diamonds never date, but beaded jewellery can be very effective. It gives a lot of colour and can draw attention if worn distinctively. Look out for the next big craze in jewellery - glass art. It is very individual, with most peices being unique in that every button or bead made is slightly different, and although it can be quite chunky, it is divine. Keep your eye open - Shimi will have some soon.

Hobbies

My husband and I went away for a night recently without the kids, for the first time in many year My lovely Mum and Dad took over for the night and we left the building ready to be waited on. Turns out in the town that we booked our night away in everything closes down on a Sunday night. For a town that has a lot of lovely restaurants - we had one to choose from. Lovely wait staff, but the ambiance left a little to be desired (possums had destroyed most of the chairs), and the food was reheated frozen dinners. Oh well, at least I didn't have to wash up.

The next day we headed into town to have a shop. Some of the shops were lovely and filled with the most glorious items. But it soon became apparant to us that this was a town full of Hobbiest. There were quite a few shops that you could see the owners had thought - Hmmm, everyone loves chocolate (for e.g), and I can make them - I'll open a shop. One particular shop had combined candles and bottles filled with different coloured sand. Not my cup of tea, but I must say the chocolate shops (there were many) were good.

All the power to them, and good on them for following their dream!!!!

Rope Yoga

Ever heard of Rope Yoga? It is the new fitness craze in America. No mats or blocks, just fabric hammock or ropes that suspend you above the ground where you practice yoga poses. Apparently it gives a deeper stretch and can provide extra support for positions. Of course there are the normal celebrities that "love" it like Sienna Miller and Pink, but it does sound like a bit of fun, and any sort of exercise that is fun it the way to go for me.
The most fun I have had exercising was in a Latin American aerobics class. I thought I was reasonable co-ordinated. Not the case. I could not get any of the steps and spent most of the time laughing at myself, however I still walked out of the class feeling like I had really spent some energy.
Rope Yoga is not in Australia yet, but I'm sure it won't take too long to make it's way here.

The unusual

I don't know if it is just me, but of late I have been hearing in the media a lot of negativity towards Rumer Willis, the daughter of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore. Yep, she is definately unusual looking in comparison to the normal hollywood starlet, but God lets give her a break. Do we all have to fit that pre-determined mould of what movie executives deem attractive to be attractive? I personally find people with unusual feature much more attractive then your dime a dozen pin up model. For example, I have never understood the obsession with Elle McPherson. Yes, very good looking, and amazing body, but to me she just looks ordinary. There is nothing extraordinary about her feature - she is just another attractive person. People like Owen Wilson with his broken nose, and Jennifer Aniston with her longer jaw line look much more interesting to me.
Maybe I feel this way because I am past the age of comparing myself to models or actresses. There are lots of things I don't like about my body, looks, hair, teeth, etc, but I am at the age where I own those things. I may not love everything about myself, but I am comfortable in my own skin. I don't mind that "beauty spot" above my lip. I like that my breasts don't sit quite as high as they used to (mind you, I don't want them to decend anymore). I like the quirky details on other people, and I guess I am learning to like the quirky details of myself.

Skater Mum & Sons!

It never ceases to astound me how resilient and clever kids are! My two sons are 2 and 4 years old. Earlier this year we took up Roller Skating/Blading. We go to a class with toddlers/pre-school age children who are learning to skate/blade.
My 4 year old is quite shy and often unsure of himself. So, watching him emerge from not wanting to get onto the skates at all to seeing him now asking me to take him skating any spare minute we get - is fantastic. He started off on skates and this week is moving into blades. My 2 year old also gets on the skates. they just tighten the wheels and away he goes.
I see 3-4yr old children absolutely flying on their blades, its incredible. Over the easter school break, we went as family to the local skating rink. I got on blades after many years of not doing so (and I didn't fall over once, it was simply out of fear of being run over by the kids hooning around me on the rink! ha). I had the best time holding hands and skating around with my 4yr old to 80's pop songs.. Took me back quite a few years. Looking for good old fashioned fun (and fitness), go visit your local rink (or find a very smooth path)!

PJ's

I love my PJ's but I am not one to pop them on after my shower at 6pm at night. We don't often get visitors, but you never know when someone might knock on our door to tell us we have won a house!! (doesn't hurt to dream). So I have my staples that I pop on after my shower that I am comfortable in, but don't feel to daggy in. My pilates pants or yoga pants are always on rotation, along with singlets, t-shirts and a few well worn cardigans. They don't need ironing, they still look respectable and most of all they are comfortable to lounge about in.

I am a subscriber to the notion that clothes can enhance a woman's mood, so I tend to pick my "lounge" items carefully, following my rules of - no ironing, comfortable and flattering. Sticking to black, grey and white also helps (you can always through on a bright singlet or cardie if you need some colour in your life). Sometimes I have spent only $10 on an item, but most of the time I tend to spend a reasonable amount on these items, because I want the quality and I want it to last. These are items that I would wear 3-4 times a week on a regular rotation. It is funny how we women can spend hundreds of dollars on a dress that we might wear on a special occasion maybe once or twice, but we will head down to the cheapest chain store we can find when we want our staples that we will wear hundreds of times in a year? Go figure.