OMG i've gone & ruined my blog!!

Greetings all,

So my husband went out for dinner last night & i thought i'd fiddle with my blog, maybe try out some new templates . . . then do a sweet post about this gorgeous blouse i bought my eldest daughter, talk about how teen fashion doesn't have to be trashy (of course this blouse is worn with a tank top underneath) & how pretty it looks blowing in the almost-Spring breeze, with a side note of how i would never actually peg anything this way, it was purely for the photo . . . & somehow i have destroyed my blog look.  

 So rather than make any more mistakes, i'm just winging it with this current look & will hammer away at a new template on the weekend, while my husband goes fishing with our son.  I'll pretend that i'm relaxed & floating like the breeze in this image.  Only i'm not, i'm really annoyed, tense & trying to remind myself "it's only a blog" + i can fix it later.  I don't want to pay for a blog template, i was happy with my old Blogger one, which no longer exists so i can't go back.  I wasn't ready to move forward, just play around.  

What irritates me the most - is trying to find a free blog template which allows the side bar titles in small caps.  Don't capital letters = yelling??  I don't need to yell "I'M POSIE, WELCOME TO MY BLOG!!"  Deep breaths.  Does it look as bad as i think or was i just SO comfortable with my old look??  

Have you ever fiddled around with your blog & completely changed it by accident too??  Is this what drunk dialling/ texting/ emailing feels like (only i don't drink) my stomach sank as i clicked 'view blog' & it looked like this.  I can't even work out what colour palate/ fonts/ date formations i want . . .  so signing off & tackling this template another day before i make it worse!!  Why doesn't Blogger have a big 'undo' button for major things like template changes??  It's a pretty blouse though, non.  Love Posie

retail thriftiness - brand new bargains

Greetings all,

I love a good bargain.  Even more so when it's an adorable brand new product - i might have paid full price for - with a tiny fault.  Triple awesome when it's marked down to $2!!

 I took this Cotton Candy sweet baking set (pun intended) to the counter to double check the mark down.  "Bug in candle packet" well that's good enough for my children . . . they don't eat the candles & the bug was so incy wincy, hardly a concern on a birthday cake which has dozens of germy children heaving & blowing over it at a party.

 Nice surprise when i got home & opened it up properly, a biscuit stamp, adorable.

 A little while ago i found this mint-in-the-box $150 camera on the "$2 Not Quite Right" table.

 Even as a decorator piece (i sound like Frank & Mike on American Pickers) . . . but it actually works, i still can't find the flaw.  If you were alive in the 1980's the back of this camera will bring back memories.  My children still ask where the 'screen' is??!!  

 Mass manufacture discounts i can understand with huge profit margins covering hiccups, but when you find a handcrafted pear like this beautifully detailed felt one, you wonder who made it & how can it possibly be for sale at only $5.  I appreciate & cherish it. 

 Now i've shown you some Alannah Hill 'damaged stock' bargains before but this frock . . . "$399 broken zip $40" . . . even if you took the bow off the front & made it into a headband you're ahead.  It's much cuter on, with those little tassels shimmying, i buy these dresses on a whim (size 6) for when my girls grow taller & get hips, for future dances, socials & formals.

Now i won't be fighting my daughters for any size 6 clothing, but i have been after some Converse sneakers (for years actually) & boom, found these on the "$50 last sizes" table.  Better yet, they fit my eldest daughter - who already has size 10 (40) feet like her Mama - so we can share.  We will get these shoes down to 5c a wear, i promise you!!

Retail is hurting, lots of businesses are closing down . . . once loved stock - they're glad to get rid of it for a pittance.  You just have to keep your eyes peeled & some gold coins in your purse for those enormous impulse bargains.  I just found a gorgeous Esprit long denim skirt 80% off & i thought, well i'm not seeing my sister these school holidays, $20 is a fraction of the price i'd spent on fuel alone to visit her, so i popped it in with her son's July birthday gift i was posting off, as a little surprise.  

Have you scored yourself some crazy bargains lately, better value than second hand in Op Shops??  Do share, won't you??  Love Posie

things i'm loving . . . 'link parties'

Greetings all,
Things I'm Loving this week with PaisleyJade is 'link parties' & the community they create, around the world.  Viva la blogosphere.  So i've decided to start my own . . . AEIOU: a mid-month-list-link-party of self-belief, improvement, acceptance, love & learning!!

With a nod to all the great blog link groups i’ve played along with . . . about being Creative, Grateful, Loving & Photography . . . i thought a middle-of-the-month get together would be a neat summary of life’s highlights.  So here goes nothing . . . AEIOU might go a little something like this . . .   

Awesome – something you baked/ created/ photographed/ a bargain you found
Exciting – share your news/ event/ holiday/ a gorgeous butterflies-in-tummy moment
Interesting – teach us information/ discovery/ facts/ a chance to show off your quirky side
Opportunity – embrace the unknown/ put yourself out there/ show off a new experience
Understanding – learning to appreciate/ forgive/ love/ unleash what helps you grow

The AEIOU adventure will scratch the surface of who you are.  I think the words Awesome, Exciting, Interesting, Opportunity & Understanding are positive & therapeutic.  I spend a lot of time alone, thinking, tune out & free my mind.  I am positive to the core, however, have a lot of stress in my life, pressure to perform & tremendous responsibilities.  When i was 21 i could have been a fully qualified psychologist - what would i have known about life??  I had travelled & was about to get married, but experience??  I’m often told my blog posts & comments offer down-to-earth advice, because i’m a different person now: 4 children, 15 years of marriage, 6 addresses & a husband going to 5 war zones will do that.  I’m more grounded & wide eyed than ever, shedding negativity from my life & truly believe in blogging as therapy.
 
So here’s my list to kick things off . . .
I found an Awesome bureau/ desk.  I’m sanding the wood, painting & papering it for . . . I’ll worry about that later, it was $15 & my furniture repurposing skills are improving with every second hand find!!
My husband came home last month for a visit, it was so Exciting waiting at the arrivals lounge, it’s the best feeling in the world.  I never know what he’s actually going to look like - full beard, silly moustache to tickle me, or clean shaven.  It was short beard, it tickled, i giggled, then he shaved it off to unleash the dimples.
My children’s school assignments unearth endless Interesting facts.  Years 5 & 6 created “Guess Who I Am??” posters & introduce themselves to the class.  I learned that Lewis has 21 convicts in his ancestry, hmmm . . . count your pencils at the end of each day children.
I have this fantastic Opportunity to do some blog PR for Baker’s Delight (hot cross buns), Esprit (children’s clothes) & Dunlop Volleys (baby shoes) – they all contacted me in the space of one week, yay!!  There will be giveaways folks.  
Hmmm, Understanding is the topic i could write the most about . . . like why our automatic car’s electrics blew just before i had hand surgery, it was the car I was going to drive during recovery, save me from changing gears manually.  Dumb things happen, that’s life.  Like my credit card seizing at the Country Road counter during the sale yesterday.  Deep breaths, I had cash.  I don’t stress about things i know i can’t control, like banks.  Why are people rude, mean, nasty – it’s their problem, not mine, i don’t let it flatten me, rather, fill myself up with happy thoughts of personal development (mine!!)
      
Meet me here on Sunday the 15^th of April to play along with your own AEIOU or just one particular letter might take your fancy.  Will you join in??  Have lovely weekends everyone, love Posie
 
Images courtesy of Esprit Children's Clothing, just bursting with life & positivity don't you think??  Not to mention gorgeous Winter fashion, i'm a HUGE fan & any excuse for cute baby faces.  Many Esprit clothing pieces lasted all 4 of my children, i wear their clothes & my husband loves their jeans.  I was not paid to say any of this, i just truly believe in the quality & style of this brand, for over 25 years of personal experience.  'tis all.

it's my birthday . . .

Greetings all,
Yippee, it's birthday time, not my blog, but ME!!  Having a blast, especially with my husband sending flowers on Valentine's Day & flying home for my birthday.  It's been a great week, month, year already!!  So what did i get (read: buy myself) . . .
a new day handbag (my night handbags don't see much action, they sleep safely in their Oroton dust bags).  I wanted something fun to replace my small Fossil green leather satchel, due for retirement.  I went to the regular Fossil store, didn't really see anything that suited me, so went to the outlet & picked up this beauty plus 2 new purses, all on sale.  I love it, it's small with excellent internal pockets & it's sweet how my children plait the tassels while i drive (or they suffer through another school meeting or information night). 

 I've always wanted a simple angular hat stand in the hall, can't believe my husband let me get this, as his dream is a full on mud room in our homestead plans . . . but this is fabulous & does the trick.

 I'm very easy to please, my love for Sheridan coloured bath towels lives on - can you believe one still exists from the original half dozen we bought when we got married!!  So when David Jones had 30% off Sheridan this week, we picked up these for the children's bathroom, so soft & fast drying!!  We chose gorgeous grey ones for our ensuite, slowly replacing the towels in the house.  I like rainbows for the children, matchy matchy for us.

 When handsome soldier was visiting we did a big lap of the Canberra Centre & i picked up this cute lantern, i am a bit of a lantern addict.

 My parents sent me Country Road vouchers for my birthday which i cleverly timed with my "spend $300 get $100 off" coupon, picked up a new anorak, maxi skirt & knit top.  Then headed to Trenery with my complimentary "Happy Birthday $30 voucher" & got this cute scarf for the $10 balance.  My husband bought me the camel coloured cape, how cute is a wool cape in Winter??

Darling Sindy (not her real name) sent me a Country Style subscription, love it, will put my feet up tonight & start reading, after i sign about 25 notes which i've dug up out of school bags!!  Thanks Sindy, it will be inspirational for our farm planning style.

 How happy does this blue tin jug make you feel??

 I've always loved flowers, fresh from the garden.  As a child i'd follow my English grandfather around, pruning & nurturing our garden on his visits to Australia.  He was a professional gardener at a huge estate house in Yorkshire, a very proud man indeed, but so willing to answer all my questions cheerfully & flick worms at me.  He would constantly look at the sky & say "look how blue it is, all that blue".   

 Finally, this is me, aged 36 & feeling pretty grown up.  I've never worried much about my age as the baby of my family, i've always felt youngish.  Well . . . until i walked into Esprit yesterday morning, looking for Tshirts for my daughter's year 7 camp.  The sales assistant burst out from behind me with a loud & ambitious "hello, can i help you" & i said "i'm just looking at extra small Tshirts for my eldest daughter".  She said "your daughter, i'm guessing, she's 20??"  OH YOU GUESSED WRONG SALES ASSISTANT!!  Of course my husband was in his own private hell, in a clothing store, sitting on the 'boyfriend chair' outside the change rooms & didn't hear it.  I thought, oh, i was feeling pretty hip today in my maxi skirt & cute cardigan, no, i look old enough to have adult children.  I did find a XS T, it was reduced from $40 to $12.45 so i took it & ran.  I told handsome soldier on the way out of the store & he laughed so hard i thought his head was going to explode.  

So i thought i'd come home & show the world that i really don't care, this is me, no make up, aged 36 & so long as my husband still thinks i'm beautiful, that's all i need!!  Judging from the fact my high schooler lets me get out of the car, hug & kiss her each morning & afternoon, i'm feeling pretty hip too.  Love Posie