Winter Time Wish List

I may not love Winter, but I sure do love Winter clothes and the relaxation that the season brings....

 

Each Winter I try not to go too overboard (because I have do have not one, but two wardrobes filled to the brim with clothes!). Instead I simply try to update my everyday Winter casual essentials each year - on a bit of a budget!

 

Here is what is on my wish list to buy invest in this year....

 

1. Long Sleeve Tees. These are an absolute must for me as I wear these day in, day out and all year round. Each Winter I tend to update with at least two to three new ones. I picked up this striped one from Cotton On during a recent promo they had (30% off) for $14.00 and it has quickly become a post baby favourite!

Try Dotti, Target or Big W who also have amazing quality tees at under $20 a pop.

 

Image Source and To Buy: Cotton On

 

2. Jeans. If you wear jeans daily or even weekly, then Winter is a great time to upgrade these everyday essentials.

 

I struggle big time to get a pair that fit well as my thighs tend to be on the 'generous' side. However this year I managed to snare the best ever pair of jeans from Big W!!! They were the Emmerson Brand, Skinny Leg style (which never, ever fit me!) and the best part was that they were only $9 and fit and look great.

 

I have seen a great range in Target and K-Mart this year too. I really don't think you need to spend a small fortune on jeans.

 

3. Scarf. I cannot let a Winter pass without adding a new scarf to my collection. This year I searched high and low to find the perfect Polka Dot scarf and found it at Portmans. On sale now for $14.95 it was too good to pass up, and I just know how much wear I will get out of it.

 

K- mart, Sussan and Witchery are also my favs when it comes to gorgeous prints and designs too.

 

Image Source and To Buy: Portmans

 

4. Cardi or Jumper. Wollens are absolutely essential here in Melbourne and I love Merino! I picked up this cardi at Portmans when they recently had a $20.00 off sale, but the regular price is $89.95.

 

I snared the marle grey colour, but it also comes in a range of stunning colours (the lavender is divine) that will see you through many a cold day in years to come.

 

I do love that the drapey style is very forgiving on the mum tum!

 

Witchery also do great woolens, but worth waiting til they do another 25% off (which they seem to do nearly every other week).

I am also loving the Knitwear in Dotti this year, great quality and even greater prices.

 

Image Source and To Buy: Portmans

 

5. Leggings/Ponte Pants. 3 Months post baby and this is a trend that I never thought I would embrace... but leggings or ponte pants are definitely the must have item of the season.

I purchased these amazing pants from one of my favourite stores - Coles! Yup that is right, these babies were from Coles' Mix Apparel and I absolutely love them teamed with my drapey or tunic tops to disguise the post baby body. They retail for $20.00, but I picked up for $14.00 during their recent 30% off days.

If you are not sure about this trend too, then these are a great way to test the waters without spending big bucks if it doesn't work for you.

I have seen some gorgeous varieties in Sussan for those who are a bit more confident that this look will work for them.

Image Source and To Buy: Mix Apparel

6. Relaxation. Winter truly is the time for relaxation and rejuvenation after a hectic and busy summer. The pace of weekends for us is much slower and much more focused on family. I love nothing more than rugging up in my winter woollies and hitting the road for a country drive. There is nothing nicer than a relaxing lunch in the country side, with an open fire and family by your side - bliss!

What is on your Winter Wish List this year?

This post is bought to you in conjunction with Land Rover, because let's face it, every good wish list should contain a luxury SUV!

{Sponsored Post}  

 

Treasures Nappies Review and Giveaway

If I could pick one word to describe my reaction to trialling the newest nappies to hit the market - Treasures Nappies - it would be nervous... You see I am a Huggies type of Mum, through and through. I have tried nearly every single brand on the market and the results are always the same - a messy disaster!

 

Never heard of Treasures Nappies? These nappies are the newbies in the Australian nappy scene, but have been a leading brand wrapped around babies bottoms in New Zealand for over 30 years - so that says something! In Australia you will find them at IGA stores.

 

Now that I have two in nappies, not only am I dead poor (why are nappies so expensive?!), I just don't have the time or the patience to mess around with brands that just don't work. Most days I feel like I am chained to that darn change table, so I don't want to make things any harder than they need to be with nappies that don't work. 

 

At 3 months old, I also have Miss C in a brilliant routine with her sleep (touch wood!) and we all know that a leaking nappy = grouchy Mum with a baby that wakes up overnight!

 

So how did they compare?

 

Well I must admit I was pleasantly surprised at how absorbent these nappies actually were.

 

The nappy is light and has a great design with plenty of elastic around the waist area and no gapping in the wrong spots like some other brands out there that I have tried.

 

These were comfy for both toddler and newborn alike and did not cause any irritation on the precious newborn skin of Miss C.

 

The design of the nappies is Hairy Maclary (super cute!) which Mr B loved, as he is an avid lover of the book series.

 

The outside of the nappy feels a bit more papery than Huggies, but this doesn't seem to affect the effectiveness in the least.

 

The big test was overnight and I was so pleased that when I woke up, no leaks, no wet bed and no disturbed sleep - winner in my books!!

Price wise at around $9.95 a pop, they are much friendlier on the wallet than the other 'big' brand out there. It is nice to actually make a saving on the grocery bill each week with a product that works.

Want to Try?!

 

Now for the exciting part - for one lucky Utterly Organised reader (Australia only), I have the chance to try these out for yourself. Treasures have kindly given me a super generous prize pack of 8 packs of nappies (in your choice of size) worth $74.00 to one very lucky reader. Gee imagine how nice your shopping bill would look for a change if you won!

 

To enter simply follow the Rafflecopter prompts and pop me a blog comment below with your best tip on getting your little ones to sleep right through the night (one can dream right?!).   You must also use the hashtag #SleepingTreasures in your comment below. Failure to do this will unfortunately result on your entry being invalid.

 

Please note that the conditions of entry are mandatory and all entries are screened via Rafflecopter to ensure that all entries are complete.

a Rafflecopter giveaway  

 

Good luck everyone!!

Easter at Our Place

I cannot believe that Easter is over and done with for another year. I already went a bit mad tonight and stripped the house of the decorations, all packed away for 2015 along with a few new ones that I nabbed in the Easter clearance sales over the weekend.

 

This was Miss C's first Easter and the third Easter for Mr B (who turned two in December). However this year is the first year that I think Mr B understood a little bit of what was going on. I guess the Easter Bunny is a little harder to explain to littlies, as you don't see him out and about like you do Santa at every local shopping centre!!

 

This year we put together Easter baskets for both Miss C and Mr B (using the Pottery Barn Kids baskets that I blogged about here) that looked like this:

 

Miss C received a Skip Hop Plate and Bowl Set (The Kidstore had the set on sale for $13.95), a Kate Finn Pony Rattle and a Mini Girl Bunny from Bed, Bath and Table (reduced to $3.50).

Mr B received Gumboots from Kidstore (on sale for $10.50, but silly mummy picked up the wrong size!), a Wiggles DVD (which has already been seen on repeat), a Peppa Pig Puppet Book, a Ball and a small Peter Rabbit Easter Egg.

 

Mummy didn't fare too badly either. The Easter Bunny didn't disappoint me with my annual Lindt Bunny (super impressed with the personalisation!) and Humpty Dumpty Egg fix - both of which are long gone (self control, chocolate and I just don't mix!).

 

I cannot stop eating chocolate but figure I have until Tuesday to worry about that diet... anyone else?!! Hope you all had a Happy Easter too x

Super Easy Honeycomb Ice Cream Slice Recipe

A few weeks ago I was on the lookout for a recipe to serve up to our friends that joined us for a night of take away at our place - I am definitely not ambitious enough to be cooking up a dinner party two months post baby!

 

These days I am lucky if I get 3 minutes to do anything without someone needing me for a feed, fresh nappy or to put the Wiggles on, so a super easy recipe it needed to be. I stumbled across this recipe with only 4 ingredients and very little preparation needed, so it looked like a winner!

 

One of my first jobs post university was at a well known ice cream manufacturers (true story). It was the best job and meant plenty (and I mean plenty) of free ice cream. To this day I am still a huge ice cream fan (Ben and Jerry's Fhish Food gets me every time!), so this slice was right up my alley and let's face it who doesn't love ice cream?!

 

Little Easter Note: If you have Easter Eggs laying about, you could forgo the honeycomb and crush up some of your Easter Eggs (caramel filled ones would be divine!). 

 

• 250g Malt Biscuits (I used Arnotts Malt O Milk
• 4 x 50g Violet Crumble or Crunchie Bars
• 600ml Thickened Cream
• 1 x 395g tin of Condensed Milk

1. Grease and line a lamington pan with baking paper (the original recipe calls for two pans, however I decided to use the one and make the slice a bit thicker)

 

2. Layer malt biscuits over the base of the prepared pan

 

3. With a Mixmaster, Kitchen Aid or Electric Beaters, whisk cream until soft peaks form

 

4. Pour condensed milk on top of cream mixture and continue to beat until firm

 

5. Crush 3 of the Honeycomb Bars and fold in to cream mixture (taking extreme care not to eat one!)

 

6. Pour cream mixture over the top of the biscuit base and smooth down. Crush remaining Honeycomb Bar and sprinkle over the top of the mixture

 

7. Pop in freezer until set (overnight is perfect if you can)

 

Sadly I forgot to take a photo once it was all cut up, but it was delicious!

 

I definitely recommend leaving out of the freezer for at least 5 minutes or more before serving, as I served mine immediately and it was a tad hard to get a spoon through.

 

Tried this recipe? Love to hear how you enjoyed it!

 

Extension Plans and a Look at our Kitchen Renovation

Well around here it has been all systems go for our extension plans. Drawings are finalised, documents submitted to council, finance sorted and finalising the costs and schedule with the builder this week - yikes. Now the waiting and real fun begins! Meanwhile I am just counting down the days til that walk in robe is mine...

 

After my last post, I had a lovely reader contact me asking me if I would share some of the past renovation projects that we have done over the years. Unfortunately not all of our past renos have been well documented via pics, but I do have a few sneaky peeks of our kitchen renovations.

 

 

Don't you just love the styling in the before pic - masking tape, rotten banana and a glass of water?!!

 

Our kitchen was done 6 years ago now and I still love it today. Which is amazing in itself because I tend to be the type of person that as soon as a project is complete, I am a little 'over' the colour scheme, the design or I have renovators remorse (please tell me I am not the only one here?!). But I am pleased to say that this has stood the test of time. Which I more than I can say for the range hood in this picture - it sadly kicked the bucket last week - note to self not to buy Fisher & Paykel appliances again!!

 

Any major renos happening or happened in your neck of the woods? I would love to hear all about it.

Kiinde Twist Starter Kit Giveaway

Well hello there! In case you missed it, earlier on in the week I popped up my review on the Kiinde Twist Starter Kit that I was send to road test.

 

Today it is your turn to nab a freebie, as I have one Kiinde Twist Starter Kit to give away to one of you lovely folk to try out for yourself.

 

If you have a friend or family member that is pregnant or already has a little one, be sure to send them this way as this prize is just the thing for all new or expecting Mum's!

 

 

Win a Kiinde Twist Starter Kit! RRP $79.95

 

Kiinde supplies the simplest range of products to collect, organise, store, prepare and feed breastmilk and is now available in Australia from select retailers and at www.kiinde.com.au

 

* Kiinde Twist Pouches are direct-pump breast milk storage bags that provide the toughness and leak-proof guarantee of a bottle combined with the low cost and compact size of disposable breast milk storage bags

 

* Pouches twist-lock into pumps from ALL major brands for leak-proof, transfer free pumping

 

* Collect, store and feed using the same puch

 

* No need to pour milk from bags to bottles

 

* Recycle after use - no dirty dishes!

 

* Leak-proof twist locking cap 

 

Entry is below via Rafflecopter and please note that this giveaway is only open to Australian residents this time (sorry!).

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck!

 

Kiinde Twist Starter Kit Review

Every once in a while you come across a product so brilliant that you just think to yourself - this is amazing, I should have thought of that! Well the Kiinde Twist Starter Kit is one of those products.

 

I was sent this product to try a few weeks ago, and it was darn good timing too! I was preparing to haul the breast pump out to try the little lady on a bottle, in readiness for a wedding that we went to over the weekend. I always find the whole expressing, pump, bottle scenario a tad tedious, so a product promising to simplify this was just up my alley.

 

So what is the Kiinde Twist Starter Kit you ask? Well in a nutshell it is breastmilk storage system designed to take the hard work out of collecting, storing, organising, preparing and feeding your breastmilk. Quite simply, they have developed a 'pouch' that is designed to twist on with most major breaspumps on the market. I have a Medela Swing Pump and it fits like a dream.

 

Instead of messing about with bottles, pouches and then bottles again, you simply hook the pouch up to your pump, express away and then pop in to your organising unit in the fridge or freezer. When it comes time to use up your milk, there is no need to mess about pouring back in to bottles. No, no. All you need to do is simply snap the pouch directly on to their specially made feeding bottles and away you go - simple!

 

This unit would be brilliant for those that express regularly, or have returned back to work but continue to express to feed their little ones while away. This product is new here is Australia and you can check it out at these retailers across the country.

 

Like to try? Well you are in luck as I have one Kiinde Twist Stater Kit valued at $79.95 for one lucky reader to try out for theselves. Stay tuned to the blog this week...

 

What baby or toddler products could you not live without? I absolutely love my Medela Swing Pump, my baby swing and the Wiggles DVD's are a real saviour at the moment!!!