Happy Easter everyone!

Yep, I’m still here. It’s been hard not to be impatient and I’m actually really glad for the Easter break because it means that Evs will be home for FOUR days and he can entertain me. Well, at the very least distract me. I have been getting Braxton-Hicks  contractions all morning, but that means nothing. Could still be days and my due date is still a few days away.

We don’t have much plans for this weekend, aiming to try and stay close to home (or the hospital!) as much as we can and so it’s going to be a local affair. Maybe brunch out at a cafe over the weekend, some last minute shopping but mainly just relaxing and trying to get as much sleep as we can before this baby comes. My Mum has forbidden me to go into labour on Saturday because they have a wedding to go to. Yep, sure Mum – I’ll pass that onto the baby

It’s insane to think in about a week’s time, we will be parents.

PARENTS.

Anyways, baby-talk aside – I hope that wherever you are, you get to spend some time with your loved ones as well. And, of course, indulge in a little chocolate. Whether that’s a Lindt Gold Bunny (Evs’ tradition – ever since we have been together, each year he gets me a Gold Lindt bunny. This year, it was gone within the day. Took me much of the day, but it was gone.), or some raw, dark chocolate (I bought a bar of Loving Earth’s raw choc-mint flavour – like a fudgy after-dinner mint).

And if you get the chance to sit and have a moment to yourself, here are some links to read this weekend:

• Um, as of July 1 2013, Google Reader is shutting down! I have already made the move to Feedly (love it!), but here’s a post to help you get sorted for the move.

• My gorgeous friend Lesh contributed a moving post to one of my favourite blogs, Tiny Buddha about the way she dealt with life when it didn’t quite go to plan. I loved it because it was so relatable in any context and amazing to see how she has squared her shoulders, lifted her head and just lived life even when seemingly it felt out of control.

• So, if you’re wondering how to not go too far with the chocolate overload this Easter, or even wanting a healthier version of your favourite choc dishes – perhaps this tahini and chocolate mousse recipe will hit the spot. Yep, I just said tahini and chocolate mousse in the same sentence. Also contains avocado

• Maybe I’m just hormonal, but Melissa’s posts at Dear Baby always get me going. This letter to her daughter, Everly, summed up everything I hope for my own child – the fear and the anticipation, the proud moments of watching them thrive and turn into their own person.

• An inspiring tale of two young men who decided to live a month of their lives on the income of an average poor person in India. I can see how that would be a life-changing experience.

• More sugar-free tips to get through Easter by Sarah Wilson. Hint – it still involves chocolate.

• I am no fashionista and always struggle to figure out what exactly are the essentials I should have in my wardrobe – for any occasion. I was racking my brains and then I remembered this post that listed it out for me.

I’m around on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook this weekend, so hop on over to say hi!

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Hey folks! It’s the weekend again! Not that it really matters for me – the days also have melted into one. BUT, I can still be excited because it does mean that Evs is home for the next two days and he can help alleviate some of my boredom free time.

I am plodding along and literally waiting for baby to arrive. My due date is in about a week (Easter Monday in fact), so every post could be my LAST. Duh duh DUH.

(Yep, I like to be dramatic somewhat).

Despite my lack of internet, I have painstakingly gathered some links that I have read over the last week and that caught my eye. I hope you enjoy them too!

• For those people who aren’t really into heavy breakfasts – typically with either some sort of grain or bread – Maria over at Econest has some ideas to switch it up without getting all blah. Bonus – sugar-free as well.

• I was looking at this list and thinking I should have known half of these things while I was in my corporate job. A great post for any professional woman with career tips from the most successful women in the world. My favourite – “Forget the ladder, climb the jungle gym”.

• A beautiful post that reminds me that everyone’s love language is different. So Evs might not be a classically romantic guy, but he shows love in a different way.

• I am really, really wishing I could go along to this – but alas small thing called a baby will be here. Melbourne peeps – if you are free – I’d highly recommend it. These girls are amazing.

• So true. And I’m making the change. A bang-on post from Thought Catalog on 15 signs you need to make a serious change in your life.

• With Winter coming upon us (and thus the shorter days and lack of natural light!) and the urge to take better photos (it’s half the reason I don’t post many recipes – Instagram can only do so much lol) – I’m considering building my own light box. Here’s a great tutorial on how to DIY one of your own.

• Did you hear about Lululemon’s recall on their new line of yoga pants because they were too sheer?? Jimmy Kimmel give us his (hilarious) opinion on it through this video about the yoga pant shortage.

Also, given my sporadic blogging – for the first baby news you’re more likely to catch me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

Happy weekend guys!

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It’s been two weeks into my maternity leave and I have mixed feelings about all this time I have. Prior to leave, I was in a constant state of “I don’t have enough TIME!!” and felt like my brain was going to explode with all the things that I needed to get done and seemingly couldn’t in the 24 hour slot I had been given. Now that for the first time in about five years where I don’t actually have anything holding me back….mixed feelings.

Don’t get me wrong – I relished the days of freedom at the start – sleeping in until my heart desired (which really wasn’t very much because my infernal body clock still got me up around the same time!), reading, taking my time with tasks and much-needed naps in the afternoon. I started b-school, which has been my saviour because it keeps me focused on something and I’m finding that it is kicking my ass. I have to try and not let my procrastination tendencies get the better of me when things get hard and just push through it.

Being without internet for the last couple of weeks has been an interesting exercise in itself – I use my phone a lot more to check what is happening, which increasingly frustrates me because of the tiny screen. There is suddenly more time in the day and evenings where I am not glued to some sort of smart device or the internet. Evs and I have been making the most of it by being old folk and retiring to bed early to sit and read.

Blogging has taken a bit of a backseat, because, well right now, I don’t feel like life is interesting enough to blog about. You really don’t want to know that I had two bowls of cereal for breakfast, read a book on the couch with some raspberry leaf tea while the rain poured down, or that you would think my house would be spotless, but I’m still selective about the things I do.

I have a hundred and one topics that I DO want to write about though – some pregnancy related, some not and I’m making a list as we speak to get that mojo going again. But, part of me is ok with that as well.

As the days grow closer to my due date, I find that the time, the quietness, is in fact what I need. I often go into the garden with my cup of coffee, let the dogs into that part of the yard (they get excited because they know it’s a treat for them to be on the “good” side) and just look out onto the street. My neighbourhood, for the most part is quiet – the occasional dog-walker that gets the boys hyper and end with me threatening to put them into the garage unless they behave, door-slams of cars nearby as people return from errands, the high-pitched squeals of young kids in their backyard.

Melbourne, in its finicky way, is still holding onto the remnants of summer, but has begrudgingly started to cool down with the first signs of autumn starting to show. They are the signs of change and it makes me excited and nervous to think that in a mere week or so, my life will be never be the same.

This baby – I feel like I KNOW it already. That when I see him or her – it’s going to be “Oh hey there – remember me?”.

I know that he/she has a particular love for grapes and shows it by kicking up a storm every time I have some. I like to do that deliberately to see my belly move. I know that she/he doesn’t like it when I sleep on a certain side and only settles down on one. I know that if I drink water too fast, he/she gets the hiccups. I know that each movement is a way of saying hello – whether it’s a flurry of hands or a slow sticking out of his/her bum.

My body is as stretched as it can be, with faint marks on the lower part of my belly and I look at them with mild curiosity. At the start of my pregnancy I would have panicked to see stretch marks, but at this point, I frankly don’t care. They are to me, as many women have claimed them before me, mementos of the last almost 40 weeks I have carried this baby into creation.

I feel a strong sense of connection to my femininity as the days go by. My body feels strong and my mind is calm.

I have insomnia – perhaps pregnancy induced or maybe due to the way the days have already melded into one long, constant period – only distinguished by the sun rising and setting each day. I google “early labour signs” in the dark as Evs slumbers next to me and read while the whir of the fan cools my overheating body. I am on the lookout for any other changes, and seriously wish to get this thing started. I am looking forward in a way about the impending labour – that doesn’t worry me. It’s the what comes after, that I am terrified of.

I actually have to look after a human being.

And – irrationally – what if the baby doesn’t like me??

This has been a jumbled post I know, but it’s part of my commitment to go back to my old style of blogging – personal, uninhibited, honest. I am still going to have my health stuff here until I get the new one sorted, but it’ll be a mish-mash of everything until I do.

I hope you stick around

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Happy weekend friends!

It feels like it’s been a while since I have a done a weekend post, and I blame…well….there’s a few things to blame, but I won’t go there. Because it is the weekend and that deserves happy thoughts! I have officially started my maternity leave so for the first time in a very long time, I have endless days in front of me (well as endless up until the point baby decides to make an appearance!) with nothing to do and nothing to think about. The last time I felt this way was when I finished my university degree and hadn’t started my first job – those few months in between were glorious and so full of possibility and TIME.

The heat has been relentless over the last week or so with temperatures way above what is considered decent for Autumn, and only in the last day or so have I been able to get some relief from the weather.

So what am I doing with my time?? Good question.

Well, because Evs has always said that I’m quite insane – I signed up to Marie Forleo’s b-school that started on Tuesday. She is insane, she is hilarious and no-nonsense and I feel like I have learnt so much in the mere days I have started this course. It was a huge investment on my part, both financially and given I don’t actually have a business yet – but I have an idea, actually two, and that means a lot of change for me in the coming year.

What does that mean for this blog??

Nothing much really – but, what it will be is that I am going to keep this space as a space for me – to write. To share my life and ramblings, to not try and fit every passion of mine into one little box. As I inch closer to having my world completely turned upside down, I need a place that I€ can come to and just pour my heart out. I had stopped that with my old blog, fearful I had given away too much of myself, but you know what – it was HONEST. It wasn’t always positive but it was REAL.

I like to think I have grown since that time, and I will keep this place a positive and safe one for me. I will be sharing what’s on my mind, motherhood, marriage, my daily life and of course – these weekend links.

What I am then going to do is sometime in the near future (not sure when yet, perhaps once I have slightly gotten over the sleep deprivation-survival stage of parenthood) is launch my new site that will primarily focus on everything health and wellbeing. This passion of mine, I think is too big for this blog and it deserves its own place in the internet. I am going to be gentle on myself and take it very slow – these are all ideas, but the spark has been ignited and I’m surrounded by people with similar passions and drive that I am going to make this work.

So….that’s my plan. And once the new site is up and running, I’ll let y’all know.

Onto this weekend’s reading!

• There’s something else that I’ve been counting down the days to and that’s happening on March 31. C’mon people – Game of Thrones Season 3!! And to gear up for it, Thought Catalog found a video that takes us back to the time of the mid-90’s when Xena and Hercules ruled and did a trailer for Game Of Thrones in the same style. Oh you know you would have watched it back then as well.

• Interesting piece shared through a friend on Facebook about a guy who changed his name after he got married and the surprising reactions to that.

• When it comes to trips, I find myself becoming a bit of a frantic planner – I NEED to have some things certain and planned. Evs, surprisingly, while he is the most OCD organised person there is in every other aspect of life – actually likes to go with the flow. What are you? What about your partner/travel buddy?

• “Shadow careers… (are) things we do that are not our true calling. We get a lot of certainty out of our shadow careers, but not true fulfilment. Imagine the artist who chose the corporate route instead. Or the writer who chose to be an attorney. Or the healer who chose to become an insurance agent. Or the entrepreneur who took the 9 to 5 because it was a more certain path. The shadow career is a false expression of who we really are”I read this post from the lovely Connie Chapman (*fist bump* last name share!) and it really resonated with me. I feel like that it could have been written directly to me and I’ve taken the first steps to move out of mine and the world’s shadow.

• Um, YUM. I want to make these Quinoa, Goat’s cheese and roast vegetable frittatas. Like NOW. If you don’t have quinoa, substitute brown rice instead.

• I have bookmarked this post because it will be PERFECT for the baby’s nursery. Such a simple DIY, it looks great for parties as well.

• I was actually going to try this if baby was showing no sign of coming after my due date. There IS actually a scientific reason to why this has been suggested in the first place but this hilarious article made me laugh out loud (because I’m uncomfortable and pregnant and willing to try anything to get baby out).

Ok questions – what would you, dear reader, like to see more on this blog? Happy that I’ll be sharing MORE of my brain-farts with you? Will you check out my health blog when it gets launched??

Happy weekend!! xx

The biggest challenge of this pregnancy (besides the lack of wine and the insane heat!) has been finding clothes to wear that a) fit and b) actually look okay. I’ve been primarily subsisting on my pre-pregnancy skinny black jeans which transitioned to fitting, to being held together with a hair-tie to finally being used with a belly belt (and extender for your buttons). That doesn’t mean I’m not in constant fear that my fly is undone.

In this heat (seriously Summer, I love you, but I’m over it!), my at-home uniform consists of mismatched shorts and whatever shirt I can find that fits over my belly. Bra is optional these days.

So, when Elena from DCinstyle contacted me (through Instagram!!) about being part of her maternity style collaboration series, I jumped at the chance to see if I could pull off something that would be fit to be seen in public at this late stage of pregnancy. Elena is a talented artist and has been rocking some amazing maternity style throughout her pregnancy. And I have to be honest, what I really wanted was an awesome picture of me done by her.

How cute is this??!!

OMG – her cat reminds me of Mad Cat from Inspector Gadget. So cute!

Check out Elena’s blog for more of her fabulous look!

I struggled a little bit to find something in my wardrobe that I fit into at 37 weeks pregnant, but I found this non-maternity dress at the back of my closet (thank god for stretch!!) and even managed to pull on some heels for the photos.

Can you tell I want baby to come NOW?

I am no fashion blogger and Evs got tired of asking me to try and not look like the Joker when smiling. So this is what you get. Excuse the tired face – it was still 37 degrees at that point in evening and I was hungry.

What a fun exercise and it did well to pull me out of my rut. Wishing you all the best Elena for the rest of your pregnancy! xx