The Marvel of Cavalia:: Review

 

It's not every day you get to marvel. In fact, I think as you get older, and as life gets trickier and seemingly faster, you lose the ability to marvel as a child does.To be transported back to childlike place, where you sit gaping in awe and marvelling at how incredible life is. It's a good place to be. 

This week I was so very lucky enough to be invited to see Cavalia.

The best word I can think of to describe it is marvellous. I cheered, I clapped, I cried. It was that beautiful. I marvelled.

Not only the creativity and sheer skill, but relationship between horse and rider - it was tangible. You could see the mutual adoration. On top of that, the strength. I sat there, my jaw dropped, transfixed. And then add that these adults have shunned the perpetuated norms of society, and run away and joined the circus. What artful joy! I never wanted it to end.

It felt like a dream - and I am so grateful for having it. 

Could Cavalia have invoked an epiphany for me? Gosh, I hope so.

Last night I felt like I was in The Princess Bride. And Willow. And Lord of the Rings. It is that magical. 

The show sweeps you off your feet and into another world. I never want to come back.
 
We were treated to a behind-the-scenes tour of the stables. Now I want a pony. And a farm. And to get the heck out of Sydney and live a horsey life riding bareback and doing stunts - that's the life for me!

If you can - go see it. For the sheer dream fuel. For the beauty. And for me, to inspire me to exercise more so I can do a hand stand, on a horse, cantering.

You'll like it: If you want your breath taken away - to be transfixed by the sheer beauty of our equine friends, and the art, grace and humour of the performers.

When? Now until June 16

Book your tickets to Cavalia Sydney here and you can get 10% off ticket price by using the code: CAVALIASYD

Disclosure: I attended the show as a guest of Cavalia. I had no obligation to blog about it. BUT I loved it so freaking much I had to tell you about it.  I will only tell you about products/experiences that I genuinely love. Honesty is after all the best policy. I went, I loved it, I wanted to share.

Hooked. On Exercise.

I know. You read it right. I am completely hooked on exercise. I have rarely ever been so excited to get out there, but there you have it.

I am so hooked on exercise that I've started waking up before my alarm goes off.

I am so hooked on exercise that it's started infiltrating my dreams.

I dreamt my sister had exercise gear on sale (neither of my sisters are sportswear retailers?!) - and that besides flicking through a rack full of size 10s (RATS!) - I found a pair of exercise tights that were made from the most magnificent fish scale looking fabric. Rainbow fish scale looking fabric.They reminded me of the Rainbow Fish book (pictured). Immediately I grabbed them. And started inventing excuses to exercise just so I could wear them. (They were kind of like these, but more purple. And they could breathe).

My usual exercise gear entails a pair of black Target leggings and one of Matt's tees.

But these fish-scale tights. My oh my.

I woke up totally enthralled and told Matt we just had to go looking for them.

Of course we never found them.

But if you spy some fish-scale tights, please do let me know. Apparently they are the magic key to me continuing on my love affair with breaking out a sweat.

I Bags Books

I need a new handbag. Mine have either:

1. Been eaten by the rabbit, and have no more straps due to large teeth
2. Somehow managed to get rips which makes me look like a hobo
3. Look about a million years old. Which they are.

What the heck am I going to do about it? I've been virtually shopping. That's what the heck I am going to do about it.

Jerome Dreyfuss from Off the Runway

This is the only one I have found that I like. HELP ME! (Well actually, the Universe already helped me because it's sold out - not that I was about to hop off and buy it, but by golly, I'd like to).

Do you have a secret handbag den that I should know about? A handbag providore that you want to share?

Winners of the Beanstalk Books are: 6, 33, 34, 23, 2. (Lis, Mama Bear, Megan, Lilliboo, Sam). Can you email me your postal addresses and your books will be posted out to you! Thanks to everyone for entering!

Oh Sheet.

A quick update for anyone interested (Mum, hi!), we've put Tiny back into the cot as we've been hit with a lurgy that's making anything new abysmally difficult and woeful. I might even have a case of man flu. And I'm not even a man. Making it worse was Tiny night-waking, which is still occuring because she is so congested and just keeps saying 'nose, nose nose' while rubbing snot everywhere. It's days like these I wish I had a job to go to. Oh I do. As a mother to two children.

In my days as a Mum I can fill my time with all sorts of important stuff. Like picking up Lego. Like picking up nappies that have been tossed aside by the likes of Tiny. Like folding endless piles of washing. Like avoiding the ironing pile until it topples over and the smalls have to cross it like a small creek of crumpled clothes. Like I said, important.

As a distraction I've cast my mind on ways to keep Tiny in her bed - when she's actually in her bed. Inciting the excita-bugs. I cast my web out to the network that is the interwebs, googling 'til the cows came home. And when they didn't return, I cast out my call out to my Twitter pals who totally came to the rescue when it comes to ridiculously cool linen for a bed with cred.

Here are some of my favourites.

Castle Bedlinen: Holy smokes - I love hotel grade bedlinen, and I love yellow, and I love spots. This combines all three. That hand-printed cuff is divine to the power of divine.

Rosenberg single quilt set from Kido Store

Rosenberg single quilt set from Kido StoreBoodalee duvet & pillow set - City from Kido Store (I adore this print, so cool)

Jacob & Bonomi Lil' Apple Cot set

Tree of Life single quilt set from Jacob & Bonomi

I want this on my bed - so cute! Dwell Studio 'Gio Lemon' Duvet set

Who wouldn't want Dwell Studio's 'Dots Chocolate' duvet set (am setting myself up for chocolate dreams, baby!)

This is such an awesome idea - a waterproof fitted single bed sheet made from silky Australian Tencel fabric - mattress protector and sheet all-in-one. That is an awesome idea - don't you think? Especially in the middle of the night when you need to strip beds, why not make it all one thing! GENIUS! From Ecobabe and also available in white and blossom pink.
And Australian designed Kideko's Sunshine bed set. Bright and YELLOW! Me likey.

WHY Yacht? Why Not?

Ahoy land lovers! I'm ready to set sailing in this beauty. I am so overdue for a holiday and this looks like just the ticket.

The WHY Yacht (Wally Hermes Yacht) is the realisation of 'everyone's dream to live on an island, in complete freedom'. I'm not going to question whether it's really my dream to live on an island - I'll just take it.

I've donned my sea legs and I'm ready to go. Wally, can you hear me? I am available to holiday with you. Now. Right now Wally. Ready. Waiting. Which jetty shall I dangle my legs over waiting for you?

Click over here for more dream fodder.

image via

Mama Punishes Herself

Sometimes I wonder about myself. I really do. I see Tiny doing something she really shouldn't be. But I think, oh well, she's having a great time, I'll let her go. And then I wind up picking up hundreds - maybe even thousands of these bead things from all over the ground (let's just say that life got a whole lot more colourful after these shots were taken). What's that saying about making a rod for my own back...? Next time I will not let Tiny get unruly with the beads. Next time I will hide the beads and not let her go crazy with the beads. Reminds me of this.. Yes. History does repeat itself.

But it's pretty.. And it reminded me of a weird dream I had last night of a rainbow that had grey hearts punched out of it. Weird. Yes.

Sorry for the dull nature of my photies. It's grey here. And I have no control over the sunshine.

I Don't Get Out Much

I used to spend a lot of spare time at the movies. In particular I loved going to the cinema by myself. No one to interrupt. No one to rustle chip packets. No one sobbing uncontrollably asking for some tissues.

If I owned my own cinema I would have a number of rules to ensure it was a good experience for all movie-goers:

1. No noisy packets of anything
2. No crunchy food (particularly not consumed by those who like to eat with their mouths open)
3. No slurpy beverages
4. No canoodling
5. No mid-movie conversations
6. No tall people sitting in front of short people
7. No people sitting too close to one another
8. Extra arm rests so there's no awkward tussle over who gets to rest their elbows
9. No one with hacking coughs, incessant sneezing or sniffles (these people would be confined to the 'Cone of Silence' - see rule 11b)
10. No one dressed in anything that smells like moth balls
11a. No one to move seats once the movie has started (this includes movie trailers)
11b. Anyone who wishes to 'talk storylines' mid-movie must be confined to the cone of silence which is a sound-proof room with minimal seating

These days, I'm bringing the cinema-at-home back. I'm not talking flat screens. Heck no.

I'm telling you, I am well versed in DVDs. I love a good DVD.

My latest and greatest picks are:

The Wackness



Man on Wire




And Burn After Reading. A Coen Brothers film, Brad Pitt looks ridiculously silly with a slimey, sweaty mo. George Clooney is just plain silly. And funny. Have I ever told you how much I love Frances McDormand?



Here ends my movie session for the day. Goodbye.

Magical March: Day 24

(I may have missed some 'magical' days, let's just pretend you didn't notice, awright?!)

It doesn't even feel Autumnal at the moment, in fact, it's kinda hot. But in a nice way, not in a stifling, dangerous way. It's cool enough to sometimes wear a cardi, but warm enough to enjoy that slight Autumn breeze slow dancing in on the coat-tails of Summer.

So I've gone AWOL a few days. Sorry 'bout that. I am sure you've been checking your email every hour on the hour wondering just where is PottyMouthMama, so inspiring, witty and creative are my posts (ahem). Slamming down your cup-of-cino (am I alone when I say, I can't stand when people say cup-of-cino?!) and thinking, damn girl, get your freak on and get back to blogging. Well here I am.

Having spent the last six days daydreaming of holidays, of someone else cooking me dinner (yes Hoppo Bumpo, I hear you loud and clear), losing time in book stores, looking for shoes in apparently all the wrong places (hello, has anyone ever heard of a woman with a size 12+ foot? Apparently not. Nope no shoes for me. Just thongs and sneakers. Hot. Uber hot.) and going on yet another date with my husband, I am back friends. Back!

And for you today, a little bitta eye candy. More doilies. It's doil-rific! Sitting in the sun enjoying their new life with moi. Ain't life grand?

This Is...What I Want To Be When I Grow Up

I'm very late - apologies to Cindy at Bugandpop for my tardiness. This is such a great theme, and I can go so many ways. Many, many ways. I have had many dream vocations, and still to this day do covet one or two careers (if it's possible to covet a career?!).

When I was really small I dreamt of being a teacher. That fizzled out.

Then I really, really wanted to become a lawyer. I dreamt about this. I thought about all the crooks I would throw in the clink (this must also tie into my completely nerdy CSI obsession).

Then someone told me it was six years at uni - and that was that dream career's undoing. Kaput.

In high school I wanted to become an actress. But the careers advisor told me I wouldn't make any money (thanks for the confidence in my acting skills, I don't see Cate Blanchett starving). Another careers advisor made us do these computer surveys to find out which jobs would suit best. You'll never guess what mine came back with. A funeral director. Huh? Yes. A funeral director. Hmm, no thanks. For one thing, I don't dig on hanging out with dead people. For the other thing, those people are wearing bad suits and are on a first name basis with baby's breath. I don't do suits and bad flowers are just bad.

I also badly wanted to be one of the hosts on Playschool (John and Benita were always my favourites). My Mum is so good she even rang up to find out if I could do work experience, but alas, apparently there's a massive waiting list. And then some. I still have this fantasy.

So this brings me to the now. I've probably left out a bazillion dream careers in between.

Right now I am dreaming of becoming:

- a bookshop owner

- a forensic agent (though, I don't want to hang out with dead people, so this rules this one out)

- the best mama I can possibly be

- and this is the big one, that I haven't really shared with anyone because it's my little dream - a midwife.

I had two beautiful, memorable births. I am amazed by the female body and all that it can do. It's a splendid thing. I wish everyone could have such wonderful experiences I have been lucky enough to have.

In a few years when my babes are a bit older I am going to apply to UTS where you can study midwifery without doing nursing. Genius. Then I could be Pottymouthmidwife. How's that?

And if I can't be a midwife, then I'd love to write children's books. Maybe.

Failing that, I may have to become a funeral director. Look out for me in a hearse near you.

Thanks to Bugandpop for outing my dream job of what I want to be when I grow up.

Six Things That Make Me Happy! Booyar!

In a funny turn of events Ethel Loves Fred and Pip of Meet Me At Mikes fame have tagged me to nominate six things that make me happy. If only this list wasn't restricted to six things, otherwise I could bang on and on about happy things, or even just things that elicit a small smile. But it's just six things (or do I get twelve because I got tagged twice?), ok ok, so brevity it is.. Here goes:

1. Music! Today - The Frames. I am a huge Glen Hansard fan. I was introduced to The Frames by a good Irish friend of mine (tanks for the intro Sheilsy, and top of the morning to you). We saw them play in London. It was brilliant. I continue enjoying their music, and rediscovering old songs - especially 'What Happens When the Heart Just Stops'. Enjoy it. Hansard has also formed The Swell Season with Marketa Irglova - beautiful..
2. Beautiful vintage finds.. I love the idea that something has been pre-loved, and continues its life with a new family..
3. Getting my groove back.. I always stumble a bit after having a baby (always being twice), but seven months later, I'm rediscovering my style again.. Big yipeeee! Let's call it, 'When Lexi Got Her Groove Back'. You know what time it is???
4. My family. Watching my little man learn - I love spying on him playing, it's such a nice stolen moment, and having funny conversations with him.. Listening to my little babe warble like a baby birdie in her cot.. My husband. Mmm. I'll stop now before I start going into Oscars speech territory.
5. Dreaming.. Of moving to the country. Of our own little house. Of being a rockstar (hey, a gal can dream, can't she??).. Of what lies ahead... So exciting!
6. Patterns and new flowers. I am not a green thumb by any means. But my orchid has just birthed three flowers, with another new one in bud.. I love looking at the sky through the pattern of mishappen magnolia branches all pointing to the blue. And my little garden is on the verge of blooming, whenever I go and look, it just excites me.. And a surprise, some ranunculus that were bestowed on me from my grandmother's house have started blooming.. Three white ones - that was a beautiful happy surprise - and one that greets me when I come and go from our front door.

I won't tag anyone, not for lack of want, but because I am being too lazy.. But if you feel like you want to play - be out and proud, tell us what six things make you happy.

Thanks Pip-a-rooski and Claire for tagging me!

This Is...

Merry go round

Originally uploaded by thedrjazz

This is what makes me happy.. Thanks to One Little Acorn for this week's brilliant theme.

Things that make me happy change from day to day.. So here goes:

- my babies - small hands, watching their personalities unfurl, learning each day, ah sweet beauty!

- my husband - we stumbled upon each other in a beautiful chance encounter, I could never get tired of looking into those eyes *sigh*

- my family - there's nothing better than family, to keep you grounded, to confide with, to laugh with, to celebrate with

- daydreaming - losing my time dreaming a little dream, big dreams, of merry-go-rounds, life in the country, berry-picking, long summer days eating mangoes and walking barefoot in the grass, lazy Sunday afternoons, the smell of wisteria riding on spring-warm air

- fresh bed linen, beautiful vintage finds, big belly laughs, dancing around to Prince or Michael Jackson...

- baking, and the eating of afterwards... Mmm.

- holidays - who doesn't love the excitement of a pending holiday

Thanks to Angela for hosting This Is...

The Master Bedroom

The Master Bedroom

Originally uploaded by (Erik)

I'm sure everyone has a 'dream bedroom'.

In mine, we have a sprawling bed and a bedhead with a story to tell. A pale pink silk duvet (my grandmother had one filled with feathers - such a romantic memory), vintage floral sheets (or paisley), an old gypsy style shawl on the foot of our bed for night feeds, piles of cushions, rustic nightlights. Big old rugs adorn the floor, photos of our beloveds on a mantelpiece above a disused fireplace, alongside old vases sprouting with peonies and dahlias, petals falling to the floor, and the room rich with the scent. A big old bookshelf houses our favourite night-time reads.

And curtains that block out the light so that little people don't think that at 5:40am it's time to wake up.

A Week of Pillowcases..

Sweet pillowcases, take me to sleep and off to dream.

Kootoyoo is hosting a week of beautiful pillowcases over at Pip's.

These ones were from some random thrifting around the traps. They're in great condition, I've not actually used them because.. Well to be honest, I forgot I had a whole stash of pillowcases, and just found them last night! It was like stumbling across Aladdin's cave..

These are also from the same stash.. A real delight to go through them all again. The vague smell of mothballs. Hmmm. These ones are a bit more loved, the lilac in particular. The threads are softened almost to disintegration.

Re-discovering these beauties was like re-living the quiet thrill of thrifting. My own dialogue running in my head, wondering who used to sleep on them, what those people dreamt of, whether they had breakfast in bed, if they listened to the bird songs in the morning, watched the sun spread across the patch of lawn at the back... Whether they had children that crawled all over them in the early hours, as an unsaid good morning. Small bodies wedged between theirs and their lovers. That's what I wonder.