Date night = great night

 images: Joe Frost's current exhibition at Watters Gallery 

My Mum has been down helping with the kids while the school holidays are on.

It's been such a huge help - she cooks, cleans, entertains, declutters, gardens, weeds, and so much more. It's so nice coming home to my Mum.

And as a bonus - Matt and I have been able to go on a couple of date nights together. SCORE!

The first date was to see Taken3.  And then a really below par, horrible meal at Miss Chu that made me feel cross.

The second date was last night - an art exhibition opening, followed by dinner at iconic low-brow Bill  & Toni's. And it was awesome. No expectations, just hanging out looking at art, and then a quick and cheap meal together, chatting. It was gold. 

Now I'm thinking we need to have at least one date a month for the year. I know this is a great thing for our relationship, so we gotta aim high! 

So my ingredients for a most excellent date night are?

- an activity that gives you something to talk about: an exhibition is ace, a movie is great, or even just people watching
- follow it up with dinner/coffee/something so you can sit and chat about what you've seen
- I am a cheap date. I like simple things, and fancy things are not for me. My favourite meal out would be an awesome burger. And a beer. And plenty of conversation. And then maybe a gelato. 

I asked some friends what their secrets to a good date are:

1. 'A dude.'

2. '500gm personality
450gm attraction
Add a sprinkle of class, chivalry and a touch of humour... 
Stir well with great location...
Garnish with a couple of cocktails...
Then leave for 2-3 days to settle...
However you'll know well before that if the recipe worked...'

3. 'Mojitos.' 

4. 'Dont be a tightass.'

5. 'A: Free Babysitting with no end time B: Actually that's about it.'

6. 'A good bottle of wine, dinner out, no dishes, no children and no time limits... I'm also totally in to dumplings, beer and a movie!'

7. 'To have a date in the first place hahaha...'



What's your secret to a great date? 

Renewing Our Vowels

Holy toledo. No one ever told me that marriage was so difficult. 

There now. Someone's said it. It might as well be me. 

Hardest thing I've ever done. But also one of life's most rewarding.

Today we're celebrating our seventh wedding anniversary. I don't know how we got here, but we did. Go us! And without even an itch.

Who knew seven years could fly past so quickly? 

Happy Anniversary lover - I'm so glad we're stuck together. (And sorry I lost your card. I put it somewhere *special* - and now can't remember where that place is. I will find it!)

Wedding Bells: Echoing Six Years Later

Matt and I are celebrating our sixth wedding anniversary today. Those six years have passed by in a flash. I might sound like some old fogie, but seriously, as you get older, time seems to travel at such ridiculous pace. I can barely keep up.

Tonight we've booked a babysitter and we're heading out for a low-key pizza and beer. Well Matt doesn't know that yet, because he's at work, but that's where my head is at. That's the kind of evening I want to have. Low-key. Low-maintenance.

I bought myself some sweet peas and roses at the markets to celebrate. It's all about low-maintenance. Uh huh.

On Bended Knee

Tiny proposed to me today. She said: "Mama, will you marry me?"

I turned around, there she was, gumboots and all, on bended knee.

She's so romantic.

For The Record, I'm Happy For Them Too

This morning I was standing at the bus stop waiting for my bus. Waiting a little more. And then some more. So my good run of public transport was over. One day of awesomeness - and then boom!

Then I spoke to my Mum and one of the first things she asked was what I thought of William and Kate. I wracked my brain thinking - sheesh, I have to think fast, who is William and Kate in our family? Am I related to William and Kate? I was drawing blanks. Then I realised she was talking about Prince William and Kate Middleton.

Just for the record, I'm stoked that they're engaged. They seem to be a beautiful couple. I hope they enjoy a beautiful life together. They just look so happy together. SO happy. I love the love people!

I do.

Signing off,
Your Royal Correspondent
Princess PottyMouthMama

Today I Am Ridiculously Excited!

Gather 'round friends, everybody get close, listen up, I want to yell something out. From the rooftops, into everyone's chimneys, sneak up behind people, I have something to share.

We are moving house next week.

Right at this moment I am feeling so giddy with excitement. I have butterflies fluttering about in my stomach. I can't stop thinking about where everything's going to go (and fit) in our new digs.

And it doesn't really matter, because for the very first time in our marriage, in our history as parents, we're going to have our very own home to call our own.

This is big peeps. I feel so damn excited.

This may or not be the house. If it's not, I am ok, it's probably really dusty and the lawnmowing would take us weeks. Here ends today's blog post.

This Is...What I'm Surprised I Like

When Victoria from Earl & Cookie declared this week to be the This is what I'm surprised I like week, well I scratched my head.

• I'd like to like fish - but I'm not a huge fan
• I'd like to like tofu - but it tastes like someone chewed it up already for me
• I'd like to say I like Iron Maiden - but you know, I just don't dig all that metal

Perplexed, I'm hitting straight from the heart. I'm surprised I like Nick Cave. I know, I know, everyone loves a bit of Nick in the morning, noon and night, but me, well I've always fought it. Fought it with a vengeance.

But I have to say, when Matt requested this song as the song to walk out of the church as a married couple to - well it wooed me. I'm still not a hardcore Nick Cave fan, but I'm coming around.


Thanks to Victoria for an ace theme, and thanks as ever to Angela at Three Buttons for bringing This Is into our bloggy lives. Woop woop!

And I am now on a bent to check out pineapple lumps. I've never seen them before but they sound ACE!

You Know What Night It Is

And I still haven't gotten 'round to showing you all of my loot. Here's the rest of it. The round up.

Lucky for Matt our wedding anniversary wasn't tonight, otherwise instead of wining and dining with him, I would have been diving into a bin. Romantic? Not so much.

So tonight. Bin night. I have a hunch there's not going to be much. Maybe some empty chip packets. Maybe an old takeaway container. But gosh. I really hope I'm wrong.

But just in case I am wrong, I went to the op shop and picked up a couple of beauties. I'll show and tell tomorrow.

A Day To Remember

This time three years ago I was getting ready to get hitched. Or as I like to tell Matt - we were becoming stuck together. In a good way.

If you're doing the maths, then yes, our son is older than our marriage. We did things backwards. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Today I'm remembering the week before and the mammoth effort of my Mum to pull everything together, walking down the aisle with my Dad, my sisters and my good friend getting ready in a mad flurry after a champagne breakfast, and a night celebrating with good friends and family. And questioning why I didn't organise a nanny to look after The Doctor who at five months kept waaahing for the boobie. A nanny could have helped woo him, instead of me racing up and down all night, pulling my dress off and feeding him off to sleep, and progressively looking more and more dishevelled with each visit to him to try and lull him off to dream land. Oh well. Memories. The corners of my mind.

Today - best of all I'm remembering all the reasons for marrying my best friend, my lover, my Matt. Awwww.

But here's a word to the wise - Matt never buys me flowers. So every year I go and buy myself a beautiful bunch and pretend they're from him. No harm done. This year cream ranunculus and freesias. Delicious. Everyone's a winner baby! (While this song has nothing to do with our wedding, the above mixtape has everything to do with our wedding, ah there's nothing like a little nostalgia on a Wednesday, is there?)