Thank Yous:Five Favourites

Every year after Christmas I like to write thank you notes. It's been something that my parents drummed into me from an early age, and while I really detested it when I was young, I've actually grown to really enjoy it. 

After all, sending someone a piece of snail mail that's not a bill, that's hand-written and loaded with thanks is a pretty great gesture. 

Stationery is one of my weak spots, so today I'm sharing five of my favourites to help you get pen to paper and post someone a quick hit of joy! 

SIRA Magenta Love Card - $5.95: Big loving the design of the graphic print, inspired by the architecture and landscape of Palm Springs, I love that punchy magenta hue (Tiny's current favourite colour!) that says - HEY HAPPY NEW YEAR! Thanks for being ace. 

Little Paper Lane Watercolour Stripes Letter set $14.95: Loving this sweet set (of 20) featuring a hand-painted design. I always like to imagine the person receiving the card - and I'd LOVE to receive a card on this set, and pin it on my pinboard. 

Rifle Paper Co. Boxed Assorted Card Set from Papier D'Amour $35: In my book, Rifle Paper can do no wrong. Anna Rifle is a freaking genius, and I just love anything she does. Who wouldn't be happy when one of these lands in their mailbox? 

Thank You Fruit Box Scratchie Card by TMOD $6.95: I love these TMOD cards, for all the fun and theatre of a scratchie! Plus the Carmen Miranda-esque design appeals to the extrovert in me, and screams summer!

Gold Button Postcards + Envelopes from Poppies for Grace x Bianca Cash $12.95: There's never been a cooler collaboration!! These gold foil beauties are destined for great things i.e.  straight to the pool room on my inspiration board. 

Thank you letters, a quick note to share your gratitude. Can we all make it a thing this year? 

Frocktober 2014:: Day 31 - Last DAY! Carmen Miranda

What a wild ride this month has been! Thank you for coming along. Thank you for your generosity. Your kind words. Your lifting me up in whatever way. 

Mid-month, I really, really thought I was going to struggle hitting the $10k. I was really worried and more than a couple of times my mouse lingered over the goal button, wondering if I should adjust it. 

I am so frocking glad I didn't. I am so glad you came along for the ride.

There are SO many people I need to thank that helped me reach my goal. So many. 

For starters, my excellent, beautiful, generous friend Emilie, who has taken my photo most days - she has a wonderful eye, and I can't even begin to thank you! Thank you mostly for being exceptionally patient - particularly when I kept banging on about taking my photo. It's a task! 

I must also thank Matt and the Doctor and Tiny. Most people won't know but I put a lot into frocking up each day (and then social media-ing 'til all hours after work) - which means my mind is elsewhere. The house is a mess, I may have been a bit grumpy, and you've been exceptional. Thank you.

I won't go into all the thank yous today, because really. Let's talk about the outfit. Carmen Miranda. A true style icon. I kept waking up all night wondering if Carmen was enough. Well of course Carmen is and always will be enough, but was Lexi as Carmen enough (after Frida, what would satiate the frocking hungry?). Then I wondered if the vintage frock I had kept aside was enough.

I hope you think it's enough.

I've had fun as Carmen. She's a brilliant, strong, inspirational woman.

And to raise money to support brilliant, strong, inspirational women? I hope it goes some way in finding an early detection test for ovarian cancer. 

This is my third year of Frocktober, I wanted it to be bigger and better - and it frocking was. You  guys made it frocking frocktastic. 

Thank you. 

(this is a photo Emilie took of me working. So serious. Find Em on Instagram at @milietea - you should follow her. She's ace)

You can still sponsor me here. 

All funds raised goes to the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation.

More Frocks!

I haven't finished with the frocking inspiration for Frocktober. I've got so much to share with you. 

In fact, I'm delighted to announce four more brilliant sponsors who've generously come onboard to help me navigate 31 frocks in 31 days.

Boden Amy Dress $198: I am always a sucker for this classic 50s shape - full skirt, nipped in at the waist. And I always feel good wearing this style - so feminine and perfect (and effortlessly chic) for work to cocktails. Yes. I love it. 

Fabrik Linen Hanky Dress $149.95: I am big loving the simple lines of this dress. Wear it as is, or accessorise to the hilt, it's going to look stylish no matter what - and as it's linen it's perfect for our hot summer, and improves with age. 

Madeleine Charles Orlando Vest Dress: This is hot. Sleek. Sophisticated - and another beautiful frock that you can put on and feel complete without needing to accessorise. That's always, ALWAYS a win in my book! 

Birdsnest Had Me At Hello Lace Dress (Boho Bird) $129.95: This is honestly the dreamiest, most beautiful, pretty, feminine dress - I imagine as soon as you put it on, stress levels dissipate, and all is well with the world. Pronto. 

Day 10:: Frocktober - I Am So Frilled

The Doctor took these photos. Clearly I am tired (it's true! So sue me!). Clearly he must be thinking: "My mother is a bonafide fruitcake." No matters. I am simply frilled to be here. 

And it appears I am showing you the hot moves to the newest dance craze. Can you dig it? I am sure we can robot dance if we want to, we can leave your friends behind. 

Today's outfit:
- vintage Valentino - a gift from super style savvy Kate at One Flew Over - thank you Kate!
- Country Road shoes from their outlet store ($48 for the win!)
- Robot dance moves, my own
- earrings - though not visible - $1.98 from Colette Hayman (bargains for the win!)

A pap smear does not detect ovarian cancer, one Australian woman dies every 10 hours from ovarian cancer:  sponsor me here to help fund research into this currently not well understood disease. 

Thank You

Do you send thank you notes? I do. I love sending thank you notes. I love receiving thank you notes.

Thank you to each and everyone of you who read and comment on my blog. I am so grateful.
Thanks to everyone who has voted for me in the Kidspot Top 50 Bloggers.
Thanks to my beautiful friend for designing me such a rad new header.
Thank you to my beautiful Mum for spending two weeks with us to help with the smalls while I work and Matt does his prac teaching.
Thanks to my generous Dad for loaning her to us.

An old friend told me once that friend's are reflections of yourselves, and that's a nice way to think of friends.

Since having kids I think some friends have dropped off, but I've picked up some inspiring, wonderful friends along the way. Thank you.

E to the GADS! Day 29 of 30: Thank You Letters

Oh yowsers, you might be wondering how my thank you letters are going. Me too friends, me too.

I've made a list, and I'm checking off my numbers as I post. So far I am up to 10 posted, 13 in the works - I better get cracking since I only have 1 measly day to go to complete this 30 day challenge. And given my track record, I am going to do this one. It's achievable. It's not easy. I sometimes feel a little awkward, but being grateful is a good thing - and I love the written word.

It's a lovely ritual, to write a letter.

The actual writing of the letter. And a thank you note is particularly nice - because you can relive whatever you're thanking your thankee for, all over again. Of course, I need to write with a particular type of pen. My handwriting is horrible in ballpoint. Loathsome. So it must be a fine tip. Yes. It must.

The addressing of the envelope. Sometimes I get crazy and try and lavish some crazy loopy writing. Or make it look particularly beguiling. Sometimes I leave it classic.

The licking of the envelope. The sticking of the stamp.

And the physical posting of that envelope. My smalls take turns to post the letters into the oversized red boxes. Precision is needed to aim it through the slot. Imagining the route that little letter will take.

The arrival. Upon receiving the note, the thankee can tear into that envelope, or perhaps they're swanky and own a letter knife.

But back to more pressing matters. Do you have a preferred pen? Bics make my writing messy. I love an Artline Felt Tip. I am dedicated to the cause.

30 Days Has September:: The Handwritten Letter

September is a big month. There's 30 Days of Fashion & Beauty. There's Ted Noffs 30 Days Has September. And it's the debut of Spring for 2010.

But beyond that, for me, it's 30 days of thank yous. Australia Post is going to love this.

I do love a good thank you note. In particular I really like writing them, but receiving them is also a joy. Who doesn't love a handwritten note? Much more exciting than a bill (actually, let's amend that, there's no excitement when it comes to bills, unless it's this bill - hmph!).

I also happen to love stationery. This pretty set is from Australian gals Poppies for Grace. I can personally vouch for their products, they're almost too pretty to use. But I will.

How better to exercise my gratitude and my handwriting than by penning a handwritten thank you note? I've emailed people before to tell them how rad I think they are (Sheila Kitzinger, please email me back - I love you), but my thank you notes are sorely lagging.

30 handwritten letters in 30 days?

I Forgot Our Bookcase

Matt and I are enduring some sort of book apartheid. My books are not allowed near his. It's his rule. Not mine. Same with my CDs and his. They are not mixed. He keeps them separately. I have questioned him numerous times about this to no avail.

So for now, books and CDs are segregated. There will be no co-habiting for these forms of entertainment.

It's for this reason that I forget I have books. And it's for this reason you would have seen me on the ground today clambering along the length of the floor looking at my books which are in piles because they don't rate as high as Matt's art books. Mine are wobbly towers, which, after I withdrew a couple of books toppled over and I still haven't mustered the patience to re-build them. Perhaps that's an activity for the Doctor and Tiny tomorrow?!

So in my hot little hands for a re-read are:

- Raising Boys

- Raising A Happy Child

I have enjoyed the recommendations that everyone shared with me. I am going to take a look at them and make some book-lovin' purchases. Will keep you posted!

image from lochaven's flickr stream

The Baby Straitjacket

Thanks for everyone's great advice and feedback regarding Baby Poocasso.

Today I've put Tiny down for a sleep with a nappy on. With knickers over the top. Wearing overalls.

If this fails, I will definitely try Anonymous' tip of putting the nappy on backwards. I like that idea. I probably should have tried that first. Tomorrow. And I will report back.

But thank you everyone, you've restored my sanity, above all.

And just while everyone is behaving badly, Le Bunbun deserves a special mention.

A couple of weeks ago he went for le snipsnip. We thought he'd come back a changed man-rabbit. Unfortunately his latest favourite thing is to lie on our bed. Last night I went to pick up my favourite bag - which coincidentally is called 'Keith' after Keith Richards. He'd nibbled through a strap.

Four lucky readers of PMM will have the chance to buy their very own rabbit paw necklace later in the week.

Because of the damage Le Bunbun inflicted on my bag, I'm oohing and aahing on this bag. Unfortunately (or maybe the bank is saying, luckily) it's sold out. Bah humbug. After The Apple (former designer at Mimco) have such a beautiful range of bags though, I'm sure I can seek out an alternative.

Making bills choc chips and these biscuits. They are a favourite. I dare you to not eat the whole lot. Tomorrow, recipes for rabbit.

The Big Stuff Winner - Non-Beijing Stylie

So, as you will gather from the last couple of posts, I've broken my dry spell and started winning things. You don't know how much this thrills me, but it thrills me. Oh yes it does.

Last week I won the mother of all giveaways from Bec at The Small Stuff.

Please excuse my photo, Blogger is back to rotating them again - weird.

But as you can see - all those goodies made this gal so excited, I had to keep revisiting them all day. I've already got plans for those delicious vintage sheet fat quarters... Mmm.

My three year old got to the package before I could photograph it, but it was so beautifull wrapped..

Anyway, thanks to Bec, and please head over and visit her - she's got a fantastic range of beautiful bags. (Plus she's got a brilliant post re: chocolate and slave labour - it's a good read).

A Gift - Hot Jogging

My brother-in-law has decided to employ himself (free of charge) as my very own sub-editor. He sub-edits in my comments, and appears as Wheats. Please, feel free to say hi to him. He'd love it.

In the meantime, I'm popping this clip on for him, as a thank you gift. I just know this is his most favourite movie. Ever. He loves it long time.

Hi Pete!