I'm Turning Into a Girly Girl

For years I have been for lack of a better term a plain Jane.

I never really dressed up and I rarely, if ever, wore any make up.

Over the past few months I have been wearing make up and I feel very nice while wearing it. Usually it's only on Sundays and perhaps on the very rare occasion when I am going out somewhere special.

The local Farmers Market was on this weekend (yesterday to be exact) and I was looking at one of the stalls that sold some very pretty jewellery. I was looking at these two necklaces thinking will I wear them? And if I did, what one would I choose. I asked the boys which one looked nicer. Brodz said the one on the left looked pretty and Angus said the one on the right (in the photo above).

A lady walking past, just at the right time, said why not get both so I did.

Looks like I will be getting a little more dressed up when I go out. I haven't really done this since before the boys were born. 

I only have one complaint about being a 'girly girl' and that is it takes me a lot longer to get ready but as I often say to the boys. It takes time to look and stay this amazing (~_o) 

Farmers Market

Yesterday Angus and I went for a really long walk in town checking out the Op Shops, calling in to one of the supermarkets and finally going over to the Farmers Market. I just LOVE going to the market each month. We were able to chat with some of the stall holders whom we have known for several years. It's always nice to catch up with them.

I also love finding bargains! 

I like the stall that sells all the nuts, dried fruits and lollies. Angus asked me why I purchase from them. Of course it's because the prices are so much better than the supermarket, plus the people are lovely.

We had a little bit of a chat with the guy that sells honey. He has quite a range to choose from. Angus loves getting the straws full of honey but we forgot to purchase some this time around.

Then there was Julie who sells all the yummy cakes and slices. I bought a couple of things from her this time. Caramel slice and a passionfruit slice. Oh my hips and my blood glucose levels! Just as well we walked around 3 kms this morning.

I adore these super cute Port Adelaide beanie kids. I'm not sure if I shall keep them or send them over to my niece and nephew. I am leaning towards keeping them and hopefully that stall holder will be back next month with some more.

I guess I wait another four weeks and find out.

It's Farmers Market Day

The boys & I went to the local Farmers Market this morning. I needed to get a fresh supply of yummy fruit and vegetables. Well just the veggies really. No one seems to be eating all that much fruit at the moment.

Farmers Market - it doesn't look very big but there was some nice things there :)

We visited our favourite stalls. Des & Wendy for the fruit & veg. Helen & Albert for or vegetable oil based soaps and the two nice guys (that remain nameless for now) who sell those yummy curry peanuts & soy crisps that we like :D

I have a thing for medical/suspense novels at the moment

There were also some new stalls. Well it was more like ones that don't frequent our little market very often. There was one that had nothing but books. OMGosh I was almost in heaven. There were a few I liked but I limited myself to just one. If you saw my bookshelf you would understand why I only bought one. I really must go through the ones I've read and either give them to the op shops or put them on freecycle.

My new bag

I'm not of buying new handbags or shoes. I really am not that sort of girl but when I saw this one I really had to check it out. It has lots of pockets. I also saw a pink one that I liked. The pattern was lovely but it didn't have as much room as this one.

It's bigger on the inside like the Tardis :D

The stall I bought the bag from was raising money for an organisation called Bryn's Schools. 100% of the proceed of each purchase from the stall goes directly to educate some under privileged children around the world. They have built schools in Vietnam, Sierra Leone, Cambodia & Kenya. If you want to find out more about Bryn's Schools you can visit their website HERE.

That was this mornings adventure. Now to something less exciting. I'm off to catch up on some of the shows I recorded & do some more knitting :D

Spring Has Sprung

Its such a beautiful day outside & its such a shame to be indoors. Of course the boys don't want to spend time outside all that often it takes away from the computer time! Today would be perfect if it wasn't so windy. That being said I am in the middle of doing a few loads of washing. I know that it will all dry before its dark.

Angus has a friend sleeping over tonight. So I wont get much out of him today other than hearing the boys talk about movies and games on the computer. I may get them outside yet. I'll offer them some money so that they can walk to the shops and buy hot chips for lunch. That usually gets Angus motivated. Yes my boy thinks with his stomach and anything potato related is the key to get him started!

Brodz on the other hand did accompany me to the farmer's market. I saw my favourite veggie grower, Des, and her daughter, Wendy (I think it was her daughter). Of course I bought loads of yummy veggies from there. I even bought some pumpkin to make a pumpkin pie but I forgot to get the evaporated milk. Oh well. There's always next time we go to the supermarket.
We also went to Helen & Albert's soap stall. They have some really fragrant soaps made with vegetable oils. I picked some really nice smelling ones that will hopefully mean the boys will actually use them in the shower. Stinky teens that they are!

Mother nature has shown me that spring is in the air. My most favourite time of year!

It's Market Day

Oh boy am I pooped. I just got back from a walk. Yes you read correctly I said walk. That horrible 'swear' word that means exercise!

Brodie & I went for a walk to the farmers market (I had to say it again just in case you didn't read it in the first couple of sentences). Thank goodness there was a lot of stuff there to entertain me while my hip was hurting. Stuff that would take my mind off being sore & unfit. I didn't mind looking at the new stall with lots of pretty handbag or the stall with the clothes or even the one with all the hand-knitted items that I think are a bit too expensive. I enjoyed the slow amble past all the things that were on offer.

This is Des's fruit & veg stall. I stop by here every time I visit the market. That's Des on the right.

Of course I stopped at that stall that has all the yummy dried fruits & nuts for sale. I bought some of those curries peanuts. Oh how I love them. I probably should only have a few of these considering they aren't exactly 'plain' nuts that the dietitian recommended. I think just a few should be okay. You can't totally deprive yourself from all things nice. It would make things stressful and unbearable. Right?
I did buy some healthy things. Like dried fruits & nuts, fresh apples and some yummy vegetables (cauliflower, brussel sprouts & green beans).

On the way home Brodie said I complained too much about walking up the hill. It's pretty steep (even out old car didn't like going up that hill). Considering how unfit I am I think I did a pretty good job! So shhhhh please Brodz, stop picking on me :P

As we were walking up the driveway (yes that is on a bit of a hill too) I was thinking who decided we should love in a town with so many hills? (although we were desperate to get out of that caravan park & we did take the first place we were offered) And who decided it was a good idea to walk to the market today if the weather was nice? Oh right that was me. Guess I can't blame anyone then can I *rolls eyes*. At least I am feeling a bit better now that I have rested.

I Must've Been Out Of My Mind

Do you ever have those days that start of so bad that you wish you didn't get out of bed? It almost felt like one of those days this morning & the morning isn't even over yet *sigh*

The boys started annoying one another very early this morning & I made the mistake of taking BOTH of them to the Farmer's Market & to the supermarket. A BIG mistake! Everything was fine when they were nowhere near one another but once they got together, well, let's just say I wished I could bang their heads together to knock some sense into them.

Des, from the fruit & veg stall at the market had her daughter helping her today. She looked at me all sympathetically when she saw how the boys were behaving.

Thankfully things have settled down for now. Mainly because they are currently at opposite ends of the house!

I was told that I wasn't allowed to show Angus's photo on my blog today. Here's my compromise :D

 It was movie night last night. We chose National Treasure. Angus & I were the only ones who started watching the movie. Mark joined us later on. Brodie, well he was doing his usual facebook thing & hiding in the bedroom. Not that I mind him doing that. Sometimes its a good thing that the boys are separated from one another! Anything to keep the peace & my sanity!!

what I've done so far on the cardigan

I did manage to get some more of my knitting done. There I was knitting away and I thought I must be getting close to casting off and starting on the front panels when I finally read the pattern properly and saw that this cardigan is knitted in one piece. Thank goodness because that means less sewing for me. I don't mind making all of this stuff I just don't always like the sewing at the end of it all!

Time to go do check out some more blogs & maybe do a bit more knitting ...

Farmers Market

Angus and I went to the Farmers Market today. I love going every month when its on. You just never know what bargains they might have there.
The weather was absolutely perfect for an autumn day. The sun is shining and it was a lot warmer than it had been for a while. Although the weather is meant to change tomorrow. Back to cold & wet :(

This is one of my favourite stalls. Helen & her husband sell these amazing soaps. I always love checking out which soaps smell the nicest and buy them. It doesn't matter that I still have 5 or more cakes of soap in the bathroom cupboard I still get more. I can't help it. Who wouldn't like soaps that smell like frangipani, gardenias, chocolate, lemon scented tea tree, strawberries, pineapples, lemon, coconut or vanilla beans. Those were the ones I could remember there were so many more.

Angus was eyeing off the jackets in the back.

Some of our spoils.... yummy locally grown pink lady apples.

From Des's stall I bought some fresh green beans, brussel sprouts, sweetcorn and zucchinis. Des grows them all on her little farm.

I did the Mum thing too and bought the boys some more socks for school. Although I do wish that they would actually CLEAN their room. I know that they would be able to find ALL the socks and other items of clothing they say they can't find. I know its all in there. Its that silly 'floor-drobe' they insist on having! I will NOT go in there and clean it.

This stuff is from another favourite stall. I mentioned them last month. These guys sell all sorts of amazing foods such as lollies, curried sesame peanuts, fruit & nut mix, soy crisps, dried cranberries, cashews, almonds, dried pineapples, pumpkin seeds and a heap of other yummy goodies. I could honestly spend a lot of money there.

Yep, I just love going to the Farmers Market!

The Local Farmer's Market

Brodie & I went to the local farmers market this morning. The one in town is held on the third Saturday of the month. I love going. Sometimes there are a lot of stalls and other times not so much. It depends on the weather mostly. Today was one of the better ones because there were more stalls this time round.

One stall I always visit is a soap one run by Helen & her husband. They make the soaps themselves. They have vegetable oil in them rather than animal fat. The soaps don't get as soggy and slimy as regular soaps do. They also come in the most amazing fragrances.

I bought passion fruit, olive oil, goats milk, Milk & honey and the pink one but I can't remember what type it is though :(

There's another stall we always go to if they are there. They sell dried fruits, nuts & assorted lollies. We usually by the hot mix (nuts, soy crisps, wasabi peas, dried beans & something that is so hard you could break a tooth on it) which is really spicy but I've gone off that at the moment.

Last month they were there I bought these yummy sesame covered curry peanuts. Talk about delicious! I only bought a small bag to sample them last time this time I bought twice as much! Yum!!

I also got these soy crisps. They're spicy if you eat too many of them but they are super crunchy & tasty.

One other stall I also visit is run by Des. She lives locally, grows her own veggies & sells them at the market. She has a lot of bargains is usually a lot cheaper than the supermarket & I believe the veggies taste better.

Silly me though I should've taken my camera with me and taken some photos of the stalls. It would make my post look a lot better. Maybe next time :)

Silent Saturday

Goodness it is SOOOOOO quiet in my place. Well it was until Angus started singing, which isn't a bad thing really. Angus & I are the only ones at home at the moment. We're having a day all to ourselves!

Mark left super early this morning. In fact I didn't even hear him start the motorbike. Mark's going to be a marshal for the MRA Cranbourne GP Run in the lead up to the Moto GP on Phillip Island. It's been quite a few years since he's done that. To be honest it will do him some good to get out of the house. He hardly goes anywhere these days. He's become a real home body!!

Brodie is off to the Armageddon Expo in Melbourne. He caught the train in to Melbourne with a friend from school. He hates travelling on his own & thankfully there were a few kids he knows going so he went with one of them. I'm kind of jealous that he's going. I mean Angus & I could've gone with him but I want him to learn to be more independent, travel on the train & do things on his own. If I keep accompanying him he wont learn .. so... the sacrifices I make as a Mum :P Techinically he isn't on his own he has a school friend (or two) with him. Who would want a parent with them when you have other teens with you?

Angus & I dropped Brodie off at the train station this morning in the next town. That way we could head off to McDonalds to get a couple of bacon & egg muffins for brekky! Nom Nom, they tasted so good!
We also went to the local market today. There were hardly any stalls. You'd be lucky if there was 6-8 stalls all up. I'm thinking that the stall holders were somewhere near Phillip Island. After all that is where I would be if I was selling stuff. The crowds would be HUGE and you would make a packet of money today! Oh well there is always next month.

A Busy Day So Far

I thought the weekend meant time to yourself & relaxing a bit. I've not really stopped at all. Well not really. At least the cats have managed to find a spot on the bed to snooze the day away!

I took Brodie out with me this morning. We went out of town to a primary school to vote for the Federal Election. There was NO way I was going to the local polling booth. Not with the footy on in town, the market & the election. It would be way to busy & nowhere to get a park.Anyway that's over and done with. Thank goodness. Now all we have to do is wait & see who wins.

We came back into town, a short 5 minute drive, so that we could fill up the gas tank. Then we went to the local Market. Its only held on the 3rd Saturday each month. I love getting the fresh produce that some of the stalls offer. I picked up a few bargains. Fresh cauliflower, pumpkin, brussel sprouts, cabbage. We're going have some yummy fresh veggies for tea tonight!

I thought okay, while I'm out I may as well nick into the supermarket & get some bread for Angus. He doesn't like the wholemeal & multigrain breads I've been buying recently. The only other thing we really needed was milk. Pffttt! 4 shopping bags & $50 later we headed home. So much for only getting TWO things that I needed. Perhaps nest time I'll just send one of the boys to get it.

Of course the shopping doesn't put itself away. Although it would be really nice if it did.(Maybe someone will invent a machine that will do that for me). I've managed to get two loads of washing done & hung out. I've also folded & put away some washing that I did the other day. You know the only problem with winter is that it takes things far too long to dry on the clothes line & I don't like using the dryer too much.

I think I deserve some time to sit on my butt & so something for ME! I'm not sure what it will be. Maybe a movie & some knitting or even just watching some of the shows I've recorded on the PVR. I need a rest!

To Market, To Market

I didn't buy a fat pig but I certainly got some bargains at the local market yesterday.



The photo doesn't do this yarn any justice. I guess I could've turned off the flash. The yarn is a very pretty pastel yellow. I feel something babyish might be in order for this lot.



A couple of cute little bags to give to my great-nieces for Christmas.



Not only did I get the yarn but I got two sets of size 9 needles & a knitting pattern for $5. The needles alone would cost me more than that in the shop brand new!
Of course I wasn't going to complete the pattern so I spent s little time yesterday undoing the knitting. I might make a scarf or even a shawl with it. I haven't made up my mind yet.

I got some more stuff but I didn't bother with pics for those. You don't necessarily want to see what veggies & other food I bought.