Last Week of Work: Tuesday

Yep, purple and black! I made this stretchy dress last year during Sew Weekly 2011 for the Spanish Harlem theme and it's so comfy as pregz fash this year. Totally one of my faves to wear, and I've 'teamed' it up here with my op shopped cardi (a lovely wool blend one I found recently - great!), a bit of leftover stretch knit that turns into a scoopy, loopy scarf cowl thing and my velvet or velveteen op shopped jacket (a recently QLD op shop find!).

Again, it's early in the morning so Husbie snapped these quick photos for me in the freezing cold. I actually can't remember (one week on!) what happened at work this day. I know I went there, I know I must have worked... but that's how weird my brain is at the moment, I just am so fluid going with the flow... each day as it comes and I've already forgotten last week... SO pleased we took these photos now though, I love how cute I look here! And weirdly so much larger than the Monday outfit!

xoxo

Last Week of Work: Monday

Thank you all for your lovely well wishes about my mat leave! My last week of work turned out to be super fun but super busy (especially Wed/Thurs/Friday - which I should have predicted) and now it's the first Monday of my Maternity Leave! I should have explained Long Service Leave a bit better (but thanks for your gush Oona!)... For you darlings not working in Australian public/government jobs, our organisation offers Long Service Leave for employees who have committed over 10 years of service to the organisation... Whilst I've been at different parts of the ABC, it's around 11 or 12 years (as I was part time for a while at the start when I was a little radio producer)... so after 10 years, the deal is you get 3 months paid leave. ASTONISHING. But also something I'd recall my teachers getting when they were like 55 years old, so hence my dorkiness for staying at the same place through my twenties.

BUT! Not that there's been a life plan in place, I'm pretty happy with my career, my achievements and the amazing people I've been able to work with through that whole time. GOSH, SO REFLECTIVE and it's only really the third day of mat leave! Better not cry!

So last week, Husbie helped me grab a cute little photo each day of my pregz fash, because at 35 weeks, these are the best of the best outfits (that fit me)!

Monday I wore a wooly op shopped swing dress, op shopped tights (these ones were new in the packet!) and my new Melissa shoes (a present to myself for being happy n healthy at 33 weeks, so my GP wrote me a note to stay at work an extra week) from Mandrake and Willow (a GORGEOUS little shop in Yarraville - I'll write more about later!).

The swing dress accidentally ended up in a warmer wash cycle, as don't we all love that when 50% wool items get heated... but luckily it didn't shrink too small for the bump, as I stretched it out and stopped the felting of a few areas when it was wet. I have to wear little shortie shorts underneath, but I love how 60s Mod it looks and it's super warm. Most of these morning photos are around 7.30 or 8am so it's kinda 8 degrees C - and my smile looks more like a grimace to me!

Happy Monday to you!

xoxo

From Here til Maternity (Leave)

I thought it was finally time for a maternity pun, especially since I have one last day at work, and then... maternity leave. When you work in a government job, you do get healthy maternity leave in Australia... and because I haven't left my organisation (just moved around within it), I'll also be taking Long Service Leave. Yup, I'm a grown up at the age of 33 and will be using my long service leave with my maternity leave. All these things scream GROWN UP to me, do you agree?

There are some parts of the world that don't get maternity leave and some countries that offer much more amazing parental support systems than Australia... I know that personally I'm really thankful to get maternity leave, and am happy that as a woman I have choices in my career and feel extremely lucky that in my career I've been able to feel like being pregnant is no big deal. I work at an amazing place.

So! It's now been 35 weeks of pregnancy, of growing my fetus, and in the last few weeks, it's felt more and more real. Not that all the other weird hormones, kicks and pushes and other stuff wasn't making it real... I guess that the human child is taking on its own identity now, it's developing a different energy to mine, so that shift of energy when something is so close, someone is so close to you all the time... SO INTERESTING!

One more day of my career job, my old job in radio... and Monday? Monday is my first day as a parent... big job that one.

Talk soon!

Loved Up

Hey! Hope you've had a great week, and YAY it's Friday!

Husbie has ducked out in the cold to get us some Indian takeaway (hello, garlic naan etc), and I found these garden photos for you today because... I'm so deliciously happy, and with one week left of my day job before maternity leave, I'm just so thankful of everything in my life and am loved up on everybody in it. Loved up!

So - here's some lovely flowers for you! Imagine I've had them delivered to your doorstep from mine!

It's so lovely when we have such great friends, family, work friends coming into our life, and being pregnant and so gushy at the moment, I'm just collecting up so many beautiful vibes for my human child to be! I can't really explain it, other than I feel a wonderful wash of happiness... a lovely contentedness, completeness etc etc etc...

And so yes, one more week of work. 5 days at my darling office with my darling co-workers and then an openness to grow more, birth a baby, learn new things about myself and Husbie and be challenged and love each other more. Gush x a million.

Talk soon xo

Another baby blanket

Here's my second crochet blanket for the human child!

Grey black, this time (you know I'm loving grey/charcoals to BITS) and it's a massive Granny Square. I think it was at least 4 balls of charcoal and 1 1/2 of red... I thought I'd get a lot further, but it's around a metre and a bit wide... So I'd really love to make a larger one for the couch!

This one will be a perfect one for the car, or for the pram, I guess... when I get around to actually looking at things like prams! Husbie was very sweet this week, his family really wanted to buy us something like a cot or change table (but I've got hand me downs sorted out, and can't justify big pieces of furniture, as we don't have the space) so he talked them around to a baby carrier, one that we both can wear. I'm glad one of us is planning ahead for the bigger picture stuff!

Hope you're enjoying the weekend!

Some flowers for Friday

All these little winter flowers have grown in my garden, as soon as it's past 5 o'clock though, they disappear and wait for the new day.

*** Well, this Friday post is now getting posted on a Saturday morning ***

What I was *going* to say last night was... I'm home from work, with only 2 full weeks left in the office... I'm amazed at how fast the time has gone already... and how good things have been overall. This morning, however, I've woken up early with lots of aches and feeling like another cold is coming on... the pains of being pregz in winter time, in Melbourne and still working in the office. I'm going to smash through lots of oranges and other lovely prevention foods, and hope to keep it away.

Hope these little yellow flowers brighten up your wintery day if you're like me in the South of the World... and hope to see you soon! xo

Shellac!

The lovely Louise commented on my nails the other day... and if you haven't seen her blog, you should! She's a total darling, and posts some amazing vintage collections and not enough photos of herself (she's a cutie)... but the NAILS.

I've had shellac twice, once at the start of the year in Sydney - a gorgeous red and this round of orange red was from the beauty salon in Sparta Place in Brunswick... it's my fave area of Brunswick because when I was on holidays I visited my hairdressers (Corrin's - a babe), then visited OK OK, my fave shop and then I went to the beauty salon to get the shellac... she had 4 reds to choose and I went for this orange red....

I am NO expert on shellac, how it's done or what it does. I've heard the UV light is damaging (it helps it set) but both times I've stuck my nails into the thing, it's not been for long and my nails have been fine afterwards.

But, as a pregnant babe... everything is growing really fast... so whilst the shellac lasts well for 2 weeks my nails already started growing out compared to at the start of the year the shellac lasted perfect for 3 weeks (with only a little bit of growth) ... anyways!

NAIL POLISH REVIEW. OMG, I don't even have a search tag to match this post... I'll chose friends because Louise is a bloggie friend.. oh and there's a review tag I've used before... I'll use that too. There's no way I've got mental space to make this a beauty blog! BUT, if you are keen on beauty products and info (especially in Melbourne) on beauty stuff, Esme & the Laneway is gorgeous and Lady Melbourne pops up with several beauty reviews as well...

Thanks again for all your lovely comments, I'm loving blogging at the moment... now I just need a little motivation to sew some baby and pregz fash stuff! I'm fast running out of clothing AGAIN that fits me and the bump... we'll see how I get around it.

xoxo

The Lego Blanket

I finished this a while back, but doing the finishing touches and washing it carefully took five years, and finally a pretty gorgeous day for me to spread it out on the lawn!

They're blocks of crocheted granny squares (the easiest kind of crochet, in my opinion) that I started in January this year around the time I found out we were expecting... I'd bought the wool on special, and only needed a revisit to Spotlight for the grey joinery colour, and luckily it was the kind they have all the time...

I'm really into grey and charcoal with orange or red... so the yellow and aqua has become an alternative colouring for me now... it's very sweet. And reminds me of lego.

It probably took 3 months of crocheting the granny squares (on the bus, watching Boardwalk Empire) and another month of edging them with the charcoal wool, and then joining... I love thinking that granny square blankets will be quick, but they never are for me! (Just found this post in May, saying I'm finishing it up)

But they're gorgeous when they finally get done!

The connecting stitch I used was just a slip stitch, instead of a single crochet, which made the backing a little thicker and raised... this used to make me annoyed, that it didn't sit flat, but the other way of joining them, is just annoying to do... and this way it's really quick to join... Using a needle will take me forever. If you crochet, what's your best way to join granny squares?

And, as I forgot that I had a challenge in place this year, this is 6/100 for my 100 Things Challenge... and hopefully I'll get a few more photos up of what I've made. I have made a few baby hats, and of course given them away without photographing them. Oh well...

Happy Monday and hope you have a great week!

xoxo

A Saturday Morning Walk

Hey! Here's an idea for a perfect Saturday morning: sleep in, relax, cuddle, eat fresh fruit, have a hot shower, wear really comfy clothes, pin hair up, wear no make up or sunscreen and take the dog for a walk with gorgeous Vitamin D bringing more cuddles with the winter sun.

This week I was back at work, with lots of energy from my time off, so happy to see everyone again and kept busy but not too busy. But it was cold again, overcast and I was stuck with what to wear each day that was comfy and lovely and my style... so after 5 work days, I embraced my cushy comfy attired as much as Doris Day loves the grass and sunshine!

We're 32 weeks, perhaps? Someone in utero is upside down, hanging out comfortably with head in my pelvis... which makes sense why I'm getting kicked around so much on the top of my bump! I had a couple of check ups this week, with the midwives all happy. And now we're catching up every 2 weeks, which makes things a bit more real. Only 3 weeks of work as well, until my maternity leave kicks in. Um, Where The Fuck has the time gone?

Wishing you a lovely weekend and hope you get some Vitamin D too with the sunshine in Melbourne! xoxo

Nesting in My Lounge Room

Yes, I'm feeling overcome with hormones, and feeling like NESTING. There's so many cliches & stereotypical things you hear about with pregnancy... and I am constantly surprised how the feelings come and go. And honestly, I never thought they would affect me. ME!? As if! BUT, sometimes I feel exactly normal, my usual self... and the next second I feel like a puddle who needs a cuddle... or the next a total mess where I hate everything around me (like the kitchen dishes) and wish I lived in a hotel.

Yep, hormones come and go, and I can feel the onset of nesting, and creating a comfortable place to be and live and love. All the gush!

Husbie loves putting on some of his old records and we mostly have vinyl playing over the weekend, and yes, they are Judy Garland's big old sad eyes. Doris Day the Dog usually lies right in front of that record cover, very cute! My dad and I have planned to make some little square boxes to fit the records in... might be a maternity leave project!

My little coloured accessories are getting turned over as well... because the big news in the Lounge Room is that we finally got a NEW COUCH delivered... and I'm trying to work out what bright colours match it. It's a grey couch but in our Lounge Room has a slight, very slight, green twinge to it (and I'm not too happy with that) ... but bright colours might steer it back to grey/charcoal.

And recognise your card Anna? My friend gave it to me, and I've always been a gherkin lover, so thank goodness I can eat a lot of them, and it's a joke for others. If you haven't seen Anna and her partner's cards by now, you should check out the Able and Game blog first up (they've been travelling, I believe! Lots of lovely travel diary sketches!) and then look around their online store (or visit them at a market!)... cards for all occasions, but for US real people!

I do think about wearing overalls as a LOL outfit, btw. Always up for a laugh, especially a sitegag type of laugh.

xoxo

What happens during Masterchef

My little break from work is almost over, but it's been a really good 'clear the head' couple of weeks... and a great relaxing time with my unborn child. AND during my Masterchef catch ups, I've been crocheting all my scrap wool into granny squares!

Lately, I haven't been as inspired to make clothing (I was hoping to get a Sew Weekly theme up this week or next, but alas) as before my pregnancy, and my sewing room is dark and cold in winter... so not the best place in the house to be at the moment. We got central heating put in for the main rooms, but as the sewing room is a little add-on sunroom type place, it's chilly ... and with gloomy lighting. Not the best for threading needles! Before the baby arrives, we'll have a few changes with the house (we hope!) so maybe the lighting in the sewing room can get fixed up as well.

But, my creating buzz is still there... and I certainly cannot sit still and *just* watch TV! Hurrah for granny squares and baby blankets! This one will have a bit of every colour, but with blocks of red in places as well... and I think joined with a creamy woody colour to frame... I was going to frame with black, but I always frame with a dark colour on my crochet blankets, so I might see what a lighter natural looking colour does.

Hoping you've had a lovely weekend, like mine, and I might just pop around your blogs now to OO and AAAH over your sewing creations! Did you get any projects finished? Hope so!

xoxo