10 Things - Vintage Sarcasm

Vintage Domestic Goddesses

These little pictures have been doing the rounds of Facebook for a while now - they crack me up! I have been collecting them over at Pinterest and finally have 10! I hope you enjoy the giggle....

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Okay - reader response time - you can leave your comment here or on my Facebook page...

What might this vintage domestic goddess be saying?

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10 Things - 10 Outfits To Wear to A Waikiki Themed Party - and not get kicked out for having a lame costume

A friend of mine is going to a Waikiki themed party and is all a-flutter about what to wear. A Hawaiian shirt and a beach towel won't cut it with the hosts though. They have {pretty much} threatened to kick out folks who have not put enough effort in.


CraftyMummy and I are trying to convince our friend to go with the coconut bra and grass skirt look, without much success. So... to be helpful, here are some outfits I have put together using Polyvore. I hope some inspiration is found... I also think if you have a good title for your outfit, that really does sell it...

1. Bring me a brightly coloured drink darling, I have just spent the day by the pool....

Description: A Multicoloured kaftan, which matches the cocktails beautifully is a must. A nice big bag to take home tidbits from the buffet is helpful. Some funky jewellery and killer shoes add some class. Pop a hibiscus behind your ear and you are set to go, darling. Plug the Waikiki after dark with a disco ball angle.

2. Let us go and be beside the pool before walking on the beach before lunching somewhere nice...

Description: Orange = Hawaiian. Trust me. Another kaftan, this time over some fantastic swimwear. Add a great pair of espadrilles and a funky hat and you are stylish and effortless. A frangipani lei is deadly important, without it, you may as well be at Broadbeach. Plug the poolside angle.

3. Let's go hang ten, dude...

Description: How can you go wrong with funky board shorts, Havaianas, a fedora hat and a surf board? Plug the classic surfing movie look.

4. Let's do take a day wandering around the island soaking in the Hawaiianess of the day...

Description: A lovely long flowing skirt, very cute cutaway tank with accents of pink is a fresh beachy combination. A lovely outfit for day tripping around Waikiki. Again, the hibiscus - very important, as are the seaside themed earrings. Plug the sight seeing fresh as sea air feeling.

5. Cliche Hawaii

Description: Grass skirt, bikini top, flip flops, surfboard, frangipani. This would work. A little obvious, but it would do. Plug the old fashioned Hawaii from printed tea-towels look.

6. Let's go cycling along the seaside and find somewhere fab for lunch

Description: Sunflowers and aqua are so fresh and summery, perfect for an island setting. Add some colourful flats, a lei and you are looking tropical and ready to party. Plug the 1950s beach glam angle and make sure your hat is big.

7. I am NOT dressed by my significant other, I am sightseeing, see I have BINOCULARS!

Description: Crisp white shirt, tailored shorts, neckerchief, big sunglasses, panama style hat. This says 'I know I am here, I arrived in First Class'. Plug the Hollywood glam angle.

8. Shall we find a nice place to have a picnic - I am so over the shopping and the beach...

Description: A lovely halter-neck dress in a flower motif. Fresh, fun and flirty, everything you hope Waikiki to be. Bring a picnic basket and a big straw hat. Plug the Gidget look. 

9. Go Go Gidget!

Description:  Gidget is a great character to be inspired by... She is cute and clean cut and surfy to boot. Get yourself a swimming costume that looks like shapewear and then find two tanned and oiled hunks, one for each arm!

10. My absolute favourite. An Hawaiian snow globe!  No words would be needed to explain this! 

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Description: Doesn't someone have a very clever mum!? So cool. I bet I know a few people who could whip up something like that! Plug - you wouldn't need to - this is a fabulous costume!

If this is still not enough inspiration... I have made a Pinterest board about Hawaii... Just click HERE

10 Things - 10 Reasons Why I Do Not Like It When Mr Cool Goes Away

10 Reasons Why I Do Not Like It 
When Mr Cool Goes Away

1. The buck stops with me - darn. If the power goes out - who deals with it? Me. If a child were to swallow a piece of Lego - who deals with it? Me. If a child pulls another child's hair then screams blue murder - who deals with it? Me. It is a lot of responsibility!
2. I get lonely - Mr Cool and I have been married for nearly 15 years. That is a long time. We have grown quite used to hanging out. Without him around I sigh. A lot. Sigh.
3. I have to make the tea in the morning - Mr Cool normally does this. And, on the weekends, we usually have our tea in bed. Yep, all of us sitting up in our bed nestled in pillows. It is lovely. Without him, it seems a bit too roomy.
4. I have to wrangle the kids alone - this is not always fun. When Mr Cool is around we tag team. He is the good cop, I am the bad cop. It all balances. Without him, the kids just have me. That is not always the most fun. 
5. It is not worth cooking for one adult - so I usually cook something easy and then count on having left overs. Eggs on toast is a favourite.
6. Doing dishes alone is not fun - Mr Cool and I chat and catch up and squabble while doing dishes after dinner. Alone, it is just me. At the sink. Sighing. 
7. I don't like going to bed alone - so I stay up late. I watch just another show. Then another. Then the shows start getting scary. Then it is so late that I begin to think that that bra they flog at around 11:30 at night actually looks really good.
8. I don't like sleeping alone - I have to make a 'Mr Cool' shaped shape in the bed with pillows. Then my imagination kicks in and I imagine that someone is in the house. Then I freak the shazam out of myself and have to force myself to chill out and relax.
9. The kids miss him - a lot. It is hard to be the one who stays at boringo home doing the mundane things while daddy is away having an adventure. Sigh.
10. It is just not normal to not have him around. It doesn't feel like home. Something is just not quite right. Like walking around wearing only one shoe.

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10 Things - 10 Little Things You Can Do To Have A Little Holiday At Home

We are in week one of term here. Sigh. Backed to packed lunches, school uniforms and the morning rush. Sigh. I didn't get a break in the holidays. I know, I know, I spent some time at the beach and Mr Cool was around, but between a baby with burns, a tonsillectomy and an ear-infection - it was all a bit intense.


You may remember that last week I wrote a list of '10 Things I Really Need To Get Done This Week'. Sigh. I got two of the things done. I started with gusto, but then realised I was just too tired. The holidays were not restful, I wasn't able to sleep properly, it was pretty full on, I needed a break. So.... I took a break. I rested. I had to. If I didn't, I knew I would get sick. 


So, for all of you out there who may not have had the holidays you hoped to have, or if you need a little pick-me-up, or if you simply need to take some me time here is this week's list:

10 Little Things You Can Do To Have A Little Holiday At Home

1. Read a novel

• read whenever you can - in the middle of the day, when the urge to vacuum hits ... anytime!
• Good books to read would be: 
• Anything by Alexander McCall Smith - I am reading 'The Miracle at Speedy Motors'
• One of the Janet Evanovich books - I have just read 'One for the Money'
• Anything by Monica McInerney - love 'The Alphabet Sisters'

2. Sit in the sun

• Remember the sunscreen
• Wear a big hat
• Drink something cool in a glass - with an umbrella

3. Ask friends out for coffee

• Sometimes in normal weeks this is too much of an extravagance. But, on a little holiday, it is essential!
• Cake is good for the soul, so is good company!

4. Write a to do list...

• Then tear it into pieces!
• Housework is very patient, it will wait until you are feeling more chipper. 

5. Walk in a garden

• If your own is gross - like mine - find a nice one somewhere! 
• Enjoy being outside and in the fresh air, very important things on a holiday.

6. Paint your toenails

• Nothing says, 'I have had a vacation' like well manicured nails!
• Do it yourself:
• soak your feet
• scrub off old skin
• push back cuticles
• smear with a lovely thick moisturiser and let that soak in (see step 1)
• paint nails a lovely red
• do a second coat (see step 2)

7. Do something cultural

• There are art galleries, museums, libraries and historic buildings everywhere. Go check one out. Bring a camera, a water bottle, and do some exploring.

8.  Buy something new to wear

• It doesn't have to cost much, but a new top or beads or scarf can lift an outfit and make you feel so hip.
• This will involve a shopping trip - find some funky markets or drive to some funky shops you don't normally go to.

9. Listen

• Discover some new music. Try...
• Bloom - by the Paperkites
• The Call - by Regina Spectra
• Something in the Water - by Brooke Fraser

10. Make an occasion out of everything

• Make tea in a pot and enjoy it on a porch chair
• Put your lunch onto your prettiest plate, give yourself a napkin and a tall icy drink
• Read a magazine propped up against pillows on your bed in the middle of the day
• Watch a movie in the afternoon
• Have a nap on clean sheets with the windows wide open 
• Buy yourself some fresh flowers

I have learnt that even half an hour of time when I tell myself it is 'holiday' time has helped me to unwind. This has been really nice, because I don't usually let myself unwind. I am wound pretty tight most of the time.

Last week was the start of my holiday and I will take another week this week to rest and re-group. I am looking forward to it.

Happy girls are the prettiest. 

Audrey Hepburn

10 Things - 10 Things I Really Need To Get Done This Week

A little while ago a lovely friend sent a text asking for the instructions on how I make a ragout in my slowcooker. Within a couple of minutes, I had pecked out instructions and sent it to her. I heard from her a few days later and she said that the ragout was a big success. Hoorah!


Being grateful, she mentioned this success on Facebook and included my name - alongside the words 'Domestic Goddess'. Well.... how incredibly nice of her.


I thought about being referred to as a 'Domestic Goddess' and decided, at the moment, I am far far from being one of these. I see a 'Domestic Goddess' as someone who cooks like Nigella, decorates like Martha, has the etiquette of Ita and dresses like a Middleton. I am lacking in every area - sigh.


So... to motivate myself, I thought that I would endeavour to do a few things around the house that have been going undone, or being put on the back burner over the past, ummmm.... little while.

10 Things I Really Need To Get Done This Week

1) Ironing
Do not judge me. But this is my ironing pile(s).

I don't dislike ironing, it is just one of those things that gets left and left and left while I am doing other things and then WHAMMO - I goes from a couple of items to days and days of ironing.


2) Pizza Scrolls, Sandwiches & Biscuits

I like to make school lunches for the term in one hit, then store the sandwiches, scrolls and biscuits in the deep freezer. This is my week to get this done. I have done this all year and it is working so well. It takes a few hours to do, but it saves me a valuable 10 minutes every day when I am madly rushing around getting washing done and poking breakfast down little children's throats.


3) Laundry Cupboard
Again, do not judge me. But this is my laundry cupboard.

This, I hate. I hate my laundry cupboard. We have lived here for six years and I guess I didn't think I would have lived with this cupboard for this long. So, it gets neglected. This week - I shall empty it out. Clean it out and get rid of the stuff I just don't use. I think for the next little while, I am stuck with this dumb hack job of a cupboard. I would like to find the schlub who built this and give his forehead a firm smack.


4) Bathroom Cupboard
This is my beautiful new bathroom. 

But, this is my set of drawers. Yuck. Yuck. Yuck. (Mr Cool's drawers are perfectly clean and organised - of course) Time they got a clean out too.

5) Front Porch

I read in 'Spotless' a while ago that keeping the entry into your house clean and tidy means that less dirt gets into the house. It is time to get the hose out again and get my cute porch back to normal.


6) Top of the fridge

This should be done more than what it gets done. I know my soul will rest easier knowing it is clean.


7) Clean the oven


I love my oven. It is a whopping 90cm, I use it for something or other, almost every day. I have been known to be able to bake 90 biscuits at once. Love that!

I haven't cleaned my oven in years - now don't be grossed out - please read on. I don't cook many greasy things and I use baking paper and foil for everything. I use my oven all the time, but it just doesn't seem to get mucky. But, I know it is about time it gets done, again.


8) Sort out my Sewing Table

It was months ago that I moved this lovely desk into a corner of the playroom so I could sew until my heart was content. But I still haven't finished setting it all up. This needs to be done.


9) Finish a Sewing Project

This skirt has been in this near completed condition for a few weeks. I really need to finish so that I can get on with some other sewing things.

Isn't this fabric just too cute? I love it. 

10) Plant Some Lettuce

A long time ago I used to have lettuce growing in this wheel barrow. It looked really cute. When drought hit our town over the past few years, the strict water restrictions meant that keeping even a wheel barrow of lettuce was too hard. So... now that we have lifted water restrictions, I have refilled and fertilised and mulched the wheelbarrow ready for some new lettuce. I have moved this barrow to the front garden - can you imagine what chickens would do to lettuce? Not worth the risk I thinks.

I don't know if I can get this all done in a week - but I have got to try. My status as a Domestic Goddess is on the line.

10 Things - 10 Things I Can't Get Enough of Right Now...

10 Things I Cannot Get Enough of Right Now... 

1. Our Holiday Unit

I could have stayed holed up here for at least another week(a month would have been amazing!). But the four days we spent away from home were lovely. Lots of sun, lots of time together, lots of walking. It was a lovely mini break and has made me realise we need more of these in our lives!

2. Kindle

I am loving my new Kindle. I love being able to read three or four books at once, but have them all in one item. I love that I can still breastfeed a baby and read - with a paperback - this was just not happening. I am playing waaaay less Angry Birds now that I have my Kindle. I think this is a good thing....

3. New MacBook Powerchord

Sigh. BabyCool chewed the little connector bit that goes into the computer port. It stopped working. Drats. So, I had to buy a new one. I mean, how can one be a blogger without a fully charged computer?! I didn't want to buy a new one, but am very glad I have it.

4. Strawberries

Oh Springtime, how I love thee. Especially as strawberries are now in season. We went to a market while on holidays and I bought 1.5 kg of farm fresh strawberries for $5. I may have allowed other members of my family to eat some of them. Maybe.

5. Bananas

After a tropical storm wiped out like a thousand acres of banana plantations north of us, I have not bought bananas. Bananas are something that one should be able to buy for $2 a kilogram. There is no way on this sweet earth I am paying $10+ a kilogram for them. I recently bought a hand of bananas for the still ridiculous, but more reasonably priced $6.99 a kilogram. I have missed them so. Poor BabyCool doesn't know what to do with bananas, he has never had them before and he is now 11 months old! 

6. Moroccan Mint Tea

The lovely Anna brought this tea along to our bookclub a few months ago. The book we were discussing (Reading Lolita in Tehran) was set in the Middle East. To to go with the Iranian sweets we had made, Anna picked up a box of this Moroccan Mint tea. It is lovely. Mr Cool and I now enjoy a big steaming mug with a good spoon of honey as our wind down cuppa at night.

7. Bi-carb Soda 

This stuff can be used for anything! I have begun using it to wash my face. I just sprinkle some into my hand, add some water from the shower and rub it onto my face. It has a scrub like feel and leaves my skin looking smoother. I have found my skin to be less oily, which has been great. At $2.19 a box, it is a bit of a bargain too.

8. Fav Perfume - Elizabeth Arden - Mediterranean 

This is the perfume Mr Cool bought for me and has been replacing the bottle ever since. It reminds me of the sea. This is my Spring/Summer perfume. I have only just started wearing perfume again, now that I am not feeding BabyCool quite as much (supposedly).

9. Vitamins

If I don't take my vitamins and special hormone stabilising stuff that my natropath has put me on, I am a cranky cow by lunch time. I feel healthier, more alert and more balanced since I have been taking these things. I take vitamin B in various forms, vitamin D, phosphate and a little gold capsule that sorts out the whoopy girlie hormones. I also take a multi-vitamin, you know, because you can never be too sure of the quality of the fruits and vegetables in Australia. Did you know that we have really depleted  soils?

10. Natural Instinct Sunscreen

What a find this has been! I bought this product from the natural therapy side of a Terry White Chemist, but they now sell this brand in lots of places. I like that there are not too many nasties in it, certainly no parabens. It has taken a while to get used to using it, it is kind of like a zinc. I mix it with a tiny dob of moisturiser and then really rub it into my face and neck. It stays white for a while, but it does soak in after a couple of minutes. I really think that sunscreen is the key to looking younger.

What kinds of things can't you get enough of right now?