Friday Favourites

Hi friends, happy November! Can you believe it’s November already? When I was a kid, a year felt like forever—birthdays and Christmas couldn’t come soon enough. Now it’s the opposite–my birthday sneaks up too fast. And Christmas feels like it’s here before I even have a chance to get ready! So before I blink and it’s Monday again, let’s jump into some of this week’s favourites. I started the week with a cold that hit fast but, thankfully, only lasted a couple of days. I still have a bit of a lingering cough, but I was surprised at how quickly I felt well enough to get back to work. Usually, colds take me down much harder! Five-Minute Win! In what has to be a record, I was in and out of Service NSW in five minutes! I received my license renewal letter a couple of weeks ago (maybe more!), but it went straight into the ‘procrastinate’ pile. Waiting in a queue to get my license renewed isn’t my favourite. But this week, I lucked out—I walked straight in, got my ticket, sat down, and my number was called almost immediately. The guy took my photo, and fingers crossed, it’s less scary than my passport, but I won’t know until it arrives. I paid, and I was out in five minutes. Five minutes—what a win! The Perks of Health Insurance My husband’s doing amazing with his weight loss! Since he has osteoarthritis in his right knee (he had a knee replacement on the left one in May), he qualifies for Medibank’s Better Knee, Better Me program. This program focuses on exercise, weight management, and pain relief strategies to help avoid another knee surgery. He also receives food supplements like shakes, soups, and bars, all covered by Medibank Private. Plus, he has virtual sessions with a dietitian and a physiotherapist. It makes all those hefty yearly premiums worth it! At the moment, he’s only eating one main meal at home. To help him along, his caring wife (me) made him some cauliflower rice the other day, and he was thrilled! 😉 hehe. I bought a great big cauliflower and thought I’d try copying what I saw on reels—just cut it up and toss it in the blender, easy! Well, it wasn’t as simple as I thought. The cauliflower chunks kept getting caught in the blades, making the process messier than I hoped. But on the upside, I ended up with plenty of portions to freeze for later! When I first mentioned cauliflower rice to Steve, he moaned—a lot! I don’t blame him; who doesn’t love carbs? But he ended up enjoying it when I served it with pot roast for dinner. It probably helped that he was starving—everything tastes fantastic when you’re hungry! New Appliances Air fryers have been around for a while, and it seems like everyone I know has one. We finally took the plunge and bought our first one this week! Sam has been wanting one for ages because he lifts weights and is really conscious of his diet—protein, protein, protein! With Steve also focused on losing weight, it just seemed like a good time to buy one. My verdict? They’re fast and convenient, making healthier cooking a breeze. The homemade wedges turned out super crispy and got a tick, but the meatballs came out bouncy instead of juicy. They tasted good, but I could have bounced them off the wall! Maybe I just need to get the hang of the cooking times—we’ll see. I also bought a new hairdryer—the Shark Speed Style. After my haircut, the hairdresser confirmed my suspicion that my old (ahem, cheap) dryer was burning my hair. She cut off the crispy ends, and I didn’t want to keep damaging my hair. She recommended the Dyson, but at around $700, I’ll keep it on my wishlist for later. Instead, I opted for the Shark, which is light, quiet, and comes with various attachments. After a few washes, I’ve finally got the hang of it, and I truly love it! Sam also bought an Apple TV, which he connected to our lounge room TV. I think he wanted it to stream shows from his computer, but I’m not entirely sure since I thought our smart TV was enough. Anyway, he loves it, and that makes me happy. We don’t usually splurge on so many tech items in one week, but since Sam works at a cool electronics store, he gets a generous staff discount. I hope he still gets a shift or two at this store, even when he graduates and becomes a nurse. He agrees! That wraps up this week’s favourites! Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you have a fantastic weekend ahead. Take care, and I look forward to being back here on Monday. Linking up with Andrea and Erika

Hi friends! Is it just me, or does the year seem to be racing by? I’m excited about all the fun end-of-year activities and social events that will soon kick off. But at the same time, I’m feeling a little bit terrified. Yikes–so much to do! I haven’t even started thinking about Christmas, and is it really Halloween next week? Okay, I’d better stop hyperventilating and get down to sharing three favourites for this week. Thank you so much for stopping by. (Hopefully) Comfy Sneakers I’ve been on the hunt for a new pair of comfy sneakers for our upcoming trip. With all the walking we’ll be doing, I’m aiming for maximum comfort. I’ve spent ages googling reviews, tried on countless pairs in stores, and—like a stalker—even asked random people about how comfy their kicks are! Some articles and reviews recommended the New Balance 327, promising ultimate comfort without needing to break them in. Others completely disagreed, and wrote negative reviews like ‘NEVER buy these, they’re the worst…blah, blah, blah.’ But honestly, I liked them because they looked so nice with a bit of a retro style. I could see myself wearing them with almost anything–shorts, tights, jeans and even dresses. I was finally convinced that they would be a good pick when I saw one of our preschool parents wearing the same model in a different colour. She said they were extremely comfortable and such a great buy. Yes, I’ve been surveying preschool parents too! So, I went ahead and ordered a pair online, and here’s the best part: I got them for free! Our health insurance provider, Medibank Private, has this great perk—if you download their app, you can link your Apple Watch to track your activity. By hitting your daily step goals, you earn rewards in the form of gift vouchers that can be redeemed for things like, you guessed it, sneakers. Isn’t that great? I’m going to test them out this weekend, and hopefully, my feet will love them–fingers crossed. Half-Priced Grocery Items I don’t know if the supermarkets were feeling extra sympathetic about the cost of living this week. But I managed to get a few items that are usually not on special, like Musashi Protein powder. Sam does Olympic weightlifting (though I kind of wish he did swimming instead–I can’t look when he lifts those massive weights over his head, shudder). One of these tubs normally costs $65, but I never pay the full price. Instead, I bounce around different online stores and usually get it for around $45. But we got lucky this week, and they were half-price at Woolworths. So I bought two! Protein powder isn’t exactly essential (unless you’re Sam), but I was excited at the big savings. Other grocery items that I bought at a discount included cereal, milk jam, turkey mince, toothpaste, and a few cleaning products. In the end, my receipt said I saved $95.50–I’ll take that! Keeping Up Appearances Last night, Keeping Up Appearances came on TV, and I stopped to watch it. I love this hilarious show, and it has a special place in my heart because I used to watch it with my mum. We would both crack up at the ‘lady of the house speaking’ with all her crazy antics as she tried desperately to be posh. I miss those days with my mum, and even though I laughed while watching it, my heart hurt at the same time. That wraps up three favourites for the week. I don’t have anything planned for the weekend other than doing another module for my diploma course…hmph. No fun, but it’ll be worth it. I hope you have a wonderful weekend, and I look forward to being back on Monday. See ya! Linking up with Andrea and Erika

Hi friends! Friday’s back and it’s time to share some favourites from the week. It feels so good to be here again after a couple of good but ‘out of my comfort zone’ weeks with work placement. I’ve really enjoyed getting back to my regular, ordinary routine—sometimes a little shake-up is all you need to remind you how nice ‘ordinary’ really is. Let’s start with my first favourite—coming home just after four on Monday. Yay!! I love my usual work routine of finishing early enough to actually enjoy some of the afternoon. I can knock off a few chores, get dinner started, and spend a bit of time blogging. Sometimes, I even squeeze in a bit of diploma coursework. It was such a change working at the long daycare centre where I’d finish at five and a couple of times, even at six. The evenings felt so short! My fun work friend went overseas during the school holidays. She kindly brought me back some mango dipped in chocolate—two of my favourite things! I’ve deliberately held off from opening it because I wanted to save it for a Friday night treat. Tonight’s the night! This is not a favourite but I had a bumpy Wednesday afternoon, blah! Doing my diploma course online has its advantages but also some frustrating downsides. I’m going through the RPL (recognition of prior learning) path, so instead of traditional assignments, I submit evidence of my existing skills and experience. It sounds straightforward, but it can get a bit tricky. I’ve had to figure out the college portal, which took some getting used to… grrrr. The real challenge comes when I have questions. I need to email the course facilitator and then wait for a response. Unfortunately, she only works three days a week from 9 to 2. A while back, she was on leave for weeks, and a simple question ended up taking two weeks to get answered! With online study, you just don’t get that face-to-face interaction where you can ask things and get immediate answers. But then again, if I had to go to college in person, I probably wouldn’t have enrolled in this course! So there’s that. On Wednesday afternoon, I really needed to speak to her. We’d exchanged a couple of emails, but her responses felt hurried. I just needed a simple answer about my work so I could keep moving forward. When I called the college, she had already left for the day, and it seemed like I wouldn’t be able to get help until the following Monday. I hung up feeling down. That evening, Luke and his fiancée were coming over for dinner to celebrate his birthday, so I pushed aside my diploma issues and went home to prepare. We ended up having a lovely evening, eating way too much and then watching a movie. I love that Luke always comes over for his birthday. So, even though Wednesday afternoon wasn’t great, the evening was definitely a favourite! For the cake, we had Luke’s favourite–a pavlova. The next day, I finally got some help from another facilitator. She sent me some very positive feedback about my work, and now I feel a whole lot more confident. I’m so relieved to know I’m on the right track and happy that my question was resolved. Hooray! Remember the old Casio watches? My uncle gave me one when I was a teenager, and I treasured it for years. Well, it seems they’re back again as a retro trend. Luke gave his younger brother Sam one as a birthday gift since Sam just turned 20 a little over a week ago. Luke even bought one for himself, so they’re twinning now. I had to laugh because the younger generation is going retro while I’m all about technology with my Apple Watch. Haha! That about wraps up my week of mostly favourites! This weekend, I don’t have any plans other than an appointment with the optometrist. I’m considering getting some contacts for my long-distance vision. I can see distance, but not very well, and as I get older, my world is getting blurrier. Yikes! Hmmm, I’ll see how I go. After that, I want to get stuck into finishing some more course modules because I want to get it done and dusted! I hope you have a wonderful weekend. Happy Friday! Linking up with Andrea and Erika

Hi friends! I’m excited to pop in and share one big favourite for the week, and that is–I finished my placement at this cute long daycare centre!! Wooohooo!! Although I had a wonderful experience and met some passionate, energetic and friendly educators. As well as some gorgeous children who stole my heart. I feel totally wiped out! There’s a good reason why we call daycare centres ‘long daycare centres’ over here: the days are definitely LONG! I’m used to preschool, where we run sessions, and the kids can only attend two or three days a week. The days are much shorter, too, as they can arrive from 8:20 and need to be out of the centre by 3:40. But at long daycare centres, the hours are from 7:30 to 6:00. Some kids are there for full days, five days a week. When I said goodbye today, I felt sad but also relieved and happy that I’ve finished this part of my course. So many mixed emotions. Walking home to start the weekend has never felt better than it did this afternoon! I know all my preschool colleagues are probably groaning because it’s the last weekend before preschool opens after the term break. But I’m excited and can’t wait to get back to my old routine and see all the familiar faces. I’m keeping it short today. I’m excited to be hosting Cousin Connect tomorrow night. So there are a few things I need to get on top of before I can veg out in front of the TV. As Julia Roberts says in Pretty Woman, I want to “be still like vegetables. Lay like broccoli.” Yep, that sounds good to me! Thank you so much for stopping by and I hope you have a wonderful weekend! Linking up with Andrea and Erika 

Hi friends, and happy Friday! I’m excited to be back today to share some unexpected favourites. Honestly, I had no high hopes for this week—working over our preschool break and doing my work placement for my studies didn’t exactly scream ‘fun!’ But this week has surprised me in the best way, and I’m so happy to share some favourites from what I thought would be a not-so-favourite week! After working at the same preschool for 27 years, I felt nervous about going to a new centre. New faces, new routines, new environment—yikes! Luckily, I didn’t have to travel far, as it’s only a ten-minute walk from my house. Even closer than my current workplace—what a bonus! When I arrived, the director was so warm and welcoming. She showed me around the centre, explained the routine, and introduced me to the staff. There was so much information to take in that my slow-processing brain couldn’t quite keep up! This week was all about working with 0-2-year-olds, and after spending so many years with 3-5-year-olds. I had forgotten how much I loved working with babies! Oh, my goodness, they are so cute! Sticky, snotty and sometimes a bit smelly but so incredibly adorable! The educators in the nursery were great, too. Once we got past the initial awkwardness of me being a stranger in their room, we had fun conversations and started to click. And by the end of today, we were laughing about a bunch of random things that happened during the day. One of the things that really struck me is how incredibly young the educators are! In fact, all of them are young enough to be my kids! And I couldn’t help feeling like a bit of a dinosaur! Haha! For instance, today, one of the oldest educators in the centre—the 28-year-old—was reminiscing about her childhood and saying how old she felt. The 21-year-old educator asked her if she had a black-and-white TV back then. I burst out laughing and said, ‘Uhm, no, that would be me!’ Then, when I told them I existed before the internet, you should have seen their eyes nearly pop out of their heads! They were like, ‘What did you do back then?’ I replied, ‘Oh, I just watched the grass grow! we all burst out laughing, but I could tell they thought I was so old that I probably had one foot in the grave! It was so funny! I loved my first week, and the sweet classroom leader said she was sad that next week, I would be moving to the other room to work with the 2 to 3-year-olds. I’m sad, too, as I’ve had such a great time getting to know the babies and the educators. I even felt extra sad thinking about next Friday when I’ll be saying goodbye to the whole centre for good. I never expected to feel this way—not in a million years! After such a surprisingly fantastic week, here’s a list of unexpected favourites Working with babies meant spending most of the day sitting on the floor. I’m so excited that I can still get up off the floor—phew! The daycare centre is beautifully decorated, and now I’m feeling inspired about how I can share some of these ideas with my colleagues I got to cuddle babies! I learned some new songs, and now I have a whole playlist looping around in my head. It was good, but not so helpful when I was trying to fall asleep! I loved seeing the energy and passion of the young educators—it was contagious in the best way! It’s inspired me to bring back my own zing, which has been a bit zapped after all these years working with kids. I got to see how a privately owned long daycare centre operates. Having only ever worked in a non-profit centre, I’ve heard some not-so-great stories about facilities that focus on profit. However, I have nothing but high praise for the quality of care from this centre. The educators truly love the children they care for, and I loved seeing them not only meet their physical needs but also genuinely shower the kids with so much affection! It was so good to get out of my comfort zone in such a big way. I’ve always appreciated my shorter working hours, three paid term breaks a year, as well as annual leave. But this week really reminded me how lucky I am, especially knowing that educators in long daycare centres don’t have these benefits. I finally took my husband up on his offer to cook—I can be such a goose, always wanting to do everything myself! When I got home Wednesday afternoon, Steve had a lovely glass of wine as well as cheese and crackers waiting for me. He also made roast pork with vegetables and gravy for dinner. To top it off, he whipped up some sweet treats! What a champ! Vanilla slice Butter cookies An extra big one just for me! I think he expected me to be feeling down about having to work over the break, and he knows that food always makes me happy! I’ve had an amazing week, but I’m feeling pretty tired, which makes me even more excited that it’s the October long weekend—yay! Working with babies and getting to know the young educators has been fantastic. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m actually looking forward to next week in the 2 to 3-year-olds’ room—ha! Who would have guessed? Not me, that’s for sure! Thank you so much for being here, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend! Linking up with Andrea and Erika

Oh my goodness, I sure am glad it’s Friday! Life happened, and I ran out of time earlier this week, so I missed blogging for What’s Up Wednesday. But I’m happy to be back today, linking up with Andrea and Erika for another round of favourites on this cold and wintry Friday—brrrrrr! First up, my biggest favourite for this week is that my cousin is on the road to recovery. She had major surgery on Monday, and we are all relieved it’s behind her now. Phew! I have been worried about her ever since she started struggling with her health. So it’s such a huge relief to know she’s moving forward. For a minute there, I thought we might have to postpone our January trip since we’re going with her and her family. This would have been completely fine as her health comes first. But she wouldn’t entertain the thought—not even for a second! Haha, she’s super excited (we’re all excited!!) so when she found out about the surgery. She made sure the doctor knew that our January trip was a top priority! Luckily, everything has turned out fine and we have just the right amount of time for her to be well enough to go. We visited her in the hospital on Wednesday night, and she got the all-clear to go home on Thursday. I grabbed some inspiration from a post I did back in June about meals to make for others and made some Greek chicken and rice to take over for her first night home. It was a small way to make things easier for her and her family. I got these aluminium trays with lids to transport the food. They’re great because they save the hassle of returning containers. Gotta keep it simple! Last weekend, the weather was amazing and a big favourite was walking along a local reserve and seeing pretty views like this. But for the last few days, the weather has been like this. I guess that’s spring for you! No matter—warmer days are sure to come back soon (I hope!). When it was warmer, a few days ago. I thought, great! We’ve hit smoothie weather, and I made a banana and strawberry smoothie with an extra dollop of honey because I love sweet smoothies! But it’s definitely hot chocolate weather tonight and sadly I’ve run out of Swiss Miss hot chocolate as well as marshmallows. Yikes!! I guess I’ll just have to tuck into some Cadbury hazelnut chocolate instead. As well as some chippies! It is Friday night, after all, and one of my favourite things to do is watch something on TV while munching on snacks. This time, I have normal-sized packets of chocolate and chips instead of my usual small single-serve snacks, so I’ll need to practice some self-control… hmmmm. Another favourite is that today was the last day of term three! I won’t get a term break this time, though. But that’s okay because I’ll get my practical placement out of the way. I’m taking advantage of our preschool break to fulfil my course requirement of working with babies and toddlers at a local daycare centre. It stings a little (okay, a lot!) to miss out on two weeks off from work. But I’m trying to stay upbeat and motivated (she says through clenched teeth). No, really, I am! Hehe. I’m keeping it short today because I’m wiped out and feeling a bit congested—surely I can’t be getting sick again! Nope, I refuse to get sick again. I’m going to rest and take it easy over the weekend because I’ve got babies to cuddle next week! Thanks so much for being here, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Hi friends, and happy Friday! I’m so glad the weekend is here because, to be honest, this week has felt a bit off. Maybe I’m still not fully bouncing back after COVID, or maybe work has just been, ahem… extra challenging. Either way, I’m ready to shake it off and move forward into the weekend. Here are a few things that were good about this week. My dishes were sparkling, but my dishwasher needed a clean. So, I used this dishwasher cleaner to sparkle it up and get rid of any funky smells. Because a clean dishwasher is a happy dishwasher! Ribs courtesy of Steve’s work and a salad I threw together meant Tuesday night’s dinner was a breeze! A while ago, I shared that my friend gave me a cutting from her beautiful plant when I visited her in Avoca. Miraculously, I managed to grow it into a luscious plant without killing it! Look at how beautiful it was. Fast forward to a few months later, and at the beginning of winter, we were hit with days of relentless rain. Because of that, I hadn’t gone out to the courtyard to hang any washing—thank you, clothes dryer! Finally, after about a week or so, I went outside, only to see that my pot plant was filled with water that hadn’t drained. And horror of horrors, my poor plant was dying! I did everything but give it CPR to save it, but it was too late; the roots had rotted. But the good news is that before this tragedy, I had taken another cutting to plant and give to a friend. Here it is today—see the little roots sprouting! I’m going to replant it even though I’m a bit scared it might not grow. But this weekend, I’ve decided to be brave and plant it. It’s spring, after all, so the weather is on my side, right? Gulp! Hopefully, I can grow it again and finally give my friend a plant! Cross your fingers for me, please, and I’ll keep you posted! I was sitting on a beanbag, and we were watching an anime called Vinland Saga. I turned around and saw Sam with the two cats, looking cozy. The cats aren’t besties, but they are friendlier towards each other these days. They also share a common favourite-they both love Sam! We got some sweet treats from one of our preschoolers who turned 4, and let me tell you, sweets are always a welcome favourite! Steve now has Wednesdays and Thursdays off from work. So when I got home on Wednesday, I did something I never do: I sat down with him and had some snacks before dinner. I don’t usually sit down when I get home because it’s so hard to get back up again to tackle “all the things.” But I enjoyed the break, and it felt good to pause—and yes, I did struggle to get moving again. But that’s okay; it’s good to be flexible and live in the moment! My inspiration to live in the moment came from an Instagram reel I saw last week. Haha, I scrolled through so much social media while I lay sick in bed and I even saved a collection of reels for future reference. It’s a good one, and it really hit home that these are indeed the good ol’ days! I’m excited to sleep in tomorrow and enjoy a slow morning. We have plans to go to Ramsgate farmers market in the morning. Then, in the evening, I’m going to see my cousin perform at the Spring Latin Dance Fest. It should be a fun Saturday followed by a quiet Sunday. Thank you so much for being here, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend! Linking up with Andrea and Erika  

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about something that’s been trending around the fashion world for a while now: capsule wardrobes. While I haven’t fully embraced the minimalist approach yet, I’ve definitely become more mindful of what I buy. You could say I’m taking a very slow journey toward simplifying my wardrobe. I’m also making a real effort not to get swept up in the latest trends because, as we all know, they date so quickly. That’s why I’m excited to explore what a capsule wardrobe is all about and share why it’s worth considering—and why the idea intrigues me. The Capsule Wardrobe Evolution: Then and Now Have you ever wondered about the origins of the fabulous capsule wardrobe trend? I always thought it was a modern buzzword. But interestingly, the capsule wardrobe concept emerged all the way back in the groovy 70s. It started as a collection of essential pieces that could be mixed and matched with a few trendy items. Fast forward to the ’80s, and capsule wardrobes really started to take off. It was a time when women were juggling careers and personal lives more than ever, and simplifying things—including their wardrobes—just made sense. Today, with simplicity, minimalism, and sustainability in the spotlight, the capsule wardrobe is making a big comeback. Not only is it a brilliant and practical way to keep your wardrobe both simple and stylish, but it’s also a great choice for the planet! Why a Capsule Wardrobe Might Be Your Best Fashion Move The daily struggle of deciding what to wear can be a real headache! Here are some reasons why capsule wardrobes can be a wonderful solution: Streamlining Your Daily Outfit Choices With fewer, carefully selected pieces in your wardrobe, choosing an outfit becomes a breeze. No more staring blankly at a closet full of clothes! Investing in Timeless Pieces for Long-Term Style Capsule wardrobes encourage you to invest in timeless, high-quality pieces that will last for years. Versatility By mixing and matching your capsule wardrobe pieces, you can create countless outfit combinations for any occasion. Clutter-Free Closet With a capsule wardrobe, you’ll declutter your closet and keep only the essentials. This not only saves space but also makes it easier to find what you need. Sustainable Fashion Capsule wardrobes encourage mindful consumption and help reduce the urge to constantly buy new clothes. By making the most of what you already own means you’ll reduce your environmental impact. You will also contribute to a more sustainable fashion industry. It’s a win-win! Essential Items for a Versatile Wardrobe So, what exactly is a capsule wardrobe? It’s all about picking versatile, timeless essentials that you can mix and match to create endless fabulous outfits. Here are some key items you’ll definitely want to include: 1. The Classic White Shirt Every capsule wardrobe needs a crisp white shirt because it’s a true wardrobe hero! You can dress it up with a blazer for a polished look or pair it with jeans for a relaxed, casual style. 2. Well-Fitted Jeans Find a pair (or two) of jeans that fit you perfectly and make you feel amazing. Whether you prefer skinny, straight, or boyfriend cuts, a great pair of jeans is a wardrobe staple. 3. Timeless Blazer A blazer instantly elevates any outfit. Opt for a neutral colour like black, navy, or grey that can be layered over dresses, blouses, and even t-shirts. 4. Little Black Dress (LBD) The LBD is a fashion classic because it’s perfect for so many different occasions. Pick a style that flatters your figure, then accessorise to your heart’s content—or keep it minimal if, like me, simplicity is more your thing. 5. Comfortable and Stylish T-shirts Choose good quality T-shirts in basic colours like white, black, and grey. You can wear them with anything from skirts to jeans. 6. Versatile Jumper A cozy, well-made jumper is a must-have for those chilly days! Choose neutral colours that can easily be paired with a variety of outfits. 7. Tailored Trousers Nothing beats tailored trousers for a polished look. They’re perfect for any smart casual event, you can pair them with blouses, jumpers, or a t-shirt. 8. Comfy Flats and Chic Heels Invest in a pair of comfortable flats for everyday wear and a pair of heels for when you need to dress up. Again, neutral colours always work best as they can match any outfit. 9. Stylish Outerwear Depending on your climate, choose a versatile coat or jacket that complements your style. A trench coat, leather jacket, military-style jacket or denim jacket are all great options. 10. Accessory Essentials Accessories are the magic touch to any outfit! A few key pieces like a versatile handbag, a classic belt, and some elegant jewellery can completely transform your look. Plus, accessories are a fantastic way to infuse your own personality into your wardrobe. My Capsule Wardrobe Journey: What I’ve Learned So Far Starting this journey has been very rewarding. One of the first items I added was a classic white shirt, and it’s quickly become a favourite. I love how something so simple can be dressed up or down—so many options, so many outfits! Over the years (yep, it’s been a slow journey!), I’ve been gradually building my collection, focusing on versatile pieces that truly fit my style. That said, I’m not super strict about sticking only to essentials because the fashion lover in me enjoys adding a few on-trend pieces as well! I love scrolling through Pinterest for fashion inspiration but when I do I always mentally run through my existing wardrobe to see what I can use. I like to mix in a few on-trend items too. The key for me is choosing pieces that won’t date too quickly, so they still fit the capsule wardrobe vibe without being too fleeting. Tips for Getting Started If you’re feeling inspired and want to start building your own capsule wardrobe, here’s a little tip: begin by focusing on versatility. Look for pieces that can mix

Hi friends, it’s Friday again, and you know what that means. Yep, it’s time to share a recap of the week. Thanks so much for stopping by today! I didn’t share about last weekend earlier because I joined the Share Our Lives Link Up, where we all chatted about how we find peace in our day. So, let’s backtrack to the weekend because things pretty much went downhill from there. Some weeks are just like that, aren’t they? Friday Last Friday night, my work colleagues and I had a fantastic dinner out courtesy of our amazing parent committee. They treat us to a meal each term at a place of our choosing, and we always pick a new venue. This time, we chose a newly refurbished local RSL and had a lovely night catching up. We see each other almost every day at our busy preschool, but there’s rarely time for much catching up! We started with cocktails, and I went for a strawberry daiquiri, it was like a slushie with a kick! The table was pretty long, so, unfortunately, we couldn’t chat with everyone. We probably should have moved around and swapped seats, but we didn’t think of it. Maybe we felt too tired from the busy week, and after a cocktail, we figured we’d better stay put. Tiredness and cocktails might not mix well if we were moving around too much! My work buddies I sat next to and I had a fun time, laughing hard and swapping stories about preschool life. At one point, we were almost in tears from laughing so much. I’ve got some seriously funny work friends! Sometimes, I think I could easily write a book or a sitcom about what it’s like to work with children in a preschool—though I’d probably end up losing my day job, so I won’t! I was starving, so I ordered two lamb shanks with red wine sauce and mashed potatoes. It was delicious! I was going to say it was gone in 60 seconds, but I’m a slow eater. Trust me, though, I polished it off easily. Saturday Saturday was time for cousin connect at my cousin T’s house. My cousin S, the charcuterie master, switched things up a bit. Instead of his usual amazing cheese board, he brought an artichoke dip. It was cheesy, melty, and oh-so-goody! Cousin S, who’s from Ohio, told us the dip was a recipe from a restaurant chain called Olive Garden. Now, I’ve added that to our list of places to eat when we visit the U.S. in January! I made a pasta. My other cousins brought schnitzel, lasagna, garlic bread and salads. It was a feast! Two cousins have their birthdays on the same day. So my aunt brought a chocolate cake to celebrate. We didn’t play our usual board game that night; we just sat around talking and sharing funny stories. Sunday Sunday, I felt exhausted and thought that I might have stayed up too late the night before or eaten too much. I spent most of the day on a bean bag with this girl on me and I love how she is so tired from just being a cat. Anyone would think she was busy juggling kittens and a full-time job, the way she’s sprawled out like that. I went to bed early and thought after resting all day and going to bed early, I would be ok. Monday, I went to work, and my throat felt scratchy. I spent the day talking all sexy-like. By the time I walked home, I felt really unwell and ended up with a temp in the evening. Ugh! I kept thinking nooooo I can’t be sick; I was sick a couple of weeks ago! Tuesday- I took the day off work because my back was sore, my taste buds had gone crazy, and everything I ate tasted like tin. These were the same symptoms I had when COVID got me two years ago. I’d done a test on Monday morning and got a negative result, but by Tuesday afternoon, I did another one and, you guessed it, it was positive. So, I spent the rest of the week feeling pretty terrible. I had zero energy, and even getting up for a shower felt like a massive effort. I wasn’t very hungry, but I did manage to eat the scrambled eggs Steve made for me. I’m sure they would have tasted delicious if my taste buds were working. They certainly looked good! His dumpling soup looked great, too! Usually, I don’t spend much time scrolling on Instagram, but that’s all I did while lying in bed. I came across this in my friend’s stories—so sad about the passing of James Earl Jones. Our grocery order arrived just in time because I had almost run out of tissues. Good news for Friday! Today, I feel much better! I’m still coughing, but I can move around and feel alive now, yay! I could even taste these juicy strawberries. So, that was my week… hmph! It wasn’t great, but I’m so glad to be feeling much better. I don’t have much on this weekend other than catching up with my lovely friend tomorrow. After that, we’re both ‘working’ on a Saturday as our preschool is holding a fundraising event at a local play and party centre. I thought I might be too sick to go, but now I’m feeling up to it and ready to get back into things. So, after our catch-up and a bite to eat, we’ll head over to the event and lend a hand for a couple of hours. It should be fun, or maybe I’m just saying that because I’ve been in bed all week, haha! Well, at least we won’t be ‘on duty’ as the parents will be there and will be responsible for their children. Phew! I hope you have a wonderful weekend and I look forward to being back here on Monday. Happy Friday! Linking

Hi friends and happy Friday! It’s time to link up with Andrea and Erika to share some favourites from the week that zoomed by oh so fast! Monday I got an early mark from work! It’s that time of the year when we have to write some detailed summaries of the children’s progress at preschool. Our director has rostered some time for each of us to work from home, where we can hear ourselves think. Our centre isn’t purpose-built. The building used to be an old council chamber that has been used as a preschool for over 70 years. While it has a lot of historical charm, it’s also very noisy and cramped. We’re constantly bumping into each other just trying to fit into the office. Finding a spot to work without interruptions is nearly impossible! So on Monday, I enjoyed a walk home at midday and couldn’t help thinking that working a four-hour day felt pretty good! Of course, I didn’t only work four hours because as soon as I got home I got stuck into those summaries. I had set myself some high expectations and thought that I would smash through them. But no, the time flew by and I didn’t get through as many as I had hoped. I’ll tackle more of them over the next few weeks. In the evening it was time to get together with some friends at our local club for dinner. It was a nice evening and the fish and chips were delicious. But I was eager to get home to hear about how Steve went on his first evening shift back at work. He is easing into work and doing fewer hours for this first week and so far so good. Yay! Tuesday Our go-to person for organising work socials—who’s young, fun, and always enthusiastic—was busy exploring potential venues for our Christmas work lunch. Without her enthusiasm, we’d probably miss out on some pretty great socials! Before she joined our team even making a decision where to go was always such a ‘thing’. Not anymore and now she makes sure we book early to avoid missing out because all the good restaurants get booked up fast during the festive season. I’m still having trouble getting my head around the fact that the festive season will soon be upon us. Holy guacamole! Wednesday I had totally forgotten about Educator’s Day but our kind director didn’t. She surprised us with some treats and kind words. I picked out this cute notebook, a couple of chocolates (I’ve eaten more than a couple since Wednesday!) and a pen that says Outdream Yourself. I love a pen with a boost of inspiration. A kind mum brought us some Lebanese pizzas and they were delicious! We also received a box of chocolates from another parent, along with a lovely note that really meant a lot to us. Thursday I got some Barramundi for dinner from Woolworths, and I also picked up garlic, herb, and butter from them. Woolworths gives these for free when you buy fresh protein, which makes the fish delicious and my life easier! Friday I came across this piece of wisdom on Instagram and used Canva to create my own graphic based on it. It’s true, isn’t it? Life is too short and I need to remember this more often. I’m off to get ready for dinner with my lovely work colleagues. They’re a fun bunch, and I’m looking forward to actually having a proper conversation for once! Even though we work together, we never get a chance to chat—let’s just say the kids at preschool keep us very busy! I hope you have a wonderful weekend and I look forward to being back on Monday. See ya! Linking up with Andrea and Erika