Just discovered ...

A fantastic new Bakery Cafe in South Melbourne.

Brasserie Bread has been running as a supplier to the catering industry in Sydney and Melbourne for some years but their Melbourne Cafe only opened ten days ago.  It is tucked away on a side street in South Melbourne and for those willing to go the extra mile to find it it is very worth it.

After dropping Jot at childcare today we decided that a breakfast out was a very good idea (to be honest neither of us can remember the last breakfast out we had that wasn't for three people).  So R gave me directions and off we went.

Wow is all I can say.  The room is clean and very new, there are samples of bread and jams and pastries on the counter space for you to nibble on while deciding on what to buy and there is a great menu of Breakfast and lunch items (all of which I believe are available no matter what time of day you visit).

R kept it simple with the Croissant with Jammery Jams but I don't go out to breakfast much so splashed out on the Sourdough Pancakes with Stewed Berries and Honeycomb Cream. 

Oh My!  The pancakes were divine.  Very light and nothing on the plate overpowered the other elements.  Now I am not a food critic or a big eater (normally) but I cleaned the plate and only allowed R one small mouthful to try.  If it was socially acceptable I might have licked the plate too, I restrained myself.

They also run free Saturday Baking Classes for kids aged 4 - 12 (so Jot is still a little young) and next year will be starting adult classes.  Each Class starts at 10am and bookings are essential.

You can find the Cafe at 150 Thistlethwaite Street, South Melbourne.  The cafe is open from 7:30am to 3pm from Monday to Satruday but is closed on Sundays and Public Holidays.

Disclaimer - The don't know me at Brasserie Breads but once again I just had to pass on the word about a great place to go.  All images are taken from the Brasserie Bread website.

Awfuls and Beautifuls

As part of the Cognitive Behaviour Therapy I am undertaking to address my Antenatal Depression I have been asked to fit more beautifuls (things I enjoy doing) into my day to balance out the awfuls (those things I have to do).

While I was working I struggle to do this although I think I read more than I have done in years.  Now I am maternity leave I am finding it easier to squeeze them in as well as finding pleasure in more things. 

Unsurprisingly the main one I have tried to get back to (and mostly succeeded) is the sewing and quilting.  Although I am still quite limited in the fact that the sewing machine has to share desk space with my computer until February and therefore I have no storage for any fabric or notions so if I need anything I have to get them from the garage, I have been able to get back into it.

I have finished the last Oh Beehave Quilting Bee Block for Kirsty (was meant to be sent in September).

I have also finished my Nephew J birthday quilt (his brithday was about 2 weeks ago) but stupidly didn't remember to take a photo of it complete before I sent it to NZ so hopefully my sister will take one for me when it arrives.

I have also finished the MIL quilt for her Christmas present (well still need to attach the label but it is virtually complete) but no photos of that until after she has opened it - not that I think she knows about the blog but I would rather err on the side of caution.

Finally Jots childcare is having a red and green day tomorrow to celebrate the start of the festive season (Jot keeps asking if we are going to have a tree and where Santa lives - they seem to be linked in her mind).  And having had this fabric in mind for a festive skirt for her for over a year I decided to pull my finger out and finished it about 15 minutes ago  All ready in good time.  I just adore the tassles.  I used the Oliver & S Lazy Days Skirt free pattern which can be found on their blog.  One I have used a dozen or so times in the last tow years.

Now I am going to whip up a Oliver & S Popover Dress for her to wear this summer (another free pattern from their blog).  I have some great Anna Maria Horner Little Folks Voile that I have been sitting on for a while.  Time to cut into it.

Anyway, I am finding it rather easy to balance my awfuls with my beautifuls at the moment (I am not going to detail all the things I have to do here) and it is really helping me to keep some focus.  Now I really need to find a way to keep it up once the baby arrives.  I wonder if I can sew with the baby in a sling.  Worth trying maybe.

Nappy Bag

A long long time ago (roughly 30 years) my Mum had this fantastic red bag that she used for air / train / car travel.  Given that at the time she had to have entertainment (and spare clothes etc) for three kids I remember said bag as being huge.  It probably wasn't but I was only little at the time.  I remember the bag as having two main compartments with two outside compartments (one of which always held our passports).

So when I stumbled across this beauty online it reminded me so much of Mums red bag that I knew I had to see it for myself.

I was able to track one down at the local Baby Bunting store and as of Friday I am the proud owner of one OiOi Red Faux Lizard Carry All Nappy Bag.  It comes with its own change mat, bottle cooler, wipes case and wet bag as well as multiple pockets (including one for passports).

I love it and although at the moment it is only doing duty for one child and doubling as my handbag, it has a long life ahead of it as a nappy bag.  As well as continuing as my handbag/travel bag for many years to come.

In actual fact it is nothing like Mums red bag but I am so glad that everytime I look at it I remember travelling as a family and as a kid.  I hope that some day my children will have as many fond memories as I do about travelling and maybe some of them will be triggered by My Red Bag.


Disclaimer: Oioi have no idea who I am I just love this bag and had to tell someone (or everyone) about it.

Blogtoberfest - The last day

Well once again Blogtoberfest is over today and I have to admit I did very poorly indeed.  I started off well but fell by the wayside just over half way through.  Seems to be my limit.

I'm afraid I had more posts planned but I had a couple of really bad days followed by a week with my sister from the UK and I didn't want to waste any of the time we had to write a blog post.  She left yesterday and now it is back tonormal around here.  Well nearly.

The kitchen is still not finished (only small things left to do) and it is starting to annoy me.  We have the final inspection on Wednesday so R and I need to go round tomorrow and make a list of everything we think isn't done right. 

My little sis J spent two full days of her visit with a paint brush in her hand (bless her) and we were able to finish off two rooms and get half way through a third which is great for us.  Now to try to polish off that one and at least one more before the in laws arrive on 3 December.  We had originally hoped to do a further three rooms but I need to be realisitc as there is not much I can do.  I managed about 2 hours of painting before my body said I had done to much and although there is not much left to do in the room that will become Jots we still need to do a number of things that I can't do alone (like the ceiling). 

So I am starting to focus less on the paint job (that will be R's job to worry about) and more on the soft furnishings for Jots new room.  I am thinking of getting some girly fabric and some embroidery hoops and making hanging art that way, then we can change the fabric when she wants to.  I also want to make her a book sleeve but need to refind the tutorial which I bookmarked some time ago. 

After Jot has moved rooms we are on to the nursery.  No idea about this yet as I haven't even started the babies welcome quilt and don't really know what colours to choose.  No idea on gender of baby (although I am starting to sway towards Blue) so don't want to pink it.  Then again I don't really want it to be green or yellow either so I might just blue it regardless - I think that is what we ended up doing with Jots nursery in the old house.

My Christmas Plan is coming along well.  I am about to organise a baking day at the end of November to stock up the freezer with cookie dough and cakes ready for the silly season.  As well as making some foodie christmas gifts.  Hoping to rope in a friend or two to join me so the kids can entertain each other and we can catch up. 

I also have a list of things I have to make before Christmas as well as another list of things to do and shop for but I have a feeling that some (or possibly all) of those lists will not happen.  I am getting very slow now and with only about 7 weeks to go I am feeling very ready for a break.

Finally, I hope you have a happy halloween tonight.  Are you doing anything?  We are planning on a quiet night in and have a bucket load of lollies in case we get any trick or treaters (doubt it as we had none last year and I ended up eating all the lollies).  Have a good one.

Jotsmum

Blogtoberfest Day 19 - The Move

I am soo very very very glad to be home.

The move itself went well.  I actually didn't have to do anything.  I packed at the unit and then R loaded the car, drove home (dropping Jot and I off at Mainly Music on the way), unloaded the car, cleaned the rooms we were using last night, washed out the fridge and collected us from the train station.

We have discovered one or two little downsides to moving back mid renovation:

1) Dust everywhere
2) No kitchen (R has set up a temporary kitchen in the garage but I am thinking that takeaway food sounds so much better at the moment)
3) No laundry machine - did finf the nearest laundromat though so will need to take a trip on Saturday to start on the mountain of washing I have
4) No ensuite - well it is all there but the tiler hasn't finished and so we are not sure quite how water tight it is - luckily we didn't renovate the bathroom this time so we can at least have a shower.
5) No power to half the house

So far the plus side to the renovation is that we are able to use the indoor toilet (Thank you God).  Although as R pointed out the new placement of the door means that if we leave the toilet door open (which those of you with a toddler will know is sometimes not your choice) the neighbours can see you!  Once the ensuite is fully functional this will only be a problem for the youngest member of our household and as she is used to toileting in public I doubt it will bother her much for a while.

I was very pleasantly surprised to have the stone workbench for the kitchen fitted yesterday (after being told it was likely to take another 2 weeks) so I am now a little hopeful of a functional kitchen in the next 10 days.  Please keep your fingers crossed for me.  I do love the new kitchen though it looks very swish and with all these slow closing doors and drawers I can see a lot of fun ahead for us all.  Jot has already marked one drawer for hers so that will be our plastic drawer - why has she chosen the largest one?

Before and After Photos will follow but unlikely to be part of Blogtoberfest.  I just doubt it will all be finished in time as we still need to paint.

Blogtoberfest Day 18 - International Shopping

Getting in a day early as I know I will not get a chance to post tomorrow as it is MOVING day!

I am all for shoping handmade and ideally locally so when it comes to birthday presents for my wonderful family who live across the ocean I am sometimes stuck for choice.

I know about
Etsy - Mostly USA but also worldwide
and
Madeit - Australia

But now I have found
Notonthehighstreet - UK
and
Toggle - NZ

Edited to Add from Comments:
Folksy - UK
Oz Handmade - Australia

This should make Brithday presents easier to purchase. 

I will be AWOL tomorrow but will be back to regular programming on Wednesday (I hope).

Blogtoberfest Day 17

Help

I am drowning in packing.  I got so distracted by it this morning I forgot to check my fasting Blood Glucose Level (which is the most important when dealing with Gestational Diabetes).  I have sent R and Jot off to swimming with a full car to drop off at home on the way back and come to work.  A much more peaceful way to spend the day.  However I know how much we have to get done tonight as we have to be out of the serviced apartment by 10am.  No lie in for me tomorrow :)

Timing of leaving the apartment works quite well though as we have Mainly Music at 10am and while Jot and I are participating R can take the full car home and empty it.  Then all I need to worry about is a day of unpacking and organising and trying to figure out how to live without a kitchen (oh and where we are going to sleep).  I have demanded that the washing machine is plumbed back in (chances are a little slim) as I have no idea where our nearest laundromat is (although I am hoping for one to magicaly appear on our local shopping strip). 

I think the nights are going to be interesting as Jot has been on a cot mattress on the floor for the last 8 weeks and over the last week we have found her on the floor next to it more often than not.  I am hoping going back into her single bed will mean that there is more space for her but also think that she is going to fall out of bed a lot over the next week.  It will be nice to see how she goes in her own room again too.  I have loved having her close by BUT the fact I wake with every little squeak means my sleep is getting severly disturbed. 

I am looking forward to my bed and hoping I can actualy sleep in it this week - we haven't decided where we are going to be sleeping yet as I think we are planning to decorate the master bedroom before we move back into it.  Fingers crossed for my bed (whereever we put it).