to Lila

life is good

This pretty much sums up life in New Zealand right now. Heading off to the beach for a swim when the bambina wakes up from her afternoon nap. Summer days make me happy :)

Found here

dressing the bump

for work & night...

Grey wrap top Isabella Oliver, Butterfly blouse Topshop, Animal print ruched dress Dorothy Perkins, Embellished blouse Topshop, Black skinny jeans Topshop, Floaty cape blouse Topshop, Jersey tube skirt Topshop, Cowl neck dress Gap

for weekends & days off...

Jeans Dorothy Perkins, Lace keyhole jumper Topshop, Grey floral 2-in-1 top Dorothy Perkins, Striped knit tunic Topshop, Print cap sleeve top Gap, Zippy harem pants Topshop, Grey wrap top Topshop

Having practically lived in a pair of ripped denim shorts and various vest tops during the past month of holiday freedom, the fact that I had to return to work last week required me to actually open the wardrobe and try and find something suitably stylish and which preferably didn't need ironing. Straightforward enough, however there was also the issue of accommodating the baby bump which has apparently grown quite substantially over this time. The fact that I could only feasibly fit into about three dresses, none of my jeans and a very limited range of other garments spurred me on to take a look at the maternity options around at the moment.

Let's face it, maternity wear is generally pretty bleurgh. When I was pregnant with Lila I wore my normal clothes for as long as humanly possible then bought a few things from the Topshop maternity range (thank god for Topshop) which I then lived in. After a peruse online I'm pleased to see that in the couple of years since then there has been an improvement in the number of high street stores producing decent maternity lines and apart from the garments pictured here, the maternity ranges from my all time favourite shop Zara (sadly not availaible online) and also H&M deserve a mention.

The butterfly blouse, above, is a must have and I definitely need a pair of maternity jeans, and a couple of smart tops for work. The only small geographical blip standing between me and these items is massive amount of ocean and various continents. Unfortunately the New Zealand fashion market is a little backwards in terms of maternity options, however my recent discovery that Topshop delivers to these shores for the reasonable cost of £9 provides a happy solution to this problem!

day dreaming

Sometimes I like to imagine I live here...

Which looks something like this inside...

Where I spend time creating beautiful things like this...

Stopping for a bite to eat...

Then taking a walk in my garden...

Gathering a bunch of these...

And retiring to my library for some reading...

Images found here, here, here, here, here, here, here & here

it's a....

GIRL!

I had my 20 week scan earlier this week and we found out that the new addition to the family is a little bundle of sugar and spice and all things nice :)

I can't honestly say it was a surprise as both Curt and I had been pretty sure this was the case from the start (at least my instincts are a little more on track these days- when I was pregnant with Lila I was absolutely convinced that she was a boy and didn't initially believe the sonographer when she told me she was a girl).

We are very happy, though of course I do feel for Curt a teeny bit who will be completely outnumbered in a household full of women! Lila is thrilled as she has been asking for a baby sister ever since she found out about the tiny baby in Mama's tummy. As I am one of two sisters, I am excited to think of my two little girls growing up and experiencing a childhood together and sharing a precious bond as close as the one we have, knowing that what ever happens they will have a best friend for life.

P.S The ridiculously adorable baby booties are from the Etsy shop handmadebabylove

happy 2011

Wishing everyone lots of love, success and happy vibes for the year ahead.

We have returned from our wonderful Australian holiday in Melbourne rested, tanned (yay!), a lot poorer, but with some great memories and lots of plans for the future. My sister and her fiancee Blair were saints for letting us stay with them in their gorgeous apartment for 3 weeks and not once complaining about the early morning starts and extra mess courtesy of the small, loud person. We saw so much of the city and the surrounding countryside. A lot more, I'm ashamed to say, than when I was backpacking in the post-student days and spent a month there, where I was mostly touring around the bars in the St Kilda area.

A few highlights were visits to a wildlife sanctuary where we encountered the adorable koala Benny, an evening Christmas carol concert in the Botanic Gardens, a trip to the picturesque village of Daylesford with its stunning lake, a day spent at the zoo, and a visit to a winery on the Mornington Peninsula. Oh and course lots of beach time. New Years Eve was spent with a big BBQ on the balcony and first rate views of the epic firework display over the city. So now it's back to Auckland and reality and I'm starting to get excited about the year ahead. I'm not a fan of resolutions but I do love making lots of lists and generally organising myself. This has been made intensely more enjoyable due to the fact we have a new toy to play with- a shiny ipad, courtesy of Jo and Blair which is an extremely generous late wedding present. So I have been happily downloading apps, and getting my life sorted. Roll on 2011!

Here are a few of our holiday snaps...