I Wanna Be A Biker Chic

My basic fashion rule of thumb is that if these following three women are wearing it, I should be wearing it:

The ever-stylish Kate Bosworth

Model Mum Miranda Kerr

Fashion queen, Diane Kruger

I'm talking biker. It's been around for a few seasons now but this year it's all about brooding in black boots, leather jackets and lots of black, grey and my absolute favourite, maroon. You can not go wrong this winter with all black, all season, topped with a cute maroon beanie or scarf.

Anyway, in my quest for the ultimate biker chic look I set out yesterday in search of some flat biker boots (I have a healed, studded pair from ZARA). The winners, currently enjoying their first outing, are the below pair from Country Road:

Hello, lover. $249.

 I think I may wear these every day until this trend is over. I'm just that obsessed. If you're loaded, how about this pair from the iconic Mr Choo?

I KNOW RIGHT???

For those who don't want to invest in a $200+ pair, you can go past these puppies from The Iconic. Great for just one season.

The Iconic always has the goods

Alright, guys, I'm off to be hardcore.

Z xx

Profanities

In our house of late we've discussed introducing a family swear jar. The German and I swear more than your average inner-western Sydney couple and while we've discussed our language before it's never been quite so pertinent an issue as now, being that our daughter has turned into a parrot. Cue her dropping bombs left, right and centre. 

I'd have to say the worst thing about the whole baby-swearing thing is that H actually uses the words in context - which says loads for her intelligence but not much for my mothering skills. Playing with her toys she CONSTANTLY says "Oh God! Oh God! Ohhhhh gawwwwd!" which gives me great insight into what my own favourite phrase must be. The blocks fall down - "Oh God!" Bunny falls out of his bed - "Oh God!" She can't get the right shape into the right hole? Ohhhhhhh gawwwwwd!

Now the whole "God" thing doesn't really offend me, particularly given that I'm not religious and I'm not fifty, but it doesn't sound great coming from the mouth of someone who still wears a nappy. Still, I wasn't stressing over it until the latest milestone - "Oh shit!"

My darling daughter is clever enough to save this one for particularly frustrating moments, such as dropping her banana or falling over. "Oh SHIT!" she will cry. Which of course fills me with pride and gives me cause to pat myself on the back for the great job I'm doing raising her. 

So the words God, Shit, Bloody and of course the big one, F!@#, are banned in our house going forward. We're hoping she will "grow out of it," just as we're hoping she'll grow out of hitting and having so much energy. Time will tell.

Interestingly, today I quietly asked her if she had done a fart which caused her to giggle and scream "Fart! Fart! Fart!" Happily we were in public, hooray! We may have to adopt the term "Fluff" from here on in. You guys know where the party's at!

Z xx

The New Wiggles

Miss H and I have just returned home from an exceedingly fun morning singing and dancing to The Wiggles, live!!! This was the first show in the first tour of the new and improved Wiggles, with new members Lachy, Emma and Simon bringing the fun.

We went to see the final show of the original Wiggles back in December and, while it was fun and the end of an era, it was disappointing with a toddler. There was lots of talking and we were seated WAY back in the nosebleed section, struggling to see much at all. We ended up ducking out early, although I'm sure we would have stayed for an encore had we had older kids.

Today's show was at Revesby workers club (the drive being an experience in itself), and the set up was far better. There was plenty of floor space and it was a first come, first served scenario so parents and kids were packing into the open area and leaving the seats empty. When the Wiggles came on stage, it felt like they were close enough to touch, even though we were towards the back of the floor.

If you think you've seen something cuter than your toddler daughter dancing her heart out to The Wiggles, you haven't. It's just not possible.

Dorothy and Wags were as energetic as ever

As I love to judge and opine, I was very eager to get the low down on these "new" Wiggles. All in all, I was pretty impressed - Simon has a lovely baritone voice and friendly demeanor, Lachy falls asleep with the same finesse as Jeff and even more enthusiasm. I'm still not sold on Emma, the first female Wiggle, and not only for the fact that I feel very attached to the male-ness of the Wiggles - her voice isn't as strong as the male voices and she plays the sweet, cute girl role, which I wish she wouldn't. If we're going to give kids a female role model in the Wiggles, can she at least be brash and ballsy? But she might grow on me.

All in all we had a GREAT time, the highlight of which was when we realised Jeff and Murray Wiggle were IN THE AUDIENCE. I'm not going to lie, I shrieked "MURRAY!" It was amazing.

RECOMMENDED, guys.

Z xx

COVET

Today I met a little girl who was wearing the SWEETEST canvas shoes - in my all-time favourite print, leopard. I struck up a conversation with her Mum to find out where I could find these little kicks. Turns out they are by super cute Aussie label Jonah and the Girl.

Jonah and the Girl's "Bertie" Sneaker

Shoe-mad Mums like myself can pick these up on the brand's website here, or at the fabulous Billie Lou in Leichhardt. 

Meanwhile, my man is under strict instructions to purchase me my very own leopard-print sneakers (among other things) when he heads to the U.S. in April. Looking forward to matching mother-daughter dressing when these babies arrive...

You'll find a similar version at Polyvore.

Z xx

When Spending is Saving

As most people ("everyone") know I'm somewhat of a ("prolific") shopping addict. My shopping addiction peaks in late January/February and late August/September each year when all the best Northern Hemisphere sites are having their winter/summer sales. This is, of course, the best time to stock up for our upcoming Southern Hemisphere season change. 

Kids sales are even better because their clothes tend to be less fashion-y and thus less likely to be out of style by the time winter rolls around. Since becoming a Mum, NH Sales Season has become a time of year that is equally damaging to my credit card as it is my marriage. Luckily my husband knew all about my spending habits when he agreed to marry me so he tends to calm down quite quickly.

Anyway, I'm pretty excited about the lush winter goodies purchased at 40-70% off that are heading my way as I write. Here's a peek at my purchases, bought from petithood, Niddle Noddle and Orfeo design.

Little Duckling Cardigan

Album di famiglia Cardigan

Molly Dress with matching leggings

Soft gallery top

Kidscase chunky knit dress

Knitted alpaca vest

Jacquard Knit Dress

Bergstein Black Fleece Lined Wellies

This hoard set me back quite a bit (probably up around the $400 AUS mark) but these are high quality items that will be worn ALL winter - the only other things I'll buy will be some cheap leggings from Next and Kmart, and a WHOLE lotta socks. And when I think of how much I saved, well, it's like I didn't spend anything at all!

Any fave sites you'd like to let me in on?

Z x

My Lake

Whenever J travels for work, I try to get up to my parents' place for a few days for some grandparent time. Just under 2 hours north of Sydney, their house is only metres from the water's edge in beautiful Lake Macquarie.

I grew up on this lake - swimming, picnicing, fishing, waterskiing, many of my most vivid childhood memories involve this body of water. Many friendships were forged and lost here and my two first serious boyfriends were very involved with the water, one a swimmer and the other a fisherman.

Here in the west of Lake Macquarie, it's not so much coastal as water meets bushland. Framed by huge gums and wild scrub, our lake is a unique, beautiful and serene part of the world.

Heike seems to love it here as much as I always have. "Warda, warda!" she screams when she sees the lake. I hope that she will form her own memories here and it will one day mean as much to her as it does to me - the place her grandparents live, where her Mum grew up, and she placed her first crab pot, caught her first flathead and had her first waterski.

Heike dressed in Seed

Enough of this Mum, let's jet

Z xx

Toddlers: World's Fussiest Eaters?

It seems like a fairly ridiculous thing to worry about when your child is in the 90th percentile for weight and you're living in the first world with easy access to nutritious food and clean water - I shouldn't really be concerned that my child isn't eating her organic free range egg white omelet. Still, the fact that my toddler flat refuses most foods is one of the most infuriating, frustrating and worrying things I have experienced as a Mum so far.

Don't get me wrong, she eats. But her current repetoire is boiled eggs, pasta, cheese and bread. For a while now she has completely refused anything else. She will pick pasta out of a chicken dish, and start screaming "NUP!" before a bowl of meat and veggies has reached the table. Meanwhile if there is a raw egg in sight she will holler until she is satiated, perhaps for the four minutes it takes to boil said egg or with a well timed piece of cheese.

On Sunday I decided to really make an effort and cook up a few meals my fussy miss might like, so at least I couldn't blame myself for being a boring chef. When offered one such meal (a yummy take on bolognese) on Sunday night, Heike promptly took the bowl and threw it on the floor. This caused me, to put it eloquently, to lose my shit. I was so angry, so completely frustrated and helpless, that I had to walk away and let my dear husband deal with the mess and the cranky toddler. I had had enough.

Luckily for me, I have an AMAZING network of women otherwise known as my mother's group who are always on hand to help me through times like this. On the verge of tears, I shot off a short message begging them to tell me I wasn't the only one with a picky eater and dish out advice. Within minutes I was receiving words of solidarity and wisdom. These gals are amazing - all of them work, one has just had a second baby, and they manage to whip up three tasty, nutritious and creative meals for their toddlers each day.

Here are some of their suggestions:

- Cheesy Vegetable Muffins - I used this recipe and they were a hit, although note many of the reviews say to add some onion and bacon for flavour.
- Nutritious dips - Such as a pea, ricotta and mint dip/spread (can be made with 1/2 cup crushed peas, 3/4 cup ricotta and 1 TBSP mint) or Chickpea, Lemon and Cumin (Blended in food processor), served with wholemeal bread, crackers or toast.
- Tofu Burgers (300g firm tofu, 1 TBSP soy sauce, 1 TBSP sweet chilli sauce, 2 TBSP peanut butter, 6 chopped spring onions, 1 crushed clove garlic, 1/2 cup oats + chopped coriander - blended in food processor)
- Corn on the cob - cheap and easy
- Veggie risotto - Chunky enough for the self-feeders to handle
- Annabel Karmel's Chicken Apple Meatballs were suggested - these used to be a hit in our house but any kind of solid meat is a no-go lately - it needs to be pureed or hidden.
- Apple and Carrot muffins - Great as a treat or lunch option with fruit. Also an Annabel Karmel recipe.

I find dinner is the hardest meal for us - the most likely to be met with refusal and the hardest to be creative with. I'm sure this is probably due to both Heike and I being tired and grumpy by 5.30pm, and possibly after eating and snacking all day Heike just isn't hungry. Who knows?

Do you have any more suggestions for fussy toddlers?

Z xx