{Trolley Bags}

If you know me personally you will probably know that I'm a 'bit' of an Aldi shopper. In fact, I think that people who are Aldi fans love telling people about it. Imagine if a vegan doing Cross-fit also shopped at Aldi lol ;)

I joke about my Aldi obsession but I love how it has saved my family so much money and their range has improved a lot over the years. 

One of the main complication people have with Aldi, I find, is remembering to pack all the bags. 

However, I just received a gift that has made loading the trolley a WHOLE lot easier! 

Trolley Bags are a great invention that take the 'enviro-bag' concept to a new level. 

Such a simple concept right? It's so well thought out. 

Here are some photos of the bags in action: 

For me (and my love of order and organisation) the wonderful bonus is that the 4 bags have neatly corresponded with the way I have written my shopping list for years. In four columns:

Groceries / Fruit & Veg / Cold & Frozen / Cleaning & Personal 

They are only $34.95 for a set and it is a great way to organise your shopping. The link is available {here}. 

You should seriously have these bags in your car boot, Aldi shopper or not. You'll love the way it makes it easier to load. 

Lauren x 

{Jewellery Storage}

One thing I have been after for a while in my master room is a full length mirror. It can be quite tricky hopping up on bathtubs and stools to get a full length view of an outfit. Don't look at me like that - I know we have all (hopefully) done that!
Another problem I have had is keeping my ever growing accessories collection under control. Necklaces get tangled, earrings lost, rings dropped. 

Not exactly earth shatteringly important problems on a global scale. I know. First world problems. But the following product solved both of them in one slimline, stylish and relatively affordable package. 

Introducing my newest addition to my room - the secret storage mirror. I know right! I got it from the shop that never closes and always threatens to - Homeart. It set me back $99, and so far has been worth every cent!

Lauren x

{Beautifully Sentimental}

Today I visited my grandmother in hospital. She is in rehab after a major procedure. So without kids, I popped in to see her before her physio appointment. I love talking to her, she is so beautiful.

On the way back, I drove past a gorgeous antique store. Annnnnnd no kids today (so I wasn't afraid of everything being left broken or touched lol!).

So I pulled off and walked in for a little window shopping.
I was transported back in time and it was pure and lovely. The music whisked you away and the beautiful antiques just seemed to kind of 'sing along'.

{Crafty Supplies}

I thought I would take a moment to share a few of my favourite online crafty suppliers. There are many i visit, but one of my favourites at the moment is "Craftumi" which I found on madeit.com.au. This place is an Aussie craft shop that never closes (that could be very dangerous lol).


The other one I love is the infamous 'ETSY'. I love buying handmade, vintage items on there, but there is a whole section dedicated to supplies. Just select supplies in the drop down menu at the top of the page (third option) and search away. With the Aussie Dollar being so strong, I ordered some supplies today and it was actually cheaper than listed in the US dollars (woooo-hooo! Gotta love a bargain).

I hope you find some great things online and I would ove to hear from my other crafty friends if you have a place as a 'go-to' for supplies.

Enjoy;
Lauren x

{Thanks Bobbi Brown}

Well, first post from my phone thanks to the BlogPress Ap so I hope it turns out!

I love shopping, I really do. Preferably without children in toe and money to spend! BUT the one type of shopping I have always hated but secretly wished was much easier was shopping for cosmetics!
I have an uncanny knack of choosing a color (particularly foundation) that i think looks good under the fluro lights in store. Then when I get into 'normal light' it looks horrid.

Knowing this, hubby treated me with an hour with a Bobbi Brown makeover where I got the chance to soak up Lisa's vast knowledge (from Castle Towers David Jones Bobbi Brown counter).

I am now a definite Bobbi Brown convert. The colours, textures and look of her cosmetics and brushes are definitely worth the price tag!
Hubby then treated me with some of the products I had tried. My favorite (very hard to choose) is the concealer, and the skin foundation which feels like silk but gives great coverage. I finally don't feel like I have to wear a 'mask' to get good coverage. I am loving the product and there is more I want for sure!

Thanks Bobbi Brown for turning this CHORE into a pleasant experience!!

Lauren x



Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

{Bags with a difference}

As a part of my blog - a weakness of mine is following and reading what other bloggers have to say. I have found many fascinating blogs latley - one of which is Naomi's blog "Seven Cherubs" (named after her 7, yes 7, kids! I think she deserves a medal for that alone. Apart from her wonderful happy inspiration, I found a post recently that moved me.
She posted on twitter about a giveaway which I just had to check out. And this one stopped me in my tracks.

It was for a bag from a non-profit company called "Biddy Bags". This is an Australian buisness (love that) making bags like nothing I've ever seen before.
The concept is that in Redcliffe QLD, mature aged Australian women create handmade products for women. They sell them on the website and when you receive an order, you also recieve the story of its maker. How amazing is that!!!
You get to benefit from women who have spent many years perfecting handmade crafting skills, support them (they recieve over half the profit) and help keep these art forms alive! It is a great initiative and as they say "Biddy Bags is a social and a fashion statement". Find out about their cause and meet some of the beautiful, wise and creative Australian women who create for them.


So, go over to their website and check them out, I know I have an order coming soon!
Enjoy;
Lauren X

{Old But New}

I have always loved visiting op-shops, garage sales and the like. I think it stemmed from scouting around "coucil kerb-sides for treasure" with my family as a kid. There is something SO spiritual about finding something that is about to be discarded and rescuing it and giving it a new life. I love mixing items taht are old with the new. I love things that look like they tell a story from a previous life (even though this isn't always known to you).

So, when I took my hubby, kids, dad and one of my brothers along for a 'treasure hunt' last weekend the excitement was palpable! We went to Reverse garbage in Sydney and the thing about these kinds of places is that you never know what's in stock...so thats half the fun! We came away with a few little nick knacks each. I snapped up some gorgeous fabric scraps.
On the way out we spotted a place called The Bower Reuse and Repair Centre.
We thought we would give it a go. It was amazing. Everything from old tools, wooden chests, old suitcases, sewing machines, books, jewellery - even a kitchen sink!

Here is a few pictures of the old drawers I got from The Bower and the fabric from reverse garbage. I turned some of the fabric into a decorated soft drink bottle vase and the drawers became cutlery and condiment holders for a BBQ the next day.







Reverse garbage and The bower are on facebook too, so check them out too!

Enjoy;
Lauren x

{Mid Year Toy Sales}

If your a parent (especially of a young child) you are more than likely to have heard words in the media recently like TOY SALE, TOY EXTRAVAGANZA or TOY BONANZA!!!
In true style to my personality I got the toy catalogues in the mail and armed with my sharpie marker circling things I know would make my boys 'happy'. Before I knew it I had enough things circled to fill a toy room (regardless of the fact that that there are enough toys in this house to sink a ship already).

Then In amidst it all, I remembered a blog post I put up last year entitled "{12 Days of Christmas ::: Day 10} Fighting OVERindulgence with kids at Christmas".
Suddenly, a fog lifted and it all came back to me. How I want to stop the madness of 'STUFF' at christmas, because let's be honest, there are enough gifts from grandparents etc.... to create a frenzy on the day as it is!

So, inspired by the blog post above I am buying only 5 gifts for the boys this year. They fall into 5 categories :
*Want
*Need
*Wear
*Read
I have decided to add a 5th one that wasn't in the origional post taht inspired the idea. That category is *Give. For this gift, it is something from them to another person and helping them bless someone else. You could give a gift to the kmart wish tree, a donation to a charity or buy a goat from the tear catalogue.
What we are planning on for the 'give' gift is a Compassion Child each who has the same birthday/ birthyear (or similar) to each boy. This way they have a personal and tangible way to live out their faith and understand the gravity of poverty and what they can do about it to help.

I hope this inspires you to put down the cataglogues for a moment and think about what Christmas is really about and how the choices you make help shape the values that shape your children and the grown men and women they will become.

Lauren x