mimoo mantra monday

Try to hold your tongue as much as possible... The strong stay quiet, the weak cause riots...Rev Run

Operation Fat Mum Slim

The lovely Chantelle over at Fat Mum Slim has started a 6 week challenge for all of us to check in with her each monday with a weekly goals to 'shape up or ship out' (my words not hers!) Any one can join in as you can call your operation anything you want and no doubt it will be a fun and interesting time to read of others doing the same! Check out the challenge here. 

Recent online purchases..

cute cupcake wrappers

little mimoo suitcase for sleepovers at grandmas

A little Smelliphant for friends baby from madeit

hairclip for moi for summer nights ahead

a  hat for little mimoo - too cute

I have realised I have not blogged since weds and this is the reason why?? late night online shopping. anyone else suffer from this terrible affliction? I am usually really good with not buying online but recently after reading about recent online purchases from Lovestamp and mama loves to shop I simply could not help myself. I blame these girls!!!

craft project worth buying a new fridge for....

how cute is this???? check out this instructions here.  

A special gifts story...

Above is Le Tousserok, Mauritius

The latest blog this challenge.

I thought rather than list something I want I would share a special gift story as I really do not need or want for anything as I am just so grateful for having such a nice life when others have so little or have it much worse than me.

So for those who are regular readers will know that I spent a long time over in the UK and I cannot tell you how much I miss the above beauty products, Jo Malone and Molton Brown London. I used to work for an investment bank in the city area of London and I was lucky enough work in a building opposite these gorgeous flagship stores and whenever I was having a bad day (which was often) I would stroll across in my lunch break and purchase a little treat for myself, which many a time I would have to store in my desk drawer for weeks at a time so not to rouse an angry response from hubbie as our bathroom was already filled to the brim with the above!! 

Well when we got married back here in Australia in 2003 and we had to return to the UK for our work we wanted somewhere to honeymoon halfway between here and London so we settled on Mauritius (hard choice I know!) and we stayed at a divine place called Le Tousserok and had a suite right on the water.  Every day at some stage the new hubbie would present me with a gift box to open and I received some lovely goodies from these stores and assorted others for all of the 10 days we were away! One of the treats was a Jo Malone mini candle box set and I have used all of them except for one which I said I plan to burn on some special wedding anniversary. 

Anyway I know for a fact he got this idea off someone at his work at the time which doesn't matter as it is the special things he bought me that count! Ha 

My heart melts everytime I think of this story and the little cards he wrote to me to accompany the gifts as lord knows I do not receive any such gifts these days, ahh you gotta love the honeymoon stage.

Exciting new blog to check out!!

Get the clothes for the week sorted! No more stressful mornings I say...

Create your own mini bento box for the littlies, maybe just stop when they enter their teens!

Fun ice cream cones, perhaps do this project first to fill in some 'difficult' time with the promise of the real deal afterwards!

I recently came across this blog recently called The Crafty Crow and they have some seriously fun stuff to make/recycle, get you and your kids organised and just general cute projects. It has links to loads of great sites and books on all things craft for kids. check it out here.  

God anyone else melting???

Cant believe how hot it has been the last few days......enough already

mimoo mantra monday

 You can't control the winds, but you CAN control how you set your sails.-- Ralph Marston

Cute project

I recently came across this tutorial on how to make a little box pouch purse. mine did not turn out as nice as this one but thought I would share it with you as it is by far the easiest tutorial I have come across on how to make a purse with a zip, plus it is a good way to use some of your old favourite fabrics pieces I think! check it out here.

Mixtapezine is out now!

The new edition is out now but get in quick as they only do a limited number each edition. shop here.

I have ordered mine this week so I can barely contain my excitement as I love this little magazine so much so that I ordered some of the back copies in the PDF version and snuck over to my mum and dad's place to print them out!! God will I ever outgrow trying to sneak things out of my mum and dad. I still ask my dad for $5 bucks nearly everytime I see him saying I have no change on me and I have to stop on the way home to get some milk for little mimoo, when I usually end up spending the money on that weeks Grazia magazine....dont worry not one of my family ever reads this.

Cool play rooms

Image from KenziePoo blog

Image from black & sprio 

While I am on hiatus from all things online mimoo at the moment I have been trying to get stuck into some house projects seeing as we moved into our new house last September and I have barely done a thing to it since. We have a great playroom for mimoo in QLD we call it a sleepout, which is like an enclosed deck, that runs along the entire side of our house so it is quite long and narrow. I have come across some great ideas online recently, but my favourites are above.

Can exercise make you feel sick?

I have recently embarked on a new fitness regime and I had another weights session at the gym this morning and I have felt sick all day! plus I can barely type now due to aching arms.

I have recently started following another blogger MamaKat who has recently lost over 25 kgs and still going, way to go I say !! but she has inspired me to get off my backside and do something about it too as she has 3 small children to look after,works the family budget in an extremely impressive way down the last cent, cooks, follow the weight watchers program and still fits in a heck of alot of exercise each week, so really I have no excuse!  Anyone else out there embarking on a new fitness program or give me some tips how you work exercise into your day??

Nifty craftiness

I recently purchased some Paintsticks from some lovely ladies at the July Mathilda's market in Brisbane and I just had to blog about them! They come in sets of 5 and are simply fantastic! They really are no mess and as you have to squeeze the paint out of them there is virtually no waste of paint (except when little mimoo decides to paint the walls,doors or her tummy whilst I nip out of the room!) you can also buy them online here and whilst $20 maybe seem a bit exxy (my mum thought so not me) the extra kicker is that they are re-fillable as you simply rinse them out when empty and refill with any colour you want. You dont waste any paint or have to wash out the leftovers down the sink (very un-eco).

Meet the parents Challenge 12

Latest challenge from blogthis .

This is my Nana and me at one of my brothers weddings way way wayyyyy back in 1994 

(OMG check the eyebrows and do not get me started on the matching pearl set.....good lord!)

I just really love this photo as it was such a happy day for our family as my nan got sick soon after and managed to struggle on with cancer for another 6 years before she passed way when sadly I was overseas and did not get to say goodbye in person.

I loved my nan as she was such a big influence on me and my brothers life growing up.  It was my nana that taught me to love all things craft and sewing and showed me that you can 'mend and make do' with all things in life, which I like to think I am carrying on with my little mimoo to this day. 

She loved watching the cricket, the Broncos and was a mad keen bowler (Ladies President of Bardon Bowls Club 3 years running- unprecedented!) and was just an all round good decent person which I also like to think I am carrying on and will pass onto my little mimoo one day.

She always used to say that 'you can have all the manners in the world, good grades, good at sports,be a good catholic (?!), but if you are not a decent kind person to others you will not get very far in life'......

mimoo mantra monday

If you don't find something to do, life will find something for you - my nana xo

Looking for a fun project?

I hope you are all having a nice weekend and enjoying this glorious 'winter' weather.  I recently came across this website and just remembered I forgot to blog about it.  check out these free downloadable prints as I have printed out a few myself and I am going to frame them to hang in little mimoo's play room. my favourite is the one above by Mandy Sutcliffe from Belle and Boo I think, so just click here.

Check out this giveaway

I have recently come across this lovely blog Faith & a whole lotta love and they are having a great giveaway at the moment so click here to enter!  I don't usually enter blog giveaways but I could not pass up this one as I love these cards especially the houses one. Good luck :-)

how cool is this?

I came across this cool project recently from Martha Stewart (okay okay I do subscribe to her craft project of the day emails, honestly some are just great ideas!) check out the link here.  What a great way to re-use/refashion some of your favourite old tshirts that now longer fit (sigh)or have some damage/stains!

What is on your bedside table?

The latest challenge from blogthis. I have not done one in a while due to market busy bee-ness so here goes..

Due to little mimoo still getting into everything I have just 2 books on my bedside table, as pre baby years I used to keep everything but the kitchen sink on my bedside table so now I am very minimal (bedside table and everywhere else in the house for that matter!)

Summer at Tiffany by Marjorie Hart

I have blogged about this book before but it has pride of place on my table as I just adore it and it is also the kind of book where you can just read a chapter here and there. It is a real story also of one young woman who moved to New York City one university summer during the second world war. Marjorie and a girlfriend were the first women to be given a job on the floor at the prestigious Tiffany & Co on Fifth Avenue due the shortage of male sales assistants being away at war.  It is a great story of times gone by and a must read for those who love all things vintage and old worldly (is this a real word?).

market times....

I have been very lazy this time around and have only gotten around to unpacking all my wares from Sundays' Boutique markets. Unfortunately it was not the greatest day sales wise as it was not a huge crowd but hopefully it will grow in the future and the people of Brisbane will support some home grown talent. 

One nice lady who bought some of the mimoo jammies range said she would in the future only buy gifts for her friends having babies from markets and handmade online stores rather than shopping centres so as to support local people! Isn't that nice? I told her to tell all her friends to do the same as all we need is for one person to tell another person...... sadly a not so nice person stole one of my jammie tops! unbelievable! I just dont see how it would happen as the tops and bottoms are pinned together, but I guess there are some crafty types out there and I dont mean crafty in a good crafty way either!  

Besides who would steal a babies size 1 top from mimoo and then pass it onto another a child- talk about bad baby karma.

mimoo mantra monday

Focus on speaking words of life and blessing! If you change your words, you'll change your life. -Joyce Meyers

mimoo press - Yeay!

I just came across that I have been featured over at the Boutique markets blog as the August retailer! yeay! love a good feature and if you are Brisbane way stop by and see me at the markets this Sunday 8am-1pm!

check it out... a BrisStyke sale

The lovely ladies over at BrisStyle are having a EEE sale, so for more details check out the blog here for all the links to everyones Etsy stores. Sadly, as mimoo is on an Etsy store break we will not be taking part this year, but check out all the stores that are as there is some seriously gorgeous things on offer.

Newest member to mimoo HQ

Sorry not the greatest photo but this is our new member to mimoo market days! Sadly one of the members from our BrisStyle group Tees2Knees is unable to continue with her stay at home mum run business due to a move overseas with her young family in the next few months and she was selling up all her stock and I cheekily asked if she was willing to sell me her lovely little mannequin and she agreed!  It is in perfect condition and I certainly hope this will help me to show off some of the new mimoo summer creations in the months to come. (currently modelling the winter stock!)  Let me know if anyone has any suggestions as to what to call my new staff member, little mimoo exclaimed when she she saw it ' oh its a sister' ummm no love.

ps Also get in quick to snap up the last of tees2knees creations as I bought the lady bug for little mimoo last summer and it was a huge hit and really really well made. Good luck Sherilyn!

Housewife tips....

now that I am embracing all things mother and housewife (mr mimoo is wondering how long it will last? the housewife) but I have started reading my household tips book again after being very impressed with some previous tips that have worked recently, I am keen to continue

Q:How to remove lipstick/crayon marks from walls after little mimoo/picasso drew all over the living room wall??

A: You sponge some glycerine onto paper towel/old rag and gently rub said stain from inside out and it instantly comes off! how good is that? You can find a small bottle of glycerin in the first aid section of the supermarkets and is super cheap.

Q2: How do you disinfect, clean and remove smell of child's vomit from bedroom floor?

A2: After wiping all 'debris' from floor, you boil some water and add a few teaspoons of tea tree oil to a bucket and mop the floors as normal, not only will the tea tree oil disinfect and but removes all foul smell from bedroom.  

You are all very welcome....until next time

mimoo mantra monday

A wise man once said... Worry about character more than reputation.. Character is what you are, while reputation is merely what people think you are....

mimoo goes to the (monthly) market

Sorry for lack of posts this week but little mimoo and I have been having such fun (think she is sick of the sight of me!)and I have trying to do a few home projects,trying to get the house organised and trying to install some sort of routine for mimoo HQ to go forward. (Note the use of the work trying!!)

Thanks to all the fellow bloggers who left me some nice comments as I love getting comments. 

Mimoo HQ will be heading off next weekend to the Boutique monthly markets so if you are in Brisbane please come and say hi. I really enjoyed the last market we did because as a stall holder you get a 3m X 3m space and you can decorate however you like, just like your own little (um) boutique I guess is the word, so mimoo is trying to think of some cute and different ways to decorate the stall for this weekend. I will promise to take photos this time!