My big boy is in a 6-7 year old class, where they practice lots of skills and play a proper soccer match. My other boy is in a 4-5yo class, where the parent is involved in the games and activities. And yes, I love playing soccer!

Now, usually, weekend sporting activities are a realm exclusively reserved for fathers.

I guess the thinking is that – during the week, most mothers spend all day with the kids, so when the weekend arrives, sport is a great way for the dads to get involved and do something fun with the kids.

So there I was. Standing around a cluster of kids, with 14 Dads.

Dads with their cargo shorts, big t-shirts, caps, sunnies and their arms folded across their chests, standing alone, looking like fish out of water.

The soccer coach would shout, “WHO’S READY TO HAVE A GOOD TIIIIIME?!?!”

The kids screamed “MEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! YEEEEAAAAAAHHH!!”

And all the dads would shift around uncomfortably, look all reserved and shy, look to the ground, look at their watch, rearrange their caps.

They were an interesting bunch to watch.

You see, if they were women, they would have gravitated to the person next to them, start nattering, and soon they would find out the number of children in the other mum’s families, their names, ages, where they went to school. They would quickly have swapped the names of their hairdressers, share their plans for the weekend and found out how much they spent for groceries that week.

But for these men… each of them had approximately a 2 metre diameter of space between him and the next dad – as if to say, this is MY SPACE. DO NOT COME INTO MY TERRITORY.

They were all pretty young looking dads. Mostly in their 20s and 30s.

And truth be told, they were all quite decent looking. I guessed this must be THE place for single mums to pick up single dads.

In fact there were a couple of guys who were EXTREMELY good looking.

One, I swear, looked like Jude Law. His nose! His eyes! It was so Jude Law!

OK, I have never met Jude Law in real life, but I believe if I had, he would look just like this dad standing next to me (if Jude Law were to wear a floppy t-shirt and huge cargo pants).

And then there was another guy who looked like Sam Worthington (from Avatar), and another like John Stamos (ER).

I was trying to play soccer with my son, but I kept catching glimpses of movie stars from the corner of my eye and argh it was very distracting!

Then I suddenly thought, OMG Karen what are you doing? Are you CHECKING OUT guys at my kids’ soccer practice? Just keep your eyes down and say something encouraging at your kid!

“GOOD KICK MATE! GIMME A HIGH FIVE!”

A little later, halfway through a mini-soccer match, I side-stepped into another dad’s path and he almost knocked me over. We exchanged “sorrys” and I found myself doing this huge – and very uncool – double-take, because he looked EXACTLY like Matthew Broderick.

I was so embarrassed that I babbled on about something… looking everywhere except his face again, in case I were to say something about Matthew Broderick… and then I noticed I was wearing TWO DIFFERENT SNEAKERS. BOTH WHITE. BOTH WITH LACES. JUST TWO DIFFERENT ONES ON EACH FOOT. ARGH!

OK I know that these guys are not actual movie stars, and I know I’m not actually out here to impress anyone OR to make a fashion statement, and I AM supposed to just be spending time with my son, but really, my life as a cool soccer mum is well and truly over.

I won’t be actually attending any events at this year’s Melbourne Fashion Festival, but ah, thank heavens for the internet and all it’s high-speed goodness. Front-row, prime-position, fashion photos delivered straight to the comfort of my own home. Gotta love that.

Here’s a sneak peak at Aurelio Costarella’s absolutely divine Autumn Winter 2010 Collection. Can’t wait to see them glide down the catwalk.

I’m looking forward to see some of my favourite designers on the Melbourne Fashion Festival Runway.

In particular – ANT!PODiUM, Joveeba, Camilla and Marc, Sass and Bide, Manning Cartell, Mimco, Yeojin Bae, Michael Angel, Life with Bird and Hussy.

A few other designers have piqued my interest, like Timothy Godbold, Fleur Wood, Romance Was Born, Carly Hunter, Dion Lee, and I’ll be watching them closely.

From a peek at his lookbooks, Nicola Finetti’s AW10 Collection is pretty standout too. All filled with stuff I want to wear right now! Very tempting.

Also part of the Melbourne Fashion Festival program is the Independent Runway which showcases up-and-coming Australian designers.

Alexi Freeman’s AW10 Collection (pictured above) really caught my eye, and as I type this, I have had the good fortune to have arranged a review of some pieces in this collection. Exciting! Stay tuned!

Magdalena Velevska is another new designer who has caught my attention! I tried on some of her clothes from her last collection recently – a Magdalena Velevska silk dress and jacket. Hope to see more great designs from her.

Of Cabbages and Kings is an interesting, edgy new label with some amazing images of their latest collection who are also having their big debut at this year’s Melbourne Fashion Festival. I’ll be doing a review of their stuff soon too!

Just 5 more days! Can’t wait!

Ok here’s something I don’t tell many people.

I am an utter salad lover.

Like, really. I’m a total salad nut.

I have a secret love affair with spinach and avocado.

Add some tomatoes, a handful of seeds, a squeeze of lemon juice, pepper, and I’m in heaven.

People look at me eating salad and sneer “eat some real food”… but I don’t care.

Nothing gets me excited than… sprouts.

With feta. And sundried tomatoes, chorizo, snow peas, bocconcini, mango, red onions, coriander and parmesan. Not all at once, but you get my drift.

Today I’m sharing an online women’s fashion shop called, Freez, which specialises in very popular, affordable brands like Ladakh, Mink Pink and Anise.

They have a large range of good looking stock, lots of sizes, they ship internationally, and the prices will make you happy!

Here I’m wearing a little black lace dress by Anise. The quality is lovely, and the cut is simple and sophisticated.

I’m not usually a fan of lace, but I might make an exception here.

You see, whenever I wear lace… I feel a little beyond my years… but the mini skirt length of this dress definitely added some “youthful interest”- heh. I felt so tall too!

I’m wearing a size 6, and it fit perfectly.

The ruffle blue dress is by Ladakh, it’s fully lined, the straps are adjustable, the belt is removable, and the waist is elastic, so the dress just slips on. It’s very comfortable. I love the colour. And the ruffles!

The drape jacket by Forecast is quite cool. It is a mix between a cape and jacket, with a very wide collar. I think it goes well with the dress!

On the right I’m wearing a Freez Kaftan Dress, which is officially my favourite piece of summer clothing.

It’s perfect for throwing over the top of your swimmers and walking around like a gorgeous holiday babe at the beach or the pool side. Ok maybe not, but at least you feel good that you’ve covered up a bit from the sun. A holiday must have!

Do check out the New Arrivals and Dresses sections first.

And don’t forget to look at the $39 and Under Sale section!

Have fun and happy shopping!

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Check out more of my favourite online shops in my Online Fashion Shopping Guide.

Liam has a new trick called, SWATTING THE SPOON!

My how clever babies are!

He even had the ability to turn it into a game, so that we can have FUN THREE TIMES A DAY.

Spoonfuls of food! Thrown across the room like happy confetti!

Oh how I enjoy seeing porridge splatter on the walls!

The way it slowly slides down like a lumpy, single-celled organism!

And just look at the colourful array of vegetables rolling across the tiles!

And the mash potato on the ceiling!

Not to mention the sticky rice on the curtains!

Maybe he’ll be a tennis star one day! Or a ping pong champion!

His back hand is just remarkable!

I love my baby!

He brings such joy into my life!

You know… a typical praying mantis already looks like a pretty creepy insect.

But to find a teeny-tiny, baby praying mantis, crawling on your shoulder towards your neck, centimetres from your nostrils… is possibly just a little too alarming for a midweek afternoon.

It is kinda cute though.

I chose these cotton, drapey harem pants, and they are so, so cool.

I just love wearing them!

The other day, I wore them to a fashion related meeting, with a simple wrap top, and a twisted wool scarf.

I also twisted up my hair in a messy bun, and wrapped a silver chain necklace around my wrist, just to add to the whole twisted-drapey thing I had going.

I had dozens of compliments and everyone couldn’t believe the pants cost less than $40.

Anyway.

Fast forward to a few days ago, I was searching for other ideas on how to style harem pants.

In Asian countries, the style is called Saruel, and they are really popular for guys too.

I popped back to the YesStyle site, had a look lots of fashion photos, and ended up staying for an hour, browsing at all the Asian-style styling ideas!

It was very interesting to see all those Taiwanese and Korean girls wearing edgy or tricky fashion styles and STILL look so CUTE!

The last time I reviewed some of their clothes, I made a list of brands to browse by.

Here are a few categories to browse by:

2010 New Arrivals

Cocktail and Party Dresses

Jackets and Blazers

Blouses (for work)

Cardigans

Enjoy!

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Check out more of my favourite online shops in my Online Fashion Shopping Directory.

So of course, I went home and googled for a similar muffin recipe.

I managed to find and test 2 recipes – but they just weren’t great. I have since tried 4 more times, changing the recipes slightly, in order to perfect the PERFECT Pear, Walnut and Maple Muffin.

The different thing about this recipe below is, it uses maple syrup instead of sugar. I did try different variations, half maple, half brown sugar. I even tried with an extra egg, less flour, less milk, more butter.

I think I’ve got it right! Hope you enjoy it!

Pear, Walnut and Maple Muffins

1 ½ cups self raising flour

½ teaspoon of baking power

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

60g butter, melted

½ cup of pure maple syrup

1 egg, beaten

½ cup milk

2 small pears, cored and diced

½ cup walnuts, chopped

Method

1. Line a muffin pan with 10 paper cases.

2. Sift flour, baking powder and cinnamon into a mixing bowl. Add maple syrup, butter, egg and milk, and stir until just combined.

3. Mix pear and walnuts into the mixture.

4. Spoon into prepared pans and bake in a moderate oven 180C for 25 minutes or until cooked when tested.

(Pure maple syrup is a bit expensive, but it really does taste amazing!)

I’m really looking forward to it! I have a great bunch of friends who love to GO ALL OUT and commit to a theme – which always make parties so much fun.

So I’m looking for some 80s fashion inspiration and planning my outfit.

First there are the female music icons of the 80s – Maddona, Cindy Lauper, and Deborah Harry.

Leather jackets, big messy hair, big fringe, lace gloves, waist coats, lots of bangles and necklaces, one earring, high top boots, one shoulder, blue eye shadow.

Then we have the female work-out icons of the 80s – Jane Fonda, Olivia Newton John and Flashdance.

Neon colours, leg warmers, coloured leggings, one shoulder jersey sweaters, body suits, sweatbands!

And I haven’t even started on the boofy Princess Diana hair-dos and towering shoulder pads.

Tee hee. It seems a little hard to believe that all this stuff was the cutting edge of pop-culture fashion back then. But I’m game! And I’ll definitely post up photos of my outfit.

And haha for my husband, I have a feeling that HIS 80s costume may still be lurking in the back of his wardrobe. Now that’s a scary thought.

We were invited by some friends to share dinner and have movie night in their backyard. They set up a screen and projector, and we all lay on the lawn under the trees, on bean bags and blankets and an old couch to watch a family movie. It was a fantastic, kid-friendly Saturday night out.

As I was watching my boys snuggle down with the other kids, I was full of nostalgia for my own childhood days back on Christmas Island, where there was an outdoor cinema. If the movie was boring, we just ran up and down the aisles and played games at the back.

I just love warm, summer nights. With friends. And food.

And someone to snuggle up to on an old couch.