I made chocolate waffles (with choc chips!) for my family last weekend.

When the last set of waffles were made, I threw them onto the table, and my children descended upon them like hungry sharks.

I retired to my favourite window with a cup of tea and had the most lovely 6 minutes of morning bliss.

To make chocolate waffles, I just added 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder to my Basic Waffle Recipe.

This weekend, the Melbourne Fashion Festival features one very dazzling, up-and-coming designer, Alexi Freeman. With a background in textiles and print making, the strength of his AW2010 collection made me do a double take and drool over his geometric prints.

I had the pleasure of reviewing some garments in the collection, and I can say for certain that they are beautifully made clothes and lovely to wear.

There is an unusual mixture of silk, merino wool and mesh panels, which create a sophisticated yet sporty, casual yet sexy feel. They are also really comfortable and light weight.

You can see more of Alexi Freeman’s collection on his website.

Or you can catch up on his recent activities on his blog.

Or if you’re in Melbourne, you can check out his pop-up store until 30 April 2010:
Melbourne’s GPO
Level 1
350 Bourke St
Melbourne
Tel: 0413 355 290

I’m not sure who the original author was, but I really liked it, and I thought it would be fantastic to share with everyone.

I also found a report on Times Online, about how scientists in the UK did a study and found the “5 Steps to Happiness and Wellbeing” or something like that.

I combined them and added a few ideas to share below.

So this is my list of 5 Things To Do Everyday:

1. Do something enjoyable.

Enjoyable things can be simple acts that are easy to do, don’t cost very much, and don’t take much planning.

Just sitting quietly in my garden and enjoying a cup of tea is very enjoyable for me! I love baking. I like to paint my toenails. Read a chapter of my book. Chat to a girlfriend. I like to plan to visit a new place, and discovering something new and cool. I love tending my garden. I really enjoy journaling and writing.

Of course, a girly pamper is always nice – facials, haircuts, manicures, pedicures, massages.

Take time to really enjoy them. Allow yourself to glow with happiness each day.

2. Do something active.

Spend 30 minutes of your day working up a sweat! Get your heart rate up! Skip. Swim. Run up and down steps. Go for a jog. Ride a bike. Find a step, turn on some music, and do a step workout. Do squats and leg lunges. Go to the beach and have a run. Take a stroll. Do some gardening. Kick a ball in the park with your kids.

Try playing a sport like squash, tennis, soccer, badminton, netball. Sign up to an exercise class, yoga or pilates. Try body jams, or kickboxing just for fun.

3. Do something brainy, challenging or intellectual.

Spend at least 30 minutes a day exercising your brain! Read a book. Read a newspaper. Watch the news. Write a letter. Memorise a song. Do a puzzle. Go to the library and pick up a book in a subject that has always fascinated you. Learn something new each day.

Learn a new skill. Try sewing. Try fixing something. Try making something. Try cooking something. Try organising a lunch for friends on the weekend.

4. Do something good for someone else.

Call up a friend. Offer to help in some way. Bake some cupcakes for a girlfriend and bring it around.

Smile or say hello to a stranger. Let someone with less shopping into the queue in front of you. Do a good deed. A small kind act. Spread some happiness.

You’ll find that if you go about your day thinking, “How can I be nice to someone?” you’ll often find many unexpected opportunities to do so.

5. Take one moment to savour life and your surroundings.

This is my favourite. Whether you are in the car, or walking along, or at home – take a moment to think about something good in your life, or in your surroundings.

Take notice of something beautiful. Look at the details of a building you walk past everyday. Look at the shape of the clouds, remember them, and compare them with the clouds the next day.

Frockaholics.com is an online boutique that offers a fantastic collection of Australian and International designer labels. What I like best about the site… is their particular selection of current clothes – all gorgeous and fabulous picks.

Sarah, owner and director of Frockaholics, has actually been a long time reader of my blog! I was so excited to review the boutique, because I have often visited to check up on the latest picks from designer collections.

So without further ado, here I am feeling sensational in a Manning Cartell Dress. It’s from her latest AW2010 collection and it will be coming down the catwalk in a few days, at the Melbourne Fashion Festival.

When I chose it, I was a little nervous, because it’s got some quite 80s elements – puffy shoulders, long sleeves, very shiny. It wasn’t quite my style, and I was afraid I might look like an astronaut!

But when I wore it, OMG it was so so comfortable, and I felt completely transformed. I felt like a million bucks and haha, it was a very fun feeling. I guess that’s what fashion is all about – transformation and a whole lota fun! It’s definitely a dress that will turn heads.

Earrings and necklace is by Peter Lang, Clutch by Pink Corporation, and shoes by Tilly Rose.

View other clothes by Manning Cartell (I really like this collection!)

This Hussy Dress was very nice too. Basically a simple strapless dress, with boning, and with a drapey piece that you wear on your shoulder, or you can let it fall on your hips.

Earrings by Peter Lang, Jacket by Nicola Finetti, and shoes by Peeptoe.

View other clothes by Hussy.

And lastly, I chose this beautiful black silk cocktail dress by George, with beaded detail straps that continue down the back. I thought it would look perfect with a fur coat, but I didn’t want to cover up the straps in the photo.

Earrings by Peter Lang, Mink Rabbit Fur Coat by Flannel, and shoes by Nude.

In my opinion, the best sections in the site to browse are:

What’s New (they update every week)

Evening Dresses

Jackets

SALE Evening Dresses (must see this!)

SALE Day Dresses

Pre-Orders
Another cool service Frockaholics have is… when you sign up to their newsletter, they inform you of new stock that is about to arrive from upcoming designer’s collections. So you can pre-order any of the listed garments and snatch them up before they even hit the stores!

They tell me that it is very, VERY popular. And after a few weeks of being on their email list, I can see why.

Happy shopping!

My baby Liam is just one month away from being ONE YEAR OLD! How exciting!

This month has been particularly fun, because both my big kids are at full-time school… so I get to hang out with my little baby all day.

It’s like having a first child again. Just me and a little kid who doesn’t talk back.

I’ll say things like: What shall we do today buddy? What about sleeping in a pram for 2 hours, while I catch up with some girlfriends in a cafe and then go shopping?

Oh, the glorious free time! Oh, the lovely long quiet mornings!

OK not really. The reality is that Liam sleeps 2 hours in the morning. And I do things like check my email and creep around the house trying to do the housework as quietly as possible.

Sometimes I might sit in the garden with a cup of tea and read a book. That part is pretty bliss.

This month, Liam has been a little sick. With teeth coming through and a chesty cough, he has been clinging onto my legs for most of his waking hours. For 3 days straight he cried to be picked up, cried to be fed, cried to be entertained. He was super-glued to my hip.

I get the impression that Liam is quite bored in the house – because, he stops whinging the moment I take him out.

It made me suddenly remember what I used to do when I was a first time mum – I went out every day!

I was busy with mother’s groups and play dates. I went to play gyms, music lessons, baby swim classes. I went out to the shops, the library, galleries, baby movie sessions. My schedule was fully booked!

And now? My schedule is also fully booked, but with work and chores!

I recalled that list someone wrote about how things change after each baby:

1st baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics, Baby Swing, and Baby Story Hour.

2nd baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics.

3rd baby: You take your infant to the supermarket and the dry cleaner.

(I wrote it all out here…)

Argh. It’s so tragic, but it’s so true. I hang my head in shame.

Anyway, this week I’m lifting my game and scheduling a lot more fun baby stuff for us.

On the development front… Liam can take 4 steps.

He does lots of clapping, waving bye, shaking his head, trying to repeat words we say, and trying very hard to walk.

Ah, won’t be long before he’s riding a bike!

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 your 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 a young 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!

…

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!