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Christmas 2012–Getting organised

Up until recently I was so unorganised around Christmas time. I’d leave things til the last minute and would panic buy on the pay before Christmas. I’ve even been known to be doing shopping on Christmas Eve! Then, about 3 years ago I decided enough was enough and did some searching on the internet to become a bit more organised over the holiday period.

One of the first sites I came across was Organized Christmas. I already used the Organized Scrapbooks site for their printables so decided to check out the site. They, at the time, had two choices for holiday organisation – Christmas Countdown and the Holiday Grand Plan. I went with the Christmas Countdown. It’s a 6 week workshop starting in October and finishing on the 1st December, designed so you’re organised and can relax and enjoy the holiday season come December. Each week is assigned a theme – get organised, reality check, gifts & giving, get cooking, decorating and celebrating. And there’s the printables to help you stay organised and less stressed.

The first year I followed along a bit half heartedly but the following year I followed every step and was ready for Christmas (minus a few small gifts) by the end of November. A huge bonus as I was a new mum. Last year I followed along again, a lot more loosely, picking and choosing what worked for our family.

This year I’ve decided to check out some other systems to see if I can find something that is really me.

I’d seen The Organised Housewife’s Christmas Planner last year about half way through doing the Christmas Countdown. I bought it last week and have printed it out and added it to my Inner B organiser (thanks to Tina for the awesome idea of adding extra sections to my organiser).

I’m loving supporting an Australian mum and I love how this planner isn’t centered around American holidays (sorry to all my US readers but I really don’t need to know about celebrating Thanksgiving lol)

There are lots of great checklists and planners and the graphics are too cute. It’s actually making the planning process more fun. A couple of planners that aren’t relevant for me this year but may be useful later.

If you want to know how to put your Christmas Planner together you can always check out this post. And you can buy your own copy of The Organised Housewife’s Christmas Planner here for $14.95 (Australian dollars)

The boring bit – I’m doing a series on Christmas (again) this year. You can follow all my posts here

Welcome to Christmas 2012

Can you believe it’s nearly that time of year again?

I’m doing my bit of Christmas sharing again this year on the blog. We’ll look at getting organised, scrapbooking your Christmas (if that’s your thing), trimming the tree, what’s on Pinterest that I’m loving, ideas for wrapping all your goodies and more.

The blog is getting a bit of a make over too. As you can see it’s starting to look a bit festive Winking smile

I’ll be back later to share some tips for getting organised this holiday season.

2012 US Election

Image source: news.com.au

Well today was the US election. Normally I really don’t care about US politics but this time around I’ve found myself drawn to following what happens overseas.

I even put this on Twitter last night

This US election campaign has been interesting. There’s been some rather dodgy statements made and some statements that may have helped win the election.

Anywho Obama won and will serve as the US President for the next 4 years. The better man won, in my opinion. It will now be interesting to see where the US goes and how it will affect the rest of the world.

Coming to an end

I’m a little sad Frocktober has come to an end but looking forward to getting back into jeans when it’s a little cold. I’m super happy I’ve managed to raise $746 of my $1000 goal. You can still donate for another couple of weeks so yay!

Over the weekend, I held an afternoon tea to raise some more funds. Everyone who came frocked up & those that didn’t were ‘fined’. We had a great time, ate yummy food and played some fun games. There was a lucky door prize and a raffle.

I’d like to take a quick moment to thank those who donated items to the raffle:
* Pooki’s
* Amcal George Town
* my Mum (who donated heaps)

onto the final dresses……


Day 22 Dress by Luca & Marc Leggings by Target	Day 23 Dress by Rivers Tshirt by Target	Day 24 Dress by Mia Rose Shirt by Target

Day 25 Dress by Rivers Tshirt by Mavi	Day 26 * Wedding dress by Jeanie Nitro, Silver dress by ?, Purple dress by ?	Day 27 Dress by Hess Tshirt by Hess Leggings by Target

Day 28 Dress by Rivers Shirt by Target	Day 29 Dress by Millers Shirt by Millers	Day 30 Dress by Rivers

Day 31 Dress by Mia Rose	and a final message	and the reason why I did Frocktober (love you Mum!)

* Day 26 I forgot to take a photo of the dress actually wore BUT you get photos of my in my wedding dress (that doesn’t fit me anymore *sad face*), the silver dress & purple dress were worn by my grandmothers to my parent’s wedding.

You can see all my daily frocks on Photobucket.
You can sponsor me here until the end of November

October 2012 Photo a Day

I’m stoked. Not only did I wear 31 dresses last month (more on that tomorrow) I also managed to take all 31 photos in FatMumSlim’s Photo-a-day challenge. It’s the first time since I started doing these challenges that I‘ve managed to complete the whole month.

The prompts

and my 31 photos (click to enlarge)

(collage created using Project 365 Pro)

I’m looking forward to this month and loving the prompts so far. You can play along by checking out the November list or just follow along by checking out the hashtag #fmsphotoaday on Instagram (You can follow me on Instagram by searching for nightwolfs_den)

Got my frock on!

And as week 3 comes to a close I am so really enjoying frocking up. I’m looking forward to summer and wearing dresses more often. Another THANK YOU for the donations – I’m at $300 of my $1000 goal.

So, we kicked it up a little this week and hubby played photographer for me (except for the 19th when I had a little fun). More dress recycling this week too.


Day 15 Dress by Ripe	Day 16 Dress by Rivers Shirt by Millers	Day 17 Dress by Rivers Tshirt by Hess

Day 18 Tshirt by Urban Skirt by Grace Hill Cardi by Capture	Day 19 Dress by Enchantress	Day 20 Dress by Rivers tshirt by mavi Cardi by Sportsgirl

	Day 21 Dress by Mia Rose Top by Vuios

You can keep up to date with my daily frock on Photobucket.
You can sponsor me here

Frocktober

According to the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation (OCRF), “one woman dies every ten hours from ovarian cancer in Australia.” For many women with ovarian cancer, the disease is already well advanced when they are first diagnosed. Unfortunately, there is currently no screening test for ovarian cancer.

Frocktober aims to help improve the outlook for women with ovarian cancer by supporting the quest for a suitable early detection test through fundraising for the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation.*

Keep up to date with my month of frocks and photos.

Donate

*information from Frocktober.org

Still frocking

Week 2 of Frocktober is coming to a close and week 3 is starting. So far you’ve donated $175 toward my $1000 goal. THANK YOU!

This week I was a little lazy and recycled a few frocks from week 1. Like the dress by Luca & Marc, it’s paid for the whole $8 I paid for it at the local Vinnie’s (I seriously love this dress so you’ll probably see it a few more times before the end of the month).

Next week I’ll be doing something apart from selfies, just for a little variety 😉


Day 8 Dress by Millers Cardi by ?	Day 9 Dress by Rivers Cardi by Myer Direct Leggings by Target	Day 10 Dress by Mia Rose Cardi by Sportsgirl

Day 11 Dress by Luca & Marc Shirt by Millers	Day 12 Dress by Rivers Tshirt by Hess	Day 13 Dress by Luca & Marc (photo bomb by Miss K)

	Day 14 Skirt by Millers Tshirt by Mavi

You can keep up to date with my daily frock on Photobucket.
You can sponsor me here

Frocking it up–week 1

So here we are the end of week 1 of Frocktober. Didn’t think I’d enjoy it as much as I have but the weather has been reasonably kind (except for yesterday which was rather chilly).

I’d love it if you’d sponsor me (which you can do here) and every little bit helps. All funds raised go to Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation (OCRF). At present ovarian cancer is commonly diagnosed at advanced stage with only 20-30% of women surviving beyond five years, compared to more that 90% when the disease is detected and treated early.

Early stage ovarian cancer may not have obvious symptoms but the following may occur:
* Vague abdominal pain or pressure
* Feeling of abdominal fullness, gas, nausea, indigestion – different to your normal sensations
* Sudden abdominal swelling, weight gain or bloating
* Persistent changes in bowel or bladder patterns
* Low backache or cramps
* Abnormal vaginal bleeding
* Pain during intercourse
* Unexplained weight loss
The majority of women who experience one or two of these early symptoms do not have cancer. However, it is important that you seek medical advice if the symptoms are unusual or persist. For further information, visit www.ocrf.com.au or call 1300 OVARIAN.

Now onto the dresses


Day 1 Dress by Ripe Leggings by Kmart	Day 2 Dress by Mia Rose Shirt by Millers	Day 3 Dress by Rivers Tshirt by Hess

Day 4 Dress by Millers Cardi by Katies	Day 5 Dress by Mia Rose Shirt by Kmart	Day 6 Dress by Luca & Marc Tshirt by Hess Cardi by Sportsgirl

	Day 7 Skirt by Millers Top by Target Cardi by Katies

You can keep up to date with my daily frock on Photobucket.
You can sponsor me here

It’s nearly summer

and that means it’s nearly warm enough to stock up the freezer with yummy ice cream treats.

We make our own ice cream but I am very partial to a Drumstick (has to be peppermint), Eskimo Pies and when I really want to spoil myself, a Magnum. And now can spoil myself with the new Limited Edition Magnum Strawberry White Crumble.

OMG talk about delish. The white chocolate and biscuit coating is crunchy and rather yum. The strawberry ice cream inside – where do I start. It tastes like real strawberries, not fake pink ice cream like some strawberry ice creams. It’s creamy and smooth. It’s YUM! and it’s helping a good cause.

How you ask? The new limited edition ice cream was developed to mark Magnum’s partnership with the National Breast Cancer Foundation (Australia) (NBCF) and New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation(NZBCF), and its support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month this October. Unilever, Streets’ parent company, have long been a supporter of Breast Cancer Awareness Month and have contributed around $700 000 to NBCF and NZBCF over its 7 year association with the campaign. Through the extension of support from Streets’ Magnum and Blue Ribbon brands, Unilever hopes to bring total contributions to the cause to $1 million in 2012.

Strawberry White Crumble joins the Magnum range as a limited edition from August 2012 –
March 2013, and will be available in both single serve and multi-packs.

Disclaimer: I received a voucher to purchase some Magnums. All opinions are my own.