20% Off Silver Jewellery No comments yet

Beauty Banquet has taken 20% off everything in the Silver Jewellery category for this week only.  Visit Beauty Banquet today before you miss out.

Livinia Mineral Eyeshadows No comments yet

Mineral Makeup is becoming very popular these days as we have started to realise what the chemical makeup is doing to our skin.  Mineral makeup is made of minerals which have been sterlised thoroughly and then ground into a very fine powder.  The colours are usually quite highly pigmented and so a little goes a long way.

Livinia is an Australian company, soon to become international,  that produces a lovely range of mineral makeup.  My favourites are the eye shadows.  Just look at the colours!

The range includes matte, metallic and shimmering powders.  I can’t go past the shimmers!  Imagine what beautiful eye colour designs you could create as a professional makeup artist? 

This lovely range is now available at Beauty Banquet.   Do yourself a favour and treat your skin with some respect.  Invest in long lasting and natural mineral makeup.

Quick Survey on Branding. No comments yet

If you have a minute would you please complete this short survey on branding? It is to help Business Mums Network collect information.

http://www.surveymonkey.com:80/s.aspx?sm=iqt_2byjrh0_2bcSLpZr359cRA_3d_3d

Verse for Greeting Cards 3 comments

I find that sometimes it is hard to find the right words to use when you are writing a really special card for a really special person.  I am sure that I am not the only one who has given up and fallen back on the good old “Best wishes” routine.

Jenni from Papercraft Designs has taken pity on us.  Apart from creating the most beautiful cards she is also a poet.  How talented can one person be?

Personal Card Verses is a collection of 31 original poems and verses including verse for weddings, engagements, anniversaries, birthdays, sympathy, thank you, new baby, love & romance, Easter and more..   These are for personal use only in your greeting cards to family or friends.  Priced at only $5.95AUD this is a bargain.  It is available for instant download.

My Monday Off. No comments yet

I wish I was a florist.  Imagine smelling the heady scent of all those blooms all day?  I would love to be able to arrange flowers so that they look great instead of just shoving them in whichever vase I can find.  I love the look of Ikebana, the Japanese style of flower arranging.  It is so elegant and serene.  My arrangements are higgledy piggledy.

The Floral Art School of Australia offers floristry diploma’s online.  How good is that?  The course is quite affordable, too.  Imagine being able to play with flowers and make money as well?  That is my kind of hobby. 

My Monday’s off might be spent learning a new skill.

Anzac Day 2008 No comments yet

Conscript  

“Of course, its done him worlds of good”, they said,
“He’s twice the man he was - a puny chap
he used to be, if you remember - always at books and that,
but since he joined
he’s broadened out. They’ve made a man of him;
You wouldn’t know now”.

 Deep-sunk in rain-soaked ditch, with weeds and filth
stopping his mouth, the soldier lies;
swollen and black, his face turns to the skies
in blank, unquestioning stare, his body, tight
and big as flood-drowned pig, lurches and sways,
to wind and water. Yes, he’s broadened out -
he’s twice the man he was; a pity, though,
his life should run, like bright oil down a gutter,
to implement some politician’s brag.

His world went out
through that neat hole in temple, quickly and easily
as words from windy mouths. And loves unknown,
and skies unseen, and books unread,
forever lost, he’s dead.

You wouldn’t know him now.

FA Horn 1940  

Baby Safari No comments yet

Baby Safari is a lovely online store which carries Modern Cloth Nappies which are environmentally friendly.   They also stock a clever range of really useful items for mums and babies.    I notice, too, that Baby Safari are producing their own range of cloth nappies. 

The store is run by Alisha and her mother, Ann.  Alisha is the mother of a little son called Joshua.  

“If you had asked us about cloth nappies at the beginning of 2007 when I was pregnant with my first child I would have only known about terry squares! I soon found the amazing world of the Modern Cloth Nappy and I have now been using cloth exclusively on my son since he was 2 months old.I could not get over how fantastic these new nappies were and decided to open an online store to help spread the word about MCN’s, not only are they environmentally friendly they are super cute to boot!!  We also decided to stock some of our other favourite products and will be adding to our range all the time!” 

Alisha goes on to say  “I want to offer a quality nappy that is economical so that people who find the initial outlay for MCN daunting, have a place to start what can become an addiction!!”

This store is one to keep an eye on! 

Necklace power! 2 comments

“In a sea of delicate barely there chains and charms, the dramatic singular statement necklace makes a comeback this spring.”

I found this quote over at Under the Loupe (where Annette Piper makes some beautiful necklaces) and I rejoiced!  I love my necklaces and I also admit to an addiction to earrings.   A bare neckline can be quite dramatic too, but not when everyone is doing it! 

My preferred style of necklace does not always have to be dramatic, but it should add to your overall look.  Sometimes a pendant is enough to add drama to any look.  It doesn’t even have to be expensive.  Fashion necklaces can make as dramatic an impact as any gold or silver piece.  Here is an example for you.

This is made of lava which is polished so that it is smooth and you can see the little surface imperfections created by nature.  It has been combined with pretty gold coloured freshwater pearls to make a stunning contrast.  This lovely pendant has been made especially for Beauty Banquet’s new Designer BB range.

I think that this piece is quite a statement and certainly eye-catching.  Long live the necklace!

My Monday Off. No comments yet

I really hate having to thing every night “What will I cook for dinner tonight?”  I used to love cooking, but now that it is down to the mundane variety I am really bored.  I also hate the last minute trip to the supermarket because I don’t have everything in they pantry that I need for that meal. 

Today I want to start all over again.  Back to the beginning.  I am a big believer in menu planning but I seem to be off the wagon more often than I am on.  Yesterday I found The Canny Cook and I am hoping that this will help me out. 

The Canny Cook looks like a great little service.  It is a smart meal planning solution that provides shopping lists and innovative meal planning in a couple of easy steps.

The Canny Cook isn’t just another recipe database , although there are recipes there.  It’s a time management tool that saves you time, energy and money as shrivelled ingredients lurking at the back of the fridge become a thing of the past.

Customers can create exciting menus from a range of healthy recipes that are rated by qualified, practicing dieticians as heart friendly, weight friendly and low GI. They can even enter their own family favourites.

The shopping lists can even be customised so that it is sorted according to the aisles of the supermarket.  How easy will that make the shopping?  (If there is one thing I hate it is trotting up and down supermarket aisles with my dodgy-wheeled trolley looking for missing ingredients!)

The best part is that it only costs AUD $19.95.   It is a one-off fee.  If this small amount of money can save me some cooking stress then I am all for it! 

TGIF! No comments yet

 When you want something sweet but shouldn’t have it, try these.   

This is a Chocolate Swiss Roll cake with a twist.    This looks absolutely delicious but you don’t have to worry. It is made of  2 face washers - 1 rich chocolate and 1 vanilla cream -  and comes with a decorative strawberry magnet.    Available from I Love Gifts.

Perhaps a piece of Turkish Mocha Chocolate cake would help?   This is a rich, creamy and chocolatey delight that is actually a soap.  The soap is fully handmade and is  part of the gourmet soap range that is available from Funky Soaps.