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February 3 2013 By melbournemamma Leave a Comment

February 2 2013 By melbournemamma Leave a Comment

Are you having trouble organising all the stockings and leggings you picked up during the Boxing Day sales?

Does your stocking draw look like mine (yes, that really is my draw – please stop laughing!)

I’m forever digging through a tangled mess of stockings and often find that I have more than one pair of the same pattern because I have no idea what’s in there.

If you’re like me (come on, stop denying it), you need Stoxbox.

What is Stoxbox you wonder……

Stoxbox is a fabulous product designed right here in Melbourne, to help you keep your stockings in order and make life easier.

This unique storage solution allows you to see AND store your hosiery so you can differentiate between denier, leggings or patterns. It certainly makes stocking selection easier (and the early morning rush to get ready, a little less stressful).

Stoxbox was invented by Danielle Ashcroft and won a Melbourne Design Award in 2012.

It seems I must REALLY like this particular stocking because I just found 3 pairs of them in my drawers (oops!).

They fit neatly into the drawer for clear visibility.

Stoxbox retail for $14.95 each or 3 for $39 and are available from David Jones.

Visit www.stoxbox.com.au for further info.

January 28 2013 By melbournemamma 1 Comment

Today I made a hair clip holder for my daughter (and her ever increasing collection of hair clips).

It was soooo easy that I’m kicking myself for not making one sooner.

I used materials I already had lying around the house but I’m sure you could pick up all the items for no more than $10 from your local craft/fabric store.

I had an old canvas print that used to hang in our house years ago (see, sometimes it pays to hold onto stuff/crap), so along with a fat quarter of fabric and some ribbon from my craft box, I had everything I needed.

I used a hot glue gun to secure the fabric and ribbon but you could also use a staple gun or even tacks.

First step was to iron the fabric, so it was crease free (I only ironed the centre section and left the edges that were being folded over).

Then I lay the fabric face down on the table and positioned the canvas (I used the polkadots as a guide to make sure the canvas was straight).

Then I began folding over and gluing each side of the fabric, making sure that I pulled it tight each time. I didn’t worry about how neat it looked at the back because I’m going to cover the back with a large piece of cardboard, just to finish it off.

The I spaced out the ribbons and secured them with thumb tacks at each side, to hold them in place while I glued them at the back.

Once the glue had dried, I removed the tacks and it was ready to decorate.

In total it took me no more than 20 minutes to make and that was with the assistance of a 5 yr old and a 2yr old (who now wants one for his room, even though he doesn’t have any clips 🙂 )

You should give it a go.

January 14 2013 By melbournemamma Leave a Comment

I was SUPER EXCITED when I first heard that my local shopping centre, Highpoint, was going to be adding 100 new stores to the centre. I was even more excited when I found out the stores would include David Jones and Topshop (squeal!).

Fast forward 18 months and the first new section of the centre “Eco Mall and Fresh Food Market” has opened.

The Eco Mall includes a fantastic range of food stores; Woolworths, Baker’s Delight, Fish Pier, Melbourne Fresh Meats, Tasti D-Lite, just to name a few.

There’s also a brand spanking new Parent’s Room, which will come as a welcome relief to all the mums who shop there. The Parent’s Room will act as both a sanctuary for parents and an engaging play area for kids.

The Parent’s Room has been awarded with a five‐star rating from the Australian Breastfeeding Association and includes a secure play area, three private feeding rooms and kitchenette complete with sink, microwave and ready hot water.

As you can see there is plenty of space for prams and kids and you can relax and feed your little one while your older children can play in the enclosed space 🙂

There are several new kid’s stores in the Mall, including Adairs Kids, Purebaby, Shoes & Sox. I picked up a fabulous quilt for my son’s new “big boy” bed from the Adairs Kid’s Sale and I’ll be heading back to Shoes & Sox to organise my daughter’s first pair of school shoes.

A few stores that you’re likely to find me in include Mozi and Sweet Box (nom, nom, nom).

I’ve also fallen head over heels in love with Daiso, which stocks a wonderful assortment of Japanese products, all priced at $2.80. It’s a treasure trove of Kawaii goodies.

In addition to the new stores there are also an additional 600 car spaces and all the carparks now utilise Smart Park technology, which means you no longer need to drive around in circles (stalking every person you see walking towards the carpark) – just follow the green arrows and look for the green lights on the ceiling which indicate where the empty spaces are (a big high five to whoever invented that).

See you there!

December 30 2012 By melbournemamma 1 Comment

I recently had the pleasure of attending a tasting event at one of my favourite food joints, Lord of the Fries and it was, oh so yummy!

Of course there were fries aplenty and all the fabulous sauces to go with them. My fav is definitely the Parisian but I’ve now got a soft spot for the Belgian, Vietnamese and Thai.

I would never have imagined that I’d be falling in love with a Canadian (please don’t tell my husband) but LOTF Canadian fries are amazing. Who would of thought (other than the Canadians) that fries, smothered with grated cheese and gravy could taste so AMAZING!

This would be the perfect late night snack, perhaps on the way home from a club – if only I still went out at night 😉

Something I had been dying to try was the Chilli Poppers – breaded hot chillies stuffed with cheese. Mmmmmmm, I definitely got a kick out of those.

I took a (non-vegetarian) girlfriend along with me and she thought the Spicy Burger was one of the BEST BURGERS she’d ever tasted. I can see why it’s one of their most popular items.

One of the highlights of my night was meeting Mark and Sam, the brothers (and Lords) who created LOTF. These boys certainly know their stuff.

We finished our evening with the chocolate mousse and then rolled back to the car.

Lord of the Fries have 7 locations around Melbourne so make sure you visit one soon. You can check out their menu and find out more about them at www.lordofthefries.com.au.

You don’t have to be a vegetarian to enjoy LOTF, you just need to enjoy yummy food!

December 21 2012 By melbournemamma Leave a Comment

I’ve been a good girl this year, so I’m putting my “wishlist” out there, just in case Santa is reading my blog (or in case anyone wants to send a copy to him).