Monday, April 29, 2013

Spencer Park Animal Farm


Spencer Park Animal Farm

This was a great find within Christchurch, suggested to us by a friend as part of our Stay-Cation agenda!

Spencer Park is in Brooklands, just on the outskirts of North Christchurch. The entrance to the Animal Farm is directly opposite the main entrance to Spencer Park. It isn't sign posted, you wouldn't even know its there.

There's a little driveway, a few carparks and a sign on an inconspicuious gate that says "Open 9-5. Please shut the gate" and that is the only clue (that and all the roosters crowing). There is no one there to collect money or supervise you. Each time we have been there has always been at least one other family there. 

Inside is a small area of land - chickens and roosters roam free, bunnys are in huge hutches, peacocks (my fav!) wander around and do what peacocks do, there's about 6 aiveries filled with birds and 3 or 4 Kune Kune pigs inside a very large pen.


Our little girl loves anything that moves and has something other than human skin (dreading the day she realises some people actually collect animals as pets!). She loved this animal park and we went back multiple times over the summer! 

Each time was different, with different weather and times of the day some animals preferred to sleep than hang out with us! 

Do you have any hidden secrets in your town? If you live in Christchurch please share yours in the comments, we're always on the look out for fun (cheap) things we can do as a family! 

[This week I'm reminiscing in my 2013 Summer Series. I had a great summer but most of it wasn't blogged about due to morning sickness. Here's my record!]

Friday, April 26, 2013

Summer Berry Picking



Berry picking at Sweethearts

One of the ideas for our Stay-Cation list was to go raspberry picking at Sweethearts at Berryfields.

I worked as a waitress at Sweethearts for a few years as a teenager, and during each summer would run their Berry Shop. We eventually got married there a few years later, it was the perfect location for my  summer outdoor wedding dream, amongst the berry vines and under the big trees. 

Despite working in the Berry Shop for years, I never actually tried any berries while I was there so I was excited to go back and try out their pick-your-own service.

From memory it worked out to be about $10-$13 a KG, which was about half a buckets worth.


At the time Milla was 16 months old and handled berry picking like a pro. I was SO surprised (and thrilled) to discover that we could take her some where, quickly teach her something new and she could grasp it straight away.

We taught her to pick the RED raspberries, how to hold and pull them and put them in the bucket. She went along the vine picking all the red ones. Some got squished in her fingers, a few green ones ended up in the bucket, but overall I was thoroughly impressed!




MrMoo and I had a good time too, we even went back with out of town friends a few weeks later to do the same again.

The second time around we had afternoon tea in their gardens, right where we were married. 

Its such a lovely atmosphere there, I really do love the whole complete business, it is great for locals and tourists. Think devonshire teas, raspberry dacquris, berry punnets, frank sinatra and all the waitresses in pinnies. 

I am loving finding all these new things that our family enjoys that could become traditions one day. I think berry picking at Sweethearts will be on our yearly summer to-do!



[This week I'm reminiscing in my 2013 Summer Series. I had a great summer but most of it wasn't blogged about due to morning sickness. Here's my record!]

[Sweethearts At Berryfields are not a sponsor or partner of Sophie Slim.]

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Akaroa Memories - The Best Ever


To Akaroa

My absolute favourite part of the summer were the 3 nights we had in Akaroa together.

We were told in December that we could use a permanent caravan over New Years if we wanted, for free with all amenities, all we'd have to take was our own food.

YES PLEASE.


Akaroa is a small town in Banks Penninsula. It has a whole lot of history and is one of those quaint holiday destinations that Cantabrians often frequent. MrMoo spent a few years growing up in a tiny bayside town nearby. My own experience in going there has always been arriving and saying "now what?" then leaving again. There isn't a whole lot to do around the place unless you have an agenda. 


A collection of memories:


I have SUCH fond memories of watching MrMoo walking around holding Millas hand, of saying that she was just getting to that age where we could take her somewhere and teach her something new to make the most of it. Her sitting on the mat eating her breakfast, watching cars go by out the front fence. Playing swingball. Oh, that giggle. 


We had eggs bene for breakfasts, fish n chips for lunch and barbecues for dinner 
We woke early from birds on the roof and dreamed / plotted of ways to get rid of them. 

We packed our bags and frequented little bays and beaches around the penninsula. MrMoo loved driving our new car and he held on to my leg in a reassuring way because I hated the twisty roads on top of volcanoes. He kept us safe.




We fished and explored and collected sea shells.


We made sandcastles by day and played cards together by night, outside, underneath the setting sun and the stars while MrMoos ice clanked around in his whiskey and my own juice bubbled away and music sang from the laptop. (This moment: My favourite of the whole year. I'm so glad MrMoo snapped a photo of it (below).)


We talked about our favourite parts of the year, what we loved doing, what we wanted to do more of. We talked about our goals and hopes and dreams. We talked about the newest addition to the family and became excited together. 

We went to bed at 11pm on New Years Eve, our second year in a row not making it till midnight - proof of family status. MrMoo joked that I was too pregnant to last till midnight, and I laughed when he fell asleep on the sofa at 11. 

We invited a friend to come stay with us for a night, he taught MrMoo more about the barbeque, they went fishing and stayed up really late watching movies. 

We laughed and loved. Funny how those two go hand in hand. I don't think I've ever laughed and loved so much before.



Akaroa, you were good to our family. 



[This week I'm reminiscing in my 2013 Summer Series. I had a great summer but most of it wasn't blogged about due to morning sickness. Here's my record!]

Fundraising Again (yay)


I'm doing another fundraiser for my local Plunket! 

This time I'm selling my birth details prints! There are four colour schemes to choose from, they will be personalised and emailed to you and $10 from each print goes to Woolston Plunket!

You can view more info on how to order them and see the colour schemes  or email me and I'll help you out (sophie[at]moo2.co.nz)


Most of all, I'd just really appreciate you telling your own Mama friends about this! They make a great keepsake for your childs room or can be given as a gift! 


^^What the prints look like once they're framed up and displayed :)

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

RIP CeeCee, Welcome Home Avril


Summer Vacation 2013

At the beginning of the summer, right as we found out we were pregnant and MrMoo was going on a trip to Australia for a family wedding this happened:


The car that we had saved months and months and months for was clipped as a big bus ran a red light. Thankfully the damage was minimal to the eye and MrMoo was perfectly safe, but the car was a write-off.

There went my dreams of road tripping around the South Island for our summer holiday. 

We appeased my disappointment  and a little stress of not knowing if we would be covered by insurance (thankfully the bus had a security cam which proved it was in the wrong), and then subsequent difficulty at finding a new car by planning a Stay-Cation!!

 It was a way to convince myself that even though we didn't have money, or a car, we could still enjoy MrMoos time off work and still make the most of it.

A(nother) list was written, this time with ideas and things around Christchurch that we could do together as a family. The list included things we already loved doing and things we had never tried before. We aimed to do at least one of them a day. We decided each morning what we would do depending on what the weather was like and what we felt like doing. We still planned (with ideas), but we were flexible and it worked best that way.

MrMoos fortnight off work was full of adventures and family fun. I fell in love with Christchurch all over again, and looked at my family through rose-coloured glasses.

We went to animal parks, swimming pools, drives (a friend who was away lent us a car!), walks, beaches, cafes and restaurants and berry fields. Most of it was new to us, and many were Christchurch's best kept secrets. I'll be sharing a few high lights later on in the week in my 2013 Summer Series. Most of what we did was for free, or costed very little.

And you know what? We found a new car! Her name is Avril, she was found at the very last minute, late at night, and before you knew it MrMoo was on a plane the next day to collect her. This buying a car business is cut throat stuff. We were sick of getting our hopes up for a car that was taken from our grasp so we made a quick decision and it payed off. We ended up getting a little extra money from insurance than what we payed for CeeCee and had a little in the bank so were able to upgrade our car a little and bring her home from Auckland.

She and MrMoo arrived home safely and the next day we went on a family trip to Akaroa for a few days over New Years.


[This week I'm reminiscing in my 2013 Summer Series. I had a great summer but most of it wasn't blogged about due to morning sickness. Here's my record!]

Monday, April 22, 2013

2012 Christmas


Christmas 2012

Unusually we were surrounded by little family this year. Often Christmas is quite a big affair in our homes but this year MrMoos brother and sister were in Australia and my sister was in London, my brother and his family were down south at the in-laws and my other brother at his in-laws as well. 

Just one of those years I suppose.

We celebrated on Christmas Eve-Eve at church with a family service at night complete with carols and glow sticks. I love the photos from the photo booth that they took of us. 

Yes, those antlers and hats were ours, and yes I took them along just so we could get a photo in them (I just realised you may have thought they were props. They weren't, we wore them all night!). 

Thankfully MrMoo doesn't mind dressing to my guidelines on such holidays :) 




Nativity. Christmas for us is about the birth of Jesus, our saving grace.


A Kiwi Christmas - lights on the tree and jandals on the floor. 





Christmas Morning - We got up and opened our presents together as a family. 

MrMoo and I both gave each other a little list at the beginning of the month with a few things on it that we would love for a certain amount of money. Christmas morning was still a pleasant surprise, and it meant there was no stress worrying about buying the right thing / budgeting for it.

I DIY'd this table and chair set for Milla for christmas and gave her crayons and paper to go with it. She loves it, and I love that what we gave her was practical and helpful as well as encouraging of learning. 


On Christmas day we spent time at both of our parents houses. Breakfast with the MooMoos, and an afternoon lunch at my Dads (that the MooMoos came to!). We went home that night and had friends around to watch a movie and eat most of our Christmas day treats! 

It was a great day and I'm looking forward to this years already!


 What are your Christmas day traditions? Did you write a blog post about your Christmas? Leave a link in the comments, I'd love to go back and read it :)

[This week I'm reminiscing in my 2013 Summer Series. I had a great summer but most of it wasn't blogged about due to morning sickness. Here's my record!]


2013 Summer Series


This summer was one of the best I have ever had, all the while the camera lay dormant inside a cupboard and blogging was on the back burner while I dealt with morning sickness.

I have really wanted to record its events here and will be spending this week doing that.

I hope you'll forgive me for reminiscing of the sunshine and adventures while it pours with rain outside.  Think of it as something to look forward to in a few months, hee ;)

Happy summer times :) 
xxx

Here's what we did:



Friday, April 19, 2013

The Biggest LOVE BOMB Mission Ever



Sisters, It is so good to have you here today. Thanks for showing up!

Today I'm going to tell you about the biggest round of LOVE BOMBs The Sisterhood has ever planned to do. 

You see, my second child (a baby girl!) is due in June (9 week countdown!!) and we're needing to swap the rooms around in our house. Sisterhood HQ needs to down size into a different room with half the space it currently occupies.

But that's fine, it currently occupies a lot of space because we currently have A LOT of goodies in our Shelves of Glory, there's plenty to go around and there's no point it all just sitting there, right?

Lets use what we have! 

Amy & The Shelves - Taken in December, but they look much the same now :)

In the next month we are going to send as many LOVE BOMBs as we possibly can. As long as the nominations keep coming in, and the goods are there to go out we'll keep sending them. We want to bless as many as possible. Everyone has different needs - some people might just get a block of chocolate so they are reminded they are not alone, others will get crafty goods to inspire them and others will get full on - can't contain it - LOVE BOMBs. It will depend on your nominations!

I'll be updating our Sisterhood Facebook page with progress and also asking for specific needs as the nominations come in, and also talking about it here on the blog. And at the end of the month I'll do a huge big round up to tell you about all the amazing things that happened!

There are three things I want to give you details on: 1) How to nominate. 2) How to donate and 3) How to come to my home and help / meet me!

1) NOMINATE
You can nominate anyone for a LOVE BOMB. But just so you have an idea, this is the description for the type of nominations we love:

We love women who against all odds and circumstances, continue to show up each day and give life their best. They treat their kids well, they do their job with diligence, they have a unique way of loving and respecting those around them.

We love to celebrate these women and thank them for belonging to our nation.

You can nominate someone by emailing the following information to sophieslim[at]moo2.co.nz (only nominations with full details will be considered)
-Name
-Full postal address (we can't send to rural addresses or PO Boxes sorry!)
-Reason for nominating
-What you think they would love / appreciate receiving from The Sisterhood. (Give me practical ideas!)

I'm going to be sifting through previous nominations for different missions, but please feel free to re-nominate someone and refresh my memory :)

Nominations are kept anonymous when talked about on FB and on the blog.

2) DONATE
We have lots of goodies in our Shelves of Glory, but we could always do with more of what we use most often. Specifically:
-Chocolate! (The kind with the cardboard packaging)
-Food treats (yummy biscuits etc)
-Yummy coffee sachets
-Up to date magazines
-Novels in new condition
-Note books / stationary
-Vouchers for meals, malls, petrol, groceries etc

You can send these by NZ post to:
The Sisterhood
PO Box 10100
Christchurch

Please send these as soon as you can :)

3) Help / Meet Me!
I'm going to be opening up my little home and Sisterhood HQ on Saturday May 18th at 7pm. We'll be enjoying hot cups of liquid, chatting, and boxing up lots of LOVE BOMBs! This is a chance for you to meet me (if you want to) and also practically help a 35 week preggo and The Sisterhood at the same time! ;)

Please email me on sophie[at]moo2.co.nz if you want more info about this / my address :)

--------------------------------------------

Sisters, I LOVE YOU!! I am so ridiculously excited!! There are no rules with this one (and doesn't it feel kind of freeing?!) There are no goals or aims, we're just going to send and send and bless and bless until we can't do it any longer!!!

Also, after meeting so many Sisters last weekend at a bloggers conference I'm looking forward to meeting more of you! I hope you'll think about coming over on the 18th :)

xxxxx

READ MORE:
What goes inside a love bomb
Sisterhood Facebook page

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Happy Chevron Pillows


Happy Chevron, welcome to my lounge room. 

My womb-baby reached 30 weeks gestation this week. That was kind of my mental marker to allow myself to begin preparing as it was also the marker where I would be finished with my Around The Table prep.

On Tuesday I crossed off everything on my to-do lists, remade some new ones and immediately felt the need to complete something on them.

I went out and bought this delicious fabric then and there - something ridiculously bright and happy for our lounge room, and practical for comfort and snuggling / feeding a little baby.




I still don't have a zipper foot for my machine (anyone know where I can find a Globe one??) so I decided to be brave and hand sew my zippers in. WELL. Let me tell you, I have never been more proud of my sewing skills! My zippers look A.maze.Zing! 

I totally recommend sewing in your zipper by hand. The first one took me forever, but the second was relatively fast and totally worth it. 

Green and orange zippers. Happy colours, happy Sophie.

How have we not had cushions until now??

MORE MAKINGS:
PAINT: Tea Trolley Makeover
FABRIC: Peplum Dress

Linking in with Show n Tell 




Tuesday, April 16, 2013

We Sent Deb Away To Bless

Sisters, in all our time, never have we before been so privileged to know someones personal situation so well. Often I do, but we mostly work under cover and anonymity so private details and specifics aren't shared, choosing to believe that we dont need to know every detail about someones lives to know that we can bless them.

That was until I introduced you to Deb, a friend of mine, and Cam, a friend of hers. Two ladies, two precious quilts, and one big opportunity.

At Easter time Deb mentioned on Twitter and Facebook that she was looking for someone flying to Melbourne who could take a quilt over there with her. Because the quilt was too precious to be trusted to a postal company.

The quilt was a big hug, made by people in New Zealand and Australia for an inspiring, colourful and creative woman who had just had a life saving double lung transplant.



I had watched this quilt grow on Instagram as people from Australasia sent in quilt blocks with their embroidered names on them. This quilt brought people together and it meant something.

I had already been gifted a quilt by Deb, my Kindness Day quilt, and I knew first hand how talented she was, and also what such a gesture could mean to a persons spirit. I knew that Deb needed to deliver the quilt to Cam and give her one of her healing hugs. The kind that can only come from someone who truly cares about you and means it. Thats what every hug from Deb feels like.

I knew that this act of love needed to be delivered in person; The power of the internet needed to be transferred to the power of a real friendship.

So when Deb mentioned she needed the quilt to get to Melbourne safely I thought the only way for that to happen would be for Deb to do it herself.

My heart started to race as The Sisterhood came to mind. Maybe we could raise The Money that was needed. I asked Deb how much she thought it would cost. $567 she said. *gulp*.

I had never asked The Sisterhood for money like that before. We've never been about money, deliberately so that those who don't have any extra dont feel like they can't be involved in what we're doing. I knew The Sisterhood were face-cream givers, but I didn't know if they were money givers.

I heard that YES. That urging inside that I know only comes from God. I told Deb we'd do it, all the while sweating beneath my clothes.

FOUR HOURS.

Thats all it took to reach our target to pay for Debs flights.

image from Curly Pops (Cam)

I had no idea that would happen. As email after email came in about transactions being made I learnt what stepping out feels like. It feels terrifying, and then ridiculously rewarding.

I also learnt more about Deb - someone recognised her photo (not knowing her) saying she had let their family take a doctors appointment when they were too late for their own. She made a donation. She knew of Debs Kindness. She wanted to bless Deb in return, while blessing Cam at the same time.

I announced to The Sisterhood that we had raised the money, but it still kept coming in.

$930 in total. 

With Deb on her plane we also sent Cam our Sisterhood card and $100 Australian cash - She dreams of having a bike, something that was not possible with her previous lungs. But now that her lungs are all shiny and new it can be a reality. Hopefully she'll use The Money towards a bike, or just on herself. Whatever it is, its hers.

More money was left over and with your consultation I decided to send two beautiful Mamas a Money Bomb - they each got a few treats and $100 to use however they wish. Both ladies are in different situations and have different needs, but money comes into the situation on both counts. I asked them to use The Money on paying off a bill, or something on the "to get list" or just something to spoilt themselves and relieve some pressure. It's theirs. It's not a lot, but a woman on a budget can achieve many things!

Isn't it amazing that we are able to do that?

THANKYOU:
For being so prepared to give:

So many of you gave within minutes. Thank you for listening to your hearts and acting on them within the same beat.

For giving so JOYFULLY:
I received so many beautiful emails from you about this opportunity. Thank you for understanding that giving is a Joy and thank you for living in that. I prayed you would be blessed in that Joy.

Here's a little note from Deb:
"It was amazing. The afternoon I spent with Cam was perfect. I was wondering if I was meant to do something but I think being there was the something. There was something very special about actually handing over the quilt she had watched grow in Instagram. In this age where we are connected by technology, it is very special to actually be able to hug someone you have prayed so much for. Cam is the loveliest person too, it was a real treat to hang out with her. I met another lady Michelle and the three of us just sat and chatted and ate cupcakes. The quilt was the perfect size to wrap her in... Thanks so much for what you did. I know it was scary for both of us, but wasn't God so good to us both?? Amazing."

Sisters, I am honestly so blown away. Stunned. When I think back to those initial feelings of not knowing if we could pull this off, but hearing that YES anyway, I know now that when I hear the YES it will be possible.

I know that it is so important to equip others to do the blessing and to make that a possibility. I hope that as The Sisterhood grows and moves forward that would be something we are good at.

You shared the post about blessing Deb so well, please share this in return - tell the world that goodness is alive. Tell the world WE DID IT. 


READ MORE:

Monday, April 15, 2013

Post-Conference High


I'm in that post-birth-euphoric-stage where you know something truly incredible just happened but you have no words to describe it and you're not quite sure what to make of it yet.

Around The Table was amazing, I truly felt in my element being surrounded by such beautiful, generous, talented women who I have so much (but also so little!) in common with. I was fortunate to have most of my conference responsibilities be in preparation for the weekend so when it came to it I could just enjoy myself and give out prizes and speak at an advertising workshop. I loved that I could focus on you and although I didn't get to meet everyone there, I hope I at least gave you a real-life smile :)

In the lead up to the weekend I tweeted about having an ear infection, I ended up at the doctors twice last week to sort it out, and after it travelled to -both- ears on Friday night, now on Monday morning I am feeling MUCH better. Thank you to all those people who talked a little louder for me to hear them, to those who didn't mind my own shouting and lack of volume control and who asked me how I was doing. I appreciated your love and it helped me get through with a smile on my face.

Did anyone come to the advertising workshop who reads my blog? What did you think about it? I'd love to hear your feedback: What you think you learnt, what you'd like to know more about. I'd love for that conversation we started on Saturday to continue on :) leave a comment or email me direct sophieslim[at]moo2.co.nz 

The Around The Table blog will be posting a linky this week for you to join in all yours posts - I can't wait to read them and discover your blogs more!

Today I'm focussing on resting and releasing.

Muchos love to you all xx

Thursday, April 11, 2013

I Am Who I Am



See you at Around The Table, in ONE day! Whaaaat!

I'm so excited to meet so many of you, but thought you should know some things about the -real- me, because as I've read peoples blogs and met them in the flesh I have realised that most of what I read online is read in my own voice. I create a picture of someone and assume they're mostly like me. Then when I meet them *shockhorror* they're someone completely different.

It is quite funny to then continue to read their online words in -their- voice now that I know them. It changes everything!

So.

I did write a big list of disclaimers, but I've deleted it. I'm excited to meet you, just as much as I'm excited to be -met-. Often I worry that you all have some crazy idea that I'm this person who doesn't exist. I try so hard to be my real self on this space so it will be nice to be met and to know that you know the real me.

I am who I am :)

One disclaimer, I'm terrible with names so if I stare blankley just remind me of your blog name heehee. I'm much better with a photographic memory :)

And all my other qwirks? You'll just have to find out for yourself ;)

I can't wait to meet you all (just remind me of your blog name at the same time!) we're going to have a lot of fun and I've been really genuinely praying that this is a really inclusive weekend for everyone! Lots of friendships to be made and lots of people breaking out of their comfort zones to make others feel welcome and loved!

Peace, see you tomorrow!

X

Ps - did you see Around The Table in The Press?

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Nesting In The Dark


As I've lamented before, I'm having a newborn right at the start of a cold Christchurch winter. I'm not a winter person. When I discovered this news I put it to you for advice on what I could do to embrace the season. 

One of my readers said she likes to make an effort when she pulls the curtains at night, "Think of it like starting the day again instead of the day being over" she said! Think slippers, candles, music, lamps, baking in the oven. Anything that whispers comfort and warmth.

Every night since daylight savings I have made an effort to do just that. The curtains get pulled, the dishes are done, the candles are lit! 

I even went and bought fluffy new slippers.


I got these delicious candles from a Craft Love Festival stall holder and Around The Table sponsor. 

Rose In Thorns will be at Craft Love AND inside your goodie bags(!) if you're a conference attendee this weekend, then you can smell them for yourselves.



Vanilla is my favourite. When I light them is it silly to say its filling me with happiness? Theres just something about those little flames flickering away while I sit down on the couch with a hot chocolate and try and relax.

They are handmade here in Christchurch, these particular ones are hand poured soy votive candles. Rose has a huge range of hand poured candles, i'm sure each of them just as delicious as these! 



I love nesting during pregnancy, the desire is so strong and instinctual and I love to bend to its will. If the microwave needs cleaning, it needs cleaning now. 

What are your 'embracing the cold and dark' tips? 

[[We've also got new fluffy sheets for the bed, a new blanket, slippers (PJs to come), new bras, a self-made rug for the lounge and cushions on the to-make list! I'm determined for this to be a comfortable cosy season for our family. Only 2 and a bit more months!!]]

Monday, April 8, 2013

How to Link Your Comments to Your Email Address



How to be a No-Reply Commenter No More!

Each to their own, but it drives me bonkers when I get a really great, well thought-out blog comment from someone I have never heard from before and I have JUST the reply to send them! Unfortunately when I hit "reply" in my email it comes up with that tearful "no-reply comment" in the To: section of the email.

Breaks my heart. Every time.

If you've never got an email reply to a comment you've left on someones blog its possibly because you're a no-reply commenter. If you dont want to be (as in, you want to be able to receive email replies) then this tutorial is for you!

I love continuing blog comments through emails back and forward. Some of my readers are really brilliant and I love hearing from them and do my very best to reply to them. Please make that easy for me! Become a reply commenter!

Psst - if you're a blogger did you know you can reply to comments sent to your email address for publishing approval? Just hit reply and the persons email address will (should) magically appear! Its a great way to build relationships with your readers!

If you're on blogger here's how you do it: (this wont work for google+ profiles, check out Louana for a tutorial on google+ commenting)


On your blogger.com dashboard, up the top right had corner you will see your "profile". Click on it and it will take you to your public blog profile. 

This is where people come when they want to see a photo of you, see where you live or what you have to say about yourself. 

I very rarely venture to people profiles these days, most bloggers have clued up and given themselves an About Me page that gives a lot more information!




In the top right hand corner of your Blogger profile you'll find "Edit Profile". Click it!


Editing your profile will bring up some of the details you've chosen to share with Blogger and Google.

Make sure "Show my email address" is checked!

Below that under "Identity" and "Email address" this is the address your blog comments will be emailed to.

My main email address is sophie[at]moo2.co.nz - however I get my blog comments sent to sophieslim[at]moo2.co.nz because when I reply to them it will automatically come from "Sophie Slim" and contain my blog signature! If you want to do the same, put your alias email address here.



Hit SAVE down the bottom and go back to your profile page - under "Contact Me" should now contain a link to your email address!

(yes, it does mean your email address is made public if people click it)


HOORAH! I hope you'll consider allowing your email address to be linked to your blog comments in the future!


Please let me know in the comments if you use this tutorial and became a reply-ee! I love to hear your feedback on my blog tutorials, if you would like to learn anything else let me know!


FOR MORE:

If you're on Google+  you'll want to look at Louanas tutorial on how to link your comments to your email! 

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Tea Trolley Makeover



Big thank you's to Deb for offering me this free tea trolley when I was around at her house in February! I had been looking on Trade Me for something similar for our lounge room. We have been using a little outside table for the last year and I wanted something that had different shelves so the nappies weren't on bags on the floor!

I bought table cloth material from Spotlight, half a metre for $6 with plenty left over and second hand paint made this a cheap makeover that was well worth it! The painting is a bit rough but between this and the table and chair set that I painted during the summer I can see I have improved! Next job, Millas drawers! hehe.


I love having things around the home that I have done. I do I do! 

For laughs:
Originally I glued the table cloth material to the shelves but I used special plastic glue that MrMoo had (he works in plastics), and it was so strong it melted the fabric! Eeek! I had lots left over so re did it and now the cloth is just sitting on the shelves since it has a non slip backing it works perfectly! 

READ MORE:
Joining in with Show n Tell
Kids Table DIY
Other things I've made

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Baby View Awards


Make sure you get your votes in for the Best In Home Business Awards! Voting is open until April 25th and I'm sure there will be many of your favourite online businesses in the different categories!

I particularly love the "been in business for less than 12 months" and "sells only on Facebook" - theres a lot of great talent out there and I love seeing Mamas especially follow their dreams and open up shop from home!

Plus by voting you can win spot prizes! Hello!

**this isn't a "vote for me" post - I'm not in it, just wanted to let you know about the opportunity you have to support kiwi business!**


Tuesday, April 2, 2013

March Month


My March Month Happenings on the blog:

In my personal life March was full of to-do's, not that I mentioned them much on the blog, they were made possible because of my generous husband who supports what I do. I spent March being thankful for him and working my little hiney off because he makes it possible to do so.

So what have I been doing? There was the Plunket Appeal week - we raised $1000 for my local, Woolston Plunket. Some of you helped me doing that by donating $10 and going in the draw to win one of my personalised birth prints. Because of your interest in them I have also started selling them on my Felt page.

The Sisterhood also sent out two LOVE BOMBs and raised enough money to send Deb to Melbourne to bless others.  We raised that money in FOUR HOURS. It blew my mind. Money is still coming in, hopefully we will have enough to give some Australian coin to Cam towards a new bike to celebrate her new lungs! Amazing. You all amaze me.

I have also been rather crafty, lots of long projects have come to an end so it looks like I have been much more productive in this department than what I have been, really its just the end of a lot of procrastination! I put some crochet wipes up for sale, finished Millas Granny Circle Blanket (phew!) and made Milla a peplum bubble dress with the help of a free online pattern.

I also wrote about finding a good midwife, especially important if you've never had one before or dont seem to be connecting with the one you do have. Have a read of the post and forward it onto any of your preggo friends.

Speaking of pregnancy, I did a 25 week pregnancy update, I'm quickly approaching the 30 week mark now! It is flying by! And finally completed Millas 18 month update.

What I haven't been blogging about is my involvement with Around The Table - we're working really hard to create a great weekend for you to come to (in less than 2 weeks!!) so you can meet other bloggers! I've been doing all the sponsorship for the event (think goody-ful goodie bags and tonnes of spot prizes) and designing the brochure. Its proving to be very time consuming and I'm spending a lot of time behind my lap top these days. Mr Moo will probably be relieved when its all over, but it will be worth it!

I hope to write more about Around The Table as it approaches, I have some warnings for you (i'm not a natural hugger!) for when we meet, heehee ;)

I didn't get around to doing any of the My Journey series but I hope to do more of this when things settle down a bit after the conference!

I love doing this monthly round up, it feels so good to put an end to the month and reflect on what has been. I was starting to feel a little overwhelmed with my to-dos feeling like I wasn't getting anywhere but I can see now that I have had a very full month indeed!

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 In March I have had some beautiful sponsors on my blog that I am so proud to represent!  



Scamps, an online ecoproduct store for mums, babies and kids have some great products that are worth checking out! 

I love their philosophy and it suits me perfectly, you can buy anything from reusable nappies and eco baby skin products to wraps and carriers or lunchboxes



All About Heidi sent me some shiny gold leather shoes for Milla and gave some away to my lucky readers! There was such a great response to this give away and I was so proud to represent a great business with beautiful products. The winner of the giveaway was Dawnie Burgess as chosen by rafflecopter. 




Belly Beyond are a great online maternity store in New Zealand, they send me some autumn appropriate clothes to review and I wrote about them in my 25 week pregnancy update. I'm continuing to wear the clothes and continuing to be impressed. 


Craft Love Festival! If you're coming to Around The Table, hopefully you are joining us at the festival on Friday 12th night! Hazel and Holly from our ATT are running it and its going to be a fab night, so many great local artists and creators! 

If you're in chch right now, Craft Love Festival are running a guerilla marketing campaign, you can read my post on it and be in to win a $50 market voucher! 


((if you're interested in having your blog or brand represented on Sophie Slim check out my advertising options)


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