november love

Disclaimer: I've been in the process of writing this post for about a month so it's all over the place, I guess it comes with being a new mum. Or I'm just really disorganised. Oh well, onward and upward!

My favourite time of the year has come and gone! The weather has started to warm up amidst rainy days, plans for christmas celebrations and gift giving are on my mind, and I've celebrated turning 25 years old as well as 9 years together with Adam (we started dating in 2001 & married last year).

I am so amazingly blessed to have such a wonderful husband and gorgeous little girl. Adam is such a great support and help to me, always loving and sweet and forgiving (yes, I do dumb stuff sometimes!) and supportive, that I could not imagine my life without him. And Nova is simply flourishing, smiling and giggling, cooing and blowing raspberries, and about to cut her second tooth already!

I loved the idea of having a list of things I'd like to do before my next birthday and was inspired by Elsie to do the same. Here's my list: 25 before 26 (work in progress).

Often I feel that if I don't have any pictures to post that I don't remember anything of importance to share here (or I just don't remember). I have definitely been taking photos though, some on my Diana Mini but most on my iPhone and posting them on instagram. If you're on there, please friend me! Username: owlette. Instagram is seriously the best photo app I've come across ever. I've been using it to take photos of Nova daily, I'm hoping I'll make it to 365!! I'm also posting them to my twitter and flickr accounts. Here's a few previews:

lomography

My sister gave me a Diana Mini as a belated baby shower gift. I finally got the first roll of film developed and was so excited to see how they turned out! They came out better than expected, I thought they might be horribly blurry or washed out but they are brightly coloured and I must say I love that it is a square photo!








I love being a stay-at-home-mum and get to enjoy spending time with our little girl, watching her grow and seeing each new sound and smile. It keeps me busy, I think I've become more efficient with my time (even though I do have my lazy days) but I do miss spending time with friends or going out to the movies. Tomorrow starts a class for new mothers at my local health centre. I'm not usually a social butterfly but I am definitely looking forward to spending time with some girls in the same stage of life as I am. I might make a friend?

Introducing Nova

I'm listening to the rain outside and our little girl breathing lightly as she sleeps. It is music to my ears. I think it's about time I introduce you to her:



November Rain
Wednesday 7 July 2010
at 12:52pm
weight 3.29kg, height 50cm


Now let me explain the name. During the pregnancy my husband and I decided we wouldn't find out the sex of the baby. We started making a list of both girls and boys names to have ready once our little baby was born, complete with middle names too. As for passing on a name, if we had a boy Adam wanted to pass his name on as a middle name like his father did with him. I didn't want to pass on my name, it was MY name! I didn't want to share. ;) But I did want to pass on something about me.

For as long as I can remember, November has been my favourite month in the year and for various reasons. My birthday falls on this month, it's close to the end of the year which is full of family and celebrating, the weather starts to warm up, and my husband and I started dating while back in highschool. And as for Rain, I also just love it! It makes everything look and smell fresh and new, it's relaxing to listen to and feels great on your skin, but most of all it's a blessing and brings life on a parched dry land. It such beautiful imagery!

I have to admit, much to the disbelief of most people who know us, we honestly didn't know that there was a song by Guns n Roses with the exact same name. Absolutely NO CLUE! It was only a few months before she was due that I thought to google her name to see what came up when I was directed to the music video on youtube. But we had already fallen in love with it, and figured that Nova would make for a great nickname anyways. And if she becomes famous she'll already have an awesome name :)

I just absolutely LOVE her! She is such a little blessing and has enriched our lives more than I could have imagined. I just love watching her spend time with her daddy, and all the little smiles she's started giving us are simply amazing.

realignment

I have become a mother. I went through the most physically painful and mentally hardest task I have ever gone through in my life (that being labour), and it was completely and overwhelmingly worth it. I have since been thrown into a new role, the job description which has till now been foreign to me, and it has been continuous 24/7 since it began. I had gone through emotional highs and lows as never before since giving birth, and feel that after three weeks of uncertainty and having to learn and relearn despite my insecurities (breastfeeding troubles) I am finally comfortable with the basic routine of this new life role on which I can now add all those which were pre-existing (home making, house maintenance, etc). I feel like I have been through a battle and have the scars to prove it, a battle well worth fighting.

In all this I am so thankful to have been blessed first of all with the grace and strength to carry this responsibility and honour, to be a mother. I am thankful that I've been blessed with an amazing husband that not only supported me through pregnancy, the pain of labour and the immense fear I had in being stitched up afterwards, but has been a loving servant, an amazing father, a comforter and leader when I felt lost, a true example of Christ. And I am thankful to have an adorable, amazing little daughter in my life.

Having become a mum, I don't want this to become my sole identity. I don't want to forget who I am at the core. I don't want to set aside my hobbies forever. I don't want to hide who I was created to be. This is who I am:

♥ I am a child of God, a daughter saved by grace, created to worship the Creator
♥ I am a wife to the most amazing man in the world (biased, I'm sure)
♥ I am a new mum an adorable little girl, I'm still learning but loving the journey
♥ I am a creative designer of many things: both digital and physical, and also edible
♥ I am a musician, a vocalist, a lyricist, and an amateur at all three
♥ I am a bibliophile, a film fanatic, a fashion muse, a sale-shopper, just to name a few

In this new stage of my life, I don't want to forget who I am, what I love and what I live for. I want to be content with where I am, what I believe and what I think, and I don't want to keep being afraid of others opinions of myself. I want to feel free from these insecurities. And yet, I know I am free. I just forget I am, sometimes.

After glimpsing through my bible yesterday and reading this I was reminded of that which my heart desires more than anything else, what makes me feel alive, what gives me strength when I feel I haven't any left. In the same way that my daughter will get crazy excited at the scent of me when she's hungry, I have again found myself craving more of Jesus after just a whiff of Him. And I think that's just plain awesome. :)

quick update

Hey all, I've been away for quite a while and a lot has happened! Hubby and I finally moved out of my parents garage and into our home. I'm having my baby shower in a few days, the baby is due on 2nd July, and we cannot wait to find out what we're having!! We currently don't have the internet at home and may not for another month or so. I can't wait to catch up on all my reader feeds and get back to taking photos and blogging about my little escapades. Until then, feel free to follow me on twitter as I update this fairly regularly from my iPhone.

counting down the days

It's been a fun, creative, trying-to-be-patient sort of month so far. Feels like life has started to get busier again very quickly, and I know in the next months to come it will only increase, and that's great!

We've finally gotten the keys to our new home, and the renovations are already under way! It's starting to look so lovely and it should all be done within the next 2-3 weeks. Then we can finally move in! Since we'll be renting from my in-laws, their whole family is joining in on the fun of stripping the floors for new wooden boards and repainting the walls and doors. It's so lovely to see them all come together to help out, I only wish I could be a part of it! I've always wanted to do home-renovation projects and have been waiting for the day we would have our own place to do it in, unfortunately being pregnant has restricted me from all the fun stuff (heavy lifting, painting fumes, climbing ladders). Hubby says I'm working hard enough already making a baby, he's very sweet :) So for now, I'm just really looking forward to being able to pack up all our things into boxes when the time is right. Not long now till we move!

I've been delving into my creative side once again, and it feels great! Early this year I decided that I'd start designing cards rather than buying them to save costs and to give myself a project. Lately I've been re-designing some of the birthday & thank you cards, and I'm liking how they look. I also made invitations, "eat me" & "drink me" tags, and headed up a DIY body scrub session for my gorgeous friend's bachelorette party, which was Mad Hatter themed. It was held at her parent's home, the decorations looked so lovely and the food was delicious! Guests were invited to bring a plate, I baked banana bread and lemon meringue pie :) My latest creative venture is a second-hand sewing machine my mum bought me a few days ago. After she showed me the basics and then reading through the manual I felt I finally understood how it worked. I've started making something I plan to use for my upcoming baby shower. I'll be taking photos again soon so there's proof I'm not making this all up :)

All this craft & designing & baking has gotten my creative juices flowing, and really has me wanting to open up my own shop of sorts. Not so much for the money but rather because I love making things too much to let them collect dust, and there's only so many people I know that appreciate handmade gifts. I've considered using Etsy, but wonder if there's any other way of selling things online that works best with the AUS$. Or more importantly, would anyone actually like what I make enough to buy it?

planning planning planning

Still getting over a chest infection, but have started collecting ideas for my baby shower! I won't be having it till June so I'm just gathering inspiration for how I'd like to decorate. The theme is: rain. How original for a baby shower! Haha :) But I just looove when it rains, and clouds and raindrops are so cute, and since I don't what the baby is I figured this would be a fun way to bring in turquoise as a neutral colour.

I've also been making a few things for my friend's bachelorette party. It is Mad Hatter tea party themed, and I spent the day making "eat me" and "drink me" tags yesterday and will be baking banana bread and lemon meringue pie the day of the party. Not to mention that hubby and I will be moving within a week of her party too so there will be a lot of packing to be done amidst the party planning. Then once we've moved it will be lots of unpacking and organising and settling in.

I cannot wait to unpack as I loooove organising, especially in categories, ie alphabetically, size, genre (I'm thinking of our books, dvds, and kitchen cupboards). Yes, I am a dork and will go so far as to start categorising items placed in random order at dvd stores, much to the disdain of my husband (but I know he secretly loves it!) And unpacking means finally getting to use all the bridal shower and wedding gifts we were given over a year ago that have been in storage. It's like birthdays and christmas all rolled into one!

past few days

I've been sick with a chest infection/flu for the last week. It seems like it's hit me a lot harder than past years now that I'm pregnant, my lungs felt bruised every time I coughed! Not fun. But I am taking baby-safe antibiotics and am slowly recovering. Time spent in bed has been passed with the first season of Gossip Girl (which was entertaining enough), reading Nana and my favourite magazines from New Zealand: Your Home & Garden and World Sweet World. I wish they were available in Australia! Especially since these are much more suited to my taste than most of the home renovation magazines here; most of them cover only country or unaffordable-modern styles. Except Real Living, which I find is great with tips & tricks and has an affordable diy approach which I plan to apply when decorating our new home in the future. And I am seriously counting down the days till we move out, only a few more weeks and I cannotwait&amsoexcited!

a little march shopping

I find myself to be a bit frugal when buying things for myself. But like any girl I do have those few guilty pleasures I indulge in every now and then, and good old Frankie magazine is definitely one of them! I also picked up a few items I'd had my eye on for a while: a soft vintage-pink-peach coloured nail polish (Sportsgirl) and beret (Dotti), and cute ceramic bird tea-candle stands from Target which has such lovely homewares that I keep falling in love with! Last but not least, my first Etsy purchase was from magicqueen: a bronze camera necklace and silver binocular necklace. I'm a happy little cookie!

one year anniversary

Hubby and I celebrated our one year anniversary a few weeks ago (March 14). We spent the weekend down the coast where we were married on the beach, stood on the same spot we took our vows at the same time we made them a year ago. It was lovely reminiscing as well as talking about our future together. We also filmed a short message for our baby to watch in the future, something we sort of started doing on our honeymoon last year. I know I can honestly say that I am more completely in love now than ever before, and that love continues to grow each and every day. Completely blessed.

double baking fun-ness

Thanks to Megan's delicious photo on sugar doughnut muffins a few weeks ago, I just HAD to try make my own! They were easy to make, although I do remember getting the butter/sugar coating part a bit wrong at first which is ridiculous as it is so simple (it was one of those days). They turned out sooooo incredibly yummy! I'm going to be making more in the near future for my sister's engagement party, and I hope I make enough because I know they'll be a hit! This I know because when I made them the first time I made a double batch and my husband and I ate them all in two days....


I also tried my hand making Nelly's Apple Shortcake Afternoon Tea. This was my first time "boiling apples", if that's the right term, and I was quite happy with how they turned out. They were nice and soft and sweet, the only thing I'd change next time is make the slices a bit thinner as even though I made them the thickness the recipe said they were a bit too chunky. I had never whipped cream though so I know next time to add sugar and stop whipping before it starts to taste like butter!

Some exciting news (at least for me) via the Frankie mailing list: "Some exciting news! We've just completed our second cookbook! It’s called Sweet Treats and it is filled with the most delicious old school recipes. It's a little like Afternoon Tea except the recipes are based around candy and other sticky treats (instead of cakes)."
UPDATE: pre-order Sweet Treats here.

I really really want this and cannot wait till it's available! I've discovered the baking nerd in me, and it really shows on the days where I can't help but think "only X number of days left till we move out and I have my own kitchen". It seems pregnancy has unleashed a different side of me.

just a quickie

Life has been amazing lately, I feel so blessed! I can't wait to share it with you all. Unfortunately we've gone over our download limit so the internet is s-l-o-w and frustrating to even try to view my reader to catch up on all those lovely blogs I follow, let alone trying to upload anything of my own. So I've resorted to posting from my iPhone. Here's a preview of what's to come (hopefully by next week):
• A couple of yummy baking photos
• Etsy buy from magicqueen
• Weekend away celebrating my one year anniversary with hubby

sleepy owlette

Gentle Raindrop is no more. Welcome to Sleepy Owlette! Some may wonder why the sudden name change, especially since it means that anyone that may have been following me will no longer know where I am... That was a risk I took, and besides, other than the newly added "Followers" widget on the side I wouldn't have had any idea anyone was reading this other than myself and the few that left comments. So to those that did I have tried to reconnect by leaving new comments on their lovely blogs. Hope that helps, and thanks to all the lovely people that actually read my ramblings!

Anyhow, the reason I decided to change blog name was due to a sleepless night, thinking of all the fun the future holds when my little bundle of joy arrives. My hubby and I are sooo completely excited. Any time the baby kicks and I let him know so he can try to feel with his hand on my belly, we get completely googly-eyed and mushy and that "I'm so happy right now I could cry" look in our eyes. Since finding out about the baby, I have bought only one piece of clothing so far. This is not without effort, and the fact that we're waiting till the birth to find out if it's a girl or boy has actually been helpful, if frustrating. So in essence, the name change is in honour of our baby. :)

a little naked chef

I've been avoiding the 'Afternoon Tea' baking challenge... BUT at least I am still trying different recipes! I had a quick look through jamieoliver.com and found a few that I liked. I have since made the full english for dinner a few nights ago (hubby was completely stoked) and today I tried my hand at my version of apple pie from scratch! It turned out okay-ish.. My mistake in editing the recipe is that I replaced a few ingredients I didn't have for something "similar", ie instead of ginger in syrup I used maple syrup and instead of real blackberries I was going to use jam, but I could only find apricot jam and used that instead. The end product tastes pretty good considering, but the apricot taste is enough to make me not want more than a nibble.

I've come to the realisation that I really need to work on my photography skills. I want to be able to take memorable (not accidentally nice) photos of me and my hubby, and even more so when our little one arrives. I feel limited having only a Canon SX100 (not a DSLR) but at the same time know that having a nicer camera doesn't necessarily mean I'll take nicer photos. Better brush up on what I learned in photography back in uni a few years back!

nimble fingers

Today was filled with origami and baking. I haven't made paper cranes in a long time. It was nice to relive one of my childhood pastimes. As for the baking, I made a double batch of cookies and tried a new recipe for banana bread. I've had to trial a couple of different recipes to get the soft springiness found in café versions, and not so dry and crumby as the last few recipes I'd tried. Today's recipe was the closest I've gotten so far.

'afternoon tea' challenge: lemon meringue pie

Last Thursday I had my first run at making lemon meringue pie. The recipe was actually pretty easy and consisted of three parts: the base, the filling and the meringue. I was a bit worried how it would work out as I'd never made any of these before but I found them all really simple to make and the result was surprisingly really yummy! This is definitely something I want to bake again. The best part? My non-lemon-loving hubby liked it so much he had seconds.

It's 2am, I feel wide awake and hungry (crazy pregnancy). Scary things happen when staying up late in Aussie summer! I'd forgotten how many flies and bugs will swarm towards whatever light is kept on in the dark of night. The last time I remember experiencing this was back in high school days, which is over six years ago. Now I feel itchy and paranoid that they're crawling on me..

On a happier note, my sister-in-law gave birth to adorable Abigail Jane yesterday! Despite attempting a natural birth, after 24 hours in labour she had an emergency C-section. I had expected this to scare me but instead, after looking at her baby's gorgeous little face and watching her yawn, I absolutely cannot wait to give birth and meet my own little baby despite all the pain that comes with it. You can see a photo of baby AJ here.

yummy baking goodness

Image from frankie.com.au. Get your own copy here.
I have been a fan of Frankie Magazine since their first issue back in Oct/Nov 2004. Each issue is beautifully designed with lots of white space and a mishmash of modern-yet-crafty illustrations and photographs. Frankie doesn't bombard you with the latest celebrity gossip nor the next fashion craze you cannot afford, but has remained faithful to staying "smart, funny, sarcastic, friendly, cute, rude, arty, curious and caring".

So when Frankie released their yummy baking cookbook "Afternoon Tea" I just had to buy it! Which I did, about two years ago. Being a lazy sort of person by nature, I hadn't really attempted more than two or three recipes in this book. Until now, where I will attempt to work my way through the entire list of recipes. Idea taken from the movie 'Julie & Julia'.

ready to take on 2010

After watching 'Julie & Julia' on dvd a few weeks ago I was reminded of my own blog, all forlorn and forgotten. I realised a lot had changed since I last posted, and so will give a brief summary:

In mid-October: I was made redundant just before completing a full year.
As shocked as I was I had also expected this to occur in the near future, but didn't think it would for another few months. At the same I was glad and at peace about finishing up working there as I had started to resent accepting the role despite the gut feeling I had during the interview for the role, the gut feeling telling me that this was not the right place for me. Despite all, I learned a lot of life skills being there and so was excited for whatever was coming ahead in life.

About one week later: I discovered I was pregnant.
I was a month overdue and had been having horrible cramps constantly for a week straight. I was worried that this was due to a cyst that had previously been found in my left ovary, and I was scheduled to have key-hole surgery in January to remove and test it for cancer. So the morning after a week of cramps and worry I went to the doctor to have a blood test done. That afternoon hubby and I went to get the results to find out if it gave an indication of what might be causing the pain. What I'll never forget is the feeling of being told we were going to have a baby. It was complete and pure joy, the same feeling I had felt on our wedding day upon being told Adam and I were husband and wife. We had previously been told that it was highly unlikely that I would fall pregnant as the cyst present in one of the ovaries would prevent it from producing eggs. So this is our miracle baby.

Since then: I am growing and maturing.
I am enjoying the crazy journey of pregnancy with the support for family and friends, and am excited to meet our little bub. I am learning how to be a better wife-lover-friend to my husband and be less selfish, and desire that my heart will expand to embrace those around me so that I may love others better. I am praying that I will be a loving, nurturing mother. I am learning to take better care of our bedroom home and am looking forward to moving out in May, to make that house a home that is welcoming to all who step in, and to finally play with all the wedding gifts we've got as they have all been stored away till we move. Most of all, I am trusting that Jesus' love will always be at the core of all that I do, that I the way I live my life and love myself and others will be in a direct response to His love for us.