LADIES

Dan and I are preparing for a trip abroad next month. I love saying that - abroad. It sounds so much better than overseas. Backpackers go overseas, LADIES go abroad.

With co-ordinated luggage and white linen pants and Hermes scarves around their necks.

In preparation for this trip(which is to the UK, for anyone who wants a description beyond 'Not-Australia'), we've turned our home into a bit of a boarding house.

This is partly to ensure Maisie and our bamboo, Ramboo, are cared for and partly to make sure we actually have a few pennies to take over with us.

A lovely Irish girl called Aisling has taken up residence in the back bedroom and on Monday, our friend Andy will move into our Granny Flat downstairs for a few days a week.

When we leave, another lovely Irish girl will move in for a month, along with her boyfriend who's a good friend of Dan's.

Already, any financial benefits of having lodgers (because LADIES have lodgers not boarders) has been offset by the increased alcohol consumption that has come with Aisling's arrival.

When Andy arrives on Monday, we may as well just arrange to direct deposit both their rents into the local bottle shop's account and be done with it, because having extra people in the house is a recipe for boozy nights - every night.

My liver is weeping and it's only been a week.

But it's nice, coming home to tenants and a bit of conversation beyond the standard drivel Dan and I have nightly been sharing for the last four years.

Plus, having tenants makes us feel important. We can sit out on the back deck and hold court, glass of wine in hand, feeling like the ultimate hosts.

That's what LADIES do, you know.

The Egg Ring

It took me all of three months to get sick of wearing the same wedding ring every day. Now, I just alternate between about six of them depending on my mood.

This is the Egg Ring, my most flamboyant by far. It's a yellow amber ring I found at an Estate Jeweller a few years ago.

Deck Days

I love balmy evenings on the deck. This lot do too.

Exactly how cheaply

This week I've come home to no less than eight parcels on my doorstep awaiting my attention. It's been like Christmas, only more expensive and more stressful because I've tried to hide them all before Dan sees them.



Which is silly, really, because he knows all about my Ebay spending spree. I squealed with excitement as every auction came to a close and told him exactly how cheaply I was getting these items of Morrison, Witchery and Cue clothing.

"Babe, these pants retail for $160 and I'm getting them for $30!!!ARE YOU GLAD YOU MARRIED ME OR WHAT!!"

See, over the last few months, I've gone up a dress size. To be honest, I am not too concerned about it. I'm still small, just not AS small, and I can live with that. 

But it left me in a quandry as to what I was going to wear every day.

At the worst point, a couple of weeks ago, I was down to exactly two pairs of work pants that still fit and they were both awful cheapies I'd picked up at a tacky store for $10 a pop.

I just can't afford new work clothes at the moment. The prices freak me out anyway - I just can't comprehend how people can happily drop $90 or more on a top. Clothes have always seemed so ridiculously expensive to me when there was so many things ahead of them in line to pay for.

So, as previously documented, I headed to the op shop. But I also got onto Ebay and bought a few tops, a new jacket, three more pairs of pants and a new pair of shoes.

And they're all here now. And they're all in good nick. And they all fit me (although I did spend the better part of Australia Day on the machine hemming up trousers).

All in all, I've spent about $250 in the last fortnight between Ebay and the op shop and come away with six new pairs of pants, a wool jumper, wool coat, a few tops and two pairs of shoes. 

They're all decent brands. They all fit. They are all in good condition.

And despite Dan's panic at coming home on Monday to a doorstop covered in parcels, our next mission is to buy HIM some work clothes on Ebay.

At this rate, we may never pay retail again.

Finds from my favourite op shop

I was at the hospital right on schedule at 6am this morning with my Kindle and a couple of muesli bars packed in my bag.

I waited a while.

I changed into the hospital gown, shoes, cap, underpants.

I waited a while.

I filled in the paperwork, talked to the nurses, read magazines.

I waited a while.

I did a pregnancy test. It was negative and I waited a while.

But the doctor wasn't happy with performing the surgery, because there is a chance - one in a squillion - that I may be pregnant and it hasn't shown up on the tests yet.

And this surgery and pregnancy don't go together so well.

They told me they'd reschedule. They gave me sandwiches and water and sent me on my way.

I felt exhausted from the lack of sleep and didn't want to go into work and explain either the surgery, or why I hadn't been able to have it.

I went to my favourite op shop instead. I spent about $60 on clothes and ended up with all of the following, which I have conveniently fashioned into a little catalogue for you so that you may begin to see why I love this op shop so completely.


Pants, $8.50 and stripey knit top, $7.50.


"Good arse pants". $8.50. Top, model's own.


Pants, $8.50, Red blouse $6.50.


Red shoes, $6.50, Cut off pants $8.50 and blue top, $7.50. (These are the beginnings of a costume for a theme party I am going to on Sunday.... The theme is French, not 'nautical' or 'Soccer Mum' by the way. Actually this leads me to a whole other thought process on how on Earth one is supposed to dress in a discernibly French way when it's 35 degrees, but that's for another post)


Black work pants with cool lace inlay, $8.50

The Maisie Express One Year On

Tomorrow will be the one-year anniversary of the first post on this blog.

Tomorrow I will also be in hospital having minor surgery, so I may not be feeling up to posting.

So here again is the first ever post I did on here...

I discovered this park just down the road from us a few days ago. Three years we've been in our house and I never knew this park was here.

Clearly, the play equipment was constructed in a time when the imaginations of playground designers extended beyond colourful bendy tubes and noughts and crosses boards.

This one is a train station. Judging by its condition, it's been a while since the train stopped by.

'Ooh' and 'aaah'

Ever dream of moving away from wherever it is you live and renovating a really run down old European farmhouse?

You do?

Yeah, I know, 'Under The Tuscan Sun' has a DAMN LOT TO ANSWER FOR.

This place is in France. It costs less than AU$40,000. I found it here. I recommend browsing at your leisure and making 'ooh' and 'aaah' noices where appropriate.

If nothing else, it may scare your more pragmatic partner sillly and inspire him, wide-eyed, to ask whether they have Bunnings in France.

"Pretty village house for renovation built in 19th Century with many orginal features. Demolition works have already been completed to create a blank canvass internally which is ready to be made into 3 beds, Kitchen/Diner and Sitting room. All flooring has been removed to expose the beams/joists which are in good condition. There is a big Inglenook Fireplace in the Kitchen and stone floor. There are no electrics/Plumbing internally but connected to the mains. Mains Drainage. Externally the roof needs some attention and structurally some works needed to the walls to provide reinforcement. With time and effort this would provide a stunning holiday home or permanent residence in a beautiful part of France. The house is less than 10mins from Salers which is a beautiful Medieval town famous for its cheese and less than 10 mins from Mauriac where all amenities are. In the village there are shops and restaurants."