Never Have I Ever

blazer: c/o sammy dress     bag:  c/o sammydress    pants:  H&M maternity   wedges: target

owned a chiffon blazer until now.  I am in love with this one and you can own it for only $7.00. 

bought Chris clothes online, but I recently came across these men's jeans that I wouldn't mind him owning. 
had an easy time passing up a dessert, like this peanut butter cup banana bread I made this week for small group.  Chocolate, peanut butter and bananas are always a win for me.
expected to find this on our amazon wish list: cross bow and arrows.  They fit nicely next to our baby dressers.  Are you really wanting to buy these Chris? 

  loved a sewing project as much I love the blanket I made this week for our baby girl.  

Thank you Whitney for this post idea!  Hope you're having a good week!

I may never

scarf: gift     sweater: loft      tank top: shade clothing      skirt: target    boots: steve & barry's

I may never have enough scarves. I may never do a vlog.  Mostly because I don't want to type the word vlog again.  It's in the same category as the word jeggings.  That and I have no desire to film myself and listen to it.  It's awkward enough taking pictures of myself. 
I may never not get nervous talking in front of a group of adults.  But eight year olds I can handle.   
I may never learn how to really apply make up.  My routine is the same if I'm going grocery shopping, to work or to a wedding.  I need help. 
I may never like eating real food over desserts, like this one that I recently made.
  

I may never love Mondays.  Hope you have a good start to the week!

High Five for Friday

dress: target   leggings: jcpenny   boots: steve & barry's  necklace: gift 

1. These leggings make me feel like I belong in either the 80 year old category or the 8 year old category.  I think they work best when there is only a little of them showing.   
2.  Someone brought these bars to school last week and they were so good, I plan on making them for my mom's birthday dinner this weekend. 

Avalanche Bars

3. It has been snowing all day today! Now if only that would mean a snow day tomorrow.

4.  Last week my nephew told my sister he had a secret and whispered, "Mama, I want you to know that I think you are the best.  But you'd be cooler if you could fly."  I sure miss him!

5.  I'm not quite sure why I didn't start shopping on ebay years ago.  I got some pretty sweet (and cheap) Christmas gifts from there this year and bought this owl necklace for 99 cents.  Shipping included!  

When you're not sure if something will be cute or gaudy under $1 is a risk I can handle.    Happy Friday!!

High Five for Friday

sweater: loft   jeans: kohls   boots: kohls

1.  I bought this sweater a week or so ago and feel as though baggy sweaters are a good choice for this beginning pregnancy, slightly awkward phase.

2.  After not cooking for quite a long time (like 6 weeks a long time) I finally made a real meal this week.

3.  I also made dessert: M &M Cookie bars.  These were SO good and really easy.  You don't even need a mixer!

4.  I'd like to blame this on some extreme pregnancy craving, but don't think I can.  I managed to eat an entire bag of cheetos in three days.  At first I would only eat a few if I finished writing a thank you note, but I can assure you I didn't have that many thank you notes to write.

5.  This one definitely takes the cake as the best blogging perk I've received so far, as I was sent a new HTC one x+ phone and I love it! It's the first time ever that Chris has been jealous of any technology I've had.

I'm sure you're so excited because that means clearer outfit pictures and I finally have a phone with a reverse camera so maybe that means I'll start taking hundreds of pictures of my face.

I'm SO happy it is Friday! Happy weekend to you!

High Five for Friday

1. I bought this sweater awhile ago and was so excited to wear it but honestly had not figured out a way to wear it that I really liked until today.  

2.  One of my google search terms last week was "little teeny girl." 

I appreciate the boost in self-esteem.

However another one was "uggs and rompers."

I can say confidently I will never wear those together.

And who would search for "delish cray and adorbs" at one time?

Someone who probably didn't read my post about abbreviations.  

3.  I am beginning to become obsessed with polka dots. 

 I may have worn some form of them three times this week. 

4.  I am doing a craft fair in December and have been spending lots of time making different things to sell, like these little boy bow ties.  I'm planning on starting my etsy shop back up afterwards! 

5.  The day after we get our Christmas tree my family comes over to our house for breakfast.  I need to start planning what to make and I'm thinking this blueberry french toast will be on the menu again!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Linking up to: High Five for Friday   Casual Friday  Watch what I'm wearing

Stress baking and an Australian friend

Apparently one way I handle stress or anxiety is to bake.
That and watch teen drama.
This week has been somewhat stressful and overwhelming, and I have baked three times in three days.

Like these banana chocolate chip muffins.


or this pumpkin chocolate chip bread.


or these peanut butter chocolate chip bars

Or maybe it's that anything with chocolate chips can help an anxious heart.

That and some blog reading.  I seriously look forward to the evenings where I have time to catch up on blogs, like my daily reads and favorites and finding new blogs too.

And that is what I have for you today.  I'm excited to have Samara from The Secret Life of Samara share a little about herself and her life in Australia.  Which just learning that intrigued me when I found her blog.  And today she is sharing some Australian quirks that you had no idea existed!

Over the past week I have been reading all about the havoc that Hurricane Sandy has caused over in America and now we are getting taste of isome nasty weather over here in Australia, albeit on a smaller scale. While admittedly there are no roof tops flying or trees crashing, there is certainly a lot of rain, a lot of lightning and a lot of thunder. In fact, I am currently writing this post in the pitch black as our power has gone off. Something I love about blogging is that while I am over here sitting in the middle of a raging storm typing away, there is someone over the other side of the world in some gorgeous tropical location or someone else who has been snowed in. It suddenly makes the world seem not so small and it is exciting to connect with people from all over the world. I always feel like the odd one out though and I think that comes from being a weird little Australian. You may not realise, but there are a whole lot of little quirks about us that really make us stand out from the crowd and make me feel a little bit..odd. Let me explain...

Australian quirks that you had no idea existed.

1. Our Accent
Have you ever noticed our crazy accent? We were settled by the British yet sound like we've been put in slow motion when we speak. Such a long draaaawl. Do we speak slower because the heat has sapped all of our energy? Or because we really are that relaxed?

2. We are teeny tiny
I wrote this blog post about the amount of comments my husband and I get whenever out in public about his height. You see, he is 6"8. It would seem like no one has ever seen anyone of that height in Australia as we end up having so many gawkers and people making comments all the time. After writing this post I had a whole heap of Americans say that people don't tend to notice height in America- is this really true?? Are Australians really abnormally short or are Americans abnormally tall?

3. Our obsession with big things (including my giant husband)
I have been to the Big Lobster, the Big Orange, the Big Rocking Horse and the Big Koala. All around Australia there are big every things- pineapples, bananas, sheep- you name it, we've got it. We love anything giant sized. I don't understand it really but some how find myself sucked into the trap of wanting to visit them. Next on my list is the Big Pineapple in Queensland.

4. We go overseas but then just end up in the Aussie Pub
Guilty as charged. Do Americans do this? Go overseas just to find yourself hanging out at Maccas? (do you call it Maccas? Or is it McDonalds?). We like to think we are cultured when we travel, but the reality often tells a very different story!

5. We have an aversion to saying full words
My name is Samara but I constantly have people calling me Sam. I don't mind too much however sometimes I feel like I am being a kill joy by making someone say my whole name. We also shorten other things too- sandwich is a 'sanger', sausage is a 'snag' and Australians are "Aussies". I think this is just our laziness coming out!

Are there any other Aussie quirks that you have noticed?

 Come on over to my blog and see what life is like in the Land of Oz. Or to see pictures of my rabbit Nibbles. She's adorable and well worth the visit...and quirky in her own right.

xo
Samara


Now we all know how I feel about abbreviations   But I'd place money on that fact that if Samara said Maccas instead of McDonalds or sanger instead of sandwich with her Australian accent, she'd sound cool doing it.  Now go check out her cute Australian self over here.

High Five for Friday

dress: steve & barry's   boots: dsw 

 1.   Have any of you ever been to Steve & Barry's? It's not a huge surprise that they went out of business because nothing in their store was over $9.  I got this dress for $2 when they were going out of business.  They had a line by Sarah Jessica Parker and their stuff was so cute - wish it was still around!

2. I'm really proud of myself because I've actually made real dinner this week.  Twice!

It makes it a whole lot easier that both were in the crock pot.

                     Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup                                           Cashew Chicken

3. And one of the best desserts I've made in awhile. 

caramel apple cheesecake bars

and I'm currently eating these straight out of the pan at this moment. Bad idea.

4. I apologize for the recent overload of instagram pictures of the bottom half of me.

I can't stop taking them and I think it's because it makes my legs look about 10 times smaller than they really are.  

5. I'm really excited that this happened this week too. Thank you so much for following along!

Bonus number:

I have a few large ad spaces available for November for only $10 and lots of medium spaces for $5.

Email me if you're interested in sponsoring my blog this next month!

katiejvale@yahoo.com

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

modern modest beauty