Sass and Spice

”A portrait of our children, once a week, every week, in 2013″

I couldn’t resist taking a ‘Look of the Day’ picture of Lily. She is wearing her new Kmart boots, a Zara dress and an Oobi baby flower clip in her hair.

We are both enjoying the slightly cooler Autumn weather and I’m just glad the air conditioner is permanently off! The slow cooker is out and so is the red wine (for DH anyway).

Are you enjoying the seasonal changes?

Linking up to the Che and Fidel’s 52 portrait a week challenge

A few weeks ago, DH, Lily and I managed to make the Angove Street Festival which celebrates all the good retailers on my favourite North Perth street. I’ve been a long time fan of this street with frequent trips to the cafes and usually a weekly trip to Flying Tacos for Mexican takeaway. Angove Street was actually where we first took Lily out when she was just 5 days old!

We weren’t at the festival for long but we managed to get a few things including some locally made jewellery and a huge lime and coconut candle from Bridget Black which will hopefully last through the majority of winter.

On the same day I also managed to attend the Westfield Festival at Carousel and got a preview of their autumn trends. I loved the khaki army jacket from Temt (first look) and its versatility was really proven as it was featured on several different looks over pants and dresses. A definite autumn must have for me!

Also I don’t know where I’ve been, but I had not idea what ‘ponte pants’ were until this day. Is this a new trend or have ponte pants always been a term used in fashion?? Basically they have a similar look to tights/leggings (being a tight fit and stretchy) but they have thicker fabric so will have a bit more structure and provide better warmth. I ended up getting a great pair from Portmans (also featured at the festival) with leather like panels on the side. I’m sure I’ll be wearing my new ponte pants quite a bit for winter especially during my final weeks of pregnancy.

By the way, did you know that currently Westfield Australia is running a ‘selfies’ competition? Basically you just upload a ‘selfie’ of yourself in Westfield gear on your local Westfield Facebook page, and then you are in the running for the grand prize of a trip to two to Paris and weekly prizes of $100!

Anyway, my weekends lately have been quite boring as I’ve been busy preparing for my house build which usually means my weekends are filled with local tile/bathroom/flooring appointments. So I thought I better post a weekend which I actually last had a lot of fun!

How was your weekend? Did you have fun?

”A portrait of our children, once a week, every week, in 2013″

Lily wasn’t particular happy after she spilt her babyccino in the cafe today. So I did the bad parent thing, and I put my iPhone on for 5 minutes so she could watch Peppa Pig on YouTube, and I could finish my tea.

Have you been a bad parent this week?

Linking up to the Che and Fidel’s 52 portrait a week challenge

My mother is obsessed with skin colour. She hates any sort of tan so she does her utmost to keep out of the sun. Many Asian women I know (including my mother and sister) will be covered head to toe in the height of summer, preferring to sweat it out in long sleeve shirts and pants than getting a tan.

I remember living in Japan where girls would be riding their bicycles holding a parasol with one hand whilst wobbling around trying to steer amongst the other bikes, cars and buses in busy traffic. Whitening creams are all the rage in Asia with nearly every beauty product claiming to have some sort of whitening agent.

I’ve also noticed how males can look vastly different to females in Asia because of their skin pigment. If you’ve ever watched an Asian movie, you may have noticed how bright and white the female lead looks while the male stars often looks darker? Also, why do school aged girls and boys generally have the same skin colour in Asia, but then women miraculously get a lot lighter by the time they hit their 20′s? Do the women feel they need to change their skin colour to be more attractive whilst men get away with maintaining their tan and enjoying the outdoors more?

On the other hand, as I’m born and bred in Australia, it’s the opposite here with most of my friends frequently basking in the sun (sometimes dangerously) and getting spray tans, especially before a big event. Although I think generally in Australia, both men and women subscribe to these stereotypes.

So how do I feel about my own skin colour? Well, I get nagged continuously by my mother who thinks I’m too dark. But what she doesn’t realise (or wants to admit) is that my colour is normal for a South East Asian and it isn’t like I spend hours in the sun everyday. I’m also quite strict with wearing SPF everyday too. I still feel paranoid about my skin colour though, as years of my mum and the rest of Asian society saying my skin colour isn’t ‘beautiful’ does ultimately affect you.

But then sometimes I get paranoid about how pasty I can look in summer and I feel the urge to get some colour on my legs. I’m convinced that I’ll look more toned and healthier with a tan. So it gets pretty confusing for me as some days I think I need colour and some days I think I have too much colour. It all really proves how much society and the people around you can really influence how you feel about your appearance.

I guess the good (?) thing is that I don’t use whitening creams or fake tans due to this confusion!

How do you feel about your own skin colour? Do you tan or use whitening creams?

Since I usually wear contacts, I haven’t felt the urgency to upgrade my existing pair of glasses in over 4 years. However I’ve recently fallen in love with Oliver Peoples’ tortoise shell frames that my hairdresser wears and am now obsessed with finding the perfect pair for myself.

Tortoise shell frames have a very vintage look to them and with the brown and yellow flecks it’s neutral enough to wear for all occasions – without the heavy serious look associated with many thick black frames.

And now that I’ve seen the gorgeous Jennifer Aniston rocking Oliver Peoples frames, it makes me want to buy a new pair immediately. I like how the frames she rocks above (1st picture: Sheldrake, 2nd picture: Wacks) have a slight vintage look but still look very sophisticated and modern.

What do you think of tortoise shell frames?

This isn’t a sponsored post, I’m just sharing the love I have with the Oliver Peoples frames that are worn by both my hairdresser and Jennifer Aniston.

Someone asked me the other day if I’ll be doing anything differently this time with the new baby. Since I’ve been through it before and think I’ve at least become a little more experienced, I feel a lot more confident in my parenting approach this time. Rather than relying heavily on baby books, advice from other people, and good ‘ol experimentation, I hope my experience with Lily will help me immensely.

So on this blog, I’m going to post some things I’ll be doing differently, with the first being what I’ll be doing differently during the newborn stage. Of course nothing is to plan and I’m flexible enough to know if something doesn’t work I’ll change strategy to see what works best for the whole family.

First here is what I plan to do the same:

1. No strict routine during the first 3 months

This worked so well for Lily and rather than looking at the clock all the time and pumping milk like crazy, I was focused on the task of feeding and getting baby to sleep. The first 3 months is extremely difficult as the baby is going through growth spurts and adjusting to life outside the womb. And even though it’s very tiring on both mother and child, this time is precious in establishing that mother/child bond. This is also a good time to learn to read baby’s cues which allows introducing more of a structured routine later on.

2. Introducing a bottle once breastfeeding is established

The bottle saved my sanity during the night and when I had to leave the house and didn’t want the baby to starve while I was gone for an hour. I wasn’t pumping like crazy, but one bottle feed a day worked really well and helped later on when Lily was older and I wasn’t around to breastfeed.

3. Dreamfeed

This really worked well with Lily and involves demand feeding during the day and evening, except for the last feed of the night. During this last feed, you feed the baby (usually they are still fast asleep) before you sleep, so the baby is fuelled up and will sleep a bit longer during the night.

You don’t know how important sleep is until you have several days in a row of serious sleep deprivation , so I’ll definitely try dreamfeeding again.

What I’ll be doing differently:

1. Self-settling earlier

As you may know, I was rocking Lily on the fit ball to calm her crying. It was quite tiring at the end, so I plan to introduce self-settling earlier at around 4 months. This doesn’t mean control crying but to ease off the rocking bit by bit and gradually leaving the baby to get to sleep while they are awake and giving them the opportunity to try to get to sleep on their own. This is a long process and won’t happen overnight but something I want to start gradually at 4 months. Baby steps they say!

2. Introducing a routine earlier

With Lily I very adamant that I wouldn’t be doing any routine with her, after getting scared of books such as Gina Ford’s ‘Contented Baby’ detailing strict routines even down to when you eat lunch. But after months and months of rocking a screaming baby, I knew I had to change my tactics. I wasn’t reading Lily’s cues, so automatically rocked her when she cried rather than keeping track of when she should be sleeping (babies aren’t very good at putting themselves to sleep).

So doing the whole feed-activity-sleep routine is important in helping baby learn structure and routine and gradually learn to self-settle too. After 4 months, I’m planning to also record times (I didn’t do this with Lily) to better understand my baby’s natural schedule and get some predictability for myself too.

3. To take some time off

I didn’t do this enough during the first 3 months with my first baby, so felt quite stressed and frazzled. Even a walk around the block and getting some fresh air without the baby everyday, will help clear my head.

I hope to have one-on-one time with Lily so perhaps taking her to the nearby park will be a good idea too.

4. Resting for a month – aka ‘confinement’

I’ll blog more about this at a later date, but this is basically a Chinese tradition which restores yin and yang back into the mother. It means resting for a month and being strict about not having people over once I’m home from the hospital. Okay, there can be a few exceptions (I’m not that mean) but I planning to host a party after the first month, so people who missed out on the hospital visit can come meet baby.

The first month is full of sleepless nights and trying your hardest to get breastfeeding to work – so basically you are exhausted and to be honest you will look like absolute shit. So the last thing you want to be doing is stressing over when people can come over and looking fresh enough to entertain.

What did you do differently for your second child during the newborn stage?

”A portrait of our children, once a week, every week, in 2013″

Dear Lily,

You are patiently waiting for your sister to arrive. I have caught you taking out the baby toys out of storage, arranging them on the floor and then sitting down and staring at your arrangement deep in thought.

I wonder what you are thinking, but I can’t help but guess you are very excited at the thought of having your ‘own baby’. Perhaps arranging all of the toys makes you think you are indeed prepared for your sister’s arrival.

But I’m sure when the time comes, there will be immense confusion, extreme jealousy and epic tantrums after seeing how everyone dear in your life will seem to have their attention focused away from you. And you probably don’t understand just yet that the baby will be permanent. And that your Mummy, Daddy, Nanna, Pop, Grangy, Grandpa, Aunties etc aren’t solely yours anymore, and you will have to *gasp* share them too along with your toys.

Even with all the future tears and emotions, I know you will still be a fantastic big sister. You are already showing so much love, affection and deep thought towards her and I can’t wait for you both to meet.

Linking up to the Che and Fidel’s 52 portrait a week challenge

I’ve been using makeup for over a decade now and after years of experimenting, I’m just happy now to use products that I know are reliable and suits my skin. For everyday makeup I don’t have time to spend picking out colours and coordinating it with my clothes so I’m reliant on neutral colours (which go with whatever I’m wearing) and quality products which will last throughout the day.

The above products are what I use again and again and never fail me. Mind you, it doesn’t mean I use the above products all together everyday or there are no other products I might substitute with occasionally, but I do keep coming back to them time and time again because they have served me so well.

As you can see I’m a major NARS fan. The oil-free foundation goes on thin but gives me good coverage. The concealer stick is great for extra coverage and hiding spots. I use the blush in Orgasm nearly everyday as it gives me the right hint of pink and peachy tones. I love the highlighter (Albatross) and use it on my cheekbones and nose.

YSL Touche Eclat is my holy grail product for concealing dark under eye circles. I’ve used other products but this just seems to provide the right colour without being too cakey around the delicate eye area. I also love the YSL lip glosses as it gives a deep pigment even without lipstick and it stays put all day without being sticky.

I use Two Faced eye shadow insurance to make sure my eyeshadow doesn’t crease and lasts. I’ve used so many mascaras but I always come back to Dior Show as I haven’t found anything else that gives me both the desired length and fullness.

Smashbox does a great compact eye brow kit which suits the colour of my eyebrows perfectly. My eyebrows have been overplucked thanks to the fashion of the nineties and noughties so they need all the colouring they can get! I use Benefit Hoola bronzer for contouring and find other bronzers too orange or sparkly.

Even though I haven’t used Urban Decay’s Naked palette for very long, I’m definitely going to repurchase due to its range of neutral colours which is what I wear most of time anyway now. The palette has the right balance between shimmer and matte shades too.

Any finally I can’t go without my Shu Uemura eye lash curler. It’s specially designed for Asian eyes so my stubby short lashes get seen even without mascara.

What are your all-time favourite makeup products?

{Outfit}
Top: Topshop
Leggings: Uptights from Eclectori
Shoes: Alexander Wang
Accessories: Sportsgirl (Necklace and rings – old), Thailand market knock-offs (Sunglasses), Alexander Wang (Rocco bag)

Why is she at a soccer field you my ask? Talk about inappropriate clothing right?!

Well, this is what happens when you attend a fashion show, have one car and you are obligated to pick up your husband who spends all of Sunday afternoon playing soccer I mean football in the outer suburbs of Perth, and your toddler insists on using the toilet there and then but then scoots off to the playground! I can’t wait until we get our second car back…although I’ll probably miss the long car trips together.

Anyway, this is the outfit I wore for the Westfield fashion show, but since I forgot to take a selfie at the show, I asked DH to quickly take these photos before running after Lily! Can you spot her running in the background?

This is my favourite top at the moment. It’s very minimal, yet the pleating detail at the back makes it quite feminine. It’s quite baggy at the front, so it probably doesn’t make a great pregnancy bump picture, but it’s perfect second trimester maternity wear since most of my non-maternity tops are becoming too tight and uncomfortable.

The gradient leggings are from Uptights which I bought from Eclectori. I lived in my Sass and Bide rats during my first pregnancy, and since it will be winter during the final weeks of this pregnancy, I decided to invest in a few quirky leggings to mix and match.

These leggings are digitally printed and designed by Penelope Kokinelis for Uptights. I think the gradient look is very cool and edgy and much more exciting than plain black don’t you think? I’m certain that I’ll be getting a lot of wear out of these leggings in the next coming months.

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

”A portrait of our children, once a week, every week, in 2013″

Lily is enjoying her new scooter even though we accidentally got her the 6yr+ size. She wanted a ‘green’ scooter after spying a boy in the park riding one, and we couldn’t resist getting it especially since it was heavily discounted.

We are still progressing with potty training. 95% of the time she asks for the toilet, but the 5% of times when she has an accident; it can be embarrassing, very messy, and downright frustrating.

And then there are times when we are out and she shouts ‘TOILET!!!’, so we rush to carry her up and desperately run around trying to find the much needed toilet. And after all the fuss, NOTHING happens! This can happen every 10 minutes, which isn’t fun as I despise public toilets. *shiver*

I know I’ll just have to keep my cool as she will get there eventually. She is improving week by week and even with all the grossness, we are getting there…

How did you find potty training your kids?

Linking up to the Che and Fidel’s 52 portrait a week challenge