Be Kind, Weird, and Curious (This week's recommendations)

Reading

Just finished listening to The Midnight Library by Matt Haig on Audible! It was such a great story, I was sad it ended. I’m currently listening to The Call of the Wild and Free by Ainsley Arment, about homeschooling - I’m pretty sure this isn’t the way I will go with CJ, but it definitely gives me some ideas on how to educate CJ myself before he starts school in 2025.

Also just picked up 2 books to help motivate and inspire me a little - Futuresteading and The Good Life

Following

veryexcellenthabits (her weekly email newsletter inspired this post!

Watching

Squid Game - what a f$%#ing ride that was! It’s a Korean series, but has been dubbed in English (which I really couldn’t stand, so ended up watching in Korean with Subtitles) but it was incredibly full on (re: gory, thrills, chills) I’m not going to say much more. Have a look into it yourself and decide if it’s right for you!

Wearing

I’m obsessed with Sneakers at the moment. Including a new pair of Nike’s my partner got me! I’m also super excited that the weather is getting warmer, meaning I can get my floral dresses out of hibernation!

Listening

See Reading - all the audiobooks. Also the Futuresteading Podcast. 

Have you heard the Coldplay x BTS collab song My Universe… I’m not a huge fan of Coldplay, but boy do I STAN BTS (RM is love), My Universe is a bop!

Eating

Trying to eat more fruit and veg (especially veg from my garden) - I was super proud of the feast I made for Ostara, and I’m finding baking calms my soul after a rough or frustrating day at work.

DID you know you can get WHITE CHOCOLATE Hazelnut Spread? It’s amazing! I made “Nutella” Cookies, but used that instead of Nutella, and they were so yummy! I shared the recipe on Instagram!

Doing

Trying to do more things for me.. re: taking time off for me, not feeling guilty for taking time off work with CJ is sick, not being embarrassed to like the things i like, and remembering to stay kind, weird, and curious!

Love Molly xoxo

the little things

1. rain when your snug in bed

2. breakfast dates

3. sun showers

4. watching bees

5. laughing until you cry and can hardly breathe

6. rainbows

7. toast with butter and vegemite

8. fresh sheets

9. baking cookies

10. toddlers laughing uncontrollably

11. having the perfect sticker for your journal entry

12. finding $5 hidden in you wallet

13. finding that playlist from 10 years ago and reliving all the awesome music

14. good night kisses

15. hugs

love molly xoxo

Something Good Every Week (mini edition)

Inspired by Pips Something Good Every Day, but knowing too well that there is no way I can post every day, I am going to start Something Good Every Week!

1.

Something Good Every Day by Pip Lincolne (link)

2.

Biscoff Rocky Road -- Biscoff, Caramilk, Macadamia Nuts... What could be better? (link)

3.

Spring is here! The flowers are blooming, the sun is starting to shine more! So excited!

4.

Custom made bonnet made by Gemiviv The Label for CJ (link)

--

Hope you are having a lovely change of seasons! 

Love Molly xoxo

on being mama - a zine

 

NO-COOK PLAY DOUGH RECIPE

 

2 cups plain flour

2 tablespoons vegetable oil (baby oil and coconut oil work too)

1/2 cup salt

2 tablespoons cream of tartar

1 to 1.5 cups boiling water (adding in increments until it feels just right)

gel food colouring (optional)

few drops essential oils

Method:

Mix the flour, salt, cream of tartar and oil in a large mixing bowl

Add food colouring TO the boiling water then into the dry ingredients

Stir continuously until it becomes a sticky, combined dough

Allow it to cool down then take it out of the bowl and knead it vigorously for a couple of minutes until all of the stickiness has gone. 

* This is the most important part of the process, so keep at it until it’s the perfect consistency!*

If it remains a little sticky then add a touch more flour until just right

I don't have any dedicated play dough toys yet, but you can use kitchen utensils, sticks, rocks, plastic animal toys, whatever you have!

Go Wild with colours! Make the dough without the colouring then split into 3. Dye one red, one yellow, and one blue, then you can take little bits from each to make the full spectrum of colours!

Mushroom & Chicken Soup

 Mushroom & Chicken Soup

ingredients

2 tablespoons butter

500g mushrooms, sliced

1 tablespoon butter

1 onion, diced

2 carrots, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 teaspoon thyme, chopped

6 cups chicken broth

1 cup rice

1 1/2 cups chicken, cooked and diced or shredded

1 cup milk or cream

1 cup parmesan cheese, grated

salt and pepper to taste

directions

Melt the butter in a pan over medium-high heat, add the mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms have released their liquids and the liquid has evaporated, about 10-15 minutes, before setting aside.

Melt the butter in the pan, add the onions, carrots and celery and cook until tender, about 8-10 minutes.

Mix in the garlic and thyme and cook until fragrant, about a minute.

Add the broth, rice, chicken and mushrooms, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the rice is tender, about 20-30 minutes.

Mix in the milk and cheese and cook until the cheese has melted, before seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.

Beautiful Love

 

#BringBackBlogging

 

Pip wants us to Bring Back Blogging. Who’s with us?

It’s time to #BringBackBlogging

My name is Molly, and I used to be a blogger. I spent almost a decade with one blog. The Princess & The Geek, then one day, it wasn’t cool anymore and I just stopped. People stopped reading, commenting, interacting with me... so I stopped. To be honest, I also stopped reading people’s blogs. So it’s time to BRING BACK BLOGGING, writing AND reading!

So if you’re reading this, and have a blog, leave a link I’m the comments and I will head on over and have a read. We need this back. We need to reclaim this amazing way to connect, find weirdos like us, and share just how awesome we all are!

Love Molly xoxo

Musings From A Tattoo Parlor

Gone are the days of dinghy back alley tattoo parlors, now they’re bright and airy, and definitely Instagram worthy.

There’s natural light, trendy murals, indoor plants. It’s a real change from yesteryear.

Gone are the tribal designs (unless that’s your thing)

Here are the pop culture portraits, and measuring your coolness with tatts of memes

Watercolor, dot work, tattoos so delicate and small, a 5 cent piece looks big next to them.

People of all walks of life, all ages... it’s rarer to meet someone without a tattoo

A world where you can display your loves on your skin

Beautiful artworks of self

Ever evolving, ever changing

Once you have one, you really won’t stop.

Something Good...

I borrowed these prompt ideas from my #bloggoals fave Meet Me At Mikes

Check out her blog! Its one of my blogging inspirations!

My Skincare Routine

Before I got pregnant I had a skincare routine. It was made up almost exclusively of Korean skincare products, some where hits, some were misses.

When I got pregnant, I happened across an article about the safety of skincare during pregnancy. I didn't even realise that some things I put on my face could potentially harm my baby (I'm talking to you Retinol!) and unfortunately for me, a lot of my Korean products were not considered safe, and just in case I stopped using them. Thanks to the increase in hormones etc, I found I didn't need to use skincare products during my pregnancy, so apart from washing my face with warm water, and wearing sunscreen, that's all I needed.

Until after the birth!

Oh man, my skin did not like me after the birth of Bubba. I had trouble drinking the 3 litres of water recommended while breastfeeding, which meant my skin dried out... a lot. There was a week or so there where my lips were so dry they cracked and bled whenever I ate (and add having to wear a dental splint at night for my teeth grinding) it was not a pretty sight.

So it's about time to re-start my skincare routine... or ritual! (I'm listening to House Witch by Arin Murphy-Hiscock, and trying to create myself some personal rituals... hopefully a post about this soon)

Some of these products I used pre-pregnancy and loved them. Others are new and I have been using for a couple of weeks, others are brand new, and only used a couple days (but come HIGHLY recommended and/or brands I've used before)

Oil-based Cleanser

Heimish All Clean Balm (PM)

This is one of my favourite products. Its the first step in my ritual. Its a oil creme that you use to remove all makeup and build up. It smells wonderful, feels amazing, and despite being an oil based product, doesn't leave your face feeling oily. I have just finished my second container of it, and need to order more! I usually use this in the PM to remove the product build up, especially sunscreen (and rarely, makeup)

Water-based Cleanser

Neogen Green Tea Cleansing Stick (AM, PM)

Another returning product. This is so easy to use. Its comes in stick form, like school glue sticks. You wind it up, wet it a little and wipe it on your face, then you rub it in with your fingers and rinse. Its that easy. I keep mine in the shower and use it AM & PM

Toner

Son & Park Beauty Water (AM, PM)

Another product return. If I don't have time to do my ritual, or too lazy, I will use this and moisturiser. Its technically a cleanser and a toner. I use it mainly as a toner. Put some on a makeup wipe and wipe your face. Easy as bro! Smells great, gentle on my skin, great price. I'm onto my 3rd bottle... with a 4th bottle waiting!

Serums

The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5

New product I haven't used yet. I will let you know what I think. I bought it because it is highly recommended to help with hydration. There were a few Hyaluronic Acid products I looked at, but I went with The Ordinary because I have used their products and like them, and they're cheap. $12.40 for this product!

Eye "Cream"

The Ordinary Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG

New product - haven't used it yet. It had mixed reviews, either really good, or bad. But Caffeine in an eye serum has got to be good, right? especially since I have to minimise my caffeine in take since I'm breastfeeding.

Heimish Bulgarian Rose Water Hydrogel Eye Patch

I keep these in the fridge for a refreshing cooling eye mask, especially on a hot day. They are a jelly like under eye patch with a beautiful rose smell, and super cool pink shining look! I love them. I don't use it very often, just when I feel like I need a boost.

Exfoliant

The Ordinary Lactic Acid 10% + HA

New product. This is the whole reason I went into Priceline (and walked out with 3 The Ordinary products). I used to always use a physical exfoliant, ie a creme with particles in them, or a rough cloth etc. I read an article about chemical exfoliants. I used to avoid them, because "chemical" scared me, but chemical exfoliants are gentler on your skin, especially the delicate skin on your face. I'm excited to give this a try, and retire my exfoliant glove from my face skincare (and give it body duty)

Moisturiser

Clinique Moisture Surge 72-Hour Auto Replenishing Hydrator

I received a mini version in the Clinique free gift when I purchased a bottle of Clinique Happy (all the nostalgic memories there) and loved it. I just opened the full size one that YumMan got me when he went to Perth recently. I will use this with Son & Park Beauty Water when I'm being lazy.

Face Oil

Go To Face Hero

This is a relatively new discovery. Face Oils. I was skeptical about putting an oil on my face (and not washing it off like oil cleansers) but oh my word! This stuff is a miracle worker. I had purchased it after seeing reviews on Instagram from some people I follow... and I'm obsessed with the companies Gro To baby products (review coming soon) so I bit the bullet and got some. I was mainly using it for hydration, but magically it has seem to reduced the redness I have on my cheeks and nose from rosacea. Which is amazing! BONUS! I use this product morning and night, and it goes on after all the moisturisers (but before SPF) because it can get through the water-based products.

Sunscreen

Nutrimetics Ultracare Smart Shield Protection Creme SPF 50

Natio Broad Spectrum SPF 50+

Honestly, if you are going to do anything skincare related. DO THIS! Everyday of the year, whether its hot or cold, or sunny or overcast, especially if you live in Australia. (I even have sunscreen ready for Bubba) 

These are the 2 I use depending on what I'm doing. If I don't plan of being in the sun too much I use the Nutrimetics one, if I'm going outside I will use the Natio one. I also use a general sunscreen on exposed skin when I'm going to be outside for long periods of time. Also a hat (I need a new one!) and sunglasses (waiting for new ones)

Others

These products get used occasionally, but deserve a mention!

CORSX ACNE Pimple Patches

Feel a pimple, stick one of these one and it draws out the goo and usually stops the pimple from appearing. Which saves me from the unwavering need to pop pimples (WHICH IS BAD!)

Heimish Bulgarian Rose Water Mist Serum

Feeling hot and bothered, I spray this on my face for a refreshing rosy mist of coolness!

Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask (Berry)

When I remember (and not so much anymore, because YumMan won't kiss me when I wear it!) Leaves my lips feeling super soft in the morning.

What do you use in your skincare ritual? Let me know in the comments

Love Molly xoxo.