Blog Love

I thought that I would do a round-up of all of the blogs that I have been loving lately.  As you would expect, as an expectant mother, most of them are blogs that belong to other mothers that I admire.  Most are vintage in theme or focus on cooking and/or eating!


Retro Mummy

This fellow blogger is an Australian who is getting a lot of (very well-deserved) attention for her blog and parenting activities.  I have no idea how she finds the time to update her blog/twitter/facebook etc so often.  She is also the online Mum that I tweet when I have a question about something baby-related!

She has recently revamped her blog after her fifth (!) child and it looks amazing - as do all of her babies and not-so-babies.  With headings such as blog, family, bake, sew, quilt and a few others, her site is a great resource for any new Mum!

Corrie - aka Retro Mummy.  From here

Annabel Langbein's Blog

I adore Annabel.  From the husky way she introduces her TV episodes, to the advice she gives about growing your own in her cookbooks - she is brilliant!

Annabel has two children (I think) that are mostly grown-up now but continues to feature family friends children and her own family in her TV episodes and cookbooks.  Annabel is such an inspiration for me, as a woman who has achieved that work-life/ family-life balance doing what she loves and not compromising on her standards.

As someone who wishes that they were a bit of a Francophile I can see a lot of French influence in the way that Annabel approaches life.  I believe that she does have quite a few French friends and has spent some time there.

In Australia, her new book Simple Pleasures has just come out but the TV series has not started yet.  I have flipped through her book in the bookshop and am hoping to find it in my Christmas stocking as it looks jam-packed with new recipes and ideas.  Are you listening husband?

The many pleasures of sharing - from here

Sprouted Kitchen

This blog has the most stunning photography going - ok I know that there are many others up for that prize!  This blog is authored and photographed by husband and wife team Sara and Hugh Forte (what a good musical name).

The Sprouted Kitchen features recipes designed around wholefoods and they have just released their first cookbook Sprouted Kitchen: A Tastier Take on Whole Foods.  The blog also features discussions on food trends (such as ingredients and new coffee making methods), travel and reviews of other cookbooks.

Sara and Hugh Forte - from here

Supercharged Food

Lee Holmes (another Aussie) is probably not a new name to you but I had to include her website in my list.  Just loading her page makes me feel like being a healthy domestic goddess.  Lee is a health coach but graciously offers a lot of information and advice on her website for free!

Lee's website has recipes for food, recipes for natural cleaning products, tips on dehydrating food, links to cooking videos (mostly raw food), a online shop and is all done in the most enchanting, retro-fairy-princess style imaginable.

From here

Elegant Musings

This is another blog that you probably all know about already but as she is expecting her first child - she is going to be the most stylish mother going!  And how cute will her baby look in all those hand-made outfits. 

Casey Brown blogs about sewing projects, daily outfits, recipes, things she finds thrifting, crafting and she also has a great section of tutorials for sewing and crafting items.  In the past she has hosted sew-alongs with great results - it is my goal to complete one of these one day.  Casey is also great at updating her blog regularly with her maternity wear and for my next baby I will certainly be stealing her style.

Outfit: baby packing mama - from here

The Vintage Wife


This is a blog that I have been following for awhile from Stateside and it is written by a lovely vintage lady named Cedar.  It features her beautiful daughter Lucy, recipes, vintage fashion (for Mother and child), vintage decor, sewing patterns and some great parenting tips.

From here

Linking with The Glamorous Housewife

Inspiration on a Monday: Glamorous Mum No. 2

Here is my installment of glamorous mums to inspire this week.  Jennifer L. Scott is a author who has penned the style guide Lessons from Madame Chic: 20 Stylish Secrets I Learned While Living in Paris. 

The book will be available on November 6, 2012 and Amazon have this to say about it:

Have you ever wondered what everyday life is like inside a modern, aristocratic Parisian household? The French are notoriously secretive when it comes to their private lives, but Jennifer L. Scott’s Lessons from Madame Chic uncovers the very secrets and lifestyle traits that allow Parisians to live such fulfilling and passionate lives.

Jennifer also has a blog: The Daily Connoisseur and a YouTube channel and a Twitter channel, which cover many topics such as book reviews, interesting female personalities, product reviews, cookbooks, how to make drinks, how to do a manicure - everything you could thin of.. orchids!

I found Jennifer through her YouTube channel.  I loved her videos so much.  I went a watched all of them in one sitting and I do still go back and watch some of them to refresh my memory about certain things.  Most of her videos are based on the ideas that appear in her book about how to live life like a French women. 

Here are my favourite videos:

How Jennifer stores her make-up - I have some weird obsession with seeing how other people live.  Any video about re-arranging a pantry or wardrobe is sure to interest me so I loved the chance to sneak a peak in her vanity.

Only Use the Best Things You Have - I have spoken about this attitude awhile back when my Great Grandmother passed.  Life is too short to think "I will only use that for best".  Nora Ephron wrote an article about it awhile that was reprinted in London Times and tweeted by Nigella Lawson.  Everyone should be using all their lovely things every day because then every day will be lovely.

Staying Chic while Expecting - Obviously this is interesting to me.  After watching it I went out and bought quite a few pairs of leggings (though mostly cheaper ones than mentioned in the video) and I have also noted that as I will only be wearing these clothes for a short while I do not need piles and piles of maternity wear.  I am going for a maternity capsule wardrobe - another topic covered by Jennifer.  I am still wearing my pre-maternity tops and some skirts with stretchy waists - but I have to confess I cannot wait until it is warmer and I can wear beautiful floaty clothes and sarongs!

 

Jennifer has two children - one which is alomst a newborn so I am finding all of her advice and tips especially handy at this point in time.  Here's hoping I can be as chic as Jennnifer and Madame Chic.

Inspiration on a Monday: Glamorous Mum No. 1

With impending Motherhood only 18 weeks away (OMG) - I have been seriously searching blogs and websites for mothers that have that something extra - everyday women who juggle work, home life and do it all very stylishly.  I am sure their little girls growing up will be thinking "I want to be just like Mum".  

In an attempt to steal some of their style I will be featuring a few on my blog over the next couple of Mondays.  Please click on the images to take you directly to that post or the header to take you to her home page.

Here is the first:

Bethany's blog The Glamorous Housewife is amazing.  As someone who has worked in movies (as a prop stylist I think) she has a great eye for detail and colour.  The bright, happy feel of her blog is a genuine reflection of her personality.  I don't think I have seen her wear all black on her blog yet, nor do I see much black when you look around her home.  And speaking of her home.  The kitchen - the flamingos, the dining room with the wallpapered ceiling - is there anything that I don't want to steal?

The amazing dining room with the wallpapered ceiling

From the "You Got That Where?" series

To fulfill the part of a glamorous Mum I think you have to be pretty clue-y when it comes to fashion and this is where I fall down but where Bethany excels.  She does a great series called "You Got The Where?" which details vintage-inspired items that she finds at department stores and how she styles them to fit in with her "look"

Bethany is completely honest with her readers, which makes for some very funny reads (ie - when comparing herself to Martha Stewart) and entertaining YouTube videos.  It's on her recommendation that I went and bought a good under eye concealer.  Here is her latest video from YouTube - fish tacos.  Don't you just love the way she says "Hi Dolls"?

When I look at The Glamorous Housewife blog - I honestly do not know who she finds the energy, motivation and time to create such a wonderful life for her family.  I will definitely be doing my best to emulate her.

Here are some amazing shoes and her beautiful Ariella