*WIN* a My Memories Suite - Digital Scrapbooking Software!

For one lucky reader, I have a downloadable My Memories Suite Version 2 digital scrapbooking software up for grabs!

What is it you ask?

AWESOME, that's what it is!

I know this, because I have been lucky enough to try it out for myself over the last couple of days and loving it!

Let me explain:

My Memories Suite is a downloadable digital scrapbooking software that is like no other and will blow you away!

It is so easy and fun to use, whether you are a savvy technology nut like me or more of the simplistic type. It is suited for ALL skill levels because there is so much you can do OR so little you have to do.

You can build your own pages from scratch, with the extensive range of digital scrapbook supplies, or simply use a ready to go template.

Have a look below and see what I've done with it! 

...though they are only quicky jobs of course...ohhh, I could spend HOURS, but that's just me =)
 

And here is an easy 1. 2. 3. step process for you:

Not only can you create scrapbook pages with My Memories Suite, you can create a whole range of things, including (but not limited to) cards, promotional pages, reports, calenders and MORE!

You see those two layouts above? 

...not the individual scrapbook pages but the actual two layouts displaying the individual pages...yeah, that's them.

...I created them with the My Memories Suite digital scrapbooking software. *squeeek* How AWESOME is that! ...because I don't actually have any other software to do this easily enough with...YAY! Can you tell I'm excited?

So, on with the best part!

The Giveaway!

To WIN the My Memories Suite Version 2.0...

...all you need to do is to visit My Memories have a look around then come back here and leave a comment telling me what "New digital scrapbooking kit" you like best!

Total value is about $40

Competition details and rules!

• This competition is open to Australian and New Zealand residence only.

•  Entries close on Wednesday 7th September 2011 at midnight AEST.

• strictly ONE entry per person.

• The winner will be chosen at random using random.org 

and will be notified Thursday night (8th September).

• When making your entry, please ensure that I can contact you if you happen to be the winner.

• If the winner has not responded to my contact after a week, I will do a redraw.

Don't go yet! 

There is MORE!

If you happen to be unsuccessful or you missed out on the competition then not to worry; I have something else for you!

Below you will find a code that, when used, will give $10 off the purchase price of the My Memories Suite scrapbook software AND $10 off any other purchase from the My Memories store - thats $20 value!

The Code:

 STMMMS82090

Simply copy and paste the code, when you're done shopping, in the box that says "Enter Coupon/Promo Code" at the My Memories store checkout and your discount will be applied.

(I will also have the code easily accessible on my side bar)

For more info on My Memories you can visit their:

Blog- http://blog.mymemories.com/
Facebook- http://www.facebook.com/mymemoriessuite
Twitter- http://twitter.com/#!/mymemoriessuite

If you have time, take a look at this quick 2 minute video if you like =)

 

Get your entries in!

Tell your friends!

and...

All the best!

What I know today #2

Today I know that there can be an exception to yesterdays rule and that a smile on your own face is sometimes not quite enough to lift your own depressed state...but it can still help others and encourage a happier environment to be depressed in =) That's an up-side isn't it!

I just love this poster from The Smile Collective

 

Source: thesmilecollective.myshopify.com via Rachael on Pinterest

So don't give up on your smiles that easily =)

What I know today

Source: bing.com via Rachael on Pinterest

Today I know that: 

A smile on your face can make the world of difference!

Source: etsy.com via Rachael on Pinterest

Go about your day with a smile and see just how awesome your day can be.

Source: asset.soup.io via Rachael on Pinterest

The bald man loves me

The other day I went on a cleaning rampage through my house. You may have read the post. I went a little mad and rearranged the furniture. I had planned to pop over to a friends house that afternoon but took a raincheck so I could finish what I had so drastically started. My husband had been away on business for a couple of days, as he often does, and he was due home that evening at an unknown time, which it always is, and I didn't want him to walk into an even bigger mess then when he left it.

Lately, well for a while now, my husband and I haven't really been the 'close loving couple' that we use to be or even the 'close loving couple' that one would depict a married couple to be. In fact a few months ago we did, after seven years of togetherness, reach the breaking point. The split only lasted a few weeks but it gave us some time to step back a little and take a deep breath and start again.

Being a Defence family has seen us apart many times; for lengths I wish upon nobody. I basically raised our son alone, with the good help of family and friends of course, for the first 10 months of our sons life while my husband was on deployment overseas. A friend of mine did just this with twins and a 3 year old on the rotation after us! OMG...I give praise to that woman!

Over time people grow and change, which isn't a bad thing...that's what we humans do; if we didn't change we would all be the same. When together, you are able to see and guide each other through these changes and develop and grow in sync with one another. When apart your experiences are completely different which mean you have to actively work at understanding each other and be more accommodating and accepting of the changes that have taken place. My husband and I tend to butt heads, A LOT, due to this fact. I know our love for each other is still there, its just a matter of finding each other again and discovering and allowing the person we each have become.

So it was nice the other night, after I had completed my mad house clean, to have my husband walk through the door with a little surprise for me.

 

Chocolates (and coffee) by 'the bald man' - Max Brenner

Just so you know that's my 'bald man' in the picture above, not the chocolate 'bald man.' The resemblance in uncanny though, don't you think? hehehe 

I love you too  xx

...and Max Brenner =) 

What can I say, his chocolates and coffee were AMAZING!

Not so Wordless, Not so Wednesday...or is it?

Ok, so it is Wednesday today but I haven't posted for a while and I have these awesome photos I want to show you...well I think they're awesome. I took them over the past week or so with my new camera app on my windows phone, because that's the only camera I own.

I've been so crazy busy with my new (old) job on top of everything else as well as a very extra, lets just say, attentive son of late. I just can't seem to sit down long enough (more than 5 minutes) to write. And night time is no good either because my son is a night owl and doesn't go to be until late at which point I am ready to go to bed too. Arhg!...whinge sesh is over now onto the good stuff.

My two cool dudes in their very cool shades!

I just love my coffee...and my coffee machine!

"(pr)ickle"

After falling into a massive patch of prickles a week ago my son is now very careful with prickles. In this photo he is holding one which he just had to show me =)

Just peachy!

A piccy of a blossoming peach tree in our back yard on a very icky overcast day. 

My son dragged me out of the house for which I am very grateful. Sometimes you just can't say no...he must have known what beauty was out there because I really needed it that day.

And finally...

...just a little bite of expert advice for you =P

Have a beautiful day!

Change is sometimes better than a holiday

Source: etsy.com via Mara on pinterest

They say 'change is as good as a holiday.' Well today I went a little mad...cleaning mad that is! so much so I rearranged the furniture. If you had asked me this morning, I had absolutely no intention of carrying out this unspeakable act; the thought hadn't even entered my mind. Come to think of it, I really couldn't see myself getting my butt into gear to do the vacuuming. I just didn't feel like it. I had to of course. Friday is my cleaning day, the one day of the week I dedicated to this mindless task. A task of which all comes undone in a matter of moments when your nineteen month old does his food art or helps me unfold the towels that I am folding to put away in the cupboard, ready for the next round of washing. And when you husband comes home from work leaving a trail of work and gym gear from the front door through to the bedroom, with his boots still attached to his feet.

I hate my house at the moment! We live on an acre block which is way too much work for my liking, especially with a husband who is away for work a fair bit. The inside is just driving me insane! I hate it! I would love to just throw everything out and start all over again. It's nonfunctional.

Here's what is wrong with it. The cheap crappy dinning table has become the office. The dinning room is also the living room. There is no place to sit when we have visitors, not that we get visitors very often because we live out of town. The massive living room is my craft room which I can't keep tidy because I don't have functional storage and enough of it. The bedroom doors and wardrobe doors don't have handles because we are half way through painting; which was started about a year ago now. The reasons why the painting is not finished just make me even more hateful. Our guest room is also my husbands music room and the junk room and storage room. We don't have a garage attached to the house, it's 10 meters away which is full of junk anyway so the cars are left outside, oh how I hate it when it's raining! Oh, the list just goes on. Can you feel the passion behind what lead me to moving the furniture around today. And I'm by no means done, oh no, tomorrow I will continue my rampage. My husband doesn't know yet but he will be helping me =)

And just while I'm venting my anger, which I had no intention of doing when I started typing this post, Im frustrated that I started this post two hours fighting the fact that I'm can't sit down for more then 5 minutes at a time with out being interrupted.

Big breath in...big breath out...ok, I feel a little better now =D

So although a holiday would awesome right now, it still doesn't change the fact that the house is in a wreck. The only thing to do is change it.

Then I can go on a holiday =D

Journal for the soul

If you read my post yesterday, I mentioned I would be getting myself a journal to assist me with my blogging. I also mentioned I was on my way out to get my hair cut. Well I didn't get my hair cut but I did get it coloured! ...which was also my intention. The pocket said no to getting both done so it had to be one or the other. I just HAD to do something as I was starting to feel a little shit about myself and needed a pick me up. The way I see it is that I get to have another relaxing hair session another day rather than all at once.

Anyway, back onto my journal of which I bought yesterday. I think it is beautiful and wanted to share it with you.

What do you think?

It instantly caught my eye! and just as I was about to give up hope in finding 'the one' too. The verse on the front is just beautiful. Adele Basheer is the founder of Intrinsic, the company that makes these wonderful journals, she has the most wonderful way with words. On the inside of this journal, as I discovered this morning when I opened it up, there is another beautiful message which reads...

This captures everything I feel and the pages of this journal are very beautiful and inspiring.

I'm now going to share one of my little idiosyncrasies with you; I can only write on clean, crisp paper and I can never write on the opposite side. Also, my writing has to be neat otherwise I will start again. Pathetic, I know! but this journal is just perfect and will hopefully carry me through my days.

Here is what the inside looks like...

Just lovely!

What funny little idiosyncrasy do you have?

Tiny steps for prioritisation.

Source: martawrites.com via Heather on Pinterest

Last week I came across a wonderful post written by Chantelle at Fat mum slim called How to write a great post in under 30mins. This is something I struggle with, mostly because I don't actually get the time of day to sit down long enough to get out what I want to write, but also because I store so much in my head I am constantly juggling it all in there, getting it all messed up and lost.

I am terrible at prioritising! I use to be the prioritising/organisation queen but lately I'm simply a chaotic mess. I can't seem to organise myself to be organised. "So many idea's, so little time" One thing Chantelle suggested is to have a dedicated blog journal.

The funny thing about ideas is they always come to you at random times, never when you are sitting at the computer with fingers hovering over the keyboard. A dedicated journal gives you a place to quickly document those random thoughts and continue about your day. You can rest in knowing that when you do get a little time to sit down and write, you have a journal just bursting with ideas waiting for you.

I already knew this, but as I said earlier, I'm a chaotic mess who can't prioritise myself. So later, when I treat myself to my 6 monthly hair cut, I will get myself a journal and dedicate it only to this blog.

Just one little step towards gaining my title back!

What little tips do you find helpful for prioritsing/organising yourself?

Would you like that in a cup or a mug?

Artist is Danny Brito

Before I became a mummy I worked in hospitality. Not my ideal career but no matter where I was hospitality was always there for me. We have a sort of love hate relationship. Love because its so fast paced, challenging and rewarding. I love making coffees and I love the interaction with the customers who are happy and respectful and I love being challenged. Hate because its so face paced, challenging and dirty. It's both physically and mentally draining and customers at times can be very disrespectful. The old saying, "the customer is always right" isn't really so, but you just put your happy face on anyway and pretend that you are a useless human being. Oops did I just blurt that out loud?

Well, it seems that after almost 2 years out of work, hospitality is still sticking by my side.  Gee, thanks! About a month ago I took the plunge and put the word out to my old work place that I was looking for some work. At the time they didn't have anything for me but I got a call a few weeks later asking if I could help them out for 4 weeks aswell as offering me one days work each week after that. Of coarse I jumped at the opportunity and was very excited.

Today I had a refresher shift and shit I'm buggered! WHAT THE HELL AM I DONG! It was the strangest feeling. On one hand it felt like I was only there yesterday but on the other I was so out of practice I didn't know what I was doing! What use to come second nature to me didn't come at all and I had to actually think about EVERYTHING before doing it. It made me realise just how grueling and challenging a job it is. Slowly though, as the day wore on, I got back into the swing of things a little and I was reminded how much I do like hospitality; and well, I'll always love making coffees.

As I was driving home today I felt very proud of myself. I felt a sense of self worth that I hadn't for long time. I am very proud of motherhood and being a say-at-home mum; It would be the single most important job anyone can do.  And while the value of money can never outweigh the value of the love you receive and the importance of your child's development, this world revolves around money and unfortunately love doesn't buy you the bread and milk or pay the bills for you.

So, I must work. I get thrown in the deep end for 4 weeks starting this Sunday! wish me luck!

{Feature} Upcycled works of art!

WOW! was my first response when I came across Ties and Whimsy. Im constantly coming across wonderful pages but none as unique as this one! Who'd of thought the old tie could be made into a stunning accessory pieces to transform that plain black top we all have in our wardrobe.

The lovely Alisa is the Brisbane based artist behind Ties and Whimsy. Alisa uses vintage ties, buttons, crocheted doilies, fabrics and lace to create beautiful handcrafted wearable works of art. And because Alisa only uses pre-loved materials, each striking piece is unique in its very own way; this makes it great for the planet too!

Ties and Whimsy have a wonderful range of accessory pieces including scarves, fasinators, headbands, brooches, jewelery and bags. From dressing up that boring top, to gorgeous wedding pieces there is something for everyone. The guys are not forgotten either!


You can find Ties and Whimsy at Adina Community Market, Millwell Road Community Centre Maroochydore this Sunday 14th August. At BrisStyle Indie Twilight Market, King George Square on Friday 19th August. Or check out her Etsy store.

I am thrilled to be featuring Ties and Whimsy on my blog! Just look below, the pictures speak for themselves really...my words are simply not enough.

How gorgeous are they!

{Feature} Dress your bump with MamaMore Maternity

Today, for my very first and long awaited feature post, I would like to introduce you to MamaMore Maternity. But before I do, I would like to say a huge thank you to Jocelyn, the owner of MamaMore, and to all my first time sponsors for your eager interest of being my guinea pig and stepping into the unknown world of this new venture of mine, It Must be Coffee Time. I'm so amazed by and grateful for the level of interest and support by everyone, I hope you find this just as supportive.

Now on with business

If you are looking for something stylish and affordable to dress that gorgeous baby bump of yours then do yourself a favour and take look a MamaMore Materity. MamaMore stock a range of brands including Ripe Maternity, Funmum UK, Plus Maternity, My Belly and Bravado. There is something to fit everyone of all shapes and sizes "from day one to day mum".  Stocking size 8 to size 28, get the right fit by following their size guides.

MamaMore Maternity are a New Zealand based business but do not fret my Aussie readers as the very friendly Jocelyn welcomes Australian orders.

You might also like to check out their Mama's Style page where each week they showcase a fabulous range of baby products and services.

Take a look for yourself below, I've done a little shopping for you. Clicking on each picture will take you to it's product page.

What else?

During this month of August MamaMore are having a SALE with 30% off the entire Ripe Maternity range.

 

and in celebration of MamaMore's first birthday on the 16th of August, they are doing something a little bit different to their normal discounts and giveaways. They have teamed up with Bravado Designs and will be donating 100 nursing bras to Woman's Refuge, a New Zealand organisation providing services to help women in domestic violence.

I am thrilled to have MamaMore Maternity on board my blog for a few months. Thanks again, Jocelyn, for taking part in this for me =)