one for the bubs: brio bell rattle

The Pea is demonstrating her favourite new toy, the Brio bell rattle. It's so easy for her to grasp and, as it rolls, will continue to be interesting when she sits and crawls. We found it at Kidstuff, on special for $9.99, usually $16.99. You can buy it online here.

thoughts on buying for the pea, with a great way to help mothers

Having my baby, the Pea, I am acutely aware that my purchases for her will define her own relationship with material possessions. I want her to have an edited array of gorgeous things that she can treasure, not a pile of plastic toys each birthday and Christmas. I want to give her experiences, create rituals, play together as we find the joy in each and every day. I want her to be as aware as some of the very young children I know, who choose to make a donation on their birthdays to help other children rather than have yet another toy.

As such, one of the ways I have celebrated her birth (and marked my own passage through labour) is by donating to the Birthing Kit Foundation Australia. At the cost of around $3 per kit, they provide the essentials for a mother to birth her child more safely. With an estimated 385,000 women dying from complications in childhood anually, I can't bear to birth my beautiful daughter without helping someone else to birth their child more safely.

If this strikes a chord with you as it did with me, please pass the link on to friends and family. Here's to all the mothers and babies of the world.

a word on natural fibres and one for the home: patterned sheets

As you may have noticed, at 'where can we find it' natural fibres always win. They breathe better and as such feel so much more pleasant against the skin. My shopping often presents as a sudden dart across each store to the designs that grab me, followed by an unruly scramble for the care tag. Sadly, this ritual often ends in a tag dropped in disgust. I do not wear polyester. My baby, the Pea, does not wear polyester. We do not sleep on polyester and nor is our dining table ever clad in polyester. And while this may seem a more than slightly obsessive rant, I feel smugly glad of my vigilance every time I touch the fabrics in our home.
In my incessant lusting over linens I came across this gorgeous trio:

 

I adore good white sheets, especially embroidered ones, and find them so easy to wash; a good soak in Napisan is sufficient to remove most stains. Having said this, however, I bought some ticking stripe sheets from the range in the second picture and have found that they age really well. As for the third picture, I'm trying to restrain myself. How lovely and how timeless.

I have bought two sets of sheets from ezibuy and experienced prompt and efficient service. There are free shipping deals available.

Let's all get that lovely-hotel-sheet feeling every day. What sheets make you happy?

a book to bolster: orchids on your budget

Living on less need never be about living less. Imagine a home filled only with things you love. Imagine a home in which you need never feel bothered about money. Those are my goals. I am finding that the more I streamline my living style and the more carefully I consider each purchase, the more beautifully my home comes together and the better it feels. In seeking this, it has been important to me to learn from others who have decided to step outside of our consumer ways.

Living on less is no new trend. One of the most affirming books I have read around this passion of mine is 'Orchids on Your Budget, or Live Smartly on What You Have' by Marjorie Hillis. It is the most profoundly joyful, affirming and irreverent book about women choosing to budget (as compared to those women who feel they have to budget) and was written in 1937. 1937!!! If it still reads well after SEVENTY-FIVE YEARS, it is clearly important. And the writing style! I swoon. If you are somehow disinterested in Marjorie's ideas on budgeting, read it instead for her delicious comments on husbands.

Let's not budget because we must. Let's do it because we want to, because we are proud to do so. And let's do it with a grin as broad as Marjorie's.

one for the bubs: striped merino onesie

Another natural fibre beauty for the little ones: these 100% merino wool onesies are available at Aldi from Wednesday 11 July 2012.

They are stocking sizes 000 to 2 and cost $14.99. Hurrah for Aldi!

Thanks to the girls who have let me know the products and ideas they are searching for. Please post a comment if I can help you find it!

one for the bubs: all natural blanket

This gorgeous cotton blanket is currently stocked by Kmart. It's delightfully unisex, classic and such a nice change from the ubiquitous determinedly cheerful prints. And it's only $10!

As an added bonus, I've noticed that my living room looks less messy if the baby gear strewn around has more natural tones! However if brights are more your thing, you can see that they have two other great striped options.
Happy shopping!

how I learnt to find it (with credit rating intact)

When I was younger (and given that I was a student well into my twenties) the thrill of actually being able to purchase an item sometimes overrode whether it perfectly met my needs and also whether it complemented my other belongings. As such, i would find myself the not-so-proud owner of a cheaply made or not-quite-suited-to-my-tastes item. Sound familiar?

When I finally entered my career, paid off my loans and found myself with the great good fortune of disposable income, I shopped with a vengeance. At last I could afford that oversized gilt-edged mirror, that several-hundred-dollar dress, and although I did reasonably well in terms of buying only what I loved, I was sometimes left with a bad taste in my mouth. Was this really the best way to give myself a boost? Was it really the best use of my hard-earned money? In some cases the answer was a resounding 'yes', but in others I felt a certain kind of 'dirtiness' as my tastes grew more and more expensive. I also felt guilt, and that's never good. Change beckoned. Or rather, change screamed at me from the bottom of my credit card statement.

As I have grown older and found new ways to shop, new places to shop and I think also better ranges in many stores, I have found a happier balance. By carefully thinking about each purchase and buying only those items that suit my needs, my lifestyle, my taste and my budget, I have eventually become happier with less. Admittedly, I am still far from renouncing material possessions or even shopping-as-entertainment, but I am learning to do it in a way that is less frenzied, more productive and a lot more kind to my bank balance. I would so much rather be able to afford to stay at home with my daughter than to have the next iPad.

Have you experienced a similar shift? Do you find yourself struggling in your relationship with shopping? Please write and let me know how you manage what can be a fun and satisfying or stressful and even emotional part of your life.