#highlightsreel // a 'fancy' high tea with my little lady

I am still in catch up mode and yes, these photos are harking back to around July!!! Oopsies ;) 

And so...

Lily's 7th birthday and our special birthday outing.

Milkshakes and grocery shopping.

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Family fun and child's play.

Simple moments of love and joy and healing within our everyday....we count our blessings, we count them one by one. We count our blessings and see what God has done....

UNO is the favourite after-dinner family game these days... we just love it, and the kids are turning into card-sharks, haha! 

Our girl turned seven. Seven!!!!! Seven?? Somehow it's true.

We had a simple birthday dinner with the family. This year Lily requested pavlova for her birthday cake. This kinda socked me in the guts for two reasons. Firstly, because it was her first time asking for a cake that wasn't a butterfly or ballerina, etc (sniff! so grown up!) and also because pavlovas are what her Papa was absolutely renowned for. Knowing Lily, this is probably why she requested it. She misses her Papa so much. Oh, and he made the best pavlovas!!! Light as air, crunchy as all get out. Made with so much love and generosity. It was bittersweet to attempt one in his absence, knowing he would have loved to make one for her, wishing I had asked him for more tips (pavlovas are so tricky!!!!), and simply thankful to have a special memory of Papa represented at her birthday dinner. Oh, these days are a muddle of emotion, to be sure....

I am soooo not crafty but thanks to encouragement, help and ideas from my crafty friends (Jess! Kate! Amber!), I made this little softie cat for Lily for her birthday :) It feels freakishly good to actually make something for your kid's birthday. Who am I again?!!! ;)

Happy to report she loved it!! It was so cute - a few nights later she told me at bedtime 'Mummy, I just love my cat so much I try to hold it in my arms all night while I am sleeping so you will see how much I love it, but then when I wake up I accidentally have let go!!'. Aw, sweetie pie, I think I already get the drift!!

Not much gets between me and a good chocolate milkshake!! Not even a three hour wait
just to sample the famous Freakshake at Patissez here in Canberra. Oh yes, it was worth
the wait!!!! Deeelish, and so fun to finally get in and check out this cult following!
This is the shake your dreams are made of....

Yes, it's as insanely delicious as it looks. Mmmmmm!!!
I think I need to go back already!

This little guy tagged along, showing utmost patience. I let him share a little bit of my shake
and as you can see from that intense stare, he is hoping I don't attempt to take it off him
anytime soon!!

The kids found a special viewing platform for their Lottie dolls, heehee! What can't Ikea spice racks be used for?! ;)

Who is watching who?!

One evening I discovered Lily snuggled up in her little nest on the top bunk, reading through her animal encyclopaedia and taking careful notes in her exercise book about the things she was reading. Most precious sight everrrrrrrr :) Pretty sure this kid could just homeschool herself ;) 

It was time to celebrate this little seven year old! It wasn't Lily's year for a party and we prefer to focus more on 'experiences' rather than 'stuff' for birthday gifts, so we decided to have a special day out for this year's experience! After some brainstorming with my girl, we came up with a fantastic day of fun together (Mark took Eli out for his birthday, so it was my turn to do this birthday outing). As a verrrrrry special treat, we decided to go to a fancy High Tea together, followed by ice skating in the city on the temporary outdoor rink. Quality time with this kiddo, it just doesn't get better than that. She is growing up so fast, I want to soak up these moments and treasure them in my heart forever. Loved making memories with her, and enjoying her absolute glee at such a la-dee-da day out on the town :)

A little mother-daughter magic ahead....

Radiant.

Very proud of her own purse, lol...

I heart this face. So much spunk, so much sweet joy!

She wanted to dress matching, and so (knowing how fleeting this stage will surely be!) 
I got on board and we tried our best, under her creative direction of course!
Blue jeans, black boots, green tops. cardigans, beads and top knots. Matchy matchy :)

So blessed to have a daughter - this one in particular!
Sometimes we just need a little girl time :)

Soaking up the atmosphere at the very swish hotel we went to for high tea - The Burbury. Stunning views, modern fit-out and beautifully attentive service! Lily was in awe, she just sat there for a few minutes, quietly taking it all in...

The happy face of a girl who just saw three tiers of yummy treats arrive!

They know how to do High Tea right!! A layer of sweet treats, a layer of scones with
jam and cream, and then some savoury mini sandwiches! Tick, tick, tick!

Don't mind if I do!! We declared the creme brulee and the vanilla pannacotta the best of the bunch. The pots of tea were sooo
lovely and high quality too. Lily was beyond thrilled to get her very own pot of rooibos (naturally caffeine-free) tea... a real life tea party!! They also had sugar bowls with proper lumps of sugar in them. The cutest moment of the day was when Lily used the mini tongs to pick up a lump, then dropped it straight into the pot, rather than the cup! Heehee :)

Slamming down the pannacotta - her fave. From here, I put down the camera because we had lots of delicious goodies to gobble, chatter to partake in and delightful togetherness to enjoy. Afterwards we skipped off to ice skating and had a grand old time slicing up that ice! And she mastered skating in proper grown up skates - she was mega proud of herself :) Thank you, my little lovely, for a sweet day in your company xx

Seriously, grocery shopping with my little buddy just became even more of a breeze, thanks to these awesome Trolley Bags! They are seriously soooooooooo handy and helpful, gets me through the check out in no time with no repacking required. I love how they fill the whole trolley, and are so quick and easy to rack up at the register too. Clever or what!!?? Miles approves! #gifted

He is brave and true, my little man rockin' out his new PJs!

I am such a huge fan of open-ended construction toys and so we were thrilled when we were sent these awesome top quality Geomags! I remember toys like these from when I was a kid and have been wanting some for my kiddos too. They are even cooler now with colours and panels to make building even better! The kids have been loving playing with these as they offer so many ways to build and create and explore.  Open ended toys put the kids in charge, and it's always inspiring to see what they come up with! #gifted

Magnetism is so magnetising! :) So much fun to explore...I can't help but play too ;)

'We made an owl!'

Love the sturdy steel rods and inviting colours!

'Play is the work of childhood...'

Till next time, folks, take care and... just by the way, thanks so much for checking in on this little space! xx

a Barbie alternative // the lovely Lottie doll

We welcomed a new little friend into our household recently... her name is Lottie!

She was a special gift for Lily after she achieved a major milestone (stopping thumb-sucking at last after a significant regression - hooray, hooray, hooray).

Our journey to little Lottie was a winding one. Lily had started asking for 'a Barbie' after seeing several of her little friends had them. But... I just couldn't bring myself to buy her one. Now please don't get me wrong, I don't think Barbie and her ilk (Moxie, etc) are the devil incarnate or anything!! I grew up with Barbie dolls and certainly don't consider myself scarred for life or anything ;) And yet... knowing my daughter, I just felt myself pause at the thought of consciously purchasing a Barbie for her. Maybe it will happen one day, but she just seemed too young and I just didn't feel comfortable about it.

I love to see my little girl's imagination run free as she plays, creates, and processes through her dolls and toys. I appreciated the idea of a very special doll for her but.... I kinda wanted her to live out this creative world through a little girl doll who looked a bit more like her. You know - with a real child's body. Or at least a real woman's body!!! One of the things I am conscious of with my kids is letting them truly embrace their childhood, and just be free to be kids. As much as possible, to be free of the body image issues and the early sexualisation and adult-ification of childhood that seems to run more and more rampant in our society these days. She is growing up in her own sweet time, no need to rush the process!

And so began my internet search for 'a Barbie alternative', thinking surely there would be a plethora of them after all the Barbie controversy over the years. I was pretty surprised to find the pickings were slim to almost non-existent. Really???! C'mon, people! I knew I could not be the only parent looking for an alternative.

And then I finally stumbled across Lottie. Lovely little Lottie!






Lottie dolls are a range of dolls from the UK. They are little girl dolls designed especially to look like....little girls. No makeup, no jewellery, no insanely disproportionate body shape. And even flat feet so she can stand up for herself! Ok, yes, there are the long lush locks and the big googly eyes but... in comparison to market offerings... it was leaps and bounds ahead. Kids can still change outfits and brush hair (and take it in the bath - a serious requirement according to Lily!) - but with a doll that looks a lot more true to a child/life. I was thrilled!! But now I had to see if it met the standard of my discerning five year old.... after all, this was a special gift and I didn't want to purchase something that I loved but didn't win her heart. I pulled up the website with the range of dolls and with trepidation, let her survey the offerings.... would it passed muster??

"Oooooh' she breathed. 'I can really choose one??!!'

Yup, Lottie passed the test! Phew ;)

A spare outfit for parties ;)
Every girl knows that swapping outfits every half hour is the best part of having a doll, right?!

There are a range of Lottie dolls with different hair colour and fun, kid-friendly outfits. Of course, my little dancer chose the ballerina-esque outfit... with a backup outfit very similar to the dressy outfits she owns. The tag on the box says 'Lottie has a 'childlike' body developed by a range British academics; she doesn't wear makeup, jewellery or high heels. Best of all, she can stand on her own two feet - an invaluable life skill for all girls, big and small' . Here, here! (Much more info and research on the Lottie website listed below). The doll range 'themes' focus on activities that a child can do (from soccer to swimming to butterfly catching!) and helps present a healthier view on body image and an active lifestyle. I really appreciate that they have a range of dolls and outfits that includes the sparkly fun stuff that many girls enjoy but does not limit the range to those 'hyper girly' options. Just like the colour pink - nothing wrong with the colour itself, but it gets tiresome when it's the only option for girls to choose from - it's so limiting and self-perpetuating! Argh! Likewise with Lottie, there is pink and sparkles but there is also soccer and hiking themes! And - all of them are child appropriate. At last.

When the time came at last to open up the Lottie doll box (Lottie was kept on a shelf until Lily's no-thumbsucking goal had been reached), Lily was sooooo excited. Thrilled. Swept away. 'She looks just like me!!!' she squealed with joy, and I was very happy to admit it was true, 'Except I don't have a fringe. Maybe I should get one!' (Uh oh, hide the scissors, lol!!). Yes, a girl like her, through which she can dream, imagine, create and adventure.

I think the grin on her face says it all really!

Her first moments with Lottie. As soon as Lily opened up the box, she raced to
dress in her own ballet outfit so they could be matching :)

Putting those teeny little ballet slippers back on!

Introducing Lottie to Mrs Scratch :)

Twinkle toes times two.

Soaring high into the sky...

My own little lady, feet firmly planted on the ground.

a Lottie love 

Twirling ballerinas

And.... rockstar Lottie?!

Girls don't have to be sweet and delicate. Ha! Belting out her tune with gusto.

Giddy with excitement, going a little cookoo ;)

Lottie, standing on her own two feet!

I am thankful for how Lottie encourages girls to enjoy their childhood in all its facets. I think we found a good fit for our family values with this sweet little doll. Childhood is a magical phase that passes quick enough without encouraging them too soon into adult worlds and concepts. With Lottie, I feel like Lily can happily linger in her girlhood a little longer.

And now, I am enjoying watching Lily and Lottie and their many adventures unfold (it's both hilarious and sweet). The dawning of a very special friendship indeed :)

P.S. I probably don't really need to say it on this teeny tiny blog, but this isn't a sponsored or affiliate post or anything! Just happy to have found a doll that we love and wanted to share it around so if anyone else out there is searching for a Barbie alternative, they can get a review! 

PPS The Lottie Australia website is here. You can buy it online at lots of places, I found the best online price for the doll Lily wanted here (very affordable, I thought), and apparently you can buy them in store at David Jones, Toys 'R Us and hopefully many other stores will start stocking them! Available also in the UK and US and I'm sure other countries... have a Google and see. Get on the Lottie train, I say! She rocks :)