Wasteless Christmas gifts

So many gifts end up donated (with limited need for them, if they can't sell its just clutter in an opshop) or in landfill after Christmas that I try to give thoughtful wasteless gifts that won't hurt the earths resources or the fun won't tire out minutes after opening them. Here is my list of what we are gifting this year.

1. Diy bon bons; I finally found a creative solution for those odd small ends of wrapping paper, fill up an empty toilet roll with an activity sheet or sweet, a paper crown & a handwritten joke/fun fact by Kobe (the joke made no sense but hey that's 5 year olds for you lol) then wrap paper around it & tie with wool/string. I'm making these for family & neighbours as it was so easy!
2. Strapped for cash, offer a coupon for babysitting or cooking dinner or any chore. Who doesn't want a hand?
3. Vouchers or tickets are always a winner. Instead of stuff, offer an experience. We gave Kobes swim teacher some homemade (bakeswap) fudge & a voucher for Gelare ice cream. She was so shocked & grateful. She did such a wonderful job of getting a scared Kobe to put his head under water this term. I'm also going in with a handful of parents to give a joint kindy voucher for the teachers. Teachers get gifted with so much boxed chocolate, shower gel or trinkets (which I heard gets mostly donated or regifted thus letting them choose what they actually want/need).
4. Who gives a crap toilet paper. Toilet paper is an essential, plus this brand (sadly isn't easy to find/buy in a shop for me) comes wrapped in pretty paper which can be used for craft & the empty toilet rolls for Christmas bon bons. A portion of profits help build toilets in developing countries.
5. I have had my keepcup for years. It's a must have to take to movies or fairs/festivals to get my coffee fix. Disposable cardboard coffee cups are the second most littered item after plastic bottles & as they are lined with plastic they hang around for a long time. I have been caught out a few times & wanted my coffee fix so I kept the cup, cleaned out & used to plant seedlings & the disposable coffee cup is still going strong 6 months later. They have released a Star Wars range perfect for kidlets/fans. Another idea is stainless steel straws or lunchbox tiffin tins.
6. Homemade treats are my favourite. I received some yummy cookies from my neighbour & it made my day. Luke's family give out bulk box chocolate to adult family members so we are making some gingerbread men, coconut balls, diy cookie jars & lamington to gift out instead. I started hoarding glass jars months ago to gift them in.
7. For the person who has everything; why not gift a goodie box like Jodie did of deodorant, sanitary products, soap, skincare products to the less fortunate. The Kmart wishing tree is a charity we support every year with multiple gifts & we will be including a few gifts for teenage girls (teenagers & the elderly get the less gifts) this Christmas. I asked a couple friends & sister to buy some sanitary products to add to a gift which they were happy to do. Kobe & Dylan did their gifts to children.
8. Lush hair soap. Shampoo without the plastic bottle, hooray! It smells good & cleanses. Win win.

Happy Wednesday friends!
Grace

5 year old's christmas wishlist

 

 

Its that time of year where I sneakily ask Kobe what he wants for Christmas this year. I like to keep it simple & small & be organized by first week of December.

1. No surprises that Wheres Wally was on the list. I managed to find the Santa Spectacular version in Big W.

2.Walker books/Gamebook; Hornpipes hunt for pirate gold. I was lucky to find some of these at the markets. Skill level 1 is perfect for him. I will be putting aside an hour (per book) to read with him the clues to solve the puzzle adventure. I also love the Usborne range with Puzzle castle & Puzzle dungeon. Again I found these at the markets.

3.We try to have a family games night once a week & Cluedo junior where you try to work out who ate the cake is perfect for it. My lovely sister also found him a vintage game of Wheels of fortune.

4. Kobe is a mad fan of Kids spring baking championship on channel 33. These Drommar cookie cutters (that snail is crazy fun!) & Idealish flour sifter will help him bake in the kitchen all those recipes he writes down he wants to make.

5. Last of all, I had to include a toy that he wants. I cant help but cringe but its the Shopkins chef range where all the characters are food. I hope its a short phrase. He has already demanded the grandparents buy him this...if he behaves ofcourse.



Happy Tuesday friends!
Grace

The joy of bakeswaps

Put your hands up if you hate baking/cooking & the mountain of dirty dishes that come with it. Me me me!!! But you need a variety of snacks to feed constantly hungry children. Enter genius idea of asking a few kindy mums if they would be interested in doing a weekly bakeswap where we all bring something to share. Hence sorting my dilemma & only having to bake one thing but getting a variety of goodies in return. I do admit to sneaking some for morning tea while Kobe is at kindy lol but I do remember to put aside some for him. I started this in term 3 I think & have never been happier.

Here are a few snaps of some deliciousness that I photographed before it was devoured.

Muesli bars

Kobe has just started it to eat muesli bars.

 

 

Crumble

 

 

Passionfruit slice

 

Apple carrot cake

(I borrowed Belinda's bakeswap recipe & added some icing. I make this every week for my boys who love it).

 

I must admit on a lazy bakeweek on grabbing my mums homemade springrolls & passing them off as I made them. Shhh... Or my safe option is usually lamingtons as everybody loves that sugary treat. And this week Im being sneaky & using a packet mix but adding fruit to it to look made from scratch lol.

Hopefully I didn't make you too hungry.
Happy Wednesday's friends!
Grace

PS. The top relish was cauliflower that my lovely mummy friend Kaysey made.

Halloween 2016

Halloween was a lot quieter this year being on a Monday. We celebrated twice by taking Kobe earlier to a Halloween themed disco. His face has 3 different textures of green (2 facepaint & 1 eyeshadow) as he carried on crying (he doesn't like facepaint) for a good half hour I kept having to reapply. I think in future to stick with a mask to limit the drama & stress. I found his top in an opshop the day before. Clearly Im Harry Potter (& for the eagle eyes yes that is a Slytherin robe oops...).

 

When I found this fake knife at the markets, I just knew my ginger haired child would be Chucky. That movie gave me a many nightmares when I was younger. Clearly this costume is so wrong yet so right. Dylan was ready to scare all those tricksters that came to our door (or more like it giggle & wave).

 

 

There were so many awesome costumes out & about. My lovely frined Kym went as a unicorn (how did I not take her photo is beyond me?!?). I also saw an Edward Scissorhands, a giant hotdog & a Barbie complete in toy box.

 

 

 

We only had time for a couple upcycling craft projects so the scary gingerbread men will have to wait for next year sadly. Kobe helped to paint an old doll as a Zombie who we hid in the front hedge to frighten passerbys. Some old dolls heads (sorry Ken & friend) were also used to make spooky specimen jars.

 

I hope you all had a happy Halloween!

Grace

RESTYLE 2016: "After dark challenge"

Im hopping on the RESTYLE "afterdark" challenge as I wore this get up twice in the last few months (ballet show & a date night) & it just works. As I usually don't go out as much at night anymore as I would rather be home with the kidlets I prefer not to spend a lot of dollars on going out clothes but I want clothes that are versatile & I can mix & match to make several outfits & not look cheap.

 

I thought why not share a few preloved shops where I tend to shop if Im looking for fabulous threads.

*The closet revolution- an upmarket boutique opshop (which is an extension of Save the Children charity) specialising in corporate officewear, racewear & formalwear. I spotted Gucci heels, a Thurley belt & some divine Seed heritage pants (that were sadly too big).

*Beleza vintage- Owner Claire is no longer in her Northbridge store, but you can usually find her at vintage markets or Instagram. She has amazing vintage & standout pieces.

*Mercado 32- I have been stalking the Instagram account of this Leederville consignment shop for months waiting for the moment someone offloads their Gorman winter harvest dress (I have been pining over for years...). I do love the curated styling of their shop manikins.

*Salvation Army Belmont- One of my favourite op shops plus there are 3 on the same strip of shops. They have a designer rack & I picked up a lovely Ermis cape & some vintage jumpers for the boys hee hee.

*Salvation Army Southern River (on Ranford Rd)- I love this op shop for great condition preloved boys clothes which are so hard to find, I picked up 3 jumpers for Kobe for $12. My friend Kira scored a bunch of funky boots at this one. Plus there are 2 other opshops on the same shopping strip.

*Redcross Fremantle- is a treasure trove of vintage, eclectic & designer fashion.

*Melville markets- seriously you always walk away with something fabulous here, my last buy was a denim pinafore for $5.

*Belmont markets- it can be hit & miss but I have bought a lovely Olga Berg clutch here before. 

*Cannington Megabarn opshop (55 Bannister road)- its a (Good Sammy Industries) warehouse of clothes chucked into cage trolleys, if your patient to go thru clothes then its worth a look, my arms got sore from sifting thru clothes piles. On the upside, when I visited clothes were weighed at $6/kg. I ended up with 4 items for $6 which was great.

*I previously shared some other shops here.

 

 

 

 

Outfit; Cameo off the shoulder top/ Melville markets, fushia pants/ Melville markets, bug earrings/ Garage sale trail 2 years ago & YSL makeup bag used as clutch/ opshop many years ago.

 

Have you scored any preloved bargains of late? Care to share any other hidden op shop gems in Perth?

 

Happy Sunday friends!

Grace

Love

That four letter word LOVE, that most of us spend our lives searching to find the right person to say them to & be loved back. And for those lucky ones that do find their special someone, I hope your day is as magical as this wedding was.

 

It has been a while since I captured photos. I have been busy raising my 2 boys & most days I'm playing catch ups but I took some time out (months ago) to capture these gorgeous wedding photos.

If your interested in having a photography session please email me at graceasecondhandlife@gmail.com

 

Happy Friday friends!

Grace

Melbourne shop love (& some delightful opshops too!!!)

Ok so I'm not much of a shopper anymore due to the kids usually playing up at the shops (one time forever etched in my brain, I lost Kobe for a few minutes as he was playing hide & seek & didn't tell me we were playing; enter mini breakdown, hysterical tears & some fellow lovely mum's who helped me find him in his hiding spot minutes later) & a house bursting at the seams with stuff.
However I did mark down a couple shops I just had to visit whilst in Melbourne & found some more interesting ones along the way & thought to share.

Let's start with the opshops, oh the thrill of the chase of a bargain!!!

City centre
*Shag- a mix of new edgy gear & retro vintage. I was left speechless at the window display & ready to move on in. (There are 2 in Melbourne the photo is of the window display at Shop 20, Centreway Arcade).
**Hunter gatherers- located upstairs in the Royal arcade. It's tiny but all the good stuff is on show & at decent prices. It's style is eclectic. I got a gorgeous block puzzle for Kobe for Christmas for $4. It's the sister shop to Brotherhood of St Laurence.
*Brotherhood of St Laurence- these op shops are gems & 20 shops are located across Melbourne. So worth any track down!!! I only had time to go the one in the basement of The Royal arcade.
*The Conscious closet- I found out about this preloved women's clothes shop upon return. Sniff sniff I didn't get there as it looks amazing! Plus they at offering 10% off this week as part of national op shop week, check out their Facebook page as to how to get 10% off.

Prahran
1.**Redcross  - hands down the best op shop I have been in all year. It's a tiny shop but full of designer boutique labels. I walked out with mint condition Witchery overalls (the ones in the header photo, love love. I wear them atleast 3 times a week) for $30. Located across the road from Prahran markets. The staff are so lovely too!!!
*Chapel street Bazaar- a curated treasure trove of vintage loveliness. You pay top price for top pieces. (Don't bring the kids as too many breakables).
*Uniting care mission- your typical opshop. 211 Chapel Street.


General shop love 
Prahran

3.*Shop neutral- my favourite Eco store ever!!! Located in the Prahran markets, it's filled with everything you need to live a life less of plastic. I bought a bamboo bottle brush scrubber, a bamboo veggie brush, Sienna nail polish & a stainless steel straw brush cleaner.
*Little Sweethearts (also located in Prahran markets)- lots of cutesy stuff for the kidlets.
*The nomad society- where all the beautiful homewares live.
Prahran is full of delightful shops & if we had more than a couple hours (Dylan needed a nap) I could of browsed happily in all of them.

City Centre
2. *Funkis- This shop which specialises in Swedish style clogs has been on my hitlist for years. I have always wanted a pair of clogs that will never outdate & it's an added bonus they use vegetable dye. I bought the classic low clog which is the comfiest shoes I own & I got zero blisters from walking in them (mostly pushing a pram) all day everyday.
*Jasper junior- it's slogan is "toy suppliers to Santa" & you better believe that as its true the moment you walk in the shop! All the best kids products in one shop. The girls costumes upstairs are oh so lovely. And I heart the educational DIY products like the mini power house science kit . I have bookmarked this for when Kobe is old enough.
*Rap- a boutique shop, I only took notice of the gorgeous baby & kids products. They do sell other things too.

I only bought a few things as much as I like browsing, Im careful to only buy things that I deem "forever items".

Happy Wednesday friends!
Grace

**I have numbered my top 3 shops to visit; Prahan Redcross, Funkis & Shop Neutral.