Try Something New Thursday - New Wallet

 Mum loved her bird wallet.  She had it for about 5 years, but finally it was beginning to fall apart.  Mum us trying to tidy up and clear out cupboards of stuff that has accumulated.   She was lucky though as a good friend gave her this beautiful new wallet as a gift.

Guess what?  It is called the Poppy Wallet!!  She is getting used to it and has thrown her old bird wallet out.

Try Something New Thursday - Nutribullet

So for try something new Thursday this week the mumster wanted to let you know that she splurged last week and bought a Nutribullet 900.  It had finally dropped down at the store and was under 1/2 the usual price, so she thought now was the time to jump on the juicing bandwagon.  Also she had bought a pineapple last week for $2 so it seemed the perfect reason to juice it up!!  She is trying to get some more balance in her life, and eat more fruit and vegetables so this seemed a good way to keep that going.

So straight out of the box it was pretty easy to use, and mum has eaten a lot more fruit in the past week.  She is not quite ready for the green juices, adding the spinach or kale, she might leave that for closer to summer.  Now she is quite happy to use banana/strawberries/pineapple and a bit of water.  A good way to get fresh stuff in, when she would often struggle to eat the fresh fruit she finds it much easier to drink.  The bonus is that there is much less waste, as any leftover fruit she just freezes to use later in other drinks.  The cup and blade are also pretty easy to clean and the unit doesn't take up much space, so she is happy to recommend it to all of our friends considering buying one.

The irony is though - that after a week of fresh fruit juices she has got a rotten old cold, but she knows that that comes from working at a hospital with lots of germs.  She is resting up though and having lots of fluids and filling up lots of tissues.

Try Something New Thursday - Springtime!!

Hello September - hello springtime.   Mum was on call last night and got a lucky call in in the morning that allowed her to have the day off from work.  She also had made sure she went to sleep at 11pm and so waking up at 3.45am was not too difficult.  She got home after 5am and managed a bit of snoozing and reading her book - all relaxing.

An early shower allowed her to get the towels and some clothes out on the line and even after only 5 hours outside were mostly dry.  The mornings and evenings are much lighter now and it is often warm after work as mum heads home.

I like to go out and roll round on the deck and in the garden and soon will be able to snooze out their more as the days warm up .   We love springtime !!!

Try Something New Thursday - VitaGummies

So you know that the other night the mumster went to the supermarket and forgot her wallet, but didn't realize til she was at the counter.  How embarrassing.  One of the things she put back was some of these multi vitamins.  So when she found her wallet today, she went and bought them.

They advertise that they are lemon, raspberry and strawberry flavor, but mmmmm mum is not so sure.  They sure smelled strange, and when she ate one she didn't really like the flavor.She also wondered if she could smell something strange all day, and this was the only thing she did that was different in her routine.  Still she might stick with them for a few more days before she gives up.  She has had a tough few weeks and is feeling a bit run down, so is trying to do some things to make herself feel a bit better, and her diet hasn't been the best.  She is trying to eat more fruit and veg, and as the weather gets better and warmer she knows she will buy more and more.

Have you tried them?  What did you think?

Try Something New Thursday - Meatballs with Yoghurt Dressing by Chelsea Winter

So mum thought that this Thursday she would try something new - by using this Meatball with Yoghurt Dressing Recipe by New Zealand chef Chelsea Winter.  If you click on the link it will take you to the recipe.    This is her photo, mums did not look quite as pretty and she didn't make any flatbreads or salad, just meatballs with yoghurt dressing and some rice.  It is made with Middle Eastern flavours, and she would not usually use mint/ginger/allspice or ginger, but it all added to the flavours.    She must admit it was pretty yummy

She  did end up speaking on the phone for a while and not starting dinner til 8.30pm and it took her about 30 minutes to chop and mix and then the meatballs had to be in the fridge for a half hour, so she would recommend it as a weekend meal.  Mix up the meatballs on a Saturday afternoon, put them in the fridge overnight and cook up on the Sunday.  If you make it she would recommend that you have a small chopper/food processor.  She has one that is part hand held stick blender and it made chopping up the fresh breadcrumbs, the onion, and the chopped herbs much quicker and more professional than hand chopping.  Otherwise no other gadgets are necessary.

She was glad to try a new recipe and will certainly make it again..  A worthy 8/10.

Try Something New Thursday - David Jones Department Store

This weeks Try Something New adventure was a day trip to the newly opened David Jones Store in Wellington.  You see once upon a time we had a small department store called Kirkaldies in our city.  It was filled with lots of grey haired grannies shopping and was deemed an older ladies store, with the young twenty something girls only on the first floor stocking up on MAC and other over priced cosmetics.  So as times got tough it was doomed to fail.  So they sold up, and David Jones a posh Australian department store bought the store and has spent the past couple of months updating the shop.

Because it has been open for a week the shop was super busy with people going for a look.  The downstairs seemed full with expensive cosmetics and overpriced handbags.  The crowds were deep so I didn't get to check any prices, but we looked online and saw the the Valentino bags go for between $1000-4000 (US), so not in my budget price range.  The middle floor was still the fashion floor, with a variety of high end designers and upstairs had mens fashions, the cafe and the home range.

We looked forward to seeing the home section, but were terribly disappointed as it had a couple of bed linen ranges and some home wares like electric blankets, toasters and mixers.  All things that are one off buys, but no design products or artwork which we like to look at.

I do think that the company has misunderstood the NZ market.  For we on the whole are a society that cares little about fancy labels and high prices.  We like flat shoes and puffer jackets, and think that $50 is pricey for a t-shirt, so think that you might have trouble moving your $300 shirts.   The youngsters that love the labels may come to browse, but would be more likely to buy online.  The people with rich wallets, are more likely to be on planes buying their fancy clothes and outfits in Sydney, London, Paris and New York.

I do wish you well though - I hope that people not only browse but buy from your store, for you have lots of lovely locals working for you, and your bring some variety and quality to our retail environment.  Unfortunately this middle aged lady is unlikely to spend a lot of time shopping with you, as times are tough in our household and I have a bit of a budget to stick to.

Try Something New Thursday - Meditation Course

Hi friends, the mumster decided to try something new this week too.  She has started a youtube 30 day meditation class.  It only takes 10 minutes a night, and so far she is finding it helps her out.  Life is a bit stressful at the moment for lots of reasons, and she felt this could be a skill she could try out.  If she is able to clear her mind and get a better sleep it is all good.

Are you thinking of trying anything new this week?

Try Something New Thursday - The Facial

So everything has been a bit same same for me and mum lately, so she decided it is time to try to do something new.  So today (well yesterday actually), she had some time to spare, so she decided to book herself a facial and some tweezering of brows and an eyelash tint.  It was a nice day and so she got to have a wander round town before booking arriving early for her appointment.

As soon as she arrived it seemed she could do nothing right.  Arriving early, mum felt they were a little annoyed as the technician must have been at lunch.  Mum was more than happy to stare at a magazine while she waited - she would much rather be early then late.  Mum thought she had good skin, but apparently the cleanser and moisturizer she uses was wrong, and skin that mum thought was good was dry and over sensitized. The waxing was fine, the tinting of lashes was a bit odd.  Mum says it was surprisingly hard to stay with your eyes closed for ten minutes (I can keep my eyes closed for ages - easy).

Then she had a face mask put on that had oatmeal in it which smelled like stale porridge and made mum want to hurl a little bit.  Her skin did feel better when she left and with promises to keep up the new skin regime she even rebooked for another appointment in a months time to see if the new skin care works.

So mum was glad to have tried something new with her week.  How about you - do you want to try anything new?