30 things in 30 days... final update

ALL TASKS COMPLETED! Quite proud of myself!

1. Make some oaty muesli bars - DONE! Recipe here
2. File my GST return (thanks for the reminder CK) - DONE!
3. Load the new products arrived onto www.pregoli.co.nz  - DONE!
4. Send my passport application away - DONE!
5. See the Sex and the City 2 Movie LOVED it!!
6. Plan a girls night out  - DONE!
7. A Pregoli Stocktake.. DONE!
8. Bake a delicious cake for Oli’s Birthday  - DONE!
9. Read a book (the Gruffalo doesn't count)!  - DONE!
10. Turn over the Vegie garden – brrrrr! OMG DONE! Check it out here
11. Arrive at swimming lessons on time every week in June - DONE! (except the two weeks we had to cancel due to sick boys)
12. Take the family to beautiful Blenheim - DONE!
13. Add the “top-secret” new section to the Pregoli site - DONE! Will be announced next month
14. Take the video footage of our camera (its well over a year old)… - DONE!
15. Print some photos of Toby (7 months tomorrow)! - DONE!
16. Plan our July Product Evening - DONE
17. Try at least 4 new recipes  - DONE! The Moroccan Chicken Filo Pie was not wonderful so I haven't bothered to share that recipe - but here is the Tomato & Spinach Pasta Recipe - yum! Other recipes to follow later this week.
18. Find a new product for Pregoli DONE - Have added some cute Lily & George Balls but I've got a few other things up my sleeve... Check out the cool new teethers from WeeGo, a new colourway in the BabyMel Bags and the Newbies Jewellery Tree.
19. Have a movie night with popcorn (and turn my laptop off)! DONE! The Invention of Lying. I gave it 2/5, My husband gave it 1/5. The popcorn was great - but the banana split got 5/5! Check it out here
20. Clean my car (second least likely to happen after vegie garden) outside DONE inside  - DONE! (at 10pm tonight)
21. Hang the photo frame which has been waiting since Feb 07 - DONE!
22. Give myself a Pedicure DONE complete with diamante butterflies!
23. And a Facial DONE - thank you Beauty Therapy Diploma
24. Bake Cupcakes for my nieces Birthday ooooh yes DONE! see them here
25. Plan an awesome party for Oli who’s 2 in June (where has that time gone)? - DONE!
26. Tidy up the many many icons on my desktop - DONE!
27. Fix the airport express so I can play music wirelessly DONE 
28. Put batteries in the clock in the bedroom (been on the to-do list for around 7 months) - DONE!
29. Go out for lunch, dinner and breakfast, not all in the same day (!) but at least one with just my husband Dinner - DONE DONE DONE!
30. Take Toby for his first swim  - DONE! (today, and he loved it! Was a bit tricky in the pool with a 2 year old and a 7 month old on my own though...!)

How old is too old?

On Sunday Pregoli had a stand at the Blenheim Parent & Child Expo.
It was really great to chat to a LOT of pregnant women, and put a name to a face for many of our customers. There seems to be a trend with expectant mums keeping the sex of their baby a surprise. I remember a few years ago, when almost everyone was finding out.


Anyway.. Although a lot of laughs were had during the day, a highlight would have to be a comment from an elderly lady..


Two ladies walk into the room and approach our stand, drawn in by the gorgeous SOOKIbaby Babies Clothing. These ladies would have been 85 years old, give or take.
One lady says "Oh, I wish I knew what I was having".........


What do you say to that? I couldn't manage to get any words out!
A long 10 seconds later, she follows with "I'm having a grand child tomorrow". Phew!

Mid-Winter, excuse to eat sweets?

Honestly, I'd rather do all sorts of things before I have to clean my car. So it's likely it will be done after the boys are in bed, on the 30th June - just so I can tick it off my list. It WILL get ticked off my list...


On Saturday, Oli & I made this Gingerbread House, we make them each year at Christmas, although not last year as we had a 3 week old baby and although I hate to break tradition, there was NO way it was going to happen!


Anyway, quite a fun activity for a rainy day, and as Oli loves baking he really had fun (eating the sweets)...

You can't quite see the three car garaging to the right, but check out the marshmallows inside!

We combined a few different countries, you'll see a rabbit bouncing through the forest to the left, a snowy penguin and some crocs in the pool at the front.

I love having an excuse to be a kid again!

Can't wait 'til the Birthday Party, I'll be helping the kids "dis-mantle" it.. YUM!

Pregoli on ZM's Chic Chat

You may have heard... Pregoli was mentioned on ZM's Chic Chat on Tuesday. Kate (from ZM) was saying how Pregoli is a FAB site for Expecting or Nursing Mums, and how much she loves her HOTmilk Lingerie Set.

30 things in 30 days... Update

It's almost halfway through the month, and I've really surprised myself with the tasks I've completed so far..

1. Make some oaty muesli bars - DONE! Recipe here
2. File my GST return (thanks for the reminder CK) not yet...
3. Load the new products arrived onto www.pregoli.co.nz some but more to load..
4. Send my passport application away
5. See the Sex and the City 2 Movie LOVED it!!
6. Plan a girls night out 
7. A Pregoli Stocktake.. DONE
8. Bake a delicious cake for Oli’s Birthday 
9. Read a book (the Gruffalo doesn't count)! Part way through a great book - really enjoying reading again.
10. Turn over the Vegie garden – brrrrr! OMG DONE! Check it out here
11. Arrive at swimming lessons on time every week in June 1/3 (Oli was sick this week so we cancelled).
12. Take the family to beautiful Blenheim
13. Add the “top-secret” new section to the Pregoli site 
14. Take the video footage of our camera (its well over a year old)… 
15. Print some photos of Toby (6 months tomorrow)! 
16. Plan our July Product Evening - DONE
17. Try at least 4 new recipes 2 down, 2 to go. The Moroccan Chicken Filo Pie was not wonderful so I haven't bothered to share that recipe - but here is the Tomato & Spinach Pasta Recipe - yum!
18. Find a new product for Pregoli DONE - Have added some cute Lily & George Balls but I've got a few other things up my sleeve...
19. Have a movie night with popcorn (and turn my laptop off)! DONE! The Invention of Lying. I gave it 2/5, My husband gave it 1/5. The popcorn was great - but the banana split got 5/5! Check it out here
20. Clean my car (second least likely to happen after vegie garden) outside DONE
21. Hang the photo frame which has been waiting since Feb 07 
22. Give myself a Pedicure DONE complete with diamante butterflies!
23. And a Facial DONE - thank you Beauty Therapy Diploma!
24. Bake Cupcakes for my nieces Birthday ooooh yes DONE! see them here
25. Plan an awesome party for Oli who’s 2 in June (where has that time gone)?
26. Tidy up the many many icons on my desktop 
27. Fix the airport express so I can play music wirelessly DONE 
28. Put batteries in the clock in the bedroom (been on the to-do list for around 7 months) 
29. Go out for lunch, dinner and breakfast, not all in the same day (!) but at least one with just my husband Dinner - DONE
30. Take Toby for his first swim

Movie Night

Movie: The Invention of Lying
My rating 2/5
Husbands rating 1/5


Even though the movie wasn't fantastic, it was nice to take some time out, rug up on the couch with popcorn and do nothing for a couple of hours. The banana split was definitely the star of the night..

Giada's Spinach & Tomato Pasta

As part of my 30 things in 30 days I needed to try 4 new recipes in June. This was so simple to make, was ready in 20 minutes and was a family favourite!

Spinach & Tomato Pasta - serves 4


500g spiral pasta
1/4c olive oil or rice bran oil
1-2 cloves of garlic
2 bags pre-washed spinach leaves
1 punnet cherry tomatoes
1/2 c grated parmesan
salt to taste
black pepper to taste

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid.

Meanwhile, warm olive oil in a large, heavy pan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the spinach and tomatoes and cook until the spinach wilts, about 2 more minutes. Add the cooked pasta and toss. Add the cheeses, salt, pepper, and the pasta cooking liquid and stir to combine.

Transfer the pasta to a serving plate and serve.

Do Blondes really have more fun..? - Update

Well - to be honest I'm undecided!
I've had plenty of fun since the biggest change in hair history... (long blonde hair to brunette bob - with a fringe)! but its difficult to measure this time... I shop online - the delivery guys is lovely any day (I'm not sure he noticed to be honest), so can't compare it to the supermarket experience.. Friends think its a great change - I'm just getting over the honeymoon stage, and wondering what on earth possessed me to get a fringe!
On a big night out (ending in karaoke)... I didn't notice any difference to the way I was treated, although I probably can't remember as much as I'd like to about that night...


What I did find out, however - the girls in the salon shared similar stories to mine. Other blondes found they were not taken seriously, but during periods of being brunette, they noticed the level of respect they received rise greatly. A staff went about their jobs, they'd over hear our conversation, and join in with their experiences.. One woman, (a rep) had always been brunette, and had NO idea what we were talking about!


I might need to report back in a while. I'll keep monitoring.

Pregoli Cupcake Parlour?

Another task on my 30 things in 30 days list was to bake some cupcakes for my niece - Paris. She turned 8 yesterday & each year Paris and her sister Mia select a cake design from our Kids Party Book. Usually it involves dolls, glitter or strange sweets you can't find down here in NZ.. but this year she chose a bouquet - of cupcakes!


I made some vanilla cupcakes - (not from the packet - they don't taste nearly as good) and then set about decorating them. Not unusually, I left it to the last minute... I started making the icing at 5pm, needing to be at the restaurant at 5.30pm...
While it was not a surprise I was late, the cupcakes more than made up for it! The girls were climbing over the table to check them out and the restaurant was filled with oooos and ahhhhhs along with the OMG there's marshmallows, OMG there's leaves, OMG OMG.. hehe!


It's so easy to stop in at the Cupcake Parlour and pick some up on your way, but there is not even half the satisfaction of making them yourself, and they never taste as good as your own!

Happy Birthday P xx

Roll on Summer!

Well, task #10 on my 30 things in 30 days list - check it out here was to sort out the vegie garden.. Here's some before pics so you can understand why it's not such a simple task...

Woah.. that's what happens when you have 2 boys under 2 at home with you all day, while running a very busy online Maternity & Children's boutique - check out Pregoli.

Anyway, 6-8 hours later.. with some help from my husband & father-in-law we had it sorted, in fact we also managed to get through the other vegie garden, prune all the fruit trees, grapes and berries, weed the entire garden and then the guys took the green waste to the dump.  Check out the after photos below..

Quite pleased with the results, and looking forward to Spring so we can fill it up again!

More-ish Oaty Slice

150g butter
2 T golden Syrup
¾ C brown sugar
¾ C coconut thread
¼ C sunflower seeds
¼ C pumpkin seeds
½ C raisins
1 ½ C rolled oats
¾ C flour
 1 ½ t baking powder

Preheat your oven to 170°C.
Line a 20cm x 30xm slice pan with baking paper
Melt together the butter, golden syrup and brown sugar.
Place the seeds, coconut, raisins, flour, baking powder and rolled oats in a bowl and stir to combine.
Pour over the melted butter mixture and mix well.
Press the mixture into the slice pan and bake for 20-30 minutes or until golden and firm to the touch.
Cool and then cut into slices.
Makes 30 pieces

More recipes available here


GREAT! The first of my 30 things to do ticked off! Follow my progress here