When I stumbled across this Rebecca Minkoff knit poncho / kimono in the Shopbop sale I couldn't get it out of my head. I have no shortage of kimonos in my wardrobe, but it is different from any of the ones I already owned. From the fall/winter collection, it's a thick and cosy acrylic knit that I knew would be perfect for autumn or winter outfits when it gets too chilly to wear my thinner kimonos.
I hadn't planned to wear it with shorts, I was thinking of cooler temperatures and jeans! But it was good to take advantage of the cooler mornings and evenings in this mild Brisbane autumn and throw it on as an extra layer with my shorts.
Kept things simple this time I wore the kimono. As it was predicted to rain, I thought this would be perfect to keep cosy as we ran a few errands before and after our Australian Breastfeeding Association mothers group. Picked the Converse as a practical choice too, although we were lucky to get home just before the storms rolled in, the rain and thunder chased us home!
I was going to wear a colourful necklace with this, one of my baby-friendly teething ones, but decided at the last moment to keep things completely monochrome and went with a silver necklace to match the silver foil stripes on the tee and silver bag. I ended up having a conversation with a friend about how I might just stick to baby friendly necklaces for the group in future - this necklace got tugged on quite a few times, and that was just by my boys!
Usually I'll add a little colour to a monochrome outfit, but with the print mixing with the print on the kimono and the striped tee, I felt my outfit was busy enough. I really liked this outfit, and I'm looking forward to wearing this kimono more as the weather continues to cool in Brisbane.
This was a much more colourful outfit to wear with the black and white kimono. This had seemed like a great idea in my head, but I felt it was a little busy when I looked back at the photos. I did really like the mustard tank under the kimono though, I'm going to have to give that a try again.
Was a busy day with daycare drop off and pick up and working from home, but at the last minute Baby Boy's specialist appointment was postponed so that freed up the evening a little and gave me a little more time to do the daycare pickup and get dinner organised.
Although it's the first time I've worn the kimono with these pieces, I have worn the tank and shorts together before. I like wearing these blue shorts with yellow, so cheerful and colourful.
Cosy knitted ponchos or kimonos make great layers when the weather starts to cool in autumn or when it hasn't warmed up enough in spring. A classic black and white one works just was well with a monochrome outfit as it does with a bold and colourful one, so it's easier to wear more often.
I really have a foil print obsession this year! It's not the first time I've posted about foil print pieces with shorts!
I'm loving the trend, it's been around for a couple years here in Australia and you see it a lot on cute knits for winter. Being in Brisbane, I don't need a lot of winter knits, so I've been snapping up foil print tees too. Below I'm wearing two of my polka dot foil print pieces, with shorts because the first few weeks of autumn in Brisbane were quite warm.
I bought this top back in February when it started getting a little cooler, Then the heatwaves hit and continued into autumn, and weeks later I'm finally giving it a wear!
Being completely honest, while it was nice and cool in the morning, in typical Brisbane style it was hot and sunny in the afternoon and I ended up taking this off! It was nice to wear it for a little bit though, and take it off to just wear a tee when it got too warm. I'm looking forward to wearing it more, probably will be winter before I get a chance to!
The knit top and denim shorts combo is actually something that came up from the monthly purchase video I did - I bought both of these in the same month (although the shorts have been worn a lot more!) and so I modelled them together for the video. I really liked the combination, so it seemed like the perfect outfit for the first wearing of this beautiful knit.
Decided to add just a little colour with the mustard yellow Micro Regan bag - I like grey and mustard together so I'm sure I'll wear this combination more often.
It's been a while since I last wore these pink shorts, so they were due another wear! I seem to have the worst track record with keeping them clean, always spilling something on them. I'd been thinking about upgrading my denim jacket and buying a white one, but my inability to keep these pastel pink shorts clean is putting me off, haha! Thankfully they were spill free this time.
Just a casual outfit to do the daycare drop off / pick up and work from home with a specialist appointment to take my son to in the afternoon.
I like pink and blue together so the navy polka dot foil tee worked perfectly with the pastel pink. The aquamarine mini MAC was another nice little touch of colour. Although the foil polka dots are gold and the chain hardware is silver I think that they looked okay together, especially with the turquoise stone in the necklace.
Foil printed pieces add a little extra sparkle to a classic shorts outfit and is a nice way to make a casual outfit feel a little dressier. There are so many different foil print tops around, it's easy to find one that works for you, from a tee for warmer weather or a knit for colder weather. If you want to make your stay at home mum outfits feel a little more pulled together, wearing tops with extra details like foil print is an easy way to do so.
In October we took the boys on their first flight down to Sydney for a few days. I'm sharing what we did and things to see in Sydney if you're travelling with toddlers. If you want to skip that, I've included my regular outfits too.
Toddler T is 3, and Baby Boy is 19 months. Both are good walkers. We took a travel stroller and I had my Ergobaby carrier. The stroller was great for carrying the baby bag, layers to wear and food and snacks for the boys but we didn't think Sydney was very stroller friendly. Sydney had daylight savings time but it was only an hour different from Brisbane so we stuck to Brisbane time as normal.
I was looking forward to this day the most! I didn't have a lot of space as we packed light, mostly taking extra clothes for the boys. I still prioritised so while I wore the same Converse every day, I had room for a change of bag and instead of my Louis Vuitton speedy bandouliere I swapped out to this magenta Balenciaga day bag for our morning at the aquarium and spending the afternoon with my bestie. She has a magenta Balenciaga bag too so I had to wear this for the occasion!
Did wish I'd packed another jacket, as it was an overcast and colder day and this purple cardigan was the warmest piece I'd packed.
We landed in Sydney in the afternoon, and it was off to where we were staying for nap time. I will not be sharing the name of the place we stayed as it was the worst place I have ever stayed and if there had been other options available I would have demanded a refund and moved out.
After failed nap time for Toddler T, I took him with me on my bloggy date with Rachel from a Nesting Nomad. It was great to catch up with her again, after meeting her in Brisbane a while back. I followed Google Maps but failed to realise the route resulted in walking up a very long hill to get to the meeting point. Only slightly late. Sorry again Rachel!
We walked through Hyde Park to let Toddler T run around a bit, then met up with Hubby and Baby Boy once he'd woken up. We went for a walk around Paddy's markets and through Chinatown before going to Darling Harbour.
Tip: Darling Harbour playground is perfect for toddlers.
The boys had the chance to run around and play to expend some energy after sitting still on the flight. Lots of lovely restaurants nearby for dinner options too, although we went back to where we were staying and ordered takeout!
Day Two
A cold and dull day, it was supposed to rain so we headed to the aquarium as we suspected we might. We hadn't bought our tickets in advance, not wanting to tie ourselves down to anything much with two toddlers.
Tip: Buy your aquarium ticket in advance. The line to purchase was extremely slow.
The aquarium was worth the wait though, the boys loved it. Despite it being perfect indoors weather and a weekend, there was plenty of space for the boys to run around from exhibit to exhibit as it wasn't too crowded. There were roving staff members in a few rooms presenting and talking about things to see, as well as lots of helpful educational information near each tank. Made it easy to explain to the boys what they were seeing, even though they were a little young to read for themselves.
Tip: Take toddlers to the bathroom before you enter. The bathrooms are at the end of the aquarium which is not what you want to discover halfway round.
After the aquarium, we attempted to head over the Pyrmont bridge to get to the shopping centre for lunch. I have fond memories of walking along the bridge on holiday as a kid, back when the monorail was still there! So difficult to do with a stroller though. We'd walked past the lift a few times before we found it, and then getting the lift down into the shopping centre on the other side of the harbour involved getting out on the top floor, walking through the shopping centre, getting another lift down then walking back to go to where we wanted to eat for lunch. On our way back we just walked around the harbour in the cold rather than attempt the silly lift system again.
As the boys napped, my bestie arrived and I snuck out leaving hubby and the boys to rest as we went to the Lindt Cafe for some chocolate and a catch up. It might have just been the company, but it was easily one of my favourite meals in Sydney, as we shared the 'dome of decadence' between 3 of us.
Tip: Lindt Cafe might be a little too chocolate filled to be a good option with a toddler, but they do takeaway!
After an amazing afternoon catching up, it was dinner time and we just headed to the nearest McDonalds for a fuss-free meal, perfect for toddlers!
Day Three
The day Toddler T was looking forward to most - a trip to the zoo and a ride on a Sydney Ferry!
After a slight detour into the Rocks, we eventually made our way to Circular Quay and had the chance to take photos with the Opera House and Harbour Bridge.
Tip: The Rocks is NOT stroller friendly, don't even try it. Or you'll end up stuck looking down on the harbour realising the only way down is a very long flight of stairs with a stroller. Thanks again Google Maps!
I expected some excitement from the toddlers about the landmarks we'd been pointing out in books for weeks, but it was of course all about the boats! There was a big cruise liner docked while we were there which was exciting to see.
After buying our tickets we hopped on the ferry to go to Taronga Zoo. It's a short trip, just enough time for the toddlers to enjoy being on a boat and you to point out and take photos of all the landmarks before you arrive at the zoo.
Tip: You don't need to travel round all of Circular Quay to get landmark photos with toddlers - just hop on the Manly ferry and take photos from the boat!
When we arrived at the zoo, as we had bought our tickets in advance we were able to take the gondola up over the animals to the very top, with amazing views of the harbour. Of course it was the animals you fly over that the boys enjoyed more than the view! Tip: buy your zoo ticket in advance, even if just at the ferry terminal. It gives you the ability to take a gondola up to the top of the hill and work your way down.
Starting at the top of the zoo made getting around with the stroller very easy, no need to push up any hills. While we didn't see all the animals (we skipped the aquatic section after the aquarium the day before, and the line for the tiger experience was too long for a toddler's attention span) the boys had a great time running around and getting up close with the animals we did see.
We had lunch at 'The Fish Stop' which does have non-seafood options, and was less busy than the central 'Food Market' although it does have less choices. It was so easy to get food and then sit in one of the many picnic areas right next to it, with incredible views of the Sydney city and the harbour.
Tip: Grab a bite to eat at 'The Fish Stop' or bring a picnic and sit back on the lawns for an amazing view out over the harbour!
While the monkeys were the favourite animal of the day (and it was incredible watching one of them mesmerised by my teething necklace!) there were so many to choose from. There was a lovely playground in the farm animal section. Although it was geared towards older kids the boys really enjoyed playing there for a break from animal-watching.
The walk back to the ferry was a really nice downhill stretch, and while you do have to go through a gift shop as you exit the big shark tank and presentation that was on around the sharks meant the boys were nicely distracted as we left, souvenir free. If only that had been the case at the aquarium, ha!
Once we got back to Sydney, we headed to Helm Bar for dinner. I'd looked up a few places online for food and Helm bar was highly recommended, but seemed like a noisy party bar every time we passed it before. Having no luck finding anywhere else open on a Sunday night in our price range, we went there as it was listed as wheelchair accessible. While there's no easy way to get a stroller up the stairs to the bar, there is a lovely beer garden you can sit in and order food and drinks. It was perfect for families.
Food was so well priced, especially for Sydney, and the boys loved their kids meal. I'm still sad we tried it on the last night so I couldn't go back for another schnitzel burger - definitely will be next time I'm in Sydney!
Day Four
This was our travel day, we didn't do much other than pack up, prepare another lunchbox full of snacks for the plane trip home, and make our way to the airport.
Top Tips for Travelling With Toddlers
Have transport options
The toddlers can walk, and we had the stroller and Ergo Baby carrier for babywearing so there were options when the boys didn't want to walk any more.
Be flexible
We had a general list of the sights we wanted to see but didn't buy any tickets in advance so that our days could change if necessary, and we weren't feeling rushed as we didn't try to do too much each day. One activity or outing is fine, and just wing it for the rest of the day.
Pack snacks
This works for the plane flight too, but when you're in a new place you might not know how far away the next kid-friendly place to eat is, so having snacks with you for the toddlers and yourself comes in helpful.
Take lots of photos
The only regret I had in Sydney was that I didn't take a lot of photos (a few hundred over the 4 days instead of my usual couple of hundred I take a day when something exciting is going on!).
Would we do it again?
Not until the boys are bigger and the stroller isn't needed - it was a real pain trying to fit the stroller in places - even though we packed a small umbrella travel stroller instead of our usual big one. Sydney definitely felt a lot more cramped and less stroller friendly than Brisbane.
Unlike the outfit above, I actually found it too warm to wear the cardigan on this day and wished I hadn't brought it! We took the boys to see the Harbour Bridge and Opera House at last (our third day in Sydney...) and hopped on the Manly Ferry over to Taronga Zoo.
The benefit of wearing the Ergo Baby carrier in the back carry position (you can just see Baby Boy's little foot peeking out in the pic!) is that it's easy to wear a cross body bag, and my Louis Vuitton speedy bandouliere was perfect for keeping my camera close by for walking around the zoo.
I'm pleased that the embroidery trend is continuing! Gives me more justification to wear these lovely embroidered pieces from my wardrobe. I'll still wear them when the trend dies down, but it's nice to be able to wear something I'm constantly reading about in blogs. An embroidered top and black skinny jeans is an easy stay at home mum outfit, but to add extra interest to each outfit I have wore additional prints and texture too.
Hadn't worn this jacket for a while so it was nice to get it out again! I wasn't sure if the embellishment paired with the embroidery on the top would be too much, but I quite liked the resulting outfit. It was a nice change from last time I wore this embroidered top with black jeans too. Now that it's spring and warmer weather, I can hopefully wear this jacket more. It's a bit thin for winter.
I like how this jacket dresses up a casual outfit a bit - even if I was just popping out for a little shopping while hubby watched the boys.
I've tried to wear other prints with these chevron printed Sass & Bide jeans in the past and not been entirely happy with the results. Just like the first outfit, I decided to try something different by pairing the chevrons with the detail on this embroidered top. I liked the result, but not enough to want to wear it again, haha! Will stick with wearing plain black jeans with this embroidered top next time.
Even though the embroidery and print together was busy enough, I added a little extra texture with the cardigan. I love the purple accessories with this - the cardigan is so cosy and wearing the cardigan and plum mini MAB tote bag together is a favourite combination of mine. Kept me warm on a very windy day.
The plan was to go to the in-laws for dinner, but after baby boy wasn't his usual happy self when we went out in the morning, we decided to stay home at night and let him rest and feel better. It's been such a tough winter with illnesses, I'm glad it's spring now as I'm hoping the warm weather and sunshine keeps the bugs at bay.
Black jeans are a great base for any outfit! The are the perfect backdrop to let an embroidered top or jacket shine. You can mix things up a little by buying black jeans with a print on them if you feel plain black is too boring.
Also, I'm thrilled to share that another of my posts was featured on Links a la Mode!
BONUS! Shopbop is currently running an app promotion here for new customers: IFB members can exclusively take 15% off their first full-price app order with a code at checkout. Find the full details here: https://www.shopbop.com/appoffer!
It's spring now in Brisbane but I still have some older winter outfits like these to share. A cosy knit and colourful jeans is a simple cold weather outfit. I didn't wear my knitted jumpers a lot over winter as dry clean or handwash only pieces aren't my first choice for wearing around two toddlers! They worked perfectly for work from home days when I do the daycare pick up / drop off.
I absolutely loved this outfit - it's taken me a while to get around to posting it on the blog though! I wore this when it was really chilly in the middle of winter, so the extra scarf was necessary for the cold morning. I wasn't sure what scarf to wear with this at first, the purple jeans and ombre knit are a busy enough outfit on their own. I've worn the ombre knit with leopard print before though so I grabbed this one. I really liked the way this looked.
Nice and cosy (with a long sleeve tee under the open knit) and colourful with the purple jeans, but comfortable and quick to pull together in time for dropping the kids off at daycare before working from home for the rest of the day.
This distressed knit is either a love or a hate, I don't think there's any in-between! First time I wore it I shared that Baby Boy kept getting tangled in the distressed pieces. Last time I wore it I rolled and tucked to hide the distressing a little more. Since I didn't get a proper blog photo first time I wore it, I was eager to wear it in all its raw ripped glory again. A work from home day with the boys at daycare was the perfect chance - no little toddler hands grabbing and pulling on it! A day to myself meant I could wear a 'grown up' beaded necklace too, even if I did have to take it off in the evening as baby boy kept trying to play with it like he does with my teething necklaces.
I loved how colourful this outfit was with the rainbow knit, red skinny jeans and yellow bag. Felt a little 'wasted' as I only worked from home and didn't see many people, so I'm sure I'll wear this combination again next winter.
I feel a little sad when I look up the previous times I've worn these knits as they've been worn so rarely. I've actually downsized my jumper collection this year, rather than buying more. Usually June is a big spending month for me coming into winter and stocking up on winter pieces, but as I was doing my no-shop challenge I haven't added any wintery things. I'm sure I'll return to loving my knits more next winter when the boys are bigger, but right now I've been preferring layering up summer pieces and sticking to wearing things that are machine washable. Two toddlers can be messy!
Cold morning and in a rush? Grab a favourite knit, add some bright jeans and you're ready in an instant! I like the winter days where it's warm enough to just wear a jumper and jeans, it's the simplest and easiest outfit formula and keeps you cosy no matter what the day holds. Maybe just stick to machine washable knits if you're spending time with toddlers! Linking up with Mix It Monday, Modest Monday, On Mondays We Link Up.
