That's Noice!

I have a confession to make: I haven’t watched a single episode of True Blood. I don’t know a single thing about it; all I know is that there are a hell of a lot of people on Twitter talking about it.

But even I have to admit this is cool – a drink based on the TV show called Tru Blood.

It’s to be a blood orange fizzy drink (but alcoholic – how unfortunate) labelled as “O Positive” – hee!

The online shop also sells other merchandise, the best being a t-shirt with “Real Blood Is For Suckers” across the front.

Unfortunately, orders seem to be restricted to the US (Don’t even get me started on how how annoying that is – hello! we’re in the 21st cenury!). So if you’re keen enough on this merch, you might need to reconnect or make some American friends!

Even though I have 16-and-a-bit months until I’m getting married (not that I’m counting!), my fiancé and I have a pretty good idea of what we want to happen on our Big Day. It’s not too weird, but it definitely won’t be a traditional wedding with a sit down meal and a meringue for a wedding dress!

I know I’m not the first to go against the bridal grain, but I’ve struggled with having the confidence to defend our choices to family and friends who don’t agree with our decisions.

And then I found The Light, in the form of The Offbeat Bride by Ariel Meadow Stallings.

The book follows Ariel’s wedding journey, a wedding far more offbeat than I can ever imagine putting together! The book is full of tips, advice and suggestions – and I loved every second of reading it.

There’s also the Offbeat Bride blog and even their own social network.

Here’s me re-reading my favourite sections of The Offbeat Bride:

Have you got any wedding tips for “offbeat” brides?

October is Breast cancer month, were the world turns pink to help raise awarness and funds for breast cancer.

Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers for Australian Women, with 1 in 9 expected to be diagnosed by the age of 85. The NBCF’s research into prevention and cure is helping to create better treatment options and improved outcomes. In the last decade, deaths from breast cancer have decreased by approximately 22%.

By attending an event, holding a breakfast at work or at home, or simply by spending your spare change on a pink ribbon, you can make a direct contribution to stopping this disease that affects mums, wives, sisters, girlfriends and their families.

Here are just a few easy ways that you can support the work of the NBCF:

Pink Ribbon Breakfasts

Anyone, anywhere around Australia can host a Pink Ribbon Breakfast to support breast cancer research, so spread the word! Celebrity chefs and NBCF ambassadors, Peter Evans and Michael Moore will be sharing their yummy pink breakfast ideas throughout October. Of course if you like a sleep-in, why not have a brunch or afternoon tea? Your only limit is your imagination!

Since it began in 2003, more than 20,000 Australians have held a breakfast and helped raise over $10million for research. The aim is to take this figure past $13million this October so lots of enthusiastic brekkie hosts are needed.

An exciting new way to join in the fun is the option of holding a Virtual Breakfast! You might be overseas, too time-poor to hold an actual breakfast or just prefer the convenience of online fundraising. Setting up your own Pink Ribbon Breakfast page at www.pinkribbonbreakfast.org.au where friends and family can donate to your virtual breakfast is quick and easy (and there’s no washing up to do afterwards!)

You can raise money through gold coin donations, food sales, raffles and auctions, with a Pink Ribbon Breakfast the perfect excuse to get together with friends and family and support a good cause at the same time. All hosts will receive a Host Information Booklet with fundraising ideas and suggestions to make your breakfast a scrumptious success.

Registrations open from mid-August, and Breakfasts can be held throughout September and October. Visit Pink Ribbon Breakfast for more information.

Pink Ribbon Day

Rock a ribbon this October and show that you’re a supporter of breast cancer research. Every ribbon sold helps take us one step closer to prevention and cure so wear it proudly on Pink Ribbon Day, Monday October 26. But it’s not just ribbons – there’s a funky new bauble bracelet, and for the guys, a ‘Real Men Wear Pink’ button badge!

Street sales of the pink ribbon will take place around the country on Friday October 2, and through select retail outlets.

Pink Products

Looking to ‘pink up’ your breakfast or fundraising event? Then log onto NBCF’s online shop www.pinkribbonshop.org.au, open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Reliable delivery throughout Australia means you can order anything from a pink ribbon t-shirt, to balloons and mugs, and have them conveniently bought straight to your door. NBCF merchandise makes a thoughtful gift, and with every purchase, you’re contributing directly to helping us find a cure.

Our merchandise isn’t just for the ladies, with the black polo with subtle pink ribbon a great way for men to show their support for the cause; of course, there’s a pale pink version as well! There’s a whole range of unisex items to suit both the chef and the sportsperson, with a new design striped pink apron, oven mitt and tea-towel set getting you ready for your Pink Ribbon Breakfast, while pink sports socks and wrist sweatbands will keep you cool on and off the court.

Or visit the list of retailers selling special pink items with percentage of sales going to breast cancer researc.

It’s the perfect excuse to go shopping, without the guilt! Visit www.pinkribbonshop.org.au today.

Global Illumination

The brainchild of Ms. Evelyn Lauder, Global Illumination sees famous icons worldwide lit pink to promote breast cancer awareness. 2009 marks the 10-year anniversary of the Estee Lauder Companies Global Illumination campaign in Australia, with the Sydney Opera House and Federation Square in Melbourne turning pink, with many more to come!

The official launch of Breast Cancer Month will take place on Thursday September 24, with an exclusive cocktail event in Sydney on this date, with various other fundraising events around Australia during October. Visit Global Illumination for more info.

Tell us if you know of any other Breast Cancer Month events.

Did you get the email from Amazon this week promoting Crocs?

Initially I was a fan of Crocs, but only as something to wear casually or when I’m working in our concrete garden. There are some well-known Croc-haters out there, and Croc-lovers, too.

But looking at the Crocs available at endless.com is a bit vomit-inducing… fur-lined, lace-up and even HIGH-HEELED CROCS.

Who would wear high-heeled Crocs? Surely that’s pushing it, even for fans of Crocs?

Or am I in the monority here; do you love Crocs?

I love love love buying books. There’s just something about looking at pretty cover designs, eyeing off what other shoppers are buying, seeing what’s in the top ten list.

My favourite bookshop is Better Read Than Dead in Newtown. It’s obvious that the staff are book nerds and the front of the shop is full of books personally recommended by them.

Unfortunately, Better Read Than Dead is on the expensive side. I’ve tried buying  books secondhand from places like Berkelouw but I seem to be allergic to every book I buy from secondhand bookshops. It’s no fun having a minor asthmatic attack when trying to read Ruth Park’s Harp in the South.

Luckily, there are a couple of great online bookshops that can make book shopping a bit more affordable:

FishPond - Australian

FishPond claims to be Australia’s biggest bookstore with a guarantee that all prices are better than Amazon. The books I have been wanting to buy were about $5.00 cheaper than RRP. FishPond also sells gaming consoles and games and offers free shipping on all orders over $50.00. I have numerous friends who buy from FishPond and have been incredibly happy with the experience.

BookDepository – International

BookDepository is UK-based online bookstore with free international shipping. Seriously! I bought two books from BookDepository and even with the exchange rate I saved well over $20.00 on the total order. The free shipping was the icing on the cake, and the first half of my order arrived within 10 days – not bad for an order from the other side of the planet!

I have to confess that while I’m great at buying books, I’m not so good at reading them. I always fall back to old favourites like Down Under by Bill Bryson. I’ve read it about 10 times and I never tire of it.

What’s your “old favourite” book that you could read over and over again?

Postscript: I hadn’t heard of Booko until you all started telling me about it – and it’s great! It compares book and DVD prices for you, including shipping. Well worth checking out

I’ve always associated gumboots with being six years old and stomping in puddles on the way to school. I didn’t know they are worn by adults until I made some friends in the UK in the last few years and I heard their discussions of buying fashionable “Wellies” for winter.

I didn’t understand why they call them Wellies or Wellingtons and why we Aussies called them gumboots. After some Googling I found that Wellingtons are named after the Duke of Wellington, who wore large leather riding boots that covered the knee and gumboots refers to the fact that they were made from the rubber tree “gum” or sap.

Icame across Wellies.com.au courtesy of the lovely Barbara‘s twitter feed and this place sells the most adorable gumboots! I’m disappointed that they don’t stock cupcake gumboots, but I’m rather fond of this design here (and I think it’s safe to say that you’d be able to find these babies in the dark with no problems).

Wellies.com.au has gumboots in men’s, women’s and kid’s sizes and there are different styles (cowboy boots, anyone?). The prices are varied, but the ones on special might be more affordable for those of us on a budget.

Now, where are some nice puddles for me to jump in?

They have been so nasty, with the teasing ads saying the catalogue was coming soon. Soon isn’t soon enough!

I still haven’t got mine in the mail, but we need wait no longer as you can see the whole 376 pages of Ikea pr0n online! Mmmm Ikea *drool*

And the online catalogue is very cool, you can book mark pages, so you can show the manpet.. “Ohhh looky at this, and this..and I want one of these, oh and this pink lounge!”

And there are cupcakes in there..for added awesome!

Get your credit cards ready girls, you are not going to want to miss this awesome offer! You won’t make it to the end of the vid before you want to order one of each!

Winkers, the next big thing in jeans. It won’t be long and EVERYONE will be wearing them.

</sarcasm>

OMG…what depraved person comes up with this shit… *vomit*

via The Inquisitr

I’ve reached that point where I really struggle to buy gifts for people that are interesting and eye-catching. I try to buy gifts that aren’t fattening and aren’t just going to be chucked in the bin within weeks (or days!).

I’ve recently discovered the Australian online store Edible Blooms – they sell bouquets of fruit or chocolates or a combination of both. It is such a great idea!

The fruit bouquets feature fruit cut into flower shapes or chocolate dipped-strawberries – nom! I’ve ordered the chocolate bouquet a couple of times (the colour scheme is great – i.e. less feminine! – for men). The bouquets are beautifully presented and really do have that wow factor.

As you would expect with this sort of service, it’s quite expensive to buy these bouquets when compared to your basic floral bouquet (the one pictured is $99.00). But I think they’re great for something really special or as a gift from a group of people.

Edible Blooms also has a New Zealand store for our Kiwi neighbours.

I think this is a GREAT idea!

It’s a sad fact that we still live in an era where women can still be chastised for breastfeeding in public (or even worse, at work! Gasp!). There are also many women choose to not breastfeed at all, even if there’s no medical reason not to.

The Breastfeeding Cafe in the town of Rugby in England is working to release a calendar featuring photos of breastfeeding women.

I’ve never heard of a breastfeeding cafe, but it’s exactly what it sounds like: a comfortable place for mums to go and socialise and connect with other mums while getting up-to-date information about breastfeeding and connecting with professionals in the industry.

The 2010 calendar is due to go on sale in September and profits will allow this cafe in Rugby to continue to support its local community.

Do you know of a breastfeeding cafe in Australia?

Seems this has been floating around the net for years, can’t say I have come across them before. Boob scarfs!

Unfortunately after much searching, there doesn’t seem to be anywhere you can buy them. Shame, they look very..umm..practical. Not sure what happen for that poor woman to end up with green boobs?

(via Inquisitr)

brandsExclusive is Australia’s most exclusive, by-invitation-only online shopping site offering the hottest brands at 50-70% off retail prices.

Every week, brandsExclusive run sales events with big brands such as Natasha,  Morrissey, 18th Amendment, Mavi Jeans, Tigerlily, Seafolly and Milk and Honey -  to name  a few, each lasting only a few days. As a member, you’ll receive email invitations for each event.

If you would like an invite to check out the sales go to – brandsexclusive.com.au and head to the registration page and enter Style@brandsexclusive.com.au as the referral email address to become a member

Seriously, cute poo?! That is not possible..is it?

Well, maybe it is. Cute poo from she.likes.cute.……ooook then o.O

Thinkcards is an Australian business focusing on handcrafted and unique greeting cards.

It’s the brainchild of Andrea, who got fed up searching the shops for the perfect card – haven’t we all been there! Most of the cards on offer are sourced from the UK but Andrea is on the lookout for Australian card designers.

Andrea was kind enough to provide a variety of cards for us to look at, and they’re noice! All good quality on thick stock and different styles to suit varying tastes. All the cards are individually-wrapped in cellophane, so you know they’re of the same calibre as those you get in fancy card shops. The cards in our photos here are priced from about $4.95 to $6.50.

The website is easy to navigate and you can even pay with PayPal.

Friends of That’s Noice can also get a 10% discount at Thinkcards – just use the discount code 454thk at the checkout.

Smallprint creates unique keepsakes of  your little one’s first years with personalised silver jewellery.

A few years ago I would have found the idea of thse things a bit… much… but I must be getting older/cluckier because I really like the idea of these now.

Smallprint can provide finger/hand/footprint jewellery and miniature replicas of artwork as charms, keyrings or cufflinks.

The way the company is run is interesting, too. Their website lists franchisees  in your area who are trained especially to create Smallprint keepsakes.

The packaging looks great, too!

I love stationery. Do you?

NoteMaker is an online store selling to-die-for stationery featuring brands like Moleskine, Filofax, and Original Crown Mill Paper.

I’m thinking that buying a gift for a friend is a good excuse to shop here – and of course I’ll just have to get something for myself! I have a friend who is a high school English and Drama teacher and I think she’d love the Pride and Prejudice notebook. It just screams “book nerd” hehe.

Australian shoppers get free shipping with any orders over $59 (NZ shoppers can get free shipping with orders over $79).

If you’re in Melbourne they have a store called The Source – a boutique newsagent that looks very Melbourne indeed.