Racy.

On the weekend I escaped from Hobart and my usual housewifely duties. My mum came down and assumed my post.....going far beyond the call of duty as during the course of the weekend she even had to navigate an Irish Dancing Competition and all of the carry on that goes along with it. And that was only for one child on one day.....there were birthday parties and playdates for two of the others and naps, serious supervision and time strapped into the pram for the baby. Thanks again, mum.

So instead of the usual rush around between sailing and dancing on Saturday we entered a parallel universe which was Flemington Racecourse on Derby Day:

It involved a lot of preparation. We started on the Vitamin B on the Monday before. Look at the miracle worked on my gardener's hands....gel tips with a French Polish rendered them almost unrecognisable:

They lasted perfectly until yesterday.....when I broke one off on the child lock on the bathroom cupboard.

Before we went to the track I got a do at  The Blowout Bar in Toorak.....and had my first glass of champagne:

It is fabulous there. I wish that we had one in Hobart and that my lifestyle included this kind of behaviour on a regular basis.....unfortunately it doesn't.

Once we got to Flemington, there was lots of this out in The Nursery:

Is there anything more hedonistically decadent than drinking champagne while the sun shines.....OK, maybe don't incriminate yourself by answering this!

I rendezvoused with some old friends:

One of whom may have made it home to where she was staying later that night via the dog flap in the back door.

And I met a new friend when I caught up with the lovely JMac in the Birdcage. I love reading her regular comments on my blog.....it was a surreal but really nice experience meeting her in person.....we didn't stop chatting.

Look how gorgeous the flowers at Flemington were:

On Sunday, because we live in Hobart and don't have Ikea....we made a pilgrimage. To buy light fittings for houses we are building:

And then we paid a visit to another Larder....The Richmond Hill Cafe and Larder where we had a late lunch:

And of course my husband let me eat cake:

And I did...except that it wasn't really a cake but a macadamia ice cream bombe and it was DELICIOUS.

I loved every single second of our weekend away. Now.....I've got to go and check that the baby isn't scribbling on the wall with a texta, referee a bicker between the boys and get the dinner on. Sigh.

Rx

PS An extra big thank you to Heidi at Adelaide Villa and The Farmer's Wife for their suggestion to substitute the existing belt on the dress that I wore with a thick black ribbon....it made the outfit!

PPS And and even bigger thank you to everybody who made kind comments on my last post and restored my whole faith in the blogging process.