Katy Potaty :: Blog

Bossy? Me?

Katy Potaty CUPCAKE LADY — 2012-05-17T10:25:25Z

Well, if you ask my lovely husband*, he'd say yes, that I really am quite bossy. But hey, that's why he married* me!

I had a bossy experience of a different kind the other night, when I was invited, along with Brisbane's Beauty Bloggers, to a DIY Styling Night at Bossy Hair's amazing Training Academy in Kelvin Grove. We were wined and dined (I promise I just had a halfie of champers because I was driving), and we learnt about some awesome and really on-trend hair styles from the great team at Bossy.

Now I didn't need much persuading to attend, as the best haircuts I've ever received were from Bossy salons, but even I was surprised as how much fun it was! The gorgeous Antoinette led the show with grace and humour, and the team was so friendly and generous with their hair knowledge. It was quite an unstructured evening, which was great as we got to ask all the personalised hair questions we wanted!

Obviously, my big thing was braids. Obviously. If this surprises you, it's probably your first time reading this blog.

I got my Heidi-the-milkmaid on, with some sweet and sassy braids, and then I hung over the back of Abbey while she was transformed into a sweet rockabilly - the volume was incredible and I wanted to learn how to do that!

And learn I did. Check out my attempt the next day, a quiff-braid combo, with a big of teasing and backcombing for volume!

If you want the step-by-step for each hairstyle, there's no better place to learn than Anni's post at her blog Haute & Stylish. Tegan of Tegania's Thoughts has some great behind-the-scenes pics, too!

Lovely Tegan, taking some great how-to pics for her blog!

Bossy Hair prides itself on VERY personalised hair styling, and really fashion-forward stylists, PLUS, the SUPER-lovely team at Bossy Hair Kelvin Grove have offered my pretty little blog readers the following offer:

50% off all services (retail products excluded) at the Bossy Hair Training Academy which is open the following hours - Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday 10.30am to 4.30pm

10% of all services (retail products excluded) at the Bossy Hair Kelvin Grove Gold Salon which is open the following hours - Wednesday 4:30pm to 9pm, Thursday 9am to 9pm, Friday 9am to 6pm, Saturday 8am to 4pm

And since I'm a little bored, I created this little voucher-y doodad jpeg-thingy. Which you totally don't need to print out. It's just a handy reminder of the awesome deal that they're offering. Yup. Just call me super-talented and thoughtful. Or whatever.

So, if you are like me, and are completely ready for new-season new-hair, then give Bossy Hair a call, I promise you will be impressed with both the result and the teensy little price.

I had such a great time catching up with my blogging buddies, I haven't seen them in ages, and when we get together, it's such a hoot. Much giggling and beauty product in-jokes ensue!

Group photo used / borrowed / nicked / snitched from Tegania's Thoughts, with her kind permission!

Gorgeous girls and their beautiful blogs

Annica of Haute & Stylish

Sarah of Hip & Haute

Yolanda of Shopping Intervention

Tegan of Tegania's Thoughts

Dana of Blushfully

Abby of Vacant Lake

Brigette of Brijet

*I reserve the right to throw wedded-bliss and happy-husband mentions in the blog for the first six months of marriage. Deal with it.

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The wait is (almost) over...

Katy Potaty CUPCAKE LADY — 2012-05-03T11:06:35Z

There are hardly words to describe the last two weeks... so pictures will have to do.

Tuesday saw me enjoying a very girly day with my bridesmaid Shannon, with our bridal hair and makeup trials early in the morning, then we hit the main street for a spot of shopping and to show Port Douglas how glam resort wear should be rocked, cocktail in hand, of course!

BB and I went to a very moving ANZAC Day ceremony at the gorgeous beachfront ANZAC Park in Port Douglas on Wednesday morning. Completely apart from the stunning location, it really was a lovely small-town ceremony, and I found myself wiping away tears as the bugle rang out the final notes of the Last Post.

After the morning solemnity, we adjourned to one of our favourite Port Douglas watering holes, The Central Hotel, to imbibe in a few Aussie beers and watch a very important football game... which we won. Thank god. My Collingwood-mad man wouldn't have been very good company if we'd lost!

The photo above is of me surrounded by my three favourite girls - my two adorable nieces and of course, bridesmaid-numero-uno Shannon. That girl kept me sane for the entire week. Seriously, she was amazing.

I was planning on a nice quiet night, getting my wedding manicure done in the apartment, but Thursday evening turned into an impromptu Hen's Night, fueled by pretty much every single female wedding guest turning up to my apartment with a bottle of champers in hand!

I apologise for the gross display of public affection - Shannon dragged all of us ladies out for late-night cocktails, and we just 'happened' to bump into BB and all the boys who were rocking Port Douglas on BB's fourth Buck's Night!

It actually ended up being a fab party night, with all the guys and girls mingling and hitting the dancefloor at a series of pubs! My sweet fiance took me for a groove to a few songs, before heading home for a decent sleep as the gents had plans to wake up early for a round of golf on Friday morning.

The rest of my photos are all of the very important wedding day... and I'm not sure you're ready for those! (Just kidding... I promise I'll upload some really soon.)

Day two - the serious stuff

Katy Potaty CUPCAKE LADY — 2012-04-24T00:21:23Z

Shannon and I looking down at Four Mile Beach. Not sure if gorgeous Port Douglas could put on better weather for us!

I don't have other photos from the rest of yesterday, I'm sorry loyal readers. Yesterday morning, we had a meeting with our wedding planner and the functions coordinator of the restaurant that we're hosting the wedding reception at. We snapped a few pics of various wedding elements, but I don't want to spoil any of the surprises for our guests on Saturday!

The wedding shenanigans begin...

Katy Potaty CUPCAKE LADY — 2012-04-23T08:13:43Z

Sleepy, but thrilled! On the road with BB to meet my bridesmaid Shannon at the airport for our flight to Port Douglas! Wedding festivities start... NOW!

On the flight to Cairns, my lovely bridemaid and even lovelier fiance BB may have partaken of a few of these...

... which amazingly led to these in Cairns! Vodka cranberry deliciousness at the Rattle'n'Hum bar.

The drive to Port Douglas is just gorgeous, pure North Queensland perfection!

Shannon and I checking out our fantastic hotel pool area.

My stunning bridesmaid Shannon, taste-testing the local beverages.

(Didn't someone once tell me that you should never pick an attractive bridesmaid?

Damn. FAIL. She's gorgeous!)

My sweetheart and I enjoying dinner and drinks at the Courtyard Hotel, and yes, I'm practicing wearing white for the big day!

There's the first day of our fabulous Port Douglas wedding trip blogged, I'm so impressed at how quickly I'm posting this! Hopefully I can stay on top of the posting for the rest of the week - wish me luck.

(Also, I'm Tweeting and Instagramming this crazy week of pre-bridal activities,

so feel free to follow along if you're a hopeless romantic,

and love a gorgeous tropical cocktail or two!)

So. Totally. Excited.

Katy Potaty CUPCAKE LADY — 2012-04-21T07:53:38Z

This time next week, there'll be a Mr Potaty.

Well, not exactly true, as I'm taking BB's last name, and I'm sure I'll always be known as Katy Potaty. My initials will become KR! But seriously, by this time next week, I'll have been married for about two hours. And right now, I'll be sipping on a watermelon and lychee mojito, just taking in all the celebrations occurring for me. For us. For our relationship.

So DAMN excited.

Pretty much everything wedding-related has been organised to within an inch of its life, and all there is to do now is sit back and relax, holidaying with our lovely friends and family who are making the journey with us to Port Douglas with us to celebrate.

I was asked the other day. 'Why a destination wedding?', and it's really quite an easy decision to justify. BB's family are in Tasmania, and all my relatives are in South East Queensland, so half of the wedding guests would have to take a trip anyway. BB and I spent quite a few weekends touring various Queensland hinterland wedding venues and wineries, and we were underwhelmed by most of them. During the drive home at the end of a day of being disappointed by the service (or lack of) at a reception venue we'd been interested in, my very clever fiance said 'Why can't it all be as easy as getting engaged in Port Douglas was?'

I was proposed to on Four Mile Beach (remember?!) and we spent every evening in Port Douglas dining at world-class restaurants, drinking amazing wine matched with the freshest seafood, and it was truly perfect. We'd been raving to our families and friends about our time up north, so the next logical step was researching whether we could do it. And we could. Our immediate families were thrilled by the idea and that was enough for us to lock it in! After that, it just became easier and easier. It's fantastic that we'll get to share our favourite place with our favourite people, and we'll always have a reason to go back for a visit.

We fly out tomorrow morning, for a week of relaxing and a little bit of preparation, and I'm throwing the last few things in my suitcase now.

Birth certificates for celebrant to sight. Check!

Wedding rings. Check!

Wedding dress. Check!

I think that's pretty much all the important stuff, but if you think of anything else I may need, please tweet me, post a reminder on Instagram, or leave a comment below!

I would really love to blog a little in the lead-up to the wedding, but if I don't, you'll have to forgive me. I promise you'll definitely get to see a few wedding happy snaps when we get back. You can follow me on Twitter and Instagram, and if any of our guests upload pics, the hashtag will be #kpbbwedding.

Also, to my lovely (and truly stunning, I've been told) blog readers, thank you so much for your patience during this recent bridal-blogging phase, we'll return to your regular baking programming shortly!

Arm Party catch-up

Katy Potaty CUPCAKE LADY — 2012-04-11T10:37:02Z

I'm *finally* getting around to blogging my Style Dare pics from last week!

As you may remember, I was participating in Fox in Flats' Arm Party Style Dare, and it was SO fab to see what everyone was stacking on their wrists! I ended up wearing more than seven different bracelet / bangle stacks, as I changed them in the evenings if I had plans (like heading to meet up with some of the lovely #BBBE girls at Guzman y Gomez on Wednesday)!

My fave timber beads, tigerseye bracelet that BB brought back from India, and beaten brass beads with dove charm.

Nautical stripes and navy Italian glass mala beads.

Turquoise, timber and red mala beads - the turquoise bracelet was a gift from my dearest high school friend who has travelled through South America.

Rocking some 80's friendship bracelets and faded denim. And that's Molly's GORGEOUS orange handiwork over there on the left!

Black velvet and beaten copper and rose gold. Glam, yet rockabilly at the same time. Is that even possible?

Black and gold, black and gold. (Bugger. Now that Sam Sparro track is in my head.)

Timber and tortoiseshell, such a classic and neutral combination.

Peach and pearls - pretty and flirty with a white lacey dress. And another of Molly's stunning bracelets, this time a white silk and gold hardware piece.

And to finish off the week - here is my FAVOURITE stack. This combination means so much to me emotionally, as well as aesthetically. I do love my coral!

Turquoise and silver bracelet and beads from BB's trip to India, Skagen watch from my Mumsy, and my everyday-loves - my turquoise, coral and timber mala beads. There are some good vibes on this wrist, I can assure you.

Did you get into the Arm Party dare?

Get the Arm Party Started!

Katy Potaty CUPCAKE LADY — 2012-04-01T22:44:15Z

This blog post header might have thrown you a bit, I mean, I'm not a style blogger! And you may notice a cute little minty-coloured blog button over there to the left <<< ? You see it? Well, that was given to me by the SUPER lovely Andrea of Fox In Flats who throws a great style dare, and I've managed to complete a few!

And she's at it again - with this week's Arm Party Dare! Yep, time to get your Arm Party on! I *love* a good arm party and I think they are the quickest way to push a cute outfit into the style stratosphere. (Am I talking like a style blogger now? Totally faking it, by the way.)

Oh, what's that? What's an Arm Party, you ask? Well, it's a party of fabulous things on your arm. You know, like bracelets, bangles, cuffs and watches.

And who chucks a good Arm Party? Check out the following babes who I'm lucky enough to be blogging buddies with, they ROCK an Arm Party.

This cutie-pants Adrienne can be found at Lot Deux. And she stacks beads like it is nobody's business.

The sweet (and sassy) Rosemary of Lashes & Lattes threw this Arm Party.

I am loving this quirky collection by Sarah of Hip and Haute!

And this little stack of happiness was put together by the lovely Molly, who creates these fab bracelets and many more!

So, jump on board Fox in Flats' Arm Party train, and share on Twitter, Instagram, a blog or tumblr. And don't forget to leave a link below so we can find you!

Blame Canada!

Katy Potaty CUPCAKE LADY — 2012-03-18T02:20:58Z

No, don't. Don't blame Canada, but I will be having a little bloggy break.

I have used all my monthly internet (blame gorgeous wedding websites like Green Wedding Shoes and Polkadot Bride!) so will have to wait for BB to get home from his Bucks Party (the Aussie version of a bachelor party) to borrow his internet. Mine is much too slow to deal with blogging and my Pinterest obsession.

You can blame Canada for the very dirty floors downstairs though! I have two Canadian boys staying with us at the moment, they are lovely and very polite young men who are billeting with us while they play rugby at the school invitation carnival that we hosted yesterday. After over 120mm of rain in three days, the rugby fields are more like grassy lakes, and I got just as dirty trudging around the grounds! My laundry and downstairs bathroom looks terrible, but it's nothing that a quick mop and wipeover can't fix. And more importantly, the boys are having a fantastic time in Australia! Apparently a house party last night was a lot of fun and they taught the locals a drinking game or two, then they're off to Fraser Island for the day tomorrow. lucky ducks!

I'm sure there'll be more wedding-related blogging between now and the Big Day, I just need a faster internet connection to get going though!

Pasta la vista, baby

Katy Potaty CUPCAKE LADY — 2012-03-14T05:47:21Z

Last weekend I visited my bridesmaid, who was in turn visiting her parents in the lovely seaside town of Bargara. I had a very relaxing time hanging out with her and her gorgeous mother making fresh pasta, and loved exploring a couple of sweet boutiques down by the ocean.

Cutting the dough into managable-sized pieces, rolling through the pasta machine, and then laying on the ravioli trays - at this point, the pasta dough is sooooo silky!

My hostess-the-the-mostest, and very lovely bridesmaid S. You know how you are supposed to pick the person / people who have known you the longest to be in your bridal party..? Well, I thought about it and threw that idea out pretty quickly when I realised that there's no-one more fun than S, and no-one who can deal with any potential tantrums, disasters or Bridezilla moments better than her either! Already she's helped me get through stressful weekends shopping with my Mumsy, and agreed with me on every menu or decoration decision I've made. Perfect!

Do I pass for an Italian chef? Probably not. I was brushing the rolled out ravioli sheets with egg wash in preparation for popping in spoonfuls of the most delicious roasted pumpkin, sweet potato, bacon and gaarlic filling.

Voila! The finished ravioli - which was amazingly tasty, and took only a moment to cook in a pot of boiling water.

And yes, BB liked it so much that he's buying me a pasta machine!

Pretty in pink (and coral, of course)!

Katy Potaty CUPCAKE LADY — 2012-03-13T04:16:13Z

I really don't think a bridal shower could be any sweeter - this coral and peach shower is so pretty and elegant!

How sweet are the watercolour invitations, and pink and white striped straws?

I'm not at all sure what my bridesmaid is planning for my Hen's Night - fingers crossed that there will be coral pink-grapefruit cocktails and peach bellinis!

Sunday pretties

Katy Potaty CUPCAKE LADY — 2012-03-10T23:37:56Z

I opened up my computer this morning and got a little shock when my wedding calendar popped up showing '1 month and 17 days until your wedding'! Wait, what? That's not very long at all! Maybe BB and I should have though this 9 month engagement through - I feel like it will take me at least six more months to get everythingjust right!

Here's a little bit of wedding prettiness - we're at the pointy end of the arrangements now, but I am still so inspired by some of the stunning wedding ideas out there on blogs and websites! Oh, and Pinterest of course - how would I plan our wedding without Pinterest?

Feeling Thankful Friday

Katy Potaty CUPCAKE LADY — 2012-03-09T10:28:53Z

Yup, it's been a looooong time. Far too long since I posted a Feeling Thankful Friday.

Today I got to spend the day with one of my CUTEST friends. She's adorable and very funny and just slightly, amazingly talented. And if I had a Willy Wonka miniaturising machine, I'd tiny her and pop her in my pocket and keep her in my pocket.

Meet my lovely friend, Emma Barlow. Oh, and did I mention that she's also our wedding singer? YAY! BB really likes Em and her charming boyfriend, and oh my word, BB absolutely ADORES their sweet pug puppy, Peanutt Butter - officially the world's cutest dog. Em plays guitar, writes and sings fab songs, and is an incredible violinist. Seriously, she's a Golden Fiddle award winner at Tamworth Country Music Festival!

I'm so thankful that I have sweet and talented friends, and even more thankful that I get to share special times with them. Tomorrow, the happiness continues... I'm off to Bundy to visit another friend who has a special role at our wedding!

A month of Instagrammin' (part trois)

Katy Potaty CUPCAKE LADY — 2012-03-04T07:59:11Z

I *promise* that I'll finish blogging my February Photo A Day pics today. PROMISE.

Day 21 - a fave picture of yourself

This was quite tricky. I asked BB which was his favourite photo of me, and being the sweet, sweet man that he is, he laid on the cheese and said 'Every photo of you is my favourite.' Awwww. Lovely. I eventually pressured him into making a decision, and this photo taken of me at a Brisbane Bloggers Event made the cut.

Day 22 - where you work

These are just a few of my daily views - I work at a gorgeous school campus in a seaside town in QLD.

Day 23 - shoes

These are NOT my favourite shoes. They aren't even my most comfortable shoes, but they are my most worn shoes at the moment. Unfortunately, due to the whole living-between-two-houses thing, my favourite shoes which I would've loved to snap on this day were 300kms away, dammit. It's a shame, because I would have loved to show you all my gorgeous vintage cowboy boots! Instead, you get my work-suitable black patent & quilted leather ballet flats. Yawn.

Day 24 - in your bathroom cabinet

Are you sensing a 'voluminous' theme here? You should.

Day 25 - green

Last weekend, my lovely fiance and I went to pick up our wedding rings - cue MAJOR excitement! Whist we were out for the day, we grabbed a really delicious lunch of fresh sushi at Oi Sushi at North Lakes. Mmmm, so nommy.

Day 26 - night

At the end of our weekend away, BB and I discovered that our main routes home to Hervey Bay were flooded across all highways. So we began a six hour back-country drive to arrive home late at night.

Day 27 - something you ate

My usual chicken and walnut salad from the cafeteria. SO delicious, and filling too!

Day 28 - money

Now, I'm terrible with carrying cash on me - such an EFTPOS girl. Since I had no cash on me on this day, I had to snap another pic of my lovely new wallet - the coral colour is divine, and I couldn't imagine a softer leather. Thanks again, BB.

Day 29 - something you're listening to

Lady Antebellum are on high-repeat in my car, and so is the local country music station. BB and I saw them live last year, and it's a concert that neither of us will ever forget - such amazing lyrics, and performed so powerfully.

Yay, I made it to the end of February's Photo A Day challenge. Phewf! (I hate when I quit things. Hate it.)

Did you particpate, or are you perhaps doing @fatmumslim's March Photo A Day challenge? Leave a link below so I can check it out!

A month of Instagrammin' (part deux)

Katy Potaty CUPCAKE LADY — 2012-02-29T22:29:00Z

Ok, where were we?

Day 15 - phone

I use my phone to you know, phone people and stuff. But mainly I use my phone to Instagram, tweet and text. I use it to keep up with what my girlfriends are doing, and to send BB cheesy puppy dog photos. And I use it to snap pics and use funky filters on them to pop on Instagram!

Day 16 - something new

The super-awesome and very coral gorgeous leather wallet that BB gave me for Valentine's Day. He's a keeper!

Day 17 - time

Two pics on this day - I was awake at 4:14 (for no decent reason) and then less than 5 hours later I was sitting in a hair salon getting my hair done. There's nothing more boring than sitting waiting for blonde foils to take. This I promise you.

Day 18 - drink

Well, this was perfect timing, wasn't it! Two pics again - delicious cocktails with Anna and Brooke at the Bayswater Hotel in Hervey Bay. And I'm sure you'll be less than surprised to know that I matched my cocktail to my earrings and nail polish!

Day 19 - something you hate to do

Oh, this one was SO easy. There's hardly anything that scares me more than taking the rubbish out to the wheelie bin at night. Bizarre. I'm happy to walk 700m to the pub at night, but walking out the garage door to the wheelie bins right next to the apartment... waaaay scary.

Day 20 - handwriting

I searched my brain and my office at the end of day 20 to try to find something I'd handwritten, but no! Seriously, I went a whole day at work without picking up a pen and making any notes whatsoever! (I promise I was working, just on my laptop!) I did manage to get some tribal doodles in though, while I was sitting in the back of a meeting. And they're neon. Neon tribal. Pretty sure my post-it doodling is cooler than me!

That might do for today, but never fear... I *will* finish posting my photos soon!

In the meantime, would you like to get on the Instagramming wagon? Check out @fatmumslim's #MarPhotoADay now! (Oh, and just so you now, Dannii Minogue was playing along too! Cool, huh!)

A month of Instagram - I did it!

Katy Potaty CUPCAKE LADY — 2012-02-29T09:34:01Z

Today is the last day of @fatmumslim's #FebPhotoADay challenge - I am amazed that I managed to complete it!

Day 8 - sun

On busy days at work, I often don't get out of the office as much as I would like, and this day was no exception. My Little Miss Sunshine notebook was a fine substitute!

Day 9 - front door

The front door and hallway in our Hervey Bay rental is white and dull, but gets some amazing late afternoon sunlight.

Day 10 - self-portrait

Yep, I was running a little late with this one! I remembered about the Feb Photo A Day at around 9:30pm on the walk home from a lovely dinner and drinks out with BB and some houseguests,

'Quick, let's get a photo of me being eaten by a shark!'

I do believe that Anna would approve.

Day 11 - makes you happy

A day of cruising around Hervey Bay with my sweet man makes me beyond happy. Oh, and those cheeky lorikeets are adorable too!

Day 12 - inside your closet

I didn't tidy my wardrobe up *too much* before snapping these pics!

Day 13 - blue

Blue is one of my favourite colours, and it wasn't difficult to snap pics throughout the day of little lovelies which featured this colour!

Day 14 - heart

This photo will forever remain one of my favourites. Taken on our Christmas holiday at Shelly Beach in Tasmania, this was an amazingly special day, roadtripping around Hobart, sightseeing and BB showing me places which mean so very much to him. I found these two heartshells and BB and I stood on the pebbly beach and promised each other a beautiful life together. Bit spesh.

On that lovey-dovey note, I'll leave this post for the day, and continue with my Feb Photo A Day blogging tomorrow.

28th February. Not the 29th.

Katy Potaty CUPCAKE LADY — 2012-02-28T08:15:28Z

It's the second last day of February. Which means that there are exactly two months until my wedding to BB. Oh. My. Gosh! I think that every day that brings us closer to the wedding, also brings another thing to think about! Fortunately, I have a couple of Twitter pals who are getting married on the same day, so we are constantly reminding each other of wedding stuff we might have missed!

I was thinking of posting another wrap-up today of fatmumslim's February Photo A Day challenge. Remember that thing? It's about documenting the little things, sharing them, and hopefully getting the participants to notice small wonders and beauty in places they otherwise pass by. I'm still doing it - hurrah! But then I realised that if I blog my Instagram pics up until now, then I'll be left with one measly little photo to blog tomorrow. So in the spirit of true end-of-long-Tuesday laziness, I'll wait and do it all tomorrow.

Procrastination be thy middle name.