Jessica Coates-Judson

Town Beach, Port Macquarie NSW.  Port Macquarie is one of our favourite holiday spots with beautiful beaches, plenty of restaurants and all kinds of fun activities to suit any taste.  We stayed for a week during March and were blessed with mostly warm weather but Port Macquarie is a great vacation destination no matter what time of year you choose to visit.  Check out my guide below to plan your next trip! Things to do: BAGO Maze and Wine  it is so much fun making your way through the maze and then when you're done enjoy some wine and cheese or a coffee and other goodies. Timbertown  located 20 minutes west of Port Macquarie, is a recreation of a timber getters village from 1880-1930. With steam train rides, horse and carriage rides, whip cracking and plenty of food options, this one is a great attraction for the whole family. The Koala Hospital  is open 7 days and has free entry. The hospital rescues and rehabilitates koalas and you ca...

After just over seven months of being someones mum I decided to put together a list of useful, funny and interesting things that I didn't know before. - You've never be tired before, not really. - Poo discussions are not gross, just a daily conversation, like how did you sleep? - Teething sucks, invest in every gadget claiming to give relief. - If your old jeans fit again within the first six months you should think yourself lucky. - You can go two weeks without washing your hair. - You can also go months without shaving your legs. - You will question as to if you're capable of it all (you are!) - Every stage is just that, a stage. - You can't just grab your keys, phone and wallet and duck out anywhere anymore. - You will be praying for them to go to sleep and then you will miss them until they wake up. - On the occasions you do go out alone you will see other kids and get pangs in the chest. - The washing can wait. As can most of the housework. - Self-c...

No matter what it is on your to do list, procrastination can be a real killer when it comes to getting stuff done. Here are the key tips I follow to keep myself on task. Do the worst thing first. That call you’ve been putting off, the essay you’re dreading? Just start. Make the call first thing in the morning and rip off the bandaid. Draw up an essay plan (I find pretty pens and highlighters are key). Break it up (see below) into manageable steps. Once you’ve made some progress you’ll probably find that what you’ve been dreading isn’t all that bad! Bite size tasks No matter how big or small the task, break it up into ‘micro-steps’. It’ll be easy to get a clearer picture of what’s involved, identify anything that can be delegated and prompt scheduling of future tasks so you’re not caught off guard down the track. Social media block out For many of us, social media is key to our job role so it’s hard to step away completely. Throw in the working from home lifestyle and you fin...

Fundraisers are a great way to support causes you’re passionate about and give back to your community. In the past I’ve helped students organise all types of events such as movie nights, sausage sizzles and raffles.  No matter the type of fundraiser you want to run, there are a few key rules to follow. Goals Choose your organisation or cause carefully and set an achievable amount of money you want to raise. Authority If you’re raising money on behalf of an organisation you’ll need to gain written authority to act on their behalf.  Type of fundraiser Decide on the type of fundraising you want to do. Whether it’s an event, raffle or online campaign you need to have a clear outline of how you are going to best access your potential donors. Make sure you know who your target market is and what type of event they will best respond to.  Planning Ensure your timeline is realistic. Detailed action plans will ensure tasks are completed when required. Budget...

So today we decided to get a little daring and take a 7 month old baby to a theme park. First hurdle, 20 minutes in we had to turn around because I thought I’d left the hair straightener on. Turns out I hadn't. #mumbrain We went to Dreamworld, which is located on the Gold Coast, Australia. We spent just over three hours at the park and really took our time. At the moment they had a special where you buy one day passes and you get entry for three days. We intend to go back and see some more of the park.  What I packed To start with, I realised I had forgotten to pack the baby carrier and the backpack I brought last year exactly for occasions like this. More about this later in what I would do differently. I had all the essentials - all the normal baby bag stuff plus my big tote bag where I have all the everyday items plus extras such as sunscreen, insect repellent and anti-bacterial wipes.  We also took more than enough baby food and formula. All of this was packed into...

Celeste Morgan with her son Finn   The saying goes ‘we all have a book in us’, but in reality, there are few that actually become real-life authors. Celeste Morgan’s dream job has always been to write for children but it wasn’t until she had her own child that it all fell into place.  In this post Celeste explains how she crowdfunded and self-published her children’s book – ‘My Little Friends in the Mirror’. Celeste self-published a mirror book for children after watching her son Finn, who was about 6 months old at the time, become obsessed with mirrors. According to Celeste, self-publishing has become a lot easier with print on demand services such as IngramSpark and CreateSpace (via Amazon.com) giving aspiring authors avenues outside traditional publishing. “You could say the publishing industry is currently being disrupted in the same fashion as Uber or Airbnb by people self-publishing,” she says. Even with these easier and achievable options...

So I’ve never been one to pack up my winter clothes and vice-versa when the season changes. Instead, I try to get the most out of my clothes all year round. Here are a few tips on how I do it. Layering Layers suit my curvy shape and afford me the ability to wear summer dresses in the middle of June. I like to build up usually starting with black leggings and a black slip. From here I’ll add a dress, boots, scarf and lots of jewellery. Complimentary colour palette Following on from my recent capsule wardrobe post , I already have a very monochrome closet. The main exception being most of my dresses seem to be floral. Rather than buying a bunch of seasonal colours I try to bring in trend hues through accessories rather than committing to more expensive items of clothing. Choose colours that work together all year round. I like black, white, grey, blush and stripes. Accessories Your accessories are key to getting the most of your closet regardless of the season. Stockings. foot...

There are very few people who claim to enjoy public speaking. Even those who speak like they have all the confidence in the world will admit to butterflies in the stomach leading up to a speaking engagement. Whether it's a boardroom pitch, a packed lecture theatre or on stage in front of your peers, speaking in public can be daunting, nerve racking and downright terrifying.  As a trainer, I am used to speaking to a room full of eyes all on me and overtime I've developed a number of tricks I use to calm the nerves and actually enjoy the process. I still get nervous beforehand, which I think is a good thing, but by following these steps I really look forward to delivering training too.  Be prepared and practiced  Practice what needs to be said out loud. Often when I'm delivering training for the first time I will do a run through for my dog. Watch yourself in the mirror - usually you'll pick up on things like standing up straighter or how often you touch your...

Now that we have a cute-as-a button plus one, spending time together isn't as easy as it once was. In addition, much of the time we do get when we are in the same place and same time, revolves around bottles, nappy changes and chasing an inquisitive crawler.  Pretty soon, conversations become more like to do lists rather than deep and meaningful. From what needs baby proofing to which car sear we need to buy and what bill in the pile is due next, life as a loved up and gooey couple starts to become a distant memory. Now I'm not saying that life shouldn't change when you have kids. You have a whole human being to take care of and your world is turned up side down but I am saying that making a conscience decision to make an effort and invest in your coupledom is good for you and your family. Here are a few things that we do; Work out together I found that after I had bub I was heading off for my walks alone when my husband got home from work. Now we do still work o...

Lately I’ve been on a mission to streamline my closet. I have maternity wear mixed in with what I’m wearing at the moment plus a cupboard full of stuff that almost fits again post bub. There is also a bunch of pieces that I haven’t worn in years that are headed for the donation bin. My number one problem was having so much in my wardrobe, I couldn’t actually find anything to wear. So that is where I started, by getting rid of all the ‘never going to wear pieces’. I then packed away all the maternity clothes into a box in the spare room. Next, I invested in a cheap clothes rail from Kmart and pulled out my key pieces. I also grouped together everything else such as dresses, basics and workout gear. Once this was done I had a clear picture of what my colour palette was and any gaps for when I go shopping next (hello new winter coat). So I’m now left with a rail of easy to grab capsule pieces and a tidy wardrobe with everything else. I know the craze at the moment is to purge yourse...

Working from home is one of those fairy tale scenarios we daydream about when hitting up the vending machine at 3pm on a Tuesday afternoon. Sleep ins, phone meetings in your pajamas and catching up on the TV soaps in your lunch break. Sounds like a perfect work life balance right?  So, you’ve made the step. You’ve started your own business from home, you’ve convinced your boss to let you work remotely a few days a week or you have a new job all based online. You’ve set up the perfect home office with the prettiest stationary money can buy and brought yourself a big squishy leather chair usually reserved for the CEO and top level executives. Then reality sets in. You actually have to work. Now you have to deal with telemarketers and friends who want to pop in because you’re usually never home. The carpet desperately needs a vacuum, the dog wants to play fetch and the washing machine is beeping with a finished load. This is the reality of working from home. Where family life an...

Starting out vlogging can be daunting and knowing what people want to watch can be hard to figure out. To help you out I came up with my top five favourite types of videos to watch. 1. What's in my handbag?  I love when bloggers go through their bag and show you what they carry and how they set it out. As a must, show me the bag and the story behind it. This one can be broken up into weekend bag, work bag or uni bag too. 2. A day in the life For some reason watching how other people go about their day can be oh-so-interesting. Pick a day when you've got a few things to do and off you go. #instantrealitystar 3. Shopping haul If I'm not shopping I can get just about the same amount of kicks through seeing what someone else is spending their hard earned cash on. Try and theme your haul: beauty, food, fashion and so on. 4. Beauty how-to I am hopeless at make up so rely heavily on vloggers to teach me how to highlight, blend and contour away all the sleepless night...