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I sat across from my friend and stifled a giggle. We felt like kids waiting to be found out after stumbling on an amazing world of grown-up wonder. I’m sure there was an invisible but impressionable sign on our foreheads with these words inscribed: mums on a night out.
Looking around, I could see sparkling glasses, shiny plates and white tablecloths; order, efficiency and poise; happy people, glamorous light displays and copious amounts of silver cutlery. Hello Cinderella moment! The last time I was at a fancy-fancy restaurant…was…thinking…thinking…
“Can you believe we are here right now?” I said to my dinner-date more than once during the night.
When asked to road test the ultimate date night AND giveaway a package for your blog readers, well – you say yes please! My husband is hard to pin down because of his work commitments so I arranged for my friend Bernie to keep me company. She came reluctantly, as you can see by her reply to my request.
This is how it went…
Live music greeted Bernie and I as we checked into Hotel Urban in Brisbane. There was perfume to try at the counter (I liked Brittany Spears – Fantasy), flowers, chandeliers, fancy couches and chocolates in our 2 x double bed room.
Getting dressed…
This night was in celebration of a new product by my favourite underwear brand. Berlei makes the most comfortable bras and now do legwear too. In true Berlei form: without a doubt THE most comfortable tights I have ever worn. Love, love, love! The Dig Free hosiery holds you in all the right places so you feel feminine and confident without the discomfort. There’s this wide band up the top so they sit beautifully under clothes and I felt nothing short of fabulous in them!
I promise Bernie and I didn’t mean to match our outfits so well. We both wore the 100 Denier Opaque tights in black.
Check it out online…
Barely There Legwear is available in an 8 Denier Light Shaper with control waistband and unique invisible shaping, 8 Denier Firm Shaper with innovative firming and slimming solutions, or 8 Denier Toe Less sheers. Available in Naked, Golden, Fair, Natural and Black RRP $15.95.
Dig Free Legwear is available in 15 Denier Sheer, 100 Denier Opaque tight and 100 Denier Opaque full length leggings. Available in Naked, Golden and Black RRP $14.95.
Dinner…
With the choice of any restaurant in Brisbane, Bernie and I decided on celebrity chef Matt Moran’s restaurant Aria, which sits on the edge of the Brisbane River overlooking the Story Bridge. Three letters: W.O.W. The incredibleness of the food made me want to sob with happiness.
It was a treat to linger over the menu, reading each description of mouth-watering combinations. Three courses to pick! Bernie picked the same entrée and dessert as I, but went with a perfectly cooked steak for the main meal.
SCALLOPS
seared and served with crisp chicken, seaweed, apple and radishDAUBE
of Ranger’s Valley beef cheeks with carrot purée and toasted oatsSOUFFLÉ
raspberry soufflé with white chocolate mousse and a raspberry salad
After dinner…
Two happy women finished the night wandering along the lit bank of the Brisbane River before heading back to the hotel for a blissful night’s sleep in a soft bed with crisp linen. I was curious to see how the hosiery held up after three courses of food and a walk. The verdict: I could LIVE in them!
Both Bernie and I mentioned what a perfect night it was. We chatted for hours about things I don’t remember and laughed out loud like silly school girls. Ah, yes, it was a good time. I needed that. It’s important to have these Cinderella moments as a mother sometimes, to remember yourself as woman. Isn’t it?
It was a difficult job, but someone had to do it. Ha! Adored every minute of it. Now, over to you…
Giveaway $1,000 Date Night!
Thanks to Berlei, I’m giving away The Ultimate Date Night Package worth $1,000, covering:
– A restaurant dinner for two
– One night’s hotel accommodation
– Limousine transfers from hotel to restaurant.
– Berlei Dig Free product
To Enter
Simply answer this question in the comments below:
Share how you make yourself feel like a woman (as a mum)?
Terms and Conditions
Open from Monday 29th April to Monday 20 May 2013. Open to Australian residents over 18 years of age only. Read the full list of terms and conditions here.
Coming into winter now, and tights have become a wardrobe essential. Pictured above are some of the ways I’ve worn them in the last couple of weeks.
Disclosure
Read my disclosure policy here.
190 Comments
Sarah Bell
April 29, 2013 at 8:25 pmHaving a shower with the door closed, washing my hair, face care & perfume!!!
Michaela Rutherford
April 29, 2013 at 8:26 pmMy bub is only 8 weeks old so I had my first opportunity last week to finally feel like a woman again! I put on my leather look tights, some killer heels and makeup!! Yes makeup!! For the first time in 7 weeks I felt not only beautiful but sexy and my hubby was very impressed.
Robin
April 29, 2013 at 8:26 pmWear lovely boots in the winter. I love nice boots!
Shell Long
April 29, 2013 at 8:27 pmI don’t get much of a chance to make myself feel like a woman, between studying a Masters in Art Therapy and chasing a toddler around. But when I do, I like to put on some makeup, a floral dress and a splash of perfume! The odd little peck on the cheek or even a pinch on the bum from my man helps too 😉
Jessica
April 29, 2013 at 8:27 pmI don’t often get time to make myself feel like a woman but there is nothing like shaving my legs and straightening my hair!
Gail
April 29, 2013 at 8:28 pmI have done various things to feel more womanly over my years as a mum, eg wear a bit of makeup (I hate makeup usually), paint my nails, wear my hair differently, put on nice perfume. Recently it has been wearing a swirly skirt! I found a couple of comfy cheap ones which I am really enjoying wearing at the moment. And I can feel more girly by putting on shoes with a little heel! BTW, date night would be amazing!!!
Rachael Skipper
April 29, 2013 at 8:28 pmI feel like a woman when hubby is home and I go out with my handbag 🙂 usually my stuff is put in the kids backpack (three boys). Always makes me feel femine
Samy Savva
April 29, 2013 at 8:30 pmOh this is a tough one! As a mum to two beautiful girls (youngest is 6 months old) it can be hard to find the women within again! We also recently moved interstate away from our support network, but in the process I have found ‘me’ again through sport. I have ALWAYS been sporty and fit and lost my way after my first born. I have found a new love for a sport I have played since I was 10, NETBALL. I have joined not one but two teams and get my active on (only in my berlai sports bras as well). One day I take my bub and the other day is ME day where I leave bubs at home with hubby, do the school drop off, head to netball, and take my time out and about and do the school pick up! This allows me to be the best women, wife, mother, sister, daughter and friend I can be! Sometimes we have to e selfish to be selfless!
Katie Williams
April 29, 2013 at 8:32 pmBeing a mum I always make sure at least one day a week is set aside where as soon as bub is asleep I have a lovely long hot shower, treat my hair to a full shampoo, conditioner and treatment, shave my legs (yes only once a week if I have time =\) and at least twice a month I shape my nails and paint them 🙂 hair, nails and skin are the best way to make you feel womanly !!
Marnie Fiedler
April 29, 2013 at 8:32 pmEvery morning, before stepping out the door, I pick a perfume to match my mood. Smelling beautiful is a ‘me moment’ I have every morning.
Nicole Kennedy
April 29, 2013 at 8:32 pmGoing to the gym while my husband has our little girl. It really rebuilds my confidence as a mum and helps me to remember how strong I am and it makes me feel like I can handle anything.
Donna-marie yeatman
April 29, 2013 at 8:32 pmTo be honest I forget to be a “woman” most of the time. With having 5 kiddies and working full time, i forget about myself because im too busy worrying about others 🙂 when i can be bothered i straighten my hair, slap on some lippy and throw on a dress.
angela wheeler
April 29, 2013 at 8:35 pmDressing up, I.E. just getting out of trackies!
Dani Coghlan
April 29, 2013 at 8:35 pmAs a first time mum to a beautiful little 10 month old baby girl, I struggled with the way my body looked after I had her. I didn’t feel like a woman or beautiful or pretty. On the 1st of January 2013 Made a decision to change the way I think, healthy mind, healthy body right? Absolutely! It was small steps at a time, walking and then working out at home while my daughter slept and then going to aqua aerobics classes, being strong and healthy and knowing that I can push my mind and body to limits I never thought imaginable makes me feel more like a woman than I ever have before.
katie black
April 29, 2013 at 8:35 pmA dress and some heels, lipstick and admire myself in the mirror- then get my good clothes off before the kids’ messy fingers ruin it!
Karleen frost
April 29, 2013 at 8:36 pmNothing makes me feel like a woman more than walking out the door with a small handbag with only purse phone lipgloss and perfume. Not a nappy, wipe or leftover food in sight
Leah McLean
April 29, 2013 at 8:36 pmYou cannot beat manicured and painted toenails. I look down at my toes and feel like a million dollars!
Fran Mahy
April 29, 2013 at 8:37 pmA pamper me night. Facial, bath, manicure, hair color, glass of wine and soft music…..and then I wake up and realize I have slept in…but wow what a great dream…..
Hanna Mills
April 29, 2013 at 8:38 pmThe other week I was lucky enough to score a night out for a casual work dinner. I was dressed in a nice skirt and top with my highest heels, hair and make up done and my husband said “you’re a bit overdressed (for where we are going), don’t you think?” I absolutely was! But as a full time mum of two I don’t get out a lot, so when I do, I love to make the most of it!
Julienne
April 29, 2013 at 8:40 pmI have a casual dress that is wash and wear. No ironing and delicate wash. I out it one with a pair of comfy heels. You know those ones that you can wear all day, no blisters and you aren’t throwing them off the minute you come home.!! But only if I’m not pushing a pram around ..
Mel c
April 29, 2013 at 8:42 pmMakeup and a pair of lovely colourful earrings always make me feel good about myself. My daughter usually asks for some lip gloss and eyeshadow when she sees I’m putting makeup on which makes the moment more special and I love how quickly I can slip a pair of earrings in as I’m rushing out the door.
Stacey Sinclair
April 29, 2013 at 8:42 pmA trip to the hairdresser is my revival, not just as a woman but as a human in general!
Sarah Collins
April 29, 2013 at 8:44 pmAh, feminine… With 3 kids under 6, one with a disability, feminine is not a common emotion ;0) I’m really happy when I get time to wax my eyebrows and shower without having to step out, towel-clad to break up fights. I do get to Zumba and that’s fun!
Shellie
April 29, 2013 at 8:44 pmAs a busy mum of 2 girls with a husbands who works a fly in fly out job. Most nights after putting the kids to bed, I wash my face with my beautiful skin products, put on my pjs and snuggle up on the couch with a cup of green tea!
Jessica gleeson-parker
April 29, 2013 at 8:45 pmI am currently 8 months pregnant with my third child, i have awful puffy feet and my lovely 3 and 5 year olds just gave me an awesome leg and foot massage whilst its not something i actually did for myself its the closest (literally)! That i can get at the moment!!
Lee Davidson
April 29, 2013 at 8:46 pmfor me its the little things. i get a wax once a fortnight to keep tidy and when i have money i get my hair cut and coloured. because i dont do these things very often my girls who are 7 & 4 say to me everytime i come home mummy you look beautiful and i melt.
Jacinda
April 29, 2013 at 8:48 pmI do something that absolutely horrifies my four kids… I have my girlfriends around, we drink our wine out of the ‘fancy glasses’, and belt out songs by The Bangles, Wilson Phillips, Tiffany and Martika!
Krystal
April 29, 2013 at 8:48 pmAs a mum of 4 girls all 4 & under I don’t quite have the opportunity to get dressed up like I used to. My way of feeling more womanly is by setting a morning once a week with my girls & painting nails, making homemade masks & chatting. Its beautiful to share some womanly pampering with my little princesses.
Octavia
April 29, 2013 at 8:51 pmWith a family of boys, I take time out to pamper myself with a bubble bath. That or getting dressed up for a girls night!
Rana Hooke
April 29, 2013 at 8:52 pmGetting dressed up in clothes which are pretty rather than just functional, putting on some makeup and going out without children!!
Ingrid Wilson
April 29, 2013 at 8:53 pmI run my self a Bath with lovely Bath salts and candles and relax with a good book and some nice acoustic music.
SusieQ
April 29, 2013 at 8:53 pmMy legs are shaved. I have a spritz of my fav perfume on. Lip gloss and mascara. I am ready for my audience. My 10 month old twins beam when they see me. They love me morning scruffy or dressed to impress. Mummy is always a star 🙂
Kristie Rue
April 29, 2013 at 8:53 pmBuying nice underwear…. Always on sale but the days I have it on I feel like I can take on the world!
Cass Payne
April 29, 2013 at 8:53 pmWow this is tough – the last 9 years of my life have been about being a mum and a wife where in there is there time to be a woman! A Whirlwind Romance saw a baby born 12 months after I met my now husband, Followed 16 months later by number 2 with a wedding for good measure thrown in at 5 months pregnant! An interstate move to get away from the FIFO lifestyle only to find the same life waiting for me on the other side. Very little me time has been found in that time, but nothing makes me feel more like a woman than when I get dressed up to go out (this is very rare very very rare!)- in a dress and heals hair and make up done to perfection, I feel good outside so it makes me feel good inside, it is however the looks and comments that I get from my family that makes me most fee like a woman, the sparkle in my husbands eyes like the first time that we met. Hmm and here I thought that it would be a time that I was alone that made me feel like a woman!
Katie
April 29, 2013 at 8:53 pmWell, having been permanently pregnant, breastfeeding or both for the last 4 years, and with 2 under 3 (although I only have 8 more hours that I can say that! :)) I’m pretty sure that all I need to actually BE desirable to my husband is to say YES!
Personally, I need a little more than that to FEEL like a “desirable woman” though: shaved legs, plucked eyebrows, a little makeup (having finally decided I can no longer get away without it as too many people ask if I’m unwell when I don’t!), a glass of red wine and NO NAPPY BAG!
Tiffany Stonebridge
April 29, 2013 at 8:54 pm“Share how you make yourself feel like a woman (as a mum)?”
What a question, everything changes when you become a mum (and rightly so!) For me, to make myself feel like a woman I like to make time for my husband and I — there’s nothing that makes me feel more like a woman then when I’m alone with my husband 😉
Josephine Kelly
April 29, 2013 at 8:56 pmI feel like a women …on the rare occassions my husband and I get to enjoy a dinner together. Dressed up in heels and a frock. No-one hanging on my clothes, in-between my legs and calling mum, mum, muuuummmm. Just the two of us enjoying an adult conversation
Sharlene Connors
April 29, 2013 at 8:56 pmAlthough it doesn’t happen very often, but if I go out for dinner or meet up with some girlfriends I doll myself up to the hilt! Legs smartly showing,tummy sucked in with what I call the body sucker, and the mumma jugs nicely positioned! I may not turn heads but it sure does make me feel like a woman!
elizabeth
April 29, 2013 at 8:57 pmHaving a long hot bath, shave the legs, and put on a face mask. When the kids have gone to bed of course. ahhh bliss.
Jenny E
April 29, 2013 at 8:59 pmI know it’s something very small and simple but I always feel more womanly when I blow dry my hair (doesn’t happen often nowadays).
Julie Marshall
April 29, 2013 at 9:04 pmTake the time to straighten my hair as it has been five months since I have done this and some much needed hair removal.
Catherine
April 29, 2013 at 9:06 pmWaxing my legs, washing my hair then leaving it out, perfume on and going on a date with my husband. (Even if its just fish and chips on the beach)
Crystal hill
April 29, 2013 at 9:09 pmWow didn’t used to be a tricky question but after having the kids feeling womanly isn’t as easy as it used to be, when I do get a spare chance to try an feel womanly it involves makeup! Hair do and lately iv been making myself wear the nice rarely used dresses in the wardrobe that I’d love to wear but rarely do as its usually a rare special occasion thing but iv thought screw it I’m wearing them! even walking (still havent got a drivers license!) up and down hills to school pick up/drop off 🙂 look out for the bling dress wearing mum hiking up hills sweating pushing a pram with a huge smile at feeling nice and womanly in a dress 🙂
Amanda
April 29, 2013 at 9:11 pmI would have to say doing my hair in a nice style, rather than pointing it in a ponytail.
Bethany Bell
April 29, 2013 at 9:13 pmSomeone once told me that if you want people to think you are really organised, paint your toenails. They’ll think, ‘Ooh she’s got a family to look after, a job to go to, and a house to run, and she still manages to find time to paint her toenails. She must have it all together!’. So occasionally I spend a few minutes painting my toenails. It makes me feel pretty, feminine, like I’m doing something for myself, and maybe it will give the impression that I’m not entirely useless 🙂
Felicity
April 29, 2013 at 9:15 pmThe perfect thing to do to make me feel like a woman… Buy a bra and knickers that actually match – heavenly!
Melissa B
April 29, 2013 at 9:18 pmAs a mum I treat my self every 2 -3 months with a trip to the hairdresser,followed by a great lunch with the girls.Then the perfect ending is going home to my husband (and kids) having dinner and relaxing watching a movie with the Mr.
Megan
April 29, 2013 at 9:20 pmDressing up in a nice feminine dress, curling my hair and painting my nails always works for me!
Lisa Barton-Collins
April 29, 2013 at 9:20 pmBy treating myself! Taking the time to do an at home facial, apply a body scrub, use some beautiful products on my hair and nails. It’s not just the pampering, it’s taking the time to make myself feel feminine.
Your night out sounds fantastic!
xx
Amie
April 29, 2013 at 9:20 pmMatching pretty bra and undies – not a feeding bra!