mother’s day
Tables and chairs brought from all over the house to make a long setting for all 16 of us. As I looked around at my husband, my cute mum, grandparents, aunties, uncles, cousins, step family and 3 dogs, I was filled with happiness. The day flowed and the sun was shining through the ample greenery. All took a turn in the kitchen for food preparation and cleaning. Giggles and funny faces were captured in the garden as we mingled for group photos. I wish we were all together like this more often. The family awesomeness continued after lunch to a relaxing dinner with Thai take-away at our place with my husband’s family where we enjoyed the presence of my sister-in-law who is visiting.
Love you mum. Lots.
autumn colours *sydney*
social v solitary
Over the past few weeks I’ve been thinking about the need to be social versus the need to be solitary. As an only child growing up, I learnt to be very content with my own company. While I had friends and always enjoyed the company of adults, I also thrived on days spent in my bedroom, just tinkering. I believe alone time is very important. How else can we have the opportunity to hear our true thoughts, fears and desires? Recharge? Be creative? Slow down? My diary has several social get togethers marked in every week because I love to foster strong, genuine bonds with our friends and go to cool local events. But in the blank spots on those pages are allotted times for quietness. I can’t function without those. It is also a time for my body to refuel as I work so hard to cope with my diminished senses. As I don’t work a normal 9-5 job I can also allocate one day of the week where I don’t answer the phone – it is me taking back time for myself and pushing against the trap of constant connection and noise.
I’ve deduced that I am 50% social and 50% solitary. I need and want both just as much. What is your ratio?
1st birthday
Where adults spend more time playing with the toys than the birthday boy! The dinosaurs talk to each other and if you put your finger in one’s mouth he says “mmm I smell meat”! Of course the dogs could all smell good stuff too and were hovering ready to help the cute birthday boy. Didn’t my friend do an awesome job cake decorating?
at home lately
Snail mail from beautiful women who live far far away.
My dog’s night time bed. Yes, there is a pillow. It fell off our bed one night and became his. He’s always been accustomed to the finer things in life you see.
My husband made these sliders for a weekend lunch. So cute. So are the sliders. 
Nightly online scrabble playing with loved ones around the world. Have a look at this crowded board!
Flowers from my husband in the morning light.
bernese mountain dog
When we walked into our friends’ housewarming party and saw this little guy, I pretty much threw myself onto the floor in seconds. You think I’m exaggerating, but I’m not. I even said to my friends “Sorry I know I’m being rude, but I’m going to be distracted for a bit before I come talk to you”. This little guy with his monster paws, good looks and sleepy eyes stole my attention totally. We bonded over my scarf (him chewing it), my shoes (him drooling and resting on them), tug-o-war (him growling as I wouldn’t let him win, hee hee), cuddling on the floor (him licking my face, me giggling). I can’t wait to watch as he grows up. And up. And up.
We didn’t take our dog to this party as we weren’t sure if it was appropriate. Boy, did he sniff me when we picked him up from my mum’s. I found myself apologising again “It was just a fling with a puppy, it meant nothing. You’re still my number one dog”.
homemade macaroons
I haven’t gone crazy for them in their trendiness as I am more savoury than sweet. But my commitment stretches far enough to buy them from three different places in Paris last year in the name of a taste-testing experiment. Unfortunately I didn’t like any of them, even the famous ones. I think there might be a difference in the sugar that tasted strange to my tastebuds?
I set macaroons as April’s Cooking Club task so that I could face my fear that I might not be able to make them all by myself. Making macaroons are set to be forever linked to memories of a former flatmate. She was the one with whom I made them for the first time when she visited last year. Admittedly, I was quite prepared that I may not succeed without her baking skills. But I was determined to try my hardest. Some chilled music was playing, the mobile phone was off and I was in the moment.
For those of you who are minimalists and/or irregular bakers like me, you might find the trick she showed me very useful – a large zip-seal sandwich bag to pipe the mixture. Next time I would cut off a smaller hole to allow full control of the outflow. I would love to show you straight rows of uniform sizes on the cooking tray. But I was hunched over the bench focusing my eyes intently on each one I was creating, unable to see if I had aligned it with the previous one. As I stood back to examine my handy work I found the gaps in which to fill with the mini macaroons. Ah but the minis are kinda cute!
Did they bake perfectly? No way! But wow, they were much better than I thought they would be. A few were sticky and fell apart as I peeled them off the baking paper. Perfect for taste testing samples. My ganache was also very runny and messy but solidified into a lovely texture after refrigeration. Perhaps I should have cooled it more before spreading?
Finding the magic pair in the baked macaroons is rather a sweet affair. It’s nice to think that despite the haphazard creation of sizes that there might be the perfect other half for each one. Kind of a nice metaphor for life, isn’t it? My other half got to choose the recipe from the book. He was a very happy husband. I ate my first ones with some green tea. Afterwards I sat back and wrote to a couple of gorgeous girls on my postcards.
Pop over to Quiet Paws to see her mocha macaroons! If you want to join the cooking club for May, please leave me a comment and I will email you the details. It’s very casual, non-competitive and about inspiring and supporting new adventures in our kitchens.
anzac day
- a sleep in (as best as this early riser can) – morning walk & ingredients acquisition – old men in suits with medals whom I want to hug – that haunting trumpet song – baked & wrapped anzac biscuits – read philosophy – created a delicious sauce for mexican lunch – tv show on olive oil in spain – a long walk as the sun dropped – husband to a spontaneous boy’s night at the movies – a night in for me with my dog, gossip girl & hart of dixie – a deep, sound sleep in a wonderful nation -
everyone else is having babies
Change is happening and I’m working to adjust. The flood of thoughts and feelings are being addressed as part of my Project Mind Declutter.
We are surrounded by many couples having babies, getting pregnant and planning to embark on that journey. I’ve been privileged to attend 10 baby showers to date to celebrate their next chapter. Amidst my joy for them I feel many other emotions given we’re not at the same point in our lives. Concerns of how friendships evolve and survive with new priorities. Fears of having an empty dining table in the future. Wishing there were no judgements or assumptions of any woman, especially when the full story is so rarely made public. Struggling with my disabilities around fast moving kids, talking toddlers and fragile babies. An occasional tear.
Comfort from discussions with those who relate. Relishing my nurturing side as a loving wife, dog mum and good family member and friend. Free of guilt after asking my mum if she is ok not becoming a grandmother beside some of her peers. Feeling honoured when we are given Auntie and Uncle titles. Grateful that my husband and I are on the same page and communicate openly. Overcoming challenges of my own with determination and support. Acting on our priorities and pleasures.
While we all forge our own paths to happiness, may we always find opportunities to come together to share moments along the way.
river cafe *london*
It was a lovely little escapade from a rainy day to enjoy quality Italian cuisine at River Cafe. I tried steak tartare (raw mince) for the first time here. I loved the kitchen colours, projected clock and the wood fire oven. Afterwards, we caught a double decker bus to give our contented bellies a rest before continuing onto the next adventure in London.
i figgin’ love figs
gourmet grocer haul – just figs – breakfast with figs & an e-book
My husband and I were doodling on paper. He drew a fig.
I wrote “I figgin’ love you berry much”.
He wrote “Ha ha, you’d make a grape comedian”.
Love him. And figs.
backyard sunset dinner
A dear long-time friend invited my husband, dog and I to meet her chooks. She said “come before sunset, I want you to see everything before it gets dark”. Oh my heart swells when people are so thoughtful. One chook kept coming to say hello as we ate dinner and basked in the last heat of the day. It was hilarious as she lovingly told them all it was bed time and chased them across the yard and back into their pen. Mother hen. Love her.
road trip
Easter in Australia is a four-day long weekend so there is plenty of time for relaxation and adventure. While we are very much city people, a country escape can be a great refresher. I love getting up close with some of our plant-based food sources and cute farm animals. We chatted to the lovely old man who came out of his house as we bought fruit from his road side stall. The windows were down to let in the autumn air. My dog was on the back seat with his nose inched forward between ours to take in the view and share it with us. Music playing, figs & cherry tomatoes to snack on, water bottles by our side. The camera on my lap, my husband directing me to things to see and my eyes scanning back and forth seeking out photographic moments. Pulling over to capture pieces of our little road trip.
long weekend
dinner out with good food, great company and giggles
a morning dog walk turned into breakfast at a local cafe
a huge dinner with 30 loved ones
making enough salad to feed an army
(still eating leftovers of said salad)
sleep ins
gazing at the moon
two road trips out of the city
husband’s music compilations in the car
extra hugs with family
watched hugo
flowers
grandparents, gardens and more giggles
a sunset walk by the water with my husband and dog
rabbits of the cocoa kind, breeding like…
featured on *miss minimalist*
While so many other blogs have come and gone from my reader, Miss Minimalist has always remained a firm favourite. The beautiful author Francine inspires with practical and philosophical posts on minimalism. I am butterflies-in-my-tummy excited to be this week’s Real Life Minimalist. It’s like having a hot chocolate with cream on top (something I only discovered in California in 2010) – sweet. Yes this moment is real sweet. There is a goofy grin on my face.
