Family Life

Hi friends, welcome to this week’s edition of Hello Monday where we link up with Holly and Sarah to share some of our weekend highlights. My weekend was a nice mix of a fun and busy Saturday followed by a very relaxed and lazy Sunday. Then as usual it all went too fast and here we are again ready to begin a new week. Saturday Saturday morning I wrapped up a few household chores left over from a busy week. I’m relieved that I don’t have to do mountains of chores on the weekend. I try so hard to make sure I get on top of everything during the week. But of course, there’s always something to do. Ugh! I’m excited that I’ve kept up a nice routine of meal planning and ordering groceries online every Saturday morning. Then I schedule them to be delivered in the afternoon. Same-day delivery is the best! After all the household stuff I went out and caught up with some friends for morning tea at 11. We had so much to chat about so it felt as if the morning flew by in a flash! I ended up leaving my friend’s house just after 2 because I had to get the car back for Steve to go to work at 2.30. In the afternoon, my grocery order came and after I packed everything away. It was time to head to another friend’s house for dinner and games night. We had gazpacho as an entree. I had heard of it before and knew that it was a cold soup made with blended tomatoes, cucumbers onions and garlic. But it was the first time I had ever tried it. Then it was Greek-style roast chicken, vegetables and salad as mains. So good! To finish off my friend made a spectacular-looking mango cheesecake. When she brought it out we were all oohing aahing. It tasted amazing too! Then it was time for some games. We played Taboo first and then moved on to Cranium. Games nights are so much fun and there was the usual funny yelling and laughing till our sides hurt. It was a fun night with our group of friends. Sunday I needed a Sunday like the one I just had where I did next to nothing. Apart from going to church in the morning I just camped out on the sofa and watched TV with Steve for most of the day. We watched a few episodes of Grand Designs then we moved on to two movies. One was American Underdog and the other was Ford Vs Ferrari. I stayed awake for the whole of the first movie. But after a glass of wine with dinner it was lights out for me and I slept through most of the second. And that was my weekend, some fun times and a good dose of downtime. How was yours, I hope it was a good one! My friend is looking into the issue with my website. As I shared with you on Friday, some comments are not going through and coming up with either a blank page or a weird message that says ‘Error 403’ or something frightening like that. Fingers crossed that everything will be working as it should very soon. Tech woes always do my head in! I hope you have a great week and I look forward to being back here on Wednesday.

Hi, friends! Wow, that weekend sure flew by in the blink of an eye, and now it’s Monday again. I’m here to link up with Holly and Sarah and share some of the fun I had celebrating my birthday over the weekend! Cousin Connect We had a late cousin get-together this month because some cousins were away and we decided to reschedule to mid-February when most could come. My aunt hosted and cooked up a storm. Even though we ate so much we could barely move, we still had a tonne of food left over and we all agreed that it looked as if we had barely made a dent! We finished by playing Jackbox TV games and we had chocolate birthday cake for dessert. Can we all agree that four candles on a cake are plenty when you are over a certain age? Haha! The Rocks in Sydney On Sunday (my actual birthday ) the four of us went to The Rocks for lunch. It was an incredibly hot and humid day, starting off sunny before turning cloudy. When we got off the train at Circular Quay we saw a massive Royal Princess Cruise ship. I’m always amazed by the size of those huge vessels, to me they look like moving apartment buildings. We’ve never been on a cruise, but if we ever did I’d be happy with just a short getaway. Maybe one day. I spotted a Sydney tourist bus along the way. If the prices didn’t start from $65.00 a ticket I’d definitely hop on for a ride! Birthday Lunch We ended up at The Fortune of War pub. A guy was playing guitar and singing some well-known tunes and I really wanted to sit outside but it was just too hot. Poor Steve looked like a human fountain, so we decided that it was better to go inside and eat in the air-conditioned restaurant instead of the steamy courtyard. We all ordered fish and chips! Dessert At The Opera Bar Afterwards, we walked over to The Opera Bar for dessert. Everyone ordered a ricotta cheesecake and I also had a frozen coconut margarita which tasted like a deliciously refreshing slushie with a kick. We sat indoors, which turned out to be a good choice as it was cooler than outside. Then not long after it began to pour down rain, such strange weather! We found a cozy booth and I loved the way they had decorated the length of the bar wall with potted plants and vases. We came home at around 7 pm, just in time to watch Married at First Sight. It’s one of those shows with so much drama and topics that always leaves me wide-eyed and almost horrified. Yet I can’t stop watching! We had ham, cheese and tomato melts for a light dinner after a big lunch. Then Luke went home, Steve went to bed and Sam and I stayed up way too late watching a movie. I didn’t want my fun birthday weekend to end! It was such a perfect weekend and I struggled so badly to get up to go to work this morning! But I made it through the day and I have promised myself that I’m going to go to bed at a decent time tonight. Thanks so much for being here today! I hope you have a wonderful day.

Hi, friends welcome to the February edition of ‘Share Our Lives’, hosted by Adrienne, Dara, Jen, Joanne and Sarah. The topic for this month is ‘How You Met Your Significant Other or Best Friend”. So I’m sharing how I met my husband, Steve. I have to admit that I had a giggle when I saw the topic. Firstly it feels like it happened a hundred years ago. Secondly, because it’s kind of a funny story. A long time ago, at a church camp far, far away in a small town called Bundanoon, I first met Steve. Now, here’s the thing: he is six years older than me. This doesn’t seem like a massive age gap now, but it sure did when I was a teen. So, when we first met I was 14, and he was 20. There was absolutely ZERO connection or romantic interest or even a single thought about anything to do with any of that AT ALL. I’m emphasising this because when my kids found out how we first met they teased us incessantly. “‘Dad!! She was a kid!!!’ Hahaha!!” Anyway, there I was at church camp way back in 1984. I was having dinner with about 60 other kids from the youth group. I can’t recall how it happened, but suddenly, Steve appeared and sat next to me and my friend when it was time for dessert. He was one of the youth leaders, always friendly and hilariously funny! Whatever he was saying to me had me in stitches and I couldn’t focus on my canned fruit and ice cream (when it comes to food, I don’t forget the details!) Then, out of the blue, he said to me “You don’t want that, do you?”  and he picked up my dessert and ate it. Looking back, I must have thought he was incredibly charming because no, I didn’t mind that he just devoured my dessert right in front of me. Now of course I’d probably pummel him to the ground if he ever dared. So for the next few years, I vaguely remember seeing him at church and youth group. He would usually bring along one of his girlfriends who were all very nice. Except for one who was scary. My friends and I would giggle and wonder who ‘Pootie’ was dating now. That was his nickname back then but that’s another story. Then when I was 18, by pure chance, we were paired up to go door-to-door handing out free Bibles. It was 1988, and Australia was celebrating its bicentenary. Churches distributed special bicentenary bibles to share with the local community. So we spent hours walking from door to door chatting the whole time. I felt so comfortable around him and I loved that he made me laugh a lot! I guess it was after that, we started hanging out more whenever we were at youth group. Then a few months later he asked me to go for a drive and a picnic. I was so impressed that he packed lunch. He brought along cheese and ham on the softest bread rolls I had ever tasted and even some sparkly apple juice. See, I told you that I don’t forget details about food. We dated for about just over a year and then we got married in January 1990. It feels like I’ve known him forever (because I have) and we’ve gone through fun times, happy times, sad times and incredibly tough times. While I know for a fact that we haven’t always made each other laugh. Now we are in that sweet spot in our marriage where the kids are all grown up and it doesn’t feel as if we’re in the trenches. We enjoy each other’s company and we like to hang out together. He still makes me laugh a lot, but I know that I’m funnier! I don’t have any photos of us dating! We dated in the dark ages when there were no mobile phones and cameras and film was expensive. So we only really took photos on special occasions. But here is one of our engagement party and the other is at our wedding. Thanks so much for being here today! I hope you enjoyed learning a bit about how I met my husband.  

Hey everyone it’s time for the February edition of Currently hosted by Jennifer from Overflowing With Thankfulness. Today we are taking a peek into what we are currently loving, looking forward to, doing to be romantic, changing and celebrating. Thank you so much for joining me! LOVING I have been loving walking into our preschool and seeing Antique white walls! I shared the other day that it used to be painted in a kaleidoscope of bold colours. However, during the summer holidays, it was transformed into a new space with fresh WHITE paint and new flooring. It feels so zen – peace out man! I keep forgetting to take photos of the classroom when it’s set up. But here it is after it was all packed up for the day. We also have plans to get all new furniture, so I’ll be sure to share some pics when it’s all done! LOOKING FORWARD TO I’m looking forward to the weekend and then beyond that I’m looking forward to the next term break. It’s been exhausting settling the new kids into preschool this week. Almost feels like I’ve spent the last few days rounding up confused sheep! DOING TO BE ROMANTIC I can’t say that I have really been doing anything to be romantic. Steve and I enjoyed a whole lot of fun outings at cafes and restaurants when I was off during the summer break. But now I think that we will be enjoying cozy nights at home with a glass of wine in front of the TV when he is off from work two evenings a week. That counts as romantic, right? CHANGING Hmmmm, I had to think about this one! All I could come up with is that I’ve been changing channels and streaming apps a lot on my TV. I can’t seem to find any good series to binge-watch lately. Any recommendations? CELEBRATING I have a very young and fun work colleague whose birthday just happens to fall on the day before mine in February. Well, she is probably one of the happiest and sunniest people I know. Her zest for life and celebrating any occasion is downright contagious! So these days I can’t help but be excited about my birthday too. I don’t know how I will be celebrating on the day. But I do know that since I’ve been working with her I’ve stopped being all silly about getting older. I’m going along with her enthusiasm and I like her idea that February should be birthday month. Haha! This means that every weekend in February, we are each going to do something big or little for ourselves to celebrate. So I decided that the coin and card wallet I got with my $30 rewards voucher from Country Road last Saturday, was a birthday present to myself! That wraps up a few things that I have been up to. Happy Wednesday!

Hi friends! It’s great to be back today linking up with Holly and Sarah to share my relaxing weekend recap. Thanks so much for stopping by to have a read! Friday Night Last week was my first week back at work and I had a lot of trouble sleeping. My brain was in complete overdrive and buzzing. To top it off,  I was also obsessing over the impending alarm and I couldn’t fall asleep. I tossed and turned constantly thinking about how I needed to sleep fast or else I was going to feel tired the whole day and oh no why was I still awake and blah blah blah! The hot and humid nights didn’t help either. Thankfully our Silvercool sheets kept us much cooler than our regular cotton sheets. They are such a lifesaver! So it wasn’t just the heat that was stopping me from falling asleep. My brain would not shut down! On some days I would finally doze off around 3 am and then the alarm would go off at 6 am. Ugh! By the time Friday night rolled around, I felt completely exhausted and that night I crashed hard! Waking up on Saturday I felt much more refreshed and so much better. Fingers crossed that this week I won’t be so focused on the darn alarm! *Update: Last night I fell asleep at 1 am – I’ll take that as a sign that things are improving! Saturday Saturday morning was nice and slow just the way I needed it to be. I caught up with Steve because we are back to mainly communicating by text due to our conflicting work schedules. I enjoyed sipping my coffee slowly, instead of chugging it down. Then I did some blogging, organised my meal plan and placed an online grocery order. I felt like I was winning again instead of playing catch-up! In the afternoon after Steve went to work, I made a super quick trip to the city. I walked about 15 minutes to the next suburb to catch the train. When I got to the station I was surprised to find a lively Lunar New Year festival in full swing. The whole main street was blocked off and there were people everywhere. I did a quick lap around the food stalls, snapped a few photos, and soaked in a little festive atmosphere before jumping on the train. The reason for my quick dash to the city was that I had a $30 reward that I wanted to redeem at Country Road before it expired in the next few days. I knew that I wouldn’t have a chance to get to the shops during the week and there was no way that I wanted to miss out on my reward! But the thing with these reward vouchers is that you can’t buy very much with $30 so it’s easy to get sucked into spending way more. But I stayed strong and found a cute card and coin wallet that cost $39. So I just added the $9.00 difference and was pleased with myself for not spending much. Go me! Sunday After church, I went home and made a quick lunch. Finally, Steve, Sam and I sat down to our first meal together all week! Sam is once again very busy with uni and work so we don’t get to see him as much as we did when he was on summer break. He was chatting about his first overseas trip he booked the other day. The half-price deal that was on offer for one day only on Thursday of last week was too good to pass up. So he and two other friends seized the opportunity, booked their tickets and are making plans to head off in late April As he sat there telling us about all the things he wanted to do in Japan. I had flashbacks to when he was little and would sit in the very same spot at the dining table. Except back then he would talk about Lego and Pokemon. Where did the time go? I spent the rest of Sunday catching up on this and that. The dream of chore-free weekends is exactly that – a dream! Still, it’s not so bad because I do keep up with the bulk of things during the week. Steve had to go to work for a few hours so I jumped on the computer to do some blogging. When he came home a little after 8 pm, we opened a bottle of wine called “Sunday”. Very appropriate, no? We enjoyed dinner (again the three of us – two meals together in one day. Yay!!) Then we wrapped up the day with an episode of Vera. All in all, it was a lovely weekend that ended way too fast! How was yours? I hope it was a good one. Thanks so much for being here today – can you believe it’s February? Have a wonderful Monday.          

Hello friends and Hello Friday!! It’s great to be back to share a favourites recap. Thank you so much for being here! Well, it was back to work for me on Tuesday! I was so sad to say goodbye to the holidays but I have to admit that one of the upsides was getting back to my walk-to-work routine. When the holidays first started I was trying to keep up with doing some regular walking. I started strong and then got lazy real quick! Another huge favourite was starting the year with a freshly painted preschool! It looks so beautiful now with the Antique white walls and new flooring. The whole preschool looks incredibly fresh and feels like a much calmer space than before. You see, all the preschool rooms used to be painted in different bright bold colours and I wasn’t a fan. For someone like me who loves neutral colours, stepping into such a vibrant and retina-challenging space every day was quite overwhelming. But having worked there for so long I (sort of ) got used to being surrounded by so much intense colour. One room was bright red, the reading area was royal blue, another classroom banana yellow, and the foyer was mandarine orange. You get the picture! Our amazing director has been organising some practical as well as aesthetic changes to our tired old building. After the big painting project, we have been receiving heaps of wonderful feedback from the preschool families and of course, the staff couldn’t be happier! Because the calmer the space, the calmer the children, right? Haha! We had two pupil-free days – Tuesday and Wednesday. Tuesday was one super long meeting broken up by a delicious lunch the preschool provided for us. Chicken and salad with chips as well as garlic sauce on the side. Yum, but luckily we didn’t have any parents or children to breathe on that day! On Monday, the last day of the summer school holidays. I dug deep and found some motivation to pull down the curtains and wash them. I also cleaned the blinds. Now the rooms in the house smell so fresh and clean and that’s a gigantic favourite! I love this plant! Last year I went to visit my friend who lives in Avoca Beach and I stayed with her for a couple of days. Well, she has the most beautiful house and a gorgeously landscaped garden. She had these brightly coloured plants growing in her front yard, which looked spectacular. I commented on how much I liked them and she gave me a cutting to take home. Now I’ve shared heaps of times before that I am no gardener! So I didn’t hold any high hopes that I would manage to keep the beautiful plant alive much less grow it. But miracles of all miracles, I put it in a vase with water and then a few weeks later when some roots started to grow I replanted it into a pot. And it grew!!! Now I am going to give my other friend a cutting and she is going to do the same. It will be like the pay-it-forward miracle plant! Speaking of plants, I got some new ones for around the house. A palm for the dining area One for the bathroom. Another one behind the sofa. Some greenery is always good for the eyes. That’s all for now friends, a quick favourites recap for this week. Funnily enough, even though we are back into routine. All of this week I was still asking ‘What day is it today?’. Starting work on Tuesday kind of threw me and I have been confused all week. Next week we are back from Monday so I won’t be confused but I sure will be counting down the days until the weekend! Thanks so much for being here and I hope you have a wonderful Friday! Linking up with Andrea and Erika  

Hello friends and welcome to the first ‘What’s Up Wednesday’ for 2024! I have to keep reminding myself to write 2024 instead of 2023. The other day I nearly wrote 1993. I must be really losing it!! Anyway, I am so glad you are here and today I’m sharing some of my January fun! *This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase I may earn a small commission at no cost to you. Thank you for your support!* WHAT WE’RE EATING THIS WEEK Up until this week, we were in complete holiday mode so I hadn’t worried about doing any meal planning. It was back to work for me yesterday so now I’m back on the meal-planning train again. Monday – Chicken and snowpeas Tuesday – Steak sandwiches Wednesday –  Fish in lemon and garlic butter with homemade wedges and salad. Thursday- Chicken casserole and rice Friday – Turkey burgers Saturday – Nachos WHAT I’M REMINISCING ABOUT I guess I’m reminiscing about how fast time flies! It feels like a minute ago we were all so excited about the end of the preschool year. We wrapped up the year with the children’s Christmas concerts and parties. Then did a whole lot of cleaning and packing away the classrooms etc. and just about ran out of the preschool gates like the kid on Home Alone. We had an amazing Christmas and a nice low-key New Year’s Eve. As well as a fantastic time over the five-week school holiday break doing relaxing and fun things with friends and family. Now we are back at work and the holidays almost feel like a distant memory. My director even commented today how it didn’t feel like we had a break. My sentiments exactly! WHAT I’M LOVING I have been loving the whole month of January! No schedules, no timetables, no work and no rush rush rush to go anywhere!! It’s been the best! WHAT I’M DREADING The weekday morning alarm going off again. WHAT I’M EXCITED ABOUT February means another month of summer! Yay!! WHAT WE’VE BEEN UP TO A whole lot of January fun! We kicked off the first week of 2024 with a delicious Italian lunch in the city with my cousin and her family. Followed by a basketball game a few days later with some of our Cousin Connect crew. I also hosted our first Cousin Connect for 2024 and we had a big Italian feast in our little courtyard. I tackled some cleaning and decluttering as well as a closet cleanout. My husband’s swim club started back again for the remainder of the season. As a social and non-swimming member of the club, I went along to watch the races and enjoy the BBQ on the second Sunday in January. I visited The Powerhouse Museum with my lovely friend. We also spent a Saturday exploring Paddington in Sydney. Steve and I celebrated our anniversary at the Opera Bar. The last week of the school holidays, I caught up with some friends for a good chat over brunch. Last weekend I went to see Wicked The Musical with my lovely friend. I finished off the summer school holidays with a fantastic trip to my favourite vintage warehouse where I found my dream bedside table. It sure has been a great January! WHAT I’M WATCHING I’ve been on a roll watching foreign movies and series. I really love listening to the different languages and don’t mind reading the subtitles. A couple of weeks ago I shared that I watched a wonderful French comedy/drama called ‘Rumba Therapy’. This movie is so sweet that I think it’s a definite must-see! Then shortly after, we watched ‘Berlin’, the ‘Money Heist’ prequel. I also watched a Dutch movie called ‘Faithfully Yours’. It’s about two friends who use each other as alibis to go off on sneaky weekends away to have extramarital affairs. But there is a crime and a big twist at the end which I thought saved the movie. While I didn’t love this movie, I still found it intriguing enough to watch until the end. WHAT I’M LISTENING TO I have to admit that I often struggle with sticking to a quiet time routine and reading the Bible. There are times when I’ll be reading a passage and my mind will wander to silly things like ‘Hmm what should I cook?” or I’ll read a sentence only to realise that I need to reread it because I missed the meaning. I know, I know…not good! Well, I recently discovered this amazing app called Dwell, have you heard of it? In the app, you get to pick from over twenty voices to read you the Bible. I am currently doing ‘The Straight Thru Plan- Bible in A Year’. I chose a smooth, warm and playful voice from a lady called Kylie with a North American accent. She reads from the English Standard Version and I just love listening to her read the Bible to me! I find that I’m so captured by her soothing voice that my mind stays on the text and doesn’t wander away. Another great feature is that you can choose the type of music you prefer and it will play gently in the background, I chose ambient. Dwell also offers devotionals, stories and listening plans. If you would like to give it a free trial or sign up for the plan you can find all the details here. I honestly can’t recommend it enough. WHAT I’M WEARING It’s been so hot and humid this summer! I’ve heard that the temps in the Northern Hemisphere have been ridiculously cold. Over here we’re dealing with the opposite, hitting temperatures as high as 39ºC. So I have been wearing my usual basic colours for my summer outfits. But, I did get a new sleeveless top recently that’s a bit more colourful than what I usually go for. WHAT I’M DOING THIS WEEKEND I have no plans at this stage but after such a

Hi friends it’s time for the Hello Monday link-up hosted by Holly and Sarah. Thanks so much for joining me as I share a few of the things we got up to over the weekend. Wicked The Musical My awesome friend managed to find some pretty reasonably priced tickets to go and see “Wicked The Musical” on Saturday. First off, we both thought that it would be a fun way to finish the summer school holidays. Plus, it was also good to have something to look forward to. It sort of helped to take our minds off the fact that we both have to go back to work on Tuesday. We had lunch at a nice Italian restaurant beforehand and we both ordered pasta and drinks. Then it was time for the show and we found our seats. They were spot on! Right in the middle of the theatre where we could see the whole stage. I had no clue what “Wicked” was about and the only thing I had heard was that it had something to do with The Wizard of Oz. Well, I was blown away by how good it was! I won’t go into spoilers because if you get a chance to see it I think you’ll love it. I will say that absolutely everything that I thought I knew about The Wizard of Oz as a kid was completely shaken up for me – in a good way! Then after the show, it was time for a sweet treat. Ice cream from Messina! Mitchell Road Antiques Saturday morning my husband suggested we go out for lunch and then go to my favourite place – Mitchell Road Antiques. I could tell that he wanted to distract me from the fact that I had to say goodbye to the summer break. Well, it sure did work! We had lunch at a cafe called COOH. Funny name and I wonder what it what it stands for. We shared salt and pepper squid. Then I had the pumpkin falafel and salad. Steve had the beef burger and chips. Aperol spritz on a hot day. Yes, please! After lunch, we walked over to Mitchell Road Antiques and had a look at all of their vintage treasures. I love wandering around and looking at all the amazing furniture, clothes and decor from all the past decades. It’s like walking around a time capsule! They also play 80s music and once I’m there I never want to leave. So many interesting things to look at! I wondered where on earth the next two neon signs may have been from! A Vintage Find! Then all my dreams came true when I spotted an original Kartell Componibli designed by Anna Castelli Ferrieri. I had always secretly dreamed of owning an original. They are still manufactured in Italy but a vintage one has always appealed to me most. I mean imagine if it could talk and tell us how many homes it had lived in! There’s something about retro furniture pieces and decor that fascinates me. I stood there almost hyperventilating because I was so excited! My husband was saying “Let’s buy it, stop overthinking, he who hesitates is lost, it can be your birthday present, those people behind us are looking at it too. C’mon!!” If he wasn’t there I wouldn’t have bought it. Then I would have regretted it forever. We took my new/old baby home and I spent the afternoon cleaning it up and wondering about its previous owners. It was probably made in the late 60’s or early 70’s. We could be the same age! A New Bedside Table I decluttered my old bedside table which I had clearly been putting off for a long time! Here I was thinking that I was pretty good at throwing things out regularly. But still, there was so much stuff! I found some treasures from my childhood in the drawers that I will always keep. In the end, I was happy with the two bags of junk I got rid of. Here is my new vintage bedside table. Steve still has the old country-style bulky one for now. But I’ve listed them both on Facebook Marketplace. Once I sell them I’ll just get a simple white bedside table for him in a different style. I’m a bit over all the matching bedroom furniture. We need to replace our Ikea dining table and chairs as they are looking a bit old. But we’re not in any hurry so we’re hoping to stumble upon a vintage gem. I think I’d love a funky mid-century dining set. Back To Work And just like that in what truly feels like a blink of an eye. My summer holidays are over and tomorrow I go back to work. But I have had the best break and enjoyed all the fun outings, meals out and catch-ups. Most of all I have loved every minute of being at home and not having to worry about running out of time to get things done. It’s been total bliss not having to stick to a routine or schedule! So it might be a bit of a shock to the system when the alarm goes off tomorrow morning. But hey, at least it will be a four-day week for us. Trying to stay positive!! Thanks so much for being here today and I hope that you have a wonderful Monday. See ya!