Friday Favourites

Hi friends, it’s time to link up with Andrea and Erika to share a few of my favourite things from the week. Let’s go! Preschool Moments Do you know how good it feels to go to work and actually enjoy the day? I had forgotten what that was like. But now that I have two great classes across the week, I remember! It’s week five, and I’m getting to know the new kids, and I can tell they’re feeling the same way about me. On Tuesday, I sat on the deck with a couple of them just chatting, and soon a few more joined in. We talked about their pets, favourite colours, and how many siblings they have. I loved how comfortable they felt sitting next to me, flopping against me and sharing their stories. It’s been a long minute since that happened, and it felt so good. Back in the classroom, I’ve been sitting on the floor helping the kids with puzzles. Some of them are such clever cookies! On Wednesday, I was amazed by a tiny three-year-old. She persevered until she mastered a complicated 24-piece layered puzzle and could do it by herself. That darn puzzle is hard! After surviving last year, when we were all on constant patrol to keep everyone, including ourselves, safe. Now, being able to enjoy chunks of time playing and just being with the kids is the best. I’m also not spending the whole day mentally begging for the clock to go faster. Now I don’t even count the minutes till the end of the day, and time just flies! I even have time to be creative with classroom displays. I’m in the process of cutting out what feels like a hundred thousand leaves for a family tree where we’ll display their family photos. I have a vision of adding fairy lights to sprinkle a little magic. Hopefully, it turns out as good as it looks in my head. Quick edit: I wrote this last night when I hadn’t spent a whole day stuck inside due to wet weather, and I was feeling all la-di-da. Today it rained, so it was a different story. Although we don’t have the behaviour issues like we did last year, by the end of the day, I was very ready to be outta there. Wet weather days are never a favourite, but luckily, the weather’s rarely bad enough to keep us indoors for long. Phew! Favourite Things Now, onto some other favourite things from my week… My lovely friend gave me some mugs for my birthday, and I love them! When we renovated the kitchen a few years ago, I went into full minimal mode and made sure almost everything we bought was white. I did keep a few special pieces—a pink mug from my cousin, a red teacup and saucer from another friend, and my blue and white Johnson Brothers dinner plates in ‘Indies’ pattern, which I love. Apart from those, everything is mostly white. My friend, who knows me very well, made me laugh when she told me all the effort she put into tracking down white mugs from my favourite shop, Country Road. A New Watch I got a fun new watch! A few weeks ago, I was reminiscing about my teen years and remembered how much I loved my old Swatch. Steve, Sam, and I went into the city on Tuesday to pick up my birthday Swatch. We’re not very good at deciding what we want for birthdays or Christmas. We always fall back on the old line, “I’ll have a think and let you know,” and then end up scrambling at the last minute. This time, I knew exactly what I wanted, but we hadn’t had a chance to go and buy it. We could have ordered it online, but I wanted to try it on first, and this week was the first chance we got. I can’t believe I picked out a fuchsia one. Even my original Swatch back in the 80s was grey. I always go for neutrals, but not this time and nobody is more surprised than I am! Keratin Treatment Time Time for a keratin treatment to fight the frizz. It had been over a year since my last treatment, so I was well overdue. With the weather so humid lately, my hair was really bad. It was so nice to sit in the air-conditioned salon after work on Wednesday, and this time, the two hours it took to get the treatment flew by. I love how they treat you with a coffee, a Tim Tam and a heart-shaped chocolate. Now I’m in that awful in-between stage, waiting for the keratin to do its thing. I have to wait three days to wash my hair (tomorrow is the third day, hallelujah) and two weeks to colour it. The keratin has made my hair a bit orange, and it’s so flat it’s practically glued to my scalp. I was tempted to wear a baseball cap to work since Wednesday, but you’re supposed to let it be and not even tie it up to avoid kinks. In the end, I had to tie it back anyway because I didn’t want to scare the children. And just like that, it’s the weekend. How did the week go by so fast? I hope you have an amazing weekend, and I look forward to being back here on Monday.

Hi friends, it’s time to link up with Andrea and Erika for Friday favourites. It’s been a bit of a celebration week over here with Lunar New Year activities at preschool and my birthday on Wednesday, so this week I’m sharing a few celebration favourites. Thanks so much for being here😊 Birthday Drinks On Monday, I met a friend for a birthday drink, and it was margaritas all round on a very hot day. Leaving Work Early Wednesday was my birthday, and I was able to leave work early because I had some time owing. I only worked three hours, and Steve picked me up from the preschool gate at midday. As I jumped into the car, I said, “Drive, Steve, drive!” Haha, it felt like I was making a great escape. Lunch Treats We went to a little Vietnamese bakery and picked up bánh mì for lunch and an iced matcha. So yum! Afternoon and Dinner In the afternoon, I gave myself a pedicure and watched a bit of TV before getting ready for dinner. My oldest son and his lovely partner joined us, so there were five of us in total. I chose an Italian restaurant near our house that I’d heard good things about, and we had pizzas and pasta until we could barely move. Then we came home for cake, and this year I picked a mix of éclairs and tarts to share. I thought it would be fun to do something a bit different from the usual birthday cake. Surprise Visit Around 9.30, we wrapped things up, and after saying bye to my son and his partner, I put my PJs on. Five minutes later, there was a knock on the door. It was my cousin and her boyfriend. What a lovely surprise, and lucky I was wearing decent PJs! They came by to say happy birthday and brought me two sweet treats that looked like mushrooms. They didn’t taste anything like mushrooms and had a delicious hazelnut chocolate filling in the middle. Netflix Laughs We sat around chatting when my cousin started telling us about a comedian she’d discovered, Marcello Hernandez, and how funny he was. We ended up watching some of his Netflix show American Boy, and she was right. What made it even funnier was how relatable it was for both of us, since we were raised in Latino households. Yikes! Lunar New Year at Preschool Our preschool runs in sessions, with different children attending at the beginning and end of the week. So we ended up celebrating Lunar New Year twice, on Tuesday and Friday. Friday turned out to be the bigger event, with a parent coming in dressed in a special cultural outfit. She read a story and shared some of her family’s traditions. Then it was our turn, and some of the educators presented a story about Nian, the legendary monster. Nian is said to appear every Lunar New Year, and families use red decorations and loud noises to keep it away. Our Little Performance My very fun coworker and fantastic friend organised the whole thing. She was the narrator and puppet handler and got help from another educator who did the voice of Nian. I was in charge of sound effects, backdrop, prop handling, and a few character voices. With only one quick run-through 10 minutes beforehand, we kind of winged it and just laughed through the parts where we messed up. I don’t think the kids noticed the bloopers, and now we are joking about taking this show on the road….maybe not just yet. Birthday at Preschool Another coworker and I have our birthdays a day apart, so today, the staff and children sang happy birthday to us. Nobody ever turns older than five at preschool, and that is exactly the way I like it. I got five firecracker claps after they sang happy birthday. Clap and whoosh! It was very cute and a perfect way to end a wonderful week. Happy Friday!

I’ve been feeling nostalgic lately, thinking about some of my favourite things I miss from my teen years. I think this wave of nostalgia is because of a couple of reasons. First, I just finished watching Stranger Things, which is set in the 80s. The music, fashion, and general vibe transported me straight back to those years. And the other reason is that my birthday is next week. So once again, here I am, wondering how time flew so fast. It feels like I blinked and fast-forwarded to now—yikes! Anyway, I thought I’d go all in on the nostalgia and take you along as I share some of my favourite things I loved from back in the day. Thanks so much for being here! Favourite Things From My Teen Years Levi’s 501s Oh my goodness, I don’t know if it was the jeans I wanted or the guy in the Levi’s TV ad—probably both. My first paycheck (yes, I literally got paid by cheque) went straight towards a pair of faded 501s, and I wore them until they got a hole in the knee… and then I felt even cooler. 😂 Impulse Spray In high school, most of us kept a can of Impulse spray in our lockers to freshen up between classes. I think my favourite scent was called Dancing Queen. I remember it had a pink lid. They still sell Impulse, and a few years ago, probably around my birthday, when nostalgia hits, I bought a can, but I couldn’t stand the smell. Not even as a bathroom spray. Dolly Magazine Ah, Dolly magazine. Every Aussie teen girl had to have it in the 80s. I loved going through each new issue, checking out the fashion, taking quizzes like Answer These Top 10 Questions to Know if He Thinks about You, catching up on celebrity gossip, and collecting some of the posters of my favourite boy bands, pop stars, and TV heartthrobs. Rob Lowe was my teen crush. Even though it featured stars from overseas, Dolly was Australian, printed and sold right here. Sadly, it stopped publishing in 2016. Swatch Watches I had to wait for my 15th birthday to get one of these and I chose a grey one with faint colourful lines on the dial. Haha, always the minimalist when it came to bright colours, even back then. I really wish I’d kept it, but I didn’t. That is the downside of decluttering, you throw away good stuff sometimes. But then again, what would you do if you kept everything? I feel like I’m going around in circles here. Coke in a Glass Bottle I think that Coke in a glass bottle just tastes so much nicer, even today. They aren’t as common as they used to be, but I occasionally treat myself to a glass one. I just remembered I forgot to order it with my grocery delivery that arrived today. Boo! Ray Ban Wayfarers After years of wanting a pair, I think I finally bought prescription ones in either 1987 or 1988, and I’ve still got them and still wear them sometimes. Yay! Off-The-Shoulder Tops Remember Flashdance, when Jennifer Beale wore that off-the-shoulder sloppy joe (we call them sloppy joes here)? I wanted one so badly! The same year the movie came out, we had a Textile and Design assignment at school to make a sloppy joe. Not Flashdance style, but the proper ones. I was painfully slow during class, and since we didn’t own a sewing machine at home (my mum hated sewing with a passion), I never finished mine and didn’t get to sew on the ribbing around the neck or sleeve cuffs. So, I accidentally ended up with one that actually looked like the one on Flashdance. I failed the class, but I loved my top! Big Hair Accessories Scrunchies were all the rage, but I didn’t really wear my hair in a ponytail. Instead, I liked the Madonna-style hairband with a big bow. As long as I didn’t tease my hair too much, because my mum said only the naughty girls wore their hair like that, I was allowed to wear the headband. Well, I guess that’s a wrap on some of my favourite 80s teen memories. I’m sure I’ll remember a dozen more as soon as I hit publish, but for now, I’m off to see about treating myself to a Swatch and some faded 501s. I never really know what to ask for my birthday, but I’m thinking this year, a few classics are the way to go.

Hi friends, and thanks for stopping by for Friday favourites. I’m so glad you’re here! 1 I can hardly believe it’s already Friday, and this week has gone by so fast for me. I’ve really enjoyed my second week back at preschool so far. We’ve met most of the children, with just a couple more to start, and for the first time in a long time, I have a feeling it’s going to be a good year, even though I’m trying not to say it out loud just in case. I’m not entirely sure what happened over the past few years, but things definitely changed after COVID. I’m no expert, but as an early childhood educator, I really felt the gradual impact it had on children and their families, and I wasn’t the only one. I wanted to make sure it wasn’t just me who thought this, so I’d regularly check in with coworkers and people I knew in other schools and early childhood settings. Everyone I spoke to said the same thing. Children’s behaviour was noticeably different, and not in a good way. Last year was the hardest in all of my 35 years working with children and very nearly brought me undone. I usually try to soften things on the blog, but sometimes you just have to say it. It’s been rough! Now I feel like we’re finally on the other side of that, and things are settling back to what I guess life was like pre-COVID. I’m so relieved that many of the reasons I loved working with children are starting to come back. For a long minute, I even wondered if I could keep going. I couldn’t remember who that person was—the one who wrote Six Favourite Things About Working in Early Childhood Education. Anyway, I’m happy and very relieved to say she’s slowly coming back, and that is a big favourite. 2 A while ago, I shared that I had this amazing system for remembering to take my thyroid tablet in the mornings. I’d leave a glass out on the kitchen bench as a signal that I’d taken it. I also loved that it killed two birds with one stone. I took my tablet with a full glass of water, so I started the day medicated and hydrated. What a winner! The system usually worked. But sometimes it didn’t. There were days when I remembered drinking the water but not taking the tablet. And last year, for all the reasons I’ve already shared, I was often not sure whether I was coming or going. And I forgot to take my tablet three days in a row more than once. When you don’t have a thyroid, that medication really matters. Missing a dose here and there doesn’t cause instant drama, but over time, especially when you’re already exhausted and stressed, it can start to catch up with you. Without enough thyroxine in your system, you start to fade and flop like a ragdoll. So I took the advice of a lovely reader who had commented on the post where I shared my not-so-great system and bought a pill organiser. Revolutionary stuff! Do you know why I never bought one for myself before, or even considered it? Because I always thought it was for older people. Ha! How ridiculous is that? Anyway, I love my pill organiser, and this Gen Xer better start facing the truth. Feeling 29 doesn’t make it so 😅 3 I’ll finish off my week’s favourites with this refreshing glass of Aperol Spritz I had on Thursday night at Humphreys Hotel. Cheers to more happy weeks at work, and cheers to the weekend! Happy Friday Linking up with Andrea and Erika

Hi friends, happy Friday! So glad you’re here. Oh my goodness, it is so hot and humid over here. I just got home from work and had to jump straight into the shower before I could even sit down to write about a few of my favourite things from the week. Now that I’m feeling squeaky clean, I can think a little better. Ok, so let’s get into it. Today I have five quick favourite moments from my first week back at work. 1 First up, I’m so happy to share that this week has been a positive start at work. After feeling more than a bit unsure, it has been really nice to ease into the week and feel that things are heading in the right direction. I don’t want to say too much and jinx anything, but I’m tiptoeing my way into feeling optimistic about this preschool year. Phew! 2 Hello, shiny new coffee machine! Normally, it’s instant coffee for us at work, so this feels like a major upgrade. I’m enjoying figuring out which strength and blend I prefer, and yes, this machine stores your own coffee profile. I had no idea this was even a thing. This is my first real experience in the world of coffee machines, as I only have a plunger at home. I’ve had more coffee than usual the past couple of days and had to cut myself off before heading down the road to heart palpitations—yikes! 3 On Monday, I shared that one of the positives of going back to work was that I eat a lot healthier. While I often look at my salads and wish that I had the power to turn them into a Big Mac, I know that this is better for me. 4 Thursday afternoon, Sam texted that he had arrived safely in Bali. Maybe one day I’ll get used to it, because I have a feeling he’s going to be someone who loves to travel. But I don’t love it when my boy is way up high on a plane. Even though I know flying is the safest mode of transport, I can’t help feeling anxious. I’m also not sure if it’s helpful to track him on Flight Radar, but I did anyway. 5 Steve and I went out for happy hour at Humphrey’s. Cheers to Sam and his friends landing safely! That’s week one, term one, done and dusted. This work week went way better than I expected, and I couldn’t ask for more. Well… yes, I can—I want more weeks like this one, please! Now it’s time to enjoy the weekend, which looks like a very quiet one at home. I don’t have any plans, and I think I’m ready to watch the last season of Stranger Things. I’ve been holding off because I didn’t want it to end, but the longer I leave it, the more chance there is of getting spoilers, right? Hope you all have a lovely weekend! Linking up with Andrea and Erika  

Hi friends, it’s time to link up with Andrea and Erika to share some highlights from my week. Let’s go!! One One of my favourite moments this week was sitting on my verandah, soaking up some Vitamin D (good for my bones as I get older), drinking coffee, and jotting down dates in my new 2026 diary that my friend gave me for Christmas. Two The postman came while I was there, and I received a postcard from my cousin, who went to New Zealand five weeks ago. Haha, that’s snail mail for you! I’ve actually already seen her, but it was so nice of her to think of me while on holiday. Three When my boys were little, I would let them pick a box of sugary cereal for the school holidays. Now that they’re grown men and eat men food, I’ve kept the tradition for myself and buy a box of my favourite cereal, Rice Bubbles. I actually don’t even eat cereal except when I’m on holidays, get up late (won’t say how late), and can enjoy it properly. Four I lit this cute candle I got from one of the preschoolers as a Christmas gift. It has a lovely scent, and the little gold propeller on top spins as the flame burns. The temperatures were much cooler this week, which is why I actually used a candle. I can’t even look at a flame on those boiling hot summer days. Five The cooler temps made me crave soup, so I made a chicken and vegetable one. I always add Parmesan cheese to mine after I heat it up. It’s something I learned as a kid from my mum’s best friend. We would all get together at their house, and while my mum chatted, I would play with her daughter, who is now my longtime friend, and for lunch we would have soup with Parmesan cheese. I caught up with her last year at her dad’s memorial. Somehow, we got onto the topic of soup, not sure how, and we both said at the same time, “With Parmesan cheese!” She was amazed that I remembered. How could I forget such an incredible taste sensation? Six I saw a huge jar of pickles at Aldi and took a pic to send to the family group chat. We are a close family divided by our love for pickles. About half don’t like them, and half do. I’m team pickle all the way. But I didn’t buy this massive jar, that would be a bit too crazy. Seven Yum, a glass of Merlot and chocolates on Wednesday evening. We didn’t have any dark chocolate, so we cracked open a box of another thoughtful Christmas gift from a preschooler. Working as an educator has some big benefits, don’t you agree, hehe. Eight My favourite evening this week was when my eldest son and his partner came over for dinner. We started with some mini quiches and crumbed prawns before tucking into some family favourites. I made South American food, which I don’t normally make because there are too many steps and I have to follow a recipe. While we enjoyed our entrees around the coffee table… we watched a YouTube clip of Mark Carney, the Prime Minister of Canada, and his speech from the World Economic Forum in Davos, and oh wow! I think this might be my most favourite of all the favourites. I loved that, as a family, we watched a truly memorable, historic speech, and it gave us hope. And just like that, my five-week end-of-year break is coming to a fast end, bah! I start back next Tuesday after Australia Day. But shhh, let’s not talk about that and just get on with enjoying the weekend. Happy Friday!

Hi friends its time to share five favourites on this sunny Friday. Thanks so much for stopping by! One I really love sitting out the front of our house to drink my coffee or any other beverage. But until this week, we didn’t have anywhere to sit. The chairs we’d had there for years went out with the council clean-up about six months ago, and we hadn’t got around to replacing them, so I was using the front steps. This week, we finally got a small three-piece set, and it fits perfectly. Now we have somewhere comfortable to sit, drink, read, and enjoy. Sure beats the steps, which weren’t very comfy! Two You know you’re a full-grown adult when you get genuinely excited about a shiny, clean shower screen, right? About five years ago, my husband got a Karcher Window Vac for his birthday, and I think he used it once. I pulled it out this week and thought, why not try it on the ensuite shower screen? Bingo, what an aaahh moment, and I’m never going back. That Karcher Window Vac is all mine now. Three The other day, it was my turn to pick a movie, actually, it’s always my turn, which is totally okay with me–hehe. A couple of weeks ago, I picked a real dud called A House of Dynamite, so this time I had to regain my top movie-picker status. I chose Everybody’s Fine with Robert De Niro, Drew Barrymore, and Kate Beckinsale. Some of my favourite actors, and the movie was so good! I won’t spoil it, but it’s about a man whose wife has died and who wants to reconnect with his grown-up kids. I think it really hit me because of where we are in life. One of our boys flew the nest years ago, and the other, while he has no plans to go anywhere, I know the day will come. The movie had me sobbing at the end. I haven’t cried this much since I watched Titanic! I don’t usually like films that make me sad, but this wasn’t a bad sad. It was a heartfelt sad. Maybe I could relate because it feels like only a minute ago our kids were little, and now they’re not. Watch it. I’m sure you’ll love it. Four We walked up to a local Japanese restaurant for dinner on Tuesday night. I’d been there before with a friend and had told my husband how good it was. Since we’d just booked our trip to Singapore and Japan on Sunday, we were both excited to enjoy some Japanese food. A little pre-trip treat before the real experience. Only 80 days to go! The countdown is officially on. Yikes! It’s the holidays. Well, I’m still on holidays, so we’re doing things we wouldn’t normally do. Like going to a dessert bar for a sundae as big as my head. It had half a waffle, brownies, and little crunchy things. It was delicious, but I would never go back again. Big desserts scare me, and I was glad we shared. Five This week, my husband and I had a lovely couple of days away in Gosford for our 36th wedding anniversary. Whoa, that’s a lot of years. We had a fun time eating our way around town, and it was great to enjoy a change of scenery. Funny enough, on our way home, I saw something on Instagram that really stuck with me. Someone said the highest form of love is friendship, and that felt so true. Steve and I actually started as friends all those years ago when we met at church. We’re still good friends, and I’m pretty sure that friendship is what carried us through the inevitable bumpy times. Having a good sense of humour has helped too. I love to laugh, and I love people with a good sense of humour—it’s just easier, isn’t it? One of my very first memories of Steve is that the day I met him, he made me laugh a lot, so that was a big win. He will argue that he’s funnier than me, but he’s wrong. Obviously 😉 We stayed at the Hotel Gosford, the same place we stayed a couple of years ago. It’s an old pub that has been renovated, but they’ve kept the original lift that you have to operate yourself. I love that they’ve preserved this historical feature, even though it freaked us out a bit every time. You have to operate the doors by hand, turn the room key, and press the button. So much coordination! The first night we had steak for dinner, and it was so tender. The menu said tender, but they don’t always tell the truth. This restaurant did, and I was so happy. Chewy steak is not my favourite. I had the crème brûlée, and Steve had the cheesecake. They looked so pretty! The next night, we shared a cob loaf and salt and pepper squid as an entree. Steve had the fish for mains, and I had the prawn linguini. It was so delicious I couldn’t stop moaning as I ate, and Steve was grateful there weren’t many diners around. The friendly waitress asked if we were celebrating anything special, and we told her it was our anniversary. She kindly surprised us with a complimentary dessert, dark ale pudding with ice cream. It even came out with a sparkler! What a lovely touch. And that’s a wrap for this week. It’s been a long time since we’ve eaten out at so many different places! It’s my last week of the school holidays, and I can’t believe how quickly the weeks have flown by. They always do during the holidays, Ugh. Anyway, I’m not going to think about it now. I’m going to enjoy the last of it before term one starts. Oh my goodness, I’m really hoping for a better year than last year. The trauma is real! Enjoy your weekend, friends. See you

Happy Friday, friends! I’m wrapping up the week by sharing a few things that made it feel extra bright. Here are this week’s favourites. A Small Joy This lollipop brought me so much joy the other day! I was craving something sweet and found this little treasure in my work bag. It was a Halloween treat from my fun, treat-supplying friend and colleague I’ve shared about before. She’s such a cravings lifesaver. I’m so glad I deliberately carried it in my bag for a day when I really needed a sugar fix. A Product I’m Loving You know, when you wish you could go back in time? That’s me, every time I look at this little bottle of room spray from the Hearth & Hand with Magnolia range I picked up in LA. Why oh why did I buy just ONE? What was I thinking? In my defence, it was only day two of the trip and I didn’t want to overload my suitcase too early. We were at Glendale Mall, I walked into Target, and just about lost my mind when I saw the Magnolia range I’d only ever seen on Instagram. The scent is like nothing I have ever experienced before. It’s pomelo and smells fresh, warm, a little fruity, and I absolutely love it. Every time I spray it, I instantly feel like I’m back in that Glendale Target aisle. This room spray is basically my LA trip in a bottle. Luckily, my travelling cousins recently came back from Ohio and brought me another one, so I’m rationing it like it’s liquid gold. A Favourite Moment My aunt hosted an early Christmas get-together last weekend, and you should see her house all decorated for Christmas. It is AMAZING! I shared some photos on my Instagram if you’d like to have a look. My Christmas spirit has been a little dim this year, but after seeing her place, I think I got a spark back. I love how much my aunt loves Christmas, and I do too, but for some reason, up until last weekend, I just wasn’t really feeling it yet. We had a delicious charcuterie board followed by dinner, and by the time we got to desserts, we barely had any room. After dinner, some cousins headed off to the Metallica concert, and the rest of us listened to music and painted Christmas rocks. We used a cute kit my aunt had bought that’s meant for kids, which was perfect for us “big kids.” It came with paints and Christmas-themed instructions. Do you like my Santa rock? Haha. I’m feeling more excited now, especially after we started planning our Christmas Eve get-together that night. Since then, my aunt has sent me a bunch of Instagram reels on how to decorate for Christmas, which has helped a whole lot, too. Something I’m Learning I love Canva and have the paid version, which I use for this blog as well as for preschool resources and other preschool-related projects. I’m still discovering all the incredible things you can do on this app. I’ve been trying to figure out how to bulk-create things like end-of-year certificates for the preschool children. I could type each name out individually. But I figure that since we do these certificates every year, it will be a really useful skill to know. I also started working on the children’s Christmas cards using Canva at work today, but I’m not completely happy with them yet. Once I get going, I just can’t stop because I want them to be perfect. I really need to calm down! A Fun Outing Steve and I went to IKEA yesterday to “find out” how to get a replacement light for our oven we bought about four years ago. Haha, I could have found this info online or over the phone easily, but I totally agreed with him that these things are better done in person. 😉 It was so fun wandering around, and it was amazingly quiet for a Thursday night. The best part was the Christmas section, where I bought some wrapping paper, cards, a Christmas-scented candle, the VINTERSAGA mulled fruit drink and a big star lamp for our window. Oh yes, and we also picked up frozen meatballs. You can never leave IKEA without the meatballs. Something I’m Looking Forward To Tomorrow the Danish Christmas markets are on, and I’m going along with a group of friends. It’s a tradition now, and something I look forward to every year. I’m sure the markets will give me a great big boost of Christmas spirit! What are you up to this weekend? I hope you get to enjoy a little festive fun too. Thanks so much for stopping by. Linking up with Andrea and Erika

Hi friends! I hope you’ve all had an amazing week. I’m excited to be back to share some of my favourites from October. It’s an October Favourites edition! Which feels just right, since (can you believe it?) it’s the last day of the month. Oh, and by the way, Happy Halloween! I’m pretty sure I say this all the time, but whoa, didn’t the month go by so fast! We said cheers to the first day of October with a yummy snack of salami, crackers and halloumi. Spring School Holidays In  October, I had a relaxing school holiday break and enjoyed the gorgeous spring weather. First on the holiday agenda was a fun catch-up with friends for lunch. The Royal Botanic Garden Sydney I also did a day trip to the Royal Botanic Garden in Sydney, where my funny friend and I admitted we do not have a great sense of direction. To be fair, the garden is huge! We ended up using my phone to guide us to where we wanted to go. My iPhone has this feature where you hold it up and giant blue arrows appear to show you which way to walk. They reminded me of the arrows in a Mario Kart game, hehe. Here are a few pics of the beautiful gardens. Pamela Allen Exhibition After the Botanic Gardens, we went to see The Pamela Allen Exhibition. Pamela Allen is a children’s author from New Zealand who made her name in Australia. She wrote Who Sank the Boat? and Alexander’s Outing. We read her books to the children at preschool all the time. Such classics! After a big day out, you really can’t go wrong with a chicken and leek pie. It was so nice to sit down, eat, and chat. Cousin Connect In October, my aunt hosted Cousin Connect. Most of us managed to get together before some of our travelling cousins went overseas. October is Birthday Month Our younger son turned 21! We got lucky, and all five of us, the three of us plus my older son and his fiancée, had time off work during the day. At the birthday boy’s request, we went to see a movie and then had burgers and chips for dinner at a place called Mister Gee. We saw the Leonardo DiCaprio movie One Battle After Another, and it was so good I didn’t fall asleep once! In October, my eldest son turned 32. He came over our way with his fiancée, and we had dinner at a Chinese restaurant, Lilong. Then it was back to our house for cake. Let me tell you about the funny cake incident. Since Luke moved out, he’s always come over for his birthday dinner — but this year, we were all less than amazing at communicating. I didn’t want to assume he was coming in case he had other plans, and he figured I’d automatically know he was coming over. So when he rang me while I was at work and said, “Hey Mum, I’ll be coming over at 7,” I was of course super excited… but we hadn’t actually planned dinner or a cake. I rang my husband and he came up with a plan: we’d go out for dinner, and he would ice and decorate a banana bread he’d baked and pass it off as a birthday cake. No one would ever know. Well… everyone figured it out immediately. At the very first bite: “Hey, isn’t this Dad’s usual banana bread? He’s just put lollies and choc chips on top!” Hahahahaha!!! “He thought we wouldn’t notice!!” It was very funny, and now we’ve made it official, Luke will be coming over for his birthday dinner every year, and next time he’s getting a spectacular birthday cake! A Day of Action In October, some of my work colleagues and I went to a day of action in the city. We’re standing up for fair pay for preschool staff and against the Premier of NSW, Chris Minns’s proposal to turn community preschools like the one I work in into long‑day care centres. If it goes ahead, I know I’d seriously be looking at my options. Community preschools are different to long day care centres. They mostly run during school hours and only during term time, focusing on the year or two before school. They offer more structured play-based learning, are not-for-profit, usually run by a parent committee, and have smaller groups with long-standing staff. One of the reasons we have less staff turnover is because we get term breaks. There’s no way I could work in such a demanding environment without those precious term breaks. I really don’t understand why the Premier wants to mess with something that works so well. Some of the signs I saw at the rally were very clever! Mochi Ran Away Last weekend, Mochi, our indoor cat, ran away! She got out into the courtyard and hid behind some pot plants. We didn’t notice and accidentally left her out there, which gave her the perfect opportunity to jump onto the neighbour’s garage and disappear into the neighbourhood. We walked up and down our street, knocking on doors, but she was gone, and we were so sad. I Googled “how to get your runaway cat back”, and it suggested going out late at night or early in the morning when everything is quiet and calling her name. So at 2 am, I went outside and did exactly that, and she appeared. I waited until she came to me and then gently picked her up. Well, I may have gently-ish grabbed her because my heart was pounding! Phew, what a relief to have her back home again. And that was a glimpse at a few of the things from our October. Thank you so much for stopping by today. I hope you have a wonderful weekend.