Friday Favourites

Boohoo!! Yes friends it’s my last week of spring break. So it’s back to work on Monday. It’s been a fantastic couple of weeks. I have had the best time getting out and doing some fun things as well as hanging out at home. I have been able to relax and also do some chores that had been on my list for when I had more time (hello oven cleaning). It’s been absolutely brilliant not having to stick to a routine. And as I have mentioned many times before….. I have loved loved loved staying up late! But the days just went by so quick and I missed catching up with some lovely friends but that’s ok I’m sure we will get together soon! Even though I wished so hard. Time just didn’t slow down and the days just flew by in a flash! Anyway, such is life and I am lucky that I work at a great place with some lovely people and that we are going into term 4 which is my favourite term. Term 4 is my favourite not just because it’s the last term of the school year. But because to me, it’s the most fun term. All the kids are settled, we are all in a great routine and we get to do fun festive activities. Bring on Term 4!!! But before all that, thanks so much for being here where as usual I am linking up with Andrea and Erika for today’s Friday Favourites. Fun Favourites For My Last Week Of Spring Break #1 Monday night was our once-a-month dinner catch-up with our friends. To celebrate the last week of spring break I enjoyed a margarita!! We had some dim sims as a small starter and I had my usual steamed barramundi and rice. My friend Marianne always orders the same dish too. We were laughing about how we ordered the same meal every single month. Haha, it’s just so delicious and healthy! #2 Steve had the day off from work on Tuesday. Normally he has Wednesdays off but one of the other guys was away so they did a reshuffle. We enjoyed staying home all day. Then in the evening we had a small cheese plate and some prosecco and settled in to watch our favourite cozy show ‘ All Creatures Great And Small’. #3 Wednesday morning we went out for breakfast which was very delicious. Steve went off to get a remedial massage on his legs. Poor guy, he has dodgy knees and tight calf muscles from being on his feet all day at work. While Steve got his massage I got a pedicure and a manicure. This time I chose a colour called mulberry which I really liked. I always stick to neutral colours but look at this wall of colours. Maybe one day I’ll go home with a fluoro colour…….Nah I like safe neutrals too much! Before we went home I stopped off at Mecca and bought some BB cream and blush as well as a new make-up brush. I normally just use bronzer for my cheeks but I thought I would give this soft colour a try. #4 Thursday morning I went to visit a very dear friend’s father who is now living in an aged care facility. My lovely friend met me there and we spent a few hours with her dad. It was so great to see them. I have known this lovely friend and her family since we were little. Her mum and my mum were very best friends. They were inseparable and whenever they were together they were like two giggling school girls as you can see in this picture! Sadly my friend’s mum passed away many years ago and now her dad is 94. He is doing quite well but his short-term memory is not the best. So it was hard when he asked me a few times how my own mum was and I had to remind him that she was in heaven. What was even harder was when it came time to leave and say goodbye. I couldn’t help getting teary and of course, my friend did too. We had a lovely time during the visit though. After lunch, we played dominoes and boy oh boy my friend’s dad is as sharp as a tack when it comes to dominoes. He beat us every single time even though we tried really hard!! It was a very special day and I’m looking forward to the next time I visit. #5 I popped into some of my favourite shops on the way home from visiting my friend’s dad. The first stop was West Elm. I love all their homewares and decor but I don’t really love their prices! It is fun to browse and get some decorating ideas. I spotted this mirror and the price tag said it was $499. I have a very similar mirror in my small hallway that I bought from Ikea at a fraction of the price!! It goes to show that you really don’t need to spend so much to achieve a very similar look. They also had some fun Halloween plates and mugs #6 Then I went and had a look at Pottery Barn where they also had cute Halloween mugs. I love this all-white bed! #7 Finally, I went and had a look at Williams Sonoma and bought this delicious pulled chicken starter. It’s so good and it’s become an easy-to-prepare family favourite. #8 Sam finally turned 18! He has been counting down the days until he is officially and legally an adult. He did a little bit of studying for exams on Thursday morning. Then he went out in the evening with some friends to Karaoke followed by dinner at a burger place. All the boys or should I say young men came back to our place to sing happy birthday and have cake. We will organise some kind of family celebration once the HSC

Hi everyone, I hope you are all well! This first week of spring break has flown by just way too fast. But that’s always the way when you are on holiday right? Anyway, it is so lovely to be off work and not have to worry about schedules and timetables. I did all the usual fun things like staying up super late and sleeping in. I’ve been binge-watching shows and also had a couple of really fun outings. Candles I was in Tk Maxx earlier this week (I think it’s called TJ Maxx in the U.S) and I found an entire stand full of Sand & Fog candles! I was really excited because they haven’t had a great variety of candles lately. It’s been a case of slim pickings. Now usually I love to buy Ecoya candles but they really are on the pricey side. A 400g candle usually costs $44.95 when it is not discounted. And I only ever find them discounted 20% at the most. These 340g Sand & Fog candles were only $12.99 so I grabbed a few. I have been at home a lot this week so it’s been so lovely to have them burning nearly all day. They give off a really nice subtle scent and they have made my home smell amazing! A Lunchtime Catch Up Sam went to the gym on Tuesday and when he finished. Steve and I met him at a cafe in our local Westfields. There’s been a lot going on since he graduated. He’s had celebrations with friends as well as an overnight stay on a friend’s farm to celebrate an 18th birthday. We felt like we hadn’t had a chance to sit down and have a proper chat. So it was really nice to catch up and hear about all the fun things that he had gotten up to in the last few days.  He told us all about how he learnt to drive a manual in an old truck. He went dirt bike riding and also rode in the back of a ute (he assured me it was a very slow drive). It was lovely to hear all his stories. Sam was super hungry after a big workout at the gym so he had a chicken schnitzel wrap with chips. Steve and I had already had lunch earlier so we just had some delicious taro lattes. A Beautiful Sunset In the evening we went back again to the St George Motor Boat club for the seafood platter. We love it so much and I think that this is the third or fourth week in a row that we have been! Sam was going to join us but he had to do something online for uni at 6 pm. I took a photo of this beautiful sunset as we were walking toward the club. See the sun through the clouds, it looked so pretty. Krispy Kreme Doughnut Decorating My sweet cousin Jessie invited me to join her and her two kids along to a Krispy Kreme doughnut decorating school holiday event on Thursday afternoon. We had the best time! I used to take my boys to fun school holiday activities like this one when they were younger. It was so great to hang out with my cousin and her kids were so funny. You should have seen how much icing they poured over their doughnuts !! In the end, I think that they had more icing than doughnuts!! We got two doughnuts and some containers with lollies. They had the icing in tubes on the table and we just helped ourselves to the different colours. I also bought four neatly and professionally decorated doughnuts to take home. The Krispy Kreme store we went to is in Mascot which is about a 15-minute drive from my place. They make hundreds of fresh doughnuts there every day. I loved watching the whole process so I took a video! I’m always fascinated by how things are made. Museum Of Contemporary Art I had never been to the Museum Of Contemporary Art before and neither had my lovely friend. So we decided to go for a visit. This museum is right near Circular Quay station so we didn’t have far to walk which was a good thing because it was raining on and off quite heavily. The museum is full of works by contemporary artists from Australia and around the world. I have to admit that I didn’t really love any of the art. Most of it was very strange and some exhibits were downright disturbing! But anyway it was fun to visit with my bestie and we had a great time wandering around. These works of art were ok to look at. But then see what I mean by disturbing! I have no clue what this was all about and there were a few exhibits like this one. In all honesty, I thought that the best part of the museum visit was the gift shop. They had so many cool, original and funny things. Like this “Self Help Book”…….take a look at what was inside bahahahaha!!!!! The Rocks After visiting The Museum Of Contemporary Art we wandered around ‘The Rocks’. We found the shortest street in Sydney called Atherden st. We also visited another gallery called the Billich Gallery. This gallery is inside a three-storied historic building which was once the home of naval sailors. We had a look inside the British Lolly Shop and I bought some peanut brittle. By then it was lunchtime and we were starving so we went to a little Italian restaurant and enjoyed some pizza and pasta. So many things on the menu but I couldn’t resist some good old bolognese. It was delicious and saucy just the way I love it! Just before we left The Rocks we stopped to have a look at a shop called ‘sticky’ where you can watch how they make lollies. We left The Rocks and started making our

Hi, friends what a week we just had! It’s been a rollercoaster of emotions and now I’m beat!! It’s Friday afternoon and I am exhausted so I’m going to take the afternoon and evening to process this past week, get a grip and try and regroup. I don’t have a bunch of favourites this week. All I have is two big events that made a huge impact on me. Queen Elizabeth II Funeral Along with most of the world, I watched Her Majesty’s funeral on Monday. It was so beautifully done and I was so amazed at the precision and attention to every detail. It was a sad and solemn occasion and my heart goes out to her family during this very difficult time. Whether you are royalty or not it doesn’t matter when it comes to grief. Last Times This week has been all about the end of things and I’m struggling! Do you ever stop and think about the last time that you ever did something or something significant happened? I know that I have been doing a lot of wondering about this in the past few days. I wonder when was the last time that I had to get up to comfort one of my boys during the night when they were little. When was the last time that they came bounding into our bedroom at some ungodly hour full of beans and jumped all over my sleepy head,  When was the last time that I was actually able to lift them and carry them in my arms? When?? I just can’t remember. But this week I do know that Thursday night was the last time that I had to wash Sam’s uniform. I also know that Thursday morning was the last time that I ever had to make him his school lunch. And it was the last time that I ever had to wake him up and maybe nag him just a little to get him out of bed. Last times……I’m not very good when it comes to last times. sigh! Sam’s Graduation The morning just went by so fast and it was all a bit of a blur. I was making sure we were at school on time. And I didn’t even get a photo of Sam with Steve and me. I was just too busy snapping photos of Sam. As soon as his year 12 class filed into the school auditorium for the last time I felt the tears welling up. My heart was just bursting with pride, joy, sadness, excitement, happiness, and more sadness. How did this little boy of mine grow up so fast? Sam We are so thankful for our little Sam as we affectionately call him. Our Sam is such a good egg! (that’s another one of his nicknames ‘the egg’ haha) I love that we have great chats together. He really values good conversations and sometimes we can spend ages talking about anything. He makes me laugh as he has such a wonderful sense of humour. He’s the type of guy that can be pretty quiet sometimes in social gatherings and then he will come out with a funny one-liner. And he has everyone practically everyone on the floor in stitches. Sam is kind and helpful, always willing to lend a hand in any situation. He is also sweet and affectionate. This year has been tough for us and he is always so tuned in to how his loved ones around him are feeling. He can sense when I’m feeling sad because I’m missing my own mum. “Hey, mum” he will say ” Do you need a hug?”. He gives great big warm hugs. The Future We are happy for our little Sam. He is just so excited for his future and is keen and ready to get out there and do life. I on the other hand want to rewind the clock to 2004 when he was born. I remember holding him and cradling his little coconut-sized head in the hospital and wishing for that moment to last forever. Forever just isn’t long enough. Sam still has to do his HSC exam which begins in a couple of weeks. Then the final event will be his school formal. So there are still some more school things to get done but today was the graduation ceremony. Where we all came together to celebrate the end of school life. Thankfully Sam has been offered early entry into university in a couple of courses. Now he just has to decide which one is best for him. Never has this saying felt more true than it did today “The days are long but the years are short”   Linking up with Andrea and Erika for today’s Friday Favourites post   Previous Posts From This Past Week You Might Like To Read A Sunny And Warm Weekend How To Simplify Your Life  

Nine Favourites for this week- Hi friends, I am so happy to welcome Friday again. This week I have felt like I have just been playing catch up! It’s been busy at work and at home. We have one more week left before the spring school holiday break. Which is a good thing because I feel like I really need to press the reset button. My meal planning has gone out the window and I am starting to feel inundated with ‘all the things.’ I think that it’s probably because I am running out of steam. Which is what usually happens toward the end of the school term. But it’s ok only one week to go and then it’s the holidays. Amen!! Anyway, enough moaning and groaning, thanks so much for being here today and letting me share with you a few of my favourites for this week. Number One I found some American cereal at our local petrol station just in time for the school holidays. I like keeping our tradition of choosing a sugary cereal for the holidays. My boys used to pick which one they wanted when they were younger. But I think that it’s my turn now haha! Number Two I made a super easy guacamole the other day to go with our nachos. So delicious, tangy, and healthy. Yum! Number Four Last week’s seafood dinner at our local motor boat club was so good that we went back for more this Wednesday. This time we were treated to a beautiful sunset just as we were arriving. We managed to get a table by the window. So we enjoyed the view as we sipped our bubbly wine and had dinner. Number Five I’ve got a few preschool favourites too this week. On Wednesday we had a visit from the toy truck. We haven’t seen the toy truck in years because of covid. So we were all extra excited because who doesn’t love a truck full of fun toys? All the staff took turns coming out to the truck to have a look and pick out a few things. Number Six We bought a new set of furniture for the doll’s house from the toy truck. So the kids had fun unwrapping the boxes and setting up the house with some nice new furniture. Number Seven We had some new dress-up costumes for the kids in the home corner this week. One of the little preschoolers was having the best time wearing a wizard costume and granting wishes. When he came over to grant me a wish, I jokingly wished for a million dollars. About fifteen minutes later he came back and surprised me with all this ‘money’. Haha!! How cute!! Number Eight We’ve been trying hard to set up a fairy garden for the kids to play with. We are gradually adding bits and pieces to make it look fun and inviting. I think it looks lovely and if I was little I would really love to play with all the tiny things. We have to remind the children to keep all the fairies and props in the garden. Instead, of wandering around the preschool playground with them. Where they can easily get lost or buried in the sandpit. Another thing that we are constantly trying to do is to remind the children to be careful and gentle with the fairies and small pieces. These two fairies look like they had a rough day! And this one just didn’t make it. Number Nine I was really excited when my google home hub gave me this weather forecast on Friday morning. It was fantastic to finish off the working week with a gloriously warm day. I am so excited to get started on my spring bucket list during the school holidays. That’s A Wrap That’s it – nine favourites for this week. I am only working three days next week, Monday to Wednesday. The Government announced that next Thursday will be a one-off public holiday to mourn the death of our lovely Queen Elizabeth II.  And I had already planned to take next Friday off from work because it’s Sam’s graduation….gulp! Yes, my Sam is nearly 18 and he finishes high school next Friday. HOW??? I know we all say that time goes by so quickly. But I’m saying it again……TIME GOES BY SO QUICKLY!!!! I think that I am in denial that he is just all grown up and I’m happy and sad all at the same time. I feel excited for him but nervous too. My mama heart is just all over the place at the moment. So I’ll be sure to take an extra packet of tissues to the graduation ceremony. Anyway, I’ll let you know how it all goes next week. I really hope that you have a most wonderful weekend! Happy Friday! Linking up with Andrea and Erika for today’s post.          

I just wanted to start by acknowledging the loss of our lovely Queen Elizabeth II. On Thursday night there was a statement from The Palace expressing that they were very concerned about her health. Friday morning I woke up to the very sad news that she had passed. I have always admired the Queen’s grace and dignity, her commitment to serving her country, and most of all her faith. Today is a sad day and marks the end of an era. Rest In Peace, Your Majesty. This sweet picture came up on my Facebook feed. After such a sad loss I am feeling a bit flat. I guess for me, today’s post will not just be about favourites but also about the things that I am thankful for this week. Life is short and precious, and I want to always appreciate all the blessings that I have experienced throughout the week whether they are big or small. #1 The first thing I am thankful for this week is our lovely Monday night dinner with friends at our local club. I think a designated monthly get-together is probably one of the best ways to stay connected with friends. We’ve been catching up once a month with this group of fun friends for quite a few years now. I’m so glad that we do otherwise, we might have easily lost contact with them because life just gets so busy! We usually like to drink sparkling wine during our dinner. My friend who I was sitting next to ordered a Canadian Club. I remember that I had tried one earlier in the year and really liked it. So I decided to have one too, it’s really smooth, sweet, and low in alcohol which I really like. I had my usual steamed barramundi with rice which I love! I always think about ordering something different. But then I don’t because this is just too delicious! For dessert, we had a super moist orange cake served with ice cream. It was so good!! #2 I bought this fold-up shopping bag during my shopping trip to Ikea last weekend. This bag is the best because it comes with two handle options. You can use the short handles to carry it like a normal shopping bag or you can use the long handles to carry your things over your shoulder. It folds up super thin and I can carry it in my small cross-body bag. The NSW government banned single-use plastic bags this year which is a good thing. So I always like to have a fold-up shopping bag with me just in case I need one. Haha, funny how a small practical thing like this can make me so happy! #3 Steve and I went out for dinner on Wednesday night with another couple who we have been friends with forever. They are more like family than friends and we enjoyed the best seafood platter! Each gigantic platter was for two so we had two of these towers on our small table for the four of us. It was a great night and we had no problem at all getting through all of that seafood. After such a lovely meal we just had to have dessert! #4 It was Educators Day on Thursday so one of our thoughtful colleagues brought some delicious sweets to celebrate! I had an almond biscuit with a nice cup of tea during my lunch break. It was exciting to have something other than playdough and vegemite in the staff fridge! Haha #5 I have been buying this sourdough from the local fruit shop that I walk past every day. It’s so delicious and I find that when I eat it I don’t feel bloated like I do sometimes when I eat regular wholemeal bread. #6 I am trying to have at least one meat-free meal during the week. So I made a very easy lentil pasta on Thursday. #7 A nice reader asked for some more Spring photos. So I was more than happy to snap some pics of all the lovely flowers that I have been spotting on my walks to and from work. I just love all the colourful flowers that are popping up everywhere. #8 Friday afternoon when I was walking home from work the sky went dark and the thunder started to rumble. I had to grab a few things from the fruit shop along the way. Luckily I made it inside the shop just before the rain poured and the thunder came crashing down. So I grabbed a few things that I needed and by the time I came out which would have been maybe 15 minutes later, the sun was shining and there was even a rainbow in the sky. I snapped a photo of the rainbow and sent it to my lovely friend. Ever since my mum passed away earlier this year. My sweet, kind friend sends me a photo of a rainbow whenever she spots one. She lost her beloved mum many years ago and she shared with me that when she sees a rainbow in the sky it’s like a sign that her mum is sending her love from Heaven. I love this so much and it always makes my heart sing when I get a rainbow photo from her. And so now we say that both our mamas are sending us love all the way from Heaven. I am truly thankful for being so blessed with friends like her in my life. She sent me this photo of her adorable little boy with a beautiful rainbow a few months ago. It’s so special and I am so happy that I can share it with you today. Isn’t he just the cutest? My friend also has two other children and I love them so much!! ********** I guess that wraps up eight things that I am thankful for this week. I can hardly believe how fast this week has flown by.

Hi everyone It’s so good to be back today sharing with you some favourite moments from this week. As usual, I am linking up with Andrea and Erika for today’s fun post. Thanks so much for stopping by I always appreciate each and every one of you! It’s a quick 10 favourites for today, so let’s jump right in. #1 My number one favourite this week is that we have finally hit spring! It’s so good to see the flowers starting to bloom and feel the days starting to warm up. Oh, it’s just so wonderful I feel like skipping!! #2 Last Saturday was super relaxed and I spent the whole day at home wearing my favourite top that pretty much summed up my day. #3 I tried a new candle and I am loving it. Best of all it was half price and I got it from Woolworths when I did my usual online shop. I had never tried this scent before but I gave it a go and I am so glad that I did. It’s really lovely and subtle. Best of all it was discounted from $25.00 to $12.50. #4 Another one of my favourite moments for this week is sharing dessert with Steve while binge-watching some TV. This was his creation and it tasted great. Ice cream, chocolate-covered peanuts, crushed cookies, and caramel syrup. #5 On Monday I blogged about my weekend shopping trip to the city. I picked up a father’s day present as well as a couple of things for myself that I couldn’t resist. #6 I had my eye on this cute leather hand sanitizer case from The Daily Edit (tde) for ages. So I went ahead and bought it. I got my initials monogrammed on the case as it was all included in the price. The lady in the store laughed when I told her that I wasn’t sure about my initials because unfortunately they could quite easily be read as RIP. Haha!! #7 These pastries from David Jones are just the best. So I bought one for each one of us. I was very popular when I got home and presented these goodies to my family. #8 On Thursday I shared about some sustainable beauty products from my friend’s online shop Aroma Of Earth. This body scrub is just amazing and I can’t stop telling everyone about it! My knees and elbows get very dry, especially during winter and this scrub is working a miracle on them. If you check out their website you’ll find that it’s full of gorgeous handcrafted beauty products. #9 I bought my favourite chocolate bar for my weekend treat. This bar is full of delicious nuts and Cadbury chocolate is just the best! #10 A preschool favourite for this week- During our music group time, we often end with this beautiful song called ‘I am Australian’. The children form a circle and link arms as they sing along. I really wish that I could show you our preschool kids doing this. It’s just so special and I get all choked up every single time. I have linked the youtube video that we sing along to below for you to see. It’s only very short but I just love the lyrics and the music. Oh my goodness I’m getting emotional typing this! I guess that just about wraps up my favourite moments from this week. Wishing you all a wonderful weekend. And I look forward to being back here on Monday. Happy Friday!    

Hi everyone! I hope that you all had a great week and thanks so much for stopping by and letting me share with you a few of this week’s favourites. Isn’t it great to say hello to Friday again? It’s almost hard to believe that next week we will be saying hello to September already! Like seriously how did the months just fly by like that? Sweet Tea On Tuesday the day started off with all the promises of a Spring day. It was warm the sky was blue and it was glorious. Then at midday, the clouds rolled in and the temperature plummeted. It even hailed for a bit! In the evening I warmed up my hands with a nice big mug of sweet tea. I drink coffee without sugar but sweet tea on a freezing cold night is my favourite. It’s the simple things! Wireless Bra Here’s a favourite that many of you ladies might relate to. Isn’t it great when you find a comfortable bra? I was so happy to find these buttery soft bras from Uniqlo. And best of all, they don’t have that horrible underwire. I’ve always had bras with underwires and the other day I noticed that I had a small bruise on my chest from where the wire had been digging into me. I had tried wireless bras before but they didn’t sit very comfortably as they slid up and were just plain annoying. These Uniqlo ones don’t do that. They stay where they should and they are super comfortable. They also have padding (which I need) and they give me some shape. I only bought one bra just to make sure that it was going to be comfortable. It passed the test so I will be heading back to buy some more and I will definitely be getting rid of those nasty underwire bras that I own. Fun Midweek Dinner With Friends Our friends Marianne and Daniel invited us over for dinner on Wednesday night. Our work schedules don’t really help when it comes to doing fun things on the weekend. So a midweek catch-up is usually what works well for all of us. It was such a lovely fun night and we had so much to eat. Our friends made a lovely meal for us which we really enjoyed over a glass of wine and some great conversation! We started off with some delicious cheese, crackers, and sourdough for dipping in olive oil and dukkah. Dukkah is a Middle Eastern condiment and it’s a yummy mixture of herbs, nuts, and spices. I had never tried it before but I really liked it. Daniel is a very keen gardener and he grew these cute cocktail avocados. Again, this is something that I had never tried before. They tasted just like normal delicious creamy avocados but they were so teeny tiny! We then tucked into some lasagna, salad, and garlic bread. It really was the perfect meal for a cold night. For dessert, we finished off with individual sticky date puddings and ice cream. We were so spoilt!! Thursday We had a staff meeting after work on Thursday. I have to admit that staff meetings after a long preschool day can be a bit challenging because I always feel like I have run out of steam in the afternoon. Luckily I managed to get on top of meal planning this week so I knew that I was going to cook a very easy dinner when I got home late on Thursday. I didn’t have time or energy to fuss around with cooking. So I quickly threw together some super easy tortellini, Barilla pasta sauce, garlic bread, and salad. Done in a flash! Preschool Favourites This Week Kinetic Sand Another one of this week’s favourites was Kinetic sand!! I had heard of kinetic sand but I had never actually played with it before. Our new director at work ordered some for our classroom and friends it is so much fun! It moulds so well, it’s easy to clean up and it feels great to touch. I just wish the kids would give me a turn to play with it at preschool! Haha! Book Week This week was Book Week! Book Week is all about schools and libraries celebrating books and Australian children’s authors and Illustrators. The children brought their favourite books to share with their friends at preschool. And many came in wearing dress-ups from their favourite book characters. We had so many little girls dressed up as Elsa from the Disney movie Frozen running around preschool. I guess Frozen is a book too! A Mini Tea Party We have a fairy garden in the playground at preschool and I spotted some of the children having a little tea party with the miniature tea set. So cute! Fathers Day Cards It’s fathers Day on the 4th of September in Australia. I’m really not quite sure why we celebrate it in September when most of the rest of the world has their Father’s Day in June. But anyway we do and so this week we have been busy making Father’s Day cards. That wraps up a few of this week’s favourites it was a nice week but I sure am glad that it’s the weekend. I hope that you have a wonderful Friday. Take care everyone and I look forward to being back here on Monday! Linking up with Andrea and Erika for today’s post.      

Hi friends, it’s week five this week at preschool. So it’s officially ‘Hump Week’ for us and that means that it’s only five more weeks before the end of term and then it’s Spring break! I can not wait!! We have had a taste of some gorgeous warm weather this week. Some days I have even been able to get by without wearing my big warm jacket in the playground. Warm weather makes me so happy! It’s been a funny sort of week and I guess some weeks are just like that. I had a couple of challenging days but thankfully I also had some really great days. As usual, I am linking up with Andrea and Erika for today’s Friday Favourites post. Thanks so much for stopping by and letting me share with you a few things that have been going on in my corner of the world. The favourites and the not-so favourites! The Not So Favourite An Ocular Migraine I can hardly remember what happened on Monday as it’s a bit of a blur. But Tuesday definitely stands out! I was feeling a bit out of it and tired all morning and then just as I was going on my lunch break. My vision went weird! Everything looked blurry and then I felt like I was looking through a kaleidoscope. Turns out that I had an ocular migraine which didn’t last very long before my vision went back to normal. I  didn’t feel great so I left work early and went home. When I got home I went straight to bed and I slept for about five hours. Even after all that sleep, I was still feeling a bit bleh. Blog Technical Issues In the evening my lovely friend messaged me to say she couldn’t access my blog. I jumped on the computer to have a look and was met with this Technical issues sometimes come up with blogging and they are definitely NOT a favourite!!! I had a mini panic and then calmed down. I even referred back to my blog post about Ways To Feel Instantly Happier for some help Haha! Everything got resolved in the end and so that was a huge relief!! The Favourites Steves Birthday We celebrated Steve’s birthday on Wednesday! I mentioned before that I am always a bit stumped when it comes to getting him a birthday present. So I usually just get him some things that he needs and he likes that a lot! This year I got him some slippers because his other ones (which are exactly the same as the new ones I got him) were all worn out. Then I just filled them with some things that he always uses. Working in hospitality means that he is on his feet all the time. So he loves using a product called Zen for joint and muscle pain relief. I also added some essentials like a new toothbrush, nail clippers, gum, and socks. He was super happy with all his goodies! Birthday Dinner In the evening we all went out for dinner to one of our favourite Italian restaurants. There were six of us in total and it was so lucky that everyone had the night off from work or school commitments. Luke our oldest son and his lovely fiancee met us at the restaurant. Sam and his sweet girlfriend came in the car with us. We had such a lovely time and enjoyed the most amazing meals! I forgot to take a photo of the birthday boy at the restaurant but I did get a pic of my big boys. After dinner, we came back to our place for cake! This year I bought a baked chocolate cheesecake and served it with some strawberries to balance out the sweetness. I had a chuckle remembering the cake that I ordered for Steve’s birthday last year. This time last year we were in complete lockdown. I ordered him a birthday cake along with my usual online grocery shop. But I forgot to check the size and I ended up accidentally ordering this tiny cake for one!! Hump Week Chocolate Our very kind and thoughtful preschool director got us some chocolates to celebrate Hump week. Puffy Stickers! My lovely bestie surprised me with some puffy stickers. I just love puffy stickers, they remind me of when I was little and my mum would buy me one for 30 cents. I could never have dreamt that as an adult I would be the proud owner of two whole entire packets of puffy stickers! Bubbles Today at preschool we enjoyed making some bubbles! The weather couldn’t decide if it was going to rain or not. But these bubbles kept some of the kids super entertained and happy for about an hour!   I guess that wraps up my hump week! Bring on the weekend! I really hope that you all have the best Friday!      

Hey friends I have a few random favourites for today’s Friday Favourites post. I really hope that you have had a great week! And are looking forward to a great weekend. We don’t have any plans so I’m more than happy to just hang out at home and stay warm. #1 I was chatting to the admin lady at preschool during my lunch break on Thursday. We both agreed that we are so ready for warmer weather and can hardly wait for Spring! I think it’s going to rain again this weekend so it will be great to stay home, be cozy and catch up on some more great binge-worthy TV shows. On Monday I blogged about some favourite TV shows that I have watched. You can read all about it here. I also have a list of recommended shows that I want to start, so this will be the perfect weekend for it. #2 Last weekend my lovely cousin hosted our monthly family dinner. The theme for the night was Mexican food and it was so delicious!! It was such a fun night and like usual we just laughed so hard!! Someone in the family will always have us in stitches over a funny life story. And my cousin Ben has the best contagious laugh so we often end up laughing even more!! I really am so lucky to have a very close family. There are 15 of us in total when we all get together and I love them so much! Haha! yes, that’s a table full of tortilla chips!! There was so much delicious food but believe me we smashed through it pretty fast!! #3 I picked up this surface Organic Choice spray for the kitchen from Costco. It’s made with Lemongrass and Australian Myrtle and it smells so good! It also cleans great too. #4 Look at this cute guy! On Monday this kookaburra was just sitting on our preschool fence. I saw him when I was about to leave work for the day. I crept up slowly so as not to spook him and grabbed a quick pic. It’s funny that I refer to the kookaburra as him as it could have been a female kookaburra. I just always think of them as being male. And it’s probably because of that Australian children’s song about a kookaburra who is the king of the bush. #5 I tried this Maggi Butter Chicken Recipe Base for the first time and it was so easy to make and tasted delicious! It had just the right amount of spice for me which is not much because I can’t handle spicy food. If I accidentally eat anything too spicy I start to cough, my eyes water, and then I panic that I’m never going to get rid of the burning sensation. Weird I know! Anyway, my family loved it too so I’m excited to make it again soon. #6 One of my favourite things about working in a preschool is listening to the hilarious things that children say. Our home corner was set up as a doctor’s surgery again this week and the kids have really been enjoying it. The other day I overheard one of the little girls in our class pretending to be the secretary in the surgery. She asked her friend who was playing with her ” Are you here today for a fake appointment?” hahaha!!! So cute! Then I spotted this in the sandpit! Not quite sure what was happening here but it made me laugh! I asked the kids why the animals were buried head first like that ” Just because that’s how we like them Ruth” was their response. Ok, that makes sense I guess! #7 I picked up this bag of sweet and salty popcorn based on the recommendation from one of my little preschool students. We were having our morning snack and he was telling me all about how delicious the popcorn was. He literally had my mouth watering as he was describing the taste! So I added it to my online order and I will be having some tonight as a Friday night treat!   I guess that wraps up this week’s Friday favourites! Thanks so much for stopping by and letting me share with you a few random favourites of mine. I really hope that you have a most wonderful weekend and I look forward to being back here on Monday! Happy Friday!!