Hello Monday

Hey friends! It’s great to be back here today linking up with Holly and Sarah for Hello Monday. I only took a week off from the blog world, but it feels like I was gone forever. I missed you!! Well, just like I expected, the winter school holidays have come and gone in a flash, and today was my first day back at work (sigh). But I’m super happy to say that they were nothing short of fabulous, so that’s a good thing! Today, I thought I’d share a roundup of the things that made my break so special. Let’s go! 11 Favourite Things I Got Up to Over The Winter School Holidays Catching Up With Friends It was so fun to catch up with friends for shopping and lunch dates! I felt like a real grown-up carefree person and it was fantastic! A Quick Getaway Steve and I managed to get away for two nights in Gosford. It was a perfect mix of fun and relaxation. I’ll share more details in a later post, but this mini-escape was definitely a highlight of the winter school holidays! Closet Overhaul I gave my small walk-in closet a complete makeover. Decluttering and organising everything, plus giving all the walls and shelves a much-needed coat of white paint, was incredibly satisfying—hello, more space! We now have so much empty shelf space that the cats think we’ve created a new high-rise apartment just for them. I’ve had to shoo them away a few times, but it looks like they’ve finally gotten the memo that I’m not their cat property developer! DIY Home Projects I painted the doors and doorways white, and wow, what a difference! Although they were already white, they had become a bit dull and dingy, so they definitely needed a fresh coat. I love everything white—it’s like having a clean slate, and it’s so much easier than choosing wall colours, which always feels overwhelming to me. When we first moved in, I was young, inspired, and brave, so I went with a colour called “Grand Piano,” a safe neutral stone shade (that’s as brave as I could get). The living room still features that colour because, no, I didn’t get around to painting it white during these winter school holidays. Aaargh! The thought of moving the lounge and TV really puts me off— I know my big boys would help with that, so it probably won’t be as bad as what I’m building up in my head. Maybe I’ll tackle it in the next school holidays! Anyway, I’m really happy with the switch to all white for the other spaces (except Sam’s room, which is grey). It suits my love for the minimalist Scandi look perfectly! Creating Art Inspired by Bauhaus, I recreated one of its classic designs on Canva (I love Canva) and used that as a springboard to create an original print of my own. Then I had them printed at Officeworks and bought two frames to display them in. It was a fun and inexpensive way to juju up our home. More Art I finally hung up a print from the Matisse exhibition we saw two years ago. I took down the poster featuring Penelope Cruz in Volver—Penelope needed a break. I’m really enjoying the new white frame and Matisse print; it’s a beautiful reminder of that day and looks perfect on our wall. Relaxation and Self-Care I focused on relaxing my neck and face muscles. Face masks helped, and so did lying on the yoga mat to stretch out my neck. Self-care for the win! TV Show Binge I watched some favourite TV shows and steered clear of stressful ones like Baby Reindeer. After two episodes, it was a hard no for me. Trying to keep things light and enjoyable over here! Ikea Adventures I had two fun trips to Ikea. The first was a solo to pick up some storage items, and the second was with my cousin and her kids. We went last Friday for the half-price lunch offer, and on top of that, we got a $25 discount voucher that could only be used if we spent over $100 that day. So, I picked up a few knick-knacks as well as a rug for the living room—since the cats had made a mess of the old one (bleh). My little (not so little cousin, he’s 14) joked, “Come for the meatballs, leave with a trolley full!” Hehe. Walks With Steve Oh my goodness! You cannot believe how happy I am with Steve’s progress since his knee replacement; we both are! He has really turned a corner (so to speak) and is walking so much better now! Over the break, we went on regular walks around the neighbourhood and we did a lot of walking while we were away in Gosford. He also has two physiotherapists coming to the house. One to do regular exercises and the other to retrain him to walk without limping. Poor guy has walked with a limp for over ten years, and now his brain is slowly adjusting to a new way of moving. Christmas In July We had a late Cousin Connect gathering on Saturday since some of the cousins were away over the school holidays. This time, it was all about Christmas in July, and we kicked things off with an amazing charcuterie board. One of our cousins is definitely a Charcuterie board master! We had delicious turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, roast carrots and pumpkin. Followed by the usual banter, jokes, board game and an all-around fantastic time! To top it all off, my youngest cousin even put the tree up with some twinkly lights. It was a brilliant night, and we have all decided that Christmas in July is now a permanent yearly tradition. Yay! That wraps up my 11 favourite things I got up to over the winter school holidays. Winter is not my favourite season, but I loved these school holidays a whole bunch!

Hi friends it’s time to link up with Holly and Sarah for Hello Monday! I hope you had a wonderful weekend and thank you so much for stopping by today! Most of our preschool team kicked off the school holidays with a great night at the Intersection Tavern on Friday night.   The food was delicious and so were the apple martinis! The fantastic thing about celebrating where we did was that they not only had half-price cocktails after 8 PM, but they also had a DJ starting at 9. So, we hit the dance floor like there was no one watching (and I sincerely hope no one was watching, haha). It was so much fun, and my Apple Watch congratulated me for exercising so much! Saturday morning, I might have taken a couple of Panadol because, oh my legs!! Saturday Around mid-morning we went for a quick trip to the farmers market. It’s been raining so much there’s a pond in the middle of the park with little ducks swimming around! The same thing happened last year. Lot’s of delicious fresh produce. Look what I found!! The mandarins I had been searching for! The same stall that sold them last year had them again this year, and they are the sweetest mandarins ever. Last time we went to the market, I bought some from another fruit stall, hoping they would be sweet, but they turned out to be worse than the ones from the supermarket. They were horrible. They’re still in the fridge, and I want them to disappear. I don’t want to eat them, yet I don’t want to throw them away because I hate wasting food. But they really are not nice. Maybe I should bury them in the front garden when nobody is watching. I picked up some nuts to chomp on, along with dried paw paw and dried mango for making granola. Now I need to make sure that I make more granola in the next few days before I eat all the dried fruit; it tastes like candy—yum! I chopped up the mushrooms I also bought and cooked them to go with our late Saturday morning breakfast. Sunday Sunday was a lazy day, and our biggest achievement was finishing all the episodes of ‘Attack on Titan’. Now, we only have two movie-length episodes left, and it’s over. I never thought I would enjoy anime so much! Next up, we’re planning to watch Fullmetal Alchemist, which, according to Sam, is just as good. For dinner, I made roast pork with vegetables and lots of gravy. Steve was home, so he made the crackling, it turned out so crunchy! Whenever I make it, I tend to mess it up and it turns out rubbery. This time, I paid attention to the secret of good crunchy crackling: leave the skin uncovered in the fridge for an hour or so until it dries, then add salt and no oil! Most recipes I’ve searched suggest rubbing oil, but it never worked for me. It’s a mystery. That wraps up some of the things we got up to this weekend. I just got home from a really lovely day out with my bestie. We shopped, chatted, ate, and shopped some more. I’ll be back sometime this week to tell you all about it. I’m also hoping the days go by slowly so I can savour every minute of the school holidays—fingers crossed! Take care, and I’ll see you soon. Happy Monday!    

Hello friends and hello Monday! I hope you all had a great weekend! It’s great to be back on this very chilly Monday to share a bit about our weekend. Thanks so much for stopping by. Early last week our friend invited a group of us over to her house for dinner and games. She didn’t mention it was for a special occasion, just a casual get-together. As we got to the end of the week, I had a lightbulb moment and remembered it was her birthday! I’m a bit hopeless at remembering birthdays and, to be honest, I would probably forget mine if I could. Our friend didn’t want a fuss or presents, saying all she wanted was our presence. But I did get her a little something anyway. That night, we were all transported to a Mediterranean feast, and I’m sure I put on two kilos in two hours! The food was amazing! We had cheese, crackers, olives tzatziki dip and stuffed vine leaves. I’ve had vine leaves before but not as good as the ones I had on Saturday night. They were generously stuffed and covered in a very lemony sauce, they were just deliciously delicious! For dinner, we started with saganaki prawns. Saganaki is a traditional Greek dish of fried cheese and prawns in a rich tomato sauce. We had big chunks of bread to wipe up the sauce, although I could have quite happily picked up my plate and licked it clean! Then, we had fall-apart lamb with roast potatoes, purple sweet potato, and salad, for the main course. Our friend has a Greek background but grew up in England, so she has an English accent and amazing Greek cooking skills. Sunday Sunday was the kind of day that makes you happy to just stay home because the weather was pretty miserable. We had no plans so we just stayed in and kept warm. I finished watching ‘Bonus Family’ and I felt sad that it was over. Do you get the post-series blues? I couldn’t find anything I wanted to watch on Netflix so I switched over to SBS on Demand (a free-to-air catch-up channel). I was looking for another Swedish series but then decided to go for a Spanish movie by one of my favourite directors Pedro Almodóvar – ‘Women on The Edge of a Nervous Breakdown’. It’s a quirky comedy with strong female leads and a very young Antonio Banderas. The movie is full of bold visuals, bright colours and it has a retro feel. The costumes have that chic fashionable feel from the 60s and the decor features mid-century modern which just so happens to be my favourite! The whole plot was kind of absurd but I really enjoyed it. It was perfect Sunday afternoon viewing. SBS has a few Almodóvar movies and I’m looking forward to watching ‘Broken Embraces’ with Penelope Cruz next. My absolute favourite movie directed by Almodóvar is ‘Volver’ with Penelope Cruz. I love this movie so much that I have a framed movie poster of it in our lounge room. Interestingly, Almodóvar tends to use many of the same actors in his movies. In the evening, Steve and I discovered a new series on SBS called ‘Crossing Lines’—well, it’s new to us, although it was made in 2013. It stars Donald Sutherland, who sadly passed away recently. We watched a few episodes and enjoyed this crime drama series, which follows a special unit investigating cross-border crimes and bringing criminals to justice across Europe. It’s like a blend of CSI and Criminal Minds but with a distinct European twist. The actors all have really cool accents that I enjoy listening to. We spent the entire afternoon and evening glued to the TV, watching until our eyes went square. We only paused briefly to make a simple dinner. Ever since I saw Sarah’s zucchini pasta, I’ve been craving it! Unfortunately, I didn’t have any basil and only one small zucchini, so I’ll save making it properly for another day. This version was tasty with the butter and Parmesan, but I’m sure the authentic recipe will be even better. Then we had another break for dessert and this was Steve’s creation -It looks like a mix of anything sweet he could get his hands on in 60 seconds! And that was our weekend—filled with lots of eating and TV watching. I’m looking forward to this week because it’s the last one before our holiday break. Tonight, we’re going out for dinner with friends. Then, on Thursday night, we have the Boney M concert, and Friday is our end-of-term staff dinner. Remember how I mentioned our preschool underwent two torturous days of Rating and Assessment? Well, we received our results a few weeks ago and achieved a rating of Exceeding. So, on Friday night, we’ll be celebrating big! Happy Monday and I look forward to being back here on Wednesday!

Hi friends! I hope you had a fantastic weekend. Can you believe it’s the end of June already? Woah, how did that happen so fast? It was another quiet and cozy weekend at home for us. We mainly stayed indoors because it was cold and on Saturday it rained so much. I almost thought we might have to build an ark! This kind of weather just makes me want to hibernate. Anyway, it’s great to be back to share a few things about our weekend staying warm and dry indoors. Friday Night Watching the whole series of Masterchef Australia has inspired me to cook! I’m no Masterchef—I’m more of a master eater. Even though I was tired on Friday night, knowing it was the weekend gave me an extra shot of energy! So, I made meatballs with sauce to go with our ravioli. I also made some crème caramel for dessert, which was a big treat since I don’t often make dessert! Saturday I spent a good chunk of Saturday looking at clothes online. With so many end-of-financial-year sales, I couldn’t resist filling up my cart. But then I took a break to cool off my temptation. In the end, I bought a white dress and decided I didn’t really need all the other items. We watched a couple of documentaries on iView in the afternoon, and then my grocery order arrived. I spent the next forty minutes or so putting things away and doing a bit of food prep like slicing the chicken into strips before putting it in the freezer. Not exactly a fun moment, but these little tasks make all the difference on weeknights when dinner needs to happen and energy levels are low. I’m sure future me will thank present me for getting this sorted! In the evening, we watched a whole lot of episodes of Attack on Titan. I have to admit, when Sam first asked me to watch it, I was mostly just happy that he wanted to watch a series with me. I wasn’t overly convinced that I would love animé. Now, after getting into it, I’m really enjoying the show! It has so many twists and turns with some very unexpected moments. It’s more than just a show about huge Titans eating humans—nom nom (haha, I know right!). I think I have discovered a whole new genre I enjoy, thanks Sam! Sunday Sunday was just as low-key as Saturday. With all the rain, I had a pile of laundry to tackle, so I washed it and put it through the dryer. I completely gave up hope of seeing any sun soon and hanging it out to dry. As I went about doing a few chores, Mochi was everywhere I turned. Every time she popped up from out of nowhere, I couldn’t help but hear Sting’s song playing in my head—”Every breath you take…every move you make…I’ll be watching you.” I’ve never felt so much obsession love! Coffee and raisin toast with peanut butter and fig jam for a very late breakfast. It was a winning combo! I caught up on reading some blogs and was inspired by Holly, who I think was inspired by Jennifer, to turn on a screensaver with music. I chose the roaring fireplace so I could pretend to feel warmer. A cup of hot chocolate helped too. Oh no! We need more Swiss Miss-it’s the best! In the afternoon, I watched Disneyland vlogs on YouTube and took some notes. if Disneyland was a subject in school, I would have studied like a champ! Steve was watching football, and for once, his team was winning. He was going bananas cheering, and even though I was wearing headphones, I could still hear him. I’m pretty sure the whole street heard him too! Go the Tigers! Roast chicken (from Woolies) with potatoes, sour cream, veggies, and lots of gravy for dinner—yum! And that was the end of the weekend. I’m on the countdown to the July school holidays—nine days to go! Yay! Thanks so much for being here today and I hope you have a wonderful day! Linking up with Holly and Sarah

Hi friends! It’s time to link up with Holly and Sarah to share some highlights from the weekend. I hope you all had a good one! Friday Night Friday nights are usually low-key for me, but last Friday was different. Sam and I got an unexpected invite to join some boys and their mums from his school for dinner at The Intersection Tavern. The boys finished school at the end of 2022, and Sam became close with about three of them during high school. There are around ten boys in their friendship circle. That night, I discovered these ladies are a tight-knit group who have been friends since their kids were in kindy. Sam didn’t start at the school until high school, so we were new to their circle. I think we got invited because I met the mum who organises these dinners at the airport when Sam went to Japan with her son back in May. It was great to get to know the mums. We chatted over a delicious dinner and reminisced about how quickly time had flown. It felt crazy to think back to when the boys (or men, as I should really say) were little and now they’re all grown up. We even got treat bags, which I thought was a really lovely touch! Saturday Saturday night was my aunt’s birthday celebration. Our family and some friends went to Canterbury Leagues Club for dinner. When we walked into the foyer, I was amazed at how large it was! It was all fancy with the plants and chandeliers. I joked that it was like a mini Las Vegas. I haven’t been to Vegas yet, but I know this club, though huge by our standards, would be tiny compared to the ones in Vegas and other countries. For dinner, Steve ordered the fish and chips, Sam had the beef brisket and I chose the penne bolognese. Afterwards, we went back to my aunt’s house for cake, dessert and drinks. It was a fun Saturday night celebrating my aunt, and I love any reason to get together with my family! Going out on Friday and Saturday nights was a bonus, so when Sunday rolled around, it felt like I had enjoyed an extra-long weekend if you know what I mean. Sunday I spent a couple of hours decluttering the converted garage. It had been bothering me for ages because it was getting messy and cluttered again. Aaarrrgh!! How does this happen so fast!! I do my blogging there, and I wanted to reclaim the space and make it inspiring again. Mess makes me nuts! Four garbage bags later, I felt more zen. It’s so chilly now, and I’m not loving it! What better way to combat the cold than with some delicious chicken and vegetable ramen for dinner? I had never made ramen before and was happy with how it turned out. The delicious broth with chicken, crunchy bean sprouts, spring onions and coriander was so good! And that was my weekend! I love those weekends when I get to go somewhere fun and also accomplish something productive. It’s such a great balance that leaves me feeling better about the new week ahead. I’m excited because it’s week eight, and that means I’m counting down until we break up for the winter holidays on the 8th of July. Yay!! Getting up at 6 am in the cold is tough, but enough of me whinging about the cold, hehe. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I hope you have a great day!  

Hello friends and hello Monday! We had a three-day weekend and it has just flown by! All we did was cozy up at home, kept warm and watched movies. I think the only pic I took the whole weekend was a photo of my grocery delivery. Haha! I guess we’ve had an eventful past couple of weeks with Steve’s surgery, so an uneventful weekend was a welcome change. He’s doing ok and when we saw the surgeon last Thursday, he was happy with how his knee was going. However, his wound wasn’t healing up as well as it should. So the doctor prescribed antibiotics because it looked infected. Wound infections scare me and I’m hoping it clears up fast. We’re going to the GP tomorrow so he can clean it up and redress it. Fingers crossed it will all be looking good when we see the surgeon again this Thursday. I’m taking another day off from work this Thursday to take Steve to his appointment. Last week, the process took up the entire day! After getting ready, dropping him off at the hospital entrance, and finding parking quite a distance away, we then waited an hour and a half before the doctor saw Steve (as usual, specialists never seem to run on time). The day was over before we knew it and I was so glad I took the whole day off because we sure needed it. I’ve often felt guilty about taking time off from work in the past. And I’ve stressed myself out by rushing to work either before or after appointments. But I have so many sick days that I have accumulated over all the years I have worked. So I’m cutting myself some slack and using up a carers’ day. I hardly ever take time off, only when it’s really necessary. Over the weekend Steve and I watched quite a few episodes of Seinfeld, they say laughter is good medicine. And we need plenty of good medicine! We also caught up on The Amazing Race and watched a fantastic movie called ‘Coach Carter’. It’s an oldie but we had never seen it before and we both loved it! I don’t play sports but I love inspiring true stories about sport. My biggest achievement this weekend was finally applying for our passports. I kept putting it off because filling out online forms, paper forms or any type of forms is my least favourite thing to do. Today, we went to Officeworks and got our passport photos taken, and later this week, we have an appointment at the post office to submit all our paperwork. As usual, I have to gather a bunch of proof of identification because I wasn’t born in Australia; I came over when I was eight months old. I’ll be glad when it’s all done, and we have our passports in our hands! Paperwork and me, we are not friends. Tonight, I prepared an extra dish for tomorrow night’s dinner because I have a staff meeting after work, followed by a quick trip to the chemist as Steve has run out of pain meds. Then it’s off to the GP to get his wound looked at. Whew, I’m glad I had an extra day to get organised because tomorrow sounds like it’s going to be a doozy! Wish me luck!! Linking up with Holly and Sarah

Hey there friends! Welcome to Hello Monday! It’s time to link up with Holly and Sarah to share some of our weekend fun. I’m also excited to finally share some big news!! Saturday Steve’s best friend came over in the morning and brought him breakfast. Then he hung out and kept him company while I got busy in the kitchen. Steve and his friend have known each other since primary school, he is such a nice guy and he’s more like family than a friend! Saturday night was Cousin Connect time! We planned to meet at 6 pm at Chebbo’s (a nearby food truck) and then return to our house for dessert. I’m not much of a dessert maker, but since I didn’t have to worry about making a main meal, I decided to make a raspberry and coconut slice, chocolate brownies, and dessert cups. I also bought some iced doughnuts from Woolworths. Watching all those episodes of MasterChef Australia has really inspired me, normally I would just buy all the desserts ready-made. Sure enough, I made a big mess in the kitchen. At one point, I had chocolate ganache all over my hands and the kitchen counter. It was quite a sight, haha! Making desserts is harder than making meals because you absolutely need to follow recipes precisely. I’m the type of cook who likes to add a bit of this and that, taste, and then maybe add more. But when it comes to desserts, precision is key, and you can’t cheat! It had been bucketing down with rain all day, and I was hoping it would stop by the time we were due to go out. But no, it just rained harder. I thought maybe the cousins might want to cancel, but we had all been looking forward to our monthly meet-up. None of us wanted to let a drenching stop us! We met up at Chebbos, all bundled up with jackets and umbrellas, ordered our food and went back to our place to eat. As you can see there was no undercover seating area and everything was saturated. We squished around the coffee table to eat, as I had set up the dining table ready for dessert. It sure was cozy in our small living room! After dinner, we played a couple of rounds of our favourite board game and then enjoyed some sweet treats. I was happy with how the dessert cups turned out. Yay! There was something extra special about this Cousin Connect—Steve was able to join us! Normally, he misses out because he always works on weekends. That’s a big upside of him having three months off work to recover from a knee replacement, he can join in on some Cousin Connect fun. That night we laughed so hard our stomachs hurt. Steve and Luke are both very funny and they bounce off each other. It was a hilarious night! At one point we had to stop the board game to catch our breaths from so much laughing. Sunday Here is my big news!! I have been bursting to share it for months, but I wanted to make sure it was a go-ahead, and I’m happy to say it is! Eight of us from our cousin crew are heading to the USA for an epic Cousin Connect adventure in January 2025. Gosh, I’m getting goosebumps typing this!! Yep, we are flying to LA to visit Disneyland and Universal Studios! Then we are doing a road trip from LA to Las Vegas for one night, before heading to Zion National Park and the Grand Canyon. On the way home, we are stopping in Hawaii for a week. Eeeeeeek!!!! I am beyond excited—so excited that I’m willing to take multiple flights even though flying is one of my biggest fears! (gulp). I always said the only time I would be willing to get on a plane was to go to Disneyland! Sunday night, my cousin came over with her family, and we sat around our computers to make everything official by booking the flights. Now that we are financially committed, we have countdowns set on our phones. We’ll spend the next six months planning! (My cousin just sent me a text that says 218 days!) This is a dream-come-true holiday, and I am incredibly happy to travel with my family. I cannot wait! Ahhh, I’m so excited!!! That wraps up one of my favourite weekends ever! Thanks so much for being here today. If you have any Disneyland tips or any other travel tips for the USA, please send them my way!  

Hi friends, and welcome to the Hello Monday link-up with Holly and Sarah. Thanks so much for reading along as I share a bit about what I got up to over the weekend. Saturday It’s so good to start Saturday morning with a cup of coffee. I used the grinder I bought on Amazon to grind some coffee beans my lovely friends bought me a little while ago. I only grind coffee on the weekends because it takes time and it also gives me a good arm workout. It’s a nice treat too! It was a wet, windy, and miserable Saturday morning. Steve and I, being a couple of nosey Parkers, went to a house auction. The house was in a suburb a 10-minute drive from our place. We don’t have any plans to move, but the house up for auction was in Steve’s dream location (near the water). He drives past it every day on his way to work, so he was curious to see how much it would sell for. We bundled up and watched the bidding war between two very keen buyers. Just before the auctioneer called “sold,” another buyer swooped in with a bigger offer and bought the house. It sold for an eye-watering four and a half million dollars! I couldn’t believe it, especially considering the condition the house was in. I took a photo of one of the rooms, but I wish I had taken more so you could see how it was a total mess, with mould in all the rooms. I’m sure it will be knocked down and rebuilt, but I just wanted to show you what property prices are like in some suburbs of Sydney! And Steve’s dream location will remain just that—a dream! Later in the afternoon, my groceries arrived. Can you spy some of my favourite weekend treats (hello salt and vinegar chips!) My big boy Luke came over, and we had nachos, corn salad, rice, and guacamole for dinner. Then we watched “Everything Everywhere All At Once.” I didn’t love it, as it was very all over the place and I was baffled throughout most of the movie. But later on, Luke explained that the main character has undiagnosed ADHD and that the film’s director, Daniel Kwan, was diagnosed with ADHD while writing the script. Interestingly, all his research led him to his diagnosis. I wish I had known this before watching the movie because, thinking back on it now, it makes more sense. I have a very close family member with a recent diagnosis, and it’s quite a journey. Saturday night, it was freezing, so we warmed up with some hot chocolate and Christmas cookies that were still in date. Haha! Sunday Sunday afternoon Steve and I went into the city. It felt like it had been ages since we had been anywhere and we had such a lovely evening! We had a drink in an old-style pub and watched some people having fun dancing to a live band. On the way to dinner, we stopped and listened to a guy play some well-known songs on his saxophone. I could have listened for hours, he was so talented! We had dinner in a little Japanese restaurant. Then we jumped on the train and went home for dessert and an episode of ‘Vera’. It was a lovely weekend, and I enjoyed spending time with my family. However, I have to admit that the whole time, I couldn’t shake a nervous, uneasy feeling in my stomach. I couldn’t stop thinking about the upcoming week. This week is not my favourite because I have an assessor coming to observe me at work for four hours tomorrow. It’s part of my course; she will watch how I interact with the children and families etc. Ugh! I can’t wait for tomorrow to be over, and I just hope I can act normal. I really do not like being ‘observed’! And I wish I could say that I will be relieved once tomorrow is over, but no, there’s more. Steve is having a knee replacement on Friday. Hopefully, on Saturday, I can finally breathe a sigh of relief. Please send prayers and good vibes my way. I would really appreciate them! Take care, and I hope to be back on Friday to share some favourites. There have to be some favourites about this week, right? Thanks for being here!            

Hey everyone, welcome back! I hope you all had an amazing weekend filled with a good mix of relaxation and fun. Thanks so much for joining me today for the monthly ‘Share our Lives’ link-up. Today, we are chatting about our top 5 favourite and least favourite foods! I have a serious passion for food! If I’m not eating then you can bet I’m either daydreaming about my next meal or what I’m going to be cooking and eating for dinner. So narrowing down my least favourite food was a bit of a challenge because, honestly I think that I’m pretty happy to eat just about anything (well, almost anything). Let’s look at the foods that make my taste buds happy! As well as the ones that are my least favourite and don’t quite hit the spot. My Favourite and Least Favourite Foods 5 Favourites Pasta With Savoury Sauces My all-time favourite foods includes a variety of pasta dishes. Whether it’s spaghetti with a rich bolognese sauce (my ultimate favourite) sprinkled with a very generous amount of fresh parmesan cheese or creamy fettucini carbonara, I simply can’t resist them. My other favourites are boscialo and lasagna- I love them all. Yum!! Roasted Meat and Comforting Sides I love any kind of roast meat-beef, lamb, pork or chicken. I’m not fussy as long as it’s served with vegetables, potatoes (roast or mashed) and lots of gravy! Cheese I’m incredibly thankful I’m not lactose intolerant because I absolutely adore cheese. I think Havarti cheese might be my favourite, but I also love Brie, Camembert, feta, Swiss cheese, Gouda, Edam and so many more. Honestly, just give me all the cheese, please!! Hot Chips Just thinking about hot chips is making me hungrier than I already am! Crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, with a generous amount of plain salt or chicken salt. I like hot chips on their own or with a splash of vinegar. I also love to dip them in mayonnaise or aioli and sometimes tomato sauce. Irresistible! Seafood Some of my favourite seafood include salmon, barramundi, prawns, oysters, lobster, and crab. However, when it comes to seafood dishes, my absolute favourite is ceviche—a Latin American creation made with raw fish marinated in lime or lemon juice, mixed with Spanish onions, coriander, and spices. I can’t get enough of the tangy flavours, though I make sure not to breathe on anyone after tucking into this amazing dish! 5 Least Favourite Chilli Hot chillies are my least favourite because I can’t do hot spicy food very well. I start coughing, my eyes water and I panic-it’s no fun! The other day I accidentally ordered a winter margarita, I didn’t read the list of ingredients and I got such a shock when I took the first sip. It had red chilli powder and flakes. Yikes! I didn’t know hot chilli in cocktails was a thing. I’ll be reading the list of ingredients very carefully from now on! Chocolate cake Chocolate cake is my least favourite cake of all! I always find them dense and they require too much commitment once you take the first bite. Licorice Just no. The end. Blue Cheese I know I said that I love cheese but blue cheese is so intensely not good! Snails I nearly tried them once but I just couldn’t do it. So to be fair, I probably shouldn’t include them on my list of least favourite foods. They may well be delicious! However, the thought of eating snails doesn’t make me feel great. I’m more comfortable with them on plants than on my plate. So there we have it, my 5 favorite and least favourite foods. Now I’m curious, what are yours? I’d love to hear about them in the comments! Linking up with Adrienne, Dara, Jen, Joanne and Sarah.