Random Favourites

Hi everyone it’s so great to be back today for Friday favourites with Andrea and Erika. This week feels kind of strange because today was my first day back at work. So yesterday felt like a Sunday and today feels like a Monday except that now it’s the weekend. It’s so confusing! But anyway, I am so happy to be here today sharing a few random favourites.

A Few Random Favourites

A Trip To Ikea

I had a fun trip to Ikea with my lovely friend the other day. Going to Ikea with her is a big favourite because we both like to browse around at the same pace. Which is nice and slow, checking everything out and even going back if we have missed something.

I noticed that they have some new furniture like this comfy chair which reminds me of the very expensive Eames chair. I could totally see myself relaxing on one of these.

Walking around made us both really hungry so we stopped for lunch. I nearly chose the meatballs like I usually do but then decided on the healthy salmon. I was pleasantly surprised that it tasted so good because I nearly didn’t order it thinking that it looked a bit bland.

For dessert, we had orange cake. I also had an iced mocha and my friend had tea.

Tea

My super sweet bestie went to Melbourne for a week and she brought me back this yummy tea. I really loved the flavour because I could taste the black tea (my favourite) but as I sipped it I could also smell and taste the vanilla and rose petals.

I googled who Ruth Crow was and it turns out that she was a social activist who believed that people could go on to achieve great things when they met together over a cup of tea. How interesting…go, Ruth!

Delicious Dip

Another random favourite is this fetta and olive dip that I bought from the farmer’s market. It tastes so good with wholemeal crackers.

Frozen Avocado Slices

My aunt told me about these frozen avocado slices. I didn’t even know that you could freeze avocado. We love to eat avocados but they ripen so fast all at once and if we don’t eat them quickly. Then they turn mushy and I sometimes end up having to throw them out. So these frozen slices are perfect!

The Last Day Of The Holidays

Thursday was our last day of the school holidays and it was Australia Day. My sweet friend who I am very lucky to work with. We both decided to make the most of the last day by treating ourselves to a lovely lunch in the city.

We had a look at the shops first and then we stopped off at a bar called Reign which is located inside the iconic Queen Victoria building.

I love the decor it’s just so beautiful with great big windows and gorgeous chandeliers. It was so lovely sitting there enjoying some fancy cocktails. It almost made me forget that we had to go back to work the next day….almost but not quite!

The cocktail I ordered was called ‘La Vista Azul’. The waiter recommended it to me but I was a bit unsure at first because it had jalapeño as one of the ingredients. He assured me that it wasn’t spicy and I was glad that I listened to him because it was really good. I just made sure to stay away from the big jalapeño garnish!

My friend enjoyed a cocktail called Kyoto Rose which looked so pretty garnished with a big bright rose petal.

A Long Lazy Lunch

Then it was time to head over to the restaurant for our 2 pm lunch reservation. And we had such a delicious lunch while looking at some gorgeous views of  Sydney Harbour.

We both ordered the barramundi.

And the apple crumble.

Then we wandered around Circular Quay which was absolutely buzzing with people celebrating Australia Day. And there was so much to see as we walked along to The Rocks.

We ended up at a pub where we hung around for a while listening to a live band. Some people were dancing and really getting into the celebrations and enjoying the public holiday.

Back To Work

Then just like that, our fun summer holidays were over and today I went back to work. During the holidays the carpets were all cleaned so when we walked in this morning. All the furniture was piled up like this!

It was a pupil-free day and so we started the day with a very long and productive planning meeting. The meeting finished at lunchtime and our lovely director had lunch catered for us.

After lunch, we spent the rest of the afternoon moving the piles of furniture and organising the classrooms. This year I am in a different room because we rotate every couple of years. The classroom that I will be in is much bigger than the one I was in for the last two years.

Getting The Classrooms Organised

Our preschool building isn’t purpose-built. And it’s actually in an old heritage building which was originally the council chambers. So trying to work out the learning areas can be a bit tricky. But because we are starting fresh in different classrooms. We got creative and made quite a few changes.

It meant a lot of moving furniture around but I quite like reconfiguring rooms. The classroom teacher and I were both on the same page and we wanted more space and less furniture. We ended up putting some furniture aside that was looking a bit tired. And we will decide on Monday if we are going to store it or give it away.

We still didn’t finish setting up the classrooms but that’s ok because Monday we have another pupil-free day. And the children don’t start preschool until Tuesday. I’m so glad that we have an extra day because it means we can make sure that the rooms are all nicely set up and look neat and welcoming. I’ll show you what it looks like when it’s all done

Back To Walking

I walked to and from work today and I probably did more steps today than I have done in five weeks! It felt good to get some exercise but I was so tired when I got home and my feet were hurting. My body needs to snap out of holiday mode fast! I think it’s still in denial.

Monthly Musings

I recently started joining ‘Monthly Musings’. This month’s topic was ‘How to beat the winter blues’. It was fun joining in even though we are in the middle of summer over here. I figured that it was good to start thinking of ways to embrace the colder months because I don’t like winter.

I enjoyed reading everyone else’s great tips which I will keep in mind. Because before I know it, it will be our turn for winter! But I must say that after reading all about the sub-zero temps that so many people endure. It made me realise that we get really mild winters in comparison.

And when I say ‘I’m freezing!!!’ and it’s actually 14°C it must sound crazy haha!! But really I am freezing! Anyway, you can read all about How To Beat The Winter Blues here in case you missed it.

 

And that wraps up a few random favourites for this week. I am excited that it’s the weekend because we have some fun plans. I look forward to being back here on Monday.

Happy Friday friends!