Category: Photos

The Wedding and the Good Breakfast

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And what a lovely wedding it was. Since becoming a marriage celebrant, I pay much closer attention to the ceremony at a wedding. This wedding was in an Anglican Church, and I must say I was very impressed with the Priest who conducted the ceremony. He made it personal by sharing a little something about his marriage; he made a timely, appropriate joke to calm the nerves a little; and I felt he really engaged with the audience with his friendly manner. He also partook in gelati with the wedding guests in the church car park afterwards! I’m not sure I could take any pointers as such, but I hope that when I am officiating at ceremonies, I am as relaxed and engaging as he was. And if not yet, then it’s certainly something to aspire to.

Here’s a photo of Hubs and I walking to the reception. Yes, he looked rather lovely too!

Hubs and I stayed at South Brisbane for 2 nights (Friday and Saturday night) and had this rather nice view from our balcony:

On Saturday morning, we went searching for a good old fashioned brunch. We checked out the menus for pretty much all of the places along Little Stanley St at Southbank, and when Hubs saw Brioche on the menu, he wanted it, and he wanted it bad. And bad it was. Actually, Hubs’ Brioche French toast wasn’t too awful, but my “Mediterranean Breakfast” was. I left half of it on the plate, and if you know me and how much I LOVE breakfast food, you know that’s a big deal. The poached eggs were not only completely cooked through, but hard and dry, the haloumi was like rubber and the toast was completely soggy. I gave them the constructive feedback, and in hindsight I should have said I didn’t want to pay for it. Has anyone ever done that??? I wouldn’t know how??

I know I seem to be complaining about food a lot lately, but I just get disappointed when we’re paying good money for bad food. Especially when Hubs makes me amazing breakfasts at home for me often.

So when we woke up this morning, we decided we needed a good brekky to make up for it. And it happened. We ended up at Paddington at a lovely place called Anouk. The service was friendly and speedy, the coffee was hot and strong and the food… aaaaaah the food. Hubs ordered the spicy creamy mushrooms with cheesy toast…

… and I ordered their simple and delicious version of Eggs Benedict:

We also ordered a fruit “shake” to share. Everything was top notch and I made sure I told them at the end. I would recommend this place and cannot wait to get back there.

A lovely Mothers Day brekky for me 🙂

Continuing with the theme…

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… of late blog posting, here is a photographic run-down of our trip to Brisbane. A month ago. Oops.

Waiting at Mount Isa airport

Fun in the park with Poppy

Cuddles with Nanna

Bottle rockets and flying a kite with Gran and Grumpy

Fly fishing practice with Grumpy

Super fancy High Tea for Nan’s 80th

So many more memories without photos, but always in our hearts. Our next trip to Brisbane is a mere month away, and already I’m excited 🙂

Racing around

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I’ve been a bit slow with blogging about stuff as it happens, so here’s a post about what we got up to 2 weekends ago. Hubs and I have been whinging a little that there’s nothing much to do up here, so when opportunities get presented to us, we really try and take advantage. So when we heard that the races were on, we thought we’d go along and check it out. They started around 2pm on the Saturday, so after Quindy had her nap, we all got dolled up and hit the tracks.

Isn’t it fun trying to get your 3 year old to pose for a nice family photo?

We had NO idea what to expect – how big it was going to be, how much it would cost, what the place was actually like – so we just went in head first and hoped for the best. We knew there were going to be a few doctors there that Hubs works with, and a few of the mums I’ve met through playgroup were heading in too, so we would at least know a few people.

By our standards (we had only really ever been to the Wang races on Melbourne Cup Day) it was quite small, but that suited us just fine. Quinn was happy to wander around looking cute:

And Chance still had a bit of a cold, so he was happy just to chill out and watch movies on my phone:

We’re really glad we went along and had a great time meeting new people and spending time with new friends. Speaking of which, Hubs met the friend of one of the doctors he works with and he mentioned a group of his friends were going 4WDriving the next day, and that we would be most welcome to come along. So in the spirit of taking people up on their offers to do things, we said yes!

We met the group around 10am Sunday morning and after a little rendesvous, we put the kids in the car…

and headed off! (ha ha.)

We headed north about 40km before we turned off onto the track. It was a pretty tame drive, but there were a few squeals of excitement/fear from me at a couple of creek (dry) crossings.

There were 6 cars in the convoy and a lovely bunch of people emerged at the swimming hole we arrived at:

Unfortunately our friend hadn’t mentioned to bring togs, so Hubs just jumped in with his clothes, and the kids had spare clothes so they went in too. It was so lovely. I was very sad I hadn’t brought my togs 🙁 Next time! It was a really lovely few hours and we hope to head out with the group again sometime soon.

We arrived home to unpack, change, and head out to a friend’s place for a BBQ. So yeah, a very big weekend for us! The following weekend, Hubs had to work, so this is his first full weekend with no plans for some time. We are thinking about heading out to Lake Julius tomorrow just to check it out, but no firm plans at this stage. The weather is finally a little more bearable today (only getting up to 32 today! Woo!) so a trip to the park might be nice too.

We’re trying to make the most of it, and slowly getting there.

Peacock Park

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This is one of the options we have for BBQ time in Mount Isa. Peacock Park as it is affectionately known, is at Lake Moondarra, nestled behind the spillway. So you don’t actually have a view of the lake, but the surroundings are quite lovely. It’s very shady and even though there are BBQs there, we always bring our own.

There is a half-decent playground there, but no swings unfortunately. And it’s always green which is a bonus in these here parts of Australia.

A nice place for a BBQ and catch up with friends. I’m sure it will be even nicer once it’s not so damn hot…

Comments? Questions?

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Greetings everyone! It seems my comments haven’t been working. Well, I’m pretty sure they haven’t been working, otherwise you lovely things just haven’t had much to say to me lately 🙂 I’ve changed the settings from embedded to pop up window, so please, if you don’t mind, feel free to leave a comment here or there in the next week so I can be sure everything is working nicely.

In the meantime, here’s some cuteness for your day!

And this is what happens when Chanbe asks Hubs to help him get dressed, but doesn’t use his manners.

#056 – Make every recipe out of one recipe book

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This is part of my 101 things in 1001 days challenge.

No, I haven’t quite finished this one as yet, but I’ve sure started well. To date I have made 17 recipes out of over 100 in this book, and have been very pleased with most of the dishes so far. Some I have absolutely loved, some I wouldn’t cook again, some I’ve tweaked to my liking, and some I’m either extremely excited about trying, or not at all looking forward to. (But there’s only 2 or 3 of those, that’s why I chose this particular recipe book out of my collection.) I was flicking through it today, and even though I know I’ve read the intro blurb before, the last couple of lines finally stood out to me today:

I will try everything at least once! And I have already repeated some of them! I haven’t taken photos of all of them, but here’s a snapshot.

So far, I have made; (in order they appear in the book… mostly…)

~ Bechamel sauce (I usually just make this flying by the seat of my pants, so it was nice to follow a recipe for once!)

~ Pesto (a bit too much lemon juice in this recipe for my liking)

~ Slow-cooked Sticky Lamb Shanks with Parsnips (not a huge fan of this one, as I make pretty damn good lamb shanks with my own recipe, but you know, slow cooked lamb shanks are always pretty damn good.)

~ Shortbread (yum – I’ll be making this again)

~ Bad bad brownies (these are ridiculously rich – only for a very special occasion!)

~ French Toast (I’ve made this one twice already – so delish!)

~ Chicken Enchiladas (Oh man this was really really good. I cooked it for friends and got rave reviews)

~ Sopillos (these are almond-meal meringues and they were a bit of a disaster. They tasted amazing but weren’t pretty. I’d like to try them again and make them smaller)

~ Houseboat pie (this one says “serves 6” but that would only apply if that’s all they were eating for the whole day! There is 1.2 kg of various cheese in this one and it made 2 pies! It was so yummy!)

~ Julian’s French Green Beans (adding breadcrumbs and butter to beans – how can you go wrong??)

~ Chocolate mousse (hard to go wrong with a good mousse, and this is no exception)

~ Roasted roma tomatoes (simple and yummy)

~ Fresh Pea and Chorizo Risotto (not enough chorizo for my liking, so I would add more next time. It also required cooking chicken stock from scratch which I’d never done. It took a long time and to be honest, wasn’t that flavorsome, so I’m not sure I would bother next time!)

~ One-Pot Pasta (I just made this over the weekend and damn it was SO good. I’d use less pasta and finish it off with chopped, roasted pine nuts next time. There will definitely be a next time!)

~ Jungle Jaffa Cake (I had made this a few times before the challenge and have made it twice since. It’s a great gluten free go-to cake that everyone loves.)

~ Ginger nuts (an excellent recipe. I made 2 batches in 2 weeks, and Hubs has just requested more.)

I then, as the recipe book suggested, re-purposed them into a ginger log, just like Mum used to make. Oh so good…

~ Steamed asparagus (simple. Done.)

So that’s where I’m at so far with challenge #56. It really is a gorgeous recipe book and would make such a lovely gift for someone about to embark on the world. Or, you know, turn 30 🙂

Looking forward to sharing more reviews with you soon!

Happy 1st Birthday Quinn!

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It was rather a quiet affair for our little Quinndy, and a lovely time was had by all. I was trying to decide which cake to make her, and gave the cake book to Chanbe to have a look through. This is the suggestion he came up with:

Ummmmm. No. I don’t think so. We finally decided on the ladybird. I never had that cake growing up, and it’s a bit of a classic. Here’s the picture of the cake in the book:

And here’s how mine turned out. As usual, I couldn’t get that really rich red, but I was happy with a nice burgundy.

Chanbe was very happy to help lick the spatula!

 
 
I’m not sure what this face was about, other than just being funny!!
 
 
 
Then she decided on a demure pose:
 
 
 
Smile! Happy Birthday to YOUUUUUUU!
 
Oh yeaaaaah. Cake time!
 

 Mnarn narm narm… 

 
And present time! Hubs was convinced these pants belonged on  her head…
 
 
 
 
And in the next few days, Quinndy decided it was time to take some steps!


My dear baby girl. What a treasure you are. You have brought so much joy and delight to our lives, and I love getting to know you more every day. I’ve never seen such a happy baby, and I look forward to seeing what you have in store for us in the future.

It’s been rather an exciting week around here! I’m getting through the unpacking and organising, and starting to feel a bit more at home. I’ve met some more mums and am hoping to catch up with them in the next week or 2. Mum and Dad are here until Friday week, so there’s a few more things I’d like to do with them around – the time will go too quickly I’m sure! – and I’ve already booked our first trip back to Brisbane for the year, in about a month. Like I said, lots going on!

5 weekends, 5 towns

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2 weekends ago we were here in Ingham, last weekend we were in Mission Beach, this weekend we’re going to Cairns, next weekend we’ll be in Townsville, and the following weekend (my birthday!) we will arrive in Mount Isa. The enormousness (and no, I don’t mean enormity) of the next few weeks (and the previous few) is starting to catch up with me. We’ve had a steady stream of house guests in the last month which has just been so lovely, and now that we have an empty house, it’s hard to get motivated to do anything. So we’re just having a quiet morning to regroup, before packing for Cairns this arvo.

I did actually blog from my phone on Christmas day, but that is very hit and miss, and unfortunately that post missed. We had a great week away at Mission Beach with family and friends, and in a huge group effort, put together a beautiful Christmas lunch.

This was the view we had for the week:

And on Christmas eve, I made the best pierogi I’ve ever made on my own. It felt so great to know that I can do it now.

The kids had a great time away, and Chance loved swimming at the beach in his stinger suit:

And Quindy didn’t mind just hanging out with Mama and eating crackers and dip 🙂

Who knows what the next few weeks will look like for us. Again, as usual, we’ll be on and off line during the move, and internet connection will be a priority once we arrive in the Isa.

It’s hard to believe that, once again, our time in our new town is coming to an end. It’s emotionally and physically exhausting, even NOT being 36 weeks pregnant this time! This time last year was hard work, and we know that this move won’t be as hard, but it will still be challenging, and we are looking forward to being in our new house and starting the settling-in time once again. The uncertainty hasn’t really bothered me until now – we still haven’t been allocated a house in Isa – but now I just want to know where we will be!

I have been ticking quite a few things off my 101 things in 1001 days which is exciting; like horse riding, flying a kite, and making a(nother) batch of pierogi. I’m really enjoying this list and am happy every time I cross something off.

Happy 6th Wedding Anniversary

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Hubs and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary in the first weekend of December, and we took full advantage of my parents being here, and went away for 2 nights. Well, sort of. I’m still feeding Quinn, so we needed to stay pretty close to home so Mum could bring the kids to us for the day on Saturday. But we had 2 nights away and that’s what counts!

We stayed at Hinchinbrook Marine Cove Resort at Lucinda which was rather nice. We had a great view which was my only request when booking the accommodation. Hubs ended up having to work late on the Friday night, so I went and checked us in around 5pm since the place was only 20 minutes away, and put the champagne sparkling white in the fridge to chill for our arrival. I’m glad I did, as we didn’t end up arriving until almost 10:30pm!

We had a nice evening and a pretty good night sleep (nothing is as good as your own bed though!! Shame ours is in storage…) and Mum brought the kids up on Saturday morning, arriving around 8:30am.

I’m not sure who missed who more!

This is what happens when you don’t own a TV… My poor, deprived children…

Dad had gone fishing for the day up at Cardwell. Poor Mum had a bit of a rough night with Quinn, but in a cute way. Quinn woke up around 3am and just wanted a chat. For almost 2 hours!! So we took Chance to the pool while Mum and Quinn had a little rest.

It was quite hot and the pool was SO lovely. The shade cover made it very easy for us to hand around for over 2 hours! We had an easy lunch, and then I don’t really know where the rest of the day went! We just hung out and watched the boats and lazed around. We said goodbye to Mum and the kids around 6pm and said helllloooooo to Moet:

Happy Anniversary Hubs. This year has been one of our hardest, but definitely our best, and I know things with you will just keep getting better and better. I love you!