5 things Friday

1. Today my Dad arrives in town, and will meet Charlotte for the first time. I am beyond excited – and can’t wait for the little Miss to spend some time with her Jonpa!

I see lots of laughs, food and footy in our future!

2. Following on from our Ikea trip last week, Mr BBB and I had a little ‘home decoration’ session last night, the results of which are starting to take shape. A little sneak peek for you…

3. I know I’ve said it before, but post partum hair loss is no joke.  I honestly feel as if I will be bald within weeks.

4. Charlotte is now officially a ‘bib’ baby.  Yes, my little girl has become queen of the drool (and quite the master at blowing raspberries too).

(mid-raspberry)

The added bonus being that we can now use all the gorgeous bibs we were given as gifts!

5.  Tomorrow I am making chocolate mousse for our family dinner – in all its raw egg glory! Oh how I missed thee while pregnant  

What about you? Any exciting plans for the weekend?

Speedy salad no. 2

Yep – that’s right. The salad craving continued last night, and we wasted no time in throwing together this little beast.

While Mr BBB grilled some lovely porterhouse steaks from our local butcher, I worked on the ‘salad’.

Just greens and mushrooms on this occasion, with a couple steamed potatoes alongside.

Topped with grated cheese.

Then it was simply a matter of slicing the steak (which Mr BBB was rather chuffed to discover was cooked perfectly to medium rare).

And last, but not least…

00

A drizzle of ‘yellow mustard’ for no other reason than I like mustard.

Oh and be assured, my ice-cream craving was also satiated after dinner

With strawberries and chocolate sauce. Of course

What about you?  Are you a fan of mustard?

A speedy salad

Thankyou all for your sweet words of congratulations about the Cook Off! It really was a lot of fun, and I can’t wait for the next round – even if it is 8 months away!

We returned home from Sydney late Sunday, feeling rather tired and rather ‘indulged’ after all the wonderful food that the city has to offer.  So much so that instead of the usual rich, slow cooked meals I have been having lately, I was craving salad.

So salad it was.

Albeit a ‘pumped up’ salad – with grilled chicken, greens, mushrooms, carrots, tasty cheese and avocado.

With a sprinkle of cashews for crunch.

Thrown together in around 10 minutes, and eaten in about 2 minutes flat. I seem to have become a ‘speed’ eater since Charlotte arrived!

What about you? Are you a quick or slow eater?

I have always been a pretty quick eater, but having a baby (who can be rather unsettled during the evenings) has turned me into a super speedy eater! I think I need to slow things down a little….

Weekend of firsts & the Gourmet Garden Cook Off

What a wonderful weekend we have just had. Adventures, sunny skies, great company….

Not to mention being a weekend of “firsts”.

Charlotte’s first road trip.

Our first trip to Sydney as a family of three.

C’s first time forward-facing in the Bjorn…

(Which she absolutely LOVED!)

Our first visit to the Good Food & Wine Show…

And my first time cooking in front of a crowd!

Kisses for good luck!

 

Yes – yours truly was lucky enough to make it through to the second round of the Gourmet Garden Blog Off / Cook Off Competition – which involved a “cook off” against a fellow blogger at the Sydney Good Food & Wine Show!

And what a fun adventure it turned out to be!

I was paired to cook off against the wonderful and sweet Andrea, who I found out (in a “small world” moment) actually lives one suburb away from me in Canberra!

I made a quinoa paella (recipe to follow!)– and was relieved when it came together in the 30 minutes we had allocated. For boy did those 30 minutes feel like they disappeared rather quickly, and I was starting to worry that I wouldn’t get it finished in time!

And then it was onto the judging – this time not by my family – but by the ever lovely  and talented Sammy and Bella (winners of My Kitchen Rules).

I was so incredibly happy to learn that they loved the paella, and I would be advancing to the next stage of the competition (which takes place in Queensland next year!). Although the fact its a knock out competition is a little sad as it would have been fantastic to advance to the next stage with Andrea, my fellow Canberran!

With the competition all wrapped up, the remainder of our day was spent exploring the Good Food & Wine Show, tasting samples, and stocking up on some favourite foodie items.

I actually wish we had allowed ourselves more time, as it was one impressive show. I couldn’t help but think “so much too see, so little time!”.

And I think the little Miss agreed, as she quite happily took in all the new sights, smells and sounds from the comforts of her carrier (dozing off to sleep when she felt tired).

The “weekend of firsts” continued after the Show,  with Charlotte’s first hotel stay…

Our first GF pizza in Sydney…

Charlotte’s first alfresco breakfast…

Although she did sleep through most of it…

And, not to be forgotten…

Our first trip to Ikea since building our new house! Let’s just say, I am super excited about the items we picked up – and can’t wait to share them with you once we have put them together.

Overall, it  was a wonderful first trip as a family of three. Although there were some stressful moments (the baby meltdown on the long drive home…for example), these were certainly outweighed by all the fun and happy moments we shared together!

A big thankyou to Gourmet Garden for the chance to cook off in front of a crowd. Hopefully I wasn’t too awkward!

What about you? Ever cooked in front of a crowd?

Five things Friday

Thankyou for your sweet comments about my last post. I feel so much better when I try to ‘keep it real’, particularly when it means acknowledging that things are a little overwhelming at times!

Today has been all about work, playing and packing. And by that I mean fitting in some work tasks, playing with my favourite gal, and packing for our first road trip to Sydney as a family of 3!

Exciting yes…but also a little daunting too. And it certainly got me thinking about a ‘Five things Friday’.

1. Heading on an overnight trip with a 3 month old requires a lot more “stuff” than as a couple.

Between the pram, the carrier, bedding, blankets, clothes, nappies, toys, mats and other incidentals, I am curious as to what space there will be left in the car for us!

2. Why do I always wait until the weekend to have roasts?

When midweek roasts are rather delightful (and provide lots of leftovers for a roast lamb sandwich this evening!)

3. I have officially lost my ‘pregnancy-induced warmth’. And I am freezing as a result! It looks like it will be gloves and scarves for me for the foreseeable future.

4. One thing I have not lost since pregnancy is my love for vanilla ice-cream.

Yes, I know I just said that I was cold. But it seems that I would rather wear an extra layer of clothes and indulge in this icy after dinner treat than give it away over the cooler months.  ‘Tis deliciously wonderful.

5. I just ordered an artwork for our living area, and I am so very excited! Can’t wait to share some ‘before and after’ pictures with you when it arrives.

But now, time to stop blogging and get these bags packed! For they are not going to pack themselves.

What about you? Plans for the weekend?

Keeping it real

It is quite easy on a blog, be it intentional or unintentional, to paint a picture that all is “smooth sailing”.

But I think it is important to also keep it real.

If there is one word that describes how I am feeling at the moment – it would be “stretched”.

Stretched a little thin as I try to find the right balance between being a Mum, a wife, a daughter, a sister and a friend. All while working part time, blogging, and trying to ‘keep house’.

And trying to keep sane.

I am grateful that I am someone that thrives on being busy, but I am by no means a superwoman. I can slowly feel the fatigue of 3 months of broken sleep kicking in at full force. The mornings seem to come around too quickly, and I certainly don’t leap’ of bed as I once did. Rather it has become more of a ‘one eye open roll off the bed’ manoeuvre each morning when the sun rises.

The lingering fatigue has impacted on my energy to exercise. In my mind, a run or a ride would be wonderful and I go to bed almost every night with grand exercise plans for the next day. But then the morning rolls around, and I begin to juggle things I need to do for Charlotte and for work, and any spare moment I come across is more likely to be spent with a cup of tea and a re-run of The Block.

Then the little Miss turned 3 months old and, almost to the day, the post partum hair loss also started. I knew the day was coming, but it was and is rather horrifying to see my shiny, full pregnancy hair turn dry and start to fall out.  And this makes me sad. Then I feel sad that this makes me sad.

But even though I feel stretched, and tired, I only need to take one look at this little face and it all is worthwhile.

 

We just need to take it one day at a time. And keep it real.

What about you? How do you keep it real?

Banana and honey spelt loaf

I think I have found my new favourite baked loaf. So much so, that thanks to some overripe bananas in our fruit bowl, and this recipe I found online...

It has made an appearance in our household not once but twice in the past week.

I was drawn to the recipe when I saw that it also featured two other favourites of mine...

Walnuts and dates.

And the overall result was rather tasty indeed.

A moist, tasty loaf, with just the right amount of sweetness from the dates and honey.

And with a little crunch from the walnuts, scattered throughout.

Sliced and served with a little butter.

And I was one happy girl!

I recommend that you try this for yourself. I know I will - well as soon as I leave some bananas in our fruit bowl too long again...

What about you? Are you a fan of banana bread?