All Things Pink!

So last Friday was my birthday.  

Since I'm approaching a ripe old age, it's a day I'd rather slip by quietly without much fanfare. For this reason plus the fact that we've just arrived home from a rather expensive holiday, and that we have an engagement party and wedding to save for, I asked Liam not to buy any presents.

He begrudgingly agreed; yet on the day these gorgeous flowers were delivered to my office!

He made sure they included my favourite oriental lilies, and asked for a super smelly bunch.  The fragrance of sweet fresh flowers that is currently radiating all over the house is just divine. Add that to the two lovely bunches my best friend brought by for me last week which are sitting on my bedside, and the orange lilies I bought for the lounge, there's a lovely Spring atmosphere in the air at our house!

That evening we went for dinner with my family and grandparents and mum bought me this fantastic vanilla slice cake.  It's the same cake she bought for my 21st birthday, way back when!

That pink icing on top was soooo good! Yum yum yum.

Speaking of pink, as well as trying to organise our engagement party, I'm also hosting a baby shower for my cousin in a few weeks. The party planning started off with a few hurdles and family politics, but now that we've managed to overcome that, it's time for the fun part!

I found some great free customizable websites, and put together these cute little invites. She's expecting a little baby girl, so I thought we'd run with the stereotypical pink theme!

To decorate, I thought I'd try my hand at  some of those tissue paper pom poms that are all the rage at the moment. Initially I thought I'd just take the easy way out and order them from eBay for about $3 - $5 a pop, but then I realised that they had to be delivered flat packed and I would have to fluff them myself, which is the hardest part anyway.

A quick Google search showed how simple these were to make from scratch, and a quick visit to the shops down the road and $1 a pack later I was armed with the tissue paper I needed to get started!

My first attempt turned out surprisingly well! Subsequent attempts were a little messy; I think I must have gotten a little over-confident with my initial success and was not careful enough with the "fluffing". They're very simple to make, but definitely require a bit of care and a delicate touch!

To get an idea of what they might look like, I strung some up on the deck roof. I will need to make many many more, but I think they look quite nice! I am going to try making them in varying sizes and different shades of pink, and also have them hanging inside above the dining table which I will set up with whatever pink treats I can come up with!

Also, the new deck has been completed, along with a snazzy little boardwalk leading towards the garage. It looks absolutely schmick, and we love it! It's given us a lot more usable space in our already much-loved entertaining area, and turned it from great to almost perfect!

I made the most of the Sunday morning sun, and indulged in a few cocktails with a friend.

First up, was an espresso martini, which I forgot to take any photos of :( but we finished up with a few flavored piña coladas which don't quite run with all the pink pictures in this post so far but I added a nice pink cocktail umbrella in there for good measure!



While we were in Kuala Lumpur we found this bar that served the most amazing cocktails ever! I fell in love with their flavoured piña coladas, whilst Liam got stuck into far too many of their special Long Islands. We ended up paying them a visit every single night of our stay in KL, and the bar manager was so friendly! As a parting gift, he offered me the recipe to my beloved piña colada. So far I have tried the original pineapple and lychee flavours, but am yet to source the ingredients which will produce my favourite passion fruit flavour.

I'll guess I'll just have to keep trying out the options until I find the perfect one!
And once I do find it... I'll just have to keep trying some more! ;)

On Top Of The World!

Wordless Wednesday : Dashed Hopes

So this is a bit of a wordy way to start my Wordless Wednesday entry, but I had to say thank you for all your lovely responses on my last post about my dear friend, Sally.  I was a bit afraid there might be some backlash because of the sensitive nature of the topic and the situation at hand, but your supportive messages made me feel better. 

I miss her every day, and sometimes things will happen where she randomly pops into my thoughts and I think of how I would just love to see her and tell her about everything that has been happening.

I spoke to one of Sally's sisters last week, and she said she was comforted by the fact that she remains in the thoughts of her friends, and will be forever cared about wherever she may be.  I will never forget her, and I will never give up the hope that I will some day see her again. 

Thank you for your support. 

For the biggest day of AFL for the year, we held our annual Grand Final Day BBQ.

Liam, being one of the biggest Hawthorn fans you'll ever meet...

...decided it would be appopriate to decorate the house in memorabilia. 

And this is BEFORE all the posters and banners went up.

Oh well... there's always next year!

Wordless Wednesday happens here, here, here, here and here!

Father's Day Feasting!

My father is a man of few words.  He can be ever critical, and is as stubborn as they come.  If you don't agree with him, you just must be wrong, and there's nothing you can say or do about it to change his mind.  In summary, he is an absolute pain in the butt.  But I wouldn't have him any other way!

He is the most generous person.  He has always done whatever he can to help, and given me every opportunity in life.  There are so many occasions where he has made sacrifices without a second thought, to instead give me what I wanted/needed.  When I went to unversity, he make the decision to pay all my HECS fees up-front because he wanted to give me the best start in life, rather than coming out with a debt over my head. I owe everything I have in life, including my fabulous new home, to my parents (I know it's Father's Day, but as they say, behind every good man is a good woman!)

Another thing about my father is that he is a simple man.  He does not like fuss, he does not need extravagance, and he shies away from the fancy and over-the-top.  For this reason, our Father's Day celebration this year, as with every year before, were very simple.

Sunday morning I invited my parents to our house for a Father's Day fry-up! Scrambled eggs on lightly toasted sourdough rye, beef chipolatas, streaky bacon, fresh baby spinach, sauteed mushrooms (and I just this moment realised that my hash browns are still happily sitting untouched in my freezer!) washed down with Earl Grey tea.

It was such fantastic weather for the first official day of Spring, and after the meal my dad happily pottered around our back yard taking photos. 

Later that evening, my parents and both sets of grandparents came around to check out the new house (which we are absolutely rapt with, by the way!) and we set off to the local Vietnamese restaurant (walking distance!) for dinner. 

There are actually two Vietnamese restaurants right next door to each other, just around the corner from our house, so we have plenty of choice!  The restaurant was hectic when we arrived with the line out the door, so I was very glad I'd thought to make a booking! Unfortunately there was a mix-up with the ordering, and we ended up having a riculous wait on the food. 

When the food finally arrived though, there were no complaints! The serving sizes were very generous, and everything was very tasty.

For the price, I'm delighted that we'll have such a cheap and easy take away option for the nights that I can't be bothered cooking!  The options are plentiful though, as we have quite a few places within walking distance of our new house!

How did you celebrate your dad? :)

Wordless Wednesday : Coming Home

That's Miss Homeowner to you!

Wordless Wednesday happens here, here, here, here and here!

Country Getaway

As part of Liam's birthday present, I decided to arrange a weekend escape to the country to spend a little bit of quality time together.  Just the two of us, and Rocket dog!

We finished up work early on Friday, and headed off to the country town of Trawool.

Upon arriving, we were shown to our cute little cottage.  The property is just off the main highway and is home to two gorgeous little guest cottages, as well as the owner's residence and a restaurant/cafe.

The two guest cottages are situated side by side, surrounded by lovely gardens and an sprawling open yard that is perfect for the dog! And not far away is the cafe where the owner's spend most of their time and are always available should you need anything. 

We let them know roughly what time we expected to arrive, so by the time we got there the fire was roaring and the cottage was so lovely, warm and cosy!

Rocket found his spot by the warmth of the fire!  Liam, the self-professed "Master of the Fire" made sure that the fire kept roaring all weekend long, keeping the cottage the perfect warm place to stay in the cold weather. 

By the time we ran into town for supplies and take away for dinner it was getting cold and dark so it was a perfect place to settle for the night.  We ordered some Indian takeaway in town, and spent the evening cuddled up on the couch watching a fantastic Hawthorn victory.

I managed to get a fantastic deal and as a result breakfast was included both mornings of our stay. 

Nothing like a nice pot of tea and a delicious hot cooked breakfast to start your day off right!  Liam ordered a full breakfast, whilst I opted for an omelette with mushrooms, bacon and cheese.  YUM

After breakfast, we decided to go for a quick wander into one of the near by towns. 

We had a little jacket for Rocket to wear so he didn't feel too cold in the back of the ute.  I feel that it emasculated him somewhat, but have to admit that he did look kind of cute! The above photo makes it look like he is wearing a cape, and for some reason reminds me of Sherlock Holmes.  All he needs is a hat and a pipe! Anybody else agree, or am I just insane?

Speaking of insane, Liam looks slightly loopy in this photo! Aww, my boys <3

Wandering through town, it was bitterly cold and windy so we decided to head back to our cottage.  Rocket must have had enough, and promptly crashed out!

We left him there and made our back back to the cafe, where we sat out on the balcony and  feasted on a lovely cheese platter, which was also included in our package! It was divine, and I would have happily paid oodles for it.  Totally worth it!  We enjoyed a lovely bottle of moscato to accompany the cheese and basked in the sunshine which would intermittently break through the clouds. 

What a perfect way to spend the afternoon!

Not content with just a perfect afternoon though, I was determined to make it a double, and follow it up with the perfect evening too!

The big West Coast vs Essendon game was on and we planned to stay in by the fire again to watch another fantastic victory.  This time I was feeling a little more adventurous than just take away and wanted to prepare some warming winter comfort food to enjoy whilst we watched the football. 



I set to work in the "kitchen" whilst Liam prepared some baked potatoes using the coals.

Et voila, here is our cottage feast!

Potatoes baked on the coals topped with garlic butter, tasty cheese, coleslaw and copious amounts of sour cream! Accompanied by pork pepper and mustard sausages with caramelized onions. YUM

I'm not sure you can get any more perfect!

A tasty meal,  the company of my wonderful man and our cheeky pup, cuddled by the fire in front of the TV watching a victorious game of football! I was a very happy camper.

Day two started out with another pot of tea with breakfast! This time I chose bacon and eggs for my meal and an English Breakfast tea, whilst also stealing sips of Liam's pot of chai. 

After breakfast, we went for a wander around the property :

I love that garden and chair set! It's looks like it's been thereforever, and the area around it has become mossy and overgrown, but that only seems to add to the charm.  We met this curious Alpaca who came bounding over to say hello, but was very wary of the dog.  So cute!  I marvelled in the gorgeous colours of the area.  The grass was just so lush and green, whilst the leaves on the trees had turned the most stunning array of earthy Autumn shades. 

Rocket was very patient with me as I set him to work as my little model...

Unfortunately all good things come to an end, and after a fabulous weekend away it was time to head home! :( As you can see, Rocket did not want to leave.

Here he is, staring sadly at the ute while we packed everything up ready to go.  I can't blame him though... I did not want to leave either! It was such a nice relaxing weekend away. 

Liam is now looking up land an property in the country, as he has always wanted to move out that way and away from the big smoke!  He is now determined that after purchasing a little house in the suburbs, the next step is to buy a piece of land in the country as a holiday destination/investment piece.  Ever since we got back, he's been trying his best to convince me and show me properties for sale to win me over!

Well... I think I can safely say that he enjoyed his birthday trip...

Perhaps a little too much!

Wordless Wednesday : Mumbook!

"Scones for Mother's Day breakfast"

"Flowers from Cat on Mother's Day"

"Mother's Day dinner by my son - garlic prawns"

The above photos and captions were taken from my Mum's Facebook page (yes, she is an addict!)

I hope she knows how loved she is. Happy Mother's Day to all you wonderful mothers out there! xx

Wordless Wednesday happens here, here, here, here and here!