Camping : Part 2

We woke up to another beautifully warm and sunny day.  First things first, it was time for breakfast! 

And what says Sunday more than a lazy Sunday brunch? 

The boys set to work cooking snags, bacon, fried eggs and toasting the bread for our meal.  The beauty of camping is, much like a BBQ, it's the one of the rare times when it's macho for a man to be taking care of all the cooking.  G and I sat back and relaxed (yes, of course I was in the hammock!) while we waited for our food to be served.

We made a couple of new friends, who happily joined us for breakfast.

They stayed behind and held fort at camp while we headed off for another trip down the rapids!

Liam packed up the ute - strapping in the tubes, lilos and floaty devices and then laid down a tarp for us to sit on comfortably.  We all piled in the back of the ute, and set off down the road! 

This is the first time ever that he's allowed me to ride in the back of the ute. I attempted to do this once, on the way home from the shops.  He wouldn't unlock the door, so I yelled out "FINE, I'LL RIDE IN THE BACK!" and he replied with "FINE!" so I climbed into the tray.  He thought I was pretending, so he got into the driver's seat and began backing out of the parking spot.  As he reversed out, he looked back at me expecting me to be freaking out, but instead I smiled and waved. He promptly stopped the car, got out and demanded that I get into the passenger seat!

Yay for finally getting to ride in the tray! It was good fun, taking in the beautiful view, smelling the fresh country air and chattering away to my best friend.

This trip down the rapids I was a little more co-ordinated and only fell off my lilo once! And that was only because I was too busy blabbing away (typical!) to notice the big rock coming up right in front of me.  

We got back to camp, and decided we were enjoying floating too much.  Liam got a big rope, tied G's lilo and mine together, and anchored us onto a rock so we wouldn't float away downstream.  Then before heading off with Mark for another attempt at fishing, he placed a yummy blackcurrant cider into my hands.  Have I EVER mentioned how much I love that boy?!

By this time, most of the other families had left so we were uninterrupted out there.  It was so peaceful, just floating out in the middle of the river, drink in hand.  At one point, we even fell asleep! It was lovely, but I did have a few angry patches of red sunburnt skin to show for it.

The beautiful view from both directions... it didn't matter which way I floated off - it was win-win!

Liam came back from his fishing expedition, and LOOK! He'd caught a giant friendly killer whale!

I got back to camp to find that G had taken over my hammock! MY hammock, remember?! I think Mark and G spent a lot of the weekend waiting for me to get up from my seat so that the could pounce! Definitely  a very comfortable hammock.  (You can't tell I loved that hammock, or anything!)

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and soon enough it was time to pack up and go home.  It's hard to believe the how compact our home for the weekend can become... the boys took the tent down and shoved it into its tiny bag, and all that was left was the lonely little door mat :(

We're heading back up there with a few more friends for Liam's birthday, and I am already hanging out in anticipation! Not to mention our overseas trip which is coming up before then!

So tell me... where's your favourite camping spot?

Wordless Wednesday : Sweet Surprises

Liam came home from work with this little box hidden behind his back

What a sweetheart! (hehe)

PS - Don't forget my mini-giveaway! :) xx

Playing Wordless Wednesday here, here and here! 

Camping : Part 1

In continuing on with the Australia Day celebrations, we thought what better way (apart from the BBQ and beers, which we'd already had!) to celebrate all things Australian than to head away for a weekend of camping! Liam and I packed up the ute with fishing rods, tents, hammocks, camping gear and threw our best friends in for good measure, and headed to Big River, down by Eildon.

I was lucky enough (sarcasm alert!) to have to work on the Friday after Australia Day, so we headed up as soon as I got home that evening. Liam's best mate, Mark, managed to head down earler in the day so he had a few hours to set up camp before we arrived.

Driving down the big stretch of road, we spotted this sign which Mark had put out so that we wouldn't miss the campsite.

Yes, that says "LIAM you poof". Boys, honestly!

On the bright side, Mark had been busy during the day and totally set up camp!

This was our home for the weekend. A four room tent, including two single rooms, a "living room" area and a double room, plus a gas fridge and all the bells and whistles. Not quite as "roughing it" as some might imagine, out in the Aussie outback! This was my best friend, G's very first time ever camping, and she was suitably impressed.

Unfortunately our bathroom facilities were not quite so glamorous! Long-drop dunnies. G was not quite as impressed with this arrangement!

When we arrived, the sun was starting to go down so after a bit of a quick explore the boys got the fire going so that we could cook some dinner. It was still quite warm, so it was a perfect night to relax for a bit underneath the stars. It's amazing how many stars you can see on a clear night out in the country.

After a hearty meal and a few drinks, we had a relatively early night so that we could get up early and make the most of the day. In the morning, G opted for a bit of a sleep in, but the boys and I wandered down to the river for a bit of early morning fishing.

However I soon found that THIS was the perfect way to spend the morning - lying in the hammock with a book, drink in hand, clear blue sky above. I could have stayed there forever.

Being the ever-thoughtful soul that he is, Liam had decided to surprise me by packing the hammock for me to use on the trip. Have I mentioned how much I love that boy? It was a perfect idea!

This is food photography - bush camping style! Bacon, egg & cheese toastie. YUM.

There was even table (hammock?) service! My wonderful man cooked up breakfast, and served it to us.

Didn't have to lift a finger!

Here he is, hard at work! :)

However, G and I decided that we wanted to try our hands at campfire cooking! If only so we could say that we'd cooked jaffles over campfire coals. And we proved a point that ladies are superior cooks to men, even by campfire, when we turned out these perfectly toasted jaffles!

After breakfast, we took a drive a bit further upstream. We packed a few lilos, inner tubes and floaty devices and set off down the rapids and floated back to camp! It took just over an hour to get back to our camp site this way, and although it was awesome fun I came home with bumps and bruises all over my body! The boys also rigged up a floating esky using a cooler bag, a wading pool and copious amounts of duct tape! Although the esky stayed afloat the entire trip, we unfortunately flooded the river with lots of alcohol as we tried to keep the stubbies in our hands safe while going over the rapids.

Once we got back to camp, we set up our chairs in the river, and G and I worked on our tans with magazines and books to keep us occupied. Mark and Liam decided to try a spot of fishing, and Liam managed to catch a baby trout! As he was only a tiny tacker, there was time for a photo opportunity before setting him free.

There were plenty of people swimming in the river, so it wasn't the most ideal fishing spot.

However while G and I spent some time relaxing (me in the hammock, of course!) with a good book and some magazines, the boys went off on a mission. The fish just weren't biting, but they managed to catch 4 little fishies. Most of them were far too small, and got sent on their merry way, but there was one who ended up on the dinner plate. Poor fishy!

Everyone else in the campsite seemed to go to bed very early (lots of young families) so after dinner it was just us left sitting outside by the campfire. It was absolutely gorgeous, the warmth of the fire, the clear sky full of stars, and the quietness and serenity which was interrupted only by Mark's bad jokes!

And of course, what would camping be without toasted marshmallows by the fire? G had never tried this before (really, a camping virgin!) and adored these! Although I prefer to hold my marshmallows above the flames until they are toasted crunchy on the outside and soft and gooey on the inside, Liam advised her to put the marshmallows right into the flames until they caught on fire. She seemed to enjoy these little blocks of carbon!

Part 2 of the trip still to come! :)

Food Diaries : Rose Shamrock Hotel

On Australia Day Eve, we found ourselves hectic busy. In between trying to do my nails and preparing for our Australia Day BBQ, I just could not find the time (nor could I be bothered!) to cook a proper meal. We toyed with the idea of eating potato chips for dinner, but decided that a far better option would be to stop by and grab a quick bite to eat on our way home from the shops.

That's where the Rose Shamrock Hotel comes in! We'd driven past it countless time, and even peered in while stocking up at the BWS bottle shop next door but had yet to try any of the food. As we walked past the pokies to the left and into the spacious bistro area, a sign greeted us declaring that all main meals were $16 every Wednesday. That sealed the deal!

We browsed through the menu, and after making our decision headed up to the counter to order.

Whenever we go for a counter meal, it's always a fairly safe bet that Liam will opt for a chicken parma.
He's going for the title of parma connoisseur, I think!

I decided on the fish and chips, with a side of salad and tartare sauce. I guess you could say we ordered fairly safe on this evening. Both were stock standard dishes, hard to really go terribly wrong with.

As for the standard of the Rose Shamrock? Well, as previously stated, the dishes we ordered were ones that were hard to stuff up. I was a little disappointed with my fish - I misbehaved and ordered it fried instead of grilled, and was expecting a lovely thick crunchy batter. When the meal was placed in front of me it looked flimsy and didn't impress me, however upon cutting it open the flesh was lovely, fresh and piping hot.

While the food wasn't fantastic, it was passable. I left the Rose Shamrock Hotel feeling fairly neutral overall. I didn't dislike my meal but I wasn't wowed by it either, and I didn't feel entirely satisfied. Full yes, satisfied no.

It was a cheap and easy meal, but I'm not sure I would come back again. On a Wednesday, the food is good value for $16 a meal, however any other day of the week you're better off going to the Stolberg just down the road which is also fairly reasonably priced for a much higher standard.


PS - Don't forget my mini-giveaway! :) xx

Cheap OPI on COTD!

Just in case you didn't know, there's cheap OPI going on Catch of the Day!

I'm not sure when the deal ends, but at the time of publishing this, almost all colours are still in stock. Shipping is $5.95 per bottle, but is capped at $10 so is great if you're after a few different colours!

I am a little way of Catch of the Day, based on what I've heard and a couple of experiences - they've really let their standards drop lately! However, it still seems to be a cheap way of getting a bargain if you're not in a hurry.

If you're after a bargain on OPI, why not have a look?


PS - don't forget my mini-giveaway! :) xx

50 + Mini Giveaway!

So, this here is my 50th blog post! 

Only a few short months ago, I sat down at my computer to write my very first post.  These days, I try to post at least each weekday, and it's funny how blogging can consume your life! Every time I do anything now, I think about my blog and try to take pictures so I can share with my lovely followers!
Who, by the way, I am grateful for each and every one! I really appreciate everyone of you who stops by to read and leave some comment-love.

I wanted to commemorate this milestone with a giveaway to thank all you lovely people!

I know it's not much - it's been a busy couple of weeks, and I have been terribly disorganised so didn't have time to sort it out properly! But I managed to rustle up a few items, and I hope you enjoy them!

 Giveaway One!

First up are these cute 3D Nail Decals! I think they'd look fantastic on some brightly colored red nails, which the black would stand out against and the white would just pop!

Giveaway Two!!

Next we have these cute little touch screen pens! You can't see it in the above photo, because I was stupid with my photo-taking, but there is a little line of diamantes around the centre of the purple pen too.  The little black plugs fit perfectly into any headphone jack, so you can hang it off your phone or iPad easily accessible for whenever you might need.  I'm giving these away separately, so do let me know if you want one of these! Look how cute they are... you absolutely need one of these!

Giveaway Three!!!

Last but not least, I have this set of NYC polishes! These nail polishes are the same as the ever-popular Ulta3 range, just with different names and packaging.  Thanks to the wonderful More Nail Polish blog, I can tell you the Ulta3 equivalent of all three of these nail polishes that I have available to give away!

Goblin = Jelly

Glow worm = Citris

Gelati = Tahiti

So there you have it! My very first giveaway.  Is anyone keen?

To enter, here is what you have to do! 

1. Become a follower of this blog via Google Friend Connect
2. Leave a comment letting me know if you want to win any (or all!) of the above giveaways!
3. Include your email or blog address, so I can get in touch if you win!
4. Make sure you live in Australia
5. Do all of the above by 12pm AETD on Friday 10th February!

 Winners will be picked at random, so good luck! And again, THANK YOU for reading! xx

Wordless Wednesdays - Mid-week Luxuries...

Footspa.

Massage.

Big bowl of steaming hot pho.

Mid-week luxuries!

Playing Wordless Wednesday here, here and here!