What I Did 365 - Day 87

After all the gorgeous food I've been posting about lately, this is a bit hideous. But it symbolises our return to normalcy! Sunday was a day of recuperating after our enormous week. We hit Paradox in the morning, had some down-time at home, and then headed to the shops for groceries. We shared a quick Indian lunch in the food court. So classy! It was such a nice feeling returning to our normal lifestyle though. We're definitely not designed to be big party animals!

What I Did 365 - Day 86

Saturday morning was my birthday sister breakfast!! I hadn't been able to see my sisters on my actual birthday so we planned a fun breakfast at Hush and a trip to the Fremantle Markets. I had such a good time with them. Hush is our favourite coffee shop. Their Belgian Mochas are like drinking a beautiful dream, and their breakfasts are a little bit different to the average coffee shop fare. Steph got a pretty standard breakfast of a ham and cheese croissant, but Hannah had brioche french toast with bananas, walnuts and maple syrup (heavenly!) and I had a spicy chorizo omelette with the crunchiest toast ever. So, so good. Packed full of insane food, we headed to the markets where I fell in love with the craziest, most colourful chandelier I've ever seen in my life (which Chris later authorised me to purchase! Ohmygoodnessjoy!)
In the afternoon I went to see Morning Glory with Kat and Hatti... loved it! It was such a sweet, fun movie. I hadn't been to see a chick flick in the longest time so it was a huge treat! Then we headed out to Zocalo's Mexican Restaurant where I pretty much had my mind blown! When we pulled up, my heart sank because it looked like a total dive. But stepping inside was like walking through the doors of an adorable little Mexican cantina. So cute and colourful!

The staff were all lovely, and the food... Mexican perfection! When we first arrived it was dead quiet, but we soon learnt that every table had been booked for the evening, as gobs of people poured in. I already can't wait to go back there!!!

What I Did 365 - Day 85

Happy birthday to me!!! Last Friday was my birthday! I've been dying to get around to posting these pictures. The day was PERFECT. For the last couple of years I've taken the day of my birthday off work, and planned myself the most epic of days - it's my birthday, why not?! The day started with Chris stepping outside and bringing in a container filled with the most beautiful red velvet cupcakes - a surprise left for me by my oh-so-amazing Kat!!!! And I'm kicking myself that I didn't think to take pictures, because they were adorable (not to mention DELICIOUS).
We got ready for a morning out, and trekked out to Steel Tree on the foreshore for birthday breakfast.

OK, total rockstar right???

Birthday breakfast couldn't have been more perfect!! Choc chip pancakes, hash browns, icecream, syrup, cappucino, orange juice... Yummy! Yummy!
After breakfast we strolled over to the thrift store. I was hoping to find an amazing piece of furniture - we did find one lovely cupboard but resisted because it wasn't exactly what I was looking for.
We headed home for a rest and a couple of episodes of How I Met Your Mother - greatest show ever written! Then it was off to the movies to see Mega Mind. Verdict? WE LOVED IT. It may have been intended as an animated kids' film, and we may have been surrounded by primary schoolers and their Mums, but it was classic Will Ferrell and who in our family could resist that??
After a quick nap at home, my parents dropped by and took us out for dinner. I'm semi-embarrassed to admit that we actually went back to Steel Tree, but this time the one in Baldivis. Blush. Yes, I did say a few posts back that we're obsessed with that place. It was such a joy to introduce my parents to the amazing-ness of Steel Tree... we started with the totally perfect arancini, and from there things only got better and better!

 Arancini... just looking at this makes me drool!

My very special Dad :)

My super amazing Mum!
The picture right at the top (the official 365 photo) is me enjoying my birthday dessert - icecream sundae! To wrap things up, my birthday was just perfect. I was a happy happy girl all day. And now I'm 25... yeesh.

What I Did 365 - Day 84

No photo for Day 84. I guess it's my equivalent of 'a moment's silence' - Day 84 was my Grandma's funeral. It just felt odd to take photos on the day of a funeral. The service was beautiful - my Mum spoke and she was amazing. You don't often think about the entirety of people's lives, but when someone lays it all out in front of you it can be pretty mind-blowing. After the funeral we spent the afternoon by the river, telling stories and enjoying each other's company. I love my family.

What I Did 365 - Day 83

The highlight of my Wednesday. Quite honestly. Birthday fun aside, last week was actually the toughest that I've gone through in a long while. Basically my Grandma died on the Sunday after a really long battle with severe alzheimer's, hence the increase in time spent with the family. On top of that, dumb things just kept happening to hurt my spirit. Cupcake got an ear infection and had to have a very expensive trip to the vet. Our air conditioner started playing up. Dog started limping incredibly badly very randomly. I can't even remember the other junk that happened, but I can remember the sinking feeling that each day of the week was going to bring a worse surprise than the last. So when Chris washed a load of dishes from our completely over-packed bench, it blew way up and above the exciting charts. Ha. Perspective hey?

What I Did 365 - Day 82

The birthday week continues!!! Tuesday night was family dinner at our classic family birthday restaurant - Pancho's Villa! We go there for almost every birthday to indulge in the greatest Mexican food ever! Pancho's is filled with so many memories with friends and family. One of our favourite pastimes as kids was brandishing our forks and carving into the bright blue tables (it's a 'thing' there, we're not normally vandals!!!) I got the beef nachos which I've amazingly never had before (how????), and they freaking rocked! But the highlight of the visit is always dessert - we can never get past the sopapillas, which is basically a plate filled with cinnamon tortilla chips, icecream and caramel. It's a fun dessert to order because it's prepared by the waiters, and they each have their own way of putting it together. You never know what it's going to come out looking like! But we always know that it will taste super good and give us a great sugar hit for the night. Mmmm...

What I Did 365 - Day 81

Last Monday Chris and I took personal days off work to spend with my family following the weekend's events. We decided to start the day with an amazing breakfast at Steel Tree. I have to have a moment - Steel Tree is hands down one of the most amazing restaurants ever. They are in two locations - the pretty suburb of Settler's Hill Baldivis, and also the Rockingham foreshore which is one of my fondest spots on the planet. So location-wise, they're already winners. They also send you vouchers for free dinner and dessert during the month of your birthday. And at the end of December, our mailbox was flooded with vouchers for free breakfasts at both locations - massive win! On top of the great locations and regular free meals, they happen to make amazing food. Their arancini is to die for, and every new main that I try is SUBLIME. Yep, I just used the word sublime. That's how great they are. So needless to say, we enjoyed our breakfast immensely! Chris had the big fry-up breakfast and I got the cheesey scrambled eggs with hash browns. Oh, and they do $1 (delicious) coffees if you order breakfast. I'm more than a little bit in love!!!

Look Book Love! Lanvin for H&M

One of my hopes for 2011 is that I learn about fashion. I'm a big lover of clothes and could spend hours looking at gorgeous pictures of pretty dresses. I'm hoping to start this as a new regular feature - Look Book Love! The image above is from the Lanvin for H&M Look Book. Heavenly! I love the romance of this look so so much, but then I have always been a sucker for tulle AND flowers, so it's no wonder. I came across Lanvin for H&M in Vogue Australia and had to find out more - what I love about this collection is that its purpose is to bring high-end designer fashion to those of us who don't have a high-end designer budget. That, and it's quite gorgeous. You can view the full Look Book here.

What I Did 365 - Day 80

Day 80 was a Sunday, and marked Day 1 of my wonderful and epic BIRTHDAY WEEK! We had planned a family dinner at Hogs Breath for the evening, but at the last minute my Mum and Dad had to tend to some urgent family stuff, so it just ended up being my sisters, Chris, Hannah's new man Julius (who I was so excited to finally meet!) and of course me. Wanting to get back to my parents, we ate dinner quickly and then all 5 of us squeezed into my car to make the journey to their place. We hung out as a family for a little while, and then Chris and I had to head home - but not before I received my birthday balloon! Inspired by my recent corn-growing adventures, my family picked out a corn balloon! It made me laugh, and it still does every time I look at it. It's our family tradition to give a helium balloon to each other on our birthdays, and it's become fun picking out weird ones for my sisters over the years!

What I Did 365 - Day 79

Absolutely stunning. As you can tell quite easily, Day 79 was Jayne and Bruno's wedding! We trekked out to the botanical gardens in Wanneroo (one of my favourite places!) and watched them tie the knot. Jayne was a completely stunning bride and I loved that her full-length dress showed her gorgeous shoes off! She did her vows in Spanish as a surprise for Bruno - so lovely! The pair of them had the HUGEST smiles throughout the day and it was such a joy to be a part of. The reception was overlooking the beach and was a lot of fun - plus the food was great. All in all, it was a fantastic day. We won't be seeing them for a long time now - they're on their honeymoon and then heading off to live in Argentina. Sigh. I'm really going to miss them... but I know this is going to be an amazing adventure for them!

What I Did 365 - Day 78

There are few lovelier Summer gifts than cherries. Just look at them! These were my Friday work snack and apparently the highlight of my day! Cherries are one of my favourite fruits - so rich in colour, so sweet and decadent. If they didn't have big pits in the middle, and if they weren't so dang expensive, they would be perfection. Sigh.

What I Did 365 - Day 77

Wow. I am so freaking behind. The last couple of weeks have been such a blur! Hopefully I'll finish playing catch-up soon...
So this is a pic of Chris at the outdoor cinema at Kings Park. We headed out on a double date with Felipe and Rachel to see Tomorrow When The War Began. Felipe and I put on a freaking grand dinner picnic! We had a lot of fun - despite the fact that 20 minutes in, the movie melted and we had to wait around half an hour before they could start it again. Worth it! I was super impressed with the movie - yay Australia, thank you for putting out your first amazing movie. Like, ever. I usually hate Australian movies but this knocked my socks off! Movie aside, I love Felipe and Rachel. They're a super duper pair of people and I can't wait for the next double date!

What I Did 365 - Day 76

Do you see why I don't make new year resolutions??? So, drool. I am pretty nuts about comfort food, and these chicken enchiladas (based on a recipe pulled from a magazine) are about as comforting as you can get. Spicy chicken, slimy mushrooms (yes, I find them amazing) and copious amounts of cheese? Oh yes. Yes please. Chris and I settled down with a plate full of these and watched House. So fun! I've really missed chilling at home lately... it seems there's always something going on. Sigh.

What I Did 365 - Day 75

What a good-looking bunch eh? This picture was taken on a Monday night family-Grill'd-date. Yum. Ever since we introduced Mum to Grill'd a few months ago, she's been pretty hooked!!! Chris decided to have a quiet night at home, so it was just me, my parents and my sisters. Despite the Summer humidity, we had a lot of fun!! Yay burgers!

*** Let this be a lesson to me that I should neverrrr leave this blog for 2 weeks. I actually can't remember all the details of our night now. Sigh.

What I Did 365 - Day 74

Last night was Jayne's Hen's Night!! What a fun night (and cute photo moment of Jayne and her Mum Wendy, no?) We started with a photo rally, then headed to Hatti's place for pizza (YUM) while we flicked through everyone's hilarious photos on the TV screen. There were cocktails, desserts, and even girly pampering in the form of facials and hand scrubs. Lovely! It was such a beautiful night and a really special way to honour Jayne in her last big girl's night before she moves to Argentina next week. Now I can't wait to see her wedding dress this weekend!

What I Did 365 - Day 73

On Saturday I made the heart-breaking decision to start putting away my Christmas decorations (the tree has remained... just for a little bit longer...) However, this did mean that I now had a completely clear cabinet-top, to decorate however I chose! Chris let me drag him out to Bunnings, and after much deliberation we came home with some very pretty new plants. I'm so stoked! I love the life that plants give to a room, and now I get to gaze lovingly at them as I sit and eat breakfast in the morning.

What I Did 365 - Day 72

Happy New Year!! I spent New Years Eve at my beloved foreshore, with some very beloved friends. There was a big family event happening which was a lot of fun, so we sat amongst the crowds for most of the night. A while before midnight we packed up and headed out to a more secluded area just up above the beach. We were able to watch the fireworks up so close from that spot – it was amazing! I’m not a NYE resolutions kinda girl, but I have thought about some things that I would like to do this year:


1. Go on an overseas holiday with Chris
2. Learn about fashion
3. Acquire a record player and start collecting some records
4. Finish my first granny square crocheted blanket
5. Start enjoying some kind of food that I currently don’t like
6. Finish our half-kitchen renovation (we are so close!!!)
7. Work towards writing my own cook book
8. Host at least one dinner party each month
9. Thrift some more furniture
10. Spend more regular time with my amazing sisters.

So, 2011... we are here! Here's hoping the year is amazing.