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| R: Selfie at mum's 60th | L: Bub and I on Good Friday |
My genius child has discovered how to clap! It’s amazing how disproportionately proud I feel. I praise her with so much enthusiasm that other people look around, probably expecting she’s doing cartwheels or something haha. Clapping makes her feel really happy too.
When I look back at photos of the day our baby was born, I am shocked at how young Dane and I look - and it was only 8 months ago! It’s incredible how my face has changed. My skin has more ‘character’ now. I feel a bit less confident about my looks and have even thought about starting to wear makeup. I’m reluctant to start because of the hassle and expense, but I do feel a little self conscious. Perhaps I spent too much time in the sun over summer! Although it would be silly to sacrifice funtimes in the sun for the sake of preserving my pretty skin and it might not have made a difference anyway!
I’m starting to feel rather spendy as I’m a bit sick of my wardrobe. Last winter, I was pregnant and had borrowed a thick jacket, one size up from my usual, from a friend, and I wore it nearly every day. I’ve now returned it and I’m looking for something similar in my size. I’ve also got a much loved hoodie that I’ve worn to death and the buttons have come off. I miss the days when I lived at home with my sisters and could steal their jumpers; they always had better jumpers than me. It was like having triple the clothing options. Clothes shopping is more of an ordeal than it used to be, as baby has even less patience for it than Dane! I guess I will have to level-up my online shopping. Hopefully the pictures are accurate!
Last weekend I met my folks for brekky down at Diggies on the beach. They shared a big cooked breakfast with all the trimmings and I had sweetcorn fritters, smoked salmon and a poached egg. They served it with a super cute little jar of sour cream and a very green olive oil. Afterwards, we joined the convoy of prams, cyclists and joggers on the beachside track and imagined which mansion we’ll eventually live in.
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| Corn fritters, smoked salmon and poached egg at Diggies |
We had a picnic lunch at the Illawarra Rhododendron Gardens to celebrate Dane’s mum’s 60th birthday. This little oasis is a real treasure; a secret garden at the top of Mount Ousley. There’s a picturesque lake covered in water flowers which nearly became our frisbee’s grave. Dane’s mum made fruit pudding and fruitcake for her birthday and I brought along some savoury pumpkin, bacon and sage muffins which were a real hit. That night I congratulated myself on reinventing the leftover ingredients into a burnt butter gnocchi for dinner. #Winning.
The next day, we visited the botanical gardens at Mount Annan for the AnnanRoma Food Festival. What a fun day out! It was a huge event, with cars parked over a kilometre down the road from the main lawn. About an hour after we arrived, they shut the garden gates because it was so packed. The food was really tasty and not as pricey as I’ve come to expect from these market-style festivals. We got two pulled-pork tacos, some arancini balls, a couple of sliders, plus a beer and a cider each. We set up our rug in front of the lake and just enjoyed the live music and the view. I’d definitely go again!
The garden craze is not over yet, as we’ve got a catch-up planned for this weekend at the Royal Botanic Gardens with some friends from high school (provided we don’t get rained out)!
PS: Fun fact - my polkadot hat and purple fascinator were purchased at Bayside Emporium, Huskisson.
