Hubbie has been off work for 8 days now, and only today did it actually feel like we were on holidays.
We’ve been obviously busy with Christening stuff, the period before that was all preparation, and the period after that has been all ‘coming down.’
Today, we finally did something small, but really sweet.
Strawberries. 🥰🍓
We went to the Rocky Creek Strawberry Farm, we indulged in some yummy strawberry dishes with coffee/milkshake, and then we went picking…
Baby girl and I went searching through the bushes as Hubbie and baby boy chilled in the shade. It was the most relaxing and beautiful thing to do on a warm summer’s day, and we have two punnets of delicious strawberries to show for it, just waiting to be consumed. 😋
The day after a big day like Christmas, birthdays, any kind of event, brings with it a lot of lounging around, and also…
LEFTOVERS.
The 3pm coffee break came and I happily indulged in some dessert from yesterday. What was even better though was the games and fun we had, because it was a public holiday, and free from all the prep and rush and stress of getting things ready all week, we could now chill and play.
We participated in a headband “who am I?” type game that baby girl got from her aunty and fam yesterday, before engaging in some ‘green light, red light,’ another game we all played yesterday out on the deck, before playing some YouTube tunes loud after dinner.
It made my heart happy that it was only us 3, and yet we were making noise and having fun and laughing out loud, at really the simplest, easiest things.
I have to. I mean, it’s not like I can just go to somebody’s house and be like, here, have some alcoholic/caffeinated super decadent dessert… there is no one close enough like that within my lockdown kms.
(I would share, honestly, seriously I would).
Yes, I said alcohol. Frangelico my dears, an entire cup’s worth!
And the same quantity of coffee too!
Topped off with a sprinkling of chopped up hazelnuts mixed through cocoa powder…
During the day I made this delectable new recipe, recently seen on Marion Grasby’s social media, the ‘bounty brownie.’
Basically she uses the bounty chocolate bar, along with a whole lotta coconut and other good stuff, to make this incredible version of the brownie.
This is oozy, gooey, soft, and just OMG. My heart. ❤ I originally made it with Hubbie in mind because he loves coconut with chocolate, but gee, I think it’s an all-round winner.
But that wasn’t ALL. Hubbie got a selection of yummy meats and prawns, mixed grill style, and we got them sizzling on the stove… accompanied with salad stuff and home-made oven chips, let’s just say I was feeling really content.
So many memories and people come to mind. I think of catch-ups with my friends, where we’d meet for sweet things and laugh wildly when we all ordered ‘The Hot Ball.’
I think of Hubbie and I in our pre-wedding days. I even had a delicious stack the day before my waters spontaneously broke with baby girl, so any pregnant ladies-to-be can take that to mean you might go into labour if you eat some of their pancakes* (not professional medical advice!)
But mostly, when I see this image, I think of my sister and me.
From as young as I can remember, she would take me to the movies when I was a kid, and then naturally, a visit to The Pancake Parlour would follow.
We would talk about the movie we’d seen, what we loved, and our conversation would naturally flow to everything else in our lives, as these things do when you’re with someone you love and feel so at ease with.
And we would eat, something sweet.
The joke goes that she would be finished with her dessert, and I would be barely half-way through, talking while eating so slowly, scooping the ice cream from the bowl like I had all the time in the world.
We were super lucky today, as baby girl and I got spoiled by my sister for a movie date! The special surprise was my nephew, baby girl’s ‘bestie’ coming along for the day, and we all headed to the cinemas to watch the very sweet Spirit Untamed movie.
But, there was a further surprise after it!
OF COURSE! Pancakes. 🥞🥞
The tradition lives on. 😊😊
And even better, we could enjoy it with our kids, and engage in some fun and especially beautiful bonding time.
Guess what? Things haven’t changed much.
Sister finished first again.
I came in about third, or equal second…
And baby girl hasn’t fallen far from the tree. She hasn’t fallen far, at all.
Tonight we went to a great new place local to us, General Public.
It’s an entertainment venue that has a little bit of everything. Food and drinks of course, but then there’s the side ice-creamy and dessert bar, the doughnut store, bowling, pool tables, and arcade games! It caters for all, from those heading out for a date, families, and friends meeting up for some games.
We grabbed some food and drinks…
then doughnuts…
then dessert… (😬😬😬🤣)
And then headed up to our booked bowling lane. 😁
It was AWESOME. We had the best time.
And you know what is better than bowling on its own?
Bowling, and BOOZE.
🤣🤣🤣🤣
Honestly, best night EVER. Maybe it’s because we haven’t been bowling in yonks, so it was something interesting and different, or maybe it was the ideal night in, with the weather turning all winter-y on us today… or maybe, bowling is just great.
And being out and about with loved ones, is just GREAT.
carcrashgratitude 