Twenty One, again.

Birthday celebrations continued. Surprises began.

Mr J received this message in the morning of his day....

I picked him up in the Barina and the driving began.

Phase One: A place to buy food to provide us energy for the rest of the day

Phase Two: A place where Mr J has natural skill but I probably should have wrote a will. This place is where Jamie and I first laid eyes on each other. We skated together on ice. Reminiscing on the day I first saw this handsome man was a joy.

Phase Three: A place where we date at regularly... the cinemas! We laughed all the way through this movie while munching on a few yummies.

Phase Four: The last phase was dinner at an all-you-can-eat. On arrival I surprised Jamie with twenty of his close friends and immediate family.

Happy Birthday honey!!

Twenty One!

Dear Mr J. Before I met you, I had never camped with thousands of kids, played an xbox game, adventured overseas, witnessed the salmon dance or watched movies like this one. One big reason that man-friends are awesome. Today we celebrate your big twenty-first birthday. I hope it has been the best.

Walk to Explore

I've been motivated to walk since moving in a new place. Being in an unknown area, i'm finding my sense of direction is getting a little better. Each walk I thank God for the beautiful views, surrounds and the exploring I can do. 

P.S. Spontaneous orange buying paid off. I have just realised how good they are at this time of year. Smile orange face! Happy Wednesday everybody!

Banana, Date and Walnut muffins

This recipe makes approx 10-12 gluten-free, paleo friendly muffins. Recipe sourced (but altered) from this inspiring website.

Ingredients
2 cups of almond meal
2 teaspoons of baking soda
1 tablespoons of cinnamon
1 cup of pitted and chopped dates
1 banana
1/4 of olive oil
3/4 cup of walnuts

Method
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees
2. In a bowl, mix together the almond meal, baking soda and cinnamon.
3. Process the dates, banana, eggs, and oil

4. Add mixture to the dry mixture and mix thoroughly
5. Mix in the nuts
6. Bake for 25 minutes or until cooked.

They are beautiful warm.

Enjoy!!

Indian Vegetable Curry - Slow Cooked

This is my first home cooked meal in my own home. Recipe sourced {but altered} from this book.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon of vegetable oil

1 zucchini

2 crushed cloves of garlic

2 teaspoons of black mustard seeds

2 teaspoons of ground cumin

2 teaspoons of garam masala

1 teaspoon of turmeric

1.5 cups of vegetable stock

400g of diced tomatoes

1 large sweet potato

1 large carrot

400ml of coconut milk

400g of chickpeas, rinsed

1 hand full of fresh beans

Method

1. Heat the oil in a pan and fry your onion and garlic. Nothing can beat these aromas! 

2. Add the spices and stir together

3. Add the vegetable stock and bring to the boil

4. Pour the stock mixture into a 4.5 litre slow cooker (minimum), stir in the potato, zucchini, carrot, tomatoes and coconut milk. 

5. Cook, covered for four hours on low. 

6. Add the beans and chickpeas to the curry. Cook, covered on high for a further 40 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.

7. Season to taste.

I served mine with some quinoa, instead of rice.

Enjoy!! 

The Move In

Mr J and I own a mortgage!! Probably the only time in our life that the word 'mortgage' is exciting. We feel so blessed to have bought our own home. It's a new journey, starting now!  Friday night I waved goodbye to mum and dad with a car packed full {mainly of clothes!}.

My weekend consisted of finding space in a lack-of-storage home, buying kitchen appliances and using my brand new washing machine.

 I watched a few episodes of this fantastic show to wind down at night.

 One of my biggest challenges was marathon-ing around the supermarket for one ingredient to add to my trolley load,

I now have a semi-full pantry and fridge and our house feels semi-organised. This is a bit exciting! 

A week of placement

My first placement in a hills primary school has let me confidently say, I want to be a teacher! For the past four days I was placed in a grade one class, which I adored. Swimming week was a bonus. The children were fantastic, the teacher was lovely and the experience was the best. I assisted children with their writing and playing. They made me feel like a celebrity and I was sad to leave. One whole year until my next placement now, until then I will have to put up with a few more essays.

Bring on the ABC, 123 and tieing of shoelaces!    

Melbourne Long Weekend

DAY ONE - seventh of June

After a day at work, MrJ dropped Mum, Dad, Nathan and I at the airport for our 10:00pm flight to Melbourne. Airports bring back so many memories from this trip. We arrived in melbourne close to midnight, where we waited for our shuttle and scooted through the traffic to our hotel. This may be the last time I sleep in the same room as my family, I’m excited. 

DAY TWO - eighth of June

It was surreal to be waking up in Melbourne this morning. We went for a stroll to find some breakfast, where I had my first (of a few) chai lattes for the weekend. We detoured past some stunning, old buildings on the way. 

The day also consisted of tram and shuttle rides, shopping at this big market and a visit to the aquarium. 

We finished the night at the Crown precinct for dinner, followed by some time in the Casino with other local Lobethians we found. It was a wonderful, massive family day. 

DAY THREE - ninth of June

We had every excuse to take our time to get out of bed this morning, because we are on holidays!! . Today we caught a taxi to harbour town and the shopping time began! After a couple hours we caught the shuttle bus to etihad stadium for West Coast Eagles vs St Kilda. The roof was shut but a sneaky breeze still had us shaking, however, we had great seats and a nail biting game to watch. 

We finished the night in the hotels cafe for dinner and had an early night for an early flight the next morning. 

I wouldn't have asked for anyone else to spend this great little time away with. I heart family!