Yellow split pea curry. So damn good!

Finally, the weather has turned autumnal. The nights are getting cooler, if only slightly, so it is time to cook a few more hearty meals. I love to spend time in the kitchen coming up with new recipes and this one is a newby. I have been wanting to have a few meat free dinners each week. This recipe came about by just using what I had on hand and crossing my fingers. It worked! This meal is so damn good! Meat is becoming more and more expensive. But I wanted some recipes that were just as filling and that no one would even notice if there was no meat. It also had to be freezer friendly. I like to have a few frozen dinners on hand. This one fits the bill.

Home cooked potato chips. You know, like the ones that come in a foilpacket.

Everything tastes better when it is home cooked. Well, I think so. It think that it is the satisfaction that comes with preparing, cooking and then eating something that you have put your love into. Potato chips are no exception. A few months back, my eldest teen decided that she wanted to make her own after I said that I would no longer be buying packet potato chips. We researched, found recipes then real side that they are one of the simplest things to cook. Both of my girls cook these now. Georgia made these ones on the weekend to have while we were watching movies.

16 sweet years

16 years old today. You are the first person to steal my heart in a way I never thought possible. 

From the moment I found out that I was going to be your Mumma, it felt like it was fate that you chose me. There is a saying, Being a mother is not about what you gave up to have a child, but what you have gained from having one. Oh my sweet girl, I gained the world by having you. I was only 19 when I held you in my arms for that very first time.

Today I.......... {DIY hand painted fabric}

Today I painted some fabric. It's for a very special project for my eldest daughters 16th birthday.

Her bedroom is due for a makeover. Black and white with a sprinkle of silver is her choice of colours. I have already purchased her main sweet sixteen special presents. At the moment, money is tight as this is birthday month in our house.

Things I wish I knew when my kids were younger.

Oh the list is endless. I am now the mother of 2 teenagers & that brings with it a hindsight that I never saw coming. I am a young mum, only 35, and had you told me 10 years ago that I would be sitting here writing a blog on the things I had learnt about raising kids, I would have laughed in your face. I never wanted to be one of those women who passed on useless info on how you should or shouldn't raise your kids. For fucks sake, I hated those women who tried to warn me. I laughed as they walked away and thought who the hell are you to tell me what my kids will remember about their childhood. Oh how stupid I look now! I wasted so much money & time on things my kids have no idea happened. I am serious. Because I was such a young mum, only 19 years old with my first born, I thought I had to prove myself to be a great mum buy buying. Buying stuff that I thought would change my kids lives for the better. Things that I thought would make my kids think I was the most awesome mum in the world. But now I know, my kids have no recollection of any of it.

A love letter to my modest life.

When did it become the norm to live to excess? When did living comfortably and modest become a thing of the past? I do not aspire to have great amounts of money in the bank, rental houses, expensive cars, designer clothes or even overseas holidays. When did it become the norm to spend more time at work than with your family? When did houses become a trophy where the bigger, the better? Somewhere along the line, I must have missed that memo.

I do not have my shit together

Today, I do not have my shit together. There has been a few ups & downs of late in our family. Ok, let's be real. There has been a bucket load of downs and only a cup full of ups. I feel like I am drowning under the down moments. Today it has hit my like a tonne of bricks. I am walking around on the verge of tears & I know once I start, I may not stop. I think I am at the breaking point. Not a lose my mind breaking point but an emotional breaking point. It's a sadness that a lot of women feel. When we just have tried to hold it all together for so long.

Why did I stop my old blog and start a new one? Let me tell you why.

I did what you are apparently not supposed to do when you are a blogger. I stopped a successful blog to start a new one. Just when my old blog was closing in on a million unique views, I pulled the plug. Why? Because it had taken on a life of its own and it no longer felt like me. I took quite a few breaks to see if I could reconnect but it just seemed that the further I was away from it, the happier I was. But I didn't want to stop blogging. I missed the sharing, the fabulous ladies who read my old blog for all the right reasons and I missed documenting our life. It really just wasn't me anymore. I felt like I had to watch what I wrote, what topics I wrote about & a lot of the audience didn't seem to connect with me, they connected with the blog had to offer them. They were coming just for the sewing, recipes and what they could get for free. That was not the reason why I started blogging all those years ago. I wanted to just be me. And who is that I hear you say. Let me try and sum up who I am.

Reading Between The Wines Bookclub. I made it happen.

On the weekend I put this out on social media.

And guess what happened? I started my own bookclub! Yes I fucking did! Within a couple of days, I now have a bookclub that is currently sitting on 17 members! Yes! How fucking awesome is THAT! Reading Between The Wines has become my own little reality! 17 awesome chicks who love to read, drink and chat! I know that a few may drop out before the first meeting, and that's ok. Because there is still more that will want to join! I thought we might struggle to get 10 but now we have a whole army of women armed with books and wine!

Simple Sunday's are the best Sunday's. Our day in photos.

Sunday's are family days around here. I like to get out of the house as early as possible to make the most of the whole day. Starting with a swim at the beach....

It was a perfect day. The ocean was flat and calm. It was still hot enough to think it was summer even though we are half way through the first month of autumn. There was no crowd at the beach. Perfect. After a swim, the youngest teen and I went for a nice walk. 

Quick & easy mixed veg quinoa "salad"

I have a confession to make. I have fallen off the 100% healthy food bandwagon. But I am determined to make simple adjustments to my everyday eating. We have all heard about quinoa & it's great nutritional qualities. I love it but I will be honest when I say that hubby & the girls have not warmed to it, yet. So I have been thinking of ways that I can eat it with our normal meal. So when I made a potato salad for everyone else to go with the amazing ribs that I cooked for dinner, I thought it was the perfect time to substitute. I made myself a very simple vegetable quinoa "salad". I wasn't going to share recipes on this blog as it can becoming very time consuming taking photos, editing, writting up the recipe, etc. But this is so easy that it is not really a full blown recipe.

The best weekends only cost a tank of fuel.

This past weekend saw us pack up the car and head south. It is always these times that we love the most. The back of the Navara is packed with eskies, towels, pillows, food & clothes. Swimming togs ready and waiting for a beach, waterfall or creek. It was Georgia's turn to plan the trip as it was her birthday week. We headed straight for Byron Bay. Spent the birthday money on skateboards, shoes, handbag, dress & sunnies. Then headed straight to the beach. It was already quite hot & the beach was bursting with people. The last time we were at Byron, hubby and I spent the day kayaking with dolphins. Today was all about family time so we stayed at the beach.

This weeks roundup.

This week we celebrated Georgia's 14th birthday. Yep, no little kids in our family anymore. We are now only 4 years away from being parents to adults only. You have no idea how fast time will fly when they are babies. People tell you to enjoy the time because it will be gone in a heartbeat. They are right. I have spent the week feeling very emotional. I have cried a bucket of tears and more. My heart has been weighed down with nostalgia. It is only 3 weeks till the eldest turns 16 so I don't see this emotional phase leaving me any time soon. I am sitting here right now waiting for my eldest niece to come for a visit. It has been over a year since I have seen her so I am all kinds of excited. She moved out west with her partner and they have really done such a fabulous job in adjusting to a small town, a new life & have done the best they can being so far away from family. I can't wait to wrap my arms around her.

14 years I have had the pleasure of being your Mumma.

Oh sweet girl, 14 years I have had the pleasure of being your Mumma.

{this photo is one that you took of yourself. It captures your spirit & soul completely} 

 From the moment I saw that sweet little face, I fell hopelessly in love. You looked at me with eyes that told me that you trusted me to take care of you from that very second. From the first time you could talk, you have called me Mumma & everytime I hear it I feel so privileged. You were my second born baby girl & you will definitely the baby of the family for ever. Your big sister doted on you from the moment she met you. Your Dadda fell head over heels in love with his baby girl. Even to this day, you have him completely wrapped around your little finger.

My house was messy and no one died.

I had some friends over for a lovely catchup. It had been a few weeks since I had seen them. Usually when I have people coming, I panic clean. I clean, wash, fold, pack away & hide things. This usually takes a full day. I go manic. I am worried that someone may notice that spot of dust, sticky hand print or the pile of washing that needs to be folded. I go completely bonkers. I become a complete mad woman where I yell at the kids that if they dare make a mess that I will hunt them down. But something changed. I thought fuck it! I am not going to keep up this charade. We LIVE in this home & I will let it look lived it. It's not a damn showroom!

It's the small details that matter the most.

It seems that the older your kids get, the more the little details of life become treasured memories. I just posted this on my personal Facebook profile:

Goodbye summer, hello Autumn.

Wow, it's March already! The leaves are falling off the frangipani trees, the roses are in bloom & all of our pets seem to be enjoying the slightly cooler nights.