While the big kids were attending their Film-making for Kids workshop this morning, L and his friend Jyoti were making the most of the low tide on the Brunswick river, finding crab nippers, building sand computers, recreating Wet-and-Wild in the playground in a sudden heavy downpour and basically having a ball. Imaginative play is their forte. Happy days.

Sunday, February 23, 2014

On my way back from the airport I had to stop for this beautiful sunset. Feeling so blessed to live in such a naturally beautiful place and so happy to be back with my babies now! I reallllly missed them. #love.

Saturday, February 22, 2014

Flying down to Sydney this weekend meant I not only got to see my best friend after six months away and celebrate her 40th birthday with her (hopefully she will agree to have some party photos feature on the blog) but I also got to finally see my doggy!!!

Claire has been looking after Boston for the whole time we've been travelling. She's the best surrogate dog-mama ever :) I love these two.

It was very hard to leave him today but Lovely and Hug can't wait til they get to come visit next week and then he'll be home with us by the end of March. Hooray!

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Sudden onset toothache = Emergency dental appointment = Tooth extracted. Really?! We weren't expecting that! But apparently it was a tooth due to fall out at 10 anyway. And, having had to watch his brother loose a few recently he was rather pleased to cash in this baby :)

Interestingly the tooth fairy seems to pay more when teeth fall out at Nan's house...

Sunday, February 16, 2014

L has been practicing his tennis ball/racket bouncing skills since we arrived here. He's up to something like 412 without a single drop! It seems to be the perfect combination of physical activity and mental stimulation (lots of counting) for his busy brain.

Saturday, February 15, 2014

This was my go-to meal when we were staying in (I WANT to say "living in" - hee-hee;) Paris. It's super-easy, delicious and the entire family loved it so they were happy to see it resurrected back home. I'm rather random in the kitchen. I might google something to get a general idea but then I freewheel it... which is great - until you want to cook it again! Lol.

But this is what I did last night:

* Gently panfry your salmon fillets (I bought mine fresh, pre-boned and skinless but the skin is yummy too) in a tablespoon of butter. I used 2 fillets or a little over 500g for 6 people. Turn as you go.

* Boil a pot of water, adding your pasta of choice when it's ready. Cook as directed. We used the San-Remo gluten-free fettuccine last night but Hug tells me that I was using Penne in Paris. Who knew?! ;) Oh, and it obviously doesn't need to be gluten free.

* Remove your salmon from the heat when the centre of the fillets is still a little pink and set aside, leaving the butter in the pan.

* Add a couple of fat-sliced zucchinis to the pan. The secret here is the butter that is now all salmon-y and yum but add some chopped garlic and plenty of salt too. Cook these babies until they're golden and seared (I like the almost black around the edges but only do that if you like that BBQ-esque touch). Remove from pan.

* I actually forgot this step but its nice to softly-fry a red onion to kick-off the sauce. I served it raw on the side instead which was a nice touch for a Summer meal.

* Next up is the sauce (same pan): 1 carton of thickened cream, bring to a light boil and add pesto to taste. Let it thicken a little and then remove from heat. Season as needed. Flake and add the salmon.

* Hopefully your pasta is magically ready about the same time! Drain and stir in prepared sauce.

* Voila! Serve with fresh cherry tomatoes and basil. Roast the cherry tomatoes if you're cooking it in Winter. Yum. Hug refuses to eat zucchini (madness!) so I serve it separately and the rest of us zucchini-lovers can pile it up on top of our own. Unfortunately I didn't get a photo of this yumminess. Maybe I can add a pic next time.

Monday, February 10, 2014

I have spied these gorgeous wild rabbits out the front of my in-law's house before. But it's always a thrill! They're rather shy so I had to lie in the grass myself to capture these images. Late afternoon sunshine. Cotton-tailed bunny-bliss. x

Sunday, February 9, 2014

That's one thing that is tricky to do on your road (unless you happen to stay somewhere with a proper juicer and we were never THAT lucky!). We did travel with a stick blender - #love - which added an extra kilo in weight (controversial packing decision :) but meant that we could make our own smoothies, dips, soups. And froth hot milk for coffee. Most of the important things :) just not juice.