R is for Ryder and Rainbow

So my littlest man Ryder, turned 1 in August. He's now 13-months, and these last 6 weeks have flown.

We now have a walker. We also have a little dude that is incredibly nosey and wants to touch everything. Our 'non childproofed' house is slowly becoming childproofed. And most things now come with lots of little fingerprints. Cute little fingerprints.

To celebrate his milestone birthday, we decided to brighten his day with colour. We threw him a Rainbow Theme party. It was a concept I thought would be relatively unique... until I saw it in a large chunk of recent birthdays on Pinterest. Oh well!!

The day was a bit stressful to begin with - so may decorations to place AND a 'cake smash' photoshoot... mix in a double booking with the location and I was starting to get upset BUT the party was fabulous! So much colour, kids playing, faces painted and friends and family - A great kid's party and a great memory for Ryder to reflect on when he's older.

We were so lucky to have the day captured by a dear friend at Wild Lilly Studio, who also captured Ryder's 'Cake Smash' earlier that day.

To think it was a little while ago now... time certainly flies with kids! xx

Breakfast for Champion Daddies

My husband loves two kinds of breakfasts: the manly kind packed with meat, eggs, beans and toast (with an iced coffee) and the not-so-manly kind with strawberry jam and cream (with an iced coffee).

Alas, neither of those breakfasts happen as often as I/he would like. We're busy, he's busy... and because of that, breakfast is usually on the run, or not at all.

This Sunday, I plan on making my man a nice and easy breakfast. Not packed with bacon and sausages, but with his other favourite. Something sweet that the kids would enjoy and eat with him:

STRAWBERRY JAM BREAKFAST CUPS:

Ingredients:

4 Croissants
1/4 cup strawberry jam (or any other jam you like, but strawberry is best!)
3 eggs
Splash of milk (approx 50ml)
1 teaspoon brown sugar

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees. Grease muffin tray.
Crack the 2 eggs into a bowl with milk and brown sugar, lightly whisk.
Tear croissants into small, bite-size pieces and spread jam onto random areas.
Lay the pieces into the muffin tray. You can stack them into the muffin tray until all pieces are used.
Pour egg wash evenly over the bread.

Bake for 20-25mins, or until croissants have soaked up the egg wash and is cooked through.

Serve with whipped cream and fresh strawberries... YUM!!!

This sounds a little bit odd - pouring egg over a croissant and baking it... but it is YUMMY! The croissants soak up the egg and combined with the buttery-ness it is very sweet and savoury-ish at the same time. Very yummo and a great alternative to scones with jam and cream too!

Hubby will still get his iced coffee, it will be Father's Day afterall.

Enjoy! xx

And HAPPY FATHER'S DAY, DADDIES!!

Turning 30 really isn't so bad...

A month ago yesterday, I entered my 30's.

I left my 20's behind and waved goodbye to a decade of drama. I also said goodbye to a decade I became a lot of things... A wife (twice). A mother, a single mother, and then a mother of two. A business owner. Someone who knew what they wanted to be. So many things that I look back on and am so glad happened, because as cliché as it is, it has made me who I am now, at 30.

And 30 really isn't that bad.

I have been one of the very few people that I know of, that have been excited about turning 30. I've wanted to be 30, to be a 'grown up'... without realising that nothing would actually change and I have been a grown up the whole time.

I celebrated the occasion the only way I knew how... with my closest friends, French style. I wanted something a bit over-the-top, seeing as it wasn't just another birthday. To me, this was a celebration of my whole 30-years thus far, not just reaching a milestone or clocking over another number. This was about embracing a great chapter in my life. A new chapter... and being surrounded by those I love, in a setting that is so 'me' was the only way I wanted to do it.

So I had a French Themed High Tea, at one of my very favourite little cafes. I booked the whole place out and filled it with great people. And a 6ft Eiffel Tower made purely of balloons.

It was perfect.

I had a photobooth, with a lot of little French props. And a mime. Yes, a MIME. She was hilarious with a touch of awkward. But she added an element of laughter that wouldn't have been created without her...

My darling friend Rachael and I. I have known Rachael since I was about 7-years old... 23-years of friendship. We grew up a few houses down from each other, and we have this amazing friendship that has no drama... we can pick up the phone no matter how long it has been and talk as if no time has passed. One of those amazing, loyal friends that I will carry dear to me for life.

My baby sister, and my only sister Jodie. Who looks nothing like me, yet so much like me at the same time. It purely depends on whatever hair colour we have at the time. There's so much about her that I am envious of and she doesn't even know...

She will probably kill me for using this photo, but I do love it. Nicole is a friend I met online years ago. Got off to a bit of a rocky start, but we have a solid, mature friendship that has gone the distance... literally! Nicole lives in QLD and flew down to little old SA just to celebrate my birthday with me

Imogen and Alicia have been my bridesmaids, in two separate weddings - as they so eloquently mentioned in their speech. They're mental, funny, classy (most of the time) and skinny... I feel like an old elephant around them. But I love them both, dearly. And I know that if I ever need a night out, tagging along with them means I have fun.

This is me, infront of the HUGE Eiffel Tower structure.

My AMAZING cake, made by my super talented Aunty, who has made all the family birthday cakes... and wedding cakes.

More random photos from the day:

Slow-Cooked Lasagne

Firstly I have to give my friend Kim (from Carterjack) credit for this AMAZING recipe.

When it comes to cooking, I am not that bad, I'm not that great either.
Throw a slow cooker into the mix and my average drops. I am not good with the slow cooker.

So when a friend of mine mentioned a slow cooked lasagne, I HAD to give it a go. I love lasagne. And if it's something simple and a matter of walking away for hours, then that's even better.

INGREDIENTS:

600g beef mince (cooked)
2 tins of diced tomatoes
1 jar Bechamel sauce
1 box lasagne sheets (not cooked)

FOR TOPPING:

1 cup grated cheese


METHOD:

Using pre cooked mince, layer the above ingredients starting with tomatoes, lasagne sheets bechamel sauce and then mince. Layer until all ingredients have been used, with lasagne sheets and bechamel sauce at the top.

Cook on 'low' for 4 hours with the lid on.

With 30-mins to go, take the lid off and add 1 cup grated cheese.

Serve when cheese has melted.

NOTE:

Next time I will be adding some garlic and oregano to the tomatoes and some veggies to the mince to thicken it up and add some extra flavour ;)

Enjoy!!