Week in Pics

You guys know the drill...

Who looks this good at 5am on a Sunday? Only Oscar.

Delish rice paper wraps ft; carrot, cucumber, sprouts, chicken, lime, coriander, mushrooms, avocado, capsicum & jalapeños 

First batch of homemade playdough, not too shabby. Although I enjoyed playing with it more than B did!

Hairspiration from Emily at "cupcakes & cashmere". One of the first blogs I ever started to read, and she is just all kinds of fabulous

Big W had a toy sale.... B's boredom has been combatted for another week (and mine)

Italian spicy meatball soup 

Saturday strolls 

Cannot get enough. 

Roast vegetables & chickpeas, fave winter munchies

Blakes new best bud Andy. He had to work to win her over.. 

Our weekend was pretty uneventful to be fair. Well, mine was. Oli decided reliving his youth & hitting the clubs on Friday would be a great idea. Until Saturday when the old fart could barely move... When will he learn? Bed at 8pm is infinitely more appealing. 

Our wedding invites have just been completed courtesy of my ridiculously talented friend Aimee. I wish I could show them off to you all, however, that'll have to wait until well after I've sent them out. But man they're so cool!

Coming up this week; cocktails & dinner on Wed, dress fitting Sat, and plenty of baking I feel.. Splendid splendid splendid.

Hope you all had a marvellous weekend & your Monday isn't too mundane..

Gemma 

Thought of the day "I need a day off" 

Remember when..

Lately I've been reminiscing on the simplicity of our youth. When nothing mattered except for that final bell at 3pm, and making sure Mum had the pantry fully stocked with Maggi two minute noodles (chicken). 

When your Mum was 'so cool' if you had roll ups or dunkaroos in your lunchbox

When platform pulp shoes, dickies shorts & planet 8 skate belts were the height of fashion 

When CD's skipped, & you were killing it if you had a Walkman 

When Britney still had it;

When the screeching of dial up Internet rung loud and boisterous throughout each & every household

When msn chat was the only acceptable place to talk about how you really feel

When carbs weren't the devil 

When home phones rung hot every afternoon 

When mobile phones were bricks, property of only your parents- and stealing them to play snake was all they were good for 

When 'bananas in pyjamas' were real men dressed up in costume (the new animated version is no where near as genuine)

When Sundays consisted of this strange duo;

When photos were captured on disposables, and waiting outside Kmart for that incredibly long hour whilst they developed was a thrill.. "What is on there, what is on there!!"

When a BK combo + a trip to the movies would cost no more than $10 (depending on tangy fruits or not)

When snifters lived. RIP delicious minty delicacies

When it was perfectly ok to have a playboy themed bedroom (or was that just me)

When 50c would buy you enough lollies at the dazza to last a week

When summer holidays consisted of Mount Main Beach, pineapple frujus, the hotpools, and hanging out at bayfair 

When bullrush f'n ruled 

When school was sooooo terrible- "muuuummm, I think I'm sick today"

When nature went unappreciated & all that flowers were good for was playing "he loves me, he loves me not"'- I took this really seriously. 

When life was over if Mum wouldn't fork out for the right outfit (the exact same as everyone else's) 

Isn't it funny to reflect? Conforming was the only way to live through those years for me, whereas now, I'm more than happy just being myself. 

As much as I loved being a young sprog, I do believe the quote "youth is wasted on the young" is scarily accurate. Although, I also believe youth isn't decided by numbers, and I hope to live vicariously through my offspring for the next 15 years anyway. "Blake, where you going gurrrlll- I'll come!" 

Best buds. 

Happy weekend friends, stay young & hip.

Gemma 

Thought of the day "Oli went clubbing last night and I do not envy him today"

Tuesdayitis

Is it just me, or do Tuesdays suck WAY more than Mondays? At least Mondays are a fresh start. A day reserved for big plans, goals, lists, and positivity for the week ahead. Tuesdays however, are such a weird day. They're not at the beginning, middle, or end of the week. They're just there. Lurking about awkwardly in between all the good days. 

Tuesdayitis hit me at 5am this morning. Oscar was crying out for the teet, and as I wearily arose from my snug bed; the fog slowly rolled into my brain & is yet to leave. Along with the ol' foggy head, I have one of those annoying runny noses. You know the ones where you bend over your plate of food, and like a ninja, a stream of snot pours out your nostrils with no warning whatsoever. Yup, thats me today.

Gross.

Alas, the weekend will no doubt arrive before we know it, and then the cycle will continue.. 

Mon "yeah let's DO this"

Tues "Meh" 

Wed "it's pretty much Friday" 

Thurs "wine!" 

Friday "yeeehaaa" 

Saturday "see ya Oli" 

Sunday "food" 

That sums up my week, every week. 

Oli and I often talk about how sweet it would be to win lotto so we could both be at home with the kids all day. I nod & agree "hmmm, wouldn't it darling? It'd be great", but secretly, by Sunday Eve, I'm well & truly ready to take the reigns again and say sayonara to Oli in the morning. He would drive me batshit crazy if he were home full time . He who thinks looking after Blake & Oscar is putting on cartoons, and parking up on the couch. Easy peasy eh? No idea. 

Love him, don't necessarily always agree with him.

Oh, there goes the baby, afternoon snack time by the sounds of it. 

Better scedaddle, hopefully by the next time you hear from me I've combatted this serious case of the sniffles. No one likes hankies.

Hopefully you haven't been struck by tuesdayitis today too,

Happy days friends,

Gemma

Thought of the day "Must make myself leave the house for a walk, must make myself leave the house for a walk...."

 

Working Woman

Hey folks! Everyone have a good weekend I hope?

We had a typical mash up of delicious food, red wine (Oli had a tad too much red actually), movies, & tonnes of rain. 

This bogan is always good for a giggle

Classic roast chicken rocks my socks 

Oscars level of cuteness is through the roof at the moment 

On Friday afternoon, whilst setting Blake free at Lollipops playland, I happened to land myself a job.. When my new girlfriend Jen started telling me she had to go back to work in August, & was struggling to find care for her 22month old & 8 month old, I spontaneously shot my hand up. Considering she lives less than five minutes from our place, her eldest is the same age as Blake, she already knows/ trusts me, this would actually save me having to put B into daycare to socialise, and to top it all off I would be earning my own money- I just thought, why the hell not? 

Jen was ecstatic beyond belief. Only after asking me if I'm sure a trillion times, did she finally believe me. I also think she now thinks I'm completely nuts.  Four kids under two?

Yikes.

Maybe I am.

But it's kind of perfect. If I'm already at home with two, what's another two for three days a week right? It means new friends for Blake & Oscar, extra income, and a new adventure. "Welcome to Gemma's Daycare. Where ABC plays all day!" That's going to be my new catch phrase.

So as of the first of August, on Monday, Tues, & Wednesdays, I am doubling the fun, doubling the responsibility, and doubling the stress levels! Wish me luck.... I'll need it. 

On the wedding front; things are trucking along nicely. The invites are in production- my beaut bridesmaid Aimee is kindly making them for us & they are looking so swish! And I have my very first dress fitting in two weekends time. Kev (dressmaker who I am on nickname basis with already) reckons I won't need to wear a bra when he's done with my dress- that thing is going to need some sturdy support built in. He's got his work cut out for him that's for sure. Other than that, we are slowly deciding on all the little things; decorations, songs, food, bridesmaids outfits etc... Slowly but surely! How anyone plans a wedding in less than a year is beyond me. How anyone plans a wedding without a wedding planner is also beyond me.

I'll leave you with a little slice of paradise this evening;

This ugly, but delicious wee gem is a raw slice; recipe courtesy of my delightful gal pal Abbey;

-coconut oil

-shredded coconut

-chopped almonds/ cashews/ dates

-chia seeds

-oats 

-dark choc 

-rice malt syrup 

-LSA 

Mulch all of these goodies together in a bowl (measurements are as you please), line a container, spread it out evenly, refrigerate, & serve! Bloody good with a cup of tea. 

I've been festering in my own Bikram sweat for approximately two hours now, & the pungent smell is making me nauseous- shower time! 

Sayonara Amigos

Gemma

Thought of the day "hello sunshine, I've missed you"

Resolution Recap

Seeing as we are already halfway through the year (an absolutely absurd thought), I thought I should touch base on my resolutions & see how things are progressing... 

Number 1;

Be more patient. Oh how I would love to tick this box! However, I feel as though I may have declined in the patience department this year. I'm not sure if its because of the added pressure of having two babies, or if I'm just typically slightly manic. Either way- everything needs to be cooked, cleaned, bought, ran, watched, changed, NOW NOW NOW. I'll continue working on this one... 

Number 2;

Get creative in zee kitchen. Happy to report, I am all over this one like a rash! Recipe books have been getting a bashing, and good old google has provided many magical numbers. For example, check out this delectable brownie I made yesterday (secret ingredient; chopped dates) 

That hefty chunk was a taste tester. 

Number 3;

Cutting out social media. Urghhhhh, social media is such a trap. I successfully quit Facebook for 6 weeks prior to Oscar arriving, and it was brilliant! Alas, I had my arm twisted by family to get back onboard so they can see photos- which is fair enough I guess. Although now, whilst breastfeeding at 4am, what will you find me doing? Scrolling up a storm, reading the most mundane bullshit. Passing judgement on oversharers, & then realising I'm encouraging it by reading the overshares, is a tedious cycle. It's far too easy to switch on autopilot & thumb-flick away the many hours I spend feeding Oscar at the moment, but I am consciously making an effort to read my e-books now instead. Game of thrones novels have just been downloaded, and if they're as good as the tv series I'll be hooked in no time! 

Number 4;

Making time for me. Despite motherhood tugging at my leg pretty much 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, I've managed to make "me" time a priority as of late. Id even go so far as to say, I now have a social life! Which is pretty exciting stuff considering my social life flew out the plane window upon arriving into Perth. Oli jokes that I'm having far too much "outside the house time" & I need to "reign it in". Funny guy. Not only socially, but mentally (and physically) I've been taking the time to attend Bikram at least twice a week. Those 90 minutes clear the head & really allow me to indulge in my inner sense of self. So I would have to say yes, I am indeed making sufficient time for número uno!

Number 5;

Cutting back on sugar. Up until May, I most certainly had not cut back on sugar... At all. However, over the last 6-7 weeks, I've turned over a new leaf. I seriously thought we would never see the day where I don't crave something sweet every.single.night. It was just a part of life. Dinner & then chocolate; hand in hand. And now, I don't even remember the last time I bought a block of chocolate? Which is kind of a big deal. Maybe it is all this wedding talk, or maybe I'm just a tough MF with exceptionally strong willpower. Don't know, don't care- all that matters, is that my name is Gemma Warner, and I am no longer a sugar addict. 

Number 6;

Get wedding bod ready. During the first 6 weeks post birth I was in quite a slump. I felt frumpy, fat, tired & miserable. It's clear now that this was due to Oscars shaky start to life, which resulted in a serious lack of sleep, poor nutrition, and general bad mental & physical health. Ever since we've developed a solid sleep routine, and subsequently started smiling more often, good nutrition & exercise habits jumped onboard naturally. I haven't felt this good in a long time to be honest. I would happily walk up the aisle next week if need be. Knowing I still have 10 months is almost like a massive bonus. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind, that come May 23rd 2015, I will be the healthiest, and happiest bride to be.

Number 7;

Have a successful homebirth. Tick! The most incredibly surreal, empowering experience of our lives. One that I am especially glad is over... 

Number 8;

Have a date night at least once a month.

How about quarterly? Sleep is still the most precious thing to us for now..luckily I'm about to marry the guy so we can spend the next 60 odd years romancing. **Did you know I'll only be 40years young when Blake turns 18 and (hopefully) moves out of home? Fresh as a daisy! Hello OE adventures, rekindled flames, and maybe even a boob job! We'll still have it eh Oli?

After writing that whole spiel, I came to the realisation that we have infact had two date nights in the past two months. A simple yes would have sufficed. 

Number 9;

Make green smoothies everyday. No, just no. What a ridiculously unachievable resolution. I'm well past my green smoothie phase, & all over the banana berry combo at the moment. 

Number 10;

Read as much as humanely possibly. Disappointingly, I haven't been reading all that often.. Which is where social media rears its ugly head again. Stealing all of my precious kindle time like a thief in broad daylight! Over the past few months I've read two novels by Jojo Moyes that were fairly good. But, other than that, I've been pretty slack. Like I said earlier though- Game of Thrones books are locked and loaded!  

Finally, number 11;

Plan a wedding. I wrote that resolution with full intentions of not following through. Well well well, waddya know? I even surprise myself sometimes. We are in full Pinterest- planning mode. Venue & date is booked, playlists are being constructed, dresses are being made, colour schemes are coming together, creative juices are overflowing, and invites are very nearly on thier way out. Tick.

All in all, it's not bad for the six month mark. Now I just need to turn off this bloody phone and I'll be on track to give them all a well deserved box-tick! ✅

Friday? Is that you? Bloody good to see you again!

Enjoy your weekend friends 

Gemma 

Thought of the day "Abbey, are you deliberately trying to sabotage my wedding plans with your shortbread?!"

Week in Pics

Hey folks, trust you've all had a swell weekend. I'm going to cut the jibber jabber today & share our week in pics; 

Blake the ballerina bolting it away from me

Panko crumbed fish tacos 

Latest project (she even manages to make pooing cute!)

Lollipops play date with Mikaela & Noah 

I was like a kid in a candy shop.... Oh wait 

Saturday evening stroll 

Baked Moroccan eggs courtesy of my new cookbook

Sunday sushi 

Tantrums everytime I leave the joint 

"Do not dwell on the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment" - Buddha. This is on the ceiling during Bikram Yoga. I definitely dwelled & dreamed numerous times. My mind has a mind of its own.

Thai Chicken "burgers"

The best 

How it took me nearly a decade to watch this film I have no idea. Absolutely bloody brilliant 

I'll be spending a lot of time in this wee gallery, dressmaking has begun!! (Simple went right out the window when Kevin came onboard)

Handsome brute 

Dusk you are so dreamy 

All in all, a hugely successful and nourishing week. The highlight for me was finding & bonding with my brilliant dressmaker, a fifty year old man with painted fingernails and a questionable sexuality. It is all so exciting!! 

Happy Monday!

Thought of the day "last Game Of Thrones tonight, nooooo"

Gemma 

Baby Blues

Fuck parenting is hard. And confusing. The contradiction between being madly in love, and wanting to rip your eyeballs right out of your head at the same time, is crazy. 

The relentless tantrums, endless pigsty of a house, and constant panicking rush, has left me empty this week. It is as if my soul has been sucked right out my boobs. 

Both babes have been clinging to me like starfish to rocks lately. If one stops whining, the other will start. I stood in the kitchen yesterday, whipping up Blakes avocado sammies at the speed of light in order to rescue Oscar, who was crying out for (more) love; only to have those sandwiches smushed into the carpet leaving bright green stains for me to sponge out in my spare 5 minutes. Yeah cheers Blake. Carpet cleaning is exactly what I want to do whilst listening to the grizzling chorus of you and your brother grow louder by the second. 

Whilst I cleaned the carpet, I neglected to notice the colouring pencils dangerously sprawled out in the lounge. It was too late. The walls now feature Blakes debut masterpieces, in dark purple. Of course she wouldn't pick up the yellow pencil, that's just silly- then what would Mum have to do? Yellow is far too faint to clean. 

Meanwhile, Oscar is fed, changed, warm, fed again, burped, and clearly tired from the vigorous eye-rubbing & many yawns. I put him down, following the signs, and what ensues? Two hours of tears. Why would you sleep little guy? Why would you when you can scream? 

When I put on some tunes to drown out the wails, and regain some composure, he cries louder. 

This would actually all be ok, had I been getting a full nights sleep. I'm not. Oscars up at 10, then 2, then 4, and finally 7 for a proper good morning. Can't say I'm overly stoked to see him by then. 

WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU INFANT?!! 

.... Is what I feel like screaming at him. I don't. I just continue on with the carousel of duties;  feed, change, burp, feed, burp, swaddle, sleep. Not because I want too, because I have too. 

Daytime drinking is still frowned upon right? Society ruins all the fun.

Joking...

In all seriousness, I feel like crying into my cold cup of coffee this morning. The house has begun to resemble a prison cell- leaving with two in tow is just ridiculously difficult. 'Cleaning' lasts all of around 5 minutes before the toddler tears through like a tornado. Cooking has become a rushed chore, the quicker the better; my poor ol' taste buds dont dig it. Intellectual stimulation is at an all time low. Sleeping is broken, washing is a miserable-go-round, walking our streets is fast becoming a bore, and showering involve two minutes of vigorous scrubbing whilst B bangs on the door, and Oscar grizzles impatiently at her feet.

Needless to say, my legs desperately need shaving. 

Life is not like Wisteria Lane at all. Those immaculate bitches are liars. 

You may be wondering how I manage to find the time to blog amongst the chaos. Well, I kid you not, I currently have the baby on the swing on the bench (it's fairly safe), badly singing nursery rhymes for his amusement, whilst simultaneously chopping up veggies, & trying to ignore Blake impatiently shaking the toddler gate wanting her "nyum nyums". I'm writing one sentence every few minutes. 

I will repeat, fuck parenting is hard.

At least it's Friday, which means the carousel continues, but Oli jumps on- and the extra set of hands is heavenly. Who knows, I may even manage to escape the house for 1-2 hours this weekend. There is always hope! 

I feel remarkably better for offloading that onto you all! Gotta scoot anyway, Oscar has just dropped a bottom lip- it's all downhill from here. 

Hope you all have a lovely weekend! 

Thought of the day "

Took the words right out of my mouth.

Gemma 

12 Weeks Postpartum

Lets just take a moment to let it sink in that Oscar is already 3 months old. How the fark? 

Having babies is like having a grandfather clock looming over you, ticking insistently all day & night. You can't escape the fact that time is getting away on you when your baby has doubled in size in what seems like a mere few days. It's terrifying. The fact that Blake is only a couple of months away from turning two, absolutely blows my mind. Were we not just celebrating her 1st birthday? Cheering as she finally started to crawl? It truly feels like life has been clicked on to fast forward. 

And it's official. I just stated the most common & typical thing a parent could say. "Aren't they just growing sooooo fast? My goodness, not my babies!!". Yeah well, all those generations of parents weren't joking.

Anywho,

Twelve weeks out, and I'm feeling pretty good at the moment...

(Excuse my granny maternity bras in all of my pics, trying to squeeze these bad boys into a sexy bra is like stuffing a sausage)

Over the last 4 weeks, things have really started to tighten up. There's even a hint of my obliques shining through again, hallelujah! To be fair, I've been working bloody hard to get these results, so I don't feel like it's all been a walk in the park like last time. Post-Blake, I swear I could look in the mirror and physically see myself shrinking- it was that quick. Having to work at it, despite it requiring a hell of a lot more effort, is actually really rewarding. I'm certainly feeling a lot healthier & happier-  and there's definitely a fresh spring in my step.

On the exercise front, I've been mixing it up. Ballet never eventuated as it was a 45min drive from home (straight into the too-hard-basket when you're pressed for time) However, I replaced the ballet plans with bikram yoga, and I gotta say- Im becoming quite the addict. Anything sweaty gets me all jacked up. But bikram? You are beading before you begin. Now that's what im talking about! (Gross? Meh.)

So there's been quite a few of those classes, the odd stair climb, lots of walks, a few runs (about that half marathon......), and loads of at home workouts. I've been following a little circuit from a website called "abikiniaday.com", it's a butt/ thigh workout- 6 exercises, 20 odd minutes, and I have a rather sore backside the next day. You always know something's working if you're sore the next day. Go check it out its really good!

Food front; I'm going to go right ahead and toot my own horn here. Shit I've been good! Compared to what I was inhaling, I've done a full 180. Gone are the late night sweet treats, gone are the weekly takeouts (not counting my birthday McDonald's which was clearly a free pass), gone are the abundance of processed foods...

Hello fresh crisp vegetables, juicy fruits, poached eggs, and mountains of those zucchini noodles. I highly recommend those spiralizers people, it makes food way more fun.

Here's a pic update; (a few male friends have recently informed me they regularly read my blog; this is where you should shield your eyes.... Cringe)

Im happy with how things are progressing, and as long as I'm feeling this good, I'll no doubt keep it up. 

I'd like to take another moment here to thank the true reason I'm able to do any of this at all. 

Sleep. 

We've had our ups & downs the last few months, but now that you're back, I couldn't imagine my life without you. So please will you stay? I will make you so happy.

Sleep is everything. 

Everything.

Happy hump day pretties,

Thought of the day "I cannot get that damned Postman Pat tune out of my head!!!"

Gemma 

The Very Best Birthday Weekend

What an absolutely delightful weekend it was. I would not change a single thing (other than choosing the correct lotto numbers, wouldn't that be ideal.)

It all kick-started with a long & arduous Bikram session on Friday evening. Those classes often feel like the longest ninety minutes of my life, but I always manage to leave feeling limber, loose & revitalised. I also knew I was in for a weekend of largely consuming refined sugar & wine, so I had thought I better do something to balance things out. After very nearly drowning in my own sweat, I headed home to find both babes snoozing, and a glass of red poured and waiting for me on the bench. And so it began... (Not really, I only had one glass & went to bed at 8:30, but I was saving myself for Sat you see?)

Saturday's itinerary was rather jam-packed. Firstly, I was going to meet up with my girlfriend Abbey to browse around at the bridal expo in the city. Does anyone else find that expo's always, always seem to disappoint? Im not even sure what I expected, fresh decor ideas? Dress inspiration? At the very least cake testing. It provided none of the above. (Not one cake.) We pretty much paid $20 to do a 5 minute lap around the room, avoiding a trillion pamphlets & pesky salespeople. So we took the first exit & headed straight across the road to a pub for some food & banter. Two hours later, we left with a slightly more solid 6-pack from so much laughter. Nothing beats having a catch up with a like-minded girlfriend, and considering I barely ever get to do it, it was, quite simply, marvellous. 

Later that afternoon I had to get quite a few things done prior to our date night, so Oli took the kids for a big walk whilst I blasted music & cleaned and cooked. That hour was amazing. I managed to completely clear my head, just running on auto-pilot & absorbing the tunes. (There was also red wine involved). Thankfully, I had pumped a big stock of milk in preparation for these few days, so I had complete freedom.

Before we knew it, Teesh & her gf Sarah arrived to take over parenting duties. Prior to having kids; I always saw myself as being a free-spirited mama- offloading them onto friends/fam would be easy & stress-free. However, this is not the case. As I ran around listing the exact temp the milk must be, and doing a step-by-step of how to change Oscars nappy, I realised just how pedantic I have become. I'm no where near as cool as I envisioned. Purposely booking dinner at 7:30pm so that I could still put them down my way proves that. Let go Gemma, let go.

Anyway, here we are all spruced up & ready to rock! (I do not miss make up or hair straighteners by the way, such a chore)

Highlights from the evening were;

1) being I.D'd upon buying my first drink (still got it)

2) taking a long & hilarious stroll down memory lane with a highly inebriated Oli 

3) tomato spinach & Gorgonzola gnocchi 

4) arriving home to find both of the kids hadnt awoken at all

5) ripping off my dress & putting on my trackies within seconds of arriving home, then proceeding to do drunken headstands with Sarah 

Lowlights from the evening were;

1) there's actually only one lowlight. One pretty significant lowlight. I broke the number one going-out-to-dinner rule.... Never, EVER, fill up on bread & dip before your main. I had pretty much starved myself all day in anticipation for the feast that evening- and then I showed my true amateur dining colours as I devoured that dukkah. It was freakin good dukkah. Alas, when my mouth-watering gnocchi arrived, I was only able to eat around 5 measly pieces before raising the white flag. 

Rookie. 

I know. I'm still disappointed in myself. 

Fast forward to Sunday morning..

Oli pulled out all the stops, and after our initial cotton-mouthed fatigue, we perked up and had a brilliant day as a family. There was also unpictured maccas, lasagne, a birthday badge, family guy, and to top it all off a really good movie called "The Grand Budapest Hotel". This oddly eccentric, colourful masterpiece, was really funny! Ralph Fiennes is one of my all time faves, he always delivers a wonderful performance.

All in all, I had one of the best birthdays yet- I think I quite enjoy this ageing business. (I say that now as I'm still supple skinned)

That brings us to today... Thus far, we have been for a big sweaty stroll;

Made this masterpiece for lunch;

And now, I'm perusing my new Anabel Langbein "simple pleasures" cookbook that Abbey so kindly gifted me for my birthday. You know you're old when you get cookbooks for your birthday & absolutely love them eh? 

Fresh recipes coming right up!

Hope you all had a fantastic weekend too

Gemma

Thought of the day "I swear I can hear that chocolate mud cake calling out to me from the fridge..."

Final Days as a 24 Year Old....

25. An entire quarter century of life. Vanished in the blink of an eye, yet pain-stakingly slow all at once. (All part of being the worlds most impatient person)

Mid-twenties are scarily close to late-twenties. Which we all know borders right on the dreaded "dirty thirty". You know you're no longer young when you hit the big three oh eh? Although, word on the street is thirty is the new twenty. Our generation is stretching out their youth by settling down & reproducing much later in life. Well, not I. Here I am, elbow deep in nappies & spew all day everyday. And I could not be happier. 

 

Had you told me I would be a mother to the two cutest kids in the world, with Oli Tabak (the grooviest guy I know), by the time I was 25, I would have wet myself laughing. Yet here I am, and here they are. Making me feel so incredibly accomplished, loved, worthy, and grateful, every single day. 

So as I approach this milestone, I can look back on my life thus far and truly be happy with where I am, who I am, and what I have. That's a pretty cool feeling, I hope I can say the same at fifty! 

All of that was easy to surmise as my head was getting massaged at a salon, all thanks to my delightful other half as a birthday treat. Swoon. Feeling gooooood, and zee hair is looking gooooood. 

This week has flown by as we had a long weekend last week. Gosh I love long weekends. Our pals Lee & Tali came to stay and we drank organic wine (ahhhhmazing), played cards, talked each others ears off, and did an extraordinary amount of headstands. Tali is a bit of a yogi, so we ended up twisting & stretching the weekend away. I am now determined to do the splits. It'll be my new party trick, just give me a few weeks (months). 

Funnily, I didn't get one snap of our antics all weekend- putting the blower down, & just enjoying the company and conservation was refreshing. 

However, I did get a snap of my mind blowing dessert last night;

Ladies and gents....

"Healthy Apple Crumble" - single serve 

1 apple

Handful chopped almonds 

Tsp cinnamon 

Tsp coconut oil 

Tsp maple syrup 

Tsp chia seeds 

1/4 cup quick oats 

Preheat oven to 180.

Peel & slice the apple, place in a ramekin or other oven proof dish. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Mix all remaining incredients together and layer over the apple slices. Bake for 15-20 mins depending on how soft you like the apple. 

I spontaneously made this recipe up on the spot, and it was a roaring success. If yee old sweet tooth hits at 8pm, try it out- I dare you. Paired with some greek yoghurt or banana ice cream? Yarm!

I've also been getting spiralizer crazy over here as of late;

Yet another (early) birthday gift. Shit I'm a spoilt 25 year old aren't I?

These zucchini noodles with roasted cherry toms, pesto & lemon, and a side of kumara fries is where.it.is.AT! Lunch every day this week.

Wait wait wait, there's more...

Lorna Jane you've done it again.

Oli really outdid himself this year too. How freaking amazing are my new tights?? I now live in these exquisite contraptions, just wearing them makes me feel happy inside. 

Yes, I did get everything prior to my actual birthday. Yes, I am that impatient. No, I don't care that I'll have nothing to unwrap on Sunday. Infact, I'm hoping to be nursing a hangover, and consuming fried chicken for the entire day.

Only two more days of life as a fresh-faced 24 year old... and on the agenda for those two days;

-visiting childcare centres for Blake (our ball of energy needs to leave the nest... For 8 hours a week)

-bikram yoga 

-bridal expo

-telling as many people as I can that I am 24

-a big night out with Oli on Saturday 

-a picnic in the park

-and cake. Lots of cake. (Whilst my metabolism is still that little bit better)

*** Holy cow!! This is completely off topic, but simply could not be left out. Who here watches Game of Thrones?? That explosive last episode was heart wrenching (pun totally intended)!! This god damned series gets me every time. Just when I think I know what will happen - BAM- a bloody two tonne spanner in the works. I could not peel my eyes from the screen. Oh Tyrion, please don't be beheaded- you are my favourite imp of all time.

I think I've jibber jabbered enough for one day. Hope you're all having a beautiful week folks!

Gemma

Thought of the day "Oscars growth spurt is draining, literally"