Hello Home

You wouldn't guess where I'm writing from....

Ta Da! 

The kids and I flew back alone last week to surprise some friends & fam. Here I was thinking, "yeah I think the flight could be pretty bad but we'll survive". Turns out the worst case scenario in my head, didn't even scratch the surface of how bad travelling alone with two sprogs might actually be. Hell on earth/ air. We are talking 7 hours of non stop crying, loads of stares, loads of sweat, zero help, nowhere near enough limbs to carry everything at once, and to top it off I carried in a banana without knowing it was pretty much a bomb, so we were held in customs like criminals for an hr upon arrival. As you can probably tell, I'm still recovering from the trauma. 

Shit it's good to be back though. After a rocky start due to three manky colds, and Blake concussing herself down my Mums stairs, things are finally starting to simmer down and I'm finally starting to enjoy myself. We've been hanging out for 5 months to meet our adorable little niece Sadie, and our wishes came true on Saturday;

That poppet is beyond gorgeous. Fave cuzzy status. 

I also managed to surprise my good friends Micaela and Ricky at their engagement party over the weekend, the looks on their faces were priceless- it was worth it solely for the shock factor. I had full intentions of staying and getting buckwild with them all night, alas, I was far too exhausted so we are making up for it again this weekend. 

There are so many wonderful people to catch up with while I am back, I feel like the next two weeks will be jam packed with incessant bantering and delicious food. Oh the food. Nothing beats fresh NZ food. First things first though;

Zee choc trumpet. Boy did I miss your gooey centre. The outline around my mouth remains as evidence after wolfing down this guy in record time. 

Despite all of this wonderfulness, we miss Oli a freaking lot. A lot. This is the first time we have been apart in nearly 3 years, and it's safe to say I underestimated just how much that guy helps me cope with daily life. I don't think he has a lot to complain about though, he had his first proper sleep in over the weekend and is relishing in all of the free time. (He says it's miserable and lonely but I find that hard to believe).

I feel like I could already burst at the seams with tales to tell so imagine how much of an ear bashing he will get in two weeks time, poor guy. I cannot wait to bore him to death, and smother him in smooches. 

I'll be back with pics galore and rock hard thigh muscles from whipping up my mountain, stay tuned. 

Au Revoir!

Gem

Thought of the day "I'm going to pretend that we are time travelling back to Perth in two weeks time" 

Tuesday Hangovers Aren't Cool

Remember how I said I wouldn't drink and it didn't last longer than two weeks? 

Yup.

I sure remember. My thumping cranium remembers. My sweaty palms remember. My attention deprived children remember. My bloated belly remembers. My bloodshot eyes remember. My pores seeping straight alcohol remember. 

They all remember. 

Fuck man! Not even the entire pepperoni pizza I just devoured has helped- infact, I think it may have worsened my condition. Urghhhhhhh. 

The devils juice!

I'm really not going anywhere exciting with this post, this is all about venting. Sorry folks. 

Catching up with this incredible specimen however, was ridiculously fun. Tali brings so much positive energy, love & light to the table, it's uplifting just being around her. Aren't great people just really great? I love knowing great people. 

And on that note, after my dismal 4 hours sleep last night, I might just go and hit the hay. This week has some wonderful things in store for us, I can feel it in my bones. My tired old bones.

You kids stay cool alright?

Over and out,

Gemma

Thought of the day "is this what dying feels like?"

Tasty Tuesday

We have a full 3 course menu today folks, be prepared for tummy grumbles....

Let's kick it off with some tasty morsels, "Sweet Chilli Chicken rice paper rolls"

In these little parcels of goodness is; chicken, coriander, lettuce, cucumber, avocado, carrot & jalapeños. A healthy starter/ snack that packs a delicious punch. Super easy to make too, after getting past the initial "how the fark do you wrap up these little bastards" phase. Practise makes perfect. 

For the main, we have Jamie Oliver's "Spring Lamb Shepherds Pie"

After watching Jamie's Comfort Food show last week, Oli and I were left salivating & ravenous upon seeing this recipe. Oli thought it would go straight into the "too hard" basket, and I had already planned to fill up my basket with all the ingredients. Yes, it requires some labour, but it certainly wasn't hard to make, and tasty is an understatement. 

Ingredients;

Lamb Leg (half will do)

Fresh rosemary 

Tin of diced toms 

3 carrots 

1 onion 

Garlic finely chopped 

Celery 

10 medium potatoes 

Peas

Breadcrumbs 

Cheese 

Method;

Preheat oven to 180. First things first, lather your leg in oil & season well, top with some rosemary and garlic and roast for 1.5-2 hrs depending on the size of the leg. While that is cooking, chop up the carrots & celery to 1cm cubes, and finely dice the onion & garlic. Peel your potatoes and cut into cubes, bring to the boil. Once your lamb is done, move it to a plate and keep the roasting pan full with the juices. Here's the weird part, pour half the lamb fat into a jug or jar and leave all the sticky jus in the bottom. Use this same pan on your stovetop (juices included) to cook the onion, garlic, carrot, celery, and peas. Add a dash of oil if need be but keep that cooking on low-medium for 20-30 mins. Meanwhile, once your potatoes are soft, mash them up with a good chunk of butter, some milk & salt and pepper and leave aside. Then, pull the lamb meat from the bone and into a bowl. Season the vegetables on the stove and add some fresh rosemary. Then add the tin of tomatoes and continue to simmer. Once the tomatoes have been in the mix for a good 5-10, add the lamb into the pan. Continue to simmer until carrots & celery are nearly soft. While all that is going on, in a ceramic dish (preferably round), use the leftover lamb fat to grease the dish and then coat in breadcrumbs to create a barrier. I also added more fresh rosemary to the greased dish at this point. Then make a "Pie crust" with your mash in the dish. Once that is done, add your meat & vege mix. Add a cup of water into the dish at this point along with a tablespoon of flour (sounds weird but is necessary). Season again & top it off with the remaining mash. Finally, sprinkle over some grated cheese aswel as more breadcrumbs. Cook at 200 for 1.5 - 2 hrs and grill at the end for a bit of crisp;

Voila! This time intensive dish was worth every minute, we've actually eaten it for 3 nights straight now. Delish! 

And for dessert;

Hello "Nutella Coconut Cake"

How I had not thought of putting those two ingredients together before is beyond me, alas, upon seeing this recipe, I knew I had to dust off my baking mits. (This was actually attempt number two as I dropped the first one. Can you imagine the tirade of swear words that echo'd through our house? Not. Cool.) 

Anyway, the recipe is straight from madefromscratch.co.nz, just search Nutella Coconut & it will pop up. This fudgy, nutty dream is a winner. (I cooked mine for 35 mins rather than 40 by the way, 40 made it a lot drier)

On the agenda today, a girls get together with some pals & zee kids, and on the way to the meet & greet, we are going to pop into the shelter to see how Meg is doing. I'm fairly confident if her brother has not been sold we may have two new family members, sorry Oli. 

Oh, and one last thing, if you're an Arctic Monkeys or a Tame Impala (or both) fan, you should really YouTube Arctic Monkeys version of Tame Impalas "feels like we only go backwards", on triple J's like a version, that man rocks my world. 

Happy hump day lovely people!

Gem

Thought of the day "35 degrees & it's spring, oh Perth, you are sizzling & I am sweating"

Monday Mooooovies

Lately (when I say lately I mean ever since 1996), going to the movies has been my ultimate happy place. No kids, no physical activity, sugar in so many different forms, darkness (I laaaarrrvvvee zee dark), friends, strangers who snort, and a whopping big screen delivering some solid entertainment. And when I say solid entertainment, I mean solid. The last three movies I've seen, have all been spot on. This is a rarity for me, as I consider myself quite the movie critic, and more often than I would like, flicks are below average. Putting up my '10' paddle is a massive call, but one of them got the doubles from me.

Anywho, I've already told you about the first one, "What We Do In The Shadows" and how much of a knee slapper it was, so I'll move onto the next goodun...

"The Skeleton Twins"

Kristen Wiig & Bill Hader? Two comedic gods in one film? I didn't need a lot of convincing. 

The story followed these two as dysfunctional twins who hadn't been in touch for ten years. When Bill tries to off himself, they reconnect & what ensues, is 1.5 hours of deeply emotive, hilarious, and terribly sad viewing. This film touched my soul. There were tears (*cough* pussy), and there was some serious surprises. Going into the film & having not read a thing about it, therefore expecting a light hearted comedy, I was truly blindsided by the super serious tones. Mid movie I felt a tad spastic, one second laughing hysterically, the next welling up and wanting to hold Bills hand. But it was beautiful, and definitely up there with my top 10 films of all time. Go and see it!! (But don't if you're pregnant, dealing with PMS, or just generally hormonal. Or if you do- take tissues) 10/10

And just this week, Natalie and I took a week off parenting / work, to watch "Gone Girl". (The movie is reeeeeally long, get it?)

Having read the book, and the reviews, I was eager to wrap my eyeballs around this one. 

This ridiculously creepy woman plays the gone girl, Amy Dunne, and she is absolutely magnificent. I've never seen Rosamund Pike in any other movie, but boy was she captivating, so beautiful, and so real (for lack of other words). The story follows her hubby (Ben Affleck, also brilliant) unravelling the mystery behind Amy's disappearance, whilst simultaneously fending the spotlight off himself as the number one suspect. It is chocka block full off intrigue, malice, drama, and the characters are really well developed. This is definitely my kind of movie, dark & dramatic with just the right amount of creep. My only critiscm would be the length (2.5 hrs), only Leo & Kate on a sinking boat can pull off 2.5 + hours, and even they were pushing it. Other than that, it is bloody good! 

There's a few more coming out soon too by the looks of it, including this one;

"Fury" with Brad Pitt & Shia La Beouf, clearly I will be there solely for perving purposes. 

I'll be sure to let you know what other goodies I come across!

I've got some delicious food to share with you all next, stay tuned, 

Au Revoir and happy Monday folks,

Gemma 

Thought of the day "realising I hadn't showered in 48 hrs was pretttty gross today (crinkled noses galore)"

The Big Picture

#firstworldproblems

You've all seen this hashtag right? 

'Shit, the dickhead check-in lady didn't give me a window seat.' 

'Dammit, she wore the same dress as me (and looked way better)'

'Ugh, sooooo incredibly full I feel sick.'

These are all first world problems.

Famine. Disease. Slavery. Poverty. War. 

These are all real problems (affecting more than 70% of our population).

Lately, I've found myself dwelling on the most trivial things. Money, or lack thereof. Time management. And the extra layers of fat that I can't seem to shed on my tum & thighs. And yesterday, after reading an extremely emotional article on the war (I refuse to call it a conflict, it's a bloody war you glossy media fools) in Syria, it quickly hit home that my problems are really not problems at all. 

Women, children, & men are being slaughtered, aswel as patriotic soldiers,  and aid workers. Innocent people, dying everyday. Living in constant fear, unable to escape.

And I have a bit of extra wobble on my belly because I housed two babies. 

Perspective, hi, it's nice to see you again.

God, it's so easy to get caught up in the most ridiculous shit isn't it? How we look, who thinks what of us, how much we have to fork out for a friggen coffee. And yet, in the big scheme of things, none of it matters. 

Living in such a materialistic & image-obsessed narcissistic age, makes it so easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of it all. Everybody wants to do better, buy better, be better than everybody else. I, for one, am guilty of always needing (wanting) more. What is with us westerners and never being totally happy with what we have? It's such a vicious cycle. 'Oh, god I need those jeans.. now that I have them, I think I need another pair in a different colour' 

At the same time, this is the world we live in. We do not witness or experience famine or poverty, and we don't have war on our doorstep. Our problems have simply stemmed from what we know, which is unavoidable and understandable. But, I still think it's important, to just take a step back, and see the bigger picture. 

Be appreciative to have a home, to have food, clean oxygen, warm clothes, and healthy family and friends. 

I really need to work on doing this more often. Worrying about what's in my house, instead of who is in my house is just plain stupid isn't it? 

I don't want to look back on my life and think about that super cool couch we owned, or the clothes I wore. I want to look back and go, "fuck yeah, I was a nice person, my kids are awesome people, we saved some animals, fell madly in love, did my part for the environment, and made the world a slightly better place" 

Now those are goals.

In the meantime, meet Meg;

She's still going to hang with her ma for a couple more weeks, then she's gonna come join the Tabak/ Warner clan. Isn't she a treat?

Happy weekending friends,

Stay happy & healthy

Gem 

Thought of the day "I very nearly adopted ten kittens today" 

Week in Pics

Hey! How was everyone's weekend? 

Ours whizzed by at the speed of light. We had the most magnificent wee date on Friday evening in Fremantle to kick it all off. My brother held the fort whilst we shot over to the beach with beers in hand to watch the sunset. It was truly magical. We made a pact to get out to see the sunset beachside at least every month, it is so good for the soul. Oli ended up working all day Saturday, and as soon as he arrived home at 6pm, I tagged him in and scooted off to Abbeys for a big night involving far too much alcohol.

I've decided that's it, alcohol and I are over. We had a good run, and it was a hoot while it lasted, but much like a rebound relationship, the novelty wore off pretty quickly. On Sunday, as I lay on the couch writhing in pain, eating (delicious) KFC in between my self pitying moans and Blakes insistent tugging at my hair, I realised I'm really not cut out for it anymore. This old duck needs to hang up her heels for good. Well, until Christmas at least.. (Unless something insanely cool pops up, or I have a reeeeeally bad week that can only call for one thing- wine) 

This week so far, has been excruciatingly boring & bleak. On top of the lingering hangover (such a pussy!), our hunk of junk car spat the dummy so we are stranded. And Oscar sprouted his second tooth immediately after his first. Fun! 

Poor thing must be in a world of pain, although listening to it is pretty painful aswel. Alas, on the upside, our car is being fixed today, Oscar is currently asleep, and I collected some brilliant pics of my two darjeelings over the last few days;

Little big gal 

"Guys wait up!" Morning stroll sightings

Red wine stained teeth marks the end of a great relationship with alcohol.... For now. 

A brilliant Friday evening (childless) sunset stroll with this brilliant human 

Yarm!

And this plate is parked up right in front of my salivating mouth as we speak (type). 

Which means I gotta scoot,

Hope you're all happy and healthy!

Gem

Thought of the day "can't believe I used to dislike coriander, rookie!"

Avocado Amore

$3. That's how much this treasure cost me yesterday, 3 whole dollars. I ummed and ahhed for quite some time, the el cheapo in me weighing up the pros & cons, and I came to the conclusion that yes, I will pay way too much for this big beauty. Because avocados freaking rule. Not only do they taste like creamy heaven, but they are full of good fats and all of that nutritional jazz, bonus right? 

Turns out I'm so glad I forked out that $3, as I made 3 meals featuring this one fruit (vegetable?), and they all rocked my socks;

Ryevitas with tom, soft boiled egg, avo & chilli kale chippies

Burgen with softies, shrooms & avo

And

The BEST Kale, cucumber, avo, jalapeño, chicken, basil salad 

3 meals! That's a bloody bargain in hindsight. I still can't bring myself to buy more than 1 at a time though. And I still spend an embarrassing length of time picking the perfect one, imagine the disappointment of cracking a brownie after forking out a small fortune? No way Jose. 

Ooh brownie. Yum. I may have to bust out my baking mits this arv. It's been a while... 

** Did you know, that to keep your cut avo fresh in the fridge, all you need to do is pool a splash of water on top of it? Rather than wasting all that glad wrap. Learnt that little gem just this week! 

In other news, it's Friiiiiyyyaayyy (see what I did there).) This weekend looks like it's going to be jam packed with hot dates & banter- my favourite. Hope you all have a wonderful couple of days ahead too,

Adios!

Gem 

Thought of the day "just discovered the Black Keys are coming to Perth in April, FUCK YES." 

Legs & Abs

Hey strangers! How are we all going? 

There are approximately 50 draft posts lurking somewhere between just started, and nearly finished on this site at the mo. It has just been one of those weeks where everything is more important or urgent than everything else. Procrastination galore, to do lists left untouched, huge washing piles, and mess for miles. It doesn't help that we've had two extras staying in our lounge, my brother & our good pal Stirling. By all means, it is wonderful to see them both, but with very limited space- it is far too crammed. Alas, after two weeks, we will be all alone tomorrow eve, and I cannot wait to resume my normal OCD cleanliness & get naked. And frolick around in all my bare bum glory. Skipping & dancing & relishing in the freedom..

What I have been doing lately, is killing it at the gym. The old motivation levels are peaking and I am on a roll. Each workout is varied between swimming, HIIT, kayla itsines circuits, weights, and yoga, and my body has gone into shock mode. The final kilos of baby weight have finally shifted and I am feeling really good about where I'm at. 

Whenever I do weights, I definitely play favourites with legs & abs. Much like bacon & eggs, they are the perfect pair. So here's one of my favourite gym leg/abs workouts;

Legs/ abs;

- Begin with 10 minutes of cardio to warm up 

- Squat & press. With a 5kg medicine ball, squat down and upon coming back up, shoulder press the ball. (3 sets, 15 reps)

- Burpees (3 sets, 15 reps)

- Leg press. 50-70kg. I normally start with legs hip width on the machine, doing 15 reps, and then consecutively do another 15 reps with my heels & toes together. 4 sets. 

- Dumbbell lunges. 7kg weights on each arm. (3 sets of 12 each leg)

By this stage I'm feeling a little wobbly so I normally either give the adductor/ adductor a quick burn (inner and outer thigh machine) or else go straight into abs

- 1 min plank 

-50 bicycle crunches

- Pilates 100's

- Straight leg crunches x 20

Repeat x 3. 

There are so many ab exercises that I never do the same ones each time, but those are some examples of my faves. By the next day (day 2 is worse) unless you're superhuman, you should be burning. Big time. 

The good thing about this is, if you don't have a gym membership, you can do 90% of it at home with some dumb bells. I personally lack motivation at home, so getting to the gym and being around fit freaks gets me pumped. Who needs steroids right?

Hope you all are having a wonderful week, I'll be back sooner next time I promise,

Meanwhile, my nipples just found out Oscar has his first tooth the hard way. Yikes. 

Au Revoir!

Gem 

Thought of the day 

Best of both worlds for breaky