Dry / Detox July

Hey folks how are we all going??

Well, we miraculously managed to survive the week from hell. The bronchitis has dispersed, and left us with nothing but a serious chunk of phlegm & two exhausted babes (and adults). Whilst Blake went off to daycare on Monday, Oscar slept two hours in the morning, and three hours in the afternoon, giving me 5 blissfully serene child free hours. You should have seen the house by the afternoon. It looked like a Mr Muscle ad, gleaming from every surface. For all of three hours that is, before Blake got home and greasy mits were planted everywhere once again. The momentary sense of satisfaction was definitely worth it. 

Somehow it is already hump day, and also July 1st which means only one thing around here. Goodbye bubbly delicious booze, hello h2 mother funking O. Oli and are both jumping on board Dry July this year due to our ever expanding beer bellies that have been sprouting rapidly since May. Our bodies are bloated, we are feeling lethargic & unhealthy, and it is time to detox. Not only will we be quitting alcohol, but we will be attempting to cut the other crap; sugars, French fries (oh French fries, you totally get me), burgers, and everything else that screams heart attack. 

It's going to be a looooong four weeks.

Since returning home from Bali, I have still been exercising regularly, however the motivation for it has definitely plummeted & I am not obsessing over missing a gym session anymore. In saying that, what with all of this healthiness happening this month, I can feel yee ol motivation kicking back into gear so I'm going to run with it (literally) and try to get sweaty at least 5 days a week for this month. Another contributing factor will be a wee gals trip, Aimee Lisa and I have planned for the end of August. As a belated wedding present we are going to Sydney for four days to reunite the tripod, do some sight seeing, and giggle our asses off. I find having something like this to look forward to always makes the monotony of being boring for a couple of months that much easier. 

In other news / pictures;

Spider-Man showed up yesterday and I was totally superhero- struck 

Oh, and we blew out on Saturday night- nothing like celebrating going booze free by getting boozy

We went walking with Tesh & Abbey through glorious Kings Park on Friday and I managed to fob off both the kids 

Fairly sure this guy should request a DNA test

This plus refried pork = Viet heaven 

Oscar loves staying up to watch SATC re runs with Mum, don't we all?

Take me back to Ceningan.

Immediately.

Movie date with popcorn as big as Blakes entire torso 

Egggggggggsalent 

Catch ya!

Gem

Thought of the day "It's 9am and Blake is still snoozing. Just living the dream"

Bronchitis You Bastard

Yesterday, whilst out stocking up on nurofen, bonjella, panadol and coffee, this is how the conversation went with the lady who served me;

"Oh hi, yeah just two baby panadols and a gun please"

"Two baby panadols & some gum? Sorry we don't sell gum here"

It didn't actually, but it's probably best that we don't own a gun at the moment. (I did think twice before making a gun joke, and then I realised I'm not American so surely it can still be taken somewhat lightly)

Both babies are snotty, wheezy, coughing messes. Throw in some molars breaking through for Os, and onset asthma for Blake, and we have ourselves one hell of a shitstorm around here. We've been on lockdown for 48 hours, containing the germs, watching UP on repeat, and slowly going insane. 

Perhaps I should be looking on the bright side- how solid will their immune systems be after this winter though right? Thickest skin out. It's all well & good to think in future tense with high hopes for all of five minutes though, and then current reality comes crashing back down to earth. Reality in the form of a persistent whinging sound, and two tiny humans spluttering right in my face. 

Pre this week, I had thought one really sick baby clinging to you was absolute worst case scenario... Two is a living, wheezing nightmare.

Let's hope these antibiotics work their magic in the next 24 hours or else you may discover me in a ball rocking back and forth in the wardrobe by tomorrow. 

So, that's all the excitement happening around here folks! Don't let me hog it all! Old positive pants is back in town!

Excuse me whilst I get back to being a tree housing two koalas;

9 hours, 9 hours, 9 hours.

Gemma

Thought of the day "Coffee x 3 please"

Week in Pics

Oh hey! Today I thought I would take a short interim from Bali ramblings to sprinkle some current day realities around;

Firstly, my pal Mikaela miraculously split in two, and had the most delicious little boy named Harry James. I keep showing up on her doorstep for cuddles. She is probably (definitely) sick of me. 

Blake & Noz are far too scrumptious 

Heart warming winter food is in full swing around here. Here we have slow roasted lamb leg with kumara mash & steamed veg.

We escaped our four walls (and our faaaarken Sunday seshing neighbours) on Sunday for a picnic and play at the park

Aimee surprised me with these fresh LJ tights for my bday last week, and I am yet to peel them off, so so rad.

This little winter clad morsel is keeping me well & truly on my toes this week, he has gone from wobbly steps to sprinting. Fun.

Freaked the funk out when I watched the GOT finale last night. If Jon Snow isn't witch crafted back to life, then I am done with the emotional roller coaster that is this show.

Oh and I linked my blog up to Instagram today, so if you're on IG take a look. It'll just be my usual ramblings, however I figure if I ever want to take this writing business seriously, I may aswel 'network' right? Throw myself out there & possibly make some connections. Who knows what could happen. The New York Times could snap me up next week for all I know.. Dreams- whatever would I do without you?

Life seemed to so easily kick back into gear upon arriving home. On the one hand, having routine, and normal food, and childproof tables back is brilliant. However, the lack of warmth, nannies, bintangs, and friends is slightly depressing. 

Now, we actually have to figure out what it is we want to do with our lives. Who we want to be, where we want to live etc... All that adult shit that no one can be bothered with. Ugh. With indecisive being our joint middle names, and with infinite possibilities, as per usual we are all over the show.

Life's all like serious and persistent, and we're over here like, still laughing at fart jokes & defiantly refusing to grow up. 

Farts are so funny.

Better scoot, hungry babies tugging at my legs and allllll that jazz.

I'll be back,

Gem 

Thought of the day "it's a brownie baking kind of day"

Part III (the finale)

The scene that lay ahead of us was nothing short of magic;

Our best friends by our sides, our families in front of us. The warm Bali breeze on our skin. The stars twinkling above our giddy heads. The endless flow of cocktails & wine at our fingertips. The glorious, glorious food. With happy heads, hearts, and bellies, it was time for a few speeches;

My father Gary (a man of few words) told a funny tale, followed by a few sentimental words from Olis dad Jimpy. Kathy spoke next & her words about our wee family were heartfelt & most definitely the cause of a few stray tears. The taps really turned on when Nicole took to the spotlight & flooded us with love and kind words. Bless that girl. 

Next up, the best man Jimmy;

I really feel as though this picture sums up his spiel nicely. 

Oli was next & public speaking would have to be about as fun for him as scratching out his own eyeballs. Alas, he took to it like a fish to water & delivered a wonderfully warm speech that I will cherish for a lifetime. I spoke last and had re wrote the entire thing that morning, it was short & sweet, and I only said Fuck once so I felt like it was tame for me. 

Post speeches, we meandered about the magical lands, talking excitably, hugging fiercely;

I'm pretty much out of adjectives now, but it really was utterly incredible. Delightful. Magnificent. 

Before Blake had to hit the hay, the photographer got a couple of snaps of us which I was thrilled with;

And then it was cake time;

This vanilla buttercream & salted caramel delight made a very short appearance, as after the initial slice, everyone was too keen to get down on the D floor rather than have dessert. The tiny taste tester we had was heaven on my lips through. What tastes better than salted caramel with vanilla buttercream I mean CMON!

Boogy time! We somehow ended up having two first dances. Our first one "All of my love" Led Zeppelin, went without a hitch (and without any practise)

Followed by "The way you make me feel" by MJ

Oli laughs as he says he had no idea what to do whilst I flounced about the floor, swinging my frock to and fro. 

Whilst we were all running wild on the dance floor, our legend photographer (I will rave about him until I can rave no more), had unbeknownst to me, set up a selfie station underneath the arch out front. All you had to do was hold a little button and stealthily click to get a snap. 

Needless to say, everyone was well & truly juiced by then, and these pictures state that fact loud and clear;

At some point, I went down to our suite to go to the loo, and ended up swapping dresses with this wee number below, which was Talis and I had never tried it on let alone made any plans to wear it that night. Miraculously, it fit like a glove, was as cosy as a D gown on a winters night, and looked fantastic so it was a win all around. 

(As soon as we got back to Perth I was straight onto surfstitch to purchase my own, they have ridiculously efficient service by the way. The dress arrived less than 24 hours later- unheard of!)

The rest of the night was nothing but non stop dance floor shenanigans, plenty of "shit I love you SO much let's hang out more often" floating about, and a whole heap of smooching that handsome husband of mine. 

Reflecting on it now, digging up all of the feelings that were felt that day, leaves me pinching myself about how perfect the whole ordeal really was. Everything went like clockwork, everything looked incredible, everyone showed up, and everyone had a phenomenal time. Success! 

The days following the wedding were also totally dreamy (steamy), so I shall cover our honeymooning antics on another post shortly.

Meanwhile, its a rainy Saturday morning and we are out of coffee, this is madness. Absolute madness. Something must be done immediately.

Happy weekending friends,

Gem

Thought of the day "I feel a Californication marathon coming on today"

Part ll

Ok now where were we,

Ah yes, the moment of truth. 

As we all huddled at the bottom of the stairs, giggling and shhhh'ing, the sounds of the guests up top started to dwindle down until quite startlingly, there was silence. "Here comes the sun" by Yuna started to play, and I was hit with an intense wave of emotion. The eyeballs brimmed with tears and the heart hammered in my chest. We chose this song so many months ago, and we had heard it hundreds of times, yet in that moment, I had never been more moved by music in my life. As the girls slowly filed out, suddenly all that was left was Dad, Mum and I. 

As we ascended the stairs, my sandals got caught up in my dress, so our entrance wasn't all that smooth... However, nothing mattered as soon as I locked eyes with Oli. A smile spread across his face, which quickly spread to mine, and from that moment on, for the rest of the day, you would not have caught me without the biggest, cheesiest, gummiest grin.

Our celebrant Marilyn read out the poem & song (Thank You - Led Zepp) we had chosen, all the while Oli and I held each other's trembling hands and sniggered like school kids. 

It's difficult to put into words exactly how it feels to stand up there. It felt like forever and it felt like no time at all, it felt surreal yet I had never felt more alive, it felt spectacular and it felt terrifying. It felt beautiful. Oli and I each wrote our own vows, he read his, and I read mine, Jimmy handed over the rings, and before we knew it, it was time for a big old smooch. 

We had pre organised a three second smooch rule but we most definitely broke that, I even went in for a sneaky second, lippy and all. 

After being declared man & wife, and signing our lives away, Bob Marley sang "Could you be loved" & we headed straight over for some drinks & mingling.

The first thing I did was ask Lisa to take my shoes off, and I rocked bare feet for the rest of the night- the grass felt so friggen good on my hooves. 

The sun had begun to set (thank goodness as there were trickles of sweat beading down my back), and the lighting was perfect for photos, so after gulping down a couple of deliciously refreshing watermelon martinis, the photographers called upon the bridal party. Yet again, choosing just a few is a pain stakingly rough job, but here are some of our top pics;

From left to right; Andy, Aimee, Jimmy, Kate, Oli & I, Jared, Amanda, Sterling & Nicole 

This brick wall was insanely cool

(The photos still continue to blow me away each time I see them, I cannot recommend Rambo Estrada enough!)

Rambo yelled "CUT" (he didn't really), and Oli and I were due back at the Villa to partaaaaay. It wasn't until we got back, that I had a moment to take in just how stunning our venue looked. Here's some snaps of the decor;

The teepees were an idea I threw at Libby (our wedding planner) months ago and never really thought it would work out due to space, but 'Ta Da', these lace numbers were so whimsical and dreamy. Not to mention the dream catchers! Hand made in Bali by an old guru, one is being sent to us as we speak (!!!)

 The reception lighting was also just as dreamy

There were so many tiny bits and pieces that gave the day the bohemian feel that we wanted

It was 6pm and the sun had officially disappeared. Before dinner commenced I grabbed Tali and we snuck off to our suite for a quick touch up / catch up which involved a lot of this;

There were no glasses around ok?

Someone must have heard my tummy grumbling, as in our suite was a tray of the canapés we had missed out on whilst getting photos, so there I was scoffing tempura prawns and crispy calamari, washing it all down with champagne straight from the bottle. Happiness bubbled inside me alongside the champas, it was my version of heaven.

It was time to be welcomed in as Mr and Mrs Tabak. (That morning, whilst getting our nails done, Aimee and I chose "walking on sunshine" as our reception entrance song, nothing like last minute right?)

And we literally danced right on in..

To be continued..

P.s I really don't know why my fonts flicker from bold to plain, it really f#%ks me off, particularly because I can't fix it.