Category: Everyday life

Everyday life, Food, home, Thoughts

April

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April

A little while ago I signed up to a locally based fresh produce service. It’d been something I’d been considering for a while, but for one reason or another I never made the commitment – What if the box contained something myself or Adam didn’t like? What if Paul went on a toddler induced ‘no fruit or vegetables’ strike? What if I ended up wasting food? In the end though, I decided the pros outweighed the cons and quite a few weeks int my subscription, I’m so glad I decided to take the plunge…

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Everyday life, Food, Life, Local sights, Motherhood, Thoughts, Travel

March

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March

Often, when you move to a new town you spend the first little while visiting local attractions. Then if you end up settling in that community, those trips to landmarks get fewer and farther in between. Eventually it turns into years, and you start to forget why these places were top of your list.

I found myself in that exact situation earlier this month, and when I revisited one famous local spot I was pleasantly surprised at how it had grown and changed…

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Everyday life, Food, Motherhood, Style, Thoughts

February

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February

February. The shortest month of the year. The summer’s end is near and after a particularly sticky few months, I feel ready to wave goodbye to the sun-bleached landscape, the airy cotton dresses and the constant hum of the air-conditioning. This month seems to have hit me at full force. There’ve been some particularly busy days at work, what feels like an uptick in toddler tantrums, and a late summer cold. Add to that, the devastating scenes coming out of Ukraine and the inundation happening on parts of Australia’s east coast, and I feel like I’m somewhat limping towards the end of this month, and season.

But despite that frenetic energy at times, there have also been moments of still and peace – and of new discoveries.

This is what’s caught my eye in February…

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Everyday life, home, Life, Thoughts, Travel

January

by wattleandash4 Comments on January
January

Hello! Here we are, at the end of the first month of the year. January’s a funny one isn’t it? At times, it feels like both the longest and shortest month of year. A mix of long, languid summer days and the chaos that is getting back into the work/school/daycare routine once again.

In 2022 I’ll be doing things a little differently on the blog. I’ve used my break to have a really long think about how I want this space to look, feel and sound, so there’ll be a few changes moving forward…

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Everyday life, Thoughts, Travel

Summer salutations

by wattleandash4 Comments on Summer salutations
Summer salutations

Well, here we are – Christmas is nigh and another year is rapidly drawing to a close. When I first started writing this blog, a little over five (!) years ago I wasn’t really sure what to expect. It started as a way to document life in a new country. Since then a lot of life has happened – marriage, a baby, a global pandemic. It’s been quite the ride and it’s been both cathartic and challenging at times to share that with you…

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Everyday life, Food, home

Shortbread

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Shortbread

For me, December isn’t December without some Christmas baking. Growing up in those weeks leading up to December the 25th there was always a supply of rumballs, white Christmas, and shortbread stored in baking paper lined Tupperware containers in the fridge. As a child I had a particular dislike for dried fruit, so the shortbread was the treat I enjoyed the most and the one I have the fondest memories of.

My grandmother’s shortbread recipe has almost legendary status in my family. I can’t even imagine how many batches she would’ve made over the years. I can remember one December, watching her knead the shortbread mixture together, marvelling at how easy she made all the ingredients come together (then realising later in life she had incredible strength in her arms to be able to do that!)

This is the only shortbread recipe I’ve ever made, and to be honest probably the only one I’ll ever use…

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Everyday life, Food, Thoughts

What’s been making me happy: November

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What’s been making me happy: November

Eleven months of the year down, summer is nigh, yet this last month has felt more autumnal than anything. It’s been a cool and wet spring, and despite Christmas now being just a few weeks away, because of the weather it still feels like we’ve got months to go. Despite that, I’m pretty organised for the festive season but I just don’t feel all that ‘Christmassy’ yet.

This month we’ve also seen COVID vaccination rates climb higher and higher in New South Wales, but the emergence of this new variant in the last few days brings with it a sense of anxiousness about what might be to come.

So all in all, a slightly strange month, but one that’s also brought with it some very lovely moment. This is what’s been making me smile this month…

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Everyday life, Food, home, Thoughts

Something to share: the spring edit

by wattleandash3 Comments on Something to share: the spring edit
Something to share: the spring edit

Despite and wet and frankly quite chilly weekend, we are halfway through spring in the southern hemisphere. The light filled evenings are getting longer, the open toed shoes are back in rotation and I’m generally spending more and more time outside.

Over the last little while a few items have helped ground that sense of a new season, so I thought I’d share with you what’s been helping me get into a spring state of mind…

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Everyday life, Food, Motherhood

Swedish meatballs

by wattleandash2 Comments on Swedish meatballs
Swedish meatballs

I think most people around the world can easily rattle off a couple of meals that are tried and true classics in their family. Dishes that are cooked regularly, consumed by all, and generally well loved and regarded. In our house, that meal is Swedish meatballs. I’ve been making these for many months now and they’ve quickly earned legendary status. We probably eat them every other week, Paul adores them and Adam and I have discovered they go really nicely in a wrap or sandwich the following day too.

If you haven’t got a meatball recipe in your repertoire, I highly recommend giving these ones a whirl…

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