Friday bit's'n'bobs

Yes, yes, I am resurrecting my "Friday's" post.
HA, I just had a look-see back at my last Friday's post back in October, oh the shame :( and I was harping on about how I wish we had daylight savings in QLD. Well, now I'm wishing for daylight savings to end pronto for the rest of the country - first world problems and all, but I'm hopeless at remembering to stay off twitter so I don't find out who was eliminated/sent to sudden death on MKR! *Spoiler* it for myself EVERY.TIME.


☀ This week has been a whole lot of study study study for me. I'm feeling like I'm behind which is not a good place to be - I have 3 months to go til Sprout gets here, and I want to feel on top of everything by then. But 3 months is quite a chunk of time as I keep reminding myself! I imagine for the first 4 weeks at least, I'll be spending time with the baby and M before I get back into it again. So it's focus focus focus for me now.

☀ Picked up this dress in 3 colours on Saturday at TEMT for $9.95 each. Run don't walk. Nice knee length and a super comfy material. Perfect for all, and especially as they're super bump friendly!

☀ Super duper happy that footy season has started up again. Round these here parts it's the Swans all the way. It's really not the same living in QLD, AFL isn't really followed up here. Trying to talk baby-daddy into taking me on a baby-moon to Melbourne to catch a game before Sprout comes!

☀ We have had 200mm of rain in the last 24 hours! Bananas! It's feeling quite humid and sticky as well.

☀ I've been feeding my little munchkins a combo of raw food and dog biscuits for quite some time now, and when this article from Adele over at Vegie Head popped up in my feed, I just had to share.

☀ Pulled pork was made and devoured on Tuesday and it was insane, I tell you. One of my absolute FAVOURITE things to cook. I have been having the leftovers quesadilla style-y with some homemade sauerkraut, pickled carrots and cheese. Don't forget the butter on the outside of your flatbread if you attempt this at home kids, it makes it. Fry in pan, flipping over to grill both sides and consume, waiting for no man.
 

☀ I pre-ordered and received Sarah Wilson's I Quit Sugar for Life a few weeks ago. Haven't got around to reading it yet, but it's on my list of things to do. Has anyone read, loved, hated? Tell me all.


This weekend is devoted to baking and studying and sleeping and movie watching. Rainy weather activities for the soul.

TGIF. Enjoy your weekend wherever you are x

Couch Potato and Bebe Purchases

All my big plans for this week got shot to the shithouse when I fell down the back stairs on Sunday night.
I heard my Coco-pops barking at around midnight so I hopped out of bed to see what all the fuss was about (something I'm copping it from everyone about BTW, as if it's not completely normal to be home alone and hear the dogs bark in the middle of the night, and go out to see what's going on?) and, well, one should ensure one slips ones feet into shoes properly before attempting to go down the stairs. One should also aim to plant ones feet on said steps. Just a helpful hint from someone in the know.

So anyway, after my big tumble and the dramatics that ensued which I am sure the neighbours were happy not to miss, I climbed back up those god-awful death traps and back to bed.
After a hysterical phone call to M, who's only advice - after asking if the Sproutster was okay in what can only be described as a frantic half-asleep mumble jumble of words - was to put ice on it, I did just that and tried to get some sleep. Failed attempt my friends.
The next day I went off to the doctors and the short version is that we have a sprain.

So I've been holed up on the couch with nothing but Sex and the City to keep me company - I'm up to the last 2 episodes of season 6 and I'm trying to push out watching them as they're by far my 2 favourite!

I also just watched the Pretty Little Liars season finale... No spoilers here but do I have any fellow PLL watchers? I went off it for a few seasons and somehow got sucked back in. Season finale was good though.

Has anybody read Crazy Rich Asians? I'm thinking it will be a good couch potato book. Any other recommendations for this cripple are happily welcomed!

I've also been doing some Sprout shopping, I ordered the bassinet today. After a lot of deliberation with knowing I didn't want any frilly explosion of baby over-the-topness, and having decided I wanted a Moses basket that was easy to move around to other rooms, we settled on the Snowberry Organic Moses basket from bebelicious.

I actually cannot wait for it to get here so I can set it up in the corner our our bedroom. With 3 whole months to go before it's owner pops out to claim it. It probably won't stay there for the next 3 months, but, yeh'know I get excited about the little things.  
I need to get a life, I know.
And never fear, you will be getting a photo if it in all it's corner glory when it arrives.

I also purchased the Tiny Love 3 in 1 Rocker Napper from PramWarehouse. In red, o'course.

I LOVE that it is not an offensive and off-putting looking thing with cartoons and colours and what-not all over it. They should be banned.

In other news, Kate Winslet named her baby boy Bear Blaze. I don't mind it. Beats Apple.

I think I've rambled on enough. Happy Hump Day!

4 months later.... I'm back!

I'm back! After a 4 month hiatus. I know. I'm embarrassed too.

So, here come the excuses - The first 3 months were spent mostly on either the floor of the bathroom, in bed or on the couch in front of the tv. No, I didn't just turn suddenly super dooper lazy (although I forgive you for jumping to that conclusion!).
In case you haven't read the news via various social media glorious time-wasters - I'm pregnant!
Yes yes, it's true, I have a little Sprout-ster growing in my belly. Quite an active little Sprout too, after the first 15 or so weeks of intense nausea, exhaustion and vomiting, I'm now feeling like my bouncy old self. With lots of belly pokes and prods.

Oh, hello!

12 week front bumper

I'm currently 22 weeks along, and am having loads of fun spending too much money on teensy tiny adorable clothes for the bebe. M and I decided to find out the sex (decided - like there was any way I could have made it to 40 weeks without knowing this bit of info!) but we've chosen to keep it to ourselves, that way it's something we can share together and it's a nice surprise for our family and friends. I'm actually surprised at how easy it has been for me to keep it a secret, I thought for sure I would slip up with a 'he/she' comment *touch wood*.

Excuse no.2 - we've recently moved house. A big week that was, M was away at work for the time of the move. Awful awful. We are now mostly settled, internet is set up, office is organised and back to study I go.

This also means I can start nursery dreaming! I'm really loving the grey/white/yellow theme.. I figure it's nice and neutral for future bebes, and it's not too "baby cotton candy explosion blergh". Y'know.
A lot of effort has gone into this nursery - I think it looks amazing. I can't wait to start on Sprouts room!

In other news, I've started doing pregnancy yoga 3 times a week at Yin Health. If you're a Sunny Coast resident, I highly recommend checking them out. I had myself a post-moving pregnancy massage last week there also, and it was amazing.

21 weeks

Maternity shorts, why would you waste your money. A stretched hairband threaded and looped around your buttons does the trick people.

This blog will most definitely still be focused on food and wellness and day-to-day changes to a more natural way of living, as well as relating to my studies, with a lot (probably!) of pregnancy and baby stuff thrown in!
If you haven't already stumbled across Wellness Mama you should definitely take a look-see now.

Would somebody play with me, please!

I leave you with a picture of my rugrats -  and hope there are still people out there reading!

xx

Farmers Markets

We're lucky enough to live not too far away from Noosa, and after wanting to go for ages, we finally made it to the Sunday markets a couple of months ago. They are AMAZING. This is now a fortnightly tradition for when The Fiancé is home.

Before that I was hitting some imitation Sunday markets... by ''imitation" I mean they weren't registered with the Australian Farmers' Markets Association. Why does this matter, you ask?
Well, dear reader, if they are registered on this nifty little website, they are "commited to the principles of the AFMA Charter and best practice operating standards. Best practice farmers' markets are food markets where the stallholders are the farmers, their families or farm staff. Resellers are not permitted.'' How cool is that?! The sad thing is, I thought that I was supporting the farmers beforehand.

Never mind that, now I know that I am. I mean, isn't this why we're going to the farmers markets in the first place?? Best, freshest produce, straight from the kind sod who grew it for us in the first place. I don't know about you, but I don't rate the "fresh" food in the supermarket. Chemically sprayed, temperature controlled, tasteless and identical looking tomatoes don't rock my jocks off thankyouverymuch.

This is what I find at the Noosa farmers markets. These tomatoes are the business.

Do YOU support local farmers, either at the farmers markets or at your local fruit and veg markets?

Ground Beef Salad

The last 24+ hours haven't been good for me. It was about 10:30am yesterday when I was sitting at my computer and I was overcome with this horrendous pain in my lower abdominal area. After about 20 minutes, the pain seem to localise to just my right side, and began shooting down my right leg. Needless to say, I was no longer sitting at my computer. You could find me huddled into a ball on my living room floor wondering what I'd done in a previous life to deserve this sort of cruel and unusual punishment. This lasted for about an hour and a half. **Dramatics over**. Unfortunately, it really was that bad.

I decided to Google Dr myself (I do not recommend this) and He told me that I had appendicitis. Or a kidney infection. Which could be Very Serious. After some kind words from twitter friends I took my sorry self off to the doctor. After he pronounced my last name wrong, (he added in a Q. And an A.) he then proceeded to grill me as to why I'm not on the pill, is it because I am planning to start a family? etc etc. (I haven't been on the pill for almost 12 months, and choose not to be because I think it is terrible for our bodies, but that's for another day. Nat Kringoudis is worth a look if it's something you're curious about.) THEN, he asked me about my eyes (they're different. We're over it.), a few other personal comments I don't wish to repeat here, and finished off by telling me he "didn't think it was anything serious because I'm 'not sick enough'". After this guy, I now remember why I don't go to the doctors. He told me that he thinks I may have some sort of cyst or blood clot on my ovaries that could burst, or something or other, and recommended an ultrasound, which all sounded very scary.

I pretty much slept the rest of the day yesterday, and woke up at the ungodly hour of 4:30am this morning. There's not as much pain today, however I think I must have/had  bladder/kidney infection of some sort... So I've been eating spoonfuls of coconut oil, warm water with ACV and lemon juice, cranberry tablets and blueberries. I'm already starting to feel better, the pain feels as if it's eased up quite a bit so it's just this awful bloated-ness and exhaustion I'm left with. Fingers crossed another good nights sleep and I'll be right as rain. :)

Onto the salad!

I love this salad. I've been eating it a lot lately, it's a good way for me to pack a lot of vegies in whilst getting dinner ready really quickly. And only using one pan too bonus.
I've also made it quite a few different ways, sometimes with beetroot, pork, apple, sometimes spinach, avocado, fennel.. it's very forgiving.
Also, the serving size might not sound like much but it's actually really filling! If you think you'll need more, feel free to serve it with some brown rice or quinoa, or even some crusty sourdough bread would be nice. Don't forget to save room for dessert. :)

Please note - this picture is only 1 serve!

Ground Beef Salad (serves 2):
☀ 250 grams ground beef
☀ 1 tsp paprika
☀ 2 cloves crushed garlic
☀ vinegar - ACV, red wine or balsamic vinegar

For the salad:
☀ half a punnet of cherry tomatoes, halved
☀ half an avocado
☀ 3 or 4 swiss brown mushrooms, sliced
☀ pre-steamed beetroot
☀ a handful of rocket, spinach or both
☀ a couple of asparagus, sliced at an angle

Method: 

• Heat a tbsp of your preferred fat in a pan on medium heat, and cook your ground beef stirring constantly to break it up. I like to slightly "overcook" mine so it goes nice and crispy. It doesn't at all taste dry because the meat pieces are so small.
• Once your beef has finished cooking, crush in your garlic and your tbsp of paprika with a splash of vinegar - ACV, red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar all work well.
• Remove your beef from the pan and put in a bowl. Heat a little more fat as needed and pop in your mushrooms. Season with S&P. Let them cook until they release their juices and begin to fry, about 5 minutes.
• Toss in your halved tomatoes and beetroot* (if using) let them get warm - about 2 minutes.
• Pop in your beef and the rest of your salad - asparagus, pinenuts, chilli, apple.. anything you like. Add in your greens, turn off the heat, give everything a toss and serve up. 

Extras:
>> * Put your beets in your oven, skin on on 200c for 15-20 minutes. When they're soft to touch, take them out and let them cool. Store in freezer or fridge for a few days. To use, simply quarter, slice, however you like.

Now I'm off to have a warm glass of water and watch some Gossip Girl! Do you think you'll make this salad? :)

What's happening in my vegie garden

❤❤  Warning. This is a pic-heavy post. ❤❤

It's not really a vegie "garden" because almost everything is potted. Actually, everything is. Except some dill that started growing like mad next to the driveway.. from seedlings dropped from the herbs flower that we had in a pot! Coolest.
Very much looking forward to the day when we buy and we can fill the yard with all our homegrown vegies, herbs and fruits! Due to The Fiancés's job, we've moved around a fair bit in the past couple of years. We have almost been here 12 months though (record!) and I think it's pretty safe to say we'll be staying a while. Once you get used to this amazing warmth, the beaches and the sunshine, it's pretty hard to imagine moving somewhere where it's so cold you're not able to go to the beach and lie out in July. True Story. Sorry. :)

Blueberry tree

Mr Mint. Doing so well.

Coupla' strawbs plants. Love me some strawbs.

Le wall of Pots.

Obviously when you don't have the luxury of a yard to plant all your herbs and vegies, you make do. See here, our windowsill of pots! It's the perfect place to put some of our pots, we have a couple of chillis growing, a few parsley, a couple of tomato, some oregano, sage, chives and dill.

These little yellow toms make me all warm and fuzzy.

Said Sage. Mental.

My fig tree. This also gives me warm and fuzzies!

Spinach from seedlings. These guys need a little more TLC.

One of the many Parsley Pots.

Mr Basil. My all time Favourite. I pick them dry though!

Crazy Habaneros. The Fiancé and I are quite chilli mad.

Picked this bad boy up at the markets. Money well spent.

Said Dill taken up residence by the driveway!

 I feel like I don't have nearly enough on the vegie side of things, so I'm working out a way to grow more. Pretty happy with my herb-age though.

What about you? What do you grow? Green thumb? :)

Friday bits'n'bobs

Ah Friday. It was super hot here yesterday until about 4pm when the clouds rolled over and the rain started, it's still cool and cloudy this morning. I love the sun but sometimes it's nice to lie in bed a little longer when it's a bit darker outside. Ya know :)

Friday bits'n'bobs:

☀ This little orchid lost all it's flowers this week. Sad times. I can see little closed buds so hopefully it doesn't take forever to flower again!

☀ I love Sourdough. And I hate that junk Coles and Woolies try to pass off. This article about sourdough and honest bread is a good read.

☀ I've been wanting to check out the pupsters diet and make at least half of their meals for them for a while now. I've been researching on a lot of the methods used, and finally decided on a half raw BARF diet and half pet food. I had a nice long chat with one of the ladies at PetBarn yesterday and she was super helpful on what to do, how much, which kibble she recommended, and also which butchers sell the whole animal (not just meat, bones etc as well) at a ridiculously cheap price. So today I will be making pet food!

☀ If you follow me on Twitter you may have read about the OTH convention in Paris. Wish I had've been there. :(. I miss this show. I've spoken to The Fiancé, and said that we should (finally) begin planning our wedding and have a honeymoon next year. Around October. In Milano.  

☀ Arj Barker baby. Second time seeing his Go Time show last Friday. HA-larious. Tickets aren't expensive, he still has a bit of Australia to tour and his starting act, Aussie Joel Ozborn is a cracker as well. Get on it.

☀ Fennel ice-cream. We broke out our el' cheapo ice-cream machine last weekend to make some coconut cacao goodnees, but I'm super keen to give this a try.

☀ Foods you can grow from kitchen scraps. I've given most of these a go with varying levels of success - mainly due to my lack of watering! I will be trying it again though, watching my little celery, leek and spring onions shoot up in a jar of water on my kitchen bench was pretty thrilling. Need to get a life.

My heart and prayers are with all those affected from these awful bush fires. And children being the ones who started them. What the. I can't even properly comprehend that. 3 dead already. Fingers and toes it ends soon.

Enjoy your weekend all!