What I Did 365 - Day 46

Have I mentioned that I adore Christmas? Tehehe. My weekend was set aside for Christmas crafts and movies at my family's house, like when we were kids. I even slept over on the couch! I had so much fun, and on Saturday I finally made the gingerbread man and his sugary friend from the Falalala Felt book - I've had my eye on them ever since that book arrived in my home! It was fun to just sit back and craft, and watch silly Christmassy movies with my amazing family :)

What I Did 365 - Day 45

Friday night was a much-anticipated me-night! Chris went to flip some burgers at Jump camp for a few hours, so I had a night of taco salad left overs and early-season Gilmore Girls. I used to find it really difficult to do anything without Chris being at home for some reason - I could never inspire myself to find something fun and I'd just sit there procrastinating and counting down the hours till he got home. But these days, while I loooove spending time with him, I also really look forward to these chill nights where I can eat good comfort food and spend my time doing something girly! Me-time is valuable! After Chris got home, we tried these chocolate & vanilla cheesecakes by Gu. Ohmygoodness. Thank you for coming to Australia, Gu. We are in love. As if the dessert wasn't luxurious enough, it comes in the sweetest little glass jar. My new theory is that dessert is best eaten out of a little glass jar. Fun!

What I Did 365 - Day 44

On Thursday my little baby Cupcake turned 2 years old! Unbelievable. It's hard to imagine that when we brought him home as a teeny tiny little 8-week-old, I had a genuine fear that he would be trodden on and squished! I've always said that I wished I could have a dog that remained a puppy forever, and well... that's Cupcake in a nutshell. He's small, he's over-the-top playful, he cries when he's not with us, he falls asleep draped all over us... He can be super annoying, but I love this little guy to bits. I love the way he plays, I love his genuine adoration of our cat Ebony, I love watching him 'playing with his imaginary friend' on the couch, I love that he adores having his arm pits scratched, and I love that he jumps up onto my lap when I invite him up there. Happy birthday little pumpkin face!

What I Did 365 - Day 43

Meet Chester!! Chester is our Christmas tree, and though I *admittedly* had him fully assembled and decorated a couple of weeks ago, I decided to save the occasion of turning on the lights until December. So worth it. Last night (December 1) Chris and I got home from longer than usual days at work. I cooked the easiest meal I could think of - baked chicken in bread rolls - and we spent a night on the couch, watching Despicable Me. (Adorable movie by the way! Loved it!). After the movie, I switched off all the lights in the living room and entry way, and flicked on Chester's pretty lights, and we lay there on the couch, just watching the lights blinking and snuggling with the dogs. It was pretty magical. If you know me at all, you understand that Christmas is my very favourite time of year, ever. EVER. To illustrate, I'm here to admit that I'm disappointed that it's already December because now, in less than a month, Christmas is going to be over...!

What I Did 365 - Day 42

Every day we're getting closer and closer to the very best time of the year! Yay Christmas!! On Tuesday night I finally let my sisters, and also Crazy Hayley (who I used to work with at Mounties) convince me to sign up for the Mounties Christmas Carols Choir. Every year they put on the huuuugest Carols in the Park, and I've been part of it a few times. Tuesday night was the final rehearsal. It was so nice to sit within this huge choir, surrounded by people that I used to serve on the music ministry team with! Of course, sitting beside my outrageously immature sisters for the entire night, my focus did shift every now and then. My song book, as you can see above, was horribly sabotaged! Now what if, on Sunday, I start singing about Silent Cake? Slap on the wrist girls!

What I Did 365 - Day 41

Yummmm. Looking at this picture right now is making me drool! So I love recipes. I love collecting them. I love trying new ones. I love fiddling around with good ones. Did I mention that I love collecting them? A happy couple of hours, to me, is one spent on the Taste website, viewing their extensive recipe collections and hand-picking the most delicious ones for my very fat recipe files! Yep. I'm a food dork. But it's about so much more than just enjoying food. I get excited about the ways that flavours work together, I'm crazy over good texture. I don't want to be a chef, but I would LOVE to go to culinary school, just to learn all there is to know, and absorb myself in mastering the skills that I'm having so much fun with at home. Anywayyyy! Monday night was new recipe time! Chris played a game of indoor soccer and came home completely starving, in that man-ish "I need substantial food!" kinda way. Imagine his reluctance when I admitted that dinner was a vegetarian Pesto Spaghetti with Garlic Breadcrumbs. My man likes his meat. However, we both went nuts over this recipe - it was amazing! The herbiness, and the garlic bread crumbs... just... drool. That's all I can really say! Make it, I double dare you!!

What I Did 365 - Day 40

On Sunday, I visited Mount Pleasant Baptist Church. They were holding a huge music morning, with pretty much everyone in the entire worship team participating, and seeing as Steph was a part of it I felt I should do the sisterly thing and check it out. Right? Standing and singing along in the auditorium, I just got the sense of coming home. Mounties was the first Church I ever attended, and I worked there with the happiest heart for almost four years. I don't think I'm ever going to be able to completely let it go! Being at Paradox is exciting and challenging, and I'm not questioning my place in that community. But Mounties will always be a safe and comfortable family home. I guess it's a little bit like visiting my parents at their house, the house I grew up in. It's always going to be an environment where, no matter how long I've been married and living away in Kwinana, I can slip right in and feel a total sense of belonging.