dinner twist

A few months ago a friend of mine told me about 'Dinner Twist'. It's a weekly box delivery that provides four delicious recipes and all the ingredients that you need to cook those four recipes. I really liked the idea because thinking of what to make for dinner every night (night after night after night) was driving me absolutely bonkers! 

The number of times I found myself leafing through cookbooks with nothing jumping out at me or standing in the supermarket with two cranky kids at 4.30pm thinking "Umm..." was getting ridiculous. The monotony of having to think about what to cook every night was also sucking away my passion for cooking.. So I decided to give dinner twist a go.

I'll be honest, when I first mentioned to Tom that I wanted to try dinner twist he though it was a silly idea. He said "we have so many cookbooks (we do.. more than anyone I know actually.. they are my weakness) .. why don't you just choose 4 recipes and order the groceries online and it will be exactly like getting dinner twist but much cheaper". He had a point, but I really wanted to try it. I also really liked the fact that it was run by a local couple who lived in the next suburb.. I love it when people have an awesome idea and then actually do it. (As opposed to people like me who have lots of ideas but never do anything about it). I think it's great to support small, local businesses.

When the first box arrived I was so impressed with the quality of the produce. The bread was from a local artisan bakery, the quinoa was from the local wholefood shop, the meat from a local butcher.. Everything was fresh, local and looked delicious. 

The recipes were easy to make, healthy and unbelievably yummy! But best of all, they were interesting meals that (often) I hadn't cooked before.. I was hooked!

We have been getting dinner twist for the last few months now and I am not joking when I say that Tom has often come home exclaiming "Dinner twist is the best thing ever!".  It's hard to believe that the simple act of having someone plan your dinners for the week and then drop off all the ingredients you need could make such a huge difference, but it has honestly changed my life.

My cooking skills have improved ten fold, we eat much healthier and far more interesting food (even though I always thought we ate quite well before), we waste far less food because we only get what we need delivered and most importantly.. I don't have to think about what to cook for dinner anymore! 

The recipes never take more than 1/2 an hour to cook and we always have enough left-over for lunch the next day. It's awesome!

Dinner twist provide two types of boxes: the family box and the foodie box. We get the foodie box as we like trying new and interesting dishes and so far my kids have been happy to eat almost everything I have made. (The jerusalem artichoke soup was possibly the best thing I have ever eaten in my life!)

At the moment dinner twist is only available in Perth.. so if you live in Perth.. Click here! You will be so glad you did!

(This post was not sponsored at all.. just something that I absolutely love and wanted to share!)

down on the farm

Every second weekend or so we like to head up to the farm where Tom's parents live. Only it's not really a farm.. there are grape vines at the front of the property and horse paddocks at the back but saying "we are just heading up to the vineyard darh-ling" always sounded a bit hoity-toity so we just call it 'the farm'.

The farm is in the swan valley, about 45 minutes from Perth. Tom's parents (well, mum and step-dad) moved up here about 6 years ago when the sold their house in the city and were looking for a more relaxed way of life. We feel so lucky that we have this little get away so close to us.. we drive for less than an hour yet once we get there we feel like we are a million miles away from the city.

Tom's mum has the most amazing veggie patch. Her veggie patch alone could take up a whole post!
There are 4 horses on the property (at one point they had 12!) including a little two week old foal. We collect eggs from the chickens, which is always lots of fun for Sophie and her cousin Ella as the chooks are allowed to wonder around the farm during the day so they always lay their eggs in strange places (this time on a bale of hay in the stables). We make lunch from the food harvested from the garden.. potatoes, lettuce, broad beans, beetroot, corn.. whatever is ready to eat!

Sometimes when I'm having one of those horrible evenings -when two kids are screaming and the house is a mess and you're trying to cook dinner and the washing machine decides to explode all over the floor when I think 'I wish Tom's mum lived around the corner!' but then we drive up to the farm on the weekend and I am so glad they live out here and we get to visit.

Are you lucky enough to have a home away from home?

Little ones..

My friend Ani took some gorgeous photos of Henry, Sophie and me a few weeks ago. They turned out beautifully don't you think?

If you are looking for an amazing photographer in Perth you can find Ani's website here.

x

Date night and news

-Well, baby boy has still not arrived.. We can't believe it! I never, ever thought I would make it to 38 weeks.. Even my obstetrician can't believe it! But any day now I guess.

-We are all moved into our new house. We are surrounded by boxes and piles and piles of stuff in every room, but we are slowly getting through the boxes and having lots of fun setting up house.
(It's actually quite good that baby boy is taking his time because every extra day gives us a little more time to set up the house).

-Moving house at 38 weeks pregnant is hard work but at least I am allowed to be up on my feet now.

-Tom and I went on a date last week. It was the first time we had been out at night together for more than a year! We went to see the ACO perform Beethoven's 'Ode to joy', which I thought was an appropriate outing for two people who have so much to celebrate at the moment.

-We have no internet connected at the new house which is why I have been off line for the last week or so, but of course I will update you all as soon as baby boy decides to make an appearance!

This is Perth. In Winter.

Can you believe that we have been to the beach the last 2 weekends.. Sophie even went swimming.
It's supposed to be Winter!

P.s Still waiting patiently for baby to arrive!

Our new home!

Less than a week after this house turned out to be a dud, another beautiful house popped up just around the corner. We went to inspect it on Monday night with Tom's dad, mum and step-dad. We put an offer in on Tuesday and yesterday found out that the owners had accepted our offer!!

I can't believe it.. This is the first house we have ever bought and the first time we had ever put an offer in. Lots of our friends had warned us that finding the right home takes months or even years of putting in offers and being knocked back.. So we were so incredibly happy (and a little in shock) to find out that our offer had been accepted and the house is (almost) ours!

I've been told that I can't celebrate just yet.. Our offer has been accepted and we have put a deposit down but until the conditions of the offer have been met and settlement occurs I can't technically call it ours, but I think that we can still pop open a little champagne (or orange juice in my case!)

I can't even begin to tell you how much of a dream come true this house is.. I never in my wildest dreams imagined that I would ever live in a house like this, let alone own it! I was lying in bed last night looking through the pictures of our new place (I'll post some more photos soon) and as I was lying there I could feel our little baby boy kicking in my tummy..

For the first time in a very, very long time I finally feel like life is going our way.. things are falling into place and all the stress and heartbreak of the last few years is finally starting to fade.

12 months ago we were living out of a suitcase at Tom's parents place, had just moved to a city where I didn't know a single person, were still in shock over the death of our baby girl, didn't have a cent to our names (in fact, we were in debt) and the only thing that I could think about was why I was not falling pregnant again and how I desperately longed for a little baby..

To be sitting (well, lying) here now, 28 weeks pregnant, which is over the risky stage and so close to having a healthy little baby in my arms and having just had our offer accepted on our dream house is an incredible feeling. I can't even begin to tell you how good it feels.

We may still be living with Tom's parents but it has allowed us to save up for this house and have help around while I have been on bed rest.. and it will all be so worth it.. In just a few months time we will be sitting in our new home with our darling little baby boy safely in my arms and our gorgeous little girl running around in a garden that is bigger than most of the apartments we have ever lived in!!

We are so, so close..

Looks can be deceiving..

I have spent the last few days imagining my days spent here, on the veranda of our new house that overlooks the park across the street and the local kindergarten.. but it's not going to be I'm afraid.

An inspection of the property with Tom's dad (who has spent the last 30 years restoring old weatherboard houses) revealed that while the house certainly looks pretty, the current owners have done a really cheap and crummy job of renovating the property. They have obviously renovated to try and sell for a premium price but it has been done with no love or thought whatsoever.

The worst thing is that the entire house has been covered with fake plastic weatherboard and the old weatherboard underneath was just left raw and untreated. While it certainly looked pretty on the outside and provided a quick and cheap fix, it means that eventually that old weatherboard underneath will start to rot and we will be in for a huge bill to replace it in 5 years time.

This was just one of a very long list of things that had been done in a quick cover-up kind of way and would have caused us a lot of time and money to fix down the track. It is obviously really disappointing as it would have been the most perfect home for us (4 bedrooms, huge new kitchen, wooden floors, lots of light, a fireplace that worked, a studio out the back and across the road from the local school and a park.. Agh!) But at the end of the day we don't want to pay a premium price for a dodgy renovation that we will have to fix ourselves over the next few years.

I'm a little sad as I had spent the last few days imagining how every piece of our furniture will fit into the new house and all the things I could do to turn it onto a home, but I am confident that something else will pop up and that it will be even more perfect and hopefully, done with a little more love.

So the search goes on... but you know what? That's okay.
Sometimes I think that we will be so happy once we have this little baby that it won't matter where we live.. we could live in a cardboard box and we would be content just because our little boy arrived into the world safely. If we do happen to find the perfect house as well? Well, I think I will feel like the luckiest girl in the world!

Dream house

When we lived in Sydney the idea of buying a house was a fantasy.. one that we thought might become possible in 10 years time when I was back at work and Tom's salary had doubled (wishful thinking), but like many of our friends, Tom and I had accepted that buying a house was not an option for us and resigned ourselves to be (apartment) renters for the foreseeable future.

When we moved to Perth early last year we planed to stay with Tom's dad (in the most gorgeous house that Tom had grown up in- see here) for a few weeks while we looked for somewhere to rent. After a couple of weeks looking around it became clear to us that the amount we would be paying in rent would be pretty close to having a mortgage. We spoke to the bank and realised that a small mortgage was not out of our reach at all.

The only problem was that we didn't have a deposit saved, so we decided we would stay with Tom's dad for 6 months while we put away as much money as we possibly could. (Luckily, it's a seven bedroom house so there was plenty of room for us to settle in).

It was only a few months later that we found out that the next time I fell pregnant I would have to be on full bed rest. We had only just lost Grace shortly before moving to Perth and were already desperately trying to fall pregnant again. We decided that we would stay with Tom's dad (and Tom's little sister) until I fell pregnant and while I was on bed rest as we would need SO much help once I was sentenced to 6 months in bed!

The plan would work out quite well as we would spent the whole time saving a deposit and by the time I was due to give birth we would be more than ready to buy our first home. Living with Tom's dad was easy.. we get on really well and he lives in the most beautiful suburb with the local primary school across the road and a beautiful lake about 50m from the front door (the same primary school that Tom went to as a kid and the same park that Tom played in as a child). Because Tom had grown up in the same house he felt right at home, I made lots of friends in the local area and Sophie thought that going to the same school that her dad went to was the best thing ever.

What we did not plan on is the fact that 12 months later I would still be TRYING to fall pregnant. (and that our lives were literally 'on hold' until I did).

Of course, as you all know, I finally did fall pregnant and here I am 4 months through bed rest.
It means that we will have been living with Tom's dad for almost 2 years by the time we move out. (So much for a few weeks!!)

There are days when I long for our own house, our own space and to finally have all our stuff out of storage but I am lucky that I get on with Tom's parents so well and that we have had the opportunity to save some money and live with family while I am on bed rest (and require so much help). In a funny kind of way it worked out quite well. (Well, hopefully it will when, at the end of this year, we have a beautiful little baby boy and are settled in our own home.. I feel like Tom and I won't know ourselves anymore.. it will be like all the stress of the past few years will be lifted off our shoulders).

Yesterday, our dream house popped up in the suburb we have been looking at and at the right price. It's opposite a park, 5 minutes walk from the local primary school with wooden floor boards and lots of light. Plus there is a little studio out the back.. perfect for fulfilling my ultimate fantasy.. a sewing room! (See above.. isn't she pretty?!)

I called the bank straight away. Tom is telling me not to get my hopes up to high as it is the first  house we have seriously considered and to be honest, the timing is not quite right (it would have to sit there empty until I have this baby) but...

It's pretty exciting none the less. For someone who has never lived in a house that was 'my own' (my parents could never afford to buy and we moved about 10 times in 15 years because we were in government housing) it's so exciting to be so close to finally living in a place that I can really call 'home'.

Feelin' hot hot hot

Oh, it's about 42 degrees in Perth right now. Apparently it's the hottest week on record in over 50 years.. and it is killing me! I like hot weather, I really do.. but this? This is unbearable. It is actually to hot to leave the house!

Last night we headed down to the river to watch the Australia Day fireworks. A huge storm came over the city and everyone just sat there in the rain.. getting some relief from the heat of the last few days.

Mother nature decided to out-do the fireworks display by putting on the most amazing lightning storm at the same time. I couldn't get a decent picture on my phone, but I found this one. It was pretty amazing.

The year that was.

Thank god the year is almost at an end! It has been the worst year of my life, I mean, how could it not be? I began the year by giving birth to a dead baby.

I am so sick of the pain that surrounds my life every single day. I would do anything in the world to have someone erase the memory of Grace from my mind. I know (hope) that one day her memory will bring me comfort that at least I got to carry her for those precious 6 months and at lease I got to hold her after she was born and tell her how much she was loved. But, at the moment (still only 11 months since her death) her memory haunts me every single day of my life.

I can't go anywhere without imaganing myself with 2 little girls. I imagine how old Grace would be and what she would be doing. At Christmas, I imagined the joy that she would have brought the whole family, some meeting Grace for the first time.
At the park, I'll see a mum with 2 little girls.. one Sophie's age and one a few months old and I think 'that should be me'. But it's not because my little baby is dead.

I get asked almost every day "Is Sophie your only child" and I hate the answer, whatever way I choose to respond (The truthful way or the socially polite way). All the mothers in my mothers group or playgroup with kids that are the same age as Sophie have all had baby number two and most have even had baby number three. It kills me. It kills me every day.

I still wonder why this had to happen to us. I sometimes imagine the alternative universe where Grace is alive and how happy I am. And then I sometimes wonder if I will ever be truly happy again. Grief is like a blanket that has been pulled over the entire world.. There are lots of wonderful things but they are all a little less bright than before.

On top of the unbearable pain of grief, the anger, frustration and sheer heartbreak that I feel after almost a year of negative pregnancy tests is really starting to get me down. I know that another baby will never replace Grace, but really, the only thing I want in the world is to have another baby. I have watched almost every single friend I have either fall pregnant or give birth this year. Of course, I am happy for them but it hurts soo much. I just think "why not me?" And I am soo sick of Tom telling me that it will be my turn soon.

I did a pregnancy test this morning. I had a really good feeling about it. I thought it would be so nice to end the year with the best news ever, but it was negative (again) and now I just want to go to bed and hope that this year ends.. quickly.

_________________________________________________

It's funny though, because it's also been a good year (if you take away the grief and frustration). Moving to Perth has been wonderful for us and I am really glad we decided to make the move. I have made soo many wonderful friends in Perth who have all put up with my whinging about not falling pregnant (even when most of them are pregnant themselves), I have loved being close to Tom's family who are all so wonderful and supportive and I really feel at home here.

Sophie has made so many lovely friends, we found an excellent montessori school where she has just thrived and she just loves being close to all her grand-parents and aunties. Tom loves his new job here and has remained the eternal optimist throughout everything.

I guess that I do still have quite a bit to be grateful for. So, after that little rant.. I hope that you all have a wonderful 2012. Thanks for all your support over the last year, especially all your kind words and encouragement. I am really, really looking forward to a new year..

Night everyone x



P.s Tea definitely tastes better in a Kate Spade tea cup

The weekend that was..

Life is so busy at the moment, but in a good way! Can you believe that is it less than a week till Christmas? Crazy!

We had a lovely weekend.. We celebrated Tom's dad's 67th birthday with a big family breakfast and pavlova later that night, We went for a swim at the beach and tried to teach Sophie how to surf, We went up to the farm, We went out to Sushi train (Sophie's favourite), We did some Christmas shopping, We had lovely Christmas pies from this bakery (Tom's little sister flew in from Melbourne and had picked them up on the way to the airport), I spent a few hours curled up with the latest issue of Frankie and a peppermint tea, Tom and I went to the Moonlight Cinema and drank Champagne together under the stars*, We ate more pavlova and then (all of a sudden) it was Sunday night.

*It sounds like it was very romantic, but I should note here that I complained about all the people spraying insect repellent on every inch of their body and how it was toxic and I could not breath and it was stinging my eyes, and could we move somewhere else and Tom told me that I have the ability to find something negative in every single situation. We still cuddled under the blanket though.

Patchwork tutu

There is the loveliest little fabric shop just a few minutes walk from our house. The girl who owns the shop is called Sophie too and (my) Sophie loves going there almost as much as I do.
A few months ago, Sophie (the owner of the store) showed me how to make this kids skirt made out of scrap fabric pieces and tulle. She does private lessons in the store and I had the loveliest time there, drinking tea and learning how to make this skirt.

It's almost here..

Summer, that is.



One of my favourite things about Perth is that the sun sets over the ocean.
It's such a novelty for someone who grew up on the east coast.

Matilda Bay

These photos were taken a month or so ago, when we spent a lovely Sunday at Matilda Bay.
Can you believe this is Perth in Winter?!

(P.s We can't go anywhere these days without that scooter!)

Craft night

One of my friends emailed me the other day and asked if I have been doing any sewing in Perth.. Have I ever?!

For the first time in my life I actually have my own sewing room and I have been getting my craft on! (In Sydney I always worked from the dining room table because we lived in such little places and having my own sewing room was a fantasy.)

I have been doing soo much sewing and I even got an overlocker for mothers day a few months ago! (Thanks Tom Sophie!)

But the best thing of all is that one of Tom's friends from high school invited me to join her craft night when I arrived in Perth, so every Tuesday night I catch up with a bunch of really cool and crafty mums and we spend the night drinking tea, eating yummy treats and sewing! It is Awesome with a capital A!

Home. For now.

When we moved to Perth we thought that we would stay with Tom's dad for a few weeks while we looked for somewhere to live.
We very quickly realised that for the first time in our lives, buying a house was actually an option for us.
We decided to stay with Tom's dad for about 6 months while we saved a deposit for a house.

Luckily, it's a 7 bedroom house! (Six bedrooms inside and a self contained granny-flat out the back).
It is basically my dream house.. Tom's parents bought it as a little 2 bedroom cottage when Tom was just a baby. The house has grown with the family and Tom's dad did all the renovations himself.

Since finding out that I will need to be on full time bed-rest the next time I fall pregnant, we have decided to settle in here for good as I will need as much help as I can get once I am pregnant! That's of course if Tom's dad can put up with us that long!

Tom's little sister Georgia (Hi Georgie!! Xx) lives out the back in the granny flat and we have the whole upstairs level to ourselves. Sophie loves waking up in the morning and running downstairs for tea and porridge with grandpa..
I love it here.

Wine and Horses

One of the nicest things about living in Perth is that every weekend we head up to Tom's mum's place in the Swan Valley, about 40 minutes drive from the city.



A few years ago, Tom's mum and step-dad bought half a vineyard and because Tom's little sister rides horses, they built a huge stable block and there are 12 horses on the property. They also built a little 2 bedroom cottage that overlooks the vines on one side and the horse stables on the other..
We usually head up every weekend and stay for a night or two. It's SO lovely..



Sophie wakes up early in the morning and hops in the tractor to feed all the horses with her Granny, then collects fresh eggs from the chickens for breakfast.



There are so many reasons why moving to Perth feels like the best decision we ever made.. and coming up here certainly is one of them!

Perth.

So it's been 6 weeks since we moved to Perth and I can definitely say that we made the right decision in moving.. Perth is awesome!
I. Love. It.

Road Trip

Well, we made it!

10 days and 4800km later...