Sleep-ins, smiles, sunshine and food – yes those seem to be the recurrent themes of Father’s Day these past few years. For Canberra again gave us an almost Spring-like weather to celebrate the main Man in our lives – and the girls ensured that he was well and truly spoilt throughout the day!
There was breakfast in bed, lots of homemade cards and gifts, followed by a ‘leave pass’ to go and get a massage!
Not to mention our usual Father’s Day Linner which was, of course, given an international theme. This year – it was all things German!
Nibbles to start, served with a rather refreshing “Hugo” cocktail – made with gin, elderflower cordial and prosecco.
Followed by the main event – featuring homemade soft pretzels with garlic butter, mushroom tartlets, schnitzel and a variety of sides – potato salad, kale salad, marinated red cabbage and a cucumber / dill salad.
All together now!
And for dessert? Well why have one dessert when you can have two!
Warm apple strudel straight from the oven(not pictured), along with a chocolate fix in the form of a black forest inspired chocolate ripple cake.
And before we knew it, the afternoon had turned into evening, as we shared a wonderful day with family celebrating the fathers in our lives. Not to mention adding another food “destination” to our annual Father’s Day celebration.
And just because I can’t resist a trip down memory lane…
2012
And finishing with 2019… German themed!
Perfect for breakfast in bed, a lazy morning, and homemade gifts – as we celebrated all things “Dad”.
Followed by a themed linner with all the family – and including a very special guest – our gorgeous new grand niece! 
Inspired by the placemats we picked up when we were in 
We started the afternoon with cocktails and a cheese platter. Followed by spicy shredded chicken (thankyou slow cooker!), brioche buns, a pineapple salsa, rice salad and rainbow slaw.
And what celebration would be complete without dessert? On this occasion it was a mango cheesecake with ANZAC biscuit crust, topped with sliced mango and passionfruit.
Another wonderful day of the “Dads” (with the bonus of spending time with the newest addition to the extended family!).
2018
When we travelled to Fiji 
We did things a little differently this time – having learned a few lessons from our last trip. And if I’m honest, we will probably do a few things differently next time too. Yes – I am 100% sure that we will return to Fiji again maybe the year after next.
This time we stayed at the 
We also booked a Nanny for Maggie for a couple hours each day, and we’d have some time to go for a walk, grab a cocktail, head to the driving range or a combination of all three. Oh and the beachside massage was rather delightful!
I catered most dinners, having found a supermarket nearby. This worked wonderfully for the kids, and saved us a fair bit of money given the restaurant was quite pricey. We did, however, head to a Fijian themed dinner set up on the beach one night that was really special, and we also went out to dinner at Port Denarau (sans kids!) for a seafood feast another night.
A big highlight for us all was a village tour we booked. We travelled down to the Coral Coast, then took a jet boat (!) to a local village for the morning. We were welcomed warmly by the villagers, and after participating in a kava ceremony, were entertained with music and dancing. A scrumptious lunch was provided, and we felt so very lucky to share such a special day while learning about the history of the area and various local traditions. The ladies of the village loved having lots of Maggie cuddles (and she loved the attention!). I had to laugh though, as I had thought I’d booked a river cruise – not a jet boat adventure. The girls took it all in their stride – and Maggie even slept the entire speedy ride home – 360 degree turns and all!
Accommodation
Although it was described as having a full kitchen, our villa only really had a kitchenette. There was one saucepan, one hot plate, no frypan, a microwave and a fridge. This meant that my plans to self cater were somewhat limited – but with a little creativity we managed to keep everyone’s tummies full. We picked up groceries from a local supermarket and freshly baked bread from a nearby bakery, which meant that lunches and snacks, in particular, were easily catered for. It also meant we saved a lot of money (a litre of milk was FJ$9 at the resort – or FJ$2 at the supermarket!!). The market in Nadi was also great for picking up seasonal produce.
The Resort itself was quite different to the Warrick – where we stayed previously. It had great pools – of varying depths which was perfect for the kids. It didn’t offer the nightly entertainment that the Warrick did though (unless you booked into the theme dinner) so the girls definitely missed the evening ritual of lighting the torches and watching the dancing.
But, at the end of the day, it was a gorgeous resort – that was nice and accessible to the airport and a range of other amenities. Location wise – it was fantastic.
I couldn’t resist adding a few cocktails to our recent 
And after being up since the crack of dawn (or before the crack of dawn) the addition of an Espresso Martini to the menu was a welcome one.
And after my first sip – well I was hooked! This is now one of my favourite cocktails – and one that I will be sure to make again.
Delish! And I’ll be back to share our other Easter cocktail later in the week.
Our Easter, this year, was filled with family, food and fun. A perfect combination of time spent with our nearest and dearest, long lazy food-filled days and games for young and old. Yes it ended up being quite celebratory weekend indeed.
My family arrived from Melbourne the day before good Friday, and our house was immediately transformed into the wonderful chaos that having 6 adults, 3 kids and 2 babies under one roof would inevitably bring. The kids, in particular, wasted no time in re-acquainting themselves, spending hours on end jumping on the trampoline and playing ‘cooks’ with our toy kitchen. Our real kitchen, too, got a decent workout – catering for no less than 11 people over the weekend.
Celebrations ‘officially’ began on Good Friday, with our annual seafood lunch at my in-laws. All the usual suspects were on offer – prawns, oysters, calamari and the like. Served alongside a roasted sweet potato salad, and finished with a platter of sweet treats. Canberra turned on beautiful weather for the day (actually for the whole weekend), so we lazed outside in between courses, watching the kids make Easter bonnets and play on the tennis court.
Easter Saturday was spent at Questacon with most of the Canberra population who had not fled to the coast for the weekend, it seems. Then it was back home for the afternoon to enjoy the sunshine outside. More trampolining, water-play, a picnic dinner for the kids, with a little quiet time thrown in too (to recharge the batteries).
After the games, we sat down to a late lunch (linner) – feasting on slow-cooked balsamic beef, roasted carrots, maple sweet potato, roasted potatoes and a broccoli and chickpea salad. Served with cocktails and a local 
We headed to Melbourne to spend Christmas with my family this year, but our celebrations started well before then. For knowing we would be away for Christmas Day, and having my niece back from Vietnam for a short while, we held a Canberra Christmas celebration with my in-laws in early December too.
Up next…Christmas Day, which proved to be one of the most relaxing days I’ve had in a long time. Casual, fuss-free, and just perfect really.
And thus a truly wonderful festive season was had by all. Not only because we had the chance to spend time with our extended families, but also because we had a whole week away with just the five of us! The kids LOVED every second of having their Dad off work – and barely left his side the whole time. Needless to say we returned back to Canberra with lots of happy memories (oh and a few extra kilograms too).
I hope that your day is filled with lots of food, love and laughter. I know that’s certainly our plan!
Father’s Day is becoming quite the event as our girls grow. Homemade presents are in abundance (thanks to School and Daycare), and the girls seem to be at that perfect age and have a wonderful time spoiling their Dad on his special day.
On the menu this year?
Spinach and feta pinwheels to start – that I made the day before and reheated just before serving. Washed down with a pre-lunch cocktail – of course – a Santorini Sunrise.
Made with vodka, peach schnapps, orange juice, pineapple juice and a splash of grenadine.
And for dessert? This rather impressive-looking baklava cheesecake (recipe 
A lovely baked vanilla cheesecake, with a honey / nut crumble and enclosed in filo pastry. Served with a honey cinnamon syrup. YUM!
Adding another country to our list of Father’s Day lunch destinations too!
(36 weeks – round 1, 2, and 3. Not much difference really – except for the bags under my eyes!!)
I’m not all that great at sitting still, though, so being at home has meant that the nesting urge has been in full swing. I finally pulled all our baby things out of storage, washed a bunch of clothes, reorganised my linen cupboard and pantry, tackled the office filing pile, and can’t help but find more things to add to my ‘to do’ list.
It’s been lovely to have some one-on-one time with each of the girls too. Little J and I had a great morning at the playground while her big sister was at school, then it was off to the toy shop – stopping for milk and cookies along the way. I’m not 100% convinced that she really understands what is going on – although her daycare teachers mentioned she told them that the baby is coming soon – so maybe she understands more than I give her credit for…
Overall, this third pregnancy has been…well…different. Not only because of all the physical reasons I’ve already spoken about, but also because of the emotional ones too. Life with active 5 and 2 year olds meant that I had very little time to really think about being pregnant at all. There were still the hours to be billed at work, books to be audited, the never-ending loads of washing to be done and meals to be prepared… yes pre-pregnancy life went on as usual – just with the addition of a basketball belly to contend with when packing up the kids toys at the end of the day! Don’t get me wrong, I am so very grateful to have carried three beautiful babies to full term , I just don’t feel that I have had any pregnancy ‘glow’ this third time round.
And at 38+ weeks, I can safely say that we are more than ready to meet our newest little one!! Now if we could only decide on a name….