OUR ESCAPE

We hit the road last week for a teen free, three day getaway. Our first for 2015. I had no idea initially. Hubby organised the trip for us to celebrate our wedding anniversary. Once I found out though, I was raring to go. Bags packed and house and teens whipped into shape in record time.

We were not going very far, which was just fine with me because NO teens !

It's been a little while between getaways for us, and I was so ready to jump in the car, and head on up into the glorious Mackay highlands. Eungella national Park.
The perfect place to unwind, relax, to leave the everyday behind, and celebrate twenty one years of marriage.

Our cabin was the perfect escape. A beautiful view as far as the eye could see, no where to be and no one to bother us. The silence was breath taking.

The sun rise was spectacular. The perfect start to the day.

The cabin was just the cutest.

The cooler weather was welcomed with open arms

We had our anniversary dinner at this charming little place called Possums Table

The food was delicious and the service was wonderful. We couldn't have asked for more.

We had a fabulous time celebrating twenty one years of marriage.

Our next trip will be a HUGE one, we are currently in the throws of planning our first overseas trip. Its something we have been dreaming of for a long time now, and it looks as though this time it may just happen.

Linking up with Jess of Essentially Jess for this weeks IBOT

beck xx

MONDAY MUNCHIES - Banana Muffins

BANANA MUFFINS

I have a freezer full of over ripe bananas. We seem to have fads with this fruit, eating enormous amounts of them one minute, and leaving them to 'go bad' the next. At least there are multiple uses for bananas before and after they over ripen.

Our favourite go to is banana muffins. Great for a snack and perfect for the lunch box.

INGREDIENTS

*3 large bananas mashed
*1 cup of sugar
*1 egg
*2 tbs butter
*2 cups self raising flour
*2 tbs milk

Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Grease muffin tin.
Beat eggs and banana together, then add all other ingredients until thoroughly mixed.
Spoon mixture into prepared muffin tin and bake for approximately 20 minutes until cooked and golden.

A really simple but delicious recipe that gets made on a regular basis around here.
I hope you enjoy.

beck xx

MONDAY MUNCHIES - Corn Fritters

CORN FRITTERS

Sometimes I get board of plain old meat and three veg. Most weekends I try to cook things a little more exciting, but choose things that don't take too long to prepare.
Fritters are my go to side when it's the end of the month before payday, and the fridge is almost bare. I love them and also enjoy them cold right from the fridge. They are also a hit with the teens.

INGREDIENTS

*1 1/2 cups of self raising flour
*1 cup of milk
*2 eggs
*2 cups of frozen corn kernels
*1/2 tsp of chilli powder (optional)
*Salt and pepper to taste
*Olive oil for shallow frying

Sift flour into a large bowel, seasoning with salt, pepper and chilli powder.
In a jug, whisk the milk and eggs together until combined.
Pour over flour and stir until smooth.
Add the corn and stir well to combine.

Add enough oil to cover the bottom of a non stick frying pan. Heat over medium heat until hot.
Using 1/4 cup of mixture per fritter, gently pour the mixture into the oil and cook for about three minutes on each side until golden and firm to touch.

Serve as a side dish or on their own with a relish sauce or tzatziki dip.
Enjoy

beck xx

THIS WEEKS WRAP

A lot has gone on around here this week. Last weekend hubby and I went off to check out 'Hello World's' travel expo as we are planning our very first overseas trip. Seeing that we are both now in our forties, and this week celebrating our twenty first wedding anniversary. we finally decided that the time has finally come for us to treat ourselves. Where we will end up, who knows ? but I am full of excitement for our impending trip.

I read Still Alice this week. This book conjured up so many emotions. Lisa Genova's book is about a young woman of fifty being diagnosed with early on set Alzheimer's disease. As Alice looses her ability to remember things, and to rely on herself, she starts to question who she really is. 

Still Alice is a book that takes you on a journey from the early stage of Alice's diagnoses through to how her family copes with what is happening to their beloved family member. I am so looking forward to watching Julianne Moore's Grammy winning performance in the movie very soon.

HOLY COW I won a prize....

I was beyond excited to find out that I was the winner of this gorgeous planter box from Down That Little Lanes Instagram competition. I cant wait to go to the nursery this week and pick out some beautiful herbs to plant. 

How sweet is it ! It made up for the fact that this week it was just me and the kids at home as hubby had to work away. I do hate it when he is gone, but this year I am doing my best to accept that it is apart of his job again and there is little I can do about it. 

I am going away for a few days this week, where I am going I have no idea. Its a surprise. Hubby has organised a short getaway for us for our wedding anniversary, and I cant wait to spend a few days with nothing to do but relax.

I hope everyone else had a great last week of Summer, and is ready to welcome some cooler weather into their days. I am envious of you if you live somewhere that experiences all of the seasons, please take lots of Autumn pics so I can pretend I am there with you.

beck xx

GOODBYE SUMMER

Goodbye Summer.....

Its that time of year again, the change of season. Cooler mornings, and the changing colour of leaves. Ahhh I can see it now. Can almost taste it.
However where we live, it doesn't really happen that way. We seem to only get two seasons. Summer and Spring, with a few rare cold days to separate the two.

I can't deny that we live in a beautiful part of the world. For those who don't know, my family and I live on the edge of the beautiful Whitsunday Coast of Queensland. Fifteen years on and I'm still pinching myself. Fifteen years on and I have to admit that I am beginning to miss the cooler weather of Autumn and the beauty it brings to the world. I want to wear jackets and kick the fallen leaves and enjoy hot chocolate without dying of heat exhaustion, from a drink no less. I think I am almost ready for a change.

I struggled this Summer. Boy did I struggle. For the first time ever, I found it hard to cope with the extreme humidity that has swept over our part of the world. Normally summer is my season through and through. And I rock it like no body's business. After all the Queensland climate is absolute perfection. Beautiful one day, perfect the next. Or so its said anyway. Except for this year!

This year it has been even longer then usual, its been extremely hot and humid, and the wet season seems to have given us a miss this year. Did I say it's been long ?
The grass is dead, and my beautiful flower garden is looking bare and broken. I miss my flowers. I miss the beauty.

I know that we wont be changing locations any time soon, so for now I will just have to make do. So as we bid farewell to another summer, I hope that those of you who live in another climate share many pictures with me so that I can dream a little dream of someday.

beck xx

WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND

As mothers we have all said and done things that we swore we would never do. Things that make us cringe, make us shake our heads and ask why, and things that remind us of our mothers EEK !

I never set out deliberately (like many of you I'm sure)  to be a 'mini me' of my mother. I was going to be different, I was going to raise my kids my way. I was determined to be me and not exactly like her.

I tried hard, really I did, but parenting and mum vocabulary is something learned. And who was my closest role model ?
My mother.

I constantly catch myself speaking to my kids just the way my mum use to speak to me, and no matter how hard I have tried over the years, those "mum sayings" just keep flying from my mouth. I have quite a few of those sayings on high rotation. A cliche repertoire that I swore I would never say, but have murmured a million times over.

***

"I would never have gotten away with that at your age" besides the fact that I can barely remember being their age (slight exaggeration there) it is probably true to form. I didn't get away with much.

"Your all good, there is nothing wrong with you" this one comes out of my mouth quite regularly. I am often tell the boys that if there is no blood or broken bones they are all good. #meanmum

"I will take you home" totally a bluff if ever I heard one. Usually I utter these words when I am on route to the grocery store or somewhere important to me.....

"Because I said so" usually spoken when I cant think of anything else intelligent to say.

"All I am to you is a maid" my regular weekend phrase. I go to bed before my teens most Friday and Saturday nights, and no matter how many times I ask them to clean up before they go to bed, I ALWAYS wake up to a pig sty.

"Text me when you get there please" I admit this was not one that my mother said to me. Mobile phones were not around when I was a teen (showing my age there) but the safety of my boys is important to me.

"Is your room clean or mum clean?" I get a whole lot of eye rolling and muuuuum thrown my way when I utter this one. Not mum clean ? then get your butt back in the room and start again.

"Are you going out like that ?" why do teens think it acceptable to leave the house without shoes, their shirt full of holes and pants that have seen better days ?

"I don't care who started it, you finish it" arguing teens are often more of a headache then a crying toddler. Nobody is in the wrong, nobody wants to apologize and frankly I don't care who started it as long as someone finishes it.

"If it were a snake it would have bitten you" this one also applies to the husband. They would rather call for my help then use their hands as well as their eyes to find something.

***

Isn't parenting fun *insert sarcastic laugh here a constant roller coaster that never slows down. 

It's only now that my boys are getting older and I am sounding more like a broken record then ever that I understand why my mother use to loose her patience with me. 

I guess that old saying what goes around comes around has some truth to it after all.....

Linking up with Jess from Essentially Jess for another round of IBOT

beck xx

MONDAY MUNCHIES - Veggie Mince Puffs

VEGGIE MINCE PUFFS
a meal on their own 

I don't know about you, but when the weekend rolls around I am after meals that are quick to throw together and don't require much cleaning up post eating. This week, the Monday Munchies recipe that I am sharing is a big hit our house. Full of veggies and wrapped in pastry, my boys are always happy and full when this is on the menu.

INGREDIENTS

*Beef mince
*1 cup BBQ sauce
*Chopped onion, potato
*Grated carrot and zucchini
*Corn kernels
*Diced tomato
*Frozen puff pastry


Place the diced potato, onion and corn into a dish with about a cup of water. Cook in the microwave on high for eight minutes.

In a large bowel, mix together the mince, sauce and veggies.

Place a big, I mean a BIG spoonful of the mixture onto a sheet of defrosted pastry and wrap up, making sure all the mixture is covered.

Place into a dish lined with baking paper and spray a little oil on top. Bake in oven for forty minutes at 160 degrees and serve with salad.

Enjoy

beck xx