On Valentines Day & Last Minute Gifts

Valentines Day. People seem to either complain about being single (and apparently sitting alone in their underwear and eating Nutella to drown their sorrows, according to my Facebook feed), gush over each other in public with far too much enthusiasm, or simply not care. Not exactly the most successful holiday of the calendar, is it.

Personally, I have been one of the people who brush it by the wayside. Chris and I have date nights every other week, so we don't feel the need to celebrate this day with anymore than a minor acknowledgment. Plus, the next two weeks of February sees both our birthdays AND our anniversary, so we aren't really missing out on anything!

Admittedly, we did go out last night for dinner and a show (meatballs on Swan St and Nina Las Vegas Presents, to be in fact). Tonight, Chris is at work, so I have plans for dinner, the gym, and starting a new tv show. 

Dinner at the Meatball & Wine Bar // One half of Cosmos Midnight // Nina Las Vegas

However, this morning I felt inspired to whip together a little gift of sorts for Chris. I have seen similar things online before, and it has always struck me as a sweet idea. So in a matter of ten minutes I was able to put this little guy together.

What's that Reanna? You did something creative AND tried to set up a photo?

All this involved was a permanent marker, a little bottle/jar, paper, a piece of string, and some coloured popsicle sticks (left over from when I made a Hobbit themed terrarium…). The idea is that whenever we feel like going out together, we can select one of the "ideas" I have already stored in here. It could be at random, or with a bit of careful selection (some ideas being a bit more pricey than others!). So far I have popped in a few bars and cafes we have always wanted to go to, some we have already been to but have been meaning to check out again, and a few less specific adventures we have always aspired to do. I'm going to encourage Chris to add a couple of his own when he gets it! Forever the ideas man.

Simple, but considering I made this about two hours ago, I am relatively happy with it.
What do you think about the whole Valentine's Day saga? Pro or against? 

Either way, I send love to you all!

Reanna.

#100happydays Progress

This year is already going wayyy too fast for my liking. Can you believe it's already February? This month is already looking pretty busy for me. I'll be back to studying in less than a month, a have several volunteering opportunities on the horizon that all need several training days, and a handful of birthdays for relatives - including my own and Chris'. Oh, and Valentines Day and Chris and my three year anniversary is also meant to fit in there somewhere as well. And work. And the gym. And general day-to-day life. However, I am excited to take it all in my stride. 

Something that else that seems to be flying by is the #100happydays challenge. I am officially a quarter of the way through, and I am proud to say I haven't missed a day! I apologise to everyone who follows me on instagram for all my daily spam.

Here is a few more snapshots from the challenge:

My mum, brother and I completed an 8km fun run at Waratah Bay, I have never run that far in my life! // Breakfast photos, always // My favourite guy // I have developed a new found love for riding my bike around the city // Forever a tourist in my own city

If you are interested to find out more about the challenge, head on over to their page for a bit more information and to sign up! Sometimes I find myself at the end of the day realising I haven't even considered what I should post, but sitting down and reflecting over the days events is encouraging me to see little bits of happiness in my everyday life. Some days it is a bit more of a challenge than others, but there is always something there.
Reanna.

Musings: Self Acceptance

Something that has come up in conversation frequently in recent times between Chris and I has been the issue of self acceptance. The past year or so has been a massive leap forward for us in our lives, and has thrown so many new things at us. While numerous good things have come through, the testing times of living out of home, living together and university have also bought forward traits that we are not so fond of. Some of these we come to realise and can overcome with a bit of positive thinking, while others are traits that are simply just parts of our personality. At times, this can be challenging to accept - but hey, we can't all be perfect. It is no quick process, but I am coming to terms with realising that this is who I am, this is how I roll. Heck, it may not be elegant and fun all the time, but this is me. Talking about this with Chris - who is also going through a similar thought process - makes realisation a whole lot easier.

Studying Psychology at university has also helped me realise that this is completely normal, even if at times I feel like everything is wrong with me and self doubt is filling up my thoughts. Adolescence is a time of identity crisis and confusion, and I am coming to the end of that (I am in denial that I am turning 21 in less than a month!). Erikson's theory of Psychosocial Development defines the teenage years as a conflict of Identity and Role Confusion, with identity being something we must resolve in order to develop normally in adult life. Upon reading this and similar developmental theories, this whole 'self acceptance' deal has become a bit easier. And a bit more important.
As part of my summer goals I challenged myself to read five books. Somehow, I came up with the idea to read Eat, Pray, Love, after watching the movie a couple of years ago. I know, I am pretty far behind the times - this book and all the inspiration that comes with it has probably already come up in your newsfeed a long time ago! However, I am finding the author's approach to finding happiness, and henceforth finding herself again, is something that is echoing in my own life at the moment. And allowing myself to accept me as who I am, with all my faults and ridiculous traits, is a step in the right direction.
Another noteworthy piece of literature which I feel also applies in my current state of things is a quote from Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird:

"They are certainly entitled to think that, and they're certainly entitled to full respect for their opinions, but before I can live with other folks I've got to live with myself."

I don't know why I felt compelled to share this with the online world, but this has been spinning around my head a lot recently. I have read a few posts recently that have been along similar lines, so perhaps that was a bit of point in the right direction for me.
Reanna.

(Also, on a complete side note, I recently wrote an article for the fantastic UniMelb Adventures blog about my experience of moving out of home for university!)

#100happydays

While aimlessly scrolling through my twitter feed the other day I came across the 100 Happy Days Challenge. Intrigued, I followed the link to their site, and within five minutes I was signed up.

There isn't much to the challenge, you just fill in some details, link up one of our million social networks and choose a hashtag (you can customise your own or stick with the basic #100happydays).

But what is the challenge?

The challenge is asking you take aside some time in your busy, day to day life to be happy. To appreciate little moments, to stop and smile for a moment. Every day for 100 days they ask you to submit one photo that made you happy - anything at all - onto your selected social media outlet, and link up with the hashtag. At the end of the 100 days you will be sent a little booklet featuring your photos from throughout the challenge. But that isn't even the main benefit: by taking aside a moment each day to appreciate what makes us happy in life, we can feel a bit better too.

I am only about a week into the challenge, and am sharing my photos over on my instagram feed. While the premise of the challenge is quite basic, I think I personally can take a bit out of. I often get caught up in the little things - negative things - and forget about everything else I have in my life, and how lucky I am to be where I am right now. The challenge is reminding me each day to take a moment to think about what has made me happy today. It also gives me an excuse to be a bit more of an instagram pest than usual!

Here's a few of my first few days of the challenge: 

Day 1: Picnic-ing on the Maribrynong River // Day 2: Laneways in the neighbourhood // Day 3: First day of work at the Australian Open!

Could you take the challenge?

Reanna.

Getaway

Real holidays are finally here. I'm spending the Christmas period in Lakes Entrance with some family, as well as popping off to various other family gatherings for the season. It should be a busy time, but I am looking forward to it. Living out of home has given me a greater appreciation of family get togethers, and the time we do get to see together. 

So during this time I will be taking a short break from the blogosphere. During this time I also think I will spend a bit of time reflecting over where I want this blog to go. I have been feeling a bit disheartened about this venture at the moment, so I hope spending some time brainstorming and working a few things out.

I hope you all enjoy your holiday season! 

Reanna.

Snapshots

Mini cacao and spelt pancakes for a quick dessert // Date night in the CBD, ft. Italian beers in the sunshine at Federation Square // Only the coolest of people drink their coconut mojitos with curly straws // Picnic in the sun at Carlton Gardens with friends. It's finally starting to feel a bit like Summer // Chris and I whipped up a heap of homemade pizzas for his family when we dropped by for a visit last week // Freshly brewed chai tea at the Collingwood Children's Garden.

Considering I haven't had much work lately time feels like it is flying by. I seem to always be busy, be it Christmas shopping (I am almost finally done), cooking, visiting family and friends, or going out for evening walks. The sun is finally beginning to come out more, so I am jumping at every opportunity to spend some time outside. I don't want to get my hopes up too much about the weather just yet though!
How is your Christmas organisation going?
Reanna.

P.S. This week I am tagging along over at the Beetle Shack with Stills.

Snapshots & Goals

Everything is a bit all over the place at the moment: the weather in Melbourne, my schedule, my brain. That doesn't mean I am not enjoying life lately by any means. 

Indulged in my first chocolate fondue, amazzzing // Forever being a tourist in my own city: Melbourne never ceases to amaze me // Setting up our little Christmas tree. 

What has been flying around my head a lot lately is the future, and my goals to work towards it. I don't know when I came to be one of those goal-setting fanatics, but I'm glad I did. Nothing quite beats that feeling of accomplishment when you knock over a big milestone, or that little feeling of satisfaction when you can tick off a smaller achievement. I'm an admirer of Elsie's goal setting over at A Beautiful Mess, so if I had to name an inspiration, it would be her. 

With uni results finally released, I'd say that my previous goals have finally concluded. Hurrah! Overall they were pretty successful. I've got volunteering opportunities on the horizon, the gym is going great, I increased my uni result average slightly (I honestly thought I had done worse this semester!), I am in the midst of a great blogging course, and I have many a plan for the summer holiday period. 

Chris and I sat down the other week and planned out our goals for the summer holiday period. With uni not starting up again until next March, we have a lot of time to kill. So we have each formulated five goals: four individual ones, and a fifth one tailored more towards us as a couple. Here's what I've come up with:

1) Train up to run 8 kilometres.

No great achievement by some standards, but I have never been the fittest person. I have recently hit the 5k milestone, so 8k should hopefully be achievable! There is a small community fun run back down near my hometown that I am hoping to run with my dad and brother. 

2) Develop one new skill.

Lately I have been hit by a wave of inspiration via the online community and people I have met. I'd love to harness this inspiration to learn something new, be it artistic, cooking, or just juggling!

3) Read 5+ books.

Now that reading is no longer a compulsory part of my life (I'm looking at you, history subject) it seems so much more appealing! I have just started the Discworld series on recommendation from a friend (yeaaah I am a fantasy fan). Any other suggestions?

4) Reach 20 blog followers.

I know, shameless self promoting. But this blog has fallen a little by the wayside recently due to exams, going to Sydney, and just enjoying freedom. However, I am going to pull myself together, continue with my blog course and fix it up! I want to develop a few more consistent blog post themes, finish working on the layout, and meet fabulous people.

5) Take more photos of us.

Us being Chris and I here. Neither of us are a great lover of the old photograph, but we both agreed with really do want to try capture memories we create together. 

So there we have it. Do you set goal lists? Is your life a bit chaotic at the moment? Or is just me being terribly addle-brained haha.

Reanna.

A Glance at Sydney

This past weekend has absolutely flown by (literally) as I jetted up to Sydney for a two day forum. 

A perfect opportunity was provided for me to take part in a little weekend photo safari with Pip and my other bloggy classmates.

Wandering along King Street - the only part of Sydney I managed to see // A beautiful - and slightly overwhelming - old bookshop that I wish I had time to truly explore // Amazing old architecture on King Street // And even more at the University of Sydney // Admiring the clouds on my flight home.

This past weekend has seen so many opportunities and inspiration come my way (more detail to come soon), which I hope I can utilise somewhat in here blog. And despite the uni semester being over, chaos seems to still be reigning in my little life - not in a negative way by any means.

How was your weekend? Travel anywhere new? 

Reanna.

Changes

As I am working my way through Pip's wonderful blog course I am coming to the conclusion that a few things are going to change around here. Apart from the obvious aesthetic bits and bobs that need to be fixed up (I will get there one day!), I think the direction of my blog will change slightly. I began this blog with a food focus in mind, but I realise it's something that - while I still love cooking - I can't really blog about in great depth. Exploring Melbourne and the wider world, nature trips and dinner parties are more within my grasp, and are also things I thoroughly enjoy. 

Next year may also see an exciting adventure in my life (more details in the coming months when it all gets sorted out!), an I feel changing the direction of my blog will cater for this as well. I also have ideas floating around my head to share my love of thrifting, and still keep the odd recipe or too. 

So I'm turning this blog to a more lifestyle focus, sharing the musings and adventures of me growing up and finding myself in the wide world. 

Here's to the future, and change for the better!

Reanna. 

Visiting Nature

Sometimes we just need to take a step back from everything. Life can be pretty full on sometimes, and we can lose sense of where we are. 

Being in the grip of countless hours of study and looming deadlines the last few weeks began to take its toll on me. I was in desperate need of escape. A quick trip out to the countryside was the perfect answer.

As much as a I love living in Melbourne, the one thing I really miss about the countryside is the quietness. You never really notice it when you have been in the city for weeks on end, but as soon as I stepped out of the car at Long Forest nature reserve last week, I noticed it.

It was beautifully quiet. Can silence be beautiful? Well, it certainly felt like it for me in that moment. I could actually hear myself think, feel myself breathe, and really look at everything around me and not feel overwhelmed.

It's crazy to think that everywhere used to be like this. Even built up Melbourne was once a sprawling forest.

It was a lovely little park - once we found it due to lack of signs - about 50 or so minutes from the inner north suburbs of Melbourne. There were a few short walks (again lacking signs) but we managed to avoid getting lost. There wasn't much to see other than the natural forest, but that didn't matter to me. i was happy just to soak up the sunshine and serenity of it all.

And no, Chris is not patting a rock! We were talking about they looked, or something geologically inspired.

To top off my little mood-lifting trip from the city, I spied a little lizard at the carpark. And he even posed for a photo.

Do you enjoy silence? Or do you have another way you try to escape and think about things?

Reanna.

What's on the Menu & Exam Freedom!

I cannot believe, my first year of university is over! Don't get me wrong, I have loved studying this year and I look forward eagerly to the rest of my degree (and post-grad, and whatever else, I'm an Arts student haha), but it is such a relief to be free of study for awhile. I have so many little plans for the summer break, and I've been counting down the days until I could free myself from the oppression of exam writing. 

This upcoming week I have plans to throw myself completely into the Blog With Pip course. I have been looking forward to it for months, but I am already behind! 

On another note, happy World Vegan Day! While Chris and I are still omnivores, we are still interested in occasionally eating and cooking vegan food. This morning we wondered down to the Melbourne Showgrounds for a festival showcase in honour of the day. It was great to get out of the house and try some of the delicious offerings available. Plus we had the best veggie burgers from Vegilicious catering. A bit of wondering further down the showgrounds resulted in us coming across the Masterchef kitchen (I completely forgot it was there!). I suspect we weren't meant to walk around the barrier and up the building, but we did anyway. I was in absolute awe of the herb gardens surrounding the building.

As for the week ahead and our foodie plans, here they are. Yesterday I was off at a last minute baby sitting job, so I was stuck with take away Thai for dinner. Chris, on the otherhand, apparently cooked an amazing chilli con carne with beans for himself. Nothing beats homemade food.

1) Tonight, keeping with the World Vegan Day theme, we tried out Janella's Tofu and Gado Gado Pies. With a delicious homemade spelt pastry and peanut sauce, they were pretty freaking good!

2) That lemon and calamari risotto from last week never eventuated due to a lat minute dinner date, so it's on the books again this week.

3) Dumpling soup is in order to use up all the wonton wrappers in our freezer!

4) Chicken and Pumpkin Laksa. 

5) A quick and easy frittata to use up a massive bunch of kale we scored at the market on the weekend. 

6) On my way to the gym the other day I came across a giant collection of rosemary stems and a sign saying they were free. So I gladly helped myself, and Chris has decided that this calls for a roast to use some of it up!

Expect to see me around a bit more in the coming weeks! I'll be sure to pop around the blogosphere as well.
What's on your menu this week?
Reanna.

That Time I Ran and Didn't Give Up

I finally did it!

I ran five god-damn kilometres!

I know it's no great feat by any means, but for me - who could hardly run a kilometre at the start of the year - it felt like such an achievement. It has been something I have wanted to do for so long, but I never thought I could. I guess it was that whole "mind over matter" deal, and I feel fantastic for finally having conquered that.

Now the only way is up! I have plans to attempt an 8km fun run in January back down in Gippsland with my dad, so that will be my next milestone.

Achieved any goals lately? It's such a fantastic feeling. I used to think goal setting was a bit lame, as a lot of that positive-psychology can be. However, that little feeling of success you get every time you tick an item off a list, reward yourself with that glass of bubbles, or see that little counter tick to 5km (even if you feel like you are half way into cardiac arrest) is totally worth it.

Reanna.

Snapshots (ft. What's on the Menu)

Exams are starting up, so I'm a bit all over the place with study, even though I really feel like I should be in holiday mode! Thus I am for a lack of words today. Pictures should better some up life lately:

Forever stealing flowers from front gardens around the neighbourhood // This is where I've been spending most of my time lately // Homemade Vietnamse vermicelli salad for lunch

1) Lemon risotto with calamari. I made this a few months ago and it was delicious, yet so simple!

2) Porcupine Meatballs, an old family favourite of Chris'. It's essentially just balls of mince and rice in a tomato sauce, should be good with a nice salad. 

3) We are going to try our hand at making  gozleme again. 

4) Ochazuke - a Japanese dish we saw on a tv show the other day. It's basically rice with a few vegetables, pickles and the like on top, which you then cover with green tea. 

5) Beef teriyaki, something simple. 

6) Tofu and vegetable skewers. Hopefully if the weather is nice we can take this down to the park for a barbecue dinner. 

7) Haricot Lamb, from our new gluten free cookbook. 

This time next week I should be at the end of writing my last essay, then I'll finally be free! I'm also starting Pip's blog course on Monday, so hopefully there will be a bit going on around here!

What's been happening in your world this week? Cooking anything new, or going for some old favourites?

Reanna. 

Semester Goals Progress

With my second semester at uni drawing to a close, I thought it might be a good time to reflect on these goals I set for myself at the beginning of the semester. I initially planned for these goals to end at the end of the semester, but I think I'm going to have to push them until the end of the year! Turns out I didn't consider the fact that I won't receive my university results until mid December. 

1) Get involved in an extracurricular activity at uni or elsewhere.

I almost got involved in the committee of a club at university earlier in the semester, however the club ended up disbanding due to the previous committee being useless. I volunteered at my uni's open day in August, but apart from that I've made minimal progress on the university front. However, I am starting to volunteer at St Vinnies again! I work in an op shop in my hometown during my gap year, and I don't know why it has taken me so long to get involved with them again up in Melbourne! Last weekend I attended a training session to help out for a few hours on the weekend and the Metropolitan Remand Centre. I'll be offering information to visiting family members. This should be a challenging - but rewarding - experience. I can't wait to start!

2) Establish a more consistent exercise regime - run and do weights at least three times a week.

Tick! I've joined the gym and am loving it!

3) Increase my grade score average.

I'm not going to know the result of this one til December, when results get released. I'm not feeling overly confident about this one.

4) Make friends within the blogging community.

I'm still an amateur in this here blogging world, but I am trying to get the hang of it all! I'm doing Pip's blogging course in November (oh, that starts next week actually!) and I am wayyyy too excited.

5) Find a project for the summer holidays.

I've got this blogging course, plans to go to Lakes Entrance with my Dad and his family, a few camping trips with Chris in mind, and I managed to score a job at the Australian Open! I'm sure I am still going to have far too much free time, but this is certainly a start!

I'm looking forward to sitting down with Chris (and maybe a bottle of wine) after exams to reassess these goals and consider what we want to achieve next! It's great to have that little bit more direction and motivation.

Have you got any major goals on your mind at the moment? Or are you not a fan of the "goal setting" thing?

Reanna.

What's on the Menu

Uni classes are DONE for the year! Now just to knuckle down and study for exams. It's crazy to think that in just over two weeks I will have officially completed my first year of university, which will also coincide with the one year anniversary of Chris and I moving up to Melbourne. So much has changed this year, and it has had it's numerous ups and downs. But overall, it has been a fantastic experience. 

I'm going to miss walking through beautiful Parkville all the time over the next few months. This place is my ultimate suburb crush (is that even a thing?). This house was a bit decrepit - including equally as run down cars out the front - but it still caught my eye.

 

Here's what's happening around here this week:

1) Asian marinated fish.

2) One of the new cookbooks Chris picked up the other week is conveniently gluten free! We are trying a few recipes from this lately, including this Spinach Meat Loaf.

3) An old favourite of tempeh burgers, with pumpkin sauce and maybe some home made wheat-free bread!

4) Chicken quesadillas, to start using up all those delicious tortillas we have in the freezer.

5) Polenta and lentils. This sounds a bit different - and doesn't look particularly visually appealing - but I am keen to start using up all this polenta we have in the pantry.

6) Tomorrow night we are having our monthly dinner party with friends. I suggested a Lebanese mezze theme, so hopefully it comes together well! Chris and I are bringing falafels, fattoush salad, and hopefully some gluten free breads. And maybe a dip if I get time.

7) We are having another date night this week! Seeing as my car registration is looming on the horizon (boo), we are staying in again. It's Chris' turn to organise, and he has chosen an Indian theme. Think curries, rice and naan bread! Excited!

Once I get past exams, I'm really looking forward to the summer months! Warmer weather, freedom, reading for pleasure, and camping. 

What's going on around your neighbourhood this week?

Reanna. 

What's on the Menu (ft. Cake)

Time is honestly getting the best of me these days. I've been feeling a bit all over the place lately, so I'm really looking forward to November 11 - the day my last assignment is due. A quick little weekend camping trip is in order I think!

My gluten free experiment hasn't exactly got off to a flying start. However, I have definitely cut back on the amount of wheat I am consuming. Chris bought some spelt flour the other day - which still contains gluten, but at a much lower level than regular wheat flours - and made a delicious foccacia with it for a BBQ dinner with friends last night. This week I am going to try a bit harder to cut gluten - or at least wheat - out of my diet. 

This delicious striped birthday cake a friend made last night wasn't exactly helping my cause haha.

That aside, here is the meal plan for our week ahead:

1) Homemade lasagna is in order, and I'm going to try my hand at making some gluten free (or spelt) lasagna sheets. Fingers crossed it works!

2) Miso and honey marinated chicken, with a fresh salad. Even though today looks like the last of the sunny weather for another week!

3) Coconut and lime baked fish.

4) Tofu with Kahah sauce (something peanuty I think?).

5) We are off to have dinner with a relative one night this week. I haven't seen her for ages, and she always puts up a good meal.

6) And tonight, fajitas! We were feeling the need for some Mexican in our life. While out shopping today we popped into La Tortilleria, a local Mexican restaurant that we have yet to try out, but it also sells fresh authentic tortillas! They grind the corn maize from scarcth and make the tortillas right in front of you. And for a 22 pack of them it was only $9! We can't wait to try them out tonight. 

And that's it for the week. I'm off to check of the Spring Fling festival in North Melbourne this afternoon, and hopefully the North Melbourne Market too.

What are your plans for the week ahead in cooking?

Have a good week!

Reanna.

Things Are Still Growing!

My herbs! They are still alive!

I am far too excited about my little herbs growing outside. They haven't died (yet), but they seem to be growing so slowly! However, that is probably just me being impatient and checking them 500 times a day haha.

Is there anything I should be doing in particular to get the best results? I have basil oregano and rosemary, and I planted them from seeds.

My blogging will probably be somewhat sporadic and brief over the next few weeks, with the uni semester coming to a close, final reports needing to be submitted, exams to study for, and then keeping on top of the rest of life! But it will all be over in three or so weeks, roughly around the time the lovely Pip's blogging e-course starts! I'm so excited, and can't wait to see how I go with it.

How's your garden going lately?

Reanna.

What's on the Menu

I had all intentions of posting this yesterday, but it didn't matter all too much anyway, as we weren't even home last night! We are down in the country visiting family again this weekend, for my little half-brother's second birthday. The plan is for a barbecue in the park today, but I'm sceptical as to how successful this will be - the weather doesn't look very hopeful. Either way, delicious homemade food and family will still make for a wonderful day!

Here's something I have been a bit excited about home - FINALLY putting pictures up on the wall of our apartment! We have only been living there nearly a whole year, so it was about time we got around to it. We live in a rental, so we had to go through the process of getting permission from our landlord, but they were more than happy to let us decorate. As you can see, we have a bit of a red theme going on in our living area (this is only a small part of it). I love our old red chairs, we inherited them off my mum, and she got them second hand. So I have no idea how old they are!

But getting on track, here is our meal plan for the week ahead:

1) The book shop at our uni had a $2 book sale this last week, so Chris managed to score us several new cook books! One of them was an Indian one, so we are trying out Spicy Grilled Fish Fillets.

2) Stuffed Eggplants with Lamb - more stuffed eggplants! But they are Indian style this week haha.

3) Slow Beef "Melt", which is essentially a roast in the slowcooker. Hopefully this works, I've never done a roast in the slowcooker before!

4) Blackbean Fejoada over Spicy Rice. No idea what a fejoada is, I think it's some kind of curry.

4) Stir-fried kimchi and pork.

6) Lentil, Sesame and Sunflower Burgers, with some salad and fresh rolls. Perfect for this warmer weather!

What about you, have you been decorating around home lately? What are you cooking up anything new this week?

Reanna.

Spanish Fiesta

As I mentioned the other day, Chris and I had plans for a spanish fiesta date night at home! It was meant to be my turn to choose a destination for date night, but due to our change of plans to stay home, it became my responsibility to choose a theme instead! We eat such a variety of cuisines at home anyway, so this proved to be a bit challenging (plus, I just suck at making decisions!). I eventually landed on the idea of Spanish tapas. While these probably aren't in your true spanish style - we aren't really into eating cured meats, cheeses, and we wanted to incorporate in a few more vegetables - this is what we served up!

Our meal was paired with some homemade sangria! It's traditionally made with red wine, but we decided to opt for a lighter, easier drink. This was made up of a mix of white wine (we used a riesling), soda water, chopped fruit (whatever grabs your fancy; we had peach, lemon and blood orange) and a swig of brandy. You can add sugar if you prefer it sweeter, and alter anything else to your taste.

Ta-da! Homemade tapas. Due to a combination of my poor photography skills, and even worse food presentation ability, it doesn't look overly appealing. But hey, as long as it tastes good!

Right at the back we had a simple side salad, and in the middle we had a platter with Spanish Chickpea Balls with Romesco Sauce, and some calamari rings grilled up with a homemade yogurt, tahini and lemon sauce.

On the left here is Chicken and Raisin Empanadas. Upon googling these about two minutes ago, I discovered that are in fact of Portuguese origin. Ooops. They still make them in Spain though haha! I made a few alterations to this recipe (eg. I was too cheap to buy pine nuts), and I made the pastry myself. However, for the pastry I substituted white flour for wholemeal, and butter for olive oil. I found this made the pastry a bit more dry and difficult to work with, so I had to add a bit more water, but it worked out well enough in the end.

On the right, we have a Spanish Omelette/Tortilla, which I read is the ultimate tapas dish. I replaced the regular potato for sweet potato, and brown onion for red onion. It looks like a bit of a mess, but I was just happy the whole thing didn't fall apart! I have never been able to make a successful omelette. Ever. Did I miss out on that life skill somehow?

Here is my plate of deliciousness just prior to being demolished.

I've written about my love of being able to cook a great meal at home and enjoy it with someone before, and I still stand by that. I adore dinner parties with friends, meals with family, and just having dinner at home. I guess I'm lucky in regards to having someone who shares my passion for cooking healthy and fun meals in our own kitchen. 

I'll stop raving about cooking now haha.

Do you have date nights? Cooked any big feasts up at home lately?

Reanna.

It's Alive!

This spring weather has got me wanting to spend all my time outside! That is, when it stays sunny for more than one day. Four seasons in one day over here in Melbourne!

The other week I mentioned that Chris and I found an awesome old chest from hard rubbish, which I planned to turn into a herb garden! Here's how it turned out:

We live in a tiny apartment, so our potential garden area is limited to a tiny balcony. Earlier in the year I bought some seedlings and planted them in some pots. While they lasted for awhile, they soon all died off, most likely due to my lack of gardening knowledge! Inspired by the spring weather and newly acquired garden bed, Chris and I decided to try this herb garden thing again. We have planted rosemary, oregano and basil from seed (something I have never done before!). I've been nervously checking them - for fear of me somehow managing to destroy them - and then yesterday:

Progress! Tiny green progress! The basil is finally popping out, yet still no progress from the others. Fingers crossed things keep improving!

Has this spring weather got you outside? Do you have any advice for a poor, amateur gardener like myself haha? 

Reanna.