Whether it's our intention or not, our social media profiles show the highlights reel of our lives. Take this photo from our holiday to Fraser Island for example... Looks perfect right? The sun is shining, the waves are crashing, there's not a soul about. What this picture doesn't tell is the rest of the story. The Big Sister is sitting in the back, complaining her tummy ...
Gardening
down down deeper and down
I'm going scuba diving this morning. It's something I haven't done in a very l o n g time. It's a quick dive today to make sure I remember which end of the regulator to put in my mouth before I dive the sunken navy vessel the HMAS Brisbane on Saturday. When I phoned to book the dive the bloke on the phone asked when I'd last dived. Not the quick dip in the shark tank at Underwater World, but a ...
blue cheese sauce for buffalo wings and what I love most in the world
You know what I love most in the entire world? (Apart from my husband, the girls, sav blanc from the Marlborough region, the knock-off blue castello from Aldi and.... oh never mind....) You know what I really like? Surprises. This weekend we celebrated the girls' seventh and fourth birthdays with a cowboy-themed party. Why a cowboy theme? 1) The Big Sister's current career aspiration is to be ...
five lessons from eight years of marriage
I'm loathe to write about my marriage for fear of invoking the law of Murphy on our happy union, but today is our wedding anniversary and I've been reflecting on what I've learned from being married to Bearhands. Here are five lessons I'd travel back and tell myself on this day eight years ago. 1. Don't compare him to your Dad. You simply cannot compare your new husband to your father. Your Dad ...
broccoli cauliflower and halloumi fritters
I'm not the only person in Casa de Cooker with superpowers. The Big Sister has several superpowers. She can simultaneous tell you a joke that will have you falling down with laughter at the same time as leaving her school shoes in exactly the place that will have you falling down as you walk through the back door moments later. Bearhands can sense that I'm in a foul mood and with the deft touch ...
harriet
Yesterday the Little Sister and I spent the afternoon exploring some rock pools. We stuck our fingers in anemones to make them close up and tried to catch periwinkles before they shut their doors. She climbed quickly and soon left me behind. Then, as she's prone to do, she sat down on a rock and got very cross that I wouldn't let her get any closer to the ocean. She picked her bottom lip up ...