Danish butter cookies remind me of my childhood and we found a very festive tin at the supermarket today. Some mint green tea for me and english breakfast tea for him as we sat inside and savoured the last tea we’ll be having together in our little house this year. Afternoon tea time always makes me happy.

We’re flying off to Singapore on Sunday to spend Christmas with my family. It rains most days over there in December and i’m feeling a little sad about missing out on two weeks of summer in Sydney. But it will just be nice to see the family again and Singapore has such a beautiful Christmas light-up every year which makes it very festive. Can’t say the same for Sydney! Apart from carols in the malls and the maddening crowds shopping, it doesn’t seem overly Christmassy.

Well, i’m off to wrap the last of the presents and watch Mystic Pizza.

Have a great Wednesday!

I had a great weekend! The rain stopped and it felt like summer again. Saturday was very hot and windy. We started the day with breakfast at Tiger Mottle in Paddington. It might be my new favourite cafe- amazing coffee and delicious food. Jonathan had the bacon and egg sandwich, which he said was the best he had ever eaten. I had the macadamia toasted muesli with rhubarb compote and yoghurt. Yum, yum, yum!

The guy who was sitting next to me (we were on a bench-like table since all the other tables were full) gets up to pay and Jonathan casually turns to me and asks “Is he on TV?” When i heard that, my coffee was quickly forgotten and i had to turn (very subtly, of course) to see if my breakfast partner was indeed someone on television.

Oh my goodness. He was. And not just anyone but TOM WILLIAMS from The great Outdoors!! Ok, i have to admit that i really like Tom. He is very, very attractive. Being married doesn’t make me blind! So, Tom (i heard) used to live pretty close-by to where i live and does the coastal walk that i do. I think i saw him once but he seemed to be running intently and i couldn’t be sure. Since then, i have been looking out for him during my walk but never saw him. And then, to see him at breakfast, sitting so close to me! I cannot believe that my husband, who is most definitely not into celebrities, was the one who pointed it out to me. He said he thought it was Tom pretty early on but didn’t want to make me nervous by telling me so as i would probably get star-struck. AS IF!

Of course, the rest of the day was spent telling my very accomodating husband, “I cannot belive i was sitting next to THE Tom Williams!” Ah, what a way to start the weekend.

Jon and i went to the bookstore after that, which made me even happier. In the evening, i made a sweet chilli tofu burger for dinner and we sat outside with a glass of sparkling wine and enjoyed the sunset. It was 8.30 when we went in, because that’s how long the days are now. I love, love, love summer.

On Sunday, we went to church, had lunch with some friends and then came home to watch a Christmas movie. We also walked hand-in-hand to the beach, looked out into the ocean and chatted about dreams. That was so very lovely. On our walk back, we thought we saw Roshani from Australian Idol!

Oh dearie me. I’m not sure if it was her but it was a very amusing way to end this particular weekend.

And now it’s Monday and 10 days to Christmas! I can smell the hazelnut coffee brewing, a sure sign that i must have breakfast.

I hope you had a wonderful weekend.

Some good things that happened today:

I had coffee with Suzi and we shared a coconut cake that was very nice.

I got my hair cut and had a complimentary cup of tea and a slice of fruitcake at the salon.

I received a parcel from lovely Lisa that made me so happy.

After reading this blog post by Tia (I’m a huge fan of Christopher Cross’ Sailing as well) and listening to songs from the 90s at the salon, i started remembering all my favourite old songs- Jewel’s Foolish Games, Steve Perry’s Foolish Heart, Journey’s Faithfully, Madonna’s Rain and Live to Tell and Like a Prayer and Remember Me and This Used to be my Playground (i really liked her older songs!).

Especially on a rainy night, when remembering becomes laced with acute nostalgia, these old songs mean so much more.

Reading the blogs of people living in the northern hemisphere made me revisit the pictures of our winter just a few months ago (the picture above was taken during our 6 hour drive to the snow). It must be very strange for you to get your head around having Christmas in the summer if you live on the other side of the equator. I myself was brought up watching American television and reading American novels and i thought that christmas could never be christmassy enough if there wasn’t snow and family gathered around the fireplace. Some part of me still wishes for the opportunity to experience a white christmas but mostly, i am happy for summer and everything that comes with it.

I love when daylight seems to last forever and we can sit outside and enjoy a light dinner and a glass of white wine. And of course, being able to swim in the saltwater pool at the beach is my absolute favourite thing to do. I would do it everyday if i could, but summer storms stand in my way.

The other morning, i was floating in the water, oblivious to everything around me apart from my breathing. I did my “pilates breathing”- deep breaths that remind you of your body and really, of existence. I breathed in the smell of summer- sunblock and salty air- and stared into the blue sky above me. For those few moments, i forgot about how cold the water was (i’m not sure if it will ever get warm enough) and about how clumsy my freestyle was. All i could think of was being alive.

And it felt pretty good.

Tonight, we have a date to watch Australia at the cinema. We often have date nights on Friday or Saturday but cinema tickets are about $6 cheaper on Tuesdays so if we want to watch a movie, we try to do it then. It will be lovely to see the beautiful Australian landscape on the big screen. And i get to hang out with my husband. Double treat!

It was a weekend filled with memories of the past that i seem to hold on to so tightly. I know that the best thing to do is to forgive and move on but right now, that seems like the hardest thing to do.

In other news, i made a risoni (i think it’s called orzo in America) salad yesterday that turned out beautifully. Kristy and i first made this salad a week ago when we were craving something light, tasty and healthy and i have modified it a little. It’s a perfect summer recipe!

Risoni summer salad with balsamic glaze (serves 4)

Ingredients:

250g risoni
1 punnet cherry tomatoes (halved)
1/3 c. parsley
1 small tub kalamata olives
100g feta cheese, crumbled
1/2 c. peas
1 cooked and shredded chicken breast
parmesan cheese
olive oil
1/2 lemon juiced

Balsamic glaze:

1/4 c. balsamic vinegar
2 T. brown sugar
1 tsp honey

Cook the pasta until al dente. Drain and place in a bowl. Add tomatoes, parsley, olives, feta, peas and chicken and toss. Make the balsamic glaze by mixing together the vinegar, sugar and honey. Add the glaze, a few drops of olive oil and the lemon juice to the pasta and mix well. Sprinkle some parmesan cheese and season with some freshly ground black pepper. Serve.

We ate bowlfuls whilst watching Never Been Kissed and washed it down with some lemon, honey and ginger tea. A nice end to the weekend.

It was a very good cherry pie, perfect for a hot Saturday afternoon especially after Christmas shopping in the morning. (It was madness, to say the least.) Tomorrow, we will buy some vanilla ice-cream and make this treat even more indulgent than it already is.

I hope your weekend was lovely.

Friday afternoons hold so much possibility. The local radio station just played Rain by Madonna, which brings back so many memories. I am currently reading Isabel’s Daughter by Judi Hendricks, which i haven’t been able to concentrate on because the sound of the windchimes keep on distracting me (in the best way possible).

This morning, i made the crust for a cherry pie that i plan to bake tomorrow, because you know, there’s nothing like a cherry pie to usher in summer.

As i was having my afternoon tea of honeydew melon and apricots with yoghurt and a cup of my favourite English Breakfast tea, i looked through some cupcake recipes to gift to my new neighbours upstairs. I think i have settled on chocolate cupcakes with chocolate icing. You can never go wrong with chocolate, i reckon.

Right now, i am craving some rich fruitcake. My auntie bakes the best fruitcake every year for Christmas but we only get to taste it on Christmas day so i may have to look around for a small piece elsewhere. Oh, how i love the Christmas season.

summer is here
the sun, unyielding
the wind, hot and fierce
why do i always forget your harshness?

a dip in the ocean offers some comfort
the walk home drying my salty sun-kissed brown skin
i take the clothes down from the washing line
inhaling their sweet scent that evokes memories of yesteryear

i sit at the kitchen table
a magazine spread out before me
roasted hazelnut coffee brewing loudly
the flowers dancing madly in the wind

simple things delight me
little girls in white and pale pink sundresses
curtains billowing in the breeze
sunshowers
smoothies
cherries

Words are not flowing today and i’m feeling a little mellow but here are some things that are inspiring me and making me happy:

This video of Alanis Morisette’s Not as we. Just beautiful.

Eating well- homemade beetroot dip with carrot and celery sticks, chickpea and zuchinni fritters with a spinach and tomato salad, oatmeal and raisin cookies with a cup of coffee.

Pilates.

Date night at David Jones, where we are perched on stools, drinking our coffees and milkshakes and maybe having a slice of carrot cake.

Jhumpa Lahiri’s Unaccustomed Earth. She never disappoints.

This blog.

Peonies.

This local magazine.

My new white summery top.

Summer in 4 days.

Walnut and raisin sourdough from Sonoma, toasted with butter and honey. Is there anything more satisfying than good bread?

Dreaming of a sweet, charming and welcoming home for our future.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone celebrating. We don’t celebrate thanksgiving in Australia but i know we all have something we can be grateful for at this very moment.