We're getting ready to head to Sydney - we haven't been back for Christmas in years. My family is having a lasagne lunch on Christmas Day and Tony's brother will be putting on an Ottolenghi-themed dinner the night before. We're also hoping to hit the beach, see Paterson and catch up with friends. Before I head off, I wanted to share some of my favourite posts from the year:
Things to make and eat:
- Bread making: a beginner's guide
- My favourite weekday dinners
- Easy cheese pizza
- Eggplant pasta with lemon and cheese
- My five favourite choc chip cookie recipes
- And a won't-let-you-down apple cake
- A quick summer read
- Three shows we loved on Netflix - Chef's Table, Master of None (here's a companion book) and Cooked.
- My favourite audio books to date (and how to listen to them for free).
- Podcasts for road trips about food, taboo topics and growing up.
Super fun style tips from Real Girl Wardrobes:
- Christina Gee (my sister-in-law!) shares her treasured family hand-me-downs
- Kate Allman is a writer who loves babydoll dresses and boyfriend jeans
- Bianca Levins wears jelly sandals and spotty socks to teach
- How to plan activities for a two-year-old
- A sweet book for soon-to-be big sisters
- Buying the winter jumper
- A big way to help parents you love
Cool women doing interesting things:
- Kate made a bold career move and is expecting her third baby :)
- Emily on how to master op-shopping and every day happiness
- Melissa on moving to India for three months (and trying not to stress about what's next)
- Jorja and Jessica are styling food in their own way after meeting at Dinosaur Designs
- Hello Sandwich shares what winter is like in Japan
- Sophie started her own micro flower farm
- Alison's very helpful guide to lipstick (for shy girls and beginners alike!)
- Le Tran's personal goal grew into a small business (check out this recent creation!)
My life in 2016:
- Our new home
- Exercise 2.0
- A birthday surprise
- Mastering the market shop (and minimising food waste too)
- Novelty cakes from a rubber ducky to a Canberra bus shelter cake
- One of many super quick Sydney trips
- A weekend in Wagga Wagga
And an abbreviated version of weekend links:
- A family shortbread recipe
- Cream cheese cinnamon scrolls for Christmas morning
- Serious style
- Cute news
- And the Jad Abumrad talk that I went to in Melbourne was recorded :)
I hope you have a wonderful Christmas break. Thank you for reading along this year. It's been a big year of change with a new job in a new city and I've loved returning to this space every week to share some of the funny, thought-provoking and delicious things I've discovered. I'll be back in 2017 - until then, travel safe and look out for one another.
