Birthday wish list

I wasn't sure whether to make one of these this year because everything feels so different. But giving presents, planning presents and sending presents brings me so much joy.  So because it's officially Leo season, here's a very home-themed edition of nice things.

HAY has super cute dish sponges (of all things) shaped as rain drops, fish and penguins. Just to make all the washing up a little bit nicer.

Weekend mornings used to be spent heading to yoga but now I look forward to sleeping in and reading a book in bed with a cup of hot tea. So I've been eyeballing pretty pillowcases from Rachel Castle, and love the look of this polka dotted one and garden pillowcase side by side.

I haven't had a polaroid camera since I lived with my parents and love the new mini ones. This year I've wished I've had one to capture all of the in-person catch ups that feel extra fleeting right now. How nice would it be to hang onto a photo of a catch up and give them to friends and family too? This may also be motivated by the fact that I haven't printed a single photo from Tony and my wedding, almost six years ago.

We treated ourselves to some Haigh's Chocolates over Easter and everything we ordered was so good. Especially the honeycomb block and these little marshmallow blocks. In our house I'm always worried when we're out of chocolate (or running low). It's totally chips for Tony!

Scents have never been so soothing to me. Earlier in the year it was anything to mask the smell of bushfire smoke. These days it's more about walking into another room and feeling like you're in a different place or space because of some nice room spray or fresh flowers. And because we're in the final (and probably coldest!) month of winter in Canberra, this nice smelling body oil would be so nice.

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Eco hut adventure

We stayed in an eco hut in Gundagai last weekend - an early birthday treat. It was our second off-the-grid trip (we stayed in a tiny cabin last year) and I loved how the absence of electricity set the pace for our visit. We stayed busy keeping the fire going, read books while it was still light, and found creative ways to cook with a handful of supplies. It was also a lovely excuse to pack my camera and take a few snaps. Here are a few faves:

The hut was on top of a hill and we arrived just before it started raining for the night. The trip coincided with the polar low (it snowed in Canberra the morning we left!), so we stayed close to the fire and tried not to venture outside unless we really had to. That meant boiling water on top of the wood heater, which probably took two hours. We were super excited by the time we could make and drink tea.

I was lucky enough to get a copy of Fleishman is in Trouble from the library and it's easily one of the best books I've read all year. There is so much action (and lots of sex 😳). It's such a clever (and scary) reflection on how we live today.

We talked about making Lotus burgers on the BBQ for dinner but decided to wing it instead. I'm glad we did because it was not the greatest weather for cooking outside. Instead, we stopped by our favourite cafe in Jugiong for lunch and picked up some supplies. There was delicious pasta from Griffith NSW, plus smoked trout dip, crackers and cake.

I raided the breakfast supplies as soon as we arrived, and made a pasta sauce using the bacon, roasted cherry tomatoes and baby spinach we found in the esky. Tony managed to cook the pasta on top of the wood heater and grilled some greens there too (broccoli, brussel sprouts and sugar snap peas!). He'd made some chipotle salt and a lime vinaigrette before we left home and our dinner was a triumph.

Later that night we ate chocolate and marmalade cake, tucked into some red wine and played chess (I lost, as usual). Then it was time for bed. I am super glad we had a roof over our heads because it was a windy and wet night. We were both a little relieved when it was light again and the rain eased off. Tony got the fire going again and we were grateful for hot showers with fancy soap, and steaming hot drinks in bed.

Before it was time to go, I ventured outside to make eggs and heat up baked beans that'd been left in our esky, along with the leftover greens. I love cooking on a camp stove and the surrounding paddocks seemed extra green after a night of heavy rain. And then it was time to drive back down the mountain, in search of coffee and the road back home.

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Birthday wish list

I'm turning 35 super soon and I have the grey hairs and multifocals to prove it 😝I haven't always loved the idea of being in my mid-thirties but now I'm feeling ready - excited even. For my birthday this year, we're taking a road trip to Gundagai to stay in this fancy hut. I'm hoping to wake up to a foggy Sunday morning and stop at Jugiong on the way home for a much-loved caramelised onion, cheese and chive toastie. Stopping at Jugiong always reminds me of the long drives we used to do between Wagga Wagga and Sydney.

As is tradition on this blog, here's a just-for-fun wishlist of fun things I'd love to receive, starting with.. a weekend away. In the last year or so, I have gotten so much energy from short road trips. I love the change of scenery... and also the chance to cook in a different kitchen, preferably one with a view. I currently have my eye on this Airbnb just outside of Canberra that's part of a flower farm.

It's not a birthday wish list without a cookbook (or three). I'm a big fan of BonAppetit, especially their test kitchen YouTube videos, and am curious about the food director Carla Lalli Music's first book, Where Cooking Begins. I can cook my way through recipes confidently but would love to cook more intuitively now I know the basics.

I'm also very excited about Alison Roman's second cookbook Nothing Fancy that drops in October. In my 34th year I discovered that I'm actually not so introverted after all.  After work-filled weeks, it's so nice to share a meal and hang out with friends. It's also a great excuse to make a decadent dessert.

On a practical note, a backpack to fit my laptop with a separate compartment for snacks! Lately I've had a bit more brain space for things other than work or cooking and have been enjoying taking my laptop out to work on fun projects on weekends. I also like the idea of travelling light for weekends away. This pale blue one looks cute too!

Fancy soap is almost always on my list because it's something I love but never buy for myself. I've tried this one and the matching lotion at an Airbnb, and my favourite Sydney yoga studio, and love how natural it smells.

Finally, a giant jar of chunky peanut butter because few things make me happier than a peanut butter and honey sandwich for breakfast.

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My birthday wish list

I'm starting to make plans for my birthday, which is less than a month away. I'll be turning 34, and while it isn't an age I've ever tried out in my head, I'm still excited to celebrate. My whole family will be in Canberra (minus my brother and his wife who live in London), and we're booked in for yum cha. I might also have a small celebration with friends, and make my own cake again.

Because I love to daydream, here's a wish list of things I've been eyeballing lately, starting with a Golden Age Cinema gift pass for my next Sydney visit.

They serve Gelato Messina choc tops at the bar, play cult films like Do The Right Thing, and the entire fit out looks it's straight out of a Wes Anderson film.

Because it's winter and we live in Canberra, some fancy face oil would boost my spirits! It was minus seven on Monday.

A new book, which requires zero waiting because it's not part of a library reserve queue :)

I feel like your thirties is when you start to accumulate beautiful things, like ceramics. I'd use this sweet Girl Nomad mug for my morning coffee. This is my night time tea cup!

And for extra luxurious baking, I'd savour a tiny bottle of vanilla extract from France.

Now to think of any last things I'd like to get done as a 33 year old!

An end of summer pie + a third birthday

Sometime in January, I became obsessed with making a peach pie. I planned to bake one for a weekend away with friends who were visiting from Iceland. I bookmarked this recipe but time got away and I didn't want to rush it.

This Sunday, with summer coming to a close, I made my pie. It's a white peach pie and we ate it a la mode on a 35 degree day. It might become a summer tradition.

I also wanted to say that somewhere along the way, this blog turned three! So much has changed since I started writing it from my dining table in Wagga Wagga.

I now have five nieces and nephews, live in Canberra, and have gone from driving around regional New South Wales for work to flying to different capital cities. I've tried a gazillion different recipes and shared a handful of favourites here, and become even more of a podcast nerd (I listened to this while pie-making).

Thank you for joining me here. I can't wait to share more interviews, musings, podcast recommendations and recipes this year.

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The lovely list

I turned 33 on Sunday and had such a relaxing day. There was brunch somewhere new, lots of sunshine, and cold coconuts too :) I find it hard to make solid plans for my birthday, so this year I made a list of fun things to do either on my birthday weekend or anytime in August. Here's what I managed to tick off the list...

First up: Take advantage of birthday perks. On Saturday, I went to see The Big Sick at favourite cinema for free with complimentary snacks too!

Also on my list: Make an elaborate birthday cake to share. Inspired by Molly Yeh (and my own indecisiveness), I made a cake with three different flavours - chocolate, sprinkles, and coconut and rose. I baked and froze the cakes during the week, and iced it on Saturday night, while listening to podcasts. Because it didn't have to resemble a bus shelter, I was done in time for a pizza dinner with Tony. We're obsessed with this pizzeria at the moment. They make a pizza with gorgonzola and mascarpone.

On my birthday, Tony and I walked to the NGV Sculpture Garden to see the fog sculpture, which is only on for a few hours a day. The best thing about having no real plans was that we just went from one thing to the next, depending on how we felt. There was some time at home for tea and present opening, and when we got hungry, a trip to the city for a big plate of noodles and coconuts.

From there it was time for a bit of window shopping and then my first-ever affogato. We went to Monster Kitchen and ate ice cream by the fire while we plotted our next move.

I really wanted to make my own birthday dinner this year, so we cancelled our dinner plans and headed home. I made a Mexican dinner, while listening to a playlist my brother Derrick made specially for my birthday. The photo he chose to go with it cracks me up! I'm the one clutching the Magna Doodle.



I received lots of lovely things this year. Tony gave me an overnight bag for upcoming adventures, and a copy Ivan Ramen. My sister included a favourite red lipstick in my birthday card, and my friend Sarah  gave me a copy of the The Desserts of New York. I've already found my cake for next year in it!

Keen to stick to my plan to make a fancy cake and share it, I bundled up three hefty chunks of cake at the end of the night to give to friends the next day. And here's what's left on the list... drinks somewhere with a fireplace, climb a new mountain (and pack lots of snacks), and make dinner for friends. 

P.S My birthday last year and ... turning 30.

Birthday wish list

I'm turning 33 in less than a month! On the day, I'm planning to climb a mountain and pack a donut and coffee picnic :) It falls on a Sunday so I might even make my own cake, inspired by this London bakery. Here are a few things I'd love to receive, starting with the latest issue of Cherry Bombe magazine, with Martha Stewart on the cover.

A silk pillowcase, because I always wake up with creases on my face!

This cookbook of Japanese cult classics, so I can make yakisoba and katsu-don at home. I've borrowed a copy from the library a few times and the recipes are straightforward and achievable. One cookbook is never enough... I also have my eye on Salt, Fat, Acid Heat. There's so much buzz about it!

My brother makes the best playlists - I am still listening to the ones he made for my wedding a few years ago! I asked him for an updated one as a birthday present. I'm listening to his show while I wait.

And I'm keen to give a Kindle a go, one with an inbuilt light for early morning reading. I recently packed two books for a four-day work trip, including one hardcover!

Mini lemon birthday cake

It's Tony's birthday today so I made a cake that combines two of his favourite desserts - cheesecake and lemon meringue pie. This time last year, we were staying in a bed and breakfast in Wagga Wagga for his PhD graduation so he ended up with a Streets Viennetta!

I used a recipe from Small Victories - one of my favourite cookbooks from 2016 - for the cake. It's a lemon olive oil cake that comes together really quickly, making it perfect for weeknight baking. Then I made a small batch of cream cheese icing to finish it off.

The pineapple candle makes it look extra festive :) My friend Kristy sent them all the way from Perth. We're about to head out to eightysix for dinner (I'm ordering for the fried chicken!) and then I have one more surprise up my sleeve - a nightcap at Molly, a speakeasy that specialises in whisky. I love birthdays!

Sydney weekend

We roadtripped to Sydney on the weekend to celebrate two birthdays and snuck in dinner at a new place and a trip to the beach too. Here are a few snaps:

Surprise birthday weekend

I turned 32 yesterday and had the best day - my friends Irini and Angie had organised a surprise visit so I spent the weekend doing all of my favourite things with some of my favourite people. Here's a little look:

A favourite chocolate birthday cake

For the last few years my friend Sophie has been making my birthday cakes and she knew exactly what I liked - chocolate. When I turned 30 she made a giant black forest cake and last year, a fudge cake topped with homegrown flowers. 

It became a bit of a tradition because while I was living in Wagga Wagga, I made a few of her birthday cakes too - a hummingbird cake for her thirtieth and a fairy bread cake the year earlier. But now that we're separated by a few hundred kilometres contingency plans have to be made.

Which brings me back to the first ever cake Tony made from scratch for one of my first birthdays in Wagga Wagga - Nigella's chocolate guinness cake. It's an excellent chocolate cake - it's dense without being too rich, and chocolatey without being too sweet.

I made it for the first time for the office bake off for the boozy theme and it's pretty quick to make. It's a melt and mix cake, which is great for winter because butter doesn't really soften easily. One slightly unusual aspect of this cake is its cream cheese frosting but it really works. I've only just realised is meant to make the cake look like a glass of guinness!

So this year, there's a chance I'll be having this cake or something I've been wanting for years - a mini croquembouche :) I'll keep you posted.

P.S Here are two other favourite chocolate cakes - Smitten Kitchen's 'I-want-chocolate-cake' cake is unfussy and classic while Ruth Reichl's giant chocolate cake can feed a crowd with leftovers.

Birthday wish list

It's almost my birthday! I have a small pile presents stashed away in my wardrobe from my family and I've just booked dinner here (yay oysters!). Here are a few things I've been eyeballing lately, starting with this French market basket for food shopping and spring picnics. Also:

A Monsieur Truffe chocolate bar to accompany cups of tea and late night reading.

Perfume in a polka dot bottle to wear out to dinner and other fancy occasions.

What's a birthday without a new cookbook :) I have so many on my list, including Cornersmith: Recipes from the Cafe and Picklery, The Love and Lemons Cookbook and Food 52's Genius Recipes.

And something I've wanted for ages, a cast iron skillet so I can make the giant cookie on the cover of Donna Hay magazine and dutch babies.