{Saturday}
::: Enjoyed continuing our new(ish) tradition of making pancakes in the morning. Now that I have more of my cookbook collection with me in Australia I've been busy in the kitchen making up for lost time. This blueberry pancake recipe is from my favourite breakfast book, the superbly written and photographed William Sonoma BREAKFAST.
::: Shopped for an Australian-Father's Day gift for Nick's dad. Reclaim in Summer Hill is a mix of vintage and new girly delights. Everything from jewelry to quilts to tea sets and gift cards. It's a girly girl (with a lot of cashola's) dream in there. Even so they have these amazing soaps that Nick's dad just loves so we bought him a couple. Who wouldn't love lettuce scented soap!?
::: Burned off above mentioned pancake breakfast on Sydney's waterfront Canada Bay walk with my very game boyfriend. As part of a project to explore our neighbourhood, we decided to venture into the suburb of Drummoyne to check out this trail. Admittedly, we didn't realize that our planned leisurely stroll would turn into a 7km power walk, but because it's a loop we just kept plowing ahead. In the process we found an awesome outdoor pool, a restaurant with a million dollar view, and most of all spent two hours of quality time together, enjoying our neighbourhood and a beautiful, sunny spring day.
::: Having worked up an unexpected appetite, I had a killer noodle craving so we stopped off in the popular Asian dining suburb of Ashfield for some authentic chinese noodles. Yum! The only slight hiccup was our car deciding to not start as we tried to head home. Luckily it's a work vehicle with roadside assistance coverage, so we eventually made it home...
::: Managed to put together a half-decent outfit to wear to the opening night gala of the play, Transparency, at the Seymour Centre theatre in Sydney. A good friend of mine works in the industry and invited me as her date! The play was a-mazing. Originally staged in Ireland, I won't try to write a review, but if you're interested in reading about the play, a well-written review is available here.
{Sunday}
::: Took advantage of yet another beautiful spring day in Sydney and gathered our weekly fruit and veg from the yuppy/hippy Marrickville Farmer's Market. I love this place. The produce is fresh, well-priced, and healthy. We often end up buying way more than we can eat in a week but, unlike ferrel Woolies or Coles veggies, these don't need to be chucked out after a few days. We often buy enough for two weeks and properly stored in the fridge, nothing has ever gone off!
::: Headed down the coast to Nick's parents' house for Father's Day. It was such a warm day- we ate lunch outside on the patio before going to Win Stadium in Wollongong to watch Nick's brother play in his rugby team's semi-final game. It was so close right up until the end! At first the idea of watching rugby was similar to that of watching paint dry to me, but after Nick took me to my first game I realized that watching 80 minutes of buff guys running around in tiny short shorts wasn't really that bad ;)
::: Weaseled my way into a quick intro photography lesson from Nick's dad. I'm keen to learn how to improve my photography and since Nick's dad has taken up the hobby himself (with considerably more resources to fund said hobby,) I thought I might as well start with learning how to use a setting other than "auto" on my little point and shoot. Stay tuned.
::: After the footy game, the whole family gathered back at the house for a big Father's Day dinner. We tucked in to a delicious spread cooked by Nick's mum - roast potatoes, pork loin, salad, peas, rice, curry, bread, and my favourite- cooked fresh beetroot. I don't quite understand the Aussies' fascination with this vegetable but they're versatile and healthy and, as it turns out, very tasty too!