Wordless Wednesday - February Photo a day challenge!

This is the second month I have played along with Fat mum slims Photo a day challenge... I have found it to be a very inspiring challenge... it is making me love Instagram even more (if that is possible)  I love taking pictures of the everyday an ordinary and turning it into something so personal, interesting and extraordinary...And I love seeing everyone else's take on things.. its amazing how one theme can bring about so many unique pictures.. So here are some of my favourite  February photos!!

I am Linking up today with Trish for Wordless Wednesday at  My Little Drummer Boys

Until next time, Life is too short for crappy coffee

Coffee.. Yes I still write about it!

Ok so when I started my blog back a year ago the purpose of it was to write all about the fabulous cafes I visited. I set myself  a mission.. to taste the top 100 Melbourne Coffees..Yes It was big crazy  challenge..but I had a game plan, a timeline, I trained like an Olympic athlete... working my way up slowly and then bang fuelled by caffeine I was on fire and heading towards the finish line. So OK I didn't get to the 100, 94 in fact ... I came close... and I trained really hard to get there!!  Somewhere along the line I discovered I liked writing about my life, my circumstances and of course about my other inspiration Darby.  But essentially my blog started as as way of reviewing my experience at each cafe I visited .. Lately life seems to have gotten in the way and I haven't been drinking any decent coffee at all therefore I havent really wanted to write about it.... What seemed like a regular activity was slowly becoming a weekend treat....

My new job is a factor, it is located on the outskirts of the city and away from the hustle and bustle of the coffee hub of the inner city.. I missed that..I had favorite coffee shops that I haven't been able to go to at all this year.. 
Yes I am the biggest coffee snob, well maybe not the biggest, but I certainly have high standards and if I order a coffee and it isn't any good.. it gets a big black cross and I dont go back! I am fair in most things in life.. but if I get a bad coffee.. I dont forgive and forget..  


I also think adding an extra work day to my week has really stretched my coffee tasting ability. Last year I had Mondays and Thursdays off to spend with Darby and often we would  organise things to do around coffee,  This list was the focal point of my year ... 

So on Saturday morning  I like to select a place to enjoy my first coffee of the weekend. It is quite  a lengthy and thought out process... I tend to go where I know I will have a rocking coffee.. 

This week  in the spirit of being an adventurer I had the urge to try somewhere new! So  I packed Darby up and set upon our little coffee adventure.. The exhilarating feeling of the unknown was back, that feeling that spurred me on all of 2011 was there again.. Like an old familiar friend welcoming me back with open arms..


I realized how much I missed that feeling.. getting in my car and letting my imagination and a big list drive me! 

Without setting myself that challenge this year, I have to use my own instincts or at least Twitter to find a new place. So today I headed to Reverence in Ascot Vale on the recommendation by the owner of Naked Espresso on Twitter.. my favourite city coffee shop! If they go there in their down time it must be good.. plus it is in my neighbourhood.. well only an 8 minute drive!
So Darb's, I mean Batman, landed in Ascot Vale and zoomed into Reverence.. Immediatley I loved the bright and open feel.. the gorgeous blue frangipanis on the table and the echoey dark wooden floors... And I really really loved the orange coffee cup my cappuccino came in.. (although I would have loved chocolate on top too.. but that's a trivial need!!) Darby as always befriended the wait staff.. and today especially in his batman mask! He looked so damn cute! One of the waiters took a shining to him as well and kept coming to talk to him..  Darby as always oozed the confidence I love so much (and wish I had) and by his own accord, went and ordered himself something!! The wait staff look over at me, I shrug my shoulders and nod my head!! Surerly he is not ordering the most extravagant meal on the menu! Within a few moments a little gingerbread man, sporting a very spunky black tie arrived at our table! Good choice Batman! My coffee arrived too, it was superb... and definately made with love! I will keep this place in the list in my head of places to go, and Im sure Ill be back for another adventure. On our way out, Darby turned to me and said " They like me mum, I think I have made some friends" and I think he was right!
If you are in the area go and check it out!

Also today make sure you pick up a copy of the Age's Coffee Army book .. I participated in this fun activity during last year and it sure does have the best coffees listed in Melbourne!! Keep it as your bible!!! Or even better if you are in Melbourne email me and I will take you to one of those places! I think out of the list there were 10 I hadnt been too! Scary!!!!

Until next time, life is too short  to drink crappy coffee... 

Wordless Wednesday - Dress Ups

A friend recently tagged a photo of me on Facebook (don't you just love that!!) in a very old and crumpled photo, I am dressed as Superman - yep thats a black curl on my face, it took me awhile to work it out!!!!
Darby was soooo impressed when he saw it.. He already knows I'm a super mum, I tell him all the time (haha).. but this reaffirmed that being a superhero really is pretty cool if mum is dressing up like one!! (Im sure in a few years, this will get him running in the opposite direction from superheros, when cool and mum never go together!) 

As I sit in my lounge room now writing this, my caped crusader by my side.. I realise it might be me who is fuelling his obsession with dress ups.. Yes, I don't think I have the first child obsessed with dressing as a favourite character .. but I know I really encourage it.. 
It wasn't so long ago that I was obsessed with dress ups! No, not as a child but as an adult.. Any dress up party I'd be there.. I keep wanting some one to throw one. Come to think of it.. I should just throw a dress up party myself!  (Oh and as you can see  I have an obsession with dress up Sunglasses as well... I'm  building a bit of collection!!) 

I am Linking up today with Trish for Wordless Wednesday at  My Little Drummer Boys

Until next time, Life is too short for crappy coffee

How cool are we!!??

Dame Edna eat your heart out!!

Hi there buzz.... 

I think the dress ups obsession might have
started with my dad!! Best dressed by far at
Darbys party last year!!

Spiderman!

Nothing beats mums dress

Ok not technically a dress up.. but this was Darbys nickname
and I thought he had a resemblance to McDreamy (I was  delusional)
Doesn't help that one of McDreamys kids in real life is called
Darby!!! (obsessed much??!!)

Starting early... dishing out some orders!

Channeling inner red head.... I should go back!! Half
Sexy/Half Lion King!

Hello Cowgirl .....

Calamity Jane... Watch out I'm holding a pistol!!

Poison Ivy- my sexiest dress up to date!!

Well maybe not- here I am a cheap 1800's hooker!!!

Work it baby!!

I obviously liked to pull up my dress!! This one
revealing my Hip replacement scar!! Classy!

My modern family heartache

I took Darby to the beach on the weekend, it was an unplanned trip to kill some time on Saturday afternoon. We are lucky as our local beach is less than 5kms away. It was a nice day, a sunny 28 degrees, not hot enough in my books to go swimming, but hot enough to have an ice-cream and to make the most of the sea breeze....but today, something was off, a miss, not quite right.. Darby was happy as happy, I parked perfectly for a change, but as soon as we got out of the car I wanted to get back in.. I felt an almost shame I haven't felt  since I became a single parent almost 2 years ago.. A dread, a sadness, a guilt, a fear and a tinge of jealousy of seeing all the families playing happily like families do at the beach. I was one of them not that long ago. Normally this kind of thing doesn't worry me,  I am good at taking no notice, maybe its a skill learnt as part of my heartache, that I can easily remain in our insular world not worrying about whats happening around me.. Its our little bubble! 

But today my heart ached... It felt raw, it longed for something I  couldn't put my finger on.
I love my own little modern family.. my relationship with Darby and my relationship with Darby's dad.. and the families surrounding me.. It just works, its happy, its not forced or pretend, there is no fakeness   involved. It makes me happy that it can work like that, just easy, no real anger, or resentment, that has dissipated over time..(if you had asked me 12 months ago it may have been a very different answer!)
I know nothing defines the perfect family, they come in all shapes and sizes.. Some big, some small, and although my situation is not ideal, it has its own place... Its a happy unit.. I have a happy boy, I have a nice apartment.. Things are good....
So it got me thinking maybe there is something missing for me, a large piece still seems like it needs to fall into place.. I know I have ignored this part for a long time, but I think now I have realised how much I would like the company of another in my life. To share this and that, and talk about my day with someone who cares in the way a partner does.. In a way it is a good thing I have reached this point and I can acknowledge this.. it means I am ready to find that person or a person... but it now means I have to actually go out there and do it.. which is where I find it hard, tiring and more depressing... 
And this is where my own self doubt creeps in, I know I am partner worthy, but of course I question even myself about how good I am at being able to sustain a relationship.. 
I have a picture in my head of how things should be, but I really need to scrap it, as I will just be disappointed if i don't see it! It will do my head in... I need to have no picture, a clean slate ... just be at peace with myself and things will happen right??? I don't think its as easy as that but I can only hope... Im a go getter so I feel as though I should be doing more. I need to find that energy within myself and start somewhere...
These kinds of posts are incredibly hard for me to write, it makes me feel exposed and naked and they exhaust me of energy... I know I have such incredible support around me, but this battle is one I have to tackle myself, I don't know where to begin... but the fact I am going to begin, means something..
Not really a fun an uplifting post from me to start the week.. but ah well, sometimes you need some dark to see the light! 

I am linking up with the adorable and gorgeous Son at Life Love & Hiccups....

Until next time , life is too short  to drink crappy coffee... 

Recipe: My Healthy Banana & Blueberry Cake

image via

Working in Wellness my work place is all for good Health and Well being.. My colleagues uphold this by  going  for runs around the Tan at lunch.. or heading off to a sweaty class at the gym. We have health and skin checks yearly to make sure we are fit, healthy and aware....  It is also  easy to eat healthy at work  as we also have fresh fruit delivered weekly.. For such a small workplace we get a whole lot of fruit! Even for the healthiest of healthy we can't get through all of it and there is a lot of wastage! The first to show the signs of ageing are the good old bananas.

A while back eating a banana was a treat .. remember when it cost over $3.00 for one single piece of yellow goodness.. Well now, they sit there going brown and going to waste..The baker in me hates seeing that, so I this week I took them home.. I knew I could turn 5 black bananas into some cake magic!! 

So here is the recipe I made up for my healthy banana cake, I used more bananas so I could cut out some of the sugar!! 


INGREDIENTS: 
4 Very Ripe Bananas
125ml/gm of Coconut Oil
2 Eggs 
1/2 Cup of Soy Milk 
2 teaspoons of vanilla essence
2 Table spoons of Low Fat Sour Cream (I used Weight Watchers)
2 Cups of Spelt or Wholemeal Flour
2 Teaspoons of Baking Powder
1/2 cup of Brown Sugar
2 teaspoons of Cinnamon
1/2 cup of Blueberries (I used Frozen) 


Icing (optional)
1pack of low fat cream cheese
1 cup of icing sugar
A squeeze of lemon 
A hint of vanilla essence 


METHOD 
Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Grease a cake tin, I used a big round tin. 
Mash the bananas in a bowl, add the eggs and the coconut oil, add the soy milk, sour cream & vanilla essence. In another bowl add Flour, baking powder, cinnamon and sugar. Add the wet ingredients gently to the dry. Lastly gently fold in the blueberries to the mix. Then pour into greased tin and put in the preheated oven for 45 mins-1 hour. I kept checking and got it out at the one hour mark. Keep checking with a skewer and if it comes out clean, you know its ready! 
To make the icing, make sure the Cream cheese is at room temperature. Mix it with the icing sugar, lemon juice and vanilla.. Try not to eat too much of it before it goes on the cake.. it will be hard as it tastes out of this world delicious! 


Once the cake is cooled, ice with the cream cheese icing, sprinkle with some coconut, cut yourself a slice and indulge!!! 
If you want to keep it really healthy just don't add the icing! 
Ill be making this again... Yum YumYum!!!

Until next time.. Bon Appetite! 

Oh Where has the time gone...

I am currently going through the process of finding a school for Darby.. and it got me thinking.. where the bloody hell have the last 5 years gone.. If they went this fast it will be in a blink of an eye that I am sending him to high school and then into the scary world of adulthood ... such a scary thought... I will try not to think about it as when I  do the maths that makes me mighty old too!! Yikes.. 

Anyone else feeling the time is flashing before them??

So here are a few* pics of my baby... from birth to now... oh my!! 

If you feel like doing something new... come and like me at my Facebook Page  I'd really love you too!! 

I am Linking up today with Trish for Wordless Wednesday at  My Little Drummer Boys

Until next time, Life is too short for crappy coffee

* a few pics to me is always around 20 (sorry!!) ; )