Anna & Ali

Saturday we went out with Anna & Ali to celebrate their upcoming wedding

They are getting married in Italy soon (they leave next week!!!), and since we can't be there it was FABULOUS to be able to celebrate with them here in Oz :)

Murray liked the cool wallpaper in the restaurant too!

Anna (Anna's friend) brought this lovely cake for them - yummy and pretty!

Ahhhhh - so cute:)

Gorgeous details on the cake

The cut.

Murray also liked this unique photo on the restaurant wall

Where we had lunch (cool reflection through the window). WOW the food was amazing - we had a LONG leisurely chatty lunch, it was just wonderful.

The Girls: Me, Anna & Anna

The girls & Ali

The lovely couple

Ahhhhh soon to be Mr & Mrs - how exciting :)

The four of us (and Sparky!)

And one last feel of the bump:) Sparky was moving around for them after all that GORGEOUS food!

It was SUCH a nice afternoon. Great to be able to celebrate with fantastic friends. We wish them ALL the best in their life together and a wonderful Italian wedding day and honeymoon (can't WAIT to see the pictures!!!)

Crock Pot Off

A few weeks back Murray and I purchased a slow cooker, or 'Crock Pot'.....not long after came the predictable wave of Crock Fever (cue Bee Gees music as background soundtrack). This infection transmitted itself to our friends Matt and Steph, who, over a few wines, agreed to Murray's 'inspired' suggestion to set a date for a Crock pot challenge! The contract was drawn up, the signatures were scribbled....the legend began.

There was just one thing we didn't think through.....the competition required TWO full meals for judging...needless to say we rolled out of our chairs......

The night started with Matt's 30th Bday wine from Steph....an Italian red Barolo.

Session 1 - Matt and Steph's German Spread. 24 hr cooked Pork with Cabbage and apple crisps! YUM!! Sooo tasty!

mmm the oven roasted potato chat's with just a 'touch' of olive oil ;-)

Apple Crisps - So tasty!

The tasty yet 'treacherous' buttered cabbage side. Not a 'first date' side ;-)

Slow Cooker MasterPork!

Session 2 - Our Lamb and Gorgonzola Scone topped dish!

With Carrot ....chunks ;-)

Zoom in on 'The Scone'.......

Dessert time....Brownies.......

...and Steph's home made Profiteroles!!! Look at that rich chocolate sauce!

This went with our brownies....Home Opened and lovingly Hand Lifted ice cream lid. Our master stroke of brilliance. ;-)

A tie in the end - and 4 VERY full people. Next time - one meal per evening!

Good Practice

Last night we stopped by the hospital to see Cassie & Hamish's new baby Lennox

It was SO cool to be holding him - after months and months of pilates with Cassie & comparing our bumps:) He is gorgeous, head full of dark hair, lovely features, just perfect. It was surreal to be holding a newborn though - ages since I have done that. So tiny! I just can't believe we will HAVE one of these in a few weeks - OH MY GOSH!! I only held him for a short time though, because the bump was in the way I sort of rested him on it, which was quite uncomfortable and heavy - Sparky even started kicking around like 'hey - this is MY space' ha ha. It was wonderful to have a little cuddle with Lennox though:)

The Baby Shower!

Sunday my lovely Mother-in-law Lyn and Sister-in-law Helen threw me a baby shower :)

Gorgeous details were all over the table when we arrived - like these pretty gingerbread cookies

& a rattle

and a bottle (this is the one I took home - SUPER yummy tasting too!!!)

The yummy cupcakes inside those gorgeous boxes!

And lots of lovely prizes for the games!

We played 'the price is right' - where we had to put baby items in price order (it was SO hard!)
A fun 'fill in the blank' nursery rhymes game

and one of these bottles was filled with a candy called milk bottles - we had to guess how many it was filled with

The shower was at The Victoria Room in Darlinghurst - such a lovely place!

Lyn and Jocelyn

Megan, Laura & Selina

Me & Anna

Nicole & Cassie

Selina, Helen & Me

Anna & Steph

Laura, Selina & Helen

The food was AMAZING!!!!
Fancy sandwiches (with no crust of course!), fancy desserts and scones with jam & cream
Yumm yumm yumm

I must say my favorite was the red velvet mini cupcakes - I had 3!
Everything tasted AMAZING!
Also we had a fancy tea menu to choose from - of course I had a chai latte and oh my gosh it was fabulous!! A really fun high tea experience!

Cute - I love red as a gender neutral color!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh - Sparky has so many gorgeous new things to wear now!

Something about the nappy bin is funny I guess? It'll sure come in handy that's for sure!

It was fun to read all the cards

Me with the gorgeous nappy cake from Steph

Another gorgeous nappy cake from Cassie!

Opening the fun gift from my Mom

Helen also got Murray a gift - this fluffy koala mat for Sparky! SO cute:)

It was SUCH a wonderful afternoon - I can't thank my lovely in-laws and friends enough for spoiling us so much! Sparky says thanks too!! :)