Hate Playing Catch Up

Cannot believe it has been just about three months since my last post.  Where has the time gone?  Is it just about December already?  Oh my. 

We had two girls celebrate their birthdays.  I'm now the mother of a nine and a four year old.  Great ages.  

My sister visited for two weeks.  I wish her visit had been longer.

We moved into our own home and are still enjoying it, two months later.

 And lots of other doings in between!

I think I have lots of catch up posts to follow….  Hopefully not so long between drinks posts this time!

A Glimpse of Ellen

I don't know how it happened, but our Melbourne itinerary somehow collided with Ellen DeGeneres when she was in Australia.  The girls and I had a whole day to spare in the city and it just happened to be the day Ellen was making an appearance for her show!  

We had planned a visit to the National Gallery of Victoria but alas, the gallery is closed on a Tuesday (I swear it used to always be closed on a Monday!) so we thought we might head on down to Birrarung Marr, behind Federation Square, to see (if we could) perhaps catch a glimpse, or at least hear the Talk Show Legend.  But when we approached the corner of Federation Square and the Yarra River our hearts slumped.  

The que was unbelievable....  I sent this pic to MrL who was on the other side of Australia, probably with the caption "look at this line!!!"

Thousands of people.

I suggested to the girls we take a seat outside near an outside stage and screen as it was pretty obvious that there was no way we would make it inside the the formal stage where things were going to happen.

The crowd kept building up with a lot of people having the same idea and the formal line being told that the stage area was now closed.

It wasn't too long before the Queen arrived.  There was a big buzz in the air.  And she acknowledged the people who couldn't/didn't get into the main arena.

Can you see her there waving?  And that's her mum across from her and wife Portia climbing the stairs ahead in a pretty red dress.  (She too did turn around and wave - she is a Melbourne girl after all!)

Monet and I were particularly thrilled.  Lily?  Nah.  She had no idea.

After watching a bit of the recording on the big screen ahead of us I was faced with two hungry and restless daughters.

But I soon put a stop to that.

My Ploughman's lunch went down a certain treat and the girls enjoyed their meals too.

A fantastic day.

FORTY

March 5th saw me reach a significant number.  And I have to say, it was one of my best birthdays ever.  

Special flowers from my Big Sis & her life partner, in the UK

I'm not into parties.  I'm not into being the 'centre of attention', a party of any kind was never on the cards.  MrL suggested a couple of weeks beforehand that we could all perhaps spend the night at a hotel.  I quite liked that idea.  So he went ahead and booked a room at The Shangri-La on the Marina in Cairns.  

The weather might have taken a bad turn that afternoon....

We had a big storm in the afternoon of my birthday.

...but it didn't worry me.

The view from our room was just beautiful.  I've said it before and I will say it again, I love me a marina.

A nice champagne was the order of the afternoon for me.

MrL and the girls bought me a lovely bangle for my 40th.

The girls had a great time in the pool and convinced MrL to get in there too...

...whilst I sipped a cocktail or two.

We had a sensational dinner eating at The Salt House, which is part of the Yacht Club at the Marina.

The next day it was great to get up early, enjoy the view and have a family swim in the massive rooftop pool at the Hotel.  We walked along the Esplanade to a popular Cairns restaurant for breakfast before biding MrL on his way off to work.

Monet still had school to attend so after packing up our room (who knew that four bodies could make so much mess over the course of one night) Lily and I went home via school.

The Marina view at 6am

Breakfast view

A fantastic birthday.  Definitely what I wanted and definitely one to remember.  Awesome.

Fratelli

When MrL's parents were up over Christmas we all visited a particular little restaurant that I had been eyeing off since our return but hadn't set foot in the place.  After our dining experience I had wished we had been there previously.  

Fratelli opened up on the Esplanade of our beach-side suburb when we were living in the UAE.  After a little research we have found out that the current owners and chefs of the place were the original owners of Lunico's, which we frequent a lot (see previous post!)  During the day, when closed and shut up shop, this restaurant looks like an old run down marquee.  But when they sides of the marquee open and the 'Open' sign is turned on the gate, you see that it isn't run down, but it is rustic.  In a comfortable way.  

The food ordered was delicious.  

And I love a good kiddies menu.  Lily (and the rest of us!!) loved the spaghetti and meatballs.  Delicious.

I've been dreaming of this ricotta and spinach gnocchi, baked in the oven in a tomato sauce, since I had it!

I don't usually do desserts but when the in-laws do, I do too.  Vanilla-bean panacotta thank you.

Can you see that lady waving?  No, I don't know her.  But we were sitting on the table behind them.

Frantelli.  Definitely a restaurant to put on your list to visit if you're in my neck of the woods.

Two days before Christmas...

...we celebrated MrL's birthday.  My in-laws had arrived the day previously for a handful of nights so it was nice to have them here to help celebrate.  It was also nice of them to have the girls for the afternoon.  *heehee*

I was actually pretty organised this year and MrL scored well with pressies.  

The six of us headed to Palm Cove for lunch.  We had decided (after deliberation) to eat at the Far Horizon's Restaurant, located within the Angsana Resort of the Palm Cove foreshore.  It was actually the same restaurant that MrL and I had our little wedding celebration at, back in 2008.  

With hesitation we ordered off the menu but no one could fault their food.  I must note that the kid's menu was great and different from everywhere else which offer the same thing.  Monet had chosen a platter of bread, ham, cheese, cucumber, ham and lettuce and Lily had a toasted cheese sandwich with apple slices on the side.  Mine was Peri-peri chicken on a light salad.  Washed down with a James Boag beers or two, was lovely....

After lunch Nanna and Poppy took the girls home....ahh....

After another drink we made our way along the Esplanade and ended up at a bar we had wanted to visit but never had.  The Rising Sun.  It didn't feel like Palm Cove, had a very Mediterranean feel about it.  Was lovely.  And as a bonus we spied a kid's corner located under one of the stain glassed windows.  I'd love a nook like this in my dream home...

We should have stayed there for the remainder of the afternoon but instead we moved on to a couple more places.

MrL's dad picked us up and back to the apartment they were staying at.  They were happy to look after the girls a little longer so we went to Lunico's for dinner.

A lovely way to end a birthday.

Happy Birthday MrL xx

MrL's meal - those sweet potato chips were to die for.

Our mission to Mission

MrL and I like to organise a trip for a night or two on spur of the moment.  My latest example was Friday evening.  Before we knew it we had booked a two night getaway to Mission Beach, a 170 kilometer trek down the Bruce Highway.  We have visited that part of the Cassowary Coast on numerous occasions but have never stayed there.  

We left early on Saturday morning with MrL's car loaded with suitcases.  As you do with two young children.  

You know when you are nearing Mission beach when the signs below are scattered along the road leading into the area....

It was hot there.  Really hot.  A different heat from that of Cairns when we say it is hot and humid.  A different heat from that of the UAE and once again, a different heat from a hot day in Melbourne.  We had parked the car in the main drag of Mission Beach and headed to the beach for a stroll.  By the time we got back from our walk we were all dripping with sweat and the cold water from the local little supermarket went down a treat.

After lunch at a local 'resort' we headed to 'Woolies' and got a few supplies before checking into our cottage along Wongaling Beach.  A reasonable sized two bedroom cottage.

The girls had a swim in the (shared) pool after a play and a relax.  Our dinner was at a bar and grill down the road.

The girls before heading out for dinner

Sunday morning I headed out for a early lone walk along the beach.  The sunrise was beautiful and it was lovely to walk along the beach, sharing with a few other walkers.  The length of Mission Beach runs some 12 kilometres or so, with views over to islands, the main being Dunk which was ravaged in 2011's Cyclone Yasi, which destroyed the beautiful resort we had stayed on about six years previously.

After a lazy morning of driving around and a swim in the pool we headed off for lunch.  We couldn't complain about the view.

Monet took this photo of Lily and I

 The afternoon was spent back in the pool (as you do), a few Sunday arvo sippers (Coronas were of choice), we headed back to the Bar and Grill we had visited the night previously.  (There are not a lot of choices close by at Wongaling Beach.)  It was two Coronas for the price of one so that was nice.  (*heehee*)

And because the meal we had there the night before was delicious and the view was picturesque, we ate there again.

I had the same meal two nights in a row!  Red Emperor on top of a potato croquette, roast pumpkin, spinach, pesto and some lovely sauce.

We left yesterday morning, at around 8:30, which was absolutely perfect timing, as the rains set in from across the sea.  The rain home was unbelievably heavy and slow going, but we got home safe and sound and in one piece.

Late Afternoon Beach Fun

I really should update this blog more often!  Sheesh, where does the time go?  Monet has already been back at school for final term for two weeks now and I haven't even blogged about little things we did.  I will get there eventually.

So....

Quite a few Sunday evenings ago (three weeks ago in fact), MrL and I decided that instead of having a beer or two on our balcony at home that we'd venture down the beach and have a couple there....as you do in Queensland.  It was a perfect evening, busy with tourists still splashing in the water, people chatting and grouped together on the beach and two little sisters besotted with one another.

It's times like that, that makes me appreciate where we live.

And with the sun setting, it was time to enjoy some (perfectly grilled) fish and chips on the foreshore.  I'm not sure of the photo below (lol) with the girl's expressions (lol) but we had a pleasant evening together.