Wedding Bells on Australia Day!

I hope everyone had a fantastic Australia Day. I got really sick of people posting status updates on Facebook along the lines of "Happy Straya Day C*%$" - I hate that language in the first place and Australia Day seemed to really bring out the 'best' in  people on my Facebook.

I had to forfeit my Preggibellies class on Saturday morning as I have had two very swollen ankles for a few days now, with the left one leaving me unable to stand on it - forget doing lunges etc.
My OB is not concerned, and after not walking on it much for two days it has finally gone back to normal, and I no longer suffer from 'Shrek Feet'.

My cousin got married on Saturday and whilst The Husband and my In Laws painted our new house all day, I attended the wedding husbandless and my brothers friend who was sitting next to me quickly got mistaken as my husband all night long.

Mum is back from Perth for the wedding and it seems that she has developed a knack for stating the obvious, introducing me to people as "This is my youngest daughter, Maryanne, she is WITH CHILD" - Thanks captain obvious mum.

Look, I am warning you now, there are to be no more photos of me on this blog for the rest of my pregnancy unless they are heavily photoshopped to look like my previous self - now, to learn to photoshop.

I cannot deal with the forever reminder of this puffer fish face.

I swear, I look in the mirror and laugh at this new face. 

I'm wearing an ASOS maternity dress which was about $35 on sale. I didn't try it on before the day and it was too long but I had no staples handy to quickly hem it, ha. 

My clutch is from Sussan and is bulging as it is full of make up and skin care to take to Geelong with me after the wedding. Necklace from Lord & Taylor in NYC.

I changed to my green Kate Spade necklace for the reception but have no good photos. 

The lovely bride and groom!! 

Mum, Joseph, Emma, Lucas and I. 

As you can see - Lucas is back home safe and sound from Afghanistan so that is one thing I can check off my daily worry list. 

Now, we need Cathy to arrive safely (moving back next week) and that's my mums side of my siblings home at last!

The reception was at The Willows on St Kilda Road which is a lovely venue even if Joey did think it was a bit of a cliche to have willow trees there hahaaha.

I love the idea of candles in tea cups. 

I don't know what the heck this is, but Joey (who rather likes the fact that I mention him on here) has the following to say:

It was weird, but I liked it.

Some form of salmon and pate roll.

Potato gnocchi with burnt butter sauce

This sauce was delicious but the gnocchi was way too gluggy and you needed water to choke it down. 

Joey: Tasted nice but was a cheap cut and was too fatty.

When my Barramundi came out I had to forfeit and hand it to Joey as the smell was killing me, there was nothing wrong with it at all it was just my pregnancy bionic nostrils not agreeing. 

Vanilla Bean Pannacotta 

Yep, that's right - I've had it twice in one week. Hell yes.

This was good. I had intentions of eating two servings as some people had left by the time it came out but I refrained - looking at photos of me taken during the night (which will never see the light of day thank you very much) quickly made me change my mind.  

Soap for bonbonniere. 

Such a cute cake! 

I didn't get to have any as I left just before it was served but it looked lovely.

Ice Creams By The Water

Sometimes all you need on a nice day is a walk along the beach and some gelati with the one you love.

We happened to be in Geelong on this day, and Eastern Beach is not my favorite so we just got gelati and called it a day after a very brief stroll/waddle.  

I really wanted to go on the ferris wheel but somebody didn't want to.

One day, I will get him on a ride. 

This dress is definitely not flattering but it is ridiculously comfortable so I can forgive it. 

The Husband matches his food to his clothing apparently. He does it quite well I might add.

I can never finish an ice cream or gelati. 

I never even make it to the cone. I think I just get bored and give up.

Well, there is a post about beaches and ice cream for you.

  

My Birthday & Trunk Bar and Restaurant

I woke up alone on my birthday as The Husband was away, but I had the sweetest happy birthday text message on my phone which was apparently from my daughter, and she was also complaining that I was snoring too loudly (it was sent after I fell asleep) and that the snores were echoing around her house in my belly.

It's fair to say that that made me laugh, and The Husband was forgiven for not being there when I woke up.

During the day I received lots of love via phone calls and text messages and then this bunch of flowers were delivered to work, from who, you ask?

Well, from my daughter of course. She already has her dads charm.

10 brownie points to The Husband. 

Lucky that our receptionist did not read the card as it has her name on it so that cat would have been out of the bag. 

The Husband did come home with the best present though, he had stopped by Baby Bunting to get me another pregnancy pillow as my wedge and full length body one are not doing the job, so fingers crossed that this bad boy helps but I have pretty much given up hope.

My MIL got me this lovely crystal necklace, and if you remember the earrings that The Husband got me for Christmas you will see that they match! Clever!

We ventured out for a late dinner at Trunk Restaurant and Bar on Exhibition Street.

Having lived so close to it for so many years, I'm ashamed to say that we had never been there before!

We had no reservation but at 8:30 on a Monday night they were pretty empty and we had a wide choice of tables to choose from.

The only downside about restaurants with mood lighting is my crap photography taking skills.
I refuse to use a flash. I even wait until there are no staff looking before I snap a quick photo.

I cannot stand bread with olive oil. I need bread with balsamic vinegar and oil.

Bruschetta - Capsicum, tomato and goats cheese $12.50

This was delicious! My eyes may have been bigger than my belly when I ordered a main and two sides for my self, but luckily The Husband is always willing to share.

Fried calamari with rocket & romesco $28

You can not go past a good serving of calamari if you ask me. This was not my meal but he seemed pretty happy with it, polishing it off rather quickly.

Caramelized pumpkin & gorgonzola agnolotti, burnt butter & pine nuts $25
(I had the gorgonzola swapped for parmesan)

I originally ordered a canelloni dish but they were out so this was my next option, and the kitchen was happy to substitute the gorgonzola for parmesan at my request.

It looked like a small serving but it was really rich and the perfect size. It was perfect.

Caprese Salad – tomato, Buffalo mozzarella & basil $9

I had actually been craving a Caprese Salad all day, and that is how we decided on Trunk as I was googling looking at menus until I found one with it on there!!

It definitely lived up to my expectations and satisfied my craving, fear not.

Vanilla bean crème brûlée $13.50

There is always room for dessert, I don't care what anybody says. We do try and share a dessert most times though otherwise I fly past my limit and need to be carried home.

This was definitely better than a regular joe blow standard crème brûlée, why have I never had a vanilla one before?!

See, not many other patrons to fight for a table with.

The food all came really quickly, the staff were lovely and they had some great tunes.

This would be the perfect place to come for a drink on a warm day, and now I realise this as we prepare to vacate the city. Why oh why.

I'm glad we have been eating out a fair bit as I know these days are coming to an end. Time to learn to cook.

Box on Collins Street - Birthday Dinner

It's my birthday today! I'm 24. I keep forgetting how old I am, I don't know whether to blame baby brain or my old age now.

I celebrated early and went out to dinner on Friday with The Husband and Geefa.

I always walk past Box on Collins and make a mental note to myself that I really must try it, after all, I do love seafood pretty much more than life itself.

I made a booking a few days in advance and didn't eat much lunch in preparation of the feasting that I was to undertake, however my stomach just cannot fit as much food in as it used to. Damn you third trimester.

I wore this dress from Target - non maternity thank you very much. The one online is a different print though.

Also my stock standard Witchery Sandals and Sussan necklace.

Geefa arrived first and was seated at the front of the restaurant near the front door, with me following and then The Husband bringing up the rear when he worked out where we were since I forgot to tell him. 

Geefa made a comment that they acted like they had to 'find' us a table when he first got there. 
Considering that they only had about 4 other tables dining at the time, I found this weird but then found out first hand that their service is quite iffy. 

Saganaki cheese pan fried with fresh lemon $12

This is freaking delicious. I usually don't like Saganaki because it is always too rubbery for my liking but this was perfection, despite looking like fish. 

Why does it look fish, why?

Marinated pickled octopus $14.50

Can't say that I tried this, but I noticed that the fellas didn't finish it off which usually tells me something, unless they were both being polite and didn't want to seem like gutsys but we are family so I doubt that. 

Trio of dips home- made served with warm pita bread $15 + $5 for more pita

I don't know why but I just love pita and this pita was no exception. 

It was dripping in oil (I do love me some oil) and the dips were pretty good also.

I could eat pita and dips all day every day. 

Definitely not enough pita bread for 2 grown men and one hungry pregnant lady though so we ordered more and it was more than enough, about 4 times the amount originally given.

Scallops lightly floured, pan fried with a garlic aioli dipping sauce $48

I don't know if this was good or not but Geefa did mention being impressed by the large mass of scallops and polished it all off so they must have been quite nice.

Coconut king prawns crumbed in shredded coconut with a mango and plum dipping sauces $38

Whilst this was nice, it wasn't anything great. It wasn't a meal that would make me want to return.

All of the crumbing came off as I cut into the prawns and it was almost a too dry but this may have been because I asked that they made sure the prawns were cooked through. 

The sauces were nice, and the rice was cooked perfectly. I don't know why the rice being cooked perfectly stuck in my mind but maybe I was looking for a positive. 

King prawns pan fried with cracked black pepper, garlic, lemon juice, spring onions and butter $38

The Husband says this was fine.

It was a pretty small serving compared to mine and Geefas though but perhaps ours were just decent sized servings in the first place. He was eyeing off my rice but the chips filled him up, until we got home at least and then he went and got more food whilst I lay in bed complaining that the third trimester has ruined my appetite and I cannot fit as much food in these days. 

Beer battered chips $9.50 (no photo but use your imagination)

Hate to say it folks but the chips were my favorite food of the night after the pita bread. 

The waitress made a few smartass remarks during the night, with one being "One is Red. One is White." which was accompanied by a raised eyebrow and eyeroll. She said this to The Husband when he was trying to decide between two wines. 

Okay lady, calm down, he still had the wine menu open and was reading it when you came over and demanded we order more drinks, despite the fellas still having beer to drink before their meals came so it should have been obvious that he was still deciding. Sheesh.

I asked the waitress what she could recommend on the menu as The Husband and I ended up wanted to order the same thing (but try to not do this obviously) and she just gave me a blank stare and answered "It's all good" with a shrug. Well, that was a big help - thanks a lot. 

Every now and then I found myself zoning out as the men talked about finance and work. I wonder if anyone else could tell that I was daydreaming. 

For some reason I was staring at this bucket of Coronas thinking how damn refreshing they would be and how I really wanted one. This is weird because I don't drink beer and I don't drink when pregnant. 

Some form of Citrus Tart

As we were ordering dessert she asked us to move our stuff off the table and she took off the table cloth, which was not at all dirty, leaving us with the underneath one and at Geefas quip "I didn't think we were that messy" she just flounced off. 

Way to make us feel like you were trying to get rid of us, at 9pm on a Friday night when you still have other patrons in.

Vanilla Pannacotta with Apple

This was really, really lovely. I just love pannacotta, all day every day.

The Husband and I shared this, pity!!

I didn't mean for this post to turn into such a whinge, what a Debby Downer I am. 

I don't like complaining about staff etc but sometimes it has to be mentioned, and it seems like I'm not the only one with these thoughts judging from the online reviews! 

Obviously I am not a real critic (ha, what a laugh) but I do like to eat and poor service doesn't make me happy. 

Regardless, my birthday dinner was lovely and I like going out to dinner with The Husband and Geefa!!

Pros: 

Nice central location

Easy to get a booking

Food brought out very quickly

Good Serving Sizes

Food was nice (see below)

Cons: 

Service

Food was not great 

Pricey for what it is, alcohol also pricey

Would I go back? I would not go out of my way to go back, there are plenty more fish in the sea (get it? seafood restaurant!) for me to try in the city. 

Have you been to Box on Collins Street? Your thoughts?

Cheers to the Freakin' Weekend.

This dress has been very good to me over the years. It is my cheapest dresses that have pulled through with the goods during pregnancy, I guess because of the Lycra so liberally used in them. 

This frock is from Target and is quite flattering on the ol' belly if I do say so myself.  

I am loving this app to put labels on photos. I spent a good chunk of time doing a week by week summary with labels and then accidentally deleted the folder so that was silly of me. 

Will from work was very sweet and bought these Converse All Stars for The Baby.
People are so generous when you have a baby, gifts galore!

So cute! I got the same ones in white for baby Orlando. 

The Husband often receives weird and creepy photos like this through out the day. My skin looks nice and clear in this photo actually.

Pregnancy has treated my skin very nicely, I am just hoping that my pimples don't return - if they do, I will have to be permanently pregnant. 

I think that The Husband would be quite happy with this, he wants a bazillion kidlets. 

I want three, but lets see how we go with the first one, okay?

This is the meringue on our recent work cake, but whilst it looks amazing don't let that deceive you.

It was completely raw and inedible. Runny egg whites anyone?

How satisfying is filling in a new diary? I love it. 

There is something about a diary/planner that makes me feel warm and fuzzy. 

Yes, you see correctly - last day of work. Hurrah! 

I've just noticed that my birthday isn't in the diary. Would it be weird to put it in? I may forget otherwise. 

My birthday is a total non event in my brain this year, I keep forgetting it is approaching because we have far more exciting things approaching, and I am getting old I guess. 24 I tell you.

Remember how I wanted to get this Leander Cradle? I still think it is beautiful but you cant use a movement sensor underneath the mattress, and it takes up a lot of floor space. It's also not as mobile as I originally thought and as The Husband travels for work sometimes two nights a week, we thought that The Baby and I might go with him every now and then and instead of her sleeping in her pram we can take the Seed Organic Pod with us... 

So this is what I have gotten. 

Yesterday was a ridiculous 40 degree day. 

When will the rains come?

The Husband has been a complete darling and has been driving me to work and picking me up pretty much every day the past few weeks now that I am getting more uncomfortable.

He picked me up last night and we headed to the Target Big Baby Sale and put a few items on lay buy. 

There was not too much that I wanted but it was good to get some more basics like swaddles, sheet sets, singlets and blankets for a bargain. 

I try and buy the essential items in neutral colours so if we have a boy one day, I won't be rushing out to buy stuff and they can just use some stuff that we already have. I'm all for 'hand me downs' but I don't think I ever had a hand me down from any of my siblings now that I think about it. 

They had a 'no deposit' lay buy system set up which is pretty nifty as all this baby stuff definitely adds up but I thought I better at least put something on it. I'll pick it up when we move so that we don't have one more box of stuff to cart around.

After Target, I couldn't walk for long so we ducked into a little Thai restaurant on Little Bourke Street and had some much needed respite from the heat. 

I like these bottles. I don't like sparkling water though, but The Husband thrives on it.  

I don't know what came over me, perhaps I was delirious from the heat but I ordered a raspberry lemonade which is pretty unheard of.  Let me tell you, it went down a treat. 

Chicken Pad Thai. Pretty delicious actually. 

The Husband ordered this salad and has deemed it "the spiciest thing he has ever eaten" - I knew it was spicy when he bent over, got my bottle of Pump water out of his bag, handed it to me so I wouldn't go thirsty and downed the dregs of my red lemonade. 

He is usually great with chili so I am going to say that this was damn hot. 

I also ordered these cutlery items from Peters of Kensington.  We currently have such random stuff in our cutlery drawer such as a few pieces of lovely cutlery that my MIL must have put in the drawers when The Husband first moved in and then everything else is non matching and a complete mish mash.

I even bought some from Daiso not long ago which is rusting quite nicely now, ha. 

We got a beautiful cutlery set for our wedding, which I think from the top of my head might be Royal Doulton or one of those similar brands (our gifts are all in storage so it's been a while...) which we will use as 'the good stuff' and the above will be the daily set. 

Does anyone else have 'the good stuff' and actually use it? I am determined. I am hoping to make a Sunday Roast every week (I know, wish me luck please) so would like to use 'the good stuff' every Sunday. 

I want to make traditions for our family, just little ones like a Sunday Roast every week, Fish & Chips on a Friday - that sort of thing.

What traditions did your family do when you grew up that stuck with you?