Friday Favourites – PLAYWORKEATREPEAT

Hi friends! It’s great to be back today to share some favourites. I missed last Friday’s link-up, and then I also missed the usual Hello Monday link-up, where I normally recap my weekend. So, I’m especially happy to be here today, catching up and sharing a few things I didn’t get the chance to post earlier. Thanks so much for stopping by!

Food!

My favourite thing is always food! And, one of the upsides to winter (I’m trying hard to stay positive about the cold) is getting to enjoy all the cosy, comfort food.

Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve been enjoying some delicious, soul-warming things like pot roast, served with rice, because my husband and son are all about the rice. I love rice too, but I’m more of a potato girl myself. The two-carb combo is very good, though! I highly recommend it.

Chicken and vegetable soup with crusty sourdough.

Chicken, sundried tomatoes, and pesto rice.

I actually saw this recipe on Instagram Reels—the instructions said to just combine everything and bake it in the oven. Years ago, I tried making rice in the oven, and it was a disaster. And I know from experience that chicken breast can go tough pretty easily if it’s not cooked right—I’ve made that mistake too.

So, I decided to do it my own way. I cooked the rice with the pesto, onions, garlic, sundried tomatoes, and chicken stock in the rice cooker. Then I poached the chicken separately and mixed it all together at the end. I also added a lot more stock than the original recipe called for, and it tasted great. Two thumbs up from everyone for this “make again” dish.

All Kinds Of Banana Bread

My husband Steve has been baking all kinds of banana bread. We’ve had banana and walnut, banana and coconut, banana and pecan, and even banana and raspberry. Every version’s been a winner. Goes great with hot drinks!

Even though he’s been busy baking goodies, he’s still steadily losing weight. He’s moved away from meal replacements and is now focusing on portion control and eating in moderation (banana bread included). He’s so determined to avoid a knee replacement on his right knee, and weight loss is key. Just the other day, he told me that for every kilo you lose, that’s four kilos less pressure on your knees. Wow — that’s pretty motivating!

So far, his right knee is holding up well, and with the weight loss, things are looking great. His left knee has fully recovered from the replacement he had last year. And now he’s regularly walking and swimming as part of his health journey. He has his yearly follow-up with the surgeon later this month. I’m sure the surgeon will be impressed with his progress. Go, Steve!

MasterChef

I love watching MasterChef while I make dinner. I’m not really a master of anything, but watching these passionate cooks always inspires me.

Melbourne

I had the most amazing time with my cousin in Melbourne last week. In case you missed the recap, here it is. As I’ve shared many times before, I don’t like flying. But I’m really proud of myself for saying yes to adventures and no to fear.

When my cousin reached out a few weeks ago with the idea of going to Melbourne, I’ll admit my initial reaction was, “Ummm, no, I don’t think so.”But then I stopped to ask myself, why? Why don’t I think so? Well, there was the issue of getting on a plane again—yikes! Our big trip in January had me listening to Lovefly podcasts for months just to psych myself up. Then it would also mean taking time off work during the week. But that wasn’t a problem because I’ve accumulated plenty of leave over the years, and my director was more than happy to approve it. Plus, I don’t have young kids at home who need me. So clearly, there was no reason not to go.

Our main plan for going to Melbourne was to see Footloose The Musical — big 80s fans over here! In the end, the musical was sweet, but exploring Melbourne turned out to be the real highlight.

My cousin offered me the window seat on the plane, but that was an easy pass for me. When she went to the restroom, I snapped this pic with my eyes shut. It does look pretty, doesn’t it? Especially now, as I look at it here on my computer with both feet safely on the ground.

My Cuz

I love my cousin J — she’s amazing! Here we are in 1984, she’s sitting on my lap — please ignore my hair, it was the eighties. She’s as cute as a button! Growing up, we spent a lot of time together, and I loved any chance I got to hang out with her and her brother.

Over the years (and it’s been a lot of years!), there have been seasons where we didn’t see much of each other, thanks to living in different countries or states. But ever since she moved back to Sydney with her family a few years ago, we have been seeing each other regularly, and I couldn’t be happier.

Cousin J, if you ever read this… please don’t move far away ever again — haha! (Kidding… not kidding.)

While we were in Melbourne, she ducked into the supermarket and came out with these Coke cans that said “cuz.” How cool is that?

We enjoyed them with our pizza at Sal’s.

Blogging

Blogging is my favourite, and I’ve been going since 2021—which is a few years now, though not as long as some of the other lovely bloggers I follow. Until recently, I think I’ve been posting fairly regularly, but lately I’ve started to feel a bit rushed and time-poor. I work full-time as an early childhood educator and usually squeeze in some blogging during my lunch break and again when I get home.

I used to be home most evenings by myself, as my son was either at work, uni, or the gym. My husband was working crazy long hours from the afternoon until very late. I’d come home, do my chores, then jump on the computer and blog away for as long as I wanted. It was a real sanity saver for me and truly helped during the early stages of grief after losing my mum. Coming home to an empty house with no one to take care of was heartbreaking. So blogging definitely saved me then.

Now we’re in another season, where my husband and my son’s schedules have changed, and we have more time together in the evenings. It’s so nice that we have the chance to eat dinner and watch TV together four nights out of seven, instead of just one night—or sometimes not at all.

So even though I still spend some time blogging in the evenings, I’m not doing it quite as much as I used to. I don’t want to give up this lovely new flow of family time. And also, we’re watching Better Call Saul, which is just incredible!

I guess I’m trying to find my new rhythm, but I’m not quite sure what that looks like yet. So far, it’s meant I’ve given up a few link-ups and dropped the ball on others. Initially, I was all like, “Oh no!” because I really love joining in with the lovely community. But I know it’s just a season, and I’ll find the right balance again soon.

Anyway, thanks so much for reading along — if you made it to the end, you’re a champ! That was a longer post than I intended. My husband got called into work earlier than usual and will be doing a late shift tonight, which means I’m home alone again — haha!

Have a lovely weekend!

Oh yes, this weekend we have a long one to celebrate the King’s Birthday — yay!

Linking up with Andrea and Erika.