Cotter & the Coffee Fairy

School holidays have come to end. Sniff!

I've loved having Harry at home and I must confess, I've enjoyed a break from the daily school run. We braved the grey skies and rounded off the hols with a bbq breakfast at Cotter Dam.

 

Canberra is ablaze with Autumn colour and Cotter was blanketed in gold.

 

 

Can I just say how GREAT it is to be dressing in layers again. Hello scarves and jackets and beanies!!!

 

 

The picnic grounds at Cotter have some stunning locals. Love a bbq at the best of times but most of all when there's a bit of a chill in the air.

 

 

I made the cardinal sin of forgetting to pack the milk to make our coffees and lo and behold, just as I'd resigned myself to a caffeine free breakfast, a vision on four wheels rocked up in the carpark.

Thank you Coffee Fairy!!!

 

 

It seemed too good to be true but sure enough, Our Dream Cafe came to the rescue. Couldn't quite believe a mobile cafe was all the way out at Cotter!

 

 

Canberrans...if you want a caffeine hit at your next function, give this guy a bell. I highly recommend him! It was really, really great coffee! Totally made our breakfast! After our little feast we went for a stroll along the creek.

 

 

There was a lot of rock plonking and exploring and general chit chat.

 

 

Love spending time with dear friends in such a beautiful spot. Am determined to get out and about a lot more this year. How was your weekend, long or otherwise?

 

xx Em

 

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A Beautiful Bunfight

Happy Easter Lovelies

 

 

It's been an absolutely gorgeous long weekend here. Stunning sunshiney Autumn days spent hanging out with family and friends.

Yesterday's Egg Hunt and Easter Brunch went down a treat.

 

 

The kids spent the whole morning hunting for eggs in the garden. One egg hunt wasn't nearly enough so they did a dozen, taking turns to hide the eggs.

We scoffed Hot Cross Buns with Sweet Ricotta and Balsamic Strawberries, Bacon, Fetta & Egg Tarts and an amazing Easter Pudding. There was chocolate, lots of chocolate...and copious cups of tea and coffee.

 

 

But the best part of the morning was getting newborn cuddles from the sweetest teeny baby girl.

 

The afternoon was spent drinking wine and playing scrabble with my sister and the Grand Scrabble Master himself (aka Hubby). For the first time in known history, my husband DIDN'T win the game...Katie did....oh it was a beautiful thing to watch. Even better that my SIL and brother witnessed it via Skype. Hubby has ungraciously thrashed Margie and I over the years so it was with great delight that we watched Kate win.

 

The ol' 'spilt wine on the scrabble board' decoy may or may not have helped.

Either way, it was pretty funny.

 

The chill set in as the sun went down so we warmed up with comfort food and cuddles on the couch.

 

 

Today we ventured up to the Arboretum for a play.

 

 

Stunning, stunning day.

 

Simply had to share the fantastic Easter Pudding recipe that Margie gave to me. It's a jazzed up Bread & Butter Pudding with the most divine flavour...easy to make and a huge hit with the hungry hoards.

 

Margie's Easter Pudding.

 

Ingredients:

500g loaf "Rich Fruit Cob" from Woolies (any spiced fruit loaf will do)

3.5 - 4 squares of 70% Lindt chocolate

4 eggs

2 cups milk

300ml cream

1/4 cup caster sugar

1 vanilla bean split & scraped

1/4 tsp mixed spice

40g butter

 

Method:

Preheat oven to 180c or 160c (fan forced)

Whisk eggs, milk, cream, caster sugar, vanilla and mixed spice together.

Slice the bread, butter each side and line dish. I included the top half of three hot cross buns for a bit of Easter flair.

Break up the chocolate and hide pieces amongst the bread.

Pour in egg mixture.

Let the bread soak up the mixture for 20 minutes.

Bake for approx 35 to 40 mins until golden brown and set.

Serve warm as is or with a scoop of vanilla icecream.

Enjoy.

 

So, that was our weekend, how was yours?

xx Em

 

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