Birthday Spa Day and Picnic!

Special Birthday day for my mum - isolation edition. So today I spent the whole day pampering my hardworking loving mum for her birthday, which was unfortunately during self-isolation (due to coronavirus). But that didn’t make her special day any less special. For breakfast, my mum woke to a breakfast-in-bed of french toast and fresh fruit with some hot chocolate sauce and a coffee. (see previous post for photos). Then when she left her bedroom, she saw our lounge room all ‘dressed up’ as a day spa. I covered the couch in soft blankets and throw pillows, the tv stand with deliciously scented candles and had other spa-like knickknacks around the place (e.g, dream catchers, a salt lamp etc.). I found a youtube video of 3 hours of an image of a beautiful cascading waterfall with tranquil music and water noises and put it on the tv. She then rested her feet in a heated foot spa and using my homemade sugar cookie foot scrub, I gave her a foot massage. Then using my homemade coconut hand lotion, I also massaged her hands. She then relaxed with puzzle books and mindful colouring in whilst I prepared lunch. I blew up a few balloons and hung up a bunting saying ‘It’s Your Day!’ on it in our backyard, where I had laid out a picnic blanket in the sunlight for us to have lunch on. For lunch I made zucchini slice, crumbed chicken and veggie sticks (with some homemade hummus). Then came the long-anticipated birthday cake. I made a New York Lemon baked cheesecake - my mum’s favourite - and put three candles on top (one for each member of our immediate family). Then we all drove to a local park and went for a walk amongst the beautiful Aussie wildlife until the sun started to set. Then for dinner I made us some butter chicken with coconut rice. All in all it was a lovely day - especially for the birthday girl I’m sure 😊

Day 34 of Isolation - and it’s someone’s Birthday

26th of April, 2020
Day 34 of Isolation. Today is my mum’s birthday. Unfortunately, her birthday is during self-isolation, so we can’t go anywhere and we can’t visit family and friends. Fortunately for her, this means I spend the whole day pampering her. Starting off with a delicious gluten free and dairy free (but certainly not taste free) breakfast-in-bed and then a foot spa and hand massage, then a delicious backyard picnic - complete with a birthday cake. So far I’ve only gotten to the breakfast part (it’s only 10am) but I’ll keep updating later on in the day.

^ Gluten and dairy free French Toast with fresh fruit and homemade chocolate sauce 😋 

Day 31 of Isolation

23rd April, 2020.
Day 31 of Isolation. Hey I haven’t posted in a while so I thought I’d post a simple but delicious recipe for a healthy breakfast/lunch dish I made...

Ingredients:
2 slices of fruit bread
1 apple (green or red, doesn’t matter - I used green)
Butter or margarine (to spread on toast)
Cinnamon (for dusting)

Method:
1. Toast fruit bread to liking (I may have accidentally burnt mine slightly...don’t do that)
2. Remove core from apple and cut into thin slices (I cut mine into 24ths but it depends on how big the apple is)
3. Butter toasted bread
4. Layer the sliced apple pieces on the bread
5. Dust with cinnamon and enjoy! 😋

Btw, I used gluten free bread, which is why it looks so small.

Day 15 of Isolation

7th April 2020
Day 15 of isolation. Last Friday (3rd of April) was the last day of my school term (I was doing my schooling online at home anyway), so today was the second day of my school holidays (I don’t count the weekend). However, I’m in isolation so there’s a lot I can’t do. But there’s also a lot I can do. Today I utilised my free time by properly organising my bathroom cupboards. I feel much better having everything organised. I then decided to complete a 500 piece Harry Potter puzzle. It took me a while but I got there...

Apple Strudel

This afternoon my mum and I decided to pass the time by making some delicious Apple Strudel!

I also made my own Vanilla Ice-cream, it’s so deliciously creamy 😋 

Book List - 2019

As I mentioned in a previous post, I set myself a new goal for reading each year. Last year’s goal was 50. Since most people are in isolation, I though I’d post all the books I read last year for people looking for good books to read. I can assure you that I loved every single book on this list! Enjoy 🤗


1. Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer - Rick Riordan
2. Heroes of Olympus: The Lost Hero - Rick Riordan
3. The Fault in Our Stars - John Green
4. The Crown of Ptolemy - Rick Riordan
5. Heroes of Olympus: The Son of Neptune - Rick Riordan
6. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (the Original Screenplay) - J.K.Rowling
7. Heroes of Olympus: The Mark of Athena - Rick Riordan
8. The Crimes of Grindelwald (the Original Screenplay) - J.K.Rowling
9. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
10. Switched - Amanda Hocking
11. Heroes of Olympus: The House of Hades - Rick Riordan
12. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone - J.K.Rowling
13. Heroes of Olympus: The Blood of Olympus - Rick Riordan
14. The Giver - Lois Lowry
15. Notes From the Midnight Driver - Jordan Sonnenblick
16. The Babysitter - Sheryl Browne
17. Trash - Andy Mulligan
18. The Pearl - John Steinbeck
19. The Happiest Refugee - Anh Do
20. Drums, Girls + Dangerous Pie - Jordan Sonnenblick
21. All Good Children - Catherine Austen
22. Cookie - Jacqueline Wilson
23. Torn - Amanda Hocking
24. Legally Blonde - Amanda Brown
25. Ascend - Amanda Hocking
26. Déjà Dead - Kathy Reichs
27. Poison Study - Maria V. Snyder
28. Magnus Chase and the Hammer of Thor - Rick Riordan
29. Night of the Living Dummy - R.L.Stine
30. Magic Study - Maria V. Snyder
31. Welcome to Dead House - R.L.Stine
32. Falling Over Sideways - Jordan Sonnenblick
33. Magnus Chase and the Ship of the Dead - Rick Riordan
34. The Trials of Apollo: The Hidden Oracle - Rick Riordan
35. milk and honey - Rupi Kaur
36. The Store - James Patterson
37. Assassin Study - Maria V. Snyder
38. Fire Study - Maria V. Snyder
39. The Trials of Apollo: The Dark Prophecy - Rick Riordan
40. Power Study - Maria V. Snyder
41. The Trials of Apollo: The Burning Maze - Rick Riordan
42. Storm Glass - Maria V. Snyder
43. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - J.K.Rowling
44. Stay Out of the Basement - R.L.Stine
45. An Abundance of Katherines - John Green
46. Mouthful of Forevers - Clementine von Radics
47. Haunted Schools: True Ghost Stories - Allan Zullo
48. the princess saves herself in this one - Amanda Lovelace
49. My Sister Jodie - Jacqueline Wilson
50. Once Upon a Dream - Liz Braswell
51. The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
52. Uglies - Scott Westerfeld

Self-Isolation Due to Coronavirus (Day 9)

1st April 2020
Day 9 of isolation. It’s always important to keep healthy. Even if you’re in isolation, in fact, especially if you’re in isolation. A healthy body = a healthy mind. Even with people panic buying things such as pasta, rice, tinned foods and....toilet paper, there’s still plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables available. Today I made myself a delicious yet healthy breakfast consisting of a combination of fresh fruit (rockmelon, strawberries and blueberries), Greek yoghurt, honey and toasted muesli.

Yum! 😋