Dear Sean

Note: This might get mushy. If you are squeamish, then look away.

Happy birthday! First of all, thank you for being my other half. For being the brulee to my creme, the butter to my veggies, the salt to my caramel. I guess what I'm really trying to say is that you make me better. Thank you for providing me the sense of security to allay my worries and anxieties, and dealing with my neuroticism on a regular basis.

I hope that in your 25th year of life - no longer in your early twenties, you're now in your mid-twenties, feel old! - you find contentment. I would wish you happiness, but we all know that with every high, there is a low, so I hope that you find that happy medium, cause that - to me - is where nirvana lies. And I hope that there's no Courtney Love either. (Admit it, you laughed at that bad joke.)

Happy birthday, love.

I love you.

Love,

Tams.

P/S For everyone else who is reading, yes that is a Dice Cake Pop. What can I say? Sean likes his dice.

Hijacked!

Hello everyone! I apologise in advance, for today is a very special day...

Tammi's post has been...

...HIJACKED!!!

Over the Christmas long weekend, Tammi and I had Christmas in Forster - as we have done for the past 2 years. And if anyone knows my family, they know that we love to eat.

The day starts off at my brother's place, where we have breakfast with my lovely nephew and niece. And what's a true Aussie breakfast without bacon, eggs, sausages, grilled tomatoes, and HOMEMADE BARBECUE SAUCE (which my lovely Tammi made).

We had a short break after breakfast, where we went to my parents' place to do presents for the entire family, and then...WE KEPT ON EATINGGGGGG!!!.

OM NOM NOM NOM...

My mother has a thing for decorative edibles, hence the Christmas tree adorned with chocolates. 

And my father's piece de resistance...

His Christmas ham! This year it was a maple syrup glaze, spiced with mustard powder, with smokey paprika sprinkled over the top, and pineapple slices skewered into it's fatty depths, warmed through on the barbecue.

Not to be outdone by my father, my mother takes great pride in her annual pork crackling (she gets most upset when it goes wrong).

(Tammi says, "CRACKLING! Mmmmm...I like pork fat)

By far my favourite veggie, my mother has outdone herself on the sweet potatoes this year. The pumpkin was well, pumpkin-y, but the sweet potato ROCKED.

Mm peas. (Tammi says, "I prefer them mushy.") 

Mum tried something different with the potatoes this year. She par boiled them first, and then mushed them slightly, before putting on oil, salt and pepper, and crisping them in a roasting tray on the barbecue, giving them a soft, fluffy inside and crispy outsides. (Tammi says, "Starchy goodness!") 

As a last minute addition to the Christmas lunch feast, my mum and my mum's mum decided to whip up mini pavs. Sliced strawberries and blueberries sat prettily atop lightly aerated cream and a mini meringue nest, drizzled with a passionfruit pulp. 

I think that that was the best part of the dessert. 

As dinner rolled around (Tammi says, "I ate so much that I was rolling around too! haha. "), so did the seafood. Tammi, my father, and dad's best mate Jimbo (Tammi says, "Jimbo makes the BEST chicken sausages.") got stuck into the four dozen or so oysters that my uncle Martin brought us for Christmas.

The oysters were drizzled with lemon juice, salt, pepper and tabasco sauce. (Tammi says, "OMG I LOVE OYSTERS! Just look at all that succulent beauty! Slurpy slurpy.") 

And this concludes my hijacked post. Until next time, good morning, good evening, and good night!

xxxooo

Sean.