Wednesday, September 19, 2012

A Valentine's Day Party and an announcement...

All good things come to an end...

The squeak of a swing in use, the pitter patter of tiny feet and the tinkling of children's laughter surrounded me. Red, pink and white balloons hung from the room like garlands and paper hearts adorned the walls.
It was my daughter's first birthday party.

The theme was Valentine's Day and cheesy love songs wafted through the speakers whilst children played pin the heart on the cupid and hunted for hidden hearts amongst the playground. We were blessed with an abundance of sunshine, so the hall we had hired and decorated held only a few guests with the majority of them enjoying the surrounding park lands. I spent months planning and preparing, but on the day the little one decided to sleep during my decoration time, so I gave instructions to my husband and hoped for the best as I stayed at home with my sleeping beauty. I have to say, although it didn't turn out exactly as I had envisioned, he did a spectacular job bringing her birthday to life.

We had a whopping 70 guests (the husband assured me that most people wouldn't come, only two were unable to make it), so needless to say I was rather busy attending to everyone, organising games and ensuring there was enough food, all with a 10kg toddler on my hip (as I expected, Miss V was a little overwhelmed by all the people and only wanted to be held by mummy). Whilst it was wonderful seeing everyone, next year will definitely be a more intimate affair. I didn't take any photos of the day myself, but luckily I have a few snap-happy friends who did, so I'll share a few with you.

The children's dessert table included:
  • red apples
  • fresh strawberries
  • home made strawberry and apple juice
  • coconut and mixed berry yoghurt
  • gingerbread men
  • mini vanilla cupcakes
  • and the birthday cake which was a strawberry and white chocolate mud swirl

Valentine's favourite part of the day was when daddy pushed her on the swing. And of course later at home when she got to rip open all of those gifts :). 

This year has brought a lot of change and new experiences for me. And I must admit, that before my daughter came along, I ignorantly assumed that I could just 'fit her in' to my life without having to change much. Boy, was my head up in the clouds. As it turns out, young kids aren't very fond of fine dining or long days at the beach or large events etc. What they do want is PLENTY of time with mummy and daddy to play and explore. Watching mummy typing on her laptop is not something Miss V endorses and with only 1-2 hours a day of alone time, after the housework is done and lunch is eaten, I am lucky to have enough time crumbs left to do one yoga pose or read a few pages of a book. 
And thus it is with a feeling of sadness that I have decided to say goodbye for now to my Greedy Gourmand. There are so many items on my 'to-do' list that I just can't justify spending the rather long time it takes to blog one entry, even if it's only once per month. Especially as I have decided to try to home school Miss V myself for the first 6 years of her life, and as with anything I do, I want to give it my everything and make it as enriching and fun for her as possible. Needless to say, my plate will certainly be full.

I don't want to say 'Goodbye for good' as who knows what the future holds as I do very much hope to return one day.

But for now, I wish all my treasured readers days filled with fine weather, fantastic company and most of all, fabulous food.



12 comments:

  1. I will miss you! you are someone i look up to, for you a fantastic cook and have alot of energy! Good luck with you daughter :)

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  2. Thankyou so much for your heart warming comment :) xxx

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  3. So sad that you will be finishing up your blog. I loved reading each blog with a smile on my face and a lump in my throat. You touched the vert core of me.. Now bigger and better things await and I have so excited for you. Many blessings to you sweet girl.
    Love Angela G xxxxx

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  4. :( Love you Angela - thanks for all of your support gorgeous xx

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  5. Beautiful party and celebration. While I am sad that you won't be blogging, I must thank you for the wonderful content you've provided thus far. I wish you and your family the best!!

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  6. I'll be sad too! Your blog was one of the first I fell in love with. You're all kinds of divine. But so is your daughter & I admire you for saying you want more time with your darling girl. You know what's right in your heart so good on you. Home schooling - wow! Have you read the blog, Simple Mom? It's USA based but still may be relevant. Thanks for the inspiration, deliciousness, beautiful words and pictures. All the best, lovely :)
    Heidi xo

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  7. Thank you Liz :)
    and Miss Heidi, I shall continue to check in on your amazing journey whenever I can - thankyou for your wonderful support of me and my blog :) and I have not read that blog - shall do!

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  8. Oh no, well I completely understand how your feeling about it all. As you can tell I only saw this NOW!!!! Little ones take up so much time and energy, but what a wonderful experience it is.

    I will miss your blog so very much, i hope you will start again in the near future.

    Take care Chanel, and Valentine :)
    Such a gorgeous day, and pictures of the 2 of you, thanks for sharing such beautiful words and pictures.

    Leah xo

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  9. Oh so sad :( You were one of my first Aussie blogs which I followed and I can't believe it's been such a long and wonderful journey! Good luck with your little one and take as much time as you need :)

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  10. I will miss your posts! Thank you for the beautifully photographed and written posts over the last few years, it was the highlight of many an afternoon for me. All the best xo

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  11. I only look at two blogs on a regular basis, but I just stumbled across you via Pinterest. I added you to my little list of bloggers to follow only to discover that you have set it aside to spend time with your baby. As a mother of two-year old twins, I fully understand your decision; I'm just bummed that I discovered you so late.
    This morning I made the Baked French Toast and Blueberries. It was divine!!! How I wish I had discovered you before the holidays, because I would have made that recipe for the hoards of family that camped out in our house.
    I love your format and grading system for each recipe. Your pictures are amazing!
    Best of luck with your sweet girl, and I'll look for you in the future. In the meantime, I'll pore over all of your postings.
    XO!

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  12. Wow Emily, I am truly honored to be among such an exclusive list - hopefully my return won't be too far away :)

    And thank you Leah, msihua and delist - I will still be visiting you and your worlds xx

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