A Return To Form & A Little Bit Of Happiness.

And now, lets get back on track shall we? I've just had a cautious peek at the backlog of blog posts that have built up while I've been away. I have 647 new posts to read. Haven't you all been busy?! I'm pretty sure that will take me a further week just to catch up!

I've been frustratingly ill as of late and am still recovering today, so instead of cooking up a storm I'm half-heartedly chewing on left overs and contemplating crawling back into my freshly made bed. In light of this, I thought I'd share a few photos of things that have brought me some happiness recently.

First up, leaves. My husband Keith has been caring for me the last few days, a large portion of which entails distracting our son. When I'm sick in bed Oscar tends to think I'm onto a real winner of an idea and decides he too wants to stay in bed, make demands for treats and watch cartoons (I wonder where he learnt that from? ;) ). Yesterday afternoon Keith and Oscar headed to the park and brought me back these leaves from their favourite 'hiding tree'. I kept them by my bedside to cheer me up.

Next up, pizza! Glorious, mouth-watering pizza. I have been to Assaggi Italiani in Malvern 3 times in the last week and a half. If you live in Melbourne, you really need to give their outstanding food a go. I've tried their pizzas and pasta (and tiramisu) and I can't wait to go back again!

Do you have a veggie garden? I used to be one of those people that could kill a cactus with the greatest of ease but over the years I've developed a little bit of a green thumb. We live in a terrace house with a teeny tiny courtyard, which I've heavily adorned with pots of herbs, berries and veggies. I love spending time out there and it's so satisfying cooking with produce you've grown from seed.

Finally, lets finish on a sweet note. Chocolate! Haigh's is a local sweet-tooth institution. Their store's are refined and elegant and their chocolate creations are admired by young and old. We wandered in there, hungrily last weekend. I was trying to justify that a $130 chocolate hamper was a wise choice but instead we settled on a bag of chocolate covered mixed nuts which I've been rationing out for the last week.

What simple things have made you happy in the last week and what makes you feel a bit better when you're stuck in bed sick?