for all of you who sent your kiddies back to school yesterday, I hope the coming school year brings with it lots of success, excitement + joy for both you and your children. I also hope that last weeks post about healthy lunch ideas will help you prepare quick + nutritious meals for your kids throughout the upcoming school year.
the last long weekend of summer brought with it some yummy eats and time spent with some wonderful family and friends. the hubs and I had date night at home on friday as we sat by the pool enjoying the warm weather and gorgeous blue moon that lit up the sky. neither of us felt like having anything to heavy for dinner so I whipped up some appetizers we could pick away at. I absolutely adore picking away at finger foods, such a fun way to enjoy so many different flavours + textures.
this was our spread.
as you can see we filled up on a delicious salad of local greens topped with bell pepper and sunflower seeds. prosciutto wrapped asparagus (done on the bbq) and a delicious bruschetta mixture on top of a multi grain baguette.
the bruschetta inspiration was courtesy of instagram + twitter last week. I was gifted some beautiful tomatoes from my aunts garden and I asked for some suggestions about what to make with them…
one lovely follower suggested bruschetta – and I was sold on the idea! it made the perfect compliment to a delicious meal on a warm summer night.
Ingredients:
- baguette of your choice
- soft cheese of your choice (sheep cheese OR goat cheese OR feta cheese will work fabulously)
- 5-7 tomatoes
- 1/3 cup red onion
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- large clove of garlic
- handful of basil
- sea salt + pepper to taste
- pinch of chili flakes
Method:
- wash and chop tomatoes, red onion, garlic + basil.
- add the tomatoes, red onion, garlic + basil together with the olive oil, balsamic vinegar + chili flakes to a small sized bowl.
- stir to combine.
- season with a bit of sea salt + black pepper.
- keep in fridge until ready to serve.
it was a weekend of first’s for little miss sloane which was rather exciting for us. she went on her first four-wheeler ride back to our neighbours bush, and she LOVED it! I guess I should mention we weren’t going very fast at all – but it was so fun to see how much she loved the ride.
happy family taking advantage of our #countrylivin’
however with all of the fun that we had, there was also a lot of sadness as we lost a very important woman in our lives. grandma bell passed away. her husband (of 65 years – WOW!), 10 children, 33 grandchildren and 38 great-grandchildren are all left with so many wonderful memories that involved this amazingly strong woman. for as long as I have been with my husband, it has always been truly enjoyable to sit down and have a good chat with grandma bell.
here we are on our wedding day with grandma + grandpa bell.
it’s times like this that I can’t help but remind you all to squeeze the amazing loved ones in your lives a whole lot closer. not that we should need the reminder… but it can be so easy to take our time with those that we are closest with for granted.
My deepest condolences to you and your family, I have a tear in my eye realizing that life really is short and precious. Thank you for sharing yours with us! All the best:) ps I absolutely LOVE bruschetta! Yum!
Thank you so much @Marion for your sweet words!