Brought to
you by Coles
There are so many awesome things about Spring
that float my Spring loving boat; the end of the big freeze and the return of the
warmer weather, the garden coming to life all green and lush and full of
promise and hope that I will manage to keep it alive, the first sound of the
cicadas clicking and the crickets doing their thing at night and the sight and
smell of fresh summery fruits appearing in store.
All of those things get me all excited and are a
sign that it is time to shake off the last of the winter blues and get out
there and enjoy our Aussie lifestyle.
If push came to shove however and I had to pick
just one thing that has me literally
crossing off days until Spring, hands down it would have to be daylight
savings.
I mean Helloooo - the prospect of those extra
few hours of daylight has the ability to boost my mood faster than handing me the
keys to a fully stocked gin cabinet, because anyone who works full-time will
appreciate those extra few hours that come with daylight savings that allow you
to actually do something other than just work in a day.
For my family, daylight savings means trips to
the park after work, early evening swims at the beach and dinner packed into
the baskets on our bikes and eaten somewhere other than at home.
Yep, daylight savings - I could and I would
smooch you if you had lips.
OK, so after my back to school debacle, we all know I had some major sucking
up to do to wipe the slate clean with my somewhat traumatised children. And
even though I had promised them a last day of the holidays beach dinner /
picnic, and I totally screwed up the last
day of the holidays bit…
I made amends with our twilight picnic and a basket
full to the brim of their favourite picnic food and we are now friends again.
Even Mother Nature must have felt mildly sorry
for me and threw me a bone in the form of one doozy of an evening for us.
A balmy twilight picnic at the beach.
Is there anything better?!
Taking dinner on the road needn’t be a big production. No seriously!
Freshly baked baguettes
with smoked salmon, cream cheese and baby spinach, a
section of cheese and crackers and pile
of juicy watermelon and
plump sweet strawberries was
all I needed to throw together a picnic delicious enough to satisfy my hungry
mob.
15 minutes prep time and we were on the road… not bad when you consider that a typical
dinner cooked and eaten at home usually takes much longer than that.
Add to the basket a couple of cold drinks, a rug
and a ball and mums and dads – I tell you, you are
on to a winner.
Work, school, sport and other commitments are all
part of the typical routine in any family’s life, but routine can be both the best thing for your family and
the worst at the same time.
Whilst routine obviously keeps us organised, on
track and knowing where we are going or where we need to be… it has a tendency to
sometimes make you feel a little stale, maybe trapped and possibly simply
bored.
One night here and there where you break the rules and stray from your normal
routine, is pretty much all you need to truly appreciate this time of the year for
all of its awesomeness. Those extra few play hours that come with daylight
savings… well I can’t think of a better way to use them than
connecting with your family and taking some time out to just be together.
If you are keen to pack your own routine buster
Spring picnic, Coles has everything you need. Freshly baked goods,
succulent seafood and just
wait till you get a whiff of all those plump mangoes and
summery fruits in the fruit and veg
section.
Shop
online or pop into your local store and take advantage of the weekly fruit and veg specials. Coles always try to
source their fruit and veg locally and most of it comes from their network of
over 350 Aussie growers - which is an awesome thing for our hardworking Aussie
farmers!
As for the rest of the specials in store, well
they vary from location to location, but you can check out all the specials in
your area by viewing the latest Coles catalogues here.
Are you a fan of taking dinner on the road?
What’s your favourite thing about this time of
the year?
How do you break from routine and reconnect with your
family?