Thursday 20th February 2025

Have you ever had one of those weekends that you wished you could repeat? Not repeat because you wanted to change anything, but because it was all so wonderful, you wanted the opportunity to savour it all again and not miss a moment!

This last weekend was like that for me 🙂

I’d doubt any one of my mother friends would disagree that when you give birth to your first-born child your life changes forever. I was just three weeks shy of my 24th birthday and in hindsight had absolutely no idea what was ahead of me. I was keen to be a mother, filled with the confidence of youth and blissfully unaware that life could be anything other than perfect. At the time none of my friends had kids, and in fact I had never even seen a nappy be changed let alone change one myself. Lots of life lessons were coming my way, and I tackled new-found motherhood with very little experience, but bucket loads of enthusiasm.

Victoria Elizabeth Morley was born weighing 8lb 4oz, with a mop of dark brown hair, the most beautiful dark eyes you could ever imagine and an umbilical cord around her neck. Dave was away overnight (pre-mobile phones) with no idea that she had arrived two and a half weeks before her due date. Thankfully my Mum was there to count contractions, drive me to the hospital and once she was born, calm me down as the medical staff managed her lack of breathing on arrival!

In the days, weeks, months and years that followed that day, my Mum helped me pretty much every step of the way. After four of her own and a career in teaching, there was very little she didn’t know about children, and I sought and took her advice through every stage of parenting, right up until I lost her way too early, when Victoria was just 19.

Victoria immediately captured Dave’s and my hearts and we were besotted with her. As an adoring father, Dave could not believe that a more perfect child could exist. Before she could even understand his words, he told her that (and everyone who would listen) multiple times a day. His ‘little princess’ was his pride and joy and after 35 years of being the tough bloke; she softened him without even lifting a finger.

I have always believed that Victoria could do anything and have anything she wanted. She is super intelligent, kind, beautiful and one of the most determined people I know. We are immensely proud of the capable woman she has become, and it is no surprise to us that at 32 she has already found so much success. She has a plethora of qualifications including a degree; has bought a Sydney apartment; thrives in an amazing and impactful career and has the most delightful group of friends.

Her life is busy and adventurous and filled with fun and interesting things and it appeared, to me at least, like nothing was missing. But then, from time-to-time I began to hear the name ‘Justin’ mentioned in our regular phone conversations. He had been part of her close friend group for quite a while, but I could hear it in her voice… there was something more special about this particular friendship!

There are lots of good things I could say about Justin. Like Victoria, his intelligence sets him apart. Like Victoria he is determined, driven and capable. Like Victoria he has a career he can be very proud of. While all of those attributes are important, Justin has something I have never seen before… he adores Victoria as much as Dave and I do. I’m not sure why I didn’t think that was possible, but I am just so very happy about it!

Justin proposed to Victoria in Queenstown (New Zealand) last October, on a gondola, no less! Dave and I were in New Orleans at the time, and when we got the call after midnight US time, we were pretty damned excited. The next morning our 30-odd fellow tour participants got the full version of events over the bus’s PA system, and it was hard to think about anything else.

If you know Victoria, you will know that she inherited from me an obsession with organisation. The wedding date is set for November 15th, and with nine months to go, most things are already sorted.

Lining up a date to celebrate the engagement was a bit tricky, with lots of Justin’s family and friends living in Northern NSW and us being in Wagga, but they came up with the 15th of February and I immediately went into catering mode! My gorgeous sister Katrina and her husband Simon agreed to host the party in their Sydney home and having cooked there plenty of times before it was easy to plan the menu.

After an overnight and dinner with friends in Goulburn on Thursday night, Dave and I drove to Sydney on Friday, arriving at my sister’s place in time to receive delivery of the various online food orders I had arranged.

The menu for 50-odd people was pretty simple – a large grazing table to start with followed by a ‘Taco Table’ made up of pulled beef brisket (9kg no less!), spicy black beans, buttered corn rice, a super cheesy warm cheese sauce and piles of flour and corn tortillas and crispy taco shells. It also had all the usual Mexican accompaniments including a very delicious guacamole based on a recipe from ‘Recipe-tin-eats’ where you pound the chopped white onions, jalapeno chillis and coriander leaves in a mortar and pestle before combining with smashed avocado, garlic powder and freshly squeezed lime juice. I used 10 very large avocados which made two decent sized bowls – but it was all gone by the time I served myself at the end. The pounding of the mix is what I think makes it especially fabulous, the liquid produced helping the flavours carry and the onions soften. So good!

Lots of fun was had with the double slushie machine (Lime Margarita and Strawberry Daiquiri) and the ‘giant games’ that were hired including Jenga and Connect 4. Plenty of people loved hanging by the fire pit at the bottom of the yard, even though it was the most perfect weather, with lots of sun in the afternoon and then a clear mild evening. A few people had a swim, there was some dancing (and even some singing) and I think pretty much everyone took part in helping themselves to the chocolate fondue fountain served later in the night. I served the melted coverture chocolate with piles of fresh fruit, soft pillowy marshmallows and a very large platter of iced Donut King donuts! I even devoured a donut half or two dipped in warm chocolate – which gave me a much-needed sugar hit and energy after a very exhausting day!

On Sunday morning Dave, Emma and I stopped at the cafe my nephew works in at Lindfield (Olea) for breakfast before heading back to my sister’s for the post-party cleanup. Breakfast was really delicious. There were lots of options I would have loved to try on the menu, but I couldn’t go past the Spanish baked eggs. With chunks of spicy chorizo, generous amounts of roasted capsicum, two perfectly cooked eggs and topped with a drizzle of basil oil and some gorgeous soft and salty marinated feta, what was not to like! The iced latte (my current cafe drink of choice) was excellent, the strong hit of caffeine just what I needed to prepare myself for cleaning up after a crowd!

Katrina and Simon were well into the cleanup when we arrived, and with a few extra hands it wasn’t long before things were back in shape. With all the items I had bought with me from Wagga packed back into my car, I headed to Leichardt to meet up with Victoria, Justin’s Mum Bev and the three bridesmaids where a ‘VIP experience’ was booked at one of the many bridal boutiques along that section of Parramatta Road.

Victoria had undertaken some serious research (of course!) and chosen this place for its large and suitable range of dresses and its reputation for friendly and helpful staff. We had the place completely to ourselves, and they had put together a lovely little spread for us with champagne, juice, cheese and nibbles to enjoy while helping Victoria scour the many racks to select dresses to try on. This was honestly one of the best things I have ever done and seeing my baby girl try on wedding dresses is something I will never forget. I managed to mostly control my (happy) tears, but when I saw the look on her face when she tried on what ended up being ‘the one’ I completely lost it. I knew she would choose something beautiful, but wow, this gown is simply stunning, and I don’t think could be any more perfect. I cannot wait to see it on her again on her wedding day!

What a weekend… I am so glad I have a few pictures and this blog to help me re-live it.

Happy engagement Victoria and Justin xxx

p.s. This morning, I said goodbye to the amazing Sam Robinson on air. Sam finishes with ABC Riverina tomorrow. We chatted about his food preferences so the listeners could get to know him a little better before he goes! You can re-listen HERE.