Will travel for custard tarts and hugs

It had been almost a year since I had seen my friend Eden Riley up until yesterday. While we talk often on the phone, text and video message each other A LOT we hadn’t actually hugged in all that time. Too long. And what a year its been. For both of us. I grew a whole human, then got it out, then kept it alive for 2 whole months. She has been through hell and back and then up again and then back again…and now she’s rising again. Thank goodness.

The stars finally aligned and so I locked in a date she couldn’t get out of, packed up Maggie and drove down our hills and then up her mountains to her little cottage.

She had swept for me. And stacked her wood pile just so. Lit nice smelling candles. The fire was roaring and she even picked Daphne for me. Don’t think I didn’t notice every single bit of care just for me.

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And then she got her hands on Maggie. They have a special connection. She was my very first friend I told I was pregnant when I was literally 2 seconds pregnant. We both cried. I don’t really know what their connection is, so I just watch on and let them be. That magic you just have to let be.

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Lucky for me she had been to not 1 but TWO bakeries to get me the best of the best from the mountains. BEHOLD:

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What we’re dealing with here are a Vanilla Slice and Bee Sting from The Buttery?! I think it was called and then at the back a custard tart from Hominy also in Katoomba. HOLY SHIT. The holy trinity of baked custard goods.

It wasn’t pretty.

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We drank tea, kicked our boots off and warmed our socked toes by the fire talking non stop. Maggie slept on the couch in between.

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Didn’t take her eyes off Eden when awake.

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Then we packed up and drove back down the mountain, our souls filled only the way they can be when you have a lovely time with someone that you dearly care about. If I have to wait a whole other year, I will.

Do you have a special friend like this?
Someone that you can just pick up where you left off like nothing has happened when EVERYTHING has happened?
What would be your choice in the baked goods trinity?

Comments

  1. Sounds like a very heart and soul warming visit. I have two such dear friends, but they are both in NZ 🙁 Thankfully I have precious two sisters who are here so they make up for it! xx

  2. I love the way you’re having this beautiful ‘first baby’ experience with Mags minus the anxiety and ‘holy shit what am I doing-ness’ of a real first baby. You get to drink her in when the girls are at school and be an experienced first time mum who’s actually a third time mum. Love it. And friends like Eden? You’re lucky if you have one. They are so special.

  3. This made my morning. Three beautiful girls who I love very dearly. x

  4. I have a friend like this, her name is Kylie and she lives more than 1000kms away from me, but she still managed to make a surprise visit (car, plane, bus, car) to see me the day my son was born, when I was having chemo, and again when I had a party to celebrate being in remission from cancer. She’s a fucking legend.

  5. Wow, it’s a Custardpalooza! You, Eden and Mrs Woog are my holy trinity of the blogging world, so obvious to see the love in your photos Beth

  6. That post made me teary. Maggie has a new friend how lovely and you got to spend time with a loved friend.

  7. A beautiful day for 3 beautiful ladies.
    Eden is a gem, and Maggie can obviously see that.

    I have two of those great friends where you can just pick up where you left off. My Melanie (pronounced Melaney, like the town) and I met over 20 years ago, and have been close ever since. We were even pregnant at the same time! Totally unplanned and we headed out to lunch together to tell one another, not knowing that the other was pregnant…big hugs all round!! They bubs were due one day apart, but she beat me to it and her Edie arrived early and my Jack arrived late, so they are now 13 days apart and spent one day together each week for about the first 3 years of their lives; even though we lived about an hour from one another.

    My other beautiful friend is my Cath. Funnily enough I met her through Melanie. Cath and I lived together for a few years while I was at university in Canberra. And I always said that if I didn’t get married Cath and I would have lived together as 2 spinsters for the rest of our lives. And now my lovely Cath is happily married and expecting her very first bub in 3 weeks time! I am SO excited for her, as she never thought she would find herself becoming a mum.

    These special relationships are to be treasured, they are all enduring and SO very full of love.

    xx

  8. Tears, just tears. I’m so glad that Eden met Maggie. Beautiful photos Beth. I bet you three had an awesome time. Hopefully you won’t have to wait a year to meet again x

  9. something in my eye….

  10. What a beautiful connection and what a height full, feel good post to read. I’m headed to Queensland next week for PB, I’m excited because it’s my first. I’m even more excited because we are staying on an extra week and I’ll get to have my girly catchups with my dear friends who live too far away.

  11. What a beautiful connection and what a delightful, feel good post to read. I’m headed to Queensland next week for PB, I’m excited because it’s my first. I’m even more excited because we are staying on an extra week and I’ll get to have my girly catchups with my dear friends who live too far away.

  12. What a beautiful friendship – truly warms my heart 🙂
    xo

  13. Yes, I have a very special friend like this. Went to school with her. Recently, when my ex-husband died and I was almost inconsolable, I had by chance booked a trip to see her. She drove me 5 hours to the funeral, held me tight, let me cry, then drove me home. Love her to bits.

  14. I’m crying so much I can hardly type. There’s like ten miracles in this post alone. I did sweep and stack and pick flowers just for you. And Maggie. I’d do anything for you Beth. Words can’t express. I love the NA literature in the first photo. I love us scoffing our faces. I deeply love your precious Dalai Lama. She’s the most precious baby in all the Kingdom. The joy and light and healing she has brought with her from the nether .. and Hope. Most of all she brought Hope.

    Love you BabyMac.

    Eden xxxxx

  15. This post made me so happy. I can feel the love xx

  16. Oh this post is so delicious on so many levels!

    That’s the true sign of friendship! I was recently lucky enough to visit a good friend in Ireland and before we reached the airport carpark our families were yakking away like we’d seen each other the day before. Such a special thing. Sadly it will be years, possibly decades, before we see each other again but I know that it will take seconds to reconnect.

  17. Maggie + Eden. Two beautiful peas in pod if ever there were. x

  18. Oh Beth.

  19. Beautiful!
    & yes I’m lucky enough to have several such friends:)
    Xx

  20. Lisa Mckenzie says

    This post is beautiful Beth ❤️❤️❤️

  21. What a special time for the 3 of you! Baked goods friends are THE BEST! I had a friend like this, only our holy trinity was tea, bread and dip and wine. When she lived interstate, we would both sit down on a Friday night to watch Better Homes and Gardens, and converse (via text or phone), like we were in the same room. But sadly, we both went through a rough time, only weeks apart, and neither behaved well to each other, and we fell apart. We’ve since tried to build a friendship again (especially since our sons are just 2.5 months apart), but we’ve never been able to get back to that place. And probably never will. Oh gosh, what a depressing response. But I will always treasure those times we had for the 12 or so years we were absolute besties.

  22. TROONORTH says

    That is about the most wonderful thing I have read in a very long time.

  23. OH my. My best best friend is over from London at the moment…and it is the BEST! Soooooo many cups of tea. So many hugs between her and my 3 kids, and the best story times at bedtimes. I haven’t seen her for 2 years. She fills my cup until it over flows.
    So good to hear about your day x

  24. Oh,

    I just got major goose bumps from reading this.

    Loved it

  25. This post is better than baked goods. ❤️❤️❤️

  26. Beth you are a gem. I think that for all of us who read you, there are so many who also love Eden. We can see and hear the pain that has been present in her life and the jaw dropping hard stuff she has had to traverse. From the gift that was F*cktober last year to placing a gorgeous bub in her arms…its all just awesome. There is so much that I don’t love about the internet, but this is when it shines. I am so glad that Maggie could be the best therapy that only a bub can be, that your baked goods were sublime and that your friendship endures. Thank you for sun shining it all into our little corner of the internet. x

    • Thanks Nellie…I know how many people care about Eden. She’s doing better, she really is. She knows how much support she has, she’ll make it x

  27. Lorraine Pring says

    Love this post Beth.
    We arrived 20 hours ago to spend time with special friends in South Africa. It has been 12 months since we were last here and we cherish every moment. The photos of Eden and Maggie are beautiful.xx

  28. This post made me cry because
    1. I love you guys like some kinda weirdo who’s never met you but feels like you are my friends & I’m so happy happy to see you hang out.
    2. I love that Eden went to the effort for you & I love that you noticed!
    3. Eden hugging Mags is the best.
    4. I just spoke to one of my oldest & dearest friends who I haven’t seen in a year & wont likely see for a very long time. I miss her SO much. This country is too big & our bank accounts are too empty.
    5. Those bakery items are enough to make any grown woman cry. Bloody YUM!

  29. Maggie, Beth and Eden. Three beautiful souls, together again. Maggie is an old soul, I just know it. Gosh I may have teared up and may have even howled. Beautiful friendship <3 Beautiful souls <3

  30. thegingerfox says

    Oh Beth I just completely love your blog, makes me laugh and fills me with warmth! What a beautiful friend, I too am lucky to have a keeper like Eden, my gorgeous best friend since high-school, Ames, we grew up together as part of each other’s families and although we don’t get to see each other that often she is still my ‘person’ and no amount of time nor distance will ever change that! She is expecting her first baby in October and I’m already THAT emotional about it already it’s ridic!!! As far as baked goods pretty much anything chocolate would suit us fine, my dear Ames is living our dream of eating off her preggo belly! Dear friends are truly the BEST!!

  31. How beautiful are these photos capturing moments with Maggie and Eden. Oh and the one capturing the custard tarts before being devoured. I thought of you today when I was buying a lemon curd tart. It was so good!

  32. Beautiful post. Maggie must know how special Eden is to you.
    My holy trinity of baked goods would all come from Hominy!! Their almond croissant, pear Danish and Apple turnover. And then a slice of their pizza too 🙂

  33. Emily Furlong says

    My best friend. We met when we were 15 (now in our 30s), and we’ve been to hell and back, cancer, loss, babies, separations, marriages and everything in between. The one constant we can always rely on is each other. We live 2000km apart and rarely get to physically hug, but when we do! I feel like I’ve come home. She’s the sister of my heart and soul.

  34. Clever Mags must have taken the photo of you two scoffing the pastries. She wanted to show her big sisters what you get up to when they’re off at school.

  35. Bee Sting pastry is one of my all time most favourite sweet treats everrrrrrrrrrr!!!!

  36. Oh the love!!! The one of Eden cuddling Mags just tears me up!! Mags already knows she’s a good egg. I have a wonderful friend like this in the UK, and she’s just had her first baby. Hoping we get to meet each other’s babies soon xx

  37. So much love in a post. This post proves to me why I love blogs and social media and actually makes me want to write better and share more. For all the rubbish and trolling there are beautiful people who share friendships and happy times. I hope little Maggie will one day realise how many smiles she brings to those of us who follow her brilliant Mum. Eden, your total honesty is what I love and the look of pure joy you’re sharing with this gorgeous baby brings so much joy. Oh, and that tray of baked goods looks so damned delicious – and that you enjoyed them by a fire – so jealous!

  38. Oh Beth and Eden and Maggie. How special. I have a friendship like yours. A girl I met when she was sent by work to Australia for 2 years. We bonded over cheap sparkling red (Gawd, that’s awful stuff) and we’re heartbroken when she returned to England. We fell out of contact for a couple of years and then found each other again. During that time, we’d both married, had 2 babies each (who are born in the same months) and now are completely enmeshed in each others lives. I C.A.N.N.O.T wait to see her when we visit the UK in October. Big hugs to you…

  39. Such a beautiful post. Blogging brings the most amazing people into our lives doesn’t it? Maggie is so adorable. So glad you had a great time catching up together. xx

  40. I am so utterly grateful that Maggie & Eden have met. It will be the most incredible salve for E’s heart.
    .
    Maggie’s smile could be better described as a ‘beam’ as she looks at Eden, and Eden’s smile . . . well it’s just pure joy.
    .
    And your hug?
    She’ll feel your embrace for weeks.
    <3
    Pia

  41. Baby cuddles + baked goods + bestie = bliss. I just did this with my girlfriend who had a baby. Turned up after a shit month. We ate. We laughed. We cuddles. We sniffed the newborn. You can see the connection in your photos which is so beautiful – friends like that it does not matter if you see them every week or once a year. Hang onto that!

  42. dear little Maggie… A baby who heals broken hearts by her very existence.. A love story here dear Beth xxxx

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