The silver lining

An upside of my recent life changes is that I have booked myself a wee holiday to Europe this November. London to visit some dear pals and get my dose of all things British; and Paris to meander, eat delicious porky things and live like a Parisien for ten days.

(pic from here)

Oh Paris in Winter. So romantic.

I counting down the days. 56 to be exact.

And just because it's what I do, I have been making lists like crazy. Restaurants I want to try, museums I want to visit, which markets are on on which days and, of course, shops!

Some things on my list...

Petit Bateau for great quality French tees and other cotton things.

Repetto for classic ballet flats

Liberty of London for pretty Liberty-print things.

I'm not usually a Nike fan but these are particularly amazing!

Hit me up with more typical French or English shopping destinations!

I really, really, really, really, really, reallllllllly....

...want these

Egh. Must not spend more money.

From here.

Picture Australia

Kings Cross 1968 (from here)



Picture Australia is my favourite website. Run by the National Library, it combines the digital photo collections from major libraries and museums across Australia in a one-stop, easily searchable website.

I browse it a lot, I always find something cool and interesting. I particularly like looking at old photographs of houses in Sydney, and people... I like looking at their clothes.

Sometimes what I find it just a bit odd. Like this guy:

Isn't he a nice cow? (from here)


Check it out. See, libraries can do cool stuff!

Changes

Change is happening, whether I like it or not. New surroundings, new ideas, fresh headspace... it's been good, but hard. But amongst all these changes, I have found some time for nice things.

I went to Brisbane and visited some truly inspiring libraries for uni...

That's books, stuck on the ceiling.

Cool, huh?

I love the colour waves.
At QUT Kelvin Grove library, Brissie.

I bought new mittens. Kitten mittens.
Made from alpaca wool. See the little alpacas on them?

I ate my body weight in Vietnamese chicken rolls. A lot healthier than many other things I crave.
I can always justify them.

Here's to embracing the changes and more fun to come!

Food = Love

Sometimes I have trouble expressing my emotions. Finding the words to say that I'm upset, unhappy, confused, or troubled is difficult for me. Expressing love however is something I can do without words.

Food = love. Cooking for people I love is my way of saying 'I heart you'.

A is on the receiving end of my of my love food the most. Asking him what food he craves and then cooking him something to satisfy that craving is my special skill.

For his birthday however, I didn't even have to ask. Flourless chocolate cake. His ultimate.

So I made him one.


Success!

Recipe from here.

Doing my bit...

Well, not really. That's always what people say though, isn't it?

(from here)

I just like the pastel pink-ness.

It makes my morning coffee taste sweeter.

Piggy faced buns

From the Chef's Gallery in Sydney - sweet and oozy, black sesame paste filled buns.
Delicious.
And cute to boot.