Lost and found

The silver lining

2011-09-15T09:18:00.009+10:00

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....

2011-08-04T09:34:00.003+10:00

...want these

Egh. Must not spend more money.

From here.

Picture Australia

2011-07-22T11:30:00.004+10:00

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

2011-07-18T19:44:00.012+10:00

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

2011-05-22T17:16:00.000+10:00

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...

2011-05-18T08:23:00.003+10:00

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

2011-03-24T09:15:00.003+11:00

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

New Elke

2011-02-01T09:08:00.002+11:00

Mmmmmm. Such good colours.

Soon available here.

Outraged!

2011-02-01T08:52:00.000+11:00

Something I always worried about finally happened.

People told me I was paranoid. Why would anyone do such a thing?
I was lulled into a false sense of security ...until yesterday.

Someone has been stealing clothes from the communal washing line.
And my new bikini is the latest victim.

Image from here

I am shocked, appalled, outraged, upset and any other synonyms you can think of.
I am especially so because I'd finally found a cossie I loved and felt comfy in, only to have it snatched away by some opportunistic slapper! Grr!

After a spate of robberies, peeping toms (yes, very creepy) and now this I am finding myself reminiscing for the old, safe days (ie. last year) when I could put my washing on the line without fear of it being stolen, or have a shower without fear of being peeped!
What is this suburb coming to?!

/end Nanna rant

2010, stuff and things

2011-01-03T10:08:00.010+11:00

A new year, a new way

2011-01-03T09:32:00.002+11:00

As I clean the weeks of festive cooking grease off my stove and start to contemplate taking down the Christmas tree, I have been thinking about the year ahead.

2011, wow, shouldn't we be driving flying cars by now?

2010 didn't do it for me. It was a transitional year, on paper I achieved a lot, but in reality it was a drag. The crux: part-time uni on top of full-time work + more work responsibilities that didn't alleviate the day-to-day boredom of my dull job.

I had holidays, mini-breaks and bought a huge amount of wearable bargains but none of this got me past the general plodding along boringness of this year. Sigh.

I sound like a whinger, yes? Maybe I am, but I have reliased this year that even by doing what you know is right and helpful in the longrun, it is not necessarily satisfying in the short-term.

So 2011 is going to be different. This time next year I will be somewhere else, trying something new. No more boring transitional years, life is too short.

The best meal of my life

2010-11-07T17:38:00.004+11:00

Photo from smh.com.au

After 3 months of waiting and many years of pining our much anticipated booking a Tetsuya's had arrived.

We had an amazing table, in a corner, looking out onto the garden/waterfall area. There was a couple sitting behind us, the guy - massive douchebag - kept going on about "last time he was at tetsuya's" and "they all know me here, I come here so often" blah blah blah, yawn.

The first thing that stood out was the service. Unpretentious and genuine. The perfect balance of attentive and leaving you be. Our wine waiter was especially lovely, friendly chit chat and wine top ups made us feel special.

And the food. It was spectacular.
The black truffle and parmigiano reggiano whipped butter to with bread to start was so good, I could've left after that.
The signature confit ocean trout was definitely a highlight for me, but every course was a stand out. The menu on their website is slightly different to what we had, but quite close.

At one point a waiter came to clear our plates and asked how everything was.
I admitted I wanted to lick the plate it was so good. He offered to hold open his suit jacket so no one could see.

A, being the chocoholic that he is, was scraping the plate to get every last bit of chocolate parfait (just one of the desserts). The waiter noticed how much he loved the chocolate and brought us out an extra dessert course (taking the number of desserts to 4!) of chocolate fondant. Delicious! But this put me over the edge.

I was so so full by the end.
The oyster course, freebie extra wine and 4 desserts took their toll.

It has set the bar too high for food now. I'd love to dine there once a month. I don't think I could ever get sick of it. And I'd love to see how the menu changes and grows.

As P said, the thought that the man himself is so humble and lovely makes the experience of dining there so much more fulfilling.

Everything since has tasted crap by comparison. Sigh.

P.S. If you didn't catch Tetsuya's Pursuit of Excellence on SBS last night (or whenever they first played it) you missed out. I'm sure they'll show it again, keep an eye out!

Sunshine + bargains

2010-10-23T10:43:00.006+11:00

Today feels like summer. For the first time in way too long.
It's lovely.

Scored a bargain $6 totem dress/tunic from the usually overpriced oppy.
Such a happy, summertime print and breezy summertime fabric.

Yay for summer!

Denim undies

2010-10-18T11:11:00.004+11:00

If the whole idea of denim underpants isn't bad enough, you have to pay $229 for the privilege!

This is definitely the most hideous pair of mumblers I've ever seen...

Crazy cat lady

2010-10-16T13:58:00.010+11:00

On a recent trip to Blackheath we visited the always quality Victory Theatre antique centre. I was in the Blackheath staying with a group of friends for the weekend. Saturday morning we all ended up at the Victory Theatre pottering around, pondering odd objects and purchashing bits and pieces.

Friends already suspected as much, but that day I firmly confirmed my cat obsession once and for all. I made only feline related purchases despite the huge array of homewares, vintage clothes and jewellery up for grabs.

Firstly, I present: For the love of cats by Christine Metcalf.
Published by Octopus Books in 1973.

A large, glossy, and somewhat technicolour book with cute (and not-so cute) pictures of 1970's kitties.
It is really very odd.
The text is a rambling bunch of words that don't always make sense, things they claim as facts I'm sure really aren't.

Chapters on "Cats on the roof-top"

and "the well cared for cat"

Gratitutous pics of cats doing cute cat things

And my favourite, this kitten who looks like he has a little beard

It's nice to think of kitties in times gone by, still looking the same and doing the same little things that cats do today.

I took it back to our accommodation, sat on the couch and poured over all the pictures.

My other feline purchase of the day, a replica Lea Stein kitty brooch:

I don't have a name for her yet, but she's happy hanging out with me on my cardigan and keeping me company.

And if that wasn't enough, I am also now the proud owner of the one and only, cat umbrella:

For me it falls into that "it's so bad it's good" category.

This one cat looks a little bit constipated

I bought it, and I think it's hilarious. But who buys these things for real?
Crazy cat ladies of course. And I'm edging closer to that title everyday.

Really, I hope I'm never single again.
I will most definitely turn into one of them. 10 cat flatmates, no human friends, covered in cat hair, with cat scratching posts all over my house... oh well. Guess it could be worse.

Sometimes

2010-10-01T19:42:00.002+10:00

Sometimes I have a moment when I realise that one day I'm going to look back at this time in my life fondly.

Sometimes it's when I'm going about monotonous day-to-day stuff, sometimes it's when I hear a certain song...

Stuff isn't so bad. As much as I sometimes like to think that it is.

In fact stuff is pretty a-ok.

the perfect date

2010-09-18T11:15:00.005+10:00

old school Chinese restaurant

four waiters per table

all wearing bow ties and waistcoats...

...except the dude in the suit.

is there really a "waiter heirarchy"?

prawn gow gees, fluoro orange chilli sauce, special flied lice

fortune cookies

perfect

New-ish foots-its

2010-09-02T13:22:00.005+10:00

I've acquired so many new shoes in the past few months. And with the seasons changing, I'm not done yet.

unknown brand brown leather/patent brogues
(purchased on supersale at max's)

mimi loves jimi tan desert boots

senso gold leather flats

cr silver ballet flats

Optimism + organisation

2010-08-31T21:01:00.005+10:00

I finally decided it was time to cull, trim and organise the many many recipes I rip/print/cut out every week.

I should've done this years ago. Now I can actually see what's in there. It's like my own special cookbook.

Actually, I'm feeling very optimistic and energetic today about everything in general.

I'm really not sure where this spurt came from, but I'm not going to think about it too much. I'm just going to run with it.

Wheeeee!

Guilty pleasures...

2010-07-11T13:32:00.006+10:00

Holidays also mean indulging in guilty pleasures. These holidays, thanks to FoxAsia, I discovered a new addictive way to fill in time (like I really needed more).

With the exception of cooking shows, 30 Rock and Community I don't religiously watch many TV series'. My attention span isn't very good. So it was rather surprising to find that on one hungover morning on our holiday, hotel room TV got me suckered in so much I now have a new obsession...

Bones. Featuring Angel and the lesser known of the Deschanel sisters, this forensic/crime drama ticks all the boxes for shows that I would normally hate. Gory storylines, silly romantic tension between characters, end-of-series cliffhangers... I've been totally swept up with the formula. Needless to say, we bought three series' on DVD and have been watching episodes almost daily.

I've learnt a lot about human skeletons, decomposition and flesh eating bugs. I've learnt that "phalange" is not just a funny word that sounds funnier the more that you say it ("phalange, phalange, phalange" - see?) but the tiny bones in human hands and feet. So maybe my favourite new guilty pleasure isn't all bad, I can pass it off as educational!

What is your guilty TV pleasure? x

Time off

2010-07-11T11:33:00.002+10:00

Uni holidays are a precious precious time. We made the most of my first uni holidays since going back to school and took a holiday to sunny Bali.

Not the bogan holiday destination it is often painted to be, we relaxed and sunned ourselves and explored a tourist path of our own making.

A lot of our holiday did of course revolve around food...

The famous babi guling (suckling pig) at Ibu Oka in Ubud.
This freshly cooked piggy arrived to the restuarant on the back of a motorcycle!

And the "spesial" babi guling plate - pork, crackling, black sausage, fresh sambal... all for about AU$3

The feast we cooked up (or helped cook up at least) at our fabulous personal cooking class.

Another "famous" meal - this time at Bebek Bengil (The Dirty Duck) restarant in Ubud.
I love how Balinese food is served with a taste of everything all on one plate, perfectly portioned and proportioned.

We didn't spend all our time food obsessed...

...we drank beer and watched soccer and watched the sun set and got pampered...

My kinda holiday.

Fireworks!

2010-05-27T08:50:00.005+10:00

OK, I'm proper back now.

Meet my new dress:
I think it looks like pink and red and white fireworks in a polyestery night sky.

Purchased in the lovely (if not packed full of tourists) South Coast town of Milton over Easter. (Ok, maybe not it's so new then)
But I haven't worn it yet, so that kind counts right?
Saving it for a special 30th birthday party in a couple of weeks.

It had a real little old lady's name stitched onto the tag.
I like to think it that it ws her "good frock", only pulled out for the most specialist of good lunches and bridge games.

Milton and Ulladulla have a great range of cute vintage stores where funky South Coast ladies sell second hand dresses and homewares at not-too-marked-up prices. I can't remember what the one where I bought this dress was called, but if you go to Milton, you'll find it.

Oh, and I bought this vintage Katies number in Ulladulla:

(it has some flowers embroidered on the chest, and a big swooshy skirt too)

Why doesn't Katies make such nice clothes anymore?

I'm not dead

2010-05-20T15:51:00.003+10:00

Just doing that thing I said I wouldn't, neglecting my little web space :(

Uni work and procrastinating from said uni work have left me not feeling like saying much. Stressed and over it, contemplating a complete change of career direction now.

This time next week I'll be footloose and assignment-free and back with frivolity and silliness.

x

Stress

2010-03-18T09:20:00.005+11:00

As someone who has kept herself well away from any high-stress situations over the past few years it is a weird feeling to be stressed again.

I think I am stress-phobic. Is that even a thing?

When pressure starts to mount I seize up, want to quit and hide in bed. My chest feels tight, I can't concentrate.

I don't handle stress well.

I hear stress can be a good thing but I can't really see the good side at the moment.

These boots need to be in my life right now.

2010-03-12T13:52:00.002+11:00

I always had Clarkes school shoes as a kid. I even had some as an adult (which I recently gave away). And now I am yearning for some new ones.

Orthopedically friendly and classically styled, I present the Clarkes desert boot.

I'm not sure why they're called desert boots- I can't imagine they'd be very comfortable in a hot, sandy environment. What I do know is that they would be very comfortable on my little footsies this winter.

They've been officially added to my ever-growing winter shopping list.

Oh and check out some crazy "new" desert boots Clarkes released last year. I personally prefer the classic style.

Mr Fox - can you be my friend?

2010-03-08T09:21:00.005+11:00

I have always been a huge Roald Dahl fan. He can be credited 100% for developing my young love of reading (though I'm not as good at it these days).

So when Wes Anderson (he of The Royal Tenenbaums and The Life Aquatic) announced he was taking on Roald Dahl's Fantastic Mr Fox I was super excited. Obviously not that excited you say, because it has taken me 'til now to see it. Well my excuse is that it was mostly shown at inconvenient school holiday session times (10am movie? no thanks).

The foxes were brought to life using puppets and stop-motion animation with ridiculously cute results. Mr Fox sported a dashing corduroy jacket and Mrs Fox, a great 50's style house dress. Unsurprisingly, I was pretty emotionally involved rooting for the foxies as they sneakily defeated the big bad farmers.

The film was unmistakably Wes Anderson. Maybe the sound of so many familiar voices (Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Owen Wilson) added to this, but it was definitely the quirky dialogue too (loved the use of the term "cuss" instead of any cuss word).

It left me longing for a cute pet fox (A. insists they aren't as cute IRL) or at least a stuffed toy one and a simpler life, seen through the eyes of a 7 year old me.

Wintery inspiration

2010-03-02T13:59:00.004+11:00

For the past few weeks I have been dreading this day... Summer has ended. But after approx. 24 hours of less-than-balmy weather I have quite easily embraced the idea of cold weather.

Pic from HERE

I am daydreaming about winter shopping, scarves, cosy snuggles and open fires...

Winter wants:
Knit dresses
Chunky cable knit stockings
Flat leather boots
Berets
Pencil skirts
Stripey tops for layering
Vintage wool coats
Cropped leather jackets
and as many Vintage dresses as I can find!

A cat in a bag...

2010-02-20T15:33:00.001+11:00

Life changing pandan pancakes

2010-02-12T14:58:00.003+11:00

Went to Iima last night with Likkle girl, a new restuarant in the old Mandarin Club building on Pitt Street.

The food was amazing, parallel Thai and Japanese menus which might sound a bit strange, but worked really well.

We greedily ate up our mains and I was almost bursting when we finished, but when Miss Likkle suggested dessert, I couldn't resist.

Their dessert menu consists of purely of pancakes, both plain and pandan flavoured. We chose the pandan variety with vanilla ice cream and gooey pandan sauce. One each was all we needed, I was in heaven. Light and fluffy, that distinct pandan flavour, completely non-greasy... I didn't stop talking and thinking about them for the rest of the evening.

Next time I'm going to get there with an empty stomach, ordering a cocktail and a huge stack all for myself!

**Pic from here. I was too busy devouring these life changing pancakes to take my own.

Style-spiration

2010-02-03T11:02:00.003+11:00

I can't stop looking at this picture.

Michelle Jank, snapped by the Sartorialist in Paris last year.

So beautiful, relaxed and chic. I love the primary colours. The red lippy. It also makes me wish I was a blonde.

I will try and recreate this look with my red Pigeonhole necklace and cheapy, drapey blue Sussan top.

2010, a new chapter.

2010-02-02T20:44:00.005+11:00

This year I start uni.
Again.
6 years later.

And this time I am going to finish.

Last week I travelled all the way to Wagga Wagga for my university residential school. I'll be studying by distance over the next 4 years but this was an orientation of sorts, to uni life, the course and my fellow students. I stayed on campus, met new people and ate dodgy, stodgy food from the uni cafeteria.

So to you, this may look like any old, greasy breakfast but for me it is quite symbolic. I am out of my comfort zone, doing things I always told myself I couldn't and hoping that it won't be too painful.

Post holiday blues viewing pt. 1

2010-01-07T14:14:00.004+11:00

I'd heard about Adventureland but forgotten about it completely until blankly perusing video shop shelves this past week.

The director of Superbad and a cute looking shaggy haired boy on the cover? Tick, tick!

It certainly impressed. Light, funny with a bit of eye candy - a perfect teen movie fix. Kristen Stewart was even a little less whiny than she is in Twilight! (who knew that was possible!)

It left me wanting to quit my job, smoke a joint and go work at a fun park. If only Australia's Wonderland* was still around...

Go, see!

*For those interested, check out this site for depressing photos of what has come of Wonderland these days. Sad, sad.

Creatures in the land of smiles

2009-12-31T14:17:00.005+11:00

Thailand was excellent. Still tired and jetlagged from the mere 4 hour time difference.

Unable to string much of a sentence together right now so here are some of my favourite four-legged friends from the land of smiles.

We were yet again amazed (and amused) by the sight of cats with (big) balls.

Cat family portrait. Aww.

Slight Kitler cat

This dog slept on the beach every morning. He was so sandy, it make me itchy just looking at him.

Manky strays that ate our leftovers.

Teensiest kitten ever. Concentrating hard to do his business in the sand.

Seeing red

2009-12-15T09:36:00.003+11:00

Red has always been my favourite colour.
Intense, deep, ruby red makes me feel happy in any season.

My friends and family obviously know me well.
I have recently acquired a number of new red goodies.

I drooled over this Pigeonhole necklace at the recent Finders Keepers markets. My mum got the hint <3>

Life is better with music in your ears. My old iPod died. Of course A. knew to choose red when he bought me one of these for my birthday.

Another one from Mummy dearest. For my birthday this time. The softest of soft eelskin from Justine Pratten. It makes me smile even if it is empty of money.

Procrastinating and watching things grow

2009-12-01T21:54:00.006+11:00

OK, I know, I've been slack.

I have so many things to post about but no energy (will?) to do so. Another birthday has passed, with which came awesome presents and fun times, I also had some great news - I'm starting uni next year! (eeep!)

Milding freaking out about having no "ME" time when uni starts so trying to pack in as much frivolity and time consuming stuff as I can. Well that's the theory anyway, somehow I've ended up doing less.

This week I decided to grow my own alfalfa sprouts in a jar. An activity designed for a 5 year old (even the seed packet says "fun for kids") so I figured my headspace could handle it. And I was right - look how they've grown!

In no time at all I'll have yummy sprouts for my lunchtime salads. Yay!

Oh and if you're in the area this Friday or Saturday, pop in and visit Likkle girl and I at the Finders Keepers Markets at the Carriageworks in Sydney. We'll be spruiking her lovely jewels (gotta get the plug in there!)

x

My new toy!

2009-11-26T08:55:00.002+11:00

One of my many lovely birthday presents

And she needs a name... Sophie the Singer? Sadie? Sally?

I can sew, but haven't for a long time. If anyone can recommend a refresher sewing course in Sydney, please do!

A weekend away from the rest of the world

2009-11-19T18:39:00.003+11:00

Armed with all the home comforts we could cram into our car, last weekend we spent a perfect weekend in a perfect house with the perfect company.

A's family are like my own. And after 8 years, we treat each other as such. For a long time the siblings lived together so we all spent a lot of time together. These days, we see each other often but it's just not the same as having long periods of nothing time to soak up each other's company. That is what this weekend was about.

We cooked, ate, drank, smoked, swam and lazed in the sun. Sometimes we wandered down to the beach, I read the paper, I applied low protection sunscreen. We all watched David Attenborough documentaries.

It was lovely. Just us being us. And I can't wait to do it again.

I'm off work sick but:

2009-11-12T14:22:00.004+11:00

...I could still totally go a cold glass of crisp, white wine

...I'm heading to go to my doctor's appointment early so take a slight detour to the shops (shopping has medicinal qualities, I swear)

...I cleaned the fridge while watching the E channel and IQ'd episodes of Tori & Dean Inn Love

...I spent the first part of my morning turning last years Ikea catalogue into one of these nifty folded magazine Xmas trees. Photos when I'm done!

Pretty Pink Billy

2009-10-31T17:37:00.004+11:00

An idea I stole from indie.com.au's nineteen toes, I often choose wine based purely on the pretty label. But the bottle gets thrown away when I'm finished and the lovely design is forever forgotten. Not anymore!

Last night I was in the mood for rosé, and I spied by far the prettiest bottle design I have seen in a long time.

Pink Billy, by Philip Shaw (from Orange):

The sexy, voluptuous lady with that "come hither" arm... totally my kind of beautiful. The wine was ok too.

ModKat

2009-10-29T15:18:00.000+11:00

I love having a cat, I do, but there are a couple of not-so-pleasant aspects of keeping a cat in a small apartment. Litter trays is one of them. Stinky, hard to clean and ugly to look at.

Enter, ModKat!

You wouldn't even know what it's used for if I didn't tell you, would you? And the red would go perfectly with Heidi's grey coat!

I really want one, but they don't seem to post to Australia :(

Sing a song

2009-10-24T09:39:00.002+11:00

Karaoke, another of my favourite activities.

Inspired by our recent night out for M's b'day (a truly successful karaoke night!) I thought I'd share a few karaoke songs that are special to me.

The first karaoke song I ever sang- Like a virgin, Madonna
Karaoke feels awkward at first, and you soon realise that booze is your friend when it comes to singing. I was boozed when I sang this, but obviously not enough. It wasn't great. I will put it down to it being my first time.

Best group sing-a-long - Africa, Toto
A special song for my group of friends. One day, I'd like fulfill my dream of singing this directly followed by Murder Reigns by Ja Rule (which samples Africa).

Our favourite couples duet - Don't know much, Linda Ronstandt and Aaron Neville
A special song for A and I. Cheesy, 80's goodness.

My favourite solo - Oh what a night, The Four Seasons
I'm not sure how I came up with this one. But it has stuck. Easy to sing, no difficult notes, easy to dance to, everyone can sing along.

Sentimental favourite - Mr Brightside, The Killers
Makes me think of so many great (and not so great) nights out. M's misheard lyric "I missed her bright side" instead of "I'm Mr Brightside" is forever stuck in my head. Actually, we have a whole set of alternative lyrics, and dance moves. Pretty lame actually.

What are your karaoke staples?

(If you're looking for somewhere to sing in ol' Sydney town, try Ding Dang Dong in Surry Hills. The stern Korean matriarch who runs the place wears glasses like Kim Jong-Il)

A few of my favourite things

2009-10-22T19:21:00.001+11:00

I have a fairly obsessive personality. I'm either really, really into something, or not at all.

Researching accommodation online
I think I should have been a travel agent. I have spent whole days at a time searching for bungalows in various Thai locations for our holiday which is still 2 months away. I also love planning a mini-break (ala Bridget Jones) and locating the bestest and most romantic location for a weekend getaway. Currently on my wishlist - Bannister's at Mollymook. I want to visit Rick Stein's restaurant! (which leads to my next point...)

Food shows
My obsession with these has really taken off over the past few years and the Lifestyle Food channel can usually be found on in our house. I've got my favourites - Nigella, anything River Cottage, (embarrassingly) Come dine with me, Iron Chef, Market Kitchen - and my not so favourites - mostly anything from the U.S.A. or with Gordon Ramsay - but generally, I'll watch any of them.

Animals
Generally all sorts. As you know I have a cat. But I wish our place was large enough to house others too. I'd be like Dr Doolittle.
I love any animal related email forward, and especially love "animals dressed in human clothes" greeting cards and pictures. I have a growing collection of stuffed animal toys - an elephant, a meerkat, a red panda, a lion, cats, dogs, etc, etc (but nowhere to store them).

Sticky-beaking at other peoples houses
Probably why I love shows like Grand Designs.
I love long walks around my suburb picking out houses that I'd like to live in. My dream home at the moment is a small semi right across the road from us. An elderly couple live there. A and I have considerd befriending them so that they leave us their house when they die. But then we figured out that they have a large family who would get in our way. Damn it.

...Well that was interesting.

There is nothing luxurious about tampons

2009-10-10T09:10:00.001+11:00

And nor should there be.

Yet...

Who buys into this crap? Seriously.

Do ya wanna hear the good news, or the bad news?

2009-09-29T08:07:00.003+10:00

Word trickled through last night that Sydney's beloved Hopetoun Hotel has been closed until further notice.

A Sydney institution, I went to some of my first ever gigs there. A and I went on one of our first dates there. I got my worst ever red-wine hangover after a night at the Hoey. And more recently, we've enjoyed their recently opened Rider Mexican food upstairs.

A sad day for the Sydney music scene. Let's hope they can make it work again somehow.

Now, for some good news..!

This morning, driving down Oxford Street on the way to work, I spied a sign for Bison Australia. Originally based in Canberra, I've visited their shop in Melbourne as well as drooled over their beautiful ceramics in their online store. Now there will be a store in Paddington! Right near the public school (and markets) and pretty close to me too.

I am currently lusting over their 'cucina' bowls, perfect for my style of eat-on-your-lap entertaining. The colours make me think of summer in the Mediterranean.

September 2009 : a photo essay*

2009-09-27T16:42:00.007+10:00

Or a cop-out post in which I choose not to write much.

The part of my brain that can write a nicely formed and understandable sentence is MIA. Hope it returns soon.

Lychee & vanilla martinis @ Melt bar 5/09/2009

Missing cat. Wah!

Caramel corn snacks. Yum.

Lisa Mitchell @ The Metro 25/09/2009

A little bazaar jewelley markets with Likklegirl and her purdy jewels
The Beresford Hotel, Surry Hills 26/09/2009

*A once submitted a "photo essay" in uni. Bascially a last minute way of not doing much work. He still ended up getting great marks. Typical, smarty pants!

RaaaaAARRRGH dinsoaurs!

2009-09-16T19:17:00.005+10:00

Recent presents for A.

They live on our windowsill.

Sometimes they fight during the night.

Naughty dinosaurs!

RaaarrrrghhghghgH!!!

Pretty jewels!

2009-09-06T17:04:00.004+10:00

The ultra talented Likklegirl recently and very kindly gifted me one of her trademark necklaces. The Empress Dowager's New Jewels are handcrafted using beautiful fabrics found and foraged.

She transformed my humble piece of Ikea fabric into a wearable work of art! And I am smitten! Knowing how much time and effort goes into the making of each one, I feel very lucky to have one all of my own.

I wore my Galaxy of Swirly Onyx out last night to so many compliments! And like the good little walking-advertisement I am, I spread the word about talented Ms P. I think I have recruited some new customers!

And specially for the likkle girl herself, here's me, in all my Saralisa glory - lamp shade, draft stopper and now my beautiful jewels!

Thanks again P, I will always wear them with pride!

Sandal weather

2009-09-05T14:44:00.006+10:00

Last night we went to see Inglorious Basterds - the movie was great, but other things made the night even better.

I decided it was sandal weather. It was actually hotter at 5pm than it had been at midday. Unseasonally hot winds came through later in the evening making it feel simultanesouly like middle of February and an impending armageddon.

Sandal weather + movies = ice creams.

I looked for a choc top, but spied some tasty looking ice-cream sandwiches instead. OH. MY. GOD. Heaven.

Pat and Stick's - I'd never heard of them before but it was a revelation of taste. Why didn't I think of starting an ice-cream sandwich business!?!

(choc chip and strawberry. yum!)

I am glad I finished my ice-cream sandwich by the time the movie started because by the end my tummy was in balls of anxiety. I have a love/hate relationship with suspenseful films. I get so worked up that I dig my fingersnails into A's arm and sometimes have to cover my eyes. But usually it is all worth it. And last night it totally was! I love you Tarantino.

I really don't go to the movies enough. Having gone twice in the last week (saw the September issue last weekend) it has made me realise how great it is. So I made a deal with A last night that we would start going at least once a month.

I think he was mostly convinced by this rad Where the wild things are promo.

(hello!)

Sandal weather again today, but the crazy hot winds of last night are sadly gone. Catching up with old friends tonight, but I really feel like a cider right now.

Hope your weekend is good.

I'm crying tears of a rapper

2009-08-29T12:56:00.005+10:00

I am constantly astounded by the hilarity and talent of these two.

100% guaranteed LOLs.

New markets

2009-08-28T18:54:00.002+10:00

I got a postcard in my letterbox the other day about the new South Sydney Markets starting September 6 in Alexandria.

And I'd just been whinging about no good produce markets in close proximity to the Eastern Suburbs. I love nothing more than spending a Saturday morning wandering, smelling, eating my way through a good market. I hope it's as good as I'm imagining it to be!

Also, a little birdy tells me that there is going to be a new market at the Beresford Hotel, Surry Hills, beginning end of September. Tweet yay tweet!

(C)holidays - Pt. 2

2009-08-28T18:27:00.017+10:00

We spent one sunny day in Brisbane.

I usually have a list of cafes, bars, museums and shops I want to visit researched and prepared well before we arrive at any destination. But, having only decided to spend a day in Brisbane the day before, and with no internet (!!) and no travel guides to we just had to improvise.

We wandered around Southbank, checked out the fake beach (weird) and enjoyed the sun.

I chose our lunch destination on the basis of their chairs (a pretty reliable gauge I have found) and wasn't disappointed. The Sardine Tin was the place. Apart from slightly weird service it was great. And cheap!

Later in the week we headed to the coast. We stayed away from the tack and glitz of Surfers' Paradise and discovered that the beaches are really quite beautiful and there were heaps of op shops! Sadly I didn't find much apart from one cute shift dress.

We stayed in Currumbin but part of me wished we'd stayed here:

The diviest looking motel on the Gold Coast highway: The Cheshire Cat. It may have looked like the kind of place you would hide a body but at $65 a night, it never had a vacancy!

I was able to draw on my Nanna-tendancies when we managed to catch Sydney band Decoder Ring at a local RSL club. Amazing stuff. Very emotive. I spent a large chunk of time watching their projectionist fiddle with and change films...

and not managing to get many good photos...

Our last day I followed a tip from an old (literally) work colleague and went in search of the Currumbin Rockpool. Tucked away, 14km inland it was an unexpected highlight.

It was practically deserted but us Southerners didn't let the near freezing water temperatures deter us. Wahoooo!

Bring on Summer!

(C)holidays - Pt. 1

2009-08-24T20:44:00.008+10:00

A visit my my Nana in Queensland was well overdue (5 years! I am a terrible granddaughter!).

She lives on Mount Tamborine in the Gold Coast Hinterland, a beautiful part of Australia (why did it take me 5 years to go back!?). And we were lucky enough to have sunny weather, even for August.

A lot of time was spent catching up and just hanging out together. We drank gin and tonics, worked in her garden, went for drives and ate countless cheese platters.

These days, Mount Tamborine produces all sorts of wines, cheeses and beers. My Nana thinks it's all a bit wanky, but Al and I were sucked right in. We devoured some Witches Chase Cheese and some MT Beer (no photos, it was all consumed too fast)

There wasn't much chance for shopping, nor was there much to purchase, which was good for my wallet.

These awesome chairs took my fancy at some cafe, but unfortunately I couldn't take one home with me :(

The only thing I bought up there (that wasn't edible) were these socks:

Made in Nepal, so they don't fit into my "only buy stuff you can't buy at home" holiday shopping guidelines, but I couldn't resist the colours and the price.

...TBC

Walking a cat

2009-08-24T20:24:00.004+10:00

We heard it was possible. And though skeptical, we gave it a go last sunny weekend.

Heidi didn't take to it as we'd hoped, but with a bit of persistance I think she will learn to love it.

n.b. Yes, I am a crazy cat lady. Thank you.

Home sweet home

2009-08-24T09:12:00.002+10:00

After a whole week in sunny Queensland I am home sweet home!

A little shopping, lots of walking, fresh air, feeding birdies, gin and tonics, Grandma tellie, Surf Club meals - photos to come soon soon soon!

Post holiday blues quashed by an only slightly surly cat, the new issue of Frankie and several eBay parcel notifications in my letterbox and this awesome, unseasonably warm weather!

xx

Pet hate #6

2009-08-13T14:12:00.000+10:00

I have a lot of pet hates. Call me bitter and twisted, whatever. I may smile a lot, but deep down, I am an angry, angry girl.

Pet hate #6 follows on from Pet hates #1-5:

People who use hands-free mobile phone kits
Foolscap paper
Dolphins and/or frangipannis
Denim leggings

So, I reveal, Pet hate #6 (drum roll please):

People who apply make up on public transport!

This one has been brewing for years.

I wouldn't mind so much if it was just a quick bit of lippy, even a bit of mascara. But I draw the line at applying foundation, using huge blush brushes and eyeliner.

Over the years I have witnessed women:

painting their nails
clipping their nails (gross)
applying bronzer with huge, sweeping strokes (and consequently bronzing everyone surrounding them)
curling their eyelashes
applying fancy, 3-different-colours, eyeshadows
struggling with liquid eyeliner
getting mascara all over their faces as the bus comes to a sudden stop

Applying make up is something that should be done in the privacy of one's own home. Or work. Or, hell, even a public toilet.

To these hugely aggravating women: Would it be that hard to wake up 5 minutes earlier? Apply makeup once you arrive at work? GRRRRR!

Ok, that feel better.

Am I the only crazy lady with 101 pet hates, or do you have one too? Tell! Tell!

Phoenix - - The Enmore Theatre - - 5 August 2009

2009-08-08T10:35:00.004+10:00

Without the help of steady handed Tall Al my photos are much less impressive :(

Fun night though!

A successful blind date!

2009-08-08T09:09:00.003+10:00

It was with only a few butterflies and a bit of anticipation I have my first, real blog-date on Thursday night.

Likkle girl thanks for a great night! It really is lovely meeting new people!

We chatted about everything from sexy Japanese surfer dudes to the best way to sharpen knives, and drank too much wine while we were at it.

There is something about meeting new people that puts me in a reflective mood... How do people perceive me? How do I portray myself? Meeting someone so completely on the same wavelength as myself helps. I am certainly a lot more confident as I get older, but it doesn't stop me pondering.

Anyway, thanks again P! Looking forward to the next date!

Completely unrelated note: a horse breeding journal we received at work yesterday featured a beautiful brown horse by the name of "Snitzel" on the cover. How cute! Finally a name for horsie the horse lamp!

The Flaming Lips -- Hordern Pavillion, Sydney -- 28 July 2009

2009-08-04T15:04:00.004+10:00

**Photos stolen from a much taller and much more proficient photographer than myself. Thanks Al!

Current fixations...

2009-07-31T09:43:00.008+10:00

Daydreaming about, and planning for our recently booked Thailand trip (December 2009 - OS for Xmas, yay!).

Perusing Selectair for awesome international magazine subscriptions that are way out of my budget. Sigh. Though I think I will treat myself to this, which sounds right up my alley and won't break the bank.

Bidding on porcelain cat figurines on Ebay. Meow.

Drooling over this apartment on apartmenttherapy.com... check out the slideshow. I am coming around to the idea of floating shelves. I also love how they have kept the original features in the bathroom.

Nanna-isms

2009-07-27T09:11:00.000+10:00

I am a nanna.

I may not have grandchildren, but I sure as hell love the kinds of nanna activities that are allegedly beyond my 25 years.

Give me a quiet weekend with a whole host of ingredients to cook an elaborate meal, a new op shop to explore, a box of mismatched buttons to play with, or even a nanna cake-sale to attend and I am one happy woman.

Don't get me wrong, I still have those nights where I don't get home til the sun is rising and I lose the whole next day to sleep, but in winter especially, I enjoy the smugness of an early night and and some old fashioned imaginative fun.

This past weekend was especially nanna-esque. Excellent.

I picked up many metres of fabric at a much anticipated trip to Ikea a couple of weeks ago (their new season fabric is brilliant!) which I planned, among other things, to cover a lampshade with.

I followed this very helpful tutorial, and with a bit of help from A, I think it turned out pretty well.

Voila!

(It's a little dodgy inside, don't look too closely)

Then I had extra fabric, and time. I decided our draft stoppers were ugly and they had to be covered too (the sewing is also a little dodgy close up but a huge improvement from bland, boring navy).

Martha Stewart eat your heart out!

As well as this, I embraced green cleaning.

I stocked up on bicarb soda, lemons, lavender oil, vinegar and various herbs and cleaned the house top to bottom.

My favourite discovery was that combining bicarb, lavender oil, dried thyme and sage in a bowl is a great air freshener. I even cleaned my floors with black tea.

After all of that, I needed a glass of wine. Maybe a bottle. And we finally watched Twilight to see what all the fuss was about. I loved it. It made me feel like a giggly teenager again.

What better way to end the weekend of Nanna.

Happy...

2009-07-25T22:05:00.002+10:00

P.S. Bye bye Sarah :(

Smart shopping

2009-06-27T15:14:00.002+10:00

Being the manic and obsessive shopping addict that I am, I am often fraught with buyers remorse and guilt after purchases. Or feelings of longing and lust that inhabit my head for days when pining for an item that is just out of my reach.

Today, for a change, I have shopped smart. Each of my purchases I love. I feel confident about them. No remorse. Only excitement at when I can debut them for all to see.

I have had my eye on these for ages. They were the right price on Ebay:
Elke Kramer for Sportsgirl belt (bottom) - $20 from $80!
(the bag is on sale too - maybe next week)

Amilita tye dye dress:
So soft, I want to sleep in it.

I am still sick, but my mood is lifted by my lovely purchases.

xx

The best songs ever?

2009-06-23T13:51:00.002+10:00

I had a dream last night that I had left it too late to vote for the Triple J Hottest 100 of all time and had missed out. I was too embarrassed to admit I'd forgotten, so lied to my friends and told them that I had.

As you can tell, I have been spending way too much time thinking about this. My longlist became a shortlist and today I finally cast my vote.

I am still not entirely happy with it but with only 10 songs to choose, I was never going to be completely happy.

Anyway, here's my vote for the Triple J Hottest 100 of all time:

Smashing Pumpkins - 1979
Pixies - Gigantic
Clash, The - Train In Vain
Radiohead - Just
New Order - Temptation
Chemical Brothers, The - Setting Sun
Massive Attack - Unfinished Sympathy
Elliott Smith - Waltz #2 (xo)
Talking Heads - Psycho Killer
You Am I - Berlin Chair

Weekends

2009-06-22T14:51:00.011+10:00

Op shops, lego, dumplings, homemade soup, dancing, fitting into my skinny jeans... can weekends get any better?

Saturday morning -- new favourite op shop -- snuggly new jumper-- kitty bonding time:

Saturday afternoon -- our new lego Guggenheim Museum:

Saturday evening -- wine, cheese and crackers -- dumplings -- Katalyst -- all the energy drinks of the rainbow -- late night Twisties.

I was feeling mighty smug by Sunday afternoon. Everything had gone to plan, just the right mix of relaxation and being sociable. I hadn't even spent too much money. My perfect weekend.

And then I realised I couldn't find my wallet.

In my hungover haze, after our usual Sunday morning stroll to our favourite bakery I had purchased the Sunday papers and popped my coin purse in the middle of the rolled up pages. It wasn't until after my Sunday afternoon nap that I realised that it hadn't come home with me(Luckily it wasn't my entire wallet, but it did have my ATM card, cash and ID). We retraced our steps and I asked in all the shops, but no sign of my wallet. Just when we had given up hope, we turned the corner back into our street when a young couple opened their front door. "You lost your wallet" he said, he recognised me from my ID photo. Apparantly they'd tried to track me down but my address wasn't apparent so they'd dropped it at the local police station. I wanted to kiss him. Close call, but a good Samaritan saved the day.

Sunday evening -- sweet potato soup -- sleepy time tea -- sore throat -- ouch, ouch, ouch!

Monday morning -- worst sleep ever -- razor blade throat -- sleep in -- daytime tv -- strepsils and hot chocolate.

Feeling better already.

The kitty who rules my life

2009-06-18T09:17:00.000+10:00

What's in a name anyway?

2009-06-06T08:34:00.006+10:00

I have a habit of naming everything. I may not be very creative with my names, but if I own it, it will have a name.

My grandmother also has a tradition of naming things. There was her beloved Mazda 121, Margie and her new Toyota - Matilda. She doesn't look at me strangely when I introduce my new purchase by name. She understands.

Giving something a name gives it a personality. And being a lover of anything cutey wutey (Especially animals. Especially when they're wearing clothes), I like my objects to have a character.

There is Alfred, my canine pal:

Molly, my Victorian era puddy tat that I wear on my finger:

And, Horsey:
He lights up the corner of our living room. And a great job he does of it too.

But, poor Horsey never had a proper name. I really struggled with him. I got lazy, I added a "ey" on the end of horse and was done with it. But, I've never really been comfortable with his cop-out of a title. He deserves more than this.

I'm thinking a proud, ex-racing horse name like Atticus or Scottish Glory. But I just can't make up my mind.

If you had a horsey, what would you call him?

Gifting

2009-05-29T20:09:00.000+10:00

Recently A celebrated a special birthday. Actually, it wasn't a significant age at all, but he'd spoilt me so much for my birthday last year that I really felt I needed to bam it up a notch for him this time 'round.

A friend of mine introduced me to Outre Gallery in Surry Hills last year and I thought that maybe this was the place to find said special present. I visited many times, umming and ahhing over which print was the best and finally decided on this one on the left. It is by a guy called Jesse LeDoux who used to work for Sub Pop records and created the artwork for the Shins Chutes too Narrow album (as well as many other awesome bands). This is a poster a Mogwai show in the US in 2006. A loves Mogwai, and so do I.

I bought it home and got it framed. I kept it a secret, hid it well (which is hard in a teensy flat) and presented it proudly on his birthday morning. Luckily, he loves it. Well, I knew he would. And I love it too. Though maybe a little too much.

Have you ever bought something for someone as a gift, that you really wanted yourself? I do it a lot. Though this time, I'm not sure I even knew I was doing it. I like to find the perfect gift, I will search high and low for something that I feel suitably passionate about. I also tend to get an idea in my head and not be able to stop until I find the exact right one.

I think I found the right one this time, even if the gift was partly for my enjoyment too.

Found!

2009-05-29T13:01:00.002+10:00

I have discovered the wonderful, wide world of blogging! How wonderful!

Actually, I discovered blog land over a year ago and have become an avid reader of some great ones. I have also come across many terrible ones. Pages and pages of catwalk photos with no text or comment, or huge essays with no relevance to anyone but the author. Then there are the forgotton ones. Started with good intentions then forgotten and cast aside, never given a real chance at a decent blog life.

This is part of the reason I never started one myself. Until now. The cynic in me is sure this is doomed to fail but on the other hand I won't know until I try.

May this not end up in blog hell with all the other dead blogs out there. RIP.