25 and Counting

Tomorrow is The Sister's birthday.


I've brought her this card





.....and giving her this dvd






.....and this make up brush which will hopefully be perfect for eyeshadow eyeliner applications





Here is a sneak peek at her birthday cake from this scrumptious bakery in Stepney

Will Sugar Help Beat the Heat?

Seeing as the heat is not going to let up for at least another week I'm looking anywhere for a little relief. Or something to take my mind off the fact that it's so darn hot out there!

After visiting a florist to discuss wedding flowers The Sister and I decided to stop off here to drool over some delicious cupcakes. Bobbie raves about them so I thought it was high time that I sampled some.

We can home with these:

Malteser, Oreo, Raspberry and White Chocolate and Passionfruit. Delicious!

Baby It's Hot Outside

South Australia is currently in the middle of a heatwave. It is currently 44 degrees celcius. It was 43 yesterday and the forecast predicts 44 again for tomorrow.

Friday is going to be slightly cooler at 41 degrees but I'll be outside all day at this music festival. How on earth will I stay cool?

I have been hibernating the past few days. Unfortunately yesterday I had to venture out to pay the deposit for the church where we'll hold our wedding ceremony. And this afternoon I have to head out to meet with a potential florist. The air con in the car is going to get a workout!

Wordless Wednesdays

Tuesday Travels - Seattle

I love this city. For so many reasons that range from it being the birthday of Starbucks (where I discovered the joy of hot chocolate with whipped cream), the setting for one of my favourite shows Frasier, the home of the awesome Space Needle and surrounded by water.

Yes I live in a coastal city but remember, my visit to Seattle was after two years living in land logged England!

Seattle also lays claim to Grunge, the soundtrack to my teenage years.

I spent four fantastic days in Seattle and can't wait to go back there one day.

Wedding Shoes

Ok.

The hunt is on for some red wedding shoes.

I'm heading into the city tomorrow morning to begin my search. I can't wait!

Weekend Round Up

I'm starting my weekend from Friday afternoon seeing as I'm on a slight permanent holiday for the immediate future.

Speechie came to visit with one of her lovely older sister's and her sweet little girl. Sweet little girl just charmed my family with her ability to eat half a bag of chocolate freckles and numerous pieces of mum's delicious chocolate cake. Such a little gem! Friday night was quiet, just chilled out watching tv with the sister and looking through wedding magazines. Saturday I finally had a lazy morning which quickly turned into an afternoon of wedding planning. We went to look at a few reception venues which I loved! Still need to make a decision on that one. Saturday night was spent at a family friend's engagement party. Sunday I had a coffee catch up with a dear friend and then called round to Speechie's stunning new unit. I was so impressed with her hard work and gorgeous colour scheme. Sunday evening I had tea with That Southern Boy and his parents. Lots of wedding talk but I'm enjoying it all! Shame I didn't manage to get in any exercise.

My love for Cocktail Food can go on.

Provided there is enough food to go round I love a good cocktail party. There is nothing like being served tasty little morsels of food continuously for a few hours while you chat with friend and sip delicious wine. My idea of bliss! The only problem for a clumsy party guest such as myself is, how on earth do you hold everything?

Two hands, a wine glass, a napkin, possibly a clutch bag and cocktail food can sometimes end in near disaster for me. Look what I've found! These FingerFoods from Fred and Friends are the perfect soluation to my cocktail party clumsiness (or is it greediness?)

Will you.....?

....Marry me?

I was asked this very question by That Southern Boy just over a week ago and I said yes! It happened here on The Great Ocean Road in Victoria at London Bridge. Very appropriate given the fact that we both loved our time living in London, England.

That Southern Boy chose a ring beforehand, as well as asking my Dad for his permission (a funny response that I'll blog about later). The ring is exactly what I would have chosen, photos to follow soon but can I just say I'm utterly smitten with it!

So the last week has been filled with phone calls, emails and lots of visits to and from well-wishers. We've also managed to squeeze in some wedding planning. Having a few problems booking a reception venue as it looks like we've chosen a popular date for our wedding. More about planning later on.

Come Monday I will be starting my blogging schedule. It's going to keep me calm and focussed while I try to plan the wedding, finish uni and return to teaching.

Drive, drive, drive

Greetings from soon to be Sandy Beaches.

Off on a driving holiday with That Southern Boy on a wine and beach hunt.

We leave tomorrow. First stop will be here in the heart of the Coonawarra wine region. Looking forward to some delicious wines.

Next stop will be across the border, to the land of the Victorians to spend some time exploring this lovely beach town.

Off to pack now. Oh how I love to pack!

Friendly Fridays

Happy New Year!

I have a few resolutions for 2009:

• stop swearing (haven't been all that successful so far)


• stay calm


• be positive


• get fit

I also want to blog on a regular basis. I've set up a few guidelines to help make that possible. Things such as the themes of Tuesday Travels, Wordless Wednesdays and today's theme, Friendly Fridays.

What did you do on New Year's Eve? I was lucky enough to spend it with That Southern Boy and two of my dearly loved friends, Speechie and Miss G at this western suburbs hotel. We arrived early, found some great seats and had a lovely meal. I felt extra lucky as two other dearly loved friends, Little1 and Malibu Barbie also saw in the new year at the same hotel so I was able to spend some time catching up with them. That Southern Boy bumped into some high school friends so even he was able to celebrate the new year with some old friends.

I have spent the last three New Year's with Speechie and Miss G and we also have a great time together. I was never a big fan of New Year's Eve but these two have proven how true the saying is that 'it's not what you, it's who you do it with'.

The Perfect Afternoon Tea Companion

I’ve fallen in love with this porcelian wear. How lovely would afternoon tea be with those cups?

Weekend Round Up

I count Friday after 5pm as my weekend so here’s what I got up to after clocking off.

Out to tea with That Southern Boy’s HS friends. Very disappointing bowl of pasta bit I was invited to a Christmas gathering on the 20th December, yay! Saturday involved visiting That Southern Boy’s grandma’s new house, heading to an aunction with my Dad and everyone’s favourite builder, a spot of shopping at Coles for party supplies and that night’s dinner. I then organised my desk drawers, cooked dinner for That Southern Boy and sat down to watch Christmas with the Kranks, a great movie.

Sunday I headed out early with the mother and the sister to a Christmas Fair. Lots of bargains including a cool gift for the Christmas Kris Kringle on the 20th Dec and some lovely wooden and leadlight ornaments for me. That Southern Boy and I headed into the city (which was surprisingly quiet) for some watch hunting. Back at home I put up the Christmas decorations, prepared my fruit mince and made some chocolate truffle mixture. I cooked my favourite pasta dish for tea but was too exhausted to enjoy it! A nice soak in the bath and National Lampoons Christmas Vacation ended my weekend perfectly!

Whew, no wonder I’m tired now! Can’t wait to see what next weekend will bring.

Christmas Baking

Last year I went a little nuts with the holiday baking. Mince pies, handmade chocolates, german biscuits, spiral biscuits, chocolate pasties and potato donuts with Nonna, white Christmas slice and florentine slice. There was no method to my madness, in true Aussie style I just went for gold. No wonder I was burnt out by Christmas day.
This year I have a plan and a list. Here’s what I’ll be baking for Christmas 2008:
Cranberry and White Chocolate biscuits (for my Cookie Exchange Party).
Truffles to give as presents to my dearly loved friends.
Mince Pies to give as presents for a select few and for both my family and That Southern Boy’s family.
A Gingerbread House as our table centrepiece for Christmas Day lunch.
Hurrah for a realistic Christmas baking schedule! But if I feel like doing more I always can…..

Issues with Shoes

As I’ve been dillently saving over the last six months my shoe habit has sadly slipped by the wayside. As bad as the withdrawl symptoms initally were I was able to work through them so that I’m at this very moment I’m at the stage where I. Don’t. Want. To. Buy. Shoes.
There may be other contributing factors, such as the fact I already own 50 pairs of shoes. Or that I have no room to store anymore shoes. Or that come the 24th December I’ll no longer have a steady income. That in 2009 I’ll be returning to life as a sensibly attired teacher which means no more heels to work. There’s also the small fact that I’m still saving for a fabulous walk in wardrobe with surrounding house!
Is this the end of my obssession with shoes????

What I Miss About London (Part I - Food)

When I first moved to London just after Christmas 2003 I was desperately homesick. I had no idea that my heart and thoughts would ache for home when I’d been so determined to leave it behind at the first chance available. So I sat down at my old laptop in my flat in Nottingham and wrote a list of things that I missed about Australia…..

That was almost five years ago and a lot has happened in that time. I am now ‘home’ in Australia but my heart and thoughts constantly ache for my old life in England/London! Sometimes you just can’t win.

It’s also quite fitting that today, the 27th of November is exactly three years to the day that I flew out of London heading for Australia via the USA.

Here is the first part of my ‘What I Miss About London’ list

GBK. Home of the delightfully yummy gourmet burger. Chicken Satay was my favourite but a seedy Sunday often called for a plain old Hamburger with Cheese.

Hummingbird Bakery in Notting Hill. This is where I tasted my first ever red velvet cupcake. Bliss.

Krispy Kreme donuts. I love these little gems. I could eat them in my sleep. They bring me sheer happiness like no other dessert I’ve tasted in my life time. I know they are American but when I taught near Victoria Tube Station I would wonder to the stand there after a hard day teaching the children of Pimlico.

King Solomon’s Kebab House. My friends lived around the corner from this establishment in Shepherds Bush. So many late night ventures ended with a stop here for a kebab.

Edgeware Road and all it’s Middle Easter restaurants/bars.

Sainsbury’s Market at Victoria. Many a happy afternoon was spent wondering the aisles of this branch with the two Best Dressed Ladies in Pimlico.

Quavers. The best chicken flavoured crisp ever. A ten pack packet literally only lasts one hour.

Curries. There is a curry house on every high street, sometimes more than one! I don’t know if it’s a combination of the cold weather and constant threat of rain but nothing compares to the comfort of eating a curry in London.

My Must Take Travel Albums

My Creative is nearly 2 years old. Hurrah! It made travelling with music an absolute breeze. The battery life is pretty good and I even have photos on there so pictures of friends and family were always close by when I was far away. The only problem with my Creative is that I don’t seem to listen to full albums anymore. I’ve developed some sort of listening ADHD over the past two years. I’ll pick an album and just flip through the songs I really want to hear, sometimes I don’t even listen to full songs. Over the last six months it’s gotten even worse, I completely ignore albums and head straight for my play lists. So to refresh my love of a good album from start to finish here is my list of must take albums to wile away the time spent travelling:

New Order – Substance Disc 1

U2 – How to Build an Atomic Bomb

Madonna Mix – Home made and taken from my cousin’s great Madonna collection

Crowded House – The Best of (their music can make me cry like a baby for Australia, even though they are Kiwi’s!)

Merrick & Rosso – Choice Cuts (every Aussies needs to hear a True Blue accent when stuck on a train in the German countryside)

The Beach Soundtrack – Various artists (watching this moving when I was 19 was a big motivator in moving half way across the world)
Pearl Jam – No Code

Foo Fighters – There is Nothing Left to Lose

Triple J Hottest 100’s Personal Mix - Various artists (thank you ABC Shop!)

Las Vegas

Can I just say that I love Las Vegas? Three years ago today I had the good fortune to visit Las Vegas with two very dear friends. Here are 5 things that helped make me smitten with Las Vegas:

1. Margaritaville rocked our world. How can you not have fun with over-sized margaritas and giant plates of nachos?
2. The Bellagio. Beautiful hotel, even more beautiful fountain display. It mesmerised us for over an hour. We just couldn’t tear ourselves away.
3. Breakfast at the MGM Grand. Bacon, eggs, tomatoes, hash browns, juice, coffee and buttermilk pancakes with maple syrup. Delicious!
4. Fashion Show Mall. My first time in an American mall did not disappoint.
5. The big food. Big slices of cake. Big sandwhiches packed to the brim with meat. Big drinks. My kind of food heaven.

Round Music: accepting the inevitable

Last night Bloc Party paid Thebarton Theatre a visit. As much as I hated sharing a much loved ‘London’ band with screaming indie attired girls and gangly boys in skinny jeans and even skinnier t-shirts, it was nice to see a few hundred 18-24’s acting their age rather than channeling 37 all before hitting 21. As refreshing as it was to see so many young people in no rush to jump on the mortgage bandwagon that is the preferred lifestyle of choice in this city, it was quite a bittersweet moment for me. It has finally dawned on me that I can no longer consider myself one of those fresh-faced 18-24 year olds.

Kele Okereke was a mesmerizing front man to watch as I triumphantly battled my Sunday evening fatigue (bet those squealing girls weren’t stifling yawns like this fastly-approaching-30 lady was). He’s aesthetically beautiful to gaze up at, with a voice that doesn’t need an instrument to sweeten its sound (although the instruments in play last night did a pretty fine job too). Although Kele’s appearance and voice contribute to his sound ability as a front man there is more at play. His presence on stage is bolstered by a true lack of arrogance. He is not trying to be cool. He doesn’t take himself too seriously. He isn’t sprouting his views on politics, the end of world hunger or third world debt. What Kele is doing is showing his fans just how happy he is at the fact he gets to sing his songs on stage in front of people who enjoy his band’s music.

I’m surprised that I didn’t come away with this same impression after seeing Bloc Party at Glastonbury in 2007. I can only put such an oversight down to the growing mud, the constant rain and the fact I hadn’t had a shower for two days. I was probably concentrating on not falling into the knee deep mud while trying to catch a glimpse of Kele through the drizzle. It’s possible I may also have been distracted by trying to tell myself that was I was still a wide eyed 19 year old. It’s sort of scary nice to know I can now accept my increasing maturity.