Friday, September 28, 2007

Changes



It all started about 2 weeks ago,i was sitting up late at night reading before bed,and i came up with the idea to rearrange my bedroom furniture,the bottom of my bed faces the door and i remember reading that was bad feng shui.Also it would be a good idea to have the bedhead next to my window during the warmer months when it gets unbearably hot at night and so i could take advantage of the glorious sunshine in the morning.
Luckily i had recently done a big clean and my bedside drawers weren't too heavy so i went about moving things on the weekend.I'm now much closer to my stereo and bookcase,but the wall where my bed head used to be is quite empty so i am planning on hanging up some art.
Also may but a desk to be able to sit at and do some work,or study as that may be in the works soon
I also cleared my vanity table of clutter and found this placemat from Hart and Heim and placed it in the middle,and placed my perfume bottles i this wooden tray from Freedom.

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Spoons


I received my spoons tea towel from Skinny La Minx yesterday and to celebrate i shared in the spoon love. You can see others spoon collections such as Elizabeth from Fine Little Day ,Sandra at Smosch and Deborah at Nesting Notes.



Oh i feel special,I've been tagged by Catherine of Little Glowing Lights.I have to write 8 facts,habits or weird things about me.This is my first time so here we go.

1.I had to have an operation as soon as I was born as one of my feet was crooked.

2.In primary school we used to play young talent time,and we used to put on dance shows during lunch and the rest of the playground would come over and watch.

3.I went to university to study Education to be a primary school teacher and only completed 1 year.Whenever i see teachers out with a group of schoolkids,i really couldn't see myself doing that so maybe it's a good thing i didn't continue.

4.About 5 years ago i used to tape the show Entertainment Tonight everyday while i was at work and watch it when i got home,who does that,oh well i'm over that now.

5.Only 1 friend knows about this blog,i have no problem telling people it's just that i know the others aren't into the whole blogging thing or even reading it,i may tell another friend though who has started one themselves.

6.Even though i've met so many great friends online,the thought of online dating websites or meeting up with a guy from the net really irks me.

7.I didn't start learning to cook until i was in my early 20's and only began because i was sick of what my mum always cooked and she's never been interested in trying something new.

8.I'm a typical Scorpio,am a very loyal friend but someone is rude or hurts my feelings,it's very hard for me to forgive.

Ok that wasn't as hard as i though it would be,i won't tag anyone because i think most bloggers have already done this.


Weekend Dinners



For as long as i can remember,in our household,weekend dinners have always been casual,everybody is allover the place.Most weekends if i'm staying in I will pick up something on my way home from shopping.On Saturday I made a quick stopover in Woollahra on my way to Bondi Junction(more about that shopping trip later.)Queen Street deli always have a great selection of sandwiches,salads and sweet treats.I chose the thai chicken salad and wasn't disapointed,as you can see from the photo,there was lots of chicken,one thing i hate is places that are very stingy with the best ingredient in salads,it's just not fair.
On Sunday I had to go to Campsie and return some long overdue library books,i don't think i'll bother going back to the library,I'm never in the area and always forget to return books until i receive a notice in the mail.There's a large Asian grocer in the shopping centre and i had a look around and grabbed some peking dumplings and custard buns which were enjoyed on Sunday night,It was my first time steaming and i don't have a wok so luckily the bamboo steamer fit on top of a frypan i have without touching the water underneath.My combination of shiaosing wine and soy sauce wasn't quite right so i just used some hoisin sauce.The were ok,but next time i'll wait until yum cha for my dumpling fix.

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Indochine Cafe,Sydney

Soft shell crab

Prawn and Pork Noodle Soup

Prawn curry with vegetables and rice

Crispy skin chicken with rice and cabbage salad

On Friday Lisa and I met up with plans to visit Palace Chinese for yum cha,we were eager to try it since it was awarded best yum cha in the SMH Good Food Guide Awards.When we got there there was a line all the way down the staircase and it was only 12pm,we couldn't imagine being seated within 20 minutes so quickly walked over to our current favourite,Sky Phoenix with also had a 15 minute wait.Looks like most of Sydney wants to go out for yum cha on Fridays.We didn't know where to go and i remembered a place called Indochine Cafe i had walked past many times at lunch and it was always busy,so even though we had never heard about the food,you know you should be good if it's always busy.
Luckily it has a sign on the exterior of the St James arcade on Castlereagh St otherwise i don't think most people except office workers would know about it.
As soon as i saw soft shell crab on the menu i knew we had to order it,and at only about $9 aus it was a bargain,we may need to order 2 serves next time,It wasn't too crunchy and just collapsed in your mouth.As the meals started arriving we struggled to find space to fit all the dishes on our small 2 seat table.
All meals had great fresh ingredient and of course we struggled to finish them,and they weren't too spicy,except for the prawn curry which definitely had a kick to it.Oh and the crispy skin chicken was lovely and tender,i may need some rehab from crispy skin chicken since i had also eaten some at Sky Phoenix the night before.

http://indochinecafe.com.au/
St James Arcade
111 Elizabeth Street
Sydney

Pineapple and Lime Cake


I realise that most cakes i make lately are quite plain but right now with trying to cut down,other desserts don't really appeal.The great thing with this cake is that you can substitute the sour cream for plain yogurt and it's quite delicious and anybody can have a slice or 2.
Recipe is by Bill Granger and it appeared a few months ago in his weekly column in the Sydney Morning Herald which he has recently had to withdraw from.

Topping
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup plain flour
75g unsalted butter,cold

Cake
2 cups plain flour,sifted
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
125g unsalted butter,softened
1 cup caster sugar
zest if 1 lime
3 eggs,lightly beaten
1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
1 1/2 cups diced pineapple

Preheat oven to 180c.
To make the topping place brown sugar and flour in a bowl, add butter and rub in with fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.

To make the cake sift the flour,baking powder and salt into a mixing bowl.Place butter,sugar and lime zest in a second bowl and cream together.Add the eggs and milk
Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture,alternating with sour cream and mixing well after each addition.
Pour the cake batter into a lined 20 cm round or square cake tin.Sprinkle over the pineapple and then the topping mixture.
Bake the cake for 40 to 50 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes,then turn out onto a wire rack,topping side up.Serve warm or at room temperature with double cream or ice cream.

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

It's mine!



It's mine!mine!, mine!,mine!
Right now i sound like a kid in their 2's when they're at the MINE stage,absolutely everything they see is theirs,but these really are mine.
Some gorgeous gift stickers(who will be a lucky recipient) and cute as button magnets from Shim and Sons Etsy store.

Monday, September 17, 2007

Hoganas

Those northern Europeans are far too clever,everything they create is special.I've admired their big teapots each time i walk into Funkis,there are just TOO many lovely things as shown on their website here.

Sunday, September 16, 2007

Dark Rooms




Here in Australia with our warm climate light and bright interiors are favoured but i really love dark paint colours for walls.I was reminded of how great it can look while looking at the Habitat website.This dark bedroom looks amazing and would look great with some wallpaper in a similar base shade,Im loving the tree pattern wallpaper from Swedish company Mermonster.And i would definitely have to add the Kartell Ghost chair designed by Phillipe Stark into the room,one of my favourite pieces of furniture.

Looking for ward to...


Hope Street Markets,luckily they were postponed to next month due to APEC.Unfortunately they also fall on the same day as the Growers Market but they're not too far away from each other so hopefully we can go to both.

Picked up a tray of cupcakes on Saturday morning at a school fete i found on my way to the shops.Bought some piccolos the day before after leaving work to have in the fridge for when i can't manage more than a glass or two.

While out stopped off at Pieface for a much needed coffee and a beef pie with chutney sauce,their pies and sausage rolls are fantastic.

Friday, September 14, 2007

It's been a week of ups and downs.Last night after work the girls and I met up at Roof Bar to celebrate Kat's recent engagement.It was lovely being out on the terrace drinking champagne surrounded by the city's office buildings.We then proceeded downstairs to one of our favourite Chinese restaurants Sky Phoenix for dinner.It's my favourite for yum cha and this was the first time i had been there for dinner.Kat was in charge of ordering,her numerous visits to China for work have made her an expert in Chinese cuisine.We ordered the wonton soup and scallops to start,then shared some crispy skin chicken Shandong style,pepper beef,stir fried vegetables and fried rice enjoyed with a bottle of riesling.
And this time i had a fortune cookie that made sense, it read "Contact your oldest living relative".I realised today how spooky it sounded as when i got home i learnt that my sister's mother in law had passed away,she was probably the eldest relative that i had.
The photo is of a display at the annual David Jones Spring Flower Show,this year's theme is Animalia.
It's Friday afternoon and work is almost over,i'm off to after work drinks for the fourth day in a row,eek,time for a detox away from alcohol on the weekend i think.

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Gâteau au Yaourt


I hadn't baked anything for a very long time,in fact i hadn't made anything new,i just had lost some of that passion for discovering a new recipe,you could call it the end of winter slump.Last weekend most of Sydney was practically forced to stay home due to APEC,people were warned not to go near the CBD and by the footage shown on the news,nobody did,Sydney was a ghost town.

Going through Flickr contacts photos days earlier i saw a yoghurt cake made by Deborah, something light and easy to make on a lazy Sunday afternoon.The recipe is from Chocolates and Zuchhini which i learnt has just released a cookbook.And i learned it is one of the first recipes used by French children when they first learn to cook.It's light and moist and very easy to make.


Gâteau au Yaourt
- 2 eggs- 250ml (1 cup)

whole milk plain unsweetened yogurt (if you use two 125ml or 4oz tubs, you can use them to measure out the rest of the ingredients)-

200g (1 cup) sugar (you can use an empty tub of yogurt and measure the equivalent of 2 yogurt tubs if you used the 125ml or 4oz kind)

- 80ml (1/3 cup) vegetable oil (or a bit less than 1 yogurt tub)

- 2 cups all-purpose flour (or 4 yogurt tubs)

- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla paste/extract

- 1 tablespoon light rum
Preheat the oven to 180° C (350° F), line the bottom of a round 25-cm (10-inch) cake pan with parchment paper and grease the sides. In a large mixing-bowl, gently combine the yogurt, eggs, sugar, vanilla, oil, and rum. In another bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder. Add the flour mixture into the yogurt mixture, and blend together -- don't overwork the dough. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan, and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean. Let stand for ten minutes, and transfer onto a rack to cool.






Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Polli





Polli is an Australian company which makes jewellry and other accessories such as mobiles and earring standsand even decorations for Christmas.The designers are influenced by Japanese and Danish paper designs.I think my favourite is the elm earrings,if only they had them in gold as well.And best of all you can shop online.

Monday, September 10, 2007

My fortune cookie:what does it all mean?

I'm off to a good start to the week,already posting on Monday morning.The CBD should be back to normal today with most people back to work after the long weekend.
Thursday night took over as drinks night as nobody would be at work on Friday so we decided to finally make it to Palace Chinese ,it's next door to work and we've said for months that we would go,since they won best yum cha in the SMH Good Food Guide earlier in the week, we new it was now or never.

We started with a round of spring rolls and duck dumplings,the dumplings were a definite standout.
My companions are not as adventurous when it comes to food so we ordered some standard mains such as mongolian lamb,chicken cashew and salt and pepper squid to share with a bottle of N.Z sauvignon blanc.All were lovely and you could tell with fresh ingredients,the salt and pepper squid was probably too salty for the others but just right for me.Then it was off to the usual location for a few drinks and then made a quick stop at Arthouse on our way home where we unfortunately had some disappointing cocktails in the bar downstairs.

New cushion covers from IKEA

On Saturday i met some friends at Rhodes to watch The Bourne Ultimatum and a quick(or as quick as it can be) browse in IKEA. I hadn't watched the first 2 movies in the series but it wasn't difficult to figure out what was happening.I'm not usually a fan of action movies but this one did at least have a plot and some eye candy.I'm happy with that.One of our favourite Chinese restaurants Sky Phoenix has a restaurant in the Rhodes complex and we were looking forward to yum cha however we decided to just get a quick meal in the food court as we had a very fussy eater with us and didn't want to leave anyone out.
The trip to IKEA wasn't as heated as we though it would turn out but by the time we got to the registers we knew we couldn't handle it in there any longer.But i did find some cool cushion covers and at $5 each,they're an absolute bargain,it may saound odd but i'm not actually going to use these until next autumn/winter I'm already planning my bedroom look for next winter,is that odd?

Friday, September 7, 2007

Links of the week


Bought myself a spoon teatowl from Skinnylaminx
Will make a 3D desk calendar as seen on Orange Beautiful
Shaded string lights are perfect for spring and summer via Martha Stewart
Wishing we could redo winter to enjoy these looks from Development found at oh Joy!
Want to cover the bottom of my drawers in pretty paper just like this via Simple Charm on Flickr

Lovely lunch amongst a crazy week

Rubbish bins in Sydney CBD have been taped up by the police

It's been a little crazy this week in Sydney due to the APEC summit,police wherever you turn and many protests group.Amongst it all we enjoyed a lovely lunch in the park during the week,i made crab rolls(so excited they're now selling it by the kilo).We just had to shoo away the birds who were far too persistent.
It's so simple,mix some mayonnaise,lime juice and zest combined with a herb such as dill,coriander or parsley,finely diced avocado and a light sprinkle of chilli flakes and then mix that through some blue swimmer crab.Perfect.

Last weekend...

Found some ultra cheap casual shoes for only $8.


Enjoyed a simple breakfast before going out for lunch to celebrate Father's Day


Made a leadlight butterfly for my window that was given to me by my nephew.