I love

Whisk and Pin Summer Blend muesli.
Even in winter it's my muesli of choice,lots of fruit and nuts.
I want to make this granola as posted on from Little Birds here

Magazines received!

I received my magazines last week from Heidi in the US,I was lucky enough to get Savour and Blueprint.My only question is how magazines from America with a large population,can be so thin.Was it a slow month for them?I love them anyway,especially the styling in Blueprint.
Oh and i got lovely Philosophy samples,tea(some taken by customs unfortunately).

Hens Night

Cocktails at Lotus

Almost 2 weeks ago now we had Tegan's hens night which started at the very respectable time of 2pm for High Tea at The Victoria Room.We all made sure we were there nice and early as we were all threatened by Gemma to be there on time so we could all be there by the time the bride to be arrived.
Tea is served in a dark spacious room decorated in old British Colonial style with gorgeous chandeliers,plush sofas and ornate armchairs.We opted for the standard option and just kept ordering bottles of champagne as we went as there were about 10 of us altogether.Tiered plates were placed in the middle with sandwhiches on top,sweets such as cupcakes,sticky date pudding and florentines in the middle and scones on the bottom served with jam and clotted cream.

Antique tea strainer stolen from High tea

I fell in love with these beautiful silver antique tea strainers and decided i had to have it and put it in my bag and took off with it.We then made our way to the sofas for more drinks and decided to play a game where we all chose an occupation and that would be what we did for a living had someone approached us that night and asked us that question.Occupations ranged from hallmark greeting card writer,battery tester for the CSIRO(specialising in AAA) war correspondant for Marie Claire magazine,bra designer and fitter,greyhound trainer,2nd best cellist for the Australian Chamber Orchestra,sex therapist,diplomat for the UN,and politician in the current state election.
aah,we took so many cabs that night,first trip was to Lotus for a drink,you approach the bar staff and tell them what you're in the mood for and they create a drink,we told them we wanted a drink in their most fantastic glasses,i can't quite remember what they came up with but it was certainly fruity.
By them with all the suagr all afternoon our bodies were craving salt and decided the easiest plan would be to go to BBQ King in Chinatown where it's easy to feed a huge group,we started off with the mandatory duck pancakes then ordered a few dishes to share.
Then a we all walked to the other side of the city for karaoke and we all took turns belting a few tunes,some people then decided to call it a night and the remaining bodies soldiered on finding a bar in Martin Place,ti's such a different disappointing crowd in the city on weekends,full of kids still in their teens,we had a quick drink and then as it approached midnight decided to go to someone's place in Bondi,called to make sure the nearby pub would still be open to bu some emergency bottles of wine,hot chips from the corner shop and some wuiet chit chat for a few hours before it was finally time to head home at about 2am,it certainly was a marathon effort lasting 12 hours.

I couldn't do it

You never realise how addicted you may be to things until you try to get rid of them.I don't even watch much tv but i always need it as background noise and that's exactly what happened during my little experiment.I was worse with the computer,i would still quickly go online as soon as i woke up each morning.The internet has become so important in our lives,you don't even need to ring places anymore,find most info on their websites.
Oh well,it was good practice and i may take it more seriously for this.

Clover

The countdown is on for the wedding in April and i gladly joined the girls to help out with some preparations.My mum would be so proud if she knew i was sewing on Saturday morning.It was a very poor effort but i hadn't touched a sewing machine since i was 13.Alot was accomplished and Tegan had a fitting for her dresses being made by the talented Kathleen.I finally received my invitation and met my Thylacine Clover who's named after Clover Hill sparkling wine.
It was still early in the evening so we went to Tegan's new apartment and they have done such a great job in updating the place,the previous owners had a yucky cream coloured paint and hideous pineapple print blinds.Then it was off to the local Korean for a cheap and lovely meal then back to their place for more wine and chit chat while listening to the saturday night party mix on the radio.
Sunday was time for some culture as Lisa,her friend John and I watched The Singer as part of the French Film Festival,it was in some parts as predictable as any Hollywood love story and didn't make sense in some parts.Had a quick drink at the Beauchamp Hotel then it was time togo home and finally do the domestics i neglected to finish all weekend.

Do Your Bit For The Environment

I had seen these string bags at a design store and they were about $20 each,i love the look of them and they would be great to take to the growers market but they were clearly too expensive.You can imagine my joy when i saw the link to this Australian website estringbags.com.au and they're only $2.50 each and a range of bright colours or black.And they had arrived 2 days after ordering.

I love getting things in the mail,I can't wait to receive my magazines from Heidi in the US soon.

It's been a very busy week at work and i haven't had time for much else.I made another visit to Sky Phoenix for yum cha this week and it was absolutely packed,it's pretty quiet on the weekends compared to what i saw during the week.Armen and I always said we'd go there one day for lunch and we invited Nick as a thank you fo the other week when he took us home one night.

Starting this afternoon we have Tegan's hens night,We're starting at 2pm for high tea at The Victoria Room in Darlinghurst follwed by drinks and dinner at Lotus and we will take it from there,who knows where the night will take us.I can't believe it's only a month away from the wedding at Brampton Island.So excited.

I've made the decision this week starting from Sunday to not watch any tv for 7 days and i'm limiting my internet time to only checking emails at work and uploading photos.Sometimes it's too easy to get home from work and just spend so much time online.I'm hoping by doing this I will have more time for reading,i haven't been able to just sit down and read for such a long time and i have so many books and magazines to catch up on.I will take the time to make dinner after work and really enjoy it and maybe learn something creative.
See you next week.

Break open in case of emergency

This is genius!
It was given to me at work for a competition i won,emergency chocolate and it even says "If symptoms persist,consult your local confectioner".

Everyday Food and Garlic and Spinach Spaghetti

I love Bill,it's hard not to,he makes it look so easy and effortless on his shows and his books inspire and i knew i had to buy his latest book just before Christmas.It's a book that you can of course use every day,from Monday when you promise yourself you will eat better and start with salads,to Sunday where it's time for a big breakfast and slow cooked food.

The other week i made garlic and spinach spaghetti after work as these are the times when you need something fast but not compromising on taste.And with pasta you can make a big serve and take some for work the following day.


Serves 4

400g spaghetti
80ml Extra virgin olive oil
6 garlic cloves,thinly sliced
sliced red chilli,to taste
80 ml white wine
90g baby english spinach
sea salt
small handful finely chopped fresh flat leaf(italian) parsley
Grated parmesan cheese

Cook the spaghetti in a a large pan of salted boiling water until al dente. Meanwhile, put the olive oil,garlic and chilli in a frying pan over medium heat and cook,stirring often, for about 5 minutes
until the garlic is goldern. Add the wine and cook,stirring for 20 seconds. Add the drained pasta and spinach and toss to coat it well.Season with sea salt and sprinkle with parsley,then serve with lots of grated parmesan.


bills.com.au

Magazine Swap

Anyone who knows me knows that i like magazines,the glossy pages,beautiful images and plenty of inspiration.I knew i had to sign up when i read about the swap at Decor8
I swap budy is Heidi from California who is lovely and very talented as she has her own online business PeekKeep full of beautiful Scandinavian gifts and accessories and she also works for Ridge Wines
I can't wait until i receive my package and also selecting magazines to send over to Heidi.

Karaoke

It had been such a long time since we had done something fun on a Friday night as a group with work colleagues and Kristy the organiser of everything,decided it was time for karaoke,we started with a large group but as the date got closer more and more people bailed out and in the end we had 6 or 7 people turn up.The others definitely missed out on such a fun evening.
We started off with a quick drink at the bar across the road from work and then made our way to Karaoke World
I chose Briney Spears Baby One More Time as my first song as my dedication to poor Britney in rehab,and karaoke is the perfect time to sing those old cheesy songs you grew up with.Jason couldn't keep a straight face while singing My Humps by Fergie,Nick couldn't keep up with the rapping during Outkast's Ms Jackson,Armen and I did a duet to The Pointer Sisters I'm So Excited,Kristy and I belted out Wannabe by the Spice Girls with our favourite part being the Zigi Zig Ahh at various points.We all joined in with Nick to sing Bohemian Rhapsody By Queen and our big finale with 2 minutes until times was up was Living On a Prayer by Bon Jovi.
I'm such a microphone whore when it comes to Karaoke,i love it,i'm really in my element and wish i was a talented singer,not big and well known but maybe working in a jazz club.
After karaoke we went back to the bar for more drinks and late night snacks before Nick was lovely enough to drop Armen and I home.
Can't wait until the next karaoke night.

Petria

This is my niece Petria,she's 5 months old and unfortunately had to be rushed to hospital last week when her older brother got a little too excited and rolled her over with great force and fractured her arm.she now has to wear a sling for a few weeks and probably feels like she's only got one arm,hope she recovers soon.

I Heart The Sartorialist

The Sartorialist was one of the first blogs i discovered and i was immediately smiten.He captured the style of these New Yorkers perfectly and has continued to do so around the world and for websites such as style.com
He always finds those cool(but not too cool that they're wearing something ridiculous,like other sites) elegant inhabitants of the cities he visits and always inspires you to make more effort next time.
One of my recent favourites is this look at the top,most people would not wear blue and brown together with the black base she has but it just loks right and effortless on her,it must be the way her shirt is left to hang out a little.

Yum cha at Sky Phoenix

Last Saturday Lisa and I decided to have a lovely relaxing day watching the new season fashion parades at David Jones followed by lots of shopping(shoes and a bag for Lisa,new bag and birthday present shopping for a friend,for myself).

By the time we finished we were starving and made it just in the last hour for yum cha at our favourite,Sky Phoenix on Castlereagh Street.Ah,everytime we thing back to our first visit last year,we have cravings for their divine mango pancakes and perfect dumplings.

Duck and ginger dumplings

New to us this time were the duck and ginger dumplings,followed by the freshest prawn and corn dumplings.

Prawn and corn dumplings

We had to have the good old reliable spring roll as well and the waitress was courteous and cut them in half so we would have equal portions.

Spring rolls

One of the first things that grabs our attention is dessert and the last time we were here,the mango pancakes were a revelation,lovely chunks of mango pieces and the softest cream or whatever they use,if anybody has a recipe,i need it now.Although we hadn't finished with the savoury items,we needed to snap up the mango pancakes then to guarantee we had some.Only disapointment was that they either ran out or weren't serving the coconut jelly.

Mango Pancakes

When we were almost finished i realised we hadn't seen my favourite,the pork and chive dumplings,we asked one of the waitresses and luckily there some left.

So far this is my favourite place for yum cha,fantastic food,attentive and friendly service,and they're not rude to western people like some other places can be.
We were again satisfied at Sky Phoenix and left with our Buddha bellies and shopping bags.

Pork and chive dumplings

Cupcakes on Pitt

After a horrible day at work there was no where else i needed to go except straight to Cupcake on Pitt.Everyday rows of different flavours are displayed in the window enticing people in,fortunately today and unfortunately other days it's just a short walk from work.I decided on passionfruit and banana to share with a friend,the topping is just perfect,not sickly sweet and the banana was just perfect.
Time to detox soon,i think.

Valentines Day

All day yesterday people were greeting me with Happy Valentines Day as casually as Merry Christmas or Happy New Year,it felt very odd but of course you just had to smile and return the greeting.Allover the city women carried large bunches or boxes of roses,you just couldn't escape it.

Friends organised an Anti-Valentines get together,to celebrate our freedom and reclaim restaurants and bars for the day as previously these were the places you would avoid in the past as they seemed to only cater for couples.

Lisa and I started with a bottle of Prosecco and cheese platter at Lo Studio and were shortly joined by the others and Greg was the charmer of the night handing over roses to the ladies.It was fun watching the couples in the bar who had made such a big effort for the night and it felt great not to have that pressure on us.



A short ride later we were at Shin Ju in Chinatown for Teppanyaki and decided to splurge on the deluxe set menu which included Crispy Fresh Salad, Miso Soup, Sashimi Tempura, Large King Prawns, Fresh Fillet of Fish, Chicken Terriyaki,Fried Rice.And of course we had to order the obligatory sake,Asahi beer and plum wine while others opted for white wine.
We prepared for our adventure with our napkins tucked into our tops as our armour,we then assumed we weren't going to have food thrown at us as our rowdiness showed just how much we'd drunk.Then we got ready for showtime and unfortunately nobody had good enough mouth skills to catch the flying chicken in our mouths.






The chef showed us his skills with the kitchen utensils and unfortunately someone ended up with egg in their top and hair.Most of us caught the rice in our bowls,as most people could catch it,as the chef went along,you could feel the pressure to perform well as you knew eventually somebody had to have bad luck, and of course the person who chose not to leave their napkin on,ended up with rice allover their top



We had more treats as the night went on,i bought a small heart chocolate for everyone and we finished off our meal with more sake and beautiful cupcakes courtesy of Lisa.

I can't remember the last time i did something for Valentines Day,and i highly recommend single people organise occasions like these and i can't wait until next year.

I made them myself

I had some leftover wrapping paper and at the same time had lost my bookmarks so decided to make some.First i cut up strips of the paper and glued hem together,had them laminated,made a hole in the top right hand corner,bought some tassels from Eckersleys and tied then around the hole and voila! there you have your own bookmark.

February

It was already the first week of February when i realised i hadn't done anything for my calendar so it was rushed and i just added some bright pink Japanese paper.
Nothing much has been happening except for being so busy at work,hardly have any time to myself during the day except when escaping for lunch,it's horrid,i think it may be time to look for a new job soon.
Friday night drinks were a must this week and a colleague and i shared a bottle of white and then i left to meet up with a friend at The White Horse in Surry Hills and then i moved onto cocktails,it's true that alcohol really does numb away the pain.Although i realise I'm getting old or my body can't handle it when I'm the first to leave at 11pm while the others kick on well into the night and morning.

February Already!

It's here already,where did January go?
I've been a little slack with updating this site during the week.
Finally recovered from stomach virus.
Had a pretty late night Tuesday,last get together with Lydia before she left for London,i took a bon vivant cake from the food hall,had never tried it before,was told was a mousse cake,it was divine,a light mousse cake with hazlenut as well,i searched google for a recipe the next day and am hoping to make it soon.


Wednesday caught up with Lisa for lunch,it had been a while and we're keen to restart our adventure to eat our way through the Good Food Guide.Had $20 lobster lunch special at the Swiss Hotel,Lisa chose mornay and i had it with asian dressing,it was very tough and hard to remove from its shell,we figured it must have come out of the freezer.we left still very hungry and made a quick trip to the DJ foodhall for a satisfying sausage roll.

Thursday and Friday and it was just a few after work drinks at the bar across the road from work with a colleague.
Early yesterday morning it was off to the hairdresser for the chop,back to shorter hair and put in a dark brown almost black semi permanent colour.

Now i just have to make the February part of my calendar and i'm ready for the month to start.

The drama continued

Further to my post old post about a bad day
http://mychampagnedreams.blogspot.com/2007/01/you-know-its-going-to-be-bad-day-when.html

From the 2nd of January when i first called the bank,it took until the 16th January to receive both the new card and pin.
I rang the bank after 1 week of waiting with nothing to be told that my card was stopped but not reissued,i was livid,there was obviously nothing i could do besides wait,i thought about writing a letter of complaint but i never do in the end,i can't be bothered giving them more of my time.

Lamingtons

We can always find a reason for celebration at work and Australia Day was no different but this time there were no drinks catered for by work. And since everyone at work knows me as the baker and they've loved everything else i've baked for them,there were requests for home made lamingtons to celebrate.
I already had a recipe but wasn't so keen at first as i knew it would be a long process.On Wednesday morning i woke up early and baked the sponge cake,let it cool while i was at work nd cut it up in squared at night after work.Then i made the chocolate coating using 500g(yes,the whole packet) of icing sugar with cocoa.Then using 2 forks i dipped the sponge in the chocolate mixture,let the excess chocolate drip off then rolled it in dessicated coconut.
I left them to set in an air tight container overnight and when i work up the next morning,i saw my nephew starting to open the container but luckily i got them back which he wasn't too happy about.as soon as i opened the container at work,the coconut scent hit you and they smelled so good,tasted even better and plenty of people went back for seconds and even thirds,even i was impressed by my effort.
Now what to make for next week?


Makes 15
110g (1.5 cups)caster sugar
3 eggs,at room temp
2 teaspoons butter,softened
100g (2/3 cup) self raising flour
2 tablespoons cornflour
500g (3 1/2 cups) pure icing sugar
50g (1/2 cup) cocoa powder
170g (2cups) desiccated coconut

Preheat oven to 180degrees Celsius.Grease a 16cm *26cm cake tin and line the base and long sides with a piece of non-stick baking paper,allowing it to overhang the sides.

Use an electric beater with a whisk attachment to whisk the sugar and eggs for 5 minutes or until very thick and pale, and a ribbon forms when the beaters are lifted.

Combine the butter with 1 tablespoon boiling water and stir until it melts.Sift together the self raising flour and cornflour over the egg mixture. Pour the butter mixture down the side of the bowl. use a large metal spoon or spatula to fold until the mixture is just combined. Pour into prepared tin and gently smooth the surface. bake in preheated oven for 12 minutes or until the cake is just cooked(the top will spring back when touched and the cake will come away from the sides of the tin).Cool the cake in the tin.

Remove the cake from the tin and cut into 15 pieces.Sift together the icing sugar and cocoa powder into a heatproof bowl.Add 150ml boiling water and stir until smooth.

Spread the coconut over a tray,Use 2 forks to briefly dip a piece of cake into the icing to coat.Allow the excess to drip off.Roll in coconut to coat,then place on a wire rack.repeat to coat all the pieces of cake.Set aside for 1 hour or until the icing is set before serving.


*Although it says 500g comes to 3.5 cups,it does not,so i would see how much is in per packet and estimate 500g,i was lucky that i had a 500g box so just put all of it in.
*It is a good idea to make the cake mixture a few hours before or even the day before.

Happy Australia Day

We've had some very patriotic people at work this week and even if the Big Day Out organisers didn't want to see any,everywhere else in Australia,people put them up with pride.It's weird thinking that 10 years ago one of the hot topics in Australia was trying to change the Australian flags,i quite like the good old Aussie flag,probably because of all the controversy around it this past year with some idiots burning the flag.
I spent Australia day like a true Aussie,slept in and moved from my bed over to the lounge and then back to bed,a very quiet day,was meant to go away but was struck with a virus so had to stay put while the others enjoy the sun and beach down the coast.

I found it!

The dress to wear to a friend's wedding in April.
I wasn't going to start looking until about March but i found this dress and knew it would be perfect,it's hard finding things i like at the moment and i didn't want to be stuck with only autumn/winter clothing available in stores if i left it until the last minute,and the wedding's at Brampton so will still be quite warm.And it was on sale at a very good price for Saba.You can see the square neckline in the pic and i love the shape of the sleeves,it comes in at the waist and then slightly flares from the waste down,and it even has hidden pockets.I'm hoping to buy a silver pearl multi strand necklace from Jan Logan and simple black open toed sling back heels.

Hot,Hot,Hot

That's the only way to describe the past weekend,up to an unbearable 38 degrees Celsius,i decided to stay indoors most of the weekend in air conditioning and only left home to attend a cocktail party at my friend's place in Potts Point with an amazing view,every time you visit you just really want to be able to live so close to the city and wake up to that view.
I don't think enough lights were on in the city and my camera couldn't pick up the lights of the harbour bridge,and i thought i had taken more photos that night but i think i was using other people's most of the time,great,so i helped everyone else with theirs but neglected my camera.
Today was a little cooler but the trains were a nightmare this afternoon and it took me over an hour more to get home.It;s still Shittyrail.

Champagne and Sex and the City

I took Friday off and originally had plans to go out and also see a movie,as Friday morning arrived i just couldn't be bothered and spent most of the day in my pajamas relaxing online,cleaning,reading and watched my SATC dvds, I'm up to the 4th season,I've been watching them all again from the beginning and it was lovely lying down with a glass or two of champagne while watching.

Quail

Officially the hardest food i've tried to eat,so many bones,such a shame as it tastes great,picked some up from AC Butchery marinated in garlic and herbs.

iittala

Above:Aino Aalto Tumblers
Above:teema mug,turquoise is on top right corner

I love this brand,simple designs and beautiful colours.
This week i bought turquoise teema mugs,this week i have a set of Aino Aalto tumblers in light blue arriving from homecouture.com.au

I love...

Walking past the Hermes store on my way to work each day,a girl can dream and it adds a bit of glamour to an otherwise boring day at work.They used to always update their windows when they first moved in,hopefully they start again soon.

Already?

I only ordered from Signature Prints on Sunday and i've received my package today,great news considering the website said up to 2 weeks.
Only problem is that they wrote Do Not Bend on the a4 envelope and the postman rolled up the envelope.Aaargh,Not happy Jan!
The wallpaper samples have a sticker on one corner and i've just spent the past hour unpeeling them while watching Sex and the City,they have left a mark but hopefully won't be too noticeable.

I love Strawberrynet

Image courtesy of Strawberrynet.com

Discounted makeup and cosmetics,free postage,and dispatched half an hour after i ordered,love,love,love it.

I recently discovered that Signature Prints who produce Florence Broadhurst prints will send you an A4 sized sample of each print available for $4 each,i went on a bit of a spree yesterday and easily spent over $50,don't quite know what i'll do with them yet but it was a great chance to get a bit of everything,especially since a roll sells for over $300.
I may select my favourite print and order more to place in large frames and decorate my room.

I'm sorry,i can't,don't hate me

You may remember these words from Burger to Carrie in Sex and the City that he used on the post it to break up with her.These are the words i kept hearing on my trip to Ikea on the weekend.I've heard many people sing its praises around the world,good design at affordable prices.
It all looked great upstairs in the display area,intimate rooms created to set the mood and get you excited,then as i entered the isles where you collect things it all looked so unappealing,then the market floor where things are dumped in boxes and you see hundreds of the same item repeated and think,how many people around the world have the same thing, I'd rather find something more original and something that hasn't come of the production line of thousands or millions.
But i did also get to see an example of my dream kitchen,white and simple with wood bench tops and white cupboards as seen below



I felt like i was just a number in a production line,especially when you get to the checkout and the assistants don't even speak to you,just try to get rid of you.
I've realised i'm the type of shopper who needs to enjoy the experience and not have to do everything myself,some might say you pay extra for the convenience,but hey,that's just me,anyway who has time to waste a whole weekend building furniture

Summer spaghettini

Pasta boiling
The finished product

Making the sauce

The original recipe is for Summertime Tagliarini from Jamie Oliver's latest cookbook Cook With Jamie, but as i had none in the cupboard i opted for spaghettini.
Basically you cook the pasta and add a sauce made from pine nuts,lemon juice and zest,parmesan and pecorino cheese and olive oil.Even though i added more cheese than was required it was still too sour for me and i only hd a few bites before giving it to the bin.Oh well you lean from your failures.

My Summer Breakast

A few blobs of plain yoghurt,drop some fresh blueberries in,and there you go,instant yum,healthy and full of antioxidants.Blueberries aren't in season for long so it's time to use them as much as you can while they're cheap.

Finally

I didn't want January to pass without having completed the first month in my calendar.
I've started with blue for january,the colour of summer for me,blue skies and blue oceans and i just love it.There's green mixed in there as well,i think those 2 colours look great together.
And the blue Dibbern teapot is on my wishlist right now,i love it.

Just walk on by

I definately couldn't walk on by yesterday morning as i walked past a flower merchant on my way in to work.There they were,a gorgeous pink bunch of roses.I don't buy myself flowers very often but like to splurge on a bunch occasionally.They were a great treat as well to an otherwise busy,stressful day.

Resolutions

Of course i had to make a list,it's a pretty big one but there are so many things i need to do.
I need to note them down otherwise i always forget,and it just seems more concrete once it's published,more incentive to stick to these.

ExerciseI need to start again,i've become lazy.I don't need to be able to get into a bikini but i do have an island holiday in April and need to look better in my swimmers,and i do need to get rid of the weight i've gained.

Computer training
I need to find some courses that aren't too expensive but reputable to give me more qualifications which will hopefully mean better salary.

Save
I was doing so well last year but i lost track in the second half of the year,too many celebrations,i started splurging again,need to cut down again,and with saving i need it to travel and buy a place later this year.

Read more books

I have plenty top read as i bought loads before Christmas and have rediscovered my local library.I've been very slack with reading since i left school.

1 new recipe per week
I love cooking something new.I'd say i'm an ok cook,no expert.So far i have kept this up for this year,i'm just lazy and don't have enough time to write them on the website,i'll try and start posting them and try to remember to take photos while cooking.

Expand Wine knowledge

I've subscribed to the Wine for Newbies podcast,it's simple and easy to understand,i'd like to learn about other regions and try their wines as well.More drinking,yes i can do that.

Driving
Start lessons again,i feel like i'm 15 when people ask me if i can drive.

Start new hobby
I've never been very artistic in the past and wasn't interested in crafts beyond primary school,i'd like to learn how to knit to make gorgeous scarves and just learn the basics of sewing from my mother.

Expand social circle
Too many friends are in coupledom and i just need to meet new single people.

Currently Reading

My Mother's Wedding Dress by Patricia Picardie

My Weekend

Included...
Sleeping in,dusting,passport application,groceries,Marie Antoinette the movie,browsing bookstore,podcasts,The View,my favourite coffee,Walnut,gorgonzola and baby spinach salad,new Ren exfoliator,Korres shampoo and guava body butter,getting stuck in the rain,Beautiful French discounted bed linen at David Jones,chicken,mayo,chives and parsley sandwiches,passion fruit biscuits,Scottish white chocolate.

Inspiration

I bought one of these do it yourself calendars from Kikki-K,January is already here and i haven't added anything.I had a look at my magazine clippings i've saved and it looks like i've thrown away alot as i couldn't find many that i thought i still had,cut a few things from recent magazines,i've decided January will be about the colour blue,i'm loving it at the moment,must be because of summer.Found a picture in the latest Vogue Living of a new florist in Melbourne which has a blue interior and the picture has lots of beautiful flowers.Today i received the latest Australian Vogue as well so i may find something beautiful in there as well.

You know it's going to be a bad day when...

As soon as i walked out yesterday morning i knew it would be a bad day.
I hadn't even left home when water from the rain began entering my shoe,great, i thought my feet are going to feel icky all day.
Later on the way to work the atm decided to keep my card and not spit it back,even though somebody had just used it before me and it looked ok.Rang the bank to have it stopped and reissued and was so frustrated by the girl on the line,so i had no cash and no debit card,i thought i could go back home because there's no use going to work if i have no cash,then a very generous passer by offered me $20,i told him i couldn't take it and felt bad,he insisted and said he wouldn't be standing there offering if he didn't mean it,i took it so grateful for his help and even hugged him,strange,then as i walked on i thought, i should get his bank details to transfer the money to him but he was gone.
Si i've been putting everything on my credit card in the meantime and even have about $5 left from yesterday's $20,haven't had the chance to go to the bank,might ask my brother for money,a very generous workmate offered to lend me some as well.there really are some kind people in this world.

Friands are my friends

I had nothing to do last night and some blueberries i needed to use and was dying to make these friands i found at Milk and Cookies
http://ilovemilkandcookies.blogspot.com/2006/12/where-its-at.html
I used pudding moulds and only made about half as i don't need so many,they are so tasty which will help me get through work this week,i'll just need to make sure i don't let co workers see them.