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Hello Oh Nine! G’bye Oh Eight!



Naigel’s 30th and Farewell, originally uploaded by snapperwolf*.

It was good, it was a blur, it was busy.

I started postgraduate studies, I got real busy at work, I lost weight, I turned 30, I ate and drank a lot, I seem to have bought a lot of dresses, I had 2 mini breaks and no big trips. It was a whirlwind but it was good, real good.


Salad Bar

To streamline lunch and dinner this week, I organised a salad bar in my house. It required some initial preparation but definitely saved time overall. I prepped some roast pumpkin, tortellini, grilled chicken, boiled eggs, washed all the salad bits;cucumber, tomatoes, rocket, lettuce, alfafa and had some easy fillers like ham, smoked salmon and bread. Meals become a case of combining some mixture of vegetable + protein + carb.  

It was one way for us to eat better in this busy festive season.  The other would be not to consume 4 glasses of wine, 3 cocktails in one evening.

 Merry Christmas!


Nine Ladies Dancing

So I was Christmas shopping yesterday, how much useless crap is there out there? Does your man really need another handy shaving kit complete with golf tees? What about a crepe maker? Or a three pack of perfumed mosturiser with body glitter?

I went to the ole faithful bookshop for more intellectual inspiration. The cookbook section yielded more quasi celebrity chefs cashing in on their quasi fame. They make food for God’s sake, they don’t save lifes. How many more re-inventions of the basic pasta dish do we need? There were 2 Tana Ramsay books and 1 Gordon Ramsay book - funny how all is quiet on the Ramsay front at the moment given his recent salacious rumours. Yet ANOTHER Nigella Lawson book Christmas, her beaming bosom shining seductively whilst holding an unnaturally glossy roast turkey. Neil Perry has outdone himself this time on the packaging, a heaving tome of south east asian recipes hard cover bound and in a beautiful box with asian crysanthemums - I’m surprised there wasn’t a scratch and sniff section. I still love cookbooks, don’t me wrong but the ridiculousless of it is not lost on me.

Hmm, maybe less cranky writing now…The one thing I love about Christmas is our indulgence in getting a real pine tree. The smell is intoxicating. Anything artificial that claims to smell pine fresh, doesn’t even come close to the real thing. I come home from work, open the door and am hit by the overwhelming goodness of fresh pine. Well first, by a small furry white dog, but he doesn’t smell so pine fresh, more Eau de Doggy.

9 days and counting. How is the prelude to Christmas going for you?


What I Did(will Do) This Summer

I would like to make the most of the upcoming Summer break. 4 whole weeks of no study and hopefully some time off in there somewhere. Here’s my list of things I’d like to do in no particular order:

  •  Plant our veggie patch
  • Do taxes
  • Stard reading the Harvard 5ft bookshelf
  • Visit (neglected) friends and family 
  • Paint our bedroom(All american white?)
  • Frame pictures
  • Green the courtyard 
  • Go to an outdoor cinema event
  • Start running again and get weights into the routine
  • Plan our trip to Japan  09
  • Spend at least one full day at the beach
  • Have a mini break(please)
  • Go to a Sydney Festival Event
  • Clean the house from top to toe
  • Write a mission statement for 2009(I like plans, shh)
  • Have a bloody mary for breakfast 1st Jan 2009
  • Spring(erm summer?) clean the wardrobe
  • Restart the renovation project by itemising costs(ugh)(also see mission statement for 2009)
  • Learn to make coffee on our coffee machine
  • Get back on that healthy eating bandwagon
  • Surprise me. 
  • Naps. More naps!

Let’s see how far I get. Any other suggestions on what would make a good summer break?

In other news. That whole ethical meat thing. I am still continuing with buying ethical meat at home and attempting good choices whilst out, but it has really become a lot harder when going out to friend’s homes and also when fine dining.  In these situations, I am finding it easier to eat whatever’s going or whatever I want. Its a hard fight and compromises are made.

In other other news. Jess and I have finished up the Day/Night Half a World Away project. I hope you enjoyed it. It was a great little diversion for November for me.  


Day 7 - Day And Night

Day 7 - London MorningBourke StCrown St Surry Hills. We visited an old favourite Matsuri for a Japanese dinner after work. Bourke St Crown St is full of different restaurants ranging from Indian to Wood Fired Pizza. This little shop was well stacked out with indian spices, videos and food.Check out Jess’s morning at FushMush


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