Sunday links

Rooftop cocktails over at Hunky Dory.

Well, that was a mighty long week of inactivity over here - primarily due to celebrating my aforementioned birthday.  To prove that I'm not getting old, my internet history of late has been investigating panda bread or the equally adorable (and probably more achievable) bear bread.  While I work out how to make this, will someone please buy me a sleepy baby otter?  Or at least a dog I can put food on.

On a more serious note, this is a great post on authenticity by Joanna Goddard which I think is so necessary to have in the blogging world, and that I've been thinking about all week.  A good balance to animal bread, and a great reminder that we all have moments like hers that aren't blog-friendly, but necessary.

Twenty Eight

Office cake courtesy of my lovely coworkers.

"Time is tricky. You have whole months, even years, when nothing changes a speck, when you don't go anywhere or do anything or think one new thought. And then you can get hit with a day or an hour, or half a second, when so much happens, it's almost like you are born all over again into some brand-new person you for damn sure never expected to meet."

E. R. Frank via this other writer.  It's been a good year.

Sunday Links

Pasta overload at Leura Deli.

Long drives have me listening to Landslide gleek-style on repeat.  We were relatively internet-free in the mountains but since getting back I've been pinning my life away, and wondering how I can justify this adorable set of letter pressed stationary, with a little 'l' of course.  On the subject of hearts, this story of tech love was easily the best story of V-day past.

Dreaming in pinks, these sketch illustrations are tempting me back into watercolours, but in the meantime I may just take the easy way out and pick up one of the delightful prints over at 20x200.  Hoping C comes permanently back to Sydney soon so we can fill apartment walls together!  Fab.com will also be consulted.

Road tripping

Parental preparation: my mama's fuel coupons, car snacks and DIY weather chart.

I love that I had C to drive and snack with me (he did the driving, I largely did the snacking).

On the road, radio on, sun setting.

Enjoy your weekends folks!

Packet salad

I've been eating this salad before the recipe made its way to the back of Chang's Oriental Fried Noodles.  It always feels like a cheap cop-out because it's just a matter of assembling a few ingredients, but it tastes so good I'll never get tired of it.  Cabbage and dried noodles?  Somehow with the dressing it just all comes together.

All the pieces keep freshly chopped up for a couple of days, the toasted slivered almonds can be made in advance and keep crisp in the freezer.

You can read it for yourself.

Delicious and crunchy against whatever else it is you managed to cook up.

Anyone can chop things and buy a packet.  Enjoy!

Google hearts

Valentine's Day cake from our kitchen.

In case you miss the sweet love story Doogle today, you can also always type in this equation to get your romantic fix:
sqrt(cos(x))*cos(300x)+sqrt(abs(x))-0.7)*(4-x*x)^0.01, sqrt(6-x^2), -sqrt(6-x^2) from -4.5 to 4.5

Say yes

"Find a way to say yes to things. 

Say yes to invitations to a new country, say yes to meet new friends, say yes to learn something new. Yes is how you get your first job, and your next job, and your spouse, and even your kids. Even if it's a bit edgy, a bit out of your comfort zone, saying yes means that you will do something new, meet someone new, and make a difference. Yes lets you stand out in a crowd, be the optimist, see the glass full, be the one everyone comes to. Yes is what keeps us all young."

Feels great to be at the same company as Eric.

Sunday links

Sunday family lunch at Sushi Samurai.

This week on the internet saw me discovering a daily something which is officially my new favourite blog (and holds a title that I wish I'd thought of myself.  I discovered her through this intriguing appetizer via the ever excellent Joanna Goddard (and the internet came in a full loop when I discovered she'd linked to the same elbow patches I raved about in my DIY rampage last week.

In other news, I discovered more reasons of why this must be the year that I visit NYC - it's a city where a boutique florist will pop-up in the lead up to Valentine's day, and this quote can be written to illustrate the value of architecture.  Until then I will continue to live vicariously though Meg.

Trust Nigella

There are some recipe sources that you can always trust, and Nigella is my go-to woman when it comes to anything of the baked good variety.  I started by testing out her classic cupcakes when I was looking for a recipe that would guarantee moist little cakes for my 21st birthday, and I have never looked back.

Her recipes are virtually foolproof and I love how her instructions are helpfully phrased in classic Nigella-style - "I know it looks as if you'll never make this scant mixture fit 12 bun cases, but you will. I promise you this mixture is exactly right to make the 12 cup cakes, so just spoon and scrape the stuff in, trying to fill each case equally, judging by eye only of course."  I recently decided to give her triple chocolate brownies a try and they did not disappoint - low fuss, three kinds of chocolate and I managed not to burn it.

So many eggs, ditto the butter.

Flaky top, deliciously moist all the way through.

Let's not talk about how many I ate.

I'm yet to start taking her savoury dishes for a test drive, but when I do I know her 'Slut's spaghetti' is at the top of the list.

Dumplings continued

I have made my love for dumplings evident before (try here, here and here) but I've recently indulged in a couple of other Sydney locations that I just had to share -

Deep fried crab dumplings at Phamish, oh I loved this place before but when they added these little pupsters to their menu they cemented a place in my heart forever.

Amazing, glutinous prawn and vegetable dumplings at Sea Treasure - where they'll endlessly refill your tea without giving you snarky looks to leave.

It must be noted that I went to both of these places recently with girlfriends who insisted as they 'just had a craving'.  But oh I'm so glad that they did!

I don't want no scrubs

Fueled by my refusal to pay for any beauty products in this country (Mecca Cosmetica is daytime robbery compared to Sephora), I indulged my current DIY obsession to try my hand at making my own body scrub.  I picked this coconut brown sugar one, primarily because it looked to be the easiest to make - the name is indicative of the only two ingredients I really needed and they were easy to find.

I wasn't lying when I said two ingredients.

Combine!  I actually even managed to skip a step of 'de-solidify the coconut oil' because the Sydney weather did that for me.

The delicious smelling finished product!

The verdict: making your own body scrub definitely falls into the category of 'things I wish I'd discovered sooner' - even a simple one like this left my skin feeling properly scrubbed and nourished.  My only recommendation would be to only make what you can use freshly at the time, and be prepared for your shower floor to be a little slippery (though fragrant!) as you wash it all off.

All in all, I am one happy coconut that is $32.95 richer.  

Coffee #1 2012

It was just as delicious as I remember.

Had my first coffee of 2012 today, with my brother and then a friend who joined later - of all my new years resolutions, I'm glad that's the one that broke.

And of all the places to break my coffee seal, I'm glad it was at Mecca on a Monday morning, over a lively exchange of ideas with good company.

I'm still buzzing!

Optimism

"My optimism wears heavy boots and is loud."

I admit I have no idea who Henry Rollins was until I saw his quote here on this poster - but I am all in with this quote.

Sunday links

At Bills, who established corn fritters as a breakfast food. 

This has been a Sunday of baking, brunches and gym sessions to work off the former two.  Internet-wise I'm currently being absorbed by all things DIY - be it sending 'happy mail' or the grossly unnecessary bacon roses.

I've become intrigued with needle felting, especially if it means I could make adorable heart-shaped elbow patches that would actually sit at my elbow like they're supposed to (first world problem as a short person: elbow patches will typically sit at your wrist).  And on the subject of hearts, while not entirely DIY, these would be so cute for a weekend in Melbourne.

Am waiting for Christmas to come around again to justify this delightfully bright garland, but until then I think I'm going to give one of these scrubs a go this week.

Rest, remixed

Lights on the dance floor

This working week has been a one of way too many late nights, so when Friday came around I was already mentally planning for a quick escape home to my couch after dinner.  But when a 'quick appearance' at a friend's birthday drinks turned into a remix to ignition on the dance floor, it turned out to be exactly what I needed to shake work right outta out of my mind.

California Love saw me into the morning, and I have never slept better than when I hit my bed at home; but it just goes to show that sometimes you need smoke in your hair, spilled wine and a crowd almost a decade younger than you at a new bar to make you feel human again.