A taste of me

Happy New Year 2012; end of the world!

2012-01-29T14:04:00.004+08:00

My Drabbit - born in Jan, head of a dragon, tail of a rabbit

Happy New Year!~

It's the year of the Dragon which is supposedly meant to be the luckiest of all years and it is also 2012, the end of the world. I feel as if time flies a little faster the older I get. I can't believe it's already near the end of the first month.

Looking back on the year 2011 and I have to say it was a pretty epic year by all accounts. I graduated, found a job, travelled to Canberra, Singapore, Malaysia, Melbourne & New Zealand. I started the 365 project which I unfortunately did not complete but still happy that I managed to go 136 days into it. I read a few books and managed to get a little bit of fitness into my inactive life.

My new year's resolutions very similar to last year's but:

1. Fitness
2. Keep track of my spendings
3. Take plenty of photos
4. Plan another trip
5. Relax more
6. Read more books; I'm aiming for a book a month
7. Eat Healthier

and I would like to add this year's motto will be:

Slow it down.

It's good to take things slowly, enjoy the little things and stress less.

I'm hoping this year will be even better and it has already kickstarted an upcoming trip to Japan in February which I am absolutely looking forward to. I attended my first bikram yoga sesh this year which I am hoping to participate in more often. Last night I went to the Laneway Night markets which was quite nice. Tonight there are Chinese New year Celebrations at the Northbridge Piazza and food stalls and performances.

Laneway Night Markets

Morning Tea at Chapels

2011-11-28T19:08:00.003+08:00

Chapels on Whatley was a random cafe that my best friend and I randomly stumbled upon whilst on a mission to dine at Mrs S. Unfortunately Mrs S, and many other shops on Whatley Crescent appeared to be closed on Monday. Fortunately, however Chapels on Whatley was a cafe experience we will never forget! It seemed to deliver surprise after surprise! Chapels is not only a cafe but a eastern themed shop featuring many antique furniture, art, artifacts, homewares and an incredible variety of fine tea. The menu consists of an infusion of Western & Eastern influences which gives it a unique experience. I had the San Choy Bao which was absolutely delicious!

One of the many things I love about Chapels is the fine china we got to use, Royal Albert!!! I was afraid of breaking such an expensive collection! The cafe was also scattered with weird but interesting paintings by an artist called Jin Chuan. They were rather amusing, had the same smiley face plastered on every painting. I love the attention to detail, outside there were red parasols and lanterns to match the Eastern atmosphere.

San Choy Bao

Mismatched Royal Albert Collection

Fine China & I

Jin Chuan Art

More Jin Chuan Art

From this (above)

TO THIS!! An aquarium in my teapot!

We ended our experience at Chapels with the best tea in the world!!! It starts off as a ball of tea leaves and when you chuck it in hot water it slowly grows and sprouts up like a real flower!!! If the teapot was a little taller, it would've turned out alot nicer but it was seriously amazing!! Highly recommended to those that are as easily amused as I am!

Drinks at the Aviary

2011-11-15T21:21:00.011+08:00

On Sunday, my Uni friends and I decided to catch up at the brand new rooftop bar that everyone seems to be talking about which located in the Perth CBD. The Aviary certainly creates an amazing impression with its cute wallpapers, grass carpet and live plants & trees whilst overlooking the skyscapers of the city. I think one of the best things about this new bar is the opening hours, it's open every day. Monday - Saturday from 11am till midnight & Sunday from 11am till 10pm.

We were quite happy with the service that we got, I've heard that they weren't that up to scratch when they first opened but we had no troubles at all. The food was quite tasty and I highly recommend those battered prawns with the caramel coating.

Love the attention to detail - bird cages hanging off the ceiling & bird wallpaper

Astroturf carpet, cute bar with live plants and adorable lighting

Great view of the city

Food! Very delicious

Asahi battered prawns, soy & lime caramel

Ginger & nori fried squid

Herb chicken on ciabatta bread, smoked bacon, onion jam, goats curd & fries

Grilled Turkish bread, smokey baba ganoush & chilli chickpea

Aviary Black Angus sandwich, cheddar, beetroot chutney, fries, onion ring

Bed Sofas were the perfect furniture for a Lazy Sunday afternoon

Carbon Footprints & Yelo Cafe

2011-11-06T19:21:00.004+08:00

This pretty little image was posted by Ian Somerhalder (Dead guy from LOST now undead on The Vampire Diaries) who is not only a really attractive actor but a global Ambassador for the Alliance for Global Conservation and and founder of ISF which is a not-for-profit organisation that has many projects that aim to help the environment. ANYWAYS, I have decided to reduce my carbon footprint by bringing a mug to work instead of using those disposable foam cups at work. Also, Today I caught up with a friend at Yelo Cafe on West Coast Drive for a cup of Fiori coffee and some carrot cake. It's a nice little cafe, with chill out music and a nice view overlooking the pristine waters of the beach. What I noticed at this lovely cafe/surf shop was the BioPak Coffee takeaway cups and wooden cutlery! All the coffee cups and packaging is biodegradable and compostable! It's always nice to see local businesses that are eco-friendly.

Hat Winners.

2011-11-01T18:59:00.004+08:00

I am proud to announce I won the female category of the hat competition held at work!
I am now $50 richer.
Hurray!

Spring Shopping

2011-11-01T18:52:00.005+08:00

Gone are the days of long sleeved woolly jumpers, socks and boots. Say hello to my new camel coloured sandals and beige shoulder bag from Novo. (Although it's meant to be raining from Wednesday onwards - pfft - details)

Fascinating! How to make an 'x-ray' themed fascinator

2011-10-29T18:49:00.008+08:00

A hat competition is being held on Melbourne Cup day at work which I plan to participate in. The prize is a $50 voucher and initially I was going to buy this extravagant fascinator for $40 but decided to make my own instead...out of x-ray film! A much cheaper alternative and so much more fun! So I went to my old work place to gather some free film and went to spotlight and spent $12 on materials (50% off millinery materials - yay).

Materials bought: Headband, hat base, 1 metre of veil, a variety of feathers & rhinestones

Construction:
I gathered the veil and folded it until I was happy with the formation and sewed it underneath the base and then sewed the base to the headband itself.
Arrange the feathers and stuck it on to the hat base with craft glue.
Cut out flower shapes from the x-ray film and curled each petal with fingers. Using a paper fastener, joined each different sized flower shapes together. Glue flower onto base.
Glued a rhinestone in the middle of the flower.
Cut out feather shapes from x-ray film and attach to wires. Attach to base.

In Construction:

X-ray Film Flower Cut outs.

Combined Flower cut outs and Rhinestones.

Tea Party for Three

2011-10-09T18:31:00.004+08:00

I had leftover cheese from my cheese platter so invited a couple of friends over for a mini tea party at mine. We decided to tape my Diana Mini coloured filters on top of our Fujifilm Instax Mini 7s flashes to create crazy coloured outcomes!

After googling colour filters I came across this article on the lomography site that has another colour filter idea for the Instax Mini 7s. I will have to try that one day!

Cheesy Friday

2011-10-07T19:12:00.003+08:00

Today was the last day for the students working at Shents so they made some Brownies and we decided earlier that some of us would bring in some food as well so we could have a little tea party at work. Two girls brought in two different types of brownies and I decided to bring in a cheese platter. Got a little bit carried away and went Thursday night shopping and bought some beautiful Maxwell & Williams dinnerware and cutlery for cheese platters. Plated up three different types of cheese with crackers and mini toasts and garnished it with a fanned homegrown strawberry. Pictures below!

Finished product.

My fanned homegrown strawberry, oops should've snipped off the stalk.

Brie, Apricot & Almond Cream Cheese and Cheddar

Crackers & Mini toasts.

Got the Green Thumb

2011-10-02T21:38:00.003+08:00

A trip to Bunnings.

Strawberry, Basil and Grape Tomatoes.

wish me luck...

M.I.A - Snow trips

2011-10-02T20:38:00.006+08:00

I have been MIA for a few months, oops! I blame my long hiatus on my 'recent' employment at a public hospital! I am happily working and earning some moolah, very exciting stuff! I shall write a catching up blog entry on the snow trips I've been on in the last month. One weekend (26th of August) we decided to fly to Melbourne for a snow trip. Rob & I flew on a Friday night and came back on a Monday morning, and had work that Monday afternoon! It was hectic but oh so fun! We went up to Mount Buller and snowboarded til our legs couldn't hold us up no more and explored Melbourne City and met up with a friend that lives there.

One week later we flew to New Zealand for another snow trip! We spent 10 days in NZ driving from Christchurch to Kaikoura to Wanaka, then Queenstown, to Methven and back to Christchurch. This time we went snowboarding at Mt Hutt and Cadrona! It wasn't that snowy this time of the year but it was still ten times better than Mt Buller and also much much cheaper. Got to catch up with my amazing NZ friends again which was awesome. We went to Hanmer, initially to go to the hot springs but ended up quad biking in the mud. NZ never ceases to amaze me with its amazing scenary! I've forgotten how beautiful the place was.

If you ever go to Queenstown, I highly recommend the Onsen Hot Pools which is an indoor/outdoor spa. By that I mean, it's indoors but it has A RETRACTABLE ROOF!! With the push of a button *POOF* you're suddenly outdoors looking at beautiful mountain views or if it is at night, star gazing into the magnificent night sky! Also, if you choose the candlelit pamper pack like we did, the spa room is filled with many a candles. The only negative comment I can offer was that the candles weren't real candles unfortunately (poo). Otherwise it gave a relaxing and amazing atmosphere.

Not us - picture from Onsen website

I have caught the travelling bug again and the minute I got back to work, filled in my leave form for my next trip! Next stop: Singapore in November! Can't wait!

I love food!

2011-05-30T22:15:00.006+08:00

As I mentioned earlier I have been eating a lot and I wanted to share some of the places I've been to this month. First of all, gorgeous Fel took me to The Secret Garden Cafe for Brunch one morning. It is a beautiful little cafe with a magnificent garden with water features, a wishing well and miniature bridges and the atmosphere is just so warm and relaxing.

I ordered Stuffed mushrooms with toast, a poached egg and salad on the side. Let me tell you it was one of the best meals I have ever had in awhile and I dream about the stuffed mushrooms all the time! I must admit, I do love my mushrooms though. I loved it so much that I tried to recreate a similar dish at home (not succeeding, but that's not the point). I will definitely have to go back and have those mushrooms again!
Fel & Pavlova

If you are looking for a new cafe to try, I highly recommend this place! And try the stuffed mushrooms!

The Secret Garden Cafe

64 Angelo Street

South Perth WA 6151

(08 ) 9367 5597

Another eatery I went to was the Burger Bistro located at Leederville. I had lunch there with Robbie because we've walked past a couple of times and it looks quite groovy with its light globe decorations and Banksy art hanging around the walls of the place.

I ordered the Hey pesto Burger which consist of hand made CAAB Angus beef patty with fresh basil leaf, shaved parmesan, basil pesto and tomato relish on a bed of salads.

I really liked their tomato relish in the burger as well as a dip for the chips however the burger itself did not blow my mind away. It was a decent burger but I did not crave for it. Otherwise, real nice atmosphere and lovely presentation.

The Burger Bistro

147 Oxford Street

Leederville WA

(08 ) 9443 5881

And that's the way the cookie crumbles

2011-05-30T21:51:00.005+08:00

I have not been blogging recently because my current life consists of watching TV series and eating lots of food. Also, I am extremely lazy. I finally found a job which starts in June so I am relaxing before reality kicks in.

After discovering the cookie gun on Kanela and Lemon's blog along with a Butter Cookie Recipe on Sunday, I went searching for a cookie gun to atempt her lovely creation.
Photo from Kanela and Lemon

However, I didn't end up purchasing a cookie gun because the only one I found was in Myer and it was above the price range I wanted to spend so I decided to use my cookie cutters that I already had at home.

Little did I know, the recipe was made specifically for cookie guns so the dough was too soft to be cut. Instead, I used an icing pipe so my resulting cookies did not turn out as nice as I would' have liked.

In the meantime, I've found some lovely cookie guns on ebay that catches my fancy.

Lovely Advice

2011-05-04T18:28:00.001+08:00

I found this on tumblr and thought it was sweet. Food for thought.

Health:

Drink plenty of water.
Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
Live with the 3 E’s - Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy
Play more games.
Read more books than you did in 2010.
Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.
Sleep for 7 hours.
Take a 10-30 minutes walk daily. And while you walk, smile.

Personality:

Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
Don’t have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
Don’t over do. Keep your limits.
Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip.
Dream more while you are awake.
Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
Forget issues of the past. Don’t remind your partner with his/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don’t hate others.
Make peace with your past so it won’t spoil the present.
No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
Smile and laugh more.
You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

Society:

Call your family often.
Each day give something good to others.
Forgive everyone for everything.
Spend time with people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
Try to make at least three people smile each day.
What other people think of you is none of your business.
Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

Life:

Do the right thing!
Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.
However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
The best is yet to come.
Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.

Butterfly Stamping Nail Art

2011-04-23T19:00:00.007+08:00

There's a new little nail art shop located at Southlands Shopping Centre next to the shoe shop and it sells Konad Stamping nail art gear. I just bought a mini stamping kit today, the kit contains 3 x polish (black, white, clear), 1 image plate, a scraper and a stamp. If you're interested to see how it's done, there's a youtube video at the bottom but it's basically a stamp, that is stamped onto your nails.

I had heaps of fun stamping my nails with butterflies.

Happy Easter everybody

2011-04-23T17:43:00.006+08:00

I put together a little easter basket for the bf and his family and I decided to make Panna cotta for the first time.I've always viewed it as a fancy dessert and love ordering them at restaurants but never knew how easy it was to actually make it.

I found the recipe on David Le Bovitz's blog but I'll type it up again (with slight changes) on here for those that are too lazy to view it. Also I didn't unmould the panna cotta but placed them in.....tealight candle holders haha. I was searching for glasses that were larger than shot glasses but smaller than drinking glasses and these were the perfect size!

Ingredients

4 cups thickened cream
1/2 cup (100g) sugar
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
4 1/2 teaspoons powdered gelatin
6 tablespoons (90ml) cold water
1 packet Raspberry Jelly

Method

1. Heat the heavy cream and sugar in a saucepan or microwave. Once the sugar is dissolved, remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract.

2. Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water in a medium-sized bowl and let stand 5 to 10 minutes.

4. Pour the very warm Panna Cotta mixture over the gelatin and stir until the gelatin is completely dissolved.

5. Divide the Panna Cotta mixture into the prepared cups, then chill them until firm, which will take at least four hours.

6.Make the jelly according the instructions on the packet, cool and pour on top of the panna cotta. Chill for at least 4 hours. Serve cold.

Cupcake nail art

2011-04-15T22:49:00.005+08:00

I was inspired to paint a cupcake on my nail after watching this nail tutorial:

So this is my attempt at cupcake nails and I decided to mix it up a little with other random drawings I thought of on the spot.

Cupcake, Clouds, Kisses, Bling & a black heart. Enjoy!

Rainbow cookies

2011-04-14T20:22:00.002+08:00

Nothing like a smartie cookie to bring a smile to your face.

Afternoon Delight

2011-04-12T21:37:00.006+08:00

I've always been obsessed with tea cups, tea, cakes, high tea and so when I saw the 2 tiered plate stand at Koko Black I decided to purchase my own tiered plate stand. Having already owned the Maxwell and Williams Polka Dot Tea Set [Below],

Maxwell and Williams Polka Dot Tea Set

I decided to get the Maxwell and Williams Kimono Tiered plate stand in pink of course, to match my tea set. I really like the Flowery Japanese inspired design.

I was so excited to use it that I made some mini quiches and toasted pesto chicken sandwiches to test out my new plate stand and I love it! I followed the recipe found on Exclusively Food for the Mini quiches and they were delightful! The top tier is just filled with Krispy Kreme donuts that my brother brought back from the east coast.

A Sunny Sunday @ Angove Street Festival

2011-04-10T18:40:00.013+08:00

I love exploring Perth and attending all the community festivals & other local happenings so when Angove Street Festival was advertised, I quickly marked it on my calender as a little reminder! So that is what I did today, attended the festival held on Angove Street, or as the locals like to call it the 'Hangover St'.

There was plenty of live music, local fashion, fresh food and coffee, market stalls, live art, photo exhibitions, street performers and children's activities such as mini bungee, rocking climbing, animal farm and plenty more other activities occuring. The live music definitely created a lovely atmosphere for a lazy Sunday afternoon.

I live on the south side of river so I don't normally shop in North Perth so it was nice to wander around and I discovered a lot of local shops and cafes that I would love to go back and visit.

There was some live graffiti art demonstration at the festival and I really liked this particular one. It was a picture drawn with a permament marker of all the different people he saw walking down Angove Street.
There was also a mini car show featuring mainly Alfa Romeos and a lonesome Lotus Elise which was my favourite.

Koko Black: Claremont

2011-04-09T18:19:00.009+08:00

Perth is definitley improving with its growing number of shopping centres and eateries. I just came back from High Tea at the new Koko Black chocolate salon located at the Claremont Quarters and I have to say I am impressed. I love the elegant feel of the place with its chocolate (brown) leather lounges, beautiful blue lanterns to its delicate tier plate stands.

My friends and I decided to try out this awesome chocolate salon as soon as we could and we treated ourselves to the Queen of Hearts high tea which was a two tiered platter, one sweet and one savoury. The bottom tier consisted of two mini sandwiches, a leek and ricotta tart and a pancetta and cherry tomato tart whilst the top tier presented with a lamingtom, lemon tart, layered chocolate cake, chocolate brownie and a berry panacotta. I have to say the savoury was very welcoming to the taste buds after all the sweet indulgences.

We also tried the Autumn Spoil which is pretty much a bit of everything. It consisted of pear sorbet, gingerbread cookie, chocolate mousse, pear and cinnamon cake and two chocolates.

After our meal of utter divineness, we looked around the chocolate salon and there were many different selections of various flavoured chocolates and pattiseries on offer. With easter around the corner there were many handpainted chocolate bunnies and easter eggs on display and I was very tempted to purchase one of everything. Another thing I really liked about Koko black was the chocolatier's kitchen which had a clear window so you could view the making of the chocolate and pattiseries. I got to witness the making of the creme brulee tarts which looked really delicious.

A polaroid to capture that Koko Black high tea moment!

Love Heart Bokeh

2011-03-28T23:55:00.003+08:00

I've always wanted to try the love heart bokeh technique but never get round to testing the technique until recently. This awesome site tells you what it is and how to do it HERE. So we bought black cardboard and cut the love heart out by hand although you may also use a shape puncher. Using the lowest aperature on a large aperature lens, the love heart bokeh may be created! Tips: Christmas lights make really nice bokeh effects. Here are some of our results, enjoy:
Cup full of love

Blowing love kisses

Teddy bear love

Random soft toy with heart background

R.I.P Snowflake

2011-02-12T07:53:00.003+08:00

My bunny passed away this morning. Snowflake has been such a lovely companion for the last 2 years. He lived a short life as rabbits can live up to 15 years. He unfortunately contracted myxomatosis which is uncurable with the survival rate of 5%. I'm going to miss you and all your quirky behaviours. You are the friendliest bunny ever and I'm going to miss spending hours taking care of you and playing with you. You will always be loved & remembered. May you rest in peace dear Snowflake, I hope you are in a better place.

New ride

2011-02-08T19:56:00.004+08:00

New year, new house, new car, new phone! The year has been good so far despite my boyfriend moving to Canberra and my bunny catching myxo which is like one of the deadliest viruses they could catch. He actually looks better than before so I'm hoping he will pull through seeing as it's the year of the rabbit! Graduating from my 4 year degree on the 17th which should be good. My new Mini Cooper S (blue one) was my graduation present. So in love with my new car! :D

Happy year of the rabbit!

2011-02-03T10:09:00.008+08:00

I am back from the land of Canberra! Had a blast there, attended my friend's 21st which was really lovely held in a garden area decorated with fairy lights and paper lanterns and pom poms.

Spent my 23rd in Canberra, had bacon & eggs for breakfast made by the lovely boyfriend and then had the loveliest time exploring the city with some friends, went to the War memorial, the new Parliament house and visited the National Portrait Gallery.

The Martin Schoeller: Close up exhibition was on which was really good. He takes extreme close up pictures of celebrities and some non-celebrities. It was a very busy day so we went to Koko black to chill out and have some of the best chocolates I've ever had.

We had the Summer spoil for two which consisted of passionfruit sorbett, strawberry salad, chocolate mousse, orange poppy seed muffin and two mouth watering chocolates - passion and candied orange.

After dropping off a friend at the airport we headed to The Deck at Regatta Point which by the way has the most gorgeous view of the lake burley griffin, the national gallery and the parliament house. Met up with some friends, such a beautiful place and we had sangria and stayed there til' night. It was such a good birthday, thoroughly enjoyed it!

Photo courtesy of The Deck

Holidaying in the Capital City

2011-01-20T11:40:00.005+08:00

Just a quick update, as I have been very slack. I am now residing in Canberra for the next week and a half, visiting the boyfriend and attending my friend's 21st. I am still committed to my 365 project surprisingly, the photos may be viewed on my Tumblr and my Flickr.
I have visited the War memorial, Yarralumla gardens, Regetta Point and the Canberra centre. The other night, we made tacos and the oven caught on fire (View brief story here) and yesterday evening we had a few games of lawn bowls and finished it off with some yummy Chicken snitzel. Heading to Sydney for the weekend, can't wait!

Happy 2011~!

2011-01-01T13:45:00.001+08:00

The new year is a time to reflect and make amendments and resolve things that we want to change. What are your new year’s resolutions? Having a look at my last year’s resolutions I managed to fulfill half of them so will work on completing the rest this year. They were;

1. Fitness
2. Keep track of my spendings
3. Learn to use my camera
4. Plan another trip
5. Relax more
6. Read more books

This year however, I am going to attempt to take on the 365 Project of documenting my year by taking a daily photo on tumblr. I hope everyone enjoyed celebrating new year’s day and all the best for 2011. Stay safe and remember to enjoy the little things!

My Flickr

My Tumblr

Diana Mini Love

2010-12-19T00:40:00.002+08:00

Lately I have been keeping up to date with Lomography on Twitter and joining in on the lomojeopardy fun and winning piggies! I managed to get 40 piggies and bought myself a Diana F+ Flash for my Diana Mini! I can't wait to take all kinds of shots. I never realised there were so many different things you can do with the Diana Mini. Here are a bunch of tips found on Lomography. P.S. Free shipping until 20th of December.

All I want for Christmas

2010-12-18T23:54:00.009+08:00

I have been on Christmas Island for the past week, and the weather was miserably grey almost the entire time Robbie & I were there however it was sunny on the day that we left. Fantastic! We did, however, manage to go snorkelling at Lily Beach three days in a row! Not as great as Flying Fish Cove reefs but there were still some fishes to see. The jetty was closed due to the bad swell season. Pretty decent week despite the rain, very relaxing atmosphere on the island.

Fish.
Fish.
And more fishes.

Brown Booby Bird.

The famous red crab.

Perth Upmarket 2010

2010-11-29T19:49:00.010+08:00

I attended the Perth upmarket held on Sunday. Perth upmarket is quarterly market that showcases 140 of Perth's most talented artists, designers, craftsmen and gourmets all under one roof at the UWA Winthrop Hall. It was crawling with people and wonderfully crafted items and lots of food & pattiseries and singing as well.

Singing

Very adorable chairs

My first time trying these mini Dutch pancakes, they are delightful! I thoroughly recommend them to everyone! It was also very interesting watching them making the pancakes.

"Poffertjes are mini Dutch treats similar to a pancake but sweeter. Traditionally Poffertjes are cooked and served hot with a topping of butter and icing sugar."

I also tried these French macarons by Passion Gourmet which were a treat for the tastebuds!

Upcoming markets:

Subi Upmarket - 2nd December, 5 - 9pm
Joondalup Upmarket - 17th December, 6 - 9pm

(Further details at www.perthupmarket.com.au)

Satsuki & Churros

2010-11-26T10:10:00.011+08:00

Went to Satsuki & San Churros with the uni friends to celebrate the completion of our very long four year degree! Satsuki is a Japanese restaurant located in Subiaco Square just next to the train station. It is the sister restaurant to the highly successful Ha-Lu located in Mt Hawthorn which I am yet to try. This Japanese restaurant specialises in Edomae style, which is known for its attention to detail in preparation. The food was very well presented and tasty however the serving sizes were a tad tiny in comparison to the prices.

Wagyu Beef tataki

Soft shell crab with white miso sauce

Assortment of sushi

Pork Belly Kakuni

We also ordered Octopus Vinaigrette Salad, 2xChicken Karage, White Fish, Scallops 'Otukuri', Chicken with onion Vianigrette 'nanban'. The waitress recommended 2 dishes each (there was 7 of us) however it would have been really pricey, we ended up getting 11 dishes but was still hungry. So for dessert we decided to head to San Churros, which was just down the road from Satsuki.

Quote
Forget about Love, I'd rather fall into chocolate

Thick, bubbly & rich hot chocolate
Iced Chocolate
Churros fiesta!

Do you like my chocolate mo?

Awesome Festival 2010

2010-11-24T00:09:00.012+08:00

19 - 28 November 2010

There are certainly a lot of AWESOME things occuring around the Perth CBD this week. The AWESOME International Arts Festival for Bright Young Things showcases the latest contemporary arts from around the world. It aims to engage with the younger crowd however still entertaining for the adults with programs including media, film, animation, dance, sculpture and theatre. The highlight of the festival would probably be the Luminarium - Levity III which appears like a big bouncy castle in the middle of Forrest place, hard to miss. I would recommend 'Track' which is a live film performance streamed live via a projection which all happens in a sea container! Very clever and unique showcase of DIY filmmaking and street theatre.

Cup Roc - creating pictures with coloured cups

Befriending a big pretty bird sculpture

Theatre
The Library of Nearly Lost Moments To capture your moment: check pockets and belongings to see if you have anything to leave behind. This might be as simple as a lolly wrapper, or an old shopping list you've been carrying around pointlessly for months. Write a story and seal in a bag to share your moments.

I liked this one.
The story of the shoe: shoe's partner was lost in Ikea and this shoe has been carried around in the bottom of a bag for months.

Cute!

Fel & I left our own macaroon polaroid moment! :)

We had Mocha & Blackberry flavoured macarons & white choc cheesecake for lunch (dessert) at some cafe at the Enex100 food court.

Whilst taking many instax pictures!

On another note, we found this random street art on Hay Street. Bunny ears!

The month of the dirty mo's

2010-11-20T00:35:00.013+08:00

Me and my dirty Mexican bf

After a long day at work, I was looking forward to attending this year's Lomovember event held by Pigeonhole. There was plenty of music, cupcakes and drinks to go around. I enjoyed walking around admiring the artworks of other Lomographers. There were over 90 images up for grabs in a silent auction - all proceeds going to Movember - supporting research for men's prostate cancer. Rob ended up purchasing a Spinner 360! The spinner 360 camera takes awesome 360 panoramic photos. Can't wait to capture my world in 360 degrees on film! If you missed out on the opening night, the photos are still being displayed on Saturday November 20 - Sunday November 21st (Opening times: 11am - 5pm).

My tiny Aloe(mo) Vera lomograph displaying at the lomovember exhibition.

Yummy, moist, delicious chocolate VEGAN cupcakes

Lomovember Raffle & Registration table as well as Lomography shop

Lomographs displayed on the walls
Awesome blinged-up Holga camera - I want one

More artwork

Snowflake turns two

2010-11-16T23:36:00.008+08:00

Snowflake officially turned two on the 16th of November! I am so grateful for my bunny companion that has offered me his love, loyalty and affection through the good times and bad. He stole my heart from the very first day and I am so lucky to have my furry friend. Happy 2nd birthday Snowflake!

Fujifilm Instax love

2010-11-16T15:37:00.007+08:00

My impulsive shopping has paid off with the arrival of my new Fujifilm Instax 7s camera! Thank god for the revival of instant photography, this little baby produces near-instant, vivid, high-quality credit card sized photos. I can't wait to take many more photos!

Test photos

Missy Moos Burger Bar

2010-11-14T14:30:00.014+08:00

While attempting to look for the location of the Dinosaurs petting zone on the Freo Festival guide on the phone we ended up somewhere on South Terrace, missing the dinosaur action however we stumbled upon Missy moos Gourmet Burger Bar just in time for lunch. (If you look closely, the man at the burger bar gave me two thumbs up, only noticed after I took the picture).

Pretty neat little place decorated with many board games plastered on the walls with quirky little sayings of nursery rhyme characters. Such as Tom, Mary, Little Bo Peep all went away to Spain.
The names of the burgers are nursery rhymed inspired as well, with names like Humpty Dumpty, The cow jumped over the moon, Jack and Jill, Tom, Tom the piper's son, Polly put the kettle on, etc.
The Drink menu was created by little alphabet pieces stuck up behind the counter wall.
The counter is also decorated by childrens' drawings and the one below is my favourite:
OMG Double Rainbow all the way!

Instead of table numbers, we got a little ambulance. Other tables had helicopters, telephones and firetrucks.
We just tried the original Missy Moo Beef Burger which consisted of:
Premium WA Lean beef pattie, tomato, baby spinach, ailo and margaret river tomato relish

The burger tasted really fresh and delicious. I like the replacement of the lettuce with the baby spinach, gave it a gourmet touch. The pricing was reasonable and I love all the quirky decorations, kept me well distracted.

Missy Moo Beef Burger + Chips

Also tried some Fruity drinks to go along with our burgers.

Missy Moos Burger Bar
400 South Terrace
South Fremantle, 6162

Tel: (08) 9433 3322

Opening Hours:

Wednesday - Thursday, 5pm - 9pm

Friday - Sunday, 12pm - 9pm

Felt Bunny

2010-11-10T23:03:00.006+08:00

I bought this felt Postcard from Taiwan at the airport which had a print out of a bunny and you could make the little fellow. Just got round to making it today, and here are the results! I love my new bunny friend!

Bunny in making

Bunny & teacup

Bunny & Peanut Butter

The dog debate

2010-11-06T15:33:00.010+08:00

The Dachshund U.N. created by WA artist Bennett Miller is both a large-scale architectural installation and a participatory performance work that examines the role of the United Nations as risk management organisation. The structure hosted a debate about Human rights where all the national delegates were Sausage dogs! Held at the Perth Cultural Centre Amphitheatre, there will be another debate held next Saturday at 2pm-2.45pm. A very interesting concept :)

Dachshunds delegates representing countries from around the world

Puppy politics

Youngest Speaker

Grow a Mo'

2010-11-05T18:25:00.005+08:00

Movember is here and one of my Lomo photos got selected to be displayed at the Lomovember exhibition held by PigeonHole. I'm so excited. (My gorgeous native plant from KP). Lomovember is an annual charity event held in November that showcases Lomographs of Perthians raising funds for Movember (supporting research in men's health, specifically prostate cancer and depression in men).

Feel free to come along to the opening night of the Lomovember Gallery on Friday November 19, from 7-11pm. There will be door prizes and local bands, cupcakes and moustaches! Photos will remain displayed on Nov 20-21, 11am - 5pm.

Speaking of Movember, Rob is attempting to grow a mo' so feel free to support him and donations of any amount big or small can be made on his Mo Space. Click Here. Many thanks and maybe see you at the Lomovember Gallery!

Arrival of Tees

2010-11-05T09:41:00.007+08:00

Mr Postman delivered my Threadless Tees package today! New tees for Summer! I love browsing through Threadless and checking out all their witty designs! I especially love the Communist Party tee that I bought for the bf and Used to be Friends tee for myself.

Communist Party

Used to be friends

Pasar Malam 2010

2010-10-16T10:14:00.005+08:00

Ridiculous amount of people

There was an insane turnout to this year's Curtin Pasar Malam night, usually it's just the popular foods such as the Satay lines that were ridiculously long but it seemed like EVERY line was ridiculously long. We ended up choosing the 'shortest' lines and ate chicken naan wraps, lamb rogan josh & rice, jap chicken kebabs and mochi balls! I love food!

Taste of India

The mochi balls I am obsessed with

Ukelele baby

2010-10-13T17:18:00.003+08:00

Saw this little ukelele at the shops and it's the same colour as my guitar! (Looks more alike in real life) Had to get it!! Quick easy tabs to play I'm yours by Jason Mraz here.

Or learn from this kid:

Thai at the Thai Corner

2010-10-07T22:50:00.002+08:00

Thai feast @ Thai Corner

Chilling out

2010-10-07T22:43:00.003+08:00

I love it when Snowflake just flops down and rests, he looks so damn relaxed! Not a care in the world!

A splash of colour

2010-10-05T10:47:00.007+08:00

I love spring! All my rose bushes have blossomed so I thought I'd add some colour to my kitchen~ (Very messy table). Couldn't find a vase hence the makeshift pasta sauce vase!

Paradise found

2010-09-27T21:36:00.008+08:00

Pink Cherry Blossom

It was such a Beautiful, Sunny day today and seeing as it was a public holiday and the shops were closed, I took Mum for a stroll. I was blown away with the amount of colours displayed at the Araluen Botanic Gardens. If you like tulips, you'll love Araluen! The park was packed with lots people and smells of delicious BBQ food cooking. Unfortunately, we didn't bring any food. Would've loved to have a picnic amongst the sea of tulips!

Tulips, tulips..

And more tulips!

Bicycle Pot Holder

I found this neat little pot holder at the gift shop! I really want it in my garden! Not sure if it was for sale though. Also, check out the Kangaroo Umbrella. Adorable as.
Check Out the rest of my Araluen Botanic Park Photos Here.

Kangaroo Umbrella

Origami Wedding Cake

2010-09-26T22:58:00.005+08:00

I attended a wedding last night. The table decor, cake decor and bridal bouquets were all paper origami flowers! Something different.

The Hula Bula Bar

2010-09-26T19:00:00.007+08:00

Picture courtesy of Hula Bula Bar.

Caught up with a couple of mates from Canberra on Friday night and we met up at the Hula Bula Bar. It is a very cute Tropical Island themed bar tucked away in the city of Perth on Victoria Street. The atmostphere is amazingly relaxed and they sell a very large variety of cocktails decorated with mini umbrellas and frogs! I didn't end up taking pictures on the night so I just nicked these off their website. Just had to share this unique tiki bar.

Picture courtesy of Hula Bula Bar.

Florentine Punch

2010-09-21T14:02:00.000+08:00

Spring and jumping shots

2010-09-19T11:09:00.021+08:00

Warning: Bombardment of photos!

The pictures were taken last weekend at Kingspark showcasing all their native wildflowers. I Love Spring. And jumping shots. Photos taken with the Diana Mini with a film speed of 200.

Preparing to jump

Jumping shot

Springtime at Kingspark

Gorgeous native plant at KP

Kingparks/City view

Eternal flame/war memorial

Flower photos & kite flying

The forgotten charm

2010-09-17T18:36:00.002+08:00

Attention book lovers; my new Amazon Kindle

2010-09-13T07:48:00.009+08:00

Kindle Leather case

I got this lovely present; the Amazon Kindle E-book reading device from the lovely boyfriend. I'm a big book lover and the Kindle is unlike LCD screens which may hurt your eyes after reading for awhile, it actually looks like paper. Some of the features that I like about the Kindle is that it is light and compact so it's easy to place in my handbag. It has a battery life of a month! Which is a super plus, if I was going travelling, I wouldn't need to worry about charging it. A feature not available with paper books is dictionary lookup which is extremely helpful! Read more about Amazon Kindles here. I am currently reading; The Girl Who Played with Fire

Kindle Side on

Black & White images

Chocolatey Goodness

2010-09-05T23:03:00.006+08:00

Choc cupcakes with choc frosting sprinkled with praline bits &/or rainbow sprinkles

Had a great time making these with Jia & Yen, whom had invited themselves over... Found this lovely chocolate cupcake recipe that is to die for on Joy of baking, however I would recommend using a different frosting recipe because the frosting did not taste very nice. The texture of the cake is very light and fluffy. It is nice and moist and full of yummy!

Lunch at Jean Pierre Sancho

2010-08-30T18:56:00.007+08:00

Lovely Fel & I

Finally got to visit Jean Pierre Sancho with the lovely Fel, on the corner of Hay Street and Shafto Lane. This little french cafe made me feel like I was in Paris again with the delicate pattiseries and the french staff with their uppish attitude. Don't get me wrong, loved the experience and the food was enjoyable. The flavoured macarons were a treat and the potato & tomato soup was amazingly creamy and I wanted more when I was done. The soup-to-bread ratio was not nearly enough but I would have it again. We also tried some layered meringue & cream dessert (not sure what it was called-something in French) that was quite delicious. The decor was simple yet beautiful with the vintage looking furniture, chandelier and beautiful crafted framed mirrors reflecting a French ambiance. If you're looking for a new cafe to try, I would recommend it.

Flavoured Macarons

Crafty soup in bread - Love it

Layered Meringue & chocolate cream

The Giant cupcake

2010-08-22T21:25:00.011+08:00

Very excited about using my giant cupcake mould. After having an orange and poppy seed muffin for breakfast the other day, I decided to make a giant version of it. Using the moulds, a turd shaped piece is made along with the cake base with grooves. As I was trying to slice the top half, it cracked, I was devastated. However, I managed to ice it up covering my imperfections.

Top of giant cupcake

Assembled top & bottom

Final product - Giant cupcake!

Giant cupcake mould & teacup

2010-08-22T21:20:00.001+08:00

I received two giant gifts this month coincidentally. A giant cupcake mould from Robbie and a giant teacup & saucer from YuehLai to match. As you can see from the pictures below, I've placed 'normal' sized items next to the giant ones.

Giant cupcake mould next to a cupcake paper case & a babycake paper case

Giant teacup vs. normal teacup

New contact lenses!

2010-08-21T15:52:00.006+08:00

My new hazel eyes!
Other than the shitty pixelated image, comparison of my eye colours :)

If you look at it closely, you can see the little dots of colours. Alien eyes!

Exhibit: B; international street art

2010-08-17T22:35:00.013+08:00

I got to check out the Exhibit: B street art exhibition in Subi on my half day off. I read about it off Yours truly, 2095. If you're interested, it's located on 433 Hay Street, Subiaco. Opening times 9:30-5:30pm, closes on the 19th of August.

Artists included Mr Brainwash, Shepard Fairey, Mysterious Al, Dotmasters, Byrogylphics, Pahnl, tek13, and more. Shepard Fairey is probably one of the more well known ones for his Obama 'Hope' Poster. I got a bit carried away taking photos. I really like Russ Mills work, he combines both traditional media and digital imaging. His bold strokes and sketches are manipulated digitally to create an emotional distortion.

Some of Russ Mills work and some local guy with the light boxes, Simon...

More artwork

I find beauty everywhere (Red) - Mr Brainwash

Don't be Cruel - Mr Brainwash, Staring Girl - TEK 13

Slow and Steady - Ink Fetish

Charlie Chaplin!

Happy Birthday Roberto!~

2010-08-17T07:13:00.006+08:00

Robbie turned 23 yesterday! I managed to ice this baby (Cake above) after work in a jiffy before heading to dinner with Rob & Family at Christina's Restaurant located in Victoria Park. It was my first time there and I found my meal rather satisfying. I had the Tasmanian Salmon with curried potatoes and green beans. I would probably go back there again. Anyways, after dinner, Rob's mate took us to the movies to watch 'The Expendables'. He paid for my ticket as well yay! The movie wasn't as good as I expected it to be...definitely don't pay to watch it. Download it instead, by download I mean, purchase it legally online...

Hope Rob had a good time, Happy Birthday!~ <3

The Outback Jacks Challenge

2010-08-15T08:26:00.006+08:00

OBJ Challenge

Met up with a few uni mates for dinner last night. If you haven't heard of the Outback Jacks Challenge, it involves completing a full meal, including a 1kg Rump Steak, 500g of chips and 500g of steamed vegetables, in 30 minutes! So Max decides he'd take on the challenge even though he had KFC and a shepherd's pie right before he came to dinner. Whatever possessed him to attempt it, I'm not sure, maybe it was for the free Tshirt? However, he was thoroughly unsuccessful in completing the challenge and will be forever labelled as a failure.

FAIL!

New Zealand: Round two

2010-08-13T21:11:00.012+08:00

Lake Tekapu

Jumping pics

I haven't update my blog in awhile, have been pretty busy. Currently having my Uni placement at the Children's hospital which can be rather challenging. Anyways, I went to New Zealand again for the second time this year with the bf and his mate. We travelled from Methven to Queenstown and back up to Kaikoura to visit the lovely McGovern sisters! We visited Mt Hutt, the Remarkables and Mt Lyford for some snow. New zealand scenary is Amazing! Three words that sum up my vacation; snowboarding, cointreau & jagerbombs. Somebody, no names mentioned, passed out after two jagerbombs at the bottle shop. Fun times.

Tiltshit me

Snowboarding
Random mountains

Happy Black Friday.

San Churros - gotta love chocolate

2010-07-11T21:44:00.003+08:00

Churros for two, white & milk chocolate dip, hot chocolate and iced chocolate

Lovely Fel took me to San Churros on Thursday to celebrate her getting into Curtin! Congrats babe! So proud of you! What could possibly go wrong with chocolate and Churros (spanish donuts). Had a lovely time catching up! Speaking of churros, they made pandan churros on MasterChef today!

Tang yuan soup

2010-07-08T17:37:00.005+08:00

When I was younger, Mum would make tang yuan soup on December the 22nd every year for some tang yuan festival. However, when we went to Taiwan, they seem to sell it on a daily basis at the shops so I made Mum make it for me when we came back. For those of you that don't know, tang yuan is a glutinous rice ball usually found in ginger soup.

Tang Yuan Recipe

Ingredients

Rice Ball

1 cup glutinous rice flour
1 tspn sugar
water

Soup

3 - 4 slices of ginger
pot of water
brown sugar to taste

Method

Add water to glutinous rice flour and sugar until a doughy texture is produced
Separate into 4 parts, add colours of choice
Roll dough into little balls

Boil pot of water and add brown sugar to taste, take off stove

Boil a new pot of water and drop glutinous balls in
Take out the balls when they float and place into ginger soup

It's tea time!

2010-07-07T17:21:00.004+08:00

Green Rose

All this buzz about green tea and its health benefits, my brother went to buy some green tea from T2 today. We chose the Green Rose flavour which consists of green tea leaves (why of course), rose petals and dried fruit such as, currants, mango and papaya. It smells so damn delicious however it was not as strong when we brewed the tea. Probably needed a few more leaves or to be infused a bit longer however it was quite pleasant tasting.

Maxwell & Williams Pink polka dot tea cup & saucer

I want to visit the Green Tea house in Subiaco, it's a japanese place that sells all sorts of japanese tea and tea accessories.

Awesome weekend in Canberra

2010-07-02T23:08:00.006+08:00

Pretty much spent the last weekend snowboarding, playing guitar and computer games. Oh, and eating Turkish, Balinese, Thai & Indian food. Very nice food and really wanted to taste Ethiopian cept the guys kept on saying they had rice at home.

Arrived on a Thursday and went to Uni Pub at night. Woke up nice and early at 4:30am the next day and drove to Thredbo and snowboarded the whole day. 7 hours of snowboarding - I woke up the next day aching in every muscle of my body. It was great! But really, it was so much fun!

New Parliament house

On Saturday, I got a tour of Canberra by my very own tourguide, Elle. We visited the War memorial, and the old and new parliament houses. Also, had a delicious pizza at the fyshwick markets. After a day to recover, we hit the snow again on Sunday and spent Monday bumming around.

War memorial

Places I visited: JiuFen, Kaohsiung, Xi Men Ding

2010-06-20T22:15:00.017+08:00

A view of the buildings in Jiu Fen up in the mountainous area. You can see a thick fog covering the part of the area, a few minutes later most of the buildings were covered by the fog.

Ocarinas for sale in the markets of Jiu Fen.

Soft chewy colourful candy

I love the colours of the candy.

The streets of Jiu Fen.

My Ice cream girl necklace

Food in KaohSiung

In Kaoh Siung, we went to a restaurant that had old school items as decorations, such as the old telephones, mail boxes, sewing machine and cinema projector. The food was delicious, fresh and cheap! Love it!

Xi Men Ding

Back in Xi Men Ding, the place is bustling with pedestrians and full of shopping and side markets. We had steam boat in one of the restaurants in Xi Men Ding, can't remember the name of it but it was so nice we went to eat there twice!

Steam Boat

You can choose the flavour of your steamboat and even split it into two flavours. We had; tomato flavoured soup and hot&spicy (Ma La Soup).

I love these Ma Chi balls! They taste so good, soft glutinous rice balls with sesame paste fillings.

Ma Chi Balls

Just on a random note, stayed in Singapore for 2 days and this is a picture of the gorgeous food court in Ion Orchard. The food there is delicious and the place looks fantastic!

My visit to Taipei 101

2010-06-19T00:16:00.013+08:00

Taipei 101

The last few entries are mainly photos to remind me of my trip to Taiwan, hopefully it won't bore you to death. Now....Taipei 101 for those of you that aren't aware, is a landmark skyscraper of Taiwan comprised of 101 floors. It used to be the tallest building in the world in 2004 until January this year, when the skyscraper in Dubai claimed its title.

Taipei 101 Mall

We ate at a Shanghai restaurant (the name is in Chinese). The food was delicious, we ordered; tofu, pork ribs, duck and crab!

tofu dish

pork ribs

duck

crab dish

I love my new Agatha Paris charm from Taipei 101. It's a tiny little watch, the detail of the watch is exquisite.

My watch charm compared to my finger

Charm view 1

Charm view 2

Charm view 3

Yummy mochi balls

2010-06-16T00:24:00.002+08:00

Not sure what the real name of these little balls from Taiwan are but they taste yummy. Each colour is a different flavour. I like the pink strawberry flavoured ones.

Lovin' the markets of Taiwan

2010-06-12T22:39:00.004+08:00

First night in Taipei, went to the Shilin Night markets, it's so big! Lots of food and markets selling all sorts of things.. Second day went to JiuFen which is an hours bus ride from Taipei which has many markets with mountainous and coastal scenaries shrouded by thick fog. Fairly nice place to visit and attracts many tourists. Also shopped around the Ximen area which is near where we are staying.

My new top

The mouth opens!

In transit

2010-06-10T20:28:00.006+08:00

Currenty in Singapore. Heading to Taiwan tomorrow!Can't wait....here's a few pics so far....

Yummy kway and cake!
My gorgeous niece
New flats
Lion City Hotel

Dining at The Bonsai

2010-06-09T18:07:00.009+08:00

Finally get to try out the food at The Bonsai place, authentic japanese food with a modern twist. The food is very different from your typical Japanese restaurant and quite delicious. Located on Roe St in Northbridge, a warehouse transformed into a lounge as well as a dining area.

From left to right:

Pan-Seared Scallops with Karashi-Su-Miso

Lightly pan seared scallops on a bed of salad leaf dressed with karashi-su-miso and a sprinkle of chive and sesame, finished with a touch of vinaigrettes

Pan-Fried Mushrooms with Karashi-Su-Miso

Pan fried Portobello mushrooms on a bed of salad leaf dressed with karashi-su-miso and lemon shallot vinaigrette finished with a sprinkle of shichimi

Beef Asparagus

Thinly sliced scotch fillet beef, wrapped around asparagus and pan fried. Served with caramel soy and seeded-mustard & tomato relish

Smiley face Hot chocolate
served with three marshmellows - impressed

Chilli Crab Claws

Golden deep-fried crab dumpling, served with hot chilli mayo

Takoyaki

Seasoned octopus pancake balls, dressed with mayo and Worcestershire sauce, and finally garnished with shredded nori and chives

Went there for lunch, one of the downfalls - the dinner menu is much larger. Tried calling a few items displaying on their LCD screen however they weren't available for lunch otherwise, very tasty food. Didn't have the dessert this time round, however I heard it's nothing special? I haven't tried it myself. I enjoyed all the dishes we had except for maybe the scallops only because I'm not too big a fan of scallops especially if it's slightly undercooked.

The best of Chat Roulette

2010-06-05T14:15:00.006+08:00

Last night, at a dinner party, a very interesting experience was encountered by my girl friends and I during a session of ChatRoulette. However, I will not explain as it is not deemed appropriate. For those of you that are unaware, Chatroulette is a site that matches you up with random strangers around the world via webcam. Either user can leave the chat at anytime by clicking next which pairs you up with another user. Please enjoy these youtube videos that made me smile.

Merton the piano man that free styles for his viewers on ChatRoulette.

Xray Handbag

2010-06-02T21:15:00.004+08:00

This handbag was made from xray films by a work colleague for Melbourne Cup Day. I thought it was pretty rad!

Yummy Stir fried Pumpkin Dish

2010-06-01T20:14:00.006+08:00

I love this pumpkin dish! I'm not sure where it originated from but it's one of my Mum's recipes.

Ingredients
Small piece of Pumpkin diced
5 cloves of garlic finely chopped
handful of dried shrimp finely chopped
dash of soy sauce
1 cup of water

Method
Fry garlic and shrimp in oil until garlic is brown
Add pumpkin and fill with water
Simmer for about 10-15 minutes or until pumpkin is tender
(if water is reduced and pumpkin is not tender, add more water)
It should be a little bit mushy when done
Dash of soy sauce to taste

Serve with rice

My Crocheted Cup Coaster

2010-05-28T20:21:00.004+08:00

Learn how to make one of these on my craft blog.

MIS Pubcrawl 2010

2010-05-23T15:05:00.005+08:00

Pubcrawl Bus

On Friday night, I attended the Pubcrawl for Medical Imaging Students that is held every year. This year we only went to 4 pubs in comparison to the 6+ we went to last year but I didn't organise it so I guess I can't complain. Started of at the Curtin Tav, next stop Carnegies, then off to the Leedy and ended up at the Paramount! I have to admit I did like this year's bus better because it had seats on the sides of the bus facing each other and nice blue lights and other coloured lights flashing throughout the night.

4th Years

The theme was electric blue which amazingly had a good turnout. Not many people from my year went which was a little disappointing but otherwise it was a good night. It was really eventful for my friend Jasmine who got locked in the toilets at Leedy but managed to kick her way out and she rode on the bull. There was some Mexican theme going on at the Paramount.

Bull Riding

Rocky Crunch Cakes

2010-05-15T21:31:00.006+08:00

Recipe Courtesy of Kellogg's

Ingredients
110g butter
1/2 cup sugar
1.3/4 cups sifted plain flour
1/2 cup sultanas (I didn't have any at home)
1.1/2 cups Kellogg's Crunchy Nut Corn Flakes
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup milk

Method
Preheat oven to 180 degrees
Cream butter & sugar, add remaining ingredeints
Mix well until mixture resembles a stiff dough
Place heaped teaspoons of mixture onto greased baking tray
Bake for approximately 15 minutes until golden brown
Cool and store in airtight container

Makes about 14 rocky cookies

If the shoe fits

2010-05-15T15:47:00.005+08:00

Meet Georgette!
Betts are having a 20-75% shoe sale and I just bought a pair of heels.

Back to the 50s

2010-05-09T10:13:00.006+08:00

It seems that dress-up 21sts are really popular and this time the theme was The Nifty 50s! So think 50's Rock 'n' Roll, Grease, Happy Days, West Side Story. It was a neat little party held at Bar Orient in Fremantle with a pool table and a foosball table in the background. Most of the guys came in leather jackets and greased up hair and with the girls, there were a lot of big polka dot dresses and scarves.

Jaz as Sandy from Grease and Me in a big polka dot poodle dress

Spinach & Philly Dip

2010-05-07T22:41:00.002+08:00

This is one of the best dips I've had in awhile and it's really easy to make. The recipe was stolen off a friend.

Ingredients
1x chopped spinach (drained)
1x 250g philadelphia cream cheese
1x 250g sour cream
1x Continental Spring Vegetable Soup Mix

All you do is mix it all up! and Voila - yummy tasting dip!

Tastes really good with carrot sticks!

Taking a stroll in East Perth

2010-04-25T16:13:00.004+08:00

East Perth

It's a nice, warm Sunday and a perfect day for walking and taking photos. Rob has got a new camera, Lumix gf1, so he can accompany me on my photography expeditions to improve my photo taking skills.

Blue Bridge

I noticed a lot of cyclists around the area which is a great to see and makes me want to ride my bike more often.

Penrose Impossible Triangle

The Penrose impossible triangle is a fascinating structure that appears in the middle of the round about of Plain Street and East Parade. It's made of three metal bars and when viewed at a certain axis forms an optical illusion of a triangle with conflicting sides.

Optical Illusion - impossible triangle

Penrose Impossible Triangle - View 1

Penrose Impossible Triangle - Completed

More of my East Perth Photos are available on my Flickr Page.

Microwavable slippers!

2010-04-20T21:10:00.004+08:00

Look at this superb invention! Microwavable slippers! Would definitely come in handy for winter! They can be found on RonnieB.

***Edit*** Also available at your local THINGZ gift store. Comes in boots as well.

Good ol' lomography

2010-04-17T11:43:00.007+08:00

Bike Riding Fisheye 2
Originally uploaded by maibuzz

I got the fisheye 2 lomo camera for my birthday this year from my brother and had just recently developed a roll of film. I love the fisheye effect! For those of you that don't know what the fisheye is, it is a wide-angle lens that takes hemispherical photos! Please feel free to view my other fisheye 2 pictures on my Flickr Page.

Front yard
Originally uploaded by maibuzz

I bought the supersampler for Robbie for Christmas. The supersampler has 4 lenses that takes four sequential panoramic shots! To advance the film on a film camera, you usually have to turn a knob that clicks however with the supersampler, it uses a ripcord which unfortunately gets jammed pretty frequently. So there were only two pictures that turned out in the roll of film. (The rest got jammed :()

My attempt to be Self-sufficient

2010-04-14T18:16:00.003+08:00

Probably not the best time to start gardening but I wanted to grow my own vegies and be a little bit more healthier and my purse would appreciate it too.

I've bought lettuce, coriander & parsley seeds to grow in my backyard. My tomatoes from last season has reached its peak and was pulled out but all the tomatoes that dropped around that area has started to sprout so I'm happy to get more tomatoes soon! My gardener has planted chilli, watermelon and rockmelon in my garden, unfortunately he doesn't know that I don't eat any of those! I didn't have the heart to tell him!

I love dinner parties

2010-04-14T18:13:00.004+08:00

This would be the second successful dinner party I've held. I love dinner parties because it means, I don't have to cook for the rest of the week! There was curry, lasagne, beef casserole, salad, cupcakes, fairy bread and chicken and red wine on the menu! Again, we overestimated the servings but it was very delicious indeed!

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

2010-04-03T21:30:00.002+08:00

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

Stieg Larrson's international bestseller has been made into a movie in Sweden. Published in 2005, Stieg Larrson died from a heart attack in 2004. It is about a disgraced journalist, Mikael Blomkvist who is hired by Henrik Vanger to find out what happened to his missing niece of 40 years. This book introduces interesting characters such as Salander (The girl with the dragon tattoo) who is a hacker and helps Blomkvist in the investigation. It covers issues of sadism, rape, murder and twisted love morals, quite a boring start in my opinion but quite captivating after he starts the investigation.
An interesting read.
4/5

Happy chocolate day!

2010-04-03T20:52:00.005+08:00

Happy Easter everyone.

I got an easter bunny from both work places!! I was so excited! I even had my name taped on the bunny!

I have not been updating my blog, I have been busy working 5 days a week, 4 days for Uni prac and 1 day at my part-time job, so bloody tiring.

I did get up to - mini golf at Wanneroo.

Such a beautiful place with lakes and fountains and straw huts scattered around the area.

All the holes have their own unique quirkiness which is really fun.

There's a basketball hoop for one of them, you have to get it through the hoop to score!

Tunnels.

This is one of my favourites, if you look carefully there's a tyre thats split and you need to roll the ball around inside the tyre to get it through!

Other stuff I've been up to;

dinner with the girls
movie night at weifs
penguin island on good friday

Witchery witchery

2010-03-17T09:15:00.004+08:00

If you purchase this month's 'MarieClaire' magazine, you'll get a free $30 voucher to spend at Witchery and there's no minimum spend! Also, becoming a member at witchery can score you birthday vouchers and other random stuff. This is what I bought with my voucher! :D It looks rather similar to the Burberry trench coat but obviously not as expensive!

Casual Trench - Toffee

Burburry trench

Attention Book Lovers

2010-03-12T13:07:00.003+08:00

I was introduced to an online book store by Jia called the Book Depository. It is based in the UK and offers free delivery world-wide and the books are extremely cheap! I ordered a book called 'Cross Stitch' by Diana Gabaldon for only $9AUD on the 4th of March and it just arrived today! So the delivery is fairly quick, about a week's wait. The books in a good condition, pretty happy with my purchase.

The land of the sheep shaggers

2010-03-10T07:59:00.024+08:00

Ahh my poor neglected blog..I have been off travelling for a month and have come back to uni bombarded with 40% assignments and whatnot. I went back to Christmas Island and travelled to singapore but the best trip would definitely be New Zealand! It started out great by me and Weif almost missing the bag drop off counter by 1 minute! We had a big fat sticker on Weif's bag to remind us so too!

Day 1
We arrived in Melbourne at 1am in the morning so we stayed at the 'Greenhouse backpackers' which was ok because we got to have a private room. The accomodation included 'free breakfast' which sounded good until we arrived in the kitchen that morning to find pieces of bread everywhere and a big ass bucket full of jam and many butter knives stuck in it and another big bucket filled with peanut butter. That's backpackers for ya. Our flight to Christchurch wasn't until 6pm that afternoon so we were stuck in Melbourne until then....you know what that means! SHOPPING!! We headed straight to the closest DFO and bought a few things but decided that we didn't have much room in our luggages and had to bring it to nz and back!

Day 2
We arrived in Christchurch at 1am and our lovely friend Novi & her husband had come all the way from Wellington to pick us up from the airport. We stayed at Hotel SO in the city and they had lovely see-through bathrooms.
We walked around town and met up with Deka and her brother's family and headed to Kaikoura around lunch time with Novi's friends. In Kaikoura we got to stay at a backpackers right next door to Tuti's restaurant and it was called 'the lazy shags', delightful name. Elle & Jamie came later in the afternoon and we ate delicious food (I had lamb curry) at Tuti's Restaurant (Highly recommended). Later that night we went to the local pubs 'Aldephi' which was really quiet and we were the only ones there really and later shifted to the 'Whaler' which was a bit more lively.

Day 3
We woke up to breakfast made from Tuti's even though they were closed! Chicken and cranberry jam paninis and coffee/tea! It was so lovely and the girls followed Deka to the Fyffe Country lodge where Novi was going to have her wedding. We spent the day decorating the place and it looked gorgeous!

We decided to chuck a little hen's night for Novi even though she had one last week with her kiwi friends. We had a girly sleepover with pizza and wine for dinner and apple pie and ice cream for dessert. Oh and penis straws! that glow in the dark!
Day 4
The wedding day is today!! Lorraine had picked us up to finish the remainder of the decorating at the venue and we went back to Novi's to get ready for the wedding. The wedding was amazing, it was so beautiful. The night was filled with food, music, dancing and weif, elle & I made a speech which went ok I guess.

Day 5
Today we left Kaikoura. Elle & Jamie had a flight back to Canberra the next morning and weif & I were going to start our little adventure around the South Island. Jeremy took us to Christchurch around lunch time when we said our goodbyes and we picked up our Campervan and stayed the night in Christchurch.

Day 6
We had a nice early start of 4am in the morning as we took Elle & Jamie to the airport and headed to Hokitika our first stop. At each town there's sort've like a visitor's centre called i-site where you can grab free maps and stuff. Hokitika was a pretty nice town and we went to visit Dorothy Falls and the Hokitika Gorges which is like ice blue! It's so pretty!

Dorothy Falls

Hokitika Gorges

We didn't stay the night, we headed straight to Franz Josef and stayed at a caravan park. We made us of the kitchen and had tinned beef and rice for dinner.
Day 7
We got up early in the morning to catch our helicopter ride to the twin glaciers! Fox & Frans Josef Glacier.

After our little heli-hike we headed to Fox Glacier Town where we visited Lake Matheson. We decided to head to Wanaka as it took a few hours to get to. As you drive down to Wanaka, it's one of the most amazing views you'll ever see with with Lake Hawea and Lake Wanaka on either side.

Day 8
Puzzling World! was our next place to visit, there's a maze and an optical illusion area. The leaning tower of Wanaka is pretty awesome too. Weif left me to rot in the maze as I had no sense of direction and came out like half an hour later than she did.

Headed to Queenstown after Puzzling world and we had a romantic dinner at the Gondola and watched the Haka dance.

Weif was part of the Haka dance.

Day 9
Today was an action-packed day as we did the 'Awesome Foursome' package which consisted of Bungy jumping, white water rafting, shotover jet and a helicopter ride. We had a bright early start of 7:30 and the first activity was the Bungy jump, way to wake you up! We did the Nevis Highwire Bungy which is the tallest bungy in nz of 134m!

See that little cable car look thing that where we jumped from into the Nevis Canyon!
The next thrill was the shotover jet experience and it does 360 spins and zig zags through the shotover river and the rocks get really close to the boat. That was really fun. Then we took a helicopter ride up to the Skippers Canyon and we went white water rafting down the shotover River. There were different names for each rapid such as the toilet, pinball, jaws and the last one as we went through the tunnel was grade 5 (the worst) and it was appropriately named 'the mother-in-law'.

Finished the day with a nice gourmet pizza from Winnie's and did some shopping and went to bed.

Day 10
We woke up at 5am cause we're nuts and left at around 6.30-7am to Christchurch which is approximately a 6 hour drive. We got to Chch town at around 2 and did some shopping, OMG WE LOVE GLASSONS! It's a New Zealand company which is also found in Melbourne and they have a website!!! www.glassons.com and they deliver to Australia too! Then we headed to Kaikoura because there isn't much to do in Chch, not a very touristy area and surprised Novi at work! Kind of. Got to eat lovely food once again at Tuti's restaurant and got some rest.

Day 11
The AMP show was on in Kaikoura which is like a country fair, a bit like the Perth Royal show. We had rainbow snow cones and hot dogs. Novi came real close to purchasing a puppy but decided it wasn't the best time to get one with the wedding costs and all.

We headed back to Christchurch at nightfall and that ends our little new zealand adventure.
Did some shopping in melbourne and bought krispy kremes on our way back!

Randomness: teapot cake, dragon fruit & new crocs

2010-01-31T16:50:00.006+08:00

I'm stuck on Christmas Island and got to spend my birthday with the Paros. Can't wait to head to Singapore on the 4th of February! Haven't been back since 2005! It's been too long. Here's a random post on random things :D.

This is my beautiful teapot cake from Utopia that Robbie bought for my pretend birthday on Monday 25th where I was spoiled with lots of presents from his family and him. Yay!

This is the inside of a dragon fruit which I have never tasted before until today. It is sooo pink, such a lovely colour and it tastes a bit like kiwi fruit!

This is my new pair of crocs 'Malindi' that I got for my birthday from CI Bunnings. Beautiful Aqua colour that matches my nail polish. And I'm wearing my gorgeous diamond ring from Robbie as well.

Sleepy bunny

2010-01-20T19:50:00.010+08:00

It's been terribly hot the last couple of days and my bunny just lies down all day. The poor thing is wearing a big white fur coat that it can't remove. I've placed an ice bottle to keep it cool, sometimes it lies next to it.

Snowflake lying down on a hot day.

Snowflake notices me taking a picture of him.

Snowflake ignores me and continues to sleep.

My new fascination

2010-01-20T19:30:00.003+08:00

I have an obsession with headbands & flowers at the moment. There are just so many designs and they seem to be appearing in every female store! I went into forever new today and they had some really cute headbands but then again I love everything in that shop!

My new cupcake stand!

2010-01-16T18:39:00.005+08:00

My new cupcake stand from Phil! I've been looking for a cupcake stand after attending Fel's fabulous tea party, except the ones I've found at the shops look like crap and are silver or black. Anyway, I made some baby cakes with pink icing, sprinkled with some pink edible glitter. The stand actually holds 13 cupcakes except I've only made 12 but my sneaky photography skills took care of that problem.

Fairy dusted babycakes

New year's resolutions

2010-01-15T19:28:00.003+08:00

It's halfway through the first month of the year so I thought what a great time to think of some new year's resolutions to reflect and resolve on. My list would probably look very similar to everyone else's list but I'm hoping to make these changes this year.I.e. stop being so lazy and start doing things I plan to do!! Here's some of my personal goals.

1. Fitness - last year my fitness program consisted of nothing - nil, nought, null, zilch - big fat ZERO! Hoping to join either a pilates or muay thai classes after my holidays (March onwards).

2. Keep track of my spendings - I've been keeping a money diary to see that little things do add up! I've also been making and taking lunch to work more often which is good for both my health and my wallet. Hopefully will continue to keep this up!

3. Learn to use my camera - my brother gave me a Canon 450D and hopefully I'll put it to use instead of having it sit around collecting beautiful dust particles.

4. Plan another trip - because I love travelling!

5. Relax more - and use my face masks and foot bath and just spend time doing nothing and contain my sanity in this hectic world.

6. Read more books - any good suggestions?

That's all I can think of for now, will add to it later!

How to cut your man's hair

2010-01-09T22:56:00.005+08:00

Today Rob bought a hair clipper set and I learnt how to cut hair from this youtube video: CLICK HERE

He usually gets a short haircut so that is what I tried to achieve! First time cutting hair, was quite nervous to start of with but it was fun in the end!

RESULTS!!

BEFORE

AFTER

New Year Nails!

2010-01-04T20:24:00.000+08:00

Celebratory style!

Christmas in Bunbury

2010-01-02T20:42:00.032+08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010!!!!

Christmas Pressies

Got to open presents early this year - 23rd of December to save us from bringing all the presents to Bunbury! We headed to Bunbury on the 24th and there's a new freeway that leads straight to Bunbury so it took around 2 hours.

Master Bedroom

Dining Room/Kitchen

Day 1:

We stayed in an apartment just off Ocean Drive and there's a nice view of the sea!View from apartment

It's just a 1 minute walk to Back Beach and it's gorgeous.

Day 2:
CHRISTMAS DAY!!
We started off the day by touring around the area and went to Tuart walk - which is a nature trail that only had trees, trees and more trees.
Later in the afternoon, we went to Koombana Bay to go try out our new snorkels because there aren't any waves there.

Koombana Bay

Day 3:
Boxing Day!
We actually spent the whole day at the shops!!! Boxing day sales! Bought a new pair of earrings. Swam at Koombana Bay again later in the day.

Day 4:
There is a small wildlife park near the Big Swamp in Bunbury that holds many birds and marsupials that you may feed and watch. We fed kangaroos, ducks, peacocks, swans, rabbits, emus, and the list goes on.

The Big Swamp

Bunny rabbits

CockatooFeeding the pretty bird

Beautiful Peacock Didn't get to see it fan its tail Mr Kangaroo Colourful parrots

Goosey

After the wildlife park we headed to the Gem Stone Museum where a nice German man named Heinz told us about his adventures in collecting various stones and items from around the world. There was lots of sparkly gem stones as wells as insects, shells, vintage guns that was on display.

Next stop, we went to the Busselton jetty which is meant to be the longest wooden jetty in the Southern Hemisphere. It is 1841metres long!

In the afternoon, we broke tradition and swam at Back beach instead of Koombana Bay!

Day 5:
Day was planned out by Rob's sisters and first place we visited was the local chocolate factory called 'Taffys' which is a really small shop that sells chocolates and candies. We bought a few to try and got free salt water taffys to try.

After Taffy's we went to the lookout tower and it had a really nice view of the coast.

Lighthouse

View of Lighthouse from the lookout tower

Lookout tower from afar

Lookout tower

View from the lookout tower

After the lookout tower we went to another jetty but this time in Bunbury and walked on it. Later in the afternoon, we swam at Koombana Bay.

Day 6:
Today was Rob & my day to plan out the programs for the day! Early in the morning we headed to the Dolphin Centre which is on Koombana Bay. It's not worth it, if you're heading to Bunbury, because the 'interactive zone' is just the beach area at the front which is like free access to the public. However the money does go towards some dolphin charity or research. We didn't see any dolphins - dissappointed. Apparently we missed them by ten minutes! Blehh.. they swim right up to the shore!

Next we went on a day trip to Dunsborough which is about an hours drive, bit less. We were going to the Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse which we saw in a brochure. On the way to the lighthouse we stopped at the Dunsborough town for a quick toilet break and refreshments.

After the lighthouse we went to Ngilgi Cave which is one of the highlights of the trip! Ngilgi cave is located in Yallingup right next to Dunsborough. The cave was found in 1899 and is about 45 metres deep!

Ngilgi cave

After the cave we explored Yallingup which is a pretty little place with a nice reef and big houses.

Yallingup trees

Yallingup reefYallingup Houses

From Yallingup we drove down to Margaret river and visted the Chocolate factory. Grabbed a few handfuls of chocolate samples and went to the liqueur place (forgot the name of it). For $2 you could try three liqueurs and one pre-mixed drinks. Didn't really like any of the ones I tried though unfortunately. By 4'oclock we were starving because I forgot to include lunch into our day programme! We had Chooks for lunch and drove to see the coast and the 'margaret river'.

Day 7:
We were worn out by all the activities we squished into a week. We went to the beach in front of dolphin centre and tried our luck at seeing the dolphins and failed miserably. Lounged around all day and swam at Koombana bay later in the day. At night we cleaned and packed up to got ready to head back to Perth!

Board Game night

2009-12-21T19:12:00.005+08:00

Ahhh how I miss playing board games, monopoly, guess who, connect four to name a few. Last Friday, a friend was house sitting and decided to call some friends over and we ended up playing board games all night. We played Pictionary and Cluedo and a few card games. It was such a fun night that it inspired me to buy PICTIONARY MAN!! I've been seeing it on the ads recently and another friend also mentioned it to me.

I'm so in love with my Pictionary man, it was a little digital screen at the bottom that tells you what to draw and there's a rectangular and cicular prisms? which you may also use as props! Got to play it the other night and you can get really creative; for example Rob had the word 'thief' and he drew a table with an item and erased the item! (It uses a white board marker and cloth).

Rudolph reindeer car costume

2009-12-20T22:38:00.002+08:00

I've been looking everywhere for these damn ears and nose! I tried Kmart, Woolworths & the Reject shop. Nothing! I then saw a lady driving a car with these ears and ran towards her and asked her where she purchased them. From Thingz she told me! Hurrayyy! Have a good Christmas!! Xx