fuchsia fragments: 2014

happy new year

Ahh... and here we were worried that we wouldn't make it onto the boat (by boat, i mean a massive ship that was subbed the "Starship Enterprise" for the rest of the night) on Wednesday evening for our work Christmas Party. I was so excited not only did we get to leave on time (4 p.m. is when the coaches departed our office) but we had an ABSOLUTE BLAST. Seeing the storm on the water was amazing although it did dampen much of the three level ship. It was a shame that we couldn't spend some more time with one of the two live bands on the rooftop level because it was stunning. We spent probably about a half hour up there after grabbing some toilet paper to wipe down the wet seats. That's when I managed to get this lovely night time shot of the bridge.

And so we spent much of the rest (if not most) of the evening mingling with the sales people and everyone else. One of the AEs were clearly trying to suck up by taking this awesome photo of my colleagues and I ;)

Yes we did have a pretty well organised after-party at Bungalow 8 where the real hard stuff (GnTs) came out. Surprisingly I managed to stick around until midnight and by that time, my feet were dead tired and my voice was so raspy that I definitely needed to go home and get some shut eye if I had any hope of functioning normally the next day.

I think I did alright. At least I did not have bloodshot eyes or embarrassed myself hahaha. Unlike some who partied ALL night. No one on Level 9 i don't think... good start!

And of course, I had my friends over for some christmas dinner last night. Doing it all yourself is actually really tiring so I think I would love to do what Velda & Nob did this year (and where I went to today) where everyone brings something. I was in charge of dessert of course so it was pavlova with mixed berries and one of the gingerbread houses which was DEMOLISHED but sooo good. I think half the fun is taking it apart! Winner!!! There was so much food and I didn't think we would finish it all but we did pretty good. Tons of sashimi, prawns, beef, chicken wings, skewers, steaks, salads, fruit and nibbles... and cider, beer and wine (duh!!). I didn't see it in them since some of them are such tiny things but I reckon that outeat yesterday's crowd by miles. Yes, there were a few more guys but still!!!

I literally had to take a powernap after the late lunch. I think we had 22 Jump St on which was pretty hilarious. So it was a very relaxing afternoon. A few rounds of taboo and some game that Velda made up. A few youtube videos (Victoria's Secret Fashion Show) and all around an easy day. Ate more of the leftovers for dinner and feeling so good. Oscar and Mac (the dogs) snoozed and played with us. They are soooo well behaved. Wish Maxxie or Nessie were as good and sociable. Would totally have bought them.

And the drive home was a breeze... it makes me want to drive to work. One day...

christmas baking

So tiring but so worth it

12/06/2014 11:20:00 pm

catch up

The Rook + the Cow & Moon

12/01/2014 09:42:00 pm

bondi

Icebergs

11/27/2014 09:51:00 am

family

Family time

11/24/2014 11:19:00 am

I probably can’t write this without coming across as a little selfish and uncaring.

My cousin who has recently completed the HSC returned home last night for a few months. And boy, was I excited about that. Not that I talk to him or interact with him or even have anything much to do with him but it means less weight on my mum’s shoulders. And more time for my family, just the 4 of us and the two furry mutts. And it started perfectly with Sunday lunch – we all sat down and make salad and sandwiches and then sat around the TV afterwards. The change in food and being able to eat more salad and raw food and non-Asian food is amazing. (You could argue that I could have this anytime, but you have to remember that I’m spoilt and my mum cooks… so we just eat whatever she makes most of the time. And it is really hard to cater for 2 or 3 different tastes so she usually makes something that my cousin will eat and we will too… but just not our preference. That is, lots of pork and chicken. Boring.)

I had a quiet weekend, thankfully. Apparently it was really hot… so everyone keeps saying. Yeah, I was in Sydney but for some reason, I didn’t think it was melting hot!!! Not sure why! I mean, it was hot when I had to move one of the cars out of the sun and back into the garage. And I did stay indoors most of the day but usually our first floor gets really hot and my room and actually bearable (without aircon) and I didn’t feel too warm and even the dogs didn’t want to come inside for too long. I even managed to make some chocolate chip cookies without them melting all over the place.

Cutest thing last night. Godbrothers (yes, plural!) came to visit. Both needed my help.. ngaw. Anyways, think Leonard is in like. Hahah, but its really sweet and cute that he confides in me (more than his mum!). I full know her name and stuff now… didn’t even take very long to get it out of him! He’s like, I’ll bring her over for dinner. HAHAHA. Sometimes, its really good to have people like these munchkins in your life. Because they bring me back to reality somewhat and make me realise that some things have more merit than others. That imaginery list that I have – the one where Mr Right has to tick all the boxes? He just made me rethink a few things… oh then he said I was really old. :O

birthday

Little Brothers

11/19/2014 03:23:00 pm

It was rather weird to be the only person who wasn't a parent or High School Student friend at the party but it was lots of fun nonetheless. And being introduced to all his high school friends was funny. There were three Helens. All from St George. What the? Oh girls, seemingly so shy around the boys. It's a bit like when you are given all this advice and wisdom that you don't understand at the time. And suddenly, as you get older, these things click into place... hard to describe. But it felt a bit like that last night. As in I was the slightly older person, who would have been given all this advice as a teenager only not to understand until I was who I am today. (Deep, I know...)

Basked in the glory I received for the amazing LoL cake. Yes!!! It was a good idea after all. They all seemed to know what it was, etc even though I didn't! Thank you google and pinterest for the images. Hahah! When teenagers act like excited primary school kids again over something so mundane as cake, you know it is a good effort!

I had to take a photo of all the people taking a photo of my cake. These things made the long hours worth it. And of course when people come up to me and ask if I can make their birthday cake. Marketing in its truest form. Free.

I distinctly remember the last time I went to the Garden Buffet at the Star. I was around about the same age as Leonard. I.e., senior high and thinking this was one of the cooler places to hang out. Whole bunch of people who I thought were my friends, I guess they were at the time. Gosh, haven't I changed since then? Good to know that some things don't and these places are still popular with older teens. I guess it makes sense? Where else can you eat copious amounts of food on a limited budget. And I am sure the guys would put a pretty decent effort in getting their money's worth. I know I didn't last night... at all. Just wasn't so appealing to me.

I seem to come across the casino complex quite often lately. Have been by more than a handful of times in the past few months. I am beginning to feel like I know the place backwards. Don't usually think of Harbourside / Pyrmont as a place to usually hang cause it is so far from everything else.

Found it hilarious last night that Ari preferred to sit with the girls that with me. Ha ha ha pimping already. And he gets along with all the other older kids there so it was really nice to see the relationship between older and younger brother. And they were all pretend arm wrestling with him and letting him win. Very cute. Ari looks up to Leonard almost in an idolizing way and he was so excited that it was Leonard's birthday yesterday. I wonder if my sister use to look up to me like that? Perhaps not, given that our age difference isn't so great.

Love love LOVE this photo of the two. I may have always wished for older brothers but I guess having these two younger godbros is just as special. And I am always so touched when they think of me or Wendie when they do something or want to come over or need help. Just like how I was a little surprised when Leonard personally asked for a 'massive cake' for his birthday. (Insert self constructive criticism on cake... Bottom tier needs to be iced better so that the layers of cake are not so obvious under the fondant. Requires thicker layer of ganache). Happy birthday lil bro ;)

baking

Productive

11/17/2014 10:00:00 am

There are just some weekends when you do a lot of things, and then feel that you can do more.

This last weekend was one of them. On Saturday, it was our typical brunch date in Surry Hills. It doesn’t happen often that I go to the same café twice within a very close time period but this was just one of those places where I really wanted something off the menu because I saw someone else eating it and it looked really good. And it was. French toast with grilled bananas and maple syrup plus crispy bacon (I actually asked for ‘extra’ crispy but it was just crispy to me). It was even more worthwhile cause I got a parking spot literally on the doorstep on the café. Big win. Chatted a couple of hours away about life, other people, you know that kind of girly gossipy stuff that we all like to indulge in.

I actually had planned to do a fair bit on Saturday and I think I did! I made the batches of white chocolate cake for Leonard’s 18^th cake, cooled, sliced, stacked and iced. I made my Christmas jams and burnt my arm in the process (but I swear by Vaseline, the white petroleum jelly kind – swelling gone in a few hours). I was so concerned that the raspberry jam didn’t set as thickly as I like jams to… I guess we’ll see but when I tipped one of the jars over in the morning, it wasn’t runny so that’s a good sign? And I even made my Christmas fruit cake. That took ages mainly because I didn’t have very many of the small cake tins so they had to be done in batches. And the cakes take 80 mins to cook so… there were a few lots of 80 minutes going on. And I was baking into the wee hours of Sunday morning. Whoops, perhaps I should have saved it for another day?

So as you’d expect, it was a bit of a Sunday sleep in and then it was cake decorating time. Ohhh, I’ve waited so long for this moment. The kneading fondant bit actually made me gag (I think it was either the smell of all the sugar or something I ate before) so that was rather unpleasant. But once I had the cakes iced with fondant and the real fun began… it was awesome. It was like thinking of so many things to put on it on the spot and random placing of figurines until they looked good. The cake looked epic and I was really happy with it. Yay.

I even made the cake pops that someone had asked for so I was feeling super accomplished and even managed to watch a few episodes of TVB (OMG, have not done that in… years?) and was in bed by 10. And up at 5:30 and ran 5k’s.

Think I may be a little high at the moment? Naturally, of course.

Anyway, I can’t help but notice this because it is kind of a pet peeve of mine. When people use slang at work. Actually, it isn’t even slang, it is just inappropriate use of the English language. Words and phrases like “you’s” and “heaps busy” and “but however” and “yeah cause…” or in email and commas and other punctuation is used in incorrect places (yes, I am one of those people who will read something and pause mentally when I see a comma or full stop)… it makes me wonder if people still care about the English language or if teachers are teaching children all the little things that matter (more likely, the child does not bother to learn the correct use of words and grammar). I remember my primary school teachers saying “You’s is not a word! Ewes is the plural for female sheep.” And “A comma is used to separate or group things not just cause you think there needs to be one after every 5 words”. And finally… writing emails like you were actually speaking to someone in conversation… big no!!!

bilpin

Cherry picking!

11/13/2014 02:21:00 pm

bondi

The remnants of sugar hit, that hazy Saturday and Sunday on the Sand

11/03/2014 11:11:00 am

I thought it was touted as probably one of the highlights of Sugar Hit 2014. I was quite thoroughly disappointed by it all. The famed Vertical Garden by the chefs at Signorelli Gastronomia did not seem to wow as much as I thought it would and some aspects of the dessert didn’t quite seem to fit together. Yes, it was visually aesthetic although the green wafer was probably more kryptonite than leafy green. I didn’t feel that the chocolate soil added much depth and the overpowering flowery-perfume taste of the frozen nougat made it difficult to taste much else. I did like the pistachios encrusted on the garden wall and the pretty miniscule fresh flowers too. The berry coulis was tart and cut through the sweetness and I only wish there was more of it. Put it this way: the Yalumba dessert wine wasn’t very sweet when accompanied by this dessert. And that’s saying something.

It wasn’t actually the dessert itself that contributed to my feeling of disappointment. It was the (and this is my opinion only) way it was all handled. I guess when we booked, we thought we were really lucky to secure a table for 8 at 7 PM considering that they advertise for a start of 8 PM. I guess you make the assumption that they are so busy that they have decided to allow additional bookings an hour earlier. But we arrived at the restaurant right on time only to be told by the ever-talkative maître d that the kitchen was running an hour behind schedule with the desserts and that not all the servings were ready. At this point, a few questions popped up in my mind. Our party is here, why can’t you serve the ready portions to us first? And make up the time in the kitchen as your wait for other guests to arrive? Surely, you can’t be telling me that your 108+ servings of Sugar Hit and not one was ready? These items are supposed to be scaleable! So… suspicion set in.

Our [“starving”] party was more than happy to go with the offered table and enjoy some dinner whilst the kitchen frantically worked on the desserts (supposedly). And of course, this is probably the game that the restaurant was playing all along. Because I saw another party of 6 do the exact same thing (another group of 20-somethings catching up it seemed). Pyrmont isn’t the greatest location and if you wanted to dine elsewhere, it is the Casino or back in the city. So a gamble that pays off extravagantly for the restaurant. We all ordered mains, and a couple of us wines. My calzone with ricotta, ham and mushroom was bland at best. They don’t offer chilli flakes nor is there salt and pepper for diners on the table. I realise that some restaurants believe that their meals should be eaten as is but seasoning is completely up to one’s individual preference so these condiments should be readily available! The service was mostly crisp and yet again the talkative Italian waiter was funny and charming if not borderline brazen. If one was cynical, you could see it as an act to divert you from all their cunning tactics to have you dine with them? ;)

Anyways, we had a long stay [long to me at least!] at the restaurant and I think one dessert to share between two would have been more than enough. They could have free poured the complementary wine a little more as the glasses weren’t quite standard dessert wine servings and since the wine was sponsored, it seemed a little stingy. . . I won’t be back.

Saturday was a bit of a haze. It was a hazy day. It was hot. It was windy. I was tired. Unbelievably so. My day was broken into bits with the highlight being going to the fish market and spending an about not too much more to the amount I spent with Val the weekend before but buying so much more. Like a whole salmon for sashimi. And tuna, kingfish, oysters and prawns. So good. Had some family friends over for dinners. Yummo, especially with all that Margaret River wine! Never thought this would happen again but got invited to an 18^th birthday. Reorganised my supplies for Christmas. Even put the wreath out already. Not long to go now. . .

Sunday was spent with Jan. We haven’t caught up one on one in a few months so took the opportunity to go see this year’s Sculptures by the Sea. I was more interested in the Sea and the Housing. Lol. It was a lovely day though but a little on the breezy side. And parents with their irritable kids were out full force. Please keep a tow of your spawn, they should keep to the left, be quiet, not touch the artworks that say ‘please do not touch’ and walk obediently alongside mumsy or pops. Not 10 metres behind or 3 metres to their right! We ended up walking all the way to Bronte and back. Hmm, not sure I’d so it again though. I am not much of an artistic or creative person so did not understand very many of the pieces (or did not try to anyway). And definitely not a fan of crowds. On the bus back, helped a group of American tourists find their way back to their hotel in the CBD. My good deed for the day was done and with that my weekend was done too. So so tired.

career choices

You have a choice, make one.

10/31/2014 11:56:00 am

photos

Sunday Snaps

10/27/2014 08:43:00 pm

beach

Sunday: Moments of happiness

10/27/2014 11:20:00 am

This weekend has been one of the most productive, relaxing and content weekends that I’ve had in the second half of this year so far. Seeing a little boy smile and appreciate something you did for him through his eyes. Batting down the hatches and putting in the hard yards to get that Tax Return done. Taking the time to spend with family and having lunch with grandma. And even something as mundane as picking up groceries with the parents. Starting on my Christmas shopping.

But it was Sunday that really made my weekend. She’s back again! Our Valerie Rose is back!!! And we did so much that it was so worthwhile. Even I am amazed at how much you can squeeze into a day.

Need to start the day the health way with brunch! The Rustic Pearl which is another hole in the wall kind of café came highly recommended from a few credible sources (yes, urbanspoon was one of them but also from real-life people). They are located in the heart of Surry Hills and a few stones throw away from Messina. The apple mint tea was very refreshing although a tad on the sweet side for me. The addition of pomegranate was very clever. Oh and this café is Turkish-inspired in case you are wondering. The choices were pretty adequate and we all ended up getting eggs, one way or another. Royale, Omelette and scrambled and washed down with plenty of coffee for the caffeine drinkers. I do recommend trying but would I go back anytime soon? No but only because there are so many other options in Surry Hills and I have barely scraped the surface.

Next up, we decided to catch some sun at the beach. So it was a short drive to La Perouse. I like it for the views, the walk across the rocks and being able to see the aeroplanes. In hindsight, probably not the best beach beach to go to. Disappointing to see so much broken glass on the sand (take care!) and I can only imagine why parents would let their kids run rampant around. However, this was more than adequate for our needs today… we went for a lovely walk along the rocks and came across Mr Pelican who was lapping it up from all his human admirers. We saw divers, fishermen, a couple of fancy boats and went for a walk along the beach. The water was still pretty cool but it didn’t stop us from spending a couple of hours here. Thank goodness today was lucky parking day and there were no difficulties at any occasion to find a parking spot.

To satisfy our dear Val’s craving for all things seafood, the now very touristy and commercial Sydney Fish Markets were next up. The highlight of the trip here was that a car from behind me almost clipped me as he tried to overtake me to get onto the Anzac Bridge. So not cool dude. What is wrong with doing the right thing and following me. The light was red hence why I was going slow. Anyways, the markets were still pretty packed at 3:30 but we still managed to shop up a lot. Clearly, we ate with our eyes and before we knew it we had: prawns, salmon and kingfish sashimi, a Moreton bag bug and lots and lots of oysters. And a bottle of Sav Blanc. Can’t forget the wine. And it was most important to keep the wine cold over the seafood. Lol. Rather than sitting around the packed verandah outside, we decided to go to the Botanic Gardens and have a mini picnic instead.

Such a winner. First parking spot right outside the gardens and then being able to enjoy it all with water views. Had a cooler bag for the wine, had ice and had technology. Picture perfect moment. Funny to hear afterwards that Mandy and her friends were having a picnic there too. Too bad we didn’t run into each other.

And not complete Sydney visit these days without a drink at the Opera Bar. Again, we found a nice seat outside facing the bridge. Some bubbly. Watched as the cruise ship left port and watched as the world passed by.

Finally, headed to dinner at Jonga Jip in Eastwood. Lol… my GPS… took us to the other side of the station which was a bit fail. So we had to drive around. And so we ended up getting there only just before Donna (who had to go back for the cake pops and flowers). We were quite full from seafood but still managed an effort in getting the whopping 10 side dishes, soup and hot pot a good go. We had to doggy bag for the doggies a lot of the hot pot. And we smelt like Korean BBQ afterwards. Sunday evenings are a good day to drive from Eastwood back to Hurstville. Minimal traffic, 25 minute drive. Worthwhile. Not so much on a Saturday morning or afternoon. Would take more than double the time. People always ask me would I ever live in the North and I always answer ‘no’. It’s the same concept for them not wanting to live in the South. Crossing the bridge, traffic, tolls. I much prefer the Inner West or Eastern Suburbs. One day, one day. Although where I am (transport wise) is not so bad at all.

Was so ready for bed by the time I got home at a respectable hour of 10 p.m. but considering a 10 a.m. start, it was a long day. It did take a little time to shut down though. Had a good sleep, hope you all did too and got up for the gym (yay!). It was pretty busy. And I am in need of new swimming goggles and cap. Must get this soon.

chores

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