Last Friday Night

Last Friday night I heard about an EOFY drinks night at Barista Haus in Rockdale. Usually they are just a 9-5 coffee-and-sandwiches place so this was a bit out of the ordinary, but it was FREE so naturally I rounded up the rest of the Rockdale crew (i.e. James and our friend Ben - hello if you're reading!) and headed out.

The lady hosting was really lovely and the drinks were really free (and as you can see, not el cheapo ones either). We also grabbed this delicious cheese plate for $20. They had a smaller one for ten bucks, but I was pretty starving and it was well worth it.

The ambience was a little lacking and it wasn't as busy as I had expected, perhaps because there was no sign outside so passers-by probably thought it was a private function. But it was still a pretty fun place to hang out and I think with dimmer lighting and louder music it would be a super fun little bar, I hope they'll keep doing things like this!

On Saturday morning James and I went to the Ramsgate Organic Foodies Market, which is always a treat.

At night I met Meg (hi Meg!) to eat way too many dumplings at Taste of Shanghai (thanks Brendan for the recommendation!) and watch The Fault In Our Stars.

I haven't decided how good it was yet - it was slightly unrealistic, but in the way that I imagined the world really was when I was a teenager, so given that it's for and about teenagers that could be a strength. What I can say for sure is that it is SUPER SAD. Everyone cried.

James and I met a couple of the boys at a serious board games shop called Good Game in Hurstville because they were having a big sale.

It's not my favourite place, but we availed ourselves of their free games library and gaming tables for a bit of Cards Against Humanity.

Afterwards we decided to grab a late lunch. The boys from Peacock Trattoria have opened up a new restaurant in Gymea, the Italian Stallion, so we were really keen to give it a try.

It's not exactly the same as Peacock's but I think if you liked one you'd like the other.

Especially if you're a cocktails enthusiast - these were great!

We started with a ham, mascarpone and mushroom pizza to share. 

Peacock's have the same thing without mushrooms and I love it, but this was even better. I think it had truffle oil too so definitely one for the mushroom lovers.

For our actual lunch we had these burgers:

I loved the pickles, and I liked how they served them and the onions on the side so I could add them to taste. I liked the orange cheese, and I liked the tomato relish for my fries. But overall, I wasn't wild about the burger. I consider myself a bit of a connoisseur of burgers these days, and this one just didn't quite do it for me.

The pizza and cocktails more than made up for it though, and the desserts (the one area where I think Peacock's struggles) sounded amazing, so I'm already looking forward to going back and trying one of the many other tempting menu options. 

How was everyone else's weekend?

Made Any Good Small Talk Lately?

I had lunch at Ham in Cronulla the other day. It was so good!

They had lactose free milk so I got to enjoy my first hot chocolate in a few months, thanks Harry and Mario!

This cupcake had the best icing I've ever tasted. I also tried one of those little flat-topped cakes with pastel icing that are in all the cafes these days, turns out they are super delicious coconut thingies! I was reminded of the macaroons (NOT macarons) I used to get at Miss Maud's circa 1996. 

James and I are developing a habit of going on dates every Sunday. Can't say I mind. 

We checked out Seven Lanterns at Sylvania recently, then changed our minds and went to an old school Chinese restaurant instead. Best decision.

The following week we went to Newtown for a cocktail at Corridor and a movie at the Dendy. 

The cocktails were superb.

The movie was not. It was Le Week-end - great performances, especially from Jeff Goldblum (hello if you're reading Jeff!), but we found it slow and miserable. 

This Glasshouse Hong Kong candle is the opposite of miserable. Emily gave it to me as a housewarming present and I was absolutely delighted to receive it. 

I had Mum, Betty and Nana over for afternoon tea the other day. 

As you can see I like them enough to drag out a tablecloth but not enough to iron it. 

My baby pretend-nephew O turned one last month! He had a Pirates and Princesses themed birthday featuring eight thousand children and this spectacular cake:

I think his grandma made this fruit salad pirate ship.

Speaking of fruit I am off to have a nice orange for a snack.

Serving suggestion: serve thinly sliced in a glass with Campari, vodka, ruby red grapefruit juice and tonic water. I made this up myself and it is delicious.

Shippy Lately

Lately I have been going out a lot with my friends, which is just about my favourite thing to do.

Like for pizzas in Lugarno with Jim's netball team:

The food at Mancini's was really good, but the service was appalling. Our waiter acted like we were being total pains by wanting to, you know, patronise the business. He brought us another table's order and when we said we didn't order that he said "yes you did." - nice customer service mate!

Even more appalling, I'm pretty sure this guy was the owner! Maybe it's some sort of tax evasion thing a la The Producers and he's doing everything he can to run the business at a loss?

I also went on a harbour cruise for Vivid with my coworkers:

And to see The Great Gatsby at Dendy Newtown. 

I really enjoyed it. Obviously a movie based on a book will usually come off a little unfavourably in comparison, but it was visually spectacular and I loved the soundtrack to bits. All the actors were excellent and all in all I think it's a return to Baz's glory days. By which I mean Strictly Ballroom and Romeo + Juliet and NOT Moulin Rouge or Australia yuck. 

I'd give it at least 8.5/10, I'd definitely go again!

Naturally, I've also been stuffing my face at Bay Vista:

Yum!

What's everyone else been up to lately?

Marion Cotillard

How good is Marion Cotillard?

 

I first saw her in Tim Burton's Big Fish and then in Love Me If You Dare, which is one of the best movies ever made and she is brilliant in it.  That's what the picture of her over on the side is from.

 

 

Her costar in it is Guillame Canet and they ended up getting married.  Or maybe they are de factos. 

 

 

They have a kid now too. I think that is lovely.

 

 

For a while she still wasn't that popular in Hollywood but then she did La Vie En Rose, and now she is in everything!

 

 

Probably you have seen her in Inception and the latest Batman movie.

 

 

I think she is so classy and glamourous.

 

 

 

 

 

Thriftastic

Operation Thrift seems to be going well so far.


The other day Betty made pancakes from scratch for breakfast! At Bay Vista it costs $9 for 2, so really the more home made pancakes you eat, the more you save.


I saw Snow White and the Hunstman on Tuesday. It cost $11 - next time I'll go on Student Monday when it's even less.


It was an okay movie. Charlize was really good and it was all very nice to look at, but that Kristen Stewart isn't a very good actress. Her character was meant, I think, to be feisty but she totally wasn't, and I guess there was meant to be a romance between her and the huntsman but they had so little chemistry that I literally thought I had been mixed up and it was actually a buddy film. So I found that a bit confusing. Otherwise it was good though.


I wore a lot of black.


I went to my Nana's op shop and got some bargains but I don't have any snaps yet. Trust me they are thriftastic.


I made a huge pot of pasta and put individual portions into takeaway containers so I have something for my lunch at work.



My fave thing to put with it is butter and cheese but I might make some pasta salads too with pesto, feta, sundried tomato and rocket. The world of pasta lunches is my oyster. And now I won't waste money on sushi!


James and I had dinner at Mike's in Sylvania. On wednesdays you can get $5 fish and chips! Bargain! Afterwards we had Maccas soft serves for dessert.


Also I bought some of my favourite Cadbury chocolate with all the cool lollies inside it. It was on special so still thrifty.


Kiwifruits were on special too, for TWENTY CENTS. I didn't buy any but that's an amazing bargain.



  Also it's Lara's birthday today!  Happy birthday Lara!  Thanks for being a long-time supporter of Expect Cowgirls and its predecessors xx
  

Things I've Been Doing Since I Returned From Canberra

Our local greengrocer (hello if you're reading!) keeps having all these awesome bargains. Mum made some tasty stuffed capsicums last week for a couple of dollars.

James and I had dinner at The Kyle Bay aka Blakehurst RSL, where two people can share a big seafood board for $38!

It was delicious. Shame about the $14 cocktails though.

I fed my neighbours' cats (hello Max and George if you are reading; nice job overcoming your lack of opposable thumbs) while they were away. When they came back they brought me this fancy package of tea and chocolate!

On the weekend we had everyone over to celebrate my aunty's birthday.

As with every family celebration, there was heaps of food.

About half of it was dessert.

On Monday James and I went to see The Hunger Games. I've wanted to read the book for about two years, and I didn't want to see the movie until I had, but I'm glad we saw it. If you're panicking because you don't know what I wore, don't worry!

The movie was really good and apparently quite true to the book. It was pretty horrific though. I read the plot summary when I first heard of the series and I'm glad I did; if I hadn't known the ending I would not have coped.

Oh, in case anyone didn't know, it's about a crazy dystopia where every year, 24 kids (two from each 'district') have to participate in a televised fight to the death, as a kind of ongoing punishment by the Capitol for the districts' rebellion many years ago.

I'm really excited to read the books. Big W has them on sale, 2 for $20. It would be more tempting were it not for the fact that there are three books in the series.

I didn't do anything for ANZAC day except uni work and online tests for grad jobs. And I ate some of these guys:

Today I had to do a thirty minute quiz at uni. Since I go to uni in another city like a chump, this takes six hours. But when I get back I'm meeting James for sushi, can't wait!