Celebrities I've Seen In Real Life

• Wil Anderson at Cupcakes on Pitt
• Cosima De Vito (from Australian Idol Season 1, 3rd place) buying seafood from the shop outside Franklins in Miranda Westfield
• Ada Nicodemou in Myer at Miranda Westfield
• Some football guy in my street when I lived with my parents. I think it was Paul Gallen but I don't remember. I do remember that James got super excited.
• Delta Goodrem dancing in Kit and Kaboodle, after what I'd imagine were quite a few beverages. You can read about that one here, if you're so inclined. Chris Lilley was out that night but I missed him. But then...
• Chris Lilley eating dinner at a little old-school Italian place in Bondi. He was with a curly-haired guy who was also a bit famous but I can't remember his name. Sorry curly-haired guy! Alex? Chris?
• Cheyenne and Tahyna Tozzi going to preschool, many years ago when I went to the same one. They didn't want to play with me.
• ETA: Ex-politician Greg Combet, walking down the street in The Rocks last night. Thanks Emily for pointing him out to me.

Recommitting to Thrift

If you've been reading this blog for a while you'll know I've always been a massive fan of Thrift. Back in the day I was all about Frugal February and op shop buys, but recently we've become a little estranged. I still love op shops, but I also love outsourcing chores and personal grooming activities, and have developed a bit of a fondness for getting a taxi home after a night out. And sometimes getting a taxi there too. Even though I live six minutes from a train station with frequent services and limited dodgy characters.

My twenty two year old self would be sick at the very thought.

After reflecting on how much of our house we own vs how much interest we have forked over to the bank, I have decided to recommit to thrift. 

James and I have been eating sensible homemade meals instead of buying dinner five times a week.

In a dazzling display of adult responsibility, we often cook these on a weekend and keep them in the fridge for quick weeknight meals. I know.

Lately I've been spending a lot on entertainment, but now I am getting into community theatre.

This was Legally Blonde The Musical by Engadine Musical Society. Actually it was very good (and hello to my talented telekinetic friend if you are reading). I had seen it once before: James took me to see Lucy Durack and Rob Mills at Star City once. But those days are OVER.

So are the days of cafe brunches on weekends. Now I go to the Kim Le Bakery on the highway for Vietnamese rolls (banh mi for the cultured people) and mock-cream-based desserts.

They also sell those awesome Lipton sparkling iced teas in miniature cans, even the diet one which I can not find ANYWHERE else. (If anyone's seen it in a supermarket please let me know!)

I've been getting back into baking too. Here is a boring old chocolate cake I made for my mum's birthday, jazzed up with a Nutella buttercream icing. It was pretty hectic, if I do say so myself.

It's just 226 grams of butter (that's two sticks in the USA), 2 cups of icing sugar and 2/3 cup of Nutella. That would be enough for one layer cake, or two regular cakes. Or you could just do one regular cake then invite a friend over to eat the remaining icing from the bowl while you get your drink on. Either way.

Baking is super thrifty, because it's not only a really cheap hobby but also a great source of affordable snack foods.

That's a maple bacon cupcake. I thought it might be a sort of Emperor's New Clothes thing that only a dumb hipster would make or buy, but surprise it's actually super tasty. The wrappers were $2 for a pack of 24 at The Reject Shop.

What did everyone do for their long weekend? Take a little trip away, host a family lunch, maybe go to the movies? Good for you, Rockerfeller. James and I went for a drive down the coast. In a borrowed car with free fuel. 

We went over the Sea Cliff Bridge and stopped for lunch in Coledale. Terrible food but a pretty glorious day. I haaaaate the cold so it's lucky I live in a place where Winter days can look like this:

Annoyingly, I was pretty sick for most of the long weekend so apart from the tiny road trip I just stayed home and practised Thrift. I did my own nails instead of going to the salon and ironed practically all my clothes instead of sending them out.

I also let James drag me to Bay Vista where he had a giant sundae and I, having just eaten an ice cream at home in an attempt at thrift, chose a savoury crepe instead. 

Big mistake. Big. HUGE.

Last night's dinner was much better - a picnic of roast chicken rolls, cheese and crackers and red wine.

The wine might seem like a bit of an indulgence, but James made a thrifty casserole for our weeknight dinners and the recipe called for a splash of red wine. He had to open a new bottle, so we were just being sensible in finishing it off. Waste not want not.

I'm off to combine slivers of old soap bars into one big new bar now.

Gin and Tonic Cupcakes

My mum sent me this recipe for Gin and Tonic Cupcakes a while ago. I love cupcakes, but I don’t often eat them – the beautifully decorated ones you see at cupcake shops generally taste pretty bad, but mine are so much less attractive than the store-bought ones that it doesn't seem worth the effort to make them. But with four days off work, non-stop rain and a friend’s birthday lunch to go to, I had to give them a try.

How good is my pink sieve? Don't mind the board games in the back.

SECRET TIP: I normally use a pate knife to ice cupcakes. It’s just like a tiny palette knife and gives much better result than using a butter knife. 

But this time I wanted to make a bit more effort so for the first time in my life, I tried piping the icing on. I had a piping bag in a drawer, so I attached the fancy nozzle to it, then just held it over the cupcake and piped away. I found I got the best result by starting in the middle and spiraling out to the edges and then back toward the middle. I imagined it would be really hard but it’s actually super easy!! It was kind of hard on my hands, but the skill and coordination required is seriously minimal and each cupcake was iced in seconds.

The cupcakes were a big hit with the girls, and also with the table next to us in the pub. This was the second time I’ve had random pub-goers admire my baking so if I ever go pro I know how I’ll be drumming up business. I was so proud of my new mad skills that I made a batch of vanilla cupcakes on Easter Sunday and topped them with some of the leftover icing to take to dinner at my mum's house.  I won't share the recipe as it wasn't a very good one, but I was still pretty pleased with the result.

What's In My Makeup Bag

I generally put foundation on at home in the bathroom, but owing to my excellent time management skills I tend to do the rest of my face en route to my destination and therefore carry around a makeup bag at all times. It contains the following:

Rimmel Match Perfection Concealer
I've been using this for a long time and I think it's pretty good for the price, but lately I'm noticing it settle in the lines around my eyes so it might be time to try something new.

Revlon Age Defying Spa Concealer
This makes my eyes a bit itchy after prolonged use so I just use it on the rest of my face - it works equally well for both though. Sadly discontinued, lucky I stocked up!

Revlon Colourstay Pressed Powder
I don't really like this, I feel like it makes me look sick so I only use it in shine emergencies.


Essence Silky Touch Blush in Adorable
I don't wear blush every day but I like this one a lot and it's cheap as chips.

Essence Powder Brush
I use this to apply my Essence blush, because I'm WILD!

Prestige Eyeliner Pencil in Black
I've had this for about 5 years. I don't wear it every day because it's hard to apply in transit, but it goes on easily and lasts all day; if this ever runs out and they still make it I will definitely repurchase.

Max Factor False Lash Effect Mascara in Black
This is the best mascara ever, I love it so much and don't ever want to switch. I've tried the waterproof and 24 hour ones but the original formula is the best. Apparently Covergirl LashBlast is the exact same product but packaged and marketed differently.

Essence Eyebrow Designer Pencil in Blonde
I like this colour even though I have dark hair, and while the quality isn't amazing I think it's quite decent for the price.


Nivea Essential Care Lipbalm
I've been using these lipbalms for at least ten years now and I don't think I'll ever stop.


Essence Lipstick in Wear Berries
Yet another Essence hit! I really like this colour for work and it feels lovely on. I hope they bring it out in some new shades soon as there are only a few right now and none of the others are to my taste.

 Revlon Lip Butter in Lollipop
These are popular for a reason - this is a great product and I love this colour. My friend Brendan picked this up for me in America (hello if you are reading and thank you!) because they are really overpriced here, though I did recently get a couple on clearance in Myer.

Maybelline Colour Sensational Lipstick in Juicy Bubblegum
This is another one that I like for work. I have lots of Maybelline lipsticks, they are probably my favourites overall.

Essence Nude Glam Nail Polish in Cotton Candy
This is one Essence product that I don't love. The sheer pink/nude colour is great to quickly tidy up unpolished nails but it chips like crazy, and it goes on really streaky which is not too noticeable with one coat but looks positively horrifs with a second. For emergency use only.

I also have a mini sewing kit, nail file and orange stick (all sourced from hotels), plus a travel hairbrush, mirror, elastics and bobby pins. Sadly there's no room for hand cream or perfume.

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?

Things I Hate Thursday: People Who Don't Know What Meat Loaf Won't Do For Love

Not a joke, this irritates me like almost nothing else.

One of my favourite musicians of all time is Meat Loaf (also not a joke). He has stacks of excellent songs, including "I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)", about a dude who is in love and claims he would do anything for love, but in the chorus he admits that actually, he wouldn't do "that". It's pretty well known and often referenced in popular culture, e.g. in Spice World The Movie where he plays the tour bus driver who, when asked to fix a clogged toilet on the bus, answers "I'd do anything for those girls, but I won't do that".

Anyway, the one thing about this song that I don't love is the fact that for some reason, 90% of people think that the thing Meat Loaf won't do is a big mysterious secret, and the remaining 10% think they have it figured out but actually don't.

I am here to let you in on the secret: the thing Meat Loaf won't do is EXACTLY WHAT HE SAYS IN THE SONG. Throughout the song, he lists a bunch of things he would do for love, juxtaposed against things that he definitely wouldn't do. In English, the word "that" is used to indicate a person, thing, idea etc as physically pointed out or, in Meat Loaf's case, verbally mentioned. So when he says he won't do "that", he means he won't do "the thing we were just talking about, like literally two seconds ago, honestly what is your problem".

For example:

And I would do anything for love, and I'll be there 'til the final act

And I would do anything for love, and I'll take a vow and seal a pact

But I'll never forgive myself if we don't go all the way tonight

And I would do anything for love, oh I would do anything for love

I would do anything for love, but I won't do that* 

(*I won't forgive myself if we don’t go all the way tonight)

Got it?

Toward the end a lady joins Meat Loaf and asks whether he'd do a few things, e.g.:

Will you raise me up? Will you help me down?

Will you get me right out of this godforsaken town?

Will you make it all a little less cold?

To which Meat Loaf replies:

I can do that.

Then she gets cynical and suggests that things will change one day:

I know the territory, I've been around

It'll all turn to dust and we'll all fall down

Sooner or later you'll be screwing around

And he protests:

I won't do that.

This is the one part of the song that some people are able to comprehend, so the few who don't think "that" is a big secret think that the thing he won't do is cheat on her. Which it is, in this particular verse. Just not for the entire song.

I really don't see why this is so hard to understand in the first place but if you're a person who just doesn't get demonstrative pronouns, here's a handy list that you can print out and keep in your wallet to avoid getting on my last nerve in the future:

Peacock Trattoria

Every Christmas my family goes on holidays to Nowra to camp on a site attached to the Shoalhaven Zoo. I promise it isn't as weird as it sounds.

They have heaps of Australia wildlife there and also zillions of peacocks, which roam all over the zoo and campsite showing off their beautiful feathers and making their mating call. The first time James heard it he asked "what's that?" and I said "it's the peacocks" and he said "no seriously, what is it?" - it is really unlike any other bird noise I've ever heard. (Disclaimer: I haven't really heard that many bird noises, I'm not a massive aviculturalist.)

If you haven't heard it before here is a video (Mum don't watch this!):

Anyway, my point is that James's and my favourite restaurant at the moment is Peacock Trattoria in Kyle Bay. We were meaning to go for ages - all our friends who live nearby rave about it - and we finally got around to it in about February.  

We loved it!  The food's sensational, the value is outstanding and the restaurant itself is pretty cool, with a massive peacock mural on one wall and an open kitchen if you want to have a little sticky beak.

We've been a few times now, the most recent being last week. There are heaps of nice things on the menu but as always we chose their Trust The Chef surprise menu. It's $60 pp and you get about six different courses, each more insanely delicious than the last.

First up was this ducktastic crunchy salad. We've had it every time and I still love it.

Next we got this mini pizza with white anchovy and potato. I love potato on pizza! Their dough is just perfect.

I spied this adorable doggy bag sitting in the kitchen:

Say what you will about them, they know how to commit to a theme.

Courses three and four were two shared entrees. The first was some beautiful salmon. I forget what it was served with but I remember that we both loved it. 

The second entrée was these lovely little slider-type buns with slow cooked meat and a super tasty sauce. This description doesn't do them justice but nor would any, such is their indescribable deliciousness. This is another dish we've had every time, and they day they don't bring it out I will probably cry.

The main was meat - looks like beef or lamb, I don't remember which. It was beautifully cooked though and served with really yummy potato and roasted garlic.

Last and probably least, dessert. It was some sort of parfait with fruit and stuff. It was nice, but the savoury courses are all so wonderful that dessert usually falls a little short, especially considering how full we always are by this point.

It's a shame to end on a bit of a low point - perhaps they should serve dessert somewhere in the middle and put the sliders at the end? - but I'd still give this dining experience at least a nine peacocks out of ten.

200

On Tuesday night I made two of my favourite things to cook:

Prawn pasta (recipe here)

And shortbread (recipe here)

I went out to our tiny local supermarket to get some ingredients but I had to buy some Thai rice flour instead of the one I normally buy. I was excited by the price ($1.50, bargain!) but I'm not convinced that the final product tastes quite as good. Though it still tasted good enough for me to eat 5 pieces before lunch the next day.

Yesterday I made another favourite of mine: Something Experimental. When I was in high school my friend Julia (hello if you're reading!) used to bring in these lovely pizza scroll thingies on special occasions, and last night I was thinking about them so I decided to have a go at recreating them. I don't know Julia's recipe so I just made it up but they turned out really well! 

I used:

Pampas puff pastry

Tomato paste

Grated mozarella

Black olives from a jar

Diced ham

I just put everything onto the pastry, then rolled it up and sliced it as you would pinwheel sandwiches or a swiss roll cake. This part was extremely messy and difficult! I almost gave up, but instead I put the slices on a tray and baked them at 180 until they looked crispy and delicious.

These would be a great make-ahead snack if anyone is planning to entertain over Easter.

And in other news this is my 200th post! Perhaps tonight I will eat 200 Easter eggs to celebrate this exciting milestone.  

Happy long weekend!

Weekend Activities

Last weekend I went out with the girls (hello girls if you are reading!) on Friday night to Lobo Plantation. The drinks were great but it was really packed - luckily we had the sense to invite ourselves to join someone else's table. 

This beverage was called a Communist Sour and it was very nice indeed.

Afterwards we went to Barbershop. I had never been before and I can't say I feel like I've been missing out on much. It was a fun night though!

The next day James and I went to Xtract in Rockers for lunch. I had a smoked salmon omelette which was pretty nice but James won with this excellent "Lebanese Tapas".

I felt pretty sick so I spent the rest of the afternoon in bed but I dragged myself out for a birthday party. There was a giant outdoor movie screen and the backyard was full of blankets and chairs and decorated with lanterns and fairy lights. It was fantastic!

Happy birthday Steph! Thanks for having us and well done Ben and Momz on building the screen!

On Sunday James and I went to Foodies for this amazing Nutella shake.

This weekend we went to the Organic Foodies Market at Ramsgate Public School. Highly recommended.  Just look at this beautiful fresh produce:

We bought some! And some breakfast from the Fritter House.

The bacon was way overcooked and the tomato relish tasted like Maccas Secret Sauce but the fritters themselves were top notch and pretty reasonably priced.

But I think the highlight of the event was this stall:

It's just a shop of leopard print things! That's all they sold! Apart from (weirdly) ONE orange top.

I admired a clutch but it was eighty five dollars which is insane. Instead I bought myself a beautiful gingerbread biscuit from some nice girls running a Pretty Easter Things stall. 

It was $2.50.  That's more like it.

James went out at night so I had a hot date with Charcoal Kingdom. It was really tasty, especially that garlic sauce, but I'm not sure they gave me enough chips.

I guess you can't have everything.

Yesterday I went to Hurstville and got my hurr did. My hairdresser is called Michael and he is just about my favourite person in the world.  He's really fun and helpful and I never ever want to cry after I get home. AND he only charges twenty five bucks! He's at Eddie's Salon in Hurstville Westfield, just past the entrance with the Bubble Tea shop. (I know, but seriously trust me, you won't be sorry.)

Afterwards I did a little bit of shopping and tried on these sensational leopard print jeans. I didn't buy them, but I think I'll have to go back. I hope they don't sell out.

And if you're looking for some adequate groceries, look no further than this shop on Forest Rd:

As is our tradition, James and I had a date at night. We went to Sunny's - the seafood restaurant not the BBQ one - and had this big chilli mud crab. It was challenging but delicious.

I love weekends. Only three days until the next one!