Chop chop!

I pretty much have everything I need in terms of fantasic kitchen tools and accessories.  There has only been one pretty obvious ommission (which no one but me sees an ommission, let alone an obvious one).  Knives.  I've been toying with getting some really good knives for a while, and they were on mega sale here, and I've had my old knives for a few years now, so I didn't have to talk myself into it for long.  Behold!!!

These puppies are Australian made, light, and super sexy.  Especially the big one up the top.  If it was safe to sleep with it under my pillow I would.  It's love.

I made this chicken and lemon bolognese for dinner, a recipe from my favourite food mag, Cuisine, just because it's something which required a bit of chopping - carrot, celery, onion, garlic.  Everything got chopped super fine, just for the fun of it.  And it's a really tasty recipe too.

A very kiddie weekend

This weekend was a bit different for our usual routine of sleeping in, lounging around, and eating out, because we babysat Jamie's two nephews, aged 5 and 7, for the weekend. The strategy was to keep them engaged and busy the whole time, and therefore make our lives easier. We went and saw Toy Story 3 in 3D, went to the library, baked cupcakes, had lots of trips to the park, and Jamie and I said no and spoke in stern voices a lot. We even contradicted each other in front of the kids like a real family.
B: Can I have another cupcake?
Me: No, two is enough
simultaneously
Jamie: Yes. Which one would you like?
B: The biggest one. Can I eat it on the couch?
Me: No. You'll get crumbs on the couch.
simultaneously
Jamie: Yes.
etc.
Anyway, we got through it, and after we drooped them home we had a lovely lunch at The Boathouse in Palm Beach. We sat outside and froze, despite wrapping ourselves in the blankets they provided, but it wasn't anything a couple of glasses of pinot and a steak sandie with chips couldn't fix. After lunch we walked up to the lighthouse on the headland which was very pretty. It reminded me a bit of being in NZ last year around this time and being in all these seaside villages all rugged up in the middle of winter. And also of being in the US doing much the same thing at Christmas. Sigh. Holidays. We need to get organised and book our next one.

Jury duty

Can you imagine my excitement when I opened a letter from the Sherriff's Department calling me for.... JURY DUTY!!! I was beside myself. Best piece of mail I've gotten all year, by far (sorry Country Road). I was instructed to make myself available for up to two weeks starting from today, and was more than happy to do so. Not just because I wanted to get out of work. In fact, that ranks very low in the factors that make me excited, but because I'm really interested in seeing the legal system from the point of a juror. Again. I've been on a jury in WA in the last few years - who could forget the matter of the threat to kill on the piggery (I'm totally serious - that was the jury I was on - it was a threat to kill case that took place at a piggery). I spend so long in court as just an observer, but to look at it all through the eyes of a juror will be totally different. Not that I don't give it my best crack as an amateur juror, whispering in the back of the court with the other journos whether we think someone is guilty or not. But I hardly do any trials that involve juries anyway, and any crime I cover is corporate crime, so no doubt if I get on a jury it will be very different.
I'm also thinking I could write a great magazine piece or something like that about it. Another journalist, ensconced in a long legal trial wrote a book about it . While I'm certainly not proposing to do that, it would be great fodder to write about. It's not looking good so far though. They didn't need my panel today, and they don't need me tomorrow. Fingers crossed for Wednesday. I have to keep calling every day until they need me or the two weeks is up. But needless to say, if I do get on, I'll be the first person putting their hand up to be Madame Forewoman.

We are a cliche.

So we bought a new car.  A 4WD.  I know, I know.  I was skeptial at first - we don't need a new car, it would just sit on the street, what do we need a 4WD for, etc.  It's all out the window now.  I'm not a car person, but I love driving around in this.  Sure, I can't park it, despite the reversing camera, but people expect 4WD drivers in the eastern suburbs to not be able to park.  The front:

Inside... It has sat nav, which is the only thing I wanted.  And I don't know how I've lived without it (sat nav) for so long.  Leeeeather seats, with the important addition of seat warmers, which are totally necessary in the notoriously freezing Australian climate.

And the side.  Oh, it's a Mazda CX7 sport if you care about those sorts of details.  I kind of avoided driving before, but now it's way more fun.  Even if I'm a cliche.  Out of my way bitches.

Melbourne!

We were in Melbourne last weekend for three days which was great fun.  I've lived in Melbourne when I was in high school, so things are vaguely familiar, but since hanging out on the steps at Flinders Street Station, finding pubs that won't ask for ID, and wearing bananas in pyjamas t-shirts aren't so high on my priority list any more, I don't really have a compass for the things I want.

We did a Wotif mystery deal and stayed at the Grand Hyatt.  It's just had a huge reno, and the lobby is beautiful and cavernous and muted and rich looking.  In the rooms, they've obviously left some things, while updating others which leaves a bit of an inconsistent vibe to everything - i.e. beautiful marble tiles on the wall in the bathroom, but taps that have been there since 1970.

I've recently discovered that in hotels, when you nicely ask for upgrades/complain about something wrong with your room, you usually get one.  We checked into a room on a lower floor, and then I asked for a higher room, and five minutes later, we were in one.  This was the view:

So Friday I shopped while Jamie worked.  I was in the mood to s.p.e.n.d. so naturally, I couldn't find anything I wanted.  Except for a top.  And a jacket. 

On Saturday we shopped for Jamie in the morning and then had lunch with two couples from Perth who are journos and are now in Melbourne.  We had a really fun lunch, and it was so great to catch up with Julie-Anne, Rebecca, Paul and Ben (Rebecca and Paul just got engaged - Yay!).  After lunch, we went to the pub and became a gener cliche - boys watching the footy with beers, girls yapping away in the corner with bubbles.  Any lunch that wraps up at six thirty, and only then because everyone has dinner plans, is a good one in my mind.  Here's the girls.  This photo captures the only two seconds we stopped talking in the entire afternoon.

Our friends Blake and Ros have a share in a bar called Lily Blacks, which we went to visit the previous night.  Julie-Anne had  this set of cards with little Melbourne bars on each one, and while we didn't take a photo at Lily Blacks, here is a photo of the card about it (resting against my Campari).

After our loooong lunch, we had a dinner booking at the restaurant just next to our hotel - MoMo.  It's facny middle eastern food (i.e. not kebabs).  It was FAN-TASTIC.  The sort of flavours we never cook at home, and things that are just way too hard to do - as if I can be bothered de-boning a quail and stuffing it with chorizo and fetta.  I can certainly be bothered eating it though.

Welcome to da club.

We are in!  Despite both of our feelings that we wouldn't even be allowed to sit down at wafu because the nazi owner would intuitively know we were giggling about her, we got in and are now members of the exclusive Wafu club.  We posed at the door for a while (no giggling) contemplating the three pages of rules about eating there, before politely asking if they had room for us (there were only two other tales of people in a restaurant that had maybe 15 tables).  We were asked if we knew about the "philosophy" of the restaurant, and said we had done our research and knew all about it.  We were reminded about the rules again on the menus - you have to eat everything except garnish - SIDE VEGETABLES ARE NOT GARNISH, only picked ginger, wasabi and lemon slices are garnish.  We were petrified to order too much food and miss out on our 30% discount and club membership, and I even waived a miso just in case I was using up stomach space I'd need later.  We had some edamame (we were concerned we'd have to eat the shells, but turns out we didn't have to), chicken yakitori, fish cakes and eggplant and tofu with miso sauce.  It was all super tasty, but given that by the time we finished we were the only table in there, it's totally devoid of atmosphere, and we were too scared to talk loudly, it's a bit of an indication on how kindly the people of Sydney are taking to being treated like children when they pay for the privilege of going out.
Nevertheless, we are in the club, and we can now bring more than one guest, but we must "educate them" about the policies on waste and "take responsibility for their actions".  And if we want take away, we need to bring our own containers.
We ditched it for dessert, and went to Bird Cow Fish, where we weren't scared to talk loudly.  Chocolate brownie and peppermint tea for me, Turkish Delight and hot chockie for Em.  Fun times.

My Dutch teapot has a hat!

I'm a dead sucker for a sale, when these fancy Dutch teapots came on Peters of Kensington at 75% off, they had me at hello.  It has a shiny hat/helmet which is lined with felt inside and keeps your tea hot for longer!

And then when you take the hat/helmet off, it's a pretty white pot underneath.  I drink LOADS of tea, so I'm totally excited to use this, and also to have hot tea for longer!!

My new pretties.

I've been engaging in some currency hedging of sorts recently.  And my currency is HANDBAGS!  I bought these two puppies from a US websitecalled Bluefly, on sale, naturally.  I'm esecially pleased with the black one here - it loks a bit *shiny* because of the flash, but it's ace.  It's nice and big too.  I have another Furla bag which is an orange clutch and I love, love, love it.  This one also falls in that category.  And who wants a plain black handbag when you can have a crocodile print one?

This is the second - I love the colour, I'm just having slight difficulties working it in the wardrobe.  I think I'm a bit too fixated on everything matching because I don't like wearing this with my brown boots for example - the bag is very tan, and my brown boots are classic brown, and I just don't think it goes.  I also know my problem is mostly in my head and I just need to get over it.  It works really well with black though - but when I weat black I kind of want my other new bag.  Sigh.  Life really is difficult sometimes.

Yes, but did you read the sign on the door??

Em and I have decided to catch up for date night once a month without the boys.  It means we can go to the restaurants they don't want to go to, and coincidentally, it's tough to get either of them into Japanese restaurants, so we decided to do that last month.  I'd eaten at Wafu, a reasonably nondescript, cheap and cheerful place in Surry Hills, with Jamie about a year ago, and I quite liked it.  I've been trying to drag him back since, but he hasn't wanted to, so Em and I decided we'd go.  The place was less than half empty, but we were immediately waved away.  Immediately.  We thought it was odd, but upon doing some further research, we came upon this article from the SMH.  The woman who runs the place is clearly mad.  You can't book - which we can deal with, this is Surry Hills after all.  However, before you are allowed in the restaurant, you must read a list of extensive roles on the door, which includes the fact you will be charged 30% extra if you don't finish all the food on your plate INCLUDING garnish (the definition of garnish excludes wasabi, pickled ginger and slices of lemon).  And if she doesn't like you she tells you to go somewhere else (her ex husband's restaurant).  If she likes you and you finish all the food on your plate, you are invited to join the wafu club, the only benefit of which appears to be that you are allowed to book a table in future.  But you still have to eat everything or be charged an extra 30%.

So, while slightly trepidatious about having to jump through that many hoops, we also think it's hilarious.  And if she doesn't let us in the club we are going to tell her we don't want her in our club.

When we are out Jamie is having left over Rick Stein stew with macaroni.  We made it on Saturday night, and it's delicious.  Can't belive I'm leaving the club that serves this to try and join the Wafu club.

Things we've done lately

- Queued up at 5:45, yep, that's right, a time that's even too early for small children to eat, to get into a restaurant that doesn't take bookings.  Truly a Sydney experience - not one I normally subscribe to either, but after being laughed away at 6:30 a couple of weeks before we weren't taking our chances.  And we weren't even the first people in line.  The restaurant was Bodega, where we have been meaning to go for aaaaages - everyone keeps telling me how much I'd love it, so I think I've stayed away for that reason, I don't want everyone to be right and for my tastes to be totally predictable.  Naturally they are, and I *LOVED* the food.  We went with Muz and Em after a football game (Swans v Dockers), and had a really great night.  BTW - Aria diners, if you were wondering where Matt Moran was on Saturday night, I assure you he wasn't at Aria, cooking your meals.  He was haing tapas at Bodega.
- Watched the economics editor of the Wall Street Journal interview Paul Keating as part of the Sydney Writers Festival.  A-MAZING.  PK (as I like to call him) is just the most incredible intellect, and is so razor sharp and hilarious.
- Booked a mini break to Melbourne for early next month.  Jamie's working on the Friday, and I'm hitting the shops.  Then dinner is booked at Mo Mo on Saturday, which is conveniently located in the Grant Hyatt, where we'll be staying.  We did one of those mystery deals totally thinking it would be the Sofitel (which is what we wanted and not what we got), but it's hardly an inconvenience to have to go to the Hyatt (which has just been refurbished in a $40 million reno).
- Turning on the heater.  Which doesn't sound like a really noteworthy event, but we only got a gas heater late last winter, so haven't had the chance to use it much, and it's just SO good being able to turn it on when you get home.  Sydney has been cold and wet lately, and rather than freezing like we did last winter, and sitting on the couch with a blanket on, we can steam up the windows and get toasty with the press of a button.  The gum boots have also got a dusting off and have been coming very useful in the deluge.