El Cheapo Deco

My entrance foyer looked a little bit bare. 


..And I presume I had my thinking cap on this particular weekend. So with these 4 things, I spruced it up a little.

I stapled all the corners into the foam and within thirty minutes, my 'art work' was done.

I don't know how long I'd like them..but its so easy to change/redo- just take the fabric off, put another fabric on and arrange in a different manner. OR..I was thinking when I get sick of them, they can be pin-up boards in my home-office:). 


If you need some el-cheapo sprucing up heres what I used:


Approx 2.5cm thick Foam (cut to your preferred size) 
Scissors 
Stapler
Fabric to your liking


Just cut the fabric to size, making sure it can wrap around the foam. Staple around the edges on the back, making sure corners are tucked in. Ta-daa! If you want something more permanent..maybe you'd use some glue too..but I haven't tried that.


I also adhered them to the wall with 3m mounting tape..the type you can pull off without damaging your walls. They work really well.


And just incase you're wondering...my vases are Ikea lamps that didn't work out for my kitchen..so I flipped them around and now they're vases...or maybe I'll make them into some sort of light installation later. hehe.

Sunday Lunches

Sunday is our lazy day and I don't like sticking to particular schedules or limit myself on anything. 


Which brings me to Sunday lunch. A lunch that mainly falls in weird hours that's potentially : brunch, high tea..or nearly dinner for that matter. H and I just get occupied with other things that hunger doesn't strike until a queer  time.


So when it does strike..we need food fast and that normally equates to some weird stuff. 


And on this particular weekend- we had leftover cheesecake and watermelon.


Just thought you'd like to know our gastronomy.


SOoo nutritious! Sooooo healthy! Soooo Sunday.

Personalised Paper Clips

These are currently rocking my world! They're ruling my paper universe right now and nearly promoting me to a 'organised' status. Come filing day and I'll just put them into their respective folders- and incase you ask why I don't just file things straight away...,.. I just don't.Enuff said.


Anyways..Nifty right?


On one of the rare moments my brain was half functioning on a weekend [dreaded Sunday come Monday blues sort of weekend mind you] - I got inspired by some kikki-k paper clips and decided to make my own personal set for our home-office.

I proclaim it as my Martha Stewart moment!


To make them I just got myself two things:

Paper Clips
Rub Ons


Done in a jiffy. Lurve! Imagine the possibilities..You could even place stickers, print labels or use permanent markers if it tickles your fancy.


My life is so much better with them, my husband now loves me more [no..not really. I made that up] ..the world is just a better place with labelled clips k? You know it.

A date

I haven't been on a date ..not a 'first date'..for..well, ever since I met H. 


I got so nervous, everything was so spontaneous..and sooo many flashes went through my mind.


What happens if we don't click?
Would I seem weird?
What shall I say?
....




..And before you jump into any conclusions... the date was with... a girl. Yes, you heard me. A girl!


So why did I go kinda nuts and super nervous? Because I only knew Marlene through her blog. ..Then one day a mutual friend introduced us and as fate would have it, we ended up having a spontaneous lunch/ bloggers date...alone.


And you know what? Marlene is the sweetest girl! We had so much to talk about and time went by so fast!


Anyways.. as a meet up gift I decided to make her some French Chocolate Cake- Its a bake that never fails me and which girl doesn't like a dose of chocolate?

But you know my other dilemma? I ended up packing the cake into a take-away container because I didn't have a single cake box in my kitchen [sooooo organised!!] - And here I am presenting it to a creative graphic designer. Hmph. Grrr. - Sorry Marlene.


Hope she enjoyed it- but ahhh..you know the important thing? I've made a new friend.


Ps. If you hope over to her blog you'll see a freakish picture of me. Sorry about that- the last I checked, I looked slightly better on a smaller phone screen. 

Going Japanese

This has got me going consecutively for the last two days- I've eaten three meals with the exact salad because I'm in love with a Japanese inspired salad dressing. Go figure- I get obsessive sometimes.


The beauty is, you can make the dressing and keep it up to a week in a fridge AND has no oil! Perfect.

Japanese Dressing
1/2 Cup Rice Vinegar (They normally use Mirin, but I couldn't get my hands on it so I just use Chinese Rice Vinegar)
2 Tbsp Raw Sugar (Any sugar will do..I was just trying to be healthy)
1/2 tsp Salt
2 Tbsp Shoyu (Soya Sauce)
1 Shallot


Bring all ingredients to a boil. [Easy Huh?] Cool before using.


Serve with any vegetables of your choice. I used:
Salad Vegetables: Tomato, Parsley
Topping: Sesame Seed, Bonito Flakes, Seaweed. 

The Ungrateful Wife

Is it our anniversary? No thats past.

Is it when we started dating? Thats no-where near.

Its not my birthday,.. nor his.

Hmm.....Oh NOOOO! He chucked a Tiger on me!!

Those thoughts, those exact thoughts ran through my mind when I received this lovely bouquet of flowers. [and wouldn't you like to have a sneek peek at my office too?!]  

I know the last thought is totally absurd but it still randomly entered my mind. [I'm just being honest here!]

The flowers didn't have a card either...they were just stunning fresh flowers- with a smell so divine I don't mind having hayfever from it ..for now.

So I texted H..and it read somewhere along the lines of :

Did u just send me flowers? * Big smile. What a sweet surprise :)...Well, if d flowers aren't from u I must have a secret admirer.


In total SMS format...tee hee. And take note..I didn't even say 'thank you'..how rude!


Ps. I still don't know what they're for yet...hmmm.... I just have to figure it out I guess.

Planting Trees

It's been a busy week- planting trees, doing gardening and landscaping. 


Not the real- hands on type..the design and draw type. The AutoCad and Photoshop-ping type. I think it's just as tedious as planting real trees. Well, nearly- just that I don't need to dig holes or fertilize it and I get instant trees.


The only physical garden thing I did was pull out some weeds and sprayed some 'Weed n Feed' on my own lawn.


But I reckon it falls into the same genre.

Dinner-In-A-Box Recipe

This post is for you Paul....

If this attracted you last time, then its here I present to you Fettucine Carbonara aka H's Spaghetti Carbonara. Which essentially- can be done by any first time cook.

I originally wrote everything here..

But I dont's think its quite a recipe when I've put everything together and didn't write down any measurements. They're specific though...so much so I think only H would understand it totally- I totally refined it down to my pots and pans!

So here's a refined version:

H's Spaghetti Carbonara (serves 2)

Grab approx 2.5cm diameter of fettucine/spaghetti (or any pasta)

1 medium sized onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
Dash of Rosemary/Italian Herbs
2 pieces Bacon, cut into squares
6 White Mushrooms, trimmed at the end and sliced
200ml cream
6 Tablespoons Parmesan Cheese
1 Teaspoon Salt to taste
1 egg

1. Boil approx 2 liters water in a pot.
2. Place all pasta in boiling water and add a pinch of salt.
3. Cook pasta for 15-20 minutes or until al dente.

4. In a medium sized pan, gently saute the onions, rosemary/italian herbs, garlic and bacon until fragrant.
5. Add mushrooms. Reduce heat and add in parmesan cheese, salt and cream, mixing until even.
6. Turn off heat. Add one egg and stir quickly. The heat from the sauce will cook the egg.
7. Taste and add additional salt/parmesan cheese if needed. If sauce is too dry, add in some milk.
8. Stir sauce into pasta before serving, top with parmesan cheese if preferred.

Once again, bon apetite.

Brunches should be so

I'm not quite sure what I'm suppose write.

I just find this food comforting. It reminds me of brunches in Perth. Don't ask me why.

I got so desperate for such meals I got my sausages in Perth, flew them back here- served them with good old baked beans and a gooey sunny side up egg. Just the way I like it.

Does that make me a little bit freakish?

Dinner-In-A-Box Sequel

....I got home to this. Pretty darn good I'd say!

..he set up the table, got flowers and even lit the candles!


And look at these cute labels!

I can't lose to my wife's candlelight dinner -H remarked.


And look!! He even took some photos in between- though I'm not sure if it's for my blogging purposes or for him to keep as a record of his first ever carbonara.

The taste? Magnificanto! Lovely. Though H remarked I didn't draw the shape and size that onions are suppose to be, I guess he got the gist of everything.

Either way..I think we should have more 'Dinner-In-A-Box' nights. As H puts it:


Bon Apetite.

Dinner-In-A-Box

Nearly.


It was one of those nights where I had a late appointment and couldn't make it home in time to cook dinner. So H offered he will- providing that I wrote out clear instructions, in his words 'specific'..and he'd do the cooking.


Now H, as much as I love him..just isn't a kitchen kind of guy. He's never needed to be. He's grown up with the luxury of maids/housekeepers and a doting mum. So he's never needed to lift a finger- until he met me. That's when his nightmare started. 


Let's just say, the last time he cooked for me was around three years ago, on my birthday. Sweet enough, he took a whole day's leave from work, baked up a cake and did the whole kaboom for dinner. But let's also say, when I showed up at the doorstep: he was sweating, his hair was in a mess and was in his now kitchen-oiled home clothes. He realized cooking is a full time job, was totally tired and called it a early night after that. He hasn't done much cooking since unless he's assisting me somewhat.


So come last night's dinner and I didn't want to scare him off too much. Afterall, it would be nice knowing he could look after himself if I'm not around..okok..AND its beneficial to me too 'cause I might just bribe him into cooking more meals. 


So I wrote very specific instructions..and I mean specific..and gave him a easy dish.


Fettucine Carbonara. And just incase he hasn't learnt his spaghettis and all..i just left it as 'Spaghetti' as not to confuse him.

I packed everything..well nearly everything in a box and left it in the fridge. I left  kitchen utensils/pans/knives/chopping board on the bench because I could just imagine my mobile ringing consistently if I didn't. 

How much spaghetti? How much garlic? What size are the mushrooms? How much salt? Which pan? Where's the herbs? What's saute? How many minutes?

I could just imagine all the potential questions- so I made sure everything was easily visible, all the ingredients were already portioned and left the scribbly instructions on the kitchen bench.

..see..I even drew mushroom shapes and all just incase he didn't understand me!

.. and signed it off..

.....................




Just to keep the suspense going..no phone calls came. Not even one SMS.


Was it a disaster? Did he blow up my kitchen? Did things burn? ..Or did he opt for take out?


...I'll show you what he came up with in my next post...stay tuned.




Ps. Just incase you're wondering..I haven't murdered the birds yet..though I just might..because they didnt stop chirping until 9pm last night..and started chirping at 3am!!


Pps. Thought you'd like to know some bird-lover-roof-climber is on their way...tomorrow. sigh. another chirping night!

Another New Toy and some Urgent housekeeping

Meet Mr Breville. Isn't he a sexy thang??

It turns this..

Into porky-choppiess...yummy porky-choppies like this.

It gives awesome grill marks..

And it makes my dinners look so try-hard professional.

Its so darn healthy ... I might just do all my dinners for the rest of my life the week on this.


On a separate note all together..[or maybe I should relate it to the griller]..I'm nearly gonna kill some birds! WAIT! Don't call the RSPCA just yet. Hear me out!. Some bird decided to make a nest in my roof! Gawd knows how it got there in the first place and now little birdies are chirping happily all day ..AND night...above my bedroom!! Its irritating...it makes me deaf! It wakes me up at 4am! 

..Sorry- my vulgar birds kinda look like ducks/dogs ...I had to vent my anger and frustration somehow. Crazy birds.

Dinner for 2

H and I are good at being silly and having weird competitions....but in terms of romance..lets just say we left it out the door sometime in dating year number xx.

So..I thought I'd up the romance up a notch- with the new house and novelty of being the 'just the two' of us. I think it was one of those toilet revelations- and I suddenly went 'Ah HAH! Candlelight dinner!'.


So I did up a menu..

Printed it, rolled it up..and set the table...

Lit some candles..and even got some flowers..

Made sure I had the purrfect environment- overlooking my courtyard and all..[but then the mossies came in and I thought forget al fresco]..

..And presented the man with some decent food.

Garlic bread with shredded parmesan cheese..served with French Onion soup. Only I forgot to take pics of the French Onion Soup cos I'm just forgetful like that.

Roasted Lamb with mushrooms and salad.

Ahh..desert....Chocolate ice-cream with naval oranges...


My first candlelight dinner [though it might just be the last] didn't go too bad,....atleast there was no mishaps with food...


So...anyone wanna hire me? Tutera II??

Bearmilk

Pfft. What is Bearmilk you ask? Never mind. Personal joke between H and I. 


Just incase you're wondering, nothing raunchy- more like something silly, we're always silly- as if you haven't found that out yet. 


Bearmilk is only launched once a year- during the celebration of our engagement.


Anyhows..A year ago, I made this- Milk Immunity. Thank goodness H didn't have to use it- much.

This year, I'm all for it again- with a twist and my chubby fingers.

They sit cute together don't you think?


Cut, mod-podge, decorate.

And these are my new tokens. They're suppose to be like tokens- the 'Admit One' kinda thing.

Technically, if you go by one year with my tokens..I'm kind of stingy- but hey, his tokens last year didn't get used..AND....atleast he got tokens right?!..I choose not to explain the 'tv hogging session'...or the 'model aeroplane'...or 'one baby' for that matter. But I made sure I gave more tokens where I benefit too. lol.

They're complete with perforations. H gives, I tear. Done.

Maybe I'll make a limited edition each year- but I'm fast funning out of token ideas.

1 Meat + 1 Vege + 1 soup

I'm having a hard time thinking of meals for two. I know there's endless possibilities, but when you cook for 2- it's hard- I nearly always cook too much because I want variety. Bad thinking.

So I figured this- Nothing magical, not even slightly innovative..but I suddenly realised I could kill two birds with one stone with Vege-soup. Durh! What took me so long?!

One fine night- Friday 5th March to be precise, I came up with my Chicken Rice combo. And I know my chicken looks ugly..I can't chop chicken for nuts. -Or chop ducks or poultry..or anything for that matter... But to make up for it, I de-boned it. That's gotta earn some wife points right?

Come vege-soup everyday!!