Wordless Wednesday : Sensational Sunday!

After Super Saturday comes Sensational Sunday!

Wordless Wednesday happens here, here, here, here and here!

Another Weekend Gone By

Monday again... (whoops, so I started writing this on Monday but didn't quite get it finished!)

I feel like every week I seem to be repeating myself.  Colleagues will ask me how my weekend was, and every week my answer is the same "good, but not long enough!" ugh!

Friday night we headed out with a few friends to see the Butterfly Effect live.

What a fantastic gig! Unfortunately, the Effected tour is their final as a group as the singer is leaving to pursue other things. Mega sadface!

We were lucky enough to meet the group after the gig... top blokes!

I didn't have anything for them to sign, as they took the tickets from us at the door! Instead I rummaged around in my handbag and found the box from my Essendon radio.  Although not the usual fan merchandise that they're used to, they willingly obliged and signed the little cardboard box for me.  Glenn did flip the box over and realise, so we had a nice chat about his supercoach team!

Whilst I did that, Liam papped away and managed to capture a few blurry shots for me. 

We were one of the last people to meet them (I think you actually needed a VIP ticket to do that, but we managed to talk our way through security!) and had the chance to have a chat with Clint about his last shows with the band, and scored a hug as we said goodbye.

After the gig we headed to a bar near by...

...and consumed these shots as well as copious amounts of other various beverages.

These delightful little drinks were part of the reason I was feeling a little worse for wear on Saturday morning, and needed a hearty dose of this to remedy that!

As much as I would have liked to have spent the day lazing around the house feeling sorry for myself, this was not an option.  Instead I was awake bright and early with a day full of house inspections to attend.

We have come across the most GORGEOUS little property, and have both promptly fallen in love.  It's not perfect, and it is missing a few aspects which we had initially thought were important, but this place is absolutely stunning and we both agree that we can work around it.  Unfortunately, however, the property is in the higher ranges of the budget we had set, so we're just trying to work out whether we can sustain this long-term, reviewing all of our options, and trying our very best not to rush in with our hearts instead of our heads. 

Aaaaaanyway! Moving along now... we had dinner with my parents, aunt, uncle and cousins on Saturday night.  Liam prepared a yummy pub-style parma meal for us!

He had decided to attempt to make my favourite sweet potato fries in addition to his normal chips, but unfortunately didn't account for the difference in cooking time so ended up massively overcooking the sweet potato... which resulted in crispy potato chips with crumbly bits of crunchy sweet potato through it! Not how he had envisaged, but still very tasty!

My Aunt and Uncle are moving house this week, and have offered us their couch and this gorgeous step cabinet that we have loved ever since seeing it! On Sunday we went over to pick it up and help them pack a few things.

Adeline had other ideas though! Instead of helping pack, she demanded I come into her room and help her build a Playdoh village for the two Playdoh families which we created.  I do as I'm told!

We made green grass, a red sky, and a blue playground for them to play on.

You can't see them, but there are two families living in their little chimneyed houses.  There's the Blue family living in the house on the left, and their neighbours the Greens in the smaller house next door.  However the Greens have a (green) friend called Greece, who also lives with them!

Just between you and me, Baby Blue looks a little too green for my liking...

I think Mummy Blue and Daddy Green are having a little fun on the side!

Ageing Like A Fine Wine...

Happy Birthday, to my darling man!   

This weekend my partner in crime turned the ripe ol' age of 27.  Whilst it means we're approaching the big 3-0 and are advancing way too fast in age for my liking, it was also a relief as it put to an end the "older woman" jokes he has been using since my birthday last month. 

On Saturday night, we headed out for dinner with friends and then to watch a fantastic Hawks victory over the Saints.  We booked a table at our regular pre-game haunt, and indulged in a few bevvies before heading over to the MCG.

I chose the caesar salad with Indian-spiced chicken.  

Liam decided on his usual favourite (what a surprise!) chicken parma.  You know the blogging-world is taking over your life when your boyfriend's meal is placed in front of him and he immediately cries out "oh no - the steam trap, the steam trap!" (a term which I picked up from one of my favourite food blogs) and hurriedly picks his parma up off the chips and onto a separate plate!

After the game, we headed out for a few drinks and I discovered that the amount of photos I take for this blog seems to be in direct correlation with the number of alcoholic beverages I consume.  Research has shown that the higher the drink consumption, the more likely I am to forget about taking a few snaps here and there.  However! Once past a certain number of beverages, happy snaps will often rise up to an all time high.  Although none will be suitable for the public eye.

On Sunday, we headed to Liam's parents place for lunch.  We were feeling rather worse for wear, as you can tell from the above picture where Liam is all decked out in tracky dacks and hasn't bothered to fix his hair at all!  So charming.  Also, note Mark in the background helping Liam blow out the candles on the cake!

Liam's mum cooked us a fabulous Indian feast, and this gorgeous cupcake-cake! 

How cute is it?! Hudson 'Hawka' Knights stands proudly amongst the Hawthorn-themed cupcakes with little goal post candles at each end! There were two types of cupcakes to choose from - chocolate and apricot jam with buttercream frosting.  YUM

As you can see, Liam was too impatient for me to even take a photo before grabbing his birthday cupcake! I can't blame him too much. They were so tasty!

We brought Rocket along with us, to play with the two dogs that Liam's parents have.  

After hours of chasing each other around the garden, they finally tired themselves out and we were able to have a moment of quiet

When we got back to my parent's place for dinner, we discovered that my cousin had been busy baking that day and had put together this little treat! 

Again, Liam couldn't resist long enough for me to take a photo, so there is a huge chunk taken out of the cookie! He's especially looking forward to the big birthday cookie, which he as dubbed as a 'Liam-sized cookie' and has declared to me that all food for him should come in this size.

Next weekend, I'm taking him away for the weekend to celebrate!  The two of us, and our crazy ginger-dog are going to head up to the Gouldburn Valley for a weekend of exploring and relaxation! 

I promise, regardless of how many beverages are consumed over the course of the weekend, that I will take plenty of snapshots to share! :)
 

Wordless Wednesday : Tropical Paradise...

Where I'd much rather be!

Wordless Wednesday happens here, here, here, here, here and here! 

Wordless Wednesday - Be My Valentine

Surprises for my Valentine!

Precious moments spent with the one I love...

Wordless Wednesday happens here, here, here, here, here and here! 

Australia Day BBQ

For Liam, Australia Day is like his religious holiday.  It's the one day a year he looks forward to, and celebrates everything that he loves.  We decided to celebrate the day by inviting our friends to join us by the pool with beers, BBQ and Triple J's Hottest 100 - what could be more Australian than that?!

The last few events we've tried to organise have been cursed with dismal weather (read: thunderstorms) however it was our turn for a win, and we were blessed with sunshine and a lovely warm summer's day! Whilst I busied myself sorting out my nails (the important stuff, obviously!) Liam cleaned, swept, dusted, decorated and transformed our backyard.

Of course there were Australian flags! We put up large ones in the bar, in the bungalow, on the fence, and hanging off the hills hoist for good measure! I decided that my Essendon flag also needed to take pride of place in the bar too.  Liam, although being a massive Hawks supporter himself, humoured me and put it up as I asked.

More flags outside the bar area, and we brought the ratties outside to play!  As you can see, Rocket is keeping guard, and making sure his little pals are safe! We also had new covers for the two couches in the bar, but people seemed to use them more for storage space than anything! Since it was such nice weather, everyone opted to sit out in the yard to enjoy the sunshine! It was lovely... kind of like having a little picnic at home with our friends! :)

Liam was determined to have zinc! He was so excited to find green and yellow coloured zinc at the shops too! He had a ball, painting everyone's faces with Aussie-coloured stripes! Unfortunately for me, his godson got a hold of the zinc and I decided it would be a good idea to let him paint little wiggly lines down my leg.  Just a note for all of you - zinc does NOT come off easily, and may result in awkward little tan lines!

The pool got PLENTY of use! Boys being boys, were running around attacking each other and throwing everyone into the water.  Unfortunately, this resulted in a couple of phone deaths. RIP little phones.

Rocket loved joining in the festivities! But the excitement all got a bit too much for him! 

The next day, I totally understood how he felt.  I think most of our guests were feeling a little worse for wear but it was totally worth it!

I was not a huge fan of the top song of the Hottest 100 though! But then again, I've always been a little less into commercial music than the next person. I just don't understand the big hype over that song.  I mean, it's a good tune, but is it really THAT deserving? And it's been overplayed to death.

What are your thoughts?

Food Diaries : The Coffee Club, Knox Ozone

We headed down to Knox Ozone for dinner on a warm summer evening.  We knew what we wanted, we just weren't sure where we would get it.  I had a hankering for a nice steak sandwich, and Liam had nachos on his mind. 

Knox Ozone has plenty of choices, and plenty of good options for whatever food you might be craving.  It ranges from steak houses to Japanese cuisine to just your reliable ol' pub fare.  What we were after is fairly standard grub, so as we browsed all the restaurant menus we realised that we could pretty much take our pick.  The Coffee Club is newly re-opened, and I remembered hanging out there all the time with friends during my youth, so we decided to give it a shot to see how it measured up. 

The menu looked promising, with many tasty offerings, but we knew what we were after.  It was all on the pricey side compared to the other restaurants in Ozone, but we hoped it would be a case of "you get what you pay for" but sadly, this was not to be the case.  Service, although extremely friendly and helpful, was hard to get a hold of.

The Pine Lime Frappe [$5.90] was very refreshing choice on a warm summer night.  I wish I'd gotten it spliced instead, which has ice cream through it.  Then it would be exactly like drinking a Splice ice cream!

The meals came out, and they were disappointing, to say the least.  Liam chose the nachos with chilli beef added.  The additional chilli beef cost an extra $5, bringing the price of the nachos up to $20.  For a $20 plate of nachos, we were expecting something special however what ended up being placed in front of us was a relatively small serving of corn chips with cold, gluggy chilli beef unceremoniously dumped on top.  

The steak sandwich did not fare much better.  Although the steak was well-cooked, it was sandwiched between what looked like generic-brand toast, and did not cover the piece of bread which resulted in mouthfuls of just plain toast.

What made no sense also, is that the Deluxe Steak Burger is the exact same meal but with added bacon and egg for an extra $2, however when I asked how much to add bacon to the Steak Sandwich [$16] I was told it would be an extra $3. Go figure! 

Overall, our experience at the Coffee Club was a major disappointment.  Although they have now added table-service and there is no more queuing up for food, you end up with a long wait time at the table before you are seen to anyway! Prices are ridiculously over-priced for what you receive, and there are too many superior options in the Ozone precinct for me to return.

Weekend Snapshots

1. Mexican Beer @ Gringos

2. Myer Christmas Windows

3. Feasting at family dinner

4. Feasting at our local pub (impatient Liam in the background!)

5. Mmm... Rekorderlig

6. Lychee infused Vodka

7. Ciders on tap @ Y&Js
8. Making mini Xmas pudding presents!

Night Market at Queen Vic

Every Wednesday evening from the 16th of November - 29th of February, the Queen Victoria Market transforms into the Suzuki Night Market.

Now in its 14th year, the Suzuki Night Market attracts over 200 stall holders and showcases some of Melbourne’s finest artisans, producing locally made clothing, jewellery, prints and an array of cultural goods.The hawker style food stalls offer everything from traditional African curries through to the sweetest of honey dumplings. Don’t stop at one stall; take a trip around the world one dish at a time.

It was a nice warm Wednesday night, so we decided to head down to catch up with a friend and sample some of the food on offer.  The place was packed full of people milling around, and market stalls were set up in amongst the food vendors and tables full of people.  

There were also entertainers set up in the square, and it was hectic trying to push through the crowd! ATM lines snaked around the corner, and it was a 10 - 15 minute wait at least.  After withdrawing some cash, we made a beeline for the drinks and with a cider in my hand the crowd was a bit easier to bear.

These were the CUTEST little dresses, and even came in adult size! I was sorely tempted to get one for my four year old cousin and a matching one for myself, or at least get a set of fairy wings to prance around in on Christmas Day but Liam was not so keen on the idea! 

Of course anyone that knows me can tell you that I was here for the FOOD!

The market was packed full of different food choices, and people buzzing around, lining up to get their meals or trying to find a seat.  The area was packed, and we shuffled and pushed our way through the crowd and lined up for some grub.  Although there were plenty of tables, a free seat was few and far between so we balanced our plates on one of the pillars away from the masses.

There was almost any kind of cuisine you could imagine, ranging from Asian far to Spanish, Italian or even traditional Australian on offer.  We were absolutely STARVING and headed directly to the wherever had the shortest queue.  This turned out to be French cuisine, so we ordered a plate of chick pea wedges, a mixed plate (caramelised onion tart, a slice of baguette with olive tapenade, and various meat-stuffed vegetables) and a pork sausage in a baguette.  After inhaling these plates we also decided a cheese empanada would be a good idea (I forgot to take a picture... BAD BLOGGER!) from the Spanish stall, and then a pretzel for good measure!

These cards were SO cute! The photos of train stations had a little illustration on them, and a clever caption which included the station name.  They were so sweet! :) 

"You are my Sunshine"

"You Ardeer to me"

"Werribee together forever"

"You can ring my Bell"

"I've got my heart Seddon you"

I guess they only make sense if you live in Melbourne though.

Anyway, you'd think after all that food we'd eaten earlier that I'd be full. Right? Well, you'd be wrong. I am, if nothing else, a bottomless pit. So whilst my friend wandered off to line up for her Dutch pancakes, Liam and I decided that were going to torture our arteries a little bit. 

That's right.  A cup full of cracking for 5 bucks will do that to ya! I thought I was in heaven... or hell... I'm still not sure which one at this stage! Let me tell you though, this stuff was the best but the worst thing I could have eaten.  Pure fat, sprinkled liberally with a hearty dose of sodium.  People, I may very well have drastically reduced my life span with that one cup there! It was disgusting, but I enjoyed every salty bite!

Now just for good measure, I will end this post with another picture of that glorious crunchy goodness. The health conscious ones in our midst, AVERT YOUR EYES NOW!!   




You have been warned.

Nom.