New Years 2014/2015

I’ve never really been a huge New Year’s fan and have always preferred to stay close to home so I can walk there at the end of the night. This year was an easy one with a party out on the footpath in our street. We’re very lucky to have some great neighbours and we’re good friends with a few of the houses that live in the street, so about 5 houses in a row set up outside for the party.

 

One of the neighbours likes to DJ so he set up with his DJ tables (whatever they’re called) and got the night pumping. DJ Scotch finger as we called him, did a great job and really made the night fun.

I thought lighting a bunch on fire would look cool, but it just creates a fireball. Oops.

It’s really convenient having a party outside the house, because when I wanted to go and sit down for a bit, I just went in and sat on the couch with Ted. I didn’t want to wake up hung over so I only had a few drinks and enjoyed the night so much more!

 

What did you do for New Years?

What did Rhi do on the weekend?

This post is from last week but I forgot to post it

I’m a pretty terrible singer, but karaoke in front of the TV is one of my favourite things to do with friends. My Sister in law and I decided to sing (shout) some tunes on Friday night while the boys were away. After Bali, my drink of choice has been Mojitos, so Mojitos we drank. Friday nights hardly ever go to plan for me. We’d planned to go to the pub for dinner and after a drink I said ‘can’t be bothered, but I’m still hungry’, to which Sister in law replied ‘Let’s order take out’ (um, der) and that was settled. Delicious wood fired pizza and mojitos.

 

I should also mention here that the whole night the boys were Facebook messaging us from Vegas. Vegas is five hours in front of Sydney, but one day behind (do you follow)? So while we we’re eating dinner, bashing out karaoke tunes etc., they were dancing away and drinking at the Bellagio in Vegas. Slightly more exciting than our efforts, but is there actually anything better than a drink and pizza on a Friday night?

 

The answer to that is yes, I wish I was in Vegas with them.

 

Anyway, we finished the night off by watching The fault in our stars and went to bed early because we’re nanna’s on Friday nights.

 

Saturday night we had a girls night planned and hotfooted up to Newtown for some two for one cocktails. Kuleto’s (my favourite cocktail bar) have changed their rule so if you want two for one, you have to order with a friend. Um, that defeats the purpose. And anyway, I’m still going to drink just as many cocktails, but probably quicker because I need to allow more time for lining up. There were a few bartenders that would just give you two drinks, but the one that kept serving me kept rolling his eyes and huffing and puffing when I insisted my friend was outside and I’d be giving her the second drink (she was and I did).

 

Customer service in Australia is just so great, hey!

 

After Kuleto’s we went over to Newtown Hotel which I was surprised to find had an amazing cider garden. They also have amazing fries and I do love good fries. We were out until about 4am and got some delicious hot chips from the kebab shop on our way home. I wasn’t drinking until 4am before you all assume I’m a drunk, we had a lot of friends out and were dancing and chatting and time slipped away.

 

Sunday morning Steve got home from the longest week away ever and we spent the rest of the day hanging out and talking about LA and Vegas. Listening to his stories made me want to book a US trip so I put together a plan for an LA, Vegas, New York and DC trip for my Birthday next year.

 

Who knows if we’ll actually go, but I have my bets on yes and I am excited!

A weekend away

Steve went away to the US on Friday, so Ted and I drove down to the South Coast, NSW for a little getaway. My Pop lives down there and we stayed with him in his house near the beach. I thought it would be a 4 hour drive, but 6 hours later and we made it. It took me 2.5 hours to get out of Sydney to Wollongong. Ridiculous! 

We started Saturday with a walk along the beach and lakes that surround the area. It was a stunning day and the beaches really put it on.

We stopped for coffee and Ted had a little rest under the table. 

When the sun was going down, we went for a little drive to get some photos. The weather had gone from about 30 during the day to about 15 and it was so windy. Nice anyway..as you can tell by the photos. 

Bit chilly around the ole' ears.

So lovely! It was such a nice weekend away and we really needed it. My Pop is so accommodating, he even washed my car while I napped! 

How was your weekend?

Happy Tuesday!

It’s never fun when your Husband has to work all weekend so the best way around it is to make your own fun! I started to cut out a pattern on Saturday with plans to make a sun dress by the end of the weekend, but plans changed when I ended up spending Sunday brunching and working on a website for S. We drove over to Alexandria to meet someone for coffee, only to get there and be told they were about to leave (people these days), so we headed to a little café on Mitchell road called La Cachette. It’s French inspired and while I was only going to get coffee, as soon as I saw all the pastries in the window I knew I wasn’t just having coffee.

I ended up going for the blueberry, ricotta pancakes with maple syrup and coulis and they did not disappoint. I’d been on the search for some good pancakes for a while and finally the craving was satisfied. The coffee was also good and we left full and satisfied.

Sunday night we met up with S’s sis and her boyfriend for dinner which turned in to dinner, drinks and cocktails. I generally don’t drink on school (work!) nights, but we had so much fun and really..why not! Kuletos in Newtown honestly never disappoints and the bartender was more than happy to concoct a little creation so I could have my favourite cocktail on fire.

I can’t believe the rain we had yesterday! Sheets and sheets of pouring rain all day long. I don’t know about you, but my hair is naturally curly so I can straighten it but it’s only going to curl and go boofy as soon as I step out the door. You’d think by this age I’d have a few up-do’s tucked up my sleeve, but I am the most unco-ordinated person when it comes to hair, so it’s either out and straight or well, out and straight. I can never get my curls right (they look great while they’re drying and then turn in to a big frizzy, boofy mess – even with product), buns always look terrible, ponytails look worse. Is it just me or is my hair impossible? I guess we’ll never know. All I know is that I’ll never have nice hair!

Anyway, happy Tuesday. Today is my hump day as I am off to New Zealand on Thursday! 

Bar review: Pappa Geddes, Sydney

Like any good weekend starts, S and I started ours with drinks after work. My boss took a call then stood up and declared his wife insisted he meet her at the pub, so I rang my Husband and insisted he meet me at a bar for a drink. Our usual choice of bar would be Baxters or Hotel CBD, but this time we chose Pappa Geddes. This bar hides down a beautiful old cobblestone lane way, a small snapshot in to what life looked like many years ago. 
It was a good choice because upon walking in we discovered it was empty. Literally one other table inside at 5pm on a Friday. Taking this as a good sign, we went about ordering our drinks once the prompt and friendly staff came over to where we were seated to take our order. A bar that takes your order from your chair is a huge winner in my books since I am pretty lazy. They also came back after we finished our first drink to take our second order even though by then they were quite busy.

There were some great choices of drinks on the menu and my first choice was the Scozzese. I thought it was pronounced 'Scusi' but no, Sco-sey-ze. It was a really refreshing cocktail and a perfect start to the weekend. I love citrus over sweet so this was an easy choice for me. 

'It's what the Italians call the Scots and what we call damn tasty. Bold & bitter with Scotch, Campari, Dubonnet, lime & honey - $17'.

S chose the Kung-Fu treachery 'The darkest form of treachery known to man! Deconstructed and rebuilt with Japanese whiskey, American whiskey, ginger, honey & lemon' - $18.

Divine intervention 'If something tells you to drink this, you should. One of our favourites with absinthe, apple & passionfruit shrub' - $18.

Divine Intervention on the left; a made up whiskey cocktail on the right

I can't fault the drinks or the service in this bar. It took us a little bit to find the actual bar because it's hidden down a little lane way on Kent street, but if you know how to find Baxter's then bars down lane ways should be nothing new. It's still quite a new bar, so I would recommend getting in now while it doesn't get overly busy like a lot of other small bars that have popped up.

Pappa Geddes bar is down the lane way at the rear of 348 Kent Street and is open Monday - Saturdays 5pm - 12am.

What did Rhi do on the weekend?

Don’t you love those nights that were supposed to be tame but end up being really fun? That’s how Friday was at our house. We had D and L over for dinner and ended up singing karaoke in front of the TV until early morning. Poor neighbours.

 

Anyway, over the weekend I felt like smokey chips, so we headed to The Carrrington in Surry Hills for some food and a drink. We got the animal fries, cuttlefish and pork nachos. All delicious, all bad for you, who cares.

We headed to the theatre last night with some friends to see The Effect. I haven’t seen a play before, so I wasn’t sure what to expect but I really enjoyed it. The story was really engaging and in parts it was easy to forget that we were in a small-ish room watching people act out a play. The play was at Sydney Theatre Company and there is an adjoining bar where we had pre-drinks and a bite to eat called The Bar at the End of the wharf. What a fantastic location for a bar! Might have to head back some time for a drink because the view was spectacular.

I also watched Eat, Pray, Love over the weekend in preparation for my trip to Bali later this year. I hadn’t seen it before and was told it would get me excited for Bali. It was a great film and the storyline was good. My sister in law actually met Ketut last time she was in Bali and said he was a lovely man. I’m pretty excited to check out Ubud, it looks like a beautiful place!

What have you all been up to? Have you seen a play before?

Honeymoon day trip

The week after the wedding we pretty much went straight back to work, but no-one was robbing me of my 'honeymoon week'. I think that week we had take out every night. The Monday following the wedding we tried to go to Centennial vineyard only to find it closed, so we trekked back down to the Southern Highlands the following Sunday to get my long awaited lunch from Centennial Vineyard. 

I last went there in October 2013 on our way home from a weekend at the coast.  This time, dressed a bit nicer and without matted hair, we went to celebrate the recent nuptials. It was a freezing day. As we drove away from the city, I watched the temperature drop from about 15 degrees celcius to a very cool 7 degrees. Lucky for us, we were seated inside near the beautiful big fire, such a luxury!

I had soufflé on my mind from the moment I planned the trip to the Southern Highlands because I'd had it the previous time and loved it. As with most restaurants, the menu changes with the season and the menu now had a pumpkin and sage soufflé, so that's what I ordered. It definitely wasn't as good as the four cheese soufflé I had the previous time, but it was still really delicious. I never say no to dessert, especially when celebrating, so we ordered dessert and moved over by the fire with our sweets and coffee in hand. 

Rather than waste the long drive down to the Southern Highland, we decided to make the most of the afternoon and go for a little drive. I remembered as a kid I had gone to a little ghost town called Joadja and had seen signs pointing in that direction earlier so we followed them to see what we could find. First stop was Joadja winery. It seemed like a small winery, though I didn't do much exploring. We tried the port and decided to get a bottle then headed down the road towards the ghost town to see if we would get in. Unfortunately it had closed before we got there, so we'll have to make another day trip soon to have a look.

One thing I love about the Southern Highlands is the scenery. Wherever you look there are rolling hills, livestock, beautiful big houses and great open roads. We were driving past a particularly pretty section of the road when S decided we would get a family portrait on the side of the road. That seemed like a great idea until I realised by then it was 4 degrees out, with windchill probably in the negatives. We persevered, got a few photos and jumped back in the car to warm up and head home.

This is not the only 'honeymoon' we will do. We've got a couple of holiday ideas up our sleeves for when we can both get time off work.

 

I love the Southern Highlands and the nice slow pace down there. Have you been recently?

What did Rhi do on the weekend?

Friday night went quickly from drinks at home to one drink in Newtown to drinks AND dinner in Newtown. It doesn't take much to convince me to have a fun night out so as soon as D mentioned it, I was all for it.

 

When D and I go for a night out, we always start at Black Sheep with a bottle wine and this was no different. I was pleased to see they've changed their food menu and the offerings are much more appetising! We tried the popcorn chicken and the nacho dip and loved both. By that time, S had joined us and it was time for flaming cocktails. Never say no to a flaming cocktail. Ever.

While the food was good, it really wasn't filling so where else do you go for dinner when you're already tipsy? Mary's, that's where. We started with the fried chicken which was ok. I am not a fried chicken fan in the slightest and I can't say I'd be in a rush to eat that again. But the burgers...ohh the burgers! I got the usual cheeseburger and fries and as usual, it did not disappoint. It was home time, after that. Friday nights out are always early for me as I am so tired from the previous week.

The rest of the weekend was spent cleaning the house from top to bottom and gardening from front to back. We went out for a couple of drinks Saturday night to Button bar in Surry Hills as well and then not much else happened!

What have you all been up to?

 

 

Hiatus is over!

Sorry about the hiatus. I just did an exam today and I had dedicated the previous two weeks to study. FYI, I think I smashed it so the hiatus was worth it!

I won't do a big catch up post, just a few posts of what I have been up to. Despite studying my bum off, I've also been super busy.

2 weeks ago, we drove down to Canberra for Steve's cousins 25th Birthday party. The Mecure in Braddon is pet friendly so we booked a room and took Ted along for the fun. The room was great! All tiled (obvious reasons), a pet bed included and a toy for Ted. Ted has this weird thing about tiles and floorboards though, so he pretty much spent most of his time outside or sitting in one spot as he doesn't like to walk around. The yard was huge! It covered the span of three rooms and only our room had access so Ted was in heaven. I thought it a little weird that it also backed on to the other rooms because if I really wanted to, I could have looked straight in (no, I didn't. I don't think there were people in them). Teddy loves Canberra. He ran around that yard back and forth for a couple of days and it was the happiest I've seen him in awhile!

There aren't too many places for coffee in Canberra that are good, so we went to the only couple of good cafes while we were down there. Lonsdale Street Roasters in Braddon, Urban Pantry in Manuka and Farmers Daughter in Yarralumla. 

B's birthday was good fun. Her parents put on a great party with delicious food and even in the cold Canberra weather, everyone had a good time. Afterwards we went out in Kingston, but I couldn't tell you what the place was called since I didn't take any notice. It wouldn't be hard to find because it's probably the only place open late on a Saturday night ;-)

We took Teddy through a car wash and the look of terror on his face indicated that it might not have been the best idea. 

But we made up with it by letting him stick his head out the window to feel the wind in his beard along the lake. Seriously, loves Canberra. He can't get enough!

And that's our weekend to Canberra! It was fun and we needed it. Shame the hotel room didn't have a bath, but the buffet breakfast was pretty good, so we'll call that a win!

What have you all been up to?

The weekend that was - A late weekend recap

I went on up Brissy to see my bestie K on the weekend. We spent Friday looking and trying on wedding dresses which was more fun than I thought it would be. Dancing around and peeping through dresses when no-one is watching is a great game to play and kept us both entertained! At one shop we were given some passes to a bridal expo so we trotted on off to that in the evening. It is probably the first and last bridal expo I will go to. So overwhelming and I wasn’t even looking at stuff for myself! The catwalk was seriously cringe worthy and there wasn’t one dress I’d have picked. Anyway, at least it was free. No loss there.

Saturday we went for a drive up to the mountains to Maleny. It is a cute, quaint town that has cafes and little stores along the main strip. We chose an ‘organic café’ to get lunch from and when it was brought out I realised it was vegan and raw as well. It tasted delicious but didn’t sit on my stomach well at all and upon reading the menu where it said nothing is heated above 40 degrees, I realised why. After that experience, raw food is not a bandwagon I will be jumping on.

Maleny has a beautiful scenic drive with a few stops overlooking the beautiful valley and Glasshouse Mountains. We stopped twice along the way to get photos.



Once we got home we pretty much had to leave again to make it to the Eat markets in Hamilton that are apparently on every Friday and Saturday night. I finally met Ash from Miss Directions in person and she’s every bit as nice as she comes across on her blog. The markets are really cool and I so wish we had some in Sydney. There were healthy and not-so-healthy options to choose from with plenty of stalls with rich treats for dessert. As well as the food stalls, there were the usual nick-nack stores that most markets have with the added extra of live music in a couple of spots. I loved how the markets were decorated and so well put together rather than thrown together. There was heaps of seating (you’d never see that in Sydney!), it was spacious and an all-round good night.

We weren’t sick of markets yet, so Monday saw another trip to some markets, this time in Eagle Farm. These were just your run of the mill weekend markets with food stalls, nick nack stores and a huge fruit market. It was quite hot on Sunday so we didn’t last long there before we headed to The Burrow in West End for breakfast. That place is a really funky café that seems to do lunch and dinner as well, judging by the extensive alcohol list. I demolished my ‘Little Miss Sunshine’ breakfast that consisted of poached eggs, zucchini, tomato, basil and fetta and we headed home to relax for the rest of the day before my flight.

As luck would have it, after a beautiful weekend of sunshine the storm moved in right when I was supposed to board, pushing boarding back half an hour. No biggie for me and I made it home at a decent time to get ready for the week ahead.

How was your weekend?

Hello, it's Wednesday

Hello Autumn, my old friend. The weather has been really nice of late (not that we really got a Summer) and I've been pulling out my jeans and long sleeve tops. But then the humidity sets in and alas, Autumn is not here. Make up your mind, weather. I don't know what to wear to work!

It's been pretty quiet around these parts. After a few months of having no manager at work, I will finally have a new one come Monday and to be honest I am not sure how I feel about that. I like doing my own thing, but it will be helpful, I'm sure. I did manage to score a window seat in an office shuffle that happened today. When I look out, I can see Steve's office and the spot that he proposed (sigh.... hahaha). 

Headed in to town on Saturday and had high tea at the Sheraton with my dear friend. It was a delicious carb fest and I don't regret one bit. Champagne upon arrival, a nice selection of sandwiches, pastries and scones and I was ready to take on anything. Until the sugar crash hit... Nothing a walk around the city couldn't fix and a little looky through some wedding dress shops (no, not for me). Actually, being out the whole day exhausted me and that night Steve and I had plans with friends. We ended up at some place called Dive bar in Darlinghurst that was kind of cool, but full of 18 year olds and well, I wasn't feeling it. I called it a night at 10pm, got in the nearest cab and went home to crash out.

Once upon a time, weekend breakfast was a regular occurance. Saturday and Sunday would see us at a new cafe gorging on whatever took our fancy. These days, savings is in full force and I'd much prefer to spend my money on a nice dinner out. I was never a fan of breakfast anyway, so not much was missed there. Last Sunday, however, I decided I felt like pancakes and with no flour or sugar in the house we had to go to breakfast. I was expecting more since the last time we went to Esthers Kitchen I had some divine pancakes with a poached pear and delicious coulis, but this time did not step up. Firstly, since when do cafes put fresh fruit on pancakes that isn't banana? Fresh orange on pancakes? Huh? Secondly, where is my poached pear and thirdly, half way through our meal they put up the 'cash only sign'. Um, we don't carry cash and the nearest ATM is a 5 min drive away. Ah well, it wasn't all that bad.

So, I've been engaged all of three weeks and I already had a bad wedding dream last night. Look, I haven't even started planning the damn wedding and I am having bad dreams. A sign of what's to come? I don't know, but it doesn't help me actually want to plan a wedding.

And there you have it, this blog post only has pictures of food!

What has everyone been up to?

What did Rhi do on the weekend?

We popped over to S's family farm on Friday night because his Step-Dad was home from a 3 month trip overseas. It was a bit of a late Christmas/Early Birthday celebrations for S. We were served delicious golabki (Polish cabbage roll) that was followed up by a decadent chocolate mousse cake that I got at Lorraine's Pattiserie near the Ivy in the CBD. S's sister and her boyfriend were there too, so it was a lot of fun and as usual, the camera was brought out and we got heaps of funny shots. 

The pants I am wearing I bought from the Iconic. They are the 'relaxed fit' style pant with the lower crotch that come in at the ankle (though, don't have an elastic ankle). Umm, why didn't I buy these type of pants sooner? Comfort heaven. I wore them Friday night with a t-shirt, scarf and sandals and the following evening I dressed them up with heels and a nice top to wear out for drinks.

We aren't afforded the luxury of a sleep in when at the farm because Ted is up with the sparrows, harassing us to take him outside. When no isn't taken for an answer, one of us gets up to let him out and watch that he doesn't wander too far. Lucky for me, that was S this past weekend. I had my first ghost experience at the farm on Friday night that did not scare me at all. Everyone has experienced it at some stage or another, so I suppose it was time I did too. Nothing too exciting, I woke up in the dead of the night and felt a pressing feeling on my ankle. I thought it was Ted, but he was on the other side of the bed and when I sat up to look there was nothing on my ankle. My first thought was ghost, I told it to go away and went back to sleep. Odd.

After S had been up for a bit, I dragged myself out of bed and took the camera out to take some snaps of the early morning light. It's a peaceful place to be at that time of the morning and the horses are usually really friendly and come to say hello. Ted has a horse friend named Jacqui who he says hello to each time and she gives him a sniff too before trotting off to do her thing.

 

How was your weekend?