Playlist #1

Here are a selection of songs that I am currently listening to repeatedly.  Josh Pyke, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds and Bloc Party are some of my all-time favourite artists.  The Submarine soundtrack by Alex Tuner is 6 songs of perfection.  Here I've only included Glass in the Park.

Enjoy!  Here is the link for the Youtube playlist.

Stripes, Rainy Days and Much Mohr

Clockwise (L-R): cucumber pickles, mochi with mung bean paste, a punny fish and chip store, mornings in a suburb of Sydney

I am gradually growing to like the camera in my phone, it's convenient for those unexpected moments.  Every week I volunteer at an organisation and I always walk past this fish and chip shop called Mohr Fish.  I really do love a good (or do I mean terrible?) pun.  Mohr Fish, Mohr's Circle?!  If the pavement weren't so grimy I would be on the ground laughing.

One thing that doesn't make me ROFL are mornings that look like the picture above.  This is at 6.30 - 7am when sunlight should be streaming through the window, blinding me.  At least the weather has been consistently bad, every afternoon for the past week there have been thunderstorms/rain so at least I know when I have to bring the clothes in from the line.

One topic I do love to talk about is food.  Cucumber pickles are simple to make and is a staple in my world.  I always eyeball the proportions but usually it's 1:0.75 of sugar to vinegar since I like it a little on the sweet side. Basically you just make the brine to your taste and then add a clove of sliced garlic, one star anise and a few flakes of chilli to the liquid and then dump your sliced cucumber in.

It'll be ready in 30 minutes and the flavour intensifies with a longer pickling time.  I leave it in the fridge and take some out each time for dinner.  To make it extra crunchy you can salt the cucumber before pickling.  Sprinkle salt onto the slice cucumber, let it sit for 30 mins, drain and then rinse and drain the cucumber.  If you need a recipe to follow, this one would be a good one to use.

Now continuing on with the food thread...I am indifferent towards mochi, I like the filling but don't like the chewy texture of the exterior.  For some inexplicable reason I wanted to make some from scratch.  It's very laborious making it from scratch, allow ample time for wrapping.

I made a mung bean paste instead of red bean paste because that's all I had in the pantry.  I used the bean paste recipe from here and the mochi recipe from here.  If you decide to make it I would suggest adding a little more liquid to the mochi paste as it was very dry when I made it,  add about 1/4 cup more liquid.  Also if you let the cooked dough cool a little, it becomes much easier to work with.

Wearing: Lee blue jeans and Minkpink black and white striped shirt

I am definitely a jeans and T-shirt type of person.  It's comfortable and practical.  Usually I will wear a pair of ballet flats with this but if it's raining or I am in the lab for uni I will wear sneakers.  In the future I am trying to purchase less casual tops since as my Dad correctly pointed out, I am not a kid anymore and so T-shirts shouldn't be a staple of my wardrobe.  This year I am looking for nice soft cotton button up blouses and plain coloured shirts rather than the graphic T-shirts you will typically find me in.

Clockwise (L-R): Travel by Land candle lid, the actual candle, updated watch, the weave of my cotton curtain


I ordered a Diane von Furstenberg scarf for my sister as it's her 30th birthday soon.  It's from some fancy schmancy store called Matches.  Their shipping was a eye-watering £30 which is about $45 AUD. They do wrap it up nicely I will admit.  So to soften the blow, I bought this candle for myself.  It has a bergamot scent, very citrusy.

I discovered that you can update the look of a watch by changing the watch band. Before it was one of those leather cuff watches, like these ones.  Kinda too sporty, beachy for me because I am neither. After several years of constant use, the strap has become worn, the dusty pink has become pinky grey, the notch that I usually tighten the band to has slowly merged into the next notch.  So at the jewellers I got the band replaced with this brandy coloured leather band.  Much more grown up now.

Acquisitions Log #2

source

Date: 5 January 2012

The purpose of this bag is for formal occasions,  job interviews, and when I eventually have a proper job (ie. a job relevant to my degree).  Although the bag is not something I will be using very often now, it is something I will need in the future.  Now all I need is a nice suit set, this is quite difficult to find as the jacket half is always a little too short for me.  Argh!  Bracelet length, anyone?  I've been borrowing my sister's suit set.

I was looking for an elegant, classic leather bag with minimal branding.  This Oroton bag fulfilled my criteria, I think it's from a previous collection.  Not 100% sure since I bought it used from eBay.  

Date: 11 January 2012

These shoes were bought new.  It's difficult to get used shoes that are comfortable and in good condition.  I had looked everywhere for a pair of comfortable flats during the sales, looked at the cheap stuff, looked at the expensive stuff.  Nothing appealed to me and so my last stop was Kmart.  Oddly enough these are comfy, they don't pinch the toes and they didn't give me blisters the first time I wore them.  It's incredibly tempting to buy an extra pair or two as spares.