#DAREcember - Week 2

I came to realise this week that this challenge is contributing to my mental health. Funny to think that a style challenge could do that, but for me, it's working two-fold. Firstly, I'm being mindful; I'm really being present when I'm getting dressed, adding accessories etc. And recently some fellow counsellor friends asked me what I'm doing for self-care. As well as the usual getting enough sleep, doing some girlie pampering, etc, I realised that I'm doing this challenge for me. Not for my clients, colleagues, Pickle, BigTed or anyone else, just for me. So this is how Week 2 panned out...

Day 8 was In the Wild, slim pickings here, it was either going to be my cow print sneakers or my leopard print scarf. The day came around and it was way too hot to consider having the scarf around my neck, so I wore it as a belt. Pickle chose my earrings and the colour of my hair clip, so I chose the green top to coordinate. Of course, trying to capture this resulted in my second "awkward bathroom selfie", the first being here. I love that this constitutes a work outfit these days!

All Black for Day 9 was really out of my comfort zone. I never wear all black and I struggled not slip on a bright pair of shoes... I couldn't resist adding a splash of colour with some bright red heart earrings a friend gave me. As it was a work day, I'd initially selected a sensible pair of ballet pumps... Then saw these heels sitting next to them and it was a no-brainer. I love these shoes and they are surprisingly comfortable.


Pinned On for Day 10 gave me a good excuse to dig out the vintage brooches I've been collecting. I love how the prettiness contrasts with the utility of the denim vest, so think I'll keep one on the collar from now on. Pickle chose my earrings again today, he's becoming my regular stylist!  I love "twin" earrings, though they're hard to come by - not a matching pair, but part of a set.

Day 11 for His, saw me doning the only shirt of BigTed's that was at my house. Good thing I like it... I nipped it in with a belt "borrowed" some years ago from a former boyfriend. This was perfect for a day of Christmas shopping in 32°C.

Brightest for Day 12 was much more in my comfort zone. I *love* colour. Today was my work Christmas lunch, so I got glammed up to hang with the girls. I had a divine pasta, glass of wine and indulgent dessert at Café Cavour, which I highly recommend, not only for the piquant food, but for the top notch customer service. My brightest day dress was a relatively new purchase, but with cost-per-use, I'll soon be in single figures... Pickle again chose my earrings, a green flower drop; hot pink shoes and red lip tar complete the outfit. Hair up in my latest favourite look, red glitter and gold nails, and I was ready to go. Do you think I'm bright enough?!

I cheated a little for Day 13's Killer Heels, as the actual day started out at kindergym and on general Mummy duties... Not really Killer Heel appropriate! However, I was heading out on Day 12 for dinner with a couple of the girls and our men for a glamorous Christmas get together that evening... And it went late, so technically I started Day 13 wearing this outfit (artistic license and all that). I kept the dress bright - I purchased this dress years ago in Paris (sorry, had to drop that in there), with one of my favourite people in the world (Chaz, do you remember?). Adding in my rose gold shoes and vintage accessories, I was ready to head to Coast, by far the swishest restaurant in the region. It deserves it's own blogpost, which will feature soon.

Backless for Day 14 is a little out of my comfort zone these days. I actually used to wear this top as a dress(!), and have been thinking of donating it, as it so rarely gets an outing. I dressed it down with white jeans to take Pickle to see Paddington the movie today,  and added a pop of colour to the monochrome with my favourite red Converses and the red heart earrings again. The movie was great btw, but watching Pickle's expression was the best bit. 

Tune in for more next week... vintage, ring bling, mixed prints, curves, cats eyes, rock out, and product free... definitely some there well out of my comfort zone!

Was there anything that caught your eye this week? 

Cheers, KangaRue :) 

#DAREcember - end of week 1

I started blogging the first two days of #DAREcember here, mostly to commit myself... Here is the rest of Week 1:

Day 3 was "to the max", though with currently only one maxi dress in my wardrobe, this wasn't a hard pick (I've since got another one, which of course arrived in the post at the end of the day, though it of course needs taking up so my 5'2"/158cm doesn't trip over it!). I bought this panama hat a couple of months ago, but hadn't worn it yet. Throw on some turquoise drop earrings and my sunglasses and I was ready to rock Pickle's swimming class! Evening came around, and I removed the hat, put my hair up into a twist with a hot pink clip and threw a denim jacket on top. 

Day 4 was "orange kisses", which required a quick shopping trip. Not convinced this is the colour for me though. I will no doubt try the gloss again, but don't envisage it becoming a staple. Think the girls at work are almost enjoying my selfie taking as much as I'm enjoying the style injection (Amy and Mel, I'm looking at you!). 

I was a bit wary about the double denim challenge. I was thinking about playing it safe with white denim crops or long shorts... but decided to go for my short(est) denim shorts paired with my well loved denim jacket. I'm also wearing my sequined Rolling Stones t-shirt which always gets loads of positive comments, the panama and my favourite tan FitFlops. One problem, it is extremely hot in Hervey Bay at the moment. I was sweltering. A denim vest has been on my wish list ever since reading this Redcliffe Style post... Then I knew I *needed* one, I went into work the next day and my über stylish colleague was wearing one. Shopping with a toddler is not particularly conducive to browsing and trying things on, so I hadn't found one yet. Day 5's challenge spurred me on though and Pickle-free, I hit the mall. Just Jeans was my saviour... I went in with the the expectation of buying a pale denim, but preferred the dark wash (so much that I bought the distressed dark wash jacket too).  

I tend to think people generally fall into either the silver or gold camp. I am definitely a silver (or preferably platinum!) wearer. However I do have the odd gold accessory and for Day 6 I dug out my favourite pale gold earrings, worn with a chocolate brown top, beige shorts and  my ubiquitous FitFlops for Pickle's kindergym class followed by lunch. I later changed into an all navy outfit for an evening out. 

Day 7 was an easy one. Living in Hervey Bay, most of my wardrobe is easily adapted to Beachy. I'd always liked the idea of a kaftan top, but didn't know if I could carry one off. Inspired by Styling You (who regularly features kaftan tops and dresses) a while ago I bought this turquoise patterned top, which has become my firm favourite. I wear a blue, pink or green vest underneath, or can throw it over a bikini, and then dress it up or down depending on what else I pair it with. Today was mainly spent playing with Pickle, so it was a pretty casual day.

So that's the end of Week the first week of #DAREcember... I'm loving the challenge and I'm definitely finding that I'm thinking more about my complete outfit, resulting in a style boost.  

What do you think? Would you be up to joining in? 

Cheers, KangaRue :)

#DAREcember (not a fashion blogger!)

While I certainly wouldn't call myself a fashion blogger - I just don't think I'm that stylish - though I do love my shoes, handbags, earrings, hats, scarves etc. And this is (I suppose) a lifestyle blog... Well, a blog about my life with Pickle anyhow (is that the same thing??).

One of the bloggers I've been following on social media for a while is Fox in Flats, and while she regularly runs style dares, I've never had the chutzpah to join in before. Now that I'm back at work, and am feeling fitter and more confident with our new simplified lifestyle, I thought I'd take part in #darecember.

Stacked up was the first challenge. Working as a counsellor, I took a bit of a twist on this one, and wore my mental health rubber bracelets stacked against a simple black dress for the day (turquoise earrings and hair-clip completed the colour injection). If you'd like to seek support and are aged 12-25 years old, then check out headspace; additionally and for those outside that age group BeyondBlue is a great resource and why not check out World Mental Health Day's suggestions too.

Today is braided... Now I'm not adverse to the odd French plait.  But it felt a bit of a cop-out to go with something I regularly do.  So, loving a bit of asymmetry, I went for a one-sided braid.  Now trying to get a shot of this was a trifle more difficult.  I call this one "awkward bathroom selfie".

So what do you think so far?  Are you tempted to join me? 

Cheers, KangaRue :)

Pickle is Two-Twooot!

I wrote this post about six months ago. Then went looking for the invite photo, as I wanted to show off B2's fab handiwork - he did a great job encapsulating the image I had in my head, and managed to capture my rambling descriptions perfectly. But I couldn't find the image, and thinking it would eventually turn up I waited. And waited some more. And then didn't blog other stuff because I thought this should be posted first. So since Pickle's third birthday is rapidly approaching, and I'm already tossing ideas around about his party, here is the post about his second birthday, sans invite image (sorry B2).

*****

I love birthdays. So when Pickle's birthday is approaching, I can't help but get excited about preparing his celebration.

For his first birthday, he had a Very Hungry Caterpillar theme... Invites, balloons and some of the food was themed. I tossed around loads of ideas for his second birthday, but decided that he would get more out of some of the themes when he was a bit older. But I'm getting ahead of myself...

I normally manage to stretch my own birthday celebrations out over a week. Pickle had a birthday month! With no less than three birthday cakes.

Pickle's 2nd birthday cake (Part 1) for playcare

Because we were going to be in Western Australia with my Outlaws on the actual day, his celebrations at playcare happened before we went. I decided to take the easy route for this one and use a packet. The first dairy-free packet I used was a disaster, so I had to make a second cake, so not the quick and easy option I'd hoped for. Purple icing and the sides covered with a mix of sprinkles rescued it though, and I was reasonably happy with the end result.

Nanna's marshmallow covered birthday cake

Off we went to the Outlaws. My MoL made a delicious orange cake - her normal recipe, substituted with Pickle'a dairy-free spread... But it was a little warm when she tried to ice it, and the icing ended up in a puddle. She did an awesome restoration with marshmallows - Pickle's treat of choice. I love this photo of him blowing out the candles.

We returned to Hervey Bay for his official celebrations. There are some great playgrounds here, one of Pickle's favourites being the train park (that's what the locals call it, it's official name is the Ernie Organ park). So with a fantastic location, a train theme seemed obvious. I found some Thomas the Tank engine loot bags, so it was just the invitation and cake that really needed theming.

I knew what I wanted as his invite in my head, but my computer capabilities limit me somewhat. BigTed's son B2 came to the rescue. Not only is he one of Pickle's favourite people, but he is a whizz technically and talented creatively, and he managed to translate my wobbly ideas onto paper with a great result.

I decided to bake the cake from scratch after my last "shortcut". My darling friend Chaz, is a chef, and had pointed me to a recipe for a dairy-free (vegan) chocolate cake for Pickle's birthday. It was a huge hit that time, and I surprised people by telling them it contained avocado. I kid you not. There is no dairy, but a gorgeous creaminess. I used neon colours in the dairy-free "butter" icing and decorated the cake with various Pickle-friendly lollies. Pickle was thrilled it was a yellow toot-toot (his favourite colour).

Pickle's train cake - not sure I'll be able to top this!

Even BigTed's big boys got into the action

We had a lovely day, we played pass-the-parcel, the kids played with his new toys, and the train playground *eventually* got a look-in. It was an absolutely brilliant day.

The final celebration came right on the end of the month. Our cats, Lulu and Hermes finally arrived from London.

We missed you!

After a couple of false starts, nine months had passed since we last saw them. Pickle was excited - he even had a sign to hold up at the airport! They've settled in really nicely and Pickle is learning to be quiet and gentle with them. Hermes was always his best friend, and he puts up with a lot of hugs and enthusiastic squealing.

Not sure I'll be able to top this next year! Shall I start thinking of themes now? (Ideas welcome).

Cheers, KangaRue :)

40th Birthday Tattoo (4/365)

Today is my 40th Birthday.  I'm not one to worry about the "big" birthdays.  I don't generally set targets of what I "should" have achieved by a certain age (though 27 was a doozy, as I was "supposed" to be married with two kids by then, and I was newly single!).  Since studying counselling, I've come to realise that using judgemental wording in an internal dialogue is neither helpful nor constructive... but back to the far less lofty theme of this post.

While tossing around the idea of a tattoo for years, I've never been comfortable settling on an image that would permanently adorn my body.  And where would I want it?  I liked the idea of it being discreet, so I could wear a strapless dress without it being visible; but I would also want to be able to see it, otherwise I didn't see the point.

Quite frankly, I had body issues.  But then I became pregnant, and my body, including its lumps and bumps, was growing a baby.  I loved my body more than I ever had before during my pregnancy.  In fact, I think it's the first time I ever truly loved it.  I'd appreciated it before, liked certain aspects, didn't mind others, and had my fair share of hang-ups and things I didn't like.  But I think my Demi-shot shows how amazing I felt during my pregnancy.  And all in spite of the immense SPD pain.

One of my earlier "mother
& child" drawings

And while I must acknowledge my new singledom at this coming juncture in my life was partly a catalyst, my beautiful Pickle was the inspiration for the design.  Early civilisation honoured women and motherhood, and  matriarchal societies were prevalent.  Spirals were typically used to represent the mother-goddess.  So with this in mind I started searching for images; even starting a Pinterest board.  Some were almost right.  But wanting something truly personal, I started drawing some ideas, inspired by and combining some tribal designs.  And it all came together when I had the realisation that my hip would be the perfect place to have it.

Kisses from Pickle &
a balloon from a friend.
Another friend said
"naughty at 40"!

I got some recommendations and headed to Frith Street Tattoo for a detailed consultation and later headed in with my hand-drawn design, where it was tidied up and applied (is that the right word?) by Oliver better than I could have imagined. (And while there was some discomfort, it was nothing like contractions, though I did utilise my HypnoBirthing techniques to manage the sensations!)

So for my 40th birthday present to myself, I now have a mother-goddess spiral topped with an E for Pickle's IRL name.  I wanted colour, so had the E filled with turquoise, one of my two favourite colours.  To me this celebrates my body being an amazing thing that grew an even more amazing person.  Happy Birthday to me.

4 January 2013

Let me know what you think?  Do you have any tattoos?

Cheers, @Kanga_Rue

The Good Enough Mums Club

Pondering my previous post about what the right tools are for a happy life, it occurred to me that surrounding yourself with positive and supportive people is so important.  Reflecting on some lovely friends I have across the world, reminded me of seeing my friend Tasha in a workshop of The Good Enough Mums Club just before leaving the UK.

I expect this workshop was a little different from the show Smash, not only was it paid, but only Mum's were considered to audition, and childcare costs were supported too!

Monologue driven, there are loads of laugh-out-loud moments.  I'll never look at Mr Bloom quite the same way again, and Calpol (paracetamol) has forever been renamed "sweet, sweet nectar".  But it was from the second song, that I started sobbing and pretty much didn't stop for the rest of the show.

Yes, that is a tampon up her nose.
This has only hit home since Pickle's
own discovery recently (see below)...

The show is brutally honest, in ways only your closest friends will ever be.  The second number is all about how each Mum considers all the other Mums are coping really well, and they are the only one struggling with self-doubt, sleep deprivation, and wondering if they are a good enough Mum for their precious little one.  While you don't have to be a parent to appreciate this play, to understand the depth of self criticism and worry, it certainly helps. Having the support of, and inspiration from, trusted friends is invaluable.  I needed this support with Pickle's lack of sleep (he slept through the night for the first time last night, at 16-months old; and for a while there I was getting a combined total of 5.5 hours of broken sleep a night), but the support has never been more necessary since becoming a single Mum.

Pickle's very own
The Young Ones "mouse" moment 

Leaving some of those friends behind in London has been truly difficult and painful, but my SilverLining is the friends I still have in Australia (not least Bubba & Nanna, Pickle's Grandmothers), and the new friends I already seem to have been lucky enough to discover.

So when The Good Enough Mums Club premieres in London, and it will, because it's frankly just brilliant, I strongly encourage you to hurry and see it (and make it such a huge success that it makes its way to Australia, so I can see it again, please!).

Cheers, KangaRue :)

Happy 2013! (1/365)

I'm not a fan of New Year's Eve. Something always seems to go wrong, sometimes catastrophically. I've had one New Year's Eve that I truly enjoyed from start to finish, in 2008, and included some of my favourite people in the world, having a murder mystery dinner at home. But it was the exception that proved the rule.

Having had a pretty challenging year (some of my friends say I can be the queen of understatement), I'm keen for the fresh start a flip of a new calendar seems to bring.  I mean, we've even moved across the world, to start a new life, just the two of us. This hasn't been without its own challenges, not least being the seemingly un-Australian level of bureaucracy I've encountered (but that's another story all together).

To kick start our New Year, I decided to cook a fry-up for breakfast. Fresh eggs from the Grandparentals neighbour, with decent Aussie bacon, polished off with a hunk of delicious watermelon. What I hadn't considered was our lack of cooking utensils. Most of our stuff is still en-route from the UK.

Have you ever tried to get a fried egg out of not a non-stick pan without a spatula?

I managed to get Pickle's out - his breakfast was perfect. My egg cracked as I was getting it out of the pan, but managed to make it to the plate still runny. So while it wasn't perfect, it was pretty darn close. If this is a metaphor for our year ahead, I'll be happy with it.

So on that note... Happy New Year!

I've realised that if I'd had the right tools, my breakfast would have been perfect too... so what do you consider to be the right tools for a happy life?

Cheers, KangaRue

PS. My Project 365 went kaput last year for obvious reasons, so I'm going to keep it pretty basic this year and see how I go - wish me luck?

Mummy Olympics

The Olympics have commenced!  (Am I even allowed to say that, not being a major sponsor?)  And while I abhor the corporate machine grinding away, for me the Olympics is about the athletes who have worked their arses off preparing to do their best.  But there's another type of athlete, the Mummies out there, who are raising the next generation - a few Olympians among them - who I want to recognise today.  My darling friend Caroline, who has been an inspiration and a guiding light to me many times, has written about her very own Mummy Olympics...

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About me:

I'm normal, BC (before child) I was a normal woman who spent time with other adults and held adult conversations and did adult things, I went to the hairdresser, wore white or black clothes and always had my nails and make up done. AC (after child) it ALL seemed to turn to shit. I've been known to go from normal, to lost, to neurotic, to broken in less than 30 seconds; that coupled up with no hair/make-up/nails done etc. can only spell out one thing: NEW MOTHER! After 18 months of being a new mother I have finally grasped that the life I had as an in control, social adult, with time on my hands, is long gone and has been replaced with express hair stay-on make-up and patterned clothes, but it’s all good as the birth of our daughter, Lulah had put a whole new spin on things and it’s all good in my books.

The Mummy Olympics:
Apparently the Olympics comes every four years, as any mother without a nanny will know, every day is a challenge of strength, agility, speed and stamina. It all starts at the crack of dawn in mid-slumber: on your marks, get set, cue gunshot (aka 1st howl of the morning), GO! And we’re off… and then greeted with the most wonderful smile, which almost makes waking up so early worth it.

Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner shot-put: you so know that you’re going to have something fired at you at great speed, whether it be milk or porridge, whatever the substance you know you’re gonna get covered. Through trial and error, or because someone’s told you, we know NOT to get dress until after baba has finished eating.

Wrestling: or should I say the nappy wrestle, we long for the natural development of our children as we all love to see them do new things; once learned, this can make the simplest tasks turn ugly and Lulah is no exception for this. After a wriggly slam dunk on to the changing mat she’ll wrap her legs round my hands as I go for the tags, only releasing so that she can get a foot in the soilage, once feet are soiled it’s a race against the clock to get these bad boys clean and out of the offending area while legs are giving Michael Flatly a run for his money, once the nappy is off, so is she with a full body flip on to the front, meaning I have to release my grip or dislocate her hip. When I’ve managed to put her on her back again the turning stats again; Mummy raises both gripped feet higher to inhibit flip but Lulah is still going for it, one leg release and Mummy goes in with wipe, Lulah is then released and both parties allowed to return to their corners, Lulah is returned to the mat with Mummy holding the feet in one hand and finger looped in nappy with the other. SLAM the nappy is up and Mum finishes with the tags, Mummy is left to clean soilage from surrounding area. Note to self don’t wipe poo on one’s face.

Despite what she tells you, she still looks
glamorous - AND she's teaching Lulah about
all important accessorising!

Pin the nappy on the moving target: should Lulah not want to return to the mat we have a new sport of putting the nappy on the moving target, with knees like the soles of my feet (from being on them too long), I quick shuffle round the room trying to pin Lulah with one had while unsticking and re-sticking the tabs on each side, quite some task as mine and Lulah’s head clearance is considerably different even when I'm on my knees; catching up with said child I then have to rearrange her, but cheeks so both are covered, mission accomplished! Now recover and repeat with clothes.

Toy Volleyball: how is it that Lulah still hasn’t learned to throw a ball yet but she can launch a toy some distance so long as you’re the target? I have had every toy with corners that Lulah owns thrown at me at one point or another, her favourite have to be wooden blocks, light, sharp and easy to aim, I'm a typical girl I never could catch…. Until now. And how comes they never feel the need to throw something soft?

Poker: I was never able to lie, I still can’t, but the poker face is your best tool against a gorgeous little horror who thinks funny to draw all over themselves with your make up, or empty your mother-in-law’s pot plant on to her cream carpet, or open the curtains in a changing room. This was never truer than a few weeks ago when I experienced my first mouth injury, leaving Lulah covered in blood, wave of panic and distress hidden, cleaned up and calm child as if nothing’s wrong – unleash tears in to G&T later, whether it’s for good or bad you can’t let it show, god knows all you want to do is burst out laughing/crying in an uncontrollable mess or take a photo, but as a law abiding parent you can’t, poker face it every time! And make sure you have a very good memory.

The 5, 10, 50, 100+ Sprint: OK so we all want our babies to stand up, crawl or walk, it’s the most amazing thing in the world when you see these things for the first time, but be warned this is where the real fun begins . Like moths to a flame, children can travel at speed towards anything they like the look of. These little monsters spend how many months not moving then they are like lightening! This is never truer than in the mornings as I fold the pram up and put it away in the nursery’s shed. Our routine goes: Lulah climes out of the pram, I take my handbag off the back, remove any nursery supplies and she normally stands there and waits for me to close and store the pram; clearly cars and roads are THE most exciting thing in the world so she’s off, handbag open on the ground, stack of nappies, pram half done, WHAT DO YOU DO??? No one in their right mind wouldn’t go after their child but then there you hand bag calling ‘steal me, steal me, I'm valuable’; is this a quandary we will ever know the answer to? Gold medal to the lady who told me about handbag insurance on my home insurance.

The buggy child press: Something I only started to experience when Lulah started to be more confident with her walking, she now has an aversion to sitting in the buggy, and it’s like I'm asking her to sit on a spike. It’s funny how many knowing looks you get at the nursery at the end of the day, children all practicing their planking skills as they go stiff as a board as you try and sit them in the pram for a quick skip home, and don’t you just feel like the worst person in the world when they kick up one almighty stink. My answer, she wants to lie flat out? I flatten the buggy out, lay the planking Lulah in and strap in quick and sit ‘em up! Works every time.

The one handed chore: Having me do one handed chores is a favourite of Lulah’s, she loves nothing more than to demand a cuddle or pick up the very moment I need to do something, I think it’s a sixth sense she was born with. Since becoming a mother I have mastered many chores, like buttering toast with a child attached: sit child on worktop, put bread, toast etc. behind child and spread like mad, this is not time for measuring out weightwatcher points or making sure you get to the edges, baby doesn’t care! This same tactic can be applied to many other things: opening cans, bottles, jars, but for god sake don’t let them see what you’re doing, you’re on your own then, go-go-gadget hand will be deployed and will remove all items from said worktop at lightening pace. The one handed chore can be adapted for carrying things, you may not have noticed but you actually have 4 thumbs and countless fingers to complete this, no checking now these extra digits are very shy and only come out when needed how else would you carry a small wriggly one, fav toy, changing bag, muslin, keys and a skinny latte eh? Us mothers also gain amazingly superhero strong legs from all the squatting and bending while performing one handed tasks, unfortunately this comes at the expense of completely shot knees, can’t help you with this one. Gold medal to the person who invented the baby sling.

Endurance: as every parent will know endurance is the key to everything in this sport, you have to keep your wits about you 24/7 so the Lulah’s of this world don’t run riot and grow up to be ASBO horrors! I wish there was a magic spell which you could use at such times when your resolve has dissolved, or if there is no one has let me in to the secret. What I will say, is keep yours and your partner’s intentions the same in front of little horrors, that battle can be held later out of earshot. They learn fast, so we have to learn faster and don’t forgot that it will end soon and everyone is in the very same boat as you at one time or another, and for when all else fails, there’s always wine!

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Do you have any other events to suggest?

 Cheers, KangaRue :)

51/366 - On The Wallaby Track

Today Pickle and I visited the Art Gallery of NSW.  This used to be one of my regular haunts, and I later found out that my darling friend Sharni used to curate here.

I love the Post Impressionist works, particularly Tom Roberts.  However, one of my favourite pieces is On The Wallaby Track by Frederick McCubbin, hence today's picture.

51/366 - 20 Feb 2012

Aussie children of the 80s would likely remember it from the Kit Kat ad which somewhat immortalised it:

Cheers, KangaRue :)

49/366 - Best view in the world?

This is possibly one of the best views in the world.  It's certainly on of my favourites.  This is taken at Fairlight, along part of the Spit to Manly Walk in Sydney; I have done the walk from Balgowlah to Manly many, many times, and have done it a few times on this trip already.  I never get bored of looking at it; there is always something happening, people to watch, strangers to engage in conversation.

49/366 - 18 Feb 2012

So is this the best view in the world?  For me, it's one full of memories, home-coming and wishful thinking (hey, BoyWonder, one of my favourite houses on this walk is currently for sale - turret and all!).  What is your favourite view or walk?

Cheers, KangaRue :)

Masterful Offerings

I love Masterchef, but most especially I love Masterchef Australia - not only because I long to see my hometown in the background.  I enjoy cooking and eating good food, so luckily I married BoyWonder who is an imaginative and skilled cook.

The past weekend we were watching the latest season of Masterchef Australia, which is currently screening in the UK.  Inspired by Matt Moran of Aria Restaurant, BoyWonder made the Gnocchi in Burnt Butter from part of the celebrity chef challenge recipe.  He'll have to make it again, as I completely forgot to take any photos, but it was mighty delicious!

He followed it up with a blueberry meringue pie with blueberries from our own bushes.  There's also a rhubarb and apple lattice tart, again with rhubarb from our garden.  Photos were taken with my phone, so apologies for the quality.

So no one was more surprised than me when I arrived home quite late this weekday evening, thinking I was going to have a quick thrown together dinner, only to be banished from the kitchen.

And this is what arrived on my plate...

OMG, it was the Eggnet with Pork, Prawn, Beansprouts & Cucumber Relish from Martin Boetz of Longrain Restaurant's celebrity chef challenge in Season 1!  A slight amendment to the recipe as we had scallops in the fridge rather than prawns (shucks!), and he also added shaved waterchestnuts and bamboo shoots.  Absolutely delicious layers of flavour with lots of umami, freshness and utter, utter yumminess.

I'm typing this as we're watching another episode, and Alvin's Drunken Chicken with Bruised Salad is getting accolades, so I'll keep my fingers crossed and keep you posted!

Cheers, KangaRue

PS.  We keep debating which is the not-to-miss restaurant in Sydney... Aria, Longrain, Rockpool, Red Lantern... the list goes on.  Which would you pick, or do you have another suggestion?

My Eclectic Cycle to Work

About a month ago I started cycling to work in an effort to get fit, from Woolwich to Canary Wharf.  The added benefit of it being a great form of relaxation is only heightened by those days I have to contend with public transport and the masses that push, shove and often stink amongst it!

Some days are a struggle, but some times when I have awoken early enough, it's lovely to take a gentle cycle and admire the views - ranging from the mundane to the architecturally stunning and the just plain bizarre.

Early on my cycle takes me through Royal Arsenal Riverside, with it's beautiful old buildings and the canons...

And then I go past this art installation.  To be honest I'm not really sure what it's about, or even that it's called, but it's an intriguing piece we've lovingly named The Zombies...  this would be the bizarre part!

So off I go to catch the Woolwich Free Ferry which transports cars, trucks, a growing number of cyclists and a few pedestrians directly across the Thames.  I pass the Thames Barrier along the way which is an impressive site - even more so when the sun shines and it glints silver.  That's my destination, Canary Wharf, in the background on the right.

There is a beautiful old pub that has been closed down.  I love the tower with it's cosmic depictions.  Hopefully it will be reopened and restored one day soon.

I keep going past a few factories and at the start of the bike path come across the Brick Lane Music Hall.  In an old church.  Which is not on Brick Lane.  But it's a beautiful building and the mural on the side is lovely.  My goal is to go and see a production here this year - it's crying out for a visit to a panto at Christmas don't you think?

 Along the bike path, dodging oblivious pedestrians, I go past a beautiful garden that leads to the Thames Barrier.  There's a great cafe in the park next to the garden too.  This was just a bare plot a few years ago, so I love what they've done with it.

Amongst the residential blocks, are the Tate & Lyle warehouses and factories.  I love the giant Golden Syrup jar on the side of one of their buildings...

Not much further to go now, and the view changes to the O2 (originally known as the Millenium Dome)... which I'm pretty sure falls under the bizarre category.  It's a striking building though and it's difficult to understand quite how huge it is until you're standing in it's cavernous space.

Obviously the reverse views on the way home.  Impressive and diverse views that I hope I never get jaded looking at.

So what do you think about the views on my commute to work?

Please vote for my photos on Mesomo.

Cheers, KangaRue

Great Rivington Lobster Massacre

Having chatted to a number of foodies on Twitter for a while, we decided on catching up for a twEATup... this is a get-together over food.  A last minute change of venues, we decided on heading to the Rivington Bar and Grill in Greenwich one evening after work.

I know Aussie Foodie through friends in Australia, and while we only met earlier this year, we've been having a blast ever since, and she's an absolute sweetie (just don't tell her I said so!!).  Aussie Foodie met Cook Sister a month or so previously at a blogger event, but I'd only "met" her via Twitter so far... and Cathy257 was a Twitter-only entity.  Now, this is likely to freak some people out - what if any of them were completely painful?!  But I was just looking forward to a girlie catch up over good food with people who will likely gush (or critique) as much as I will.

Arriving at the restaurant with Aussie Foodie, we found Cathy257 ordering a glass of wine, I did the same, Aussie Foodie opted for a cocktail and we headed outside to the patio area for a brief wait for Cook Sister who joined us for a pre-dinner drink.

Courteous service from the start, we were shown to our table, one of my only criticism for the evening being that the tables are just a little close together for my liking.  Perusing the menu, there were no discussion about calorie consumption or diets, these were girls cut from the same cloth.  We'd already been discovering each others likes and experiences and having a good laugh.

Beautiful hot home-made bread was bought to our table, we ordered some wine and contemplated the menu.  The menu looked delicious, but when we heard there was lobster on the menu eyebrows were raised.  We'd booked through a TopTable offer, and with 50% off a whole lobster and chips came to £13.50 each.  No guesses what all four of us ordered!

To start, some Maldon Oysters and Heritage Tomatoes were ordered, but I couldn't go past the Chilled Beetroot and Horseradish Soup.  It was absolute perfection in a bowl.  Delicious and refreshing, with a great kick, which I absolutely love.  I'm going to try to recreate this at home soon, but not sure that Boy Wonder will love it as he's not a fan of Gazpacho, but you never know...

And then the lobster arrived.  Now normally half a lobster would satisfy me... but I was determined to do this lobster justice.  I decided not to fill up on the carb-loaded chips, but that decision went out the window as soon as I tasted them... these were some of the best chips I'd tasted in a long time, golden and crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside with the most delicious home-made mayonnaise, exactly as it should be.

But back to the not so humble lobster.  It was fantastic, chargrilled sweet meat.  The four of us went quiet for quite some time... and believe me that is saying something!  The hollondaise it was served with was a lovely accompianment, not necessary but a lovely addition.  Not much else I can say other than the staff were very accommodating as we piled the discarded shells higher and higher... hence the well named Great Rivington Lobster Massacre!

Pretty much says it all really!

We adjourned to the sofas for dessert.  I had been having a yearning for chocolate, so spotting Chocolate Mousse on the menu my mind was made up.  I was to be sorely disappointed though, my biggest let-down of the evening.  It wasn't the cocoa rich concoction I had imagined but a sugar laden dessert with a lower grade chocolate than expected.  I barely ate a third of it, and had been expecting to lick the bowl clean.

Now it wasn't a perfect evening.  Service was a little patchy at times - we had to follow up a couple of requests - the tables were a little close for my liking, and the chocolate mousse was far from perfect.  But boy did I have a fantastic night.  The company made it one of my best nights out in a while, and I'm already looking forward to the next time!

Cheers, KangaRue