Dutch Snacks

This post is a little belated! At the end of last year, Mei and I exchanged a goodies box filled with snacks from our home country. I included things that a) I quite enjoyed and b) were quite iconic as Australian snacks. She has posted about it here.


Packaged so beautifully!







Unlike Mei, I didn't have the forethought to take photos of each item out of the packet as I was too busy stuffing my face!

My favourites were:

• Shortbread (mmmmmmmm!!)
• Lukken (although they are Belgian!)
• Stroopwafels! Of course, I love these and in fact, I should have some left. Not sure where I've stashed them now.

Thank you Mei! I love how the internet has provided me with this opportunity. Although my only issue is that I wish that Australia Post was not so bloody expensive as I would be able to do something like this more often.

The Tea Cosy

I have been busy meeting up with friends over the past week before I leave for my two month trip overseas. My two closest university friends and I met up at The Tea Cosy for some afternoon tea.





I ordered the Devonshire Tea which consisted of two scones, jam and a drink of my choice. The scones vary daily and on the occasion that I visited, there was the choice of: plain, currant, apple crumble or cheese and thyme. I picked apple crumble and cheese and thyme with paw paw, lime & passion fruit jam and Turkish Apple tea.







A few months ago, Owl Girl mentioned that there were two ways to eat a scone which I had never realised before. Devonshire method is where the cream is placed on the scone first followed by the jam. The Cornwall method is jam first, followed by the cream. I used to eat it the Devonshire way however I tried the Cornwall way and I think I actually prefer the latter!


Devonshire. Excuse the chipped nail.


Cornwall.
How do you eat your scones?

A Farewell at Sea Bar

When I worked at my first job, I met this quiet, but lovely Filipino couple who come to Australia to earn some money and have a comfortable life when they returned to the Philippines. At the time, they had left their 4 year old daughter with family. I was 17 at the time and it was when I first really understood the sacrifices that people make to better the lives of their loved ones. They were originally meant to stay for 2 years however after 5 years, they are now returning home.

Originally, cultural differences created a slight rift between us, however we also worked 6-7 hour shifts together in a small space which meant that we eventually bonded. I have so many wonderful and hilarious memories with them, including the time that they sneakily roasted a chicken in the industrial oven for their dinner (I'm sure that the owner would have been very, very unhappy). The wife actually helped me to get my current job where she and her husband also worked at.

For our farewell, we had lunch at Sea Bar (next to Seachange).




My Cajun spiced chicken salad


Lamb cutlets with kumara mash.


Fish and Chips

Like Seachange, there was attentive service and the food was really good. I actually didn't even finish my salad which is a rarity. I was very impressed that there were two pieces of chicken (I was expecting slivers of chicken) and chunks of avocado. I may have also eaten a third of my friend's chips since they were so crispy!

I was originally a little apprehensive of meeting since we hadn't talked properly for nearly 4 years now; we would say hi and bye when we saw each other at work. But conversation flowed really easily and I just remembered why I loved talking to them before. They are so down to earth and genuine people which I find a rarity unfortunately. We just talked about children, partners and just about how to live a fulfilling life. I'm a little sad to see them go because it is change (and I'm not the fondest of that). But maybe I will see them again one day when I visit the Philippines. Whenever that is.


A very cool looking tree due to the winds. I am sure a quote about adapting to change and obstacles would be fitting here. Sadly, I can think of none.

Studio 10 + Turimetta Beach

On Tuesday I went with my friend to be part of the audience for Studio 10. I actually never watched the show before but it was alright. It was a little tiring sitting in the same spot for 3 hrs but we got a giveaway from People For Plants, which is co founded by Jamie Durie. We each got: cleanser, toner and day cream.





After the show and other difficulties in the city, we headed back to her place and detoured via her favourite beach, Turimetta Beach. It was gorgeous. Completely secluded and very much a locals beach. We didn't head down to the sand because we weren't particularly interested in climbing down and then up around 150 steps each way.













I have been obsessed with 'Switched at Birth' lately and am almost up to date with the show. We watched 4 episodes, had caesar salad and Orange Midori + lemonade.

N2 Extreme Gelato

Haven't posted for a while. I originally had plans to meet a friend who I hadn't seen in over a year for dinner. However, my Saturday class finished early and we ended up meeting for lunch instead for ramen at World's Square. It was both an interesting and awkward experience. What was interesting was sitting in her car that was completely decked out in Hello Kitty gear.

Barrenjoey Lighthouse

Today, a few of my coworkers were meant to head down the coast to Kiama. I had wanted to walk from Minnamurra down to Kiama but some of the coworkers were no longer interested and the trip got cancelled.

In the end, we headed up to Palm Beach and to Barrenjoey Lighthouse. At Palm Beach, we saw the trailers for the filming of Home and Away.

Roller Derby: BSK vs SAS

I have been intrigued by roller derby since watching Whip It! and also a Cold Case episode which featured a victim who was a participant. A mutual friend had commented that he was attending the first bout of the season, however, for that event I was at work and couldn't make it. This time, I bought my ticket and left work early for the bout.

It has been bucketing rain in the past week and whilst it is nice to an extent, it is also a little annoying having to deal with puddles and splashes from cars/buses.










Overall it was a lot of fun. Intense but fun to watch it in action. The only thing that I was surprised about when the BSK did their victory lap was that all the girls were a lot older than I imagined.

And a follow up to my previous post. I know what I want and what I want is to let it go. To let them go. Tonight was a good night in a sense because it showed me that there is a life after. It was also so frustrating to hear that the mutual friend was treated poorly by the devil incarnate; it just reinforced my negative feelings against that individual. But the night was also awkward. Why? Well, we went to dinner and it felt weird as though it was date (which it wasn't). I am also never eating at Dixon Street again. By the time we got back to the city, it was already 10pm and I honestly wanted to go home. But he was hungry and we stopped off at Dixon Street for Chinese food (I honestly would have been content with Maccas). Not entirely pleased that I had to pay $19 (!!) for a tiny portion of Singapore noodles. Yeesh.

Ski Trip 2012

On the weekend, my friends and I went on a ski trip to Thredbo in New South Wales. Or in my case, 'ski' trip as I did not ski. Nevertheless, the weekend was definitely the most fun I have had in a very long time. We departed from Central in the evening and boarded a coach, headed to Thredbo in the Snowy Mountains. He arrived at our resort, River Inn, which is right next to the snow slopes at around 1.30am. Exhausted but still excited. The following morning we got out of bed at 6am and at 9.30am headed to the ski slopes. My friends all went off skiing and I decided to wander around. I stumbled upon a bushwalking track titled 'Merritts Nature Track' and followed it.

It was snowing a fair amount on Saturday however on Sunday morning we woke up to a thick layer of fresh snow. I have never seen fresh snow; usually it is this icy mess that looks terrible. However walking outside to the snow covering the entire landscape was truly beautiful.

I thoroughly enjoyed escaping from Sydney for the weekend. It was fantastic and will definitely be one of my most memorable moments of my life thus far.