So. What's new with you guys?
K xx
Showing posts with label milestones. Show all posts
Showing posts with label milestones. Show all posts
Thursday, November 6, 2014
Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
I had plans for writing my usual weekly update on my trip today. But somehow the day disappeared into a time sucking black hole and now it's 10.15pm and I have to go to work tomorrow, so writing a proper blog post seems way too much like hard work right now. So instead, I'll just tell you that I broke 10,000 words in NaNoWriMo, which is further than I ever thought I'd get. High five, self. High five.
K xx
K xx
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Turning 30? It's pretty great - Part 2
So. I already told you about my actual birthday. But I didn't tell you about the rest of the extra long weekend of awesomeness because I was a dirty slacker at the end of last week (aka I spent every night playing Lego Batman on my shiny new XBox and totally forgot that I had other stuff to do. Whoops?). So I shall rectify that now!
FRIDAY:
Got up stupidly early and headed into the city to meet Nikki. There was a small degree of excited flailing before we jumped on the train and headed down to Flinders Street. From there, we took a wee jaunt across the river to the Eureka Tower. Once we'd laughed ourselves stupid at how ridiculous the "look through this tube to see the thing we're talking about" viewers were (half of them need to be updated as new buildings are now in the way, and one was for the tram restaurant. Which moves...), we headed over to Crown to marvel at the hideous atrium. Sadly, I didn't time our visit properly so we didn't get to see the fountains in action.
From there, we hopped on the City Circle and up to Melbourne Central for a spot of lunch, before heading across to the State Library to ogle the La Trobe Reading Room and visit the exhibitions. Then we headed up to the Royal Exhibition Building, down to Elizabeth Street and Minotaur, and then home via Royal Arcade. The evening was spent playing Lego Pirates of the Caribbean on XBox because we're cool like that.
SATURDAY:
A slow start, followed by heading off to see Iron Man 3. It was completely phenomenal, and it's possible I ate an entire box of Junior Mints during the course of the film... That night was my proper 30th, which took place at a Mexican restaurant in the city with 22 of my bestest friends. It turned out to be happy hour when we arrived, which was very welcome news. It also led to one of the whopping TWO photos taken that night:
Yup. That happened. Also, mmmmmmm, daiquiri...
Dinner was delicious nachos, followed by fajitas, followed by churros. Om nom nom nom nom. Dinner was an absolute blast, and it meant I got to catch up with a bunch of people I don't get to see very often. Which, WIN. And because I'm totally geriatric now, we were home by just after midnight.
SUNDAY:
The morning started with a jaunt around the Tan, which took longer than it usually would on account of Little Miss A was with us, and she wanted to stop for hot chocolate/biscuits/a wander around the children's garden. After a wee sojourn at home with Lego Pirates of the Caribbean (because we're cool), we headed into the MCG to see Hawthorn play North Melbourne. I'm pretty sure Nikki was HORRIBLY confused, but it was a pretty great game. It was much less of a walkover than I'd expected, for starters! It pretty much came down to the final siren, so that was fun. Plus, there was a very vocal Hawthorn supporter behind us who kept yelling her advice to the players every couple of minutes. Hilarious.
MONDAY:
Nikki's flight back to Sydney wasn't until 8.45pm, so we headed into the city and went to the Hollywood costume exhibition at ACMI. It was AMAZING - definitely worth the money it cost to get in. It included costumes from The Wizard of Oz, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Braveheart, The Dark Knight Rises, Gone with the Wind, Gladiator, The Addams Family Values, Fight Club, Brokeback Mountain, The Queen, and Pirates of the Caribbean. And not costumes from the extras or anything. Costumes from the main characters - costumes that you recognise in a split second.
Personally, I thought the sound spill in the exhibition space could have been better controlled, but it was still complete and utterly incredible. Although Nikki and I did nearly die laughing when we realised that the mannequin they'd put Mel Gibson's Braveheart costume on had lady legs. How could we tell? First of all, they were very shapely. Secondly, they were doing that weird pose that's meant to make your legs look thinner but which mostly makes you look like you need to pee. You know, the one that actresses do on the red carpet all the time. Basically, picture Taylor Swift's legs on Mel Gibson's body. Yeeeeeeeah... We even went back to all the other male mannequins with exposed legs to check if they had lady legs too. And NOPE. Just Mel.
Then we had a wee spot of lunch on Degraves Street and headed for home, where we spent our last few hours of pretending we didn't have a million assignments to do playing Lego Pirates of the Caribbean. Because OBVIOUSLY. We also learnt that it's possible to kill someone through a jail cell door in the game. When you're a dog. (Sorry, Nikki.......)
So there you have it. I think I planned and executed a kickass 30th birthday pretty damned well, don't you?!
K xx
FRIDAY:
Got up stupidly early and headed into the city to meet Nikki. There was a small degree of excited flailing before we jumped on the train and headed down to Flinders Street. From there, we took a wee jaunt across the river to the Eureka Tower. Once we'd laughed ourselves stupid at how ridiculous the "look through this tube to see the thing we're talking about" viewers were (half of them need to be updated as new buildings are now in the way, and one was for the tram restaurant. Which moves...), we headed over to Crown to marvel at the hideous atrium. Sadly, I didn't time our visit properly so we didn't get to see the fountains in action.
From there, we hopped on the City Circle and up to Melbourne Central for a spot of lunch, before heading across to the State Library to ogle the La Trobe Reading Room and visit the exhibitions. Then we headed up to the Royal Exhibition Building, down to Elizabeth Street and Minotaur, and then home via Royal Arcade. The evening was spent playing Lego Pirates of the Caribbean on XBox because we're cool like that.
SATURDAY:
A slow start, followed by heading off to see Iron Man 3. It was completely phenomenal, and it's possible I ate an entire box of Junior Mints during the course of the film... That night was my proper 30th, which took place at a Mexican restaurant in the city with 22 of my bestest friends. It turned out to be happy hour when we arrived, which was very welcome news. It also led to one of the whopping TWO photos taken that night:
Yup. That happened. Also, mmmmmmm, daiquiri...
Dinner was delicious nachos, followed by fajitas, followed by churros. Om nom nom nom nom. Dinner was an absolute blast, and it meant I got to catch up with a bunch of people I don't get to see very often. Which, WIN. And because I'm totally geriatric now, we were home by just after midnight.
SUNDAY:
The morning started with a jaunt around the Tan, which took longer than it usually would on account of Little Miss A was with us, and she wanted to stop for hot chocolate/biscuits/a wander around the children's garden. After a wee sojourn at home with Lego Pirates of the Caribbean (because we're cool), we headed into the MCG to see Hawthorn play North Melbourne. I'm pretty sure Nikki was HORRIBLY confused, but it was a pretty great game. It was much less of a walkover than I'd expected, for starters! It pretty much came down to the final siren, so that was fun. Plus, there was a very vocal Hawthorn supporter behind us who kept yelling her advice to the players every couple of minutes. Hilarious.
MONDAY:
Nikki's flight back to Sydney wasn't until 8.45pm, so we headed into the city and went to the Hollywood costume exhibition at ACMI. It was AMAZING - definitely worth the money it cost to get in. It included costumes from The Wizard of Oz, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Braveheart, The Dark Knight Rises, Gone with the Wind, Gladiator, The Addams Family Values, Fight Club, Brokeback Mountain, The Queen, and Pirates of the Caribbean. And not costumes from the extras or anything. Costumes from the main characters - costumes that you recognise in a split second.
Personally, I thought the sound spill in the exhibition space could have been better controlled, but it was still complete and utterly incredible. Although Nikki and I did nearly die laughing when we realised that the mannequin they'd put Mel Gibson's Braveheart costume on had lady legs. How could we tell? First of all, they were very shapely. Secondly, they were doing that weird pose that's meant to make your legs look thinner but which mostly makes you look like you need to pee. You know, the one that actresses do on the red carpet all the time. Basically, picture Taylor Swift's legs on Mel Gibson's body. Yeeeeeeeah... We even went back to all the other male mannequins with exposed legs to check if they had lady legs too. And NOPE. Just Mel.
Then we had a wee spot of lunch on Degraves Street and headed for home, where we spent our last few hours of pretending we didn't have a million assignments to do playing Lego Pirates of the Caribbean. Because OBVIOUSLY. We also learnt that it's possible to kill someone through a jail cell door in the game. When you're a dog. (Sorry, Nikki.......)
So there you have it. I think I planned and executed a kickass 30th birthday pretty damned well, don't you?!
K xx
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Turning 30? It's pretty great
#92 on my 101 in 1001 list was to plan a kickarse 30th birthday. I think I not only planned but executed said kickarse birthday in fine form. I mean, it pretty much went for five days, so how could it not be totally awesome?!
THURSDAY:
My actual birthday. I had grand plans for sleeping in, but some butthead down the street decided that 7.30am on a public holiday was an excellent time to use an angle grinder. FOR AN HOUR AND A HALF. So I wasn't particularly impressed about that. But it improved dramatically from there. After breakfast and presents (including the shiny new toy I showed off in yesterday's vlog), we headed down to St Kilda for lunch at Donovan's.
If you haven't been to Donovan's, you really have to. But for a special occasion, because it's not even remotely in the category of cheap. It's worth every penny though, because the food is AMAZING. While I neglected to take any photos of me hanging out with my favourite people on the planet, I *did* take quite a few photos of the food. Because OBVIOUSLY.
And in the course of lunch, my little brother C gave me my birthday present, which came with a card that said "I hope Mum and Dad don't get too annoyed at me giving you this......" I opened the present to discover an XBox!! *flail* And then Paulie gave me a bunch of games for it. So obviously, once we got home from our over FOUR HOUR lunch, I set up the XBox and spent the night of my birthday playing Lego Batman 2. Because OBVIOUSLY.
Aaaaaaaaaaand now that I've made you all incredibly hungry and exposed just how much of a dork I secretly am, I think I'm going to split this into two parts or this is going to end up thesis length!
K xx
THURSDAY:
My actual birthday. I had grand plans for sleeping in, but some butthead down the street decided that 7.30am on a public holiday was an excellent time to use an angle grinder. FOR AN HOUR AND A HALF. So I wasn't particularly impressed about that. But it improved dramatically from there. After breakfast and presents (including the shiny new toy I showed off in yesterday's vlog), we headed down to St Kilda for lunch at Donovan's.
If you haven't been to Donovan's, you really have to. But for a special occasion, because it's not even remotely in the category of cheap. It's worth every penny though, because the food is AMAZING. While I neglected to take any photos of me hanging out with my favourite people on the planet, I *did* take quite a few photos of the food. Because OBVIOUSLY.
 |
| My entree - tomato, caramelised onion and goat's curd tart with balsamic reduction |
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| My main - chicken and mushroom pie |
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| Some kind of potato construction of awesomeness from Paulie's main course |
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| The cake we brought with us |
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| My dessert - jaffa fondant |
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| The platter they put together for Em's little sister with no notice |
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| The inside of my fondant. AMAZING. |
And in the course of lunch, my little brother C gave me my birthday present, which came with a card that said "I hope Mum and Dad don't get too annoyed at me giving you this......" I opened the present to discover an XBox!! *flail* And then Paulie gave me a bunch of games for it. So obviously, once we got home from our over FOUR HOUR lunch, I set up the XBox and spent the night of my birthday playing Lego Batman 2. Because OBVIOUSLY.
Aaaaaaaaaaand now that I've made you all incredibly hungry and exposed just how much of a dork I secretly am, I think I'm going to split this into two parts or this is going to end up thesis length!
K xx
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
On my rapidly advancing age
Tomorrow is my thirtieth birthday. There seems to be an unwritten rule that by the time you turn thirty, you should have your shit together. Have a job. Have a house, whether rented or purchased. Preferably be married. Maybe have a couple of kids.
I have none of these things, and I'm totally okay with that.
I had plans to write a whole post about how while a lot of stuff in my life is the same as when I turned 20, there's also a bunch of stuff that's super different and I'm totally not the same person and blah blah blah. Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut it wasn't working out the way I wanted. So instead, I'm just gonna say that I'm going to be away from the blog for the next few days because I'll be eating cake and drinking cocktails and hanging out with my friends.
And here - have some gifs that pretty much sum me up. Because everything is better with gifs.
Especially that last one... Catch you on the flipside!
K xx
I have none of these things, and I'm totally okay with that.
I had plans to write a whole post about how while a lot of stuff in my life is the same as when I turned 20, there's also a bunch of stuff that's super different and I'm totally not the same person and blah blah blah. Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut it wasn't working out the way I wanted. So instead, I'm just gonna say that I'm going to be away from the blog for the next few days because I'll be eating cake and drinking cocktails and hanging out with my friends.
And here - have some gifs that pretty much sum me up. Because everything is better with gifs.
Especially that last one... Catch you on the flipside!
K xx
Monday, April 22, 2013
Movie Monday: Suddenly 30
In light of the fact that it's my 30th birthday in a couple of days, this week's choice is oddly appropriate. Because I saw a gifset from this on Tumblr last week and realised that I'm disturbingly like actually-13-but-trapped-in-the-body-of-30-year-old Jenna. What else would I possibly cover this week?! (And yes, it was called Suddenly 30 in Australia. Deal.)
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| Source |
Reasons why Suddenly 30 is awesome:
1. Jennifer Garner. She's PERFECT as Jenna.
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| GPOY. Also, source. |
3. Mark Ruffalo.
4. Jenna's redesign of the magazine.
5. Jenna's face all the way through her boyfriend's awful striptease.
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| Source |
7. Attempting to jump off the swings and failing spectacularly.
8. Magazine Publishing for Dummies.
9. Andy Serkis.
10. The Thriller scene at the party. Phenomenal.
12. Jenna's attempts at hailing a cab.
13. Andy Serkis moonwalking.
14. The sleepover with the thirteen year olds.
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| Source |
16. The prom king driving taxis.
17. The dream house that 13 year old Matt makes for Jenna.
Plus, as always, the following quotes:
- "Those aren't people, honey. Those are models."
- "You went on a cruise without ME?"
- "I'm going to a party in a limo! HA HA!!"
- "To being 30: I've decided it's going to be totally awesome."
- "Wait, listen to me. I'm 13!" "Jenna, if you're gonna start lying about your age, I'd go with 27."
- "I saw his thingy!" "Oh, God, not his thingy."
- "I like your dress." "That's because I have these incredible boobs to fill it out!"
- "I'll have a Pina Colada, not virgin. Wanna see my ID? Totally have it!"
- "I can't believe you invited those clones." "They're my friends." "The Six Chicks are not your friends, okay?" "Almost. And someday I'm gonna BE a Sixth Chick." "There are six of them, Jenna, that's the whole point. There can't be a seventh Sixth Chick. It's just mathematically impossible."
- "How long until your balls get totally squished?" "Hopefully never, I'm rather attached to my balls."
- "It doesn't matter what Lucy said. I stopped trusting her after she stole my poprocks in the third grade."
- "What happened?" "I don't know. I can pretty much peg it to your 13th birthday party, when you were in the closet playing that game. Spin the Rapist?" "Seven Minutes in Heaven."
- "Hey! You got arm hair!" "Never got quite that reaction before..."
- "I WANT A FLUFFY PILLOW!!!"
So. Is anyone else technically an adult but still considers this movie to be the biggest GPOY of ever?
K xx
Thursday, October 11, 2012
3 years and 2 days later...
That's right, it's my 500th blog post! I asked you guys for questions a couple of weeks ago, and you delivered in fine form. So without further ado, here's the video I made.
Fun fact? My skin is NOT the same colour as my bedroom walls, no matter what the video might indicate (the walls are green. Last time I checked, I wasn't Elpheba...)! Fun fact #2? If you make it right to the end, there's a little something for the Whovians among you.
Seriously, I can't thank you guys enough for reading and commenting and actually making me want to blog on a regular basis. Here's to another 500 posts! (As you may guess from the title, my third blogiversary was on Monday. WHOOPS. I totally knew that. Except that not... Better late than never??)
K xx
Fun fact? My skin is NOT the same colour as my bedroom walls, no matter what the video might indicate (the walls are green. Last time I checked, I wasn't Elpheba...)! Fun fact #2? If you make it right to the end, there's a little something for the Whovians among you.
K xx
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Ask me anything
I'm going to go ahead and apologise in advance for what happens in the second half of this video.........
So yeah. Ask me pretty much anything!! And send me your questions by noon Australian Eastern Standard Time on Tuesday, October 2nd. That's 3am October 2nd Greenwich Mean Time, or 10pm Eastern time on October 1st for the US. (Sorry if you live in a state that does Central, Mountain or Pacific time - that's too many time zones for my brain to calculate right now!!)
Please help me make my 500th post vaguely interesting. Pretty please????????????
K xx
PS. Thanks to the gang over at 20SB for suggesting a bunch of different ideas when I had absolutely no clue what to do for my 500th post. I'm sorry to disappoint you all by the fact that I won't be creating a Doctor Who episode in which I play all the characters...
Please help me make my 500th post vaguely interesting. Pretty please????????????
K xx
PS. Thanks to the gang over at 20SB for suggesting a bunch of different ideas when I had absolutely no clue what to do for my 500th post. I'm sorry to disappoint you all by the fact that I won't be creating a Doctor Who episode in which I play all the characters...
Monday, June 13, 2011
Giveaway winners!
Okay, I know I said I was going to post this on Sunday. But I ended up having friends come over for dinner, so I was too busy cooking a three course extravaganza (technically more like four courses, because I made two lots of dessert in case one was a disaster!) to be able to draw the winners.
Anyway, I figured it was too hard to do a random number generator draw, considering there were two different things on offer, so I just wrote everyone's names on bits of paper, screwed them up and put them in a measuring cup (come on, this is me we're talking about. And the prize involves baked goods. What else would you expect me to draw a giveaway out of?!):
Without further ado, the winner of the Tim Tams is (insert drumroll).................
Bi from Bianca and the B-Sides!
And the winner of the chocolatey goodness made by yours truly is........
Lozzz123 from Science, Spouses and Silliness!
Congratulations, ladies!! Send me an email at melbourneonmymind[at]gmail[dot]com and I'll get your goodies made and posted soon! :)
Thanks to everyone for entering - I'll probably do another chocolatey giveaway in the future, so try your luck again then :)
K xx
Anyway, I figured it was too hard to do a random number generator draw, considering there were two different things on offer, so I just wrote everyone's names on bits of paper, screwed them up and put them in a measuring cup (come on, this is me we're talking about. And the prize involves baked goods. What else would you expect me to draw a giveaway out of?!):
Without further ado, the winner of the Tim Tams is (insert drumroll).................
Bi from Bianca and the B-Sides!
And the winner of the chocolatey goodness made by yours truly is........
Lozzz123 from Science, Spouses and Silliness!
Congratulations, ladies!! Send me an email at melbourneonmymind[at]gmail[dot]com and I'll get your goodies made and posted soon! :)
Thanks to everyone for entering - I'll probably do another chocolatey giveaway in the future, so try your luck again then :)
K xx
Friday, June 3, 2011
200 = Giveaway!
Holy crap, y'all. It seems like only yesterday that I was thrown in the deep end of curating exhibits on colonial history, and now the gallery is open to the public!! :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D I couldn't bring myself to go up there today in case the general public were breaking things or - worse still - not reading the text I spent over a year researching and writing...
Anyway, on the off chance that anyone is interested, here's what I wore last night:
Please excuse the state of my apartment. I took this when I got home after opening last night, and it was after midnight. Also, I had every intention of wearing stockings. I forked out $20 on ladder-proof stockings, and then managed to put a hole in them when I put them on. I have a gift, really I do. And to the right, you can see my clothes rack, just for Bi who presented me with this award last week:
(Course, you can also see my actual rack in that photo, but in a classy way, yaknow? Only not, now that I've pointed it out *sigh*)
Anywhatthehellwasmypoint, something else that feels like it was only yesterday? Coming home from the movies and deciding that what I desperately needed to do was start a blog. And here we are, 200 posts later! So to reward you all for reading my often nonsensical wibble, I have something special planned. Well, two rather special somethings, really, based on geographical location.
1. For my readers in Australia and New Zealand: the chance to win a batch of baked goods made by yours truly! This way, you can enjoy nommy treats without having to make them yourself. Laziness FTW!! As not everything can stand up to being posted, you can choose from the following:
Basically, if you don't like chocolate, you're shit out of luck here!
2. For my readers elsewhere in the world: the chance to win these -
Two packets of double coat Tim Tams. Because I think they're infinitely superior to the original ones.
Just ask Lauren about how awesome Tim Tams are. Or, you could watch this, which is apparently what introduced Lauren to Tim Tams in the first place:
So yeah, Tim Tams are pretty amazing. (And for the record, it's not that I love you less. It's just that the week it takes to post things from Australia to the US or the UK or pretty much anywhere other than New Zealand would result in the above baked goods being kind of grody by the time they arrive!!)
Anyway, here's the rules:
1. All you have to do is leave me a comment! You don't have to follow me or anything, but if you like what you see and you want to, that'd be nice :)
2. No anonymous entries accepted.
3. If you're in Australia/New Zealand, let me know what type of baked goods you want in your comment.
4. You have to be willing to give me your address, otherwise there's kind of no point in this!
Entries will close on Saturday 11th June at 9pm Australian Eastern Standard Time (12pm Greenwich Mean Time, 7am EST). I'll randomly select the winners on Sunday, so check back to see if you've won. I'll post out the goodies after Queen's Birthday!
Thanks for sticking with me through 200 posts, y'all. It means more than you know...
With love and hugs,
K xx
Anyway, on the off chance that anyone is interested, here's what I wore last night:
Please excuse the state of my apartment. I took this when I got home after opening last night, and it was after midnight. Also, I had every intention of wearing stockings. I forked out $20 on ladder-proof stockings, and then managed to put a hole in them when I put them on. I have a gift, really I do. And to the right, you can see my clothes rack, just for Bi who presented me with this award last week:
 |
| Thanks Bi!! :) |
Anywhatthehellwasmypoint, something else that feels like it was only yesterday? Coming home from the movies and deciding that what I desperately needed to do was start a blog. And here we are, 200 posts later! So to reward you all for reading my often nonsensical wibble, I have something special planned. Well, two rather special somethings, really, based on geographical location.
1. For my readers in Australia and New Zealand: the chance to win a batch of baked goods made by yours truly! This way, you can enjoy nommy treats without having to make them yourself. Laziness FTW!! As not everything can stand up to being posted, you can choose from the following:
 |
| Triple chocolate brownies |
 |
| White chocolate and nut blondies |
 |
| Double chocolate chip cookies |
 |
| Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies |
 |
| Raspberry and white chocolate brownies |
2. For my readers elsewhere in the world: the chance to win these -
Two packets of double coat Tim Tams. Because I think they're infinitely superior to the original ones.
Just ask Lauren about how awesome Tim Tams are. Or, you could watch this, which is apparently what introduced Lauren to Tim Tams in the first place:
So yeah, Tim Tams are pretty amazing. (And for the record, it's not that I love you less. It's just that the week it takes to post things from Australia to the US or the UK or pretty much anywhere other than New Zealand would result in the above baked goods being kind of grody by the time they arrive!!)
Anyway, here's the rules:
1. All you have to do is leave me a comment! You don't have to follow me or anything, but if you like what you see and you want to, that'd be nice :)
2. No anonymous entries accepted.
3. If you're in Australia/New Zealand, let me know what type of baked goods you want in your comment.
4. You have to be willing to give me your address, otherwise there's kind of no point in this!
Entries will close on Saturday 11th June at 9pm Australian Eastern Standard Time (12pm Greenwich Mean Time, 7am EST). I'll randomly select the winners on Sunday, so check back to see if you've won. I'll post out the goodies after Queen's Birthday!
Thanks for sticking with me through 200 posts, y'all. It means more than you know...
With love and hugs,
K xx
Sunday, March 13, 2011
150, baby!
Holy shit, y'all. This is my 150th post. One hundred and fifty posts of me wibbling on about nothing and generally making myself fat through baking too much. Anywhatsit, to celebrate me sticking with my little corner of the interweb, here's 150 things you never wanted to know about me! (I readily admit to stealing this idea from Rox and Lor's 100th post)
10 random facts about me
1. I wanted to be a librarian when I was a kid. I guess curator isn’t *that* far off!
2. I taught myself to read when I was four. Totally freaked Mum out.
3. I went to primary school with Prince William’s fiancée, Kate Middleton. Except back then, she was Catherine.
4. I can’t do long division. I went from doing long division in Grade 4 of Australian primary school to doing algebra in Form 3 in England, so I never learnt how. Also, that’s what calculators are for.
5. I think I’m taller than I actually am. It sometimes takes me years to realise if people are taller than me, especially if I always seem to see them when I’m wearing heels.
6. I spent most of my childhood overseas or interstate – 3.5 years in Toronto, 2 years in England, and a year each in Sydney and Brisbane.
7. My favourite subject at uni was “Pox, Plagues and Pestilence: The History of Medicine”. The lecturer used to tell us disgusting stories about living in Sierra Leone.
8. I tend to order the exact same dish every time I go to particular restaurants. I could probably tell you right now what I’d order at half a dozen restaurants in Melbourne, half a dozen restaurants in Canberra, a restaurant in Peru and a restaurant in Ecuador...
9. I’m pretty much the most indecisive person on the planet. If I can avoid making a decision, I’ll do it. Weirdly, this doesn’t seem to apply to showcase installation (thankfully)!
10. I worship at the altar of Joss Whedon, but still haven’t managed to see Dollhouse :(
10 movies I’ve seen so many times I basically know the scripts off by heart
1. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl 2. Love Actually
3. The Princess Bride
4. Eurotrip
5. Bridget Jones’ Diary
6. Dirty Dancing
7. Sleepy Hollow
8. The Day After Tomorrow
9. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
10. 27 Dresses
My 10 favourite collecting institutions to visit
1. The British Museum, London
2. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
3. The National Portrait Gallery, Canberra
4. Museo Nacional de Antropologia, Mexico City
5. Library of Congress,Washington DC
6. State Library of Victoria, Melbourne
7. The Smithsonian, Washington DC
8. The Natural History Museum, London
9. Musee D’Orsay, Paris 10. Shipwrecks Gallery, Western Australian Museum, Fremantle
My top 10 cancelled TV shows
1. Firefly *sigh*
2. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
3. Ashes to Ashes
4. That 70s Show
5. Two Guys and a Girl
6. Blackadder
7. Black Books
8. Reaper
9. Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog (okay, so it wasn’t really a TV show, more an internet sensation. But I maintain that it counts!)
10. Gavin & Stacey
10 places I want to visit
1. Jordan (specifically Petra)
2. Turkey
3. Egypt
4. Hawaii 5. New Zealand
6. New York (Okay, this is kind of cheating. I’ve been there twice, and I’m going again in September. But I love New York so much that I want to have its babies. And I hate children (see below), so this is a pretty big claim from me! )
7. Italy
8. Russia
9. Alaska
10. Ireland
My 10 favourite songs (at the moment)
1. Blue as Your Eyes – Scouting for Girls
2. Six at Best – Eddie Perfect
3. Fuck You – Cee Lo Green
4. Swing, Swing – The All-American Rejects
5. The Captain – Biffy Clyro
6. Love Drunk - Boys Like Girls
7. Bad Things – Jace Everett
8. Get Loose – The Salads
9. Dynamite – Taio Cruz10. Suite for Solo Cello No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007: I. Prélude – Yo-Yo Ma
My 10 favourite recipes
1. Triple chocolate brownies2. Gingerbread cake
3. Cheesecake brownies
4. Mixed berry and dark chocolate bread and butter pudding
5. Pizza dough
6. Tom kha gai
7. Yorkshire pudding
8. Chocolate fudge cake
9. Lamb and chickpea couscous salad
10. Spaghetti bolognaise
My top 10 current TV shows
1. Fringe
2. Grey’s Anatomy
3. Glee
4. True Blood
5. Supernatural
6. 30 Rock
7. Bones
8. Castle
9. How I Met Your Mother 10. Farmer Wants a Wife
10 books I couldn’t live without
1. Carpe Jugulum – Terry Pratchett
2. Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte
3. Persuasion – Jane Austen
4. Notes from a Big Country – Bill Bryson
5. Bitten – Kelley Armstrong
6. Murder with Peacocks – Donna Andrews
7. Harry Potter – J.K. Rowling (Yes, I’m cheating. You can't honestly expect me to choose between them!)
8. One for the Money – Janet Evanovich
9. Temple – Matthew Reilly
10. The Lollipop Shoes – Joanne Harris
10 things I can’t stand
1. Seafood
2. Horses
3. Children (I make an exception for my niece, Little Miss A, because she likes pirates and baked goods and calls me The Macaroni and Cheese Queen) 4. Mushrooms
5. Butterflies and moths
6. People dressed up as cartoon characters (in the Disneyland sense)
7. Olives
8. Cyclists (seriously – are you a vehicle or a pedestrian?? You can’t be both, people!)
9. Talking on the phone
10. Speaking in public. I turn the colour of a beetroot when people look at me...
1. “Be yourself. Unless you suck.” – Joss Whedon
2. “What a crazy, random happenstance!” – Billy, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog
3. “Take nothing on its looks; take everything on evidence. There’s no better rule.” – Charles Dickens (Great Expectations)
4. “Multiple exclamation marks are a sure sign of a diseased mind.” – Terry Pratchett (Maskerade)
5. “A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.” – Nelson Mandela
6. “Well, my days of not taking you seriously are certainly coming to a middle.” – Mal Reynolds, Firefly
7. “Fuck you, I’m fabulous” – Joanna Harris (The Lollipop Shoes)
8. “To the well organised mind, death is but the next great adventure.” – Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
9. “There is no sin except stupidity.” – Oscar Wilde
10. “As you wish.” – Westley, The Princess Bride
10 things I love
2. Chocolate
3. Cheese
4. Strawberry daiquiris
5. Sourdough bread
6. My family and friends
7. Books
8. Macaroni and cheese
9. All of my bloggy readers!!
10. My SLR
10 somewhat embarrassing facts about me
1. I can tap dance
2. I have a crush on Rupert Grint after seeing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. I blame Daniel Radcliffe for being little and weedy and making Rupert Grint look EXTRA buff and tall and hot in comparison...
3. The smell of eggs and bacon makes me gag a little. Going out for breakfast with me is EXTRA fun...
4. I took my cousin to my year 12 formal because I couldn’t find a date
5. I own a “Team Eric” t-shirt
6. I got drunk on fondue when I was six, and didn’t drink again until my 24th birthday
7. I played clarinet in the pit orchestra for our high school production of Carousel
8. One of my favourite albums is Bat Out of Hell
9. I can’t drive. Not in an “I’m a bad driver” sense. In an “I’ve never learnt to drive” sense
10. I got chicken pox when I was seventeen. Two days before Christmas. When I went to see CHICKEN RUN. Yeah. That happened.
10 blogs that make me do a happy dance when I see a new post
1. The Bloggess
2. Late to the Party
3. Cake Wrecks
4. Sleep Talkin’ Man
5. Hyperbole and a Half
6. The Southified Masshole
7. Things I Want to Punch in the Face
8. Regretsy
9. Go Fug Yourself
10. The Oatmeal
10 pieces of eye candy to reward you for reading 150 posts worth of my wibble
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9. Joshua Jackson
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Here's to another 150 posts! Thanks for reading - I love you all :)
K xx
Saturday, October 9, 2010
A milestone
One year ago today, I went to see 'Julie and Julia' with my friends from work, L and L. I came home, sat down on the sofa with my laptop, and started a blog. Yes, folks. It's my (as much as I hate the word) blogiversary today!
It's been quite a year. I've started working full time again. Been to Thailand with my BFFs Nessa and Kat. I've baked FAR too much for my own good, and fobbed as much of it as possible off on other people. I've convinced Sara to get a 12 month visa and hang out in Canberra for a year (mwahahaha!). I've been to Tasmania twice, the Lachlan Valley once, Sydney twice, and my beloved Melbourne ten times (although on two occasions I didn't leave the airport).
I've been asked to be a bridesmaid. I've moved house to somewhere much closer to the city, much more convenient, and with a much nicer housemate. I've learnt some rather disturbing facts courtesy of our weekly trivia night (did you know that the world record for the most number of children a woman has given birth to is 69? She was pregnant TWENTY SEVEN TIMES... In 18th century Russia. And died, not in childbirth, but at the age of 80. Insane...). I've discovered Ashes to Ashes, Gavin & Stacey, 30 Rock, and True Blood. I've conquered pastry crust, yeast-based baking, and cupcake decorating. I've bought an SLR and taken my rather crappy photography to the next level.
I've hit 'Publish Post' eighty five times, including this one. Oh, and I'm planning something special for my 100th post, when I eventually get there. So stick around. There's plenty more snark, sarcasm, and chocolate where the last 12 months came from....................... ;)
K xx
PS. Dear Guy at the Bus Stop Yesterday,
Really? When you left home in the morning you thought a navy suit and tie on the top half, complete with pocket handkerchief, and MAROON TROUSERS that were an inch too short on the bottom half was the way to go?? Dude... Everyone on the bus stop had "WTF??" expressions. It's time for a wardrobe review...
It's been quite a year. I've started working full time again. Been to Thailand with my BFFs Nessa and Kat. I've baked FAR too much for my own good, and fobbed as much of it as possible off on other people. I've convinced Sara to get a 12 month visa and hang out in Canberra for a year (mwahahaha!). I've been to Tasmania twice, the Lachlan Valley once, Sydney twice, and my beloved Melbourne ten times (although on two occasions I didn't leave the airport).
I've been asked to be a bridesmaid. I've moved house to somewhere much closer to the city, much more convenient, and with a much nicer housemate. I've learnt some rather disturbing facts courtesy of our weekly trivia night (did you know that the world record for the most number of children a woman has given birth to is 69? She was pregnant TWENTY SEVEN TIMES... In 18th century Russia. And died, not in childbirth, but at the age of 80. Insane...). I've discovered Ashes to Ashes, Gavin & Stacey, 30 Rock, and True Blood. I've conquered pastry crust, yeast-based baking, and cupcake decorating. I've bought an SLR and taken my rather crappy photography to the next level.
I've hit 'Publish Post' eighty five times, including this one. Oh, and I'm planning something special for my 100th post, when I eventually get there. So stick around. There's plenty more snark, sarcasm, and chocolate where the last 12 months came from....................... ;)
K xx
PS. Dear Guy at the Bus Stop Yesterday,
Really? When you left home in the morning you thought a navy suit and tie on the top half, complete with pocket handkerchief, and MAROON TROUSERS that were an inch too short on the bottom half was the way to go?? Dude... Everyone on the bus stop had "WTF??" expressions. It's time for a wardrobe review...
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Melbourne cake - the verdict
Well, the cake turned out to be a success. Not only was everyone at work very impressed, but I got praise from a random bus company employee in the city on my way to work who particularly liked the ship. So that was nice, if slightly bizarre and unexpected!
I think the key sign of success, though, is that by this afternoon, there was only one piece of cake left. Which, of course, was when the Boss Man decided to do one of his periodic walk-through-and-chat-with-employees things. The conversation went something like this:
Boss Man: Hello! How's it going? Oooooh, cake. Is it someone's birthday?
Me and Colleague: Melbourne's!
Boss Man: Um... What?
Me: Yesterday was the 175th anniversary of the founding of Melbourne.
Boss Man: Oh. And who made the cake?
Me: That would be me.
Boss Man: Were the colours [the remaining piece had part blue, part green icing] representative of anything?
Me: Well, the cake was a map of Victoria, Tasmania and Bass Strait with the boat in Bass Strait representing John Pascoe Fawkner's trip from Launceston to what became Melbourne!
Boss Man: Well. That's quite some...dedication??...to Australian history... *slightly terrified expression*
Colleague: Sooooo... *quickly changes the topic*
Me: *sits in my corner and shuts the hell up*
[After Boss Man has left]
Me: I just became the crazy girl who represents history in cake, didn't I?
Colleague: Yes. Yes, you did... Sorry dude...
Me: Crud...
I may have paraphrased or reworded a few bits of that, but the overall gist remains accurate. In hindsight, I should have given him the last piece of cake. Then the sugar high from the icing would have made me seem less weird... ;)
K xx
I think the key sign of success, though, is that by this afternoon, there was only one piece of cake left. Which, of course, was when the Boss Man decided to do one of his periodic walk-through-and-chat-with-employees things. The conversation went something like this:
Boss Man: Hello! How's it going? Oooooh, cake. Is it someone's birthday?
Me and Colleague: Melbourne's!
Boss Man: Um... What?
Me: Yesterday was the 175th anniversary of the founding of Melbourne.
Boss Man: Oh. And who made the cake?
Me: That would be me.
Boss Man: Were the colours [the remaining piece had part blue, part green icing] representative of anything?
Me: Well, the cake was a map of Victoria, Tasmania and Bass Strait with the boat in Bass Strait representing John Pascoe Fawkner's trip from Launceston to what became Melbourne!
Boss Man: Well. That's quite some...dedication??...to Australian history... *slightly terrified expression*
Colleague: Sooooo... *quickly changes the topic*
Me: *sits in my corner and shuts the hell up*
[After Boss Man has left]
Me: I just became the crazy girl who represents history in cake, didn't I?
Colleague: Yes. Yes, you did... Sorry dude...
Me: Crud...
I may have paraphrased or reworded a few bits of that, but the overall gist remains accurate. In hindsight, I should have given him the last piece of cake. Then the sugar high from the icing would have made me seem less weird... ;)
K xx
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Melbourne cake!
Tomorrow marks the 175th anniversary of the settlement of Melbourne. In 1835, John Pascoe Fawkner found out that John Batman and the Port Phillip Association had signed a treaty with the elders of the Kulin nation. He promptly loaded a ship with people and supplies and sailed across Bass Strait. On 30th August 1835, Fawkner's party sailed up the Yarra River, unloaded their supplies, and began to build a settlement on the place that would become Melbourne.
Right. History lesson done with. I figured that seeing as I'm curating the Melbourne exhibit in the gallery, I should commemorate this historic event in some way (doubly so considering I forgot about the 175th anniversary of the Batman Treaty in June...). And I figured I may as well do it with cake!
So I started with my standard fudge cake, baked in a 22cm square tin.
I printed out a line map from the interweb, and scaled it appropriately.
Then I traced it onto baking paper, and realised that while the template was wide enough, it wasn't high enough. So I made up about an inch of Tasmania's coastline on each side. I think I did vaguely okay!
A couple of weeks ago, I spent a ridiculous amount of money ($45) on this food colouring. My mum had a similar set when I was a kid, and our birthday cakes were always awesome colours as a result. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to give them a test run!
I cut out the baking paper template, and pinned it to the cake.
Okay, technically I needled it to the cake. Because apparently I've managed to leave my pins in Melbourne...
Then I made a crapload of buttercream icing:
I divided it between two bowls, and started with the blue:
This is the amount of Wilton colouring you'd usually need. But considering I had about three times as much icing as usual, it took way more than this. But I forgot to take photos... Also, the icing wasn't really that yellow...
Then it was onto the green:
Aaaaaand I apparently neglected to take photos of the bowls of icing once it had been coloured. Oh well...
Right. History lesson done with. I figured that seeing as I'm curating the Melbourne exhibit in the gallery, I should commemorate this historic event in some way (doubly so considering I forgot about the 175th anniversary of the Batman Treaty in June...). And I figured I may as well do it with cake!
So I started with my standard fudge cake, baked in a 22cm square tin.
I printed out a line map from the interweb, and scaled it appropriately.
Then I traced it onto baking paper, and realised that while the template was wide enough, it wasn't high enough. So I made up about an inch of Tasmania's coastline on each side. I think I did vaguely okay!
A couple of weeks ago, I spent a ridiculous amount of money ($45) on this food colouring. My mum had a similar set when I was a kid, and our birthday cakes were always awesome colours as a result. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to give them a test run!
I cut out the baking paper template, and pinned it to the cake.
Okay, technically I needled it to the cake. Because apparently I've managed to leave my pins in Melbourne...
Then I made a crapload of buttercream icing:
I divided it between two bowls, and started with the blue:
This is the amount of Wilton colouring you'd usually need. But considering I had about three times as much icing as usual, it took way more than this. But I forgot to take photos... Also, the icing wasn't really that yellow...
Then it was onto the green:
Aaaaaand I apparently neglected to take photos of the bowls of icing once it had been coloured. Oh well...
Anyway, I iced the sides of the cake, and Bass Strait.
Then I un-needled (de-needled??) the baking paper template, and got out the piping bag. After a bit of piping to mark the edges of the green bits, I went back to the palette knife and filled in the gaps:
Then I got this stuff out of the cupboard. It's a bit scary, and I sure as hell wouldn't use it as the ONLY icing on a cake (it smells positively toxic!), but it's handy for decorating:
Then it was out with the red food colouring:
And these, which I bought at the same time as the food colouring:
I hacked off a chunk of ready-made icing, and kneaded it on icing sugar as directed.
Then it was what felt like an hour of mixing in the red food colouring. I gave up once it got to this shade, even though I wanted it to be much redder:
And cut out a couple of stars to mark the locations of Launceston (where Fawkner's party left from), and Melbourne.
The Melbourne one was bigger. It seemed important, somehow...
Then I grabbed the black food colouring and some more fondant to make a boat representative of the Enterprize (and no, that's not a spelling mistake).
I made a sail out of a a toothpick and some baking paper. The boat's a wee bit out of proportion, but frankly, if it were in proportion, it would be the size of a hundred and thousand, if not smaller. So if it has to be out of proportion, it may as well be dramatic!
And the final touch was the little white blob of fondant in the boat, which is Fawkner. I thought about making a little man out of fondant, but my hands were dyed black and red from the food colouring, so I gave up and made a blob instead.
So there you have it. A very happy 175th birthday to my beloved Melbourne in cake form!! Here's hoping it makes it to work in one piece, and that it tastes as good as it looks...
Then I un-needled (de-needled??) the baking paper template, and got out the piping bag. After a bit of piping to mark the edges of the green bits, I went back to the palette knife and filled in the gaps:
Then I got this stuff out of the cupboard. It's a bit scary, and I sure as hell wouldn't use it as the ONLY icing on a cake (it smells positively toxic!), but it's handy for decorating:
Then it was out with the red food colouring:
And these, which I bought at the same time as the food colouring:
I hacked off a chunk of ready-made icing, and kneaded it on icing sugar as directed.
Then it was what felt like an hour of mixing in the red food colouring. I gave up once it got to this shade, even though I wanted it to be much redder:
And cut out a couple of stars to mark the locations of Launceston (where Fawkner's party left from), and Melbourne.
The Melbourne one was bigger. It seemed important, somehow...
Then I grabbed the black food colouring and some more fondant to make a boat representative of the Enterprize (and no, that's not a spelling mistake).
I made a sail out of a a toothpick and some baking paper. The boat's a wee bit out of proportion, but frankly, if it were in proportion, it would be the size of a hundred and thousand, if not smaller. So if it has to be out of proportion, it may as well be dramatic!
And the final touch was the little white blob of fondant in the boat, which is Fawkner. I thought about making a little man out of fondant, but my hands were dyed black and red from the food colouring, so I gave up and made a blob instead.
So there you have it. A very happy 175th birthday to my beloved Melbourne in cake form!! Here's hoping it makes it to work in one piece, and that it tastes as good as it looks...
K xx
PS. The spellchecker just told me that Launceston isn't a word, but Landsteiner is. WTF??
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