Self fulfilling crockery

Hello world!

I'm writing to you on this most lovely of evenings. As I sit on the deck, with the Husband cooking dinner on the bbq, and Little Rose scooting around on her bike, I can't help but feel pretty darn thankful.

Said deck, all tarted up.

With Christmas approaching and life in general winding down, I'm starting to go the way of Deepak Chopra, reflecting on the year that's been and making tentative plans for the one ahead.

Although many of my 2012 goals haven't really materialised (hello knitting scarf and starting post grad uni) I'm still determined to finish these projects.

You see that's the thing about self fulfilling prophesies. If I were my usual self, I'd probably be stewing in a pool of disappointment, bemoaning my inability to finish anything. But I’ve come to realise, it's this very act of self pity that stops me from progressing whatever it is I've started in the first place.

Come 2013 and 2014 and 2015 and 2016...( I'm guessing you know where I'm going with this) I'm determined to keep pursuing whatever goals I've set for myself, but instead of focusing on a finite and arbitrary time limit, I'm just going to go with the flow and enjoy the process of doing something as much as ending up at the finishing line.

So there it is friends, Rose aka Deepak Chopra’s lesson for 2012, self fulfilling prophesies are just that, something which you (the self) have control over. So let’s raise a cyber glass to that old proverb 'it's always better to have tried and bombed then to have succeeded and acted like an ass' or something.

Speaking of glasses, I recently procured the cutest tea/coffee cups. As an ardent lover of polka dots, these Maxwell and Williams cups have been on my wish list for quite a while. So what better excuse to buy them than ‘we’re having people over for an afternoon bbq and what’s an afternoon bbq without polka dotted cups?’.



 

Well that’s about it from me today, folks. Until next time...Rose. xx



    
 

Weekend wares

Hello world!

As promised it's time for weekend show and tell.

Culinary Update

 

As stated in my last post, last Friday Miss I, D and I headed to Rubicon for a long overdue catch up. 

 

    

As you can see, the restaurant is utterly enchanting, especially the extension at the back with its' beautiful fairy lights twinkling above you as you tuck into dinner. And while the decor gave me food for thought (hello fairy lights on the roof of moi new deck) the actual food um didn't.

And again, while the service was reasonably attentive, I did feel a little intruded upon with the waiter constantly hovering over us with a jug of water that was ever so close to falling on our laps.

As for the food, given the $33 + price tag, plus general reputation of being a restaurant of fine foods, I was disappointed.

 



Menu highlight

My entree of red claw yabbies, with gorgonzola gratin was the highlight of menu, but the rest of my meal, along with those of Miss I and D were well... a bit bland.

On paper, the chicken with mushroom and chestnut stuffing, crisp skin barramundi with chive and potato dumplings, and wild mushroom raviolo sounded divine, but in reality the execution lacked flavour. All in all it was a nice experience but I probably won't be back again.

Onto far brighter things, I had a ripper of a Sunday, with a fabulous brunch at Ona (Manuka) and scoring two tapestries at a garage sale.

 

While I had planned to add to my collection of vintage tins at the antiques auction, I ended up walking away with a lovely vintage toy box for Little Rose, and the Husband found this awesome camera at my in-laws, who are also collectors.

So it was defninitely a Sunday of "Scores!!".  Anyway it's Sayonara for now. Until next time...Rose. xx

   

Snappy snapshots

Hello world!

As a prolific over-promiser and under-deliverer I am very excited to post the following. Remember how I promised pictures of my new cushions and strawberry coloured throw? Well here it is (plus some other stuff) a mere six days after my last post. That's gotta be a record for me!

Until next time...Rose. xx

Couture and culinary update

New York yellow taxi cushion+strawberry throw=happiness

Fantastic Australian designer Leona Edmiston has been doing quality hosiery for a while, and my thighs are so thankful.

Chocolate three ways, fancy pants work dinner, Parliament House. Yep, perks of living and working in Canberra!

My new favourite breakfast. Moorish braised beans in a tortilla cup and runny eggs, HaHa Cafe, Canberra.

  

The magic skies of wintery Canberra. I love my hometown (see additional proof above).

Guess who’s coming for dinner?

Hello world!

Although life’s been a little ho hum of late, mainly due to suffering from some pretty mind blowing migraines, a fresh stack utility bills and the arrival of an old friend- the chin pimple, I promise I won’t let it dampen my spirits.  

How can I? When I'm surrounded by this:

 

 

As some of you may remember, in my very first post I gave a rather unflattering view of my backyard. Given I didn’t actually post any photos, here’s the actual ‘view’:

 

Like I said earlier, dirt track masquerading as a backyard.

So why am I talking about my backyard exactly? Well what could be more interesting. No really there is a point to this. You see, since my home is the size of a shoe box , the multipurpose room that quadruples as my dining room (the others being lounge/study/ playroom) barely allows for any form of entertaining.  

Sure I’ve had friends around, and they’ve all been very gracious re the lack of facilities, but there's only so many times you can serve dinner on people’s laps. Nothing says elegance like balancing cutlery on your knees...

Anyway the Husband and I decided the cheapest way to remedy this odious form of entertaining is to extend the multipurpose room to include a conservatory/dining room. This dining space will hopefully cater to more than three people and possibly even allow us to serve food on flat surfaces. Here's hoping.

Anyway all this talk of dining rooms got me thinking about ultimate dinner party guests. It's not that I don’t consider my friends and family as fabulous company, but really if you could have anyone, and I mean ANYONE (dead or alive) who would they be?

Since I’ve had plenty of time to think about this, having been off sick from work this week, I think I’ve whittled the list down to my top five:

1.  Jane Austen - it is a truth universally acknowledged that a woman in possession of a dining room must be in want of guests!

2.  Michelangelo- having studied some of his work, while “helping” the Husband write  his architecture history essays, all I can say is “WOWZA”. Fancy a glimpse into the mind of a genius.  

3.  Mahatma Gandhi- my idea of courage and kindness personified.

4.  Elie Weisel- Holocaust survivor and author of one of the most powerful books I have ever read 'Night’.

5.  Oprah Winfrey- yeah yeah she’s an attention seeking bleep bleep. Each to their own eh? For me, she’s a phenomenal woman who’s overcome obstacles which I can’t even begin to fathom.  Plus I find her incredibly charismatic and I reckon she’d be a great raconteur.  

So over to you, ultimate dinner party guests? Until next time...Rose.

Bird Bargains (cheep cheep)

Bunting for Little Rose's room. Cotton on Kids.

Before, old jam jar. Now, lovely vase.

El Cheapo notebooks from Typo, 2 for $10! 

Guilty Pleasures

Ok I know I've been complaining about a lack of funds and I have no need for a firescreen, a wheel, or a vintage suitcase but that's why it's called guilty pleasures...

 

Cute sticker on the fire screen.

Cinema Update

Horrible Bosses: While I love Jason Bateman (from one of my all time fave TV shows, Arrested Development) who stars in the movie, I went in with really low expectations. I mean the drivel that’s been coming out of Hollywood by way of comedies literally makes me want to stick pins in my eyes. Ok not literally, but really the movies are soooo bad.

As such, I must admit I was pleasantly surprised by this one. There were some genuinely funny moments. The humour I found similar to The Hangover but way less sinister, despite the premise -three blokes trying to kill their horrible bosses! Great movie to see with the other half. 3/5!