Going, Going, GONE!

Dear Diary,

Well, it's been an age since I last spoke to you hasn't it? So much has happened in 20 short and furious days!

Ok, so where do I start? The last thing I told you about was the first open house wasn't it? Well our place was so popular that a couple had exchanged contracts by Tuesday and we sailed through the cooling off period no worries. I was a bit peeved at the real estate agent for showing more people through the following Saturday when it was already under contract. From a buyers point of view it's quite annoying when you go to see a place only to find out it's not available!!!

Anyhoo, so the place is sold and we have to be out by the 13th November. That still leaves us 2 and a half months to find something else which is plenty of time. We're still undecided about whether or not we'll buy or rent. Oh the joys of the fickle property market!

What else has gone down? Oh yeah! I got told that I'm going to the US for work in October!!!! I am over the moon about that but I'm also pretty scared because I'm not sure how much money I'll saved by then as it's such late notice. I just hope I save enough for a week after home office training! You can't go to the US without shopping!!

You know how I've been itching to take my Nikon D5000 out for a whirl? Well A and I met up and walked through the Botanic Gardens to hone our photography skills and I must say that whilst I took some horrendous pictures I did end up with a few I really liked.

The picture with the tree trunk was completely natural, no photoshop involved. I think it's so cool! Oh and that egg thing surrounded by plants? Believe it or not it's made of metal! Another cool thing I found in the gardens. Such a fun day that we have to do again. Somewhere else though.

After our hour or two of wandering around the park we decided to call it quits because we felt some rain starting to come one. We quickly legged it over to the Ship Inn for some gourmet pizza and cocktails. We got there just in time as it started raining heavily with strong winds about 2 minutes after we got there! Sorry, no pics of the food, just a description as I felt a bit self conscious pulling out my dslr in a crowded pub!! I had a kir royale cocktail and a cripsy duck pizza.

Oh, um...those Valentinos I said I wanted? They were sold twice on the bay but for some reason the transactions never went through and I was fortunate enough to finally snag them.

Aren't they super cute? They are going to get some much wear over summer and I think they're work appropriate when I don't have any meetings scheduled of course.

I finally pulled the trigger and bought a T-Bags dress that I've been drooling over from this ebay seller wendell_62vae

 Photo belongs to wendell_62vae

And to finish off my post I'm going to show you some food porn! I don't know about you but I ADORE Mars Bars and rice bubbles so combining them in Mars Bar Slice is absolute heaven for me. I try not to make it too often otherwise I would be the size of the Michelin man by now since I eat a batch in a couple of days flat!!

Look at all that caramelly, cripsy, gooey goodness *faint* And it's about the simplest recipe you can find.

Ingredients: 6 Mars Bars, 50g unsalted butter, 3 cups of Rice Bubbles

Dice Mars Bars and butter and melt in mixing bowl over boiling water. Once melted combine Rice Bubbles and pour into slice tray. Set in fridge.

How easy is that?! That particular one above will fill most of a slice tray. You can add less or more Rice Bubbles depending on your preference.

Now that I've made y'all hungry I think it's time to say goodnight!

xo

Our First Open House

Dear Diary,

I am so angry at tradesmen right now! You know how we had carpet laid on Monday? Well turns out that they left a hole in the wall at the top of the staircase.

Shocking huh? And before you say I should have seen it I didn't have my glasses on and I thought it was just a ding that I could putty up and fix. Well I jumped up and down since they also broke a trolley we had under the bed by crushing it to death. I was more concerned with the wall as we are trying to sell the place!

Anyway, I spoke to some douchebag "problem-fixer" at Carpet Court who just tried to weasel his way out of the damage claim and said "oh well, we can't take any responsibility for any property damage we may cause". I don't think so buddy!! You cannot legally contract out of negligence in this country. I don't even know if you can do it anywhere in the world.

I finally got some resolution and the carpet layers were going to come out either Thursday or Friday first thing in the morning to "help" me fix the problem but they would text me confirmation even though they said it would more than likely be Friday morning. I hadn't heard from them by 7am on the Thursday and figured they weren't coming so off I go to work. I get a call at 7:53am from the carpet layer saying he's outside my place!!! WTF? So there went my Thursday morning...at least the wall looked a lot more presentable when all was said and done!

Much better now isn't it? Barely noticeable. And I discovered a great product, liquid gyprock!!! It's fantabulous stuff.

I've had a pretty bad eating week so far, chicken fried rice and fried potatoes to name a few dishes in the last week or so!

Today was our first open house inspection and I was blown away by how many people wanted to see our place. We had 11 groups through and 2 of them have already requested contracts. I did also feel quite violated by the open house as people were not respectful of personal space and opened cupboards up left right and centre checking everything out. Of course my cupboards were stuffed to the gills with everything I didn't want them to see, weren't they? The thought of having a quick sale makes me happy and very, very sad at the same time. To think I may only have 6 more weeks in paradise.

I was a little naughty tonight and got some takeaway from my fave Japanese place Edoya Sushi Bar in Devonshire St. Tempura udon and age-teriyaki tofu! I shouldn't really be spending money but I was a little depressed over our place possibly selling really quickly and having a fight with M that I just had to have some comfort food.

Oh and I took this picture last week as well. Shot on my baby Nikon on colour setting Vivid+1. This is why I don't want to move out *sigh*.

Well that sorta wraps the last week up for me. Might head off to bed now. 

Catch ya later alligator!!!

xo

I want....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Packing...blech!

Hello Sunday night and MasterChef finale!

Nothing new to report here really. Still haven't found a new place, just packing up the old one and getting some basic repairs done before it goes on the market. Can I just say how much I abhor packing?! I'm not sure there's anyone in this world who actually enjoys packing and unpacking. If there is, please put your hand up and I'll beg you to come do it for me!

A couple of new outfit pics for you to look at too. I love the pictures my Nikon takes, such good, clear pictures. If I hadn't blurred out the background you'd be able to tell but I'm sure no one wants to see my toilet. Maybe in the new place I'll have a mirror that's not in my bathroom.

 19th July: DVF Tessa with Scooter ruched kitten heeled boots

Friday night was casino night with the work girls. I have to say I was very good, didn't gamble or drink. I was on a budget so that might be why. I also don't have any photos because M took my little point and shoot with him. I didn't particularly feel like lugging my Nikon around like a tourist!

Luke Nguyen has opened a restaurant in Star City casino called Fat Noodle. I have to say it wasn't bad but it wasn't as good as his restaurant in Surry Hills called Red Latern.

 23rd July: Portmans cotton stretch pants, panda singlet, black zip jacket with cream leather jacket over the top and my Christian Louboutin Penny Girl flats

Saturday night I got my cook on and made a honey mustard chicken from scratch. Just look at it!

Easy peasy - cream, seeded mustard, mild American mustard, honey and chicken are the ingredients. 

Brown the chicken in olive oil, add the cream and seeded mustard, stir, add honey and mild American mustard and simmer for 10-15 mins. You could have it with pasta or rice. I had rice as I love soaking white rice in the sauce.

Today I've done nothing but finish off my book and pack some more. I now have 10 boxes packed and about half my wardrobe to donate to good will. I can't believe how quickly you accumulate clothes you don't wear. I've been a bit ruthless in my cull but I've had to be as I know I haven't worn quite a few things in more than a year.

Dinner was a pizza with the lot and the best thing about it is I still have at least 2 more dinners out of it - YUM!

Now I'm just kicking back watching the finalists battle it out!! On that note I'm off to have a cup of tea and watch the rest on the couch. Night!

Six months is not a lifetime

Dear Diary,

I'm so sorry I have neglected you!! Things have been a little crazy here and I'll tell you what I've been up to in a second. How have you been? Have you missed me? C'mon, don't be so cold! I'm here now aren't I?

Ok, since you don't want to talk to me I'll tell you what's been going on with me lately.

Well M finally finished uni and he got a job with a major construction company. That's great right? Bad news is that he has to move to Coffs Harbour for 6 months. That's 5 hours away!!! And I'll probably only get to see him once a month or so. I shouldn't be complaining but he finally finishes uni and I can spend time with him and he gets sent far far away! Not fair. 

I mean it'll be a great experience for him and I don't begrudge him at all. Unfortunately I can't move as my job is based in Sydney CBD. So I guess I'm in a long distance relationship now. What makes it worse is that he'll be away for his birthday next month, our 5 year anniversary in October and my birthday in November :(  C'est la vie!

We've said farewell to a bunch of friends trekking the Kokoda trail in PNG. Personally I admire their guts and drive to do it but think they're crazy!!! If I were super fit I would maybe consider it..even then....

We met them at a bar that served 1kg of ribs with chips for $20! You cannot beat that for value. And it was DELICIOUS! I wish I hadn't shared with M and got my own. I might have been sick though as that is a lot of ribs.

We've celebrated a 30th and boy did that make me feel old! Aside from the fact that it was the week before payday and I was skimming the bottom of the tin, I just didn't feel like being out that late in Kings Cross. I remember the days when I could party all night and still feel refreshed in the morning. Those days are long gone! I think I made it to 11:30pm, eep!

Oh yeah, I cooked a dinner of lamb steaks seasoned with rosemary and garlic with roasted potatoes and green peas. Delicious!

We're also putting our unit up for sale as we are sick of living in a one bedroom unit. We need something with more space and room to grow. We want kids one day and a 1 bedroom unit is not going to cut it. There have been real estate agents trampling through the house non-stop and we, sorry I, have to de-clutter the unit since M's has gone off to Coffs now.

We thought we had found a new place and our offer was accepted. Unfortunately the agent neglected to tell us that there were other contracts out for the same unit and then before our solicitor could get the contract someone else had already put a deposit on it. We were heartbroken as it was exactly what we were looking for! I guess there is a better place out there waiting for us.

Bailey has been shipped off to mum and dad's whilst this take place as we won't be home much and it's better for him to have fun in the country chasing bunny rabbits, echidnas and goannas. He's even getting walked every hour! I certainly can't live up to that.

I've been promising myself I'd buy myself a new camera for a while. I was hemming and hawing over which camera to get but finally settled on a Nikon D5000 dslr. I did a post previously on all the things I want and I believe this was on the list. I had slated it in for February/March but shoes got in the way as usual. At least now I can take top notch pics of my shoes!

Isn't she pretty? I am so excited about this baby and she takes wonderful pictures. I just need to learn how to use an slr all over again since I've forgotten a lot of things. Here are some pics I've taken with it so far.

Accessories

Traffic - love the vibrancy of colours in night time traffic

Baked ricotta cheesecake from our farewell dinner downstairs at Fratelli on Cooper.

M left this morning and I promised him I wouldn't cry and that it wasn't a big deal. I mean six month is nothing right? Wrong, I broke my promise and I started bawling when it was time for him to get in the car and drive away this morning. Such a big sissy I am. But I will miss him very much, I already do. He's my best friend and I hate that I can't run into the next room and scare the shit out of him and then laugh myself silly over it, or tell him about the auction I just won or snuggle up with him when we watch tv at night.

Six months is a long time but it's not a lifetime.

xo

January Blues

Why is it after the hustle and bustle of Christmas and New Years Eve do you sink into a sort of post celebration blues? I'm sad yet relieved that silly season has passed and that life as we know it can go back to normal. I can also start saving money again. That is if I don't spend it on shoes or bags! Although I do have the urge to travel this year so that may cure the spending as I would have to save up quite a bit to go travelling.

But I guess after a big couple of months celebrating the festive season January always seems to crawl by at a snails pace. And you're always broke as you've spent last months pay already and are eagerly anticipating this months pay. I've pretty much spent my pay in my head! It's amazing how how broke you can be before you get paid!!

So what's on my wishlist I hear you ask? Well here are a few of the things I've been thinking about getting and doing.

I've been wanting a dslr for a while now. I think it's been about 6 or so years at least. I always buy myself a good point and shoot and then my urge for a dslr goes away for a while. This time I think I should actually get it.

I have chosen the Nikon D5000 as I love Nikons and in the reviews it has the teeniest edge over the Canon 500D. I personally like Canon for compacts and Nikons for slr's. One of the reasons I'm getting sick of my compact is that I hate the way a flash blasts the subject which is why I've included the SB-400 flash in the pic as it bounce off vertically or with a diffuser will give a soft glow to the area of the subject you're photographing rather than a strobe light effect! Just think of the pictures I can take of shoes now in low light!!! Woohoo!

Hmm, what else is on that list? Well I have to include the bags and shoes of course!

CL Alta Iowa in Black Suede (picture from trenduet ebay auction)

CL Bianca in Coral Patent (picture courtesy of tPF)

CL Banana in Lavender Patent (picture off www.christianlouboutin.fr)

CL Simple 100 in Nude Acid Wash Python

CL Lady Claude in Blue Acid Wash Python (picture from Sabrina Greco at NM)

Chanel Camellia WOC

Balenciaga Spring 2010 colours (picture from http://incultstatus.blogspot.com/)

I think the colours in the picture from L-R are black, olive, sang, papeete, canard, cyclade. I have twiggys in olive and canard on pre-order and they should be arriving some time in February/March. Hopefully I like the colours I've pre-ordered. I'm a bit sad I didn't order anything in papeete or sang! I think that's better for my wallet anyway.

And last but not least I have a burning desire to these places. Not that I don't want to visit anywhere else such as Europe but I just want to see these places first. Plus I want to meet a lot of good friends I've made off tPF who live in the States. Ok, I won't lie, plus the shopping. That was a given, was it not?

Vietnam

New York City

Las Vegas

As you can see I have a few things I want to do and get this year so which ones should I prioritise??? Hmmm, tough choice isn't it?

I think I'll sleep on it....