A new chocolate shop! Of course it deserves its own post.
While shopping with Bev and Lisa, we passed this tiny little store just off Oxford Street. Did I feel like chocolate? Is that even a question!
I loved the pretty boxes. I will be back for presents – and for me!
Raspberry butterflies, strawberry hedgehog and caramel bombs.
Lisa can’t help herself.
The last chocolate to be eaten. Mmmmm.
To catch up with Bev, who had been in Singapore for three weeks, Lisa, Bev and I spent quite a jam-packed day together. We picked Bev up from the doctor (she had woken up with a swollen eye) and stopped in Paddington for lunch and to pick up a handbag from Belinda’s.
Bev loves Bite Me on Oxford Street, so it is now my turn to blog about it.
I loved the interior, hence the millions of pics about to follow. It has a kind of a retro diner feel to it, but 100 times funkier.
Jumbo menu when we walked in.
Can the world be a burger place? The eternal question.
The menu. I don’t know why I liked it enough to photo it, but I did.
Super-cute little wash towel thingy.
Crazy pictures on the walls.
Awesome attention to detail. I love the tomato sauce bottle.
Side-tracked. Cute magnetic bookmarks Bev brought me back from Singapore.
Poor Bev has a woe moment about her bad eye.
Who invited these crazy bloggers?
Bev defends herself from the dripping ceiling while slathering the chips in sauce. That’s dedication to the food.
My lentil burger with haloumi cheese, tomato and rocket. I would have preferred more of a stronger cheese, but it was still really tasty. It was also my first vege burger since going vego. Burgers were one of my favourite foods in my meat days, and I have missed them like mad. Was the vege burger just as good? No. Was it really tasty anyway? Yes, yes it was 🙂
Bev is serious about tomato sauce distribution.
Lisa tries some spicy horseradish.
My new sunnies. Bev was so happy I got them she needed to take my picture. Several times actually, so I could see how great they looked. Thanks Bev!
Trying to take a pic of the three of us in the mirror.
I went way out west to wash my fur-babies. I also cut enough hair off them to make several new dogs. How do they get so hairy?!
Kahlua looks at me with mournful eyes. “Why did you cut off all my beautiful hair, Mum?”
Lil’ Buff seems happy with her new ‘do. “I am so springy now! I can leap really small steps!”
My dear Shelley abandoned me for a month to take a holiday in the USA. She came home this week and I went over to pay her a visit.
Here is Shell’s cat, Xenia, with some of the yummy American chocolates Shell brought home in the background.
Glad you’re home Shells!
After seeing lots of movie promos with giant bears in the snow, Alec and I were keen to see this movie when it was released.
The Golden Compass is based on a series of books, which explains the huge amount of exposition they try to cram into the movie by way of the characters’ dialogue. It’s doesn’t entirely work, and is a bit clunky – it also doesn’t make sense all of the time, as concepts are introduced but not fleshed out. The editing was also clunky, making me think the movie makers had to edit a great deal of footage down to make the film and only had a short time to do so in.
The movie is set in a parallel world where a child, Lyra, is the only one who can work a magical artifact called the golden compass. Lyra’s friends have been disappearing, and she journeys into the far north – leading her to discover that the children have been kidnapped and experimented on, and only she can save them.
I liked a lot of the concepts, such as having your soul externally to your body, as an animal that walks by your side, and the large ice bears were impressive, but the large gaps in the storyline and bad editing took away from the enjoyment of the movie.
On New Year’s Day, Alec and I went to see Death At A Funeral, a British comedy recommended to us by Alec’s Dad.
I have to say, I did laugh a lot. I thought it was a bit odd in part, quite over the top in others, but in total, really funny and particularly good to watch when i had been feeling low over being so sick.
The general storyline is that a father dies and his family and friends convene at the family home for his funeral. The film interweaves multiple story lines, involving members of the family and a mysterious stranger who has a secret about the deceased. There is accidental drug-taking, nudity and dwarfs. How could it not be the funniest funeral ever?
I particularly liked Alan Tudyk as Simon Smith, who also stars in Serenity and Firefly.
First pic for 2008.
With both Alec and I sick, we decided to spend NYE at home. It was a nice night actually. I tried cooking some different food and we watched new Heroes episodes.
Our little tree in its pot.
My gingerbread man tree decoration I bought this year.
Haloumi and tomato entree.
Trying to present it properly.
The main course – pasta salad wrap. It has all kinds of healthy things in it – asparagus, zucchini, peas, broccolini, semi-dried tomatoes and ricotta. It was really easy to make too!
It’s been a full-on year. Lots of travel. Lots going on. Lots of changes. All in all, a good year.
Some highlights:
What I would like to achieve next year:
I’ve been sick for the entire of December. I’ve had sinus, throat and chest infections and three lots of antibiotics, and I am still sick. To make myself feel better, I had a pedicure today. I get it done every month or so, and even though I know it is such an indulgence, it makes me feel so good that I can’t stop going!
I usually get my nails done in a deep red, but I chose pink today. It looked a lot darker in the bottle, but came out really candy – which is perfect for a cheery start to what I hope to be an amazing 2008.
