I do have to clear up her poo. But we can ignore that as she's so damned cute!!
Ella is staying with us while her parents are waiting for their refurbishments to finish. And she's keeping Liam entertained during my working day. She has discovered that the bean bag is pretty damned comfy. Luckily she hasn't discovered how much it snows if a hole appears - yet.
And Ella is very good practice as a test run for our own pup.
Alas Coles has limited imported wines. So I settled for a Chilean Pinot. It's the closet to the Burgundy region I could find!!
And - it was soooo yummy. And it shall be eaten again for lunch today.
If the way to a mans heart is his stomach. Then I've definitely pulled Liam this valentines!
Although cute when the top layer are substituted with heart shaped tato instead of normal slices. It doesn't cook as instructed. Takes half an hour longer at least. And isn't as yummy as the recipe I ripped put of the daily mail mag a few years ago. Rather bland and disappointing from Delia.
But how cute... Happy valentines! x
On the other hand - a decent chippy's chips smothered in vinegar would be fabulous. But the fish part of fish and chips they do quite well.
I hardly touched Japanese in the uk. Although I'm assured my my British colleagues that it was more expensive. And yet here it is everywhere. From a cheap fast food joint to a sit down restaurant. They cover all possible options.
I have become more and more hooked on our local Japanese's bento box. Admittedly with my fussy eating Liam still gets a certain portion of my food to eat. But waste not want not etc.
I had a fabulous Vietnamese dinner on the way to ikea the other night. And the multitude of good pies from bakeries yum.
The produce in supermarkets is generally seasonal. So you can't buy some fruits all year round (more so now with 90% of Aussie banana plants wiped out). So it all fresher and yummier. But with an ever growing price tag... The deli counter can disappoint. Liam misses the garlic chicken slices mum used to get from tescos. And I miss a good black pepper salami it peppered turkey. But I'm sure we'll survive.
If any of you have a local Japanese restaurant that you've never bothered with yet - get your arse in there and pick up a bento box. Yum.
5 days later I still feel the wrath of her phlebotomist skills with a yellowy purple bruise wrapped round my arm. Yesterdays bruise was the highlight of it's lifespan. It was quite incredible. And I should have perhaps taken a photo then for prosperity. Hindsight eh.
So it was evie's 30th birthday. And as she, dinealle, kaddy and Kate m are all in the nursing profession I wanted to discuss with them the mess that their colleague had left all over my arm. And that is when I found out it was a phlebotomist not a nurse. She looked like a nurse. Sounded like a nurse. No, not a nurse. Luckily no offense was taken at my confusing them with a mere, and also evidently crap phlebotomist. But I was assured in future just to go to Evie for future blood tests as she says I would leave (and stay) bruise and mark free.
But as you all know. If blood removal became a regular part of my life then I would probably run away to the circus. I hear the trapeze is good for bingo wings...
Ooh and 8 hours later in the pub for evie's 30th. Evie - 5 months pregnant and going strong. Kane (hubby) - 5 sheets to the wind and had to be taken home. Men.
Their house is in the seaside town of Torquay. Now I have never been to torquay in the UK but I imagine it's similar. Sunshine, surfers, sand. And ice cream. Maybe less sunshine than the Aussie version.
Fi took me to her favorite ice-cream place while the boys played golf. Nordenfines - I think it was called. And it truly was absolutely lovely with extra lovely on top. I can't remember the exact flavours I had. But I hadn't been so impressed since my first experience of Baskin Robbins in 1991. And then my first Ben and jerry's pot (pfisch food) in the early 00's.
Alas with all good things it is only a locally made and locally sold sort. So unheard of and never seen in Melbourne. But if they ever sold a franchise... Yum.
We have a shop near us called cold rock which could be quite successful in the uk if you had longer summers. They again make their own icecream. Except they make it super creamy so you can have things 'smashed' into it. Things such as Oreo cookies, jelly snakes, nerds, timtams, thus creating a blended ice cream. I like baileys or cookies and cream with the Oreos. But another alas - needing the ability to smush things into their ice cream they have ruined the simple scoop in a cone as all the ice cream is super creamy and it just dilutes the flavour.
With the weather having stayed in the high 30's and on the 40 mark the past week I can see myself undoing all my good gym work with an ice cream addiction this summer. As there are many many more places I need to 'try'...
