Test test :D

Platybank!!

Tried something new. The eye and cicada was traced :o Stock by xx__s_t_a_c_e_y__xx


Anyway, end of day 3. Training has been awesome fun. Amongst chewing all the new info, the days are broken up by games and rest breaks. Really great environment to work in, lovely people everywhere. :D
Dog tired though. Still have to settle in to this new routine.

Fountain hair

Ed calls this my fountain hair...
It's the fastest way to keep my fringe out of my face :/

Up extra early today D:
Thai food and chocolate are a bad mix.
Second day of training. Going to be so tired! nuuuu

Good morning

Delicious breakfast at the Laneway

Double post!

So it seems my Zombie picture was much too gruesome to bear. The campaign worked i.e. I got a job! Yay!
I received the confirmation e-mail after getting home from the zoo. Double awesome.

image heavy...

My favourite <3 Red pandas

Was planning to go to the Zoo today

Been neglecting my camera lately. Saw a great suggestion to practice at the Zoo. But before I left, I called Ed and he said he wanted to go aswell on his day off. So gotta wait 'til Monday :(
So the only creative thing that came to mind was ZOMBIES
I call this one: Debbie needs a job campaign image01.
Cleaned up in photoshop

I now notice some clone stamp marks all over the face
eww
too lazy to fix

L'occitane

From left: Grape pulp scrub, Almond shower oil, Lavender shower gel

L'occitane in Bondi have these 20ml bottles of products for $5aud each. They're running out fast!
They smell so lovely. Especially the almond oil. Wasn't too crazy about it at first because in oil form it just smells like Almonds but, once the oil foams with water it has this really lovely fresh floral scent.
I don't think there are any of the small bottles left :( but I might stick to the almond oil from now on anyhow :D

The lavender shower gel has a pretty standard lavender scent. Nothing too special.

The scrub is awesome. It smells really delicious!! And polishes dead skin very well. Plus it comes with this cool lid that can be screwed off but if you screw without pushing down, this hole at the top opens so that the product squirts out of the lid.

Ahhh... RO how you still have such a hold on me

These rainbow parakeets (I think?) came to visit our kitchen window. They are the cutest things. When I gave them some grain bread, they picked off all the grains and left the bread lol. Even held onto the bread with their feet. <3


We've picked up RO again. Intense RO is pretty nice. It's a well thought out private server with minimum BS. I've made an Archbishop :D amongst other things.

http://intense-ro.net/

blah

Too hot to sleep.

The cake decorating experiment

Pros and Cons of Fondant (the runny kind) and Marzipan.

Runny fondant

Pros: Lovely transparent look. Glossy. Tastes just like sugar. Sticks to things easily. Can be melted and solidified quickly.
Cons: Too sticky. Melts easily with heat. Can't be painted because the colours will eventually bleed.


Marzipan

Pros: More workable. Has a matte, powdery look about it. Doesn't tear as easily. Doesn't stick to work surfaces.
Cons: Not transparent. Haven't tried melting but doesn't look like it would be a good idea. Very heavy almond taste (though this is a biased opinion).



Results and findings:

To cover perfect domed cupcake tops: it is better to use melted fondant. Because you can just dip the top into the melted fondant, very quick.

To cover uneven cupcake surfaces: marzipan is awesome. A rolled out marzipan circle is tough enough to hold it's own and hide the uneven surfaces.

To cover an entire cake: Marzipan works better because it doesn't tear as easily.

To make figures: Marzipan. Especially if they will be painted.

Flowers: Fondant. They'll be prettier!


I haven't tried rolled fondant yet. I have a feeling rolled fondant and marzipan are the same things hmm.

Need to find an excuse to make another cake. :D



Colouring the medium:
Gel food colours are great. They are not as messy as liquid. However they are more expensive.

Liquid colours: I've read somewhere that liquid colours are not recommended because even the darkest colours will result in light pastels. This is BS. I tried to make that Chicken cake a milky pink with a few small drops of liquid red food dye. Turned out red. Had to add my marzipan reserves to only lighten it by a small shade.

Green eggs and ham

AKA: Pesto scrambled eggs

Pesto:

Pine nuts
Fetta
Olive oil
Garlic
Basil
No measurements, it's all to taste really :D
Mash it all up in a bowl with one end of a rolling pin. (Or mortar and pestle)


Equals D is a collective photo blog my friend invited me to :D

Chirp chirp

Splurged on some cake decorating ingredients today. Food colour gel is so expensive! To be fair, you only need a little bit but it's very limiting D:

Publish Post

Mum's birthday is on Thursday so I made some little chicken cupcake tops for her.


I initially bought fondant in a jar to decorate the cupcake. Knowing nothing about fondant, I was really worried when I opened the jar to find this sticky half liquid fondant D:
But managed to salvage it by kneading some icing sugar into it. Phew!

Also, Ed got his watch today, on his day off! G-shock Riseman (flying squirrel). It can do everything but decorate a cake!
Temperature, altitude, weather, world time, 4 different alarms whoa AND it's solar powered. Very green¬¬¬

cute things phone dump and 2010

You can't really tell from this photo but this "puppies for sale" 4WD was actually full of puppies!
they were all jumping around in the back. I wanted to leap out of my car and into the 4WD to bathe in a car full of puppies.

My friend Lili's son. He's the cutest thing! And it's the first time I was able to hold a baby and cuddle it to sleep! Usually they just squirm and start crying T_T

A little meringue from Makoto Chatswood

Can't believe it's 2010 already. Time flies faster as you get older. I remember only a couple of years ago when I would see a new year just as a new year. An event. But now it actually feels like a counter for the passing time that is no longer endless. :(
I suppose, as depressing as it may sound, it's a great motivation for me to get off my arse!

New years resolution:
Make decisions with the bigger picture in mind, rather than for momentary, instantaneous gratification.

Alan Waddell

Found this while looking for places to go around the block.

"ALAN WADDELL nominated Lethbridge Park, Glendenning and Oakhurst as Sydney's friendliest suburbs - at least, the friendliest of the 284 suburbs in which he walked every street and lane during the last six years of his long life. People in those suburbs most wanted to meet and greet him and invite him into their homes for a drink."


http://www.walksydneystreets.net/index.htm

Danbo!!!

Finally got Danbo from the post-office. Christmas present from Ed :D

Now he's my rice cracker slave. >;D

Here it is again...

Merry Christmas!!!
Very happy with Santa~~

Hope you are too.

I have a very special little guy waiting for me in the Crows nest post office D:
He won't be home 'til the 28th T_T

Chiffon cake in a stone pot

4 eggs - separated
1 cup sugar - 2 half cups
3 drops of vinegar
2 tbs of cooking oil
1 tsp of baking soda
approx. 1 cup of flour


Pre-heat oven to 160 degrees
In one bowl, combine egg whites, 1/2 cup of sugar and vinegar. Beat until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, beat egg yolks with 1/2 cup of sugar, baking soda and oil until smooth.
Gently fold in flour one tablespoon at a time until mixture sticks to the spoon firmly.
Combine 1/3 of the egg white mixture with the flour mixture and fold gently until smooth.
Fold in the rest of the egg white mixture.
Bake for 20-30 mins


On a different note. I saw this waist trench coat + cons look that I've been wanting to try but everytime I'm back at my parents it's so hot. Yesterday I was there again, pondering for a quick second if I should bring it just incase but it was like 40degrees, so I didn't.
Today, it's like 17 and storming. :/

Merry Christmas

Please view full size.

Merry Christmas!
♥
Can't wait to open those presents under our pretty tree.

Yay!! Added a "like" box to my posts :D

Totoya run

Pork belly skewers

Grilled eggplant

quail egg and chicken skin skewers

Cod roe potato salad

We eat too much!

Totoya, Neutral bay is one of our favourite Japanese restaurants. (as long as they don't serve dolphin :P)
They're not like the typical Japanese restaurants where you can expect the same dishes on every menu.
Apart from those over-done boring side dishes they also have a wide range of home-style dishes like pickled vegies fried rice, grilled egg plant and stir fry liver.

My favourite are these delicious grilled skewers. Chicken skin, gibblets, liver, quail eggs, pork belly with miso sauce and crispy frankfurts just to name a few :D
mmmmmm