Los Angeles

Paul and I decided to stay in LA for a couple of nights en route to Canada in December last year. It was my first time being in the US other than stopping over - it will definitely not be the last!

I know it sounds strange but we flew from Sydney to Vancouver (14 hours) then to LA on Air Canada. The US is so very beautiful to look at from the sky!

See?

A zoomed in and cropped image of the Hollywood sign seen from our plane

I just loved how glitzy Los Angeles was! The weather was comparable to a Sydney winter although public buildings were better heated/insulated than they are here.

The first thing I noticed was the amount of tipping you have to do in LA - the bus driver, the hotel bellboys, valet guys (most parking in LA is valet) and of course, waiters. I also found it annoying that prices (on tags and menus) were not the final figure, they were the before tax amounts. Annoying if you're very strapped for cash and you think you have enough! Everything is much cheaper there than here in Sydney though.

Los Angeles is also very dog-friendly compared to Sydney. I saw doggies everywhere I went, even in airport departure lounges (the dogs were waiting to get on the planes with their owners) and dogs are permitted in shopping centres as long as they take lifts and not escalators. If only I could have brought Teddy!

Food is a big reason I would return to LA. The quality was excellent for a much more reasonable price than you would pay for an equivalent meal in Australia. However, unless you go to a higher end restaurant, you're going to end up drinking terrible coffee! (I think Coffee is much better in Australia but maybe North Americans would think our coffee was terrible too!)



Hatfield's Restaurant: 6703 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles

I was only using a small Canon point and shoot I got like 6 years ago so these aren't the best photos

My entree was a delicious buckwheat crepe

My main - 36-hour slow cooked rib

Dessert - Hot chocolate peanut butter truffle cake
with salted caramel ice cream

Bottega Louie Restaurant: 700 South Grand Ave, Los Angeles
I absolutely loved this place and if I lived in LA I would probably be here ALL the time. It is a gourmet food market, a French-style patisserie (macarons guys, macarons!), chocolaterie, cafe, cocktail bar AND restaurant all in one!

This soft-boiled egg with toastie soldiers was $3.
You heard me.
THREE BUCKS.
Probably would have been $18 here in Sydney.

Paul ordered the "Farmer's Brunch"

I ordered for dessert (yes, I had dessert at breakfast) the Belgian waffles with Chantilly cream, seasonal berries
and Vermont maple syrup. Best breakfast I've had in a long time.

In general, I just loved how friendly, polite and helpful LA locals were compared to here in Sydney. People in LA seem to take customer service a lot more seriously than they do here. I loved how generous food serving sizes are and the variety of condiments you can get to accompany your food (I'm talking tabasco sauce!). Alas I did not spot any celebrities... better luck next visit I suppose!

My Wedding

Well my second wedding anniversary is just over a week away so I thought I'd share some pictures of the day (26th July, 2010). Paul and I got married in a small town named Tadoussac in Quebec, Canada. This place has been special to him and his family since he was born. We were surrounded by about 50 of our close friends and family. Weather was 16 degrees and overcast; we were very fortunate that it did not rain! Photography by my most talented lifelong friend, Frank Farrugia.

My Doggie Teddy

It's been over a year since my last post and for the next little while I will share photos of things that have happened during this time. So here's the first thing. Paul and I got a dog, Teddy! Teddy is a jack russell-pomeranian etc cross and I obtained him as a gift from my friend whose female dog had puppies in April 2011. Teddy can sit, lie down, jump, beg and dance! Dance as in jump in a circle... We took him for a walk today :)

Need a Holiday!!!!

I'm counting down the days until I take a week and a day off! Paul's Nanna's coming from Canada to stay for a little while. It's her first time here so we're going to go up to QLD and see the Barrier Reef!!!! It will be my first time too! I've only ever been as far north as the Gold Coast so I'm excited :D

So... naturally I'm trying to slim down to look good while on holiday. So far I've been successful in NOT gaining weight. But that's about it. :( *sigh*

I was determined to not have dinner tonight but I was absolutely starving. So right now Paul's slaving away in the kitchen for his little old wife :) He just gave me a blue cheese/brie and rice cracker platter with a glass of merlot as an entree. He's so good to me :)

Home Alone

I've got the house to myself for the first time in a very long time! The husband's gone out to a friend's house for a boy's night in (cars and xbox anyone?) So far the events of my evening have gone to plan - rose-scented bath whilst listening to jazz and for dinner - buttered baguette with blue cheese, a glass of sauvignon blanc and leftover beef strog (made by the hubby). I might bake something after this post. Been thinking of making vanilla cookies!

This morning I snapped some pics of our happy little friend who visits every now and again. This time I gave him some bacon to try!

Returned from the dead

So I've forgotten this blog even existed... well here I am again! Don't know if I have any followers but I'm sure they'd welcome me back anyhow.

So... to sum up the time elapsed since my last post (Jan 2010) - I am:
1. Employed full time by Dr Benjamin Daoud and working in Fairfield and Kingswood
2. Officially graduated from Dentistry in March 2010
3. Bought my very first car - a 2006 Audi A6 3.0 TDI Quattro (uses diesel but is very gutsy and economical!)
4. Bought a home
5. Travelled to Canada to meet the inlaws and get married to Paul
6. Shopping and eating out on a regular basis
7. Enjoying food, cooking and photography
8. Spending a lot of spare time watching Foxtel - especially reality shows (e.g. The Hills, Jersey Shore)

And that is it... I shall be posting more regularly from now on.

Happy Birthday To Me (for 2 days ago)

Yes I finally turned a quarter of a century on Sunday. I'm starting to realise how old that sounds. My first mobile phone was an Ericsson GH 688 (it never used to be Sony-Ericsson back in the day) http://www.gsmarena.com/ericsson_gh_688-106.php Now do you see how old I am? I felt so good to get the Nokia 3210 http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_3210-pictures-6.php after the Ericsson.

Well my birthday consisted of: Thai food with Tommy, a 3 course French dinner cooked by Paul (it was quite impressive and delicious I have to say), dinner at Yumei Japanese restaurant with Andrew and Judy and late lunch with my family (Yes, cake was involved).

Entree: vol au vents with asparagus and cheese sauce

Main: lamb en croute

Inside view of the lamb en croute with stuffing

Dessert: coffee pots de creme

Today I met with my future boss about the job. Turns out the guy I was brought in to replace is leaving in about 3 weeks. I start on Thursday then I'm off until February 2nd then on the week starting the 8th I'm flying solo full time (the boss is going away). Sounds scary but I have to stand on my own two feet someday! He also gave me the ok to take leave for the wedding. It's all looking good :) 

NYE Report

The following is a description of NYE 2009 (or is it 2010?). We left Paul's work place after 5 (left the car there also cause there was no way we were driving into the city and looking for parking on NYE) for an annoying humid half hour walk to Granville station. We then discovered that we had no cash for train tickets and that the minimum transaction amount for using eftpos was $24. Which then meant hunting down an ATM.

The train ride was more pleasant, we found a 2-seater and it was air conditioned. Changed trains at Central for a train to Edgecliff. No seat on that train but it was like a 10 min trip. Called Tommy to find out what was happening. He suggested we go to Coles and buy a bbq chicken and bring it to his friend's apartment. Paul and I tried to look for Coles but found a Beer Wine & Spirits store instead where Paul purchased some bubbly - Yellowglen Vintage Bella and a full case of Sol cervezas. I then called Tommy to ask where the Coles was which he then gave me directions to. Next to Coles was an Asian bakery - still open to my surprise (it was after 7pm already) and we purchased dinner: 2 croissants, 2 spinach turnovers, 1 spinach and ricotta quiche to share and 1 chicken pie for Paul. He also purchased some flavoured milk for me from Coles.

We sat in front of Coles eating whilst awaiting Tommy's sister Rosa and her husband Robert. We then walked to Tommy's friend's apartment - poor Paul had to carry our heavy liquor and direct us. The apartment's view was just as breathtaking as last time. Tommy lay down some housekeeping rules - avoid spillages on the coffee table thing that looks like a long, giant oversized ottoman (it was upholstered in Italian silk) and no touching the expensive glasses ($200 a glass!! They were handblown in France or something).

Rosa prepared a cheeseboard for us and so we ate, drank and were merry until the 9pm fireworks. Afterwards Tommy put on Seinfeld DVD's and we indulged some more. We started tidying up before the midnight fireworks and left somewhere between 12:30-1. The walk back to Edgecliff station was irritating due to huge crowds. Being greeted into the new year by the gay group was amusing. Behind me for a good 5 minutes straight was the most annoying scraping sound of a suitcase being dragged. Who brings a suitcase to NYE!?

The queue for tickets at the station was REEEEEEEEEALLY long (Tommy didn't have a ticket) and then the ticket machines suddenly died so cityrail staff handed out "pay at destination" tickets which are essentially IOU's. The trip was interesting - across from us: a middle aged female cityrail employee eating pumpkin seeds and not being very neat about it (seed shells dropping on the floor and stuck around her face), a strange lady with ridiculously thick glasses staring Tommy and I down (seriously, the thickness made her eyes look huge to worsen the effect), and a special needs type young lady who was shit-faced, repeatedly stroking the back of her right hand with her left fingers - and she was REALLY concentrating on the task. We contemplated where we would change stations - Town Hall, Central or Redfern?

We made the mistake of choosing Central. There was a very large crowd surrounding the stairs for platform 18/19 and it wasn't moving. I was very sweaty. Paul suggested taking a train around the city circle and hoping it would lead us to where we needed to go. Sneaky but ingenious.

The trash littered all over Circular Quay when our train passed was UNBELIEVABLE. So glad to have had the comfort of an apartment with all the necessary amenities. Somewhere around Flemington or so staff told us to move up to another carriage. We assumed a vomit situation was at hand. Finally Paul and I got off at Auburn for another long annoying walk. The garbage trucks happened to be doing their rounds right at that moment so we were exposed to the most unpleasant smell for a good half hour whilst cockroaches dodged our steps past a long row of open empty bins.

We got to work and as Paul pressed his keyring button thing to open the gate this weird French tourist couple had parked their 4WD nearby and the gentleman asked Paul whether it was safe for them to sleep in their car there. Paul assured them no one ever came back there. I felt extremely disgusting at this point and dehydrated so we stopped into the office for cold water and I washed my face etc. When we got in the car and drove out, the tourist 4WD was completely covered in some sort of tarp. It must take a lot of skill and experience to be able to completely cover a car and get into it simultaneously. Within a few minutes I blacked out and Paul drove home.

So, here are some pictures:

Our fantastic view

Cheese, Crackers and Haigh's Chocolate

The Midnight Fireworks

The Aftermath

Bonne Année!!

Happy new year my lovelies - ie Paul and Tommy (the only people who look at this thing). Right now I am sitting at the end of Paul's office desk with our outdated Toshiba laptop waiting for the hours to go by until it's time to leave for our NYE celebrations. To help pass the time I painted my nails red - 061 exotica (as mentioned in facebook/twitter status). That took all of 10-15 minutes.

I spent the next few hours looking for celebrities to follow on twitter. I find it hilarious how fans pretend to be celebrities and tweet their daily activities e.g. Miranda Kerr - on the way to Miami with Orlando. I wonder if she'd actually call him that? Surely she has some sort of pet name for him like "pumpkin". I have now added Dita Von Teese, Sarah Blasko and Jemaine Clement from Flight of the Conchords to my list of celebs to follow.

I really hope that dreary weather out there improves. It hasn't rained since we came in this morning. I wouldn't want it to ruin the fireworks tonight since Paul, Tommy and I are gonna have the most amazing view!!!!! Yes, Tommy's generous friend has let us use her Darling Point apartment overlooking Rushcutters Bay for the night again (we got to use it on NYE 2007). I can't wait!! (Photos to follow soon, hopefully!) Play it safe these holidays kids.

-Roxy

Merry Eating

If I were to put together every one of my Christmases over the past 25 years I think there'd be enough calories to nourish China. Yes, I've had another past few weeks of eating - lots for my dad's birthday/Andro's birthday/Paul's and my engagement 2 weekends ago, pre-christmas last weekend and Christmas dinner last night. That means I've been grazing on leftovers in between too. I feel absolutely, undeniably, gloriously fat.

I wish you all a merry Christmas, enjoy the food, be merry and stay safe on the roads. To follow is a montage of my most recent indulgences.

Paul's chocolates from the boss

A pandan cake which mysteriously appeared at dinner last night. Nobody knows who brought it.

Truffles with peanut butter filling my cousins made

Delicious.

A Day in the Life of...

Very unproductive these days. I just finished watching the only 2 seasons of Lipstick Jungle they ever made (still disappointed that they canceled the show) - so happy that Victory and Joe get back together even if he does drop from billionaire to millionaire - flying in a private jet all the time can get tiring! I have gotten back onto my Audrey Hepburn films, I plan on watching Breakfast at Tiffany's and Love in the Afternoon with Paul over Krispy Kreme donuts (after some exercise of course).

I am currently on a break from cleaning my room - I had this huge pile of unsorted clothing so I'm in the process of folding and placing on hangers. The laundry I had to do after exams were over was unbelievable!! I still have a basketful of laundry to do. Oh, and I also applied for another job. No calls or emails for an interview yet though. Let's hope I get it... or something... or ANYTHING. I'm so tempted to just apply for a job at Macca's or something! You won't believe how hard it is to find employment as a dentist in Sydney when you have no experience.

Well, time to get back to the clothes sorting. Will keep you updated on the job hunt progress.

Insert Witty Title Here

2 weeks until school starts... *sigh* where does the time go...

I'll tell you where! Two weeks ago Paul and I drove out west to Katoomba so I could show him the Blue Mountains. I'd show you pictures but I couldn't find my camera that morning so we used his. I like road trips. You get to sit and watch the scenery gradually change, the radio stations gradually lose signal, and snack on chocolate bars and jelly dinosaurs. Wanting to make the most of our day there, I suggested we go to Scenic World which I had found online. It's one of those typical touristy places; you know, busloads of old japanese people with sun visors and bum bags on... AUTHENTIC boomerangs and Steve Parish postcards gift shop. Seeking escape from the hubbub of foreigners, Paul opted for the more peaceful forest trails - mostly drywood and leaf litter with the occasional bee/dragonfly/bullant. There were apparently castle ruins on the guidemap (you know, with all the regal societies you get in the bush) but we didn't have enough time before closing time to reach that far. Mostly because of the tantrum I threw when I was too chickenshit to climb down the side of rocky hills. Yeah, it was pretty embarrassing.

You know what Gildine did for me, she made me the nicest birthday cake I've ever had! On the 14th I had the relatives come over because some of them were going to Adelaide the next day. Gildine's cake had basket weave looking icing which took her like a week, and also an arrangement of icing flowers that she made with her own two hands. Ryan made me a cake that looked like a giant eclair with a chocolate topping and custard filling mmmmmmmm. He also got me a Harper's Bazaar subscription.

On the actual day of my birthday, Paul wined and dined me at Darling Harbour's Ice Cube. He still won't tell me how much it cost him but I loved every minute of it. Then I shouted him a drink at Starbucks afterward. Aren't I generous?

Right now I'm sitting in air conditioning, nursing my sunburns. You see, what happened was, last Friday Paul and I drove down along the coast to Wollongong and beyond. We reached the lighthouse at Kiama when we noticed a quiet little beach in the distance. With Paul's navigating instincts and my guessing skills, we managed to find out how to get there (on account of our not having a map for beyond Sydney). We walked along and I collected seashells and patted a couple of random doggies. This time, I did take pictures :)

Weeds


Paul


Our feet with...


...and without water


Jellyfish :)

Happy Holidays!

Hi all, since last post the following have happened:

PIANO RECITAL:
This year I had lots of new enrolments and somewhere along the way I realised that they've all never met each other so I decided they could all get together at the end of the year and play something for each other. I'm so proud of them :) Shut up, I know they're all taller.

CHRISTMAS:
Just had the usual thing at home with the family but this time my darling was here.
Presents I got:
micro-organisms :) they sleep next to me in bed :)
an umbrelly :)
50 bucks and a stupid looking framed picture of myself at graduation... I hate that photo!
a Cue shirt
a Bonds shirt and some other shirts
pyjamies and bath tablet thingies
another shirt
a cup full of Indonesian made chocolates
a cactus looking candle with a candle cup
a mini 2007 diary
and last but certainly not least... the nicest most bestest loveliest thing I've ever gotten:

I love that boy so much :)

NEW YEAR'S EVE:
Paul and I headed to Sydney Harbour to see the fireworks, got a pretty decent spot at Mrs Macquarie's Point at around 6ish. I reckon it was pretty short this year compared to previous years... and they didn't do the gushing waterfall thingy of fireworks from the bridge. I was expecting it :( Either way I had a wonderful time :)

Absolute Bliss

Wow. I am the happiest girl alive :) I have my Paul with me now and I've just been spending so much time with him, he's so wonderful :) He's come to lectures with me, I'd dump him in the computer room while I'm at pbl and I just take mondays and fridays off to spend the entire day with him :) Our time is generally spent eating or sitting around.

The first place we ate at was Tony Aroma's on Sussex St. There weren't many people so it was quiet, which I liked. The next day we had breakfast at this little cafe behind the dental hospital, can't remember what it's called but it's pretty decent and good value. We've had maccas breakfast twice, Hungry Jack's, KFC, sushi and various meat pies and other snack foods here and there. Stupid pancakes on the rocks isn't open yet!

Our sit around places have included Darling Harbour, Belmore Park (as hobo homeless bummy and pigeon crappy as it is), Hyde Park and the Royal Botanical Gardens. At the botanical gardens we were sitting in front of one of the ponds watching the ducks and other birds and the bats in the trees when he gave me my Christmas present early. He made me close my eyes and hold my hands out and when he said I could open them, I saw this little silver bell in my hands. I didn't know what it was then he opened it and it was a really nice ring box and I had heart palpitations :) He got me a promise ring :) It's white gold with 3 diamonds in it which apparently symbolise past, present and future. He's the sweetest boy alive :) And thanks to Dyl for risking his job to get the ring box!

At Hyde park it's the same thing, sit around and watch birds and gaze adoringly into each other's eyes... hahaha and we have a tree now :) Cause as we walked past Paul saw something furry in a hollow in it and he saw it breathing. So we stopped to look at it and he got a stick and poked it but it didn't move. So he tried again and it woke up, turned around and looked at us :) It was a possum so we've named him Pepe le possum. And he lives in our possum tree :)

Yesterday we went to the aquarium and although there were too many screaming kids, we had a really good time :) We happened to get to the shark tank at feeding time, it was really cool! I liked how these two little sharks tried to steal the feeding guy's lunchbox full of fish when he wasn't looking. We had a double pass to go to Wildlife World as well which we're going to on Monday. *sigh* I'm so happy