Sydney Fashion Weekend

@ Royal Hall Of Industries, Sydney

Jen had very kindly organised tickets for herself, Kuben and me to go to 'The Sydney Fashion Weekend' on Saturday 16th May. The three of us were really looking forward to having a really girlie day, with a fashion show and shopping spree. Sadly, Jen fell foul of 'the stomach bug' that has had devastating effects on Adam, his work mates and their wives ( so far, I've managed to avoid it!)

Kuben, her daughter and myself set off without Jen to shop til we dropped and immerse ourselves in everything that is fashion. I really enjoyed the fashion show, even though I didn't recognise any of the designers (most were Australian) There were some fantastic dresses and also some rather 'interesting' fashion ideas, that are probably best left on the cat walk!

After the show we were all set for shopping! There were all kinds of different stands that you could visit;

• Clothing
• Shoes (my particular favourite)
• Bags
• GHD straighteners
• Makeup/Cosmetics
• Swimwear
• Champagne bar (another favourite)
• Accessories

Having picked up a map, we decided it was probably best just to snake up and down each of the walkways, so that we didn't miss anything. This also conveniently enabled us to stop off for a champagne break half way through! We were all surprisingly restrained! Kuben bought a bikini for her daughter, I bought ... yep, you guessed it, a pair of shoes and we both bought Jen some nice smellies from LUSH.

New Training Regime

Wednesday 13th May

Today was the start of my new training regime. In the past I could use the excuses that;

• It takes too long to get to the gym (at least a 40 min round trip in Croydon traffic)
• I'm too tired at the end of the working day to go, I just want to relax!
• I'm too busy, I've got marking, planning etc to do.
• It can be really boring pounding it out on a treadmill

I've now decided that there should be no more excuses as to why I am not regularly exercising. I certainly can't use any of the above excuses any more as, I no longer work and the gym is very conveniently next door!

Our street. Our building is on the left opposite the crossing, the gym is in the blue building on the left.

Adam and myself joined the gym last week and promptly signed up for an introductory personal trainer package. This package gives you three 1/2 hour sessions with a personal trainer. The first session includes a consultation and a test of your fitness (oooh err)

Before we joined the gym Adam and myself decided to invest in some training gear. There just so happens to be a very handy shop a few mins down the road from our apartment that analyses your tread and measures you up for trainers specifically to fit your training needs! Adam suggested that this would be a good idea for me as he had, had a similar thing done in London. As most of you will know, I love shoes, so I wasn't going to let this opportunity pass me by, even if it was only for trainers and not Christian Louboutin shoes! We also kitted ourselves out in the sports shop at Bondi Junction with various gym/training gear.

The time had arrived for me to meet my personal trainer. Her name is Jenny, she moved over here from the UK about 6 years ago and is very nice. Anyway... we had arranged to do the first two 1/2 hour sessions in one go. Jenny suggested that this worked well as you didn't really feel like you'd done a full work out after the consultation and fitness test session. I said I was happy to go with whatever she thought was best, after all, she is the expert.

The consultation and the fitness test consisted of a talk about what I wanted to achieve from joining the gym and in theses sessions, any medical problems and what kind of exercise I had done on the past (In my case, the very distant past!) She then had to measure my height, weight, waist and hips. Followed by seeing how many sit ups I could do in 1 min, how many press ups I could do until I couldn't do any more (not many) measuring how far I could reach forward to my toes when sitting on the floor with straight legs and finally measuring my resting heart rate and then my heart rate again after 3 mins doing vigorous step ups on a step. Apparently using all this information will enable her to calculate my fitness age or something like that. I think I find out at the next session. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it won't be too horrific!

Once that was over we started on a work out. The workout consisted of squats (which make you look like you're doing a poo) with weights, lunges with weights, pushing and pulling against the trainer, an alternative to sit ups, which works all the tummy muscles including a deep one, which I can't remember the name of. This consists of lying on your back, drawing your knees up and back down again in a controlled fashion. I also had to lie on the step and have hand weights to raise up above me and back to the sides of my body in an almost semi-circular path. I also had to hold myself on my forearms in a plank like pose, which is really hard! Finally we finished with stretches. And these were stretches that the trainer helps you with, so they push your limbs for you. A bit like what you see the physios doing to athletes and footballers.

I finished the session feeling rather pleased with myself. I felt good and I felt as if I had been pushed to work as hard as I could. My trainer also commented that I had really good control when doing the exercises and that I carried myself well. She also said that I picked up the exercises really quickly, which some people find hard, especially when having to co-ordinate arms and legs together. Gold star for me then please :)

Thursday 14th May

I woke up this morning not feeling so pleased with myself! Oh my god, every muscle in my body was in pain when I moved! And not just the 'oh dear I feel a little bit muscle achy because I did a bit of exercise' this was mega. Never have my muscles felt like that, even after a particularly strenuous hour long ballet class with Mrs Gray (In my youth, granted). It was so bad, that walking up and down stairs was a serious problem. Even a hot bath didn't really manage to ease the pain!!! I'm hoping tomorrow will bring relief! It had better sort itself out soon because the next session is on Monday. The good news is that it can only get easier the more I do. It also shows me how badly I needed to get back into it. Don't want to become stiff and creaky before my time!

Botanical Gardens And Other Bits - Sydney

Saturday 9th May

Adam decided that a trip into the city was called for today and for a number of reasons;

1. To buy an electric guitar (For Adam, not me. He's decided to take it up again)
2. To get some lunch by the harbour
3. To have a walk through the Botanical gardens
4. To pick up a code Adam needed from his office (It also meant I could see inside the office)

We had a lovely lunch at the Guillian Chocolate Cafe on Circular Quay. (I realise that I seem to be constantly talking about food! Whether its making it or eating it! I can assure you that Adam and myself still have a completely balanced diet and are definitely not in need of 'Over Eaters Anonymous') Anyway... We both had a light lunch. For myself - A roasted vegetable quiche and salad. For Adam - A mozzarella, tomato and Pesto baguette. Ok, ok, so we cracked and ordered dessert, but only one to share and it did consist of lots of fruit. We had a lovely Fruit plate with a chocolate dipping sauce. Definitely one to try if you can.

After lunch we walked over to the opera house and into the Botanical garden's entrance. It really is a huge area. You could spend an awful lot of time wandering around or just sitting on the grass having a picnic or relaxing with a book (Checking for any hidden creepy crawlies, like spiders, of course!)

Little did I realise, but Adam had a secret agenda in the gardens. One that he thought was best kept secret from me, because if I had known about it I wouldn't have gone anywhere near the particular part he wanted to visit! We stumbled on it by accident. Adam suggested that we have a look in the shop for postcards for our parents and he said he wanted to get a map. Once outside the shop he said that he wanted to find 'The Palm Grove' I said we were already there and pointed to the sign. I then asked why, and sadly found out. Up above in the trees were thousands of bats hanging from the trees. Oh my God, it was horrible. They were everywhere and it looked like something out of a horror movie! Adam loved it and began clicking away on the camera. Apparently the bats are a pest and are steadily killing off some of the garden's oldest trees. The bats strip off all the foliage from the trees and end up killing them. All the bat poo apparently stinks too. Luckily we didn't get that close. This link gives you more information on why they want to move the bat colony.

http://www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/welcome_to_bgt/royal_botanic_gardens/garden_features/wildlife/flying-foxes/Flying-fox_relocation

Domestic Goddess Trainee Tries Her Hand At Baking Cupcakes!

Baking cupcakes

After my 'chicken triumph' I thought that it would be a good idea to give baking a try. After all, I can't become a fully qualified 'Domestic Goddess' until I've begun to master all of the domestic arts!

There is a fab little shop over the road from our appartment, that sells all kinds of kitchen and dining equipment. I decided that this was the place I needed to visit to get all the necessary equipment. I felt very pleased when I was able to purchase all the equipment I wanted;

• An electric hand held mixer/whisk (I can do gadgets as well as Adam)
• A bun tray
• Paper cake cases
• Piping bag and nossles
• A flour sifter

I was very tempted to buy a pretty tiered cupcake stand, but held back. Maybe next time, if the cakes taste good!

I then headed over to the supermarket to buy all the ingredients I would need to bake chocolate cupcakes (I found a yummy looking recipe on line)

http://www.exclusivelyfood.com.au/2006/06/rich-chocolate-cupcake-recipe.html

I followed the recipe almost exactly, but decided against the coffee granules and the almond meal. I just left them out. My mixer worked a treat. It was almost too powerful at times, especially when dealing with icing sugar for the topping! I had to be very careful that I didn't disappear in a cloud of Icing sugar! The mixture seemed quite runny once I had finished the cake mix, but I decided to press on... After 25 mins they came out looking just like little cakes, hooray. I made a bit of a mess with the icing bag, but I think they turned out ok for a first attempt. Must practice my icing piping!

The all important taste test ... Adam and myself had one each.

"They were very tasty" (Me)

"Delicious" (Adam)

Well done me.

On The Way To Becoming A Domestic Goddess?!

Being A Lady Of Leisure

I'm now officially a lady of leisure, a homemaker, a housewife, whatever you want to call it! Since arriving in Sydney I feel that I have started on the road to becoming a 'Domestic Goddess'. This happened quite by accident, I'm afraid to say.

On Monday I decided that it would be really nice to cook Adam a traditional home cooked meal ready for when he arrived home from work, Something I feel a 'Domestic Goddess' would do. I decided that a chicken stew was the perfect meal and something that I know Adam enjoys.

Of course I needed to head to the supermarket. Well, technically we don't have a supermarket it's more a case of Butcher, Baker (no Candlestick Maker), farmer's market and a store reminiscent of Kwick Save that's good for tins and packets etc. Sadly in the UK I'm a Tesco girl through and through and so have never gone to separate shops when buying ingredients for a meal, particularly a Butcher's shop!

Now what is a girl to do when faced with having to ask for a particular weight of meat?! Try and think of Tesco. How much did the meat weigh there in the packets I used to buy? Can't remember! Ok so how much did I pay? About £3/4 for some diced chicken, I think! Ok, so I look at the prices and see that 1kg of diced chicken is about $14 which is about £7. Perfect, I'll order 1kg as I want enough chicken for my stew and for a chicken curry that I want to cook tomorrow.

Oh dear, the bag of chicken looks rather large... never mind, I'm sure it will be fine!

(I've since discovered that the pack I used to buy from Tesco was only 400g, Oooops!)

Once I'd visited all the other necessary shops for my ingredients I returned home and started preparing. Oh no! It really is rather a lot of chicken. After preparing my stew and looking at the remaining chicken, I decide it's far too much for my chicken curry tomorrow. Can't waste it... I know, I'll whip up a chicken soup and freeze it for another day, perfect.

Adam returned home to find me cooking up a storm! I had two portions of soup in Tupperware containers ready for the freezer, the stew was ready to serve and I had chicken ready for the curry tomorrow. Urrmmmm, there seems to be a lot of stew, no matter, I'll put the remaining stew into Tupperware containers and freeze that too! (There was also some chicken curry left the next night, that also went into the freezer) I now have a well stocked freezer with yummy chicken meals in it ready for me to take out, heat up and serve, I'm very pleased with myself. I managed to turn a chicken disaster into a triumph. I just need to remember when to take the meals out so that they can defrost in time.

Next I feel that I should tackle home baking, that really will turn me into a 'Domestic Goddess' I'll keep you posted on my progress. Maybe I'll even manage to make cupcakes!!

Watsons Bay

Watsons Bay

We went to visit Watsons Bay with Philip (one of Adam's work colleagues) Philip had lived in Sydney whilst he was a student and said that Watsons Bay was one of his favourite places. He asked us if we would like to go and visit Watsons bay with him, whilst he is over here on business. Obviously we took him up on his offer.

We had to catch a ferry from Circular Quay. It was about a 30 min trip over to Watsons Bay. The bay has an interesting history, which you can read about on the Wiki pages http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watsons_Bay,_New_South_Wales

Once we were off the ferry we walked along the beach and then around the coastal walk. It's all very beautiful scenery, apart from the secluded beach that allows you to be naked! Yep as we walked around the corner, there in full view on the beach was a naked man! None of us were particularly impressed and carried along the pathway fairly quickly. At the end of the walk is a pretty light house and light house keeper's cottage.

After our walk we were all pretty hungry, so we headed back to the main beach (not the naked one!) and to the beach front restaurant 'Doyles' This is a famous fish restaurant that has been family run since 1885! We all ordered the fish and chips. It wasn't just any old fish and chips though! As you can see you could choose what fish you wanted from the catch of the day.

DOYLES OWN FISH & CHIPS

Your choice of Today’s Catch, golden fried in our light & tasty beer batter made with

Hahn Premium Lager and served with old fashioned chips.

Today’s Catch

TWEED HEAD SAND WHITING FILLETS $39.80

N.T SALTWATER BARRAMUNDI FILLETS $40.30

NORTH COAST SNAPPER FILLETS $39.70

ULLADULLA FLATHEAD FILLETS $36.40

SOUTH COAST JOHN DORY FILLETS $42.30

http://www.doyles.com.au/12199+0+doyles-on-the-beach.htm

We all went for the snapper. It was delicious, and rather large! This is definitely a place to go and visit if you want a coastal walk, great views and great food.

Sydney 2000 Olympic Stadium

Tour Of The Olympic Stadium
We went to the 2000 Olympic stadium with Chris, John and Andy. John and Andy were particularly excited as it was also the scene of the 2003 Rugby world cup, when Jonny Wilkinson kicked that last minute drop goal to beat Australia and win the world cup! John and Andy had come prepared. Not only were they wearing their rugby shirts, they also had a huge St George's flag with them!

To get to the stadium we had to catch a train from the central station in Sydney. The trains are all double deckers. We had to change once before we could get to the stadium.

Once at the stadium we booked ourselves on the 3:00 tour, which gave us just enough time to grab something to eat. We were all starving. The only choices seemed to be fast food, but none of us were complaining. We all opted for a Macdonalds.

The tour was to last for about 70mins. It started with a ride through the background area of the stadium, where the athletes enter and where all the opening and closing ceremony participants waited.

We were then able to go into the stadium and look at the stadium from the different seating levels as well as have a look in the corporate areas, the dressing rooms and the TV and radio commentary areas. Whilst looking around the stadium we were also shown lots of photographs, signed shirts and autographs from stars that had competed at the stadium, these included Martin Johnson, Jonny Wilkinson, David Beckham and Kathy Freeman

Whilst walking around the stadium to the exit, I felt something on my arm... it was my worst nightmare, a spider! And to make matters worse, it bit me. I quickly brushed it off and managed to remain calm. I made sure that I told Adam and then we quickly began looking up deadly spiders on his blackberry. "You've got 2hrs to get to hospital if it's a deadly one" Adam said. "Oh, great!" Luckily we managed to discount all the deadly ones fairly quickly and, of course, I'm still here to tell the tale.

The one thing that disappointed me about the stadium was that the athletics track is no longer there and so it looks very different to how I would imagine an Olympic stadium to be. It's now used for cricket, Football (sorry, soccer), rugby and Aussie rules football. A new athletics track has been built near by. The stadium also seemed quite small. Apparently after the games they removed the open air slanted seating and continued the roof all the way round. You can see the difference in the pictures below.

Where For Art Thou KFC?!

Where for art thou KFC?!
Since we arrived in Sydney we have been seeking out a KFC. The numerous adverts on the telly really gave me a craving for KFC, particularly the boneless crispy strips with a side order of gravy. Sadly we seem to be without a KFC here in Mosman. Searches on the internet have revealed that there are indeed KFC restaurants in Sydney, sadly just not a close distance from our appartment.

Having spoken of my quest for KFC to some of Adam's work colleagues I was sad to hear from Lawrence, that the first thing he did when he arrived back in the UK recently was to go for a KFC. Why on earth would he do that, you may ask, when we know that there are KFC's in Sydney! Well, I did indeed ask him that question... Apparently the batter is just not the same. Adam and myself decided to make it our mission to find out if we agreed.

We finally found the KFC in Manly Vale, having had to get a taxi to take us there! It certainly looked very impressive from the outside. A good size, even a drive through, by far better looking than the one we're used to back home in the 'Croydon Hood'.

Once inside Adam and myself ordered our usual.

• Me - 3 Crispy strips, chips and a side of gravy
  
• Adam - Fully Loaded

Straight away something was different. When ordering our sides of gravy we were asked a question "Do you want gravy and potato?" I replied "no" and Adam replied "yes" thinking he would get extra potato with his meal.

We sat in the restaurant to eat our long awaited for KFC. The chips were good and came salted, Adam's fillet burger tasted just the same as the UK and when I opened up my side of gravy and dipped a chip in, it tasted just fine. What was all the fuss about? We were just about to find out...

I opened up my box of crispy strips with great anticipation. Immediately I knew something wasn't quite right. The batter looked different to what I was used to. It wasn't horrible to eat, but it certainly wasn't up to UK standards. Next came Adam and his chicken piece, same problem. Finally Adam tried to dip a chip in his side of gravy. Oh no, something was very wrong!! The chip stuck in some white goop. What on earth could it be? It was mashed potato and not real mashed potato! It was the type you used to get at school that they served up with an ice cream scoop only slushier.

Lessons learnt;

• Don't say yes to gravy with potato!


• Stick to the Fillet burger if you want the taste of the proper KFC batter.


• Chips are absolutely fine.


• Gravy (without potato) is absolutely fine.


• Wait until back in the UK for the authentic colonel's recipe.

This is probably a good thing as eating KFC on a regular basis will do nothing for mine and Adam's waistlines!

Cupcakes & Laptops

Cupcakes & Laptops!

I'm happily writing my blog today in the knowledge that the broadband has been upgraded :0) No more 30mins+ waiting for photos to upload - Hooray!

Cupcakes - They seem to be mad about cupcakes over here (not that I'm complaining). On my first trip out into the city, I noticed a cupcake shop on George street (the main shopping street). The window immediately caught my attention... so many pretty cakes.

The website is - http://www.thecupcakebakery.com.au/ it's a pretty cool website actually and you can order on line:0) I've also spotted a cupcake shop in the huge shopping mall at Bondi junction and at every market we've been to, to have a look around. There are always at least two cupcake stalls! I will make it my mission to try out the many different varieties on offer.

Adam bought me my first cupcake from 'the cupcake bakery' the other day. It was really tasty and I can highly recommend this particular style and flavour!

Now onto the subject of laptops... Those of you who know my husband will know that Adam just can't resist buying laptops! He owns a few, in different sizes, models and colours. The urge seems to have caught him again, only this time he wasn't able to justify buying himself another laptop, so he bought me one :0) A laptop all of my own that I don't have to share and can blog away on to my heart's content. The best thing about this laptop is that it is undeniably mine and I don't think Adam would want to be seen to be using it because ... it's pink! Thank you hubby it's great.

Taronga Zoo - Sydney

Taronga Zoo - Sydney

"Taronga Zoo is a leading zoological garden, featuring Australia's finest collection of native animals and a diverse collection of exotic species. Taronga Zoo is in a fantastic location. It is situated on elevated land along the waterfront, in one of the most beautiful vantage points on Sydney Harbour overlooking Sydney Cove, the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House."

We visited the Zoo with Chris, John, Andy and Jen. To get to the Zoo we had to head to Circular Quay to catch the ferry. Once at the Zoo we were all happy for John to take charge! He had a map and straight away began to plot a route for us to follow.

The boys all seemed to like the fact that there were huge spiders up above our heads in the trees. I however was not very keen and made sure that I did not linger underneath any of them. Andy seemed to pick up on the fact that I did not like spiders and thought that it would be really funny to grab my leg as I was checking for spiders overhead!! You can imagine what happened next... Yep, I let out an almighty scream and jumped right out of my skin! Probably not my coolest moment.

The Zoo houses many different animals from all around the world as well as animals native to Australia. The elephants, giraffes, lions, gorillas etc all looked very impressive. I particulary liked the red panda and the Koalas. The lads really liked the lizards, snakes and reptiles. The meer kats were very amusing and we really liked the one that was furiously digging and another one that seemed to be tanning itself underneath a heat lamp!