Monday 31 May 2010

Kelly or Brett the big cook off 28/04/10

Not sure if I have blogged about my latest health friendly find but if so you will just have to hear it all again as I am in love with Fantastic’s newish Delites they are more like chips only rice and the flavours are super intense. Salt n Vinegar is my favourite but have discovered that the sweet chilli and sour cream ones go amazingly with Lisa’s Hummus and sundried tomato dip. Try them you won’t regret it. Plus they come in snack packs too which is the perfect thing if your fellow workmates are annoying you – the cure whip out the delites and crunch away instant happiness in the mouth for you whilst annoyance to everyone in a 3 metre radius from you.

Tonight I went to the luxury apartment of Mike and Steve’s fully equipped with shag carpet, comfy couches and giant screen to watch the final of masterchef, the lady - Kelly I wanted to win didn’t but I had to admit that in the end Brett did deserve it on the day and their final cookoff of the Croquembouche was pretty impressive no way I could have made it. Felt like what I imagine boys feel like watching the final of the tri nations or something.

Masterchef 27/04/10

I have been a bit hopeless on the cooking front at home as living alone it is simply less hassle to just eat out for lunch and dinner and really doesn’t cost much more but after getting a bout of inspiration post watching the latest masterchef series on TVNZ ondemand I decided to pull out my latest issue of Dish magazine and create atleast 3 recipes from it. Not particularly hard when this months issue is all about Italy.

I decided to give myself a night of indulgence so put Bach on the stereo, lit some candles and made a beautiful wild mushroom risotto followed by Tira mi su and both were mouth watering good.

The following day I made a slow roasted tomato and artichoke pasta which was equally as nice, I am happy to report Dish is still my favourite mag for food as the photography is stunning, the articles are well written and interesting and the recipes are that nice mix of achievable and exotic and always turn out perfectly (well as long as you are happy to part with lots of money to get all the ingredients they suggest and some are pricey).

Anzac's and Olives 25/04/10

Rose super early at 4:30am to attend the dawn parade at the Auckland War Memorial museum and was still too late to get a good spot in relation to viewing so opted for atleast a good view of the giant screen. Was properly dressed this year in ugg boots, down jacket and hat and gloves after freezing my toosh off the previous year. The ceremony was wonderful as always with the usual collapse of the old soldier and the many remembrances of the newly lost. But the new addition was we sang the Australian national anthem as well as the New Zealand one but the programme people were not very good at getting round so unfortunately the crowd was a lot more lively during ours than our neighbours.

Then went home for a quick shower and change to get ready for my first experience of olive picking.

Met the team on the ferry to Waiheke the weather was perfect not blaring hot but still warm. The picking itself was not hard but the sheer volume of trees to be picked was we worked from 10am till about 7pm with lots of laughter, fun and great food and wine along the way. The end result was 50 Litres of Olive Oil not bad for a team of 13. The day ended with the most stunning magenta sunset and a soothing ferry ride back to Auckland. A lot of fun and would love to join in again next year.

Now just to wait for the oil to rest so it can be bottled and I can try some of our hard labour in the kitchen.

Cakes and cursed 24/04/10

My friend Julena turned the big 30 this year so she also went for a high tea to celebrate but at home and boy did all us wannabe Martha Stewart's come to the forefront with the most decadent array of mainly sweet offerings – so hard not to fall into the “eyes bigger than stomach” trap especially as so many not only sounded good but also looked so delicate and pretty.

My offering was the Toblerone mousse cups I am getting a bit of a rep for ( a good reputation of course) – luckily no one knew that what they were eating was round two as round one the plastic container I used to melt the chocolate melted in the microwave and made the most atrocious smell burnt chocolate is definitely the stark opposite experience to normal.

After this girls party I went on to my friend Katherine’s for a night of chilling with her fav wine and some hells pizza – I just love both their Limbo (Blue Vein cheese, caramalised onion, cheese, mushrooms, tomatoes and black pepper) and their Cursed (Chicken, Smoked Cheddar, Bacon, Cheese, Gherkins, Ham, Onions and Honey Mustard) pizzas.

Feijoas at Twilight 23/04/10

So if you can remember a while back I was travelling to Wellington and realised I had left my book at home so picked twilight up at the airport as it was on sale  and then was hooked and proceeded to get my fellow bookclubians hooked so now over a year later and on the eve of the release of the third film tonight’s discussions were rather heavily swayed towards a few members now obsessions with the world that is twilight a level of commitment I have not really seen outside of Comic and Sci Fi fans(Think trekkies with fangs). I am a little hooked on their passion for it so am going along to the 3 movie marathon in June when it’s released I think a dose of no-doze might be in order to stay awake though as it starts at 7pm and ends about 2am.

I also discovered an amazing new recipe as had a large delivery of feijoas from two sources at work who know how much I love them. Feijoa and Lime Muffins.

I actually love pretty much feijoa anything – Icecream, Juice, Jam, Vodka, Wine – the sweet flavour combined with the gritty texture is just devine.

Tootsies, Teas, Boys and Bars 17/04/10

Now if you thought yesterday was jam packed and full of party items then you don’t know me well as I kept up the momentum today starting with a refreshing ride around the bays then went and relaxed in the massage chair of the Posh Nail pedicure ladies along with 3 other friends was very fun and came away with turquoise toes.

Then onto the best part High Tea at the Langham Hotel. All the girls were dressed beautifully and the food was fabulous as in conjunction with their anniversary and the release of Alice in Wonderland the food was all a bit crazy with blue sandwiches and exciting looking desserts. Our waiter was a laugh couldn’t quite get his head around my sisters allergies (Cane sugar, Dairy, Soy and Nightshade) and what to bring her so she ended up with a giant plate of fresh fruit I can think of worse things.

In a state of sugar overdose hysteria we headed down the road to watch the latest NZ film offering Boy and what a treat it was everything a good film should be with just the right balance of drama, action, humour and sentimentality and the main characters really drew you in. Plus the Maori haka take on Michael Jacksons Thriller was gold.

Then headed across to the Brooklyn bar to start the food and drink part of the evening transitioning from there to Cassette 9 catching a bit of the art fest Living Room films on the way then Nuffield Brewbar and Ponsonby Social Club before a burger and bed a long day from 8am – 3am but thoroughly enjoyable all the way.

I was completely spoiled by everyone with lots of surprises and presents so thanks to all my lovely ladies who make my life so special I am forever grateful.

Spoilt Tanya - 16/04/10

It’s my birthday today and yes all who know me are aware I make the most of this time of year and drag it out as long as possible — as lets face it the act of being alive is pretty great and I love looking back on the past and dreaming about the future.

This year particularly  feels like a good one, and I do have the theory that we hibernate during the odd years and achieve everything super exciting in the even ones so 32 today so a nice even start for a year to achieve loads.

Started the day very early like Christmas as mum and dad had given me my present the day before so couldn’t wait to see what I had been given, and what a super surprise a new camera – finally photos without the customary blur of my current one.

I made a super yummy carrot cake for morning tea. So nice in fact, it only lasted a few minutes before it was completely devoured at work. Then I went out for lunch and had an old favourite butter chicken for lunch as being a health nut of late had not had it in almost a year and boy did it taste as good as I remembered.

Then after work met some friends for drinks at the longroom the local Ponsonby place to spot the celebs.

Finally went for a family dinner at Turkish café and ate the largest meal ever which after cake and Indian was feeling a little rollie pollie to say the least.
What a great way to bring in the new year.

Tuesday 18 May 2010

blogging burnout

OK so that brings me to mid April so only one month to go before I am back up to date.

Values 14/04/10

Life coaching take 2 – my values and I am going to share them although quite private I think its nice to see what it is that drives a persons life.
Some days are doomed to be flatout and this was one of them I had lunch with a friend then had my WW meeting then saw the documentary “Picture Me” the behind the scenes look at the world of models which was interesting and made me glad I am not a super hotty as would not want their lives. Then went straight onto the aptly named movie “Kick Ass” which I had no idea what I was walking into as although a mad lover of comics this was one set I had never come across and the super hero was a slicing dicing quite literally scary assassin girl child called Hit-Girl. I read an article interviewing Mark Strong who plays the Mafia boss and he talks about how weird it was for him to have to beat up a child on the set daily but he said he just had to get over it to stay true to the story.  Worth a look as very different to the normal super hero movie.  This has prompted me to off the top of my head make a list of my top 10 favourite comics made into films – have no doubt missed many good ones but it’s a start


Bike Buddy Gone 09/04/10

Tonight was my last ride with my best bike buddy Lara as she is about to leave NZ to go on her big OE based in Edinburgh. I met Lara through work and she was that rare bottle of bubblyness and light that some girls have and I am sad to lose her as now we stand as 6 girls to 12 boys which is way too much boy fever for my liking – will have to pitch a hot receptionist or something to the directors to even up the score.

Life Coaching 07/04/10

Start of one of the most exciting segments of 2010 for me Life coaching. A friend of mine mentioned she had started up a business last year and I have huge respect for her so I thought what the hell, even a goal oriented person like me could use a bit more fire in my belly and a little wisdom from a specialist in motivation. It was the best 45 minutes I have ever invested in as I learned so much about the simple essence of what drives us and me in particular so I signed myself up for the whole 12 week shebang. Stay tuned for the revelations that are to come as the weeks roll on.

To click or not to click 04/04/10

Daylight savings come back – I would so rather get up in the dark and have some semblance of light when I left work in the evening than what happens with this change where the light hours are during the work hours so you begin to feel like a vampire (without the blood sucking or sexy Draculaesque men to make it at all enjoyable) I did get out today and saw two more World cinema showcase films, the first a really hard hitting English story of an abused young teenage girl called “Fish tank” and then straight into a glitzy, CGI overload Japanese film called “Goemon” which was thoroughly enjoyable a little like the Kung fu Hustle type of action/drama/comedy mix only the eastern film producers can do.



Also finally took the plunge and got on the internet dating badwagon – see below my attempt to fit my entire personality into one sentence only to find once launched when it said one liner it meant one liner the blurb in the search results just being the first paragraph of the big description - woops.

Can you imagine now in retrospect how I can see the boys reading this statement.

“Travel - YES, Music - YES, Movies - YES, Good dining - YES, Beach - YES, Camping - YES, Boring - NO, TV - No, Couch – NO”

Sure made for some very funny responses.

Cabin Fever 03/04/10

I love my little apartment I affectionately call the shoebox but I am not a lover of sitting on my laurels so for the first time in forever I got full on cabin fever as I think this was the first full 24 hours where I had not left my room for a year. Yes I know to all the mommas and poppas out there the luxury of a day of peace and quiet with nothing to do but read and relax sounds like fun but for me it sent me quite literally batty so by about 5pm I started calling all my friends and driving them nuts with crazy lady banter to try and suppress my boredom. I have now sworn to go for atleast one trip outside everyday.

Arctic swimming 02/04/10

Went for a walk along the bays coastline from Long Bay with Jane and Noemi, which although steep at times afforded us some amazing views and Jane the resident Scottish chick (eg. Thinks freezing water is like a bath) even went for a swim.

Design Assembly 31/03/10

Went along to the first design assembly for 2010 and it was really great you can see the themes in general culture really permeating design decisions now and its great it feels like a much more rounded approach with not only the designers talent showcase, the clients ROI, the users needs but also the wider sustainable ripple effect the end result will have – I am excited to see what design will be like in 5 years. Was also fascinating to hear from a bright bubbly Uni student who is studying policy with a focus on the arts and her opinions of the soon to be formed “Super city” of Auckland. Below are a few links of the people and the concepts I heard.
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Happy Birthday Mum 30/03/10

Mums birthday today so thought we would take her to the 3d movie Alice in Wonderland and it was a good decision as she loved it and who couldn’t love it with the combination of a classic tale, Tim Burton, 3D, amazing visuals, the irresistible Chesire cat and last but not least my first love Johnny Depp – one day I will post some of my tin full of keepsakes of Johnny from when I was about 9 as I have been a devotee for a very long time and the old skool mag shoots are quite funny.

Movie Mania 27-28/03/10

Started my weekend of movies with my friend Sarah watching “Did you hear about the Morgans?” it was a laugh nothing super amazing but enjoyable and good onscreen chemistry between Hugh and SJP. For those wondering yes we were watching in complete darkness for earth hour. Then woke up and watched the mind changing “Food Inc.” had to go on a meet free week after that one and soy as well as I consume oodles of soy on a daily basis. Very sad the reality of how the rich few can corrupt the masses of good people. Then went down memory lane with my friend Hayley and saw “The Goonies” which was so fun, had completely forgotten the storyline so was like watching it for the first time and really loved all the eighties flash backs. Finally went along to the World Cinema Showcase screening of “Hurt Locker” – easily the best film I have seen in forever as being the avid movie goer I am its hard to come across a film that truly has me on the edge of my seat and this one did, it was so well cast, scripted, shot and the scene with the soldier and his son will sit in my head for a long time very sobering. It most definitely deserved every award it received.

Balmain Road Wedding 26/03/10

Took the day off – oh the sweet sweet joy of not having to rush first thing in the morning or go to work for that fact. Today was wedding number 3 for 2010. One of the Balmain Roaders and my sisters oldest and best friend An banans or Anna for short. This was the polar opposite of the wedding the week before as I had all day to get ready so felt a little more presentable. It was a beautiful ceremony and my little sis looked stunning as a bridesmaid so proud of her. Their vows to each other were like nothing I have ever heard before so full of adoration and love very heart warming and made me blubber with the best of them. The reception was a lot of fun as well with a mixture of English and Portuguese spoken and lots of madri gras like dancing and costumes. Also got to try some amazing Brazillian chocolates mm mmmmm another reason to head over there.


Massive Attack 25/03/10

Caught up with my Wellington residing friend Peter(as nabbed him to the social side after meeting him through work) we were off to Massive attack and it was awesome the venue was completely wrong and the crowd was unbelievably sober and unresponsive but the group were incredible and I finally got to see one of the UVA lighting displays for a band in person after several years back hearing one of the creators talk at a semi permanent lecture. Also inspired to get back to my hat wearing ways as they are just so cool. After we had drinks at the tiniest bar in Auckland and some late night munching from the White Lady before the finishing activity of some pretend gambling at the casino.

Gusto Italiano 24/03/10

Took my friend Noemi out for a romantic Italian dinner (yes even us girls can do romance not just the couples) She was a few weeks off her big OE adventure to Italy and then back home to LA for a stint. The restaurant turned out to be a hidden find as run by two Romans who hit NZ 4 years ago and opened the doors to Gusto 2 years later. The food was incredible and the atmosphere very intimate – romance junkies give it a go.

The Swell Season 23/03/10

If you saw the movie "Once" then you will know the hauntingly beautiful music of The Swell Season. I jumped at the chance of seeing them live and was not disappointed Glen Hansard came out and belted out a tune with no accompaniment and no amplification that made the heart ache it was so powerful and haunting. They are so hugely talented on their own and together make such an amazing duo, plus Glen is extremely funny. If you do venture out expect to sing along – maybe an Irish thing but crowd participation is inevitable and the sound produced is really something else.

Waipu Wedding 19/03/10

Following on from the Hens party the previous weekend was the wedding. Only my best buddy Leanne could muster up a truly beautiful day with only 5 weeks of planning and 4 months pregnant. She had it in Waipu (and yes to all the non kiwis it does cause a chuckle the name Why-Poo).
We arrived on the Friday night for the rehearsal and a group dinner before heading to the camp ground, apparently I looked like a party animal as the owner almost wouldn’t let me in worried I would cause a stir – must have been the somewhat goth look I had on that day. Gave my friend Kylie a giggle at my cityness when I hopped out of the car and asked what is that atrocious sound to her reply it’s a cow. Well this cow was not making that moo sound I learnt in old MacDonalds farm as a kid.
Saturday was a flurry of activity as we had the morning to dress the honeymoon cottage, move camp grounds, decorate the church and get ready the latter being a sadly rushed affair so needless to say I don’t look great in any photos. The ceremony was beautiful and brought forth many a tear in the aisles and as they had done the photos beforehand we were off straight to the reception after. 

This was when the fun for me started as with one full ex, one rejected setup, one indecent proposal in a cab and one alluded affair needless to say 4 men to avoid in a group of only 41 was not ideal – only remedy get exceeding drunk and dance all night with the father of the bride. I retired very drunk and proceeded to climb into my top bunk resting spot somehow forgetting I was not at home and stripped off everything and threw it to the rafters so when the morning toilet run hit and I realised I had not even a blanket to cover myself with for the decent in a room with 4 other people lets just say I was panicked but I used all those years of watching Macgyver to plan my escape and whipped the only thing I did have a pillow case off wrapped myself in a diaper as decided if spotted boobs were not as bad as butt and quickly made my exit. Upside I was up so early I saw a magnificent sunrise. Felt great at this time and not too bad all the way until the breakfast feast when the bomb hit I spent the next hour lying facedown under a dinghy until the dreaded drive home.

All in all though such a fun action packed weekend and Matt and Leanne were really lovely and I hope they continue to have the most incredible life together.



Round the hangover 14/03/10

What was I thinking with only 3 hours sleep and a hangover like none other getting up early and going to compete in the annual round the bays fun run – all I can say is I am definitely a glutton for punishment but did make it in just over an hour my worst time yet, then spent the rest of the day recovering.

Hen or Cougar? 13/03/10

Ready for an action packed day/evening I am picked up dutifully at midday to come to the hens prep house to help setup for the day ahead. My job was to blow up two bags of balloons — which might I point out I was feeling somewhat light headed by the end of the exercise. It was a great day full of crazy games, loads of dress up from Dolly Parton to Bon Jovi, a bit of guitar hero (once the video store gave us the right machine for the pieces and game – this took three return visits) the standard penis straws and  last but not least the stripper. Can I point out if anyone ever hires one for me for any occasion they will no longer be my friend as being pushed into the crutch of ingrown hairs and shaving rash of a strange man to lick cream was up there with playing with spiders or falling down a cliff in my books – must say the other gals seemed to enjoy him and he most certainly had some moves – even I could not deny that. Then once the house party shenanigans were dealt with it was in the car costumes donned for a trip to boogie wonderland for some night fever action. I was dressed in a cougar outfit and it apparently worked as went home with a 23 year old Auckland Blues sub – not bad for an old duck.