The little garage sale that couldn't

Look at that, that is a good looking garage sale, what went wrong....so much effort to art design the backyard to set up shop for the day and only $7 measly dollars in takings...disappointing really. It's a tough road for a small business. sniff.

Those tricky 8 things

OK, so the lovely Emily has tagged me in this 8 things you don't know about me challenge...here we go...

1. I like to wear fake glasses. See picture below. I don't need them, I think I have pretty near perfect vision, but I like them as an accessory and maybe as a bit of a disguise, it's like playing dress ups!



2. I somehow still think I'm going to have a novel published one day. It's all there in my head with a few notes scribbled down on scraps of paper, I'll get round to it one day.

3. I'm a list writer. I love writing a list of things to do and the satisfaction of crossing things off.

4. I don't seem like the type but I sometimes imagine the day that Sandy and I will get married, including great detail about the dress, food, location and decoration. I imagine it to be a lucious garden party with tea lights, paper decorations in the trees, fat swathes of fabric draping overhead and Stevie Wonder on the stereo.

5. I love to sing. In the shower, in the car, while I wash the dishes, cooking dinner and scrubbing the bathroom. Favourites include Amy Winehouse, Michael Jackson and Cat Power. I'm not bad, but I'm scared to sing in front of people (unless there's champagne and a karaoke system around) which is funny seeing as my parents are musicians.

6. My family's a bit mental. I was born on a commune, at Nimbin no less. I also have 9 brothers and sisters... count them - 9! In a gloriously disfunctional jumble of steps and halves.

7. Anyone who works with me will know this one and the furtive looks at this website all day long but here it is... I am obsessed with perezhilton.com. It's so bitchy and evil - I love it.

8. I'm a bit weird about certain noises, polystyrine rubbing together is just horrible but the worst is the sound of an airoplane toilet flushing - it's painful, I'm not sure what it is, regular flushes are fine, in any case I have to block my ears when I flush an aioplane toilet, call me weird but there it is.

And seeing as I am hugely unpopular in the world of blogging and know only Emily and Leslie this particular thread will have to die with me.

Lou

long weekends at home

Since Sandy is working his little bum off out at the factory in preparation for his Furnitex exhibition I have had a homey weekend lounging around watching videos (Lost Boys, Some crappy Jennifer Garner movie and another movie where Antonio Banderas teaches inner city kids to change their lives through the power of ballroom dancing...)
many life lessons to be learnt in that one I can tell you!
Off to the Gold Coast this week for 2 nights for our work conference, lots of drinking, training and Sea World all mixed in together...should be fun!

Random Tomato Based Meal

In an effort to expand my cooking repertoire I went online today to discover some new vege recipes to mix things up a bit. So here's my latest meal attempt.

Start with the slow roasted tomatoes

2 tomatoes sliced lengthways
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
soft brown sugar

Mix the oil vinegar and sugar together to taste (I prefer sweet myself!) spoon the mixture over the tomato halves in an oven tray. Place in an oven on low heat (about 100 degrees should do). They'll take about an hour and a half to two hours to cook, during this time keep applying the mixture as needed.

1 1/3 tbsp olive oil
1 onion chopped
2 cloves garlic chopped
1 can diced tomato
1 can chickpeas drained
3/4 cup feta
salt & pepper to taste

Heat the oil, stir in the onion and garlic and cook for 10 min til tender.
Mix in the tomatoes til heated through for 15 min.
Stir chickpeas and feta through and cook for another 5 min.

Serve with Couscous and the Slow Roasted Tomatoes.

Series Number 1: Good Videos I Find on the Internet Part 2

Here is another just lovely and delightful video that was sent to me by a friend in far off North America (Hi Iowa!). Loving the Amelie-esque nature of the whole thing, the haircuts, the art direction and cute animations. Apparently directed by one of Tom Pettys kids... so there you go! Enjoy!

Series Number 1: Good Videos I Find on the Internet

So here is the first in this series, I saw this video a few months ago now but it's so good, really great stop motion and an awesome song...

Curry-Tastic

So seeing as I brazenly advertise in my blog header that I will post recipes and have not yet done so here is the recipe for a delightful veggie curry passed onto me by Sands sister Pennie.

1 onion
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp sesame kernels
1 tbsp peanut butter
1 tsp red curry paste/powder
1 small tin coconut milk
1/2 cup veggie stock
4 cups of steamed veggies (I used pumpkin and beans, but you can use any really)

Fry the onion till browned and add the curry paste/powder, then add the brown sugar, honey and then the rest of the ingredients. Simmer for 20 min or so and voila! The easiest curry recipe ever. Serve with rice.

Rock...Robot Rock....

Hometown boys done good. Flight of the Conchords are an NZ comedy duo who have made it huge in the States by getting a show on HBO. Thought I'd give them a plug, not that they need it now!

New York City Baby!

After much talking about video projects and not so much on the presenting of said video projects, I present to you my newest video of my 3 wonderful days in NY.