Twas the day after Christmas

Twas the day after Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, except the female spouse.
She awoke in the bright sunshine peeping through the blinds,
In hopes that MrHappyeverafter if stirred, wouldn’t mind.

The street was quiet all still snug in their beds,
While visions of last night’s turkey dinner danced in her head.
And towards S’s Xbox she turned, heart full of resolve,
As she reached for the Kinect, for Your Shape: Fitness Evolved.

When S got out of bed, and came to see what I was doing
I was too absorbed, in the midst of Cardio Boxing.
Kicks and punches, I threw like a flash,
Burning away the excess butter that was put in that mash.

As the sweat drips down the well arched brow,
Gave the husband no desire to approach her now.
So he saunters to his study for some live NBA stream
The Christmas Special where the Lakers took on the Bulls team.

I finished the workout, and cooked brunch real quick,
Leftover turkey with angel hair pasta was a winning pick.
We finished the meal as they wrapped up the game,
And then got ready to go out which was the real aim.

As we pulled up to J and T’s place for a Boxing Day gathering,
we were greeted with pleasant wafts of Izakaya cooking.
We were whisked to the bar and presented with yakitoris,
edamame, gyozas all to be washed down with Asahis.

It was a wonderful effort and evoked much delight
And then to top it all off, T produced into sight,

A cast iron plate with concave circles abound,
Cooks these takoyakis by turning it round and round.

My eyes-how they twinkled! When she said I could try!
To master the art of cooking Japanese battered octopi!
I gingerly turned the batter, still sore from the workout
eagerly hoping my first batch will turn out.

The heat from the pan, I gritted my teeth,
And the smoke it encircled my head like a wreath.
but those golden balls were so worth it when we served,
with Japanese mayo and worchestire!

The takoyaki was perhaps not so good for your health,
But I could not stop eating them, in spite of myself!
A swig of a beer, a mouthful of food,
reminds me again why life is so good.

Hope you've all had a Jolly Holly Xmas and celebrated with as much good food and drink!

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Xmas bake

So what's a girl to do when there are heaps of family left to buy pressies for and you've got Xmas eve eve off work but am not game to brave the crowds at the shops?





I made stars, aspiring jingle bells, Christmas trees and holly. My little bro thinks they taste good and my friends squealed with delight when I produced them at Christmas eve eve dinner last night. Success!

Haha...





Feliz Navidad

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Bring on the X'mas cheer!

This year, the Happyeverafters have resolved to keep the little tree on the mantelpiece instead of getting a proper one until we have kids who are old enough to appreciate it.

In the whirlwind month that has been December, there has been little time to take care of Xmas shopping, what with the last minute summer preparations such as buying the Weber Q and installing new blinds in the rooms and a fly screen for the Kitchen; and preparing for the big weekend just passed celebrating S's birthday and also an Xmas bbq with some close friends.

So, between all that, I just wanted to share a few pics in this pre-xmas post on all the little bits of Xmas that did creep up on me in December. The gorgeous tree I pass by everyday at Martin Place with its tinsel proudly glistening in the light; the yummy baked goods my talented colleagues have shared with us; my delectable Christmas centerpiece for the Sunday lunch; our humble Christmas display above our fireplace and the delish choccie trifle L made for the Xmas lunch that has no doubt contributed to my holiday waistline.

Merry Christmas folks! May you all have a jolly good one!



Liebster Blog Award~ Not enitrely sure I am worthy

I began this blog because I didn't want to be blabbing too much to my nearest and dearest about wedding talk. I am the worst secret keeper and keeping my wedding plans secret for an entire year began to eat away at me. What began as that suddenly became a rather enjoyable pasttime and now that the wedding is over, I still want to have an outlet for my bubbling happiness in the first honeymoon year of our marriage in case of emergency situations such as what happens in The Vow where I might suddenly forget how happy S and I were in our life together ( I know I know... I am quite the drama queen).

So anyways, today I read a comment from MrsG of Little PurplePolkaDots who says she's nominating me for this Liebster (meaning Dearest in German) award where little bloggers encourage and support in raising awareness of each other within this little blogger community. I love MrsG for nominating me. I really think it is darling of her, but I am not sure I am worthy. I still want to accept it though, because it is such an honour, but also because I want to give back to MrsG and to some others that I follow in stealth (I am a shy blogger) and give them that same beautiful feeling of recognition I felt today when reading MrsG's comment on my blog.

So here are the rules of the Liebster Blog Nomination acceptance. I understand I have to:
1) Thank MrsG for nominating me, and I do! From the bottom of my blogger heart! and please do drop by her blog because she is sweetest and bubbliest blogger I follow. I am always cheered by her posts and she likes such pretty things. You'll enjoy stopping by Little PurplePolkaDots. Here's it again.

2) Nominate 5 blogs for this similar award and leave a comment on their blog. I was really looking forward to this one for reasons I had stated above. Problem is the blogs I follow, I am not entirely sure if I have 5 who were small bloggers (i.e. under 200 followers) like me?

3) Copy and paste the award onto your blog


4) Request that people you have sent the award to forward it on to their favourite bloggers

Here is the list of my nominations:
a) MrsG of Little PurplePolkaDots for the reasons above and for being my inspiration to keep blogging by leaving comments and being my very first follower! I think she is truly deserving to win this award and will probably get it based on most nominations if that is one of the judging criteria. *Hugz*
b) WeiFen's Space of A Little things bout me~The Voice in my Heart for being just the strongest woman I know in real life. WeiFen has been dealt enough of the world's problems and has had more than her fair share of unfairness, but she strives to lead life as if those problems aren't there and is the kindest and most determined soul in the world. I love her dearly and wish I could be as passionate about life as she is, despite any trials she has to endure.
c)  FindMyDreamRing because any girl that is set out to find others their destined jewel has her heart in the right place.
d) raspberrytilly's blog is new but it is promising and I am keen to see her pursue this and find as much blogging joy as I enjoy.
e) SandraFoo at straight talking (eventhough I think she might have more than 200 followers, but I cannot be sure) because she is a real life Carrie Bradshaw, writes expressively, has loads of passion for shoes and fashion and is seeking Love in a cynical world. I am following her blog to see where the journey takes her.

Like I said, I have followed in stealth but the Liebster Blog community that I have been made aware of today has made me realise that we bloggers have to support each other. May each of my nominee's get out of their blogs the rewards they sought for when they each started their blogs.

There's a new boy on the block: Weber Q!

The Weber finally made S as keen a cook as I am and now there is actually a chance that he will be able to put dinner on the table for me! *wink*

Seriously, everyone that loves a good barbie should get one. S couldn't cook until today and we weren't full believers in the Weber Qs, but we are true converts now. I ~heart~ our new Weber. If only we could get some true summer weekends or evenings now so that we can lay back with ice cold beers and just enjoy a good meal cooked by Weber... I mean Mr.Happyeverafter.

The Office Christmas Party

We had a fifties themed Xmas party on Friday and whilst researching for my costume I learnt a lot about the era that I had taken for granted. Turns out there are lotsa things about the fifties that I do love... In the fifties, strong vocalists such as Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra ruled the airwaves, not to mention a little phenomenon introduced as Rock'n'Roll, music that complemented the rise of the teenage consumerism we are used to today. It was post-war and the nation was spending again, rife with merriment at the joy of having the men back home. Images of Back to the Future's prom scene and Grease's Diner scene became my inspiration for costume.

Whilst researching the hair and makeup, I found that I would have loved the grace of the fifties. It was a time for young girls to get married because, of course, the boys were home. Hair was coiffed and quiffed...the Beehive was popular. It was common notion that women should be glamorous even while doing chores at home. I know it isn't popular today to let the men believe that it is a woman's place to be a homemaker and that it comes effortless to them. Yet, something about having the man around the house again instead of being off in foreign battle must have triggered the sense of real need to pamper and indulge the boys when they got home.

It wasn't just the hair, it was the makeup too. Flawless, bright-eyed looks with bright red lips, women were alluringly elegant with their styles and high maintenance wasn't frowned upon! Men wanted to have these lovelies on their arms to take to the Saturday night matinee, or down to the nightclub to dance with. Marilyn Monroe had convinced them that Diamonds were a girl's best friend and I'd quite agree that it would be worthwhile slaving away in the house and home and looking fabulous as long as the men appreciated your efforts and gave you little gifts and took you out. They just don't make them as they used to.

So anyways, the party was fabulous. The planning committee had the Rock'n' Roll theme in full swing beginning right with the Records and Guitar entrance to the world transformed beyond. We had a vinyl dance floor and a 8 person swing band and food was served in the pop-up Diner down the hallway where you could get mini-burgers with relish, mustard and shoe-string fries. If you stayed in the cocktail area, they brought around good old fashioned shrimp cocktails and warm apple pies. Everyone dressed up. We had girls wearing big flouncy skirts, halter/off-shoulder tops, back combed quiffs, long thick eyelashes and bright red lips everywhere. Men wore leather jackets, white t-shirts with their sleeves rolled up and blue jeans or they became the fifties husbands with hair slicked back and doned cardigans with elbow patches. Except for the guy in the picture below that came as the King of Rock'n'Roll.

 It was an awesome night. I now think dress-ups are fun. I hate getting the costumes cause I am never the best-dressed there, but I have learnt over my corporate years that if you do not get into the scheme with the theme, you are more likely to be side-lined in the silliness of the night. A little bit of effort and creativity will pay off and ensure you have a fantastic evening!

Silly season has started!

It was a big foodie week beginning with Cargo bar for the Dream Team (just a nickname our smaller team took on for an internal presentation and it's stuck since) lunch on Monday to celebrate my manager's bday followed by the two days ushering us into the weekend filled with two X'mas lunches, the Beauty & the Beers and the Dream team X'mas tapas at Small Bar.







We were here a day after the Movember party and had the shared menu amongst the team at The Deck restaurant. My favourite dish of the day, the Barramundi fillet with tagine sauce, buttered couscous & preserved lemon  was gorgeous; lightly spiced, fresh, tangy and definitely more-ish! We got to go on the rides too after that and that's quite fun.


At the social club X'mas lunch on another sunny day at King Street Wharf.

It's a wonder I still fit into my clothes having had so much food and drink last week!

After all that i decided to try my hand at baking banana bread. I got the recipe off Taste.com and it was a really healthy variety of the store-bought version. The Verdict: I liked it! Having never previously had much luck with baking, I gave myself a mental pat on the back as I took this out of the oven, filling my kitchen with the delicious wafts of fresh baked-goods:








Hope you have had just as wonderful a week as I did!

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Pardon the lag in blogging, its not due to a lack for trying on my part, but Mr. Happyeverafter has taken it upon himself that my computer is too laggy of late and has formatted it so that I could not access my files and programmes in manners I was previously used to. *takes deep breath* However, he announces that I am all fixed now and I gingerly approach my laptop again and checks my blog dashboard because I have been dying to share this with the world.

Only the best invention in the world! I present to you Glamnails Nail Enamel Strips which I reckon is the best beauty tip any woman should have up their sleeve this Christmas. Well, any time-poor woman that is. S watched bewildered on Saturday arvo as I start applying them.

" It's not that great...it's quicker to paint them on" He offers nonchalantly as I painstakingly try to match the edges to my natural nails with acceptable precision. Grrrr.... Pardon too my dear husband, MR. BLOKE  who has never had sisters and have never known what a manicure truly entails.

I LOVE GLAMNAILS. I rushed off to Priceline yesterday to buy up whatever they have in silly-season-appropriate colours because I want to give them out to the girls and spread the news. The check-out-chick comments, "Stocking up are you?" LOL well, I might reserve a few to myself.

So here's the deal. If you have only fifteen minutes to spare like me in my new-found housekeeper role on the weekends, and after tending to your garden you have to doll up for an evening out, well your only option is to resort to GLAM NAILS!

I was well pleased with the results and I didn't feel too daggy at the party I attended that night. As I mildly put it to S, it is difficult to maintain oneself after one becomes a wife. But I will perserve.

I generally let S believe that it is easy to be me, but occasionally I let on that being attractive and maintaining a beautiful home does not go hand in hand. It's a mutually exclusive relationship really, but its only the first year of our marriage, I'll let him believe that both are achievable whilst earning equal income in the household and see where that takes me.

The Reception at Bondi Kam Fook



Table Settings



Bridal Table





Cake Table





Cootie Catchers and Jellybeans for the kids





Hugs & Kisses at Location shoot



First Kiss



Second Kiss



A Twi-Hard Post

I watched Breaking Dawn yesterday! Oh those boys are HAWT!!!! And amidst the drool fest I suppose the wedding scene and the pregnancy story line makes this movie the most relatable to by far in the twilight series. Why are we drawn to Twilight? This is really my most embarrassing obsession... Isn't being on Team Edward truly acceptable because he isn't really 17, he is in fact really old and wise and gentlemanly...haha Yeah I guess I just got sucked in.

And revering in Breaking Dawn flashbacks last night after the movie... I had this revelation. Girls are supposed to like bad boys right??? That's probably why they are torn between Edward and Jacob. They are both bad boys. The only difference is Jacob is good boy behaving badly, and Edward is bad boy struggling to be good. I can relate to Edward more in that sense. I want to be good and to be accepted by society and it is a struggle to be kind and understanding constantly cause I have this temper that needs to be reigned in. But Edward is also appealing because he has this admiration for Bella and puts her on a pedestal and does his best to make sure she is protected and happy. A little overbearing I know... but ah well.

S welcomed me home after the movie by saying..."Welcome back to reality!" Which is droll, considering I wouldn't have minded walking down the aisle to the fairy lights and white blossom festooned outdoor aisle wedding towards Eternal Life with Edward Cullen.

Ah well... feeds into my occasional bouts of Post-wedding depression upon realising that my once chance of getting it perfectly right is over and I cannot gather any inspirations from this scene. And the fantasy of Edward Cullen does make my old gym T-shirt toting husband look quite shabby when he lies on our bed.

I could not help but remember how adorable Cullen looked when he was restraining himself from jumping Bella. I suppose I am not quite as cute in my pyjamas either, so there, tit for tat. This is indeed *YaWn* Reality, but well, at least S is warm and soft on a cold wet night.

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Simple life simple musings

We are coming into summer days now. Every morning is sunny going into work. The flowy floral dresses showing off tanned legs and arms are everywhere in the city and there is a cheer in the air as people having had a good Melbourne cup are now planning their Christmas parties and booking NYE plans.

S and I are working hard on our house now that we are back. We spent the weekend mowing, weeding, raking and replanting the lawn. I am so excited at the prospects of the new lawn that I could sit there and watch the grass grow...literally! S has caught me once.

We also went to Moore park supacenta and scored this grand tv entertainment unit from Nick Scali in the sales. S was stoked I can tell. For it really did tick every box of ours. It was white, high gloss, the right height, good quality and just the right price. And it has enough slots for all of S's gadgets and gizmo's! Twas a good weekend that just went past.

Well I wondered last night if I could be happier if we had posted our engagement on Facebook so that 78 or so people can 'like' it? Or if he could make me feel more secure by changing our Facebook status to include our relationship. Or if he could do grand gestures so that the voyeur in me can post up details along with pictures so that our friends can gag on our romance. Perhaps tis true what Lady Fairfax says: that Jealousy is the last resort of the insecure.

But when I do reflect on the little things he does do for me, like folding my laundry and putting them away, or like marinating the chicken so that it's easier for me to make dinner when I get home from work, or just him taking the initiative to research council law to find out how to get rid of that tree that really annoys me in the backyard...I know I don't need Facebook affirmation to help me articulate his affections for me. We are happy just the way we are.

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Instagram at Kuramathi

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