Friends, food and facial

Sunday spent at the Fish Markets for an overdue catchup with friends, one laments the goverment, another whinges that the economy is flat, there is a broken heart and a hopeful one. All tucking into a lovely fresh meal of delicate oysters, sashimi that is firm to the bite, exquisite scallops and prawns, washed down with light sparkling wine or orange juice in the bright Sydney sun.

 
High Tea at home was next on my agenda and I tell you it's a force to be reckoned with. Imagine the usual fancy fare with dainty cakes, savoury bites and decadent tea, but the unrestrained comfort of being just yourself with the girls (Husband's been chased out of the house), throwing your heads back in shreiks of laughter and offering solace in strong support at the hint of one going through a tough time in her life. I didn't host this, but the girl who did has a real talent:

It was late when I begrudgingly hauled myself back home, showered and climbed into bed with Mockingjay, the last in the Hunger Games series. I finished that last night and am now hungry for more of the story. The ending appeases me somehow, knowing that Katniss ended up with the right lover, but the torment, the pain, the untold stories. I wish I knew more. The thing with reading books after watching the movie is that your lust to know more about the characters is often satiated, but not so if you've just finish reading a book. Other than email-stalking the author(which crossed my mind) or find forums of fans who might have created other paraphernalia to fill the voids.

But I won't end this post on that note, I'd prefer this cheery one. Look what arrived in the post yesterday! All for lurking on Twitter at an opportune time.











The La Prairie 15ml tub was a welcome treat when applied to the deep lines around my sagging eyebags from troubled dreams. It absorbs luxuriously and poses a significant improvement for the next morning. Thank you La Prairie for your generosity!

Hen's weekend just passed

If you had checked my facebook wall this past weekend you would have seen something like this:

Mrs.Happyeverafter was with J & E at Pitt St Mall
Mrs.Happyeverafter was with J at MSM cafe
Mrs.Happyeverafter was with 20 others at the Gazebo
Mrs.Happyeverafter was with 20 others at Kit & Kaboodle

Then on Sun it continues:
Mrs.Happyeverafter was with 6 others at The Victoria Room
Mrs.Happyeverafter was with 4 others at The Goldfish. $10 cocktails till midnight Yeah!

What a cocktail filled weekend it was. This was a big one with A and SY getting married this year, both members of our bridal party and both destination weddings that I cannot attend. Sighz...but, it was good to be celebrating others for a change. 2011 was all about me in the limelight and it stressed me out big time. This year I can focus on helping them have the best year ever and I was happy in that role.

A is a very different personality from SY. She is vibrant, sociable and a great dancer. So it was no surprise that she had a danceoff with another birthday guy at Kit & Kaboodle. It was $10 cocktails there till midnight too so we had lychee bellinis and swayed to the RnB/ dance DJ mix that night. I loved dancing when I was in uni, but haven't really gone dancing in a while (bar my hen's when I was absolutley plastered). It took me a while and quite some watering before I lost my awkwardness and self awareness. And it was a really good time with lots of really nice girls from all walks of A's life, but I was still very happy for Mr.Happyeverafter to come swish me away from outside the club slightly after twelve, and then after a hot shower, climb into bed with my husband in my warm pajamas.

SY's Hen's was more intimate, with just one group of us that all used to work at the same place so we all had something in common. High tea at The Victoria Room is gorgeous. It was a bustling place, but nestled into a corner and tucked away from the crowd, we devoured the decadent sweets and sandwiches and sipped away at our lovely teas and cocktails chatting about the good ol' times.

Red Velvet cupcakes, cucumber sandwiches, scones and little cheesecakes...amongst others

SY enjoyed herself which was important. I can tell she's been really stressed out organising her destination wedding and balancing western ideas with eastern cultures. I saw her more relaxed yesterday with the girls and just voicing her frustrations from the wedding planning and the other more delightful parts where she is getting the things that she wants whilst we nodded in support and agreement. Another friend shares about her experiences with a one year old child and all eager ears from the newly weds in the group lapped up the wisdom hungrily, storing it away from the blessed time in the future when we become mothers ourselves. I loved it! The epitomy of what a girly High Tea should entail.

So, here we are today, most of us feeling a little weary from the Monday blues and the one-too-many cocktails. We are all happy about our friendship and the network of support we have built over the years. J is already happily brewing away at a surprise wedding present for SY having picked up on something juicy from yesterday that she will need. (Those are the best surprises!)

And me? I am just happy. Happy to have a lovely bunch of people in my daily life. Happy to have S to come home to each night. Happy to have had such good food, wine and company this weekend.

Something Yummy on the menu in Gazebo turns out to be a rich warm brownie with ice cream and topped with choco fairy floss. *droolz*

Sipping at the Queen Mary tea at the Victoria Room

The Gilded Lily drink from the Victoria Room

<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/70/752358/restaurant/Sydney/The-Victoria-Room-Darlinghurst"><img alt="The Victoria Room on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/752358/biglink.gif" style="border:none;padding:0px;width:200px;height:146px" /></a>