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>

Kibera Paper

I got a late Xmas Card at work in the mail this week. It may be the last, but it was definitely the best one. It was made for me by a woman called ElPhridah Ngori from Nairobi under this beautiful project called Kibera Paper.

I think receiving Christmas cards is already something really thoughtful and lovely in this day and age. On top of that, knowing that what I held in my hands has probably helped improve the life of another human being in poverty somehow just made it more sentimental.


From the website:

The project was started to assist the women who live in Kibera Slum, the largest slum in Nairobi; majority are widows. The women are engaged in making handmade cards from waste papers.They recycled the papers and produce cards, by selling the cards they earn some income.Helping them to escape from some of the extreme problems of urban poverty. The Project started with 6 women and now has grown to accomodate 24 women who make cards.

I will be sending my Christmas cards 2012 from them. Watch for it!

New year resolves

I am terrible at keeping resolutions but every year I do love looking back at the year gone by and cherishing the good times. So this is time to do both. 2011 was big for goodbyes... Goodbye to my single days, I swapped sipping soy lattes with the girls on Sunday for home cooked brunches with S on weekends.

Goodbye to my family in Malaysia as I made a commitment to S's family to be their daughter. Goodbye to my cute little first home and my meticulately styled rooms to now trying to fit the furniture from two homes into one that I now share with S that will become our collective style. Goodbye to Louis Vuitton purchases as we will from now on be (in the words of my most favourite single girl) "cheating on fashion with furniture".

                                       

If 2011 was the first movie, then 2012, it's the SATC movie part deux sans the kissing of exes. But you know what I mean. Married in 2012. My life is not just about me now and I now look forward to making beautiful meals for S at home instead of a quick cocktail with a girlfriend.

And going back to work in 2012, there's so much baby talk! 2011 was about the four brides in our division, but with the last of use wedded on the 31st December, the focus is now on the new mothers-to-be in the office. We have 5 ladies in the office about to go on maternity leave in 2012 and whilst I am not clucky, I know it is the next thing I would be looking to do.

 We aren't saying no, but I think I will not focus on it yet. Perhaps it is more important to get our finances and my health in order as priority. And whilst cultivating the garden, I should also be working on building my relationship with S and really developing mutual trust, dependancy and respect before we let the perpetual exhaustion that comes with having children kill our romance.

Anyways, I had meant to write out some New Year Resolutions and here they are:

1) Start taking some of Mum's advice and taking care of my health and stress levels

2) Cut back on the alcohol. Not every drinking event needs to be to the point of teetotalling

3) Really take charge of my career and start building the next step up in the path

4) Take more interest in my everyday dress, its about being elegant.

5) Be cheerier at home so that S doesn't get stressed unncessarily

6) Pray more.

I mean it. This time I really do.

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Happy New Year from Melbourne's Southbank

It's been a few hectic days on the great Melbourne Trip with a fair few friends and the husband.

What with the 33 degrees days... My brain is just not able to process words. So here's just pics of what we have been up to.






Heart my Cappucino...wait... somebody already did!







London Bridge



Fireworks from Southbank

My favourite Grafitti art in Melbourne

Happy 2012 all loved ones! May it be all you want it to be and thank you for sharing a lovely 2011 with me!

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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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