Perfect Pizzas and a lovely Anzac day

Having a mid week day off with all your friends is one of the best things sometimes. I hadn't had a chance since Christmas to properly catch up with this bunch and so when Anzac day came on a Wednesday and we had no other plans, we all jumped at the chance of a get together.

The idea was a pizza lunch party where I supplied the pizza dough and everyone else brought a different topping of choice and we made our own pizzas. It was great fun and also an opportunity to let our 'kids' get to know each other.  See, my other post about me not being at the stage of having kids, my friends are in the same boat I suppose, but they still wanted to have the companionship and be able to pour their love onto a little one and so, they have gone and acquired pets. One a full grown staffordshire terrier and the other, a fourteen week old 'spoodle' (Cocker spaniel cross poodle), both brought together at our place for the first time.

I really enjoyed the day, simple as it is, cooking with close friends, sharing a lovely meal and a few cuppas, having the dogs run around beserk, going to a park in the sunshine, all lent themselves to another beautiful memory creation.

I didn't take many pictures of the day, but here's what I got:

Pizzas! Made with the perfect pizza dough recipe which I share below

OOTD: A lovely boutique stripped top with cascading ruffles from the markets paired with zigzag stockings

And then layered with my tan Misonni scarf and a beige Portmans pleather jacket

My Darling friends gave me a very belated birthday present: A Mystique candle and...

Leona Edminston stockings! Perfect for the wintry weather we are coming into!

 Now, for the Perfect Pizza dough recipe (No kidding, this really is the perfect pizza dough).

It makes 4 thin-crust italian-style pizzas.

1. Sift 500g of "00" or strong white flour into a bowl, and add a pinch of salt, and a 7g sachet of dried yeast. Make a well in the centre of the flour and then slowly add 360ml of warm water, stirring as you go with a wooden spoon or the dough beaters of a food mixer. After you've added in half of the water and the dough is coming together, you can begin adding in 60ml of olive oil too. Keep mixing until all the oil and water has been mix in with the dry ingredients and it forms a soft dough.

2. Place the dough on a clean floured surfacem and knead firmly, using the heel of your hand, folding the dough over as you go. Do this for about 10 minutes, until it become soft and spongy.

3. Put the dough back in the bowl, cover with cling film or a damp tea towel and leave in a warm place (you can preheat the oven to about 50 degrees celcius and leave the bowl in there) for about 30-40 minutes or until it has doubled in size.

4. Turn the dough out onto the floured surface again and knead with your knuckles for a couple of minutes to knock out the air. Divide the dough into four and roll each piece out as thinly as you can, rolling away from you and turning as you do so that it is round. It does tend to spring back a little too.

5. Transfer onto a hot, lightly oiled baking tray and fill with your toppings of choice. Bake in oven at 250 degrees celcius for 15 minutes.

6. Serve Hot!

Random things until I find my voice

Hmmm... there have been a few things to mull over of late, amongst which are the questions of where our marriage is headed towards. Somewhere underneath the happy shopping and warm cups of Nespressos shared with the Husband, there are conversations that we are having that I have not shared with my blog or my family and friends.

That is, no we are not expecting as I have had a lovely sushi lunch today and am enjoying a casual drink tonight out of our wedding favours of Hendrick's Gin & Tonic.
When I was at Nobu just over a week ago I ordered this very drink and heard a man amongst the patrons explain to his female companion why there was a cucumber in my drink as I carried it to the sushi bar. I do not understand why it works either, but the cucumber accentuates just how smooth and almost menthol-like the finish is on this particular scottish gin. Absolutely divine.

I digress. Anyways, there isn't much I am prepared to share yet, mostly because the conversations have not led anywhere remotely concrete yet. But I can share this. There will not be any little HEAs in the horizon. I might be clucky, but there are other things Mr.HEA needs to achieve first before we head down that path and as impatient as I am, I hope to be able to support him in his dreams, pursuits and ambition. At least for now, when I can afford the time.

I promise I will share, and then explain my decision further to those of you who might judge differently. At this point in time, I am still easily swayed otherwise, so I cannot write with certainty.

There are other things to be happy about in the meantime, beyond being able to drink irresponsibly and eat without reservation just about anything I might fancy...I also am able to shop at whim and put more time into building my career. Ahhh, that next step. I have been taking a few meetings with our stakeholders by myself of late. Lotsa autonomy at work and empowerment which I treasure dearly. Today over coffee with a client, I found that my milk jug had left a rather curious stain on the wooden table and I could not resist a happy snap.

Perhaps this was life's way of letting me know that there is something happy to smile about still. Even in something as simple as the embrace of a loved one, the kiss of a friend and the smile of a milk stain.  

New fixation with animal prints just got worse

I know you have seen these from earlier this week, but since then it's gotten just a tad more nagging.

I have gone off the rockers with my obessession with exotic print. Sped along of course by gorgeous fashion bloggers' impeccable tastes: Crashing Red's outfit to the Emporio Armani store launch had me floored and so walking in to my health care provider today and faced with the unbearable prospects of potentially losing out on claiming my full $200 eye care benefits, I decided the only way to salvage the situation was to buy oneself a pair of designer frames.
I had to cover a significant gap of $292 for these, so I am really hoping that the obsession will last me at least until the end of the year to justify the spend

These Fendi Snake skin glasses are a bit out there considering I intend to wear them to work. However, I have always been conservative with the eyewear so I figure this would be a welcome change to spice things up.
I have also got my eye on these pants from Zara to satiate my appetite should I be able to find them and pull off the look:

Source: Zara

Leaving you with an OOTD for good measure:

 wearing Burberry Blue Label Jacket in Black, Gap skinny jeans, Forever New Metallic tank, open toed wedges by Wittner and Black Abbey tote from Gucci. And rocking the Rebecca Minkoff iPhone cover.

Dancing in the rain and animal prints

It was tough coming back from nice warm Melbourne to Rainy Cold Sydney. I have felt several times this year that perhaps the temperamental Melbourne has swapped weather hormones with Sydney once and for all. *shivers*

Whilst squelching in my gripless thongs and trying very hard not to slip on the wet floor, I just couldn't stop thinking about the last time the weather was like this and how I mused over a purchase that very quickly slipped my mind when the sun shone again.

I couldn't bear the thought of my first day back in the office with squelchy shoes, so I hopped into House of Leather in Wynyard to purchase myself a lovely pair of gumboots (Above) to match my polka dot brolly. I am now officially part of a club of really fashionably sensible ladies in the office. Exhibit below:

Was it wrong to be so happy in the rain all the way to the post office in my gumboots to pick up my Bellabox April delivery and then to Mallhaciel's office after work to collect this lovely? (She'd help me order it because if you order above $100 from shopbop you get free delivery to Australia! And on top of that the generous soul that she is, she bought me a bottle of O.P.I Malaysian Mist too, just because...)

The box is gorgeous. But Mallhaciel quickly pointed to the equally provocative warning label which cracked us both up in the street.  

I don't know what's come over me but somewhere in the last month or so I fell in love with Fuschia and then exotic animal print. Like the Cheetah print of this lovely Rebecca Minkoff iphone cover really has everything I was looking for. It was versatile, easy to remove without breaking my nails but at the same time it was just snug and gives good grip which is extra protection for my phone from a klutz like me.

In other evidence supporting my case, I have been toting the python tote that held the Priceline Beauty Bag that I got from my Revlon lip butter purchases because I am crazy over it. And in my latest shopping escapade in Melbourne, I picked this crazy Lara faded pleated maxi skirt in Python to try on my cami with. I bought the cami, but left the skirt behind just in case it was an impulse.

But I keep thinking about it!

Anyways, times are a bit tough for a lot of people with the current economic climate and I feel guilty having so much fun with my indulgences. I've had a too lovely a weekend to justify jumping straight into another purchasing spree on Shopbop, so I closed the window reluctantly and am trying to block out the memory of the 20% discount code InTheFamily20 at least until tomorrow when it expires.

But those of you who are feeling a little shitty about the gloomy Sydney weather (I know you are out there, I see you on Twitter), if you have been good this last month, then please do feel free to benefit from the discount and be sure to tell me about your purchases!

Mundane travels made interesting by e Logies

I am in Melbourne for work and have so happen to have been put up in Crown Promenade. Surprisingly, it was really exciting being in Logies town, and I have had more celebrity spotting than bargained for so I am really glad I came down earlier today to spend the day.

This morning did not set out to be a great one, which was why I was not expecting it at all when Lyn Collingwood (Colleen Smart from Home and Away) stepped in and cut in front of me whilst boarding the plane. I didn't mind, but it didn't even occur to me Then who she was. I was fastening my seatbelt when Erik Thomson from Packed to the Rafters edged past me to his seat a few rows further back and again I thought, it couldn't be, because they would already be in Melbourne already surely?

It wasn't until we were at the baggage carousel and I noticed Manu Feidel, Rebecca Gibney, and a few other Packed to the Rafters stars amongst us when I realized that it was really them! And swooned that I was on the same flight as them.

I also went weak at the knees when I saw Charles Cottier (Dexter from Home and Away) in the taxi queue with me, and later, (gosh I hope he does not think I was stalking him) at the check in counter at Crown... But I was at the wrong one, so no I am not staying in the same one as Charles.

I see a lot of them (TV personalities) just walking around the Crown grounds, around the reception, sneaking into the casino, getting in and out of the lifts but I don't know them enough to place them.
The Tweens were just everywhere...





Interrupting every five minutes of my first experience at Nobu, the Tweens either screeched or sang One Directioner songs. They were crowded around the atrium awaiting the appearance of 1D of course.

I left them behind to go shopping in the city and picked up a decent haul from Ganache, Pleasure State and Shimmer tank from Forever New.


 

When I came back to the hotel, the red carpet had begun evidently. My hotel room was pierced with random screeches, and I was six floors up behind glass...





It was the start of the red carpet, so these lucky tweens got first peek of the lovely frocks and celebs. I watched from where I was for a bit but it was difficult not knowing who I was watching cause I couldn't see their faces, so I decided to hit the sauna instead.

Back at my room later, and there were crazy lights at Crown Towers...that must have been the 1D performance.





I am sorry I was too shy to whip out my phone to take photos of these sightings I speak of ( this would make me the worst blogger ever) but it was a really lovely day. Would definitely put this weekend up there as one of the best ones I have had in 2012 so far.

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