Efforts in the home front

About a year ago, Mr.HEA and I bought what was to be our Marital Home, which I would describe affectionately to anyone who asks as a fixer-upper. The pic above is what it used to look like before the Renovators hit town (not the TV show unfortunately but my inspired version of DIY trials). Wanna see what have we turned it into one year later?

Granted, we have neither of us quit our full-time jobs, not had much budget (planned a wedding in that one year), and are both novices at renovating. And yet, I would proudly show it off like a parent, what the house looks like today:

We've replaced the mailbox with one with more charm,




given the house a fresh coat of paint, and tidied the garden up with more succullents and shrubs that I have previously had. I can't wait till the plants we've put into the garden bed establish in the garden, to see the flowers all out in Spring/ Summer and to take more pictures of the plants then in full bloom (which includes snapdragons, geranium, roses, a begonia, and peace lilies).

  They aren't much to look at now so i am really anxious. Hope to have more posts then!

It's all about the hair today

Frizz be gone! Unholy frizz be gone!

In the madness of work, winter and visiting cousins (meaning we are out almost every night), little mundane self-care routines have fallen on the wayward side and I have showing roots and an over-tired style. Didn't help that we ran out of conditioner either, and hadn't found the time to buy more.

One look at my crazy hair in the lift mirrors when I was leaving work in Friday made me determined to set things straight. So I went to the nearest Priceline to me and walked straight to the haircare section.

The brief was simple. I needed easy application (have always had the fortune of having my roomies dye my hair before I got married), permanent colour and not going to damage my hair. L'oreal Paris's Sublime mousse caught my attention from the beginning with the words "as easy as applying shampoo".
Nothing else held as attractive a claim after that so even though the range didn't have a blue black shade which I was after, I went ahead and put it in my shopping basket anyhow.

I didn't leave Priceline without visiting the Pantene section however. Thanks to SydneyShopGirl, I was introduced to the Pantene Clinicare intensive leave in split ends fuser treatment. And I needed shampoo which was on special so I ended up lugging two 750ml bottles with me to the counter. Why pay $16 for one bottle if you can pay $10 per bottle?
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Priceline Stash

 The instructions read so easy that I was able to have my hair dyed after putting dinner to cook in the pressure cooker. I made a chunky soup with lovely legs, pumpkin, carrots, onion, tomato, capsicum lemongrass and fresh spinach leaves to be stirred in at the very end. All served with warm toasted Ciabatta.

It certainly lived up to its expectations. (I'm talking about the dye). I guess winning the Glosscars on Beauty Haven (Thanks to Tanya on Twitter that pointed me to their reviews) should have given me an indication, but I didn't even know it until I had rinsed out the dye. Some reviews mentioned the colour didn't match the box, but I think cause I was going to a darker shade, that wasn't the case for me. Generally I beleive that would happen it seems for those going for a lighter shade. It was an even application and only took 45 minutes to apply, wait, rinse and condition with the conditioning balm they provided. I didn't finish the entire bottle for my shoulder-length hair and the hair is looking glossy and healthy still (Although in the interest of full-disclosure I have applied an entire tube of Pantene clinicare on top of the conditioning balm).

This is definitely a wonderful product for a Hair-Dye novice like me. If I had a rating system out of five stars for
1) Meeting Expectations
2) Budget Pricing
3) Glam Effect
4) Easy to use
5) Good instructions
I'd vote it four out of five.

KL Haul wish list

KL Haul wish list by happy-e-after featuring mini bags

EDWARD ACHOUR cropped tweed jacket
$620 - farfetch.com

Pleated skirt
$155 - pretaportobello.com

Zara snakeskin pants
zara.com

Tory Burch ballerina shoes
jildorshoes.com

CÉLINE mini bag
malleries.com

Chanel matte finish makeup
$58 - debenhams.com

Christian Dior foundation
lordandtaylor.com

Shiseido face mask
$51 - johnlewis.com

Beauty product
bioelements.com

LONGCHAMP Le Pliage Cuir
$565 - mirabella.jp

Blog | Hirshleifer's
hirshleifers.com

I found my KL Haul wish list yesterday and I realised that I only managed to score five or six out of that list. Most of them beauty related. Shopping lost its lustre when speaking with my cousin about the cost of some of these garments when she trawls the wholesale markets in China and Bangkok and the ridiculous markups she sees in the clothes. Even though Malaysian prices were already really affordable, I couldn't bring myself to pay retail price as she gave a running commentary on how much the wholesale prices were.

Le Sigh.

Perhaps I may fare better when I am in Europe with Mr.HEA at the end of this year. But then again, under his supervision, I doubt I'd get away with much.

Random barbecue

It was a scheduled work from home day because we had some guys come in to remove a camphor laurel tree from the backyard that was growing into our deck. Mr.HEA called in sick though because he was plagued with flu-like symptoms yesterday and didn't feel all that crash hot either today.

It was really good to have a week-day in the house with Hubby, starting with making a nice hot breakfast for us before I take my seat at my study nook.

It was distracting though hearing the chainsaw buzzing, with hot tradies walking around the house. Six men turned up for the job of removing two trees! Amazing eye candy. Mr.HEA sprang into action as the thuds of branches falling onto the ground started sounding. Not like he could sleep anyhow. But I suspected by the time the main trunk fell to the ground, he wasn't feeling so flu-like anymore.

Look at how much more solar access our backyard now has! Mr.HEA proudly exclaims that our clothes on the clothesline will dry a lot quicker now, and I agree whole heartedly.

Then amidst the sunshine, Mr.HEA's spirits lifts and he declares he will cook us a barbecue lunch and haply procures steak from the local butcher's. I toss a quick salad of baby cos lettuce, Roma tomatoes, basil leaves, red spanish onion, slized mozarella cheese and hard boiled egg with a dash of olive oil and salt and pepper as my only dressing. Voila! Instant BBQ (Haha, I only turned up to eat anyhow, Mr.HEA prepped and cleaned everything else)

 And what does one wear to an impromptu barbecue? Well, I was working from home and so wasn't going to play dress up, but here's an older OOTD shot from Sunday where we attended another inpromptu barbecue at a cousin's house.

Blue Blazer Jacket: SES
Grey Singlet: Zara
Red Patent Leather belt: Tory Burch
1969 Jeans: Gap
Beige and Orange Patent flats: Vincci (part of my KL haul)

Whilst munching on some crunchy Cos lettuce leaves, I couldn't help but think of where we would place our newly acquired log stools (saved from the tree) for the backyard. My thoughts keep fleeting to Dale's backyard from The Block with those pretty little cushions:

Source: The Block website

A check of their supplier's list reveals that Dale's mum made them with fabric from Spotlight. I'd love to replicate them very much, but will probably save that project for when our European adventures are over and we are back at our block.

Anyways, am really excited with the garden now. Our next plans are to pretty up the neglected garden beds. Transplanting my flailing rose plants into a sunnier spot are in order and a fresh coat of decking oil is needed for the patio I would think. Will keep you all posted with those projects I am sure.

Sunday, 1 July 2012

Bel Mondo

A delightful Sydney restaurant icon that I had never explored until Friday this week. We went for a work function and my was it a delicious wintry day in Sydney to be out of the office. Making our way down Gloucester walk, blink and you might miss this place, nestled away inconspicuously in a corner. Beyond the doorway however, is a massive space, with a well stocked bar and dotted luxury chairs and chiffon drapes from the high ceiling beams to the floor.

We are hurried along to the dining area screened behind those mysterious drapes. Drenched in sunlight, we were seated next to windows that opened up to this delightful view:

Yes the window needed a clean

 I started with a beautifully plated up entree that looked like a little garden on the plate. Although there was a distinct fishy smell as the plates were set down, the flavours were vibrant enough to the palate and was fresh after all.

Juniper cured regal salmon with alaskan king crab, orange, fennel & horseradish

 Don't fret, my stomachline didn't take all three of these mains, but I am assured by those that tried them that they were gorgeous combinations on the plate. My own gnocchi was light and fluffy with a tinge of the sweetness of the purple congo. Very pleased with my vegetarian choice. The sides we selected are rather rich, bordering on French styled cooking, I took a second helping of the mash, which in hindsight, my hips are not any wiser for and it was well worth the deed.

Pan fried fillet of barramundi with butternut squash, figs & proscuitto, burnt toast jus

Slow cooked lamb shoulder with pea & mint risotto, caramelised garlic & honey purée

Potato purée with truffle & parmesan butter &
Cucumber salad with persian feta & white balsamic made the most decadent sides

Sautéed purple congo gnocchi with wild mushrooms, snow peas & toasted almond foam

I really liked the style of desserts in Bel Mondo where almost every dessert was accompanied by a herb of sorts. My particular plate was very little sweet and more sour and bitterness, but it acted as a delightful palate cleanser and I did not feel disgusted with myself after polishing off the plate as I know I would have if I had caved for the Dark chocolate fondant with beetroot, raspberry, marjoram & cardamom that my neighbour was spooning oozes of into her mouth.

Lemongrass & bergamot parfait with black sesame ice cream, hazelnut praline

& lime leaf granita

Being teased for being a food picture taker. LOL

After the long boozy lunch, we were given the rest of the day off and because I had a do to attend at Assemby Bar, what was a girl to do with the spare time to hang out in the city? Hit up the Westfield shops of course!

Some basics for layering in winter. $60 poorer but hopefully will solve the problem of not having anything to wear!

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