The Silver LiningLady in blue
Posted on January 15, 2013
I broke one of my golden rules when I bought this dress – that is, never to make impulse online shopping decisions whilst on a night shift! There was a bit of a lull during work one night and I found this little Kate Spade number on sale at Gilt along with the earrings I’ve paired them with. Usually I’m sensible enough to at least wait until I’ve had some sleep to make a decision but one of my colleagues seated next to me was in an earring-buying-frenzy on Etsy (she bought about ten pairs under the pretence of them all being “gifts”) plus my entire team that night was made out of girls and they were all saying, “Buy it! Buy it! Buy it!”. So, who wouldn’t? Of course, I was already deeply falling in love with the deep cobalt colour so I can’t say they twisted my arm that hard.
I had absolutely no regrets when it arrived! As soon as I saw its elegant cut and subtly shiny blue tones I knew exactly which green accessories I wanted to pair it with – my equally newly acquired Kate Spade chandelier earrings and two pieces of vintage jewellery I’d hoarded from my mum. I’d also bought a pair of nude J. Crew pumps with a black contrast pointed toe that I was dying to add to complete this outfit, but alas they were half a size too small when they arrived and I’m still awaiting the arrival of their replacements.
Moral of the story? Impulse online shopping during night shifts doesn’t always result in feelings of guilt, regret, pangs of “I bought whaaaat?” or “I spent how muuuuch?“, particularly when backed by four other girls in the same half-crazy half-sleep deprived state as yourself! Makes perfect sense.
***What I’m wearing – cobalt blue dress by Kate Spade (similar), green and gold chandelier earrings also by Kate Spade (these are pretty), black art deco inspired bangle by CC Skye (here’s something art deco inspired, here’s something awesome from House of Harlow), vintage bracelet and watch “acquired” from Mum’s collection, black patent peep toe heels by Alannah Hill (check out these Ferragamo beauties)
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New year, new wall!
Posted on January 14, 2013
With the advent of the new year, there is no better time to spruce up a tired looking wall. We experienced a considerable influx into our mini (but growing!) collection of art and prints during our quest to visit as many museums and flea markets as we could on our trip to New York last year. We bought so many, we still haven’t gotten around to framing them all!
When you’ve got so much to choose from, it’s always best to make a “draft” and lay everything out on the floor first so you can get an idea of what it’s going to look like on the wall. We chose a collection of bits and pieces picked up along our travels (spot our Oh! My God! I Miss You! print by Nara from MoMA, or our Kabuki-style man from Kyoto for example), some art prints from our favourites Outre Gallery and Society6, as well as a bunch of photos that are precious to us. Personalise your wall – each one of the pieces up there has a special meaning attached to it.
Another handy tip is we use Command 3M picture hanging strips (from Bunnings!) so you don’t have the mess, hassle or permanency that happens when you hammer a nail into the wall! Perfect for renters, plus also good if you stuff up! Just pull it off and start again!
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Happy weekend! + breaking news
Posted on January 11, 2013
So who knows where this is?
Well, first and foremost – happy weekend! Hope you all have fab plans now that you no longer have to peel yourself off the car seat/pavement/any surface you found yourself on during the 40 plus degree heat wave.
Secondly, I’m moving to Broome for six months starting this February! Work is sending me there and sadly I’ll be going alone as Jinn has to stay in Perth, also for work reasons (Curse you, work gods!). But on the up side, how beautiful is Broome? I’ll also be given the fantastic opportunity to travel to other areas including Derby, Kununurra, Halls Creek, Fitzroy Crossing, and places I haven’t even heard of! So aside from being apart from my family and friends for a bit, I’m really excited to heading up there. (For those of you not familiar with Western Australia, Broome is 3000 kilometres north of Perth [here’s a map!] and sits right near the top of the state and is surrounded by some pretty sweet coastlines.)
As a result of the impending move there’ll be a bit of a lull while I pack, unpack, adjust and settle in but I hope to continue blogging from my new base.
And thirdly! (Yes, there’s more…) We’ll be updating the look of our little site. Well, when I say “we” I mean Jinn. Jinn’s whiz-bang talent and natural eye for graphic design never fails to amaze me, and I hope you love the fresh look too. 🙂
***Photo courtesy of Gary Hayes.
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She’s always buzzin’ just like…
Posted on January 11, 2013
This summer I just can’t get enough of these neon pops of colour. You can wear them in combinations especially in mix-and-match prints, or just add some pizzazz to a monochromatic outfit (neon yellow looks red hot with black and white!). I’m loving these colours on lips and nails at the moment, and here are a few ways you can add neon to your wardrobe and home.
***1. Preen neon chartreuse lace dress, 2. Bianca Green print, 3. Ettika neon wrap bracelet, 4. Nicka watermelon wood necklace, 5. Mimco spliced leather bag, 6. CoastalMoss rhinoceros planter, 7. Mimco nail polish here and here
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Vietnamese-style fish cakes – The Silver Spoon #7
Posted on January 10, 2013
So over the weekend my brothers decided to be all manly and stuff and went deep sea fishing. They were pretty successful, and amongst a few things managed to catch a shark! (That’s pretty manly.) As a result, I found myself with one and a half kilos of shark meat and a big question – what on earth do I do with one and a half kilos of shark?
I’m not a big cooker of fish to begin with since I always somehow manage to stuff it up, which generally results in a horrible dinner and a terrible sense of guilt for ruining a beautiful (and often expensive!) piece of fish. Dissatisfied bellies and sad faces all round.
I happened upon this Vietnamese fish cake recipe by Luke Nguyen on the SBS Food Safari site (how badly do I want the Food Safari lady’s job!) and after a few modifications came up with these lovely little morsels! I think due to the nature of shark meat the fish cakes came out quite firm and “meaty”, but I think it actually worked well and tasted great. I enjoyed mine dipped in sweet chilli sauce and washed them down with a cold glass of home-brewed iced jasmine tea. I still have at least thirty of these fishy bites left (I used all the shark in one go) and I think I’ll try them next on a bed of rice noodles with lettuce leaves, mint, bean sprouts and shredded carrot…
Ingredients:
- 500g fish fillets, cubed (the original recipe calls for Spanish mackerel)
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 garlic clove, finely diced
- 4 shallots, diced
- Vegetable oil for deep frying
- Sweet chilli sauce for serving
How to:
- Place all ingredients (except vegetable oil and sweet chilli sauce) in a food processor and process until all ingredients are incorporated into a paste. If you’re more dedicated than me, you can use a mortar and pestle rather than a food processor and pound the fix mixture until it gets a more elastic consistency.
- Make patties out of the mixture, roughly 5cm in diameter and 2cm thick. Oil your hands so the fish doesn’t stick to you.
- Heat the oil in a wok or other large non-stick pan over medium heat. Fry the fish cakes in batches and fry for 3-4 minutes each side until golden.
- And that’s it! Serve with sweet chilli sauce for dipping.
P.S. Check out the giant chilli from my garden! Its “parent” plant had normal-sized chillis so who knows why this one has mutated!
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Super duper Christmas present
Posted on January 8, 2013
Say hello to my brand new glitzy and sparkly Super Duper Strength sunglasses by Karen Walker! Ever since I got them for Christmas from my wonderful family (chosen by my oh-so-clever husband) I’ve been concocting all sorts of outfits in an attempt to incorporate these sweet sunnies into my everyday wear (do you think they’d be OTT to wear to Woolies?). Geez, I sometimes even open their box just to sit and stare at them for a bit whilst getting hypnotised by the fine gold details and the little tiny faces you can find if you look hard enough…Obsessed much?
Also debuting here today is my tiny gelato-coloured tassel bracelet, lovingly created by Rachel (my very talented and gorgeous sis-in-law!) who has her very own Etsy shop here! Each one of those perfect tassels has been artfully and meticulously created by her very hands, so you can be assured that each piece of jewellery comes with so much love attached!
***What I’m wearing – navy blue jumpsuit by Gorman, embroidered tan leather belt also by Gorman (similar), brown leather sandals by Jeffrey Campbell (some other JC lovelies!), Super Duper Strength sunglasses in gold by Karen Walker eyewear, black triangle earrings by Scrumptious (similar), pastel tassel bracelet by Freckle and Co, vintage tooled leather handbag from Bluebird Vintage (too cute!)
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Malaysia photo diary…aka Food Safari!
Posted on January 7, 2013
So we were recently in Malaysia for a whirlwind trip to finally wind up the month long festivities that was Jinn’s little sister’s wedding! Crazy hey? But between dinners and meet-and-greets (Jinn’s parents both have massive extended families) we managed to fit in a spot of shopping, sight-seeing and as you can see – a whole stack of food! Malaysia is well-known for its culinary delights and boy oh boy I tried my bestest to sample them all!
Top 10 things to eat in Malaysia:
- Char kway teow – flat rice noodles stir-fried with delicious whatnots like Chinese sausage and scrambled egg
- Wonton mee or its East Malaysian sister kolo mee – thin egg noodles that are cooked just al dente served with a delectable soy-based sauce and little pork dumplings
- Roti canai – Indian flat bread that is just oh so fluffy accompanied by curries-of-the-day (Great for breakfast! Really!)
- Teh tarik – another delicious Indian concoction, black tea sweetened with condensed milk
- Laksa – which differs in taste depending which region it comes from – Sarawak, Penang, or curry laksa – they’re all good!
- Chee cheong fan – so simple yet oh so mindbendingly awesome, rolls of thick flat rice noodles served with plum-based and chilli sauces and a sprinkling of sesame seeds
- Ice kacang and ice chendol – icy desserts in a coconutty sauce, perfect for the hot humid weather
- Poh piah – simmered local turnip wrapped with chilli sauce in a thin rice flour skin
- Muah chee – sticky rice dumpling filled with crunchy peanuts mixed with white sugar and sesame seeds, one of my personal faves!
- Nasi lemak – coconut rice, spicy tiny deep fried fish accompanied with a curry
- Satay – self-explanatory and universally worshiped by all
- Bah kut teh – juicy pieces of pork spare rib cooked in a herbal soup and served with a bowl of steaming white rice
- And don’t forget to sample the local tropical fruits – jackfruit, rambutan, longan, mangosteen…and if you’re brave – durian!
Huh? Did I say top 10? Well, there’s just that much amazing food to eat, I’m sure there’s still some that I’ve missed. What are your must-eat foods that you would travel the world for? 
***Street art in Penang by Ernest Zacharevic
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Hello there 2013…and we’re back!
Posted on January 4, 2013
We spent New Year’s Eve partying on down in Penang! (We were there for the continuation of the wedding bonanza extravaganza that was Jinn’s little sister’s wedding!) As usual the weather was hot and humid but that didn’t stop throngs of locals and tourists flocking to Gurney Drive (one of the main shopping/eating streets) to join in the festivities. As the tunes were pumped out, hijinks and crazy dancing ensued as we celebrated what 2012 had been and welcomed in the brand spanking new 2013, full of promise and big dreams.
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Happy new year! + celebrating new life
Posted on January 1, 2013
If you haven’t met her yet – this is my fresh sweet-smelling amazing new niece, Gabrielle! She’s nine weeks old now. I know it’s said time and time again, but they really do change at an incredible pace at this age. From tiny squishy packages, eyes barely open and limbs held tightly to themselves, to still small beings that fit so perfectly in the crook of your arm but start to interact with the people and world around them – sometimes quietly observing, faces almost comically serious (what could possibly be worrying you that much at the ripe old age of two months old?!), sometimes engaging fully with smiles and coos, kicking out with those little chubby legs of theirs in glee.
There’s nothing quite like looking into the faces and eyes of children. To me it brings me back to the core of all things and reminds me of what true and unbridled love and joy really can be. Emotions untainted by ulterior motives, prospects of material gain, past hurts, deep insecurities – things that are “learnt” – and of course, their fearless ability to find happiness in the simple pleasure of experiencing new things. This new year I resolve to love, live and learn more like a child does – with my heart wide open, empty of prejudice and full of curiosity.
What are your new year’s resolutions?
The Silver Lining 
