Is it weird if...

someone tells you that you look homeless when you try on a beanie?

Needless to say, I didn't buy the beanie... and my head is still cold.

The Mystery of the Black Stocking Socks

i have been finding little black stocking socks sporadically over the past... hmm maybe 2 years in various, or not so various places.

The first time i was at my boyfriend's house and found one on his floor, amongst the clothes, homework, dvds, cds and rubbish. I picked it up and went "hmm.." regarding it with utter confusion. He said "What is it?" to which i replied "It's a stocking sock." he asked if it was mine and i replied in the negative, for i don't wear ankle high stocking socks. Then i got angry "Well whose is it??" to which he got defensive "I don't know, how should i know?!". It was rude of me to assume foul play, i know. I threw it in his laundry, and thought that was the end of the stocking sock.

Wrong. A short while later, one turned up IN HIS BED! I held it up again and he started to laugh at the expression on my face. He swore he was as alarmed as I was. He had no clue how it got there. My mind naturally, and unfairly, jumped to horrible conclusions which just upset me. He was kind of amused/insulted at my reaction, and talked me around and said it was probably his mums, to which she verified that it was- although she didn't know how it got there. OK Stocking sock thing over.

Wrong again unfortunately. I found one nestled in the bottom of his backpack!!! So now i was thinking that perhaps he was a cross-dresser. I thought he should tell me the truth if he liked wearing ladies clothes. "I have some great stockings if you want." I said, jokingly. He didn't think me to be funny at all :) He said his mum had borrowed the bag.

Ok so now it is 2009, and we have moved in together. Last week i found another shin-high black stocking sock on our bedroom floor, near the door. I swear he is doing this to taunt me. he was brushing his teeth before bed, and i walked over to the bathroom door holding it by the tips of my fingernails, and held it up to him. He saw it and rolled his eyes. After spitting out the toothpaste he asked if i thought he was cheating on me. I said "not really, but why the fuck are there always stocking socks everywhere i go?!!?!?!" then i asked what he does with them, wear them on his feet or to 'wrap his package' or something else strange. He said he didnt even know it was there, and thought it was mine.

Then this morning, walking down the ramp at my local train station, what was on the path before me... but a fucking.black.stocking.sock. What is this?! Why am I being taunted?? I hate black stocking socks! They are the bane of my existence, they are the thorn in the side of our relationship, they are the elephant in the room, the black fly in your chardonnay, a death row pardon, 2 minutes.. oh wait...

Lantern Man Painting

I recently bought a whole bunch of cheap tiny canvases in order to heighten my painting skills, so that one day i might be good enough to be pleaded with to do a nude portrait of Johnny Depp. It could happen. Anyway.

Here is Phase 1 of Lantern Man, my newest foray into the painting world. I started with silhouettes as IMO they are easy, i don't see myself going into still life anytime soon. Johnny will be disappointed :D



Next I am going to add some colour, but i kinda like how it looks now, so I am worried i will eff it up.

Phase 2 of lantern man painting with some Orange and Yellow! My fella really loves this painting, and he said he likes it as is. So this is actually COMPLETE LANTERN MAN! YAY!

daftly d.i.y

This is my first post about my "home improvements" and general handyman greatness. Over the last couple of years I have been hoarding things I have no real use for, but because they look nice. Recently it was hard rubbish time in my neighbourhood (the ghetto) and my boy and I were driving around in search of a simple desk for me to put my art crud on, rather than on the dining table *blush*. Then, what should I see before me on the nature-strip* but the most amazing desk i have ever seen, and if I were to compare it to the standard of other hard rubbish collection items, then my head would explode. Therefore, I will settle upon the fact that it's an awesome desk in general.

* I bet this sounds funny to anyone NOT Australian. Nature Strip... Oh man, now it sounds funny to me :(

This sexy desk is my newest project, and instead of adding it to the pile I have decided to begin work on it right away. Here are the original bare-all portraits of the desky:

Apologies for the darkness, dang garage light is dim...

Anyway, after giving it a bit of a clean, i aquired some white gloss paint and a brush and some turps. I have then proceeded to paint inside the little cubby holes. I have done 3 coats, over the course of 3 nights, and it might need a 4th... maybe.

My plan is to get some nice a) Contact paper, b) wrapping paper, c) wall paper, and stick this to the backing inside the cuppy holes.

I also want to add a blotting board to the fold down part. Of course i also need to repair the handles, the top shelf, and the hinges that allow the front to fold down.

Bit of a job.

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~Stay tuned~

On the hunt for a good Okonomiyaki

Much like a feverish person stranded on a desert island, I too feel stranded in Melbourne without the abundance of Okonomiyaki. This sumptuous dish from Japan is one of my favourite dishes, other favourites include... hmm, well.. everything. I much prefer the Hiroshimayaki style which, instead of the ingredients being mixed into the 'batter', they are layered. Here are a few photos of some great Okonomiyaki being prepared somewhere in the Hondori Arcade in Hiroshima- December 2008.

As you can see here, this fine specimen started off as a thin layer of batter, topped with cabbage and bacon and flavourings.

Then it was flipped over while the noodles cooked beside it. I think they used Yakisoba sauce or some equivalent to give the noodles some more flavour. Next the noodles and babbage/batter pile were added together, and finally flipped onto a thin layer of egg.

It is then topped with the delicious brown okonomiyaki sauce and spring onions. I love to have mayo with mine, and extra helpings of okonomiyaki sauce, just in case.

SOOOOOOOOO back in Melbourne, I did what any curious person would do when looking for answers, I googled it. From a myriad of blogs and articles i learnt that "Melbourne's Best Okonomiyaki" was served at Teppansan on Swanston Street. So I thought we'd get the crew together and give it a try. Being sophisticated travellers and food coinessuers, naturally we took our little monacles along with us, and our handy dandy mental notebooks to make an adequate (personal) review of the fine establishment, let me take you on a journey... to flavour town...

Night had fallen, and we gathered outside the little restaurant (me not pictured, muahahaa):

We were too excited to read the menu properly, re-reading the names of the dishes and going "omg omg they have this!!" We started off with Takoyaki and Gyoza. The gyoza here were great, fresh off the grill. The Takoyaki didn't sit well with me, I like them to have a good chunk of octupus, as well as the brown sauce, mayo, bonito, seaweed, and even spring onions - yeah i like it with "the lot" mmmm. I think it only came with brown sauce and seaweed, and the waiter forgot to bring us mayo *sniff sniff* but we are all too cool to complain haha so we ate it without.



Pretty sure we all got Okonomiyaki, i was honestly hoping for hiroshima style even though i know i had little to no chance of it becoming a reality. In fact it was quite different to anything I imagined getting. Below, is my friend Doraemon-orey eating his Okonomiyaki. I had to protect his real face as he will hate how his chopstick fingers look in this photo. You know who you are.

Also, we are not all dressed in white on purpose, it is just a coincidence that all 3 people or shoulders happen to be wearing white. It's not like we are some weird kind of cult or whatever. ANYWAY. Yeah the Okonomiyaki was like a thick batter topped with some grilled onion and meat then folded in half. It was delicious, i don't want to slander the good name of Teppansan, but it was so not what I had hoped for.

OKONOMIYAKI ATTEMPT 1... epic fail. sort of. the food was nice. just not perfect.

I know of a few other places that do Okonomiyaki, so I will try some more. I still imagine i could make a fairly accurate and delicious one. I can make gyoza, and ramen pretty good. I will also collect and scrutinise recipes and present my findings shortly...

adios