730 days

tuesday, 26th october 2009
raising eyebrows
on public transport

thursday, 27th october 2011
we really can't
take self-portraits

Things can change a lot in two years.  From suited, booted and clean-shaven to a dressing for comfort and not-so-designer scruff.  From perfectly coiffured and oh-so-slim to big pregnant hair and a big pregnant belly.  Some things, however, remain exactly the same.  We're both still fans of an attention-grabbing lip colour and a decent bite to eat (although our wedding day combination of Chinatown lunch and burritos for dinner remains to be surpassed, we ate here this year and would highly recommend it).  Most importantly though, the commitment we made is as strong as ever - and all the more real and powerful for having been lived (some days more graciously than others) over the past two years.  Happy anniversary, CNN my buddy and here's to many more to come.

*****

And because I'm vain, this the outfit I'm very proud of having pulled together...

'scuse the background
it's the entrance
to our apartment block

Do you like my shawl?  CNN did good.  The traditional wedding gift next year is leather (someone is very excited about this).

feeding the bump

it is not
the best picture
but it shall suffice

I cooked mushroom stroganoff last night.  It was perfect timing as yesterday's 34 degree weather cooled to 19 today.  Early summer is the biggest flirt.  Unusually for me, I'm embracing the 'cool change' (<-very Australian expression for sudden dips in temperature).  Being pregnant in the heat is no fun.

The stroganoff was sweet, rich and earthy.  I have to admit I've made it in the past and been disappointed.  I'm not sure why I persisted (except maybe because of an undying love for the way Nigel Slater eats, cooks and writes - I'm sure we would be friends if only I could get myself invited to his for dinner...) but I'm very glad I did.  I realised last night that the secret is to follow the recipe very, very closely.  Nige writes for the attentive cook so when he says 'let the onions cook slowly, with the occasional stir, until they are soft, pale gold and translucent', do it.  Don't be like me and briefly sizzle your onions because it's a mid-week dinner and you're in a rush - cook languorously.  It'll be worth it.

the first picnic of the season...

i burnt the mushroom and pesto tarts
(only a teeny bit)
they were still delicious

and the pregnant person is exhausted from a forty-minute round-trip walk and the invigorating sea air.

I'm sorry I've been away for so long - I've almost forgotten how to use Blogger!