Ringalingaling! (Or: How I Now Get To Make LOTS Of Lists)

by honorarykiwi Posted on February 13, 2012

So… it’s been a month or so since my last post. It’s been a string of both busy and rather crap weeks… but I have pictures and recipes and such saved up so hopefully I’ll get some up more frequently in the future.

BUT.

This weekend. This weekend was amazing and totally deserving of an out of the blue blog post.

IMG_4043

Yup. That’s a ring. As of 9PM on February 11, 2012… Julz and Bex are engaged.

So I’ve never been a very… traditional person. And this was no different.

I proposed to him.

Yup. Screw gender roles. (Also, I’m impatient.)

Julz is an amazing, thoughtful, incredibly sweet man. He bought the ring in July. And he’s had so many plans to propose… but he wanted to make it utterly perfect. (Which – hey – nothing wrong with that! At all!) But he kept scrapping plans because little things wouldn’t go quite to plan. And I knew he was stressing and worrying about it. So I took the pressure off.

First things first. Not that it had anything to do with my decision to propose… but tradition says that the woman is allowed to propose during a leap year. Tradition also says that she should wear a scarlet petticoat in order to “warn” the man. (And, if he turns her down, he has to give her gloves. Not a very good consolation prize, if you ask me.) The petticoat sounded kinda fun, though. I made a pseudo-petticoat out of red tulle.

IMG_4090

We’d decided to celebrate Valentine’s a few days early (in order to have a weekend rather than a weekday). Decided to do a home date – dressed ourselves up and I made a seven course Italian meal. (Which. Was. Awesome. Except for the peas that escaped all over the kitchen floor.) Set the table all prettily and ate by (mostly) candlelight.

IMG_4039

During the antipasti/ apertif part of the meal, we exchanged presents. We’d been talking about making a bucket list together for quite awhile and I saw this awesome idea on Pinterest – you take a photo frame; remove the glass and backing; add wire, pegs, and a bucket; and peg your bucket list items to the wire. When you’ve completed them, you place the papers with those goals and dreams in the bucket. I put one on it before I gave it to him – it said “Say Yes!”.

IMG_4093

I was expecting him to ask what that card meant… and I had this whole speech prepared in my mind. But he didn’t ask… so I ended up getting flustered and babbling all over the place. But I eventually got to the important part and asked him if he’d marry me… and presented him with a ring… a candy ring.

IMG_4042

He said yes!

And then he gave me the ring that he’d been hiding for seven months. And it’s beautiful. And perfect.

IMG_4092

I love him. He makes me so very, very happy. I’m the luckiest damn girl in the world.

IMG_4083

More photos:

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments

Questionable Content

by honorarykiwi Posted on January 15, 2012

Today, Julz and I met Jeph Jacques, the creator of Questionable Content.

Jeph is in New Zealand on holiday and held a meet-up in Wellington. Was quite cool to be able to meet him, however briefly – living in this corner of the world, things like this are a rare treat.

He drew a picture for me, and one for Julz (and god only knows how many others for the rest of the fans there!)

Picture for Julz:

IMG_3979

And one for me:

IMG_3980

Can’t wait to frame them and stick them on the walls!

(We totally used the excuse of wanting to keep the sketches safe to buy a new book from Arty Bees. Hi, my name is Bex and I’m addicted to books…)

Posted in Geekery, Life | Tagged | Leave a comment

Unlikely Travellers

by honorarykiwi Posted on January 14, 2012

Unlikely Travellers

Rented this DVD the other day. Had to do a post on it to let you all know that you really, really must watch this.

Unlikely Travellers is a documentary about a group of six men and women with mental health issues and/ or intellectual disabilities who take part in a new initiative that aims to help develop independence – by taking them on a trip to Egypt.

The documentary gives a great insight into the lives and thoughts of the featured men and women – as well as their families.

The film hits close to home – my baby brother (ok, so not so much a baby any more… he’s turning 21 in March) is on the autistic spectrum and has some intellectual disabilities. My mother, especially, still treats him like a young child and it worries me. It worries me a lot. Once my parents are gone, it’ll be just the two of us – and he’s on the other side of the world. I want him to learn to be independent – not only to give him the freedom that any adult deserves, but so that both of our lives can continue when my parents are gone (which is hopefully a very, very long time from now).

Seeing men so similar to my brother being placed so far outside their comfort zone, yet being supported so well that they can fight their way through it – it was utterly inspiring.

My kid brother is a truly amazing person. And I won’t do as a lot of people seem to do and apply that generalisation to the entire population of those with disabilities (they’re human. Some of them are assholes, just like those of us without disabilities.)  – but I do have a lot of admiration for anyone who has to struggle against both their own bodies as well as society in order to get by each day. Documentaries like this not only remind me of how inspirational my brother can be, but give me hope that he’ll gain the independence he deserves as he gets older.

Unlikely Travellers is a very realistic and true to life portrayal of the men and women on the trip to Egypt, how they deal with challenges, and how they interact with their families, peers, co-workers, etc.

Well worth a watch.

Posted in Documentary, Family, Movies, Thoughts and Comments | Tagged | Leave a comment

Cheesy Apple-Bacon BBQ Chicken

by honorarykiwi Posted on January 13, 2012

IMG_3971

Dinner today was based off this crockpot recipe.

Ingredients:

  • 2 chicken breasts
  • 6 slices streaky bacon
  • 1 apple, grated
  • 1/3 c BBQ sauce (I used a smoky hickory BBQ sauce, yummy)
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 4 slices mozzarella cheese

Wrap each chicken breast in 3 slices of bacon.

Mix the apple, BBQ sauce, and lemon juice together.

Place the chicken in a baking dish and spoon the apple mixture evenly over it.

Bake for about 45 minutes at 170°.

Place mozzarella on top of the chicken breasts.

Place back into the oven for another 15 minutes, or until cheese is browned.

I served these with roasted kumara, topped with butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. It’s a good pairing as the kumara takes about an hour in the oven to cook, plus it matches well with the sweetness of the apples.

I’m honestly not entirely convinced – but Julz said he liked it. I mean, it was good – I’m just not sure it was must make again good. Possibly needed a bit less apple and a bit more BBQ sauce. I’m quite a fan of the salty + sweet flavour combo usually, but for some reason this just didn’t quite hit the mark for me. Another option may be to fry the bacon wrapped chicken for a little bit before sticking it in the oven to make the bacon a bit more crispy or something.

Posted in Cooking and Baking, Dinner | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Dragonflight, Dragonquest, and the White Dragon by Anne McCaffrey

by honorarykiwi Posted on January 12, 2012

Dragonriders of Pern

I got the first three books in the Dragons of Pern series for Christmas – separate books, not the omnibus but I didn’t feel like posting three images ;)

I’m still surprised that I’ve gotten such a late start on the Anne McCaffrey books. I mean, I read a lot, but I haven’t read any of her books (at least not that I can remember) until recently. This was the first time I read these – and if I wasn’t before, they’ve definitely confirmed me as a big fan.

The books have just enough details to fire up the imagination, without dictating to you exactly how to see the dragons, characters, and landscape in your mind – an aspect that I really, really love about McCaffrey (and the other authors who do that). It’s the reason I love to read – lets you picture the world yourself instead of it being dictated to you like the movies.

The stories are great, and really drag you in (I stayed up til 7AM to finish The White Dragon… whoops). If you’re one of the weird ones like me who hasn’t read any Anne McCaffrey books yet… remedy that. Now.

Posted in Books, Fantasy | Tagged , | 1 Comment

OPI Warm and Fozzie, Revlon Mint Fizz, Sally Hansen Flair

by honorarykiwi Posted on January 11, 2012

IMG_3970

I was too impatient to do this as a tape manicure, so this was freehanded and a wee bit messy.

Base was O.P.I.’s Warm and Fozzie (from the Muppet Collection). I’m absolutely in love with this colour. It has just the right amount of sparkle in it and a wee hint of red.

Tipped with Revlon’s Mint Fizz and Sally Hansen’s Flair.

Close up:
IMG_3967

Posted in Nails | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Miss Peregine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

by honorarykiwi Posted on January 10, 2012

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Finished reading this book a little earlier tonight. My sleep schedule was back on track for one day, and then I started reading this… and stayed up til all hours. Couldn’t put it down.

The book’s description reads:

As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that Miss Peregrine’s children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow – impossible though it seems – they may still be alive.

The book was, in a word, amazing. The vintage photography interspersed throughout added a whole new dimension to the story – it helped to pull you in and immerse yourself in their world, without going too far over the top.

This was Riggs’s first novel, and I sincerely hope he writes more. His non-fictional writing is quite enjoyable as well – you can check it out at www.ransomriggs.com.

Tip: don’t start reading this unless you have no obligations for the rest of the day (and the day after that, depending on how quickly you read) – it was seriously hard to put down. (Hence the wonky sleep schedule and the fact that this is being posted shortly before 5AM.)

 

Posted in Books, Fantasy | Tagged , | Leave a comment

French Onion Soup

by honorarykiwi Posted on January 10, 2012

IMG_3965

Oh. My.

This was the first time I’ve made my own french onion soup. And I will be doing it again soon. So good – and much more filling than I expected it to be.

I ended up making enough to use four ramekins (though these are rather small – they only hold about a cup of liquid) – and although we both ate two (diet? what diet?), we were both heading towards full at the end of one.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:

Soup:

  • 40 g butter
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 large red onion, sliced
  • 2 small yellow onions, sliced
  • 3 c chicken stock
  • 1 c beef stock
  • 1/4 c red wine
  • 1 1/2 tsp worcestershire sauce
  • 1 1/2 tsp dried parsley
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar
  • salt and pepper (to taste)

Topping (per ramekin):

  • 1 thick slice crusty bread
  • 2 slices swiss cheese
  • 2 slices mozzarella cheese, shredded
  • pinch smoked paprika

Soup:

Melt the butter in a large-ish pot.

Add in the salt and red and yellow onions and stir well to they’re all coated in butter.

Cook onions until almost caramelised – took me about half an hour.

Add in the chicken and beef stock, red wine, worcestershire sauce, parsley, thyme, and bay leaf; stir well.

Simmer the soup for 20 minutes.

Stir in the balsamic vinegar and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Topping:

Bake the bread at about 220° until well toasted on both sides. Took about 15 minutes for me.

Ladle the soup into the ramekins.

Place a slice of bread on top of each ramekin of soup.

Add the swiss cheese on top of the bread, and the mozzarella cheese on top of the swiss. Top it all off with the paprika.

Place in the oven for about 15 minutes – until the cheese melts and begins to turn brown on the edges.

Serve them up nice and hot – but be careful with the combination of hot cheese and the top of your mouth (yeah, slightly ouchy).

Posted in Cooking and Baking, Dinner | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Revlon Mint Fizz and Sally Hansen Flair

by honorarykiwi Posted on January 9, 2012

I got these colours from a sale site the other day.

Revlon has this crazy new line of scented polishes – really pretty colours, too. I got this pretty, slightly shimmery blue that smells like mint. It actually smells good (so weird). However… obviously, putting a top coat on masks the smell so… novel, but rather pointless in the end. But the colour is really pretty, so it’s all good. This is 3 coats, plus OPI top and base coats. Heh, and excuse the cat hair on my thumb.
IMG_3963

 

Sally Hansen’s Flair is a middling-dark purple with a smattering of red shimmer. I’ll probably be more likely to use this for a dual-coloured nail than just a solid colour, but it’s still pretty. And yes, I know my toe nails are shaped funny… and that I didn’t clean up the nail beds really well. =Þ
IMG_3964

Posted in Nails | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Sweet orange salmon with orange salsa

by honorarykiwi Posted on January 9, 2012

IMG_3958

I need to learn to take better photos of food. This looked so much more appetising in real life.

Dinner tonight was quick, easy, and super tasty. Adapted from this salsa recipe and this salmon recipe.

Ingredients:

Salmon:

  • 2 salmon fillets
  • 1 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1/4 tsp orange zest
  • 1/4 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 1/8 tsp coriander flakes
  • pinch of black pepper
  • olive oil for frying

Salsa:

  • 1/2 tsp orange zest
  • 2 oranges, peeled and chopped
  • 1/2 tomato, chopped
  • 1 tbsp coriander flakes
  • 1/2 tbsp lime juice

Salsa:

Combine all ingredients and toss to combine. Do this before the salmon so it has time to sit and let the flavours permeate each other.

Salmon:

Preheat oven to 220°.

Combine brown sugar, orange zest, cumin, salt, coriander, and pepper.

Rub the spice mixture onto all sides of the salmon.

Heat olive oil in oven proof pan (cast iron is best. Because cast iron is the king of the kitchen.)

Place salmon in the hot pan, skin down.

Cook for about 5 minutes on high heat – this is basically just to crispify the skin and make it delicious.

Move the pan into the preheated oven and bake about 10-15 minutes, until the salmon is flakey.

Move salmon to a plate, top with the salsa, and serve with a green salad with a tangy vinaigrette.

Posted in Cooking and Baking, Dinner | Tagged , , | Leave a comment