La Dolce Vita

Dolce & Co.

Miss Brown Button herself gave me the hot tip on this place.

And I can't believe it took me sooo long to get there.

I'm also ashamed of how desperately I want to go back...

I dropped into the Gilbert Street store last Friday and picked up these little pieces of heaven to share with my team.

And let me just say - I'm not very good at sharing at the best of times.. 

And after just one taste I did not want to share these with anyone!

I can't even begin to describe them. 

If you live in Adelaide.. Go there. Immediately.

xx

Words with Friends Part II

I've written a post about commonly used words amongst friends in the past - See Here.

But in conversation at work last week, we discovered that there is now a whole new rotation of words and phrases in my vocabulary.

Looking back at the past post, I am interested to discover that most words seem to have disappeared off the radar - except for 'ah-mazing'. That one's a keeper.

"What else made the new list ?" and "How shall I incorporate these into conversation ?" I hear you ask. 

Well, allow me to enlighten you.

Brilliant.
Better than OK. Can be used to indicate agreement
[Example] "Brilliant.. I'll send that through to you in an email"

Or to end a conversation
[Example] "Brilliant.. See you tomorrow"

Can also be used as a response to "How are you?" in a sarcastic manner.
[Example] "How are you?" "Brilliant"

Evidently
Adopted from my Nan.

Can be used instead of 'apparently'.
[Example] "Evidently Mary said that John had dinner with a 'client' the other night..."
Is usually used to launch into a gossip session about a scandalous event or person.

That was a debacle
To be said slowly to emphasise the craziness of a situation.

[Example]  That.  Was.  A.  Debacle.

Can also be used in conjunction with "That's ridiculous"

In other news...
Used at the tail end of a story/conversation to steer the topic onto something else.

[Example] "... and that's what I ate for dinner last night"
"In other news, I bought the most ah-mazing dress on ebay last night..."

(Not to be confused with 'On that note...' which implies that the topic of the new conversation is still relevant or associated with the previous discussion)

Sexual
Can be used in a variety of contexts.

To be said in a sing-song manner

[Example] Sexuuuuaaaaaaallllllll
Can also be accompanied with appropriate facial expressions and body movement.

These are not necessarily used by everyone else (yet) but they definitely contribute a large portion to my daily word quota. Feel free to incorporate them into your regular vernacular. 

That is all.

xx

Divide of The Cool Pod

The Cool Pod

Collective Noun

1. Pod of desks positioned in the middle of the office; occupied by awesome women who are amazing at their jobs.

2. Particular group of women; ladylike; and totes ah-mazing.

I've mentioned The Cool Pod in passing. But I don't think I've ever really expressed how much it means to me. 

The Cool Pod is more than a seating arrangement at work. The original members - Jodie, Pip and I - are more than colleagues or team members. These girls are the reason why I get out of bed and go to work most days. They are the reason for my laughter and they have also witnessed my tears. Jodie and Pip have watched me struggle through the hardest year of my life and if it weren't for them, I can't imagine how I would have survived that last 12 months at work.

'Sister Jodie'

 Jodie is a super hero. A full time worker; amazing mum to Luka and supportive wife to Dane. And as if that's not impressive enough, she's built a successful business in LukaMish which can be found on Etsy and Facebook.

'Pip the Walrus'

 Pip cannot be adequately described in words. She is crazy and unpredictable, and often she'll come out with the most random comments that will leave you laughing and wondering "Where on earth did that come from?!"

I have learnt that it is impossible to make assumptions about Pip because her actions will always surpass your expectations.

Both of these women are incredibly smart and inspiring. There is rarely a day that goes by that we don't help each other with our work; brainstorming ideas or analysing problems.  

But due to our "excessive talking" The Cool Pod has been divided. 

Physically; but hopefully not literally.

Jodie has described the situation well. I too feel sad and lost. It's a terrible feeling to know that I have to go to work when the vibe we once created no longer exists. 

I know I should be thankful that I still work with such amazing women, even if our communication is now limited to email as all talking is monitored, but I still hope that one day the flock might be reunited.

xx

The Weekend That 'Flew'

So, we had our work Christmas Party on Friday night - The theme was 'Australia'..

And The Cool Pod rocked it.

Our interpretation of the theme was a little outside the square, but you can read more on that over at LukaMish.

Saturday was a very quiet day.. and by quiet, I mean that I barely moved from the couch. Frozen coke was my saviour.

So today I felt like I needed to be super productive to make up for such a lazy Saturday. The days activities included Christmas shopping and lunch with mum.

Then I spent a few solid hours in the kitchen - simultaneously baking, singing and dancing around to my latest and greatest playlist.

The result ?

A candy house and a cake for dessert.

 Not bad, right?

Can you believe there's less than a week left until Christmas now?

There will be more baking, singing and dancing later in the week as I prepare some sweet treats for Christmas Day..

xx

MAC o'clock

Miss Pip and I are heading to an industry Christmas Function tonight.

And on Wednesday, she gave me a birthday present - 

It's a macaroon.

Yeah. I know what you're thinking - "What on earth has a macaroon got to do with your birthday and a Christmas party?" 

Well... The lovely Pippa has organised for me to get my makeup done at MAC Cosmetics! 

Get it ?

MACaroon ?!

Yeah...... took me a while too.

Anyway, I'm super excited.

Thank you Miss Pip.

xx

A Day of Cupcakes and Cocktails

Feeling very spoilt already and it's only 10.30!

Cupcakes for breakfast - Life is good.

Much love to all my friends and family for making me feel sooo special.

xx

Celebration Cheesecake

I promised my Cool Pod ladies celebration cheesecake today, so I whipped up this special treat on Sunday afternoon.

And let me tell you - It was the perfect cure to Monday-itis.



Baked Cheesecake with Chocolate Biscuit Base



The recipe is a combination of a few different methods...

Ingredients

100g butter, melted

300g choc ripple biscuits

500g cream cheese, at room temperature

200g caster sugar

1 tbsp cornflour

3 eggs

2 tbsp lemon juice

few drops pure vanilla, or vanilla extract to taste

pinch of salt

2 cups sour cream

This baked cheesecake is exceptionally creamy. Cheesecakes are prone to cracking; usually this means they have been baked at too high a temperature. The mixture should not be overbeaten, either, as this is likely to lead to the mixture sinking in the oven as the extra volume deflates.

Method

Preheat oven to 180C. Brush the base and sides of a 22cm x 6cm deep springform tin with a little of the melted butter. Remove the base from the tin.

Cut a round of baking paper to fit the base of the tin, brush the paper with a little butter and set aside.

Tear off an 80cm sheet of foil and double it over so it measures 40cm in length. Lay the foil over the base of the tin, then put the buttered round of paper on top. Sit the springform tin over the base and lock the sides into place, leaving excess foil outside the tin. Draw up the excess foil around the tin and fold the top out of the way. You now have a watertight container.

Crush the biscuits in a food processor. Add the remaining butter and process. Press the crumb mixture into the base of the tin, tapping firmly with the base of a glass tumbler or similar as you go.

Beat the cream cheese and sugar in an electric mixer until smooth. Beat in the cornflour, then add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating each time just until smooth.

Add the lemon juice, vanilla and salt.

Add the sour cream and beat briefly to combine.

Pour the batter into the tin and stand the tin in a large baking dish.

Pour boiling water into the dish to come halfway up the sides of the tin.

Bake for 50 minutes, then turn off the oven but do not open the door for a further hour.

Lift the tin from the water bath and flatten the foil away from the sides just in case there is any water trapped inside.

Cool completely in the tin on a wire rack and refrigerate for several hours or overnight before serving

There might even be some left over for morning tea tomorrow! Yum...

xx

Totes Need This Tote

Ahhh, totes.

Teeny-bopper for 'totally' and current it word in the Cool Pod.

But also part of the new range of Kate Spade 2012 Spring Collection.. and I have my eye on one in particular ......

Image originally from here

If only Kate Spade shipped to Australia.

xx

Words with Friends

Do you have a word that you love to use ?

Or is there a word that when you say it, you can't help but smile because it makes you happy ?

I do.

Mine is Swoon.

I don't use it often, but when I do, I can't help but smile.

It's such an emotive word.

Swoon.

As with most friendship groups, members of the Cool Pod at work have recently discovered that our vocabulary and daily phrases are contagious (including, but not limited to certain swear words that shall not be blogged).

Granted, some of these words are used more often than others but we compiled a list and find ourselves laughing at each other when we use them in general conversation.

Awesome

Ah-Mazing

Swoon

Mantastic

Prococious

Obsequious

Smitten

Daft

Plonk

Totally

and..

Absolutely

Even more recently, I have been considering the importance of (arguably) my most used words - Awesome and Ah-Mazing. And I've decided that Ah-Mazing (and yes, that's how it's spelt because it's all about the pronounciation..) trumps Awesome.

As in : "OMG - Eric looked Ah-Mazing in True Blood last night" (not just awesome.. coz he is soo much more than that....)

xx

Winter Warmth

It's been cold in Adelaide.

Like, REALLY cold.

(OK, Bree - It's no Canberra!!!)

But please allow me to add some heat to your weekend courtesy of my Pinterest Board - swoon.

Chad Michael Murray - aka Lucas Scott (One Tree Hill)

Chase Crawford aka Nate Archibald (Gossip Girl)

Ed Westwick aka Chuck Bass (Gossip Girl)

Ian Somerhalder aka Damon Salvatore (The Vampire Diaries)

As my fellow Cool Pod member Jodie would say - they are Mantastic.

Happy weekend.

xx