The two free meals included starters, mains and drinks so we both decided to try new things. We did start with the same starters that we had at WNTU, allthough they weren’t as yummily crispy this time – sad! And as you can see in the photo below, not only did MrMan read during this meal, I did too! I was reading The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency for book club (review to come).

The spring rolls we tried were not my favourite (and I don’t think we finished them!) but MrMan’s main was nice (not that I remember what it was, haha)

I wish I’d paid more attention to the description of my Salmon Ramen, as I am not a fan of chilli and I sure did get a shock upon starting my main! Next time I have this dish I will request it to come without chilli.

It took much longer than expected for our drinks to arrive – they were delivered right towards the end of our meal. With all of that chilli I would have appreciated it a little earlier! I also had to request a mix of fruit juices that wasn’t on the menu. I’m not allergic to apples, they just make me ‘sick like dog,’ so I asked for all citrus flavours. The girl was a little confused to start with, until I explained my situation. I really do wish juice mixes didn’t rely on apple juice as a base all of the time!

Here is Swarovski’s description of the pair:

Marie & Pierre – “Home is where the heart is.”

Loving husband of Marie and proud father of Theo and Emily, Pierre is above all an epicurean, and whenever The House of Cats gets a little too frantic, he escaped to his secret garden, both literally and figuratively.

Marie acts as the warm soul of The House of Cats and a loving mother to Theo and Emily. She lends the house to its inimitable joie de vivre and takes great pleasure in taking care of each member. Cozy, yet sophisticated, the surroundings have come to resemble her personality, and bear witness to her love of fine objects and her artistic sensibility.

Amazingly, I won another prize – this time via the staff magazine. I knew it was worth entering all those competitions. I mean, evetually we all win comps, right? And my prize? The Luck Star Necklace:

On a side note, we also dropped by Canberra Connect today so MrMan could change his surrname on his licence. We thought it would be a simple process. Apparently we now have to wait two to three weeks for his new licence to arrive! Here’s hoping the stash of interim paperwork MrMan now has will be accepted by the airlines and he can get on the plane (and needless to say, I wouldn’t be able to get on a plane by myself – curse my phobias!)

I also have the dilemma of what to wear travelling from Newcastle to Sydney for our early morning flight to Cairns. My clothes need to flow well from one climate to the next, without forcing me to open my carry on luggage a thousand times in three locales. Of course, as MumW has suggested, I will wear my heaviest clothing and layer for this part of the trip – which means I will most likely wear jeans, a cardi, a wooly cardi and heavier shoes and a shirt of some description (because even in 30 degree heat I still like to wear my jeans!)

Of course, as part of the female species I am prone to over-packing. So to combat this, the MrMan let me “invest” in two cabin sized suit cases. The challenge? Only letting myself use one bag for my stuff! (i.e. no over spilling into MrMan’s) We are taking extra stuff to Newcastle (like, say, a wedding dress, haha – although, if we plan on going to the casino in Cairns, I might take it with me!) and I will definitely wear my boots in Newcastle (but won’t take them to Cairns) so there will be some cross over and some not cross over clothing.

I’m reading back through all of the Academichic packing entries and I think I need to look closely at my wardrobe and work out some definite outfits (and photograph like here). Then I can add (and subtract) extra pieces to round out my packing. Throwing in only a handful of accessories will be my falling point (what if I want to wear all of my necklaces and I don’t have that one with me?!) so I think these I will need to consider hardest!

And the biggest downer of this trip?

Patch isn’t joining us so that means mummy is away from her furbaby for two whole weeks!!!

Things I’ve been doing:

• Finding the perfect boots (and then dreaming about owning them)
• Not getting a job at the NAA
• Working
• Doing research at AWM (and getting annoyed at the distinct lack of parking!)
• Having a book club meeting with C after reading The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency
• Researching things to do in Cairns
• Cooking lots of meals by myself
• Not seeing MrMan (who is a baker and therefore works weird hours over Easter)
• Buying things from Kikki.K
• Buying a new skirt from Sportsgirl
• Getting my money’s worth from Foxtel (aka Watching too much Foxtel)
• Reading blogs (happy happy!)
• Decided I want a small, glass fronted cabinet to make my own cabinet of curiosities

We left after I finished work on the Monday afternoon.
Patty wasn’t too pleased with his basket to start with.

As usual, MrMan appreciated my iPhone camera.

Healthy, healthy road food

Pretty, pretty night fall.

We stopped at Pheasants Nest (and Patty got a cuddle!)

And then we stopped at Thornleigh Maccas (and scammed free wireless)

On Tuesday we visited our Priest in the morning.
This was followed by a roadtrip to visit out photographer.
And after our meetings we went to Tuggerah Westfield.

We had lunch at the Coffee Club – and they made me a great mocha!

MrMan had the ceasar chicken sandwich thing.
I had French Toast (drool!)

Oblig. kissy photo while MrMan is trying to set up our new car iPhone dock.

The new car iPhone dock.

When we got home I went to see the jeweller with Dad about resizing my wedding ring (it was 10 times too big!)
My brother came over for pizza dinner and turkish delight dessert.

Waking up at 4.30am wasn’t cool (parts were cute though)

DrKarl podcasts before dawn = awesome

Breakfast of champions on the F3.

We stopped at Goulburn before reaching home.
Patty tried to be small and cute to avoid the basket again.

Tonight MrMan and I went to Wagamama in the city for dinner as a part of the Wagamama National TweetUp. We had a choice of two mains from the new specials menu to choose from and could also order sides, desserts and drinks.

On our way!!

Atmosphere, drinks, menus

Sides: Yasai Gyoza and Gyoza
Yasai Gyoza was nicer (for me) as it was crispier

Of course, MrMan got his book out (when he couldn’t get onto Twitter)
(I fixed his unused account since getting home so he can access it now, haha)

Waiting for our mains (while MrMan inspects SMinney‘s beer)

My main: Tasmanian Trout Udo (ladies’ choice)
MrMan’s main: Ahiru Yaki Soba (duck)

The duck arrived first and I was able to steal some before my trout arrived. It was  a very plain dish that relied on the noodles and was on slightly complimented by the crispy taste of the duck. It needed another favour added as a base (to heighten the dish) but maybe if you are more in the mood for something plain then this is for you My trout was cooked perfectly and my noodles were the right consistency in comparison to the texture of the fish. As I’m going through a fish craving of late, I was delighted to find this on the autumn specials menu!

For dessert we ordered Mango with lime & Coconut Sorbet to share
This was the perfect refreshment after our meals

This was a really fun event held by Wagamama. It was certainly a different experience for MrMan and I to have dinner with people we didn’t know previously and to have fun doing so! Our hostess was super attentive but someone needed to inform her (and us!) what the protocol for the evening was. This was a little poor on the organisational side but hey, free meal so I can’t complain.

If you haven’t yet enjoyed the Wagamama experience I totally recommend it. Long tables shared with lots of other people. You see your meals cooked. Loudness is tolerable (but helps if you have some lip reading ability). And the staff are always happy to help you. The food is a little pricey for us (even without paying for mains we still spent $40 for the two of us – more than we budget for an evening meal at home) but it’s worth it once in a while for a treat.

And hey, if we can get MrMan’s Gaffer to enjoy a meal in Wagamama’s environment, anyone will enjoy it.

JJJ Hottest 100 Vol. 17 (sooo many good songs this year!);
Birds of Tokyo The Broken Strings Tour (live) (this was for my MrMan);
Wings of Honneamise (another for the MrMan);
a new iPhone silicon case (for me )

And tonight, thanks to a heads up from Phonakins, we’re eating for FREE at Wagamama in the city as part of a National Tweet-up! Look out for my review of the new menu on Friday

Cupcake Ingredients:
90g butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
110g (1/2 cup) caster sugar
2 eggs
150 g (1cup) self-raising flour
2 tablespoons milk
200g Nutella for mix
200g Nutella for filling
Biscuit Wafers

Buttercream Icing Ingredients:
125g of butter, unsalted, softened
350g icing sugar
200g milk chocolate, melted
3-5 tablespoons whipping cream

Preheat oven to 180C (160C fan force).

Beat sugar and butter together until light and fluffy.

Beat in eggs one at a time, adding a spoonful of flour if the mixture shows any signs of curdling.

Add milk/flour, alterating, beat in on a low speed until just incorporated.

Add 200g of Nutella and beat well.

Divide mixture between cases and smooth the surface. Bake for 20-25 minutes (or until toothpick comes out clean).

Now onto the icing

Beat butter in a bowl until softened, slowly add icing sugar bit by bit until incorporated. You can multitask and melt your chocolate at the same time (& cook pasta for your lunch, haha).

Beat in melted, cooled chocolate and add whipping cream until you have reached the desired consistency.

Core out the centres of your cupcakes and fill with Nutella and a biscuit wafer and replace lid (I just popped these on top as mine all sank). Pipe icing onto cakes and top with whatever you wish.

Orange & Poppyseed muffin and a Latte for $7.50

It’s been rainy all day and I needed to get out and breathe fresh air so I decided to run some errands at the shops. After a quick perusal of BigW (mainly to pick up a trash mag) I decided I needed a coffee and a sit down. I went into Guru at the end of the lunch rush and was eventually served at the counter (after two indecisive office workers). It would have helped if there were signs as to what cakes were what flavours (just to speed up choosing/ordering) but overall I was happy with the service here. My coffee was brought over to me at my table and, eventually, so was my muffin (I think the poor guy at the counter was getting over run!) My latte was a little too coffee-ish for my taste but the milk was perfect (it was sitting more on the side of a cappucino) and my muffin was the perfect filler for the afternoon – better than I expected it to be for what it was

PS: We found a photographer for our wedding via ServiceSeeking who was kind enough to take our financial situation (and my lack of driving skills) into consideration. Please check out Tracy Beveridge Photography and give her all the love she deserves!!

My first try, using photos of Patch and a cat shape.
Not overly successful but you get the idea!

My second go, featuring photos of J&J’s wedding.