T Dog Tuesday

Morning team!

Well I have been a busy hound lately! With reno's going on all around me, I invited sister Stella and myself over to our good friends house for a couple of days refuge from the rubble. Hosts Alba and Wally were very gracious, letting us eat their food, sleep in their beds and own their Mum and Dad.

 

I think sister 'Stellaphant' may be pulling the piss here - but 10 points for effort, who doesn't love a warm cookie from the oven!

To be honest, we didn't really want to go home. I know there is something going on there and I don't know whether I am going to like it!

Until next time peeps.

Tx

Showering Baby Blue

A couple of weeks ago I was very blessed to have a baby shower thrown for my by besties J and K. I was a little hesitant as to whether I even wanted one, as even though I can be quite self-centred, I am just awkward with these things. My biggest fear around my birthday is: when people sing me Happy Birthday:

‘Where do I look?’

‘How should I stand?’

‘Where do I put my hands?’

Gahhh I am so hopeless!

Anyhoo, J and K were really excited to host my baby shower (I am so lucky) and knowing they would do it how I wanted without any of those horrible, horrible games put my mind at ease. We did play guess the baby’s name, and my favourite would have to be Miss C’s who has claimed #babybuchanan2014 as her own!

The afternoon was just delightful. The sun was shining (Perth doesn’t really do winter well) so we sat out on K’s deck with the most gorgeous Donna Hay inspired food, drinks and décor. #babybuchanan2014 was very spoilt with the most fabulous of gifts and a big shout out to R for the beautiful cake.

I must admit that since my shower I have been a little bit more excited about meeting my little man. Maybe as it has made impending motherhood a little more real. What I do know is that A and I are so lucky and thankful to have such supportive family and friends who will love love love our little man.

Hx

Not goodbye, just see you soon xx

 

Today is my very last day in my current job. I have worked at this organisation for just over 15 months and although I am more than ready to move on, there are many things that I will miss. Take this lovely lady above, and her beautiful pooch Ella.

 

M and I hit it off from day one. You know when you meet someone and they just 'get' you.

 

M and I have laughed and laughed (we both share a sick, witty, whacked out sense of humour); we have consoled each other when we have had many a meltdown (too frequent me thinks!); spent hours chatting away about completely irrelevant crap; and really forged a great bond.

 

Trust me, when you find a friend like her you never let go.

 

It's not goodbye for us, it's the start of a lifelong friendship.

 

I feel so lucky.

 

H x

Recipe Recommendation!

 

I have been attempting to get back into the whole healthy cooking thing that seems to be taking over the world...and Instagram!

 

Thursday night, friend J came for dinner (and plenty of wine!) so I decided to hit up Taste.com.au for a fail-proof recipe. I typed in "healthy"and this is the recipe that got spat back at me.

 

Quinoa risotto with prawns, oregano and tomatoes

 

Ingredients

• 250g punnet cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/4 cup (60ml) olive oil
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 long red chilli, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 cups (300g) quinoa
• 1 tbs tomato paste
• 1/3 cup (80ml) white wine
• 2 1/2 cups (625ml) chicken stock
• 20 cooked, peeled (tails intact) prawns
• 1/3 cup oregano leaves

 

Method

1. Preheat oven to 160°C. Place tomatoes, cut-side up, on a baking tray and drizzle with 1 tbs oil. Scatter with sugar and salt. Bake for 25 minutes or until softened.
2. Meanwhile, heat remaining 2 tbs oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook onion, stirring, for 3-4 minutes until softened. Add garlic and chilli, then cook, stirring, for 1-2 minutes until fragrant. Add the quinoa, stirring to coat the grains, then stir in tomato paste and wine. Simmer for 1 minute or until wine has evaporated.
3. Add stock and bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes or until quinoa is tender. Stir in prawns to warm through, then stir in tomatoes and half the oregano. Season, then scatter with remaining oregano and serve.

 

J and I loved it! A is not used to Quinoa so there was a bit of "WTF is this?" but I am sure he loved it!

 

This one is going in the recipe bank for sure!

 

H x

 

Getting Muddy!

Last weekend I found myself waking up very very early thanks to friend and PT E (again!). We had signed up for the Warrior Dash in Northam, about 1 hour east of Perth. Coffee and tunes were my friends as I drove up the hill as the sun rose.



When I arrived the nerves really started to kick in, as the thought of the 5km obstacle course set in. E is a machine so there was no way I would be able to keep up with her, so I quickly made friends with another couple from our gym, who I though could at least give me a leg up if need be.

Here I am about to wet myself pre-race!

Having done the 10km Western Mudd Rush last year I thought this would be slightly easier. THE HILL RUNNING KILLED ME! But I am proud to say that I finished in the top 20% of racers and managed to complete all of the obstacles. I did get very very muddy and am sporting a few bruises but it was a blast!

And what better way to finish than with a beer!

H x

Puppilates!

This is me and friend J on Thursday morning!

H x

Amazing wines!

A couple of weekends ago, A, sister K and friends K and C headed down for a long weekend of wine tasting, beaching (way too cold!), shopping and general laziness.

 

K squared and I managed to get through quite a list of watering holes in the four days, with these being some of the highlights. We visited Aravina Estate, Wills Domain, Ashbrook Estate, and Fermoy Estate Wines. Amazing!

 

I even manged to collect a wedding reception package from Eagle Bay Brewery (hint hint A).

 

I must admit that by the end I felt particularly toxic and full of preservatives, but boy was it a great weekend!

 

One of my favourite parts of the world.

 

H x

For you Miss J x

H x

Nobu = the bomb diggity!

So last Friday friends L, C and I headed out on one of our regularly scheduled catch up dinners to Nobu. I was particularly excited as I love Japanese food and Nobu has been on my must try list since it opened last year.

We decided to start with a drink at Rockpool, another fab restaurant at the Crown Casino in Perth, and with these cocktails we were not disappointed!

 

 

Shortly afterwards we headed over to Nobu and were greeted by a lovely service team. Our waitress was really attentive, friendly and was able to help our not so refined culinary skills by giving us great tips on what to order, how to eat it and particularly how to even translate some (ok most) of the dishes! Here is the Beef Carpaccio which was divine. All of the food was delicious (some dishes with a South American influence), and we tried to make sure that we went out of our comfort zones - C even selected eel to finish the evening with!

 

Even though it would appear to be quite a pricey restaurant, Nobu definitely gives you value for money. After four courses, wine and sake we were definitely full of amazing food that was fresh, well cooked (or raw!) and impeccably presented.

 

Next time it is french! Can you say escargot?!?

 

H x

Xtending our Barres

Friends J, K and I attend Pilates classes at Perth Pilates Studio. We usually just attend the Pilates Mat classes which use your own bodyweight to strengthen our muscles and tone up the wobbly bits - and trust me, there are plenty of those!

 

On Monday, J and I attended an Xtend Barre class, just to mix things up. The class is a fast-paced, 55 minute full body workout that fuses dance, Pilates and sculpting exercises at the ballet barre. It was intense! It is quite different to the mat class we normally take, it is much quicker, has music, and involves a lot more movement. But is was really really fun - and the class went fast! I would like to think that we look like the ladies below, but as there were not mirrors (thank God!) I will just assume that we do.

 

J and I signed up quick smart for next Monday night. Definitely a class to try!

 

H x

Easter Craziness

Sorry I have been a bad blogger lately! Times have been cray busy with work and the Easter long weekend.

 

A man and I received the first draft plans for our renovations on Thursday which was very exciting. We decided to hit a few bathroom and kitchen shops for inspiration, and we did surprisingly well with agreeing on various colours and designs. Can I just say that I never realised how many options there are!

 

Friday saw me hosting Supper Club with friends J, K and T. Everyone brought a dish, with the only rule being that you have to make something you haven't made before. Here is my attempt at an asparagus salad and lamb with feta and eggplant from Donna Hay's Fresh and Light cookbook.

On a trip to the Barossa Valley last March with K and J, I entered a competition and won this magnum of delicious Shiraz. It was absolutely amazing!

 

Saturday and Sunday involved gathering with family and friends on several occassions, eating and drinking waaaayyy too much, resulting in most of Monday being spent doing nothing more than this.

 

 

Now after five days off I am back in the slammer, dreaming of my next getaway!

 

H x

Sculpture by the glorious Sea

It was another beautiful sunny day in P-Town yesterday and friends J, K and I headed to the beautiful Cottesloe Beach to check out Sculpture by the Sea.

 

As you can see, there were an array of various artistic delights, and again, the sculptors had outdone themselves. It is amazing what these talented people are able to do! My favourites would definitely have to be the skeleton and the icebergs in the buckets.

Doesn't Cottesloe Beach look glorious?

 

H x

Post #100 celebrated with a wedding!

Well folks I can’t believe that time has flown this fast and we are already 100 posts down. I have enjoyed the ride and I hope you have too. Hopefully the posts are getting better and are still interesting and I hope to keep on blogging.
 

So what better way to celebrate such a milestone than with the gorgeous wedding of two lovely people, L and S.
 

On Saturday evening friend J and I dolled ourselves up (Zimmermann and Manning Cartell – BOOM!) and headed with sister-friend L and hubby S to Matilda Bay Restaurant.
 

At this point I have to admit something. Something quite huge. I wore heels. Argh – I know! It goes against everything I stand for, but I felt it was necessary due to the nature of the event. Apologies.

Anyhoo, back to the story. Bride L looked stunning as she walked down the aisle after her sister and bridesmaid A. The ceremony was so beautiful, overlooking the Swan River at sunset. Divine.
 

The nights festivities included drinking bubbles, eating glorious food and world domination on the dance floor! Let’s just say it was not pretty the next day.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. I welcome any comments or suggestions and hope

that you continue to enjoy ‘Girl in the Flat Shoes’ (sometimes in heels).
 

H x

The Daily Friend

Do you have people in your life that you see nearly every day but have no idea who they are? They might be the lady you pass on your morning run, or the man who catches the same train as you, or the woman who takes your order at your favourite coffee shop – every single day. Does it ever make you think that there are so many people in this world that you will never ever know?

At what point do you say hello? Would you ever strike up a conversation? Or simply blank them – every single day?

On most mornings T and I walk or run around the East Perth/Burswood bridges (with friends or solo) and we always pass a lovely lady, who I now know as Margaret.

Long before T was even a blip on the radar I used to run this loop before work and I would smile as I passed Margaret. This slowly built up to a ‘Good morning!’ and this is how is stayed for a few years.

One day last week, when walking with friend J and pooches W and A, Margaret stopped to admire the hounds. She asked what their names were and we all ended up introducing ourselves. And that is how Margaret and I took our relationship to the next level.

I don’t think we will ever be best friends but at least it is a familiar face with a name that I get to say hello to every day. I will never know her life story, who her family are, or even where she lives. But I like that she is a part of my world and we look out for each other.

Do you have any daily friends?

H x

 

Image credit here.

Ladies on the Swan xx

Morning!

Sunday was an absolute scorcher in P-Town (41 degrees people!) but I was lucky enough to be aboard a boat on the Swan River for friend L’s hens day.

We (friends J, K and L) departed the East Street Jetty at 10am for three hours of champagne, glorious food, swimming and major real estate envy (never have I seen that many infinity pools!).

As the tunes pumped the temperature rose (and then rose some more), and we headed to the Left Bank for a lovely lunch (in the air con). It was a fabulous day of lovely ladies, bubbles and no penis!

 

 

 

L’s sister A did a fantastic job as event host and planner and I am very excited to be attending the wedding on Saturday.

H x

Bar hopping in the sun!

Friends J, K and I hadn't caught up in a while so we spent Sunday afternoon bar hopping around Perth.

 

We hit up The Garden in Leederville as a starting point and as the drinks started flowing before you knew it we were two bottles of wine in and jumping in a cab to town!

 

Bob's Bar is on the roof top of Print Hall, a new bar that has opened in Brookfield Place at the bottom of the new BHP Billiton building on the Terrace. Here are a few snaps of our afternoon.

We then moved on the The Aviary for some more roof top action before heading to the Mechanics' Institute, one of Perth's newest small bars in Northbridge.

Drinks flowed way too easily, and as always the conversation went from up here to down there. Another successful afternoon!

 

H x

A Little Princess

In the wee hours of yesterday morning the world gained a brand new princess, Charlotte Grace.

 

My dear friends S and J will be the most amazing parents - Miss Charlotte you are one lucky little lady.

 

I cannot wait to meet you.

H x

Tea time...

With Christmas fast approaching there has been a flurry of gift buying, including several Secret Santa presents. For my girlfriends at work we decide on a 'T' theme as our daily ritual is to meet in the lunch room for a cuppa at 10am. Every. Single. Day.

 

Secret Santa gifts usually have a small budget, and I cannot stand buying someone trinkety junk. So I opted for a simple tea cup from Typo.

 

 

I was inspired by these lovely tea cups from Pigeonhole (amazing store!) that I bought for my walk buddies J, K and S.

 

 

They are super cute heart shaped tea cups. Divine.

 

H x

 

Love is in the Air

On Saturday, A and I were privileged to be a part of the wedding celebrations of two dear friends. The ceremony and reception were held at the Royal Perth Yacht Club on the Swan River in Crawley.

 

Simply stunning.

 

Here are A and I in action (finally got to rock the Zimmermann!)

 

The bride looked amazing. I got so caught up in the moment that I wasn't able to get very good shots, so I am looking foward to seeing the professional photos soon.

The reception started at sunset and was divine.

And best of all...the photo booth! Such a great idea (that I will be stealing).

So much love in the air.

H x