Happiness Is… #10

May 22, 2015 / smikg / Leave a comment

My Sister.

You know how most people only have time for themselves? I don’t mean that in a selfish way, I mean just generally how people can barely look after their own dramas, let only those of others?

You know how people promise that they’ll show up, or help you, and most of the time they’re just empty words?

You know how people pretend to care, but secretly they’re envious of your position, what you have, or something you’ve achieved?

All of the above: not my sister.

If everyone had a sister like mine, there would be no war in this world. Because if they did, she would talk them out of it, so that everyone would be singing and dancing and holding hands ‘We are the World’ style.

I don’t say this because she is my sister. You may think I am bias, but trust me, I am not. I am the luckiest person to have someone as beautiful, inside and out, as her in my life. Growing up, my friends without sisters, wished she was theirs. Even my friends with sisters, wished she was theirs too.

I have never met anyone else so giving of her time and energy like her. She will lend an ear when you need it, and not even be irritated if you call at the wrong time. She will drive across town to help you out, despite having to take her boys to school or get them babysat. She will move all her events and plans around, so she can get to the other side of the earth, and help you, willingly, and happily, with a smile. She will do so, genuinely, and not expect one ounce of help for her, in return.

Despite hardships she faces, she will give you her time and wisdom when you’re facing a problem. She won’t get mad when you whinge about something trivial, and she won’t have a go at you because your problems aren’t as big as hers. And God knows, she could complain, if she was that kind of person. She has problems, she has challenges. If anyone were allowed to be angry, or sad, she would be completely forgiven for it. And yet, she smiles. She continues to be positive and thankful, and does everything at once, to please everyone at once, because that’s just her.

She gives so much of herself, of her inspiring, beautiful energy, to everyone around her… even those who don’t deserve it. I get mad sometimes, because I find myself thinking ‘why are you so nice to them!’ That’s her greatest fault, right there. She is too nice.

She is so selfless with her time. She will drop the 101 things on her plate to help you out. I am still sometimes bewildered by how giving she is of herself in spite of all the things going on in her life. She works, has a husband, and 2 boys, and I just don’t know how she fits it all in, and is still able to be there for others. She is wonder woman.

She’s one of those people, that everyone loves. If you were to not like her, sorry (actually I’m not) but something is severely wrong with you. You can’t even say she’s too nice, because she is so much fun, so happy, so up for doing new things and partying and drinking with you, that she is genuinely an EVERYBODY’S person.

I actually can’t put into words, how amazing she is. Because it’s one of those things, that until you see it, and experience it for yourself, you just don’t know. She’s one of those special, once in a lifetime people, that once you find, you hold onto with all your might.

She’s my sister, and I’m so freaking blessed and lucky and stoked that she is mine.

Thank you Big Sis, for being the best person there is. You make the world a much happier, lighter and brighter place with your presence.

I love you. We all do.

Love, Little Sis.

The Age of the Epiphany

May 22, 2015 / smikg / Leave a comment

If you’re anywhere under the age of 30, remember this: Your parents are right about EVERYTHING.

I’ve always listened to my parents advice, don’t get me wrong. I guess I was just kinda like working things out for myself, and thinking, like the over-confident Leo I can sometimes be, that I can do it differently, and better, my own way.

Ha.

My parents and my MIL are all super-paranoid when it comes to their babysitting duties with baby girl. They’ll cover the coffee table with the throw we have draped over our lounge, trying to cushion the pointy corners so that if she were to fall the material would soften the blow. When she runs around the dining table at full speed, they cringe. They used to barricade the bottom of the stairs with the pram, so that she couldn’t climb up them.

I didn’t so much mind all their little additions, but I told them to stress less and to not spend so much time worrying. Yes, sometimes she fell. It was never anything major, it toughened her up and taught her a bit about what she should and shouldn’t do. For some reason though, having them put the throw on the table… well it just shit me. I don’t know why. The throw was for the couch, and they were covering the coffee table with it. I felt like saying ‘she never falls near the table with us, stop over-reacting!’ To add to it, Mum further aggravated me with her comment “That’s ok, we put it on when you’re not here.” And then she laughed. Grrr.

Last week, baby girl fell while running around with her Dad, and hit her head on the tiles. It was the smallest of hits – Hubbie didn’t even think her head touched the ground. But the blood splatters on the floor and the drops down her jumper told us otherwise.

I can’t begin to express the chaos that followed that incident. There were tears and freak-outs, mostly from me. She had hit her head, but it was a minor graze, and she settled very quickly after. Thank God. But it was a major wake-up call for us. Our parents’ constant stresses and worrying was for a good reason. They had raised us. They had been through all of this before.

I haven’t said boo about the throw on the coffee table since.

On the weekend, Hubbie and I had a decent blue. We were arguing, and were both very stubbornly holding our individual positions. We were shouting angrily at each other, and not because of something we had done or said to the other- it was about a family member. I went to bed that night seething, yet so sad. And I contemplated how every single time we’ve had a big argument (minus the every day nagging stuff you just get used to) it was about a family member. I fell asleep on that.

To my surprise, we made up immediately the next morning. I didn’t think there was any going past it. But Hubbie was adamant that we weren’t to yell at each other like that again, and made the same observation that I had: all our big fights weren’t about us.

We are good, so good together. And we realised, through this struggle, that we shouldn’t let outside interference get in the way of our relationship. In fact that weekend I had read a quote about struggles being the instigators to find another way forward. Which we had. I also heard my Mum’s words circling around in my head:

“Never let anyone get in the way of your family. People will always try to make trouble between you, but don’t let them.”

Even though there was no one intentionally making our lives difficult, it was so true that we shouldn’t be letting an outsider get in the way of US.

You might be lucky, and under the age of 30 and know all of this. You may be older, and still learning. That’s ok. Life is a process. It’s fortunate if you can learn from the experiences and words of others, but often the best way to learn is when you live the lessons yourself. Just try to make the tough lessons a vicarious experience, if you can.

Happiness Is… #9

May 19, 2015 / smikg / Leave a comment

Living so close to your parents that you bump into them at the local shops.

I’m pretty fortunate (and it is truly convenient) to have my parents, oh, a 7 minute car drive away. Bumping into my Mum today while doing my weekly grocery shop was truly sweet. Having her run up to me from behind to surprise me, baby girl in the trolley staring at her wide-eyed like “What? Where did Baka come from?” was a really happy moment.

It was an unexpected, beautiful surprise. Often it’s the things you don’t expect, that make you truly grateful for what you have. I count my blessings.

Happy Monday

April 20, 2015April 20, 2015 / smikg / Leave a comment

As wrecked as I now am, ironically from the happiness of the day, I felt it ever so important to share in the joy and express why and how today was a ‘good news day.’

Because you can never have too much positivity.

It all started when I drove in to work, and found a park, in a really busy area where it’s usually really hard to find a spot at that time of morning. Lucky Tick.

I picked up a coffee and got into work before starting time. Soon after I had my yearly performance review with my boss, and was very pleased to hear she was very happy with me. I was appreciated, and they were glad to have me back, even in a part-time role. It’s always nice to hear that you’re wanted and appreciated. Job satisfaction Tick and Tick.

I caught up with a friend, who was now in a serious relationship with the guy she had liked for about 2 years. Hearing of how well things were going for her, made me so happy. I love stories like that. People who are meant to be, ending up together. She thanked me for helping her not lose it over that time, and for helping her ‘persevere.’ Awww shucks. Love and Happiness Tick. Dreams DO come true. You CAN get the guy!

I then got a random phone call from a health care business on my side of town. A former work colleague had put me down as a referee on her resume, and the place she had recently applied to was calling to get the low down on her! Being the fantastic person that she is, it was no problem to speak highly of her, tell them I missed having someone like her around in my current workplace, and that she was a very happy, friendly, talkative, yet hard-working and loyal employee. I messaged her later today, and she said she got the job! She had been looking for so long, and for so long I had wished there was something I could do to help her. And unwittingly, I totally did!

Job and Friend Helping Tick!

Then I happened across a programme at work, pretty much based on the changing face of Australia and how we have become the nation we are today through our people and achievements. I was proud to again be witness to the remarkable feat Cathy Freeman achieved at the Sydney Olympics, when she ran the 400 metre sprint and won, under the intense pressure and scrutiny of the world. Seeing the vision of her excel and succeed, amidst such public and also personal pressure, of being in the position to realise her dreams and became an Olympic champion, was truly motivational and touching. Inspirational Tick.

A horribly bittersweet story came next, of the Australian team that were one of the countries that had partaken in ‘Operation Babylift,’ where in 1975 they tried to rescue babies from orphanages in South Vietnam as a result of the war at that time. Although most of the footage of this event was re-enacted, seeing the images and hearing the stories of the people who fought against terrifying odds to take sick, close to dying children on a plane, crying and scared and set out in cardboard boxes, and nurturing them until they set foot on Australian soil, was truly moving. I struggled with great difficulty to fight the sobs as I watched one scene, of a woman run towards the bus which was taking the Australian team with the orphaned babies to their ready bound-for-Australia plane, begging them to take her child.

Crying, and begging, for them to take her baby. She wanted her baby to be saved, to be safe, in light of the harsh and sad reality that she, her baby’s mother, may never come out of the war alive. She couldn’t come with them. Being a mother, this scene was incredibly hard to watch, and it was only a re-enactment. Albeit a true story, nonetheless.

The happy ending out of it all, is that all the crew and the orphaned babies made it back to Australia alive. In sum, approximately 3000 babies were saved as a result of ‘Operation Babylift.’ And seeing that many of the adopted babies had grown and had families of their own in this great country of ours, made me so happy, made me so bloody proud to be part of a country that was part of such an important humanitarian effort. I am so, so proud to be Australian. Heart-tugging and patriotic TICK, TICK, TICK.

And then on a completely different, and lighter note: I came home and found a save-the-date card had been sent to us for an upcoming wedding of a really old friend of mine. I love weddings, and you know life is good when you have great things to celebrate. Celebration Tick. Milk it when you can.

I shared my ‘good news day’ on facebook, and funnily have had cousins messaging me asking if I’m pregnant again. No, for the record, I’m not. I’m enjoying my red wine too much at the moment to be ready for that again. But it was lovely to hear from people on the other side of town, whether 30 minutes away, 60 minutes away, or on the other side of the world (as occurred when my cousin in Germany messaged me!) Family Tick.

It’s been a great day. It’s been a great Monday. Today has been somewhat of an exceptional example, yet I think the lesson here is that you can find good, no matter how small, in every day.

Helping other makes you happy.

Sharing with others makes you happy.

Being rewarded makes you happy.

I forgot the best part of the day. Laughing with baby girl on the couch, as I blew air into her face, and she exploded wet raspberries onto mine.

Motherly, Tick. 🙂

Life is good. Life is great. Let’s not forget that.

Bring back the school photos

April 17, 2015 / smikg / Leave a comment

I was chatting to a work colleague today when I came across an interesting thought. As usually occurs post-coffee consumption.

We were discussing the years that go by way too quickly, and I noted how I seem to be stuck in the year 2001. Every time someone mentions the ’90s, for a brief moment a part of me recollects ‘ahh, just a few years ago.’

Mmmm, nope. Try going on 15 years ago. 2001 coincides with my last year of high school, and for some reason, my head just wants to live in that time.

I mentioned how the start of high school is so drastically different compared to the person you are when you leave at the end of Year 12. There is so much growth and development, so many changes, physically, emotionally and mentally, that occur in those 6 years. And then you leave school, go on to further study or find work, yet those following years are kind of a bit of blur. You get married, and throw in some more unfocused years, where everything just seems to blend into the next.

Thinking of the image I had of each high school year, it hit me: photos. We had photos to mark each year of our school lives, something that abruptly stopped when we entered the real world. That photo wasn’t only a snapshot of the physical (and horribly awkward) changes we were undergoing at the time, but if you recall your school photos, take out the old album and leaf through the pages, you’ll have names, scenarios, moments and feelings come through to you. That one photo represents your entire year, your entire state of being, not just at school, but in this “thing called life” (as Prince says).

We need the school photos to come back.

That’s what’s missing. That’s why the days, weeks, months, years, all blend into one another and follow the other in this indistinct conga line of blur.

Recently, the years don’t seem so blurry, and that’s because they have been punctuated with approximately 5,610 photos of baby girl since her sweet arrival into our world. All those photos of a girl who isn’t even two, paints a strong picture of the time before her birth, her first year with us and these current months as she develops into a vibrant, happy, energetic and beautiful soul.

But I still kinda need the 12 years in between, the ‘missing’ years : from the end of year 12 to actually having her.

A yearly photo will fix all that. Where we can get dressed up in appropriately-themed yearly uniform, don our sporting cheesy smiles and get into position for a pose that when we look back, will tell us all we need to know about that year that was.

Showing Up when it’s Hard

April 13, 2015May 19, 2015 / smikg / 2 Comments

I’d been struggling with a lot of things lately. Friday night I found myself tired, run down, feeling flat about the next few days, and depressed that I hadn’t written for a while. And it wasn’t my blog, or my journal that I was feeling down about. It was my main project, my book, the one that I actually need to knuckle down on, push my sleeves up, and get into the nitty gritty of. I’d been feeling uninspired for several weeks, and though I do, genuinely, always have something to do, the words ‘no excuses’ kept circling around in my head. These words made me angry at myself, because I knew it to be true.

I’ve written on my blog before that I find it hardest to write when I’m sad, or feeling down and depressed. I was so shitty with myself on Friday, that I decided to prove a point to myself, and I really wanted to get out of my funk too, despite the hard reality that when you’re in a hole, it’s really quite difficult to pull yourself out of it. It’s like looking for a rope to climb out of your hole from, only there’s no rope in sight, only mounds of dirt threatening to bury you.

I opened my laptop and journalled my angry thoughts for about 20 minutes. That purge seemed to help. Next I opened the Miranda Kerr book I’ve been getting through in times of much needed motivation: “Treasure Yourself.” I went through about 20 pages of motivational quotes and affirmations, before ending on one talking about taking advantage of the sunshine. I knew it was going to be a beautiful day the next day, and so I left it at that.

Then the most daunting of them all. I turned back to my laptop and opened up chapter 1 of my book, my second book in the series as it were, and re-read it, in the hope that some glimmer of inspiration, of a fantastic idea and great sprawling plan would start to eventuate and I would know how to progress my characters onto the next part.

And the most amazing thing happened. Ideas, scenarios floated into my head. I weighed up one, I weighed up the other. Words, thoughts, conversations started to roll… and I started to write.

An hour later and I was previewing the fact that I had doubted writing at all, and had instead ended up with just over 2 pages. And it wasn’t too bad.

I’m continually amazed at the power of the word. I know it can be very different for other writers, but so often when I think I’m not in the right zone, don’t have enough time, or am lacking the ideas, if I just ‘show up,’ the rest flows. A good 70% of my first book wrote itself. I just had to dedicate myself to sitting down long enough for it.

And I was so proud of myself. I’d been so down and out, and had all by myself, without any help or interference from anyone else, pulled myself out of it. Like the crippled donkey stuck in a hole, being buried by its owner for being disadvantaged, who took the soil being heaped upon him as stepping stones to make his way out, so I too, the proverbial donkey, found my way out by looking around me and asking ‘what can I do to help myself?’

Only you can help yourself. Don’t rely on anyone else for YOUR happiness.

Know you will have off days. Accept this, and live in the moment of being sad. IT’S OK to feel like this.

Don’t make yourself feel bad for not pursuing your goals, ALL of the time. You are only HUMAN. As long as you get back up, it’s fine.

Just SHOW UP. Showing up is more than half the work.

I’m really going to dedicate myself to moving my characters forward now. The writing bug has come back and I’m over the moon. If I’m not blogging, writing about food or reviewing books, it’s ok: I’m still here, reading Austen and eating out (though I’m probably re-visiting tried and true restaurants rather than new establishments). I just need to focus on this other (really important) part of my life now.

I never go far from the art of writing. It makes me happy, so it makes sense that I should do a lot of it.

As my coffee mug tells me: “Do what you love, love what you do.”

Seasons that don’t do what they’re told

March 29, 2015March 29, 2015 / smikg / 2 Comments

When you live in Melbourne, you can’t help but be overly concerned with the weather.

You can’t escape it. It’s not just another casual ice-breaker topic like in other, normal-climate parts of the world. The highs and the lows can be so drastic, so contrasting, often from one hour to the next, that us as Melburnians, cannot help but talk so much about our damn weather.

“Beautiful day today.”

“It’s so cold today.”

These aren’t just simple conversation starters with work colleagues. These are real, bonafide issues of debate my non-Melbournian friends. Weather is always, a serious surprise. You can never really know what is going to happen the following day – even the weather presenters guess half the time.

This is true ALL through the year.

One current theme running rampant has been this remark:

“Some summer we’ve had.”

You can’t hear my sarcasm, but we haven’t had much of a summer. Sure, there were hot days; but no real hot, long, drawn-out summer spells usually so characteristic of our humid state. No, we got a couple, at best, really hot days in a row, before a rainy, slightly humid low 20-something degree day came along. And then stayed. For like forever.

I was in denial all the way through. All through summer I kept saying “we’ll get a late summer, we’ll get a stinking hot spell late Feb right into March as usual” (observe my true climate guide for an accurate representation of Melbourne weather seasons).

We are now in March. For those of you who haven’t noticed, we’re actually on the cusp of April. And sadly, we’ve already had the heater on in our house more times than I’d like to count.

I’m a summer gal. I love the sunshine, the warmth, the socialising and the out and about. I love the ease, the mildness that allows you to dress so comfortably, the warm nights that let you dream and gaze at the stars outside, and I love the long, light-filled days. I got caught in the rain a month back, and it was actually fun, and pleasurable, because it was still warm. Summer is just so easy.

I HATE being cold. I hate shivering in the morning as I get dressed, fighting against the coastal wind as I charge my way through the doors at work, and I hate never being able to get the house, and keep it warm, for long enough. It’s always crisp, fresh, and biting.

However, something’s changed.

I constantly remind myself, that winter is always so much worse as we’re in anticipation of it, and that once it’s here, it’s actually not too bad. This concept has helped. But it’s more than that. Summer is easy, but summer means busy too, and finding time to catch up on stuff, to read, to write, has just been so challenging and trying in the last several months. I love to go out, yes. I love to socialise, yes. I love having things to do, places to go and people to see, yes, yes, yes.

But I’m kind of looking forward to chilling at home and hibernating through the cold.

I don’t know what it is that’s made me think this way, this year, and not every other year previously. Is it the fact that I have more on now? The fact that I’m a Mum? Do I need more time for myself and my stuff, because life is just busier now? Perhaps. I’ve always said that winter is only fun when you don’t have to go out, you don’t have to work, in fact you don’t have to do anything at all. Basically, if you’re a bear, winter is awesome. If you can just stay at home snuggled up on the couch with your favourite blankie drinking hot chocolate, reading to your heart’s content and watching all your guilty-pleasure trashy shows, well winter looks kind of rocking in a mellow sorta way.

I am actually looking forward to winter… a little bit. Staying in and lounging in your trakkies ALL day because you can, and the weather doesn’t make you feel bad for doing so. Watching the rain and feeling infinitely inspired to write, and write, and write. (I know I shouldn’t wait for the rain, in order to write, but you know, this shit helps). Using the cold as an excuse to not go anywhere and just basically, be a bear.

Don’t get me wrong, I was still reflecting today, on this gorgeously hot Melbourne day, the (lack of) summer that had just passed, feeling quite depressed that I only got two days at the beach. Just two. I bought new bikinis for this. Baby girl has 3 sets of bathers. 3. She is 19 months old, and she has 3 sets of bathers.

But never mind. It’s something we’ve come to expect, something that is a natural part of life for Melburnians. My most accurate representation of this comes in an early memory, of being a teenager lying on my parents’ bench out on the verandah in the midday hot sun, and then coming inside to green-vision thinking ‘am I going to be burnt?’ to then sitting in front of the heater that night, shivering from the cold.

That’s our city for you. Beautiful one day… screwed if I know what’s next.

Hippy Miss hangs with kids

March 24, 2015March 24, 2015 / smikg / Leave a comment

Miss Marmalade
126 Union Street Brunswick

This wasn’t the first time my friends and I had ventured down Union Street. No, we had attempted to eat at Miss’ many many months earlier. Then, my friend had been told on the phone that we could come down and just be seated on that Sunday morning mid-Winter – however upon arrival the staff discovered there weren’t only 5 girls in tow, but 3 babies and 3 prams too. We learnt that there was going to be no space for us that day.

They were all very nice about it, and very apologetic. The wires had gotten crossed over the phone, something to do with renovations, and not realising how big of a group it was. We ventured down the street and ordered at a café where you pay at the front and then some greasy eggs get plonked on your plate in front of you while you and your friends scavenge for chairs and make the place your own. We were hungry so we were satisfied, and we were happy, as all friends in good company always are. You don’t need a special venue. You just want the people around you to make you smile.

However it is human nature to always want it ALL.

I’m a bit of an elephant. I don’t forget. I didn’t forget that Miss Marmalade was rated decently on the Urbanspoon brekkie list, I didn’t forget how lovely the staff were in their apologies, and I didn’t forget that they surely would have renovated by now.

8 months later, and the same group of girls were due to catch up again, once again with 3 prams, but this time requiring high chairs, and hopefully some kind of play area to keep these cheeky toddlers busy. I’d read about something for kids at Miss Marmalade’s, and unfinished business had me calling up and booking a table for us on a late Saturday morning in mid-March.

I was very happy to hear they took bookings. 5 girls and 3 prams and 3 kiddies needing 3 highchairs can’t just rock up anywhere. Establishments that take no bookings frustrate me. I realise they may have unreliable clientele, but really, if that is the case…. piss them off, or something. Lucky for me, on the several occasions I called Missy (1st to find ascertain if they did take bookings; 2nd time to actually book; and then 3rd to add high chairs) I had really lovely, welcoming, accommodating people on the other line. It was all too easy. I was secretly apprehensive that somehow, something would fall through and we’d be left stranded again heading for the greasy eggs, but fortunately for us that didn’t happen.

We had a nice venue this time. I don’t know how it looked like before its renovation, but it was cosy inside, a typical upmarket-hipster Brunswick café. We were seated in the back room via the long corridor running alongside the kitchen. There were a few tables in there allowing for more seating away from the front room, with a little play nook in one corner for the kids to (sit and) play. This room was not as done-up as the front room, looking a bit plainer, but it would have to do for us lot.

We had a great big spacious long table which was positioned at one end of the room, which meant we could take up all the corners surrounding us and the back wall with all our prams and bags and accessories and crap. This was good. Every so often a woman would walk by us heading towards a door at the back of this room, and confirm that we were doing well. She was totally loving our kids, and engaging with them and making sure every single one of them was getting her attention. She wasn’t fake either, she was totally into them, and very obviously loves kids, as well as her job. She was really lovely.

The other woman tending to us, our more regular waitress, wasn’t so smiley. She was ok, she just seemed very serious, maybe overwhelmed by us lot? Don’t know. I much preferred happy-baby lady.

To the damn food, you say. From the kid’s menu, with the omission of the bacon, I got egg on toast for baby girl

Two problems with the above. The camera on my phone was playing up and the flash above kept going off so that by the time I got a half decent photo I was in the midst of buttering her bread. Many shit photos of late, I know, I’m sorry. Have an impatient and hungry toddler at your side and see how you go.

Second. First I had asked for the egg to be fried, then I changed my mind and said “give me scrambled.” I got a poached egg. That’s fine, but yeah. Okay. I realise I may have confused the waitress by changing my order and all, and our table and all the commotion may have been freaking her out, but at the end of the day, that’s what I wanted.

I think baby girl’s brekkie was fine, nothing amaze-balls, it was just egg on toast after all. It was a fairly large plate for such a small kids meal, it would have looked so much better on a smaller plate. Just sayin.’ It was my rad camera skills that made the above look so huge.

To my meal! This really was brunch for me, and the thought of doing a sweet dish felt really naughty especially since it was lunchtime, but when I saw the special of

Sweet brioche French toast with vanilla bean, mascarpone, caramelised banana and praline crumbs

I just had to go there.

It looked great. I was pleased that it was sweet, but didn’t leave me with that sickly sweet feeling I get from many sweet brekkie options. And of course, as suspected I did wonder whether I should have just stuck to my regular savoury route and gone the green fritters, but I was still really happy with the meal. I didn’t get any caramelisation from the bananas, but I loved the crunch of the praline crumbs, and the vanilla bean and mascarpone… well, you can imagine. Specials don’t often hang around. I can always go back for the fritters. This dish left me feeling happy.

The cappuccino I’d ordered looked great.

I love coffee art. It’s just rad. I would say that a chocolate-sprinkled image floating on your cup of caffeinated beverage makes the beverage taste better, and this coffee did taste nice and smooth, but I’ve had better. Maybe my expectations of having this much-ado’d-about 5 senses coffee made me expect too much, I don’t know. Much like the whole brunch. I’d been happy with certain aspects, but I left feeling like ‘just another Brunswick café,’ rather than ‘Wow, Miss Marmalade’s was awesome!’

Food: 7.5/10. Presentation of my food was great, baby girl’s not so much. Loved the flavours and contrasting textures in my brioche too.

Coffee: 7.5/10. Smooth, just maybe not my style to taste.

Ambience: Just think Brunswick café. Busy on a Saturday morning.

Staff: Baby waitress was great, the other one a tad serious. I think the majority are really lovely though, as the guy at the register putting through my bill said to me “have a lovely day” with sincerity, and I left thinking ‘that was really nice.’ You can separate the real ones from the fake ones, always.

People: Younger crowd, 20-ish dominated our room, groups of these ones were everywhere. A few older family-oriented groups were in the front room, but all-in-all, there were no people goo-ing at babies here. They kind of just stared and watched, not really knowing how to react. LOL. Baby waitress was the exception.

Price: I paid upwards of mid-$20s for my meal. On par for that side of town.

Advice: Book if you’re going on the weekend, most definitely if you have a bit of a group going with you. It is kid-friendly with the play area in the back room, which I was very happy with as it kept baby girl slightly occupied (note, slightly).

In a nutshell: Despite feeling the very smallest amount of dismay due to over-expectancy, I do want to try this place again to understand what all the fuss is about. Staff were lovely, food presentation was great, and their fancy cupcakes up against the cash register looked appealing. There is no reason why you shouldn’t try this place.

Doing, doing, to-dos…

March 24, 2015 / smikg / 1 Comment

Recently, after my blog post about How to MAKE it while doing it all, I came across a bit of an organisational revelation.

You see, ever since reading Richard Carlson’s Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff at the beginning of my I-can-achieve-anything revolution, I have learnt, and unsuccessfully have had to come to terms with the truth that your ‘Inbox’ will never be emptied out.

Your inbox, that being your to-do list, your list of chores, of people to meet up with, the things you need to buy, etc – if it’s a to-do, and it has to be done, hear this, and hear it well: you will never finish them ALL.

This has been difficult to accept from an over-accomplisher like myself. I thrive from having a to-do list, but too many things on my list and I get overwhelmed. Too little (I can’t believe it either but that does happen) I start to wane from my resolution to achieve them all, and begin to procrastinate on the tasks.

A month or so ago I did some simple things, things that I’ve been putting off for ages. Those tasks can be so menial, but because you’ve been thinking of doing it for 7 months, it suddenly becomes so hard. The thought of doing them becomes so big, simply due to the time spent thinking about it, rather than the actual fact of it being such a simple and minor task. But these tasks I did a couple of.

I did some other things too. Tidying, clearing, sorting – things that may seem so boring to some but that I find utterly therapeutic. It’s important to focus on your goals, your dreams, yes, but if your house is in clutter, so will your head be too. You need to clear ALL the clutter to really re-organise what you’re going for in your mind.

What really struck me, was the way I felt after doing these little jobs. To offer insight and example, they were:

1. To purchase a personal domain name: (note smikg.com now exists!)

2. to create a Goodreads account

That was it. The personal domain name I’d been thinking of for almost 6 months I think. Every time I logged into wordpress I’d see the familiar ‘purchase smikg.com for $18!’ I’d wanted to set up the Goodreads account for a while too, though for not as long.

What held me back on accomplishing these two tasks was:

1. time required

2. frame of mind

3. the length of time I’d been procrastinating on it.

I didn’t know how long the tasks of purchasing a domain/setting up a Goodreads account would take. Having a toddler I needed to find the adequate amount of time to do it, and yet I didn’t know what that would be. I needed to be alert and aware, especially for the setting up of my account, and so didn’t want to leave it ’til the end of the day when I usually was spent from everything. And the longer I put both these things off, the longer it took to muster the motivation to do them.

During baby girl’s nap one day I found myself at my laptop, and thought to myself ‘I need to purchase smikg.com/set-up Goodreads one day.’

My next thought was ‘why don’t I do it now? What am I waiting for?’

Within an hour, I’d done both. I was rapt. And the unbelievable thing was, now that those tasks were done, they were done! Finished. Things I’d been thinking of doing for so many months I could now cross off my to-do list, and they’d barely taken an hour to accomplish.

These are my points.

1. Just do it. Many jobs can be done so quickly if we just push our indecision/uncertainty/lazy arses to the side and get it done! Like Gretchen Rubin talks about in her book The Happiness Project, if a job takes less than 5 minutes to do, do it. Do it, do it, do it. You’d be amazed at how much you can do, and how much can be done, when you abide by this simple rule.

2. Categorise your to-dos. This has been a huge revelation to me. There is no disputing that there will always be something for you to do, and your inbox will always have a few bills waiting for you, with some minor house renovations waiting for your (un)skilled hand to have a go at. But if you categorise the things that will be complete once you’re done with it, versus your ongoing jobs, you will lift a load off your chest, let me tell you. My purchasing of my domain name and setting up Goodreads was a once off job, therefore I’m now done with it. However maintaining goodreads, and my wordpress account, is an ongoing job. I literally, LITERALLY have over 1000 photos waiting to be sorted and filed into photo albums (yes I’m old school, I still do that) spanning over 2 years since falling pregnant with baby girl. Sorting them all will be a temporary, massive hoorah! moment when it’s done, but then maintaining my photos will be ongoing. It’s important to categorise your jobs and tasks into once-off or ongoing things, just to save you some unnecessary headaches over a never-diminishing inbox.

3. Aim to get one ongoing and one once-off job done per week. If your tasks are so huge that you require more time, allow yourself the time required to fulfil them, but nonetheless, don’t procrastinate and make sure you stick to your aim. Also remember, a little bit of push and shove is necessary too. We get slack when we relax too much. Chipping away at your to-do list and getting things done, even at a slow pace, inspires you to want to do more! True story.

4. Get a cute notepad/diary/to-do list. Any smart person knows that pretty things actually work, because we suddenly want to use them and be ‘proactive.’ Whatever works my friends, whatever works.

Where the salmon is more than ‘Well’

March 16, 2015March 16, 2015 / smikg / Leave a comment

Wellers of Kangaroo Ground
150 Eltham-Yarra Glen Road, Kangaroo Ground

Booking this place on a Sunday afternoon over the Labour Day weekend was too easy. We’d decided to venture out to dinner Eltham-way, and found this restaurant easily on the Urbanspoon kid-friendly list. I came across the Wellers web site, found their menu, and easily discovered that there was plenty of yummy food on offer. I called, and heard that there was easily more than enough room for us that night. In a space of 5 minutes, we had easily searched, discovered, and booked.

It was too easy.

Off we ventured, driving on a hilly and winding path through Eltham that led us to Kangaroo Ground. Parking on the gravel car park and seeing the view before us, made us feel like we were away, even though our efforts to go away for the long weekend had fallen through: this was just as good.

Inside it was rustic and warm – the atmosphere that is. More on that later. There was plenty of space, and we saw that yes, there were plenty of places to sit, with the groups of people that were there spaced out alongside the windows so they could enjoy the view of the tranquil countryside laid out before them. We had been secured a table by the window too, which made things all the more welcoming.

Although there was plenty of timber around, there was a cultured quality about the place. The surroundings were comfortable and relaxed, a little poshy but still chilled, and friendly. A cozy refinement, you might say.

The majority of the seating was inside, however out through several wooden double-door routes, was a porch that a few tables for two were lined up on. Also at one end of this, were two long tables for larger groups. I can imagine how enjoyable the outdoor seating would be on a warm day.

I made the point of requesting baby girl’s food arrive ASAP – and fortunately after Hubbie’s beer and my Pinot Noir of Kangaroo Ground arrived, we received both her meal

Chicken schnitzel with steamed vegetables and mashed potato

And our starter: Turkish bread with minted sweet potato, beetroot and tzaziki dips and olives marinated with thyme, garlic and lemon

I need to go back a bit. When I had first perused the Wellers web site at home prior to booking, I had noticed the kids menu stated “children 12 and under eat free every Sunday evening.” Hubbie and I thought it might be a tad too expectant that this should still apply on that day, being the Labour Day weekend, even though it was a Sunday. But, it was! We had the children’s menu waiting on our table when we arrived, with the same message running alongside the bottom advising us ‘free!’ I was impressed with the options on offer, with 5 children’s main meal options, and 2 dessert options. And, it was only one kid’s meal you got for free per child, but still, that was already a bonus.

This was a very fancy and wholesome looking kid’s meal. Unfortunately I had started cutting through it before the above photo was taken, so it looked much better when it first arrived – my bad. The chicken was deliciously golden crumbed, still steaming hot, placed over a beautiful pile of mashed potatoes with vivid green vegetables to accompany. The green of the vegetables was a very healthy colour too, I might add.

She ate a fair portion of her meal, which attests to the meal as well as her appetite (!)

I just have to mention again, how homely and yummy her meal looked. I wanted it!

Our dips were good, but there was nothing overly amazing about it. We had three dips, a tzatziki, sweet potato and beetroot one, with a portion of mini breads and some olives on the side. It was definitely mini breads, not Turkish bread. Maybe they had an outage? It was a shame since I was looking forward to it, and it would have been so much nicer rather than the hard little pieces of bread we received instead. It actually wasn’t a whole lot to share between two people, especially for the price of $19, but that’s not to say it didn’t taste good as we ate it all up.

We had ordered our mains when our starters had arrived, so after a bit of a walk outside to help baby girl expend some much needed energy after her filling meal – discovering the old emptied-out tram on one side of the yard, watching the wine-making process in a mega-barrel on another parcel of land below, and picking up rocks – we ventured back to find our mains ready and waiting.

After much internal debate, swaying back and forth towards the seafood pasta, I had decided on the other and gone the salmon.

Tasmanian grilled Atlantic salmon with an Asian style mango salsa served with sauteed Asian greens and jasmine rice

Hubbie had had his own scale-tipping process, but had decided on the char-grilled port cutlet over the scotch fillet.

Char-grilled pork cutlet with apple and pear confit, smashed chat potatoes and tossed spinach served with a port jus

I LOVED my meal. The salmon was perfect (I had asked for it to not have any raw parts) and the mango salsa, with its combination of spanish onion, tomato and mango was delicious. Lip-smackingly good. The rice was that extra bit of grain that was necessary in amongst the very healthy meal, while the asparagus, bok choy and snow peas had that same vibrant green colour, which I was very happy about. Texture and taste of the vegetables was perfect. My plate looked so fresh and lively, and taste-wise my expectations were completely fulfilled. I was so hungry, I could have had more. But that’s ok, it meant I had room for dessert.

Sadly, Hubbie didn’t have my same enthusiasm for his meal. He was looking forward to a char-grilled pork cutlet, but didn’t think, with the taste that was there, that it actually was char-grilled. It was a big piece of pork with a thick piece of fat on the side, and the fact that it was such a big piece upset him. When I asked why, he said that a larger than normal cutlet like that suggests at a big pig, meaning an older pig. Smaller cutlets = smaller, younger pigs.

I didn’t ask about the other components of his dish, nor did he tell me, because well, for a butcher, it’s all about the meat. I was disappointed that because he was upset, it most likely meant he wouldn’t want to come back to the restaurant… I was already a little bit in love with the place. The surroundings, the ambience, the yard outside, the staff, the menu… the free kids meal! However when he said “next time I’ll order the scotch fillet,” my shoulders relaxed and my happy smile returned.

It’s why I think it’s so important to look at the whole, rather than just the parts, when you go to a restaurant, and why I do look at so many facets of the restaurant experience to create the ‘big picture’ to then blog about. Sure, food is a very important factor, in fact, many would rightfully argue, the most important one. Right. True. When you go to a place like Wellers though, and see the quality there, and see the results on your plate but the dissatisfaction on your partner’s face, you go ‘well, where did it go wrong? Is the pork to be avoided here? Was it this pork cutlet?’

You kind of forget the pork was ever there and just move on to dessert, which is what we did.

Hubbie got the affogato

Affogato – espresso coffee with vanilla ice-cream and Frangelico liqueur

I got the Warral honey pannacotta served with Yarra Valley strawberry salad and rose syrup

and baby girl got some ice cream!

Let’s start with baby girl. She loved the ice cream (not a news flash). I loved the pannacotta. It was honey-sweet, and though at first it was beautiful, with that lovely hint of honey, the honey grew stronger as I got through more of the dish, so that at the end I was all honeyed out. But still, a really light way to end the night.

Hubbie enjoyed his affogato, and after tasting some of the coffee and ice cream I have to say the flavour of the coffee was really good. I thought the presentation was cute and a bit interesting, the way they had lined up the biscuit and chocolate buttons opposite each other on the plate. I was glad he was pleased.

(another pic just because I liked the presentation!)

Food: 7.5/10. My meal was amazing. Baby girl’s was of really high quality for a children’s meal. Hubbie was not so rapt with his main. I want to score on my meal, but I have to score on everything… so the above is a present score, with 8/10 being a potential score.

Coffee: 7.5/10. From what I could gather through the ice cream.

Ambience: Refined comfort. An abundance of wood, a fireplace that hopefully gets cranked up in winter, lights scattered across the ceiling to create a romantic, magical quality come night-time, and peaceful views across the fields make this a really special place.

However! The only drawback was the air conditioning. It had been a warm, mid-20s at most, degree day, and although it had been hot during the day, walking in the sun at the peak of its heat, going into a restaurant post 6:30pm for dinner, was not a time of day that it needed to be blasting!

We didn’t get it, and still don’t. It was really cold. I think it was cold throughout, but it must have been really hitting our table hard, especially at Hubbie. He asked for it to please be turned down, and they immediately complied… but it was still cold. He even had to go to our car for his jacket! It was something that just wasn’t necessary, on a not-hot-at-all evening.

Staff: Great. Our waitress was really lovely, with us, with baby girl, and accommodating with our requests concerning air conditioning and baby change tables. She was genuine and sincere throughout, and really we try not to be too demanding, really we try…

People: Lovely. The couple beside us were late 40s-50, and I was initially concerned may not have the patience for an 18 month old to stare at them curiously until they respond, but fortunately they did smile! And talk to her! And give her a little attention, which is more than what I would have asked for, just a smile. The other patrons were of the same age, mostly couples, with some older families there, maybe of the mid-30s to 40 range? I think a few families took advantage of the ‘free children’s meal’ offer for that Sunday.

Price: We paid about $123 I think it was, all up. Some items on the menu were decent, yet the dips were a bit overpriced we felt. The kids’ ice cream was a generous serve at $4.50, while our mains were both $28… and mine was definitely worth every coin. Combined with the alcohol, it all made sense.

Advice: I don’t think I have any, other than to say “go.” I wouldn’t even say book, because of the ample seating available. Even on a non-public holiday weekend, there would be plenty of seating free.

Actually, no, I lie. There is live entertainment that Wellers hosts on special nights, featuring many popular Aussie artists, and I believe you can book a dinner and show package for those nights… so for that, book!

In a nutshell: We will definitely be going again. In fact I’m thinking of making a booking for a family event coming up in a couple of months’ time, and their backyard area would make it a great space for us all to chill out, drinking wine, eating in abundance and letting the kids explore the outdoors. I was really happy with many components of the night, and despite Hubbie not being overly-pleased with his main, I just know he’ll fall in love with something else on the menu…

Easily.

smikg

work in progress

Author: smikg