In Which the Silence is Broken

oh wow, long pause...

I seem to be in the habit of taking long pauses and habitual breaks from blogging (ugh, still hate that word so much i hate whomever came up with it).  

So during my three month absence, what have I been up to?

I worked very hard. Despite the fact that I love my job, I sometimes also really hate it. The end of last year got very muddy and yucky in the professional department of my life. Things were confusing and downright depressing. The week before Christmas saw a possible redundancy. Need I say more? Yeah, not so great on top of other stressful things that happened at work to dampen the holiday cheer.

But thankfully, thankfully...Christmas holidays meant a trip away. Two weeks out of my life to forget about my problems...bliss. I went to Australia to see my parents (they happen to have done this crazy thing last year where they moved to another country - yeah, crazy). 

But a good excuse to travel right?

A little bit of Christmas magic

That's right friends - 46 degrees. Living on the edge.

High tea with a view.

Oh my goodness, this cutie!!

???

Postcard-worthy

Koala!!!! In the wild ahhh!!!

Right. Definitely a good excuse to travel. 

Since I've been back, it's more work - gosh my life sounds boring - and also some other stuff that is still brewing in my mind and heart. Maybe I will share some of that with you later. Maybe not. For now though...

hi.

J'adore

I'm not a very talented cook. But despite my ineptness in the kitchen, I love being inspired by people who are. Talented, that is.

I happily stumbled across a television series recently called The Little Paris Kitchen. Oh my goodness, I fell in love instantaneously and was transported back to the streets of Paris. When I was twenty and in the midst of getting my degree, I was told that it would be crazy to take a year off university to go to France and the UK for a few months. But I did it anyway and I'm so glad - it was the trip of a lifetime! The bustle, the smells, the multi-faceted charm of this beautiful city. Watching Rachel cook in her compact kitchen brought back memories of walking narrow streets, train rides, the feeling of surreal excitement and an insanely delicious Parisian experience - Crepe Nutella. Rachel Khoo is a British born chef and food writer who went to Paris to study patisserie at Le Cordon Bleu. She opened a tiny restaurant called The Little Paris Kitchen (in her studio apartment actually) which was open for one night of the week for a very intimate table of two. How delightful! This led to the production of the TV series, and also a cookbook. I've requested the book from my local library and can't wait to check it out.


For now though, here is Rachel's chocolate lava cake - I could just die, it looks so heavenly. I will save it for a very special occasion or a really, really bad day.