feeling

so tired,
exhausted
and frustrated

im over it

i dont like these games

i feel like the geek thats always on the outside

sigh

you know what?
i really shouldn't care

get over it

feeding the puppies

too cute for words

took these photos the other night,
they are just too cute for words

had to share them with everyone
:oD

feeling

frustrated ...grrr....

spring

saw this stunning tree in full srping blossom behind the cinemas at garden city
could not take my eyes off it
i dont know what tree it is
but i love love LOVE it

too pretty!

in the perfect world
in my dream house
in my garden
i want one of these trees

coffee with friends

i will never be a good food reviewer, becuase
1. i keep forgeting the names of places/restaurants i have eaten, even if its really good.
2. i keep forgeting to take photos of the food!

i get so carried away with all the delicious looking eye candy i just dig in and then say...f@$%!!
i was supposed to take a photo.
anyways, this time i remembered to take a photo but i have forgotten the name of the restaurant.
i know its in sth perth and it used to be linq/oyster bar and it is right next to cocos.
so if you're a perth person, those clues should give you a good idea about where we ate.

the menu look liked it was indian inspired because there were a lot of spices and unusual combinations for desserts.[sorry i dont actually remember them!]
anyways i ordered an ice chocolate which was delicious and refreshing.

this is the dessert tasting plate we shared, lots of exotic flavours which was nice but not quite my cup of tea.

this little coffee session was to say goodbye to our friend mrs madsen. who has relocated to singapore to be with her husband. it was not that long ago when she moved from brunei to perth and now shes gone again. our little santa group has lost another person.

there is nothing like a group of old friends who you have shared your life with
<3

school holiday projects

Every school holiday i try to get things done around the house.
Just little improvements to make life a little easier and hopefully a little more organised.
Here were these school holidays "projects"

1. Put together the new shoe shelf from ikea and add extra shelves
i love this one because i can now keep all my shoes organised, theres heaps of room and
the extra shelves are awesome!
i keep the heels to one level, flats in another and sneakers in the same place.
Now to improve this i could get those clear shoe boxes from www.benjibox.com.au...
now that would look awesome!

clear shoe boxes from benjibox.com.au
i love how they are stackable and slide out
the perfect shoe organisation system - definitely want to add these to my wardrobe
my shoe shelves - the taller one was from ikea - $79
extra shelves made up from bunnings $15
extra organisation & storage = priceless
[the short grey shelf is for my hubby's shoes]


remember how i bought that large white mirror?
well it took me a loooooong time to hang it up
it's finally up and i am totally loving it because i can now
properly check out my outfit before i go out :0D
[you can also see my hubby's messy study table hehehe]

the other major project of these school holidays are the puppies!!
mummy Bella is living INSIDE the house with us
she is normally an outdoor dog
she is now fully doted on by 2 humans
we are on call 24/7 to all of her needs

toilet break at 3 am - no problems [escorted outside to do her business]
hungry at 11.30pm - easy [ a range of snacks will provided for]
need a break to get away from the kids? - done, hang out with mum and dad in the games room - get lots of cuddles and pats
makes a mess ALL OVER the house? no problems, mum runs around cleaning up all of Bella's discharge and blood and gunk and whatever
oh it is a sweet life for our little mum
she is fully loving it and milking it for all it's worth
she does not want to be an outdoor dog again

how ever we do get to play with these adorably cute pups
and thats priceless!

meet the puppies

puppies were finally born on tuesday evening, around 5.30pm or so
we have been waiting for these lil buns in the oven to arrive,
very excited and nervous, we had sooo many questions
are we going to get a girl this time? what will they look like?
would they be like mum or dad? how many?

our questions were soon answered
4 pups in total
2 passed away
originally there were 2 girls and 2 boys, but now we only have 1 girl and 1 boy left.
1 of the pups had their stomach develop outside the body[very deformed] and not operatable
the other lil one was very weak and had lots of fluid in his lungs
no matter how much we tried to revive him, he just didnt make it
[there was a lot of human/puppy mouth to mouth resuscitation]

mum was super groggy after the c section
but bounced back on the next day
shes doing such an awesome job looking after her babies
shes such a natural at it

we all slept on the sofa on the first night just to make sure bella and the pups would be ok
they slept on the floor next to us

the vet also told us that bella wont/shouldnt have any more puppies after this
apparently theres a lot of scar tissue on/in her uterus
any future litters would be very complicated and put her life at risk
so this is our last litter with bella & boo
we're going to get her snipped before her next season is due
oh well, at least it makes planning holidays easier
no more last minute emergencies :oD

here are some gorgeous pics of mum and babies
[puppies are very shy, they dont want to show their faces yet]

i hate housework

i've probably whinged about this before

but i really really really hate housework
why does it feel so endless?
it seems one day i do such a fantastic job, cleaning, re-arranging, organising, sorting .... and then...
30 minutes later everything just goes into shits again!
argh!!
hate it hate it hate it
it doesn't help that im a messy person [ so is hubby] [ he is worse then me tho]

my kitchen looked great about 24 hrs ago, and now it looks like the aftermath of the 9/11 bombings

its a never ending list of chores, laundry, cooking, cleaning, washing, folding, putting away...
i think it makes me feel sick, especially when all i do all day is cook and clean..urgh
i would be such a bad house wife

its no wonder i run to the shops for retail therapy :oD

on another note, i have been VERY productive school wise
just finished marking the kids spelling and maths test - very unsual of me
hope i keep it up

retail therapy

school holidays always mean that i spend far more money then usual
and as usual .. on all sorts of random stuff i dont really need but i cant seem to live without
go figure?!

im going to stop typing and start posting pics of stuff i have bought recently and not so recently

ps: this post is dedicated to my current obsession : head bands, cant get enough of them

equip flower ring $5.00 on sale :D

just a bit of fun, great for summer and dressing up

forever new soft pink flower head band $7.00 [i think- cant remember]
super cute with pink outfits or any other pastel colours

dusty rose satin flower head band from diva accessories

equip butterfly head band $3.00 - bargain!

white chiffon flower head band - diva i think?

silver beaded head band - diva

super kawaii red ribbon head band- $5.00 sports girl
theres a red and white spotty one on sale right now
for summer they have launched a range of gorgeous pastel colours in the same style
trying really hard to resist... maybe when they are on sale?

latest aquisition : mimco love heart head band.
rrp$50.00
on sale for $23.00
love a bargain [plus i used my gift card, so its kinda like free?!]

xxoo.clio

Monday

lots of errands to do today, but i started really late...

better catch up quick!

xxoo
miss clio

we shop: kikki k

everyone knows i am a die hard stationery lover

always have and always will be :o)

i needed a new calculator and i fell in love head over heels with the kikki k white calculator
i just love the clean white lines, big display screen and big number buttons
$14.95 at kikki k - [sold!]
these little babies sell out very fast and i have been wating for about 2 months for these babes to be re stocked. i am sooo tempted to buy another one to keep at school, but the sensible, budget conscious me says no.

to go with my all white calculator i had to buy this super cute mechanical pencil in white.
i am starting to get very matchy matchy with my stationery and i love all things white and clear acrylic :o)

only thing is, i started using my pencil at home and its already stuffed, i need to take it back to kikki k garden city and get exchanged.

Banh Minh Love

banh minh - vietnamese bread roll stuffed with char siu pork, home made pater and mayonaise, pickled carrots, radish [sometimes], cucumber, spring onions, coriander and optional cut red chillis, seasoned with soy sauce, fish sauce and salt and pepper

the sandwich of dreams :o)

i am soo addicted to these sandwiches its crazy
while we were in sydney [ i know i keep talking about sydney - im 6 months behind!]
we ate one of these bad boys every single day [sometimes 2 if we could manage it]
they were sold everywhere, especially in a vietnamese brakeries
made fresh on the sport to order
my taste buds started to jump for joy every time we passed one of these little shops and we had had HAD to stop at every one to buy one

they came in all sorts of flavours [unlike perth, where it is a standard pork, pate & mayo etc]
grilled chicken, beef, char siu pork, roast pork,
beef ball, grilled pork... sausage.. and more! OMG!
and at most places selling from $3.00 to $5.00 max...
an absolite bargain if you ask me
how many places can you get a decent lunch for under $5

anyways coming back to perth was a real downer when it came to banh minh
no one makes it fresh to order - sydney style
there are a few places that do sell these rolls, but its always pre made hours in advance
so its not the same...until...

a little birdy told me that a super deli place in west perth sold them
fresh and made to order!

its not the same the ones in sydney, but its pretty damn close
they did offer a number of different flavours but you have to get them during the lunch hours.
$5.50 each, not the cheapest but i aint complaining


a little piece of heaven.... i could eat this for lunch every day...mmmm

city provisions store in west perth on hay street [near all the office buildings]
made fresh to order from 11.30am-2.00pm
monday to friday only

ps: i am soo addicted to these that i get all my relatives coming from sydney to buy me these instead of krispy kreme donuts- banh minh any day [i am not a big fan of krispy kremes]

Thai food in Balmain

These fotos were from our trip to Sydney in early May for my cousins wedding.
It was a very short trip, we were only there for the weekend, but in true drama style we nearly missed the plane again!! i swear there is something with us travelling to sydney, we almost always seem to miss the plane. Thank the GODs above that there are truly amazing people with super kind hearts who let us on the plane with 2o minutes to take off. Scary stuff, if i missed another plane for a family wedding my mum would personally hang me herself.

anyways, on our last day in Sydney we went to Balmain to check out the food offerings and delights of the area. Balmain is a very nice area near the water, a middle/upper class white suburb with a great main road.

We came here for the Adriano Zumbo cafe breakfast which did not work out because we arrived at 11 and the menu changed from breakfast to lunch, toasted focacias and sandwiches weren't so appealing. Walking along we found a thai restaurant, it looked alright and my cousin insisted that thai restaurants in sydney were great.

we ordered 3 dishes to share, because we had another lunch meal appointment in a couple of hours.
the food and presentation were fantastic, and the prices were very reasonable.

we ordered a pad se ew - a thai version of char kuay teow but a bit more sweeter

we ordered a banana flower salad, which was just amazing.
the dish was served in the middle of banana flower petals, it was delicious but very strong on flavour.
the young banana flower tasted like a crunchy, nuttier version of cabbage, it was pickled and marinated with rich hoi sin sauce, fish sauce, vinegar and lots of chilli and gula melaka.
this is someting you dont see everyday and very hard to find in perth, i had no regrets ordering this.

for a small entree we also tried seasoned pork mince wrapped in betel nut leaf.
again something i have never seen before in a thai restaurant and i had to try it.
again, it was delicious, light on flavour and very tasty.

food review: seto fumi furikake

a colleague at work recommended these rice seasoning toppings to eat with fresh warm rice.
and they are delicious!
the one below is probably my favourite, its a combination of seasoned seaweed, bonito flakes [dried fish flakes] salt, pepper, sugar and some other stuff.
i am soooo addicted to it!!
i would happily eat rice with a heap of furikake sprinkled on top.
that says a lot because i dont like rice very much, i prefer to eat noodles, pasta, mashed potatoes or anything else.
furikake rice seasoning comes in lots of different flavours [wasabi, salmon, egg & more]
found in all good oriental supermarkets in the japanese section
cost around $3.95 or so

just add to rice or soba noodles or anything else that takes your fancy
yum!