THINGS THAT HAPPENED ON BIRTHDAY WEEK

• A friend got me a rare story book and a rare Japanese KitKat!
  I love story books. I love chocolate. And I love rare things.
  I found a quiet space and read the book while eating the kitkat. It was bliss. 

• Another friend got me a bag full of yummy food. Seriously, she know me too well hahaha.

• Went to a French Market + French film screening in Takapuna with a couple of friends. It was such a good evening. So much laughter. J baked some amazing fig & walnut tarts. They were so amazing that we wondered if she had just bought some from the market while we weren't looking. Oh and the films themselves were really thought-provoking. Really good.

Clockwise from top left: Very edgy cancan dance performance; Outdoor film screening; Revive salad and AMAZING fig and walnut tart that my friend baked herself; Salad bits that got stuck in the seat; Stranger with a cute jumper. 

• A friend who knows that I like beans and nuts, made this super sweet card. I was smiling all day after I got this. I'm still smiling.

• Another friend shouted me lunch. It was a nice afternoon.

• Lastly, I caught up with one of my friends and she broke my heart. She told me she is moving to Sydney. I cried like a baby. I haven't cried for over 4 years so it was really awkward. Why are tears uncontrollable? :( I'm so upset but I'm also really happy for her. She will do well in Sydney. 

Went to the post office with her to send some documents. I want to be sent away too. 

PISTACHIO FRIENDS

Had a lovely Sunday morning with my pistachi-bros.

Oh, and of course my Sunday morning began with a stroll around the Takapuna Flea Market.

ORTOLANA & MILSE

Finally got to go to Ortolana! Then went to Milse for dessert.
The food at both places were so yum.

Today I decided that I should -

• Get married to a chef OR
• Make enough money to be able to employ a private chef

If neither works out, I will just have to learn to cook.

Anticlockwise from the bottom: Beetroot lasagnotte, pumpkin gnochetti, rib eye bistecca

Ortolana review:

Yumminess - ★★★★★ 

5 stars for all the hazelnuts in my dish! Also for all the pretty colours - because colour is yummy.

Niceness - ★★★★★ 

They gave us a whole bottle of some nice artisan-brand Extra Virgin Olive Oil to use however we wanted! It's like they trusted that I would be sensible with it. What if I decided to grab the expensive bottle of olive oil and made a run for it? What if I spilled it all? What if I used this opportunity to massage myself with expensive olive oil? No. They trusted me and they respected me as a civilised, normal human being. And by default, they gave us sparkling water, not plain water! It made me feel so special.

Shiny things and design - ★★★★★ 

Not sure if this should be a category, but there were plenty of shiny things at Ortolana, as in the photos above. Nice furnishing too.

Comfiness - ★★★★★ 

Super comfy seats and nice sized tables. Very relaxing.

Vegetarian-friendliness - ★★★★★ 

Heaps of vegetarian options.

Milse review:

Yumminess - ★★★★★ 

All sweet things are yummy. Especially when they come in small servings.

Niceness - ★★★★★ 

The waitress had a French accent. I thought this was very nice.

Shiny things and design - ★★★★★ 

I was excited to sit on a chair that looked like a Yanagi butterfly stool - but it turned out the legs were a bit different. The interior design was very unique and designy.

Comfiness - ★★★★★ 

Surprisingly cosy and comfy atmosphere.

Vegetarian-friendliness - ★★★★★ 

All desserts are vegetarian friendly!

Ortolana/Milse

The Pavilions at Britomart

31 Tyler Street
Britomart

Auckland CBD

ANZAC DAY

ANZAC day is a special day. ANZAC biscuits are special biscuits. Mmmm, so full of meaning, history, and golden syrup.

They are actually really easy to bake!
But I'm not going to pretend I baked these. 
These are store-bought cookies.

ANOTHER SUNDAY MORNING STROLL THROUGH THE TAKAPUNA FLEA MARKET

Pretty cups and teapots

Mrs Ebdales homemade jams, spreads, chutneys. $6 each. The lemon honey flavour is really nice.

One big juicy organic mandarin

WALNUTS, WE MEET AGAIN.

Beautiful little walnuts just sitting there, all round and walnutty (Photo was taken before I began eating).

Dammit. Just ate one month's worth of walnuts in one sitting.
I seriously think I have an addiction problem with nuts. 

The first step to recovery from any sort of addiction is admitting that you have an addiction problem.
So yes, tick, I've taken the first step.



**Update**

I've just read through the "Twelve Step Recovery Program" from Alcoholics Anonymous and "Addiciton Recovery Steps and Strategies" by Dr. Phil. I will apply it to my nut addiction. 

Here is my very own Seven Step Recovery Program for Nut Addicts (for people who may be in a similar situation):

1. Admit that you are powerless over nuts
2. Make a decision to stop all addictive behaviour – this includes nut munching, peeling, cracking, roasting, picking...etc etc – anything that involves nuts
3. Find what triggers your need to eat nuts and make a note of "danger zones" e.g. time of the day, particular locations, people. 
4. Develop alternative coping skills 
5. Understand "Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome" - be aware of your thought patterns and watch out for "addictive thinking"
6. Seek guidance and rebuild your relationships. Understand that it is possible to build relationships with people as you start to break away from your relationship with nuts
7. Reward yourself (but not with nuts)

OH GOOD MORNING FEIJOAS

How to make a basket really quickly in cases of emergency or when you need to carry feijoas (and other little things) for short distances. 

Went for a short stroll this morning. I came across a feijoa tree with heaps of feijoas on the ground. So I casually picked them up and put them in my makeshift basket (made by stretching my sweater). It's not stealing if it's on the footpath, right? They would have been trampled on or squashed by less observant walkers if I hadn't picked them up. Anyway, I ran home and ate them. They're gone now.

AAAND EVEN MORE TEA

More tea...Changed to a bigger cup so I don't have to get up from my desk so often.
Must stop procrastinating.

MORE TEA

Yes, continuing on from last night. More tea.
But now, with soymilk.
Usually, the milkiness of my tea is directly proportional to the level of stress I am under.

Oh feijoas are so cute (and tasty). They are like little sweet jelly puddings, but nicer.

ERMAGERD STRESSSSSS

This is my 8th cup of tea today. 
Yes I am under a lot of stress at the moment. 
Tea calms me down.
But still...
Errrrrmagerrrrrrrrrrrrrrd.

BRUNCHING

Had brunch at Quay Street Cafe.
Brunch is such a lovely, enjoyable thing.

Eating well presented food at a convenient time of the day. 

Oh, the Pomegranate Oolong tea here nice. It has a sweet fragrance and is comforting.

Quay Street Cafe

130 Quay St (Enter from the corner of Tyler St and Gore St)

http://www.quaystreetcafe.co.nz/

I had the Spicy red lentils with soft boiled eggs and yogurt. It was yum. It's like dahl/curry in a flashy bowl with a naan-like flatbread and other things placed in a careful, thoughtful composition haha. 

HOW TO BUY HAPPINESS

Step 1. Walk on down to The Store (address below)
Step 2. Ask for a scoop of Lemoncurd Yogurt gelato.

I did this today.
Ohmygosh.
Lemoncurd Yogurt gelato. 
Oh yum. 
It was perfect.

Like Silo Park on Friday nights, this is cafe is full of hipsters and other well-dressed people who seem to have a lot of cultural capital (and also a lot of capital in general).

Great food, nice design, and good vibes! The Store is a store of happiness.

The Store

5B Gore Street, Auckland (The Pavilions at Britomart)

Open Mon - Sun, 6.30am til 3pm

The gelato was served in these environmentally-friendly-looking paper cups with cute wooden spoons that looked similar to WASARA's range of biodegradable tableware.

STRATA CAFE

At Strata cafe at around 10am

Tried a Soy Cappuccino! Yum. But their Soy Lattes and Soy Flat Whites are my favorite. 

Vegetarian menu board on the right! The cabinet has lots of nice food too.

I'm starting to think Auckland Uni is pretty awesome. I think it's because I know this is my last year here. 

Oh, I get to use the postgraduate student lounge now! Oh gosh, it's so nice and peaceful in there. It's actually sooo peaceful in there, I think I'm spending too much time away from Elam. 

The lounge is connected to (or is a part of) Strata Cafe. Strata has (in my opinion) the best quality food you can get on campus. Annnnd they now have a separate vegetarian menu! Coffee is realllllly really good too. I don't know much about coffee, but the coffee at Strata tastes really nice to me. I think I might be addicted to their Soy Lattes. I keep thinking about it in the mornings.


Strata Cafe:
Lvl 4 Kate Edgar Information Commons (Over the little indoor bridge. Opposite iSpace)
Open until 5.30pm on weekdays, I think. Not sure if they're open on weekends.

FLOWERS, CAKE, & FRENCH KISSES

Flowers for mum. It was her birthday.

Marble cake from the Gateau House. Yumness!

Finally got to try Bruce Lee Sushi! I had the French Kiss roll. It was yum.

YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT

I read a quote somewhere that said "You are what you eat".

Okay, I am a pistachio-peanut.

Last week I would have said I was a watermelon. (During the past month I probably ate upwards of 10 whole watermelons. It was to the point where mum would worry about leaving me home alone if there was a watermelon in the fridge. I am sort of starting to get over them now).

Yesterday, my inner-nut-munching-monster surfaced again and I went on a pistachio-cracking-and-munching rampage. Today I cleared my way through a whole cup of peanuts. Dammit.

I just hope my dry-roasted almond addiction doesn't return.
I don't want to be a dry-roasted almond.

AHAHAHA

"Congratulations" by DavidofArbela

MIDWEEK BOOST

Caught up with Ybro. We had oyster sliders at Tyler St Garage and topped it off with coconut + blood orange froyo. It was a perfect midweek treat.

OH, YUMNESS!

Watermelon...yummm

All watery and melony...

Picking a good watermelon at the fruit store is a real gamble and such a mission. 

You don't know if you've got 2kg of yummy sweet goodness or 2kg of bland soggy junk until you get home and cut it up.

TOASTIE TIME!

Something unexpected and pretty good happened recently.

I won a super cute jaffle machine from Breville!

It's such a well-designed little kitchen appliance. All sleek and classy and stainless-steely.

And the good thing is, I didn't know I wanted this machine until I found out I was getting one.

I haven't had jaffles or toasties in ages. The last time I had it was probably in primary school.

Breville's "Original '74 Jaffle Maker"

Scalloped design for pretty toasties

Recipes that were included in the box. So many different types of toasties I never knew existed.

Apparently it's meant to look like this.

Uhh yeah... mine turned out *slightly* different. 

"The Original '74 Jaffle Maker" (BSG1974).
Breville's new redesigned version of their 1974 toastie machine. 
The photos on their website are much nicer.

MOTHER-EARTH SMOOTHIE

This smoothie tastes like Mother Earth.

Ingredients:

• 1 medium carrot
• 1/3 cup of diced beetroot (fresh or frozen, not from a can)
• quarter of an apple
• however much yogurt you want (I put in around half a cup)
• a little bit of water
• lots of ice

Just blend it all together and you have a glass full of amazingly-coloured, earthy tasting and slightly sweet goodness.