Weekly Diary (Updated every Sunday morning)

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”
— Ferris Bueller

This week :

I love this Bedcover/blanket.

Source : http://sexual-passion.tumblr.com/

I love this sculpture of the Roman Colosseum, done in a real tooth.

Source : http://cmsii.tumblr.com/post/28721308545/a-sculpture-of-the-roman-colosseum-done-in-a-real

I love these pencils.

Source : http://obsessivecompulsive.tumblr.com/post/3327289749

I love this writing.

Source: http://theamericankid.com/post/33315661531/i-hate-being-forced-to-think-such-deep-thoughts

I love this: The lighter on the left is real and the one on the right is drawn on paper in a 3D style. Very cool.

Source : http://pinklotusflowers.tumblr.com/post/33774614156/the-lighter-on-the-left-is-real-and-the-one-on-the

I love this: Inspired by pensive pedestrians and the therapeutic benefits of walking, Sidewalk Psychiatry encourages self-evaluation by posing critical questions stenciled along NYC streets.





Source : http://likeafieldmouse.tumblr.com/post/32426629315/candy-chang-sidewalk-psychiatry-2008-inspired

I love this writing quotes on notebooks.





Source: http://amandaonwriting.tumblr.com/post/34323515744

I love this: How funny!

Source : http://pinklotusflowers.tumblr.com/post/33774614156/the-lighter-on-the-left-is-real-and-the-one-on-the

I love eating and these 2 pictures reminded me of myself (oops) :)


Source : http://memeallday.tumblr.com/


Source : http://nedroid.com/2011/12/pizza-by-the-slice/

I love this quote about work:
“Try to develop steady work habits, maybe a more modest quota, but keep to it. Don’t be thin-skinned or easily discouraged because it’s an odds-long proposition; all of the arts are. Many are called, few are chosen, but it might be you.”
— John Updike

I love this science ad.

Source : http://yoannmichaux.com/post/33425038017/facts-science-world-ads-museum-of-science

I love all these facts about brain.


I love what Pat Conroy (author) said about books/reading.
-I can’t pass a bookstore without slipping inside, looking for the next book that will burn my hand when I touch its jacket, or hand me over a promissory note of such immense power that it contains the formula that will change everything about me.
-I trust the great novelists to teach me how to live, how to feel, how to love and hate. I trust them to show me the dangers I will encounter on the road as I stagger on my own troubled passage through the complicated life of books that try to teach me how to die.

I love these quotes :

“You were unsure which pain is worse — the shock of what happened or the ache for what never will.”

— Simon Van Booy, Everything Beautiful Began After

“It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important.”

— Antoine de Saint-Exupery

“In the end, what you do isn't going to be nearly as interesting or important as who you do it with.”
— John Green

This week I learnt that :

-Timing significantly influences love. Individuals are more likely to fall in love if they are looking for adventure, craving to leave home, lonely, displaced in a foreign country, passing into a new stage of life, or financially and psychologically ready to share themselves or start a family.

(Source: Helen Fisher, Anatomy of Love.)
-We met people for a reason. Either they are a blessing or a lesson.

-Once you've accepted your flaws, no one can use them against you.

Amazing moments :
-Holding hands
-Unexpected moments that become your favourite memories
-Resting on someone's chest
-Realising everything is going to be okay

And lastly lastly I love :
- The cold side of the pillow
- The sound when you open a can of Coke
- Finding money
- Compliment from strangers

Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.

Repeat after me :
I am enough.

Birthday 2012 reflection

“At some point your memories, your stories, your adventures will be the only thing that you have left.”— Chuck  Palahniuk

“We all live in suspense, from day to day, from hour to hour; in other words, we are the hero of our own story.”—Mary McCarthy

Last month was my birthday. I am 28 years old now. I can't believe how super fast time flies. It's scary to think that my parents are growing older each day. I love them very much and I'd love them to be healthy and around as long as I live.

So why does time fly by as you get older? I find this answer from www.livebreatheloveinspire.tumblr.com 
"When you are younger, you have more novel, new experiences. You see your mother for the first time. You learn your first language. Everything around you is new information. When the brain puts together these new details, they seem slower when you look at them. When you age, your understanding of the world is larger. But because you are constantly surrounded by the usual family, school, work and experiences, details aren't taken in so intricately. This makes entire day seem like fleeting moments! If you turned 80 - looking back, the middle of your life will appear to be your 20's!

Moral of the story: Do something new every day to make your life seem longer and richer."

"How wrong to have been so negative, how wrong to have been so gloomy, how wrong to have run away from life, how wrong to have said no, again and again, instead of yes."  —Jonathan Franzen

In the coming year, I'd love to do more new things and say yes to more things (of course except for sleazy guys on bars that is!). I'd love to do more than I can. Participate more in life instead of just observing carefully.

I started this blog about 2 years ago after inspired by this Oscar Wilde's quote "I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the train." I thought wow the best book one can read should be one's own diary full of one's amazing experiences, however good or sad, but always amazing and never boring.

“It seemed to me that this was the way we all lived: full to the brim with gratitude and joy one day, wrecked on the rocks the next. Finding the balance between the two was the art and the salvation.”
— “The Year of Pleasures” by Elizabeth Berg

Source: http://make-me-laugh-and-i-am-yours.tumblr.com/post/26810060673

I want to be that person I could have become. Had a rich life. Great but kind. Wise but humble.

I want to

Picture : http://conflictingheart.tumblr.com/post/24124722144

I'd love to go to the cinema more regularly to watch a good movie. Sometimes movies can move me or touch me in a way and how amazing is that. I love going to Dendy or Palace Cinema in the afternoon to watch an art house/foreign movie and then think about the movie for the rest of the day (or week if it's really that memorable). The cinema is usually quiet in the afternoon and the feeling I get from certain movies when I leave the theatre room is just indescribable.

“There are certain emotions in your body that not even your best friend can sympathize with, but you will find the right film or the right book, and it will understand you.”
— Bjork

Sometimes I'd go with a friend and afterward, we would have a good discussion about the movie over food or coffee. I love good conversations and I always try hard (and will try even harder) to really listen, not just look at them and nod or think about the things I want to say.

My actions are my only true belongings.
—Thich Nhat Hanh

I'm always open-minded and non-judgemental. Since I was very young, I made friends with people from different ages, races, religions, sexual preferences, hobbies, careers. I guess the reason why I am so open-minded is that exactly, from having friends from all walks of life. I always believe in thinking outside the box and yet also not judging people who is different from me (who don't think outside the box).

Source: http://themadisoncomplex.tumblr.com/post/32410447393

I love what Paulo Coelho said :

“We can never judge the lives of others, because each person knows only their own pain and renunciation. It’s one thing to feel that you are on the right path, but it’s another to think that yours is the only path.”

and what Sherrilyn Kenyon said :

“It’s easy to look at people and make quick judgments about them, their present and their past, but you’d be amazed at the pain and tears a single smile hides. What a person shows to the world is only one tiny facet of the iceberg hidden from sight. And more often than not, it’s lined with cracks and scars that go all the way to the foundation of their soul.”

“There’s something beautiful about keeping certain aspects of your life hidden. Maybe people and clouds are beautiful because you can’t see everything.”
— Kamenashi Kazuya

I always find human intriguing. There are always the sides of them that you would never know. In fact there are at least 5 things about me that I want to keep to myself. When I started this blog, I wrote quite a lot about my dating stories. At that time, my blog was like my secret diary because none of my friends knew. Since I shared this blog with my friends and younger sister/brother, I deleted all my love and dating posts because I don't think it's necessary to share my embarrassing stories :) I also deleted one particular sad post just because I don't want to remember that anymore. I want to look through all my posts in the future and I don't want to relive that one. I guess I don't have to remember everything about my life you know, just the good parts. It's always good to write to release my emotions but I don't have to publish it. Sometimes I wrote and left them just to be in drafts. After a month, I would read them again before I deleted them and would think of how unreasonable I am when I am emotional. Sometimes the hard part is keeping my mouth shut when I am angry or upset. I don't want to say hurtful things to people over silly matter that I will only regret in the future, especially to my loved ones. I think I'm getting better at that but sometimes when I have difficult, rude clients, I really just want to tell it to their faces that they don't have to be so rude or unreasonable. In long term, dealing with such people, I guess would either make me crazy and drive me mental or make me the most patient and 'zen' people on earth :)

I'll also be more grateful in life. "We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude," said Cynthia Ozick. Like the love from the people who love us the most and who is always there for us, like our family and close friends. I'll stop thinking about the boy/s who is/was/re never there when I need him/them.

For the future, I want to save lots of money and work really really hard. I love this quote from Anaïs Nin : 

“If you limit your choices only to what seems possible or reasonable, you disconnect yourself from what you truly want, and all that is left is compromise.”

and from Vincent van Gogh “Normality is a paved road: It’s comfortable to walk, but no flowers grow on it.”

I want to (like Sarah Wilson said) "embrace my uncertainness, owning it and not running from it". 

"With practice you can become familiar enough with self-doubt and anxiety that you hold them nimbly and un-distractedly" (from Psychology Today).

Whenever something bad happen, I take a deep breath and think 'Will this matter in a year' and 'What is the worst thing that can happen?' and always face up to my problem as soon as I can so I can have a peace of mind asap.

“After all, you are alive, so you will always have the chance to be happy,” (Yui Ikari, The End of Evangelion).

I read this fact from www.livebreatheloveinspire.tumblr.com 

Hugging is good medicine.

It transfers energy and gives the person hugged an emotional lift. You need 4 hugs a day for survival, eight for maintenance, and twelve for growth. Scientists say that hugging is a form of communication because it can say things you don't have the words for. And the nicest thing about about a hug is that you usually can't give one without getting one.

from www.sarahwilson.com.au

"Ask the Ikarian people here the key to longevity and they will tell you it's the wine." From her blog, these are 2 out of 5 points that I love the most and will start doing :)

"- it's only ever drunk with food and never alone. You always drink wine with loved ones. A loved ones arrives, no matter the time of day, and out comes the wine a block of cheese and some tomatoes. We witnessed this at 11 am one morning.

- it's drunk slowly. they stress this over and over. it takes time."

So, I'll hug and drink wine slowly, with food :) 

Speaking of wine, these below are my favourite dessert wine and my favourite rose (can someone please tell me how to put an accent on top of my 'e') :(

And these are my birthday cakes from last month : Gelato cakes (Juliette, Bombe Alaska and The Block), all from Gelato Messina.

They are all absolutely amazing and delicious, bought by my work friends and myself :) These are what they are made from (drawings are from Gelato Messina website).

On my birthday weekend, I had a few friends over and we had 3 sushi platters from Zushi and some amazing apple pie frozen yogurt from Wow Cow :)

And this is a cake made by my lovely friend, Beatriz. Nothing beats a cake especially baked for you by your own friend! Especially when it's heart-shaped, chocolate and tasted seriously good :)

Happy birthday to me!!! 

In a year, I want to be able to read this blog post and feeling proud of myself of what I've done when I was 28, since this post.

“There is one purpose to life and one only: to bear witness and to understand as much as possible of the complexity of the world- its beauty, its mysteries, its riddles.”
— Anne Rice

and finally(!!!) this is one of my all time favourite quote :

“Don’t expect to get anything back, don’t expect recognition for your efforts, don’t expect your genius to be discovered or your love to be understood. Act because you need to act.”

— Paulo Coelho

Picture from : http://shahirzag.com/

"Maybe you can afford to wait. Maybe for you there's a tomorrow. Maybe for you there's one thousand tomorrows, or three thousand, or ten, so much time you can bathe in it, roll around it, let it slide like coins through your fingers. So much time you can waste it. But for some of us there's only today. And the truth is, you never really know." - Lauren Oliver (Before I Fall)

FOOD DIARY september

BREAKFAST

Sweet breakfast: Waffles with chocolate and ice cream, from Bon Bon Chocolate Cafe.

This is THE perfect sweet breakfast! Warm waffles, high quality chocolate sauce, creamy vanilla ice cream, plus some strawberries to balance off the sweetness and richness. (and also for vitamin C) ^^

This 70% hot chocolate from Bon bon Chocolate Cafe is amazing, velvety smooth, so luscious, warm,  perfectly rich yet not too sweet nor too heavy. This is probably my most favourite dark hot chocolate drink ever! (my favourite milk hot chocolate is from Lindt). Drinking this from the tall glass makes me feel elegant in a way ^^

"Relax and breathe in the aromas and tastes of delights created by master craftsmen from the great chocolate houses of Europe and discover the varied and subtle tastes of exquisite blends of the world’s greatest cacao beans sourced from distant and exotic lands." --Bonbon cafe website

Savoury breakfast: Frittata with prosciutto di parma, mozzarella, and rocket, served with tomato and basil salad. From Bacco Wine Bar Pasticceria. 

I love going to Bacco Wine Bar Pasticceria at Chifley Square, the pastries and cakes are simply amazing and they also serve italian pizza, panini and salads for lunch.

Chinese breakfast: Pork and preserved egg congee, dim sims, fried doughs, chinese tea.

I love going to a yum cha/ chinese restaurant on Sunday mornings and have some yum cha or congee. I grew up eating preserved egg so I love them :)

LUNCH

Steak and bread and red wine: Nibbling on some beautiful bread and olive oil while waiting for my steak to arrive. Sometimes the waiting is almost as exciting as the eating :)

Wagyu flank steak with chimmichurri from Ash st Cellar. Chimmichurri is originally Argentinian, very often used as sauce for grilled meats. It is normally made from chopped parsley, garlic, olive oil, oregano, white or red vinegar. This steak itself is delicious and perfectly medium rare and I love Shiraz with my steak.

Ash st Cellar and wine bar, tucked away behind The Ivy is a modern European style bistro and intimate wine bar which serve European tapas to compliment its strong wine list categorised according to nose, palate and colour. They offer 26 wines by the glass and open all day for breakfast, lunch dinner and food in between.

German: Lowenbrau's selection of Bavarian specialties -- Sausages, Chicken schnitzel, Meat loaf and Roast pork belly, served with Mashed potatoes, Sauerkraut, Braised red cabbage, Bread dumplings and Bier gravy. From Lowenbrau Keller.

This Munich-style restaurant located at The Rocks serves traditional Bavarian dishes and quality imported biers, which most I can't pronouce haha. The German music, dressed up staffs and lively ambiance make you feel like you are in a different country :)

French: Beef and red wine stew with potatoes and carrots. From Le Grand Cafe at Alliance Francaise Sydney. This dish is so hearty and satisfying and the sauce is so delicious. Alliance Francaise Sydney, located at the Clarence st CBD offers French language classes, cooking & theatre workshops, cultural events and movies during the annual Alliance Francaise French Film Festival. This cafe downstairs serves coffee, pastries, foods, and daily lunch special ($15 for plat du jour and a glass of wine or $12 for coffee and baguette). Very affordable and tasted delicious. I also love the french vibe of this place. I can hear people speaking french and some students around me doing their french language homework. The CBD location also attracts office workers having lunch or working on their laptop with a cup of coffee.

Sushi: Scampi sushi from Condor Japanese Restaurant, York st, CBD. 

Yum I love scampi.

More sushi: Tempura oyster, salmon belly sushi, sea urchin sushi and tuna belly sushi from Makoto Restaurant. Makoto is one of my favourite place for sushi, their sushis are fresh and they always have different varieties of fish in their daily special menu. I love trying different fishes for my sushi but my favourite sushi would have to be sea urchin, salmon roe and tuna belly :)

Ramen: Spicy ramen with roast pork and boiled egg from Ichi-ban Boshi CBD. I love the slightly soft boiled egg, the tender roast pork, the textures and perfect thickness of the noodle. and the delicious broth.

Ichi-ban Boshi is an authentic japanese restaurant which is located just opposite of Kinokuniya bookstore CBD. This place is very popular as it is cheap and the food is good and the portion is filling. The noodles are made fresh right in the stores as it is believed that fresh noodle tasted best. Their noodles are cooked al dente because they believe that that's the way noodles should be eaten and the reason why Japanese slurp their noodles is because they want to eat the noodles quickly, while still al dente. The freshness and purity of the noodle bring out the true flavours of the soup.

DINNER

.

Oyster tempura from Busshari Japanese Restaurant. Located at the heart of bustling Potts Point, Busshari is popular among the locals and the restaurant has a sophisticated yet unpretentious ambiance. The sashimi is fresh and beautifully presented and although I prefer my oysters natural, but this tempura oysters are quite addictive! 

Wagyu beef sizzling Tobanyaki. The wagyu is juicy and tender and by cooking the pieces myself, I can choose how medium rare I want the pieces to be, I even cooked a piece til the end just to see how it tasted like lol. But the aroma when it's all sizzling and cooking in front of you is so good. I also love the square burner and the ceramic plate. They looked so Japanese and so traditional and so beautiful with all the writings on it :)

SWEETS

Cupcakes: Peanut Butter Chocolate (chocolate chip studded peanut butter cake with peanut butter icing) & Rose Chocolate (dark chocolate cake with with rosewater flavoured chocolate buttercream icing). From Ghermez Cupcakes.

I love their cupcakes. So pretty (yes I eat with my eyes sometimes :p) and the combination of flavours offered are quite special.

Cake/pie: Guylian golden chocolate pie, Guylian mini chocolate tart and Copenhagen honeycomb and butterscotch ice cream. Just so you know I don't always indulge myself like this :p

Pastry: Profiterole from Strawberry Cream Cafe & Continental Patisserie, Darlinghurst. This profiterole is one of the better ones I've had, the caramel glaze is crunchy and the filling is smooth and lovely. To be honest I've walked up and down Victoria st and passed this cafe so many times and never came in until only months ago. And it's like discovering a gem because their french pastry and desserts are so good.

Mousse: Mousse Picasso (Layers of white and dark chocolate mousse, wrapped in folds of milk chocolate). with a caramel chocolate truffle. From La Renaissance Patisserie, The Rocks.

This popular cafe and patisserie serves delicious cakes, pastries, savouries, chocolates and macarons. There is an outdoor courtyard cafe which is one of my favourite places to sit down and read a novel at. 

Brownie: Guylian golden brownie with Belgian 65% chocolate ice cream. This is the best chocolate brownie I've ever had. O M G so good O M G! The ice cream is however quite ordinary though and is also half-melted when served to me. I mean it is expensive so I just expect it to be better. I suggest eating this brownie warm with some Baskin Robbins ice cream instead :)

Ice cream: A scoop of durian ice cream and a warm buttery bread from Pappa Roti on the side. I grew up eating durian so I love the fruit :)

Frozen yogurt: Apple pie frozen yogurt from Wowcow. Wow, Wowcow, this is the best frozen yogurt flavour ever! Love it love it loveee itt!

Gelato: Campari and orange marmalade gelato with flourless orange cake, Bounty gelato. From Gelato Messina.

More ice cream: Lindt dark chocolate ice cream with a champagne macaron. Lindt ice cream is as expensive as Guylian's but I don't mind this time as the ice cream is creamy and really delicious. Lindt's macaron is also top notch. Really good.

Chocolate: Josophan's fair trade certified chocolates. The dark, white and milk chocolate tasting bars and the yellow (65% cacao), pink (64% cacao), green (67% cacao) chocolate pieces. Josophan’s creates extraordinary fine chocolates, using Fair Trade certified chocolates and fresh flavour infusions. No preservatives, no artificial flavours, simply fresh, naturally flavoured, extraordinarily beautiful chocolates.

Cheese: Cheese platter from The Blu Bar at The Shangrila Hotel. This New York inspired Bar on the 36th level of Shangrila Hotel is one of my favourite Sydney bars and exudes total urban sophistication. And look at the view!