Xing Nian Kuai Le!

Hi Anna :)

Have you ever eaten or made konnyaku jelly?

I made it for the first time the other day for Chinese New Year. It comes in a packet and it really was simple to make. I suppose you can't really go wrong when all you're doing is boiling contents from a sachet and pouring it into a mould. I added red colouring and a tin of longans for a bit of CNY flamboyance.

Konnyaku jelly, where have you been all my life?

Apart from the eating, I thought it was a good idea to get out and see the CNY fair in Northbridge. It was a scorching day and we didn't last long in the heat. Ended up trying out desserts in MeetFresh which turned out to be a better idea.

Curious kids.

Dashes of red for luck. Welcoming the Year of the Snake. Another one of my maxi skirts.

Adorable little girl getting her ang bao from Chai Shen Yeh. (I think that's how you say it. He's the god of wealth?  Good grief, I need to brush up on my culture) I use to have little wooden shoes when I was about her age and mine had little bells inside the heels that jingle. Hers look like they could too!

New Year costume parade. I saw a mixture of Vietnamese and Chinese costumes. I'm unsure which country the two males far left is representing.

I am not surprised at all that you spent your weekend at the beach. Only you would be skilled enough to capture yourself and maneuver on your board. I went to the beach on Saturday too and was stung by jellies. However I refused to get out  until a much larger jelly got me and pretty much wrapped it's tentacles across my upper thigh.Now I have these ghastly red welts on my legs and photos to prove it, but wouldn't be very nice for the world wide web to see.

I'm impressed with how committed you are with your exercising and I hope you have a relaxing week :)

Evening picnic and concert

Hello snorkeller!

Love the stingrayyyyy!!! Aren't they just majestic? I call them birds of the sea :) What time do you go snorkelling? You'll have to call me up next time! I'll dash up there in no time if the conditions are calm! I don't own snorkels... but I will soon!

Yesterday evening was spent having a picnic by Shelley foreshore with HW and enjoying the free Canning World Art Exchange concert.

Walking down Shelley foreshore with our picnic goodies

Rocking the coolest cat print dress ever! If there was a version with Pipito lookalike cats I would hunt it down!

Yum! HW's great with her baking! She made the most delicious pizza. Prawns, red onions, rocket.. It was gobbled up before I looked closer.

My Moroccan spiced lamb samosas. Got a bit carried away with the cinnamon :(

There was Spanish, Chinese and  Aboriginal dancing. UWA Choral Society on stage. All my other photos are rather shocking in quality. I really enjoyed the contemporary Chinese dancing. A sure sign I should sign up for these lessons soon!

What I wore. In love with maxi skirts!

Cranberry and almond biscotti

Wow Anna!

I am certain that my life would be near complete if I lived right by your beach. It would be a holiday everyday. Your weekend recount highlighted just how lucky we are in Perth and how lucky you are to live near the beach.  The pristine waters!!! I have been limiting myself to a once a week visit to the beach to spare my skin but now I am so tempted to go tomorrow. The nearest beach being Port Beach/ Cottesloe,  there won't be any chance to experience any of  the creatures you saw. Imagine the chance to see the dolphins! I wish you better luck next time. So long those fins don't belong to a shark!

Nowhere near as exciting for me and this will be a short post of the cranberry and almond biscotti that I made today. Mum loves this biscotti and she asked me to make it for Chinese New Year.

 Recipe from Women's Weekly. I adapted it for CNY by adding in the cranberries to give it a bit of red since it's a lucky colour.

3 egg whites
1 cup plain flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 large handful almonds
1 large handful cranberries

Whizz the egg white until it forms soft peaks.
Gradually whizz in the sugar.
Gently sift and fold in the flour.
Transfer to greased loaf tin.
Bake until top is golden about 20 minutes in a moderate oven.
Let it cool and wrap it in aluminium foil overnight.
Slice it as thinly as you can with a bread knife or if you have one of those machine that slices thinly.
Lay on baking tray and bake until crispy, about 10 minutes in a moderate oven. Flip it over if it curls on one side.
Let it cool and it should gradually harden.

ENJOY!

I doubled the recipe because one batch doesn't make enough. Trust me, it's hard to stop yourself at just one.  Incredibly healthy and no fat! A baking win! If you're free Tues or Wed I'll have to pass you some.

Have a good day!

Happy Australia Day Perth!

Hope you are having a fabulous long Australia Day weekend Anna :)

 I know people complain that there isn't a lot to do but I love this city! Admittedly, it may not be the best city to live in if you're single but with an open mind and actively looking for things to do, anything is possible.

Some reasons off the top of my head why I love this city. I'm not sure if they convince people to come to Perth for the first time though.

1. It's so easy to get around in your car.  Apart from the roadworks, it's ridiculously convenient to drive anywhere.
2. It's sparkling clean.
3. Sandy white beaches and sparkling waters are a short half hour drive away.
4. The pride and maintenance of our parks, picnics and barbeque facilities especially Kings Park and South Perth.
5. People are friendly and smile at you wherever you go, but my favourite of course is when I'm going for a walk.

Of course there are a lot more but I have never appreciated the above more than anything else after living and travelling in various countries.

I'm curious to know what you love about Perth :)

Here is what I wore yesterday. I was on a mission to make it crazy.

Getting my green and gold on.

Christina brought these along. Best homemade cupcakes EVER! I had three and a half cookie monsters :) Figured I could have more than one if I reduce the calories by removing the eyes and mouth. Not a fan of marshmallows unfortunately.

Guess where one of them went?

We had fish and chips ready to eat by the foreshore to watch the fireworks, but we left before we even decided on a spot we were swamped by mosquitoes. So back to the apartment where dinner was eaten in comfort.

And what better way to celebrate this beautiful country by being in the outdoors and hiking the next morning.  Alarm was set at 6am. Four hours of sleep did not stop me!

Exactly what that says

Deciding which way to go

Plenty of energy to expend. Must be the cupcakes.

Figured second time round it was easier to walk across it rather than craw.

Why does it always feel higher than you think?

Discovered and delighted by little shiny crystallised sap balls

Discovered and disgusted by clusters of caterpillars/grubs/wriggly furry somethings

On the way back to the car we saw a family of four kangaroos making their way through the carpark. Lucky us!

Start of our drawing sessions

Hi Anna :)

Ok I'm not doing a very good job of keeping up with the regular blogging as part of my resolution. I'll get there.

Yesterday Christina and I started our little drawing get together. The number one ingredient to a good drawing is a calm and relaxed state of mind. No distractions, no thoughts. Otherwise that is reflected in my drawing. It was difficult to start off with because with Christina next to me, all I wanted to do was talk. Also we were stumped on what to draw. After less than an hour, this was the end result. I can't stand the way I shaded the orange and the shadow. Very poorly. So many things I need to work on.

I wish I took a photo of what she drew. I thought it was rather impressive considering she hasn't done it for 10 years, not since Year 12 Art. She reminded me that was how long it has been since we finished high school or 10 years since we started uni. Wow. Think back to when you started uni, that was a decade ago! Frightening how fast it's gone.

 We had a go at drawing each other, but that was disastrous and I couldn't stop laughing when I sketched Christina and she said she looked like a sumo wrestler. I regret throwing that one out. From now on I will keep the disastrous drawings especially if they are funny.

Then we had some lunch! I always forget she's Korean. Apparently it's not her best version of the dish (I forget the name, it had pork and kimchi in it) but to me, it was fabulous! I love the strong garlic, vinegar and chilli flavours of Korean food and I took my time savouring each spoonful until nothing was left. Check out my long spindly arms.

Happy Thursday :)

Big kickstart to 2013 with great friends, food, fun and plenty of resolutions

Hi Anna!

Happy New Year to you, friends, readers and the blog!

What a great read of  your Bali holiday! I felt like I was on a holiday with your family and Kev and I loved all the photos that you posted. Such gorgeous photos of you and your beautiful family. They were funny especially Kev and Scott's synchronised swimming. Looks like quality Olympic stuff to me.

I really miss diving and reading about your experience was a little nudge to  use my frequent flyers for a trip to Phuket. I find cuttlefish a little creepy though. I've seen a couple when diving and also a documentary on them and the more cuttlefish that flashed across the screen, the more alien like they appeared to me (an alien head without a body. EW!) and it started making me nervous watching them swim and change colours. Moray eels are a little scary too. In my experience, they hide in their holes and come out and bare their nasty tiny teeth at you. They always look very angry to me :( Jee I'm sounding like a big wimp here.

I have been to Bali twice but never to Rock Bar. Everyone who has been to Bali seems to have but not me :( Views are spectacular too. How did this slip by me. Hrm... Well the next time I have a handsome gentleman by my side, I will be sure to visit this scenic place for a cocktail or two.

You should also try and make your own kite like the one you liked. Well maybe a simple version? I haven't flown a kite since I was a kid and Perth would be the perfect place to do it since there is usually an afternoon breeze.

What have I been doing?  Definitely been doing a lot of eating and not enough exercising. It has  come to my attention that my friends can COOK. And better than I can! For years I've secretly thought I was THE culinary expert but now I've been proven wrong and I'm more than happy to throw that thought out the window. These skills have just been revealed to me and I certainly hope it's not the last I experience them :p

On Christmas day I had a scrumptious lunch made by HW. There were other food too but let's focus on her roast pork and vegetables :p They were so wholesome and full of flavour and I think I ate most of the parsnip. Yummo! This meal really meant a lot to me because I've known HW since we were kids and to watch her grow into this domesticated young lady and prepare such a lovely spread melted me away.

I love the cultural integration of this Christmas lunch

Roast pork. Even if it was a 40C day, it went down very well.

I came home and calculated that I ate about 800 calories worth of those rochers. Good thing it was difficult to calculate the calories of her homemade trifle. Heavenlyyyy!

I've also upped the Chia-craziness in the form of dressing.I did not have any Santa hats or reindeer ears so I decided to pin and adorn myself with Christmas decorations that I purchased with HW during our white Christmas last year.

Outrageous colours and decorations. Just because I can!

More eating was done on NYE at Christina's. She's right, she does make a mean potato salad and for the first time I tried chicken and pistachio terrine and couldn't believe that she made it herself. Astounding. There is something about home made food that makes me feel so.... content and lovvvvvved!

This is what I wore to NYE at Christina's. My inspiration was fun colour combinations. Christina also had a similar outfit and it was fun that we almost matched. I can't wait to channel more colour combinations. I have a few more up my sleeve for that special occasion requiring some craziness. I've had interesting/ hilarious experiences with NYE (last year was in bed watching Mr Bean whilst HW was fast asleep in Munich!!!!)  but this year it was great food, company and  board games! Who would've thought? I would've loved to party it with you and I've never done a big NYE out in Perth, but I guess this was not the year.

Healthy too! Oh and I marinated those kebabs.

The strangest and worst board game ever. Team Females couldn't even get one question right :/ What a laugh!

This makes me laugh too. Maybe it's the thought of having 4 of me. combined with my duh expression top right. This is the first time I've tried green make up and wow, I am deeeelighted, which is why it felt necessary to bombard you with my face. Last minutely I decided against wearing the earrings to Christina's and opted for subtle green studs instead. Sometimes you just need to know how to tone it down a notch. Haha!

I've been getting plenty of beach too! Bless those that are unemployed/ on leave to keep me company. Very much appreciated :D Mind you, I enjoyed solitude on the last day of 2012 with a good book and beautiful beach weather and calm waters. Is it much of a surprise that I spent the first day of 2013 at the beach too?

Again I went to the beach today with Christina. First time in Scarbs and my goodness, not the best conditions. We were dumped wave after wave. Nothing like an excuse to frolic in the sand and 'make love to the camera' in the words of Christina. 

More coral colours and fixing my wind strewn hair.

I know, I know.. I'm getting carried away with instant editing.

Let's get down to more serious business now.

This was my 2012 resolution copied and pasted from last year's post:

1.Get fit and join the gym and classes
2. Keep in touch with my aunty, grandma and family more often
3. Send snail mail frequently
4. Draw and paint more, take up an art class
5. Read more
6. Try anything unfamiliar or new

How I went:

1. I did join the gym in London, did not join any classes though. Coincidentally chocolate consumption and baking increased too.
2. Definitely did not keep in touch with my aunty and grandma enough. But I did organise and had an amazing time in Portugal and Italy with my parents.
3. This did not happen to the degree I expected. It stretched as far as sending Christmas cards.
4. I certainly started drawing more. Very pleased with the effort but I did not find an art class to sign up with.
5. Definitely accomplished this one.
6. This have got me into trouble at times. Otherwise online dating and most recently, nude beach and frisbee-ing is good testament to this.

Time the world knew about my hot pink flying disc.

I would like to carry on my 2012 resolutions and add another 6 for 2013:
(A bit ambitious I hear you say! Don't worry, some of these goals I have already set the wheels in motion.)

1. Get a full time teaching job and move out
2. Spend more time with family and friends that mean a lot to me
3. Get outdoor and explore Perth
4. Enter a drawing/ painting competition
5. Take up contemporary dance class
 6. Blog more often, even if it's just a short paragraph and pic

It is exciting to set these resolutions. I was telling Weng the other day that if I put them in print or tell someone about things I want to do, immediately there is some accountability for it. Here you have it, written in pixels or dots or whatever you call it.

Now I was saying that the wheels are already in motion for number 3.  If plans go accordingly, next week we will be on a little mini adventure to Lancelin :) More annaandchia adventures to be had. Picture this: a dinky battered camper VW, windows that cannot be rolled up, wind blowing through, tussled hair, me-driving, you- ukele in hand belting out Taylor Swift tunes, me- rolling my eyes but singing along with you (out of tune) and loving it, and all of this recorded on video. Ibiza take two? Yes? Shame it's only a short drive. Haha!

And so I would like to end this post by saying
Life is too short, have fun and do what makes you HAPPY!!!

 I am looking forward to the adventures that awaits annaandchia.blogspot.com.

Bring on 2013!

From the sea to the kitchen

Hi Anna!

How I wish I could go on that snorkeling adventure with you! I love the water and I am so jealous that you get to live near the beach. If only I could have a little beach cottage right by the coast. Apart from swimming, there would be endless fun poking into rock pools and wildlife spotting. Poor lizard! That photo was a bit scary. As for the abalone's eyes, I couldn't find them. I know how much us Chinese love abalone but they aren't the prettiest things although they beat the looks of sea cucumbers.

Anyway of course I know I only saw you yesterday, but of course there are things to tell since it's been a while. Also, I'd rather much be blogging than doing job applications right now. Something that I've been putting off for a couple of weeks since I started full time work as an education assistant at a primary school nearby. The world has a lot to cheer about because this means that I am a step closer to scoring a teaching job somewhere... well I like to think so anyway. I'm enjoying my work and the primary school is really a place of wonder. Explained later.

On Friday night, I met up with Emily and Alicia. That was really lovely and we had mini drinks to celebrate my employment. We will have to do another celebration when I get my own class.
 
Here's us yesterday.  The two girls lying on a picnic mat that shifted to and from awkward spots in the shade in Kings Park. Can always count on Anna to be my psuedo-bf.

Holey moley. You know it's summer when a fly photo bombs and there is no food in sight.

A couple of Sundays ago I went along to Fremantle Seafood Festival. How disappointing! I  expected lots of little tasting booths and stalls selling seafood kebabs or instant clam chowder in a tin or something mind blowing but really there was a tiny stage for cooking demonstration and a fudge stall. I like fudge, but what on earth does fudge have to do with seafood? We ended up going to Kailis to make up for it and had an afternoon of eating and drinking away. It turned out to be such a relaxing way to spend the day.

So many things to love in Perth!

Sea related things you can eat

Sea related things you can not eat.

Sunset.

 Now this primary school I'm talking about. The Year 5s were treated to a fancy lunch last Friday. I love how they have a common oven and kitchen and I helped with the baking. It was cute how they had little newspaper cones with their fish and chips complete with ketchup and tartar sauce.

My serving. How lucky are the children? They have an awesome science budget with the help of fundraising and the spuds and parsley came from the school's garden.

 I've been baking too. I'm getting really good at making my own recipes. I had a great day picking a whole ice cream tub of mulberries off a friend's mulberry tree and using them in my invented recipe.

Mulberry and sour cream wholemeal muffins. 

 I invented these too! Real mint and peanut chocolate cookies.

I had to give these away because I made too many and too rich and loaded with calories to be enjoyed by one. 

 On the healthier side, I made muesli bars. Uncle Toby's muesli bars have nothing on these tasty and healthy version.

Shredded coconut, sultanas/cranberries, black sesame seeds, pumpkin/ sunflower seeds, flax seeds, rolled oats, rye, egg, dash of brown sugar/honey, dash of evoo, sprinkling of salt all in one bowl. Mix it up. Pat it down. Oven for 15 minutes at about 170C or when it looks brown. Cut it up before it cools. Easiest and healthiest thing you'll ever make! Best thing I love is that you can throw in anything in it and substitute the grains/seeds/ dried fruits for anything you like.

 My creations did not stop there. I also made this! I had to resort to making something for the Melbourne Cup lunch at school after a unsuccessful hunt in Garden City. Really, I can not justify $200 for a bit of feather and fluff. That is like a weekend away I could have ticking off another city in Spain! 

Bit of thread, one piece of felt, and a black hairband. Fold a rectangular piece of felt like a concertina , pinch it in the middle and thread through to hold.

That reminds me, something amazing has happened to me, or rather is happening to me. I have not bought a single item of clothing/bag/shoes since I've been back. It's been almost 3 months. I've been working with the clothes I've had three years ago and also wearing the items from London to death.  Of course London shopping is beyond Perth and I calculate cost of items in terms of a weekend trip away. Must realise that I'm in Perth and $200 is not a weekend away in Europe anymore :(

Now time for those cover letters...

The Great Outdoors

Hi Anna!

I'm terrible at keeping you updated but I honestly haven't felt the desire to blog. That is a good thing though, because it means that I've caught up with you and lots of friends over walks/beach/picnics/lunch/dinner/drinks/dancing and been really enjoying myself since I've been back. Almost two months now. Two months of loving Perth and being in idyllic mode. Time to blog and upload a whole heap of photos to show the whole wide world what one can get up to when unemployed.

Well what have I been doing while everyone is at work? Looking at the photos on my phone, it seems that I've been outdoors a lot. I can't get enough of the Australian outdoors. I worship the sun everyday. Soaking up every bit of it. I can't see blue skies and be indoors. This is what London does to you! When will it wear thin? Perhaps come summer when it reaches 40C.

I've done regular walks in Kings Park. The Law trail and Kokoda trail are my favourites and I can't get enough of it. I've gained an unsightly neck tan that I can't wait to get rid of when it's warm again to bake in the beach again.

If only I could dive in

No wonder everyone wants to live in Perth.

I never take my phone exercising, but just this once to show how marvellous it is!

 Sometimes I walk around the Rossmoyne/ Shelley foreshore in the afternoon, but occasionally I mix it up by doing some rollerblading there too.

Off with the blades and into my flats. You'll notice I wear these everywhere.

The bench on the right at the end of the jetty where I sat thinking about all sorts of things like how nice it would be to claim one of these boats as my own.

It's bewildering that I've been in Perth for more than half of my life and there are places within hours of drive that I've never been to before. What on earth was I doing when I was in Perth? Partying on Saturday nights and wasting Sundays recovering? I guess being back has changed my perceptions. I'm doing lots of things that I normally wouldn't do. I'm more adventurous and have developed a fondness for the Australian bush and hiking. And the thing is, it's addictive, trying to find new places to go and explore.

Never heard of Bells Rapids before until a friend suggested a walk there.

The water was chilly but refreshing after our hike.

Plenty to see! Found out that the flower was in fact a weed :(

Leaving ghostly footprints on grass that has never been walked on before.

Araluen was a spontaneous visit after our brunch at Mrs S in Maylands. I thought of you when I walked past Sherbert!

So whimsical. I love mismatched decor.

I had poached eggs, bacon stacked on cornbread drizzled with maple syrup. Talk about a heavy brunch!

I liked how they gave you a letter instead of a number for your order. I also like the matchy lilac pastel colours.

HW being a darling with a yellow umbrella which matches her cardi.

No tulips but we found some gorgeous roses.

Lost in the woods. Beautiful spots to take photos if one was to have a wedding shoot or photos for fun :)

Looks like a fake background.

Petals on the ground.

Other news that isn't related to the great outdoors:

I had a habit of baking cakes and biscuits when I was in London, but since I've been back, I only baked sugary goodness just once and they were chocolate zucchini muffins. Remember how I offered them to you but I didn't have time to ice them? Well when I got home I quickly iced them and took them to a friend's place for dinner. I think they liked them. I love the idea of having green zucchini  bits nestled inside. Makes it 'healthier'. :)

I drew this bird that is endemic to Christmas Island. He kinda looks like an angry bird. I don't even know what the real Angry Birds are about.

On a girls night out. Ended earlier than we anticipated. Bed by 1pm on a Saturday night. The standard when you're no longer in your early 20s.

 

I picked up a few books on travel stories. I must have a very different sense of humour because half of the collection of travel stories in this book aren't that funny except for a man who ate potato bugs in Laos or the man who went to a nudist vacation.

 Reading in my pjs. The standard attire in my days of unemployment.

I'm definitely not complaining as some see having all this time as a luxury, however, I miss teaching because that is a huge part of who I am.  I'm not worried yet, but come December, if there has been not a word from all the applications I've submitted and no relief work, I think I'll have a bit of a panic.

Anyway, it's been a while since we've caught up and I'm looking forward to seeing you tomorrow! We can talk all things hair and all. I think you would look awesome with dark red dyed hair, a side swept fringe, and shoulder length hair. Maybe that's what I'd love for myself but my hair just doesn't work like that.

PS. This is the 300th post for our blog! Woo!