Fly Catching Cat

Forget fly spray or bug zappers, you just need to get a fly catching cat. Our Bengal has taken a huge liking to fly catching (and eating). She has the remarkable ability to catch flies with her paw, bat them around a little as they fly in a stunned daze, and then eat them.

 At first this was extremely distressing for Bub, who could cry “No Thomasina! Don’t eat flies, they’ll make you sick!” (very cute). Now we’re all used to it, and have officially banned fly spray in the household (so that the cat doesn’t eat a poisoned fly, and because she is an even better pest control device).

As usual with this new cat business, I did a quick google and it appears that fly eating by cats is common, and won’t hurt them. I think I’ll call it her little “protein snack” ;-) Here she is saying 'hi' over my laptop, and curiously swatting at the camera:

Stocking Stuffers and Secret Santa Gift Ideas - Super Cheap & Funky

I have come across an excellent website for stocking stuffers and cheap Christmas gifts. It is called TINYDEAL and it is a Hong Kong based website with cheap and funky gift ideas, and free shipping. If any of you have heard of Deal Extreme, this website is similar. I have ordered from them twice now and in both cases have received the orders in 2-3 weeks, with no issues. Time to start thinking about stocking stuffers, and order soon so you aren't caught out if there are postage delays etc!

Once you have checked out TinyDeal, I recommend you visit Deal Extreme too. I can vouch for their service and products, which are equally cheap with free shipping. Thank me later!

All prices include shipping (or free shipping, whichever way you want to look at it ;)

NB: The prices below are calculated from USD at today's exchange rate, 1 USD = approx 0.93 AUD. If the exchange rate changes so will the prices as TinyDeal deals in USD :)

My Stocking Stuffer Picks (all prices include postage):

Elegant Bracelet Watch with Alloy Strap

AU$5.98 - This watch is gorgeous, I ordered one and it's as nice as the stock picture!

Versatile Plastic Sticker 5-Sheet Assorted Color

AU$2.01 incl postage - cute puffy stickers (5 sheets!) 2 x Plastic Cat Patterned Bookmark Set 10pcs Assorted Pattern AU$1.67 - for the cat lady or book reader 4 Pcs Laser Mini Finger Light Beam Ring with LED AU$2.10. Something simple like this can be hours of fun for kids - let 'em loose in a dark room! Invisible Ink Pen+ Flashlight+ Memo Pads AU$1.43 - I would have loved this sort of simple thing as a child. Spy games anyone? Strawberry Shaped Packaged Nylon Shopping Bag AU$1.71 7 Set Magic IQ Teaser Ring Puzzle Pocket Toy AU$5.02 (set of 7 brain teaser puzzles)- for the know it all ;-) We all know one of these, surely   Lavabo Shaped Paper Clip Holder with Pins AU$4.22 I have one of these too, I bought it to have on my desk in the office. It's so cute and gets lots of comments!

10pcs Plush Finger Puppets for Children Kids - Color Assorted

AU$4.32 - set of 10 plush finger puppets, so cute!

Little Bird Pattern Home Decor Fridge Magnet - Assorted Color

AU$1.51 - this is a fridge magnet and I have just ordered one, the photos posted under reviews make them look ever better than the stock photo :)

Multifunctional Human Shape Hanger - Color Assorted

AU$3.97 - this is a cute idea, many uses.

Magical Intellect Puzzle Ball

AU$5.92 - it's like a magic world in a dome, who could resist (LOL)...

2 x Skull Valve Cap Light & Wheel Tyre Lamp - Assorted Color

AU$2.07 - Pretty much any guy I know would like these...

Colorful Hair Band Flash LED Braid - Color Assorted

AU$3.04 - I wish I had ordered one of these for the Neon Run I'm doing!!! Also great for Halloween...

Vinnies Monster Warehouse Sale Day #1

I am a highly impressionable person. When I first started blogging, I didn't like or collect pyrex or vintage sheets. Now, I love and collect both. I used to be more a fan of dainty vintage floral plates and teacups. Now, I prefer retrrroooo. Last time I went to the Vinnies Monster Warehouse Sale, I picked up a skirt and a top, and a few books. I was happy. This time, I filled up garbage bags worth. I could have bought a lot more...

 

 Vintage sheets galore! 7 single sheets to be exact, at $1 a piece! This was definitely the score of the day, I love them :)

 Genuine leather clutch. Super soft leather and suede outer and leather lining. Inside it says 'Raymond Castles boutique. Studio Donini. Made in Italy'

Glomesh Australia bag in perfect condition

 Books

 Framed vintage Pears advertisement, to hang in our bathroom

Viola leather upper and inner shoes, brand new.

 Designer style bag, new

 Snowboarding trousers. I plan to go to the snow someday and try skiing, and this is way cheaper than renting snow gear!

Unusual golden stretchy waist belt

 Soft leather annapelle bag, new

 Sass and Bide jeans, True Religion jeans

 Sweet Mazi lace over top

Funky vintage Sussan cardigan

 Puma t-shirt, new or as new

 Shower curtain, new in packaging

 Cellini bag, excellent condition. Genuine cowhide leather

 Naturalizer leather upper and inner heels, excellent condition

 Witchery leather flats, brand new!!!

 Cute Origami little girls cardi, funny diaper/nappy cover

 A soft Russ bear that laughs when you squeeze it, and a lion draft stopper - both brand new with tags

 Purr little girls jacket, perfect condition

 Gondwana polar fleece jacket

 CKM top, brand new with tags

 Jacqui e 2 piece grey suit: skirt and jacket

Tempt boucle style jacket

 Huge container of Ello

 Gorgeous girls winter dress. This will be perfect for Bub next winter, it is right up her alley.

Snuggly warm polar fleece blanket with hoodie - kind of like a snuggie for kids, but kids can get away with it

Now, I can't tell you the prices of individual items because I don't know... it was chaotic at the cash register- there was a lady ringing up the sale and another packing my stuff, and I'm not sure what I was charged for each item individually. What I do know is that this whole haul cost a total of $61. WHAT A BARGAIN :-D

Linking up to Sophie's Flea Market Finds.

2 Unusual Things Have Happened to Me

2 unusual things have happened to me in the last few days.

As per my previous post where I reviewed an Ethiopian restaurant, I tried Ethiopian food for the very first time the other night. It was tasty and flavoursome. Unfortunately, I had some sort of allergic reaction to something in the food and am now covered in a nasty, itchy rash. I have never been allergic to anything in my life - I don't suffer from hay fever or any food or grass allergies, unlike most people. So... I have been lucky, until now. If anyone else was at the Vinnies warehouse op shop sale today, you may have seen me - I am the person who looked like she had some kind of terrible disease! Serves me right for taking a day off work to go shopping! (Shhh....)

The second thing that happened is that my generous grandfather decided to give me a conditional gift. It was a gift of $500, with a strange condition attached. You see, he is travelling overseas and before he left,  I asked him not buy me a gift - he usually spends a lot of money on something that I really don't like or want (of course I didn't tell him the reason in blunt terms, although I did sort of hint at it). He transferred $500 to my account with the condition that I have to spend it ALL ON MYSELF, and show him what I bought. This is supposed to be instead of a gift from his travels, although $500 is more than he would usually spend.

Now, I don't tend to spend a lot on myself. Most of my clothes are op shopped, and I am madly saving for a house deposit. I have never in my life had a whole $500 to spend on whatever I want and not feel guilty about spending it.  I only got to keep the $500 if I spent it on myself right away, so I could not feel guilt... my grandfather is an absolute darling, he knows me too well...

So, for the first time in my life I bought some luxury items (or items that I consider to be luxury items).  I bought:

Steven by Steve Madden, walnut lambskin BPariss shoulder bag

Hype black leather 'William' shoulder bag

Skagen 355SCSG two tone mesh watch

Homedics Therapist Select SP-10H Shiatsu Massage Cushion

So very exciting, I feel incredibly spoilt :-) I also had a fantastic shopping day at the Vinnies Monster Warehouse Sale.Whoever says that op shops are not getting enough donations has not seen one of these sales... they have boxes and boxes, 1000s upon 1000s of kgs of stock to clear at dirt cheap prices. For example, 2 piece suits are $4, bags $3, t-shirts and sleeveless tops $1, kids clothes all $1, shoes $4, books $2, sheets $1... and more. It is absolutely chaotic as you'd expect but the stock just keeps on coming out so there is plenty for all. You need to be a bit pushy and expect to be trodden on, but on the whole I found people to be polite. I spent 3 hours there - you can keep going back to the same racks and tables because they add new stuff constantly. A proper report and my bargain buys to come soon :-)

Review: Flavours of India, Woden / Phillip

Flavours of India is relatively new, situated next to Grill’d outside Westfield Woden. The decor is nice, if a bit bland/unoriginal. Service was good.

The food was a bit disappointing. The first sign that it wasn’t going to be good was that our meal came out within 15 minutes- the sauces were obviously just reheated in a pan or something. It tasted a lot more like the Indian food that is sold in supermarkets, or something that would come out of a packet – there wasn’t much in the way of spices or texture to savour. Even the garlic naan seemed to just have some garlic butter painted on it, which tasted like the type you buy in a jar. The whole meal was reasonably priced (we paid approx $25 a head for 2 mains, rice and naan and no drinks)  but given the amount of Indian restaurants in the area, I wouldn’t return- much better to try somewhere else and really enjoy the food.

Review: Global Ethiopian Cafe, Civic

Global Ethiopian Cafe is not the kind of place I’d usually choose to eat dinner, as the decor makes it look like a dodgy cheap lunch bar. However, I bought a dinner for 2 voucher on Grabone and so we tried it. Firstly, the current menu prices are reasonable even without a voucher: $13.50 gets you a meat dish with rice or injera, which is filling. They also have cheaper lunch specials apparently.

We had some beef samosas and lentil samosas to start, and then the Doro Wat (chicken slowly simmered with tomato, paprika and hard boiled egg) and the Lamb Tibbs (spicy lamb with burbere spices, capsicum, onion & tomato).

The samosas were quite bland but the mince beef used was good quality. They tested fresh and were generously filled. The mains were very tasty- although I’m not sure where the hardboiled egg was in the Doro Wat (it was nowhere to be seen in the dish, which was disappointing). The lamb had a very interesting and delicious flavour- it was well cooked (so lamb was quite tough, perhaps this is typical of the cuisine?). It was a good quality lean cut, and I’d order it again.

The service was friendly; the cafe seems to be run by an Ethiopian couple who make genuine home style fare. I’d be more inclined to get takeaways from here than dine in- the inside is a little dingy, which isn’t helped by the grubby menus you are handed on arrival (big marketing no-no). Good food and cheap though, so I will call in for takeaways or a picnic lunch in the future.

A note about “injera”: This is traditional Ethiopian flatbread, and has a very unusual taste. In making injera, flour is mixed with water and allowed to ferment for several days, giving it a sour taste. It tastes almost as if it has had lemon juice added to it. It has a very fluffy, spongy texture. I probably wouldn’t have it again, so make sure you order some rice with your meal too incase you don’t like this.