Brunch Review: Cranked Cafe, Leederville

Cranked is one of those places I have walked past 100s of times but have never tried. That changed thanks to the entertainment book- I had a voucher, and I wanted to use it :-)

The Scoring

Menu variety / creativity: 7.5/10. Something for everyone, and some creative options. You can read the menu for yourself at the website.

Taste: 7/10. I had the 'Crank Addict': Two soft poached eggs bedded on wilted spinach with smoked chorizo and sourdough. Finished with home-made tomato jam and shaved parmesan cheese. The eggs were nicely poached and the home-made tomato jam was divine. Generous serving size and plenty of bread. I didn't like the chorizo much, it seemed to be cheap/poor quality. My friend had a "make your own" breakfast - she chose scrambled eggs on multi grain toast with avocado and homemade tomato relish. Yum!

Coffee: 6.5/10. Drinkable but not amazing.

Setting/location: 6/10. The decor isn't anything special but they have a nice big outdoor area for sunny mornings (and it has outdoor heaters in winter).

Service: 7.5/10. No complaints, efficient and friendly.

Price: 8/10. The more creative menu options are around $18, but the servings are very generous. If you have the Entertainment book, use the voucher in it for a further 25% off :-) We did!

Verdict: Nothing special but it was a solid meal with a generous serving size. I'd go back, especially with another voucher!

Sick Pets & Lack of Sleep

On Monday our dog had to have an operation. We picked her up at about 6pm after she had the operation at 4:30pm- and she was still totally out of it from the anesthetic. All evening she was walking around crying/whining, she was restless and wouldn't lie down, tripped over her own feet, almost walked into walls, swayed and her back legs were shaking. It was so sad and scary to watch.

I kept trying to take her outside to go to the bathroom and finally succeeded in getting her to do her business at about 11:30pm. She spent the night pacing around and whining, and when she had somewhat recovered she started barking. My poor sister had to sleep on a mattress downstairs with her like this, as it was the only way to calm her down:

In short, she has kept us both up the past 2 nights and I am now exhausted. She was obviously feeling better last night because she went and slept on the couch, which she absolutely knows she is not allowed to do.

She's not a young dog, and I think this episode made us all think about what will happen when the inevitable happens... Pets bring so much joy to our lives, but the flipside is that they are then sorely missed.

I hope you're all having a good week. I haven't forgotten to draw the winners of my latest giveaway (which ended almost 2 weeks ago)... well I did forget, but now I've remembered and I just need to find the time :-)

Shopping, Dating, Work

Shopping
I still haven’t found the perfect dress for the upcoming 1920s theme ball, I'm getting desperate! I found one I really like but its sold out:

River Island Beaded Deco Dress

Karen Millen does the most beautiful deco dresses but they're all around $400 on sale, and I can't justify spending that… not until I get a pay rise anyway!

Did I mention that there are some great sales online at the moment? I am still addicted to Asos despite my disappointing last order. I nabbed this dress:

ASOS Skater Dress With Flower Applique

And I'm also eyeing off:

Asos Laguna Suede Ballet Flats with Metallic Block Heel

and

ASOS LOS ANGELES Point Ballet Flats With Chain Detail

 



What do you think of them?

You can currently get 10% off sale items at Asos with the code 10SALE, and 10% off at Urban Outfitters with the code NEWSKOOL (and free shipping if you spend $50).

Dating

I guess our relationship is official, but I'm still not sure I'm 100% committed. I suppose it's because I'm busy and tired and he wants to spendmore time with me than I do with him. Also this is going to sound weird but I know a lot of people are unsure if the guy likes them and then really happy when he does, but I'm the opposite- as soon as the guy starts getting attached I get put off, it's like the challenge and excitement is gone. It's so stupid of me but I think that's what happens and why I never have had proper long relationships. Maybe it means I haven’t found the 'right person' but I think it's more likely to be my own approach and mindset that's resulting in this.

Work

Work has calmed down a bit. People have been leaving the office at 6pm, which I am told is very unusual so I should make the most of it! Our computer server has been all buggy which has resulted in some wasted and frustrating periods of time – lucky we're not flat out!

Op Shopped

I have been on several op shopping trips lately but have not had time to blog about them. Here are the spoils... :-)

Hand painted hanging frypan with poem for my sister {> - $1 from Save the Children

Cards! These have obviously been donated by a newsagency from excess stock. They cost 20c-$1 each, which is no much cheaper than buying them at retail prices.

 Brand new uplifting quotations book with handmade paper cover - $3 from Save the Children.

 Katies photographic print top- $6.25 (1/2 price sale) from Good Sammy's

 Veronika Maine skirt, $6 from Save the Children

 Flower t-shirt, $2 from Good Sammy's (during 1/2 price sale)

 Weekly organiser ($3) and another card ($1) - newsagency donations rock!

 I wasn't sure about these, but they're brand new and for $1!? who could complain...

 I love this BNWT Target dress, which was $7.50 (1/2 price) at Good Sammy's

 Finally, some homewares. A cute holly hobbie styled plastic cup (50c), some sort of jug which has holes in the bottom (so will be perfect for a planter, but I'm not sure what it was actually intended for!?- $2) and another teapot for the collection ($3). It is missing one of the cups but is still cute- I love the panda pop up head.

Close up of the cup which says "Start each day in a happy way..." - so cute, I'd love to collect the whole set!

Brunch Review: Sayers, Leederville

Ahh Sayers, now I understand what the hype is about!

Menu variety/creativity: 8/10. Lots of very creative options and something for everyone. Impressive.

Taste: 9/10. I was blown away by the roasted mushroom with spinach and fetta on sourdough. The boy loved his potato rosti with poached eggs, bacon and onion jam. The best tasting brunch I have had in Perth - this one is a winner!

Coffee: 6.5/10. We ordered it in mugs which may have been the mistake - it tasted too milky. Perhaps it's decent if you order normal sized.

Setting/location: 8/10. The inside is gorgeously decorated with damask wallpaper, big mirrors and lots of bling. They have a very cute outside courtyard too.

Service: 7/10. A little bit disorganised - some people who didn't have a table were crowding the till, and they kept bringing us someone else's drinks. Otherwise it was fast and friendly. You order and pay at the counter and they bring the meals out to you.

Price: 7.5/10. Smaller servings than elsewhere but the taste totally made up for it. Expect to pay around $18 for the meals and $3.80 for a regular coffee- standard for Perth.

Verdict: My favourite brunch in Perth so far. This one is a keeper! From previous experience, they do delicious homemade cakes for afternoon tea too.

Sex, Genes and Rock'n'Roll

A while ago I listened to an interview on ABC Radio National with Rob Brooks, author of the book 'Sex, Genes and Rock'N'Roll: How Evolution has Shaped the Modern World'. The book is about how an evolutionary perspective can give useful and interesting insights into modern issues and problems. Brooks is an evolutionary biologist who works at UNSW. I haven't read the book, but it sounds fascinating and I will buy/beg/borrow it soon.

I didn't know that evolutionary biology even existed as a discipline; now I am absolutely intrigued.  Here are some examples of how it informs modern thinking (these are gleaned from the ABC interview and other interesting material on Brooks' website):

• Statistically, the world's richest people are more likely to have male babies. This may mirror the evolutionary reality that if a female animal is having a bad year or is unhealthy, they are more likely to have female offspring. During the 1960s in China, there was a famine - and a huge increase in the number of female births.
• Many diseases have a genetic basis. Natural selection has not eliminated the genes responsible because few of our ancestors lived long enough to suffer from most cancers or from dementia. Also, some genes that improve our fitness in early life come at a cost later on. For example, a gene called ApoE-ε4, elevates intelligence in early adulthood but it increases the risk of developing Alzheimer's by 5 to 20 times the normal risk. The new field of Darwinian medicine is showing how many common human maladies are a consequence of the inefficient way natural selection worked on our ancestors.
• A study by Face Research Lab has found that women in poor health are more likely to have a preference for masculine facial features. Brooks and some collaborators hypothesised that this could be because in poorer countries where health is more likely to be poor, there is also likely to be greater inequality between the richest and the poorest households. It may follow that women prefer the most masculine men where household income and security depends more on male aggression and status. Upon testing this theory, Brooks and co found that income inequality (the Gini index, often used by economists) is a better predictor of variation among countries in preferences for masculinised faces. He also showed that homicide rate is a promising correlate of preferences – with countries where homicide rate is high also preferring more masculinised faces.
• Evolutionary theory also predicts that a catastrophe is looming in the next decade, as 20 to 30 million more boys than girls come of age in China and India. In many animal species, when males overabound, they often compete so fiercely to court, win and even coerce the few available females into mating that everybody suffers. The same is true when the supply of men on the marriage market exceeds the demand from females.

Are you interested in this type of thing, or does it make you yawn?

Robustness

"Do you consider yourself to be robust?"

When I was interviewing for various legal jobs, I was asked the question several times. It seems to be the HR buzz word of the minute in legal circles.

They're presumably referring to emotional robustness, or resilience. Whether you keep going despite setbacks, how easily you give up. It's a way to weed out people who crumble under pressure -

"Mental hardiness is the way you interpret what we can call stressful incidents. If you view them as something frightening they’ll probably have a negative influence on you. But if you perceive stressful incidents as challenges you can control to a certain extent, if you involve yourself enough, stress can be a motivational factor,” Hystad explains. Source

Having now survived 6 weeks in my new job, I can confidently say I AM (quite) ROBUST. I have been yelled at, hung up on and given critical tasks well beyond my expertise. It is challenging (and enjoyable) but exhausting.

It has taught me a lot about my personality. Part of the reason why I took this job is because the supervising partner was an asshole in the interview. He basically said "You probably won't make it here, you probably won't be smart / strong / resilient enough... only time will tell whether you have what it takes". He made me angry, and I saw that as a challenge. 

Although I'm proud of how I've coped so far, I'm terrified that I won't be able to keep this up. I'm actually not that bothered by the pressure / challenge of the tasks I'm given or the personalities in the office (ie being yelled at). The hardest thing is not having time to do anything other than work, and being constantly exhausted.