First Ever Giveaway!!!

This giveaway is a selection of jewellery which I hope you'll love. It celebrates 50+ followers, and god knows how many posts.

Rules

1/ Open to Australian residents only.

2/ Follow me via Google Friend Connection or Bloglovin' (on the right)

3/ Leave a comment telling me your email address, and which type of my blog posts you most like reading and why.

Competition closes on 1 March 2012.

The Prize!!!

#1 Kitsch forbidden apple necklace on a long chain

 

 

#2 Feminine horsey stud earrings

  

#3 Boho flower print wooden disc earrings

#4 Metal earrings with bells that I picked up in India

#5 Gorgeous handmade fairy baby domino keyring featuring number 8 (my lucky number!)

Restaurant Review: The Artisan, Narrabundah

Recently for a colleague's leaving lunch, we went to The Artisan in Narrabundah. I was super excited because it meant I got to check out the Vinnies store there - not quite befitting of an expensive luncher, but very befitting of an op shop addict :-)

The Artisan states that their philosophy is "to provide an experience that showcases the master craft of food and wine – from the ingredients, technique and knowledge we use to the ability to select the perfect wine to match each of our creations."

I was certainly impressed with the waiter's knowledge about the ingredients contained in the food and how it is made. This is the kind of service that you'd hope to get in a fine dining institution. I have been to places which are much more expensive than The Artisan and the waiters have not had a clue about anything when we've asked a question...

I didn't have an entree, but by all accounts the braised pork belly was fantastic:

 

Maple brushed pork belly, slow braised in Gypsy pear cider with witlof
and hazelnuts - $19

A selection of mains:

 

Terrine of ratatouille niçoise with crisp zucchini flowers, goat fetta and red wine

reduction - $28

Pure South eye fillet with potato soufflé, black Terra Preta truffle butter and port jus - $35

And desserts:

Crème brulee - Vanilla bean custard with burnt sugar, pistachio and spiced pineapple - $14

Bitter chocolate and cherry pavé with crème anglaise and rose fairy floss - $14

Chewy meringue encased in a cellophane wafer with cream chabousse, seasonal berries and passionfruit liqueur reduction - $14

Overall, I enjoyed my beef, but I didn't find the flavours to be overly spectacular. I really didn't like the cheesy potato pie thing that came with it, but the beans wrapped in prosciutto went down nicely.

The creme brulee was good but I was expecting more of a traditional creme brulee - I personally would have described their creation as more of a pana cotta in terms of texture and taste.

I would return and order differently, because the service was excellent and the food was very well presented and has potential.

Why Groupon Sucks & Needs Digital Marketing Lessons

About 3 months ago, I won a prize on the lovely Mez's blog - a $20 Groupon voucher. Groupon Australia had provided Mez with a coupon code which I could use to redeem my credit.

The problem is, there was no where in my Groupon account to put in a code to get credit. I tried various things, including getting to the last page of a mock purchase to see whether I could put the code in there.

I emailed Mez, who emailed Groupon. When I still hadn't heard from them weeks later, Mez gave me the contact email address of the specific "Blog Marketing" guy who had offered her the prize. I sent emails to both this contact, and the generic Groupon inquiries email address detailing my issue. Two weeks later I sent more emails.

Then I tried phoning Groupon. It wasn't about $20, it was about the principle of the matter. Unfortunately, Groupon are ALWAYS experiencing "above average call volumes". After spending 20+ minutes on hold on two separate occasions, I gave up on the idea of ever being able to contact Groupon.

The end result? I have a "code" which is a jumble of letters and numbers, and is completely useless. I have concluded that Groupon have shocking customer service, and deserve a bad rap for failing to provide prizes that they offered. I would not touch them with a 10 foot pole because I imagine if I had a problem redeeming a deal, I'd be met with the same dismal customer service.

Where's the logic in providing a measly $20 prize and then failing to honour it, thereby pissing off a number of people who previously had nothing against your company?

Groupon should send their "marketing" staff to a digital marketing for idiots course. All staff should also be required to wear the following stamp on their forehead:

Perhaps I should send media@groupon.com.au an email with this recommendation ;-)

In exciting news, I will soon be hosting my very first giveaway on this blog... stay tuned!

Happy Valentines Day

Source: DelphineSTUDIO

Happy Valentines Day :) If you are single, use this as an opportunity to show your girlfriends some love. I have a habit of sending anonymous cards signed 'Your Girl Crush XX'.

Valentines day is also Singles Awareness Day (this has the unfortunate accronym of S.A.D).

Interesting Valentines Day traditions:

USA/CANADA

• Valentine’s Day is widely observed in the US and Canada, and it is common for children to have classroom parties at school where they give their friends cards and small gifts. It is the second busiest day of the year for restaurants, behind Mother’s Day, and the second largest holiday for greeting card delivery, after Christmas.

ASIA

• Japan: The Japanese typically spend three days dedicated to similar practices of Valentine’s Day. Valentine’s Day itself is celebrated on February 14th as well as much of the rest of the world. On this day, women give the special men in their lives chocolates, usually homemade. Kiri-choco chocolate is for friends and family while hon-mei is for boyfriends and spouses. March 14th or “White Day” is a day when many men reciprocate these sentiments by giving women tokens of their love or even declaring their love for the first time.
• Taiwan: On both Valentine’s Day and the holiday of the lunar calendar (July 7) flowers are given to women by the men. The flowers have great significance in their quantity. One rose means “a love” while 11 roses means “favorite,” 99 means “forever” and 108 roses means “Will you marry me?”
• In South Korea, similar to Japan, women give chocolate to men on February 14, and men give non-chocolate candy to women on March 14 (White Day). On April 14 (Black Day), those who did not receive anything on the 14th of Feb or March go to a Korean restaurant to eat black noodles.
• Since 2004, couples from all over the Philippines gather to try and break the world record for the most people kissing simultaneously. The festival is held at city shopping malls across the country and takes places at midnight when couples must kiss for 10 seconds—or longer for those who get carried away

EUROPE

• Austria: It is customary for a young man to present his beloved with a bunch of flowers - but he should find out what the women's favourite flowers are first.
• Denmark: One custom is for people to send pressed white flowers called Snowdrops to their friends and lovers. Others visit the Little Mermaid, Den Lille Havfure in Copenhagen and the famous Tivoli amusement park, specially on Valentine’s Day. Danish also send gaekkebrev (joking letters,) rhyming messages signed with one dot for each letter in the name of the sender. If the receiver, usually a girl, guesses the name, then she is rewarded with… an Easter Egg later in the year!
• In Norway, according to the legends, the sight of birds mating are a sure sign of spring and love. So Valentine's Day in Norway has become associated with that, and Norwegians tend to look for birds especially on February 14. Spring celebrations and Valentine's Day celebrations have become interlinked over the years.
• In Lithuania and Latvia, it is common for people to put stickers on faces and clothing of a friend or a relative.

SOUTH AMERICA

• In some Latin American countries Valentine's Day is known as "Día del Amor y la Amistad" (Day of Love and Friendship). For example Mexico, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Puerto Rico, as well as others. It is also common to see people perform "acts of appreciation" for their friends.
• Brazil celebrates the “Day of the Enamored” on June 12 instead, with gifts exchanged between sweethearts.
• In much of South America, the Amigo Secreto (secret friend) celebration combines with more traditional Valentine’s activities on February 14. Amigo Secreto involves giving anonymous gifts to friends, similar to a “Secret Santa” exchange.

MIDDLE EAST/ISRAEL

• Though Saudi Arabia bans observation of Valentine’s Day, roses and Valentine’s cards flood the black market.
• Tu B’Av in Israel corresponds to late August in the common calendar, and is similar to Valentine’s Day, with romantic dates, weddings and expressions of love.
• In Pakistan, the Jamaat-e-Islami political party has called for the banning of the holiday. Despite this, the celebration is increasingly popular and the florists expect to sell great amount of flowers, especially red roses.
• The celebration of Valentine's Day in Iran has been harshly criticized by Islamic Teachers who see the celebrations as opposed to Islamic culture. In 2011, the Iranian printing works owners' union issued a directive banning the printing and distribution of any goods promoting the holiday, including cards, gifts and teddy bears.

Canberra Multicultural Festival

The Multicultural Festival is held on a February weekend in Canberra every year. Local and not-so-local restaurants and anyone else with food knowledge can set up a stall with food from a specific country/area/region, and the result is food from all over the globe and plenty of delicious choices. The embassies also set up stalls, so you can pick up information and learn about lots of different countries too. Finally, Government stalls provide an excellent source of freebies - I got a free cookbook (to encourage people to eat more fruit and veg), water bottle (I actually needed one!), a duck shaped shower timer (again, have always wanted to force my sister to use one), mini wooden cricket bat (for Bub) and more.

It is a little crowded for my liking and at most food stalls you have to queue for a long time to get your food, but it's a fun experience. There is plenty of entertainment - dancing and singing from around the globe, and kids entertainment. I would have loved to have watched some but it was impossible to get anywhere near the stage and I couldn't see anything from where we could find space to stand.

They have improved it from last year but it was still too squashy and there wasn't enough seating - if they spread it out more and added more seating areas, it would be much nicer.

Here are some happy snaps from the day:

 Police motorbike rides at the AFP stall - cute! You could also see and find out about the various instruments that police use for drug testing and other police work.

 Yummy waffles. A little overpriced at $10, but prices are generally inflated at this festival.

 These "chips on a stick" were all the rage!

 Behind the scenes at one of the Gozleme stalls.

 Mmmm

 A crowded eating area

I couldn't resist lining up for chips on a stick- although it was too oily and made me feel sick, I had to try one for the novelty value if anything!

For anyone who needs a business idea, these chips on a stick are super easy to make and people were going mad for them. They sold at $5 per stick. All you need is a spiral potato cutter, a deep fryer and some sort of spice mix to sprinkle over the oily potato. Maybe the business name has been registered in Australia, but you could call it 'Spiral Potatoes' or something and I don't think they'd be able to claim exclusivity over the product (it's worth checking anyway!).

More Tip Shopping

Why is it when things are going badly, they only get worse? Today I went to Coles in Manuka to do the grocery shopping and upon returning to my car, some idiot had scratched the whole side of it and driven off. Just what I needed, this really makes my weekend.

In more positive news, I said in a previous post that I'd be uploading photos of items in my wardrobe to sell - and I finally did it. Check out 'WEAR MY WARDROBE' for pics and prices. I have added some descriptions, but otherwise if you are interested in anything please email me and ask questions. Postage is extra - cost price for a 500g or 3kg satchel and registered postage if you'd like.

Since it is Sunday, the original intention of this post was to share my recent op shopping experiences and link up with Sophie. After my experience at the Mugga Lane Tip, I decided to visit the Mitchell Tip so that I had experienced the whole gamut of Canberra tips or "resource management centres".

The Mitchell tip shop is much better organised and tidier than the Mugga Lane one. It also seemed a bit smaller, but maybe I was imagining it.  Unfortunately I didn't find an exercise bike, which is the main reason I visited, but it was still a fun experience.

 Outside at the Mitchell tip - plenty of rusty bikes

 Sofas galore

 These would make great planters - I would buy these if I planned to stay in Canberra for any decent period of time. They're still for the taking!

 Corner cabinet - another nice piece.

Vintage wooden toy truck, would look great as a planter too! I can picture it with lots of colourful flowers :-)

I found a few books to read for $1 a piece, and apart from that managed to resist buying. The tip shops are DIY heaven - there are plenty of things like old window frames, building materials, lots of furniture... there are also things like bird aviaries, aquariums, kids toys, plenty of CRUTCHES if you break a leg (LOL... I paid $40 for mine from the hospital!), books, kitchenware and bric a brac. 

Nothing is priced, you can either ask a staff member how much something costs (for large items) or take it to the counter (smaller items). From what I saw, things seemed to be really cheap. Best of all, proceeds go to charity like any other op shop.

Difficult Discussions

I have been reflecting a lot lately. Reflecting about life, about the choices I have made and those I have ahead of me. It is amazing how negative I am feeling about everything. My feelings have really changed a lot in a short time - when I was reflecting on 2011 I was so positive about the year to come.

The more I think about it, the more I think I need to make big changes to get myself out of this rut. I'd like to move back to Perth, start hunting for my own house to buy, find a more challenging job and something that I actually enjoy.

My manager has been increasingly inaccessible this year to date. He is hardly in the office, and when he is he doesn't have time to invest in the team. This means that I'm not getting challenging tasks, and I am getting tidbits of tasks rather than being part of a whole process.

Yesterday I bit the bullet and spoke to him about how I'm feeling about work. He suggested that maybe I was feeling this way because "the novelty has worn off". I replied that when I first started, I enjoyed getting across new subject matter and that it was challenging and enjoyable. But that's not challenging forever. I asked about the possibility of a transfer. He said 'no'. I asked if I could take a few days off to clear my head, and he said 'maybe, it depends on work loads'. That's fine, but I haven't had any 'work load' for the past 3 months, so what's going to change in the week?

The real problem is that I don't know what I want to do work wise. If I felt passionately about a career path, I would do whatever it takes to get there. Unfortunately, I am feeling uninspired by every choice available to me, and it's disheartening.

I have worked as a lawyer at a top tier firm. Hated it. I decided to move to Government, so that I could have a better work life balance and still do interesting work. While I was getting across new subject matter, I found it satisfying. I had slow, boring times and busy, exciting times. Now I am no longer challenged, and I'm not getting any personal satisfaction. It's too early to ask to transfer into a different area within the same Department in a general transfer round - I'd have to stick out the job I'm in for the next year if I stayed here.

My options if I move back to Perth:

• Move back to a law firm, perhaps a smaller one. It will be challenging to do this as I have very limited experience at a law firm, and Government work is not really valued. It is do-able, but I'd have to take quite a substantial pay cut and who knows if I'd even enjoy it. I suppose I have nothing to loose.
• Move to a different Government Department in Perth. This could work if a job came up at my level that sounds interesting. I have been scanning the APS jobs and WA Government Careers websites and nothing seems suitable at the moment. I'm not sure how easy it would be to transfer after only having 18 months experience in Government - 2+ years would make it a lot easier.
• Go back to uni. I could study psychology or something else and look at going down a totally different career path. I cannot justify this after all the study I have already done, the large HECS debt already accrued and the amount of time I would have wasted on my previous studies (6 years!).
• Take a break. Become a nanny again, as I did part-time during uni. The problem with this is that it would make getting back into my degree related workforce very tough. It doesn't look good that I have worked for a few months, taken a year off (that was 2010 - the year I traveled, and nannied, and was supposed to 'find myself), worked for another 18 months and then taken another year off. A prospective employer would ask why, and there isn't an honest answer that wouldn't make me look uncommitted and/or unbalanced. 
• Find a job working on the mines. This could pay quite well even for a menial position. I think I'd find this interesting, but it presents the same problem re getting back into the workforce. It might also be difficult to secure a job because a law degree is not as helpful as a tafe diploma and/or work experience in getting a job as a kitchen hand for example! I don't have enough experience to get a FIFO job in law or anything related to my career to date.

There is no option that is that appealing at the moment, which is disconcerting. Anyone have any advice? How did you find a career path that you love? Did you have to try a few things first? I'd love to hear if anyone else has felt similar.