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A Valentine Gift Guide Sample for the Domestic Goddess

By
Melissa Loh
– February 7, 2012Posted in: In the Kitchen

It’s the season of luuuuuuuuuurve!

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you would’ve seen hearts, red and pink everywhere as people and businesses crank up l’amore in the run-up to Valentine’s Day.

Now if you (or your partner) is anything like the SO, your romance factor is probably about as dead as a door nail. It’s not that you don’t care (you most certainly do!). It’s just you don’t know what to do.

And if you (or your partner) is anything like me, you probably don’t mind an unromantic partner, because it’s all a commercial stunt, yaddah yaddah yaddah. Besides, you want something useful, damnit!

So here’s a quick little Valentine’s Day gift guide for the domestic goddess – cute functional homeware you can package up with the bouquet of flowers.

  1. Tuscan Amore Plate from Isabella
  2. Olive Oil Dipping Dish from Cox and Cox
  3. Set Of Six Heart Shaped Teaspoons from Not On High Street
  4. Heart Bundt Pan from Broadway Panhandler
  5. Love To Bake Measuring Set from Modcloth
  6. Zero Japan Teapot, Saturn from Everten
  7. INSIDEOUT Hearts Cup Set of 6 from Yedihouse
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3

GLOSSYBOX (Australia) – January 2011

By
Melissa Loh
– February 3, 2012Posted in: In the Closet

This is uber late, but I have an excuse! Four days and three nights camping on the beach can really eat into one’s blogging time. (^_~)

Review of the GLOSSYBOX Service Experience

This delivery has been the smoothest one yet! Three days after receiving a tracking number via email, I received a delivery slip in our crappy letterbox to collect the package at our nearest post office. Everything went without a hitch.
 

Review of the Beauty Samples

In January’s GLOSSYBOX, the extras thrown in included:

  • a set of Australian temporary tattoos
  • a GLOSSYBOX voucher for their upcoming Men’s GLOSSYBOX subscription
  • 2 $25 gift cards for The IONIC for a minimum spend of $49
  • a $20-off coupon from Mirenesse for their Crystal Glow Hydrating Powder SPF 15

NIVEA Rich Nourishing Body Moisturiser
RRP $5.40 (250ml)

I’ve known of the NIVEA brand since I was a kid, popping my mum’s NIVEA tin disc packaging to oogle at its stiff creamy whiteness.

The NIVEA Rich Nourishing Body Moisturiser is quite different from the original product I remember. Its consistency is thinner, much more fluid and flows easily. Thus, I found myself slathering more on. It absorbs easily and does not leave a greasy residue on my skin.

The scent is also different – it’s certainly not as strong, and lacks that fragrance that instantly takes me back to my childhood. Which in my opinion, is a bit of a shame as I quite liked the original fragrance.
 

KOSMEA Daily Facial Exfoliant
RRP $39.95 (125gm)

This is another new cosmetic brand for me. KOSMEA is an Australian natural skincare company, which uses certified organic rose hip oil in

This has very coarse grains for exfoliation. As I was squeezing it out, it would sometimes get clogged from the large grains, so I was not sure if it is suitable for daily use. Instructions were to gently massage into the skin and rinse off with warm water. The product comes out like a soft mud mask with exfoliants, but massages in easily.

Immediately after use, my skin did feel smoother, but also drier and I felt like I needed to slap on moisturiser immediately. I can’t really tell if it improves my skin condition or if I should use it everyday due to the coarse grains.
 

SHEER COVER Nourishing Moisturiser
RRP $29.95 (60ml)

To be honest, I cannot bring myself to rave about this one. The sample is half the quantity of a full-sized bottle, which is great for travel.

The moisturiser is thin and absorbs quickly – more watery than creamy. The scent reminds me of sunscreen and it does have SPF coverage, but just about everything skincare product in Australia does.

After application, it doesn’t make any particular difference to my skin – granted my skin type is oily and my priority for skincare is oil control.
 

SHEER COVER lipgloss
RRP $19.95 (2.5gm)

First impressions from the packaging: solid clear plastic casing, making it easy to see the colour of the product. I would expect the catch to wear down quickly for heavy users though. There is no applicator, so one would have to use a lip brush or fingers to apply. Personally not my favorite way to apply lippie, but to each their own.

As for the lipgloss itself, it glides on really easily and quite thinly. The colour is a vibrant coral in the casing, but it is very faint on swatching. The coral barely shows through the shine. I had to swatch twice to get that colour to show through above. This is definitely more suitable for those who prefer lipglosses that stay pale and subtle.

I don’t particularly enjoy the scent either. It has that strange funky smell you get with some cosmetics that immediately puts me off.
 

MIRENESSE Tight Liner Hydra Gel Eye Liner
RRP $29.95 (2gm)

Another MIRENESSE product! I have been enjoying the lipgloss from GLOSSYBOX Nov 2011 and have since been regularly checking their website for their other products, reading reviews and comparing them to the products I already use. There is buzz about the MIRENESSE mascara and eyeliner, so I was thrilled to get a chance to try their eyeliner out, especially as I am a tightliner (what is tightlining?).

MIRENESSE Tight Liner Hydra Gel Eye Liner comes in a simple thin black pen. Its product colour is colour coded on its end for easy and quick identification. The removable cap keeps the felt tip inside from drying out.

The felt tip resembles watercolour pens, so the artist in me squeed. Though soft, there is enough rigidity in the tip to draw thin or thick lines, depending on how much pressure you apply – perfect for precision cat eyes or wingtip lines. Unlike some pen eyeliners, this one cannot be sharpened nor pumped to load more product in the tip, so I expect the tip will wear down if you’re too rough with it.

Sapphire blue eyeliner is definitely not in my arsenal. The liner product is of a much thinner consistency than a gel. It is much more like ink and once dry, is a little harder to rub out (but not impossible) with your bare fingers. The eyeliner tends to disperse a faint blue hue over my oily eyelids after several hours of wear, so primer is definitely a must.

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1

Tucking in at Tukka Restaurant

By
Melissa Loh
– February 2, 2012Posted in: In the Kitchen, Reviews

When asked what is Australian food, I get a little stumped.

Much like the Singapore motherland, Australia’s cuisine scene is a mish-mash of food brought by its diverse immigrant culture that has been tweaked and assimilated over multiple generations.

20 years ago, it would’ve been predominantly influenced by the steady stream of European settlers. 10 years ago, the Asians made the pilgrimage across the oceans and today, we see more African cuisine thrown into the mix.

But one thing is for certain: if you want to try a touch of strange Australian fare done with a modern twist, Tukka Restaurant in Brisbane’s West End is consistently the place we recommend to friends and/or guests.

Anisata confit of Tasmanian possum, Davidson plum gastrique with a pickled cucumber and melon salad. AUD$19.80

Tukka Restaurant’s menu usually feature Australian meats, such as kangaroo, possum, emu, crocodile, etc. and Australian fauna that are probably much harder to come by, such as wattleseed and lily pilly.

Whichever you choose, I assure you at the very least, it will be interesting. We have certainly enjoyed our meals with Tukka.

Queensland kangaroo fillet, lemon myrtle jus, pumpkin puree, braised spring onions and gremolata. AUD$29.80

 

Cone bay salt water barramundi, pea puree, watercress and macadamia salad with a lily pilly foam. AUD$30.50

 

Anisata smoked spatchcock, kipfler potato fricassee, wilted silver beet and a finger lime emulsion. AUD$30.50

I went with something a little different and opted for the spatchcock. Since trying it some time ago, I have been interested to see what flavours other establishments incorporate with spatchcock. And I have to say, this one rocks my socks off.

Anisata is an Australian herb, which is the leaves of a rainforest tree. It produces a distinctive aniseed herb that apparently has a flavour similar to that found in star anise and fennel but with an added sweetness. The result with the finger lime emulsion is this glorious balance of sweet, sour and savoury rolled up with the juicy flesh.

These spoonfuls of sorbet were quite a surprise and act as a palate cleanser. I adore the tart flavours.

Dark chocolate biscuit with a wattle seed mousse, blood orange jelly and cinnamon blood orange sauce. AUD$14.50

 

Tukka mixed dessert plate (for 2). AUD$21.50

A year in since we last visited Tukka, and Head Chef and owner Bryant Wells and team still deliver gold stars all around. The service is warm and patient, though a little slow that particular evening.

Tukka on Urbanspoon

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1

Camping at Stradbroke Island – with breakfast beer

By
Melissa Loh
– January 30, 2012Posted in: Everyday

The prospect of being digitally unavailable was an initially unfathomable event. How would I function without my email/IM/Facebook/Twitter/insert-whatever-technology-you’re-attached-to?

But when those occasions come around, I now relish the thought all I need to concentrate on is enjoying the moment and not have something beeping at me. Hard to believe, isn’t it?

Those occasions now include our annual Australia Day camping trip to Stradbroke Island – a 45 minute ferry ride across from the mainland. Over 4 days and 3 nights, this was home.

That maroon tent is ours – the second tent we purchased after we realised tent manufacturers really meant dwarf sized people when they said X-number of people could fit in their tents. This one apparently can house 6 people, but it actually fits the SO, I and our queen-size air mattress with some space to spare for belongings.

Oh, and we can stand upright in it – a handy feature to make changing into swimwear without showing all your junk more convenient.

But why rough it?

So we can be right next to this…

Yup, our own little spot of paradise.

Cylinder Beach is one of the nicest stretches of beach I’ve had the pleasure of frolicking in. It’s patrolled almost everyday by Surf Life Savers. The waves are not as large or powerful as the ones down the Gold Coast. And as the tide goes out, the sandbars form these natural lagoons – perfect for families with young kids who cannot tackle the bigger waves, but want to enjoy the water.

True, the weather forecast for the Australia Day week was dire – rain, rain and more rain. We almost cancelled, but were too stubborn to give up. Yet while it did rain, it was perfectly manageable and despite the overcast skies, the SO and our friends managed to get sunburnt.

We don’t eat too shabbily either!

The SO’s parents gave us a camping stove for Christmas in 2010, but it hadn’t been broken into as we decided against camping in 2011 due to the Queensland flood (all that water had to go out into the ocean and swimming in it didn’t seem like a good idea).

Camping with friends allowed us to plan meals together and were able to have bacon and eggs for breakfast on two mornings. Yummy!

Oh, and of course, breakfast beer. :)

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1

Pies at the Carungra Outpost Cafe

By
Melissa Loh
– January 23, 2012Posted in: In the Kitchen, Reviews

The last time the SO and I drove up to O’Reiley’s was when girlfriend Celeste and @iriael were visiting back in October 2009. That’s a looooooong time ago, so we thought to give our new car a little test run on those country roads.

Enroute, we stopped in the little township of Canungra, just 90km from Brisbane for a quick lunch.

You cannot miss The Outpost Cafe when you’re in Canungra. The large Australian windmill up on the roof is a dead giveaway and if you’re lucky, you might spy a vintage or kit car parked out front.

I had the steak and kidney pie with chips and gravy, while the SO had the steak and mushroom (his favorite flavour).

Now I have never had a steak and kidney pie before, but this one was pretty good. The kidney flavour was not as strong as one would expect and there were real pieces of steak.

The SO chowed down on his steak and mushroom without much of a peep, so I take it he enjoyed it.

The chips are ok – nothing fancy or particularly interesting.

The Outpost Cafe on Urbanspoon

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