Penguin meets custard

Tonight an electricity sales woman interrupted my dinner. I initially turned her away, but then she started tearing up and said 'fuck it, it's been a bad day' and then I invited her inside. She was English. She reminded me of Martine McCutcheon's character on Love Actually when she swore at the prime minister, then swore again for swearing. And her presence silently guilted me into tidying the kitchen while she stood at my table signing my electricity away to the unknown. She told me she thought I looked 19. Wow! She also told me she is 17, just put a deposit down on a house and is currently living in a hostel with five boys and my house was tidy in comparison. She seemed very accomplished for her age. She even works 60 hours a week.

I felt duped for inviting her in and having her sign me over to another company, but at the same time intrigued. I sort of wanted to offer her my business card and ask her to be my friend. It was like having someone from East Enders in my home for half an hour. She didn't care I was in my pyjamas with a messy kitchen, she was happy to tell me her life story. My dinner was nothing to report on - Asian greens with blackbean sauce and lamb chops. So lucky this sales woman interrupted me.

Last night's dessert was worth writing about. I really like fruity desserts. Last night I made rhubarb, apples and berries and served it with custard.

 I know a few people who have never cooked rhubarb. It's really easy. Make sure you chop off the leaves as they're poisonous. Wash the rhubarb and trim the ends. Cut rhubarb into 5 cm lengths and place in a saucepan or bowl with a few tablespoons of water, about two tablespoons of sugar and some vanilla essence. I saw Faux Fuschia likes to use vanilla paste. So do I, but it's more costly than lamb chops! I also add a chopped apple or two - peel still on - and some berries. Yesterday I used half a tin of blackberries. Sometimes I use strawberries or blueberries on their last legs.

 I let this fruit mixture cook on very low heat for about an hour. It goes really soft and takes on a ruby hue.

My Penguin Mug-Jug told me he wanted to try some custard with his fishy. His fishy-wishes were granted.

Penguin Mug-Jug, meet Foster Clark.

I enjoyed the rhubarb, apples and berries with the custard. Such a nice dessert for a cold winter's night.

Here is what I wore today. I was inspired by Kitty Cate's outfit from yesterday. I love the bright floral skirt and wear this year round.

Coat by Target, merino jumper by Glassons, skivvy by Sussan, skirt by Jeanswest, leggings by Metallicus, boots by Rivers, brooch from Call Me Madam Boutique, hairclip by Mimco, hair swept by the wind.

It was a beautiful sunny warm day until these photos were taken. My eyes were squinty and shut because of the wind.

Penguins and pandas. Cute and functional

Can you believe it's a Saturday night and I'm in bed at 7.30 pm! Party central at Chez Carly. I am very tired after a lengthy drive to Bendigo and back. It was a windy, rainy day and the drive required much concentration. My trusty iPod played all the right music though - very pleased!

I visited my lovely friend Danielle and her husband and their dog. Danielle is due to have a baby soon, and it was very exciting seeing the nursery and the cute things she has made. Danielle is a very talented artist and designer! We had a leisurely catch up at a cafe - we haven't seen each other for a while, so this time spent together was nice.

Here is what we ate for lunch at Green Olive Cafe.

Danielle had French onion soup and ciabatta bread. The thing floating in it is cheesy bread. She said it was beautiful and filling.

She also had a juice.

I had a smoothie full of raspberries, blueberries and strawberries. I needed something healthy after the wrath of Friday night drinks and junk food.

I love all day breakfasts. I had a veggie breakfast with grilled tomato, garlic mushrooms, scrambled eggs, potato rosti and a side of salmon. It was great. Especially the rosti. A nice alternative to hashbrowns.

Given lunch was at 12.00 pm and I had not eaten since the wrath of Friday night drinks with colleagues including the fabulous Jentopia (hello deep fried samosas and spring rolls, party pies, chips and dips, plus the sausage roll I had beforehand!) I was famished. This meal was well deserved.

After a long walk around the shops in Bendigo, braving the icy weather, we found that the cafe that sold Fraus chocolate had closed for the day, so I decided to make some real hot chocolate at Danielle's house.

Here it is on the stove. There may or may not be two blocks of Cadbury's in this milk.

It was so rich. So delicious!

Mandatory marshmallows.

Danielle's husband said I can be a guest chef anytime!

This is what I wore. It was quite warm in Melbourne when I left home at 8.15 am. It was considerably colder in Bendigo.

Merino cardi and sparkly top from Portmans, grey dress from Sportsgirl (oil marks care of Vaseline), leggings from Kmart, boots from Tony Bianco, necklace from Wiyomu via Etsy via Polly for Kris Kringle, brooch that used to be a necklace from Henty Field Days (glued by me) and handmade beanie from Salamanca market in Tasmania (it's a year today since I bought the hat!). I actually have two more tops on underneath - rugged up snuggly!

Aside from the theme of friendship in this blog entry (Dan and I have been friends for 10 years this year, and though there are some years between us, we get on as though we are contemporaries - apart when we don't know the music from each other's era!) shopping is very important. You may be wondering what I bought. Bendigo has some nice boutique stores - we browsed homeware and baby stores. It was nice. These stores reminded me a lot of Hobart's (how I miss Hobart!).

My favourite store in Bendigo was Bob Boutique. I could have bought almost everything in this store. Everything is so cute and luxurious. I wanted the stamps and the brooches and the necklaces and the stationery...lucky they have an online store...

I bought this penguin mug-jug. It can be a mug and can be a jug. Lucky for this because I rarely serve tea and coffee. Maybe the penguin would like some custard with his fishy...

Its little beak is the lip of the jug. So cute!

I have wanted a penguin since I read a book about a penguin in year three and made a penguin place-mat. But apparently I am not allowed to keep one in my bathtub so the mug-jug will have to do.

I also bought this panda cup and spoon set. Adorable. I love pandas. I like pandas as much as penguins. I actually have three items of clothing with pandas on them. Bob Boutique had a lot of things featuring pandas.

The panda spoon has little paws that grip the cup. And the back of the cup has a ladybug.

The awwwww factor of today's purchases is a million.

Thanks for a great day, Dan xx I had fun :)