On the brink of a long weekend

(An aside - last weekend we spent some time with the children which i didn't blog about in the craziness that followed, so I'll just post a couple of pics of the little tykes cause they're just so darn cute.)

So, busy busy as always. So busy in fact that i am not only on the brink of a long weekend, but also on the brink of exhaustion, alas. Tired as i am, here's some of the stuff I've been up to...*drumroll*

What I've been reading: Julie & Julia. The movie of which is coming out this week i think, and I'm looking forward to seeing it! It's a nice little book based on Julie Powell's (the author) blog during a year of her life in which she decides to cook all 500+ recipes in Julia Child's (one of the first 'celebrity chefs' i suppose you could say) epic french cookbook, aptly titled Mastering the Art of French Cooking. She laughs, she cries, she swears like a sailor - thus, i really enjoyed it.

What I've been watching - HA. SVU, what else, cause I'm slowly making my way through season 10 and trying not to read too much about the current season showing in the US, but that's hard cause the world wide web makes things like that way to accessible. I have not had ANY time to watch all the glee episodes that Adam and Daniel have kindly given me, so i am having a marathon this weekend and Jo can just suck it.

Also, Kat and I went to see the movie The Young Victoria on Tuesday night which we both loved - we act like tough broads, but we're both romantics at heart, aren't we Kat *winks* Plus, the guy who played Prince Albert was damn good-looking. Sheesh. It made for a great two hours. Anyway, it's all about the early years of Queen Victoria, who to this date remains the longest reigning monarch of Britain, ruling for nearly 64 years until 1901. There's a lot about how she met and fell in love with her husband, the aforementioned handsome and dashing Albert, and their marriage was famous cause they actually (shock horror) loved each other, which for royalty in those times was pretty darn rare. 9 kids and 20 years of marriage later, he died of typhoid in his early 40s. She mourned him by wearing black for the rest of her life, and had his clothes laid out every day until she died. Creepy, you say? Don't be so cold-hearted. It's true love. Right? Right?

What I've been eating - Now you're talking baby. So it was our friend Tony's birthday last week (shout out to Tony - Happy Birthday! Again!), and we went out to dinner to celebrate. Rosso Pomodoro in Balmain was the destination, which is a little local pizzeria that's always packed out basically cause the pizzas totally rock. But the highlight was dessert - nutella calzone, and LORD was it good. We cut into it and a river of nutella burst forth (did you like that? my cleverness just kills me sometimes. not.) Anyway. It was delicious.

Then last night David, Mel, Jo and I went to Table for 20 for dinner. I can barely remember when we made the bloody booking, but it must have been over 4 months ago - it's always booked out months in advance, and for good reason cause it was fantastic. The concept is that you go and eat at one big table with a bunch of other strangers, with whom you share platters of food (no menu either, you just get what you're given - i didn't tell Jo that bit till yesterday to save myself months of agony), bringing back this idea of communal dining and sharing a meal with people in the truest sense. The food is all very fresh - we had pappadelle with crab meat and tomato sauce, veal backstrap with potato's and salad, and tirimisu for dessert (made by the owner's mother, no less). He makes his own limincello (a lemon liquor) which you sample afterwards, except it was so strong that David, Mel and I couldn't take more than a sip. Not that it mattered, cause Jo came to our rescue and drank all 4 glasses. What a trooper *blinks*

Jo and I after a...few....drinks, at Table for 20

David and Mel

After dinner, we were walking back to the car and couldn't help but notice this little number hanging on the wall outside a building:

Sex workers of Australia take heed! Scarlet Alliance needs YOU! Enlist now!

Further research has led me to discover that this association actually does very good work in what can be a (let's face it) dangerous profession that many people don't choose but fall into through circumstances beyond their control. Sometimes the best you can do is try to keep it safe and speak for the ones that don't always have a voice.

But i mean really. Calling yourself the Scarlet Alliance really opens you up to vulnerability. Comically speaking.

I'm off to enjoy my long weekend folks - even in this shitty rain. Jo's going to make me brunch! Can't miss that. See y'all later.