30 Days of me - Day 16

Day 16 - Another picture of yourself

Hiding behind my bowl..
Showing the mister the finer points of eating.. Asian stylez.. :D

Short post today.. busy day at work as Ms K is on holiday this week... 

The mister took a half day, so came and took me to lunch... yeay!! Then he came and got me from work and we went late night shopping.. then went out for dins coz it was late and I didn't want to cook...

Oh and my LOMO cameras arrived!!!! *over excitement! ladywood!* (did I just post that... oh yes I did... oh dear.. right.. moving right along!)

AND the mister went and got me my belated V day presents!!  But now it's late and it's beddiebyes times for this monkey lady.. so, I promise to photo all my spoils over the weekend and share them with you... (if anyone cares??!!)

30 Days of me - Day 15

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Day 15 - Put your ipod on shuffle: First 10 songs that play

1. Know Your Enemy - Rage Against the Machine
2. Left right - Chemical Brothers
3. Love - Destiny's Child
4. Blessed - Elton John
5. Southern Sun - Paul Oakenfold
6. I and I - Katchafire

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7. Enter Sandman - Metallica
8. Lose Control - Missy Elliot
9. Hurt so Good - John Cougar Mellencamp
10. Crawl - Kings of Leon

It's like a schizophrenic's playlist!

But the range of music I listen to is just that varied... maybe even more varied.. but you get an idea..  :)  I listen to all sorts of stuff.. with the exception of maybe classical music..  tho that's not to say, I wouldn't love to go watch a symphony orchestra one evening!

Happy Hump Day!!

The Dangers of a Quiet Workday...

Online shopping... GAH!! Thanks to vouchercodes.co.uk I discovered boohoo.com.. Thanks to boohoo.com, I discovered these things...

Helena Stripe Dress
I'm not entirely convinced about this dress.. would be cute for summer tho..??

Lola Dogtooth Button Pocket Shift Dress

I love this dress! So cute.. and I am digging that neckline..

Kimba 2 in 1 Colour Block Dress

Again, I'm not entirely sold on this dress, mostly because I don't think I'm skinny enough to pull it off...

But wouldn't mind getting it to try it on... what do you think??

And then.. there are these...

Anna Purple Criss Cross Front Heel

GAH!! YES PLEASE!!

So, what do you think?? Yes?? No??

It's free returns if I don't like the stuff.. so... I'm not losing out on anything...

Coz I'd get free delivery... hmmmm....

  

Earth Hour 2011 - Yahtzee by Candlelight

So, some of you may or may not know that it was Earth Hour at 8.30pm on Saturday night (your local time).. It was an initiative started in 2007 in Sydney, Australia and has since taken off around the Globe. The idea being that if everyone switched their lights off for an hour between 8.30 - 9.30, even just one night a year, we would be saving the world lots of energy.... with the idea of course, that you are supposed to carry that sentiment into your daily routine.. switch the light off when you leave the room etc etc.

Lights out for Earth Hour!

I had previously never taken part as I was usually at work.. but this year, the mister and I were home, so we thought we'd take part... we decided to switch off the tv & our laptops as well as the lights & play Yahtzee by candlelight..

Ready! (Can you spot all our monkey friends?)

Yahtzee is a game I remember from childhood, but not one I had played a lot.. In Taiwan, some street vendors, usually the ones selling sausages would have a big bowl with 5 die in it.. if you could roll a "yahtzee" in one try, then you got the sausage for free!

Anyway, I rediscovered the game while at a hostel in Seattle a few years ago, there were groups of us sat around the living room/dining area and someone pulled out a handful of dice and asked if anyone wanted to join in for Yahtzee... curious, most people gathered around, a scorecard was hastily drawn up, the "rules" explained and off we went! It's such a simple game, requiring only 5 die, pen & paper, a bit of strategy, a bit of luck and provides loads of entertainment! It's easy enough to explain across language barriers as well, which is always a good thing! You could essentially play on your own or with just one other person rather than needing a group to play.. and it has a relatively short game cycle, which is good for those of us with relatively short attention spans!

Are there any games you play at home?? What are your favourite games??

Oh wait.. this is supposed to be about Earth Hour... Here are some other ways I try to help the planet: always having a fold up shopping bag in my handbag, so if I buy things, I don't need to take a plastic bag from the store... We also always take our own grocery bags when we go shopping.. We recycle all our paper, cardboard, glass, cans, tins and recylable plastics.. I take a lot of clothing to charity stores and thrift a lot of my clothes too.. the mister walks to and from work and I take the bus and walk..  I have to admit tho, I walk a lot less since meeting the mister because he has a car... but hopefully once the weather gets warmer, we will start walking more places rather than taking the car all the time!!

Do you do anything to help the planet?? Did you partake in Earth Hour?? What did you do, if you did??

 

An A to Z of Monkey Lady

It's a slow day at work, so you get to find out all about ME!!

Me & Mick (who looks like he has weird mutant hands)

A-Age: 20 something..

B-Bed size: King..

C-Chore you hate: Erm... I used to hate emptying the dishwasher.. but I seem to have got over that.. maybe sweeping.. I hate sweeping... vacuuming I love.. mopping is annoying, but sweeping.. annoys me.. it kicks up dust everywhere, then you have to get it all on a dustpan to get it in the bin.. ARGH.. so much easier to vacuum!! When I used to work in the banquets department of a large hotel, I would always try to get the vacuuming at the end of the night.. I find it therapeutic... weird much??

D-Dogs: No thanks.. I don’t pick up doggy doo.. & I hate people who don’t pick up after their dogs.. so yea.. no thanks..

Tho how would you say no to this face??

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E-Essential start to your day: Caffeine... normally tea unless I have time to stop off and get proper coffee...

F-Favorite Color: Erm... Aqua or Teal or Turquoise... whatever you want to call it... I have a thing for purple right now too... love love love it!

G-Gold or Silver: Silver... white gold is ok.. how ‘bout some platinum! I do have gold jewellery too, but usually bought for me by someone else.. I only tend to buy silver for myself...

H-Height: 5’6” if you get me on a good day, first thing in the morning... but probably 5’5.5” if you want to get scientific about it...

I-Instruments you play: HAHAHA... I have learnt, piano, guitar, viola, flute and had drum lessons.. but I wouldn’t necessarily say I play any of them!

J-Job title: Executive Assistant

K-Kids: Erm... never say never?

L-Live: in Edinburgh.. in a flat.. with the mister...

M-My mom's name: Ma!

N-Nickname: Monkey, Cazzita, Cazzie, Mama Caz, Doodle

O-Overnight hospital stay: Ummm... I don’t remember having to stay overnight for me.. I have stayed overnight for someone else tho...

P-Pet Peeve: Rude people.. People with no manners and no consideration for anyone else..

Q-Quote from a movie: “To lose one parent, Mr. Worthing, may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness.” – Oscar Wilde, ok, so technically it’s from a play, but they made it into a movie!!

R-Right/Lefty: Righty... but I wakeboard and snowboard goofy and I apparently set myself up to box like a southpaw... so... make of that what you will...

S-Siblings: None, zilch, nada...

T-Time you wake up: the alarm goes off at 6.45am... whether I actually “wake up” then is debatable...

U-Underwear: YES! And bikini bottoms if I run out... which has been known to happen.... *ahem* look, what's that over there? *points*

V-Veggies you dislike: Brussel sprouts, peas, eggplant... the first two, I will eat if they are on my plate.. but I won’t particularly enjoy it... the last.. I might try a bite or two, but I rarely eat much more than that...  for the most part, I love veges.. and fruit.. mmmmmmmm

W-What makes you run late: Fluffing around... and general laziness... it doesn’t take me long to get ready once I get going.. it’s just the getting going that is the hard part...

X-Xrays you've had: Erm... I think mostly on my teeth! I had braces... so I’ve had lots of teeth x rays.. and when I had my wisdoms out, I had lots... don’t think I’ve had anywhere else x rayed.. I’ve only ever broken my little toes (self diagnosed brokenness) and there’s not much that can be done about it, so...

Y-Yummy food you make: LOTS!! Apple & cinnamon chicken anyone?? Mmmmmm J

Chorizo Pizza Puff

Z-Zoo animals: Monkeys! - Really, did you need to ask??

30 Days of me - Day 14

Day 14 - A picture of you and your family

I don't seem to have a photo with my pa on hand.. so you'll have to settle for me and my mommy...

This was us at the Kylie concert in Dec 2008

Isn't she purrrdy??? :)

30 Days of me - Day 13

Day 13 - A letter to someone who has hurt you recently

You know what? I am a lucky little monkey because there hasn't been anyone who has hurt me not just recently but in recent memory..

Ok, so I was a little hurt over the weekend that Mr C didn't bother to get in touch while he was in town, but understandably, he was here to celebrate someone's b'day and we did only spend an entire weekend hanging out when he came to be our first house guest.

So here goes,

Mr C

I hope your weekend as our first house guest wasn't terribly boring and horrible. I hope we can still be friends even though the weekend probably wasn't the drunkfest you were expecting. I know you were here over the weekend for someone's birthday, but it woulda been nice to see you.  If I don't get to see you the next time you're in town, then I'm going to tell the whole tinterwebs what your nickname is and then we probably won't be friends anymore.. and that would be sucky.. so make sure you text me next time you're here!

Love your work
C xx

Chicken Scrawl

So a coupla weeks ago, Mrs Biscuit over at And They Lived Happily Ever After tagged me in a handwriting game... here.. so here is me, finally getting around to doing it... and if you're been reading my blog for a while.. you will remember... this post where I wax lyrical about penmanship... and about how annoyed I am that my handwriting has pretty much gone "down the dunny", so without further ado, here is what my handwriting looks like today... chicken scrawly!

My writing often changes depending on my mood... or what pen I'm writing with.. actually what kind of pen I'm using affects my writing quite a lot...  I think my writing changes because I hold my pen in different ways too... I used to hold my pen with my index and middle finger over the top of the pen and my thumb resting on the knuckle of my index finger.. (yes, it looks really weird if you look at it), then I got those pen grips that teach you how to hold a pen "properly" but then I burnt my middle finger right where you're supposed to rest your pen, so I went back to my old gammy way of holding pens.. even now, I go back and forth between the two... or maybe I'm just split personality, because if your writing is supposed to tell a lot about you.. and mine changes all the time.. then... hmmmm.... 

I'll leave you to come to your own conclusions!!

I'm going to go drop a note for Leanna @ The Violet Reaction & Anna @ Life is Sweet* so they can play too.. :)

Oh, I should probably say that these are the things you're supposed to answer if you want to join in:

1. what's your name and blogger name?

2. what's your blog's URL?

3. Write, "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog."

4. Favorite quote?

5. Favorite song?

6. Favorite band/singers?

7. Anything else you want to say?

8. Tag bloggers to participate.

Happy Monday!!

Dream Kitchen

So last week, Sarah over at Moske Monkey Kitchen posted this and I almost died when I saw the pictures...

I would LOVE a kitchen like that... and that PANTRY!! oh.. em.. geee!!!

I have wanted an island kitchen since I've had thoughts about designing my own house.. (about age 10, when we had a house built.. I was super excited when friends of mine became architects and engineers - my own personal ARMY of people to help my dreams to fruition!! self absorbed? just a little bit.. maybe! ;] )

An island kitchen where the GAS COOKER (I pretty much refuse to have anything else, when the mister and I were looking for flats, that was the first thing I checked.. seriously.. pedantic much?? ) is in the middle...

I love how cosy this kitchen looks.. so inviting.. 

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If I only had a kitchen this size.. (just imagine how big the rest of the house would be!) I would be a happy lady!!

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Imagine a walk in pantry, behind sliding doors!! AMAZING!!

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So there you have it my dears.. a fairly good idea of my dream kitchen... When you dream of your dream house.. what room do you dream about?? I wonder if that tells you something about each person.. I dream about kitchens and living rooms which open out onto a patio/deck/veranda... Surely other people dream about bedrooms and offices and libraries and studies... (I would love a library with shelves to the ceiling filled with books - like you see in movies) but mostly I dream of kitchens and living areas.. 

What does your dream room look like??

30 Days of me - Day 12

Day 12 - How you found out about Blogger and why you made one

I realised that I am a day ahead on this challenge as I posted twice in one day, one day... oops... over zealous much??

I was going to use that as an excuse to take a break today.. but I have pretty much already answered this question... in this post...

So there you go!

This weekend has been filled with EARLY mornings at the tree house.. because we got up to watch the first F1 qualifying & race of the season... Then today we went to our first BBQ of the season! :D

Hope you had a great weekend!!

Playing hookie on a Friday afternoon...

So.. I've done a fair bit of thrifting in the past couple of weeks... I keep meaning to post about it.. but you know the drill... life.. work... being sick..  etc etc.. Anyways.. here's a little summary of all the things I've thrifted of late..  (ok, so I was going to be clever and make some pretty photo collages for you, but I ended up closing something I shouldn't have and I lost a bunch of stuff and just lost all my motivation, so you'll just have to put up with yet another photo bomb post, apologies!) - I promise if you stick to the end, it'll be worth it!! Promise!!!

Anyways... Friday last week, work was fairly quiet so Kym offered to let me leave work early... being a nice sunny afternoon.. she didn't have to tell me twice!! I took the opportunity to go to a charity shop around the corner from work which is only open Thursday 4-7pm, Friday 10am-5pm and Saturday 10am-3pm (or something similar which isn't overly conducive shopping hours..) I managed to pick up:

These two cute purses for £1 each.. I figure I would pay for than that for just the chains & clasps, so even if I take the purses apart it was a good bargain!

These 3 tops for £1! I love tank tops for summer to layer underneath things, and I tend to destroy mine coz I wear them so much, so I figure this was a good deal.. I wasn't overly taken with the purple top on the hanger but I liked the buttons... But after trying it on.. the top's quite cute and I have a love of purple, so we shall see if that remains whole... :)

And this cute jug for 60p!! I've been looking for a little milk jug so this fits the bill perfectly!!

I decided to carry on through Grassmarket to get to the library, I stopped in a little antique and curios shop and found a brooch pretty much exactly the same as the one in this post.. and they wanted £18 for it!! Ha! I was well chuffed at my £3 find!!

Here are some views of the castle through some of the Wynds in Grassmarket!

I saw this lovely lady in the shop window of another curios shop, it had fantastic stuff.. it was all just rather pricey... :(

These are the books I picked up from the library... We had been leafing through "High Heels and a Head Torch" while at the pub in Aviemore, and it peaked my interest, so I thought I'd give it a go.. so far it's proving well entertaining..

I walked past a moody St Giles on the Royal Mile

This chair was discarded outside a flat.. If only I could upholster, I woulda bought it home and recovered it... I really like this style of chair.. but alas... my upcycling skills aren't quite there yet!!

Here are some curtains I picked up in my lunch break a couple of weeks ago, I'm not sure what I want to turn them into yet.. but I saw a cute clutch upcycled from some curtains a while ago (can't seem to find the post at the mo) so I was inspired... :)

Last weekend, I went thrifting with the mister to try and find a table to house my sewing machine... we didn't find a table... but we found Papa Smurf!!! He was a bit dirty and a bit ragged, otherwise I woulda bought him home... :)

I also picked up these shelves which shall house some crafting/sewing things once I get my "craft corner" set up somewhere... 

AND... the reward if you are still reading... Look at THESE cute things!!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE the bag!! I think the cat tin will house my new hot glue gun... and a Marie Claire cookbook for some more cooking inspiration!!

A close up of the cat tin because of it's amazing kitty cuteness!!

Thanks for making it through this really long post, I loved sharing my awesome finds with you!!

As a reward if you are STILL reading.. here are some pretty pictures of a moody Edinburgh from North Bridge... 

30 Days of me - Day 11

Day 11- Another picture of you and your friends

I'm not sure whether to tell you which year this was from...
Or which birthday this was.. haha...
circa 2003

I know it's supposed to be one photo.. but I came across this photo and I miss all the people that are in it, so I thought I would share it with you all anyways.. :)

Hogmanay 2010

30 Days of me - Day 10

Day 10 - Songs you listen to when you are Happy, Sad, Bored, Hyped, Mad

I don't have any particular songs that I listen to when I am in a particular mood... I could be happy one day and wana listen to some songs and be happy the next day and wana listen to completely different songs...

When I'm happy, I generally like crappy catchy pop music... like top 40 stuff...

When I'm sad, I will usually put on something like Gabriel by Lamb, things that are just chilled and mellow...

Bored... just depends how I want to pick myself up from being bored... usually crappy pop music again.. so I can dance around the house and entertain myself... :D

Hyped... def Rock when I'm hyped.. usually coz I'm flying down a mountain on my snowboard... think... System of a Down.. Old skool Metallica... (like Master of Puppets & the Black album old)....

Mad... depends on what kinda mad... if I want to calm down... or if I want to rage and get it out of my system.. :D

Argh.. this is a super hard post.. I feel like I'm being super vague... but my music taste is pretty vague... so... I'm not copping out... honest...

But I can tell you there are certain songs that provoke certain memories which always made me smile... :)

Some are from so long ago, they are no longer relevant.. but it takes me back to that period in time...

ie. Who let the dogs out - Baja men, reminds me of my friend Tony... from high school days...

Brass monkey - Beastie boys, reminds me of my friend Joel.. from high school days when having massive subs in your car was the coolest thing EVER... :D

I like the way - Bodyrockers, reminds me of my Canadian wife... dancing on her bed in staff housing in Whistler... mad times... MAD times... oh man... I miss her so much... I miss you wifey!!! (noone talks baby talk like you do!!)

The muppets song.. the one that's like me nah me nah - on one of the early Triple J cd's... remind me of my friend Nick, who I'm not even friends with anymore...

I could go on, but those are the Main ones that come to mind.. and they are probably fairly boring for you all so... I'm going to leave it at that...

Thanks for reading... if you're still reading... I applaud you if you are!!!

As a reward... here is a picture of my favourite band... Shihad... homegrown in NZ..

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The Rail Bridge, South Queensferry

Last night, the mister and I went to one of our fave places to eat out...
The Rail Bridge in South Queensferry...

We've eaten there a few times and we even took Ms Sok there when she came to visit.. and I have to say... they didn't disappoint... We asked for a seat upstairs (all the window tables downstairs were taken & we'd never sat upstairs before), we were delighted to find that the upstairs was decorated with paintings depicting the construction of the Forth Rail Bridge...

We were told the service may be a bit slow if we sit upstairs.. but we said that was ok... we had nothing to worry about tho because the service was attentive and polite as always.. our plates were cleared swiftly and we were never left wanting... the food, as ever, was well cooked and delicious!!  We ate :

Chrizo & Black Pudding, served with a poached egg over salad greens... (this is the mister's fave and he always get this when we come here...)

I normally have the king prawns to start because they are always done beautifully but decided to try something new on the menu... Railbridge Mushrooms... mushrooms stuffed with haggis and fried to perfection... they don't look like much on the plate.. but they are delish!!

Very rarely in our eating out adventures... (this is potentially the first time) we got the same dish... 10oz Scotch sirloin.. hung for 21days and marinaded in house sauce... the mister got a mustard and whisky sauce...

I decided a well cooked steak required no sauce.... And a well cooked steak it was!!
Actually medium rare... bordering on rare.. but that's ok by me!  I'm always hesitant to order steaks when I'm out, coz they are usually pricey.. and more often than not.. they arrive at the table over cooked... but these were perfect!!








Totally adorable lamp next to our table!

Can't wait to go back in Summer and sit outside on the patio!!

Here are some photos of Forth Rail and Forth Road bridge from South Queensferry...

The Rail Bridge can be found @ 4 Newhalls Road, South Queensferry