Pre-show prix fixe

Sunday evening...usually a time for winding down, maybe fighting a bit of the Monday Dreads as my friend Rosi calls 'em, folding the laundry finally, finishing the paper. Oh but not last night. I mustered a different kind of motivation from saturday morning yoga, and put on my Converse All Stars and headed out for some Death Cab for Cutie down at Rebel Rebel at Cockel Bay -- a bay I never knew existed til I had to find the club.

I met up with arguably the most passionate Death Cab fan this side of Seth Cohen from The OC, the lovely Stellaand we grabbed dinner at Black Bird Cafe and soon found ourselves in some pizza deja vu. Just a couple of weeks back we grabbed pizza and vino pre-Sleepy Jackson and now we were doing the same thing pre-Death Cab. Continuity can be good, so can friends who love to share a pizza with lotsa cheeze, mushrooms and onions. Rocket and parmesan for cleansing and a simple bottle of house white. Then onto the show, sold out, all the kids knew all the words and the new songs sounded great. But I was about to turn into a pumpkin before 11, so I grabbed a cab and back to Bondi I went.





But an important fashion footnote from my Sunday Bondi market outing with Michelle...will I or won't I succumb to wearing a one piece shorts combo this summer? Yikes. There was a whole slew of them at one stand and at first I thought these get ups are from another era that maybe doesn't need to be re-visited. And then I thought, wow that'd look cool my with pair of lime green Dr Scholls. Are these being sported in North America this summer or is this one of those Sydney fugly things?



And with that, I'm out.
--tc

The motivated few

It's Saturday in Bondi and grey, blustery, rainy. But I motivated to get to a yoga class and walked by the beach, and my motivation pales in comparison to the people SWIMMING across Bondi, the gaggle of surfers, and the surf life savers practicing their life-saving in rafts crashing against the waves. Who are these people? They are either crazy or they are my heroes, I'm not sure.



But I thought I'd snap a pic of the winter beach on the phone and put it up on chunkytoast. It looks to be a good day to hibernate and start in on my DVDs of series 1 of "Love My Way" and drink coffee and begin my reign of queen of the castle as I am holding down the fort on Francis Street for the next few days.

Enjoy the weekend,
tc

Austria meets Australia

Been awhile since the last post what with the ailment of last week and the start of a new gig and new commute this week. The new gig is marketing at EMI/Capitol and I'm totally digging it and the much more user-friendly accounting system than the lumbering Oracle I use to work in. But mostly, I love the roster and am hoping to stick around EMI for awhile...even tho it is out in the 'burbs or as one colleague said "in Desperate Housewives land."

And after wrapping up week 1, I met Haydn at his office for a couple of glasses of wine with office folk and then he and I headed to Una's Cafe. It was a new culinary experience, while I usually crave Chinese, Thai or Indian, I wanted something of the hearty, European type fare. So we headed to Una's, which Haydn said was Polish, but we were corrected that it is Austrian. And by the number of schnitzel options on the menu, yes it is Austrian if it is anything!

So we didn't mess around and ordered the deep-fried camembert! Oh man, this was like fancy deep fried cheese curds from, very creamy and a lovely coating, served with cranberry sauce.



For mains, Haydn went for the Jaeger Schnitzel -- veal schnitzel with a mushroom sauce, and I had the bratwurst with sauerkraut, to which the waitress replied "beautiful," when I ordered. My picture of my meal is a big shaky as I was in anticipation of more sauerkraut than I have ever seen on one plate! Haydn said if I ate the whole thing he'd walk home on his hands. It was all served with a side of spaetzle/rosti, which made me think of my friend Gregg who can live on the stuff! Oh if only there was Spotted Cow in Australia...



Now I don't think I need to eat again for about 2 days. Thanks, Una!

Happy weekend,
tc

And it was all yellow

Sadly, the yellow and gold didn't advance in the World Cup. I tried to watch, but have been knocked off my feet with a flu-type illness and became very weary about the 60th minute. But luckily I still had some life in me early in the evening so that I could go to see Coldplay. I must say, it was an exhilarating performance. Chris Martin's energy is completely boundless, and a big ol'd concert singalong is always special, no matter what. Plus, I got to meet Will (drummer) and Guy (bassist) afterwards thanks to friend-to-the stars, Haydn. And glad to say they're lovely blokes!

So...I just wanted to share this pic that Haydn took during "Yellow," which was dedicated to the Socceroos...

Meet me at Arthur's

It was a convergence of Big Day Out pals...and fellow blogspotters, when Stella and I met up at Arthur's in Paddington pre-show Sleepy Jackson. Her man, Hugh, was the lighting maesto and my man, Haydn, was production manager extraordinaire. Which meant we got to go to dinner ahead a time and skip on across the street and enjoy our guest list spot. Enjoyed the show too, sorta art rock, not too much angst even tho there could have been, and some Robert Smith-inspired make-up. All good things. And time with Stella and Emilie, who joined us at the show. The Big Day Out site office reunited -- if only there was a Silent Disco...ha!

But back to Arthur's, a classic brick oven pizza place. We got a bottle of Penfold's Shiraz from the bottle shop next door, -- served in champagne glasses cuz we're classy like that -- a rocket (arugula) and parmesan salad, a margherita pizza, and an eggplant/artichoke/other stuff pizza. Such tasty thin crust, garlicky pizza. We polished it off just as we realized the show had started and it was time to split.

Good times indeed to catch up on a rainy night over pizza at the end of the 9-5:30 week.





And a bonus photo for the Socceroos and for fans of public typos. We'll be watching at 1am tomorrow night. Very happy to still have the Aussies in the World Cup, but as Haydn said, if they would have lost at least he would have been able to get some sleep.



happy monday,
tc

This ain't no foodcourt

A quick post before heading to bed...it was a busy day at the gossip rag today, phew! What with Nic and Keith landing in Sydney for the big wedding. Well not really, as I'm in the advertising department, but a Monday nonetheless.

However, after my little woeful post about lunch at the foodcourt, one loyal reader wrote to me suggesting I go find a park. Well, now that we've switched back to some nice, mild weather instead of rain everyday, I can do just that. Especially because I currently work right across from Hyde Park. And here it is...



later
tc

Maple Flavoured

The obligatory Sunday morning breakfast post, coming at ya. Saturday breakfast is becoming pretty good too, with the last two Saturday's at Barista's across from the beach, home of actual "chunky toast" the inspiration for the very name of this here blog. So, next Saturday I'll bring along my camera there.

But today, it was American style breakfast with pancakes and bacon...and, um, Maple Flavoured Syrup. Not Maple Syrup, mind you, but maple-flavoured. Haydn contends there isn't really such a thing as Maple Syrup despite our spending an entire weekend in Vermont a couple of years back. Silly! So I must say while the pancakes were right on and the bacon from Sam the Organic Butcher as bacon-y as ever, the syrup was a tad runny. But we soldiered on in the name of breaky.

And now, the next challenge for us here in Oz is staying up to watch the Socceroos take on Brazil at 2am local time! Go Aussies Go!


The aforementioned syrup in foreground, Haydn in background:



Breakfast at my recently acquired desk from St Vinnie's, in the sunny spot:



--tc

The Chocolate Dog by day...

...Mexican by Nite! This was the sign hanging outside the coffee place in Newtown that was recommended to us for some honest to goodness authentic Mexican food. The Chocolate Dog is a cafe by day on a corner in Newtown with lots of windows facing out the busy street. And at night a family -- someone said from Chile -- runs it as a Mexican restaurant. And it was so delicious! We had Chili con Queso which was no Velveeta, lemme tell you, but hot chili and melted cheese and jalapenos. Haydn and I both got enchilads, he opted for two chicken enchiladas at "medium" heat, as we could specify how spicy we wanted it. I got one beef, one chicken enchilada and turned it up a notch to "medium to hot."

It was so fresh and flavorful and mine definitely had some heat, just as it should. Served with guac, sour cream, brown rice, and some greens. Lots of stuff. This wasn't any Old El Paso kit, which is what the section of Mexican food comprises at the grocery stores here. So, I highly recommend The Chocolate Dog...Mexican by Nite. The place was packed by 7:15pm on Thursday and we were in food coma by 8pm...



In other news...it's a cloudy Saturday, there's a marathon of "Fame" on tv and I'm going to try a new yoga place this afternoon. I love my dear Tamarama Surf Club, but it's getting too cold there at the old ramshackle surf club. Makes for too much meditation pondering the greatness of space heaters.

...and HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHOUT OUT TO ANNIE working her bootie off at Wellesley reunion weekend. I salute ye!

...also, Haydn kindly shared Dave's Pumpkin Soup recipe on the comments page on the posting The Good Orange.

--tc

Lunchtime realizations

Yes, indeed, post #2 of today. Sometimes you're at a temp job and you have time to write...

So, the past 8 months or so for me have been about change. Ok, understatement of the year, really. And when I was back in the States, a few people asked if it was strange to be back. And my answer was that nothing feels all that strange anymore, It's all sort of relative in the sense of cultural things, celebrity gossip, climate, or accents. You go to a city, there's coffee shops, bars, and Thai food, right?

But lately something has struck me as a bit different or a tad uneasy, especially as I make these baby steps back into working world. It is the office worker's food court that gets me more than anything. I take buses, go shopping, order food, browse bookshops, and it doesn't feel strange. Maybe, I even feel a bit exotic -- imagine that, a girl from Wisconsin. Then I make my way into some worker realm and the respective lunchtime digs and that's where I feel different, on my own, and sorta lonely. A bit of the kid-in-the-cafeteria-alone complex.

I get struck by how my life has changed when I'm sitting in some food court filled with crisp, tailored shirts, trendy pumps, and messenger bags, whilst eating a Tandoori Chicken Wrap from Boost Juice, as you do. I kind of look around at the buildings and co-workers eating together and that is when it strikes me: I'm in Sydney and I'm on my lunch break.

Foodcourts of the world, unite.

--tc

The good orange

Oh it may be cliche, but when life hands you pumpkins, make pumpkin soup. Must dole out some mad props to Haydn for a most autumnal batch of pumpkin soup. No, it's not October, but here in the Southern hemisphere we call it June. So, a rainy day, a downpour when your pedi turns into a mani/pedi simply bc you can't go outside when you're done, and a bit of warmth is needed. I still have to remind myself that the squash family here falls under the umbrella of pumpkin. So maybe it was squash and potato soup, I don't really know. All I know is a blender was used to make it all smooth and good.

With a spoonful of sour cream, so positively good. As the credits roll, Hadyn's friend Dave gets Executive Producer credit because it was his recipe that Haydn used. Thanks, Dave - do the peeps of Byron Bay get to sample the hearty goodness of your pumpkin soup?

And here is the pictorial portion:







bundle up,
tara

The breakfast campaign

Haydn's tireless efforts to get me to eat eggs for breakfast and like them, really came to fruition yesterday. I just don't really like eggs, mostly because of the consistency. I like them as a conduit to other things, like a breakfast burrito, home fries, stuff in omelets, but they just kinda gross me out in general.

And Mr. Indefatigable sets out most weekends to win me over to the egg side. Yesterday's breakfast was highly commendable and disgused eggs like never before. My breakfast suggestion was "spicy." I set off for a run, Haydn to the grocery store and I came back to a major scramble up going on -- sans eggs, which he forgot to buy. So I volunteered to participate in this full-on effort and went and got some organic eggs. And from the kitchen emerged a vaguely Spanish-inspired breakfast of sorts: eggs, bacon, new potatoes, tobasco, oregano, and, of course melted cheese on top. Because when you're from Wisconsin, you feel the need to melt cheese on top.

And ta da! Clean plate club just a few minutes following this pic:





But out adventures continued thru the day, including a trip to Bondi Junction mega mall (the Jungga) for Haydn to buy a big ol' pasta pot with built in strainer and steamer and all that jazz. This was in part so he could make a big spaghetti bolognese dinner for Jimmy and Michelle...it wasn't BBQ weather really yesterday, so time to have them over to Francis Street for some comfort food. And Joeley and Jimmy look pretty comfortable after...the other pics didn't really come out due to lighting problems and post-pasta laziness.



And lucky us, there looks to be enough sauce to keep the dinner party going tonight...it's so dreary, rainy, wet, cold, that spag bol is just what the doctor ordered.

xo
tc

Early to bed and all that

Temp girl here, weary from a day of more data entry. And more data entry. Not entirely rewarding is the world of a data entry queen. I know my stateside counterpart Ann can second that emotion. More rewarding are my girls, as in "the girls" as we were often referred to at Big Day Out, Emilie and Stella.

Emilie and Dan hosted a Sunday evening soiree of wine from her dad's winery, Idol Hands and hors d'oeuvres extraordinaire. I had not seen Stella, aka blogger Shiny Ruby, since my return, so it was one of those nights of high pitched laughter and big ideas, while the guys kept themselves entertained.

We needed a little Red Eye Reduction in this pic (and this morning at work), but otherwise it was a pretty glorious reunion!





Oh and a modest feather in my own cap...my Sunday morning assignment was breakfast, so I trudged to the store with green grocery totes in tow and decided to do BLTs with Aussie flair -- on big Turkish Rolls with a chili mayonnaise I concocted. I do love the chilis.



And now...past my bedtime and it's not even 11pm!

--tc

School night

Monday evening, wind blowing, flashes of lighting, a storm brewing...and I'm wiped out from my foray back into the commuter working life of a data entry temp. I'm out there in the trenches, bravely updating client databases for a media sales company for a few days. My train ride to North Sydney includes crossing along the Harbour Bridge, not bad. And sorta reassuring to get the free daily train newspaper complete with snatches of celeb gossip, like my AM NY from the 1/9 train, except this daily comes at the end of the day.

But I digress...I'm tired and just want to put up a few pics from the weekend.

Friday night Haydn and I headed to a seafood/fish place, Doyle's, with some friends. It was pretty quiet for a Friday night at a fish place, but kinda fun to have it to ourselves and some elderly diners, and a great view across the harbour to see the lights of the city. Plus check out that tuna steak and mashed potates. I totally ordered it for the mashed potatoes and gravy. Yum.



Sunday oftentimes means dinner at Michelle and Jimmy's...but Michelle threw us for a curve and hosted a girls only BBQ -- ok there were a couple of male stragglers, but really it was about the ladies. And it was all about Michelle "maning" the grill. An array of meatstuffs, including skewers, sausages, burgers. Right on. Looks like KC Masterpiece himself, Haydn, might be out of job on Sundays! I'm thinking there should be a grilling showdown in the near future...





Ok, time for Cold Case and a night on the couch before tomorrow and my new anthem "My baby takes the morning train."

tc

Ya take the good, ya take the bad

Well, well, well, my wonderful sunny climes have led me astray in thinking that one cannot fall ill or get a cold here. Wrong. But, after a weekend of major sore throat and congestion and some thoughtful caretaking from my man, I'm back in the swing of things. Hit yoga today so that Icould breath again and am kicking it at my favorite hangout, the venerable State Library of New South Wales.

But don't you fret, this blasted head cold could not keep me away from a BBQ at Jimmy and Michelle's on Sunday. Granted, I faded fast, but the chicken wings from the grill were worth it. Oh goodness they were. And Michelle even whipped up some cupcakes in honor of my return.

Here the gang is, about to dig in. They're like "Take the picture already, we wanna eat, sister."



And, I snapped this pic today after yoga. Very good class, very funny moment when a dog all of a sudden ran in from the path outside and did a big circle thru the room and then was gone as fast as he appeared.



The Bondi to Bronte walk, featured above, is really one of my all time favorite things in life. So, maybe if you're on the fence about coming down here in November, or just need a gentle nudge, remember: this is how we live here!

love
tara

Back way o'er yonder

I made it back to Sydney last week, and there's not a whole lot to report except that the weather is pretty near perfect, avocadoes are forever in season, flat whites are as good as always, and Haydn got a great new haircut! I thought to myself "Who is that dashing young man?" when I spotted him at the airport.

So, now I have to figure what to do with my life and make some money and stuff. Trying to make sense of why every single job seems to go through recruitment agencies. I applied for a short-term job to do some copywriting and the reply email was titled Application Unsuccessful. I didn't meet the criteria. So I will keep my writing to the blogosphere for now.

Haydn and I were at the Annandale on Sunday for the engagement party of our friends Bob and Anna. Bob proposed at the Grand Canyon, little did I know when he asked me for advice on points of interest was he going to be popping the question. Good on ya, man!

And the feature at the party was a pig roast. As in a pig on the spit. I took a photo for the sake of the blog, but have to say that when I took another look at it, I thought it might even offend some of my more carnivorous friends. So instead, here is a pic of me and Haydn from the very same day...after enjoying the roast pork.

cheers
tc

p.s. to sam -- I think my new hit single is Crazy by Gnarles Barkley. Going to have put that on the ipod.

Making the rounds

I have a few days left in the US, I'm heading back to Australia with fancy new Australian visa in my passport, so I've been filling the social calendar in the last couple of days. On Friday, I met up with Kathie, Julie and her little 2-year old, Devon. We had lunch at Bluephies -- I carbo loaded for the Crazylegs race -- and then went to the park next door. It's really pretty enlightening to see how a cute little green sweat suit on a little one can be ready for the laundry after a few hours of ranch dressing, M & Ms, the sandbox, the slide, and the sidewalks in general. She's a fun one, young Devon.

Devon and Jules:


Devon enjoying the double swing push:


Me and Devon, playing with the barkchips.


Saturday was the annual running of the Crazylegs race, along with about 15,000 other people. By the time Uz and Chris and I crossed the start line, the winner had already crossed the finish at the 50 yard line at Camp Randall Stadium. It was a great 5-mile/8k run through campus and lots of zig zagging around the runners. I'd like to thank my iShuffle for playing "Gold Digger" at the very crucial 4 mile mark, giving me the boost to finish strong. And in true Crazylegs fashion, we celebrated with our 2 complimentary beers. Or if you're Uz, you enjoyed your 3rd complimentary beer as well. Bud Lite is the new Gatorade.

Chris, Uz and Tara, upon completion:


Jenny and Kathie, fatigued (in jest!) after the 2-mile walk:


Uz and Kat forevs:


Me, imbibing post-race, as you do;


The evening held the goodness of margaritas and Mexican food with family and friends at a little pre-departure fete at Pedro's. My college roommate, Amanda, made the trek from Illinois for the occassion and a photo from our U. of Iowa era reminded us of our strange, oversized fashion choices of the '90s.

Group photo:


Amanda and Tara, in current fashion:


Tomorrow, the official packing for return to Oz commences...

--tc

It's not about winning or losing...

...it's about the Secret Stadium Sauce. At least, when I go to a Milwaukee Brewers game at Miller Park, a big part of the experience is having a hot dog with the SSS. I usually try to wait til the 3rd inning, let the game get off its feet a bit.

This past Sunday, my parents and I went to see the Brewers play the Cincinnati Reds, and while the Brew Crew man-handled the Reds on Saturday 11-0, the score was exactly the opposite for the game we saw. Ahh...the Brewers! But, the redeeming part of the day was retro weekend, with $1 hot dogs and $1 sodas, and seeing my brother, too, who works there and hooked us up (as always) with seats behind home plate. Because, really, baseball is better when you can see facial expressions and such.

Here is a snapshot of the condiment stand, with the aforementioned Secret sauce -- which is a tangy tomato sauce that can't quite be called BBQ but isn't as pedestrian as ketchup. I loaded up on relish and sauerkraut too, but bypassed on onions, for those of you keeping score at home. (ha!)



And, another part of the Miller Park day, is the Sausage Race, here it is as it flys past me. I think Polish Sausage made a big come from behind victory.



Gotta love the American pastime, and my decision in the bottom of the 9th to have my second hot dog of the day.

-tc

Homecoming, in the truest sense

Stars aligned and brought home to Madison some of the best and brighest of friends, namely Rosa, Lucy, and Laura. And most wonderfully of all, Rosa's brother, Carlos, a Marine who just spent 6 months in Iraq. Now that is a homecoming.

So it was basically a matter of time before we all wound up at a bar together on State Street. One of my favorite haunts, Paul's Club, the bar with the tree in it and a great jukebox, was obnoxiously full. Shouldn't college kids go home for Easter or something? But Rosa came and corraled us all and we ended up at Frida with its dancing and "canopy of lasers" as Uz described it. The dancing bug hit some more than others, check out Lucy's smooth moves on the dancefloor.



Laura, Uz, Lucy, Kathie foreground; Wisconsin state capitol background.



There may very well have been one more drink on the way home with Laura that night, but sadly no pics to document as it's not the kind of place to whip out the digital camera. We went for the purely sublime kitsch and comfort of Le Tigre Lounge, which seriously has to be the wierdest and coolest bar in any strip mall in America! It's all tigers and very circa 1962, at least that was the last time the jukebox was updated. I think you push buttons on it to select songs.

Saturday was back on the bike, this time with an excellent riding partner in Kathie and we cruised through the Arboretum and then on to Rosa's parents house for the party for Carlos. Nothing but good vibes, old friends, drinks, food, food, and more good vibes all around.

Ro, Lucy, and Tara:


Ro and Car (even without red eye reduction, they're an attractive family!):



Little friends on the kitchen mural:



Me and the homemade enchiladas!



Good times.
--tc

Let's ride bikes

Springtime in Madison means a few things: windows down in the car, claritin allergy medicine, and bringing the bike up from the basement and pumping up the tires for a ride. That's what I did a couple of days ago when it was in the low 70s and pretty near perfect out. I hit the Captial City bike trail, a rails-to-trails path and one of my favorite things in all of Madison, and cruised down to Victor Allen's on Monroe for coffee and a soup. The African peanut stew was more like a boring Tortilla soup but the coffee was outstanding. They aren't brewing iced coffee just yet, so the barista made me an iced americano instead. Good idea!

I continued on my ride and here are some pics from Vilas Park.

We've got Lake Wingra:



Wingra Lagoon, when frozen has been a training place for many an Olympic Skater:



And a polar bear at Vilas Zoo, enjoying the day:



Twas a lovely day. Today is another sunny wonder of a day, so I think it's time to get off the computer.

tc