F is for FREEDOM

FINALLY.

With exams officially over for me (yes, on a Saturday), I can finally spend time doing things that make me happy! Of course that includes blogging at 1am while listening to Mariah Carey's 'You're Mine'.

I've decided to put together a check-list of sorts for me to do this winter break for a few reasons.

Reason 1: To motivate myself out of bed (let's be real though, this is what I'll be doing 98% of the time).

Reason 2: So I won't look like a miserable loner when people ask me what I've gotten up to during the break. But why hide the fact that you like to sleep and watch movies all day in bed? Why deny the truth?

Reason 3: I have really bad memory and will most likely forget everything if it's not in writing.

Reason 4: To share some inspiration for your next day in/out!

Enjoy your break!

Anita :-)

Food dates: Ristretto & Co.

Since it is now the break and I don't have much to do. I might as well put some TLC into this much neglected blog.

There are so many posts in my drafts with images in them that I would like to share.

Whilst Ristretto & Co. was a cafe that I was sorely disappointed by their originality and their menu, I did enjoy their nutella hot chocolate. It was still expensive and I wouldn't return. The food offering was limited and inconsistent with what they listed. They said that a section of the menu would be offered at that time, but it wasn't. I also found out the food was pre-prepared and just toasted to be served. Perhaps that wouldn't be too bad if they hadn't taken so long to hand me a burnt sandwich at a ridiculous price point.

This is Anita. She is one of my biffles and the person I share this blog with. Sitting in the freezing cold with her and a hot drink wasn't entirely shitty because I've missed this loser.
I think the best thing about her is her ability to still think I'm a decent person after hurling insults upon insults at her. Don't get me wrong, she's a tough cookie and will throw some stones back at me.
I am constantly tagging her in cute animal videos and pictures on Facebook that I think people might think we're the most annoying bitches on the planets. I think they might forgive us after watching some of the videos though because they are so darn cute.

Maybe I should just write little excerpts about people I like on this blog as well. Perhaps I'll write more about Anita as a person and pimp her out later. Speaking of pimping her out, this was the day I decided that I would video snap my friends without them realising and captioning it 'she's single'. Why I do that? I don't know because I don't think I have many single male friends.

Oh look at my lack lustre sandwich that I regret getting.

People who aren't afraid of cold.

Decor wasn't shabby. Too bad I couldn't eat it.

This is cute. 

Ok. I think I've getting too much attitude in this post.

Peace out.

Helen x

Face - How I became conscious of how I looked like

It is stuvac right now and just like every other student who is given time to study, we procrastinate. I'm going to be writing a post that is different to all the previous posts. I want to voice my opinion about things and hopefully, in future, there will be more of these kinds of posts and, perhaps, there will be a response to them. (Is that kind of really ambitious of me considering CapitalEff only has 4 followers?? Probs.)

I like to complain a lot so these will probably be more ranty than anything else. But you do have an option to exit out of this blog. 

Why I really started writing this post is because I realised how conscious I am of how I look in public now and how I portray myself to the outside world. I wasn't always like this, I used to think if I had decent hygiene and kept myself neat, that was enough. Now, I invest time in the morning to spend time concealing flaws that I used to not think twice about. This really irks me because it means that I am letting societal expectations change how I am. 

I told Anita, my bestie who I share this blog with, about this realisation - how I'm spending an extra 15 minutes in the morning to put makeup on my face when before I would have preferred to sleep that extra 15 minutes. She told me that there was nothing wrong with spending extra time on making you look good. Fair point. I thought about this some more and I asked myself, "but does it make you feel any better on the inside?". The answer to that question, is not so much. I spend the rest of the day checking if my mascara has smudged or if, heaven forbid, my concealer melted away and my pimple, is now revealed to the world. OH THE HORROR. I have become obsessed with how my face looks.

This makeup wearing started when I started working. I guess I'm trying to impress people I don't know? So, does this mean that society is expecting us to be flawless? To a certain degree. I mean the message is pretty clear in society of how we should appear. A good example of this is the trend of 'eyebrows on fleek'. Before, I would never have played attention to this trend because it's so materialistic and shallow. You can even ask my friends, they will tell you that I said, I quote, "I don't understand the eyebrow fad". They told me it wasn't a fad and that it was a lifestyle. So, here I am today, obsessed with how my eyebrows look and also feel as sense of gratification when someone tells me that my eyebrows are on fleek. They are right, it's not a fad, it's a lifestyle that I've converted into. I think once you get sucked in, there is never really going back.

We've all been conditioned to think that we should be a certain way and I think it's such a detrimental message to send to vulnerable young women. Also, not to mention, makeup products in Australia is fucking ridiculously expensive.

This isn't really a post to say makeup is bad and that you shouldn't wear it. Like, I'm not going to discontinue my routine. I just feel like we should be more conscious of what values we are setting together in our society.

Oodles and oodles of love, 

Helen

P.S. My eyebrows haven't gotten much TLC lately because I've been too busy pretending to study - a reflection of my life?

Food: Oliver Brown, Liverpool

Oliver Brown is a fairly new chocolate focused dessert cafe with just having opened their first store in Top Ryde, Sydney in 2010.
So, you might ask, what makes it so much different from other chocolate cafes out there like Max Brenners? I can tell you that it's not much.
I have since returned to Oliver Brown because the cafe my friends and I were going to go to wasn't open for the day.
It's a popular place but I suppose that might be because of the lack of Max Brenners in the area. This is not to say there is absence of any competition. So it's probably worth the visit if you want to go to a Max Brenners but Oliver Brown is much closer. Convenience is really key for someone as lazy as me.

Hot Chocolate

The hot chocolate was rich in flavour is not for those who have an aversion to overbearing sweetness. I have a mega sweet tooth so it was absolutely divine.

Churros with melted milk and dark chocolate

You can probably get the churros elsewhere for cheaper and was pretty much the same quality.

selection of water or fruit-infused water

The second time visiting Oliver Brown, there wasn't water available nor was there a fruit-infused water. Is this because of a slowdown in business or because they no longer care? Who knows but poor form for OB.

P.S. Sorry for hiatus, will maybe come back with more food adventure posts with less pretentious commentary and more posts about real world issues. (I just have absolutely no idea what I want to do) OH OH and more quality photos!!!

Much love, Helen

(Urbanspoon hasn't listed the Liverpool store on it's site but you will have no trouble finding one)

Food Diary: The Italian Kitchen - Miranda

PORCHETTA - $23
Roast suckling pig, roast peppers, caramelised onions, olives, chilli 

LINGUINE  - $29
 Prawns, calamari, mussels, white wine, parsley, garlic

CLASSIC LASAGNE - 21
Veal ragu, mozzarella, béchamel

-Anita

Happy Australia Day mates!

Photo Diary: Night Noodle Market - Hyde Park

Pad Thai - Chat Thai - $13

Braised Pork and Double Cooked Pork - Wonderbao - 3 for $20

Phuc Khing Tasty- Messina - $9

-Anita
 x

Food: Roi Et, Mt. Pritchard

I think the quality of photos on this blog will fluctuate with accordance of equipment available to me to take snaps of food and things I find interesting. My phone is on the brink of death and I don't know how long it will last me.

Ok, this Thai place got new owners and opened 'Roi-Et Thai Kitchen'. Personally, I think this Thai place is doing a better job than the previous owners who weren't able to maintain regular patronage. Roi-Et actually attempted to send out menus to the local area. AND THEY DO DELIVERY. It neighbours Dominoes and Red Rooster, so they have hefty competition.

I quite like this place and I've had my fair share of Thai food. It's a little on the sweeter side of things but it doesn't bother someone like me who has a sweet tooth. If you really want to get every bang for a buck, then visit the restaurant during it's lunch special hours and selected dishes are only $8.50. (I'm guessing 1-3pm, Mon-Fri, I forgot to note it down). They also give really generous servings too.

There really isn't much to say about this dish because everyone has had chicken pad thai (if you haven't, what is wrong with you?) and it just ticks all your boxes for a standard pad thai.

The place is really quiet with hardly any patronage and there was a dead mosquito on our table but it doesn't really phase me. It is really an underrated place to have Thai food but I understand why this is. It's because there are so many other better Thai places around that aren't that expensive to go to and are quality authentic Thai.

- Helen