The Sparkle Costs More (but I like it)

Mom, Dad, Jody and I were walking through our suburb this afternoon (scant hours before their flight home!) when my dad noticed our footwear. Mom had borrowed a pair of thongs I got for $5 with a $30 purchase at Rubi Shoes, while I was in my slim strap Havaianas with the Swarovski crystal.

"Julia," Dad ventured, "Why doesn't your Mom have a sparkle on her flip flops?"

"Because I paid too much for mine."

Jody thought this was a very Dad-safe answer.


We then proceeded to enlighten my dad of Aussie thong-wearing habits, such as:

With a suit, boys and girls, on the way to the office
On the way to a party, heels in hand
Post-party
Year-round

The suit phenomenon is quite something to behold. Well-coiffed men and women downtown or walking across the bridge, dressed and pressed and accessorised... wearing flip flops.

* not my photo. see link.

Vacation!

My vacation is approaching... only five hours to go!

Hopefully this blog will have more entertaining entries over the next three weeks. It's been all I can do to get through my week and try to relax on the weekends, so I haven't been very interesting lately.

I hope to read lots of books, play in the sand, eat tasty food, explore a bit of NSW, and enjoy spending time with Jody, and my parents (who are visiting!) over Christmas.

Happy Holidays, everyone!

Christmas in a seed pod! Jody brought me this from Brazil. It is tiny and I love it.

Salmon Spread

A few weeks ago I saw a chef on TV who pulled together this appetizer, and it looked so easy I didn't even write down the ingredients at the time, but I did pay attention. He made it with barbecued trout, but as I bought two huge slabs of salmon the other night for dinner and we didn't eat it all, I thought it was the perfect time to give this recipe a go. I think salmon or trout would work best here, and pan-fried or BBQ'd to get that nice smoky taste.

Ingredients

3/4 to 1 C fish, cooked and cooled
1 1/2 C creme fraiche or greek yogurt
1 C sour cream
1 to 2 tablespoons baby capers
1 tablespoon chopped dill
Salt & pepper to taste
1/4 lemon

Method

1. Flake the cooled fish, taking care to remove any bones. Set aside.
2. Mix together creme fraiche and sour cream until it is smooth and thick.
3. Chop dill (or use 2 tsp squeezable dill) and add to cream mixture.
4. Stir fish evenly into the mixture.
5. Drain capers and add to the spread.
5. Add freshly cracked pepper and salt, and finish with a squeeze of lemon.
6. Serve on lightly toasted bread, such as sourdough or Tuscan.

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