Happy New Year and welcome to 2015!
I've been a bit slow to get back on the blogging bandwagon this year. It really has been so hard to drag myself away from playing with the kids, eating and drinking, to sit down at the computer and write!
A three week break has been just what I needed and now I'm looking forward to getting back into the swing of things.
Rather than a recipe to start off the year, I thought it was about time you learned a little bit more about me.
A Liebster award is created by bloggers and given to other bloggers who are starting out on their journey. There really aren't any rules, you you can pretty much make them up as you go along. Even though I've been blogging at eat quaff laugh now for over a year, I need all the help I can get! Plus, I figured that it was about time you discovered more about me than just my cooking and wine drinking habits!
Nicole has asked me the following questions and then I have to make up a few more for my own nominations to answer. A modern version of a chain letter! Please take the time to look up the other blogs too. They are all wonderful and I love reading about everyone else lives, cooking and adventures!
Anyway, here goes :-)
Where in the world would you most like to visit (or return to)?
Paris, definitely Paris. It is a city that I have always wanted to go to and when I was there about 7 years ago, I could just feel the magic. My now husband hated it and found it dirty, but I loved it. This year we are hoping to have a child-free holiday to France and Paris is on the top of my list! The recent terrorist events only make me want to visit and support this city more than ever.
What is your most favourite food?
Only one favourite? That's like choosing which of my kids is my favourite! Cheese would have to be one of the best foods around because there are just so many different types and you can have it fresh, cooked, sweet or savoury. Perfectly versatile.
How many pairs of shoes do you own? And how many of them do you wear at least once a year?
I'm scared to count! Although I'm definitely not a shoe and handbag kind of girl, I still have quite a few pairs of shoes. Luckily I culled a whole lot when we moved house last year, so there aren't quite so many. A quick count revealed 27 pairs, and I would wear all of them at least once a year. The fancy high heels don't get a wearing anywhere as often as they used to, but they still get brushed off for a Christmas party or wedding here and there!
Tell me about an absolute cooking failure...
A few years ago we had a dinner party for some good friends. They are big red wine drinkers, so I thought I'd make a hearty beef Wellington using the best butter puff pastry, pate, crepes to protect the meat and stop the juices leaking and a delicious mushroom duxelle. It took ages to make all the components and put it all together, but I was happy with how it was looking. The recipe specified a cooking time, but I thought it seemed a bit short, given the size of the beef fillet. Anyway, I put it in the oven for a little longer than the recommended time, until the pasty was puffed and golden and looked perfect. After resting the meat for 15 minutes I started to carve it and the fillet inside was completely raw! I was mortified and so upset. Luckily the friends were happy to have another glass of wine while the meat went back into the oven for a little bit longer. The beef Wellington ended up tasting delicious, but dinner was eaten a little bit later than I'd planned. Not an absolute failure, but still disappointing :-(
Why did you start blogging?
About three years ago I started writing cafe reviews for a website and blog called Hey Bambini. They review kid friendly cafes in the Melbourne area. Having a young baby at the time, this was a perfect excuse to get out and explore Melbourne's cafe scene with a child in tow. One night I was invited to a bloggers event and got talking to other people there about my love of food and wine. They suggested I start my own blog. At first I wasn't sure about it all, but then figured that I had nothing to lose and why not go ahead. A few weeks later, eat quaff laugh was born!
Parties or quiet dinners?
I think there is a time and place for both, but I probably prefer dinner parties with a few friends over big raucous parties. I'm too old for that caper now!!
How do you treat yourself (as in give yourself a treat)?
Taking myself out for a child free lunch at a nice cafe or restaurant, or a massage or facial is my ultimate indulgence. If they can both be combined into one day, it would be simply perfect. Take note husband :-)
Tell me about your high school formal dress...
It was a black chiffon number which I had made for me after pouring over what seemed like hundreds of pattern books at the fabric shop.
By today's standards it was a very modest dress - calf length, flowy skirt and v-necked with shoestring crossed straps. I remember having it cut shorter a few years later to wear to another event at university. It was really one of the first times I'd got very dressed up at that age and I felt really special. Looking back at the photos now, it looks very dated!
Are you a christmas lover or a grinch?
Now that I have two young kids of my own, I'm definitely a Christmas lover. I still hate battling the crowds to go shopping for presents, but I love that it is now a magical time again. With my family being interstate, it's also a wonderful chance for us to all get together and for all the kids to play. Being the food and wine lover I am, I love to make Christmas treats, plan the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day menus and help out with the cooking. One day I'd love to host Christmas, but I'll have to fight with my Mum over that one for the time being!
If you could change your career tomorrow, what would you do?
Moving into the food and wine scene is what I'm ultimately aiming to do. My current career as a Physiotherapist is great, but I'm not passionate about it any more after 14 years. I still haven't exactly worked out what I want to do in the industry, but I'm slowly working towards it, gaining some relevant experience, making contacts and seeing where it might lead me. Watch this space.
How do you relax?
I don't have anywhere near enough time to relax as I would like. Or at least I don't make the time to relax. Having two young kids, I always come last! In a perfect world, I would enjoy a coffee while it's still hot, a warm bath with lots of beautiful bubbles and smells, an uninterrupted glass of champagne and reading a book or magazine from cover to cover. One can dream!
What is your favourite food and wine combination?
Again, this is like choosing my favourite child! Duck and Pinot Noir, Australian fortified wines and blue cheese, Shiraz and beef, Champagne and seafood. I love them all equally. It's less about the food and wine combination itself and more about the people I'm with and the memories being made!
Now that you know a little bit more about me, I'm passing the baton to a few of my favourite blogs. It's now time for The Windmill Paddock, I Spy Plum Pie and Dancing Through Sunday Blog to take the baton.
Girls, here's how it works.
- Let the world know I nominated you
- Pop a Liebster Award on your blog
- Answer my questions
- Add a few of your own
- Pass the baton to a few of your favourite newbie bloggers
Easy!
My questions to you are:
What is your favourite place in the world?
Who would you most like to meet and why?
Where do you see yourself in five years?
Favourite drink and why?
Favourite Movie and why?
What is one goal you have for 2015?
What is your ultimate job?
Why did you start blogging and why?
Ready, set, go!
Fabulous answers 😊
ReplyDelete