Take this bread

The take-away sandwich. Too many times have I been disappointed by this animal. Thankfully, no more. For those who have been awaiting the day where they no longer have to endure the overpriced and unsatisfying, say hello to Malibu.

This hole in the wall sandwich bar tucked away in the scummy part of Surry Hills is absolute heaven for any sandwich-loving foodie. Their sandwiches are large enough to feed a small nation and made with only the freshest ingredients. It's run solely by the two owners, Marc and Marcella (I find Marc a little more generous, so sidle up to the front when you see that glint in his eye and oh my wholemeal, yes please) who pile on ingredients as you stand wide-eyed.

Despite it's word of mouth nature and the fact that people like me lived two minutes from it for months without ever hearing of it, at lunchtimes there can be quite a queue. Yesterday, for instance, after standing in a line that stretched onto the footpath outside the tiny shop for five minutes I realised that I had the whole of 20 cents in my purse. While Malibu sandwiches are great value, unfortunately they do not yet give them away free of charge. With one setting you back $7 to $8 (with a full purse, being an absolute bargain) I found myself $15.80 short. So it was all the way to the ATM after which I repeated the whole process.

However, despite being gone for thirty minutes longer than I had said I would be, those gargantuan alo-foil wrapped sandwiches well made the trip and the wait worth while. The two wholly vegetarian sandwiches lasted us from lunch through dinner and looked scrumptious enough that when the housemate walked by to see us trying to unlock our jaws in order to get our mouths around the Surry Hills skyscrapers, she immediately asked for directions. It's just on Foster Street, off Elizabeth. You'll see the tattoo parlour and follow the graffiti. There are a few umbrellas and a bunch of crates out the front and very possibly a line. You might even see a halo hovering above the roof. Don't be surprised, just ask for Vienna bread with whatever you feel like.

Yes yes.

People who plan to vote McCain - or not at all, which is JUST AS BAD - need to get their arse informed and their hind legs to the voting booths. The American election is this Tuesday (that's tomorrow kids) and my many cats, at least, are already well on their way to the voting booths. It's really not extraordinarily difficult you see, and yes, it will affect everyone.

It's times like these I wish I were American. And believe me, these times do not crop up often.

Though no longer brand spanking new (and forgive if you've already seen it a few times over), a few cheeky Brooklyn women created this refreshing poster (top right) that's a reworking of a famous '60s anti-war poster (top left). With their tongues firmly planted in cheeks, Casey Brooks (photographer) and models Anna Bean, Karen Maine, Dana Gluck, and Lindsay Withers succeed in making at least one girl smile.

Hat: Bobby's
Dress: Vintage, and on Ebay.

In homage to these ladies and their poster, I've just popped two beautiful dresses (one of which I'm wearing up top) on Ebay which I would really rather not sell but alas rent day is looming and if not here than it shall be at the markets. Click on the photos to go to the listings. It's easy as one two three through seven and a no on Prop eight.

The owls go

Baking and overcast days go hand in hand like love-struck schoolkids.

Is there any better way to spend a gloomy day? The not-quite-halloween-themed-cookies didn't turn out quite as well as I had hoped (and the recipe had to be slightly adjusted) but the once-full cookie tin seems to be suitably diminishing.


Ingredients:

200 g brown sugar (the recipe calls for white sugar but I so prefer brown, if you use white you may need less flour)
170 g butter
1 egg
5 ml vanilla extract
380 g plain flour
9 g baking powder
3 g salt
25 g unsweetened cocoa powder
170 g semisweet chocolate chips
100 g cashew halves

Directions:

1. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Add baking powder and salt. Beat well. Add flour and mix until blended. Depending on consistency of the dough, more flour may be needed. Remove 3/4 of dough. Roll or pat dough out to form two 10 x 4 inch rectangles. Add cocoa (amount depending on personal colour preference) to remaining 1/4 of dough. Mix until blended. Shape chocolate dough into two 10 inch long rolls. Place on rectangle and roll plain dough to cover chocolate dough completely, not including ends. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill at least 2 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
3. Cut dough into 1 centimetre slices with a sharp knife. Place two slices side by side on a cookie sheet to resemble an owl's face. Blend them together just a tad to make sure they stay together when baked. Pinch upper "corners" to resemble ears. Put chocolate chips in each dark circle for eyes and two cashew halves in the centre for the beak.
4. Bake for 8 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly browned

The original recipe can be found here. As each owl has it's own personality, I also recommend naming them (which might also discourage you to eat them, which is good, because they last forever).

Very simply, it was a hoot (pun fully intended).

The difference in the shades

With only twenty four hours till the boyfriend officially moves in, we're still cleaning. This is mostly my fault. There are two reasons for this. One. I'm not the most inspired, being the clutter-loving type of girl I am. Two. My boyfriend would tell you I'm easily distracted. While I avidly pretend to disagree with reason number two, it must be admitted that I occasionally get sidetracked.

On an entirely separate note, I found the below pictured 3-D glasses cleaning and got a bit carried away (no, you're wrong. I was not playing dress ups and singing into an apple candle.) Her name is R-A-D-I-OO, L-A-D-I-OOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

Wig: Appeared in my living room one morning to no ones claim.
3D glasses: A birthday present to Bobby from a friend this year.
Apple candle: Ikea
Dress: Vintage (on Ebay)
Scarf belt: Thrifted
Stockings: From Myer a few years ago.
Shoes: Myer too, also a few years ago.

I've decided to sell the dress I'm wearing (I do have far too many clothes) so I've popped it up on my Ebay just over here. Right there, that's it.

I'd better get back to my cleaning (aka dancing Elaine-style) but I'll leave you with some photos I took this morning of the beautiful Rainbow Lorikeets (as one nice commenter informed me they are called) that have been visiting our home, and letting us hand feed them, recently. Who would suppose we live in the middle of the city?

Lightning strikes the postman

The Post Office is my new haunt. And with a queue never less than 15 people long, I don't think I'm the only one in on the secret. It's always packed and they freely give out stamps for a lot less than any regular hang out, no matter what shoes you're wearing.

How, might you ask, did I find out about such an awesome place? The Post Office revealed itself to me through the process of Ebaying. One day, I just started to find myself in said place writing stranger's names on my hand.

You see, I do this quite a bit. If you would like to be one of these strangers, with their names on my hand, in the new place-to-be, just bid on one of my current listings (such as the below '60s dress and the grape dress I'm wearing) here.


Or maybe I'll bump into you at my new haunt.

Pussy town

One day, I'm sure, I'll be an old cat lady. You'll recognise me by my grey hair, grandma glasses and the multitude of cats head butting my ankles. My home will be one not unlike the incredible cat friendly house in Japan though a little shabbier and a lot messier. My daily walk will mainly consist of posting posters on telegraph poles about my utterly cool cats.


Oh, and they'll all vote for Obama.

P.S. You can now follow this blog with bloglovin´ to be notified when a new post is... er, posted.

Space and the woods

It seems the link to my out-of-this-world space table in last week's post was a bit of a dud, so I thought I'd make it oh so much easier and just wham bam pop it right up here.

100% owl and the grapes made (with a little help from Ikea).

The fact that it has Pluto on it just makes it that much better. Now excuse me while Sam the monkey and I fly off to Earth. Oh, hold on...

P.S. Yes, it took a fair tidy to take this photo.