NYE 2012 Preparations and Recipes

Dear Lovelies,

I'm currently preparing 'Yum Yum Salad' and would like to share the recipe.

It takes approximately 15 minutes. For 6 people you need:

♥ 1 large chinese cabbage
♥ 3 packages of Instant Noodles Chicken Flavour
♥ 3 spring onions
♥ 80 g sunflower seeds
♥ 4 table spoons vinegar (White Wine Vinegar)
♥ 80 ml canola oil
♥ 1 table spoon salt
♥ 1 table spoon pepper
♥ 3 table spoons sugar


Ingredients for Yum Yum Salad

Let's start:
♥ Cut the cabbage in half and both halfs into fine strips, put into salad bowl
♥ roughly crush up the instant noodles and add to the cabbage
♥ chop up the spring onions
♥ pour sugar, salt, pepper, vinegar, oil and the chicken flavour sachets into a cup and stir properly
♥ roast sunflower seeds in frying pan without oil
♥ put everything together, stir and enjoy this crunchy and fresh summer salad!

ATTENTION: Don't prepare the salad the night before unless you like your noodles soggy instead of crunchy.

A meal wouldn't be perfect though without a good drink! My favourite for this years NYE is Chambord:

Beautiful Chambord bottle

♥ Chambord is crafted from the world’s finest raspberries and blackberries, Madagascar vanilla, Moroccan citrus peel, honey and cognac to create a delicious all-natural Black Raspberry liqueur.



left:
Chambord + Soda
♥ 30 ml Chambord
♥ 2 Lime Wedges
♥ Soda on top

right:
Chambord + Sparkling Wine
♥ 10 ml Chambord
♥ Champagne on top

(Source and more recipes on their facebook page ChambordAustralia)

AND: Cooking and enjoying a good drink is only half the fun without good music! So my playlist today includes:

♥ Swedish House Mafia - Don't You Worry Child
♥ Bruno Mars - Locked Out Of Heaven
♥ Calvin Harris - Feel So Close
♥ Mumford & Sons - I Will Wait
♥ will.i.am feat. Britney Spears - Scream & Shout
♥ Calvin Harris - Sweet Nothing
♥ Taylor Swift - I Knew You Were Trouble
♥ David Guetta - She Wolf

Happy New Year!

With Love,


Coffeebeanlilly



 

My first month in Sydney

Hello Lovelies,

It's been exactly four weeks now that I left my little comfort zone - my old home - and sailed off to new shores. My new home is Sydney and I'd like to share a few things from the very start here in Australia.
My husband and I were extremely lucky to have good friends here, so we were allowed to stay with them from the day we landed. As much as I enjoyed the company, as an adult couple we were hoping to find our own little place as soon as possible.
Everyone told us it would be quite difficult to get approved for the desired appartment considering at this point both of us were unemployed.
Believe it or not, I think the apartment we looked at (it was the third one - third time lucky) is made for us, so it happened that we got approved for this place on our 12th day in Sydney! I still cannot grasp this beautiful view and I wish I could take photos with my eyes!


Day 16 - Moving in/Cleaning the apartment

top left: can't get enough of sunsets | bottom right: our new friends

While we ate on a cardboard box and slept on a matress, I was in the hot phase of getting a job. Having sent a good dozen of applications out I was hoping to find something as soon as possible (once again ASAP, my gosh patience is a virtue).
I had to remember my tattoo (which you can see *here*) everytime I picked up the phone to call a company to make sure they remember me. But I was lucky once more, on day 13 I had my first interview and on day 16 I had a Letter of Offer in my mail and now I'm proud to be able to say I work in the marketing department for a well known Australian company.


left: my new favourite coffee cup | right: first day at work

As if racing through all these obstacles wasn't enough, I must have done something right because the person in the sky decided I deserved more. My mother-in-law gave us plane tickets to the beautiful Sunshine Coast for Christmas. One week after my first week in my new position I thoroughly enjoyed myself in Queensland, visiting places I've been before (Maroochydore), doing things for the first time (fishing!) and all the things in between. Seeing my sister-in-law and her adorable children was also a highlight.


Fishing in Maroochydore

After Christmas we mainly put all our energy towards household shopping as we have to build our life from scratch. Tomorrow - day 31 in Sydney - we will finally have a table and chairs.


My favourite Australian flowers: top left: Hibiscus | bottom left and right: Frangipani

What I learnt so far:

1.: Never, really NEVER, leave the house without sunscreen!
2.: A little bit of COURAGE is all it takes to be greatly rewarded!


With Love,


Coffeebeanlilly