Cat's Farewell Party

Okay, so maybe it wasn't a whole party dedicated to my farewell.  Maybe it wasn't my farewell party at all.  But to my group of friends that's exactly what it was... a night of eating, drinking, dancing and good times.  The perfect way for me to say goodbye to BGI.

Last Friday, 20 November we celebrated BGI's final days.  The party was actually a BGI farewell party.  After 13+ years of BGI, people said goodbye to the good old days.  A new era begins Tuesday, 1 December for many of them.  I will not be there to experience the new company as my last day is this Friday.

Dalton Loft @ Jones Bay Wharf in Pyrmont.  Work kindly organized a water taxi for us to travel in style. 

Walking up to the venue from the ferry dock. Yes, I am in this photo... somewhere.

What's a party without a glass of Chandon champagne?  One of my friends at work, Zaria.

Taking a break from the dance floor with my buddy Norm.

I have no idea what song this was but apparently one that called for everyone to put their hands up. I spent 3 straight hours on the dance floor.  Needless to say, my feet were killing me by the end of the night.  Funny how to you don't realize it at the time.  Maybe it was all the champagne...

Not my best angle but oh well.  At least my hair looks really good.  I bought a new hair straightner that can curl as well.  And no, I did not spend $300 on a GHD.  Who has that kind of money to spend on a hair straightner??  Mine cost $80 and it works just as well.  I was clueless on how to curl my hair with it so some lovely ladies at work came to the rescue.  There were literally five of us in the ladies bathroom working on my hair.  They all had different techniques on curling with a straightner and eventually I got the hang of it.  By the way, my hair stayed curled all night and into the next day.

I wish I had more photos but I don't.  I forgot to bring my camera so I am relying on other people's photos.

Oh, I forgot to mention that we played BGI trivia and I won a $50 gift card to Myer (department store similar to Macy's).  The question was "how many TV screens are there behind Reception?"  According to everyone, immediately my hand shot up and I was shouting BGI BGI BGI!  (if you knew the answer you were suppose to say BGI.) Apparently, my hand shout up so high they couldn't believe it was me.  I was really excited that I knew the answer, I mean, I am the Receptionist.  It would have been an embarrasment if I didn't win the prize. 

So thank you friends and thank you BGI for a wonderful farewell party.  Did I mention that I bought 4 dresses for this event?  I hardly brought any dresses from home when we moved, let alone cocktail dresses so I was in desperate need for something to wear.  Everytime I go shopping in Sydney, I come home empty handed.  The clothes either do not fit me, I do not like the style or they are way too expensive.  Amazingly, the cocktail dress goddess was listening and gifted me with 4 beautiful well priced and well fitted dresses.

My favorite San Diego girls and photos

Downtown at Belo with Lauren and Geena

Freshmen year @ La Jolla Shores with the TKEs

Halloween freshmen year.  Christina, Mya, Pink and Little Kim

Red Carnation Ball in Palm Springs with my girls

Roof top bar @ Standard Hotel in LA

Mandy's bachlorette party @ Cafe Sofia

Cori's birthday and yes, she made shirts

Jello shots @ Sun God freshmen year

Arger Martuchi winery in Napa Valley

My bachlorette party in Vegas, baby!

Lauren's birthday?  My friend Chris's (now Robin's boyfriend) downtown apartment

Lauren, me, Corrie and Robin @ Scripps Beach in La Jolla

Geena's face cracks me up.  Love it and love her

Last San Diego party.  Ron and my farewell party before we head off to Sydney.

Almond Roca

Butter, sugar, nuts and chocolate.  What is there not to love? 

I love to bake.  That is not news.  I always bake for Ron, for friends, for co-workers and etc.  Christmas time is the best because it means cookie time! 

I learned this recipe from Momma Tina.  It is the simplest recipe to make but also the simplest recipe to mess up.  As mentioned above, the recipe is 1 stick butter, 1 cup sugar, toasted nuts and chocolate.  You literally just let the butter and sugar melt and combine.  Stir until your hand almost falls off.  The last thing you want to do is let the mixture stick the pot.  You continue to cook on a low-med heat until the color turns caramel.  At this stage you need to be very careful because seconds can really make a difference between perfection and burntness.  While the butter sugar mixture is cooking, chop the toasted almonds and spread out on a parchment lined baking tray.  Chop the chocolate and place a layer on top of the nuts. 

Spread the toffee mixture on top of chocolate.  This is VERY hot.  Do not be tempted to lick the spoon.

Top the toffee with another layer of chocolate.  It will instantly melt.

Top with another layer of almond and let it cool completely. 

Break into small pieces and enjoy!

The best part of the recipe is that you can make it any way you want.  Sub dark chocolate for milk, pistachios for almonds, half white chocolate half bittersweet chocolate.  The possibilities are endless.

Gardening

It is like my bread baking, I am not sure when I decided to get into gardening.  Now I do not have a large garden, it is more like a little closet to be precise, so I am not talking about massive gardening here.

It started with a potted basil plant, then I decided to plant seeds and just today, Ron and I dug up the back area and I planted my once potted tomato and chili plants.  I also freshly planted coriander (cilantro) and parsley seeds.  I'm debating about planting my mint and basil plants.  I can't keep my basil plant outside because this sneaky green caterpiller keeps eating my leaves!  I was also told to be careful with mint as it will tend to overtake an area.  Also, my last mint plant died because I left it in the direct sun and it didn't like it very much.

I'm excited because I can see my first chili growing!  It is the cutest little green bud.  I then bought a capsicum (bell pepper) plant and a habanero chili plant to round it out. 

We went to Bunnings (miniature size Home Depot) and bought more material for my garden.  Some thyme, lebanese cucumber and another tomato seeding.  I know, I'm obsessed.

I absolutely love this wine barrel for my basil and tomato

<-- From seeds! -- My flowering tomato plant -->

Farewell Barclays, Hello KPMG

My last day at Barclays Global Investors is Friday, 27 November.  This will also be my last day as a Receptionist!  I decided to take the next step and found a position as a PA.  I'll be working for KPMG, yes, the same company as Ron, in the ITA (Information Technology Advisory) group.  

You may think that working for the same company is a bad idea, but we think it will work out.  Ron's working out in Blacktown until December 2010 and only working from the office maybe every Friday or every other Friday.  This means, we won't be in each other's way every day.  :)  The good part about working for the same company is that we'll be able to get lunch together on the days that he is in the office and we can go out for drinks on Fridays after work.  Another plus is that I can now attend the KPMG christmas party.

ITA is conveniently located on the same floor as BPS.  The best part of getting a job at KPMG is that I have built in friends.  My girlfriends (Shani, Lani and Raelene) all work in BPS with Ron.  Our other good friends are from the same group as well.  It will make it so much easier to already have friends when starting a new job.  

I am sad to leave Barclays.  It was a good job for the most part, just kidding, it was a good job.  Pretty easy work, fun people, always drinks on Friday and I got paid pretty decently.  The downside was that I was practically tied to the desk.  But after it's all said and done, I will miss the friends that I have made over the year.  I will now be able to actually meet them for a proper lunch.  I'll also have to convince them to meet me for drinks at Bungalow 8 or Cargo Bar.  I'm sure I will not have to beg very much.  :)

It's funny that I put in my resignation on Friday but had one of my busier social weeks at work. I had lunch with a good friend from work, I went and supported our mixed basketball team for the Grand Final game, I had lunch plans with a group of girls and I was invited out for birthday drinks. 

Some girls and I made plans for lunch on Friday.  We had a great time over pizza and beer at Australian Heritage Hotel.  Hell yeah I got a Beez Neez during lunch.  Love my honey beer (shout out to you, Lauren!).  It was hilarious because one of the girls (I should say lady since she is quite a few years older than me) ordered a scotch.  I thought she was kidding but no, she really did order a scotch over lunch.  After work, I headed out with Sami, Tracy and Steve to GPO in Martin Place to meet the birthday boy, Vijay, for drinks.  I did feel pretty special since I was only one of the few friends at work that he invited.  

Bye BGI.  I wish you all the best with the transition to Blackrock.  Farewell.

Our new car!

We are pleased to introduce the exotic import, Red Rocket! 

Red Rocket (which by the way, I hate the name) is a 92 Honda Civic hatch.  Isn't she something special?  Costing $3,000 Aussie dollars and coming all the way from Parramatta, we welcomed her to the Kahler family. 

Unfortunately for me, it is a manual transmission and I do not drive stick!  People say that I can always learn, however, they forget that I have to also drive on the other side of the road.  That in itself is a bit much to deal with, let alone shifting with your left hand and dealing with the clutch.  Maybe one day.  But for now, I'll settle for Ron driving me around.

Ron took Red Rocket to the mechanic on Friday.  We knew it needed new tires and a timing belt, but we werent prepared for a few other things that needed to be fixed.  And yes, we checked out the mechanic and made sure he was legit before we handed over the money.  The good thing is that once we take care of these minor issues, the mechanic believes we won't need anything done besides the routine maintinence for the next few years.  Since we don't know how long we're going to be here anyways, that's totally cool with us. 

Ron has been driving Red Rocket to work all the way to Blacktown and fortunately for us, he gets to charge back mileage.  It adds up to about $100.  Yes, you read right, $100/day.  He drives at least 3 days a week and he will be doing so until December 2010 most likely.  Yeah, I know that is ridiculous.  It totally pays for the car and upkeep. 

We've taken Cloud for a few rides and she definitely does not like it.  She was use to riding in the back seat of our old cars and hanging her head slightly out the window.  Since Red Rocket is a hatch, it only has 2 doors and it's difficult for Cloud to get in and out.  Poor girl.  Also, its been over a year since she's been in a car.  She is not use to the car and probably has motion sickness.  Hopefully she will get use to it as we are planning to take a few drives up and down the coast soon.

For those of you who do not like the name Red Rocket, it's okay, I do not like it either.  I was not given a choice as Ron and his Blacktown mates named her before I had a chance.  My 1987 BMW 3 series was called Betsy.  She was the cutest little boxy car.  My 1996 Honda Accord Coupe was Jack Daniels, Jackie D for short.  He was dark green, sleek and smooth.  Perfectly suited for the name.  We didn't name my 2005 Toyota Corolla or Ron's 2006 Honda Civic as they were just too ordinary. 

Here is another look of Red Rocket from behind.  If anyone has a better name, please suggest!

Mandy in Town!

Mandy and Jon finally came to visit in October.  They were planning to come in January earlier this year, which would have made them our first visitors.  But they got a new job traveling around the country and couldn't pass up the opportunity.  Therefore, they became our 4th set of visitors instead.

They had a crazy trip over.  They were suppose to arrive on the 8th but their plane got hit by a bird!  A BIRD!  The plane was an hour in the air outside of LA when the pilot came online and announced that they had to turn around due to a bird collision.  They had to take another flight and ended up in NZ first.  Their Sydney trip got cut short and they were only here for 3 1/2 days.

They came in on Friday and met me at work.  Who needs to go up the Needle Point when you have the view from my office?  Level 43 baby.  After work I sent them off to explore while I went back to work. 

Mandy and I at Grand National Hotel for dinner and drinks.

The boys, Jon and Ron.  It was only their second time meeting but they got along amazingly.

The lovely Mandy.

KPMG 'Mad Hatter' Ball 2009

Every year, KPMG's social committee holds a themed ball.  Last year it was Circus and this year it was Mad Hatter.  

The ball last year felt like prom, it was no different this year.  Even so, we had a blast.  We had a great group this time around and I knew almost everyone, in BPS at least.  I spent the majority of the night talking to random people.  People I've met previously but didn't know well.  I have no idea what Ron was doing!  Probably hanging out by the candy bar.  Did I mention that Ron broke his toe a couple weeks earlier?  That was his excuse for not hitting up the dance floor.  I was in such deep conversation with people that I almost forgot about the dance floor.  At least until the very end when I stole the show.  ;)

Chris, Ron and Tom 

Stephanie, Lani and Me!

Brunch in Manly

Ladies Day started last week with a long boozy lunch at Sydney Fish Markets in Pyrmont.  The girls (Shani, Lani and Raelene) and I decided it would be a great idea to get together and explore different parts of Sydney.  We realized that we have become accustomed to going to the same places/neighborhoods and have been missing out on a lot of great opportunities.  I'll post some photos from last week when I get them from Shani.  :)

This week, we decided to do brunch in Manly.  Lani lives in Manly and suggested we go to Manly Ocean Beach House.  It is literally right on the sand and has a fantastic view of the ocean.

Raelene and I met up to walk to Circular Quay together to catch the ferry to Manly.  Jai Han was waiting for us and together we braved the windy 30 minute ride.  We saw this Columbian trading boat "The Esmeralda" while we were leaving Sydney Harbor.  If you look closely, you can see men standing on all the posts.

It is almost mandatory to take one of these "self shots".

I always forget to take the photo before I start eating!  It was a plate of beautiful poached eggs with Hollandaise sauce, grilled tomato, spinach, chat potatoes and toasted sourdough bread.  I didn't think that I liked poached eggs but I was wrong.  They were fresh, runny and incredibly delicious.  The grilled sourdough bread was the perfect thing to soak up all that yummy yolk.

The description sounded so good that 3 of us got the same thing.  Lani ended up with another type of poached eggs and Raelene ordered the pancakes. 

 

Raelene, Stephanie, Lani and Cat 

After brunch, I suggested that we check out the Manly Market.  Every neighborhood has their own market that sells hand made clothes/jewelry/bags/etc and you can find some amazing things sometimes.  As you can tell, Raelene did a little bit of buying.  I found the most adorable baby beanies!  They were so cute that Stephanie, Lani and I all bought some.  Unfortunately, I can't post a photo of it just yet because it is a present for baby Tyler!  I can't wait to see it on him and take a photo.  Geena, there better be a photo or two of him wearing it on your blog as well!  :)

Our next Ladies Day is set for Sunday, 13 September.  I will be hosting High Tea in Edgecliff and the girls and I will be teaching Shani how to bake.

Hunter Valley with the Girls

What's a girls trip without wine tasting? We signed up for a wine tasting tour to the Hunter Valley. It is the best way to do it. A shuttle picks you up, drives the 2 1/2 hours to the Hunter and takes you to private tastings in multiple wineries. This particular tour also included a nice lunch with wine to accompany.

I've become enchanted with shiraz viognier blends. Mr. Riggs is fantastic, Ron and I first had this at our one year wedding anniversary at Wild Fire. Brokenvale was the first winery we stopped at and they had a nice one as well.

I think the girls and I bought the most wine out of the entire tour. :)

Animal Park

On our way to the Hunter Valley for some delicious wine tasting, we stopped by an animal park to pet the kangaroos.

We had to meet the shuttle driver 20 minutes past 6am so we didn't get a chance to get coffee. I was really excited when we arrived at the animal park and they provided us with some. It was horrible tasting but I still drank it all.



They also had a koala for us to pet:


This big boy decided the food from my hand wasn't good enough. He decided to grab the bag out of Lacey's hand: