Welcome to the Melbourne Community Daily Discussion Thread.
Seeing as everyone else is posting breakfast pics
Picture of Turkish bread toast with 2 day old home made guacamole (didn’t wanna waste it) and Oaxacan chilli oil with flavouring bits from the jar.Managed to book in a freelance client project and feeling rather proud of myself. I used to work solely freelance but got a “proper job” at the tail end of lockdowns when work dried up. I was in a really unhealthy mental space with my freelance work and addicted to social media (what I mainly used to gain clients) so I’ve been wary of returning to it, even though I really dislike my “proper” job. I’m currently on mat leave and feel sick at the idea of returning.
I got this client through social connections in the Real World and it was just so easy and stress free. I’ve been thinking a lot about where I went wrong in the past and I have a glimmer of hope I really could make it work again this time. Honestly I am really good at what I do, I just need to focus on the work and get out there meeting people in real life a lot more.
I feel optimistic about work and my professional future for the first time in a long time!!!
Congrats! I didn’t do it for that long but the freelance life can definitely take a mental toll in various ways. It’s good to be away from it for a while to give you a different perspective and I think you’re right in reflecting on what didn’t work so well in the past and try and put in measures to prevent the same from happening. Sounds like you’re cut out for this though so hope this is a new beginning!
Yeah it can be really hard! I was prone to letting work take over my whole existence, dropped all my hobbies and lost myself a bit. If I can strike more of a balance I think it would work out.
Visited Co-bake space to buy cakes by Reece Hignell from MasterChef Australia, they were delicious!!! Wasn’t cheap but I considered it both worth it and a one off chance to enjoy his baking.
The image description was placed in the brackets beside the image embedding links, is that the correct place to put it?
is that a vanilla slice with passionfruit icing 😍
It is and it was delicious! The custard was light and fluffy and I enjoyed it so much.
sounds heavenly 🤤😇
Woah woah woah what this…I want everything 😍
It was a pop up bakery with a bucketload of delicious food! It was so tasty.
Looks amazing! Might pay a visit if I get time 🍰
They do different pop ups on weekends, but the baking is always high quality! It’s called Co.bake space and is essentially a space for pastry and baking people to take over. The next one is on the 19th and the one after is the 26th.
Ooohhh noooo I missed the MasterChef one!!😭 Hopefully the next ones are just as good 🥲
And hopefully after how successful it was (sold out by midday on both days) Reece will pop down again for more!
Looks divine!🙃
How much for the Upside Down Cake?
Hahaha double the price. It was an image that was the right away around prior to upload.
🤣
Mmm Devil’s Food cake!
Look I know this is a bit disgusting but I really don’t feel satisfied with the amount of garlic I’ve put into a dish until it feels like it’s been suffused into my very flesh. I must feel the spirit of the garlic coursing through my veins. And for that I am happy I put half a head into yesterday’s pasta dish. Still on those garlic vibes. Satisfying.
Nah I feel you, I have a really hard time tasting those subtle tastes, I like them almost overpowering. Vanilla essence, peppermint, most spices, garlic, I load all of them up
I load up the vanilla too, always add another tsp to the recipe
recipes always understate the amunt of garlic for some reason.
Pile it in :)
*amount… jeez
I’ve had reflux for a couple of months now and fuck me if I don’t miss garlic with every fibre of my being. It’s so. Damn. Good.
RIP. I’m very lucky garlic never affected me that much (it was more chilli and tomato). Fodmap sufferers have it the worst. Life without garlic and onion is… no life at all…
Blurgh day. Sleepy. Couch coma.
Have eaten breakfast twice. First was oats. Second was eggs and toast.
1 week until dog day 🐕
Have expanded dog’s name from Adam to Mayor Adam West. Needed something vaguely Batmanesque since he has the Batman symbol on his chest
That’s a baby
When I showed the pic to my brother he literally replied with BABY!!!
Gotham.
Goth for short
👍
Ace, Azrael, Gordon, Kilmer, or Keaton? https://www.mydogsname.com/batman-dog-names/
Keaton. That’s a good one
He’s adorable!
Some could also say it kinda looks like the Punisher shirt… Frank could be an option. Great dog name too.
Weren’t keen on Bruce?
Nah got some bad associations with the name.
Mr Smeg still wants to name him Manbat
Ahh fair enough!
Cat stuff has been purchased. Lot’s of apprehensive sniffing going on. Hopefully she likes it as cat stuff is not cheap lol Forced myself to go the gym. Feel like a million bucks! Forgot about all the happy chemicals and sense of achievement.
I just splurged on a bunch of freeze dried pure meat treats for other people’s cats that I’m looking after (one right now, one the week after next, and a third one after). I figure indoor cats have so little they can change about their environment that I’m more likely to splurge on the little critters than myself
Exactly! Mine gets new toys every 2 weeks. Where did you get those meat treats?
Habitat Home to Pet supplies in Altona North! (I’m based westside for a bit while house sitting) There’s an extensive range of freeze dried meat treats. Most of them are in the dog section but are suitable for cats as well. Nearly every cat I’ve looked after goes nuts for the chicken hearts. Bought chicken neck and kangaroo liver today to see how they go.
I’m about to make some cheesy toast. Does anyone want some?
Yay nut loaf!
Picture of a brown cakey looking loaf on a cooling rack with what remains of the other loaf next to it on a pink plate. Good thing the recipe makes 2 loaves! I averted disaster with it a couple of times… after I’d mixed it (while being responsive to my prolifically chatty daughter and breaking up fights) I realised I had put bicarb instead of baking powder in it. A quick google revealed I could save the recipe by increasing the acidity with lemon juice or vinegar. Seeing as how I (once again) failed to buy buttermilk before I made it and had to add lemon juice to milk to substitute, I just added more. It worked!Nut 👏 loaf 👏 city 👏 limits!!
Love it when a bit of ingenuity saves a dish. I’ve never had nut loaf before, do you eat it with anything? It looks so hearty and comforting!
It’s a sweet walnut loaf so my fat arse loves it straight from the oven with butter 😋I like the recipe because it doesn’t have a truckload of oil in it, unlike other recipes I’ve seen. I used to make a savoury cashew nut and carrot loaf which you would eat with wilted (lightly stir fried) greens and roast vegetables, which I cooked at the same time as the loaf. Some people like their savoury nut loaves with a sauce, like cranberry sauce, or a chunky chutney or relish. Anything kinda fruity goes well.
Our local vet cracks me up. They’re great, but when you call them you have to choose from a 5 option menu, ranging from “Press 1 for an emergency” through to “Press 5 for all other enquiries”. It’s nonsense because all calls are answered by Betty on reception anyway lol
That’s funny. I remember going to the movies with the clan and the place was deserted and the dude who gave us our tickets also served our popcorn then said to us “I’ll be in to pop the movie on soon. Make yourselves at home”.
Could be a call queuing thing if there’s a wait, emergency gets you straight through the queue
That’s really the only thing that’d make any sense. Unless the same menu plays after hours and emergency puts you through to someone on call or something?
- late breakfast after a great walk with the doggoSorry but what exactly is this
Edit: Oh, spicy omelette
A very spicy omelette as I slipped with the yuccateco
Not that I truly read them anymore but I’m really sick of IMDB reviews being disgusting rants by racists and homophobes. Like seriously 1 star because you’re unhappy a character isn’t the colour of mashed potatoes, grow up.
Got myself a lil treat today and bought the t2xpenguine publishers set.
spoiler
I actually really loved the withering heights design but I refuse to have the book in my house. So I’ve bought probably my 6th version of p&p. I’m so excited by it.
The hard split between Brontë fans and Austen fans is fascinating to me
Nothing particularly against the Brontës. If it was Jane Eyre, I’d be all over it like pash rash. It’s Withering Heights I take my umbrage with. Two of the worst characters/people doing things that really should land them in prison. They’re both emotionally, mentally and at times physically abusive to everyone around them. And it’s painted as a great love story. It’s also really fucking boring.
The Kate Bush song slaps though
Two of the worst characters/people doing things that really should land them in prison. They’re both emotionally, mentally and at times physically abusive to everyone around them.
Isn’t that the whole point? It’s a scathing criticism of the English landed gentry, and the social class structure surrounding it. It’s the same kind of thing as Honglou Meng which is a criticism of noble families in feudal China.
And it’s painted as a great love story.
It’s framed as a love story, but I always saw that as a literary device that served as a vehicle for the completely unsympathetic characters. Honglou Meng is framed as a love story, too.
It’s also really fucking boring.
I think it’s more that it’s lost relevance. It was rather controversial when it was published. If you actually want a love story, there are definitely better better choices.
someone else who has read Honglou Meng 😃 I’ve read 3 different translations
I can appreciate it as Art while still wanting to throw the book across the room. Horrible people being horrible to each other.
I truly don’t think I can appreciate it in any way. Genuinely one of the most upsetting and bad things I’ve ever read. I slogged through it exactly because it’s so revered, but damn I did not enjoy it
Ditto. Did not enjoy either. Crap storytelling, horrible people, the film versions seem to rely on flowing capes and on figures standing on cliff edges to fill plot gaps. But it’s soooo romantic … Hogwash. Also bunkum. Don’t mind Jane Eyre though or The Professor. Of all the Bronte works, I think Shirley is my favorite - quite close in quality to a minor Austen such as Northanger Abbey or Sanditon. Anne was underrated imo.
I’m with you there, I can’t see how Wuthering Heights is a love story at all, but I will occasionally reread Jane Eyre. I’m currently listening to a podcast where they read Jane Austen and discuss, one of whom has never read Austen. It’s as close as I will get to reading them for the first time again.
Ooh! What’s it called? That sounds great!
I used one of my audible credits to get this narrated/voice acted version of Austen. People in the reviews are really mad because they had to take some very minor liberties with the exact wording here and there to make it work with the audiobook format. I’ve been really enjoying experiencing them in a new way though!
Pod and Prejudice, they are on to Emma now but started with Pride and Prejudice. That audiobook looks amazing, the narrators 🥰😍
My favourite is Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.
That P&P design is gorgeous, a trip to the bookshop might be in order( ignore that pile of Austen over there, I NEED this one)
The design is only available with this bundle at T2! And only for this month! That’s what got me in the end. I’m a sucker for limited editions
Ooh, I didn’t know I needed this. Tough decision though: P&P or Sherlock Holmes?
It was a tough decision for me too. Sherlock Holmes is the only one of the 4 that I don’t own, and I did really like the design. I might have to go back for it once the month is up.
I love the mug design!
Right? The only bad thing is it’s got gold foiling, so it can’t go in the microwave, which is terrible news for me and my habit of forgetting about hot drinks and having to reheat them.
I’m an ardent Austen fan and hate the works of all the Brontës, so I’m all here for you owning multiple versions of P&P.
Freshly shorn. Baaa
TMI
Take it easy.
I am so clean. A hot shower is just the thing
Only thing better is clean sheets on the bed. And the sound of rain on the roof!
Cooking dinner is all well and good but then you have to wash dishes, and I don’t like it.
Also masterfoods Portuguese spices is tasty but definitely has a bit of kick.
