Birthday treats

H advised me to treat myself to a pair of sexy heels. Unfortunately, I don't have many places to wear heels to. So I spent the money on buying lingerie. :P

In 25 years, I've never had matching undergarments before. :P Or pretty ones, even... I've always bought sensible, plain T-shirt bras for everyday use. Mainly due to cost as well, because pretty bras tend to cost more, and matching shorts or thongs are usually around £9-£15 a pair. And I always have to either go to specialty stores or online because department stores, La Senza, Ann Summers, Agent Provocateur all don't do my size. :( Neither does Victoria Secrets, but that's pointless anyway since there doesn't seem to be any VS stores here. Hehe.

So I treated myself this time with some of the pretty bras on "up to 50%" sale at Figleaves. Ordered it less than 48 hours ago and they arrived today morning, w00t!

The pink one is from Vanity Fair range, black one is from Midnight Grace range, and the chocolate one is from Pour Moi? range. The nicest one, I think, is the Vanity Fair set. It's so cute and girlie and very comfortable on as well. All in all, good buys, methinks. All of them fit really well too, so no complaints (was a bit nervous about the VF set because VF is an American company, cup sizing can differ with UK sizing quite dramatically). If I have the money, I'd get another VF set. Hehe.

If you're wondering why I did not order it from my usual favourite online store Bravissimo, their estimated delivery at the moment (peak summer season) is 10-14 days for a lot of their catalogue! I won't be here in 10-14 days, I'll be in Malaysia! It's a pity though, because I had my eye on a couple of those pretty dresses they have...

So how did the rest of the day went? I opened my birthday cards yesterday and it was awesome. Got £40 from Boy's parents, which was very nice of them since I wasn't expecting anything. Boy got me a card and a teddy. Say hello to the latest addition to the menagerie:

Went to the post office to collect the overdue post (eBay seller got on my nerves, took 6 weeks to dispatch an item to me!), then to the bank to cash in a cheque from Cex (where I sold my old phones and some DVDs), and then to Co-op to buy ingredients to make myself a birthday cake.

I know, why am I making my own birthday cake? Shouldn't someone else do it for me? Well, I like baking, and I haven't had the chance or the excuse to do so for a long time. So I'm seizing this opportunity to brush up on my skills and use Brother #3 and Boy as guinea pigs. Plus, homemade means you can add stuff like alcohol and extra chocolate chips that bakery tend not to do!

Had a lot of fun mixing the batter, knowing that it will turn out to be some chocolatey goodness after spending some time in the oven. Here's the result of my "fun":

Double Chocolate Brownie Cake

I didn't get chocolate fudge to ice the cake because I thought we a) don't need all those extra calories and b) it will be too sickly, especially since I added extra cocoa and chocolate chunks in the cake (as well as almond slices and 1/2 cup Mint Bailey's). I dusted the whole cake with crushed hazelnut and icing sugar to hide the massive cracks in the cake. XD This is the first cake I've baked in years! It didn't turn out too badly, very rich and moist even without fudge icing. It's just the cracks, really, that is the problem that ruined the presentation. I know what I did wrong - I was lazy to cook it in two batches so I decided to use all the cake batter in one 9" pan and overfilled it. Tasted great though! The whipped cream was a bit weird as well - I really should've chilled the can and the cake before I started decorating it, but oh well. Lesson learnt!

Brother #3 and Boy seemed to like the cake, which is good, because Boy is usually not a cake person and I don't think he ate any of his own birthday cake (was there one?). I know he wasn't keen on his brother's birthday cake either when we went and bought the cake from M&S last time. We still have 5/8 of the cake in the fridge though, and Boy said, "I feel fatter just opening the fridge and looking at it."

Roffle.

Birthday photo with Boy!

Went to Ask for food tonight again like last time, am a bit disappointed with it, but oh well. Service was good as usual, but my calzone was burnt at the bottom! :( But pics of food that we had tonight:

Half-eaten starter to share...

Boy's food, at my recommendation. Pollo de la Casa or something like that.

Brother #3's food, spaghetti with tomato and black pepper and basil or something like that.

And my calzone, as before, but worse this time around. :(

Ah well, nevermind. Life eh? The waitress was kind enough to tell us that they do have 2-for-1 vouchers online, but I don't actually remember the name of the site she mentioned. Oops.

Anyway, last bit of camwhoring as I tend to do:

Why am I not rich? :(

Jonathan Kelsey Decoy Peep Toe Shoe

So pretty. I want. :( Unfortunately, it's £195 (down from original RRP of £429).

Spaghetti Carbonara

I love spaghetti carbonara. ^^ It's bacon and egg spaghetti, what's not to like? It's certainly not fat-free though, or particularly low in calories. But since we usually already have most of the ingredients, it tends to be quite convenient to make.

Here's one version that I quite like making, that adds chicken into the mix.

NB: I did not make this today - it was Boy's turn to cook. He made barbecue chicken melt, which was gorgeous. This is just something I made a few days ago and just didn't get around posting about it.

INGREDIENTS
150g spaghetti
2 eggs
1 square inch block of parmesan cheese, grated or chopped
1/2 a small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
4 slices of back bacon
1 chicken breast fillet
white wine
olive oil
ground black pepper


METHOD

Chop the onions finely and slice the bacon into "chunks". Dice the chicken breast into small chunks too if wanted (tastes nicer, but I didn't have it on me at the time of taking the photos).

Cook spaghetti according to instructions until al-dente.

Whilst the spaghetti is cooking, beat the eggs in bowl and mix in grated parmesan cheese. Put egg and cheese mixture aside.

Drain spaghetti, then drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat. Put aside.

Put some olive oil into a pot on medium heat. Add chopped onion (and minced garlic, unfortunately not pictured) and stirfry until onion is translucent.

Add chopped bacon and stirfry until bacon is cooked and simmering in bacon fat (if using, also add diced chicken breast and stirfry until cooked). Add a dash of white wine and cook for another minute.

Season generously with ground black pepper.

Add cooked spaghetti into the pot and toss to mix and heat through, adding olive oil if it seems too dry or sticky.

Once it is heat through and steaming hot, remove from heat completely and add egg-cheese mixture into the pot, tossing to coat thoroughly. The heat from the spaghetti will cook the egg mixture and melt the cheese into a smooth, creamy sauce.

Serve immediately.

A Malaysian's attempt at Lancashire Hot Pot

For those who had been reading my Facebook messages, you probably know that I was talking about trying to make Lancashire hot pot, despite never been to Lancashire and never having it before. Well, here's the result:

Lancashire hot pot... not in a pot!

Served with steamed buttered veggies.

It was pretty good, but still doesn't beat the deliciousness that is the honey and mustard slow-cooked leg of lamb!

But speaking of Facebook, you can also now finally view the photos from the Tunisia trip on my Facebook page. I know it's ages late, but give this girl a break! :P We did have a whole lot of fun on quad bikes whilst we were there, and Boy did get a free lapdance from a belly dancer on his 21st birthday. Hehe.