Everlane Anyone?

I've heard a ton about this brand - they say the leather shoes are well made, durable, comfortable, need no breaking in, and some of them, like this one which is made from Nappa leather, are super-duper soft and a godsend for people with fussy feet (like me... bunions and what not - and by what not I mean sensory hypersensitivity). 

I've been wanting a pair of multi-occasion/cheat shoes that can double up as something a little more dressy, but could also just as easily be worn with jeans or a denim skirt. Covered toes means if I'm wearing longer pants it could likely pass off (at least from the front) as proper shoes 😁 The grey is a great neutral too.

I don't like actual court shoes because the back tends to hurt - see 'Notch' in pic below. And also to retain the shape of the shoe the 'Counter' tends to be pretty stiff. And then my whole foot hurts and my bunions start to complain.

I swear, if there is one thing I miss dearly about my youth it's that I could strut around in 3-inch heels all day, everyday. The bunions didn't happen until a year plus after my decision to chuck the heels and switch to ballet flats. Here's why that was a bad idea!

Anyway, I do already have two pairs of heeled sandals but they're strappy and open-toed and neither of them would work with a formal outfit.

Thing is, I have great faith in this brand, having asked a couple of friends who have tried their shoes, and from hearing it being recommended on some of the fashion blogs I follow...  BUT I just want to get as many opinions as I can. 

Has anyone who reads here ever tried their shoes? If so, which one(s) did you get and how was the sizing for you? Did they run big or small, or were there any other issues? 

Do let me know. Much appreciated!

Have some thank-you soy crisps!

This Week's Update - Unfried Fried or Pressure Fried Chicken? And Appliance Yays and Nays

Dinner at a casual Jap restaurant, seafood hot pot and sashimi salad, plus some squid and crab cream croquettes. It was a place we'd never been to, and were not disappointed. Tasted good, altho the waiter kept bringing the next table's dishes to us. It was quite funny. 

It was Ash Wednesday so I was on a no-meat deal. And the timings for Mass here weren't matched up with my day's lessons so I woke up at 5 and went to church for 630am Mass. Everyone there was either a senior citizen or a child in school uniform (presumably headed to school after Mass). BIKSS was a bit amused that I might make a habit out of this morning Mass thing. Erm, No. 

Since BIKSS had been back from his work trip he hadn't had any time off (while away he was working through the weekend too so he was pretty knackered!) so he took a day off on Friday and ran some banking errands in the morning. Then we spent the afternoon and night together. We ate at a fancy vegetarian restaurant, a first for us, where they had a buffet for $30 per person. That restaurant belongs to a well known group of establishments that serve Cantonese cuisine, at a pretty high price point I will say, but BIKSS had points he could use to offset some of our bill cos he's enrolled in their loyalty programme. So we ended up paying for just one of us. Totally worth it. 

Brinjals with some soy thing, long beans (which turned out way better than we expected), and steamed mushroom dumplings -part of their dim sum menu. We also had spinach wolfberry soup, he had a bowl of hot and spicy Szechuan soup, and we had a bunch of other dim sum dumplings and battered and fried mushrooms which were super crunchy and addictive! Definitely a win!

For dinner we had a simple plate of fried chicken at a Kenny Rogers Roasters. I understand it no longer operates in the US. But it's pretty big in Malaysia and other parts of Asia I think. I can't keep track of our outlets. They open and close and relocate so quickly that at any one point I have to type  a query into Google to search for a branch near me in order to figure out where we can get a KR fix.

 

This plate was confusing cos they described it as "unfried fried chicken". What now? This added to our earlier confusion - while trying to decide where to get some fried chicken for dinner we learned about KFC's pressure fried chicken - he said KFC's pressure cooked; I said it's Kentucky FRIED Chicken, so it's fried - and it turns out we were both right. There's a thing called Pressure Frying and we'd both only just heard of it YESTERDAY!

Anyway most of the day was spent pottering about a far away mall cos we hadn't gone shopping together in ages and I thought it would be fun. It turned out to be very productive -I bought a microwave from a hypermart for $59. They have an in-house brand that offers everything from electrical appliances to clothing to chips and chilli flakes. 

(Pic from the web - but this is the exact same one I got.)

And for every bit of good news I seem to get slammed with bad news. My TV died. BUT when I told the brother he offered to take a look at it and also provide me with a spare one he has if he can't figure mine out. Which is good. At least I don't have to BUY a tv. 

I also bought a blush palette. The cheapest one I could find - thankfully they had a combination I like! 

I'd used some of their products before and didn't have any issues with this brand. BIKSS was lovely, traipsing about the make up counters with me to help me look. It had to have the right hues, be a mixed palette preferably, and be cheap. Drugstore makeup isn't as cheap as it used to be - this one was $10 on sale and luckily for me the cashier told me about an app I could sign up for to get an extra 5% off all products in-store - and get points (also applicable in the hypermart where I bought my microwave - same group of stores) which I could also exchange for cash value to offset future charges once I'd accumulated enough. 

I would have just gotten some from Shein (Sheglam has announced their Leaping Bunny certification) but they didn't have any shades I like. I DID get some other stuff from there - make up brushes, blending sponges, concealer, setting powder and a lovely eyeshadow palette - as a Capri, I approve! There are palettes for all the different horoscopes. I like Scorpio, Virgo and Aries too. Mostly the greens / mauves. But since this one works for me and I *am* Capri, I just went with it. 

Why? Why the sudden interest in make-up? Because if not now, then when? Dammit, I'm 50. I have all this make-up anyway. A ton of lipcolour, some eye palettes, eyebrow pencils...  I don't NEED to put any on for work... but I CAN! And recently we've finally done away with ALL mask-wearing - the last restriction was masks on public transport - so I've decided I shall put on my make-up and be bright and cheery! This is the year of make-up, reed diffusers, and Bath and Body Works sprays and Wallflower scents! All the things that make me happy!

Oh and now I have to run. My caregiver needs to go to the dentist. Have a chip!

But don't chip a tooth!

The Most Expensive Steak We've Ever Eaten

...was had at a practically unheard of steakhouse. Well, I only knew it because my cousin brought a roast beef along to mum's place for lunch some years back and being in a part of town that was terribly inconvenient for me to get to I didn't think much of it. That is, until I mentioned it to BIKSS and he said, well, yes, that's the place he told me about that had the awesome Irish coffee (during MY birthday dinner). Um, no, that's on xxx road, I said. He pointed over to the right side of the street and said - what road do you think THAT is?!

OK, I get that that conversation might be a bit confusing. But never mind. That's not the point. The point is that we eventually ended up at this place that looks a little worse for wear on the outside, but was just full on old-kitchen charm on the inside. He'd been there once before (that's how he knew about the Irish coffee) and I'd been there never. 

The menu is rolled over to you on a chalkboard.

We had the portabello and shrimp (on the other side of the chalkboard) for starters, 

..and chose the Australian Wagyu, done medium rare. The dude rolled the trolley over with the slabs of meat to show us the difference in the marbling between the Australian and Japanese Wagyus. I can't tell the difference to be honest, but at $20 difference per 100gm, we'll stick with the cheaper one TYVM. Beef is beef. And any Wagyu is already rich enough for my taste, never mind Japanese or not.

It was my first ever Wagyu steak. (The rump we had at the other place - see link at the end of this post - was meant to be a Wagyu too but I wasn't convinced. So this one counts as my first as far as I'm concerned.)

I should have taken a picture of the inside of the cut steak, I realise, but we were so impressed by how delicious it was that we just kept on eating! I also ordered the black cod - again, a first for me. It was absolutely divine.

Then came the zesty cognac soaked crepes, flambé-ed table-side. That was 4 minutes of watching our crepes get prepped.

And finally, the reason we came here - Irish coffee :

It was a whole production! 

And according to BIKSS, tasted way better than the too much cream-not enough coffee one that we had at the other place. Which, I admit, had a lot more in terms of menu variety and fancy names, but this place is a really simple no frills joint (offering wise, I mean; the table-side shows are another story) with tasty well-cooked food without the elaborate names and descriptions. The portabello and shrimp was called "Portabello / shrimp". If you go back up and have a look at the menu, you'll see what I mean. 

So that slab of beef was 320gms. At 45 bucks per 100 you can do the math. 

Dinner came up to a whopping $320 with tip. Was it worth it? No food is ever worth hundreds of dollars, imo, but considering the experience and the quality of the food and service, I *will* say I didn't regret a single cent! Besides, it was a combined celebration of BIKSS' birthday (belated) and early V-day, so hey, for a 2-in-1 it wasn't too bad! (He's off on a work trip this week... bleagh.)

Will we come back here? Yes. And as far as pricey steak places go, if I'm going to be paying a kidney and a spleen for some beef, then I'd rather do it here than at the other place. 

Most notable lines of the evening - 

Me - I think that's the most expensive steak I've ever eaten...

BIKSS - I KNOW that's the most expensive steak I've ever eaten!

Today's chips - take your pick!

TMJ and Delayed Birthday Dinner

I suppose there is something to be said for luck. Either the lack of it, or having accidental 'good' luck.

Those born in the year of the rat are supposed to have good fortune this year (according to the Chinese zodiac thingamajig). 

So far I haven't been the most lucky. My kettle died, the microwave died, part of my ceiling (the beam above my window sill) fell off, and on Wednesday night I developed an inflammed TMJ. I was halfway thru my bag of chips when I felt the click in the right side of my jaw as I bit down. 

Needless to say that meant I couldn't eat real food (or anything that required biting down) the next day or two. Meaning our Thursday night date was a bit of an event! 

BIKSS found a vegetarian Japanese restaurant. He's more and more open to the idea of vegetarian cuisine these days, especially since his HbA1c result came back higher than we wanted. 

So the new plan for him is to try and lose some weight, cut down on meat consumption, and see if we can't get his pancreas back on track in 3 months' time. 

But where was I? Ah yes. Back to veggie Jap for dinner. 

Agedashi Tofu. Good. I could mush it between my teeth and swallow. 

Vegan salmon sashimi - not bad. It was like a stiff jelly which didn't require a forceful chew.

Teriyaki "chicken" - meh. The insides were soft enough but there was a lovely crust covering that I couldn't manage except to nibble in the front part of my mouth. Which is what I ended up doing. If not for the pain I would have enjoyed this quite a lot I reckon.

Cheesy shitake. I didn't manage this at all. So the entire mushroom was battered and fried. And then the cheese slapped on top and torched till it melted. On its own the cheese was too salty (plus look at all that sauce) for me to just lick off - although I did try, with 2 pieces, before giving up entirely.  BIKSS ate the rest of it. 

This was by far the cutest thing I'd ever seen. I've put up a lighter beside the teapot for size reference. It's a pot of soup with mushrooms, veggies, some vegan 'prawns' and more mushrooms LOL. I ate a prawn, some shimeji and the veggies. BIKSS had the rest. I do love me my enoki but I didn't think I would be able to manage them. 

(In case you were wondering what I am going on about...)

Right. So far I haven't told you ANYTHING that sounds remotely good, luck-wise. HOWEVER - a month ago we planned for BIKSS' birthday dinner a week AFTER his actual birthday. ie. next Friday. In a way that's fortuitous, right? If we had planned to go to the steakhouse yesterday on his birthday proper, I'd be unable to eat anything! Ok, maybe pumpkin soup and mashed potatoes. 

But since the reservation is made for next week, my jaw will be better by then! 

In fact, it's already pretty much healed by now. I had a slice of deep dish pizza for lunch and I'm eating nuggets for dinner now and so far it hasn't hurt all day today. I'm not going to tempt fate with any chips or nuts for a couple more days... but this is progress. 

And I'm glad to report that it didn't stop us from having some blowjob fun, albeit shorter than usual because it got a bit achey and sore after a while. 

Because I'm not eating any right now, today's chip pic is going to be a different kind of CHiPs. :)

The Counselling is On

The course I mean. It's midway thru the sessions now, and I'm enjoying myself rather a fair bit. 

I finished the last online course I was on, and there's one more course to do for that one before I finish all the modules in Lifestyle Medicine. I suspect that like this one I just finished, it's going to be quite content heavy. 

So I've decided not to dive straight into it, but to wait till the counselling lark is done. 

Who knows, they might invite me to do the next level. Ha! If there's one thing I'm not, it's calm and softspoken. Which all the counsellor's I've met there ARE. They have heaps and heaps of serenity oozing out from their pores. As a fellow participant put it - perhaps we're just too excitable and reactive? We need to practise being less hyper.

Part of me would LOVE to be that picture of peace and calm, but a larger part of me feels it won't be authentic if I have to try so hard! 

And so I shall be the way I am, I have been. I mean, it hasn't stopped friends and students and patients and godchildren coming to me for advice right?? 

Heck. Even BIKSS is amused that I can get him to talk. 

I might be jumping the gun, but since I'm a planner, I need a plan. What if they really DO offer me a seat in the advanced level class? I would love to learn more stuff. Gather more skills. But I think they offer places to people whom they think would make good counsellors and will be willing to join their team - they have a counselling service, free for anyone who needs it. 

I do know that at this point I DON'T want to volunteer for more things - I feel ultra busy as it is! 

Maybe I'll just wait till I come to that bridge before I decide if I want to cross it. 

Meanwhile - we had Indian food on Monday - we just picked a mall and wandered around till something caught our fancies. 

"It must good, there are Indians eating in there!" (BIKSS is always convinced if a native of whatever cuisine is eating in the restaurant then that's a good sign.)

So in we went. It was good. Spicy, flavourful, some bits a bit too salty for my taste, but very satisfying over all. 

Single serve spicy chicken soup

Half portion Tandoori chicken

Onion and pepper fried prawns

Battered and fried cauliflower -  my favourite of the night.

We have a decent number of Indian restaurants here, but they all seem to be very different to me. I think there's the whole North vs South Indian thing, vegetarian or not thing, and some restaurants seem to have adopted a more local flavour so that the menus have become a mish mash of everything that's just generally Indian but not ONLY Indian. 

I can't tell what's what. But I do know that sometimes one just needs some masala in the tum tum! 

Have a jackfruit chip~

(By the way I ate some chips earlier and then there was a click in my jaw, and it began to hurt. I think it might have been a ligament. So now I'm on a forced diet plan. I shall ask my boss about it tomorrow. It's not causing any discomfort except when I bite down.)