Charmed Life of a Mrs

This morning, I spent a few moments reflecting on how grateful I am to love and be loved by family and friends. Every Valentines Day, my thoughts are not just for my significant other but also for the special people who fill my life with love and joy. Wherever they are, I send positive and grateful thoughts out to them, not just today but everyday.

Here’s my Hearts Day gift to you dear readers. A short film by Disney entitled “Paperman” which takes only six minutes of your time but will give you a smile that could last the whole day.  

This video made me remember how love can find you in the most unexpected times and how the universe makes a way for things to fall into place because some people are meant for each other. Ahhh Love, the most wonderful thing!

Have a fun Hearts Day! Live, love and be grateful! 🙂 

Sources: Wikipedia Youtube

Ended the month of January on a happy note as the Husband and I met up with good friends Meds and Charyn for dinner. 

The plan was to try out this family restaurant in Westmead but it turned out that they were closed for the evening due to an event (oh well, maybe next time). So we trooped down to Parramatta to have dinner there instead. Thanks to Charyn’s suggestion, we got to try mouthwatering pizzas, a comforting risotto and a decadent sticky date pudding at Restaurant 317.

I started off with a refreshing glass of Mojitos with lots of fresh lime wedges. It was so hot that day and this made it all better. 

Got ourselves a Cheese and Olive Starter Pizza made of Provolone Cheese and Olive Tapenade.

For our mains, we had the Margherita Pizza and Italian Sausage Pizza.
All of us enjoyed the Chicken Risotto in creamy sauce, mushroom and shallots. I loved this.
The pizzas and risotto were very filling but we can resist but order their Sticky Date Pudding. It’s too sweet for my liking but since there were four of us that shared this, it wasn’t overwhelming. It had a lovely butterscotch sauce and delicious vanilla gelato which made the sticky date pudding more enjoyable.

 A few steps away from Restaurant 317 is Chocolateria San Churro, one of my favourite dessert places in Australia. We came here to have a hot Spanish chocolates and some churros. Our Spanish chocolates that night: the original and thick Classic Spanish chocolate, the Madrid Mocha which had a shot of espresso (I recommend this to coffee lovers) and the nutty Avellana which has a hazelnut flavour.

“Sweeten thy Soul” is what you see in every cup at Chocolateria San Churro. Very fitting phrase to describe why it’s important to me to be with loved ones. As good food nourishes the body, it is the people we love who feed our soul. 🙂


Restaurant 317
317 Church Street, Parramatta
Phone: 1300 317 317

Chocolateria San Churro
287 Church Street, Parramatta
Phone: 02 9633 1566

One of our group of friends organized a birthday dinner for me (awww thank you dear Hanes!) and it was held at a Japanese restaurant and karaoke bar. It was my Husband and I’s first time at Mizuya. We always pass by this establishment on George Street but thought it was just a karaoke bar. We discovered that it was also a good place to catch up with friends while enjoying great Japanese food.
We went there solely for dinner so there was no need to book a private karaoke room (maybe next time?), however, eating at their dining area felt exclusive as each table looked like little rooms/cubicles. I should have taken a photo so you can see what I’m talking about but never worry as Hubby and I will be coming back there soon to eat again so I’ll take photos then.

Each cubicle has a touch-screen monitor where we get to order what we like. The monitor showed the name, amount and photo of each of their dish. This is so convenient and non-fussed. Once we tapped on the dishes we liked, the orders came arriving at our table. 
Birthday Dinner at Mizuya

We had a feast that night as the food just kept on coming…and vanishing into our tummies LOL. 

Garlic and Chili Edamame

Birthday Dinner at Mizuya
Silverfish with Seawood Salt
P1230164Birthday Dinner at Mizuya
Seaweed Salad
Birthday Dinner at Mizuya

Soft Shell Crab

Birthday Dinner at Mizuya
Tonkatsu
Birthday Dinner at Mizuya

BBQ Salmon Steak served with bean sprouts and broccoli.

Birthday Dinner at Mizuya

Spicy Karaage (my favourite!)

Birthday Dinner at Mizuya

Spider Roll made of cucumber, avocado, crab stick, egg omelette, soft shell crab and topped with chili powder.

Birthday Dinner at Mizuya

And of course we had noodles!!! 

Birthday Dinner at Mizuya

Mizuya offers great desserts too. 

Birthday Dinner at Mizuya

The Mizuya Dessert Trio: Japanese Cheesecake, Green Tea Brulee and Champagne Jelly.

Birthday Dinner at Mizuya
The Shiramata Sundae made up of Green Tea sundae and Sweet Red Bean.
Birthday Dinner at Mizuya
Everything was soooo good! The seafood and sushi tasted fresh and the meat dishes were perfectly cooked. Every dish was tasty and flavourful. The desserts gave us that sweet finale which we all loved.

Basement, 614 George Street
Sydney NSW 
Phone: 02 9266 0866
Without even asking, the universe had a way of gifting me with flowers on my birthday. On the way to brunch, we saw a garden full of colourful flowers in bloom. Thank you dear God. Thank you Universe. I welcome my new year of great possibilities with happy thoughts, a peaceful heart and an open mind. 
A Happy Ibyang Day!
An “Ibyang Day”. A phrase gifted to me by one of my dear friends Pen (thank you, love!). I’ve expressed my desire to family and friends to have a quiet celebration but somehow, they found a way to make me feel that my day is important. I’m so blessed to be surrounded by beautiful people who always make me feel well-loved. My family and friends are the world’s greatest gifts to me!

Here are a few snippets of my more-than-a-month-long birthday celebration:
Friends gifting me with a birthday cake a month before my birthday. The Rubber Duck visiting Sydney. Meeting Liz Gilbert and listening her talk at the Sydney Opera House. The Hubby granting me my wishes (a book and a bag). Receiving greetings from family and friends from around the world via phone, twitter, FB and IG. Birthday brunch at Coco Cubano. Attending mass at St Patrick’s Cathedral. Dinner with friends at Mizuya. Satur-date dinner with family on Australia Day.
To family and friends who remembered and celebrated Ibyang Day** with me, thank you very much! May you be blessed a thousand times with the positivity you wished me. 
** Ibyang Day is celebrated every 22nd of January.**
A day before we celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary, we were at the Sydney Opera House watching Liz Gilbert’s talk (I will write about it soon) . The Husband was a bit uncomfortable when we arrived at the concert hall because the attendees were mostly female but nevertheless he enjoyed it. At the end of the talk, Liz Gilbert came out to sign book and have a photograph with us. I have always been shy to ask for a photograph with a famous person but the Husband encouraged me to have a photo with Liz because he knew that it meant a lot to me. So I did get my photo with Liz and I glowed all the more with happiness.

If there is one thing I will tell you when it comes to finding your life partner is this: I hope you find someone who will do anything to make you glow with happiness. I hope you find someone who’ll willingly take a step back in order for you to shine. I hope you find someone who will see what you’re capable of and encourage you to grow. I have always said that love should always bring out the best in you. I’ve known my Husband for a total of 11 years now and what I said then about love is still true to me. When you’re loving each other the right way, you become the best person you are. 

After six years of being married, a few things have changed between the two of us, with how we view life and how we live life. But a lot of things remain unchanged: our values, our faith, the way we protect our little family, our friendship, the special people who make our married life more beautiful, the circumstances that makes us love each other more. If there are any changes in our lives, it is always a good change (if not better). We are grateful, always grateful. 
-o0o0o0o-
We had a quiet anniversary celebration in Sydney this year. Liz Gilbert’s talk is not really a “romantic” kind of date but since we’re out on the eve of our 6th anniversary, we made it special but having afternoon tea at Guylian Cafe. The Husband had coffee and I had a cup of hot chocolate.
Our 6th Anniversary Celebration
Our 6th Anniversary Celebration
We had their Salted Caramel Macarons which wasn’t as good as other macarons.

Our 6th Anniversary Celebration
And shared a cake called Caramelt which was soooo good. It’s Hazelnut Mousse with caramel ganache and chocolate cacao sponge coating with caramelised Toffee. 

Our 6th Anniversary Celebration
After the talk, we had dinner at Searock Grill
Our 6th Anniversary Celebration
A refreshing glass of Mojito for me.
Our 6th Anniversary Celebration

The Husband had Steak Frites which consisted of juicy rump steak topped with Cafe de Paris butter and sidings of salad and pomme frites.

Our 6th Anniversary Celebration
On the other hand, I enjoyed a plate of Crispy Pork Belly drizzled in caramelised black vinegar. It came with green papaya salad and fried shallots.
Our 6th Anniversary Celebration
We loved our dinner even if we weren’t really prepared to eat out that night. The plan was to just to have a quiet dinner at home. But we changed our minds the last minute because of the party vibe in Circular Quay. The quiet and cozy ambience of Searock Grill lured us into their restaurant and we were lucky that they served good food.

The following day, the 20th January, our anniversary, was spent in church and then Yum Cha lunch right after. Another fortunate accident was being seated near the TV which played the Australian Open. We enjoyed the food and the game while talking.
After our hearty lunch, it was business as usual since it was a Sunday. We went around the shops for a bit and did grocery shopping.

Our non-fussed anniversary celebration–fun and relaxed, the way we want it to be.