So far there have been two big social events in January.

First up, we had Sue and J's farewell party at Opera Bar. Sue and J moved to Hong Kong in early January. Andrew and I returned home in November 2009. Since then my brother has moved to Hong Kong, my sister has moved to London and now one of my closest friends has also left the country. Andrew and I are trying not to take it personally. Good luck Sue and J! We hope you have many exciting adventures.

Andrew's birthday was the next "big" event. It was really only a quiet one as you should stop expecting people to make a big deal out of your birthday after you turn eleven. Andrew and I started his birthday celebrations with drinkies at Orbit Bar at the Summit. You'd think it was a place only for tourists but even as a resident Sydneysider you can appreciate the view. It's a lovely place to be at sunset. We then headed to the Chophouse where we proceeded to eat way too much meat. Great meal and great service. For his birthday this year I got Andrew a voucher for an hour flight in a Boeing 737 simulator. He's planning to try some aerobatics on his flight. I'm glad that there aren't any real passengers.

This year, to celebrate Andrew's birthday we went to see Avatar 3D at IMAX. Here we are in our 3D glasses. Don't we look sexy! The movie was pretty good. The story wasn't anything new (um... pocahontas anyone?) but it was well-paced and there were enough action sequences to keep me amused. The 3D technology was impressive. Andrew gives it 4.5 stars out of 5 (which is a big recommendation from him).

After the movie we headed to dinner at Wagaya in Haymarket. We'd picked this dinner spot for one reason... sushi roulette. How does it work? Well you order a plate of 6 salmon nigiri except there is a catch. One of the nigiris has double the amount of wasabi than normal. So, one lucky diner cops a fiery mouthful of sushi.

The participants in our round of sushi roulette were Sue, Andrew, Simon, Clare, Brendan and Adam.

Who was the lucky winner? You'll have to watch the video to find out.




Thanks to GrabYourFork for the restaurant recommendation.

Today Andrew turned 34. Happy Birthday Andrew!

To celebrate his birthday, on Sunday, we had a little gathering at our local pub where we consumed. We ate roast beef, roast potatoes and drank a few pints of Christmas Ale. For a birthday cake, I baked Andrew a Cherry Ripe Mud Cake using cherry ripes imported from Australia, flown specially in business class. It was a very decadent cake and even those with the sweetest of teeth could only manage a very small slice. I'll be posting the recipe here in a few days.

For a birthday breakfast, I took Andrew out to Fernandez and Wells. A cafe in Soho chosen for the fact that they serve Monmouth coffee and can make a flat white. We both ate a ham and cheese croissant while we read the papers. It was very relaxing and a lovely start to the working day. Next time I'm definitely ordering the porridge.

This morning, after I said Happy Birthday to Andrew, I pointed out the fact that he is no longer in his early 30s. He is now in his mid-30s. You might think this is mean, but he will give as good as he gets when it's my turn.

I know, things have been awfully quiet here on FuShMuSh. Apparently, I have the worst immune system in the world as a couple of days ago I was struck down the Winter Vomiting Virus (Yes! It has its own name.) My poor Andrew succumbed shortly after I did. We've spent the past couple of days sleeping and feeling sorry for ourselves. We're on the mend now. Maybe tomorrow I may even consider getting out of my pyjamas and having a shower. It's the fourth time I've been sick this Winter season. Not... happy... Jan!

Here are some photos of a sweet dessert to tide you over. The ice-cream snowman was the special winter dessert at Abeno Too, a Japanese okonomiyaki restaurant. Two scoops of ice-cream on a pancake with some special snowman decorations. Unfortunately, like all snowmen, he melted. Luckily, unlike all snowmen, he was delicious. Delicious and cute!


Happy Australia Day!

January is a big birthday month in London. Of course, the most important one is on the 7^th. Poor Andrew had a bit of a quiet one this year as we'd just returned from New York. We celebrated his 33^rd birthday (*jess sings* three is the magic number) with dinner for two at a local gastro pub.

We continued the celebrations on Friday with a very quick round of bowling and dinner at a gastro pub. Andrew shared this celebration with Hildy, who turned 25 on the 10^th of January (a baby!). It was a shared Aussie and Norwegian celebration. We sang Happy Birthday, then the Norwegians sang the Birthday song.

Hurra for deg som fyller ditt år! Ja, deg vil vi gratulere! Alle i ring omkring deg vi star og se, nå vil vi marsjere, bukke, nikke, neie, snu oss omkring, danse for deg med hopp og sprett og spring, Ønske deg av hjertet alle gode ting! Og si meg så hva vil du mere - Gratulerer!

Hurrah for you, whose birthday it is! Yes, you we will congratulate! Everyone in ring around you we stand And look, now we want to march, Bend, bow, nod, we turn around, Dance for you with jump and bounce and skip, Wish you from our heart every good thing! And tell me now, what more do you want - Congratulations!

On Saturday evening we went out to celebrate Jane's 27^th birthday. (another baby! anyone under 30 is a baby *G*). What was going to be quiet night turned into a bit of a big one. There are lots of funny photos from the evening (we get a bit snap happy after a few drinks. Well more snap happy than usual.) There are a few photos below and the rest are on Facebook.


Happy Birthday Andrew! Happy Birthday Hildy! Happy Birthday Jane!