Some of our Aussie friends have taken notice that I genuinely enjoy cooking and recently the requests have started coming forth. There was some debate as to the first selected meal – a few of the blokes wanted Southern Fried Chicken and the ladies wanted mussels – so the only fair thing was to put it to a vote. This past weekend, mussels and pasta won out.
On Saturday evening, our friends brought over 4 kilos of mussels and plenty of wine to please the cook. I made a version of mussels provencal (mussels in a white wine broth) as well as a pasta dish – a small feast that would please any mussel fan!
It was our original intention to take the meal down to the private dining area in our building but it seems we couldn’t be bothered once the prepared food started coming out of the kitchen. I couldn’t even get the mussel eaters off the floor of our apartment and onto the couch for the first course! I suppose I should just take it as a compliment if the food is good enough that people will eat it sitting on the floor without a table!?
Before any of the cooking and eating began, we actually spent a couple hours testing out the cinema room with our Wii console. Nothing brings out a little “healthy” competition among couples than some Nintendoland games. It’s a good test for those about to get married – sort of like creative couple counseling…or maybe the counseling is what’s needed after playing. We resumed the games post-dinner in our apartment but it’s not quite the same after projecting it in a theater room.
On Sunday, Ben took care of some things around the house while I spent a little time at the National Gallery of Victoria. For the past couple months, they have been showing The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier exhibit and I’ve been wanting to go since it opened – not that anything has been preventing me aside from simple absent-mindedness. Sunday was the last day before the exhibit shipped off to Paris, so I got in right under the wire.
The exhibit was great, just crowded – serves me right for leaving it to the last minute and having to go on a Sunday. The details and materials in the clothes were stunning and everything was set up in a very interesting manner. Several of the mannequins had pre-recorded faces projected onto them which spoke or sang and admittedly were a little creepy but certainly added an interesting sensory experience.
I’m not sure how many different countries the exhibit will be touring but if you find it in your city and you are a fan of fashion and couture, I’d recommend it. It was wild seeing the garments that were worn by varying celebrities for certain iconic moments and getting a glimpse into what the creative inspirations were for them – like Madonna’s famous cone bras.
