V-day in the Haus

So it turns out my boyfriend doesn't just sit around, eat fried chicken, and scratch his armpit hairs, eh? 

Because isn't that what men do on Valentine's Day?

Not mine! He got me a bag of coffee.

A pack of Caramel Tim Tams (by far the best version).

And a scrunched up face of joy.

The best part may have been the water bottle EXACTLY LIKE THE ONE I LEFT IN CANADA.

No wait, the best part may have been this:

Unfortunately, these turned out nowhere as good as Prairie Girl Bakery back in Toronto. Why is it so hard to find really good fresh cupcakes in Sydney? And can someone ship me a Prairie Girl to bake me some awesomely soft and fresh red velvet with cream cheese frosting please? Or ship me this girl. That's cool too.

Anyway, I got Steven a couple of ties because all the moving had ruined one of his nicer ones.

Not sure if he likes them...seeing as how they're kind of hard to match with shirts. Who knew that ties would be that hard to buy?

Steven wrote me a wonderful card: 

"Dearest Sandy, 

Roses are red & violets are blue

These are the givens that we take to be true

But not our relationship,that I don't take for granted

Just like a strong tree, it's not enough to be planted

It must be cared for and nourished and given plenty of food

So on this Valentine's,

If you're keen we'll go for some curry, possibly green

Be my date and you'll be in for a treat

Desserts are a-plenty if they survive this heat."

And then we went out for curry. 

And it was green.

How was your Valentine's Day?

Lentils as Anything Melbourne

We've got Internet!!

Now, for a post I've been wanting to write for a while...

Lentils as Anything is a strange and wonderful place.

Steven and I found it as we walked around the St. Kilda area of Melbourne a few weeks ago, looking for a vegetarian option for me.

Lentil serves everything vegan, so I knew immediately it was safe.

We quickly realized that it operates on a pay-as-you-feel basis.

The restaurant started up as a place for starving (ha-ha) artists to go when they were between jobs and pay cheques. What you ate today, you could pay for later.

Now, you might wonder how this differs from a soup kitchen or another charity. I think the difference is trust.   Lentils as Anything trusts you will pay it forward--be it today or tomorrow or next year--where a soup kitchen doesn't ask for anything in return. The fact that the restaurant has survived for 12 years already is a testament to the fact that people will give when they are able to.

I had the eggplant curry with rice, salad, and a half slice of toast. It was savory, hot and delicious!

I don't mind sharing that I dropped $10 into the Magic Box (as much as I was ready to pay for lunch anywhere in Melbourne), and wished "Lokah samastah, sukino bavantu."