Restaurant review: Vapiano, Brisbane

I was taken to a new restaurant in Brisbane’s Queen Street Mall on Friday night called Vapiano.
It’s a large, modern Italian restaurant with a large bar and dining area upstairs and kitchen downstairs where the food is cooked right in front of you by the friendly chefs as soon as you order it. Fantastic!
The menu is huge as well – something for every taste. I ordered the Gamberi E Spinaci (prawns, pesto, baby spinach in a cream sauce). It was so mouth-watering and so filling at the same time (I couldn’t finish it; as much as I would have liked to).
The drinks menu was extensive with local and imported beers, wines and champagnes on offer.
If you’re interesting in checking it out, it’s well worth it. Best to go with a group of friends to enjoy a cheap night out. It’s not really a ‘romantic’ venue for couples.
Value for money: 8/10
Service: 7/10
Ambience: 5/10 (it was far too busy, but it was a Friday night so they could be forgiven).
http://www.vapiano.com.au/

Relax...

It's two weeks before the wedding and this is basically the only thing I've been listening to lately. My brother sent me a couple of links to some beautiful relaxation music as I've been making it my quest to de-stress and keep a level head while trying to finish work and pull the last of the wedding ties together.

Take a listen - it's guaranteed to help you chillax!

Not happy, Jan

This week has been a doozy for people not doing their job/s properly.

There has been a handful of incidents this week where I’ve been let down because:

a) People forgot to plug in their brain in when they woke up in the morning
b) They hate their job so much that they want to take it out on customers
c) They are just bad/angry people in general and don’t care about anyone/thing
d) They didn’t double-check details before rudely attacking and making accusations, and then failing to apologise when they were wrong

…I could go on and on.

It’s just so frustrating. I work in an industry where clients expect over and above the service you provide for them and I have no problem with that because I know I will make them happy by doing a good job. When you have a work ethos like this, you make the mistake of assuming everyone is just as hard-working and dedicated as you are to their job and clients/customers.

WRONG!

People don’t care and many are just put on Earth to let you down or make your day hell.

I forked out nearly $4000 for a trip recently to have all the dates/paperwork stuffed up. No real explanation from the travel agent as to why she decided to provide me with incorrect information, I guess she just felt like being particularly bad at her job that day. It’s just that I’m made to look the fool because I had to contact her on four or five different occasions to clarify things (of course if she had done the right thing in the first place she could have given me a smile and bid me adieu).

And today I was falsely accused of having an outstanding amount owing to a business publication. I got a rude email from a snotty office bitch claiming that if we didn’t pay in full by the end of the week that she’d send the collection agency after us.

Um… lady? Hello in there? If you’d just looked up your files properly you would see that the account was paid in full nearly four months ago.

I am just over this crap at the moment. I really should stop caring so much then I wouldn’t be so surprised when people let me down.

Picture perfect

As part of our wedding we want to take a look back at our parents’ wedding day and remember their special day as well.

Last week I organised for some scans to be done of a handful of photos that were taken on their wedding day. It’s so great to look at how different everyone looked!

The fashion, the makeup, the hairstyles… it has been great looking back and listening to stories and advice from our parents. Planning our wedding, there have been numerous tales told about family nuptials – but the one thing I’ve been told time and time again is to try and relax and take it all in as it (the day) just goes so fast.

We’re on the countdown now with only 26 days to go… I can’t believe where the time has gone! It will be great to show my children our wedding photos one day and remember how great the day was…

What’s in a name?

Last night I was asked by a friend whether I would be taking my fiancé’s surname. Of course I am! I am traditional and I believe that if you get married, you take your husband’s name.

I know times are changing and you see more and more married women with hyphenated surnames and some still with their maiden name because they chose not to let go of it.

I kind of think that’s weird and I don’t mean any disrespect, but I would much rather change my name or hyphenate it than keep my maiden name. I guess it’s got something to do with acknowledging my fiancé and saying ‘yes, I want to officially be part of your family’.

My girlfriend who was recently married told me her dad had mentioned to her after she became engaged that now she was getting married she had to take her new husband’s name (and her dad wasn’t budging on the subject).

Another girlfriend who is getting married has chosen to hyphenate her surname because she feels that it’s an independence thing – she wants to say that she is still who she is as a person, even though she is married. I am not sure why she needs to prove that point to everyone else; after all there are usually only two people in a marriage. I don’t think you ‘lose’ who you are just because you change your name.

I for one think my fiancé would be hurt if I told him I had no interest in taking his name.

Anyway, I did some research and found some cracker hyphenated names…

Take me away...

After a fun-filled hen’s weekend spent with my closest friends and family, I realise how excited I am for this wedding (and honeymoon) to be happening!

It’s only four and a half weeks to go and there is still a bit to organise, but we’re on top of it. I must say though, when the stress gets a bit overwhelming, I just think of Nusa Dua, Bali where we will be jetting off to once we say “I DO”.

So, as I daydream at work, I thought I’d post some pictures of where Ben and I will be staying. It’s going to be magical…. I can already taste the cocktails!

A 'clucking' good night

In honour of my hen's weekend, I've decided to do some research and educate you all of the origins of the bachelorette / hen's party.

A bachelorette party, hen party, hen do, or hen night, is a party held for a woman who is about to be married. The term hen party or hen night is more common in the UK, Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia, while the term bachelorette party is more common in the United States. The term stagette is used in Canada. It may also be referred to as a girls' night out or kitchen tea (South Africa in particular) or other terms in other English-speaking countries.
The bachelorette party is modelled after the bachelor party which is itself historically a dinner given by the bridegroom to his friends shortly before his wedding. Despite its reputation as "a sodden farewell to bachelor days" or "an evening of debauchery," a bachelorette's party is a normal party, given in honour of the bride-to-be, in the style that is common to that social circle.

History
The bachelorette party is consciously modelled after the centuries-old bachelor's party, which is itself historically a dinner given by the bridegroom to his friends shortly before his wedding.
Although the practice of giving a party to honour the bride-to-be goes back for centuries, in its modern form, the bachelorette party may have begun during the sexual revolution of the 1960s. It was uncommon until at least the mid-1980s, and the first book on planning bachelorette parties wasn't published until 1998. Its cultural significance is largely tied to concepts of gender equality.
Initially, parties in honour of the bride-to-be that were labelled as bachelorette party often involved displays of sexual freedom, such as trading intimate secrets, getting drunk, and enjoying male strippers. Parties that honoured the bride-to-be without these elements avoided that label. Now the term is used for a wide variety of parties.
The phrase "Hen Party" mirrors the male "Stag Party" in referencing social stereotypes of each gender at the party (Implying that women are talkative, and men are macho.)

Entertainment
Many different kinds of entertainment are selected; depending on what the organizers think will best please their guest of honour. While notions of a bachelorette party as a night of drunken debauchery persist in some social circles, it is becoming widely seen in America as an opportunity for female bonding. According to etiquette expert Peggy Post, "Whatever entertainment is planned, it should not embarrass, humiliate, or endanger the honouree or any of the guests”.
When held in a private venue, such as the hostess's home, the party may take any form that pleases the hostesses and honours the bride-to-be. Dinners and cocktail parties, which provide comfortable opportunities for participants to talk or to give intimate advice to the bride-to-be, are common. Other hostesses choose a themed party, such as a "pamper party," with guests indulging in spa treatments, or a cooking class. While proposing a toast to the bride-to-be is common at most bachelorette parties, some centre on drinking games and host male strippers.
Some parties take place in public venues, such as a restaurant or bar. Some parties are bar tours.
Sometimes a daytime picnic or other outing is organized in preference to the more common dinner party.
From Wikipedia.

Hopefully I'll come home in one piece! xo