A little bit about Verve

I like cafes in Parnell.
I like the openess, I like having dessert at the Chocolate Boutique, I like the rose gardens and the art school nearby, the interiors store with their funky christmas ornaments, the antique stores with gorgeous diamond rings, Natalie Chan and the exquisite head pieces that I'd wear if I were ever invited to high tea with Princess Kate (who is having a baby!!)...

Wally and I had lunch at Verve cafe, which boasts $3 coffees and $10 daily specials
The first time I came here was on my birthday, I sampled the french toast (not too recommendable. The french toast at Brick by Brick in Onehunga is the best so far)

This time, I ordered the corn and courgette fritters $18
A delight

Three stacks of tasty, soft fritters with bacon, salsa, salads and sweet chilli sauce

Wally ordered the bruschetta

Crispy slices of bread topped with rocket, tomatoes, red onion, chicken and vinagrette sauce

Both dishes were more than satisfactory; filling, flavorsome and fresh.

We spent our time talking about how nice it is sleeping in a freshly made bed with clean sheets...

And dessert?
eelynaffit said the best macarons she's had is from gateaux house in Newmarket, where I also got my caramel macchiato birthday cake from

Caramel and strawberry macarons $2 . 80

And to conclude,

I got new toys!

And I've been painting...

Signed,
Elisa

A little bit about painting!!

I haven't been baking or cooking for a while,
this is because I have been...

PAINTING!

Nautical
Acrylic on canvas 5"x7"

I love to paint.
I picked up the hobby in Year 11 and now my walls are full.
I think a some people found the ncea art boards tedious, and so did I, but I really enjoyed it and haven't stopped painting since.

I paint with water mixable oils

These are like oil paints, it blends nicely and creates the textures that oils are praised for, except you can use water to thin it out and it only takes about a week to be touch dry, so you can paint wet-on-dry.

 I haven't completely 100% finished this painting, so I'll show you a fuzzy portion snapshot ;)

Ballerinas
Acrylic on canvas 30"x40"

The ballerinas painting started probably about 3 years ago...
I started painting a praire landscape, did the sky and about a 30cm strip of grass with the water mixable oils, then left it.
A few months ago, I picked up the canvas again and covered it with blue acrylic.
It looked like abstract art.
When it dried, I saw ballerinas, so I painted them :)

Pohutukawa
oil on canvas 5"x7"

 A work in progress, pohutukawa flowers :)

unfinished
Acrylic and oil on canvas 5"x7"

I started this recently with an acrylic base. It is of a photo taken of me and my mum in Puncak years and years ago.

Me: I looked happy so I must've still been an only child.
Mum: Of course you were happy, you were wearing a Benetton top and OshKosh overalls.
Me: Benetton?? As in UNITED COLORS of BENETTON?!

What a styly child.


And to conclude,
jt asked me, "What is that slice called with the jam and the meringue?"
"Louise slice?"

"Oh Louise!! I've been going through girls' names all day!!"

Signed,
Elisa

A little bit about The Chocolate Boutique Cafe

Have you been to the Chocolate Boutique in Parnell?

They serve coffees, hot chocolates, waffles, sundaes, cakes, desserts and little chocolate treats.

Wally took me there for my first time a couple of weeks ago. I asked around for my friends' opinions on this cafe. I think everyone I asked had been there before and tried the Italian Denso (thick and rich hot chocolate drink, which Hiro said is almost like a mousse texture).

It took a good 10 minutes to look through the extensive menu. I couldn't decide between hazelnut cappuccino, peanut butter mocha, creme de menthe chocolate, chilli denso, praline hot chocolate, white chocolate submarino (a submarino is a mug of hot milk served with chocolate, as you stir the chocolate in it melts to create a hot chocolate drink) or affogato ($4 - $5.50)

And those were just the drinks. They served chocolate, maple, caramel waffles ($7.90), raspberry tarts, kahlua cheesecake, chocolate mud cake, eclairs.

I settled on chocolate waffle and a mochaccino

Wally told me how she got a Death by Chocolate last time; chocolate ice cream, chocolate mousse, chocolate sauce. Never again :P

So she got a chocolate mud cake.
I took this photo really quickly because it was melting in the rare September sun

I like how the drinks came with a chocolate mint. Nice touch.

And then Calci took me there for my birthday! I have lovely friends.

Praline hot chocolate ($5.50)

with hazelnut chocolate melted in the bottom of the mug. Yum

Waffles with hokey pokey ice cream and butterscotch sauce.
Delicious

Calci got chocolate waffles and a cappuccino. She said the coffee was good

And she also ordered a cupcake (they have gluten free ones!)

And then pulled out a candle!

I got so excited.

Make a wish, Elisa!

Overall, very satisfied.

Good food, extremely well priced, especially for a boutique.

Although there are only a couple of tables, so I can imagine how busy it would get in there in the evenings.

Next time: sundaes and submarino. Maybe an Italian Denso to share!

The Chocolate Boutique Cafe
323 Parnell Rd, Parnell
11am to 10pm daily

And to conclude,

I passed a store in Parnell and saw an art print.

The Angelus 35 x 25cm print

The original oil painting was done in 1857 by the French realist, Jean-François Millet.

I had been eyeing a larger print seen in a second-hand store in Onehunga. But found this one for $5 :D

What got me captivated by this painting was Salvador Dali's take on it. Read here :)

Signed,

Elisa.

A little bit about love

"Let us love not with words or speech, but with actions and in truth." 
1 John 3:18

I met a special person last year.
A very special person.
We met at Student Life international conference. Back then, I didn't know the consequence of introducing myself. I had no idea that we would become what we have become now. At the conference, we were just acquaintances, then we became friends, and now... my desktop background is a photo of the two of us.
We established what we were in April. When this person said the words, I smiled, because I already knew.

"Guess what? You're my best friend." Those were her exact words.
(HAHAHA who were you guys thinking of?? :P Sorry to disappoint)

I'm not going to tell you everything about Lauren, it's not yet her 21st. But a story that I do love :
You know how at uni sometimes there would be presentations from other companies, and it would be a catered event?
Lauren and I were walking along a corridor, it was evening and there weren't many people around, except for some waiters and a long bench of food. It was obvious the people they were catering for were still inside the lecture room because there was still food on the platters.
I whispered to Lauren as we approached, "Quick, grab some food. Grab some food." CLEARLY joking, because you do NOT walk past and casually grab someone else's food especially when the waiters are looking at you.
But Lauren did. She reached out and grabbed a handful of crackers as we walked past.
I was mortified.

And she told me this story of how she used to sit at the front of the bus and talk to the bus driver and tell him when he's left his indicator on.
She is one of a kind.

But most of all, she is full of love.
During my time of sickness, her acts of service really touched me.
When I got sick and needed many many treatments, Lauren offered to take me to radiotheraphy once a week. It didn't matter how early we had to get there, she would give up her schedule for that morning to drive me.
I love her to bits. I especially love going to church with her!

I've noticed that everytime she sees me she starts giggling. I have no idea why, but it's really contagious :P
She thinks my future husband would be the luckiest man because I can cook (ha). I think her husband would be a lucky man because there is never a dull moment with her around :)

So when CanTeen held an event to Paint the Earth, I made something special for my best friend. Paint the Earth is a place in Albany where you can choose a ceramic item; ornaments in the shape of castles, ballet shoes, animals, piggy banks, clocks, vases, and kitchenware such as plates, coasters, mugs, jugs. And paint it using special ceramic paint! They also have stencils and pens to make painting easier. It was so much fun. I want to have a birthday party here.

I painted her a plate. Originally I had another bible verse in mind, but as I was browsing the plates, this verse popped into my mind.

"Above all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." Colossians 3:14

And I thought that summed her up completely. My best friend is compassionate, kind, humble, gentle and patient. And over all these, she is filled with love that reflects who God is.

Along with the plate, I gave her some of my baking I made that morning.

Apricot and White Chocolate Bars

3/4 cup dried apricots, chopped
1/2 cup water
150 g butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 Tbsp baking powder
1 cup white chocolate
1 cup rolled oats

Place apricots and water in a small saucepan on medium/high heat. Stir until boiling. Turn down the heat and simmer until all the liquid is absorbed.
Remove from heat and stir in butter until melted. Stir in brown sugar and mix. This is essentially apricots in caramel.
In a bowl, sift together flour and baking powder. Pour in apricot mixture and stir quickly.
Add chocolate and oats, mix well.
Pour into lined slice tin.
Bake at 180C for 25 minutes.
Cool for 10 minutes in the tin before transferring onto wire rack to cool completely.

And to conclude, one more funny thing : Lauren and I were walking towards the oggb and she goes, "Why are we going to the Glenn building? I mean business building!"
Oh, Freudian slips.
I can't wait for our double date tomorrow <3

To my best friend for all of eternity.

Signed,
Elisa