off to market

The London trip seems a million miles away these days but every now and then I get a little pop of memory and something I ate or saw from our travels leaps into mind.

In particular one day keeps coming back.  It was a Saturday when I went to the Borough Market and then met up with a new friend Gigi at the Bermondsey street fair in South London. It was just an all round brilliant day. The sun was shining, the markets were booming and bustling, tables piled high with loaves of bread and wheels of cheese. Brownies, cakes and turkish delight were in bacchanalian abundance, as well as tables of heirloom tomatoes and other wonderful produce.

I was a little overwhelmed by it all at first until I had an epiphany a few minutes in when I realised I didn't have to eat everything then and there, I could buy food to be enjoyed later. So I bought some brownies and cakes to take to Kristian and his mate Nick, who were working hard at the design fair in Earl's Court, and ate figs and cheese as I wandered round the stalls.

Luckily I didn't indulge too much at the market because Bermondsey Street was a whole other experience of Hog Roasts, country style fare and curiosities. Gigi and I met up with some of her friends, who had two of the cutest kids I've ever seen and proceeded to enjoy the most surreal few hours at the fair. There was a dog show, a kid show, a street performer dressed up in the manner of an extremely pregnant Victorian woman, who would periodically scream as if in labour and then launch at people to "give birth to them" through her dress. If that sounds weird, it's because it was. Luckily by this point Gigi and I had consumed a few beers so it was sort of bearable/ entertaining.

Quite a day indeed. The photos don't do it justice really but then again I think some of it is probably best left to the imagination.

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full of possibility

New favourite thing: get up early on a week day, grab someone special and head to a café for breakfast before work. It has a magical way of making the day feel longer and more full of possibility.

Last Friday Kristian and I braced the early morning cold and headed over to Gather on the Green in Camperdown, which has pretty much the best muffins I've ever had. It's also in the street where I used to live so it has good memories for me. We got there so early that the muffins weren't yet out of the oven so we had a coffee and first breakfast while we waited and then had a roadie blueberry and chocolate muffin as we walked to work.

Here are a few other nice places where I have enjoyed morning breakfast catch ups recently:
- Deus ex Machina in Camperdown
- Palomino Espresso on York Street in the City (also has great muffins)
- Biaggio Café in Pyrmont (they do a breakfast granola that will do you for the whole day).

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greetings from the land of coffee and cannoli

Some pictures from our new place, that we moved into last weekend. We've been so enjoying exploring a new suburb, finding the best new local coffee spots and patisseries - Locantro and Bar Sport in Leichhardt are pretty wonderful first thing in the morning - especially when men in suits don their AC Milan jerseys to watch the football. 

I have a LOT more exploring and unpacking to do but for now it's nice to be in this new space - I'm feeling inspired to cook and garden and tackle some fun projects.  

Wishing a lovely weekend to you.

birthday weekend

I turn 31 today - good heavens! But I'm in good spirits because Kristian and I just came back from a weekend in the Blue Mountains - a weekend of views, relaxation and lots of delicious food and drink. We stayed in a little cottage right near Echo Point and the Three Sisters and were minutes away from the breathtaking views. Looking out over the valley we felt like we were standing on the edge of the known world. It was a clear day yesterday and we could see for ever.

Although we only stayed for two nights I somehow managed to pack enough food for a least a week so, whilst there was lots of amazing snacking, great meals what not, there was also a fair bit of lying on the couch with a full belly groaning. No complaints though, it was so nice to escape from the city for a few days, to read and play cards, to wander in the bush and generally loll about.

Some highlights: the flowerpot scones at The Wayzgoose Cafe in Leura, a surprisingly good coffee at the top of Scenic World, hearing Japanese schoolgirls screaming as they went down the Scenic Railway (I screamed internally), homemade kebabs at the Katoomba waterfalls for lunch, the miner's cottage in the bush, hearing the incredible vocal mimcry of the Lyrebird and Norman Lindsay's house (and cafe - where I had to have yet another round of scones!)  All in all a damn fine birthday weekend!

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morning walk

Inspired by Handmade Romance's fabulous sign spotting, I recorded a few wonderful things I spied on my morning walk to work. Most exciting of which I think may have been a fantastic little cafe discovery in Cafe Hernandez. It's tiny, filled with paintings and has a piano in the corner. Oh and it sells coffee and delicious things featuring chorizo.  Need I say more...

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a delicious week

Week one of my new job is finished and so far so wonderful. Thank you for your kind comments last week. It's always a big relief when you feel like you've made a positive change in your life. It has gone pretty quickly as first weeks have a tendency to do and I realise now that I've hardly cooked a thing but we have still had some amazing meals: an amazing farewell dinner for my pal Sarah at the Duke Bistro on Flinders Street in Surry Hills, a lunch with both sets of folks, yum cha with friends, tea with friends, and toast with each other.

I think this cold weather may warrant some soup making in my near future.

I hope you are keeping warm and dry out there and having a lovely long weekend (if you're in Australia) and a great start to the week otherwise:)

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on the third day of june we drank coffee

Just when I thought it was going to get all wintery, Sydney pulls out a stunner like today. I forget sometimes just how nice June can be. There was nothing for it but to get outside. Since I had the day off, I happily joined Kristian in a trip to the Workshopped Shop in Surry Hills and then we walked around, checking out design stores, bookshops and cafes until we found a tremendously cute little place on Albion Street for lunch, Bruschetteria. I recommend it if you're in that part of town. They serve lots of great paninis and bruschettas and a nutella coffee that was unexpectedly good. All in all a pretty fine day!

Hopefully this weather keeps up for the weekend. There was an ambitious Ikea trip planned but I suspect it'll be a low key weekend with a focus on brunching, friends and sunshine. Hope you have a lovely weekend, whatever your plans!

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halloumi saturday

A weekend of little delightful discoveries so far. It's not often that you think I could really handle some halloumi and realise that you have some in the fridge. That was our wonderful find on Saturday, resulting in halloumi salad to accompany our sausages for lunch.

We also walked around the neighbourhood and discovered a little patch of wilderness just off a main road, a mending wall (just like in the Robert Frost poem), a viaduct and some glorious foliage. Then we treated ourselves to coffee at Le Comptoir, a cute little cafe in Annandale, that has fantastic sandwiches and bagels.

For my part, I rediscovered an old favourite - cinnamon toast, and also found a bunch of old Japanese fabrics and placemats that I had forgotten about, from our visits there. I'm looking forward to jazzing up our table arrangements with them.

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