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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shopping the neighbourhood

A few years back I had a longish stint working part-time for a doctor so that I could spend my days off working on a (as yet still unfinished) novel.  It was a really interesting and occasionally very difficult period and it taught me a lot about people and even more about myself. Apart from learning how to deal with hysterical patients over the phone - a useful skill to have in any profession - and a lot more about dermatology than I'd ever want to know, this period of self-imposed financial restriction fundamentally changed the way I think about spending money and the value of things.

I no longer enjoy spending lots of money on clothes or things for our home but instead get a kick out of finding wonderful second hand items; things that have a bit of history and story about them.

So you can imagine the almost unbridled joy with which I sprang out of bed on Saturday morning to head out on my bike and explore Second Hand Saturday, a event organised by our Council where households in our neighbourhood put on a bunch of garage sales on one day.  I got to meet some really nice people and came home with a bunch of fantastic old tupperware, kitchenware and even a great, grey couch, which I scored for $20!

And then I had to have a lie down.

On Sunday, Kristian and I ventured over to the Addison Road Markets, excitement levels still high, to explore the Bower and Reverse Garbage - all very much recommended! We had egg, mushroom and halloumi rolls from the Mr Bacon and Egg stall, surveyed all the wonderful fresh produce and watched dogs playing and kids taking shetland pony rides.

I resisted a few deliciously luring bargains and in the end was satisfied with a triangular loaf of zucchini bread and some $2 measuring cups from the Bower.  A good weekend all round.


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a day off

Friday was the first day in ages when I didn't do housey stuff or work or anything remotely work-like. It was heaven. My mum and I had a day trip out, a surprisingly Ferris Bueller-y day when I think about it. We headed out to the Art Gallery to see the Picasso exhibition, compared notes on whether a 3/4 full flat white was stronger than a piccolo latte (they were about the same) ate lunch in the botanic gardens, chatted up a storm and watched the passers-by, something I feel like I only really make time to do when I'm overseas.

It was so refreshing to act like a tourist for a day in my home town. And besides some of the most enjoyable things to do in Sydney don't cost a lot - grabbing a coffee, finding a park bench with a view, discovering interesting architecture in hidden courtyards or lying on the grass. I don't think I've done nearly enough lying on the grass this last Summer, so hopefully I can get some more in before the weather gets too much cooler.

I hope you had a lovely weekend folks. Here's to the sunny days continuing this week.

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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.

scenes from the new year

Happy 2012 to you! Hope your New Year's Eve was matched in goodness by the days that followed!
The first thing Kristian and I did on New Year's Day was to play a game of hungover celebrity heads - highly recommended!

We've had some friends Matt and Hiroko staying with us over the last few days, which has made the celebrations that much more enjoyable for us. We have snacked and chatted, drunk a medley of hilarious drinks, interpretive danced along to Kylie, watched fireworks from a nearby park, hit up DJ's for song requests, eaten late night pies and welcomed the new year with cooked breakfasts, swings in parks, picnics and drinks at dusk.

Here's to many more of these good things in the year ahead.

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my plans for the weekend

Hello there...

... Goodness time flies when you're a year older. I realise it's been almost two weeks and I've not written much here at all. But all is well, September is gunning on and I'm positively trembling with excitement about the extra warmth in the air and the prospects of T-shirts, sandals and salads.  It's Friday now and there are supposed to be some summery temperatures hitting us here in Sydney this weekend - 27 degree type temperatures - very exciting indeed!

My plans for the weekend so far include reading more of an addictive new book, watching Daria (a favourite from high school days and a surprise birthday gift from Kristian) going on some walks and taking pictures...

Oh and I'm sure there'll be some cooking and eating too. I recently discovered the words smakfulle øyeblikk are Norwegian for tasteful moments - I couldn't imagine a more beautiful onomatopoeia-esque description of the beauty of food.

The weather is so beautiful here right now - perhaps I can throw in some beach action as well...

What are your plans?

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bye bye winter

The sun came out big time in Sydney today and it felt like Winter was already a distant memory (well it almost is - hello Spring). It was warm and sunny and I revelled in my short sleeved shirt, feeling the sun on my arms.  I'm already dreaming of picnics, walks after work, long afternoons in the lead up to summer, lots of rocket filled salads and sparkling, mint filled mojitos.
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ham, cheese, chairs and lights

Some photos from the weekend, a few days of being surrounded by design, people, food and drink.

Last Friday and Saturday, Kristian was involved in an exhibition, Artisan, which featured several product and furniture designers, as part of Saturday in Design.  It was a massively hectic but enjoyable experience - there were more than 1000 people through the showroom on Saturday - and a great opportunity to be a part of an inspiring collaboration by young, Australian designers.

It was also quite a day for indulging in food and wine.  In my role as door wench, I got to meet some weird and wonderful people during the day and to see them demolish a 10kg ham, several massive wheels of brie and gruyere and countless bottles of wine.  I may have also enjoyed a cheeky wine or several but after 9 hours on my feet they were very necessary.

After the show, we kicked on at the after-party at the Piano Room, where we enjoyed some incredible canapes and by 10.30pm I was happy/tipsy crying into a burrito at Guzman y Gomez. Quite a weekend indeed!  

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drinking up the last of July

Oh hello August, I didn't see you there.

It feels like it's been a busy time of late. Work, life in general, a wee spot of travel - it all adds up and all of a sudden you realise you haven't gone grocery shopping or written anything interesting in weeks...oops.

So July has come and gone and here we are in the eighth month. We're getting into the business end of the year now, birthday festivalling, warmer weather, spectacular amounts of sunshine, spring just around the corner... parties on the horizon. But before I get ahead of myself, let's take one last sip of July.

Yesterday we joined the entire rest of Sydney down at the Aroma coffee festival and imbibed a giddy, giggly share of caffeine and sugar before lunching down at the pub. There we enjoyed an accidental free meal featuring halloumi (the best kind of accidental free meal in my opinion) and it could only go up from there. A stellar afternoon really, the kind that holds the promise of spring and summer barbeques in its grasp. We rounded it out with some soup and toast, classic Sunday night fare, and a bit of Project Runway - hell yeah.

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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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