Afternoon delight

After a bad day at work and struggling through the day while suffering from hay fever,a cupcake was absolutely necessary.

Spring Is Here

Spring has arrived early this year,started with warm weather on Monday and it has continued.Flowers such as wattle and cherry blossoms have started to bloom which also means hay fever for myself.It starts with eyes starting to water,the sniffles and feeling like there's no circulation in the room.I've already started using the fan at work,this is crazy!And with new beginnings and all,i even have a new desk at work,i feel like redecorating even though i'm hoping not to be there for long,I'm in a corner and have a larger space and a large blank canvas,may as well pretty it up if i'm spending all day there.

What do you do the day after finishing a detox?Yes i did get up in the morning and go for a jog but during the day you find yourself down the road from Bourke Street Bakery at lunchtime and couldn't just not go in.

Lamb harissa sausage roll

Pork and fennel sausage roll

First thing i noticed in the window was the chocolate mousse and raspberry tart Raging Yoghurt had blogged about,and there was strawberry and vanilla creme brulee as well.Then it all got better as i walked in and could see some sausage rolls staying warm in the little sausage roll and pie oven,Yippee i thought,finally after visiting this place so many times,i can finally try these.So i had to order one of the pork and fennel,and one of the lamb harissa sausage rolls.I felt like i had won the jackpot.
I'm not a fan of the pork and fennel,i love fennel seeds but not the rest of the bulb and there were too many pieces in it.The lamb harissa was beautiful,tasted like it had some chutney inside,this one was definitely my favourite.

Strawberry and vanilla creme brulee

The chocolate mousse and raspberry tart actually tasted like a cherry ripe chocolate bar which is odd as there were no cherries in this dessert and i don't like cherry ripe bars and absolutely loved this tart.
Oh the creme brulee,with just a hint of strawberry on the bottom hit the right notes and the custard was perfect when warm against the hardness of the toffee on top.

Chocolate mousse and raspberry tart

I survived!

At one stage on Saturday i didn't think i would even manage 1 day of detoxing.It was a fairly quiet weekend so that helped but while out i started to get a headache and while usually i would get myself a coffee,i couldn't and had to settle for carrot juice.
There was lots of carrot juice,green tea,water,vegetables,fish,salmon and some fruit.But fr me it had to come to an end on Sunday,i couldn't go for 3 days.
I do feel a little lighter but it hasn't done anything for energy levels,but hopefully a good start.

Links and a mini detox

I've decided it's time for a mini detox,i have been having far too much sugary foods,i can't get any quality sleep.I found a book Detox by nutritionist Penelope Sach which has quite a few depending on what you want to detox from.I've decided to adapt the sugar one to myself,unlike the others,there are no fruit juices to be consumed,just carrot or beetroot.The soup broth is made of cauliflower and other vegetables i don't like but i'm not going to do a full on detox so am just eating clean food,mostly fruit,vegetables and multigrain bread,smokes salmon and no meat or poultry.Detox is only 3 days so hopefully i should be able to survive it.

I discovered this great site recently,Jezebel,it has a bit of everything,and it's very witty and cheeky,a fun read.
And The NY Observer is republishing the original columns from Candice Bushnell from 1995 that started Sex and the City

Obsessions

I'm mildly obsessed with feathers at the moment,any type really from a simple black one to ellaborate peacock feathers.Walking through The Strand Arcade the other week i found a vintage fan with yellow feathers topped off with peacock feathers which were stunning I had the idea you could display them in a picture box,unfortunately they were over $300 so had to give them a miss.I love this feather wallpaper from Ferm.

You can see more of their range here.

At first wasn't sure if the wallpaper trend was just that,a short lived trend but it looks like it's here to stay.I love the way they've decorated with wallpaper at at Door Sixteen.

Victoria from one of my favourite design blogs SFGirlByBay is going to be featured in one of my fave magazines Real Living,can't wait to see that.

Karen Walker

New Zealand designer Karen Walker came up with a brilliant pearl necklace design range a few years ago which i loved and saw an example of a piece while at The Powerhouse Museum last week.Such a beautiful piece which still looks current after all these years.
I remember buying a pair of her black wool trousers that every fashion mag raved on about a few years ago.They usually retail upwards of $400 and found a pair in my size in a boutique,As i went to try them on the sales assistant said,they're an amazing cut and she was right,they just lift and put everything in the right place.Luckily i found them for about $190,an absolute bargain.

Snap

Was standing outside work one evening last week and noticed this lady walking by talking to herself.10 minutes later we were in Woolworths Metro and saw her again,while my friend waited in line,i followed her up the escalator to take this shot,she looked like a huge pink Big Bird.

David Trubridge

On a previous visit to The Powerhouse Museum i found some amazing lights by New Zealand furniture designer David Trubridge.These are made from pine plywood and as you can see from the the picture from artist Camille Engman's flickr set here it casts an amazing shadow when installed.

Sydney Design 07

Aloe Blossom lights by Jeremy Cole hang in the Powerhouse museum

Smoked salmon bagel from Bagel Cafe

Macaron from Adriano Zumbo

Finally made it to The Powerhouse on Saturday for Sydney Design 07.Some of the exhibitions in the programme are permanent collections or exhibitions that have been there for a few months and The Powerhouse Museum is probably the only large museum in Sydney that has concentrated on fashion and design.But there are some amazing items which make your jaw drop.I had shivers standing so close to a vintage Balenciaga gown.

One of my favourite magazines Home Beautiful had the winners of the HB Product of the Year Awards,nominations and winners here ,my favourite was the Stella Round Table by Zuster which was inspired by ballerinas legs.The IKEA Malm headboard piece is genius for small spaces.

Another reason for my visit was The Young Blood Designer market.It was quite small and when i got there i did a quick tour of the place to suss out what i liked.I bought some feather print fabric from Surface Art to make some cushions or to stretch on some canvas.
I then decided to make a quick trip to Balmain and Rozelle for the markets and to finally visit Adriano Zumbo pattisserie for macaron.Chocolate is usually not my favourite flavour for cakes and ice cream but the chocolate macaron was probably my fave,so rich and moist inside.
Took a quick look around the markets and bought the cutest summer hat for my my niece,it has a wide brim with different coloured love hearts allover.
By the time i made it up to Rozelle many of the market stallholders were packing up but still did a quick trip around the grounds to see if there was anything interesting.All i found were some beautiful emerald green espresso cups and matching saucers.Unfortunately i hardly ever drink espresso to be able to justify buying them.
Last stop was at Bagel cafe for a smoked salmon bagel with lashings of cream cheese,lettuce,red onion and unfortunately the only let down they had those yucky capers instead of the salted ones.

Not Happy Jan

Lisa and I had made a booking for what sounded like an amazing dinner at The Bathers Pavillion inspired by the chef's and providore Simon Johnson's last trip to France.Lisa made the booking about 2 weeks ago and when she rang them to confirm,they had no listing at all and just apologised,I am so disapointed in them.I've told Lisa i think she should complain as i think if there is at least a response from them,they care,if they don't bother then i don't think we'll bother rebooking there again.
A friend of mine is getting married there later this year,hope she has better luck with them.

New finds

New vintage find

Earrings from Glebe markets

I had probably planned a little too much for Saturday so didn't end up going to The Powerhouse Museum as planned but will leave that for next week as the Young Blood Designers market will be on as well.
And just as i was rushing to get to the bus stop on time i realised i had forgotten my camera,it's usually in my bag,i was very sad i had left it behind.
My first stop was to the hairdresser for a much needed cut,it had been 4 months since i had last been and was in dire need of a trim.
It was another very warm spring like day so the markets were bustling,I only had a quick browse and found some lovely earrings at only $10 and on my way out treated myself to a Pine Lime Lemonade from the lemonade stall,who doesn't love fresh lemonade,and mine had some pineapple for a twist.I really felt for the 2 guys though having to work so hard in the heat but what a workout for the arms,shaking the containers all dayI took a stroll down Glebe Point Road browsing some stores and found a gorgeous glass container in a vintage store, I'm not sure how you would even describe the colour,i'll probably use it on my dressing table storing all the things i use everyday,or as a centrepiece.
I then walked over to Broadway Shopping Centre and by then i was starving and decided on nachos for lunch,I used to work in here while i was at university,it was always a pretty small centre but now they've added a whole new floor with some very snazzy looking bathrooms.
On my way home i had a quick look at some op shops at Broadway and was amazed to see one of them taking advantage of the fact they know that it's not only the poor who visit these stores and they had some items at over $100.not even the vintage store that i visited earlier had anything that expensive.

Art Gallery and weekend plans

Walking along Art Gallery Road

We've had unusually warm weather for this time of year, this past week.Last Sunday i made a quick trip to last day of a free exhibition at the Art Gallery of NSW featuring 20th century artists such as Warhol,Roy Lichtenstein and Lucien Freud.

Art Gallery Road on the way there is one of my favourite streets in Sydney,the trees along the footpath create this beautiful canopy along the road.

This weekend i'm planning on cutting my hair early tomorrow morning and it's about time,i last cut it first week of April.Then off to Glebe markets for a browse and then off to The Powerhouse museum which has a few exhibits for Sydney Design '07.

Leura

Inside The Candy Store

My loot from The Candy Store

On our way back to Sydney from the Blue Mountains,a few of us made a quick visit to Leura.It's well known for it's Mall,the main shopping strip filled with antique stores,cafes and various boutiques.Our first stop was at The Candy Store which is filled with four huge walls of chocolates and candy in jars all around the room with a large counter in the centre.We must have spent about 15 minutes making our selections and trying not to break the bank in the process(was very difficult to restrain ourselves).

Kim and the huge Ugg boot

Ugg Boot Store

We browsed a few more stores,a friend bought some beautiful vintage clothes and i found some cooking supplies at Leura Whisk then had a quick lunch of spicy corn fritters and shared a cheese plate to refuel for the rest of our trip home.

Last stop on our way home was to the Ugg Boots Store on the highway.Both my friend and I chose the raspberry ugg boots for ourselves and they are seriously the warmest sheepskin boots ever,when i got home I ended up throwing away the cheaper pair i had bought from Kmart a few months ago and went straight to my new Uggies.

Enjoying my new Uggs back at home

Blue Mountains

Front of hotel

One of the wings

Inside the main corridor

Friday afternoon we left Sydney for a quick winter getaway to the Blue Mountains.We were staying at the very grand Hydro Majestic.While we waited for the second car to arrive we went to the bar for a well deserved drink and that's when many problems began.It started with most drinks on the bar menu not able to be made as the one and only cocktail shaker in a huge hotel had been taken,no olives for a martini (oh the horror!),heating not working in any of our rooms which is pretty poor since we're in a very cold location.Someone did come up and basically told us they couldn't fix it but they did give us these big old electric heaters which looked like they were made after e were born,and were probably a huge safety risk.

Spent a lot of time by the fire

All frocked up for dinner

Luckily we bought some bottles of wine and sparkling and got together for some pre dinner drinks in the bar next to the warm and cozy fire.We were all starving by the time we went to the Grand Dining Room for dinner.It was a choice of your standard hotel dining room menu,most of the other girls had the beef tenderloin and i had lamb cutlets on rosemary mash.We were surprised to see a bottle of our favourite dessert wines at $18 which was an absolute bargain since it retails for about $22 at the bottle shop,we double checked before ordering and were told it was a typo that they hadn't fixed for a while and the actual price was $60 per bottle,ouch,good idea we didn't order it.

The gardens

View from the hotel

On our way home

After dinner we ordered cheese plates and grabbed more glasses to eat and drink in the bar,waiting for everyone else to leave so we could get the prime spot again in front of the fireplace.At one stage we got a little silly and started taking lots of photos.We weren't ready to call it a night so decided to go back to our rooms and just hang out talking.On our way back we found a warm little room with lounges and decided to go put on our pajamas and return.We couldn't believe our luck,at most other hotels,someone would probably come by and kick us out.By 1am we were too tired and decided to call it a night.

The following day after breakfast we quickly went outside for some last minute photos before the trip home.
This is such a beautiful and historic hotel,it's a shame it's let down by the lack of service but unfortunately we will not be recommending this hotel to anybody.