Happy Valentines Day

I don't even celebrate this or know any couples who go to great efforts but it's all just a bit of fun.And I was given a heart shaped lamington from a sweet work friend.

What is everyone else up to?I'm just going to go straight home and relax with some wine or champagne and have a little mini spa treatment with a scrub and mask.

And without noticing the upcoming holiday,I bought some new pajama pants on the weekend,I just thought they were cute,I can't wait for the colder weather when I can start wearing them.

We have a winner!

Sorry for the delay in announcing a winner in the little giveaway i organised the other week.I was planning to draw the winner when I met up with a fellow blogging friend but we couldn't get together due to this crappy weather we've had recently.
So I added everyone who didn't say they didnt want to be entered,into a bowl,scrunched up bits of paper and randomly selected from the bowl.
And the lucky recipient is Ali
Can you please contact me at skokoris {at} hotmail {.} com and I can arrange to send of your goodies.

Some light reading

I made a trip to the local library last week looking for something easy to read.I really want to learn how to knit this year so I borrowed the top book to get me in the mood for learning.

I received Camilla Morton's first book How To Walk in High Heels,a few years ago as a gift and decided to borrow the latest,I'm just skimming through it.I don't normally buy fashion magazines but Harpers Bazaar had a very large issue this month for a new season that's approaching,and I bought Vogue for the free Karl Lagerfeld dvd that came with it,the man fascinates me and I think he's a legend.
Saturday afternoon got quite cold and I had a sore throat,felt like a cold was coming on so I curled up in bed and read for the rest of the day.
Sunday i decided to go to Newtown,I hadn't been in years,there are so many great antique stores along the southern end of King Street,I preferred this area to the main section of King Street,there was even a store called All Buttons which of course just sold buttons,unfortunately they were closed,but I will definitely be back.

This is...Sunday Lunch

Sunday lunch is always a casual affair at our house,most weekends when it's warm we usually have a barbecue,today it was home made burgers .
For me I like to lighltly toast the bread,add some cheese,a squirt of tomato sauce,beef patties,tomato,caramelised onions and lettice(didn't have any today).

I'm not always home for Sunday lunch so when I'm out it's either yum cha,or something casual at a cafe.

You can see more participants of This Is at Three Buttons.

What else is there to do while waiting for the bus,take a photo.

The icing didn't quite work out.

Thanks to everyone who has left a comment on my previous post with the giveaway,I will select the winner some time this week.

This weekend was pretty quiet and quite boring,so boring that I slept for a few hours on Sunday afternoon because I wasn't in the mood for anything else.I now know that no matter what my intentions,i need to be out on the weekend in summer.

saturday morning I paid a visit to the library and discovered I had to pay some fines,it would have been nice to be told and not just sprung on me while in the queue.The book I got didn't end up being for me and I lost interest in it by Saturday evening.

Sunday I decided to bake a lemon pund cake with lemon frosting from a Bill Granger book,the icing looked great once I was done whipping and was nice and stiff but as you can see from the pic(please excuse the darkness,it was very overcast on Sunday) it collapsed 5 minutes later,I think I had put in too much butter,now know to leave it to rest for at least 5 minutes before spreading it on the cake.Such a shame since it tasted quite good.

This is...My collection

I didn't know about this meme organised by Three Buttons when it first began and last week I was interstate so I have finally joined this week.The theme this week selected by
Hyena in Petticoats is This Is My Collection.

My fascination with spoons started last year,I jut love their shape,and I have started collecting spoons made from wood or ceramic.The two wooden ones in the picture I found at The Bay Tree,a store here in Sydney and the white ceramic ones with a diamond,heart and clubs I found last week at Husk,in Melbourne.Unfortunately they sold out of the clubs so I couldn't have the whole set.

It's only a small collection right now however it will certainly grow,as well as my wish to start a collection of vintage coloured glassware and teapots and teacups and saucers.

This is a test

I've noticed recently there have been more visitors to this blog,some have a quick look,some stay for a bit longer,so this I suppose is a test for myself to see if anyone actually reads my entries.If I get no responses then fine,i know nobody reads it,we shall see.

So I have a gift to giveaway,it's the latest edition of Delicious magazine,a gorgeous teatowel that came with the magazine plus some letteropress cards and gift tags.

Please leave a comment and I will pick a name out of a box or container or whatever i can find and pick the lucky recipient.

Hope everyone has a lovely weekend,I'm looking forward to the cooler weather this weekend after a week of high temps here.

Melbourne-Day 2

Flinders Street Station

Federation Square

Madame Sousou on Brunswick St,Fitzroy

My very delicious lunch of figs wrapped in proscuitto with goats cheese

Tusk cafe and bar in Prahran

A Melbourne tram

*Went out for breakfast while my friend slept as he had gone out dancing again the previous night
*Poached egg on an amazing ham and cheese sandwich at Journal on Flinders St,the breakfast menu looks simple but tastes amazing.The coffee was so good i had drank my first cup before my food arrived
*Had to roll my eyes listening to a pretentious couple from Sydney while enjoying breakfast,almost felt embarassed to be from the same place
*Made a quick trip to Federation Square-what's that all about?
*Noticed there were some markets across the road at The Arts Centre and had a quick browse while waiting to meet my friend
*We finally figured out how the transport system works,Couldn't believe there was a $2.60 Sunday Saver,almost anywhere for the day on bus,train and trams,so cheap.
*Missed our stop on the tram on our way to Fitzroy and ended in the wrong part of town
*Had an amazing lunch at Madame SouSou,you just wanted to sit in there all day
*Lots of great cute boutiques,cafes and bars along Brunswick St
*Another visit to Prahran,absolutely loved Chapel Street Bazaar,such a huge range of vintage finds from clothing,records to glasswear,you could spend a few hours in there
*By the time we got back to our hotel and were ready for dinner it was already 9:30 pm so we just ordered room service and grabbed a bottle of wine on the way back

*Monday was our last day,a short day,visited Chapel Street,South Yarra,I think it's gone downhill,the stores were quite dissapointing.

*On the way through Melbourne airport I was "randomly" selected to be tested for drugs and explosives,i wanted to lasugh

I had a great time and have started thinking about eventually moving there at the end of the year,we shall see.

Melbourne - Day 1

Our Hotel on Little Collins St

Hotel Room

Breakfast at Talking Heads cafe,Flinders Lane

Time for champagne

Inside GPO

Hopetoun Tea Rooms

Laurent Patisserie

Block Arcade

Melbourne is well known for it's laneways filled with boutiques and cafes

We arrived at our hotel on Friday night at about 10pm,a colleague of ours was very generous and gave us a bottle of Moet to start off our holiday,we couldn't believe it when we opened it up,it was a limited edition bottle decorated with Swarovski crystals,we were in a rush to drink it but had to wait for it to get cold,we hardly had any patience and opened it before going out,I came up with the idea of adding the ice cubes that were in our mini bar,in the bathroom basin.

My travelling partner had asked his friends about clubs to go to,we decided on The Market,all we knew was that it was off Chapel Street,off we went in a taxi with no idea where we were and hoping to stumble upon it,we asked around and finally found it,well duh of course it was near Prahran market,hence the name.
That night there was a cover charge of $35 as DJ David Morales was playing,we really wanted to party and have a dance so we obliged,we entered a massive club with 3 levels,I made the mistake of wearing heels but it just meant I had to take some breaks in between,we had such a great time,just dancing to the music,it was a great crowd as well,no attitude,I can't remember the last time I went out dancing until 4am.We would have stayed longer but had to make the most of our time exploring the city the following day.
We woke up pretty late the next morning and started our tour in the city,our first priority was breakfast,I had my favourite,eggs benedict,the eggs were poached beautifully and tasted amazing and the coffee was great,a good way to start the day.

Some events of the day included:
Exploring the laneways around the city
Lots and lots of shops,they close late as well
Exploring the Paris end with designer boutiques
Running into a well known tennis player
Discovering the Hopetoun Tea Rooms,such a shame we got there pretty late just before closing time so couldn't hang around longer,such a beautiful and opulent room
Made a quick trip to Koko Black,we weren't hungry so just bought some chocolates to take home.
Saturday night was a disaster with cab drivers taking us somewhere else and finding no decent restaurants in the city open
Decided to go out to Lygon Street for dinner,went back to our room to enjoy a bottle of wine,my friend went out dancing again

All set and reasy to go

I was all packed up and ready to go this morning for my trip to Melbourne,unfortunately I've had to endure a very long Friday at work before I depart,the days always drag on when there's something exciting to look forward to.

My travel buddy has been sick and this week broke up with their partner so it will be good to go away,there has been no itinery set,we will probably just expore the cbd and other inner city areas,there's alot to fit in in just 3 days.

Goodbye Weekend

It gets a lit sad this time on Sunday evenings when the weekend is almost over and time to get ready for another work week.
Saturday morning it was time for a haircut,I really do not look forward to this,I hate waiting around for the hairdresser,they seem to always be in a rush on Saturdays but there are no other times i can go.
Yesterday was a miserable rainy day and I took the time to relax with the latest issue of Frankie magazine and a bowl of vanilla ice cream with sprinkles.
Took out my new toy,the sewing machine and learnt how to thread the machine and get started and had a few practices of sewing straight lines,it was so easy to control the fabric.
Today I met a friend for a lovely leisurely Sunday lunch at BBQ King in Chinatown.


This week I just need to get ready for my trip to Melbourne and do a little research on things to do or where to go while there.Cannot wait!

A little late

Even though I took down my Christmas decorations down on January 6,I left my little wooden tree up as I had to find a box to store all my Christmas paraphernalia,decorations,cards,recipes,ribbon and articles full of ideas,a central place I could have sitting in the corner of my wardrobe so I didn't have to try and remember where everything was come December,I may even add other cards and general wrapping accessories in there.
I had a look around different stationery stores for the perfect box,I wanted one in red since it's always associated with Christmas,the boxes at Kikki K were perfect but probably too expensive at $35 just for a box,then later that day at Officeworks,inspiration struck,I decided to buy a cardboard box used for the post and bought some pretty red patterned paper,measured all the sides and glued all the paper on,it isn't perfect but it will do,the box only cost about $2 and then a couple of extra dollars for the paper.

Akira Isogawa for Designer Rugs

Australian fashion designer Akira Isogawa is the latest designer/artist to release a range of rugs for Designer Rugs.Past designers have included the crew from Dinosaur Designs and Julie Paterson from Cloth.This one above is my favourite,and Home Beautiful have a new competition where you can win one,ok off to think of a great answer for the competition.

The weekend

*Woke up with a massive hangover and dehydrated after not eating much and drinking too much on Friday night.
*Some stationery shopping at Officeworks,I'm impressed with some of their funky designs.
*Couldn't believe the Phillipe Starck clear ghost chair i want is reduced by $100 at Kartell,i really want one,I wonder how long they're on sale until.
*Made the trek out to Spotlight but lost track of time and arrived just after closing time.Aargh!
*Bought season 1 and 2 of Will and Grace on dvd and started a mini marathon this afternoon
*Made lasagne for Sunday lunch,I've never made a traditional lasagne before,so easy and so
yummy with ricotta cheese and fresh mozzarella cheese on top.
*Enjoyed a cheese platter for one out on the veranda tonight enjoying the cool breeze showers bring after a hot day.Tried Buche D'Affinois for the first time after a friend recommended it,so worth the high price.

The card above is how I'm feeling right now,I was so touched with the lovely comments and people leaving comments on my last entry.This whole blogging thing is odd,you're happy to just do it for yourself and occasionally when you don't get any comments at all you think why am i doing this can I be bothered?
I received this thank you card recently from my recently married friend,I loved that the message inside was personal and not the usual,thanks for coming and thank you for the gift.It can be the little things that make such a difference.
Some good news this week,Last night i attended what was to be my friend's farewell before leaving for London but she is staying so last night's event ran on a different theme,such great news,love can do very funny things.

My last mail goodness for 2007 were some cute country and autumn themed stamps and Lotta Jansdotter fabric bought on Etsy.This will have to be used much later when I have experience at using the sewing machine,the fabric is too special and must be used for something amazing.

Goodbye 2007/Hello 2008

In an recent post I mentioned how I used to love buying new stationery at the beginning of a new school year.I'm no longer in school but i do still love to buy some at the start of the year,how cool are these pencils.
I don't really want to make any new years resolutions but here is a summary of highlights of 2007 and things I'd like to do or planning in 2008.

2007
*Started this blog of course
*Discovered Etsy and became addicted
*Attended 2 friends weddings,one was even on a tropical island
*Traveled to the mountains with friends
*Became addicted to apple martinis
*Had a few stomach bugs-so not fun
*Found the perfect scone recipe
*Found a lovely and kind magazine swap partner and we have kept in contact,I still love
receiving lovely packages in the mail and finding out what's happening in their world
*Had some cupping done by my physio-that was umm "interesting"
*Completed my first DIY project
*Enjoyed many lovely park lunches and other food adventures with Lisa
*Had more indulgent champagne breakfasts with friends
*Was introduced to Clover my Tasmanian Tiger
*Discovered a love of karaoke
*Attempted many new recipes
*Found the perfect dress.
*Realised I'm much stronger than I think,learnt that while having a hard time with a boss at work

2008
Travel overseas
Visit Melbourne(am now planning a trip)
Wake up early on weekdays
Read at least one book per month
Move
I haven't renewed any of my cooking magazine subscriptions to be able to use my cookbooks more
Save every month
Make a perfect pie crust
Learn to sew with my new machine
Draw
Take more photos
Post more often on this blog
Start attending the ballet again
Find a new job
Learn to knit and make a scarf this winter
Take my lunch into work more often
Spend money wisely
Eek,I'm turning 30.
Travel down the coast to another friend's wedding later this year
Attend a cake decorating course

Away

While I was gone from posting in the past 2 weeks I have
*Continued to go to work while most people are on leave,it's been very quiet and I've basically turned up to get paid

*Cleaned my room to an inch of its life,i can get very messy and then it gets to a point where i can no longer stand it and need to clean immediately

*Done lots and lots of reading of books and magazines to the point where I got bored of it

*Taken advantage of the abundance of mangoes,berries and stone fruit available this time of year

*Made raspberry semmifredo with the punnets of raspberries pictured above(unfortunately they got squashed on the way home) but the semmifredo was so yummy,so glad I used fresh ones and not frozen

*Had my first attempt at macaroons,almond with a white chocolate filling,unfortunately our food processor died a week before and packaged almond meal does not have a strong enough scent.The filling recipe was also wrong,very runny but I added whipped cream and saved the day,we devoured them all the next day at work.

*Have been avoiding the sales except for today when I found some shoes I was after at about 60% off.

*Attempted and failed at origami :(

*Had an amazing pre-Christmas dinner at Fix St James

*Watched 2 Days in Paris,if you loved Julie Delpy's other movies then you will enjoy this one as well.

*Bought myself a sewing machine,it's still in the box,just waiting for a spare weekend to be able to sit down and go through the manual and dvd.

*Am now planning a trip to Melbourne in late January,cannot wait to return,it has been over 8 years since i last visited.

Happy New Year!

Starting a new near is like the days when you used to go stationery shopping before school,time to get all the new things out.
And today I've taken out my new letterpress calendar,now i just need to find a new date planner or diary to have in my bag everyday.


There's only one way to celebrate after a big night out and that's relaxing before it's time to go back to work tomorrow.The warmer weather has recently returned here in Sydney and it was lovely to be able to lie down outside today in the shade with a book and ipod.
There's a bit of a Moroccan look going on here.

New Years Eve

My glow stick bracelets

A beautiful sunset to begin our evening with

Had an amazing time last night celebrating on Sydney Harbour the end of 2007.This was the first time I had experienced the amazing fireworks display right on the harbour.We all met at Mosman Bay to board our catamaran and the captain went looking for a spot amongst the other cruisers and yachts.We found a great spot looking straight ahead towards the Harbour Bridge.
This year's theme was "Time of our lives" with an interactive Hourglass illuminated in the centre of the bridge.
Being right amongst it was amazing and you felt the vibration of the fireworks above you right through your body,and they were so loud,had such an amazing night and it was a great way to leave 2007.

Almost Christmas

Can't believe we're almost here,just a few days to go before Christmas.The lunch hour goes by so quickly because it takes forever to get back to work,working your way through the crowds,there's a queue wherever you go.I figured it would be quiter after work so I finished my Christmas shopping last night.

The tree above is the huge Christmas tree in the QVB.It's decorated with Swarovski crystal ornaments and spans 3 levels,must take forever to build and decorate.

I received my first Christmas gift in the mail yesterday,some lovely stationery from Heidi.And how cute is this lace tape on a package i received recently.

Sadly i don't get any time off apart from the public holidays,the business doesn't close down and someone has to be here to do some work.It's overcast and raining most days so I don't think I'm missing out on much,may plan a little getaway in January or Febuary.

I'm going to take it slow and chill out on my days off,lie in bed or hopefully out in the sunshine and read,or maybe a trip to the movies,I really want to see 2 days in Paris.

I will most probably take a little blogging break,need some time away from the computer,and nye is my 1 year blogging anniversary.