VERSUS

Christopher Kane X Versace = Versus

RTW Fall 2010

I'm completely speechless/in love.

PINK RUSSIAN

Our new drink du jour - the pink russian. It's as good now as it was in the 70s. All you need is vodka, grapefruit juice and Campari and you have got a refreshing long drink perfect for a balmy Summer evening.

NORTH INDIAN

Another of our favorite cheap-skate places to eat is North Indian Cuisine right on Oxford Street. You can choose from 3 sizes all with 3 curry choices in each. The fresh made garlic naan is to die for and so cheap. Add a samosa with raita to your chickpeas, butter chicken, daahl or any other delicious tasty curry and you will be outta there with change to spare from 10 bucks!

131 Oxford St. Darlinghurst

CIRQUE DU SOLEIL CHIC

Makes you think about running away and joining the circus everytime you look at your teal coloured, lycra-clad nails!

Available from Poepke
47 William St. Paddington

STICKY BAR

It was our regular Wednesday night Winter haunt for $15 roast and wine, but since November, Sticky have created a genius Summer roast of fish and beer. A forgotten about bar with one of the most impressive drink menus in town. Located above Table for 20, it has a sneaky entrance via Taggarts lane. Open from 6.30 - just ring the number or press 6 in the lift.


www.tablefor20.blogspot.com
182 Campbell St. Surry Hills
0416 096 916

HERMES YACHT

SNORKEL SENSATION

One of our favourite ways to spend our summer days is snorkeling at some of Sydney's best beaches. It is the best way to escape reality and spend time in an underwater paradise where it's just you and the beauty of the sea.

Our top 5 snorkeling spots:

1. Clovelly Beach
2. Gordon's Bay
3. Shelly Beach
4. Congwong Beach
5. Bundeena

SUNDAY MORNING

PENDLETON PICNICS

Our next purchase is a Pendleton rug for night picnics at Rushcutters Bay. They are available from Opening Ceremony online and even come in a cute carry bag. Picnic perfection.

PRIME TIME OF YOUR LIFE

This YSL 'Top Secrets' primer is so lush but kind of amazing. I started using it this week with skepticism but have since been won over. It reduces fatigue and invigorates your skin, tricking it into thinking you have been at a detox retreat for the last month, sipping on goji juice and getting 12 hours of sleep a night. Combining everything from seaweed to sugar from oats and caffeine, it's a magical cocktail for your skin with no hangover in sight.

PADDO JOY

If you are shopping in Paddington on a Saturday make sure you check out a hidden cafe inside the main hall in the middle of the markets. A one day a week affair means the food is delicious and well made. I chose the classic bagel with cream cheese, capers, red onion and smoked salmon for lunch with a freshly made and juiced watemelon granita. I was feeling especially piggy this day so i indulged in Anne's famous gluten-free sponge roll filled with sweet strawberries and raspberries. Other items on the menu include a 'breakfast pancake' made from brown rice and veggies as well as a large range of paninis and home made cakes. Highly recommended for a soulful feed.



Paddington Markets
www.paddingtonmarkets.com.au
395 Oxford St. Paddington
(02) 9331 2923

KINOKUNIYA

When I need to head into the city to do chores I always like to break up the mundane with a visit to the amazing Japanese bookstore on the top level in The Galleries Victoria. There selection of fashion, art and design books is unlike any other stores in Sydney as well as including a huge range of the cutest and most functional Japanese stationary to satisfy all your peculiar orginisation needs. While i was there last i came across a beautiful book called 'Radical Lace and Subversive Knitting'. It blew my mind. Although I couldn't afford to buy the book on the day, I felt nourished as i flicked through admiring the skill and dedication of these artists and hoped that thier talent would rub off on me someday.




Kinokuniya Bookstore
Lvl 2, TGV
500 George Street
(02) 9262 7996

R.I.P.

So it seems another extremely talented & gifted artist has escaped this world. It breaks our hearts we wont ever see Mr McQueen's creative and otherworldy creations again.

BILLY KWONG

Billy Kwong Chinese Eating House definitely has a lot to live up to. Born from the famed Kylie Kwong, it is definitely not your average Australian Chinese takeaway where Honey Chicken and Spring Rolls often feature. We definitely support the fact that the food choices at Billy Kwong are sustainable and supportive of the natural and human environment, however didn't absolutely love the environment of the restaurant itself. The plastic chairs are uncomfortable and we felt a little bit claustrophobic. In saying this though, you would probably eat off a crate in an alley way for the wontons and notorious crispy skin chicken. Always busy and a worthwhile Chinese experience without venturing into Chinatown.

355 Crown St. Surry Hills
(02) 9332 3300

MIDNIGHT SWIM

Our blog was never intended to be music related, however as it has been developing we have realised it is inextricable from all of our other passions and recommendations. More importantly, when we come across home grown talent like Midnight Swim, we especially don't need to think twice about sharing music like this that will make you feel good morning, noon and night. This latest mix, 'Sailing to Africa', is on high rotation in our cars, apartments and on our laptops.


Listen up http://www.mediafire.com/?ze2nncmhrvi

BALCONY BLOCKBUSTERS

Lately we have been loving "Terrazzo Del Cinema", movies on our friend's balcony overlooking the city in Paddington. Popcorn + a borrowed screen and projector + cushions + a balmy summer evening + take away + red wine = a cheap way to enjoy the big screen. Last week's theme was 'Cult' and showcased everything from Nick Cave's Ghosts of the Civil Dead to Clueless.

VENTRICLE VASE

TOKONOMA

The perfect place for after work drinks and light Japanese on a Friday. The delicious drinks and tasty tapas (we had a selection of soft shell crab, squid and eggplant) will make you want to hide out in the sexy darkness of Tokonoma all night long. Try the jasmine and lychee mojito but all the drinks (most infused with saki) are perfection.


Tokonoma
490 Crown St. Surry Hills
(02) 9357 6100

MONOCLE

Finally a magazine that is engaging, stimulating and inspiring all at once. It feeds us everything from current affairs to culture and design and is a refreshing change from some of the monotonous Australian fashion magazines.

AQUA POP

Normally I try to resist the latest 'it' bag, but this Proenza Schouler PS1 has got me on my knees. That colour! It's going to be the first thing I spend my US dollar bills on once I hit the streets of NY next month.

AIRE DE BARDENAS

Aire De Bardenas is a new concept hotel near Tudela in Spain we are dying to get to. The 22 rooms available include four deluxe suites, piercing alongside the Bardenas Reales National Park and Biosphere Reserve. We have a feeling once we were here we would never come back.





http://airedebardenas.com/

DISCO INFERNO

Disc: 1
1. Bourgie Bourgie (Ashford & Simpson)
2. It’s Music (Damon Harris)
3. At Midnight (T Connection)
4. Put Your Body In It (Stephanie Mills)
5. Dreaming A Dream (Crown Heights Affair)
6. By The Way You Dance (Bunny Sigler)
7. Right In The Socket (Shalamar)
8. Take Me Home (Cher)
9. Pick Me Up I’ll Dance (Melba Moore)
10. Funk Train (Munich Machine)
11. Here We Go Again (People’s Choice)

Disc: 2
1. Here We Go Again (People’s Choice)
2. Bad Mouthin’ (Motown Sounds)
3. Let Yourself Go (Supremes)
4. Angel In My Pocket (Change)
5. Smack Dab In The Middle (Janice McClain)
6. Sun...Sun...Sun (Jakki)
7. Trinidad (John Gibbs and the U.S. Steel Band)
8. My First Mistake (Chilites)
9. Erucu (Jermaine Jackson)

Another album recommended by Morris, Larry Levan Live at the Paradise Garage will make you burn baby burn.

PARSLEY BAY

Always the best!

Parsley Road, Vaucluse

ALL ABOUT ARIEL'S

Saving money is hard. Especially in Sydney, when saving means literally staying in most nights of the week to the point where people begin to forget your name. However, you need to spend to save to some extent. Confused? Maybe I'm just getting cabin fever. Anyway, what I'm trying to get at leads to my new saving habit of stopping by Ariel's once a week. This ritual involves picking up a great book that keeps me under covers and not spending my life away on lush cocktails (obviously our weakness) and nights out. What I'm trying to say is Ariel's is your good conscience. Way more exciting than the library and a distraction from all things taboo. Who knew reading could be so good for you?


42 Oxford St. Paddington
(02) 9332 4581
www.arielbooks.com.au

ARCHIPELAGO

The wasabi and mint Archipelago soy candle has been constantly burning in my apartment the last few weeks and making life oh so fresh. Dyptique we love you but until you can match this scent eat your heart out.


Available from Kit
140 Oxford St. Paddington
(02) 9360 7711