B R A Z E N: March 2010

NEW NORTHLAND HOME

A farmhouse in New Zealand is just what we are craving lately. Far away from the hustle and bustle and air so fresh we want to spend days on end here escaping everyday stress with good company and wholesome living.

CATALINA

Yesterday I spent a perfect Sunday at Catalina in Rose Bay, looking over the water, sipping wine and eating fresh Australian style cuisine to match. A beautiful place for when you want to lush out with your friends and spend a long afternoon by the water indulging in oysters and a view you could never tire of. I highly recommend the scallops and blue swimmer crab linguine but the honeycomb and dark chocolate parfait is to die for.

Lyne Park, Rose Bay
(02) 9371 0555

FANTASTIC!

It was forecasted to rain and it was windy, it was not lookin' good. But none the less, we packed some picnic items, a wheel of double brie, lavosh crackers, home made peach iced tea, chickpea and beetroot salad and braved what we were expecting to be a mega disappointment on Sunday evening.

We were looking foreward to see Wes Andersens latest film until this moment and we weren't gonna give up without a fight. Having read many Roald Dahl books throughout our childhood and Fantastic Mr Fox being one of our favourites meant we had high expectations from the start.

I had seen a film once in a park at Bangalow, near Byron Bay and my experience was horrid. The combined freakily-freezing night, uncomfortable plastic chairs and crappy strung up screen made me not want to ever watch a film outside again. So when i was given a free ticket to Moonlight Cinema in Centennial Park i had a pang of anxiety as i agreed to go.

We surprised ourselves and had a nice cosy time, curling up in the pillows and sprawling over the picnic rug. The setting was perfect and we will definitely go back again to lay under the stars, eat, drink and watch a great movie.

SHADY PINES SALOON

On Tuesday night our friend Anton finally opened Shady Pines Saloon. The bar Sydney has been waiting for. No fuss, no hen's nights, no hectic agitation. Just smooth whiskey and the even smoother sound of Johnny Cash. They have done a perfect job of replicating a Western vibe so similar to what I have experienced it made me slightly nostalgic. You can find the saloon off Crown St., somewhere between America and India.

GIVE ME

DASHING DARLING

Living for this 1930's trend. Paint your nails in shades of coral, red, black, grey or lilac with a cute little moon shaped detail on every digit.

EYE-TALIAN

When you feel like a BIG feed, when you couldn't give a damn about your diet, when you are terribly hungover, when you are way too tired to cook dinner, Bill & Toni are your guys.

Enter through the very authentic cafe downstairs complete with red and white check table cloths and groups of boisterous Italain men eating ricotta cheesecake and sipping espresso. Walk up the stairs into the dining hall where you will be seated and handed a basket of fresh white bread and salty butter(mmmm).

Depending on how hungry you are, I recommend the mixed meal which involves your choice of Cheese Snitzel, Osso Bucco, Meatballs, Caneloni stuffed with spinach and ricotta, along with many other tasty homestyle mains. These mains are then teamed with pasta (choose from all the classics) and a generous serve of steamed veggies with lemon.

But that's not all...... the final touches of this wonderous feast includes a big bowl of iceberg lettuce covered in a tangy vinegarette and endless orange cordial to wash it all down. Get it now for around about $20! Bill and Toni's was established in the sixties, we don't think the decor or laid back atmosphere has changed since but we like it that way.

74 Stanley St. Darlinghurst
(02) 9360 4702

VACANT

VACANT - BRIDGET MAC'S SECOND SOLO EXHIBITION
SPONSORED BY BROKENWOOD WINES

OPENS 12TH MARCH - 6.30PM CHINA HEIGHTS GALLERY
3, 16-28 FORSTER ST. SURRY HILLS

LEUNG WAI KEE BUDDHIST STORE

This weekend I visited somewhere I hadn't been in a while, and had forgotten how much I loved. Leung Wai Kee Buddhist Craft store in the city sounds odd, but is an amazing place to zen out on the weekend and stock up on beautiful chinese papers, incense, good luck charms and everything else equally tranquil. There are so many odd things there I could never explain, but also so many beautiful treats like good luck cats and tibetan singing bowls to enrich your life and home.