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.


Leung Wai Kee Buddhist Craft and Joss Stick Shop
764 George St. CBD
(02) 9280 2398

I WANT TO WAKE UP BESIDE YOU

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