Colour me mine!!

It is no secret that I love activities, so when the "living social" deal flashed up on my i-phone for ceramic painting at Colour Me Mine I just couldn't resist . My friend Tegan was visiting from Brisbane and she is very artsy, so I thought it would be a perfect winter Sydney activity to do with her! There are two Colour Me Mine studios, one at Summer Hill, and the other at Crows Nest, which is just around the corner from me. We arrive at Colour Me Mine Crows Nest with our vouchers in hand not knowing what to expect, but we soon realised after walking in that it is the favourite weekend outing for Mums and their kids, (It didn't even occur to me that it would be a kids thing whoops), and thank god there was a table of girls around our age already there otherwise Tegan and I would have felt very out of place!

The walls of the little shop are lined with bookshelves carrying ceramic pieces of every shape and size, from platters to money boxes,  picture frames and flower pots! After spending the first half an hour trying to decide what to paint, I sat down with a cute little square jewellery box and Tegan a fruit bowl. The next thing we had to decide was what we were going to do with them??!? Thankfully the place is completely set up for the beginners and the young girls on duty came to our aid and went through everything we needed to know about the colour options, painting utensils, and "Inspiration" folders.

 

There were all sorts of things to play with, sponges, stencils, lace, sticker things, contact, masking tape, each which would create their own individual "effect" on the ceramic. I decided to use a little birdie from one of the inspiration folders as the "feature" of my jewellery box and Tegan took inspiration from a lovely yellow and black pattern found in one of the other inspiration books. ,They booth seemed really easy and we thought we would have them knocked over in no time, pfttt, were we wrong.

 

Note to self, next time I got to Colour Me Mine get there early! We arrived there at 11am, which we thought would give us plenty of time to spend a leisurely few hours creating our masterpieces, then leave in time for lunch at one of the great restaurants in Crows Nest. In reality, after 2 hours at Colour Me Mine, we hadn't even started to paint but were still "prepping" our pieces with various tapes! By the time 4 hours came around we were still going and I started to go delirious from sitting in the one place for so long and my growing need for food, but we managed to finish our pieces in the next half hour. The good thing was once we finished painting we didn't have to worry about anything else and could just drop our pieces off at the counter where they will be glazed and fired for us,  ready for pick up by the following Thursday.

By the time that Thursday came around I had completely forgotten about how much "hard work" the whole experience was, instead I was super excited about seeing the finished products! I tell you what, they looked much better when we picked them up compared to when we dropped them off! I was impressed, they actually looked O-K, would have thought...

Even though the first thing that Tegan and I said to each other when we got into our car after 4 1/2 hours  of painting at colour me mine was "what a waste of a day!",  I actually cant wait to go back! They have a whole up stairs level which you can hire out for parties.. (a little girl was holding her birthday when we were there)... maybe something to keep in mind for the big 3-0 next year ....heheh

Little bit of Luxe in Newtown

I really love Newtown, but to be completely honest I never feel like I fit in when I go there - I just don't think I am cool enough!  The Newtown locals always look so effortlessly cool, that whole alternative, yet hip modern look that I love, yet can never pull off!! It is because of this inferiority complex that I don't spend too much time investigating all that Newtown has to offer and usually only try new places when I go to meet friends. However, on Saturday Chris and I came across this yummy little bakery all on our own. This gorgeous little bakery/espresso bar is called Luxe - and I really like it!

It gives off quite a different vibe than most places in Newtown and reminded more of a cafe you would find in Darlinghurst, but the one thing that made it very Newtown was that it also was effortlessly cool! As soon as you walk in you are meet by super friendly wait staff, shelves of freshly baked bread and other treats (must say yes to Belgium chocolate chewy!) and the smell of deliciously brewed coffee. The ambiance is very simple with an industrial feel, a big chalk board wall menu, long share tables and exposed beams - which is very Mellie!

The menu was also very simple, and the dishes are limited but they try to cover their bases with an option for everyone. Breakfast is served until 2, which would be perfect for a sleepy (and maybe a little bit dusty) Sunday morning, but we opted for lunch. I loved everything on the menu but couldn't go past the linguini with ricotta and preserved lemons. Chris did struggle a little bit and thought everything was just a bit girlie for him but did settle on the wagyu melt. He was even more disappointed when he couldn't get a coke but rather an a-la-natural cola nut soft drink - but he ended up loving it, so a happy ending for all. He even took quite a liking to my linguini, and as per usual, he had scoffed down most of mine before I could even make a start. I like to think of Chris as my personal Tony Ferguson, stopping me from over eating! Thanks Chris.....

 

I look forward to going for breakfast next time, I have already picked a spot on that big share table to read the Sunday paper...

Pay day cocktails -Subsolo!!

Pay-day cocktails was an ingenious invention! After only a short period of time at my new work place, I was lucky enough to make some great girlfriends, however, because we work out in the wicked west and all live in and around Sydney, we only ever got to see each other at work! We all love nice food and wine (and cocktails) and wanted to try all the cool places in Sydney to eat and drink, and that is how pay day cocktails came about. The Rules: a) we (try) and meet once a month on pay day b) the venue must have some sort of cocktail special or happy hour and c) we never go the same place twice! After a few emails back and forth and a quick vote, Subsolo on King St in the City, was the pick for June!

Subsolo is a Spanish Tapas bar, they also have a little wine bar for drinks, but we decided to have pre-drinks at a  little underground bar around the corner that had Thursday $8 cocktails. I forget it's name, it wasn't wow, but wasn't bad, and served our purpose for some cheap but delish cocktails and some nibbles before the main affair. I was SUPER excited about trying Subsolo as I have heard such great things, and after a few cocktails we had left the underground bar and were walking into Subsolo. When I walked in the first thing that struck me was how busy it was for a Thursday night, it was packed! Not a spare seat (thank god we booked - note: make sure you book!). The next thing was the ambiance, I loved it, dimly lit with blood red hues, very Spanish and I was waiting for a bull to run out from the curtains at any minute!

I couldn't wait to see our seat and was massively disappointed when the waiter plonked the five of us lovely girls onto bar stools at a large share bench table (which would be fun for a few drinks) but not what I had in mind when I booked for dinner. But after a few words with the lovely waiter, he whisked us away to another cool table right down in the back corner with red curtains either side...perfect. The only down side was the noise level. The whole place was a buzz which added to the ambiance for me, but I could see how you could get annoyed if it was a romantic dinner for two!

As soon as we started trawling through the menu I forgot all about the background noise and could only think food! Subsolo is known not only for their amazing tapas but also the ESPETADAS (ridiculously large sticks of char grilled roasted meat). But we decided that because we had over-indulged with nibbles at our pre-dinner destination we would go with the tapas. All I can say is YUM YUM YUM. We got stuffed zucchini flowers, chicken chorizo and the most amazing potatoes bravas I have ever eaten (I am big on carbs and love my potatoes). But the highlight for me was definitely the dessert. How can you go to a Spanish restaurant without Churros! We decided to share Churros, and a chocolate fondant, and we couldn't have made better choices - we licked the platter clean! I have to say, as well as the great food, I really loved their selection of Spanish wines and beers. I usually always stick with the Aussie wines because I am used to the taste and enjoy them, but we ventured out and ordered a Spanish Pinot Grigio (sorry I forgot the name- too many cocktails) and it was very nice!

I have since found out that Subsolo is in our Entertainment Book, so I am definitely going back with Chris to try their Espetadas ....hmmm

Three strikes and your out ZARA!

Like every  girl who has come across ZARA in their travels overseas, I was super excited when I heard ZARA was coming to Sydney!! Finally an affordable option to "trendy" clothes,,, yey. I managed to postpone my first ZARA visit until quite a few weeks after it opened as I heard the queues were ridiculous, but after a good month or so I finally convinced Chris that we should go check out the new Westfield (omitting that the reason was to go shopping in ZARA). But once we finally got in to the shop, my first experience was less than impressive! PEOPLE everywhere, it completely sucked the shopping spirit out of me, there were queues to get in, queues to try on clothes and queues to buy them. I was out as quick as I was in. But I didn't give up and secretly planned in my head that my next visit would be on one of my RDOs - surely it would be much better when it wasn't so busy!



I hate to say it but the second time round was just a disappointing! My friend Kia visited from Brisbane this weekend which was the perfect opportunity to take an RDO and to show off the wonderful Sydney shopping to an inter-state guest. I talked up ZARA the whole train ride in, creating my shopping list in my head (black tailored shorts to wear out, cute but quirky heels... blah blah blah). Going on a weekday was definitely a good idea, but walking around the shop, I still felt uninspired. Lots of bright colors and seemingly cool cuts, but don't let that hood-wink you, on closer inspection it was all pretty boring. And I don't know if I am just being picky, but I felt the quality just wasn't as good as other ZARAs I have been in??

One day pretty bag...

I tried on a few pairs of pants but they were all put back and Kia tried on nothing! So there had to be something wrong... I must say though that the accessories were a highlight and I found many a pair of shoes that I would like to have owned (finally some different styles to the carbon copies found in every shoe store chain in Australia), and this absolutely beautiful clutch that I just fell in love with, but because of my bad mood after not finding any clothes I just couldn't be bothered getting it (plus it was 200 bucks).

I don't know what it was this time, whether I had just hyped it up too much in my head, or wasn't in the shopping frame of mind, but I will give it one more go in the next few months, maybe the summer stock. Then, if it still isn't any good, I am going to have to let go of my Australian Zara obsession and just wait till I go back to London again....







Fratelli FRESH!!!

I have always wanted to go to Fratelli Fresh at Walsh Bay (aka Cafe Sopra), but whenever Chris and I turned up on the weekend it was always when they weren't serving food (they only open from 12 weekends, and finish lunch at 3!). But this Sunday we managed to get a table for lunch.... but after a bit of a sketchy start. You see Fratelli Fresh is one of those places where you turn up and then don't really know what to do to get a table, do you just find a free table and sit down, should you wait to be seated, is there a waiting list??!? It turned out this Sunday there was a 20 minute wait for lunch, but Chris and I decided to wait it out. We thought we would wait at the bar and get a drink but spotted some free bar stools and quickly took them to make the wait a little more enjoyable. But wrong thing to do, supposedly even the bar spots are reserved so we were quickly ushered to this cute little bay window lounge thing (feeling a tad embarrassed). But by that time, there was only five more minutes before our table was ready!! As soon as we had our table I had forgotten about the pre-lunch shenanigans and was excited about our meal again. There is something about the ambiance of Fratelli Fresh that makes it seem so cool, sort of an old school Italian/ warehouse feel to it. We got a table right next to a wall of European wines that probably added to the ambiance.

Fratelli Fresh has no menus (other than a very yummy drinks menu) and you order the food from a giant wall chalk board where the restaurant staff cross items off in front of you as they sell out. It was really my type of menu, nothing TOO fancy, but fancy enough to feel like you were somewhere nice. There was also lots of pasta on the menu mmm, I LOVE PASTA!! so after polishing off an antipasti plate (minus the artichoke) Chris and I both ordered delicious bowls of pasta. Chris the ragu bolognese, and me the spaghetti with lemon and pangratto (which is a fancy word for breadcrumbs I learnt). Other than the fact that the breadcrumbs got a bit too oily by the end of the dish, I loved it, but i have to say Chris's was the best. It is true, you cant go past a good bolognese! We opted to pass on dessert cause we really did eat too much and Chris got himself a coffee (note, they dont do take-aways!). Then as we were feeling food inspired, we listened to our inner masterchef and persused the little grocer/deli section. A bit expensive for every day grocery shopping, but lots of little treats like home made pastas and stir through sauces, for special occasions. I got told they even do cooking classes so that is definitely go on my to do list!

Will  I go back, definately, now I know what to do when I get there...

Walking Waverton...

The content of my first blog is an easy choice. Definitely my most favourite part of Sydney is the harbour! I love love love Sydney harbour and get overly excited every time I go near it, whether it be driving over the bridge or doing one of the many harbour side walks. For some reason it just makes me happy. As a North Sydney resident I am very blessed as the harbour is just a hop skip and a jump away and I try to go near it as often as I can - much to the annoyance of Chris who just doesn't get why I love it so much. While we were living at Crows Nest, my favourite thing would be going down to Lavender bay early Saturday morning and walking to kirribilli (but that is another blog). However now that we have moved toWaverton, I have found my new favourite walk:  Balls Head Reserve Waverton.

They say on the signs they say it is the most significant area of urban bushland on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour - and that it is! The walk through the bushland is beautiful and relaxing, but what I really love about it is the view.

If you manage to break your way through the bush path and get to one of the open areas you can see all the way across the harbour to the city, the harbour bridge, the opera house and across to Balmain. Early in the morning it is the most beautiful, as it is still cool and fresh and all the cute little birdies are out cheeping and the water is still before all the ferries get going. I am one of those people whose mind is continually buzzing, and I think this is one of the only spots where I actually don't think!

Balls head is really easy to get to. From Waverton Train station you just turn left and keep walking and you will end up amongst it in about 5 minutes. I have been told that you can walk all the way from Balls Head Reserve to Kirribilli, but I haven't done that yet, but might try next weekend when my friend visits from Brissie.

The only negatives is the walk itself isn't that long, so if you would like some good exercise it wouldn't offer you  more than 30-45 mins of brisk walking (unless you try and make it to Kirribilli/Milsons Point). The other slight negative is it is quite industrial/naval as HMAS something a-rather is right next door, and if you take the wrong path you end up in some restricted area with boom gates, electronic entry key pads and barbed wire, but I haven't got myself in trouble yet, so just keep walking until you end up back on the path. If you are a history buff the naval base might be a bonus for you, with plenty of signs up around the reserve sharing the extensive history of the area. In fact they are in the midst of turning the old cold loader into a centre for sustainability. North Sydney Council is holding a Sustainability Festival to celebrate the grand opening in a few weekends time (10th July) which looks like a lot of fun. Maybe I will head down there and tell you about it!!