oui oui

Fire place lit, French red in hand, topped with French speaking waiters just able to pronounce their menu suggestions... Chez Olivier set our winter chills aside for a good few hours while we sat in it's cosy, rustic surrounds. We resisted the 'stuffing' urge of this delicious nosh and elegantly ate our way through an almost-too-rich 3 course french delight. Here's what we (mum and i) savoured:

Entree. seafood bisque with a deliciously fresh muscle, scallop and prawn (yes, only one of each).

Main. crispy (to perfection) skin salmon with vegetable ragu.

Dessert. Fluffy white meringue floating on hazelnut 'sauce' (containing my sugar jar's entire contents and then some).

Wine. rose for mum, full bodied French red cab sav for me. Don't remember the name unfortunately, but if you haven't done so, drink some French red.

Must book to seat your tush and Must remember to let them choose the wine for you. x

cloud 9ish

image taken mid flight adld-melb 15/8/10

With nowhere for my thoughts to travel between daylight and when i open my laptop to tap away at this blog, I decided to purchase a few more Moleskine lovelies to live in my handbag. There's something about inking a blank page with some great inspiration from that day and turning back to it months down the track. And so, I've taken to jotting down a few words for the day. A line at a time.

"some kind of bliss..."

Mid flight back to my 'home away from home,' that was it. Some kind of bitterly sweet bliss of floating away through cloud spotted skies. Weighed by the desperate pull of those invisible hands called family [home].

shade of whim: bullshit intolerant

shade of whim: bullshit intolerant: "forget gluten (although right now with 6kgs to lose, i can't afford to). i have been wondering... can you not resist the tempation to be..."

bullshit intolerant

Forget gluten (although right now with 6kgs to lose, i can't afford to), it's the bullsh!t that gets my tummy a-rumblin'.

Pushing the envelope here and going against blogging niceties, I'm wondering why it appears some people can't resist the temptation to resemble twats and spiral my day into the blues with their apparent failure to be decent human beings (this goes for Melbourne weather also). The past couple of weeks have seen me struggle with the skill of dealing with others' testing ways so I request the re-direction of any bullsh!t mail (and bad weather) to some other life-box. My box is full.

Many thanks.
Grumbles

ps. what a super cute image from 123rf.com

blogging confusion

so, just to confirm.... this is a chronicle of all things great (to me). i wonder how this will go when the night doesn't consist of hail, rain, icey cold air and me sitting directly under my heater with this beautiful throw.

ispeak

Anna Melnikova and Stefano Di Filippo - this rumba (last 2 photos) is one of the most raw, inspiring pieces. Weaving their way through stunning choreo to Lara Fabian's Caruso, their shadowed synchronisation melts this light's crisp white halo, creating a moving, captivating tale. Like an attempt to analyze colour splashed canvas, describing this piece is a tad tough. The tension from a little finger, hip rotation and a perfectly turned out toe speaks far more than words could (or should).

*images from flikr.com

art class

*www.louisbond.com.au

Markus Hamence of Louis Bond (partner to my faithfully brilliant hairdresser Cain, of Tempest) launched his 33 black and white beauties into Adelaide's Art world. The contemporary pop art collection [ALMOST FAMOUS] is a visual treat exploring fame, role modelling and the perception of success. Sad to have missed the launch, I'm sitting tight waiting for the Bond boys next move.

cup of gold

via

Market lane is so far one of my best coffee experiences since arriving in Melbourne land. In fact, I choose boiled water with leaves in it if I must visit any other joint claiming pro-coffee making. 


Apparently these guys see themselves as a little obsessed...but who's complaining? They source, roast and lovingly brew specially selected beans from around this world from some of the best coffee growers out there.  All coffee is roasted to order, giving us lot nothing but the best.


I thought, as a Melbourne newbie, the right thing to do was to pay them a visit and see just what they're raving on about. I wasn't disappointed. My paper cup passed through about 3 or 4 sets of hands from the grind, the coffee pour, the milk guy and there was something in between that i missed as I was fixed on the focused practice of the milk guy. There "he" was proudly pouring organic, perfectly frothed raw milk (i.e. straight-ish from the source) into my little paper cup-of-gold, as Moroccans pour their mint tea from metres above a glass. Nice. The result? Delicious coffee. What's in it for you? They deliver the good stuff to your door. Yup. Pretty nice guys.