Date night

Ax and I ventured to 'Asakusa' on Waverley tonight. We hoped that the fare would live up to standard of 'Hana', the Japanese restaurant that we frequented in the Blue Mountains, and to our surprise, it came pretty damn close! The restaurant is quite small with minimal, modern decor. Each table is presented with an amuse bouche of edamame, traditional Japanese boiled soybeans, on arrival.

We ordered the tempura asparagus, and the fried eggplant with chicken mince for entree. The eggplant was ugly, yet delicious and sadly I was too busy stuffing my face to take a photograph. The asparagus was tender-crisp and perfectly complimented by the accompanying dipping sauce. Smiles all round.

For main, Ax slurped the nabeyaki udon soup, which came in a hot iron bowl, with a tempura prawn and some assorted tempura vegetables. And, although he claimed the broth was not quite as tasty as the nabeyaki at Hana, I did see the bottom of the bowl.

I ordered the beef glazed with teriyaki and it was absolutely delicious. It was a little one dimensional and could have done with a few more veggies, though.

With two entrees, two mains, a serve of rice and a bottle of BYO plonk, our bill came to $56, which is quite reasonable in my opinion.

As Ax says, 'the Japanese aren't really known for their deserts', so we strolled a bit further down Waverley in search of a moist slice of cake or a sweet pudding. We found ourselves at 'Red Rhumba', which serves modern Australian cuisine. Ax said he didn't feel like dessert, but I begged him to have a few bites so I wouldn't feel guilty, and bribed him with the promise of a drink.

We ordered wine and tiramisu, and the tiramisu was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G! The perfect combination of creamy custard and moist ladyfinger sponge biscuits soaked in coffee and liqueur. Plus, it was presented beautifully in a large glass, and big enough to share, which was lucky, coz Ax ended up eating several more than a few bites. A wonderful saturday evening had by all!
(Pics by Ax)

Tune in next week for adventures in profiteroles!

"Can I interest you in a used car...or an apartment perhaps?"

Now that we are feeling more comfortable and knowledgeable in Melbourne, Ax and I have started our search for the perfect apartment (aka. the perfect compromise). Two properties have been viewed so far on this quest, but I suspect we'll have worn holes in our shoes by the time we find the right place.

I decided to view apartment number one while Ax was at work last week. After getting stuck in the wrong lane on a busy road then taking a convoluted detour to get back on track and handing over five dollars for metered parking, I finally found the dump, um...I mean place, situated right next to a construction site. I reluctantly approached the dirty, yellow, ground floor door and pushed it open to reveal a decrepit, green and red, dirt encrusted foyer, with a fly ridden cement stairwell and an ancient minuscule elevator. By this time it was about ten to one and the inspection was not due to begin until one p.m. I slowly made my way up to the third storey, with my brow becoming increasingly furrowed as I absorbed the overall disgusting-ness of this eyesore of an apartment block. When I reached the door of the apartment, I looked at my watch (...two minutes to one), and quickly turned and fled back down the stairs, with my index fingers in my ears, away from the audio-visual pollution and back to the refuge of my car. It took me a few days to get over the initial shock of realising that real estate agents are liars and no better than used car salesmen.

Surprisingly, I woke up this morning still hopeful that our perfect apartment was just waiting to be found, and was possibly only hours away from discovery! Silly me. I had e-mailed a couple of agents on friday afternoon, hoping to schedule in a viewing or two on the following monday. Neither responded, but I was determined. Ax and I set out for the day and finding ourselves in the area of one of the advertised apartments, decided to have a drive by look. As it happened, the apartment was located right next door to the leasing agent so we asked the agent for a viewing. The space was described as a 'gorgeous self-contained studio apartment' with 'sunny paved courtyard' and 'sunny living room/bedroom', and the photos of the courtyard and kitchen were good, so I was excited to view our potential home.

The real estate agent was very busy and important so we waited about twenty minutes until he had time to show us the property next door. It had a nice high fence with a solid wooden gate, and the courtyard was pretty too. The kitchen was modern, with stainless steel surfaces, Ax and I smiled at each other with approval. The bathroom was small and minimal, not so good. Despite the bathroom, we wanted to see the rest of the place, but the agent had come to a standstill. We were confused- where was the rest? 'That's it...studio apartment', the agent said. Apparently, in real estate speak, any floorspace- regardless of its location i.e in the kitchen, can be described as 'livingroom' or even 'bedroom'! As we're no so keen on sleeping in the kitchen, or hanging our clothes in the shower, Ax and I decided to give this one a miss.

Off with her head!

Helena Bonham Carter as Burton's Red Queen. Gotta love those heart shaped lips!

Painting the Roses Red

I have many warm memories of watching the original Alice in Wonderland(Disney, 1951) as a child. In fact, I viewed it so many times that the particular tones and inflections of each character's voice, from Alice through to the timid violets, are etched into mind.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Movie_alice_in_wonderland_flowers.png

When I heard that Alice was being brought to life once again, this time by Tim Burton, I was filled with nostalgia and hopeful that this reinvention would maintain the integrity of the original Disney classic. Although apprehensive about Burton's vision for Alice and the prospect of wearing irksome 3D glasses, Ax and myself ventured to the cinema on Saturday night, with about three hundred other movie goers, to witness Burton's creation.

(Like this but not quite so glamorous!)
http://www.metro.co.uk/tech/695413-live-it-up-in-a-3d-cinema-dimension

Apart from the awful cinema experience (overcrowded, people arriving half an hour into the movie, texting, chattering, starting the film while the lights were still on and the sound being too low to carry across the rustling chip packets), I found Burton's Alice in Wonderland quite enjoyable, but not particularly memorable. Actually, the parts that were memorable were rendered so for being not particularly enjoyable (in my opinion)!

Firstly, a few words about Johnny Depp, an amazing actor who sadly seems to be carving out a niche in 'quirky' roles. Unfortunately, his wide eyed glances and mousy character voices have become all too predictable. This is not to say that his performance as the Mad Hatter is bad, but rather that it is boring.

Secondly, the battle scene is all wrong, out of place and completely unnecessary. The muted grey, black and red colour scheme is reminiscent of Zack Snyder's 300 (2007), a film based on a graphic novel of the same name about the battle of the 300 Spartans. As if forming this association wasn't disturbing enough, in the climax of the scene, Alice dashes up a spiral stone staircase and upon reaching the top slices off the head of a Jabberwocky, which bumps and tumbles its way to the ground. I understand that Burton's vision for Alice is meant to be grittier than Disney's (and probably truer to Lewis Carroll's text in some ways), but this battle scene is inconsistent with the vibrancy, quirk and humour of the rest of the film.

What I enjoyed about the film was Alan Rickman, perfectly cast as the voice of the caterpillar. Helena Bonham-Carter was also enjoyable to watch, and delivered most of the laugh-out-loud quotes.

An illustration or two to come...

Shake Up Your Make-Up!

If you're like me and can't resist the allure of a new beautifying product from your favourite cosmetics brand (mine are Benefit and Smashbox), chances are your makeup case looks something like this...or perhaps even worse!


Although I like to keep my makeup case clean and bacteria free, it's always bursting at the seams with collectable Benefit boxed blushes, multiple mascaras for varying lash looks, or that new season lip gloss that I simply had to have. (Mind you, this is not my entire collection, I also have a black ceramic cup full of brushes and pencils!)

When your makeup case is this choc-a-bloc, digging through it each morning to create an original look on a daily basis can be a confusing and time consuming task. In my experience, it results in grabbing a few favourites from the top and quickly slapping them on, just to get out the door on time. Consequently, many of the more ambitious products or those that are not immediately within reach, are left to be forgotten at the bottom of the case.

To stop myself from becoming entangled in a repetitive makeup rut, I have developed a simple rotation system, which ensures that no cosmetic must-have gets left in my makeup case for too long. This system requires one or two clear storage cubes (you can purchase these from Freedom or basically anywhere that stocks storage solutions). One cube will be used for makeup, and the other for cotton balls/tips etc.


Once you have these containers, you can get down to business!

1. Lay a towel out on your bed or some carpet and carefully empty out the contents of your makeup case onto the surface.
2. Throw away anything that smells funny, has separated, gone cakey, has broken packaging, or is past its used by date.
3. Group items according to product type ie. bases, blushes, glosses, shadows etc
4. Now comes the fun part. Select one or two products from each pile and put them aside. The products you choose could be inspired by a look from magazine, a recently purchased product, a celebrity idol, seasonal colours or anything that grabs you!
5. Place the selected assortment of products in one of the clear cubes. This is going to be your go-to selection for the next fortnight or so. Clean your makeup case and return the unselected cosmetics to it.

When your finished, you'll have something like this...


My cosmetics cube currently contains my Benefit Playstick foundation, Smashbox bronzing primer, L'Oreal bronze eyeliner, Stila Major Lash mascara, Benefit Softlights fusion blush, Benefit Hoola bronzing powder, Smashbox eyeshadow trio, Modelco summer bronze shimmer powder, and Benefit Benetint lip balm pot.

Arrange the cubes on your bathroom bench so that your chosen bits and pieces are within reach after your morning shower. Rotate the cosmetics in the cube every couple of weeks and you'll have no reason get stuck in a makeup rut ever again!

Flower Brooch

So, here is the first creation to emerge from my recent adventures in craftiness. It's a tad rough and ready but I'm pleased with the result.



More pieces to follow!

Excuse Me Waiter, I Didn't Order the Rant Special!

Richmond Hill Cafe & Larder
With a lot of free time and a little money in our pockets, Ax and I decided to venture to some yet-to-be-explored corners of our new city. Our journey led us to Bridge Rd (Richmond) just as a heavy downpour began to ease. With grumbling tummy's we paced the steaming footpath, keeping our eyes peeled for a chic eatery offering brunch and some much needed cafe au lait. We landed on the doorstep of the Richmond Hill Cafe & Larder (a large cafe with deli and fromagerie), and being pleasantly surprised by the prices posted on the menu in the window, decided to head in.

I asked the waitress for a table for two, and she glanced at the reservation book with a furrowed brow then looked around the half empty cafe with an expression of concern on her face. The floor manager was called over and he too studied the reservation book and the 10-15 empty tables, and then proceeded to offer us a place at the bar and a booking for the next available table. "Um...there seems to be quite a lot of available tables, so I think we'll just go somewhere else" I said, totally perplexed. According to the manager, those tables were reserved for people arriving in 15-30 minutes. "There are a couple of tables who will be finished shortly, if you'd like to wait at the bar for one of those tables", he said. To which we replied, "No thankyou!" and left.

Is this a new phenomenon, the mysterious empty yet "fully booked" restaurant? Why could he not have given us a table and assigned one of the bookings to the next table to be vacated? As this cafe is partly owned by renowned Australian chef Stephanie Alexander, I am still curious to sample the fare, but this incident has left a sour taste in my mouth. I won't be going again anytime soon, but next time I'll book a table!

Image from www.melbourne.breakfastout.com.au/richmondhillcafelarder

She's a Crafty One

Earlier this week, I accompanied my baby sis to her first day at "film school" (WOW!), which is conveniently located two minutes on foot from the uber fashionable Chapel St, Prahran. As the "O" week food stalls etc were yet to be set up, we decided to stroll down Chapel St for a browse and a bite.

We encountered some teeny weeny turtles at the pet store, but this was surprisingly not the highlight of our journey...for me at least! We ventured into a fabulously quirky boutique, choc-full of handmade, vintage-esque and imported dresses, tees, cardis and accessories. If I wasn't currently (GULP) unemployed I would have bought several pieces.

Although I wasn't able to walk out of the store swinging a bag or two full of enviable goodies, I did leave feeling inspired. As my sister nudged me out the door, a flash of vivid colour caught my eye and I flicked open the rack of clothes to see a reddish-coral tee in a sheer cotton fabric with an intricate black applique of beads and tulle(?)on the neckline. After we left, I started thinking about how easy it would be to make something similar with haberdashery store finds like buttons, beads and fabric swatches, but put pins on the back so you can attach them to whatever top/ jacket/ bag you like.

I headed to Spotlight today and was overwhelmed by the enormous selection of beads, buttons and fabrics on offer. I came home with a small assortment of bits & pieces and a couple of ideas in mind (below).



This is my palette for a pretty, girly, vintage themed applique brooch. Pink, tiny polka dots, floral, buttons.



This selection is my palette for a darker more glamorous evening brooch. Black, metals, beads (need some black tulle).



To be continued...

Surreal Funereal

At my Aunty Eve's funeral a day or so ago, I witnessed this theatrical scene. A young girl, no more than 10yrs old, weeping in the style of an Italian widow and dancing barefoot with a single red rose at the front of the funeral hall. The image has been at the forefront of my mind ever since, so I decided to put it on paper.