My love affair with Nicco

Nicco is my Zumba instructor - and don't worry, Ax knows all about him.

It's not really an affair per se but I do love him, the same way that I love boots, red wine, dark skinny jeans and other things that make me feel confident and sexy.

If you haven't tried Zumba yet, you really ought to, but here's the thing; it's all about the instructor. You need a great instructor like Nicco to build your energy and confidence, and to push you to your limit.

If you live in Melbourne, you might be lucky enough to get into one of Nicco's classes but if not, try a few different instructors until you find your Nicco.

You won't regret it!

Love La x

Editing...and other exciting things!

The reigning in of a new year always brings a surge of energy to pursue things that have fallen by the wayside during the later months of the year before.

I moved to Melbourne fourteen months ago with aspirations of forging a path for myself in publishing. I sent letter after letter, e-mail after e-mail, application after application, eventually becoming disheartened, distracted and comfortable enough in my reception position to forget what I had come here to do.

Now, energised by the fresh beginning that another year brings, I'm back on the publishing trail.

I'm getting my editing career on track and going freelance!

I've started building my website. Check it out here.

'Til next time,

La x

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.

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...

Magic On a Winter Evening

20th June, 2009. 'Winter Magic' in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney.

It was cold. She was warm from red wine and he was wearing a velvet hat. And so it began...

Several months later, Ax and La packed the car full of all their worldly possessions and headed south in search of adventure and opportunity.

Now we're in Melbourne faced with the challenge of establishing ourselves in a new city.

Jobs applied for: Dozens
Bottles of wine consumed: Too many to count
Lost and found: Lots

Stay tuned...