Put Victoria on Your Table this winter

One of things I love about winter - besides the rain, wind and cold :p - is the food. Comforting soups, hearty casseroles, pies, crumbles and cakes. There are days when all you want to do is curl up on the couch with a good book or movie and eat your way though porridge, brownies, toasted sandwiches, hot chocolate, beef stew and apple pie. Of course, eating like this all winter long won’t do anything for your waistline (albeit winter is a very good time for layering with fashion), so one must consider the spring after the storms and take care to pick the best places to eat in order to make the most of the rainy season.

To try as many different canapes and cuisines this season, participate in the Put Victoria on your Table Festival, http://www.putvictoriaonyourtable.com.au/. Many of Melbourne’s great eateries are opening their doors this winter and inviting you to enjoy all Victorian produce has to offer while allowing you to experience the wonder of these renowned places to dine.

The Age Good Food Guide Winter Restaurant Express involves 80 restaurants, offering a 2 course meal with a glass of wine and coffee or tea for just $35 (lunch) or $45 (dinner). The restaurants on the menu are nothing short of spectacular, and are representative of the wonderful food and beverage available in Melbourne.

From July 26 to August 9, I will be eating my way around Melbourne – starting at Arintji, Federation Square, http://www.arintji.com.au/, and finishing at Walter’s Wine Bar in Southbank, http://www.walterswinebar.com.au/. These are just 2 of the 22 restaurants located in and around Melbourne city. You can also find great places by the bay, in Fitzroy and Carlton, south of the river and in regional Victoria.

You should book now to avoid disappointment by contacting the restaurant directly. Keep an eye on my blog for reviews of the places I make it to – starting with Seamstress on Lonsdale Street, http://www.seamstress.com.au/, early next week. Check out the website and you will know why I picked them to be first!

6 weeks til Spring (but who's counting?)

Melbourne looks deceptively warm through the windows of my 12th floor office complex. The sun is shining, the sky is blue and I swear this morning, I could sense spring in the air. We are only halfway through July, still weeks away from birds chirping and the sounds of children in parks and the smells of freshly cut grass, yet, as the days start to get slightly longer (yes, I realise its only a minute or two every day) I can’t help but get excited about the prospect of another Racing Carnival just around the corner.

I love Spring Racing. An opportunity to get frocked up and drink champagne in the sun, to put dollar each way bets on a sport you know nothing about and possibly the only time you can get away with wearing ludicrous head adornments and still be called fashionable.

Today I took a quick tour of the DFO shopping centre at Spencer Street, and was drawn to the Jackie E store – not because I was looking for a gift for my Mum or Nanna, but because the frocks in the window were just so very pretty, feminine and charming I had to take a closer look.

Perfect chain store chic for Spring Racing (or for those of us that feel the need to purchase a new outfit for every outing at the carnival), Jackie E’s range of dresses, skirts and accessories will take you from the office to the track and out on the town afterwards without breaking the bank.

The pale colours of grey, champagne, ivory and pink work so well together and create a softness that melds with spring perfectly. They even have the shoes to match, though I wouldn't recommend taking pale coloured satin or silk anywhere near damp grass or muddy racetracks. (By the same token, please don't be one of those girls walking/stumbling home with her heels slung over her shoulders...)

The countdown is on … 6 weeks and counting. Start planning your outings and outfits now (and don’t forget the head adornments!)

http://www.jacquie.com.au/
http://www.racingvictoria.net.au/
www.vrc.net.au/victoria-racing-club/events.asp

Here are three of my favourite looks from the current Jackie E collection.

Baby, take a bow

During a burst of sunshine yesterday afternoon, I took to the streets of Melbourne for a spot of impromptu shopping. Number 31 tram to the Paris end of Collins Street, I wandered Australia on Collins, through to Royal Arcade, down Little Collins and back through the Walk Arcade, ending up at the Block Arcade and back to Collins Street to the 31. I could have spent hours scouring the little stores hidden in the alleys and envying the casual, laid back lifestyles of the people sipping coffee but there was shopping to be done, and my credit card was burning a hole in my pocket.

24 hours before pay day, and it had been a while since my last fashion purchase. My skin was tingly with the anticipation of new fabric, while my eyes worked their way up and down rack after rack of items, searching for the elusive garment that was to be mine.

A stop at the Christopher Ari store in the Walk Arcade yielded success. This gorgeous and very cute grey knit with sequin bow can be dressed up with skinny leg dark denim jeans and a killer heel for a night on the town, or paired with boyfriend jeans and comfy flats for (more) shopping with the girls. A bargain at only $39.95, and the perfect pick me up to get through the afternoon.

As for pay day tomorrow, I’m planning a trip to the Alice McCall (www.alicemccall.com) Sample Sale this Friday and Saturday at the corner of Chapel St and Cecil Place, Prahran (enter 2a Cecil Place). Styles are up to 75% off and prices start at just $20. Eftpos, Cash and Credit all accepted.

Then on Sunday, get along to the ‘This is not a Design Market’ market, www.thisisnotadesignmarket.com, at 500 Latrobe Street, Melbourne from 10am. The market is part of the State of Design Festival and is sure to have something fashionable or fabulous for everyone, foodies included.

If you’re not into the design scene and vintage is more your thing, the Take 2 Market is also on this Sunday, www.take2markets.com.au. The market, at the Hawthorn Town Hall from 10am, is the second anniversary for the team whose recycled fashion heaven helps us shop in a more affordable and sustainable way.

Where will you spend this weeks paycheck? Happy shopping!

Not so dangerous Liaison

Once in a while, you find somewhere hidden in the laneways in Melbourne that you want to tell the world about. Every now and then, a gem of a café or restaurant, bookstore or undiscovered designer reveals itself and you wonder how you ever survived without it before.

Today I visited Liaison, a café on Ridgway Place up the top end of Melbourne, where I was presented with fabulous coffee, divine breakfast offerings and superb surroundings off the beaten track of Melbourne’s main grid.

In true Melbourne tradition, the best finds in our laneways are the ones most easily missed. Ridgway Place would pass you by if you didn’t know where to look. Just off Little Collins St, between Exhibition and Spring, the cobblestones of this alleyway lead to Monaco House where Liaison has set up shop.

A small outfit with limited indoor seating, Liaison feels like an exclusive space that you are privy to even know about. One of Melbourne’s great finds, the coffee here is fantastic (as verified by Kayne West, www.threethousand.com.au/eat-drink/liaison) and the breakfast dishes a great start to the day.

My thrill at being offered gluten free muesli with fruit and yoghurt was not lost on my companions, who also enjoyed croissant with tomato and cheese. Other pastries and various toasts were on offer; a limited menu but sufficient and fitting for the space and style of Liaison.

Quirky graphics of people in various states of running, walking and biking move across the shopfront and this motif is continued on the business card – symbolic of the people who are no doubt flocking to this treasure. Get in before it the secret gets out.

Liaison
22 Ridgway Place
Melbourne 3000
9663 3225

Bright Lights, Big City

I have been trying to move house since January of this year. Currently I live in the outer suburbs, a good hour from where I work in the CBD, and spend a good deal of my time in transit – be it on a freeway or on a train. My thought was to rent out my place in the ‘burbs, and rent something cute and quirky closer to the CBD, effectively cancelling out my mortgage and being footloose and fancy free in the city.

But then, the rental market is a horrible place right now. People are offering over and above the advertised prices and happy couples are beating out the single white female. And just like that, 6 months on, and I am still a resident in the dreary outer east.

A good friend of mine lives very close to the city. A stone’s throw in fact, to all manner of amenity. Albert Park Lake, Cafes and Restaurants, Docklands, CBD, Richmond – everything is not much more than a short tram ride or walk away.

While she has decided to go trekking to the other side of the world, I have taken up residence in her inner city abode for three weeks, putting me in the middle of my universe – a shopping and dining haven. Last night was my first staying at her place, and my eyes are newly opened to the differences between the sleepy suburbs, and the chaotic city.

First, the traffic! And lot’s of it! Actual ear plug inducing traffic noise. I woke up in the middle of the night, thought, ‘wow, few cars going by, must be close to the 6am peak hour rush’, and looked at my phone only to discover it was 2am.

The views, convenience and constant activity are amazing. I could have stared out the window for hours at the city by night, looking at a view I have only experienced in hotel rooms before. Imagine living like that all the time. Feel like an ice cream? 7 Eleven at the end of the street. A run? Pop down the road to Albert Park Lake and join the throng that beat a path daily. Coffee? Which café will I go to? It’s all about choice here and I feel like I am living in the New York of Sex and the City or Friends – being the middle of it all and experiencing Melbourne city the way it is meant to be lived!

All of this after just one night! I haven’t really had time to get to know half of what the lifestyle will be like for the next few weeks, but I have a feeling it will be amazing. I am looking for your tips and tricks for inner city living – what can I cook in a kitchen that would fit into my house’s bathroom? What are the greatest café spots and restaurants along St Kilda road and through to Albert Park, Chapel and High streets Prahran? Where can I find tucked away fashion stores with vintage pieces and the most promising up and coming designers? And tell me about the markets!

I have three weeks here, and a change is as good as a holiday! Tell me all your secrets and I’ll tell you most of mine – come along for the ride!

Stilletto sprints for Shakuhachi

Today appeared to start out like any other day, but maybe a bit of the odd side. I know this might sound strange, but I had that experience where you can’t remember if you were awake, or asleep and dreaming. For some reason I thought I had set my alarm clock back two hours on purpose. Clock said 4am, I thought it was 6am. So I lay there, arguing with myself as to whether I should get up or go back to sleep for another 20 mins and risk being late for my 9am meeting. Inevitably I fell asleep again (if I was even awake to begin with!) and woke up when the alarm went off at 6am.

A very odd start, but then it got more left of centre. I’m a fairly typical Melbourne girl, and generally wear our standard uniform in shades of black and grey. Today, in honour of the crispness of the temperature and the touch of winter sun, I choose a rather eclectic spring colour palette – yellow, orange, hot pink and brown Claude de Alban summer dress over black long sleeve tee and tights with knee high brown stiletto boots. Add a hot pink coat and scarf – I look like a flower bouquet – and off to work. In a city like Melbourne, I now stood out like a sore thumb (literally, due to all the pink!). So with all these people looking at the girl in the strange bright outfit, it seemed fitting that today I would develop a rather unpleasant static issue. My skirt is clinging to my butt and my hair has a mind of its own.

I don’t know why I am so statically charged today! What causes this? And more to the point, how do I get rid of it? I have static spray – but it’s at home. I also have hairspray. Also at home. I needed a miracle cure! While trawling the web for a quick fix at lunch, a fleeting check of Twitter bought my attention to today’s Project Runway OZ competition.

Those who follow me on Twitter will know that yesterday I missed out on the Hussy dress at DFO by mere seconds, so when I saw that the team were again in my territory, I threw on my coat to cover the static cling and took to the streets! 15 minutes and a tram ride later, I was manically checking Twitter on my iphone to ensure the prize had not yet been claimed and missed the tram stop! Result – a girl in a hot pink coat and knee high stiletto boots running down the Paris end of Collins Street towards the Regent theatre (comment if you saw me!).

But it was worth it, because I won! After a minute of getting my breath back, I became the proud owner of a Shakuhachi dress. Unfortunately a size 8, but the thrill of winning is enough for me! You can check out all the Shakuhachi designs here www.shakuhachi.net.au

I also won a CocoLee voucher for being runner up yesterday – a gorgeous online fashion boutique where I can shop up a storm - can’t wait to find a bargain! www.cocolee.com.au

And so my afternoon at work has been a bit of an anticlimax after such an exciting lunchbreak. My static cling and aching feet have kept me confined to the desk and I am now considering the benefits of doing away with hosiery all together as I can’t possibly continue to walk around like this! But for future reference, I will bring the static spray back to my office drawer, and endeavour to wear more sensible shoes when planning on running in the pursuit of designer dresses.

Don’t forget Project Runway Australia, starting tonight on Foxtel, 8.30opm!