Dining & Styling

Hello world,

It’s Lily again with my much awaited second post. I say much awaited as Rose literally just texted me with ‘oi when u doin your post?’ I’d like to say this was due to the magnificence of my first entry, but it’s more likely due to the fact that I should have gotten this entry up a while ago, apologies! Last week saw me babysitting Little Rose (thanks to sister for her kind words in ‘the perfect tableau’ and yes I am a fabulous Aunt), attending the wedding of my best friend (await my next post) and falling ill with a cold (resulting in a general desire not to use my brain). However, with a little encouragement from a good friend, a day of rest, and the soothing sounds of Amy Winehouse I’m ready to discuss all things dine-y and style-y. 

Adore Tea in Gold Creek is a place I’ve been dying to visit, so lucky for me I recently went there and avoided the slow death that catches people who don’t have enough flavoured tea in their system. Jokes aside, sipping delicious tea by a cosy fireplace was the perfect way to pass a wintery Canberra afternoon. I sampled the apple and cinnamon, whilst my lovely friend Miss A enjoyed the coconut. They also have a range of sweet treats on the menu which I got a good look at given the waiters kept bringing us food we did not order (I had a plate of waffles waved temptingly under my nose TWICE). Adore Tea features local jazz bands on Sunday afternoons, so this coupled with the delightful tea makes it a place I will definitely be revisiting.

As Rose mentioned I also visited Soju Girl in the same week she did, word of good restaurants in Canberra gets round fast. Collectively we sampled the zucchini flowers, cauliflower flowerets, soft shell crab, tiger prawns, and whole baby snapper with chilli jam. Please note that minus the snapper the rest of these were small plates to share as my friends and I are not training to eat as much as Matt Preston. We really enjoyed all the food, particularly the snapper as the chilli jam was to die for! Soju Girl has an extensive menu and I’m already looking forward to going back there, I’ve got my eye on their wagyu carpaccio. The other thing I loved about Soju Girl was the interior and ambiance of the place. We sat at their communal table where you’re seated on stools at the four corners of a large table across from other diners. It was a fun way to dine but just a tip, it’s not suitable if your party is more than four people. J

 

Moving onto other topics, one thing you must know about me is that I love my online shopping. And I mean LOVE. I recently needed my clutch collection updated before abovementioned wedding, so onto Google I went with the complex search term ‘online clutches.’ This is how I discovered Style Tread (http://www.styletread.com.au/) and picked up the two goodies you see here. I’ve always been a fan of Olga Berg and I went with these two because I wanted some staples that could be pulled out to go with any outfit. The black retails for $49.95 where I paid $24.90 while the silver retails for $29.95 and I paid $14.90.  When I say bargain, you say yes!

 

When it comes to the Kardashians style is not something that comes to mind. That being said sometimes inspiration can come from unexpected places, which is why I was surprised when I found I really liked Kourtney K’s outfit above. I used her outfit as inspiration when putting together my ensemble below, which are both pieces I had purchased online a while before and had not thought to combine. The next time you get some fashion inspiration take a look through your wardrobe, because you may just have exactly what you need!




 

 

Posing with Miss G in Urban Outfitters blouse with vintage skirt

Until we meet again,

Lily xx



Robbing Peter to pay Sportsgirl

Hello world!

Rose here. Just a quick couture (show off) update. As many of you may remember I am no heels girl, as my post From Heels to Eternity will attest.

I do however love a flat shoe. So much so that I pretty much carry flats with me where ever I go....which is also why I wear most out within three to six months. Given this, with a heavy heart (yeah right) and a shallow pocket I trekked out to Sportsgirl yesterday to buy my latest pair.

Even though I am neither sporty and at 28 really a 'girl', I have always loved iconic Australian brand Sportsgirl (SG). And even though the quality of certain SG items are a bit dubious and stock is often on sale, which means the original prices are always over inflated, I love that the store is always on trend and there's a whimsical/fun quality to the clothes.

Couture update

Couture update

My latest must haves, besides flat shoes are enamel stud earrings (as displayed above). Given the right pair, I think they can really 'up' the glamour quotient of outfits and avoid the classic 'beautiful but dangly earrings caught in hair' situation.

Right now I'm loving these iridescent square studs from American giant Forever 21 and at $2.80 (USD) they are the ultimate bird bargain (cheeeeap, cheeeeap).

http://www.forever21.com/Product/Product.aspx?BR=f21&Category=acc_earrings&ProductID=1000048807&VariantID=

Am off for a spot of meditation then taking Little Rose to her second guitar lesson!

Hope you're all having a fab week.
Until next time...Rose. xx

The perfect tableau

Hello world!

It's Rose here. I'm on my first day of school holiday duties for Petite Rose. Last week my beloved sister Lily took the honours and I am ever so grateful.

Lily as well as being a wonderful sister is just about the perfect aunt. If ever there was a relationship built on mutual admiration and love, it's Lily and Little Rose. From the moment Little Rose was born, she's been absolutely besotted with her aunt. Perhaps it's an age thing, I mean which little girl doesn't want a glamorous younger aunt who showers her with maternal love and presents.

I think however with these two it goes deeper than that. Although my mother (and father for that matter) have always doted on Little Rose, and the Husband and I are generous and loving (as well as firm!) the relationship with Lily is that of kindred spirits.

That's why on her first day with me, after having spent a whole week with her beloved, I'm under the pump to produce a similar week filled with jaunty outings ( they went to the movies and The Portrait Gallery for macarons) brain development (Lily somehow managed to squeeze in daily sessions of Maths and English and made it fun!) and exercise (joint sessions of Yoga).

Sheesh! Are you sensing why Lily holds the title of world's favourite aunt?!

Anyway, while I will probably never be able to recreate the time Little Rose had with Lily, and I wouldn't want to as it's unique to their special relationship, I am planning on taking time this week to do the things I've been putting (kinda subconsciously) on hold for a while. Working full time and running a family can do that to ya.

So this week the plan of attack is:

• bond with the Little One

• smell the roses (as part of my weekly ritual of fresh flowers for the house)

• take a deep breath and a step back by actually doing some meditation

• watch the new Batman, because I am a huge Christopher Nolan fan, Christian Bale is my fantasy husband and I haven't lived up to my cinema lover status in a while, and finally

• start saving for my new dining table ( hence the title of post).

Currently as it stands, I have a lovely but wholly impractical glass dining table which seats four. So if the Husband and I ever host a dinner party, I literally cannot have more than two people over.

Said table

Plus as lovely as the glass looks against my mismatched fabric and Windsor chairs, it's a pain in the bum to keep clean. Henceforth I have decided I must procure a bigger more solid dining table to host a dinner for six, and one which doesn't require glass cleaner every other day!

Fortunately, I think I've found the One on the fabo furniture website Sokol:

http://www.sokol.com.au/products/288/dining-tables/replica-xavier-pauchard-tolix-dining-table/

So here's to the perfect table for the perfect tableau!


Until next time...Rose. xx

    

Soldering on at Soju Girl

Hello world!

It's Rose here today, I note the introductions to Lily (aka Sister Rose) have been established with Lily's fab first post on Miss T's bridal shower.

On a similar vein I thought I'd provide a culinary update on a restaurant both Lily and I (coincidentally) visited last week called 'Soju Girl'.

Culinary update

Soju Girl, located in the Melbourne Building in Canberra heralds a new form of dining in our beloved Capital City. Though this city is small, the food scene seems to be expanding at the same rate as my waistline (which is ironic because I feel the reason for my expanding waistline is in part due to the expansion of said food scene, or so I tell myself) with many a innovative food place, ala Asian fusion Soju Girl, popping up as we speak.

http://sojugirl.com.au/

The dining at Soju Girl embraces this new vibe of 'sharing plates', with diners given the choice of sharing several small plates and/or large plates. Now as someone who's a weenie bit on the selfish side when it comes to the sharing of food, I found this concept rather alarming (please note, I am generous in every other way and would happily share my organs, clothes, shoes, dvd's, cd's, books etc with all beloveds). So do I share one large plate with my fellow diners (Miss A, Teak and Miss L) and keep a small one for myself ?? Or do we all order one small plate and share?? Or should I just close my eyes and jab at the menu until I reach a combination of dishes both edible and not too pricey.

Anyway, to put a verrry long story short, with the help of a lovely waitress and a few glasses of calming Pellegrino, Miss A, Teak and I finally decided to share one small plate of delicate soft shell crab, a massive plate/bowl of duck and lycee curry, and a chocolate fondant for good measure.

While choosing the plating combinations was a bit tricky, the flavours were not. Each dish was bursting with texture and the flavour combinations were just divine. Duck and lycee, crispy cauliflower and mustard foam (Miss L's dish), crab with a citrus, all very very good. In the end the small and large plate combination worked out perfectly, both for the bank balance and the palette.

So for you Canberrans who haven't tried Soju Girl, I would highly recommend it, and for you non food sharer/standard three course people like me, I encourage you to branch out and try a new style of food, you never know until you try right?

Until next time...Rose. xx

Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue

Hello world!

It’s Lily here. First and foremost I have to apologise for taking so long to fulfil Rose’s promise of blog entries by her ‘uber cool sister.’ However, they say that good things come to those that wait sooo....here I am! Rose and I joke that my mother basically had the same child 6 years apart. We like a lot of the same things, laugh at jokes no one else would find funny, and have an uncanny tendency to say exactly the same thing at exactly the same time. Naturally the next step is to blog together! 

I recently co-planned a bridal shower for one of my closest friends (the wedding is in 10 days, seriously excited) so today I’ll give you a taste of what I put together with the hope that in the process you can learn a little about me. First step to holding a successful event is planning, planning and oh, did I mention planning? A neurosis for organisation and order is something Rose and I share, but in this case it served me well as the bridal shower went off without a hitch. Invitations were sent well in advance, presents were purchased weeks before, and the menu was decided on way too early. I don't want to give the impression that I'm some Martha Stewart goddess as there were definitely some bumps along the way. We only finished making the food half an hour before guests arrived leaving us with a last minute scramble to make ourselves presentable. I also left the pastries that I had slaved over cooling in the oven until half way through the party Rose reminded me that it’s pretty crucial to actually serve the food you’ve prepared.    

They say that first impressions count. In the case of a party, invitations are the first thing that a guest receives so I think it’s important to get them right. I may be old fashioned but I think sending out an invitation beats a facebook event page any day. I know our guests appreciated them, and we took care in picking invitations that reflected the mood of our event – a dainty afternoon tea!

Bunting! It was Rose that introduced me to the wonders of bunting and boy am I now a believer. The bunting was the only decoration we added to the room, but it was enough to give a real feeling of festivity. Credit for the bunting goes to my co-planner who spent hours cutting triangles out of wrapping paper which we then taped to string. Blue and white was our theme for the shower, but said co-planner decided to add in the white and black damask which I love. It also helps having a sister whose home is seemingly decorated for the purpose of dainty afternoon teas.

The something blue

Mini photo album/scrap book as the something new. Antique teapot, sugar pot, and salt and pepper shakers as the something old. 

In deciding what presents to get the bride to be I set the theme ‘something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.’ All the guests contributed to the presents and we were able to find some really lovely gifts for the bride to be. 

For entertainment we opted out of playing any X rated games which are often seen at bridal shindigs, instead we followed the motto - tame games can be fun! (I actually just made that up, but let’s roll with it). One of the games we particularly enjoyed involved each guest writing down who their celebrity crush is and why, with the bride having to match the celebrity to the guest. Just to provide an example mine said ‘Ryan Gosling. Have you seen Crazy, Stupid, Love?’ Now I may have provided that example purely so I could finish the blog with a picture of Ryan Gosling but as my next saying goes – use picture references of Ryan Gosling whenever possible. I thoroughly recommend everyone get behind this one!

Hope you enjoyed bridal shower wrap up J

Xx Lily 

Can't have an afternoon tea without delicious treats

Party favours