north south east west

I've decided Rathdowne Street is one of my new favs; a bit quieter and more laid back than Lygon street.

Doreen took me here a few months ago (when it was still warm) but I went back yesterday to grab something to eat at North now the weather is cold and the menu has changed!

North is a cute little cafe snuggled in at the north end of Rathdowne Street with quite simple decor but a really yummy menu. They even fill up dog bowls for customers' equally thirsty pooches!

Last time I was here I had a summer bowl of musli with berry compote and labna (which I found out was yoghurt/cheese). I must be in a bowl food breakfast mood when I come here because this time I got winter porridge with apple, cinnamon and walnut. It was pretty spesh.

Tick for North (and Rathdowne street in general!)

Idee fixe(s): Baking!
Banana bread
Apple tea cake
Raspberry jam coconut slice :)

peko peko

In Japan 'peko peko' is the sound a stomach makes when it's hungry.

Doreen and I did a Japanese restaurant crawl along Smith Street the other night. Before I arrived at 'Peko peko' my stomach was doing a 'peko peko'. Luckily it has a menu to match your appetite. Small, medium and big food! Doreen and I opted for the big food of course. Subsequently our 'peko peko' stopped :)

After 'Peko peko' we went off in search for green tea ice-cream and ended up at Wabi Sabi Salon.
What a gorgeous little restaurant! You'll have to scroll through my pics for confirmation of this. My 2 favourite parts of the night were taking off my shoes to sit in the little secret lovers alcove and going to the toilet...

Smith Street! Home of Japanese food.

Doreen being her fabulous self!

The amazing toilet that had Japanese music pumping and a picture of smoking cats. I needn't explain further why this was a highlight.

Green tea, red bean and black sesame ice-cream

The secret lovers alcove!

sexy as socks on a rooster

To sock or not to sock, that is the question.

I am absolutely loving socks and heels at the moment!! Unfortunately it's a bit cold at the moment in Melbourne to really rock the sock, but in spring I'm going to give it a shot.

Peep toe heels and socks. Big tick.

only cat ladies drink Gin...

When Julia Child was asked to what she credited her longevity, she replied, "Red meat and Gin".

Just in case you need another reason!

each peach pear plum

'Each Peach' is a cafe I stumbled upon while exploring my new stomping ground, East Brunswick!

It is such a gorgeous little cafe! Shelves piled high with home-made jams, baked goods and 70s style tea towels. It's all about about organic, fair trade & locally grown food. The fruit from the jam comes from Brunswick backyards.

The coffee, while not the best I've ever had, is pretty decent and comes in vintage mismatched tea cups (which we all know I'm a total sucker for). All the food on the menu is home-cooking and nostalgic.

I had organic sour dough bread with fig and apple jam which was totally yummy. I might just try the famous 'tumble rumble' scrambled eggs next time.

'Each Peach' is my new local :)

sunshine on a rainy day

It's been pretty gloomy and cold here for the last week.

There are three ways to conquer this depressive side of mother nature.

1. Good friends

2. Good food
3. Photos that make me laugh or smile.

oh and I forgot there's a new forth...

4. My new bright magenta jacket!

Here are some photos that make me happy :)

Amazing shoes!

Colourful tea cups!

I actually know this person...

He's also used his hard bass case as a boat. Needless to say it didn't float for long.

Pop! Who can resist bubble wrap?

NO SMILEY FACES IN ESSAYS!

My Idee Fixe(s): Food!
Rose Incense
Shopping at the vic markets

jazz baby

I headed off to Bennett's Lane Jazz Club to celebrate my beautiful friend Sam's 25th birthday!

I haven't seen live jazz in a long time so I was pretty excited but ended up being totally shocked (in a really good way) with what I saw. Yvette Johansson. Wow wow wow!

I think this bio sums her up perfectly...

Once Yvette walks onto the stage you are hers for the evening...She lures you into her musical den with a charismatic presence and hypnotising voice.

Her voice is incredible, but I think what made her so fantastic was how she totally owned the stage. Big big tick :)

She's doing a double bill with Mark Scholtez at the Melbourne Jazz Festival. I recommend you go if you are in Melbourne town. BMW Edge - Federation Square - Friday 7 May 9pm

My idee (fixe)s: Frankie Magazine
Wooden brooches
Old Fashioned Decor &
Eating dark chocolate in bed while reading the Cheap Eats Guide

japonica

I love...

For Doreen...

For Ashleigh...

For Alice...

For Annabelle...

http://www.japonicas.com/

seven seeds

The best coffee I've ever had.

Seven Seeds - 106 Berkeley St. Carlton

The End.

when autumn leaves start to fall

I have now experienced my first real shitty Melbourne day (although from the inside looking out). Windy, a bit of rain and cold! The autumn leaves are falling and the cold weather is coming. I celebrated by having a bubble bath and reading my book in bed all day. Time to bake some pies and casseroles!

When I came out into the living room this morning the cat was sitting on the couch looking outside at the courtyard. I was too late to grab a photo, but this pic does it justice and has a nice autumny theme :)

Idee fixe(s): All day yum cha
Spotty stockings
Baklava

Packs of 100 spring flowering bulbs

you gotta love this city

keep cup

I've been wanting something to put my tea in when I'm running late for school or uni for a while now. These cups where designed by cafe owners fed up with the waste made from coffee to go. They match standard industry coffee sizes and fit under espresso machines. Good for the environment and they are super cute! Quite cheap too. The best part was picking your own colour scheme! Doreen and I couldn't decide between a blue or magenta band, but I think we made the right choice :)

don don, iced lattes and skewers!

What a lovely day. My friend Dave took me to this cheap Japanese restaurant in South Melbourne and we had chicken teriyaki for only $6! And it was amazingly good! The place was called Don Don. Dave says, when one don isn't enough! Isn't he funny... :)

Second part of the day was spent looking for St Ali! Damn Melbourne and its alleyways that hide away all the good coffee! Anyway, we stumbled upon it in the end and got 2 iced lattes (no icecream, too poor for that shit). Photos courtesy of Dave, except the one of the 2 lattes. All me! All in all, good atmosphere, nice coffee. Cakes looked good too, maybe next time. Tick!

Then we wandered over to a kitchen warehouse! I've started a wish list.

1. sugar bag holder

2. a great grater

3. strawberry cutter

4. giant piping bag

And the list goes on...

"Which is the sieve for me??"

In the end all we bought was a skewer...

My idee fixe(s): pumpkin coloured houses
loose leaf chai
autumn leaves
turkish shisha