tamar valley

twenty & six

Melbourne...you are a pretty cool city. How is it that new and awesome cafes keep on popping up everywhere? How can I keep up with you!

The latest cafe I've found has only been open for a couple of weeks. Alexis took me there on Sunday and it is simply gorgeous and a quick 2 minute walk from my front door!

I haven't sampled their menu yet but the coffee is amazing (an offshoot of proud mary in collingwood).

What made me especially weak at the knees though was the gorgeous interior with accents of fluorescent turquoise including cup and saucers, hot pink spray painted twigs and a canary yellow freddie mercury against white washed walls with decals by Able & Game. Exposed light bulbs, great background music and small details like crumpled cup water glasses sealed the deal.

I'll be back to sample the food soon...

twenty & six expresso, 594 queensberry st, north melbourne

update: I've been back for food, the menu is small but it's pretty amazing. I had the hulk smash. Great name.

milkwood

It is dave's last weekend in melbourne :( so we decided that he needed to go out in style! We ended up at milkwood in brunswick east for a final melbourne brunch fling.

Milkwood's interior is simple and lovely with it's white washed walls, high ceilings and hanging plants. I loved the macrame plant hangers which reminded me of my mother for some weird reason but I'm not sure if we had any when I was growing up?

Coffee was good and my ricotta pancakes with coconut, banana & honey yoghurt were amazing!

Big tick for milkwood.

milkwood - 120 nicholson street east brunswick

dawn tan

I've loved Dawn Tan's foodie art and blog for a long time now.

Art + food...two of my favourite things!

So far I have bought a box of recipe art for Sam for her bday, a recipe tea towel and a melamine burger plate. Next on my wish list is a custom painting with my favourite recipe :)

http://www.hand-made-love.blogspot.com/

paris vs ny: a tally of two cities

Doreen shared this website with me recently and I think it is the cutest thing ever.

I've been to Paris but oh so badly want to go to New York!

 Illustrations from http://parisvsnyc.blogspot.com/

palomino

Guess what? Annie's back in town! So guess where she took us for brunch? Northcote of course and a cute little cafe called Palomino. I didn't understand the name until I asked Annie why it was decked out with so many horse ornaments. Now I know...

How amazing are the lights above the counter? I get a little excited when I think about owning a place because then I can install my own light fixtures! Annie and Hayley laughed when I told them this...

Anyway, great coffee, good food and excellent lighting.

Big tick for Palomino. 236 High St Northcote.

granny graffiti

Knit graffiti is possibly the most inoffensive type of graffiti ever. When I first moved to Melbourne I noticed a knitted street sign down the road from where I lived in Brunswick. It made me smile but also got me thinking...who has the time to knit a jumper for a street sign!

Now this knitted graffiti seems to be everywhere, from crocheted trees to colourfully adorned bike racks. Apparently even books have been published, "Yarn Bombing: The Art of Crochet and Knit Graffiti"

Beware the guerrilla knitters near you...

summer days

melbourne median strip

Victorians are a crazy bunch. In Queensland we used to play 'spot the Victorian' at the beach in winter! They were usually wearing minimal clothing and attempting to swim. But now I'm starting to get it. Any temperature above 22 and with sun should be cause for celebration after countless days of doom, gloom, 16 degrees and drizzle.

But another very Melburnian phenomenon is median strip sunbathing! I have attributed it to the fact the a lot of people in Melbourne don't have back yards and when the sun comes out they want to enjoy it. I've finally embraced this 'median strip madness' and basked in the rare sunny above 22 day. I'm hoping when I go up to Brisvegas for the summer hols the torential rain will hold off for a few days so I can make it to Noosa or Rainbow Bay :)

penny farthing

Sam and I were pondering where to grab a nice lunch last Saturday. Somewhere we hadn't been before...then I remembered reading countless good reviews about this cafe and with Northcote being cemented as one of my favourite Melbourne suburbs (thanks to Annie who took me there when I first moved down) we decided it was worth the trip!

I decided on the green pea & sage bruschetta topped with a poached egg & tasmanian smoked salmon. It was the perfect choice. Really light and fresh.

Sam had one of the specials - roasted eggplant, field mushrooms, bocconcini & basil with garlic bread. All of my favourite ingredients packed into one dish! I was tossing up between these two, so was pretty happy when I could have a taste of hers...

The coffee was amazing and the service was quick. Big tick for penny farthing!

penny farthing espresso

206 high street, northcote

opening hours

monday - 7.30am - 5.00pm
tuesday - friday - 7.30am - late
saturday & sunday - 8.30am - late

tiny terrariums!

I just bought a terrarium! I little tiny teadrop one I can hang on my wall. Terrariums were very popular in the 70’s but seem to be making a come back at the moment. A great alternative to a bunch of flowers!

idee fixe(s): honey snaps
lemongrass & ginger tea
emily green necklaces
terrariums! http://www.miniscapes.net/index.php