See you in 2014!

I've been slack again with my blogging, and I will continue be until early 2014 because today I head off to the US for a few weeks! A bit of a whirlwind trip really but I'm looking forward to catching up with some important people in my life and old friends who I unfortunately see rarely.

I will be back to proper blogging hopefully in early 2014, but for now Merry Christmas and have a safe and fun festive season :)

Amazing house + Amazing Woman!

I stumbled across this article about this architect in the US who was sick of not being able to afford a mortgage on a full blown house, so came up with this amazingly beautiful alternative.

She built the whole 'mini' house herself, from wiring, construction and design and she is able to move the place around whereever she needs. Yes, it's small, but it really goes to show how little space we need in our lives.

Isn't it gorgeous, both inside and out? If you want to read more about it see the full article I read here. It has a pretty amusing article title too!

Office Secret Santa

Does anyone else hate workplace Secret Santa/Kris Kingle/Gift exchange things? I specifically mean the type where you pick a name at random and have to anonymously buy them a gift. It is so difficult and when you involve the workplace dynamics and price limits it gets so difficult trying to find something that is fun and novel, or useful and practical, or all of the above if you're just that awesome!

My group of friends used to do Christmas lunch/dinner where we would do Secret Santa where everyone would bring a random gift but then you got to choose from the pile at random and then 'steal' from each other. That is so much easier (and arguably more fun!) because there's no pressure as to who you're specifically buying for.

Anyway my workplace has decided to have quite a high budget of $30 per person which on one hand is great because there's scope to actually buy something useful, but on the other hand I'm at last minute having to find something practical and not too ridiculous! We only found out on Friday who we were buying for and we have 2 weeks eek.

Anyone have clever ideas for a male?

These are currently in my catchoftheday basket as potentials....

ASOS order!

It is somewhat hard for most people to believe, but I popped my ASOS cherry the other day, making use of the 30% off click frenzy discount code to purchase some snow bunny gear for my upcoming Christmas trip in the Northern Hemisphere.

Truthfully, I do have a lot of warm weather clothing and didn't really need to buy more but I have nothing that is lightweight, fashionable, windproof and also not too precious. I'm funny when I travel, I don't like to take anything too precious and delicate for fear of it getting damaged or lost. Any excuse, right? With the ASOS deal the puffy winter jackets I was looking started at well under the $100 mark which I think is great value for something that will keep you toasty warm in sub zero temps!

I figured if I was going to potentially have to return stuff anyway and pay for that, I might as well order more so I came out with three jackets that I loved the look of.

I'm being a bit lazy and not bothering to take more photos. I ended up loving two so much I kept them both because I'm torn!

This red one below was the one I returned purely because its too casual looking for my trip, but I actually love love love it! If I lived in a colder climate city I'd totally have kept it. It reminds me a bit of a snowfield jacket - like what ski instructors might wear?

And I mean who doesn't love a fur trimmed coat? LOVE the black one because of that factor. And this red one actually had a soft wooly hood too! <3

Anyway, at A$290 for all 3 I figured I had nothing to lose!

Hartsyard, Newtown

I've dined at the uber hip and happening Hartsyard twice in the last 3 months or so, which is quite an achievement given it is so popular now it can be ridiculously difficult to get a reservation (even on a weeknight!)

The first time I went was just as a table of 2 which meant I wasn't really able to try a lot of the dishes, which are designed to be shared as a 'seed' and 'feed' approach for dish sizes which roughly line up with an entree and main type size. We ended up overordering and walking out stuffed.

Last week I went again but this time was smarter about it, dining with a group of 4 and trying not to overorder so that I could at least try dessert this time, which is their signature! And who am I kidding, I love me a good dessert. Their smaller 'seed' sized dishes are my favourite, with each and everyone sounding amazing. Here are some iPhone pics (I've been lazy lately haha!)

School prawn popcorn with espelette pepper and sour cream and lemon

These were finger licking good and such a good 'appetizer' type starter - great to start the meal with some light finger food while we chatted away.

Oyster po-boy with englihs muffin and old bay mayo and slaw

Yummy, crispy, perfectly balanced flavours. Need I say more?

Fremantle octopus with potato skins, white corn and piquillo peppers

This was a gutsy dish which I actually really enjoyed, with the octopus perfectly crunchy (not chewy!)

Crispy pig tails butter milk dressing, pickles and hot sauce

So this wasn't exactly what I was expecting, but still tasty. Would I order it again? No, but it was definitely well executed.

Dessert special - lemon meringue pie with popcorn icecream and caramel

This was AMAZING! Perfect mix of soft and crunchy meringue, a zesty lemon curd with the popcorn ice cream absolutely amazing too. Every single item on the plate was well presented, and accompanied every other element on the plate perfectly. 

Soft Serve of the day - red velvet, baked cheesecake and chocolate coating

This was also amazing - I mean these are their signature desserts, just with the soft serve flavour changing regularly. The camera has been put in the photo in the background as reference for just how large this was! It was definitely better to be shared as the red velvet ice cream was a rich dark chocolate that came out looking bloody because of the inky red velvet colouring and slight flavouring.

As you probably already know, desserts are my weakness so any restaurant that can nail a good dessert is a winner for me. I would definitely suggest you try Hartsyard if you get the chance, but make sure you go with a group! Their cocktail menu is also great, and I don't think Hartsyard is uber expensive either so that's definitely a plus :)

Kirribilli Markets Stall this Saturday!

Once again I'll be having a market stall at the uber awesome Kirribilli Markets this Saturday 23 November from 7am to 4pm! If you've ever had a market stall before you'll understand why I've been so busy lately - clearing out stuff to sell is hard work!

Anyway I have a whole range of designer clothes, shoes, accessories, bags, make up and homewares. Denim brands include Tsubi (the original tsubi with a T!), Sass & Bide, Marcs and paperdenim&cloth. designer label threads from Marc Jacobs, BCBG, Wayne Cooper, Sass & Bide, Alice McCall, Akira and a whole host more cheap buys.

It is all stuff I just have never worn or won't wear so I will be clearing them out at cheapo prices so if you're in the area stop by and have a shop :)

Time Out Sydney even lists the Kirribilli Markets as amongst the best in Sydney, so maybe you'll find some other stuff there too!

Beyonce "Mrs Carter" Show

In the midst of the hecticness of life (I'm working on a deal at the moment at work which has the shortest turnaround and is consuming all my energy), I went to see the Beyonce concert a few weeks back. I've seen Beyonce many a time now - twice with Destiny's Child and again in her solo tour in 2007 when she still played at the smaller Entertainment Centre which I love. One of the Destiny's Child times was an up close and intimate filming for top of the pops where I was literally 3m away from her as she sung to a room of 100 people. When it came time to buy Beyonce tickets I wasn't going to, but all I kept on seeing and reading was everyone raving about the Mrs Carter tour. Well, I just had to see it for myself, right?

I'm glad I did, because while I wasn't as wow-ed as I thought I would be, I was glad to finally get to see her sing Single Ladies in the flesh. It made me wish I had gone to Glastonbury when she played - its just unfortunate I went to Glastonbury the year after. Anyway, here are my fave pics:

Awesome costumes for the opener!

Bey loves her pyrotechnic waterfalls! She did the same in 2007 too!

OK so I did like the screen imagery

How awesome is that second stage lighting to the right? From my knowledge of teching some shows, there was some serious $$ spent on that lighting and rigging!

Serenading us in a blue glitter jumpsuit, as only Bey can

To the left, to the left!

I was expecting more from the set than just digital screens actually - as awesome as they were, it was the only element of the whole set besides the second stage which I absolutely LOVED! 

Make Up Sale

So I've been spring cleaning a lot lately which is partially why I haven't been blogging as much as I should be! Does anyone else take ages to spring clean? I'm not even halfway through! Anyway, part of that is clearing out my wardrobe, shoes and make up stash. I did so well with saving in October and for November, I can't justify new purchases unless I clear some space and stuff.

So with that said, here are some things I've found that I really don't need seeing as I have never used them! Before they make it to ebay, I thought I would blog in case anyone was interested :)

A few points:
- All items are brand new in boxes and never used!
- Prices don't include postage which will be added on top based on your location
- All sales are final, and only within Australia :)

Guerlain Terracotta Lipgloss Trio $25
Three Guerlain neutral toned lip gloss trio - amber sun, nude sun and beige sun.
3 x 5ml, Made in France

Lancome Eyeshadow duo wet or dry $20
Gorgeous blue jewel tones - full sized eyeshadow duo palette.

Lancome Eyeshadow duo wet or dry $20
Same as above but pink/brown shades - full sized eyeshadow duo palette.

Lancome Quad Palette "Bronze Captive" $35
Neutral tones for a perfect daytime look, plus a pop of aqua colour for contrast. Can be used wet or dry and this is a fairly sizeeable palette.

 

China Glaze Ridge Filler $5
Self explanatory really - never used!

Contact me at ashoeaffair@gmail.com if you are interested or have any questions/need further photos!

Bridge Room, Sydney

I'm finally getting round to post about my experience dining at Bridge Room in Sydney. With an ex-Rockpool chef at the helm and two Good Food guide hats, I was definitely expecting a great meal and they didn't disappoint. Not to mention the service was impeccable, but still casual, which is what I loved.

I wish I had better photos, but my dining companion isn't one to appreciate my snap-happy nature!

We shared this entree which was a raw wagyu shoulder, robata smoked enoki mushrooms concoction - and they knew we were sharing so it came out in two half portions so no plate sharing necessary! :)

Ash grilled duck, organic prunes softened in banyuls

Aerated passionfruit, roasted nougatine, passionfruit ice cream

The dessert was a highlight for me because I chose passionfruit - one of my favourites. Light and easy to stomach after a big meal, yet punchy flavours and some meringue for good measure.

Anyway, we each had a main and dessert and shared an entree and a glass of wine, and it only came to $160 which I think was really good value considering the cost of restaurants in Sydney is skyrocketing. I mean, even a casual mexican meal at Mejico can set you back just as much once you add a cocktail each!

Sculptures by the Sea 2013

Last weekend I took the glorious Bondi to Bronte walk to once again enjoy Sculptures by the Sea like the rest of Sydney has been doing over the last week or so! I have to say, I was lucky, as it wasn't as crowded as I had expected but perhaps it was because the weather looked overcast (though it was absolutely crystal clear in the end!) and it was fairly early on a Sunday morning.

Anyway, I used it as a chance to whip out my currently quite neglected NEX for phototaking. These are some of my favourite shots of the day.

Loved this 'bottle caps' carpet - must have taken the artist ages to accumulate!

Along with everyone else, this was my favourite, and you could tell as it certainly was the 'it' sculpture that everyone was flocking around and everyone keeps posting pictures about on facebook!

Does anyone else think Sculptures wasn't as good as last year?

And I couldn't help myself but take obligatory Bondi Beach shots - <3 Sydney!

Louboutin Patent Black Simple 100s

I had been looking for black patent Louboutin black patent simple 85s for the longest time, but they're perpetually out of stock online and in physical stores around the world (trust me, I've tried looking every country I visit!). When I randomly chanced upon my size at David Jones recently in 100s I just couldn't say no. And with a pile of vouchers to spend, these basically cost me nothing and were a welcomed present to myself :)

Welcoming to my shoe family, my holy grail shoe!

So perhaps I have too many black pairs of Louboutins that practically look identical? I am planning to sell one of the pairs...but for now I look like the crazy person obsessed with black.

iHerb Haul #3

If you follow me on twitter you would know I made another iHerb order a month back which involved more Real Techniques brushes and a few other tidbits!

The Real Techniques brushes had previously been sold out so I thought I would snap them up now, despite there not being a 20% discount code or anything like last time.  I didn't really need them and so I probably shouldn't have bought them, but seeing as I'm lazy with cleaning my brushes I thought just rotating the use of my brushes was a good compromise. I may start using the powder brush more but I don't like it as much as the others I bought previously.

Anyway, my favourite of the lot is the infuser + lid glass tea cup which is fabulous! It was on super discount so it was only $7 from memory, and there is a glass infuser inbuilt which then sits perfectly within the teacup lid when you're done steeping your tea. I love it because I often want a single cup of tea and don't want to have to waste a whole pot, plus this goes in the dishwasher!

The erythritol is my sister's request - apparently its a replacement for sugar? She's all into her health foods!

Don't forget to check out iHerb and use the discount code RLN426 to get at least $5 off your order ($10 if you spend enough). 

Chur Burger, Sydney

I had been dying to try Chur Burger for the longest time, and with their annoying open times (not open Monday nights, not open Sunday at all!) I kept on missing out. Anyway, I finally tried it this weekend and it was awesome!

I like the setup - casual dining with a cool vibe, you can walk in/walk out and its easy enough to get a table, even for larger groups of 6. The music is a little loud to be able to sit and have comfortable conversation over, but the menu more than makes up for that.

All burgers are $10 (how easy is that!) and they all sound delish. I went with a group of 4 and we all tried something different and none of us had a bad thing to say. I liked the chicken one I had which had a zesty mayo dressing (my friend commented that it looked like Big Mac sauce, but let me assure you it wasn't just any old sauce).

We also ordered a good range of sides with the coleslaw being a clear winner, as were the chips which had a cool chilli type salt on top!

Anyway, we didn't get to try any shakes or the desserts, though I am dying to try the smashed pav (I find it very difficult not to order anything with meringue when I see it on a menu) so I will be back for sure for when I need a quick and easy dinner that won't break the bank.

Georg Jensen Daisy Ring

Recently, I started a new job and as with all 'life' events and milestones I like to mark them with some kind of purchase or nice meal or some other special something. This time I happened to walk into Georg Jensen where they had select pieces from the acclaimed 'Daisy' collection on sale so I just couldn't help myself but add to my ring collection.

Isn't the packaging just so elegant?

I've always loved the Daisy collection, and its based on Queen Margrethe of Denmark's love for the Daisy (you'll often see her sporting some kind of Daisy motif jewellery item). This ring is delicate in that the black is actually all enamel embedded into fine sterling silver. The edges of each petal are actually small grooves so that the ring isn't just a circle, but actually with defined petals. It is really quite beautiful!

Unfortunately they had absolutely no stock in the country of the smaller sizes so I had to settle on one that fits my second finger, but I still quite like it! :) 

Sydney, you are awesome

Because a picture tells a thousand words, here are some pics that resonate with my current 'I <3 Sydney' thoughts. One thing about travelling, and especially moving overseas for any period of time, is that it really makes you appreciate what you have at home in a city as beautiful as Sydney. Here are some favourite snaps from around beautiful Sydney over the past few months.

 Beautiful sunsets, and blue skies.

 Beach days each and every weekend

Sydney Harbour Bridge. Breathtaking, even with a dodgy iphone camera snap.

Mini Chambord bottle! Enjoying a drink at Stitch bar in the city. Yes, that bottle of Chambord (which my cocktail came in) is the same size as a short tumbler glass.

Spice Temple - a too often visited dining haunt for me.

Actually, I really should write a whole post on cocktails because I have so many iPhone photos of cocktails from all my small bar hopping adventures recently!