Friday, December 24, 2010

Pa Rum Pum Pum Pum!

Image from Style Me Pretty

And so this is Christmas....
I'm stuck at work today but my mind is on all the presents I still have to wrap before tonight and my bags I have to pack to go away tomorrow.

What are your Christmas plans? I will be partying Chilean-style with my husband's family tonight. This means plenty of food including some of my favourites like empanadas and chorizo on the BBQ. There'll be plenty of Pisco being drunk and dancing the night away to South American music. Then the best part - at midnight the kids going crazy and ripping open all their presents and screaming with excitement hahaha!

Tomorrow, Christmas morning, hubby and I will drive 2 & a half hours up the coast from Sydney to Port Stephens where my Aunty lives and eat a huge Christmas lunch with my entire family. We'll actually spend a few days up there enjoying the beach and relaxing with the family. I can't wait!!

So a very merry Christmas to you all and a huge thankyou to all our lovely followers, readers who may just pop by every once in a while, and anyone who has ever left a sweet comment because I love reading them, they make my day!

Eat, drink & be merry!

~ Clare x

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

'Tis the Season to be Jolly


Images by me

Balmoral Beach was actually quite deserted on the weekend, which is unusual for this time of year. The slightly overcast, breezy weather kept beach-goers at bay and made for a perfect afternoon for us as we took in the view and relaxed over lunch & drinks for my friend's 30th Birthday.

My weekend also consisted of a Christmas Party at El Bulli Spanish Tapas restaurant in Surry Hills, performing a little skit at a theatre Christmas Party, excitedly finding that my ad was in the Sunday papers again (if you haven't seen it you can find it here) & the big news..... 

Dann (who also sometimes posts on this blog) gave birth to baby Jack! He's her first born. She had him on Friday. Congratulations Dann!

~ Clare x

Friday, December 17, 2010

Uncle Vanya

Image from here

Wednesday night I had the pleasure of seeing Sydney Theatre Company's production of Chekhov's "Uncle Vanya" starring Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving, Richard Roxburgh & John Bell.

This production, directed by Tamas Ascher & adapted by Andrew Upton, was just superb in every way. Each character seems to have such a tragic tale to tell, yet I found myself constantly laughing as their tales unfolded. A mixture of brilliant writing, adapting, directing and of course acting.

The cast really were outstanding. I was so amazed at this chance to see so many brilliant actors in one production! Cate is one of those actors who never seems to put a foot wrong and you find it so hard to take your eyes off her. Hugo Weaving & Richard Roxburgh were amazing, they had me laughing constantly. They both had me mesmerised by their little idiosynchrasies layered into their performances. Jacki Weaver was just gorgeous as Old Nanny, I just loved her.

Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend. Mine is full of Christmas and Birthday parties!

~ Clare x

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

A Sydney Harbour Sunset

Image by me

This was the view from my apartment on Friday afternoon as the sun was setting over the harbour. 

We had the company of 3 very fun American girls, who stayed over and cooked us the most wonderful enchiladas I have ever tasted. They then introduced us to "biscuits & gravy" for breakfast the next morning! For any Americans out there, you would know exactly what I'm talking about, but I had never heard of it in my life. Especially since biscuits in Australia are what you would call cookies. Hence the reason I couldn't get my head around the idea until I actually saw it haha!

~ Clare x

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Bash, Please

I couldn't resist posting this retro Christmas shoot that I found over at bash, please. It's also featured in RUE mag, so I'm sure most of you have already seen it. I simply adore these pics shot at the Elvis Honeymoon Hideaway. Enjoy a trip back to 1959...









Love this idea of the guitar under the Christmas Tree. Might just have to do that myself since my home is filled with the hubby's guitars!!



Could their outfits be any more awesome? I think not!




Looks like my kind of party.




All images found at bash, please
See full shoot at RUE mag
Styled by bash, please

~ Clare x

Monday, December 6, 2010

A Trip to the Other Side

Hi All,

Last week my husband and I flew across Australia with our 19 month old daughter to Perth, Western Australia. We'd never been to the west coast of Australia before and it was Violet's first holiday and first time flying.

Here are some of my favourite pics of our holiday...

Swan Bell Tower, by the Swan River just a few minutes walk from the CBD.

The Swan River is lovely. It looks like the sea because of its width and nautical feel. These pictures were taken 10 minutes drive from the CBD.

Shopping in Perth was fun. There are plenty of shops and interesting buildings all within walking distance from just about anywhere in the CBD. This Tudor-style building called London Court (built in the 1930s) is the entrance to an arcade of high-end shops.

After staying overnight Perth CBD we drove almost 3 hours south to stay a few days in a beach-side town called Busselton. Its claim to fame is the longest jetty in the southern hemisphere. It stretches 2 km out to the Indian Ocean.

 The weather was beautiful and warm and the water was perfect for swimming.

Below, my hungry husband and daughter are walking to a cute restaurant by the beach called 'The Goose'. We really loved eating lunch there. The view of the beach from our table was spectacular!

In the shade under the boardwalk, Violet took up her new hobby of collecting shells.

And lastly...Violet and I enjoying a walk on the beach, collecting shells of course!

Exploring Perth and southwest WA was fantastic. It's a long way from Sydney, but if I ever go back I know there'll be plenty of sunshine, fresh air and wide open space.

Hope you have a great week!

~Linda

All photos by me.