dedicated to two very dear friends journeying through the u-s-of-a right at this moment. have fun you guys! don’t go getting married in las vegas without taking a hundred thousand photos for us back home
click images for sources.
wow. how did i miss these when i visited tokyo? read about super blogger sea of shoes’ recent trip to a cat café where for 1000 yen she got to sip tea and pat some kitties for an hour. heaven!
in other cat-related news, i’m considering a pet bow tie for my own furry friend. thoughts?
off to stay at a friend’s farmhouse in legume for the long weekend. we’re doing wine tasting in nearby stanthorpe, taking walks through the bush, eating home baked scones with jam and cream, drinking beer at sunset, and singing and dancing like fools around the fire. *cannot wait!*
i’ve been thinking a lot about where to take my next overseas holiday. revisiting paris is topping my list…
images via cherry blossom girl.
stumbled across kristín sig’s flickr stream which has totally renewed my interest in travelling to iceland. breathtaking!
i got myself a beautiful new book of cake recipes from an nyc bakery specialising in gluten-free and vegan baking. based in the lower east side, babycakes has been voted one of new york’s best cupcakes and has some pretty famous vegan and food-intolerant fans: zooey deschanel, natalie portman, pamela anderson, jason schwartzman…
once i get over the initial hurdle of sourcing some pretty far-out ingredients (what in the what is xanthan gum!?!), i’m pretty excited about trying out the corn bread, blueberry crumb cake and, of course, their famous frosting (which according to the book they sell unaccompanied inside tiny paper cups because customers love it so much – ew).
and i wonder if i’ll get better results if i do my hair real cute and bake to rock’n'roll tunes?
lots of paris-related things have been on my radar recently… first, this gorgeous clip for vanessa bruno, featuring the lovely loi doillon:
second, tommy has recently posted photos from a recent trip

stumbled across this gorgeous flickr set from paris, 1962

and finally, listened to a great podcast by abc national radio on the differences between french and english interpretations of rudeness (thanks, dad!)
saturday was a boozy barbeque with the extended family at wategos beach, byron bay. by far the standout was my sister’s rendition of donna hay’s semifreddo, scooped into waffle cones and devoured under the hot afternoon sun.
ingredients
* 3 eggs
* 2 egg yolks, extra
* 1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
* 1 cup (220g) caster sugar
* 1¾ cups (435ml) pouring cream
* choice of toppings: sis did one batch using 400g frozen raspberries, another with a large block of roughly chopped dark chocolate
method
1. place the eggs, egg yolks, vanilla and sugar in a large heatproof bowl. place over a saucepan of simmering water and whisk the mixture with a hand-held beater for 4−5 minutes or until heated, thick and pale.
2. remove from the heat and continue whisking until cool. whisk the cream until soft peaks form and gently fold into the egg mixture.
3. if using frozen raspberries, puree around 3/4 in a small food processor until smooth. take 2 cups of the custard cream mixture and fold through to combine.
4. stir through the raspberry puree mixture or 3/4 of the chopped chocolate (or both! imagine!) into the semifredoo mix and pour into a 3 litre-capacity dish.
5. sprinkle the unprocessed raspberries or the remaining chopped chocolate on top to decorate and freeze for 4-6 hours or until firm.
kick things off with a breakfast of white beans on toast at a minor place in brunswick.

then shopping for vintage clothes and antiques in fitzroy, starting at industria on getrude st.

admire some wall graffiti by miso

walk into the city to sip espressos and check out some modern art the narrows gallery in flinders lane.

tuck into some fine french wine with the tuna tartare with crushed green pea salad from cumulus on flinders lane.

finish off the day with tapas and drinks at movida next door.

and finally stumbling into a big, cushy bed at the brooklyn arts hotel.
