- JenMeister- Moonspinner- The EcoDiva and- ThereisabuttonmissingThese lucky four Curious Oyster Blog followers have won themselves a Nilla Nilla Summer Pout Balm... If you are one of these lucky four please email me at annaliese@curiousoyster.com.au and let me know which Pout Balm you would like sent out to you, and please do not forget to give me your postal address!and for the grand lady prize... the Nilla Nilla Summer Collection...Congratulations goes to - Marnee Watkins!!!Yes summer is sadly well and truly gone now and today is the last day that these pout balms will be available for purchase at Nilla Nilla's ...
Archives for May, 2009
Melbourne suburbs hide some quaint little meeting spots and the Cricketers’ Arms in Port Melbourne’s Cruikshank Street is certainly one of them. The taxi driver didn’t know where it was. The Spouse offered to direct him but wasn’t much help either, thanks to a couple of one-way streets. However, a nice clear sign suddenly appeared in the headlights, pointing the way.The place was fairly buzzing when we arrived to meet a friend around 6pm on Saturday night. It’s one of those places where you half expect to get a few meaningful looks if you dare take up a regular ...
Lau's Family Kitchen4 Acland Street, St Kilda (map)8598 9880So I went on a date on Tuesday night and he chose the venue: I was delighted to be taken to Lau's Family Kitchen. It had been nearly two years since my one and only visit to Lau's (in fact, it was one of the very first places I wrote about on the blog). I'm delighted to report that I loved the food there just as much this time, if not even more.After an initial drink at the Prince, we walked round to Lau's. It was a lovely mild evening for May, ...
From St Kilda TodayDaily photos of St Kilda a beachside suburb of Melbourne, Australia
From St Kilda Today Photo by Denis RyanDaily photos of St Kilda a beachside suburb of Melbourne, Australia
Another diverse collection of drama, action, animation and documentary short films. All interesting but overall not as strong as some of the films in Session 2. Of note was the cute plasticised animated style used in Mutt, a story about a farmer, his cow and his dog who just wants to play fetch, and the suburban menace of a Jewish assault victim’s dad in Close Distance. MEL: HOT OR NOT The decisive guide to Melbourne Brought to you by Jetsetting Joyce Share and Enjoy:
My pick from the five films on show in competition session 2 was the elegiac Trampoline. The story was about a little girl, a silent social outcast who harbours a dream to fly. Through her tentative friendship with the new kid at school, who also doesn’t quite fit in, she discovers that she really can fly. The blue-eyed girl was adorable and perfectly cast as the wistful and dreamy child and the film was obviously a project of love. A close second was Hell’s Gates, a dramatisation of the true story of eight convicts who escape from Macquarie Harbour only ...
St Kilda’s favourite artisan chocolate shop Cacao has sprouted more branches since I was last in town, which is a happy indicator of Melbourne’s ever-expanding appetite for beautiful handmade chocolate treats – even at $1.95 a mouthful. Cacao’s chocolates are made with the finest Belgium couverture (naturelement) and I like their brightly decorated avant-garde designs. The photo of my personal selection through the crinkly bag doesn’t do the bright hues justice, but I can vouch for the amazing flavours of the Safran – a pop of citrus caramel ganache and milk chocolate ganache infused with saffron, then dipped in dark chocolate. MEL: ...
Daniel Chirico’s small brightly-lit bakery/cafe has been producing quality sourdough for Melbournians for many years, but today was my first visit. The apron-clad staff looked happy, healthy and like they were in love with bread. After a bit of discussion, I decided on the $6 raisin loaf (light, white, organic sourdough packed with juicy fruit) rather than the fruit loaf (a denser sourdough with raisins as well as figs, dates and apricots). I personally preferred it to the loaf produced at the Natural Tucker Bakery, whereas RM came to the opposite conclusion. Potatoes, potartoes. MEL: HOT OR NOT The decisive guide to ...
Thanks to my MIFF membership, I won a mid-week pass to the St Kilda Film Festival, which allowed me to delve into a veritable smorgasbord of short films over two days. Unbeknownst to me initially, the first session I chose to attended was a schools session of twelve short films made by various secondary schools and TAFEs. As expected, the standard varied from yawn-inducingly amateurish to surprisingly sophisticated. I particularly liked the music video RUN – I thought the sharp jumpy editing of the hand drawn images and photographs was very well suited to the repetitive and racy techno. MEL: HOT OR ...
The Hotel Nest in Albert Park is an ideal place for Sunday Lunch. I’m not talking brunch here. This is a place for lunch. It’s an old Pub on the corner of Victoria and Page Streets that like so many pubs in the area has taken on a new lease of life. It has taken on a new name too. It is no longer the Red Eagle but the Hotel Nest with a rather charming logo. It’s on their glasses. It’s close to the beach and on a calm morning you can take a walk along the beach, breath in the ozone, ...
Woy Woy is one of my favourite Melbourne buildings.Designed by Geoffrey Mewton and constructed in 1936 it is ideally sited on Marine Parade near Elwood Canal.It is a bit crowded in by it's neighbours now but for a short while there a couple of years ago there were vacant sites on either side and Woy Woy stood in beautiful isolation.The St Kilda Historical Society have included a great write-up on Woy Woy in their publication A Place Sensuous Resort - Buildings of St Kilda and their PeopleSee my prints and t-shirts at www.redbubble.com/people/dct66 and tees and other giftware at www.zazzle.com/davidt66*.
Wow, it looks like I have a giant hand!I almost never order a piccolo, unless I see somebody else with one. Then I often think, "Why didn't I think of that?"The main reason why I didn't think of that is that it is seldom on the menu.But they will probably still know how to make one.I'm still convinced it is a Sydney thing.
Just a non-strong one. I really hit the Wall today because I had a hankerin' for their toasted sandwiches, but the coffee is usually pretty spectacular too. Having already had that shorty at Carlton Espresso only just over an hour ago, I decided I really, really didn't need a strong latte. The not strong one will be just fine, thanks.Look at that. I would never usually want one any stronger than that anyway. Take note, weak latte servers.Dan ordered a strong soy, and it came out looking like it had fallen asleep in the solarium.
I thought I would post some pictures of my little boutique for all you curious oysters out there!Ooh... and can you spot my Nilla Nilla Winter Pout Balms? They were very popular at the Sonny and Coco Market last Sunday...158-160 Barkly St - St Kilda - VIC - 3182(cnr Carlisle and Barkly - across from the old National Theatre)
From St Kilda TodayDaily photos of St Kilda a beachside suburb of Melbourne, Australia
Still, by this time three bottles of wine had been polished off (the Sauvignon Blanc proving superior to the Reisling, much to Bruce's surprise) so Mr Pub Grub enjoyed the ribbing. What's more, he and his partner were extremely grateful to have been introduced to the Pelican, in Fitzroy Street, something of a St Kilda institution with its scattergun approach to tapas, wide selection of wines and great location close to the promenade - one of the few places Bruce and Fran miss since moving north (Banff pizzas, Mart 130 and the Taphouse pub in Carlisle Street the other major ...
What is soon apparent is not just the quality of the songwriting, but the strength of his voice; often employed simply as a spoken word tool, it's in a live arena - especially one of this scale - that his power to soar is revealed. Complemented by a tight band and his impeccable harmonica skills the music switches from gentle picking through blues and gospel to iconic singles such as Before Too Long and To Her Door. His humility even allows Kelly to get away with the likes of You're 39, You're Beautiful and You're Mine, a song that could ...
Long-time readers will be familiar with the birthday tradition that Cindy and I have developed - the lucky birthday boyorgirl gets their pick of veg-friendly hyper-expensive fancy restaurant for a night of degustation madness. Then you, lucky readers, get posts full of slightly dim photos of gorgeously presented tasting plates and paragraphs of text. Everyone's happy.For my birthday this year we still got our ridiculously classy dinner (venue: Circa the Prince), but you guys are going to have to go photo-less. And there's no getting around who's to blame. This guy:That's right, Australia's largest owl species. ...
My housemate Chris with a praying mantis who came to visit our backyardOn the pathway outside 'Little One' on Blessington StreetSunlight shining through a tree on my walk down to St KildaI have been so crazy-busy lately that I haven’t felt particularly inspired. (Hence, I haven't been posting as often!)In order to remedy this, today I strapped on my camera and headed down to St Kilda. I like going a-wandering on my own. I get a chance to rediscover the lens through which I view the world.So I strolled through the park, stopped and smelt flowers, let my hand graze ...
From St Kilda TodayDaily photos of St Kilda a beachside suburb of Melbourne, Australia
Mist has blanketed the bay these last two mornings. With no wind, the water is still like glass and the birds are quiet, making it eerily silent. And amazingly beautiful and peaceful! “Follow your bliss & the universe will open doors where there were only walls.” — Joseph Campbell “Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up & try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait & watch & work: you don’t give up.” — Anne Lamott
Fran was the first to fall for his iconic Aussie charms. And boy did she fall. One afternoon she started crying while walking along Smith Street just thinking about How To Make Gravy. That's right: thinking about it... When Bruce surprised her with tickets for the show it was like watching a five-year-old susceptible to sugar rushes being force fed half a kilo of Redskins washed down with a gallon of Coke and a couple of sherbert fountains then let loose on a bouncy castle. When she later got hold of Songs From The South vol. 2 and realised he ...
So the other Saturday the Melbourne Wine Room at The George had the boot boys in. Liquor Licensing Victoria sent in its storm troopers to shut the place down mid-service on a Saturday night. The only way they could have been anymore heavy handed would have been to raid the kitchen and Tazer Karen Martini before bundling her off in a sack in the back of a dark-windowed SUV. When I saw the sign on the door I was put into a mild panic. The George is a home from home for snacks, booze, long lunches, rows with my twitter widow ...
The sunshine is back again! Here’s a few things I love about St Kilda: The Espy, my local pub. See the palms reflected in the windows! The boatsheds, which I pass on my morning jogs The pier with a cute little cafe at the end, which has burnt down at least three times in it’s life! ‘The appearance of things change according to the emotions, and thus we see magic and beauty in them, while the magic and beauty are really in ourselves.’ Kahlil Gibran
