just beneath the surface: the hidden secrets in melbourne for those who are curious

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On Saturday I headed into the city to take a look at some street art. Melbourne prides itself on its colourful artworks, especially in the city’s laneways. I love it – it’s beautiful and colourful and adds an extra layer of life to the buildings. I love it on the old, nobly crumbling buildings and even more on the new, shiny and often ugly ones!

And I was chuffed as I got to see some being created live. The Age (one of our city’s two major newspapers) (known for being the cultured one) (yeah, harsh but it’s true) launched a campaign back at the start of this year, called Forever Curious. It is about the interesting stories that lie just beneath the surface, and how they can be discovered if you are curious enough to look a little closer. The Age hides clues within its pages and online, and readers are rewarded if they find them and dig a little deeper. For example, there was a special sentence, a bit like a password, in the food section, and readers were encouraged to visit a certain cafe and repeat it to someone who would be seated outside. Those who did were rewarded with a free lunch. I love things like this – it’s like a treasure hunt! Melbourne also prides itself on its underground, hidden gems, so I think this campaign matches that perfectly.

The Age worked with two highly regarded street artists, Rone and Phibs, to collaborate on a mural in one of our well-known street art laneways, Hosier Lane. The Age had featured their work in a “Just Graffiti” ad for the Forever Curious campaign earlier, and they were keen to continue that connection with the artists. Their work is really familiar to us here, and is an iconic part of our city. I love the idea of something that I always think of as being so competitive actually working together.

In the lead up to the day, The Age had asked its readers what their favourite graffiti spots in the city were, and their answers were incorporated into the artwork along with their twitter or Instagram handles. They also ran an article about Rone on the day, letting people know it was on so they could check it out.

I got there in the mid afternoon to have a look at its progress – I think it’s fascinating seeing these things happen. It was a lovely warm winter’s afternoon, but very cold in the lane – no sunshine gets down in there!

It was great to see the two styles combined to make this striking piece.

I was also interviewed for a video being made of the event – I didn’t make the final cut (wait, is that right? I mean be in it!) but it was definitely an experience – a fun, if strange and slightly scary one! – to have a quick chat with a fancy camera and one of those big furry microphone things inches from my face OH and in public!!! You can see the video here if you like. You can also read The Age’s article about the day here.

And now I am really pleased to tell you about a prize I have to give to one of you! In fact I have to do it quickly as I want to keep it but I can’t, so boo for me and yay for you. 

I have 1 x FRAMED PRINT of one of Rone’s Melbourne pieces (taken by an Age photographer) – worth $180.

For your chance to win, please tell me: what is your favourite piece of street art in your city and why do you like it? And when do you get to see it?

Personally I’ve always liked seeing it from trains, when you get to see things from such a different view. I love seeing all that colour in really awkward, hard-to-get-to spots, and then getting to see it change over the weeks and months as it is added to, painted over etc.

Tell me in the comments here, and, as always, please leave an email address so I can contact you. Full terms and conditions are here.

Good luck!

woods, moutains, sunsets and vintage capes

After a very early start and a drive through the dawn down near the mountains, I'd been really keen to get to the mountains proper. Just for a day trip! And last Monday, a public holiday here, we did it. It was a beautifully crisp, sunny day – perfect! We drove up and up through through the forests. People were making the most of the still, cool weather and burning off, so the air smelled of wood fires. Is there a better smell in winter? I really don't think so! It was so relaxing after some busy weeks. Sometimes I dream about packing up my city life and going to live in the country. The trees are really tall. Sometimes it's quite lush, and sometimes it's stark – Victorian bush is so varied. And so different to what I grew up with in England, where it was all rolling green hills and hedges and creamy dots of sheep. The light shining through the woods is otherworldly. We found our spot and admired the scenery. This sap really is bright red! I wore a vintage brown dress and my vintage olive green cape. I love my cape soooo much; I'd been looking for one for well over a year and I'm so chuffed to finally have one at long last! It is lined in shot coppery fabric that shimmers in the light. And it's so, so warm! And this stuff is nature's barbed wire. Very clever of nature but it's not good to let it brish past your knees when they are only protected with tights. Sharp! Some posing for the future. And some twirling because, well, my cape twirls and I like it. Looking impish with a tree. Check. And really enjoying the space, the countryside, and the fresh air. So much so I did it twice. All those years of ballet were worth it, then! Little tiny mushrooms complementing things rather perfectly. Nice work, tiny mushrooms! I'd love to go mushroom picking one year, and learn which ones are edible. And then as the sun juuuuust started to go down it was time to go home, through a glowing, drawn out sunset. Blissful days off. More please!

when the sun goes down it really is winter

After all the sunny, warm – or, at least, mild, but they look warm – photos of my Melbourne winter, I thought it only fair to share some pics of the reality of when the sun goes down. It's been getting very cold. I promise! Last Sunday, after my lunch with Trish and Teresa, I was soon heading back out for an early dinner at my mother-in-law's. It was still light but the sun had dropped below the buildings, and the temperature dropped, too. So much so that I not only put on my winter coat, I put on my woolly gloves! Brrrrr! Sparkly hands, sparkly shoes. I'm very sparkly at the moment! Winter sparkly, I like it. Like icy crystals. I've always loveed the story of the snow queen. And I feel kind of snow queeny with my white hair. I like it! And I LOVE winter! Happy Sunday!

three vintage ladies, three vintage dresses, two blue cardigans and one great coat

Last Sunday I met up with awesome vintage ladies Trish and Teresa for a bit of lunch. It was lovely! Three of us together talking about everything vintage and then some. How cute are their matching blue cardigans! And although it was a warm weekend, we could feel winter approaching at speed, even as we left the cafe in the early afternoon. Teresa had her gorgeous orange-red coat with her, which was lucky! It was such a great way to spend a couple of hours on a Sunday. Looking forward to the next one!

roses, coffees, parks, trees and golden winter sunlight

Last Saturday I grabbed a takeaway coffee and then headed into the city. Yes, this is what early winter in Melbourne is like. Rude, I know. So sunny I couldn't open my eyes without sunglasses! I wore my rose print vintage dress again – that's twice in, what, one week? That's one of the many things to love about vintage cotton dresses: they're so easy to wash! I wore it with my vintage sparkly cardigan and my new closed toe shoes – and these shoes allow the wearing of seamed stockings. Nice!

John and I took drank our coffees on the drive in, and then walked through one of the lovely city parks in the golden sunshine. I, like we humans have been doing for thousands of years, tried to capture the beauty of the sunlight in the trees. I don't think I'll ever be able to actually do it but I can get close – and I'll keep trying because it is so beautiful!

mocktails, cocktails, Babycat and a giveaway!

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It is pomegranate season at the moment in Melbourne. I love pomegranates – have done ever since Nigella explained how to get the little squishy jewels out with a few firm whacks with a wooden spoon – and have been enjoying them sprucing up dinners with those shiny red studs.

I’ve also seen them scattered on the ground at the feet of trees in several of my neighbours’ gardens, but they’re never quite close enough to, you know, share. At least the birds can enjoy them!

And what about drinking it? I like it – not too sweet and not too sharp – and I like that pomegranate is good for you. And you know I have recently been on a health drink kick.

But you can’t be so good ALL the time! Bickford’s asked me to make a vintage-inspired cocktail, and, of course, of their six premium juices, I went with pomegranate. With 100% juice, it’s perfect for it!

And it’s really easy too. No faffing about with a zillion ingredients, although I hope you are better prepared, glassware wise, than me, and have champagne glasses... which leads us to the ingredients!

Champagne, pomegranate juice, raspberries/strawberries.

And that’s it! Pour a nice glass of bubbly, top with pomegranate juice, and drop in a berry or two. It’s pink and it’s tasty – both are good!

But I couldn’t just leave it at that. I saw that there is a prune juice in the Bickford’s range and I LOVE prunes! I know, I know, they’re not very fashionable to like – people always ask if you’re, you know, feeling ok if you mention you eat them, and yes, I am quite fine, thank you! I just really like that intense, sticky sweet flavour, along with figs and dates. It’s just so syrupy good!

So I tried the prune juice neat and I liked it.

I then mixed it with the coconut juice and it was really good – it made a nice, lighter kind of mocktail. Babycat is convinced and wants to try it too.

It got me thinking... of another potential cocktail.

While I wasn’t asked to do this, I like a challenge – and making prune juice palatable in a cocktail is definitely a challenge, in my books! – and it was actually quite easy. Just prune juice, coconut juice and rum. I wanted to add an umbrella but my supermarket didn’t have any – don’t they know the importance of a tiny paper umbrella?! – so you’ll have to go with me on this. I dare you to try it, I think you might like it! I’m serious!

AND YOU CAN BE MORE COCKTAIL READY THAN ME – I'M HAVING A GIVEAWAY!

I have: 1 x Bickford’s prize pack (worth $150 RSP) to give away:

• 6 Bottles of Bickford’s Premium Super fruit Juices (one of each flavour)
• A Crystal Set of 6 Cocktail Glasses from Wheel & Barrow
• ICE BUCKET Double Wall S/S 1.3L Black/Silver from Wheel & Barrow
• Ice Tongs from Wheel & Barrow
• Straw Spoon from Wheel & Barrow

Cocktail glasses! I could do with some of those, too.

SO. To enter, I want you to tell me:
what cocktail would you create using one of the following Bickford’s juices:

Coconut Juice
Pomegranate Juice
Prune Juice
Cranberry Juice
Blueberry Juice
Superberry Antioxidant Juice

and where would it take us? I like to think my prune-coconut-rum concoction is rather tropical, and yet good for winter.

To enter you must be 18 or over and an Australian resident. Please leave me your email address! Full terms and conditions here. Good luck – and have fun with it!

Also, let me know – I have to ask – what do you think of prunes, and prune juice? Are we ready to help them drop their dark image?!