curly wurlies just like roses

Hi. I did some more doodling-sketching-watercolour penciling the other day. I used a piece of work from the PaperFashion blog as inspiration because I liked it. I'm quite happy with the result.

I had a look around the other day for some watercolours and they seem  a bit expensive ( $80-ish for a small palette)...they're so cool though. They make things look so much more prettier.

It's been freezing cold in Melbourne. It's been so hard to get out of bed in the mornings :/ ...winter time. I only like winter time when i can snuggle up next to my someone special and watch movies and eat pizza.

- Juliet x

inspired

Who is inspiring you at the moment.

Inspiration as we know can come from many, many different places.

A recent conversation I had with my brother uncovered that we are both super inspired by the people around us, people that we may know or even may not know.

Have you ever noticed someone on the street, and your mind just lingered a little longer than usual. You probably noticed a piece of clothing they were wearing, or the way they were standing or they way they were interacting and thought, who are they? where are they going, what are they doing? This happens to me a lot.

As much as these people that I don't know inspire me, the people I actually know inspire me a hell of a lot and I've been lucky to have so, so many inspirational people in my life.

At the moment my friend Badra also known as b, has inspired me and encouraged me to start drawing again. After I didn't get into the fashion design course earlier this year, I just kind of have forgotten about drawing.

Badra is studying Fine Arts, he loves illustrating, he is also very good at illustrating. If you're reading this....'Hi Badra! :)' I love talking to him because he is so down to earth, so wise and really encourages me to be who I am and not get lost amongst all the nonsense and unimportant things that I may sometimes worry about.

After a couple of lattes and madeleines, delicious breakfast and a lovely conversation at Cumulus Inc ( I will post some photos later on), I set out to the nearest stationery store and purchased drawing materials and started drawing again.

Here are some photos, and also a link to Badra's tumblr blog, and also another blog that's inspiring me (someone i don't know).


Badra's Blog

Paperfashion Blog

- Juliet x

Touche Hombre

Touche Hombre

Cnr Londsdale Street/ Tattersalls Lane

9663 8011

If you want delicious finger double licking good go to Touche Hombre.
If you want to eat nachos that will blow your mind go straight to Touche Hombre.
If you are feeling even a tiny bit Mexican go to Touche Hombre.
If you want to get drunk in a tasty mouth watering way go to Touche Hombre.
If you want to have tacos that keep you wanting more go to Touche Hombre.
If you like neon signs, go to Touche Hombre.
If you get turned on by suspenders go to Touche Hombre.

Do you get what I'm trying to tell you...? Go to Touche Hombre!!!

What does Touche Hombre mean...? I was wondering the same, so i googled it and i'm still not sure. I think hombre means man, touche means touche? touche means, good, good one, does Touche Hombre mean Good one Man, Good Man...I don't know *insert sad face here*, i wish i could have asked them, the truth is I wanted to but I got shy, yeah i do that sometimes. Anyway, I'll try and find out and then I'll tell you, I promise.

Touche Hombre is a Mexican food place that opened at the end of March. You really should go there. You'll love it.  Order what I ordered: ( I can't remember the actual names but it's ok, the menu isn't very big, but it's really good)

I went with two friends and we had;

- 3x Blood Orange Madagascar
- Nachos ( has some other name, don't fret, there is only one nachos type on the menu and it was the best nachos I've had in my life, I'm not joking. )
- 2x Tacos each. ( I had one chicken and on beef meatball ) ( Andrea had one Pork and one Soft Shell Crab) ( Steph had one soft Shell Crab and one Chicken)

We were all very happy and all had enough food. Next time I go there I will have to try the corn and also some dessert.

Ps. This place is GREAT. YUM. GOOD.

TIPS:

Yes, you will have to wait for a table at busy dinnertimes, but it's ok Emerald Peacock is just next door

They have a cool blog check it out: Touche Hombre Blog




- Juliet x

Panzanella ( recipe )

Finally I remember to post this. You really have to try it. Looking at the image is making me want to go and make it now, except I really don't think I could fit anything more into my stomach.

I managed to visit two new cafes today; Brunswick East Project and also Piersenne Bakery. After dinner I also went to Bistro Vue for dessert with my family. So yep, super super FULL!!!

I'm also going ok with my reading list. I'm reading 'Alices Adventures in Wonderland', I've got both films on standby ( the disney one and the tim burton one) for when I finish reading the book. The next book just got delivered today and it is 'Tender is the Night' by F Scott Fitzgerald. ( My brother has stolen/borrowed it from me already, apparently he loves loves F Scott Fitzgerald.)

Please let me know if you make the Panzanella and let me know what you think. p.s. it makes a really big serve.

Panzanella

Preparation time: 15mins
Cooking time: 10mins
Serves 4

½ long loaf ciabatta (250g)
1 clove garlic, crushed
¼ cup (60ml) olive oil
500g cherry tomatoes, halved
1 lebanese cucumber (130g), seeded, sliced thinly
1 medium avocado (250g), chopped coarsely
¼ cup (50g) drained capers, rinsed
1 large yellow capsicum (350g), chopped coarsely
2x400g cans white beans, rinsed, drained
½ cup coarsely chopped fresh basil

TOMATO VINIAGRETTE
½ cup (125ml) tomato juice
¼ cup (60ml) red wine vinegar
1/3 cup (80ml) olive oil

1. preheat oven to moderately hot (200/180 fan forced)
2. cut bread into 2cm cubes
3. combine garlic and oil in large bowl; add bread, toss to coat in oil mixture. Place bread, in single layer, on oven tray; toast, uncovered, about 10 minutes or until browned lightly.
4. Meanwhile, place ingredients for tomato vinaigrette in screw-top jar; shake well
5. Place bread in same bowl with remaining ingredients and vinaigrette; toss gently to combine.




- Juliet x

the colour red plus some pearls

One of my favourite stores is Alannah Hill.

They had a sale on the other day, not a normal sale, an extra sale. If you buy two you get one free. Luckily while I was shopping at the store off Little Collins Street I bumped into my lovely friend Jenni. We both bought the Cardigan in the picture below and Jenni also bought another pretty yellow top. The cardigan ended up costing less than $100 (originally $189.00), don't we all love a good sale!!

The cardigan is so pretty. It's called 'My World Stopped!' I wore it the other night with my Marcs jeans (Skinny Light Weight Denim in Ink Colour (dark purple-ish) ). I wore a white singlet underneath and it looked nice.

Spots and pearls. I die!!!

- Juliet x

List of Books

I love lists. I love books. I love lists of books.

I collect one particular list each year. The Dymocks 101 Club list. It's a list of the top 101 books of all time as voted by Dymocks Booklovers.

I was in there last week and picked up the 2012 list. I try my best to read as many books as I can on it  until the next one comes out.


1. The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
2. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
3. The Harry Potter Series - J K Rowling
4. The Book Thief - Marcus Zusak
5. To Kill A Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6. The Inheritance Cycle - Christopher Paolini
7. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
8. The Help - Katherine Stocket
9. The Time Travellers Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
10. The Lord Of The Rings - j r r tolkien
11 the bronze horseman - paullina simons
12 the twilight saga - stephanie meyer
13 wuthering heights emily bronte
14 cloudstreet tim winton
15. The Bible
16. Song of Ice and Fire Series - George R R Martin
17. Jasper Jones - Craig Silvey
18. The Life of Pi - Yann Martel
19. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
20. Atonement - Ian McEwan
21. The Happiest Refuge - Anh Do
22. Persuasion - Jane Austen
23. The Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follet
24. Red Dog - Louis de Bernieres
25. The Power of One - Bryce Courtney
26. The Millenium Trilogy - Stieg Larsson
27. Breath - Tim Winton
28. The Eyre Affair - Jasper Fforde
29. Nineteen Eighty-Four - George Orwell
30. Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
31. Freedom - Jonathon Franzen
32. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Pie Society - Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
33. The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
34. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
35. Wolf Hall - Hilary Mantel
36. The Earth's Children series - Jean Auel
37. We Need To Talk About Kevin - Lionel Shriver
38. Remembering Babylon - David Malouf
39. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
40. The Sookie Stackhouse Books - Charlaine Harris
41. Boy in the Striped Pyjamas - John Boyne
42. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close - Jonathon Safran Foer
43. Cross Stitch - Diana Gabaldon
44. The Slap - Christos Tsiolkas
45. The People of The Book - Geraldine Brooks
46. Midnight Children - Salman Rushdie
47. The Hobbit - J R R Tolkien
48. The Catcher in the Rye - J D Salinger
49. The Forgotten Garden - Kate Morton
50. The Broken Shore - Peter Temple
51. The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern
52. Marley and Me - John Grogon
53. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - John Le Carre
54. A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
55. A Simpler Time - Peter Fitzsimmons
56. Hitch-hikers Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
57. A Town Like Alice - Neville Shute
58. Running with Scissors - Augusten Brurroughs
59. The Sense of an Ending - Julian Barnes
60. Before I go to sleep - S J Watson
61. The Left Hand of God - Paul Hoffman
62. Dirt Music - Tim Winton
63. Kafka on the Shore - Haruki Murakami
64. Room - Emma Donoghue
65. The Surgeon of Crowthorne - Simon Winchester
66. North and South - Elizabeth Gaskell
67. My Booky Wook - Russell Brand
68. The Memory Keeper's Daughter - Kim Edwards
69. Enders Game - Orson Scott Card
70. Five People you meet in Heaven - Mitch Albom
71. One Day - David Nicholls
72. Bereft - Chris Womersley
73. The Secret Life of Bees - Sue Monk Kidd
74. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
75. Magician - Raymond E Feist
76. Salvation Creek - Susan Duncan
77. Steve Jobs - Walter Isaacson
78. Oscar and Lucinda - Peter Carey
79. The Language of Flowers - Vanessa Diffenbaugh
80. The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho
81. The God of Small Things - Arundhati Roy
82. The Woman in Black - Susan Hill
83. Mao's Last Dancer - Li Cunxin
84. Water for Elephants - Sara Gruen
85. Scarecrow and the Army of Thieves - Matthew Reilly
86. Mawson - Peter Fitzsimons
87. A Visit from the Goon Squad - Jennifer Egan
88. The Road - Cormac McCarthy
89. The Sisters Brothers - Patrick De Witt
90. The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver
91. The Shifting Fog - Kate Morton
92. My Sister's Keeper - Jodi Picoult
93. Graceling - Kristin Cashore
94. Years of Wonders - Geraldine Brooks
95. Tuesdays with Morrie - Mitch Albom
96. The White Tiger - Aravind Adiga
97. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
98. Bossypants - Tina Fey
99. A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini
100. The Hare with the Amber Eyes - Edmund de Waal
101. Squirrel seeks Chipmunk - David Sedaris



That's the list babes! Excuse any spelling errors, I typed the list up with my own fingers. The ones in colour are ones that I have already read *not many at all*.

Let me know what you think of the list...Let me know if you love or hate any of these books...Let me know if you find any other lists...


- Juliet x

neon spots and a black beetle

H E L L O

I had my car in for a service. I got given a Beetle to drive around in for a day ( loan car). Yep. I was 'The Girl in The Beetle'. When I first saw that they were giving me a beetle I kind of cringed, thinking, I'm not a beetle girl, that's not me. However, after driving around in it for a whole day, I kind of liked being the 'The Girl in The Beetle', it was so cute!

The Girl in The Beetle went to work, had two skinny lattes, read her book 'The Bronze Horseman' and shopped around at some of the cool mid year sales going on around Melbourne town. It's getting cold in Melbourne. Winters here. Not really sure how I feel about it being winter and being cold all the time.

P.s. I bought a Madeleine tray, hopefully I can make some on the weekend and then show you!!!

some of my photos

Hi. I just want you to know I'm still here. Not going anywhere. Just living my life, trying to fit in everything as usual and not quite succeeding. I have much to catch you up on. I've been to 36 cafes and just found out the 2012 guide is coming out in a couple of weeks. OMG. what do i do? keep going with the 2011 one, start on the 2012 one? Not quite sure....however I am sure that I'm drinking too much coffee these days. I still love it though. mmmm....coffee....

Some of my photos...some of my life...

I like painting my nails. i like this colour. i think it's called bubblebath.

i've been seeing the coolest light shades lately. these are from three bags full.

this one is from coffee darling. how clever. 

i visited my friend antonia. she collects chooks.

i got my hair done. :( i had to cut most of it off because it wasn't looking too healthy.

coffee from pillar of salt.

i can't put this book down. really getting into the story.

So that's it really. I know i still have to post the recipe i promised in the last post. I will get it up as soon as i can. Stay happy and smiling!


- Juliet x