to do.

EXPLORE all the trends – from styling to sell, the importance of art, the latest design trends, the iconic feature wall and many other ideas including what’s the latest out there…. This section will help you dress your home, throw new ideas at you and inspire you to experiment with “tried and tested” guidelines that I’m sure will arm you with the best advice to sell your property and enjoy life.


A weekend away : Hobart

26.12.17

One of my favourite things to do when I can escape for a weekend, is to get away and explore another city! While I have been to Hobart a few times, its always nice to go back and spend a weekend visiting old places and finding the best new places that have popped up around town.  Hobart is a great place to get away for the weekend, being that it is only a few hours flight time.

I finally got to visit Hobart in December, and have included a few places we went that might just inspire you to take a trip!

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Perched on Tasmania’s southeastern coast, the lively city of Hobart is a unique mash-up of the 19th and 21st centuries. The waterfront cafes, restaurants and studios of the largest city in Tasmania are housed in centuries-old converted warehouses that overlook a harbour bustling with yachts and fishing boats. An active arts scene, vibrant nightlife and leisurely daytime pace add to the city’s charm!

 

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Accomodation

We stayed at the Macq 01 – 18 Hunter Street Hobart.

A new addition to the accommodation in Hobart and an impressive one. Right on the water, the rooms offer a beautiful view and the hotel itself is central to everything. The design of the hotel reflects the personality and traits of the Tasmanian people and the rooms reflect those of some of the most well known Tasmanian characters. Macq 01  – the ‘story telling’ hotel.

Places to go

On Saturday morning we walked around the harbour to the Salamanca markets, which is now the largest open air food markets in the southern hemisphere.

Over 300 stallholders sell fresh and gourmet produce, arts, crafts and handiwork from all over Tasmania, interstate and overseas. Ranging as one of the top attractions in Tasmania, the Salamanca Market is another good reason to make your stay in Hobart last for more than just a few days.

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In addition we visited MONA (The Museum of Old and New Art). What a building! MONA is located within the Moorilla winery on the Berriedale peninsula in Hobart. It is the largest privately funded museum in Australia. Their current exhibition ‘The Museum of Everything’ was well worth the drive and is open until April 2018.  Visit their website for more info!

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Restaurants

Templo

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A small 20 seater restaurant in West Hobart, which does shared food with a slight Italian skew. This year it received its first chefs hat from the Good Food Awards. We had a lovely meal consisting of buratta with charred spring greens, crispy fried quail and gnocchetti with garlic and chilli sauce with pangrattato which was the star of the show.

 

Fico
This restaurant is all the talk at the moment and there was a couple of dishes that made this completely easy to understand. We completely loved the tortelli with caramelised onion and the dessert of orange blossom gelato, pistachio, chocolate, cherry. I very much enjoyed this restaurant but Templo still had it for me.

 

Agrarian Kitchen Eatery
This place is blowing minds and not just mine. It opened June 2017 and has already been awarded 2 chefs hats plus the best regional restaurant in Australia. It is an extension of the Agrarian kitchen cooking school and is situated in the Bronte building in nearby New Norfolk’s Willow Court – the town’s old mental asylum. This meal and experience was faultless. The food, the staff, the setting, right down to the drinks list. Sourdough potato cakes with plum sauce and kefir cream, house made burrata with roasted cima di rapa, wood roasted flounder with sorrel leaves and anchovies, and the strawberry clafoutis with kefir ice-cream which arrives at your table bubbling from the wood oven!

 

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If you haven’t already made it to Hobart, I suggest putting it on your 2018 list even if just for a few days!

Happy travels!!

Christmas Delight!

29.11.17

Need some inspiration and a new dessert this Christmas?

This is the yummiest and prettiest little cake to celebrate the season and one of my favourites!

 

Eggnog Spiced Xmas Tree Cake

225g unsalted butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla paste (or 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped)

250g caster sugar

6 eggs

350g plain flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

250g sour cream

icing sugar, for dusting

vanilla bean custard, to serve

 

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350ºF. Place the butter, vanilla and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat for 6 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition. Sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves into a bowl. Add the flour mixture and sour cream in 2 batches and mix until just combined. Spoon mixture into a very well greased 10 cup capacity Xmas tree cake bundt tin. Smooth the top and bake for 45 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Allow to sit in the tin for 15 minutes before carefully turning it out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Lightly dust with icing sugar and serve with vanilla bean custard.

 

Serves 12.

Xmas tree cake-191Image and Styling: Kirsten Jenkins

Top 5 Homeware Shops

29.11.17

Are you one of those really organised people that already has all your Christmas shopping done!? If not, don’t despair – I have come up with the Top 5 Homeware shops in the Eastern Suburbs to help you find some wonderful Christmas pressies to fill everyone’s homes.

My Top 5 picks…


THE BAY TREE – 82 Queen Street, Woollahra.

Beautiful homewares and kitchen items, especially for those who like to cook.

Click here for more details.

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Image :Instagram

 

PIGOTT’S STORE53 Ocean Street, Woollahra.

Pigott’s sell a range of Indian hand blocked printed fabrics, quilts with matching pillowcases, tablecloths and napkins, dresses, tops, nighties, sponge bags and melamine trays and waste bins. They also stock a changing range of furnishings, lamp bases and shades, throws, cushions, rattan ware, embroidered bed linen and accessories sold only in store.

Click here for more details.

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Image :Instagram

 

EIGHTEEN TEN 66 Queen Street, Woollahra.

THE design store for more than twenty years! They carry a variety of homeware brands from around the world to offer you a choice when decorating your home or looking for that special gift for your loved ones. Extensive range of travel goods for business, leisure and everyday use including Tom Dixon, Mandarina Duck and more.

Click here for more details.

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Image: Instagram

 

PAPIER D’AMOUR – 8 Cross Street, Double Bay.

If you’re serious about stationery, Papier d’Amour is a must-visit. Their dark wooden interiors give the store an elegant vibe – and they offer monogramming for your planners and notebooks, which will make you feel very important in office meetings. Towards the back of the shop lie stacks of paper and envelopes in colours you won’t normally find, like mustard, aqua and fuschia.

Click here for more details.

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Image :TimeOut Sydney

 

 

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS – 209 Avoca Street, Randwick.

An independent homewares and gift store located in the heart of Randwick, Sydney. The shop is thoughtfully curated to reflect a lifestyle inspired by travel, creativity and entertaining and is stocked with a colourful collection of goods that showcase the best of local Australian makers, as well as international artisans and crafts.  Includes an array of unique textiles and furnishings for your home, sourced from all over the world. Indian blockprints, woollen blankets, cushions, napkins and tablecloths accompany resin tableware and woven baskets alike.

Click here for more details.

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Image : Humble Beginnings Website
Enjoy shopping…you never know what you might find! 

Australia’s first bubble tent!

15.11.17

 

If you are the adventurous type and are always looking for the next new fun place to go then this is for you!
Bubble Tent is Australia’s first inflatable homestay. It’s located roughly halfway between Mudgee and Lithgow, around 200 kilometres north-west of Sydney.

The tent is designed to shield you from the elements while maintaining uninterrupted views of nature. So you can sleep under the stars but still stay warm!

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The bubble tent is close to national parks, eco and heritage tours and cellar doors. Activities nearby include helicopter flights, hiking over the 1000-acre property, abseiling, canoeing and fishing.

Click here for more details.