Table Tonic's weekend in review

Friday morning: This is the little ray of sunshine that greeted me when I got home from Pilates on Friday morning - the January/February 2012 issue of Vogue Living! Yes. The weekend was off to a flying start...

Friday afternoon: Powerballs just got... SQUARE! So fun. Buy your Rice Cube here and find the recipe for my "Sunday Night Powerballs" (they're a little bit famous) here. There. I just made your day. 

Friday night: Friday night came in the form of a couch, Aussie Vogue's January 2012 issue (it's great one), ugg slippers and Green & Blacks organic dark chocolate (it's better than Lindt, I'm not even kidding).

Friday night: Mr Tonic, *cough* award-winning residential Architect *cough* received the following text message from one of his clients on Friday night. They are about to move back into their recently completed home and are (clearly) a little bit chuffed with Mr T:

Saturday morning: I made a batch of my favourite "My New Roots" Raw Brownie powerballs on Saturday, only I made the following modifications: Added 1/2 cup of organic coconut, added a big handful of organic rolled oats and reduced the cacao by about 1/4 cup. They are su-PERB.

Saturday afternoon: I took this picture of Anoushka shortly after she devoured a bowl of frozen berries (frozen berries = nutritious + convenient + delicious + affordable + kids love them). If there was ever one photograph that sums up my three year old daughter, this is it! Cheeky and dirty, mainly...

Sunday morning: Had a beautiful walk/run on the beach, a dip in the ocean pool and came home and made a green smoothie. Love Sunday mornings. I later threw on my Bassike dresses (I'm wearing two here), Spell Byron Bay wings necklace and Havaianas thongs. PS The Spell babes have got a fresh new website - check it out, your inner gypsy will go nuts for it! PS On my wishlist? This and/or this. Mmmmm. PPS Wearing zero makeup here. Healthy food-slash-exercise gives you killer skin, people!

Sunday morning: I keep meaning to show you Noushie's new Castle + Things pillowcases... Aren't they way fun?! Click to buy.

Sunday morning: Pesto is my new favourite thing to make - I took a bunch of organic basil, threw it in a food processor with a chunk of parmesan cheese, a big handful of pine nuts and a 1/4 to 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil and a pinch of celtic sea salt.

Top it up with olive oil to prevent oxidization.

Sunday lunch: Salad! Baby spinach, tomato, avocado, quinoa, preserved lemon, walnut tapenade (recipe here), basil pesto (see above!) and Rich Glen Poppy's salad dressing. Ate it to the sound of two children frantically and relentlessly squirting each other with the hose pipe. #indigestion

Sunday afternoon: Mr Tonic continues to fix up the deck... See the strip down the bottom. Yup. New.

Sunday afternoon: Yes, you read that right! On Sunday afternoon, Mr DHL pulls up with a Shopbop parcel for me! Yay! T by Alexander Wang Cotton Knit Sweatpants in "Zest". And they are excellent! Click to buy.

How was your weekend? What was the best thing about your weekend?

Table Tonic week(end) in review

The "On sale today":

(above) Real Living June 2011

(below) InStyle June 2011

The "Brrrr":
A cold snap swept through Sydney this week, prompting me to wonder what I wore last winter, and subsequently, hit the shops. And besides, who can argue with 30% off new season knitwear at Witchery (25% off for non-members)? Ker. Ching. PS I bought the Turtle Neck Oversized Pullover, the Chunky Stitch Shrug and the Blanket Cardigan in "Charcoal Marle". Oh, and also? Bought the Bauble Boyfriend Knit, which has a great, short-at-the-front, long-at-the-back hemline. Ready when you are, winter! 

The threads:
Wearing (below) the Witchery Bauble Boyfriend Knit, with my new Bassike prisoner stripes - Slouch jersey pant in washed navy & white, $130. PS Photos by Anoushka. Who is 3.

(below) Oh, and naturally I got a top as well. Damn Bassike for being next to the cafe that sells the world's best bread.

The chandelier:
"Coconut Shell Curled Tusk Pendant" in Winter White (74cm deep x 57cm high) from Gia Collectione. Amazing, no? It is made from punched ‘shell’ from a coconut (the shell is beneath the rough husk once the husk is removed). Even though they look precious, they are apparently extremely durable and can be positioned under (covered) decks or marquees as well as indoors. Oh, and they're rust proof too - the metal is all powder coated. Handbeaded, handcrafted, handperfected – "likened to an elaborate Collette Dinnigan evening gown". Made of all natural organic materials in rococo, tribal and gini bottle shapes, not your ordinary glass or crystal varieties! Click here for deets.

The eye candy: 
The Sass & Bide are a walking explosion of colour again - This time at InStyle magazine's Women of Style Awards 2011, which was held at a converted warehouse in Sydney last Monday night. See the full list of winners here.


InStyle

The Repeller:
If you haven't already, catch blogger/ New Yorker/Fashionista/Comedienne Leandra Medine on The Coveteur. Love her style as much as her wit. Exhibit A (referring to the image below): "Ah, the official blogger ring. I bought my arty oval when I was abroad in Paris last fall. Before I was a blogger. One time, at a Passion Pit concert I smacked myself in the face with it. This is also the framed page from my Lucky Magazine spread. It was in the March issue. Don’t I look like the Mediterranean version of Ellen DeGeneres? Got to love a crisp white suit". PS You must visit Leandra's (and it's not often that I swear) bloody awesome blog, The Man Repeller.

 The soup:
As in, THE soup. Serious. The vote at the table was unanimous - "Best soup ever". Anoushka even asked for more mushrooms and I, in turn, tried not to fall off my chair. Loosely based on a recipe in the current House & Garden mag. I only ever do "loosely based" when I cook. Hey, why torture yourself by sticking to a recipe - If I don't have any barley? Damn it, I'm going to use leftover brown rice! 

(above) "Porcini, pancetta & barley soup with dill" and (below) the reason food stylists everywhere are in business - because this is what food looks like without one. But it tasted spectacular. Here's what I did: Soften onions in a generous dash of olive oil, add bacon/pancetta and brown, add garlic & mushrooms, sautee for a few minutes. Add a few cups of beef stock (depending on how "soupy" you like it), add salt, pepper and 2 tablespoons of sugar. Bring to the boil, then add halved cherry tomatoes, cooked brown rice and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Done!

The Boy:
When Bryan Boy goes to Marrakesh? People like me get somewhat excited. See his Prada-banana-shirted photo diary here!

PS We have the same Karen Walker sunnies. 
I quite love that.

The pool:
 Insta-lust all over the place. Via Simple Lovely (and yes, it is lovely, so go say hi).



The gene pool:
What's the expression? "Like mother, like daughter"? It's sweet how much she loves reading Shop 4 Kids!

The end.

Table Tonic Mother's Day week(end) in review

I hope you all had an awesome weekend. The weather in Sydney was absolutely beautiful, and my Mother's Day looked a little bit like this:

(above and below) Amongst other things, I was spoiled with this dreamy Spell Byron Bay Angel Wings necklace! The Spell girls are so gorgeous - as Bohemian as they are creative (very!). You must visit their Spell online shop and their equally fabulous Spell blog.

(below) Anoushka-Tonic strikes a pose in a dress from "Uncle Jas and Auntie Summer".

My brother Jason and his wife recently moved (back) down to Sydney, from Brisbane, which is (still) the news of the week in our family. We're all so chuffed to have them here, and in an effort to keep them here, fed them (and my parents) a scrumptious lunch at our place. Alright, it was Mother's Day as well!

(above) The table, set with beautiful Arabia Finland crockery that I ate off as a child in the 70s. Thanks Mum and Dad for hanging onto it for so long (and passing it on to me!).

(above) The feast that followed!



(above) Oak lettuce, red apple, lentil and pine nut salad (my own creation!). Olive oil and balsamic vinegar dressing.

(above) Grated fresh beetroot, egg and parmesan salad (from Delicious magazine). Olive oil and lemon juice dressing.



(above) Pan seared zucchini, goat's feta and caper salad (also from Delicious magazine). Drizzled with olive oil.

(above) The best bit - Mr Tonic's slow roasted pork and veggies!

(above) And I outdid myself here - Vanilla bean panna cotta with fresh berries and sugar syrup. So good. And I am officially unafraid of recipes with gelatine! In other, non-mother's-day-related news, Mr Tonic painted the carport roof. The colour will be our "trim colour", once we paint the house. Looks white, but it's a beautiful smoky grey -  I wish I had before photos now, but it was swampy-browny-green. So we're pretty damn stoked with the result!

Table Tonic's week(end) in review...

The ebay "win": In an effort to restore our 50s home to it's former glory, Mr Tonic has taken to buying vintage Louis Poulsen light fittings on eBay. The bedrooms currently have 50s-style downlights, but pendants soften a bedroom beautifully. An essential finishing touch, they're much like the mascara of the decor world. They're actually amazing in the flesh. Very sculptural. 2 down, 2 to go!

The wildlife: Our garden is home to all kinds of wildlife - bush turkeys, bandicoots, we've seen a lot. But on Saturday morning? Ducks!! Well. You can just imagine the excitement.

The "me time": The Sydney magazine, Inside Out Renovating Special (it's really good, buy it!), US Vogue, House and Garden, Good Living. Mmmm...

The hot tip: Sheepskins are machine washable! When the dog spews on the sheepskin? Cold wash, extra spin, dry flat in the shade. Happiness.

The view: I attended a beautiful lunch at Le Kiosk Shelley Beach on Saturday (amaaaazing food), and as I walked back to my car, I took this photo. Sydney, with all it's diversity,  is just so beautiful.

 

The Sunday funday: Sunday was my Mum's birthday, and Mother Nature was kind enough to remind us what warmth and sunshine was! We had lunch at the beautiful Boathouse at Palm Beach (everybody's favourite!).

After which we took the kids to the park to burn off the chocolate frogs and boiled lollies (you must stock up if ever you go to The Boathouse!)

Picnic rug, Sunday Papers, Audrey, Mr Tonic... It was rather lovely, actually. UPDATE: For those wondering about the bag, aka my 3rd child, I blogged about it back here.

So what was in the Mark Tuckey bag? Woven African wire baskets, Murchison Hume goodness and a linen & leather zip up case. She loved it all.

  

The new blog discovery: marlow35

The new old coffee machine: We just (enthusiastically) inherited my parents "old" coffee machine, and I now answer only to "Barista". Needless to say, we're drinking a liiitle more coffee than we used to!

The on "sale today" loot: Rather love the fact that there's a newsagent on the way to Anoushka's kindy. I knew Aussie Harpers was out today (and I knew Bambi was on the cover), so off I went. Did I expect to come back with Who and Grazia as well? No. But hey, that's the Royal Wedding for you (wasn't it riveting?)!

The End!