5 Fashion-y things I want you to know about NOW!

1. I recently realized I needed a new black handbag. My only criteria were big, smooshy (they have to be smooshy), leather and black. And...plain-ish. Not too flashy or blingy. Enter the Givenchy Maxi Nightingale (hey, if it's good enough for Rumi...). Perfection on every level. Ticks all the boxes - and more. And remember what I always say to justify exxy purchases: "When you buy quality, you only cry once". PS I bought it from Forward by Elyse Walker. 

2. A few of my favourite things, chillin' in the laundry... (L-R: Bassike dress, Bassike dress, Isabel Marant singlet, Bassike dress, Gorman jacket).

3. Popette Taylor Swift covers US Vogue February 2012.

4. Country Road "Colour Block Knit", $59.95 (in store now). Loving it sick. Bonus points: reminds me of this a bit. Click to buy.

5. If you haven't seen (Paris Vogue Editor) Emmanuelle Alt doing a cover of Wham's "Wake me up before you go go", click play. Guaranteed to make your day. PS The video (also starring model Anja Rubik, amongst others) was made to coincide with the relaunch of the Paris Vogue website.

Don't forget, you can find Table Tonic (me) on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (username tabletonic)! Come say hi!

HAIR-spiration: Diary of a balyage junkie

I recently skipped off to the hairdresser for some "Balyage" (another search term you can try is "Ombre hair"). You know that messy, blonde, sun-kissed look where the ends of the hair get gradually lighter? Yeah that. Below are the pics I found (thank you Google images!), liked and subsequently emailed to myself so I'd have them on my phone at the salon:

So lovely Natalia at (my local) Mana Hair (they have a great blog) worked her magic with a few different colour blonde foils, then painted the hair that was left (out of the foils) with a powder lightener - this was the result:

I am a little bit obsessed with my new hair.

And the best bit? As of last week, Mana Hair now stock my favourite "low chemical" shampoos and conditioners (and colours), by Aussie brand Original & Mineral! Happy days.

Don't forget, you can buy O&M online at Adore Beauty. The Hydrate & Conquer Shampoo is so gentle and moisturizing and the Seven Day Miracle Moisture Masque (I use it as a regular conditioner, along with The Power Base) doubles as a killer leave in conditioner!

Mana Hair is located at Suite 5, McMillian Court, 
Avalon Parade, Avalon. Phone: (02) 8919 0146.
 

Happy Valentine's Day

(above) Tiffany & Co "Venetian Link Necklace" click to buy. Spell Byron Bay "Little Jupiter Angel Wing" Earrings (worn as a pendant) click to buy. 

Howards Storage World $500 GIVEAWAY TIME!

Valentine's Day February is the perfect time to stop and address any organization issues, sort the shelves, cupboards and spare rooms and get set up for the New Year. Actually, January is, but hey - better late than never, right? I recently had the privilege and the pleasure of meeting with Howard's Storage World "Organization Expert" Cathy Player. She whizzed around our house, looking in wardrobes, drawers and cupboards, sharing her wealth of expertise with me along the way. "Think of how you use the space. Think of who uses the space. Is what you need easily accessible? E-A-S-I-L-Y accessible?". It really got me thinking about this area of our lives we simply neglect, because we don't have the motivation. Or the time. Or the money perhaps. The irony being, it's not difficult, it doesn't take long and it doesn't have to cost much! Exhibit A - Our toothbrush drawer:

We had a hand towel under them before - far from ideal!? One small tray now means it's all easily contained and we can pull the whole lot out to use (and clean) in a flash! Here's the star of the show:

But wait, there's more. Today, I have five $100 gift cards to Howard's Storage World to give away to five lucky Table Tonic readers! Yes, that's them below! Woot!

How to enter:

Head over to the Table Tonic Facebook page and share your best tip for getting organized with me! Is it the way you store your belts? How you keep that Tupperware drawer under control? Or perhaps your secret to a happy laundry? Spill! The best 5 tips will each win a $100 Howard's Storage World gift card - winners will be announced on Friday 24th February right here. 

ONE LAST THING:
You must successfully tag the Howard's Storage World Facebook page to be eligible. To do this, simply copy and paste the following line after your answer: 

@Howards Storage World AU

UPDATE: You'll need to click on the Howards Storage World AU line of text when it pops up - your text should be highlighted blue if you've done it correctly.

Good luck Tonic-ettes!

PS Make sure you grab a HSW catalogue (click here to view it online) and a copy of Howard's in-store mag, In Place (click here to view it online) next time you're there!

How to make the perfect Green Juice/Smoothie

A bunch of you have been asking how to make Green Juices and Green Smoothies (yay!), so I thought it was time I dedicated an entire blog post to it (yay again!).

So. What's the difference between a Green Juice and a Green Smoothie? A Green Juice is made by passing raw fruit, veggies and leafy greens through a juicer (I use a Breville Juice Fountain). A Green Smoothie is made by blending a combination of raw fruit, veggies, leafy greens and water in a blender (I use a Vitamix - pricey, but so worth it I cannot even begin to tell you - you'll use it a lot).

Why drink them? Because they are hands down, two of the easiest ways to fill up on major amounts of leafy greens on a daily basis. And they are delicious. You actually will begin to crave your greens. I'm not even kidding. Oh, and your skin will be amazing, you will have more energy (instantly!) and you will "go to the toilet" more regularly - yes, I'm talking number twos! Happy days.

How do you make a green juice? Simply pass lots of leafy greens (do them first), a few stalks of celery, 1 cucumber, 1 peeled lemon, fruit (only 1 or 2 pieces ideally) and ginger (if you like it) through a juicer. Then I like to add a carton of Coconut water to my jug of juice, plus a handful of ice. This is how I start almost every day:

(above) This amount of green/veg/fruit, once combined with a carton of Coconut Water, fills 3 x 500ml jars with juice - Two for me, one for Mr T!

How do you make a green smoothie? One of the best Green Smoothie blog posts I've ever seen was 5 Steps to the perfect green smoothie by "The Wellness Warrior", Jess Ainscough who explained it perfectly with the following graphics:

My Green Smoothie hot tips: 
- I always add 1 peeled organic lemon to my green smoothies. It cuts through the "grassiness" of the greens, particularly stronger/more bitter tasting ones like kale.
- New to Green Smoothies? Add lots of ice to the blender. The cold will neutralize the flavours to a degree, making it less taste "full on". And start with English Spinach as your green of choice (just 1/4 or 1/2 a bunch) - it's lovely and subtle.
- Familiarize yourself with Victoria Boutenko. Victoria claims to be the pioneer of Green Smoothies and her books The Green Smoothie Revolution and Green For Life are beyond amazing.
- Check out Kimberly Snyder and her Glowing Green Smoothie (the drink of choice of celebs worldwide!).
- Seriously consider investing in a Vitamix. It gets your smoothies SUPER smooth, making them even more "palatable" and is a breeze to wash up as nothing comes apart (you simply put soap and hot water in the blender and whizz it up for 10-20 seconds)! I make Jasper an oat, banana, almond and oat milk smoothie most mornings and last night I whizzed up roasted capsicum skins into the smoothest puree and added it to pasta tomato sauce. Yes, I should be on commission. 
- Click here if you still have any questions, or leave me a comment below and I'll do my best to answer it!

And remember, Green Juices and Green Smoothies should ideally be consumed alone, rather than with a meal or snack - so have nothing at least 30 minutes before and 30 minutes after drinking one. Not even water. That way, the nutrients will be absorbed by your body quickly and more efficiently. 


Happy Health Tonic-ettes!

Table Tonic: My week in review

The movie: "Crazy Stupid Love". I know, I know. The cover looks el-lame-o to the max, but I have yet to find a human who didn't LOVE this movie. Top notch acting, a really cool soundtrack, full of laughs (and twists), and Steve Carell (he co-produced it)? Genius. Oh, and PS Ryan Gosling?!!?!! #swooooon Seriously, whether you're 15 or 95 or anywhere in between and you haven't seen it? RUN. Watch the preview here.

The beauty must-haves: My 2 favourite masques, Dermalogica Multivitamin Power Recovery Masque (click to buy) and Dermalogica Skin Refining Masque (click to buy) because they GET. SKIN. GOOD. Also my 2 daily clean beauty buys - Petroleum free Active Life Paw Paw Lip Balm (click to buy) and Original & Mineral Surf Bomb Sea Salt Spray (click to buy). Gives your hair the perfect amount of texture, so it doesn't go flat and... floppy. I would be lost without it!! Oh, and it smells divine too!

The new stripes: Damn you Pip Edwards! The minute the New Arrivals email popped into my inbox from Sass & Bide, I clicked on over and... Ooops! This stripey little fox found her way into my cart. Click to buy the "Homage to Her Jumper".

the intersection paddington

The cult beauty buy(s): Woot! Aussie favourite Kit Cosmetics's Essential Kit range is now stocked in uuuber-cool Parisian department store Collette - Quite an achievement for this wee collection of "best sellers"! For the rest of us mere mortals, grab your fix of Essential Kit hand, lip and body scrubs, washes and butters here. And PS The Body Butter? Whoa-good!

The Healthy Chef: Actually, I took a load off yesterday and had lunch with Mr T at The Healthy Chef (everyone in Avalon's favourite spot for a crazy-good breakfast/salad and a T2 chai latte!). I had one of my many usuals - The sage and ricotta tart. Exhibit A:

The book of the week: Susie Burrell is one of Australia's leading dietitians (you may have caught her on the Kerri-Anne show), so her first book Losing the Last 5kg was always going to be a killer read. It's divided into sensible sections, like Getting Started, Your Behaviour, Your Food, Your Body, Your Life. Practical, sensible and full of surprises all the way! More of a (pretty pink!) textbook than a novel, it's an easy one to pick up and put down. And such an important read. Highly recommended. Click to buy.

The modern wisdom: Taken from the Organic Avenues website. They're a brand new organic fruit & veg place (home delivery, plus a store) in Sydney's Bilgola Plateau. I can't wait to try them out!

The reminder: Don't forget to follow tabletonic on Instagram! This was me hard at procrastination work yesterday:

And yes! I have new hair (got it here)! But more on that later... Happy Thursday!

Modern Wisdom

mana hair