Derby Day

After last year's Spring Carnival at my old work, us girls decided that next year we would definitely do a carpark this year. Thanks to Tess (and her mother) we were able to get 2! The day went off without a hitch, the flowers were in bloom at Flemington, great food organised by Steph and a lot of people who just wanted a good sunny day at the races. That it was, certainly helped by a few wins on the track & the copious amounts of champagne. It was great to see so many ladies dressing classically in black & white - which is quite hard to stuff up. I thought Lara Bingle for Swisse was best dressed out of the celebs for sure. 

Gorgeous Roses in bloom at Flemington

350-351 Fun

Steph, Tess & I

Lara Bingle

Bendigo Cup

When I first started in media sales the Bendigo Cup was spoken about often & very highly. Southern Cross Austero take the agencies they work with and some clients on a train to the Bendigo Cup. Now that I am on the agency side I scored a coveted invite. The day did not disappoint! A long day with the wobbly 2 hour train ride each way, filled with many champagnes, lost bets and the best view of fashions on the field. 

Bendigo Cup

Myer Fashions on the field (Kris Smith in grey suit)

Halloween Theme

My friendly boss (left) and work colleague (right)

Designers For...

Karolina Kurkova in Roberto Cavalli for Target

This Wednesday Roberto Cavalli releases his range for Target Australia. I like the look of the short suit above & the white pants. I think the rest of the collection is aimed at an older audience. I still wear pieces from Stella McCartney for Target & Josh Goot for Target, the quality is good and the cuts are timeless. 

 

      SJP & Mena Suvari at the launch of Maison Martin Margila for H&M

Usually in Australia we don't miss out on much fashion wise, especially nowadays with the interweb. Last week however Maison Martin Margiela, an iconic French label teamed up with H&M which doesn't filter it's way down here unfortunately. They have also done collaborations with Marni that would have been amazing to get your hands on. 

Shirt I bought, Karl Largerfeld for Macy's

Luckily for me when I was in New York last year I (accidentally) coincided my time to be there to buy a few pieces from Karl Largerfeld for Macy's and be at a Target store in Brooklyn at 8:30am for the Missoni for Target items. I really enjoy these 'designers for' as it give some accessibility to these world renowned designers clothes/home wares. Usually that which would be unattainable. 

A Funny Thing Happened on the way to the Forum

Thanks again to my friend at Channel 9 for tickets to the Preview night of "A Funny Thing Happened on the way to the Forum." I didn't know much about this stage show except that it had Geoffery Rush and Magda Szubanski in it and it was supposed to be funny. Funny it was! Geoffrey Rush was perfect for the part & an extraordinary actor. I was very surprised/impressed by Hugh Sheridan who is an amazing singer & we got quite a few glimpses of his perfectly toned 6 pack through the sleeves of his toga. The storey is set in Rome and is quite difficult to explain. I will say go and see it to find out! Get tickets here.

Stage

Hugh Sheridan

Some *bests in the Melbourne restaurant world

400 Gradi

400 Gradi is arguably one of the best pizza restaurants in Melbourne. We trekked all the way to Brunswick to test it out, I wasn't disappointed! The Margarita was amazing, the dough was superb & the cheese fresh and delicious. 

Fitzrovia

I would nearly go so far to say that the setting/view at Fitzrovia is one of the best in Melbourne overlooking Albert Park & views of the city. It was a sunny day, which I supposed helped! I had the bacon mozzarella and pear relish toasted sandwich which was huge but tasty, unfinishable though. 

Donovans

Again up to the individual church goer, but Donovans is a Melbourne restaurant institute on St.Kilda beach. The setting is picturesque and I love the French provincial decor. We were sat in the 'library' which looks out onto Luna Park as it was my work colleague's birthday celebrations. What a lunch it was! I had the tasting platter - superb, the steak - huge but perfectly cooked and shared the 'after dinner mint' for dessert. The service is incredible, wine glass always full. In hindsight this probably wasn't a great idea though!  

Argo-eff yourself

Argo looked like a great movie from the trailer. A great cast lead by Ben Affleck and a very interesting story. A covert operation to rescue 6 Americans who escaped the Iranian take over of the US embassy in 1972. Not knowing the end of the true-story had me on the edge of my seat for a good majority of the movie. It was dramatic, gripping & absorbing. The friend that I was with had to stop me from googling the ending - I was very very tempted to! Some sweet 70's get-up, a few laughs (title of the blog post) & an insight to CIA back in the day added to this great film. 

Iran

You know what ELSE everybody likes? Parfaits!

It seems like everywhere you go there is a parfait on the menu. It had me questioning - what is parfait? The only recollection I have of this dessert is from Donkey in Shrek! Parfait is a French dessert made from sugar syrup, cream & egg. A creamy ice-cream like texture. It is usually layered with other ingredients. 

At The Sharing House I had a peanut parfait with raspberry coulis  & caramel snaps. A perfect combination. 

Touché Hombre served up parfait in an ice-cream sandwich between 2 chocolate & chilli biscuits. This made it rather hard to eat, but parfait sandwich, yes please! 

Our server explaining our desserts at Golden Fields

According to the Age Golden Fields serves up the sweetest dessert, peanut butter parfait with salted caramel & chocolate. This is by far the best parfait I have tried. Never having been to Golden Fields before, the waiter also explains what everything is and how it is made. It is easy to see why it is one of the best restaurants in Melbourne & home to the best chef 2012 Andrew O'Connell.

Photography by Ben Dearnley on taste.com.au

I am considering trying to make my own Parfait at home. I found a good recipe on taste for Coconut & Strawberry Parfait. 

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