| Beautiful things we love, see and do

Cherry’s 1st Birthday!

Posted on April 1, 2012 by Cherry and me

Yesterday we celebrated Cherry’s 1st birthday with a picnic in the St Kilda Botanical Garderns, the same park where her daddy and I got married 4 years ago. We couldn’t haveÂ wished for a more perfect day!

We setup our picnic table under a beautiful old cork tree and hung giant mexican paper flowers from the branches for a pop of colour.

The coolest baby picnic food you will ever see by Egg Unlimited.

Cherry, Ella and Dana about to dive into their picnic platter!

Birthday baby love

Picnic savory treats by Egg Unlimited. What we ate:Â Mini smoked salmon, poppy seed bagels; mini poached chicken sandwiches; rice paper rolls with green apple, peanuts and coriander; Â omelette soufflÃ© and mini caramelised onion, brie and thyme tarts. So sweet! So cute!

Miniature polkadot cupcakes by Mister Nice Guy.
It was love at first bite when I first sampled Mister Nice Guy’sÂ “Cherry Pie” cupcakes a few weeks ago at Prahran Market. I knew they’d be the perfect party treat for Cherry’s 1st birthday!Â What we ate: Cherry Pie, Cherry Bomb, Gingerbread and Sour PussÂ cupcakes. PS, they’re vegan, kosher and gluten free!

Sexy soda pops from our favourite Caulfield Park cafe, Uffizi. As deviant as they look, they’re non-alcoholic. Love those bottles!

My sister and I sipping on “Bianca” lemonade

Happy Cherry with her Papa and Moo Moo!

I can’t believe it’s been one year since our little miss Cherry was born. Now the word “birth-day” Â has a totally different meaning! So looking forward to birthday number 2!

A big thank you to:
Mister Nice Guy – Cupcakes
www.misterniceguy.com.auÂ

Egg Unlimited – Litte Breads & Catering
www.eggunlimited.com.au

Cafe Uffizi
53 Hawthorn Road, Caulfield North

Posted in Baby, Events, Food | 6 Comments

The wacky world of Michael Strownix!

Posted on March 25, 2012 by Cherry and me

Last Thursday night we attended the exhibition opening of Michael Strownix at Nellie Castan Gallery. Michael converted the gallery space into a supernaturalÂ world with his plasticized creations.

Artist, Michael Strownix in his Devo hat

The gallery crowd

Candelabras and bowls inspired by Mexican folk art

More ofÂ Michael’s creations

My sister and I exploring Michael’s wacky world! Love those carnations!

My girls! (Left to right) Me, Nellie, Denise, Lindy and Natalia.

Michael’s show runs until April 14 2012, at:
Nellie Castan Gallery, 12 River Street, South Yarra
Visit www.nelliecastangallery.com for more info

Posted in Art, Events | Leave a comment

Pin-ups, polka-dots and pussy cats

Posted on March 18, 2012 by Cherry and me

It’s no secret I love having my picture taken, so I was trilled when Melbourne photographer and film maker, Bernadette Keys, asked me to be her subject. The photographs she shot on film, (not digital), were for a body of work inspired by 1950’s Pin-up girls, like Bettie Page. I pulled out my best vintage dresses, turned up some retro Bossa Nova tunes and got posing! These are a few of my favourite shots.

My beautiful Nana NinaÂ posing for the camera. Gee, I wonder where I get it from?

If you’d like to pose as a pin-up girl, just like I did, Bernadette is offering Cherry and Me readers, any age, shape or size, the opportunity for a photo-shoot, make -up and styling included! Just send the gorgeous Bernadette an email for more info:Â bernadettekeys@gmail.com. The photos will last a lifetime and would be a wonderful gift for yourself, especially for Mothers Day!

Posted in Art, Photography | Leave a comment

Greenhouse by Joost

Posted on March 11, 2012 by Cherry and me

Earlier this week, my friend Shelly and I took our babies out for lunch to Greenhouse by Joost, a pop-up restaurant in Melbourne’s CBD as part of the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival.

That’sÂ Cherry, (11 months), on the left and her friend Sienna, (8 months), on the right.

The sustainable structure sits on the Yarra’s edge, corner of Southbank and Queensbridge, Melbourne. Notice the rooftop garden bar? Would be perfect for an evening cocktail!Â There’s also a great short time-laps film of the construction of Greenhouse.Â Click here to watch the movie.

Joost’s signature vertical garden. This time he uses strawberries in terra-cotta pots to scale the exterior walls. Stunning!

Inside at the bar, baristas brew an excellent expresso. Sorry guys, no soy milk!

Coffee and tea served in hand made terracotta tumblers, available for purchase on www.byjoost.com

The Melbourne lunchtime crowd. T-shirts screen printed by Spacecraft.

In the ‘shipping crate’ kitchen, Chef Matt Stone prepares lunch using locally grown, seasonal ingredients, with herbs freshly picked from the roof-top garden, wheat milled onsite and yoghurt and butter made from organic milk and cream.

What we ate: Squid, fennel and melon salad (in photo),$18.
And grilled zucchini, pickled lemon and dill salad $14. Yum!

Cherry and me on Queens Bridge after a fabulous lunch with the girls!

Greenhouse by Joost runs until 21st March during the 2012 Melbourne Food & Wine Festival. Entry is free, however they don’t take bookings, so there might be a short wait for a table. It’s probably best to tram or train into the city as we paid more for parking then our actual meal! Oy vay! Visit www.melbournefoodandwine.com.auÂ for more information.

Make sure to also check out Shelly’s new lifestyle, food and fashion blog -Â www.mummyknows.com.au. Shelly shares her delicious,Â healthy recipes for the little ones and theÂ latestÂ trends fromÂ celebrityÂ mothers.

Posted in Baby, Design, Events, Flowers, Food, Garden | 4 Comments

Rainbow Flora

Posted on March 4, 2012 by Cherry and me

Arranging flowers always makes me happy. Here are my tips on creating a simple, quick and easy bouquet, bursting with colour, to brighten up your day.

What I brought back from the market today:
1 x bunch of blue Hydrangeas
1 x bunch yellow short stem roses
1 x bunch hot pink short stem roses

TIP: To test how fresh roses are, gently squeeze the base of a bud with your thumb and pointer finger. If it feels firm, the flowers are fresh, but if it feels bouncy and loose, the flowers will only last a few days. Remember you can always ask your florist if they have any other fresher bunches tucked away in their cool room.

It’s handy toÂ ask your florist to ‘strip’ the stems of the roses for you. This means they’ll take off the leaves and thorns that would be submerged in water. Stripping the stems helps prevent the water turning murky and your flowers will last longer.

Luckily these short stem roses are bred without thorns!

Next, using sharp secateurs, cut about 2 cm off the ends of each stem.

Tip: Cut the stems on the diagonal to expose more surface area for the flowers to drink.

The cool kids these days are arranging flowers in clusters of the same variety rather than mixing and spacing them evenly. It’s actually a lot easier to do and looks more natural.