surf city

It's that time of the year when some parents can get rather stressed out - the dreaded school  holidays are looming and if this summer weather doesn't kick in soon there's going to be a lot of "I'm bored"going on....

My advice? spot 'em $5 and send them off to The Museum of Sydney's exhibition SURF CITY.

Better still, head along there with them if you can.... there's an awful lot of nostalgia going on in there......

"Surf City tracks Sydney’s dynamic surf scene through the 50s, 60s and 70s: spanning an amazing period of social upheaval, post war optimism, teen angst, rock and roll, prosperity, drugs and shifting cultural frontiers........featuring Sydney's surfing hubs, hot spots and cultures along with the movers and shapers who stirred the pot during these vivid and volatile years......"

Check it out to see what "surf-crazed Sydneysiders wore, watched, made, rode, heard and read...." and then come to the conclusion that 'the more things change, the more they stay the same.' Seriously the hair, board shorts and thongs are so spot on for 2011!

The exhibition has boards, movies, photos, magazines, music, clothes, everyday surf wares and treasures.

According to the blurb, Sydney's love affair with surfing started with the import of California 'malibu' boards in the 1950's and it hasn't stopped since.

"It started with a young, restless generation – with their ‘finned’ fibreglass boards, rock ’n’ roll, cars and bad attitudes – hitting the surf and clashing with an outraged alliance of surf-club officials, councillors, police, disapproving parents, a spellbound media and a wide-eyed public....."

Read more on the Surf City  BLOG HERE with many more pics and link to other amazing surf culture reading (if thats your thing)

all pix from Museum of Sydney


until 18 March
Corner Phillip and Bridge Streets, Sydney
Adult $10 | Child/Concession $5 | Family $20 | Members free
Open daily 9.30am — 5pm | Closed Good Friday and Christmas Day

crumpled city maps

how totally genius is this gem of an idea........ crumpled city maps??! 

I mean, how many times have you tried to refold a map exactly the right way, and given up in frustration?  well those crafty, designery Italians have come up with a solution - its a crumpled map made out of some kind of hard-wearing, laminated paper (like the bibs you get when eating ribs or lobster in the states) and IT NEVER HAS TO BE RE-FOLDED! just SCHRUNCHED into your pocket or bag or glovebox.

this is the most brilliant idea Ive seen in ages and has beautiful graphics, so you can appreciate the aesthetics, whilst enjoying the convenience...

.....there is one for every city you could imagine and each map provides details about a large part of the city, including streets, monuments, museums, art galleries and much more........

ideal 'stocking filler' or xmas present for friends on the move or staying over for the holidays.....
CRUMPLED CITY MAPS are available at:

BLUEPRINT
Shop 3, 46 A Macleay St, Potts Point
(the Post Building)
+612 9331 3488

ELIZABETH BAY CELLARS

Isn't it nice to live in a neighbourhood where there's a little of that old-fashioned service that's so sorely missing nowadays? Where you're greeted by name and the wine advice is cheerily dispensed, regardless of whether your purchase is a bottle of Grange or a 'cleanskin'?

And home delivery is an added bonus?

good advice - for free

Well hurrah..... Elizabeth Bay Cellars offers all that and a bit more - seriously, this has to be the most well appointed liquor store in the eastern suburbs - they pack a whole lot of goodness into that tiny little shopfront!

"I only drink champagne when I'm happy, or depressed..."

The guys at Elizabeth Bay Cellars know their wine and they know their beers... oh and their vodka and tequila....in fact, whatever it is you're looking for they can point you in the right direction and help you make a pretty informed choice based on price, quality and uniqueness.

best range of cider in town

destined for the Xmas Pudding

The "fine wines" are down the back in the temperature controlled cellar, sitting at a consistent temp of 16 degrees and 70% humidity - ideal for storage of wines, cigars and chocolate [so I'm told]. Seriously, if you're looking for a present for a certain someone with a discerning taste, look no further.

Oh and btw...I have it on good authority that the contents in this pic [below] total a cool $7,000.

And BONUS they do parties! They take the pain out of party planning, supplying beer, wine, soft drinks, glasses, ice and, in the words of manager Seb, "with enough warning, most special requests can be accommodated..."

party with a conscience this season

In addition to all that bountiful booze, Elizabeth Bay Bellars also stock Pat & Sticks Homemade Ice-cream, DVD's, gourmet frozen food, dips'n'chips, chocolate and olives in bulk (martini anyone?)

Now that's what I call "one stop shopping!"

So, in the spirit of shopping local this xmas and with party season looming, take some of the stress off and give the team at Lizzie Bay Cellars a call.

 bike with purchase [peroni]

 good things come in bulk

 the basis of some serious cocktails, right here

 some people appreciate quality

gratuitous Don Draper shot

Open till 9pm every day

Elizabeth Bay Cellars 

76 Elizabeth Bay Road 

you can call +612 9358 1688

or email: ebaycellars@bigpond.com

Lana del Rey

Have you heard of Lana del Rey? I am digging everything about this song, the video, the moodiness, the nostalgia and sheer WISTFULNESS of it all...



the jury is still out on Ms del Rey's authenticity, with ongoing debates about her look, her lips, her name ....etc, etc.....
but over 8 million hits on youtube BEFORE the album release, has to make this one count as the most hotly anticipated debut by an unknown.... agree?!

release date is set for January 23rd "Born 2 Die" is the [James Bond sounding] name and I'm thinking this will be a summer 2012 soundtrack for many....

WAYSIDE CHAPEL film premier

Tonight sees the premier of filmmaker [and local resident] Jon Hewitt’s acclaimed and gritty Kings Cross thriller "X" with a special benefit screening at Chauvel Cinemas for The Wayside Chapel.

Set in the heart of Kings Cross and featuring extraordinary, career-defining performances from Viva Bianca (Spartacus: Blood and Sand) and Hanna Mangan-Lawrence (Acolytes), this powerful and exciting thriller follows a jaded call girl and a fledgling hooker on an out-of-control, rollercoaster ride through Sydney’s underbelly.

Already a smash-hit internationally, this movie is creating a buzz with FilmInk calling it "A slick, stylish, in-your-face, sex-and-violence packed thriller from one of Australia's most daring and uncompromising filmmakers, X starts with a bang...... and never lets up for a second."

All proceeds from tonight's premier go to the Wayside where "we meet those people who fall by the wayside and help them move to a better place and a better day, " says the Reverend Graham Long, from the Wayside Chapel.

Jon Hewitt is Australia’s most prolific and successful maverick filmmaker and to date has made five uncompromising features as diverse in their scope as they are focussed in their intent. He lives and works in the heart of Kings Cross with his partner the acclaimed actor and writer Belinda McClory [the writer of X].

Movie Premiere: Tuesday, November 29 at 7.30pm. Chauvel Cinemas, Paddington Town Hall, Cnr Oxford St & Oatley Rd, Paddington. Tickets are $25 + booking fee and are available here.

Santa Maria Novella

Just in time for Xmas, Potts Point Boutique ECLETTICA (Rockwall Crescent) has taken delivery of a whole lot of sweet smelling, A-grade luxury stuff from Firenze.....

 Lavender, Rosemary, Cinnamon and Orange - that's why it's called the Relax Candle

SANTA MARIA NOVELLA is the stuff of dreams, well that is if you happen to be dreaming of a summer filled with exotic smells from luxury products for your home, face, body, bath.... [yeah, I know, me too....]

  TERRACOTTA POMEGRANATE is firstly fired halfway in the kiln, 

then it's immersed in pomegranate oil essence for one week,

 then fired again, sealing the fragrance inside the pomegranate

Back in the day, Dominican friars established L’Officina Profumo‐Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella, which was basically an infirmary inside a monastery where herbs and flowers were used to make medicines and balms. A hospital inside a church ? that's GOT TO guarantee some speedy healing!

Their stuff was so good that word spread about the amazing formulas and in the 16th century, the friars were commissioned to create the Acqua della Regina perfume for Caterina de’Medici who was to become Queen of France.

Santa Maria Novella's Colonia Russa is worn by guys and gals.

Aroma is bitter orange, bergamot, and musk..... need we say more?

Santa Maria Novella is still going today and uses only the purest Florentine ingredients to create beautiful colognes, creams, soaps and scented products all in exquisite vintage packaging. Stocked exclusively by Eclettica,  this stuff flies out the door as soon as it arrives - so BE QUICK! someone in your life is going to be very, very happy on Christmas Day [maybe even you....hints are useful]

smells like pomegranate. each soap is hand pressed, aged for 60 days

 and hand wrapped [lasts 3 times longer than normal soap]

b.t.w. if you're wondering, Santa Maria Novella, the Dominican Basilica of Florence, looks like this :

The Foundation stone was laid in 1279  and the updated version, a new Renaissance facade, designed by Leon Battista Alberti was added in 1456 - don't you just love a good back-story with your bath oil!?

Oh and for the literary types out there, I do believe that the perfumes of Santa Maria Novella were favoured by one Hannibal Lecter.... a man with a fine nose for fragrance, food, wine and other things!!!

ice cream

isn't it nice to know that, in this sticky, sultry, Sydney weather, you don't have to walk very far for an ice cream hit? a totally extravagant ice cream hit.. the best of the best.

according to a survey just in by Sydney Blog concreteplayground two of the very best ice cream joints in town are located right here, in Victoria St, Darlinghurst......

"Gelato Messina is widely touted as some of the best gelato outside Italy. They make ice cream the way it was made 100 years ago, with all of their flavours created on site with premium ingredients exclusively. The range of forty flavours rotates every day...... some of the particularly good flavours include salted caramel & white chocolate, coconut & lychee and the blood orange sorbet...."

They also do cakes.....cakes like you've never seen before! amazing mouthwatering cakes!

bombe alaska

wasabi pea (!?)

good on the inside

Then there's the phenomena that is wowcow .... not an ice-cream but a 'super chilled yoghurt' with all the associated health benefits [yes, truly]

♥ 98% fat free
♥ active cultures
♥ no artificial anything
♥ gluten and preservative free



"wowcow isn't strictly ice cream, but in our book frozen yoghurt is almost deserving of its own category. One of the first frozen yoghurt chains to start off in Sydney, Wowcow has earned a lot of praise for its 98% fat-free treats and a spattering of famous clients........


....the selection changes regularly, and when it's on offer the green tea yoghurt is the perfect antidote to one of those disturbingly hot summer nights....alternatively, they do a healthy version of churros which they call 'Wow Sticks,' immersed in frozen yoghurt and syrup..."

Both wow cow and Gelato Messina cater to the late night crowds and it's not unusual to see a queue out the door late into the evening......

.....just the thing to get your tongue around on a short stroll home.....

Taylor Square transformed by ART

Unleash your inner child and get yourself down to the JUMPING CASTLE in Taylor Square over the coming summer.....

DRIFT is the first of four public art installations, collectively titled We Make This City, to be unveiled over the next few months, and it will be opened this evening by Lord Mayor Clover Moore. 

In December, February and March this inflatable bouncing sculpture will be joined by other artworks that feature interactive coral reefs, bike-powered movies and a project that will give new meaning to the "re-use, recycle" mantra.

JUST A THOUGHT : considering the location of this artwork [near Darlinghurst CourtHouse]  I really hope at least one judge has a bounce !

"are you thinking what I'm thinking B1?"

According to the City of Sydney, the following treats are on order :

DRIFT : slide and bounce across the famous Taylor Square fountain in a huge yellow PVC tunnel, created by David Cross. Navigate around unexpected obstacles as you glide through this modern-day bouncing castle - how will you cope with the changing environment?

REKINDLING VENUS : In Plain Sight :  Lynette Wallworth's project raises social awareness of the destruction of the world's precious coral ecosystem. Download a free app to activate a 3D portal to coral reefs, receive real-time alerts about coral bleaching, and learn about warming sea temperatures.

CYCLE IN CINEMA :  imagine a drive-in cinema for bikes, where you plug your bike into a generator and take turns riding to power the performance. In this project by Magnificent Revolution Australia, audiences will enjoy cult films and music videos, a special event from Queer Screen and a new media program of Indigenous voices.

A LEAF FROM THE BOOK OF CITIES :  drop by the Sydney Sustainable Market in Taylor Square on Saturday mornings in March 2012 to see Makeshift's reinterpretation of one of Sydney's most iconic public spaces. This final project explores the art of reusing and reconfiguring objects, spaces and materials to give them new life.

The program is curated by Margaret Farmer from the National Institute for Experimental Arts at the University of New South Wales's College of Fine Arts.

We Make This City launches at 5:30pm TONIGHT at Taylor Square, followed by drinks at LO-Fi - 383 Bourke Street, Darlinghurst.

for more information on art projects around town, check out the City of Sydney site....

sydney on a shoestring

My buddy Shonagh has launched a new web-site, called sydney on a shoestring and it's a seriously great idea with so many links to bargains galore all over SYDNEY town...

Shonagh is one of the most respected beauty editors in the country, writing for pretty much every publication there is and when it comes to beauty products there is NOTHING she doesn't know! Naturally she has great taste but, like all of us, Shonagh would prefer to be living the champagne lifestyle on a beer budget.

There are ideas for weekend outings, shopping bargains, restaurant deals and of course beauty bargains galore [cheapest spray tan in town? tick!]

This is definitely one to book-mark...

spotted - Edward de Bono

Edward de Bono staying in the 2011 'hood!? ....well, he is the world's pre-eminent thinker so of course he knows a good thing when he sees it!

I had the great pleasure of catching up with EdB earlier in the week.... interviewing him for an exciting new magazine to be launched next year.......all will be revealed soon...

meanwhile if you haven't read his theories on thinking, living, improving your mind and relationships and happiness quota...give it a go!

walkie-talkie

Have you heard about WalkieTalkie?

Walkie Talkie [talk local, think global] is a speakers forum held each month in a different venue around the neighbourhood and is the brainchild of Potts Point residents Indira Naidoo & Daisy Turnbull Brown oh, and it's fabulous. It's a friendly, get-to-know-your-neighbour + fun networking session all rolled into one.

According to Indira and Daisy "a speaker of note, usually from the area, is invited to give an address on a topic of interest. Speeches can be on a diverse range of topics from politics, law, music, the arts, and sport, to food, gardening, travel and community...."

So far, speakers have included Julian Morrow,  Malcolm Turnbull, Warren Fahey and most recently Jill Dupleix + Terry Durack, so you can see the calibre of speaker we're talking about here peeps!

They chat away on any subject for around 30 minutes (Malcolm on love! Warren on sleaze!) and that's followed by a 15 minute Q&A session. Anyone can come along, although numbers are limited by venue size (usually to about 50 people). Attendance is free, but a small donation is requested to go towards local charities The Wayside Chapel and Lou's Place.

check out WALKIE TALKIE  and be sure to join up next time round....

Mrs Press & Co

Mrs Press is coming our way dispensing style wisdom! or is that stylish wisdom? the wisdom of style? Either way, it's not to be missed. And once again, it's a date with the Potts Point Bookshop [I know, I know, they spoil us crazy].

Luisa Brimble

Clare Press in one of Australia's most accomplished, and dare I say stylish, fashion peeps... She was features editor at Vogue Australia for five years and has written for magazines like Harper's Bazaar and In Style as well as The Australian newspaper. Most recently, she wrote a story in the Sunday Mag that moved me to tears [and I wasn't crying about the fashion either] find it here

Clare founded her own label a few years ago, starting out small and building up slowly, and it's a definite favourite with the stylish chicks around Sydney... every time I read about the Mrs Press label the same words pop up - Glamour. Flair. Style. Panache. Elegant. Individual. Vintage. oh yes Mrs Press does love a vintage frock.....

And now, the multi-talented Mrs Press has written a BOOK so we can all share in some of that style wisdom that she has been hoarding away....... luckily, just in time for Party Season.

In the book she has  "...collected advice on how to live well from women who know.....icons like Diana Vreeland, Wallis Simpson and Elsie de Wolfe as well as her favourite local style-setters and chicest friends.....
......whether you want tips on how to shop, how to host (and dress for) an indulgent afternoon tea, how to choose the perfect gift or how to live lavishly on a limited budget, you will find them here, along with timeless words of wisdom on subjects such as why manners matter and the joys of fine lingerie..."

Something for everyone there........ and me? well I am SO for living lavishly on an limited budget!

And on Wednesday 16th November you can swish along to an elegant soiree at the Potts Point Bookshop to meet Mrs Press, have a glass of bubbles and a chat with her and the equally stylish and knowledgable Ms Glynis Traill-Nash one of Australia's most highly regarded fashion writers and commentators [another local resident with a story or two to tell!]

Don't you think you should come along on Wednesday at 6.30pm for a book signing a chat and a lively Q+A? yep. agreed. I suggest you bring your daughter, sister, mum or best buddy along as well........

and if you're not following Potts Point Bookshop or Mrs Press... you are seriously missing out.

PjK in the 'hood !

It's not everyday that one has the opportunity for an impromptu morning chat with an ex Prime Minister - one of Australia's finest, I might add - but hey..... welcome to the neighbourhood!

Paul Keating has a book 'AFTER WORDS' a collection of his POST-PRIME MINISTERIAL SPEECHES GIVEN BETWEEN 1996 & 2011, and this morning was at the local Potts Point Bookshop for a book signing [yes, he's a local]

what a treat ! he was jolly and chatty and full of interesting ideas and points of view....just like the book.

I had tuned into his recent interview with Leigh Sales on 7.30, so the book was already on the list, but when I discovered his one and only book-signing was to be a stone's throw from home........well, it was too good to resist.

when asked by Sales if an autobiography was in the future, he quipped that Kissinger once told him "Paul, if you're any good, someone else will write a book about you.". Hmmmm.... a few more ex-leaders could take that message on board. (watch the interview here)

AFTER WORDS [appropriate for a guy who ALWAYS had the last word] reveals the breadth and depth of Keating's many interests, be they cultural, historical, or policy-focused, and deals with subjects as broad as international relations, economic policy and politics. Chapters range from a discussion of Utzon's Opera House, the redesign of Berlin, the history of native title, the challenge of Asia, the role of the monarchy, eliminating nuclear weapons and the shape of Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 2 [and wait, there's more!]

Flicking through this reminds me why I got so interested in politics in the first place - Keating really was a visionary and when he's on form, no-one else can touch him.. This would make an excellent christmas present, for a history or politics buff or even a tragic "true believer"...... so hot-foot it up to the bookshop this weekend.... they have a few signed copies floating around.
(open till 8 tonight and 5pm tomorrow)