Bookish (and not so bookish) Thoughts

01. It was our annual International Night dinner with friends last week. This year we were Rockin’ the Moroccan. My contribution included cocktails, nibbles, and dessert. Of the things I made, a few recipes will be repeated in the future – Gin and Mint Tea cocktail (the complex sugar syrup is well worth the effort – I doubled the quantity and made a pitcher); Moroccan ‘sausage rolls’; this orange cake and this lemon cake – I’m no baker but these cakes were easy and delicious. Continue reading

Bookish (and not so bookish) Thoughts

01. I’ve had so much fun over the last two weeks – Home, I’m Darling (the sets! The costumes!); a long lunch at Moondog (I can highly recommend the avocado dip paired with a Moondog pale ale); Pseudo Echo, Rick Astley, and a-ha in concert at Rockford Winery (a-ha had the top billing but really, it was all Rick), and… Continue reading

Bookish (and not so bookish) Thoughts

01. I’m sure Australia’s bushfires have made world news. The stats* are staggering and almost incomprehensible. I won’t turn this into a rant about our government’s lack of action (no, even acknowledgment) on climate change but this article is worth a read.

“Australia is the canary in the coal mine.”

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Bookish (and not so bookish) Thoughts

01. I’ve been too busy to study the 2020 Melbourne Food and Wine Festival program closely but a few things did catch my eye – Women’s Weekly Birthday Cakes exhibition and this focus on food and wine from the volcanic region of Italy. Continue reading

Bookish (and not so bookish) Thoughts

01. We went to a party last weekend and the theme was ‘Miami Nice’. We went as retirees (Florida is the home of retirees, right?). I found the most amazing vintage palm-print muumuu on Etsy which I’ll probably wear on Christmas Day for the next forty years… it’s comfy, cool, fabulous.

When researching our outfits, I came across this fabulous collection of photos. Continue reading