Perth

Just had a few days away with M's daughter and her kids in Perth. Love the weather over there, much drier and the beaches are beautiful with the Indian Ocean making everything that perfect blue. We made a point every day to swim at Cottesloe, close to where M grew up. Also exploring Freemantle which was a hard town, where M's parents landed with their 6 kids and lived in refugee camps, sharing a bungalow with another family. Hard to imagine that now as its a cool town with great shops and cafes. Hard conditions but such amazing opportunities if you worked hard.

I still find it hard not to laugh about the fact that M is a grandfather. Perhaps its because I've known him for so long but he doesn't feel old enough... Or maybe its me!

Anyway lovely flight back watching movies and spotting other planes circling beneath us.

Use your Loaf

I had dippy eggs and soldiers this morning at a pretty new cafe in Avalon called 'Loaf'. They also sell freshly baked bread to take home and the perfectly sized sourdough is delicious.

It's right next to the pet shop full of the oddest breeds of puppy are available. Very hard to resist though, they are all so adorable.

LOAF CAFE AND BAKERY

Bellevue Avenue
Avalon 2107

Silly signs

Completely normal requests you'd think. No dogs or fires. But I'd love to know who was considering taking their car up those stairs...

Super stylist

Change is hard and one of the toughest things to find in a new city is a hairdresser who cuts your hair, just how you like it. Over the past year, I've shopped around, trying uber cool salons in Surry Hills, the Eastern Suburbs as well as the Northern Beaches. I've come to the conclusion that British hairdressers here are (mostly) grumpier and I really wish that the Australian beauty industry as a whole could lay off on the hard product sell which is bit annoying and really, if I want a new product, I'll ask for it.

Finally I've found her... the perfect hairdresser. Her name is Rachel and she's at Muse in Crown Street. Rachel cuts my hair like she's creating a piece of sculpture. She gathered very quickly that I'm basically lazy and have rarely handled a hairdryer and she does this amazing grazing thing which makes my hair sit perfectly, despite all its weird kinks and too much sunshine. I've now been a few times and yet again, I've come out all 'flicky' and feeling ten year's younger. Now to do something about the face!

The Hat

I've never been big on hats. I think this is possibly due to the fact that I attended St Hilda's School for young ladies where we were forced to wear boaters in the summer, and brown felt hats in the summer. They served no purpose as far as I could see - British summers don't require hats and the felt one looked considerably worse for wear due to its spending the majority of its life stuffed in a bag, the second we walked around the corner from school. This has continued into my adulthood and I always associated hats with stuffy occasions that I don't feel comfortable, unless my shoes are off - Ascot, weddings, etc.

In Australia though, things are a little different. I need to wear a hat just to prevent my skin from getting more ravaged than it already is. So I've searched long and hard and I finally found it. It was expensive and so it was very much a considered purchase. In fact I went to visit it at the shop, Bow Wow, in Palm Beach, many times before it came home with me. And here it is. Hand made and lovely, its made by Axel Mano. I'm wearing it as we speak and I may not take it off for the rest of the summer.

Joey Roth speakers

Gobsmackingly gorgeous speakers that one me many brownie points with my beloved, for whom I got them for Christmas. Designed by the very talented Joey Roth who also designed the most perfect tea pot I have ever seen. The speakers are ceramic and sit on little plywood stands. The cables are pretty in pink and the control is delightfully Heath Robinson-esque in its look. Even the packaging was collectable. And they work brilliantly!

Twig Cafe

I'm a big fan of Petersham Nurseries. It's one of those treat places that you go when you're feeling a bit flat and you're in need of some countryside and cake. Whilst its predominately a garden centre, the choice is a lot better than your average, and it has lots of ethnic wood, funky bulbs and nice welly boots to offer, as well as talks and of course the wonderful food from Skye Gyngell in the restaurant that has to be booked months in advance to get a sniff at a table. I've often dreamed of starting my own food and plant combo, two of my favourite things.

The boys at Garden Life in Surry Hills have done just that. Inspired by Petersham, they have a stylish little shop with a great cafe out the back. Its inside/outside which helps with the weather we're having at the moment and seems always to be buzzing, which is nice. Not many cows though, but I suppose you can't have everything!

GARDEN LIFE

357 CLEVELAND STREET

SURRY HILLS

NSW 2016

TEL 02 8399 0666