Monthly Archives: October 2013

Proud Mary – Dining Review

Posted in Dining by

Proud Mary keep on burning!

Porridge at Proud Mary

Porridge at Proud Mary

 

I was happily impressed with my visit to Proud Mary as I was a bit weary given the high level of hype which for some places can set high expectations but under deliver. However, I can confidently say that it was not the case here.

 

I will admit the first time I attempted to dine here I didn’t even end up setting foot inside. Driving towards Proud Mary on a late Sunday morning, the bustling group of people pouring out of the doors waiting to be seated did not agree with my overly eager and hungry stomach. So treat that as a lesson to anyone else planning to go at a busy time, or at any time for that matter, this is a very busy place (similar to hustle and bustle of Manchester Press) so prepare to wait especially if you plan to dine here on a weekend or at brunch.

 

Latte at Proud Mary

Latte at Proud Mary

When I did return it was a Friday morning, it was still full but we only waited a couple of minutes to be seated and the employees that served us and who we spoke to were very knowledgeable, helpful and friendly. The coffee was absolutely wonderful, very smooth. Proud Mary is not only a cafe but a coffee roasting company too and in my experience,  buying a coffee at a café that uses Proud Mary coffee is usually a tell-tale sign that you’re in good hands. That being said, if you feel like being a little adventurous with  your coffee then I suggest not sticking to their standard coffee blend but trying one of their single origin coffee blends, or their blend of the day. I tried their blend of the day which on my visit was the Honeysuckle blend, described as ‘big buttery body, sweet caramels and a crisp red apple acidity’ and it was amazing! I also got to try their cold drip coffee, and for a coffee lover, watching the barista carefully prepare the cold drip coffee was like watching a scientist concoct a winning formula. When I used to think of cold drip coffee, I would immediately think of the uninviting filter coffee served in dodgy diners in American movies. If you make the same association then make sure you do try a cold drip coffee from a quality coffee roaster like Proud Mary and I guarantee you will change your mind set.

 

The wait for food was honestly a little longer than expected but once the large serving of ricotta hotcakes arrived it was definitely worth the extra wait and the extra hungry appetite that ensued as the portion sizes were very generous. The hot cakes were equally as fluffy as they were delicious so what happened next was a very rare occurrence for me. Despite the hotcakes tasting absolutely delicious, I struggled to finish my meal because I was getting so full! Not complaining about though, I just wish I invited another friend to help me finish eating it! The Potato Hash was an interesting and delightful take on a big breakfast and the banana and toffee porridge was delicious, very filling and sweet without being sickly. The café interior had an industrial and funky design, reminiscent of what you would find in the meat packing district of New York, complete with old school Hip Hop music playing in the background which the staff were clearly enjoying as the the barista danced while making the coffees! Well you know what, their awesome coffee makes me want to dance too! So far my visits here have been really enjoyable and I can do recommend this place to coffee lovers and those with big appetites!

Potato Hash at Proud Mary

Potato Hash at Proud Mary

Ricotta Hotcakes at Proud Mary

Ricotta Hotcakes at Proud Mary

 

Proud Mary on Urbanspoon

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Ask Melbourne Darling: Where can I find the best wedding shoes?

Posted in Shopping & Sales by

Dear Melbourne Darling,

Where can I find the best wedding shoes?

(I’m looking for something metallic/silver?)

My main advice when shopping for bridal shoes is to invest some time to look around as many different stores as you can. Even if some stores are not ones you would typically  think of for bridal shoes. I recommend trying on as many styles as you can as. This will quickly help you determine which styles you like and which suit you, especially since many shoe styles can look dramatically different sitting on a shelf  opposed to when they are worn on the foot.

As always, the style of shoe is dependent on the style of the dress, so I am going to make some general shopping suggestions to help any bride to be (and bridal party) to help with your shoe hunt for the big day.

1. DESIGNER SHOE STORES:

  • David Jones and Myer – Bourke St

These department stores are a great place to start off with, especially to get a feel for the different types of styles and designers available. I recommend the city locations as the flagship stores tend to have the biggest and best selection available in comparison to their suburban counterparts, although Chadstone and Highpoint are your second best locations.

  • Miss Louise

The go-to place in Melbourne for a wonderful selection designer shoes. A fancy little spot showcasing a stunning selection of  high designer heels.

Swarovski Crystal Sandals Nude By Giuseppe Zanotti. View Online

Swarovski Crystal Sandals Nude By Giuseppe Zanotti. View Online

Shop G4, The Westin/205 Collins St,  Melbourne VIC 3000

Phone: (03) 9654 7730

Website

View shoe selection online

  • Hermanns

Hermanns are the sole distributors of Stuart Weitzman, Edward Meller and own the Giallo stores with most locations in the CBD, Chadstone or David Jones. (Edward Meller and Giallo are a bit too casual but Stuart Weitzman do feature a few ultra-modern and fashion forward designs. So if you like their styles online, I’d suggest visiting a retail store)

http://www.hermanns.com.au/pc/Heels-c56.htm?idBrand-0

Stuart Weitzman for Hermanns

Asteroid Shoes by Stuart Weitzman (used in the stage production of Cinderella) Image Via

Asteroid Shoes by Stuart Weitzman (used in the stage production of Cinderella) View Online

Chadstone Shopping Centre and

175 Collins Street,

Melbourne, 3000.

Phone: (03) 9522 9709

  • Loula

149 Toorak Road,

South Yarra, VIC 3141, Australia

Phone no: + 61 3 9820 8006

http://www.loula.com.au/home

  • Dolci Firme

162 Collins Street

Melbourne 3000 VIC

Phone: (03) 9650 1522

and

299 Toorak Road

South Yarra 3141 VIC

Phone: (03) 9827 2166

Website

 

2. ONLINE STORES:

  • The Iconic

Offers a wide selection of shoes to choose from as well as free overnight shipping for all orders over $50 and free returns for 100 days.  For bridal heels specifically in silver and metallic, I’d have a look at the following selection of strappy silver heels:

http://www.theiconic.com.au/womens-shoes/?colour=Silver&page=1&category=36

and take a look at these beautiful silver Guess heels:

Hilonas by Guess. Image Via

Hilonas by Guess.  View Online 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As well as these metallic Verali heels:

Gill by Verali. View Online

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Cinderella Bella

(This business used to have a great store in Melbourne for designer bridal shoes, but operate through their online store only. While their selection has dramatically decreased, if you’re lucky you might find a suitable style from the limited sale items that remain on their site.)

Website

I also found these two styles by Jimmy Choo from the Jimmy Choo Australia website to be a steal of a price and a gorgeous style for a  fun, stylish and modern bride:

Silver Glitter Leather Sandals by Jimmy Choo. View Online

Silver Glitter Leather Sandals by Jimmy Choo. View Online 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Panache Bridal Shoes Australia

A more traditional selection of bridal shoes

Website

 

3. CUSTOM MADE:

Finding you’re not happy with the selection of heels you come across on the shop floor or have your heart set on a particular style you haven’t been able to find? A pair of custom heels for your special day could be your best way to go. You may even find that a custom pair are not as expensive as you’d think.

  • Novat Shoes

Don’t be disheartened by their limited, more traditional and slightly dated styles online, be sure to check out their retail store in Thornbury as only a small selection of the styles they hold are featured online. It’s also worth the visit to ask about their custom shoe design service.

594 High St

Thornbury 3071

Phone: (03) 9484 5736

Mob: 0438 319 258 -Bianca Novat

Website

  • Shoes of Prey

Online custom shoe store where you get to play the part of shoe designer and  be as creative as you wish. Whip-up your own design from your computer and have them delivered straight to your door.

Website

 

4. RETAIL STORES:

Often overlooked because they are not your typical bridal shoe stores, an offering from the high street may pleasantly surprise you. Links to each website provided below, where you will be able to find information on your most convenient store location:

 

 

 

 

 

 

My suggested itinerary would be to make the city your first stop, as it’s the best place get a feel for the types of styles available and the designs you like.

Start off at David Jones and Myer then head to Miss Louise and Stuart Weitzman then while you are still in the city, make a stop to the high street brand stores as they are alllocated fairly close to each other.

From there you can head to the Preston / Thornbury area to visit Novat shoes (check out their store or look at their custom made options) and then to the Tony Bianco outlet, Diana Ferrari and Florsheim outlet. That way, when you’re ready to look online you would have already tried on a number of paris which will help you make it easier to distinguish which styles would suit you when browsing online.

Happy Shopping!

Love,
Melbourne Darling xo

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Melbourne Darling’s Weekend Picks 4th – 6th October

Posted in Shopping & Sales by

I cannot believe it is October already! Not to scare you but there is 11 weeks until Christmas, 13 weeks until we are officially in 2014, not to mention that we are already one month into Spring! So if you thought September was a busy month, get ready darlings, because October is going to be jam-packed with fun!

 

Girl’s Night In

October is officially National Breast Cancer Awareness month, and what better way to show your support then to host your very own ‘Girls Night In’ this October!

Register your event via the Cancer Council Pink website and get your girlfriends together for a fun night while raising money for this worthy cause and don’t forget to Think Pink!

Register to host your own Girls Night In online.

Image Via

Image Via

 

Garage Sale Trail

Now that we are in the middle of Spring, there is no better time to spring clean your homes and wardrobes, and with the Garage Sale Trail you may even find yourself making some extra cash along the way.

The Garage Sale Trail is a national event that organises individuals to hold Garage Sales on the same day around Australia, and this year, the day will be Saturday October 26th. With three weeks away, why not register yourself to host a garage sale, it could be the motivation you need to finally get around to de-cluttering your home!

Register to host your own Garage Sale for Saturday October 26th online.

 

Lavazza Italian Film Festival

Set your sights on Italy this October, even if it is only for the duration of one of the diverse range of movies the Lavazza Italian Film Festival is presenting this month. It certainly is one event that will make you fall in love with all things Italian and from the collection of films on offer this year, there looks to be something for everyone. There are a selection of dramas or for something a little different go for The Worst Week of My Life for some laughs, The Lithium Conspiracy for a captivating thriller,  The Human Cargo for an eye opening documentary. Alternatively if you can’t make up your mind or are up for any genre, it’s hard to go wrong with their opening night pick The Great Beauty which featured at Cannes.

The Lavazza Italian Film Festival runs from October 2nd to October 27th at the following participating cinemas in Melbourne:

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PALACE CINEMA COMO
Level 2, Como Centre, Cnr of Toorak Road
& Chapel Street, South Yarra
(03) 9827 7533 (Tram 8, Stop 31)

PALACE BALWYN
231 Whitehorse Road, Balwyn
(03) 9817 1277 (Tram 109, Stop 46)
• PALACE BRIGHTON BAY
294 Bay Street, Brighton
(03) 9596 3590

PALACE WESTGARTH
89 High Street, Northcote
(03) 9482 2001 (Tram 86 & 112, Stop 27)
Umbertos Bar
Pizza Miene Liebe

KINO CINEMAS
Lower Ground Floor, Collins Place,
45 Collins Street, Melbourne
(03) 9650 2100 (Tram 109 & 112, Stop 8)
Pellegrinis
The European
+39 Pizzeria

To enhance you’re Italian experience with an Italian dinner before your movie session, if you are attending a movie session at Palace Westgarth, I can recommend Umberto Espresso Bar in High Street Thornbury for an authentic Italian dinner or Pizza Miene Liebe for fantastic pizza close by. Alternatively if you are wandering into the city to Kino Cinema, you can’t go past Pellegrini’s for a comforting Italian dish, The European for something a little more fancy and a romantic atmosphere or +39 Pizzeria for tasty pizza.

For more information, head to the official website.

 

Jiggy

This event is for all the Hip Hop Honeys out there…

I specifically remember being a young girl, flicking through an older cousin’s old high school yearbook and being fascinated by the page of senior year students and their ‘life motto’ written underneath each of their photos. While most of these quotes were inspirational sayings of famous figures or motivational words of wisdom, the one that stuck with me that I still remember to this day was one girl’s life motto that simply read ‘Just get Jiggy with It’. Maybe it was because I didn’t understand what on Earth it meant but the repercussion of this memory is that I get a mental image of the pensive look on that girl’s yearbook photo to this day, every time I hear that phrase …

Honestly, even with a little help from Urban Dictionary, I’m still a little confused by what exactly it means to ‘get jiggy with it’… but what I can tell you is that Sugar Nightclub make it very clear they know how to get down like Will Smith and ‘get Jiggy on Fridays’ with their new Hip Hop & RnB night.

‘Jiggy’ on Friday nights celebrates its opening night tonight, Friday 4thJonn Hart October. The new regular Friday event guarantees to be playing a mix of new and old school RNB and Hip Hop favourites every week from 9pm. Attendees of the launch party tonight are also promised a performance by rapper Jonn Hart of Who Booty’. If you and your guurls love a bit of booty popping than this looks like a fun new place to twerk dance the night away.

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Image via

Jiggy Fridays at Sugar Nightclub

8 Jackson Street

Toorak, Victoria, Australia 3142

Guestlist / Function Bookings email info@clubjiggy.com

$20/$25 cover charge

www.clubjiggy.com

Free Parking available on Toorak Rd & Jackson St

 

Finders Keepers Market

With the promise of warmer weather, you can expect to see the start of some fun night markets popping up across Melbourne from now through summer. The Finder’s Keepers Market is a wonderful design and art market, not only selling local designer goods and quirky pieces, the Finder’s Keepers Market ensures an enjoyable outing with DJ sets, great food, alcohol and of course, good coffee. I personally want to check out the Frankie Vintage Emporium as well as a range of other exciting stalls and unique pieces on offer from the likes of Sophie.B and The Lost Words

AK3

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October 4th 6pm – 10pm

October 5th 10am – 5pm

The Royal Exhibition Building
9 Nicholson Street, Carlton

Entry Fee: $2 entry fee, children under 12 enter free.

For more information, refer to their website or event page on Facebook.

www.thefinderskeepers.com

 

Kinki Gerlinki Garage Sale

If you are like me, you love Kinki Gerlinki but may find that your wallet sometimes finds it difficult to keep up with your frequent moments of  lusting over yet another colourful patterned print dress or pom pom and petal embellished accessory. The good news is that the Kinki Gerlinki Garage Sales are unmissable events for lovers of all things Kinki… Gerlinki that is! A great opportunity to revisit the items of your affection or maybe even discover some new lust-worthy pieces at bargain prices.

Image Via

Image Via

October 5th and 6th

9am – 5pm

209 Sydney Rd
Brunswick Vic 3056

You can find more information on their Facebook event page.

 

 

 

Hip Hop High Tea

Image Via

Image Via

You heard right. Grab your shorty and head on down to sip T like a G!

Celebrating all things East Side, this Hip Hop High Tea follows on from their sell-out first event, so get your bookings in quick! Offering ‘dope eats, teas and beats’ dine on a  selection of Japanese tapas while listening to some great Hip Hop and Soul tunes with an Eastside influence as well as live Hip Hop performances. Have a listen to their soundcloud ‘teatape’ to get that vibe ready.

Sat Oct 5, 4–6pm

Horse Bazaar,

397 Little Lonsdale Street,

Melbourne, Victoria 3000

Bookings $30 plus booking fee.

Buy your tickets online here.

For enquiries or advising of any dietary requirements, contact: hiphophightea@gmail.com

For more information, head to their Facebook event page or website:

hiphopghightea.tumblr.com

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Style Notes: My ‘Neck Minnit’ Moment

Posted in Shopping & Sales, Style & Beauty by

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Don’t you hate it when you buy an accessory or clothing piece you absolutely love because it’s so unique and special and you want to believe you’re the only person in the world that owns it, NEK MINNIT you’re finding replicas hanging on every rack from to Cotton On to Valleygirl.

Well a similar situation occurred to me recently, it literally was a ‘neck minnit’ moment because it involved my current favourite necklace. This simple and dainty antique gold ‘Freestyle arrow‘ necklace I purchased on a trip to the U.S last year at an Urban Outfitters store and I adore it because it’s striking and eclectic whilst still being subtle and understatedly chic.

It a good choice for layering with other dainty gold necklaces if you’re feeling a little bare wearing this lightweight necklace on its own, but I think the unique design of this piece also creates enough impact when worn alone. The extra-long length makes it a great accompaniment to combine with high necklines, and the arrow or ‘v’ pendant draws the eye down and inwards to create a very flattering effect.

Urban Outfitters Freestyle Arrow Necklace (in SIlver)

Urban Outfitters Freestyle Arrow Necklace (in SIlver)

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Lovisa FGold SG Long Open V Necklace (Style No.50321995) $12.99

 

I love this gold arrow necklace and enjoyed its uniqueness and the complements I received on it because I had never seen a similar style around, until now!

Imagine my surprise when I saw little replica freestyle arrow jangling about on the display wall of a Lovisa store the other day!

So instead of feeling annoyed about my fashion copycat ‘neck minnit’ moment, I wanted to tell you all the reasons why I love this necklace, in case you like it too! So lesson learnt, sharing is caring and if you like the style, and have a few high neckline items you can imagine pairing with it, you can now pick one up from your nearest Lovisa store for $12.99 and enjoy it as much as I do!
If you decide to purchase one, send me a snap of what outfit you pair yours with!

If you have trouble determining what necklaces to wear with which necklines, check out this great reference from Inside Out Style:

Choosing Necklaces for Necklines
source: http://www.insideoutstyleblog.com/2013/04/how-to-choose-necklaces-to-work-with-your-neckline.html

image source: http://www.insideoutstyleblog.com/2013/04/how-to-choose-necklaces-to-work-with-your-neckline.html

Love,

Melbourne Darling xo

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