VICTORIA MASON

Ever loved something so much you wanted to wear it every day? Well here's a jewellery collection that helps you sport those harder-than-usual items like teacups and chairs. Victoria Mason is so inspired by everyday household objects that she made a range of silver jewellery to celebrate it. Whether it’s her tiny silver earrings shaped as spoons and forks or the Pencil Sharpening necklace, they remind us that it’s often the smallest things which give us the greatest pleasure. For more information visit http://victoriamason.com/ or their blog http://www.earlandcookie.blogspot.com/

MAMACITA by LITTLE THING

How beautiful is this range of children's clothing? Mamacita by Little Thing is a range of hand-made clothing from Mexico, commissioned to textile families to support trade into Australia. For more information visit http://www.littlething.com.au/

GIRLZ PICNIC IN MANLY

Sunday was a great day, after a very hectic week, the girlz and I decided to unwind (and unwind we did) on a beautiful Spring afternoon in Manly somewhere on Sydney's beautiful Northern Beaches.



We started at The Winery on Manly Beach, what a great venue. I've been to the Surry Hills and Kings Cross restaurants but the one on Manly Beach is special. The vibe is very chilled, low key, cool and relaxed. No posers here... thongs and board shorts welcome!! The staff are so friendly and helpful and the menu rocks (as does the Margaritas). We had the "Girlz Picnic" menu which included glass of bubbles on arrival, then lovely share plate of tomato/mozzarella salad and some assorted meat. Then a high tea selection of sandwiches, small quiche, tartlets and yummy petit fours. I'm a huge fan of the Winery they just get it right every time from the atmosphere to the staff to the food, for more information visit http://thegazebos.com.au/manly/





After a VERY long lunch at the Winery, we decided to wander down to Manly Wharf (opposite end to the beach) and sit by the harbour and watch the sun set. The best place to do this would be Hugo's on Manly Wharf. The open air setting and bar/lounge area is the perfect place to grab a light snack (pizza etc) and of course another margarita and watch the world go by. Hugo's has a few venue's throughout Sydney visit them at http://www.hugos.com.au/ for more information.





A little fact that most people don't know is that Manly holds some of the last mainland breeding pairs of Little Penguins. There are some wonderful volunteers that arrive at dusk to ensure the Penguins come to shore in safety and then stay with them until they go to bed. It's so very cute and so admirable to have people to help ensure these beautiful animals safety, especially in a high-traffic tourist area. We interviewed one of the volunteers who to my surprise said that 98% of the time everyone is just lovely and genuinely care about the Penguins. Manly Council have done a lot to ensure the survival of these guys, if you are interested in helping out or want more information visit the co-ordinators blog site at http://penguinprattle.blogspot.com/

JARDAN

Jardan Australia is a Melbourne company that has been designing and making custom-made furniture since 1987. The quality of their craftspeople is first class, and the design of their furniture is so unique it really cuts through the awful furniture in market. For more information visit http://www.jardan.com.au

MCA's $53 MILLON REDEVELOPMENT

The Museum of Contemporary Art is one of Sydney's most iconic buildings, nestled around our famous beautiful harbour and hugged by the Harbour Bridge on one side and the Sydney Opera House directly opposite. It was built in 1939 and has just received the green light for a $53 million redevelopment. This is BIG news for Sydney.


Above are the plans for the redevelopment transforming the building into Sydney's major art and education hub. The plans have been designed by award winning Architect Sam Marshall http://www.marshall.net.au/ in close collaboration with the MCA.



The plans include the creation of a National Centre for Creative Learning, along with revamped and extended gallery spaces and a new public entrance. Previous schemes to redevelop the MCA - including a proposed design concept by Japanese architects Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa in 1997 and a controversial design by Sauerbruch and Hutton in 2000 - have failed to progress to planning consent stage but obviously Sam Marshall's designs have made the cut.


Education is the central focus of the redesign and with more than 500,000 people visiting the MCA each year, the design is key to accommodating everyone's needs. It will house a space with workshop for schools and after-school youth programs and will be the new facility for the Museum's renowned Bella program for young people with special needs. Plus a digital classroom, multi-media room, library and extensive resource room - the redevelopment will add so many benefits to the community as well as the visiting tourists.

The MCA has secured more than half of the $50m needed for the redevelopment, with already $27m already raised. Construction will commence once 90% of the funding has been achieved. There is a $10m grand from the State Government and a further $1m pledged by the City of Sydney.

MCA Foundation Chair Simon Mordant and CEO of Greenhill, is a passionate collector of contemporary art who has personally pledged $5m to the project.

Environmentally sustainable design (ESD) and the reduction of the MCA’s carbon footprint are also key elements of the redevelopment. The plans incorporate a seawater heat exchange with a fully integrated air-conditioning system offering energy savings of up to 30%. Other initiatives include ESD compliant lighting, energy monitoring throughout the building, insulation of gallery spaces, as well as water and materials recycling.

The MCA is the only institution in Australia dedicated to both collecting and exhibiting contemporary art, from this nation and around the world. For more information visit http://www.mca.com.au/

JONAS PETERSON

Seriously! Anyone thinking about getting married or capturing a moment in life should be contacting this guy... Jonas Peterson. http://jonaspeterson.com/ Possibly THE best photographer I've ever seen. His eye for amazing detail is out of this world. He captures moments that the normal eye can't see - what the heart feels he puts on film... Visit his website for more information.... I visit his site for daily inspiration!

PONY RIDER

I came across this very cool company called Pony Rider recently, I love their unique prints/fabrics. They have an online store http://www.ponyrider.com.au/ as well as a cool blog http://pony-rider.blogspot.com/

The wall dots above are a fresh take on the vinyl wall art that's really popular at the moment. These wall dots create a little portal into another world, there are various creative options but my favourites are above :)

MEET YOU AT THE BEACH - IN PARIS?

http://pretavoyager.blogspot.com/ has to be one of my top 5 sites I visit every day. It's my little piece of daily virtual-travel, you should definately check out her blog. We've been to Paris twice now, and in Summer and I had no idea that the Paris Plage (Paris Beach) initiative is now in it's 9th year??? Starting in 2002 Paris Plage is a free summer event that transforms several areas in Paris into beach area each with a distinct theme. How clever!! It was the brainchild of Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe, originally criticized as being extravagant and now celebrated as iconic and innovative.

The different scenes include sun baking sand arena, swimming in pools suspended over the Seine, kayaking the Seine and the free concerts about town. As I've found out it's normally run from mid July to mid August 8am to midnight every day!!! Apparently several European cities have now copied the idea, to think they have to re-create a beach when in Sydney, Australia we are so very lucky to have it surround us. Nice to dream about Paris - great to live in Sydney :)

GLUTEN FREE ANYONE?

Healthy Feast is located at 157 Norton Street Leichhardt. It's open Sun - Tues 8am-4pm and Wed - Sat 8am - 7pm. One of their goals is to cater for those with food intolerances or special dietary needs in inspiring ways. If you have any type of intolerance then you are aware of the limited options available for you, I know we all enjoy eating cardboard... NOT. Healthy Feasts has everything from Lamingtons, Lemon Meringue Pies, Apple Crumbles, Orange Blossom Cakes and more - ALL GLUTEN FREE. Visit their website for more information http://www.healthyfeast.com.au/

CRUELTY FREE FESTIVAL

The Cruelty Free Festival returns to Sydney's Belmore Park on Sunday 7 November from 10am - 7pm. If you care about animals or want to learn how you can make a difference you should definately attend this great day out. There's over 60 food & wine stalls, inspiring cooking demonstrations, entertainment / live performers, meditation and yoga workshops and more. You don't have to be vegetarian to attend the festival - there are so many things you can learn from this festival including avoiding key products that are still tested cruelly on animals. Make a day of it - why not? Visit http://crueltyfreefestival.org.au/ for more information

THE GAFFA

Did you know that there is an awesome artists space on Clarence Street in Sydney CBD? Either did I. I have walked past this building several times and only just walked into it today. GAFFA is located at 281 Clarence St, Sydney CBD or visit www.gaffa.com.au for more information. It is a three level artist space. Ground floor includes the cafe KLINK plus a couple of Keeper Gallery displays and the Gaffa Gallery Shop which stocks all local/Australian upcoming designers. The first, second and third floor contains the gallery spaces which are available for hire. What a fantastic space in the heart of the Sydney.