As the time ticked by, the minute and hour hands inexorably creeping around the clock toward 8.30am, I would feel increasingly nauseous. Sunday nights were the worst, and on a particularly melancholic Sunday evening I (perhaps a tad dramatically) complained to a dear friend that I didn’t know how I would get out of bed the next day.  She leaned over and confided that when she knew she’d be facing a difficult day she made a point of mentally perusing her wardrobe before going to sleep and finding the most fabulous outfit in it, so at the very least she had getting dressed up to look forward to in the morning.

Clever, no? This lady is seriously glamourous, so there was no way I was letting this advice slide by. I’m in a great workplace now but I continue to make use of this tip when I’m nervous about a meeting, sickly, or just not feeling it. Sure, wearing my favourite skirt doesn’t stop me getting chewed out by the finance department for being inept with numbers, but it does make me smile when I check the mirror before I leave the house in the morning – it’s a good start, a sartorial breakfast of sorts.

Last week it was a combination of the glum Sydney weather and mid-week malaise that had me burrowing through my wardrobe for a little workday inspiration. I keeping with the autumn-like weather, I went for warm tones of blush and plum, and light layers.

Vintage collared blouse, bought from Bondi Markets (I love the details on this – scalloped sleeves, high neckline, covered buttons)

ASOS t-shirt

High waisted floral patterned Review skirt (I bought this 6 years ago, and it still remains a favourite in my work wardrobe)

Strummer ‘The Pledge’ slingbacks, in plum (my go to shoe right now, whilst I nurse horrific blisters on my heels)

FireHosiery back seam stockings, in natural (previously seen here)

Clear bauble necklace – designer unknown* – bought at Young Blood: Designers Market at the Powerhouse Museum

Blush scarf/wrap, Myer

…

*I have desperately tried to track down the designer of this gorgeous piece and to my eternal disappointment my search has been fruitless. I think they might be based in Western Australia. They also made my favourite handbag, an oversized caramel leather vintage style beauty. People have chased me down the street to find out where the bag is from. If you know who the designer is, pretty please send me the name/link. I’d be forever grateful.

This year, however, I’ve gotten a little swept up in the madness because come Valentine’s Day my parents will be celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary. I think that’s huge. Hugely impressive, and all kinds of sweet and heartwarming. Factoring in leap years, that is 9131 days and nights shared. If my maths skills were more awesome than they are, I could spit out some cool figures like number of meals shared, but I can’t so you’ll just have to be awed thinking about the fact that it could run into tens of thousands. I’m sure many people celebrate this length of time together, but this is the longest relationship that I have witnessed, and is certainly one of the happiest and most loving.

So, misty eyed and mushy as I am at the moment, I thought I’d share a recipe for a simple but impressive looking treat that you could make this Valentine’s Day – chocolate dipped strawberries. Make them for someone that you fancy, take them into work and be the office star for the day, share them with your flatmates, or surprise a friend. I actually made these for a birthday picnic recently, so those of you with the anti-Valentine’s Day brigade needn’t miss out on principle.

You will need

750g strawberries (approximately 30 strawberries)

250g dark chocolate, chopped*

150g milk chocolate, chopped*

*Depending on your preference, you can substitute white chocolate, or swap the quantities of dark and milk chocolate.

The how to

1. Prepare a surface to set the strawberries on by laying a piece of greaseproof paper on a baking tray or chopping board.

2. Wash strawberries, keeping the leafy tops intact. Dry carefully – a clean kitchen towel will do nicely for this – any water remaining on the strawberries will hinder the chocolate from adhering properly.

3. Leave the strawberries aside for a moment, and get the chocolate melting.

Pop a medium sized saucepan on the stovetop and fill it up to halfway with water. Set a heatproof bowl on top, ensuring that the water is not touching the base of the bowl. Put the dark chocolate into the bowl, and turn on the heat so that the water comes to a simmer. Stir occasionally until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth.

Using a smaller saucepan and bowl, do the same with the milk chocolate.

4. Now for the fun part.

Holding the strawberries by their leafy tops, dip them one by one into the dark chocolate. Once you have coated approximately two-thirds of the strawberry, gently shake a little of the excess chocolate off, then lay the strawberry on the pre-prepared tray.

. Once you have dipped all of the strawberries in dark chocolate, you can decorate them with the milk chocolate. I piped on thick swirling lines of milk chocolate, but a similar effect can be achieved by coating a spoon in the melted milk chocolate and drizzling across.

When you’re done decorating, refrigerate your lovely creations until they are set.

To serve, take the tray of strawberries out of the refrigerator approximately 30 minutes before you wish to eat them. This is a good time to transfer the strawberries to a pretty serving tray to hide all evidence of the somewhat messy decoration process.

…

If you’re on the looking for something a little fancier, here are three gorgeous Valentine’s Day themed recipes that I’ve been eyeing off recently:

Red Velvet Whoopie (by Miss Renaissance)

Chocolate Domo-Kun Heart Cookies (by Alana Bread)

Rocky Road (by Not Quite Nigella)

…

P.S. On the topic of anniversaries and celebrations, this piece is a little milestone for the F tangent as it brings us to a grand total of 100 posts on this here blog (I did say it was only a little milestone). Secretly (or, at least it was secret until I shared it here) I’m a little chuffed. Thanks for reading x

food porn

foohd ‘pawn

noun 1. food that is presented in a way that is visually stimulating or erotic.
2.  (derogatory) food which is high in calories or fat content.

Also, food pornography.

So, in the spirit of the dictionary powers-that-be acknowledging food porn as a thing, I thought I’d share some photographs that I took late on a spring Saturday afternoon last year at John & Peter Canteen.

The new-ish restaurant is nestled within Sydney’s inner west arts hub Carriageworks, and offers simple but elegant Italian cuisine driven by high quality produce rather than fussy methods of preparation or presentation. Despite sitting within the Carriageworks complex, restauranteurs John Wilson & Peter Lin have very much carved out their own space here. Bright, modern, black and white decor glistens against the industrial surrounds, although the theatrical purpose of the complex is not entirely ignored as the restaurant space is cheekily lit with a stage lighting rig.

The Carriageworks exterior in the late afternoon/John & Peter Canteen blackboard/Interior shot of the restuarant – setting the scene for the food fetishists

Sage and anchovy fritters (ripe for a smutty joke, but I’ll leave that to your imagination)

Broad beans, lemon, mint, ricotta

Roast brown onions, buffalo mozzarella

Roast scotch, cime de rapa

Swordfish, kohlrabi, lemon, olive

Time in between courses was easily spent admiring the effect of the gorgeous late afternoon sunshine on the flowers and glassware

Crema fritta, vanilla icecream, chestnut honey. The natural light had faded away at this point and I only had my phone to work with – which doesn’t do so well under artificial lighting – so I feel I ought to assure you that this image in no way does justice to the deliciousness of a fried custard parcel accompanied by ice cream and a delicate glaze of honey.

…

All of these images are from meals ordered from the dinner menu, which I believe has changed slightly since I visited – you can see it here, if you’re interested.

Turning onto my street, heading home, I caught a glimpse of them in a cracked mirror that was propped up rather forlornly against a telegraph pole, part of the refuse from a neighbour’s household purge.

I think it was the matching shades of brown that stopped me. Somehow, the heels of my new, much adored loafers and the ugly timber like laminate seemed to work together.

Beyond the initial aesthetic interest, I liked the idea of these two cast off objects together, one reflected in the other, even if just for the couple of moments that it took for me to snap the photographs. It was obvious that my preloved shoes had been well loved in a way that the mirror and board hadn’t, but at some stage, for whatever reason, the original owners of both objects had decided that these things no longer had a place in their lives, wardrobes, or homes.

I was doubtful that someone would see potential in the sad old mirror, looking every bit as though it just fell from the 1970s, in the way that I knew that I had to have these shoes as soon as I tried them on. There is something very sad about a cast off and broken object but I knew that beyond a couple of photographs this mirror and I would have no further dealings, so I left it by the road.

Walking past the same place the next day, I was surprised (and pleased) to see that my assumptions were entirely wrong and the broken mirror was orphaned no longer. Some brilliantly thrifty and creative soul had apparently seen something in it worth saving, beyond just an image, and carried it away overnight.

…

Shoes: Robert Clergerie, bought second hand from the lovely Erin at Dolly Up Vintage Emporium

Hosiery: ‘Vintage seam’, by FireHosiery

Hyde Park was pulsing with lights and music, to which thousands of people were dancing along to in a fashion every bit as enthusiastic as the swing moves that I’d left behind, if somewhat chaotic and disordered in comparison.

A little animation to capture the summertime party mood around the bus

Dancing with reckless abandon amongst an enormous crowd of punters doing the very same with the sounds of soul and funk blasting from the bus, it finally felt like the long delayed summertime had arrived. When the music stopped at 11am – and only once Norman Jay was satisfied that every last bit of the collective crowd party spirit had been channelled into exuberant dancing and appreciative roars – the crowd dispersed and we began to wander home.

Rambling through Hyde Park and taking in the fantastic light installations was a perfect way to complete the Festival First Night experience. One of the things that I love most about Sydney Festival – and First Night is the best example of this – is that it goes beyond showcasing talented artists and acts to physically transforming city spaces usually purposed for business or other more structured/regulated activities, flinging them wide open for public engagement and creative expression.

           Brook Andrew’s work Travelling Colony included mesmerising slow moving zig-zag patterns projected onto St Mary’s Cathedral

  Lights amongst the trees lining the main avenue of Hyde Park transform a functional walkway into a visually stimulating passage to and from the festivities

The art installations and lighting of Hyde Park, for example,  are an incredibly effective way to temporarily alter the way that we perceive, use, and behave in this particular space. These changes may not be radical or permanent, but for a short stretch of time people (particularly adults) play in a space that they wouldn’t otherwise. They dance. They spend time looking at a building that they might ordinarily pass by without a glance. They look up into the trees to watch the lights change from red, to pink, to yellow, then blue. For me it was all of these things, as well as an opportunity to play with my new camera – with mixed, but mostly fun results, as seen above – and I certainly wasn’t the only person messing about with filming or photography. Sure, there are still rules at a festival, but there are also more opportunities for the taking, if you so wish.

For those in and around Sydney, if you’re kicking yourself for having missed out on Festival First Night, head out to Parramatta this Saturday (January 14) for the Sydney Festival Parra Opening Party. Amongst other entertainment, Norman Jay will be at the heart of the party with another marathon set, giving you the opportunity to join the dancing throng at the feet (well, wheels, really) of the party bus.

Whilst tens of thousands of people descended on the Domain for Manu Chao, I headed straight to Elizabeth Street, shiny new camera in hand, for the chance to dance again at the modern day Trocadero Dance Palace.

Elizabeth Street at Martin Place was treated to a party makeover with beautiful lighting designed by Matthew Marshall that saw the crowd bathed in glowing shades of pink, purple and blue

The friendly all-ages crowd takes enthusiastically to learning the Hand to Hand Charleston

The lovely Rebecca, of Black Swan’s Pond, all frocked up in her vintage best

The exuberant and seemingly inexhaustible professional dancers kicked, twirled and Lindy Hopped their way through Cameron Mitchell’s choreography to the rousing tunes of the fabulous all-girl Sirens Big Band

A little animated peek at one of the slow dances, for those who missed out…

A little bit of blurry slow-dancing love

More photos of Festival First Night adventures (and perhaps another animation or two) to be posted soon.

From late December to early January, I’ll be taking a little break. Putting up posts will be exchanged for sleeping in, sailing, brunches, cocktail-making, browsing an op shop or two, and spending more time with my nearest and dearest. Wherever you are, I hope you’re doing much of the same.

I’ll also be tinkering with my beautiful new camera (the most amazing of Christmas gifts) so you can look forward to images of a much higher quality on the F tangent in 2012.

Thanks for visiting, reading, and contributing in the comments – I hope to see you back again soon.

x

My twelve days ’til Christmas blogging countdown didn’t pan out at all as I had planned – every last free moment that I had was sucked into a vortex of delayed flights, a 48 hour marathon festive weekend with family, and last minute gift shopping.

Hopefully this hilarious clip of a children’s nativity play goes someway to making up for the blog silence.

Peace, love, etc

x

Despite being absolutely crazy about Christmas, I’ve never been able to bring myself to don a festive themed jumper  – you know the kind, it’s a sex-proof knitted affair covered in snowflakes, or reindeer (see: Colin Firth as Mark Darcy in Bridget Jones’s Diary). I’d like to put it down to living in a climate at which the kind of attire is unsuitable at Christmas, however, I’m equally averse to flashing Christmas tree earrings, so I think that the issue runs deeper than a need for weather appropriate clothing*.

The urge to recoil from Christmas clothes and accessories has always made me feel a little like Scrooge, so I was pretty chuffed when I came across Deborah Lippman’s line of glitter nail polishes, because really, what is more festive than something sparkly? I bought the red glitter, which is rather happily called Do Ya Think I’m Sexy? I love it, and plan to wear it from now through until New Year’s Eve.

*Net-A-Porter have a section on their site this year devoted exclusively to holiday themed jumpers, so it would appear that novelty festive wear is having a bit of a moment, yet, even when done by Stella McCartney, Jil Sander, or 3.1 Phillip Lim, Christmas knitwear and I remain resolutely unfriendly.

A couple of days ago I lost a couple of hours idly perusing fashion blogs. I started out with my regular reads, and then after clicking through to their recommended reads, ‘links to love’ posts, and image sources, found myself on some new pages. It was all very casual –akin to rifling through Vogue whilst painting your toenails and carrying on a conversation with a friend – until I came across these images from Katrantzou’s SS ’12 collection, and felt electrified.

Images from Four-Eyed Fashion 

Katrantzou’s creations always delight me, with their form-changing lines and wild use of colour and print, but what excited me most on this occasion was the evocation of the form of a fish, and most specifically for me, the hyper-feminine fish from Fantasia. The recollection is hinged almost entirely on the fabric cascading from the low waist and hips featured in the above images, and the resemblance of this free flowing material to the exaggerated fluid-moving fins and tails of the seductive Fantasia fish. Tenuous connection or no, this was what leapt out at me and I couldn’t shake it, so I searched out the clip of the glorified goldfish sashaying about their underwater grotto – included below, if you also need a refresher.

Note the way that the fish encircle themselves, and each other, with their own fins and tails – is at once both protective and decorative, at times even provocative. I so clearly remember watching this scene as a child and feeling sure that the fish were dressed up, despite clearly not being clothed. The fish give the impression of being covered-up and adorned, in the same way that a person is when they are clothed.

All in all, rather a directionless post, but the impression of the relationship between these two things that together sparked something in the recesses on my brain was so strong that I wanted to share it.

P.S. If you’re a fan of Katrantzou’s work, I highly recommend you visit Fashademic to read Rosie’s incredibly thoughful and poetic writings on some of of Katrantzou’s collections.