Wedding Watch: Rebecca Twigley & Chris Judd

I think Rebecca Twigley is beautiful so I wasn't surprised when I saw her wedding photos to footballer Chris Judd. Her gown was sexy and sophisticated and I love the variety of sheer bridesmaids dresses in timeless grey. The J'Aton gowns are all intricately detailed and beautifully unique. I especially love the sweet heart bodice of Rebecca's wedding gown as it's so feminine and pretty.

The Tourist

It's been a sweltering few weeks in Sydney with temperatures reaching 40 degree highs this week. Some friends and went into town today to catch the Chinese terracotta soldier exhibition at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. We thought it'd be cooler in the city than in the west but it was still an unbearable scorcher. The exhibition was really cool with real terracotta soldiers on show, although no photos were allowed so I could only take some of the horses in the foyer. We kept the rest of our photos for the beautiful architecture of the Art Gallery, St Mary's Cathedral and Hyde Park. From the photos it looks like such a gorgeous Sydney day...until you feel the sun's rays mutating your cells into melanoma skin cancer! Next time I think we'll head to the beach!

Blogger App

Finally my dreams have been answered! Google has released an official Blogger app that will make blogging on the go so much easier! This is my first test post from my Android.

Sake

This blog is a bit overdue but I've been meaning to tell you all about the restaurant we ended up choosing for our anniversary in December. After tossing up between many hatted restaurants and pouring over their fancy degustation menus, we finally decided not to over indulge too much and settled on Sake in The Rocks, Sydney. We both love Japanese and decided that a fusion restaurant with your not-so-typical Japanese dishes would be a great way to try some new dishes that we would surely enjoy.

The service was great as soon as we walked in the door. Our waiter was really helpful in suggesting dishes and describing their qualities as well as recommending how they should be eaten. We started off by sharing our favourite sushi combination (sashimi + scallops) which was meant to be eaten with your hands using the witlof leaf as a scooping spoon - they even provided hot towels to clean our hands, which reminded me of the ones they give you when you wake up on the plane. We also shared the special pork belly skewers which melted in our mouths.

Sushi Maki - S expresss: scallops, spicy mayo, cucumber, seared salmon, witlof and sweet sauce

Kushiyaki - Pork belly: 2 skewers per serve accompanied by spicy anticucho sauce

We carefully picked our mains from the list of enticing dishes, and as were both seafood lovers, I think we definitely picked the best 2 seafood plates on offer. I loved the scallop dish I had, the miso cream sauce really soaked into the vegetables and perfectly complemented the medium cooked tender giant scallops. Law's scampi dish was they one of the softest and sweetest crustacean meat I've ever had and the green tea salt infused it with an amazing flavour, especially with a squeeze of lemon. The dishes were sufficiently filling and well worth it so we were satisfied but left wanting more.

Main - Miso-cream scallops: pan-seared scallops, baby corn, asparagus, shiitake mushrooms & yuzu miso cream

Main - Grilled scampi: grilled green tea salted scampi on daikon ribbon salad with yuzu dressing 

After all that yummy food, we were decided to share 1 dessert - which was a good idea because we'd both been eying the green apple one and neither wanted to choose another. This dish was definitely one of the best desserts I've ever had in my whole entire life. The mousse was so infused with green apple flavour that it was like a dream in your mouth! I have no idea how they got it to taste so good! Not to mention the paper thin pastry and the way it soaked up the apple vanilla syrup but still managed to stay crispy. Yummy yummy yummy, we were fighting over the last bite!

Dessert - Green-apple mille feuille: green-apple mousse with layers of crispy thin pastry & apple vanilla syrup

Overall, we were extremely happy with Sake. I would definitely recommend it if you're looking for a restaurant for a special occasion. The service and food is great and the prices are reasonable for the quality of the dishes. It's nice to eat at a restaurant that is really original in the creation of their dishes even though they are influenced by a particular cuisine. I don't think I will ever find a green apple dessert quite as perfect as this.

Food Challenge: Tomato & Basil Soup

After tasting my first tomato & basil soup from Noodles & Company in Ann Arbor, Michigan, I fell in love with the thickness of its flavours. I'm not really a soup person but I've been craving this dish ever since I left America and finally decided to look up recipes and make my own version of the soup. I wanted to make sure it turned out thick and chunky so that you could taste the fresh ingredients and scoop it up with pieces of toasted garlic bread. After some seasoning, it turned out just as good as I remembered and since I made so much, I had plenty to freeze to satisfy my next big craving! I think this recipe's gonna be a winner this coming winter!

Ingredients:

• 1 bulb of garlic - peeled, cloves separated
• 1kg roma tomatoes - cut in half lengthways
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup fresh basil leaves - finely shredded
• 1 brown onion - finely chopped
• 1/3 cup tomato paste
• 2 cups chicken stock
• Garlic butter
• Bruschetta bread or ciabatta bread

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan-forced. 
2. Line a tray with baking paper. Place tomato (cut-side up) and garlic cloves on prepared tray. Drizzle with 1 tbsp oil. Season with salt and pepper. 
3. Roast for 40 minutes or until tomato is tender. Remove from oven. Set aside to cool slightly. 
4. Process tomato, garlic and the shredded basil until smooth.
5. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. 
6. Add onion. Cook, stirring, for 3 minutes or until soft. 
7. Add tomato paste. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute or until fragrant. 
8. Add stock and tomato mixture. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low. Simmer, stirring occasionally.
9. Season with salt and pepper as required.
10. Spread garlic butter on bread and toast. Serve with a cup of soup, garnished with fresh basil leaves.

Transom Windows

Whenever I look at pictures of houses, I'm always in love with the idea of the extra flow of natural light into a room from windows above windows or doors. I googled this word for word to find out that they are called "transom windows" and not only give more light but can also function as ventilation devices to release hot air from the hottest part of the room. My favourite transom windows are the arched ones that highlight a central doorway or a window seat. Here are some images to give you a better idea of what I'm talking about - they're so versatile and are so much prettier than normal windows and doors!

Lovisa

I'm getting back into accessories now because it's such a cheap and cute way to revive your existing wardrobe! I really like the stuff at Lovisa at the moment but you can also get good pieces at fashion chain stores and department stores. Websites generally have good ideas on what and how to your jewellery!

New collections at Lovisa online

Styling Tips