"The Moon Has Gatecrashed The Party"...

...said Bjork of the full moon over the Sydney Opera House last night.

A Sydney Festival event, her concert sold out nine minutes after the tickets went on sale! We were extremely lucky to have gotten ours (thanks to the boyfriend's persistent clicking of the "refresh" button on the ticketing website!).

The first time I saw her play was at Zouk in Singapore, a small, cosy and intimate gig compared to the scale of last night's set up in the forecourt and on the steps of the iconic Sydney landmark - a huge igloo-shaped tent housing the stage, crazy lasers, tons of musicians (a few playing some pretty sci-fi movie set-type "instruments" particularly the theramin-sounding one with a big round flat screen "played" by placing and moving runes-looking pieces on the screen) and fireworks at the end of the night.

However, ten years (I think) later, at 42, she's still as cute as a button and as entertaining as ever with her music, quirky dance moves, over-the-top make-up and of course, her wardrobe - loved the gold "foil" dress with the soft "extended" shoulders that billowed with her every move and each gust of seabreeze but was sorely disappointed that she didn't do a wardrobe change, not one!

Photo by: D. Arnold

Anya Hindmarch Who?

Bag on right: A grocery store-type plastic carry bag.

Bag on left: A tongue-in-cheek take on the grocery store-type plastic carry bag - a surprise included in the latest package from Lyd, my "personal shopper" in Singapore.

Made from hardy tarpaulin-like material, this bag is definitely reusable many times over, holds twice as much as the bag on the right and has the kitschy-coolest handprinted baby blue swallows.

Is the material recycled or eco-friendly? I have no idea.

Is it assembled by old ladies and their trusty old sewing machines residing in old folks'/retirement homes from patterns cut out by patients in mental health institutions? I'd like to think so because that's what Homespun, the company that "produced" the bag does - linking designers to crafty folks (in villages in Asia and the aforementioned homes in Singapore) with skills that are best suited to make each product.

What I do know, without sounding preachy-preachy, is we're doing something good ("noble" keeps popping up but it might be too big a word to use here) buying the bag - besides the usual "green" reasons, we're also giving the people involved in making them some sense of self-worth and a little bit of pocket money.

The "philosophy" behind the Homespun bag reminded me of Biddy Bags. It is a non-profit company in Redcliffe, Australia that gets nannas/grannies to meet over tea and make unique handcrafted bags which are sold here - half of the profit goes to the maker of the bag and the remainder is used to cover the company's operational and promotional costs.

This is Nanna Audrey in the 1950s.





And this is one of the many Biddy Bags that she has made.






Meet the rest of the crafty "bag" ladies here.

Lunch At Penny's Lane

Almost didn't make it to lunch as the hangover from the tipples at last night's Andy Weatherall gig was massive but I'm glad I did for it's very rare that this group of foodie pals and I get a Sunday-off together.

Located in the building behind the iconic Coca-Cola billboard at Sydney's infamous King's Cross, the modern yet earthy decor at Penny's Lane is a sharp contrast to the garish neons on the strip.

On the menu, the food is grouped under "Sandwiches", "Salads", "Pasta", "Mains" and "Dessert". Feeling totally ravenous, with a huge huge craving for comfort food to soak up the alcohol, I wanted to start with a pasta dish and have a main course to follow but didn't want to over-order so I turned to our waiter (who was already exuding a vibe too snooty for a pretty casual-dining place like this one) for advice.

Me: The pasta on the menu - is it "entree" size or "main course" size?
Waiter: It depends on what you think is an "entree" or a "main".
Me (getting slightly grumpy now and the hangover headache didn't help): It's a very simple question. What I want to know is if I had the pasta to start, would I still be able to eat a main course after?
Waiter: It depends on how much you can eat.
Me (full-blown grumpy now): That's what I'm trying to figure out!
Waiter: Well, different people have different limits to how much they can eat.
Me (ready to crawl his beady eyes out): I know. I know how much I can eat but I need to know your portion size to know how much of your food I can eat. I don't know why you're making this so difficult. You know what, I'll have the chicken and chestnut mushroom tortellini to start, followed by pan fried barramundi. If the pasta is too big a dish, I'll just share it.

I have to say that that was my worst encounter with a waiter ever! And I eat out quite often and have been to finer establishments than this one. Besides merely taking plates of food out from the kitchen and placing them on tables, isn't it also part of his job to be armed with a wealth of knowledge of the food and wine that the restaurant is serving and to provide customers with an enjoyable dining experience, hoping that they will return for another meal?

Fortunately, the food did not disappoint. The chicken and chestnut mushroom tortellini with parmesan and rocket was exactly what I needed - warm, with a light creamy sauce. And it was "entree'" size!

The Penny's Lane salad (a chorizo-laden number) and the harissa spiced lamb fillet and couscous salad which my lunch pals ordered were huge and extremely tasty.

My main course of pan fried barramundi with cuttlefish salad is how I love my fish - cooked in a no-fuss way for a clean clear flavour. All at our table went for the same main course except for one who ordered the grain-fed sirloin and steak frites - it came out beautifully-cooked to medium-rare, as requested.

It was soon time for dessert and yet another exasperating exchange with another waiter (this guy didn't exude "toffi-ness" but was totally clueless).

One of my pals: So, what cheeses have you got today?
Waiter: Umm...we have a Cheddar, a blue cheese and a goat's cheese.
Pal: Hmmm...yes, but we meant what make of cheeses you have got.
Waiter: Umm...let me go check.
All of us in unison (whispered when waiter was out of earshot): Failed!

{Oh, did I mention that all my lunching pals work in hospitality - front-of-house and in the kitchen?}

Don't know if we intimidated the last waiter but a different one came back to list us the cheeses (Maffra cheddar, St Agur blue and a goat's cheese that I can't remember the name of now). We ordered two cheese plates (they were very generous with the accompaniments of bread, crackers and muscatel), a creme caramel with blood plum salad (pretty good texture) and a cornucopia of summer berries and vanilla ice cream (very refreshing after a heavy meal).

Will I go eat at Penny's Lane again? For the food and value-for-money, a definite "yes". However, if the service is still crap on the next visit, there will not be a third one (a real shame) and they can't say that I've not given them a chance.

Brian Wilson - Our First Concert Of The Year

Brian Wilson then...when I used to snigger at people who loved The Beach Boys and rolled my eyes and gave exasperated sighs when those same people suggested that I give the band's records a listen.




Brian Wilson now. And me? I no longer take the piss.

Thanks to "Big Love" (starring Chloe Sevigny in hot hot wardrobe every episode) on the telly. The theme tune, "God Only Knows", was on "repeat" in my head for the longest time so out I went and bought "Pet Sounds" by The Beach Boys at $9.99 from the bargain bin of our favourite music store. And had it on "repeat" in the CD player instead (something I do pretty often with my tunes of the mo'). When I finally had it off that mode a week (and a happy boyfriend) later and played the album in full, bam!, I saw/heard what many before me had - ""Pet Sound" is THE seminal Beach Boys album!", "Brian Wilson is the genius behind it all!".....

It's not like I've not heard their music before - one would have to had lived in a cave for the last few decades to not be exposed to that - but, like they say, there's a big difference between "hearing" and "listening". I am a convert.

And a very happy one last night at the Sydney Festival's Opening Night where Brian Wilson played a whole hour for free!

Because It's Summer In Ipanema...

...and the cheerfully-colourful fashion by Totem Praia shouts that out loud with their vintage-feel Orla-Kiely-meets-Pucci-esque prints.

I'm glad it's still summer in Australia for I scored this Totem maxi dress at the Paris Texas sale today. I was planning to wear it loose muu muu-style but when I got home and tried it on with the matching fabric belt, the dress was instantly transformed, three times (!) - belt under bust: empire-waist dress, belt at waist: 70s kinda vibes, and belt at hips: a Grecian-like number.

And this happy-sunshine bat-wing top is for the "personal shopper" in Singapore where it's always summer - she sends me made-in-Brazil shoes so here's a Brazilian top for her.