Manchester Press.

Here in Melbourne, there is no lack of incredible breakfast spots to go and try. Neil and I have been making our way through a list of places that we've walked past, heard about or seen top rated on Urbanspoon. On the weekend, my dear friend, Soné from Polli, and I launched our Friday morning with girls' breakfast out. We made our way into the city to experience what so many others have loved and raved about, and that is Manchester Press.

Tucked in at the back of Rankins Lane, we were greeted with the rare sight of a giant disco ball hanging high above the entrance, and fantastic illustrations. Inside it was busy and bustling but we managed to find a table where we were again, surrounded with gorgeous illustrations covering the walls. At the first glance of the menu, we both knew we wouldn't be able to go past their bagels, and I'm so glad we didn't! I cannot emphasize how incredible and filling this breakfast was (apart from a few sneaky macarons, we didn't eat anything again till 4pm that afternoon!). And not to mention the coffee was an art in itself. I don't know how the barista knew that I have a slight bunny obsession, but it melted my heart when I received my coffee with the sweetest bunny art on there! 

I will most definitely be bringing friends and family we have visiting before the end of the year, back here! Top choice :)

Thanks Manchester Press!

Lanes & Alleys.

A year ago when Neil and I first landed in Melbourne, the places that really sold Melbourne for us was the incredible mix of urban lanes & alleys that are spread across the city. With an eclectic range of shops, services and eateries, there's so many places to explore and discover.

Degraves Street and Centre Place are two of those little lanes that I cannot love any more. There's just something about the range of people (tourists and locals) that makes that place so loveable. Despite the fact that winter is now upon is with rainy and crisp days, it doesn't seem to affect the flow of traffic through these lanes, as it's cosy seating and warm atmosphere makes it totally worth the visit.

Flamingo Fun.

Jacket l Urban Outfitters. Flamingo Dress l ASOS. Boots l Wittner. Sunglasses
Emporio Armani sunglasses c/o Vision Direct. 

Can I just say, I have flamingos on my dress. Flamingos! This for some reason is just something that makes me super happy! They just seem to be such happy and bright little things that's now splattered all over my dress and it absolutely, positively brightens my day. And a bonus was this weekend we had such lovely weather it was much easier to wear this out in the warm Autumn sun without layering up and covering up these pretty little birds. Making the most of these days before the rain hits us!

In other news, this week marked our first official year living it up in Melbourne! In the blink of an eye this year has come and gone and I cannot believe we've been away from home for so long. To tell you the truth, it doesn't quite feel like it's been a year, as it's so easy to keep in contact with friends back home these days that some times it feels like I'm sitting in their lounges, enjoying a cup of tea and a good chat (thank God for social media sites and entertaining communication apps!!). We've been rather blessed as well to have had a handful of family and friends come visit so far, with a whole bunch still planned for later this year. Makes life so much easier knowing they are only a 3.5 hour flight away ;)

Auction Rooms.

Yesterday Neil and I decided to stop at the Auction Rooms for a breakfast date before heading out on our Saturday ritual of going to the markets. I've had many friends recommend this fantastic spot to us and we finally picked up our game and actually went. Set in the old WB Ellis auction house, this is a beautiful, quaint and very welcoming cafe. I must admit, I am extremely jealous of their incredible building and location, as the exposed brick, high ceilings and unique industrial PVC pipe lights are all things that's right up my alley of things to love in my future home.

The cafe is actually much bigger than what I expected as well. Most of our favourite cafes around town are very cute and fantastic in their own ways, but a lot of the time, they can be quite small and you aren't always guaranteed a spot. Which is why I think that Auction Rooms is such a winner! With great coffee, incredible food (we both had poached eggs, chorizo and sourdough bread - a.mazing!) and fantastic atmosphere, these are all ingredients for a top spot that we will definitely be returning to!

White Night Melbourne.

This past weekend Melbourne hosted the first White Night event in Australia. White Night is all about creating art, music and installations for the larger public to enjoy and using streets, laneways and other public spaces to display it. From dusk till dawn, White Night catered for every group of audience with events ranging from symphonies and operas, to zombies and dancing in Federation Square.

We started the night off with friends of ours and headed to the symphony at the Sidney Myer Bowl, outdoor amphitheater. We were lucky to actually get in and see some of the show as the place was packed and reached full capacity early on. Needless to say, it was spectacular!

As we moved onto the next 'event', we came across many different performances along the road. The atmosphere was alive and vibrant with tens of thousands of people wandering the streets and enjoying this incredible arts night. The most spectacular thing about the evening, I would have to say was the buildings lined up on Flinders Street that had the most incredible patterns projected onto the buildings, aligning perfectly to the structure and form of each building. It was truly spectacular to see this come to life, as so many things would have to be considered in creating these pieces: distance the light would have to travel to reach the buildings, perspective and the angles from where the light is projected from.

It was all in all an extremely successful event that I am looking forward to attending again next year! If only it could come soon ;)

Common Galaxia

I absolutely love new discoveries! With the long weekend that's just been, Neil and I decided to take a little tour around our neighborhood and we came across this fantastic spot, Common Galaxia, which a friend back home actually got us onto! Great coffee, great atmosphere and seriously the BEST croissant I've had! This could well and truly become our favourite Saturday morning breakfast spot :)

People's Market & Winner Announcement.

Last weekend Neil and I had quite a busy one! We only have one more week left before heading home for Christmas, so we've been making the most of festivities here in Melbourne and getting all our Christmas shopping done. We made our way over to the People's Market, a collection of old refurbished shipping containers turned markets. A definite Summer destination if you're around in Melbourne!



And a special little shout out to The Super Cool store! You saved my Christmas list! I had one more present to tick off my list, and I knew exactly what I needed to get. Only problem is, the very last one of these special little gifts were sold out from the store I was going to get (shhh, I know, I am being very mysterious, but you know...the person who will be getting it might be reading!). But thanks to The Super Cool, I now have a super cool gift, for a super cool person and was lucky enough to get the last copy of this special little gift! Choice guys!

And of course, I as promised, I cannot finish off this post without announcing the lucky winner to the Christmas Wishlist Giveaway sponsored by Vision Direct! Congratulations to Rachel, lucky entry number #3! I will be in contact shortly to organise your awesome prize :)
And thanks so much to everyone who enter.

¿Un Taco?

After three months of living in the lively city that is Melbourne, we have discovered so many incredible cafes, bars and restaurants to even mention them all on here! Around every corner and along every little alleyway, there are amazing eateries lined up everywhere, with a huge selection of different cultures' food available.

On Saturday afternoon we met up with some lovely friends and off we went to the Mexican restaurant that is Mamasita. You could tell it was popular by the line of people waiting to enter outside. With the menu keeping simple and consistent to true Mexican flavours, we loved the style of food-sharing and managed to try a range of different items off the menu. And what better way to top of the mean than with a shot of Tequila! 

Bottoms up!

Design Made Trade.

Colourful Rowena Martinich stand at Design Made Trade.

A couple of weekends ago, I couldn't resist but stop in at the annual Design Made Trade, a boutique event showcasing Australian and international design culture. With a huge variety of disciplines on display, (including graphic design, textile, furniture, jewellery design and more) I loved looking through all the bright, eye catching, and inspiring vendors on display.
It was such a pleasure to pop over at The Hungry Workshop stand while visiting, as I have been a fan of their work for a while now and admire their unique and quirky letterpress work. And not to mention, the wonderfully cleverness that is PrintTogether, a company that focuses on making printing more environmentally sustainable and economical by printing several customer's print jobs together. Definitely worth checking out if you are in need of some printing! I am definitely planning on using them in the future for projects.