Beers, bratwurst & burlesque.

Valentines Day. When Greeting Card companies around the world cash in.
My husband and I rejected the traditional displays of affection such as flowers and chocolate and went out for beer and bratwurst!

Living in the city now for a couple of months, we have already found a few of our favourite spots to eat, drink and play. I met hubby after work and we headed to the Bavarian Bier Cafe.
We've dined there twice and spent many a Friday night enjoying the gorgeous view. My husband is absolutely obsessed with their Franziskaner Hefe-Weissbier Dunkel, which is described as a malty, toffee flavoured bier with a delicate coffee / mocha palate and minimal bitterness.
I settled on a simple Semillon and when they brought our drinks out... well, a picture is worth many more words.That's right, 1 litre of Bavarian goodness! Look at that cheesy grin! He was so overjoyed by that beer for the entire night, I definitely scored major points for picking this restaurant last night.

The meals are brought out promptly here, we both ordered the Bavarian Tasting Platter, which includes Schnitzel, pork belly, bratwurst and small kipfler type sausages. Fantastic! I really enjoyed the sauerkraut and crispy onion strings that came with the platter, and the yellow and seeded mustard went really well with the bratwurst.
Obligatory outfit shot (I was totally channelling Minnie Mouse last night). After dinner we walked down to Kerbside for their Valentines Day flood relief Burlesque show. We scored a nice comfy couch in the front and settled in for two and a half hours of dirty humour and striptease with the fabulous Miss Bertie Page! Best Monday night ever!!

Wine Weekend in the Granite Belt

For my Mum's 50th last year I wanted to give her something truly memorable, and what could be more special than a weekend away with her wonderful daughter for a wine tasting getaway!

We spent two nights at Cypress Ridge Cottages in Ballandean, about 20 minutes south of Stanthorpe.
On our first day we visited Heavenly Chocolates... which pretty much speaks for itself!
I bought a few goodies including chocolate covered strawberries (real ones, not the lollies!) and white chocolate rocky road with soft gooey turkish delight, marshmallows and peanuts!
They also have a big selection of home made hot chocolates. I sampled the Tiramisu and my mum had the Chilli Chocolate. Absolutely lush on that chilly September afternoon.
On Saturday we headed to the check in desk to be picked up for a tour of the Granite Belt Wineries! Filippos Tours took my Mum and I to about 7 or 8 wineries, where each one provided a tasting of their sweet and dry whites and reds plus dessert wines and ports. Needless to say, by about 1pm we were feeling quite rambunctious and ready for some tasty food!

We stopped at Robert Channon Wines for a quick tasting of their gorgeous Verdelho and a gourmet lunch and dessert. I ordered the Singing Lake Duck Pie which had a crisp and flaky pastry and a rich merlot sauce. Dessert was a random drop of lemon tart, chocolate mud cake and key lime cheesecake. I had the latter and it was a gorgeously sweet and tart finish to the meal.

The tour began at 9.30am and concluded at around 5pm and cost only $85 per person, including lunch!! I would recommend going on one of these tours, as we really enjoyed being able to taste all the wine's we liked and not have to drive! Here are a few things we came away with! My favourite was definitely the Piramids Road Mistella, a sweet dessert wine which tasted like turkish delight!

My Mum and I had a really great time and I hope to organise another weekend getaway sometime this year. Stay tuned!

amazing. dark. beautiful.

Black Swan.
I know this movie was overly dramatic and dark, but I have a soft spot for ballet movies. I think this is partly due to multiple viewings of Centre Stage, Save the Last Dance and Billy Elliot during my teens. I was mesmerised by the obsessive perfectionism and destructive nature of Natalie Portmans character Nina.

I know this is an absurd pairing, but Scott Pilgrim and Black Swan are my two favourite movies at the moment.

"When I'm around you, I kind of feel like I'm on drugs.
Not that I do drugs. Unless you do drugs, in which case I do them all the time. All of them."

A good-bye is never painful unless you’re never going to say hello again

It's not like eye candy carousel has completely perished, more like an extended hiatus! You know how it is..

Initially, this blog was created to link up with other bloggers and sporadically write about my life experiences, living as a married 20 something student in Brisbane. I have met lots of lovely people through the crazy blog-o-sphere and through Twitter, including some lovely dinners and casual lunches. I still get a small thrill out of turning up to a restaurant and not actually knowing any of my fellow diners!

I am going to make a concerted effort to blog more often, if not for any other reason than to capture some special moments in my life.

So far, this year has been brought to you by cyclones, floods and the number 17. The crazy weather events of mid January meant that my husband and I were evacuated from our new city apartment for 2 and a half weeks. Friends have had to knock down walls and others have lost all their possessions. We were extremely fortunate.

During the week before the floods, I went to see Blue Valentine at Palace Cinemas with a friend and we had lunch at James Street Bistro next door.

We both walked out of the theatre feeling heavy hearted and a little depressed honestly! It was a pretty honest portrayal of what can happen to a marriage... just not necessarily your feel good flick!

Anyway, our lunch at James St Bistro certainly perked us up! I ordered the roast pumpkin salad which was honestly one of the best salads I have ever had! Rocket leaves, feta, tomato, spanish onion, flaked almonds and balsamic were perched prettily atop two gorgeous pieces of soft roasted pumpkin. A truly hearty and filling salad! Not what I expected, normally the pumpkin is cubed throughout.

Today is February 14th, and there are no blue valentines to be seen. Pink hearts and red roses only, thank you! Hubby is working today and I am be meeting him at 5.30pm for dinner and frivolity on this day of love and lust.

Happy Valentines Day!
xoxo