Food, glorious food

Anyone who knows me, knows I have a bit of an obsession when it comes to food. There's not many foods I don't like and my boyfriend has even suggested I write a Restaurant Guide for Sydney since I seem to know so many! Here are some of my fave foodie haunts around central Sydney (my tummy is rumbling already)!

MEXICAN
Have to start with my absolute favourite cuisine! I never thought I'd find a restaurant to top my fave Mexican place in Caloundra, Meg's Joint, but Fiesta on Oxford in Bondi Junction has done it. The colourful sombreros and pinatas that adorn this cute cafe-style resturant add to the authentic cuisine and to-die-for sangria. The sizzling fajitas are a fave - they serve a combination of beef and chicken if you can't decide which meat you want. But my favourite dish has to be the beef chimichanga with melt-in-your-mouth shredded beef. It may not be the healthiest option on the menu, but when you're having Mexican, you have to go the whole hog.

JAPANESE
A goof friend of mine introduced me to the most delicious, and well-priced Japanese I've ever had, just recently. Kyushu in Neutral Bay is so good, you'll never get in without a booking. The combination sashmi is delicious to share with a friend as a main but the best part is the long list of appertisers (even if I did go slightly overboard with the ordering last time and make myself feel a bit sick)! The spring onions wrapped in BBQ pork, stuffed mushrooms and gyozas are delicious.

YUM CHA
Since discovering Yum Cha only three or four years ago, I find myself constantly craving the delicious dumplings and BBQ pork buns. Mmmm... pork buns. I love Kam Fook restaurant in Bondi Junction Westfield. It's great for a weekend morning feast before exploring the shops.

TAPAS
To be honest I've only had Tapas at this one restaurant, but Kika Tapas on Victoria Street, Darlinghurst is a winner. They have partiuclary good value dishes at lunch time - you can order from a choice of three plates, each presenting four different tapas. The croquettes are very moorish.

THAI
I love Big Boys Thai on Stanley Street, Darlinghurst. It's cheap and cheerful, BYO and nice and quick. Their fried tofu with peanut sauce is a great entree, as well as the satay sticks. They have tasty noodle soups and amazing Pad Thai. My fave dish would have to be chicken and pumpkin red curry. Yum!

VIETNAMESE
It's a toss up between two local spots. Saigon Bay on Oxford St, Darlinghurst is always good - their DIY rice paper rolls are awesome and they do a mean beef salad too. However, as far as popularity goes, Famish in Darlinghurst has an ever-changing menu and delicious salt and peper squid... if you can be bothered waiting for a table.

PIZZA
You can't beat Thursday night all-you-can-eat pizza at Zachary's on Bayswater Road, King's Cross. For $16.50 you can order as many mini pizzas as you can eat from their full gourmet pizza menu, and enjoy a glass of complimentary wine. My fave toppings are Roma (pumpkin, goats cheese, artichoke and sundried tomato tapenade) and Milos (char-grilled lamb, fetta, olives, oregano, garlic and tzatziki). They have a great cocktail list too - their infused vodkas are worth the trip alone.

ITALIAN
Bar Reggio on Crown St, Darlinghurst has beautiful pizza and pasta and although I have never eaten in (there's always a wait for a table), their take-away sizes are generous and well-priced.

Have a fave you want to add to my list? Leave a comment and let me know! : )

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Rain, rain go away

How good are public holidays!? Even though Anzac Day falls on a Wednesday this year, I'm not complaining. If Tuesdays were really like Fridays more often, it would make the working week much easier. However, I am not loving this weather. Sydney's had a cold snap, and this time it might be for real. I actually had to pull my jumpers out of hiding this morning in preparation for coordinating outfits for work. It doesn't help that our office is permanently like an igloo.

I'm not a winter person. Give me a hot, sunny, cloudless day at the beach anytime! Strappy dresses, slurpees and sunnies = pure bliss for me. I agree that fashion tends to be more stylish in winter, but it is also hugely more expensive. No $20 dresses, no Sir-ee. You need so many layers, that the outfit total quickly adds up! And when the heavens open up like they have this week in Sydney, it makes dressing that little bit harder.

Canvas and suede shoes are out - they'll be soaked in a second (as I experienced last night walking home through the city - my flats seriously felt like mini buckets of water that my feet were soaking in). Umbrellas don't do much to protect your legs and feet. Also, long jeans are out if you're wearing flats. No-one likes that soaked up to your knees feeling when you arrive at work. So my safe outfit for today comprises of tights with boots, a dress and long cardie... with a parka just in case.

I hope the weather is better up in Queensland for this weekend - I'm going home for four days and there's nothing like rain to ruin a good holiday. Especially when you're staying at the coast.

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PS. I saw my first show in the Opera House on Friday night - the Australian Ballet's Don Quixote. I can't believe I haven't seen a ballet earlier... it was really beautiful. If you've never been and you're under 26, check out their special youth prices on their website.

10 reasons NOT to watch Big Brother

1. The contestants look exactly the same as last year - especially the dumb Jamie look-alike.

2. Gretel has the WORST fashion sense. Ever. Put it away Gretel, we don't want to look at your chest.

3. There's no prize money. So in reality, they're even more pathetic, because they'll come out with the house only with "experiences".

4. The stupid secrets! So far, all revealed are really lame and boring. Oooh look it's a white room. Ooh we're all going to be admitted to the psych ward. How fun!

5. It seriously kills your brain cells.

6. That country girl's hideous green eyeshadow.

7. There are far better things to do with your time... like watching ice cubes freeze.

8. There's no uncut show this year, and really that's all most people wanted to see anyway.

9. We don't want to be subjected to another ex-BB housemate trying to make it as a "celebrity". It has just been announced that big-boobs Krystal from last year will appear on the next series of It Takes Two. Enough said.

10. If the ratings are low enough, hopefully they'll axe it once and for all, and we can be free of one crap reality show forever!

Join me in becoming a BB hater, not an appreciator : )

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Farewell TG

It's been exactly 20 months and 25 days since I first stepped into Total Girl HQ and my life became a whirlwind of pink lip gloss, birthday parties, cupcakes, gossip and lots and lots of fun! But now it's time to say goodbye (sob) as I move onto a new job (I'll still be sitting near all my TG besties which is good). I've had so many fun times while I've been at TG, in fact, way too many to count on this page! Most of the time you couldn't even really call it work! But these have been the high points...

1. Hanging out backstage with Hilary Duff and The Veronicas

2. Climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge with the High School Musical cast

3. Interviewing the Veronicas so many times they know me by name

4. Learning how to ice skate, getting a singing lesson from Ricki-Lee and a surf lesson with the girls from Blue Water High

5. Auditioning for Australian Idol undercover for TG (perhaps not so fun)

6. Following Jesse McCartney around for a day

7. Meeting lots of awesome TG readers at cool events like Stage School and Camp TG, teaching primary school kids how magazines are made and visitng some very special kids in the Children's hospital

8. Taste testing all the yummy Tasty recipes in TG!

9. Flying to New Zealand to visit the set of Disney Channel movie Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior

10. Working with the best bunch of girls (and boy) I could ever ask for!

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What was she thinking?

This week's most hideous red carpet look goes to Avril Lavigne. She looks more like she's going to a pretty in pink/ gothic punk prom! The dress looks like it spewed out of some 80's corpse bride storage box that was marked "Don't Open - Ever". And I have no words for the eye make up. If this is what she chooses to wear at her album launch, it kind of gives you an impression of what to expect : )

Sales madness

I've never been one for big sales - I hate the crowds and the tendency of girls to go completely psycho after that last top/hat/mascara! Even still, sometimes I just can't resist some of the "beauty sales" several magazines in the building hold every few months. Today's sale was bought to us by Famous. And herein lie the rules for getting what you want out of a sale...

1. You need to get there early - apparently half an hour early is not enough to get you in with the everyone-wants-to-be-in-it first group, who ultimately bag all the prestige brands, styling tools and fragrances. Today I was in the second group which really translates as welcome to Maybeline and Nads country.

2. Know what you want - I would have been happy to come out of the sale with a good mascara in hand (and without bruises). Alas, today was not the day for mascara... plenty of lip gloss, but working on a tween title I am not exactly lacking in a good supply of frosty pink lip smackers and the like.

3. Get pushy - let's face it, you can't be a pussy when it comes to sales. You've got to get in there, elbows blazing, and block everyone else out from your miniature space on the table. However, one person alone is not always strong enough to hold their space from new group influxes with fresh determination - you can see it in their eyes!

4. Don't look at what great bargains everyone else got - you'll only start scowling and bitching about the girls who had overflowing bags of Escada perfume, Clinique products and that fab new straightener. Today I am happy with my small bag of essentials - hairspray, hair mask, foundation, hot pink nail polish, lip gloss (I couldn't resist the colour), bronzer, eyeshadow and moisturiser. Grand total = $16.

I think I might bypass the Marie Claire beauty sale on Friday - their sales are renowned for being mental.

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Never stop learning

I really do believe the saying "you learn something new everyday". Learning is a life-long process, something that never ends, and those of us with an insatiable thirst for knowledge will always be satisfied as long as we have access to books, media, and most importantly other people.

You can learn a lot simply by shutting up! Listening is one of the greatest learning tools we possess and by slowing down and taking in our surroundings, asking more questions and considering other people's opinions, we open our minds to a whole range of new information.

Learning doesn't have to mean enrolling at your local community college or university (although this is great!), it could be that you pick up a magazine you've never read before and discover something that speaks to you, or that you flick over to the ABC instead of sitting though ads on commercial stations and catch a documentary that teaches you about a place you've never heard of.

Why not study a world map, drive to a new suburb, get lost, open a thesaurus and learn a new word, google a topic you're not too familiar with (like 1950s film stars), teach yourself a new language, spend an hour in a bookstore, listen to your grandparents, or change radio stations. We have access to more information than we've ever had before so it's easy to learn something new everday.

On a personal note, I have just about completed a Certificate IV in Fashion Business and hope to return to university in a year or two to do a Postgraduate Teaching Degree. I'd also like to study fashion design, graphic design, photography, Spanish... the list goes on! : )

"The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet." ~Aristotle

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News Flash

It seems I was wrong in assuming we wouldn't be able to purchase from Kate Moss's Topshop collection! A little birdie (thanks Karen) sent me this news flash from a London newspaper...

Web to ease Moss rush

"Fashion fans will be able to snap up Kate Moss's new collection by going online at 4.30am on the launch day, it was revealed today.

Topshop decided on the move to avoid a repeat of the chaos at the opening of the Primark store in Oxford Street last week, when shoppers fell over each other to get their hands on clothes.

Customers can avoid the queues for the 50-piece range by logging on to store website www.topshop.com before dawn on launch day, 1 May.

This will be nearly five hours before most of the 225 stores stocking the clothes open at 9am. Twelve stores nationwide will also open at 7am to cope with demand.

The chance to buy online will greatly relieve pressure on the flagship Oxford Circus store. Topshop also hopes replenishing stock every few hours will help to avoid mayhem on the day."

So... if we work out the time difference of nine hours, my prediction is that at 1:30pm Tuesday 1 May, we will be able to log on and snap up some Kate Moss goodies! Lunch time - how convenient! And if you go for a bulk purchase wiith some girlfriends, you can all chip in for the 10 pounds (about $25) delivery fee.

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Meet Mika

If you're as obsessed as I am, with Mika's cutesy Scissor-Sisters-esque single "Grace Kelly" then you might like to know these ten fun facts!

1. Mika's real name is Michael Holbrook Penniman and he's 23 years old.

2. He was born in Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, lived in Paris as a child and then his family moved to London when he was nine years old.

3. He is a trained opera singer and has a vocal range of five octaves (have you heard those high notes in "Grace Kelly"?)!

4. His sister Yasmine painted the artwork for his cool album cover.

5. He doesn't mind the "is he or isn't he" questioning about his sexuality as he says it shouldn't matter - then again, his first single is about trying to be Grace Kelly, and another single on his album talks about a married man's affair with another man - you decide.

6. His flamboyant performances compare to the late Freddie Mercury and he even mentions the Queen legend in "Grace Kelly" when he sings "So I tried a little Freddie".

7. He's dyslexic and used to get bullied about it when he was at school.

8. His first music job was writing a jingle for an Orbit chewing gum commercial.

9. He currently has 146,473 friends on his MySpace page.

10. "Grace Kelly" is currently number two on the ARIA singles chart (behind Silverchair's "Straight Lines") and his album, Life in Cartoon Motion, sits at number 13.

Check him out today : )

Notes on Glossy Paper

Keeping in touch

For the majority of my life, I've maintained long-distance relationships with friends. Changing schools at the beginning of year 10 was not my idea of a fun time, but it ultimately gave me a whole new friendship group, and knowledge of a new town. Stepping outside your comfort zone and having to "fit in" is the quickest way to meet new and interesting people.

My final years of high school were a whirlwind of letter writing (with a group of about 15 girls back in Caloundra I usually came home to new mail everyday - real mail!), and 15-hour bus trips between Mackay and Caloundra on my school holidays. This was before text messages and MSN and MySpace... and I loved picking pretty letter paper and writing to each of my friends individually. There were the occasional phone calls, but catching up over letters was so much more fun. I still have a shoe box full of letters which are always good for a laugh when I look back at them.

Similarly the same thing happened in reverse when I returned to the Sunshine Coast to go to uni... keeping in touch with my Mackay friendship circle, and surprising friends by returning for their 18th birthday parties. And again when I moved to Sydney.

Now, as the years go on, some friends are harder to keep in touch with, or some friends simply drift apart. Luckily, email is a quick and easy way to drop someone a line, just to say hi and let them know you're thinking of them. Sure, it's not as personal, and you don't keep the emails as treaured memories, but at least the thought it still there.

When I was in London, I wrote my grandmother a letter (since she has no access to email, and probably doesn't want to know anything about it), and when I received her reply in the mail, it was one of the sweetest things I had been given for years. So I say bring back the art of letter writing! It might not be time-practical for everyday communication, but for the special occasions, it's definitely a very personal, and sweet way of showing you care.

And this cute stationery set from Fred Flare (above) will definitely make you want to put pen to paper! : )

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Kate Moss for Topshop

Wanna know what Kate Moss's range looks like? Then click here and check it out! : )

I personally think it's HOT but not really suited for anyone with curves.

Now I wonder if they're going to let us order online? Doubt it!

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I ♥ Sportsgirl

Once apon a time in a land called Sportsgirl, a shopper was kept busy stocking up on their signature checked cotton shorts, monogram tees and cavnas totes. One was oh-so-cool in the playground with this little combination. But like all great makeover stories, Sportsgirl evolved from her 80s teased-hair self and blossomed into a fashion minx with higher prices, but much more desirability. Fast-forward to the naughties, and girls all over the country can't get enough!

I've had a love-hate relationship with Sportsgirl over the past few years - love their clothes on the rack, hate the way nothing ever fits me properly. There's nothing like the sheer deflation one feels when a giddy elated find on the shelves leads to a frustrating trying-on session. Read: now hating everything about this store and want to get out as soon as possible and stuff face with Snickers bars.

However, their latest range has not only captured my eye, but thankfully looks half decent on! I don't know if it's to do with the fact that the autumn/winter knits and jerseys are far more flattering, or whether it's the trends of the season being so flowy and comfortable in general, but so far I have bagged myself (on layby) a pair of dark denim straight leg jeans (my most exciting purchase so far - jeans that fit me for only $90!!!), a grey baby-doll top, hot pink long cardigan (grabbed this morning - it was $20 off, how could I refuse?), a great purple T-shirt dress, yelllow knit swing cardie, bright pink knit jacket and long teal wool cardie! (Whoops, when did I become such a label whore?)

Perhaps, these purchases also have to do with the fact that Sportsgirl is about the only store close to my work I can afford to buy stuff from. No matter! I'm loving what they've got to offer this season and can highly recommend : )

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Fashion goss

Brissy-born supermodel Miranda Kerr is certainly living the rock star life, appearing in the Victoria's Secret shows earlier this year as well as New York Fashion week, and other campaigns back on home soil. Now it seems Miss Kerr has bagged herself some hot man candy too, as she was spotted looking very cosy with Orlando Blooom recently. Geez what would her Aussie boyfriend have to say about that?

If you like stick insects, then you might just like Nicole Richie's perfume that is due to be unleashed on the world. She told Britain's OK! magazine: "I'm working on a style book, plus I'm launching a jewellery and accessories line, a sunglasses line and my own perfume." Well there you go, another celebrity scent to add to your collections girls.

Style queen Sarah Jessica Parker (well perhaps it was more her character Carrie Bradshaw who was the style queen, but anywho), is launching a cut-price fashion line called "Bitten". She says she wants fashion to be accessible for everyone - aw a celebrity with heart. The collection will include jeans, lingerie, casual wear and accessories with prices ranging from US$7.98 to $14.98.

Burlesque performer Dita Von Teese has been confimed as a performer at Rosemount Australian Fashion Week in Sydney. The show features Von Teese along with a nine-foot mechanical VIVA Glam lipstick prop. Hmmm interesting.





Topshop thinks that Kate Moss is so hot, they're going to stock her range in 20 countries, starting with Barneys stores in the US, when it's launched in May.

More fashion goss to come next week... stay tuned : )

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Thugs or just dumb surfers?

I went to see Bra Boys at the cinema yesterday, and not knowing much about the gang, I wasn't too sure what to expect from the film that has become the highest grossing non-IMAX documentary since it's release on the 15th March. Of course, I was familiar with the two high-profile court cases the Abberton brothers were involved in, in recent years, and of the gang's fist-fighting self-imposed "ownership" of the beach, but what I discovered, was the real hardship the four brothers at the centre of the story - Sunny, Jai, Koby and Dakota - have endured. It's no wonder they see the Bra Boys as their real family.

Growing up in a housing commission flat with a heroin-addicted mother is not going to do any kid any favours. And while they may not be the sharpest tools in the shed (Koby was kicked out of school in year eight and never returned), the centre of their story is a struggle to make a life for themselves - and finding solace in the surf. And Koby in particular has done extremely well for himself, being paid to fly all over the world as a pro "big wave" surfer.

While the documentary (which was written and directed by oldest brother Sunny) paints an innocent picture of the gang, police have warned against the audience taking the side of the Bra Boys. The truth is, there are some pretty nasty characters in the gang, including drug dealers, criminals and down-right thugs. But what I took from the film, was that mostly, these boys are a product of a poor upbringing, surrounded by a world of drugs and fighting. They have found security in being "locals" and sharing a common love - the beach.

It will be interesting to see what stance the feature film (starring Colin Farrel) will take.

If you've seen Bra Boys I'd love to hear what you thought of it...

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