(All pictures this month edited with HUJI app)
June. My favourite month yet and I can't believe I just said that about the first month of winter, my least favourite season!
It all started off on the very first weekend of my Mum, Nana and my youngest sister Phoebe all coming down to Sydney to join Ruby and I for a long weekend to celebrate Mum's 50th birthday. We hired an AirBnb terrace house in Darlinghurst and set off exploring the city like tourists with local knowledge. I'm very proud that we didn't settle with tourist fatigue and give into eating at any tourist traps. Instead we made the bit of extra effort to go somewhere that was worthy of our empty stomachs and special to Sydney.
My Nana was the MVP of the whole weekend. On the first day she, with the rest of us, walked 15km around the city from Martin Place, to the Royal Botanic Gardens, then the Opera House and finally The Rocks. We stopped and scored a table on the rooftop of The Glenmore and ate our lunch under the warm winter sun. After heading back to the Airbnb for a rest, Nana came out and backed up all that walking with a stroll around Vivid. We decided to forgo all of the Vivid food carts, with their long lines and marked up prices, and head back to Darlinghurst. It was an incredibly chilly night and all we felt like was something warm and nourishing. It was the right time to try out #eatfuh on Victoria Street and it didn't disappoint. We each had a regular (more like a large) bowl of the most delicious pho I've ever eaten. The broth, which is what makes or breaks a pho, was light but warming with lots of star anise.
(l-r: me, Mum, Phoebe, Ruby & Nana)
(Nana walking to the Opera House)
The following morning we tried our luck to see if we could get a table at Bills in Darlinghurst. There was five of us, and everyone knows Sydney loves brunch, so I thought our chances would be slim. As luck would have it, we were seated after waiting only 10 minutes. Basically a miracle! We splurged on Bills' famous ricotta hotcakes and Mum had their scrambled eggs. From there, we took a ferry over to Manly and wandered around for a little bit. Although still full from the ricotta hotcakes, I really wanted to go to Rollers Bakehouse and try one of their pastries. I'd heard so much about them through my friend and colleague Hamish and they had also had a couple of good write-ups online. They had sold out of most of their pastries before we arrived but they did have some Monkey Bread left. Monkey Bread is the leftovers of their different kinds of dough, mixed with some herbs and cheese. It was to die for.
(Rollers Bakehouse, Manly)
(Happy 50th Birthday Mummy! In her element at Mr Wong)
(Deep friend ice cream is always the highlight of eating at Mr Wong!)
On the Saturday night, we tried our luck at getting into Mr Wong, during Merivale's 49% off drinks month, without a reservation. I love to roll the dice with getting into to restaurants without bookings. You never know where the night will take you. The restaurant fairies were on our side again, we scored a table, and had a one and a half hour window to make the most of all of the delicious food and the electric atmosphere. It's one of my favourite restaurants in Sydney and it didn't disappoint. Mum didn't stop talking about it for days so it really made her trip, like I thought it might.
The Sunday was very chilled. We checked out of the Airbnb and came back to my apartment to store everyone's luggage. We explored my new neighbourhood and had a lovely rest in Rushcutters Bay Park. Then just like that, it was time for Mum, Nana and Phoebe to head back to the Gold Coast. The weekend couldn't have gone any better. We had our way with everything we did, Mum gushed for the whole week after about how amazing her weekend was and even bought flights to come back down and see me in August. Nana had a great trip, her highlight was the Royal Botanic Gardens and her giant fish and chips on the rooftop of The Glenmore.
The following weekend, Dad came down, and it was his turn at all of the dining out and adventuring. It was also Levi's birthday that same weekend. Dad arrived on Levi's birthday, a Sunday, so we went and had a lovely brunch at Bills in Bondi. It was a beautiful sunny winter's day so we walked along the beach and up to the terrace at Bondi Icebergs where we scored a table overlooking the water. We had a couple of beers and marvelled at the beauty of Bondi Beach. I even saw a whale breaching out the back. It was the perfect afternoon. For dinner, we headed to The Corner House in Bondi, where I have heard so may good things. We shared pizza and a bottle of shiraz, Dad's pick.
The next day Dad came and saw my new apartment, then we went for a walk around Rushcutters. The weather wasn't as nice this particular day so we just sat in the park for a little bit before retreating back to my place where I made us lunch and then we do what our family does so well together, watched TV. I don't know if this is just with my family, but there is something that makes me feel so whole watching a television show or a movie with your immediate family members or significant other. To me it's not time wasted but time well spent, and it's times like that that I wish I could have all of the time because they are so simple yet hard to have with others who aren't your family members. I didn't buy enough food that day to make dinner so Ruby and I took Dad to #eatfuh and had big bowls of nourishing pho for tea.
During the week, Dad came over for dinner again and I made a few things from Smitten Kitchen. I found Smitten Kitchen through the Highly Enthused podcast and I am obsessed. The recipes are so easy, with simple ingredients, most of which you already have in the cupboard. So far, I've made: Perfect Garlic Bread, Cannellini Aglio e Olio (my new mid-week go-to), Cozy Cabbage and Farro Soup (made with brown rice instead of farro) and Quick Pasta and Chickpeas.
(Me, Dad, Ruby and her air mattress)
And just as quickly as it had come around that my whole family would be in Sydney over a two week period, it came to an end. For Ruby's last night in Sydney, we celebrated her (and her job offer!) with half-priced drinks at The Beresford, followed by a quick visit to Brix Distillery, and then dinner at Via Napoli in Surry Hills with two byo bottles of red wine. As predicted, Ruby leaving left a hole in my heart. I absolutely loved having her here and really miss her a lot.
The night after Ruby left I had a date with RUFUS DU SOL and it was just what I needed to snap me out of my homesickness. I met up with Hamish and his group of friends because I didn't know anyone going to the concert the night I went. It was so invigorating to have a good dance and release all of the energy that subconsciously builds up. I left with a huge smile on my face and made the trek home in the rain and wasn't bothered by it one bit... until the next day where I felt off, and then came down with the flu that would have me in bed for the next three days.
My recovery from my colds is always slow. In the past few years I've gone from getting throat infections to sinus infections which are not pleasant, nor subtle. It takes me a good three weeks to clear the passages. Thankfully I'm out the other side now and am feeling grateful that having a cold once a year is the only illness I suffer from.
To top off June, Levi and I celebrated our eight year anniversary with dinner at The Apollo. Eight years doesn't feel nearly as long as it sounds. In fact, I still feel like it's the beginning, and maybe that's why we've made it so far. Levi lights up my life. He makes me laugh every single day. Even the days we have that aren't our days, which are thankfully few and far between. Levi is smart, curious, free-spirited, creative, funny and fun. He makes me think, he challenges me and he always pushing me along to have new experiences. I'm not too sure where I'd be without him.
(Levi joking around and stopping us from having a nice picture together)
Looking back on June I can't help but feel so incredibly lucky for the love I have in my life. I have my person, and I have my family, all healthy and happy (including Jaja who is doing better than expected).
~ New In - The Secondhand Edition ~
Yoga Mat Bag (new, not secondhand) - $65 from The OM Shop
So I bought something new... a yoga mat bag, for my yoga mat. BodyMindLife have a policy that all of the mats stored at their studios need to be inside bags. I had been storing my mat without a bag and getting away with it for a little while now. That was until they sent me an email saying my mat had been put aside for me to collect and I wouldn't be able to store it at the studio until I bought a bag for it. The problem with this is the mat I bought off Gumtree at the beginning of the year is actually huge and heavy. I had looked for a bag for it without any luck, and I knew if I had to carry it around with me everywhere that I'd just stop going to yoga, and I don't want to do that. So, after hours of searching the internet for a bag that would fit my mat, I found one. It's cotton, it's black and it just fits my mat. It also ties in with my all black activewear aesthetic that I'm going for.
Viktoria & Woods jumper - $50 from eBay
I'm desperate for some new winter clothes. I feel like I've been wearing the same five outfits on repeat weekly and I'm tired of seeing myself in them already! I also really needed a cosy knit after selling most of my knits in my market sale (which I now realise maybe I shouldn't have... anyway).
~ Read, watched & listened ~
RUSSH Magazine - The Soul Issue. There is a fabulous article written by my friend and former housemate Victoria on 'soul mates' and if they exist. I also loved the article on Vedic meditation.
The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read (an Your Children Will be Glad That You Did) by Phillipa Perry - I ordered this book immediately after hearing Dolly and Pandora speak about it on The High Low. Whilst I don't plan on becoming a parent any time soon, the ideas that are explored around childhood and how your childhood experiences go on to effect you in later life is something I'd love to understand further.
~ Eats ~
After all of the above eating, I've been craving broccolini, mushrooms and tempeh with some tamari and brown rice. Easy, simple and healthy.
x.
