I had my friend Mel staying with me this week, for her first ever trip to Melbourne! It was so much fun showing her around my new home while we caught up. The rest of the week has been pretty manic, but I got plenty of sunshine over the weekend to keep me sane.
PS – Planning a trip to Melbourne? Check out my Melbourne Travel Guide.
Royal Botanic Gardens
Melbourne has three famous gardens, but the Royal Botanic Gardens are the largest – and my favourite. I took a long walk in the gardens this week and promptly got lost. It was so nice to lose the city noise for a little while!
Pins to Kill: Designer Leggings Launch Party!
I’m so thrilled to be an ambassador for Pins to Kill, a Melbourne-based custom leggings label. The leggings are proudly made in Melbourne (their launch party was held in their workshop!) and you can customise them from suggested templates, or upload your own design from scratch!
Chinese New Year 2016 in Melbourne
Chinese New Year is on Monday, and I’m already seeing these gorgeous silk lanterns pop up all over Southbank and Docklands. Can’t wait to check them out after dark once the festival is in full swing this week!
New obsession: Laneway Greens
I’ve been trying to make yummier salads this year. Laneway Greens, a salad & smoothie bowl bar in Flinders Lane, is an endless source of inspiration – and of easy, healthy lunches when I feel like a showstopper salad.
Ladies in Black
In Melbourne sometime this month? Book tickets to Ladies in Black right now! This Australian musical is set in a department store, Goodes, in 1950s Sydney. The protagonist, Lisa, is a very bright, shy teenager who has convinced her parents to let her complete high school and take the leaving exam. While she waits to see if her results are good enough to convince her father to let her go to university, she takes a job in the cocktail frock department at the department store in the city.
The entire cast is so incredible that I can’t pick a favourite character. In her department, she works with Patti, who puts on a brave face as she privately battles newlywed woes; Faye, a still-single twenty-something sick of the short straw she keeps drawing from the dating pool; and Miss Jacobs, an elderly woman who grieves her fiancee lost in the war. When she’s moved to the model gowns upstairs, she meets the fabulous Magda, a Hungarian immigrant who is embracing her new Australian life with both manicured hands. I love that there were so many strong female leads.
It’s a raw, honest portrayal of Australian life, and despite being set in the 1950s, it was still relevant today. I shed a few tears, but I spent most of the time in stitches of laughter. It’s clever, witty, heartwarming and heartbreaking all at once.
It’s selling out really quickly, grab seats while you can!
Rooftop bars galore!
We had two days of glorious, sunny weather over the weekend, perfect for rooftop bar hopping. My friend Mel was staying with us, so we took her to some of our favourites, like Captain Baxter in St Kilda and Madame Brussels in the city. On Sunday, David & I chilled out at The Imperial on Bourke St, which overlooks leafy plane trees and Parliament, with some epic city views. We ended the weekend with a burger at Arbory, which overlooks the Yarra. It was a great weekend for taking our plans al fresco!