Not long now till Christmas – only a week in fact! It’s hard to believe it’s here so fast.
As if the impending promise of Christmas and all its associated fun and games isn’t enough to keep us busy, this week we’re having a birthday party for Christina (it is her birthday after all) as well as her speaking gig at a curly hair festival plus probably more gin than is advisable!
We’ve also been given the best Christmas decorations ever by our friends you’ve got to check out.
Hope you enjoy this Weekly Edition.
Cheers – Jim & Christina xx
Today, Christina – wearing her Hair Romance hat – is at a curly hair festival. So the hat is obviously metaphorical. I mean, who wears a hat to a hair event?
She’s at the Bondi Pavilion for I Love My Curls curly hair festival, where hundreds of curly girls are gathering to learn more about products, techniques and anecdotes dealing with curls.
Not to mention the challenges and celebrations associated with this most dynamic hair type.
She’s working with Shea Moisture, telling her ‘curly journey’. It’s an amazingly supportive, happy crowd.
This annual festival is a remarkable happening and everyone here is looking forward to next year’s.
There have been many revelations today, with one little girl telling Christina that she never knew there were so many people like her around and that from now on she’s going to love her curls. Amazing.
Towards the end of the day, I arrive to check out what’s going on and to have a look at the beach. It’s been ages since I was last at Bondi. Such an iconic Sydney spot.
Sadly there’s no time for a dip though. I’m sure there’ll be another chance soon enough.
Today, we’re celebrating Christina’s birthday! It’s a bit early though – her actual birthday is December 18 if you want to make a quick note of that!
We’ve set up a garden party on the harbour to celebrate yet another year going by. We’re lucky the weather and smoke have been kind.
Everything you need for a good party: sunshine and lots of gin! On our last trip overseas, we bought some of the biggest bottles of gin we’ve ever seen. One is almost 2 litres.
From these purchases, the idea of a gin garden party took seed. And what a good idea it’s turning out to be!
It’s the pink hair parade! Our friend Ewelina and Christina are two pink peas in a pod at the party.
As you’d expect from Christina, the food platters are amazing. She’s got some tips here for creating Pinterest-worthy platters but when the Portuguese tarts look this good, it makes everything easier.
Yes, the food’s good, but it’s so much more about the gin! I’m half running the bar today, which always spells trouble.
I tend to have a one-for-you-one-for-me policy when I’m making drinks for people. And when there are around 30 people at the bar, that policy can get you into trouble!
This, my friends, is Teddy. Or to be more specific Teddy Roosvelt the Cavoodle. Of course, he has an Instagram account – @teddyroothecavapoo – which you should definitely follow.
He’s our friends Sammie and David’s fur baby and is quite possibly the softed thing I’ve ever touched! He’s amazing and at risk of stealing the limelight from the birthday girl!
Even though it’s Christina’s birthday, I end up getting a present too! Our friends Kathleen and Jarrod, who run the incredible company Nip of Courage – a distribution company for craft Australian spirits.
If you like your Aussie whisky, gin, rum and liqueurs, get onto these guys. They’re awesome and the genius distillers they represent are superb.
Anyway, Kath and Jarrod have given us this amazing Christmas gift: gin-filled baubles to hang on the tree called Ginglebells!
Gingle Bells is the brainchild of Lee and Jocelyn Etherington, who make condiments, spices and sauces from native Australian plants. They now also have a distillery to add to the Wild Hibiscus Flower Co and make all the gin within these balls!
The pack contains six different flavours infused in the distillery’s own gin, which you can either enjoy on ice or create cocktails with.
The six flavours are Finger Lime Gin, B’lure Butterfly Pea Flower Gin, Wattleseed Gin, Snow Chrysanthemum Gin, Pepperberry Gin and – of course – Wild Hibiscus Flower Gin.
And don’t worry, you don’t have to come up with cocktails for each of these infusions. Lee and Jocelyn have done all that for you. There’s a cocktail card in the pack.
Each of the baubles has a sample of the key infused ingredient suspended in its juniper depths. I can’t wait to get cracking and try some of these. I think it’s going to be a very merry Christmas here!
Check out the Wild Hibiscus Co’s Gingle Bells site here for more information.
Well, it’s the morning after the party before. I’m suffering for my social skills – or lack of – behind the bar last night. Meanwhile, Christina and our mate Anton seem to be fine.
They’ve taken the plunge to get rid of the last few gin-soaked cobwebs and are showing off their best form. Not bad, guys.
Everyone dries off and we head to a nearby cafe for a feed. The menu at Euforia in Balmain is always interesting. It’s been a while since we’ve been back and we’re rewarded with an excellent salmon bennie… or rather Christina is. Looks good, right?
It’s pretty much lunchtime by now, so I feel my choice of fries is valid. Also, the hangover is making too many inroads in my skull. I need deep fried carbs.
The jalapeño pulled pork burger is also helping heaps!
It’s been a very good week – we hope you agree. Now let’s get some speed up for the launch into Christmas!
Cheers – Jim & Christina xx
