We’re still coming round to the fact that it’s 2015. Hope it doesn’t take too long – we’ve got lots planned for this year! Things are already starting to pick up speed. This week we’ve got lots on… but it’s better than being bored and doing nothing, right? The good thing is at least the stuff we’ve got on includes a drink or two!
Tonight we’ve met us with our mates Jules and James, who are up from Melbourne for the Christmas break. They head back south tomorrow, so we’re getting to see them before they go.
We’re in Newtown for a bite to eat at Thanh Binh Vietnamese. James and I let Jules and Mrs R order away – we know our place! Our strategy works out well when the waiter arrives with whole crispy flounder, salt & pepper pork, and fillet beef, woodear mushroom, curried coconut sauce & crushed peanuts among others. It’s delicious here. Very impressed!
We head to a frozen yoghurt place for dessert. At first I’m not keen, but it’s actually pretty good.
We get home and I discover my wallet’s missing. I’m just shy of a coronary when we get in the car to drive all the way back to Newtown when Mrs R does one last check of the car. Somehow my bloody wallet has slipped down the side of my seat, perfectly flush with the car door and invisible to my man-look.
That feeling of pure relief is almost palpable.
Today is the first day of the January Wanderlust travel blog linky party I’ve been asked to work on. Talia from Carbis.com.au is hosting this link-up every month for anyone who wants to include a link to their favourite travel post. It’s really easy to do and great fun to take part in. Go to Talia’s blog to find out more.
I’m part of the Wanderlust team, who are helping Talia administrate and tell people about the link-up. Others in the team are Aleney and her son Raffles from BoyEatsWorld.com.au and Leah and her fam from KidBucketList.com.au.
My mind is busy being blown today. It’s my first ever visit to a Costco! My god, this place is enormous – and so full of stuff! This huge crate of spam for a start… we didn’t mean to buy anything when we first walked in here, but we’ve found ourselves with a trolley full of stuff! Amazing. Don’t worry though, the spam didn’t manage to find itself onto the conveyer belt!
From Costco to The Terrace bar at the top of The Star Casino in Pyrmont. It’s an amazing view out over the city tonight – very glamorous – but suddenly our party is asked to leave! It turns out the bar’s being closed early because it’s not busy enough!!
It’s so frustrating when this happens. Especially in a multi-million dollar casino. And even more so when we look around and see the bar’s being staffed with at least 12 people (when it only needs 3 for the number of people here tonight) and 5 bouncers patrolling the space. Perhaps on a Friday or Saturday night you’d need that many, but on a Wednesday night? Really? Maybe if they cut down on the staff or relocated them to busier parts of the casino, it would still be cost effective to keep places like this open.
Annoying to the point where I don’t think I’ll be coming back. Especially when all drinks are served in plastic cups and beer’s $9 a go.
Rant over. Feel better now.
We’re looking back on our time in Mudgee this afternoon. The Zin House Long Lunch to be precise! This place is incredible and well worth a visit. It’s a degustation lunch overlooking the hills and grapevines of Lowe Wines, who have partnered with Zin House to produce a remarkable meal.
Here’s our review of The Zin House and its Long Lunch.
How’s this view?! This is from our road trip in the States. Believe it or not, this is a salt lake, not snow as we thought when we drove past. This is on Route 66 on the south-eastern border of California. Amazing place. Wish we were back there.
Storm’s a-brewing here in the suburbs. Glad we’ve done all our washing – the rain’s supposed to last the rest of the week. Hopefully the weather’ll clear up the humidity at least!
Well, the storm did cut down the humidity, but the heat’s still here. We’ve decided it’s time for a glass of chilled white. We’re drinking the de Bortoli Deen Vat Sauv Blanc, a very tasty clean white, with a bit of tropical fruit that’s balanced against a sharp dry finish. Nice one, de Bortoli!
How about this for incredible news: Mrs Romance’s book Braids, Buns & Twists (a.k.a Hair Romance in Aus and NZ, and The Hair Directory in the UK) has made it in the New York Times Top 12 Bestsellers List!! So proud of Mrs R. What an amazing woman!
To celebrate getting in the New York Times Bestsellers List, Mrs R – in her Hair Romance capacity – is running a give-away for her book. Head over to HairRomance.com to enter.
There are quite a few prizes up for grabs. She’s giving away signed copies of her hardcopy book Hair Romance, and copies of her ebooks 30 Days of Twist & Pin Hairstyles, 30 Braids in 30 Days and 30 Buns in 30 Days.
Head over to HairRomance.com now to be in the running to win!
Mrs Romance is out at Bondi today, catching up with our mate Andrea from FoxInFlats.com. Doesn’t look too bad, does it?! It’s easy to forget we live in a country with this kind of beauty sometimes. Look at that glorious water!
Mrs Romance’s lunch doesn’t look too bad either! Meanwhile, I’m tucking into a slightly suspicious sandwich I’ve made back at base. I think I might’ve come off second best in this particular food-off!
I feel that I’ve made up for things with this though. I’ve been looking forward to trying one of these cigars ever since we’ve got back from our trip. I bought this cigar and nine others from a tobacco farmer in western Cuba. Is it as good as I’ve been hoping it will be? Hell yeah! And some. Beautiful smoke. And partnered with a decent drop of whiskey too. Perfect way to catch up with mates I haven’t seen in ages!
This is one of the most indulgent sushi hand rolls I think I’ve ever had! Soft shell crab! It’s so tasty, so tender, so crunchy… This is at Umi Sushi in Hay Street just up the road from China Town. Umi has a couple of other venues but John the owner tells me he likes this one the most. And now, so do I!
Our parting message comes from our time San Diego. This warning sign made us chuckle. I think we might be a bit sick in the head!
How’s your year going so far? Are you aiming for a busy 2015 or are you looking to take your foot off the pedal a bit this year? Tell us in the comments!
Steph @ Lipstick & Cake
Great round-up, team!
Huge congratulations to the Mrs for her amazing achievement re: making the NY Times Best Seller List… she’s a clever cookie.
Really looking forward to catching up with you two this week x
Mr Romance
Thanks Steph! Yeah, isn’t she awesome?! And she’s not telling anyone about it and it’s driving me crazy. There’s a time for being humble and this is a time when she should be yelling from rooftops… anyway, can’t wait to chat again soon. Be good – or at least think of good would you rathers for me!
Jxx