What with Mr & Mrs Romance turning one last week, Mrs Romance celebrating her birthday this week and Jesus blowing out 2013 candles next week, the build-up to the year’s end is going full steam ahead.
We start off the week with a beautiful Monday morning; perfect blue skies, warm winds and Sydney lookin’ pretty good! How’s the Anzac War Memorial in Hyde Park? And there’s that bloody Sydney Tower bombing another one of my photos!
Mrs Romance is busy procrasti-baking again. But this time, it’s not a humble muffin or cupcake she’s cooking up. Here’s a clue to her kitchen-based antics: a whole jar of Nutella!
And here it is: Mrs Romance’s gluten-free version of Nigella Lawson’s Nutella cake. We were inspired by Sammy’s Thermomix recipe interpretation on The Annoyed Thyroid.
It’s SO good – as you can see, a piece has already been removed. I wonder where that’s gone? Ready for a really easy game of Where’s Wally in cake format?
Where’s Cake Slice Wally? Here he is: On Mrs Romance’s plate!
This gluten-free Nutella cheesecake recipe is incredible, and it’s really easy and so tasty. It’s very rich, so an 8-inch cake will feed about 10 people!
Tonight, we head to Kirribilli, north of the Harbour, to catch up with a couple of friends – Elli and Landon. They introduce us to The Botanist, right near Milson’s Point Train Station.
It’s a very cool little spot with some great things to eat and drink. Think we’ll be featuring their share cocktail ‘The Vase’ soon. Think gin, Aperol, grapefruit juice, lime, lemonade and soda. Delicious!
As we head back to the city, we see the Town Hall has a free light show projected onto its side. They’ve put deckchairs out and you can sit and watch the five-minute show. It’s really well-done and helps get us in the Christmas mood.
One week before Christmas. That can mean only one thing. Mrs Romance’s birthday. It’s also Brad Pitt’s birthday, but he’s not here, so who cares.
No, Mrs Romance takes precedent here. It can be quite stressful with her birthday being so close to Christmas. Funnily enough I think I fret more about what to get her for today and for her Christmas more than she does these days.
We decided to write a He Said, She Said post on it last week: He Said, She Said: How to make the most of a Christmas birthday.
After Mrs R has opened her presents, we go out for a walk down by the harbour. It’s a beautiful morning, which is excellent – the last few years it’s been rainy and horrible on the Dec 18.
We head to Anthony Nader’s hair salon, Raw, in Darlinghurst for a birthday blowdry. Anthony’s a top fellow and we have a good laugh as Anthony ‘over-directs the mesh’ to give Mrs R her custom volume!
It’s great to see Anthony, and also to meet his mate Benji. And what a great job Anthony’s done on Mrs Romance’s hair, ay? More than can be said for mine… but I think that’s a different challenge!
We get back home and I pack up the picnic I’ve planned for Mrs R. It’s a big step for me as my dislike of picnics is well-documented… in fact, we documented it here in this He Said, She Said!
The best part of this picnic though, was my inclusion of a hipflask with a mixed martini inside. Stroke of genius – even if I do say so myself!
We create a members-only pop-up cocktail bar with the best view in the city!
Mrs R is pretty happy with her birthday this year… and I’m even enjoying a picnic! It truly is a miracle birthday!
This evening, the fun continues. The Remarkables Group is having its Christmas party at Mejico in the city. At the end of a really great meal and excellent company, they bring in Mrs R’s birthday cake. Look at her face – she’s so so happy! Bless her!
It’s been a long day at work, but we meet up with the lovely Ewelina and her man Mr Enthusiastic, Paul, brainmasters of ReFoil. It’s a brilliant company that takes all the used aluminium foil from hair salons and recycles it to be used again!
We have a quick drink here, at the Newtown Hotel – in their Animal Bar – before dodging into Thai-Riffic for dinner. It’s an awesome evening!
We really start getting into the festive spirit today by making a festive punch to feature on our Friday Drinks slot. This Citrus Iced Tea Punch is delicious, and we love its Christmasy colour.
There’s only one way to see the end to the week – and to the working year – is to head to my local Malay Chinese restaurant and lunch on a very good Hainanese chicken rice. Love it!
Walking back to the office, I’m once again amazed at how lucky I am to be living in such a beautiful city. Sydney really is lovely – especially when it’s a hot, sunny day.
We go to meet our long-time friend Leonie and her little boy at the Winery for brunch. My chicken avocado sandwich is very tasty – as you can see, I’ve already taken a bite before I can take a picture!
It was Leonie, by the way, who Mrs Romance and I have to thank for introducing us. Thank you, Leonie!
Mrs Romance has worked so hard this year, I think it’s an excellent idea for her to have a breather from Hair Romance over Christmas. She’ll still be working on her hair craft, but this will be her last post of 2013.
For all you hair lovers, don’t worry. There’s plenty in this epic post to keep you busy over Christmas.
This morning we’re off for breakfast with our friends Staedtler and Carolyn. They are the Brangelina of our friends group: we call them ‘Staedtlyn’. We think they like it, but it doesn’t really matter if they don’t. We’ll keep doing it!
We go to a very cool cafe called Lemonia (now Fez and Co) in Annandale. It’s got a great feel, strong, tasty coffee and a menu you want to order everything from.
Mrs R orders a cup of tea. It comes in a very pretty tea cup that makes me suspect they may have broken into my nan’s house for their crockery!
My peri peri chicken sandwich is delicious. Lots of chicken, lots of spice and beautiful soft bread.
Finally I get to the liquor store where I can use my Qantas frequent flyer points that are about to expire. I’ve been thinking about getting this bottle of 16-year-old Lagavulin scotch for ages. Now it’s mine, all MINE!!
On our way across town this afternoon, we spot Santa. He’s obviously on a trial run on his new sleigh. However, there have been others like him spotted about the city. Talk is of a new biker gang ready to take Sydney by storm on the 25th.
Back home, Mrs Romance gets on the cooking bandwagon, and turns out some excellent nutty caramel popcorn – a recipe from our lovely friend, Lorraine of Not Quite Nigella fame.
Our first birthday champagne give-away competition has come to an end. We’ve had a real problem choosing a winner but we have narrowed it down to this picture chosen by Kimberley from @kimbodee.
We think this picture really says what MrAndMrsRomance.com is about. And what we’re about too. Just like Kimberley said in her comment:
“I love this one because it sums it all up really, doesn’t it? There’s two people relaxing together, sharing a drink and a moment in front of the universal sign for love.”
Thank you to everyone who has taken part in our competition. We’ve really enjoyed seeing what pictures of ours you’ve enjoyed the most and what you see as a signature image of Mr & Mrs Romance.
Good luck with any last-minute Christmas shopping you need to get done!
Merry Christmas!
Sonia from Sonia Styling
Merry Christmas you guys. It’s been a fun ride with you this year! x
Mr Romance
Merry (belated) Christmas wishes to you too, Sonia! What a fun ride! We’ve had a great year. Can’t wait to see what 2014 brings! X