We’ve decided to take it pretty easy this week because we’ve got a feeling the weekend is going to be a big one.
With Australia Day on Sunday and our plans for spending it with my brother in Brisbane, we know it’s going to be a fun w/e.
Doubled by the fact that we’ve also got plans for a night out with Nikki from Styling You, I think it’d be a good idea to take our foot off the social peddle until we fly out on Thursday.
The title photo here is taken from our post about Capri this week. We didn’t know what to expect with this little Italian island but what started out as a nightmare day out from Naples turned into a dream trip in a millionaire’s hideaway!
I love Mrs Romance’s coffee coaster – probably more than she does! We decide this is the perfect prop for today’s Fat Mum Slim’s photo-a-day challenge. Today’s prompt is ‘To-Do List’!
Mrs Romance heads to Jackie’s Cafe in Paddington for breakfast with a friend. She makes me very jealous by ‘gramming this pic of her delicious-looking pancakes.
We decide to head to the cinema again tonight for this week’s date night.
We’ve got some more Gold Class tickets from Christmas to use. We love Gold Class and usually choose films to watch there based on duration, so we can spend as much time as possible in these incredibly comfy seats.
We decide to give The Hobbit a go – it’s almost three hours long after all!
Tonight we meet up for a drink and dinner with PK from MrAristotle.com. The Trinity Pub in Surry Hills is an institution. PK, Mrs Romance and I love it here. Great craft beers, excellent food menus and the decor all make this a great place to come. How’s this giant wall map of Surry Hill from years gone by?
There’s a great little Malaysian eatery in the lower level of the Hunter Connection I like to go to. Their nasi goreng is perfect for a busy work lunch. I always ask for extra spicy… but then that’s just me!
I come home this evening to find Mrs R setting up her studio for a special behind-the-scenes photo she wants me to take. The photo comes out pretty well.
The funny thing is it’s not until we look at this picture, and other people mention it, that we realise how good the views are and how nice it is to sit here and work. I suppose that’s normal though, isn’t it? It’s often easy to take the good bits of your life for granted.
It’s Thursday morning… let the weekend begin!
We’re off up to Brisbane to spend Australia Day with my brother and his lovely family.
Hello Queensland! It’s under an hour-and-half flight from Sydney to Brisbane. We’re so excited about our weekend – and now we’re here, we can’t wait to get in amongst it!
Nothing more Queensland that a pineapple. Mrs R spots these beauties and can’t resist a quick snap of them.
My brother has convinced everyone in the family that they need a dog… well, when I say ‘everyone’ I mean himself and the kids. My sister-in-law isn’t convinced. But when my bro brings little Oscar home from the local dog rescue centre, her heart starts melting!
On the blog today, we run our Australia Day cocktail. It’s beer based, which I found the idea of putting beer in a cocktail disturbing at first, but then I made the Aussie Sailor and I changed my mind.
Here’s our recipe and how-to for the Aussie Sailor. Well worth a try.
We head out into Brisbane city today on the river cat ferry. Views of the city from the Brisbane River are lovely.
We head to GOMA – the Gallery Of Modern Art. It’s great. There are some very cool free exhibits here. This is just a shiny curtain with a fan behind it on oscillate but the effect is mesmerising. I love this pic of it, but we both agree we should have taken a video of this one.
The White Forest is a load of columns covered in fluffy white fabric. I like the effect this has, but the ‘trees’ look a bit strange. I think some of you guys noticed this too!
The special exhibit on at GOMA is called Falling Back to Earth. There are four rooms, and this is the most spectacular of them. It has a lake in the middle surrounded by animals all about to take a drink from this surreal watering hole.
They’re all so realistic we think they’re real stuffed animals at first. Then we read the information on the piece and discover each animal is completely man-made. The fur is synthetic and the animals themselves are frames made by the artist.
Mrs Romance takes a picture of this amazing installation – it’s such a spectacle we’ve got about hundred pictures we want to publish, but we’ll leave it at one each… for now!
In the next room is another incredible piece. 99 wolves strung up on wires in an arc flying through the air into a clear wall at the end of the room.
This is a bizarre piece – especially as you can walk around the wolves like you’re part of them. It’s a representation of the human psyche… I think. Better read the write-up on it again! Either way, it’s an amazing thing.
We head home on the ferry. The temperature has dropped at last and the evening breeze is very welcome. It’s been a great day. 🙂
We head to spend the day and night with the wonderful Nikki from Styling You today. And Mr SY of course! Their house is a place of serene beauty. We’re honoured with a welcome from the Styling You lightbox too!
After breakfast, we all head off into town then split up. Mrs Romance takes to the shops with Nikki, and I get to hang out with the awesome Mr SY for a craft beer festival in the Pig n Whistle Riverside. This is our spiritual home. For $2 a ticket you get a 100ml taste of any beer you can find. We have a lot of tickets!
This place has lots of domestic craft breweries showcasing their work. We leave quite some time later, confident that we’ve tried all of the beers. Great fun!
Meanwhile, Mrs R and Nikki are straight into it with an espresso martini. They’re in James Street – in Jamie’s Cafe. It’s a cafe but with a liquor licence. When I see this picture, I wonder how our credit cards will be at the end of this day.
Mr SY and I head to our next venue: the Tippler’s Tap is a new place in Newstead. It’s at the end of Masters Street and is a beer lover’s dream. The beers they have on tap off the neck are ALL new to us.
We decide it’s lunch time and order what ends up being the best reuben sandwiches we’ve ever eaten. Full of salted beef, sauerkraut, pickles and sauce, this is a sandwich for really hungry people. We were definitely two of those!
To the horror and amazement of our hosts, we also order a delicious bowl of chips and onion rings with a crispiness only panko can bring. Panko – so you know – is a Japanese breadcrumb coating. It’s very good!
Across town, Mrs R finds some flowers to photograph. Very nice, but are they world-beating reuben sandwiches? Are they panko crispy? I think not!
Finally reunited, we meet in Elixir Rooftop Bar on Anne Street, Fortitude Valley. Cocktails, champagne, a very cool environment and bloody great company!
It’s Australia Day morning and we get to take up the Styling You’s Everyday Style challenge with a well-placed cushion! Very on-brand, I think you’ll agree!
My brother’s Australia Day party is in full swing when I discover this banoffee pie. I’m pretty happy with this and eat as much of it I can without causing alarm or crowd anger. It’s delicious!
Things take a step up towards the end of the night. My brother brings out the laser light display and smoke machine. The volume goes up, the drinks keep flowing and the dorky dancing comes out.
Thank goodness for that smoke machine!
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How did you celebrate your Australia Day (or your January 26th if you’re not in Australia)?!
Sonia from Sonia Styling
Looks like you guys had a fantastic time in Brisbane! We had a wonderful Saturday lunch in the Barossa Valley with the very foxy Andrea from Fox In Flats – a real treat! We spent Australia Day in the park at the end of our street with friends, the Triple J Hottest 100 countdown playing, drinks, a BBQ and of course cricket! It was a great day.
Mrs Romance
Love that you two caught up the same as we caught up with Nikki! Next time we’ll all have to be in the same place at the same time 🙂