It’s been one of those rare peaceful starts to the year for us. Rare indeed. But since starting back in the office, our inboxes have stayed mercifully unpeppered, our phones have been reasonably quiet and our social commitments relatively undisturbed.
I’ve got a feeling this could well be the calm before the shitstorm, but we’re kind of looking forward to it. It’s been such a relaxing Christmas break that Christina and I are ready to ramp things up again.
In this post, we’ve got news on a new summer gin you need to know about, a new iced coffee you also need to know about, a storm that hit Sydney you may already know about and our furry house guest you probably don’t need to know about – but we’re going to tell you anyway!
Hope you enjoy this IG Edition. Jim & Christina xx
Christina has been to see her hairdresser Stevie English – hence the new pink through her locks. But as Stevie and his family are heading away on holiday for a little while, Christina has come home with more than just a cool cut and colour.
Meet Indi, the friendliest Staffordshire Bull Terrier you’ll ever meet – which is saying something. They’re lovely dogs generally. But she’s such a sweetheart. We’re looking forward to lots of walks with her around the harbour for the next couple of weeks.
But not today.
Weather in Sydney has been so strange recently. Roasting hot days on minute then huge looming mushrooms of wave clouds boiling up over the horizon and unleashing torrents of rain on the city.
There have been some epic thunderstorms recently too – and this one is looking promising for an encore performance.
Within minutes (we watched this cloud surge across the sky so fast) the front arrives over the harbour. Crazy winds, horizontal rain and sudden darkness fall on us. It’s like armageddon!
But then moments later, the sun comes out, the sky reluctantly clears and out pops a rainbow. It’s almost impossible to know what’s going to happen next. I suppose I could look at the weather report…
And round we go again!
Today is another scorcher with ridiculous humidity.
Thankfully Nespresso have come to our rescue and have sent us a sample of their new limited edition coffee that’s been specially blended for making iced coffee.
It’s a trend that we really got into at the start of this summer, so it’s great to have a coffee that’s been made specially for drinking over ice. Very refreshing.
There are two blends to try – the Leggero on Ice and the Intenso on Ice. As the names suggest, the first is a lighter, fruitier coffee and the latter is stronger and richer. Both delicious. Check out the IG hashtag #NespressoOnIce for more.
This evening, we’re visiting one of our favourite city bars, Grain Bar next to the Four Seasons in The Rocks, to check out something very special. Two things actually.
Firstly, Grain is launching its new menu for the spirit of summer: GIN! Grain’s manager Roderick Boerma and his team have created a line-up of new delicious cocktails featuring gin in various delicious forms. We’re welcomed to the launch with this grapefruit gin fizz. Perfectly balanced sweetness and bitterness, bright, refreshing and most importantly: absolutely delicious.
Secondly, Grain has been working with local distillery Archie Rose to create their own tailored gin. Roderick and his team spent time in the distillery formulating their own gin style with the Archie Rose guys. What came from this collaboration is actually delightful.
The gin is designed to be drunk as a martini. Served with just a spritz of vermouth and a twist, the gin speaks entirely for itself. Brilliant, fresh and delicate after-tones of tangerine finish with delicately herbed gin, straight from the bottle.
Roderick is excited about finishing this batch as quickly as possible so he and his team can get back to Archie Rose and make more!
Read about our experiences at Archie Rose Distillery here: Sydney’s First Distillery in 162 Years.
The heat just keeps on coming and poor Indi isn’t dealing with it. Especially because she runs her guts out every single time we go for a walk – she has a fascination with her ball. So when we get home, she has to cool down fast.
At first she stood with her nose dangerously close to the fan’s blades, so we’ve positioned her bed at a safer distance. Seems to be doing the trick.
I think all of us are excited about the cool change coming soon. Let’s just hope it doesn’t last too long!
