New years is a time for reflecting- here is an A-Z review of my life in 2011

A- America- moving to New York has been one of the most incredible experiences of my life. Never have I been so happy, sad, rich, poor, lonely, inspired, exhausted, ecstatic, hungry or full!

B- Bike riding. Buying a bike was the best thing I could have done in New York. The most amazing way to get to know the city and so much fun for exploring and adventuring.

C- CHANEL- never ever would I have imaged working for the most prestigious luxury brand in the world

D- Dining out. So so so so many restaurants. It never ceases to amaze me just HOW MANY places there are to eat.

E- Eating. 2011 was a great year in my eating experiences- one highlight was the dessert selection at Brooklyn Japanese Restaurant 1or8.  

F- Food, and discovering that its more than an obsession with the necessity, it’s a way of life.

G- Georgie; rediscovering just how special being a twin is and how hard it is to live on the opposite sides of the world.

H- Happy. I always try to be happy and positive. It makes every day a lot more manageable and positive vibes bring good luck.

I- Independent. Living without family across the other side of the world.

J- Jessie. The best and most beautiful older sister anyone could hope for.

K- Karina. I don’t think I would have survived in New York without her. She is my constant source of entertainment, therapy, cuddles, cycling, cooking and outfit collaborating.

L- Love, breaking hearts and being heart broken and learning again that time and space is the only thing that heals.

M- Men. So many men in New York! I’ve never been on some many dates in my life.

N- New friends. I’ve met a lot of people in New York, some who will be friends for life and others who are good for a laugh.

O- Outkast. I’ve listened to Aquemini a lot this year.

P- Published. Getting The Bookery Cook signed to a publisher was one of the most rewarding and satisfying achievements, and I am so thankful for having written it with my two favourite ladies in the world, my sisters.

Q- Quick. I can’t believe how quickly the year went by.

R- Running. I still love running. Running beside the Hudson river and looking at the Statue of Liberty is a memory I will look back on forever.

S- Summer. I was lucky enough this year to have 2 summers. Stock piling sun before the wintertime hits!

T- Travel. I am so thankful for my parents to being so open-minded about letting me travel and move overseas.

U- Unique. I spent more time in my own company in 2011 and I’ve seen, heard and experience some of the most incredible things, and have driven myself slightly insane.

V- Visitors. I have been very fortunate this year to have some of my closest friends and family visit.

W- Woombye. Still the best place on earth.

X- Hmmm. X marks the spot? The spot where I am in life now, a crossroad of trying to decide where I want to live and what I want to be when I grow up.

Y- Yes. Trying to say ‘yes’ to everything that came my way and seeing where it could take me.

Z- Zebra print, buying possibly the best zebra print jacket in the world.

New York is full of men, so I am doing my best to narrow potential husbands into categories.

1. Professional athlete- I like beer and sports, so why not combine the two?

2. Chef/Cook/Food critic. I love food and living with someone who cooks for a living/gets paid to eat for a living would be a dream (I would then also need to have an affair with a personal trainer at some point).

3. A movie star. It’s New York and I work for CHANEL so this would be completing the dream.

4. A total stranger in fancy dress. He’s reading, enjoying the sun and  wearing a vintage sailor uniform. Enough said.

5. Someone with the last name ‘Martini’… Maxine Martini. I could live pool side for the rest of my life.

old faithful shoes

But my shin splints, and sore right hip have been telling me that they can’t handle the worn out soles and flatten gel cushions anymore. They need comfort and support if they are going to allow me to keep running. So today I bought myself a new pair of running shoes.. ASCIS of course.

new flashy cushion soled, gel enhanced bouncy breezy shoes

we're friends right?

Thats the only problem with being a (semi) serious runner.. I can’t get the snazzy polka-dot black chic looking NIKE’s my heart desires, instead I have to get ‘proper’ running shoes.

jazzy trainers, for those who run a maximum of 1 mile a day...

Maybe in my next life I’ll design snazzy ‘proper’ running shoes, for other jazzy girls who have the same problem… ‘Lady Danger for Adidas’ I like it.

jean print

These babies were at the top of my moving to NYC packing list…. I thought that if anyone would appreciate them it would be the stylish New Yorkers. I had been saving their first outing for a special occasion, and then last night, after 6 days of straight work (this means wearing all black every day) I was determined to squeeze as many colours and prints into an outfit as possible… and hence the time was right for my champagne trousers to make their maiden voyage into the New York fashion scene.

print party

'morange' lips

Dressed in white gladiator sandals, champagne trousers, a blue and white striped bodysuit and bright orange lipstick, I was dressed and ready for dinner at a friends house, excited for my day of and feeling like a million dollars. Post dinner, on the way home at 1am,  I had my arm twisted to stop for a nightcap in a newly opened bar. Seemed nice inside with a good bunch of people until I began talking to one gentlemen.. after about 5 minutes of talking he looked me up and down and ask me if “my outfit was the result of loosing a bet”. I was speechless!

Instantly I thought of using Romy’s call (of Romy and Michelle) “Would you excuse me, I cut my foot before and my shoe is filling up with blood” Or saying no you twat. Take your button up shirt, black chinos, pointy shoes back to urban outfitters, drink a vodka soda and go talk to a girl in a tight dress. Instead I decided to not waste anymore time, oxygen or energy talking to a person that clearly was from a very different planet from me, I smiled and excused myself back to my friend at the bar.

And here I was thinking that you could wear anything out in New York and no one would look twice. Last weekend I wore a black sequin bra out instead of a top (38 degrees definitely warrants a bra as an top option) and no one said anything. Perhaps New York is just not man enough for my champagne trousers!

I say… man up New York!!!

Working at CHANEL is brilliant… and after 3 weeks I’ve finally stopped feeling completely out of my depth and started to settle right in to my role as ‘Customer Service Ambassador’ (fancy huh!).

Another reason why I LOVE MY JOB is the perks… make up, perfume, invitations to parties, constant supply of champagne and also my amazing bosses- who are total babes, and hilarious. It’s a lovely place to work, we call it the United Nations, as every one who works there is from a different country, so conversations in the lunch room are often in a hum of Spanish, Swedish, Russian, Chinese and then my loud harsh Australian voice!

So everyone who works there says that once you start working for CHANEL you never want to leave and it completely takes over your life.

Walking around my apartment this morning… I can see  CHANEL taking over my life already.. who knows what I’ll be like in 2, 5 or 10 years time!

CHANEL keeping it cool on the fridge

Classy

window watching

Liquid gold

make over party

On Thursday night there was a party in-store (for a models birthday)- dressed head-to-toe in CHANEL I’ve never looked more expensive. Black mini dress, black cat eyes, nude lips and these absolutely incredible amazing shoes…..

Nothing but love

Ahhhh life! Off to work!

I think I had figs on the brain after reading this lovely article entitled ‘Thirteen Ways with Figs’ on the gastronomista blog last night.

Figs, you are especially delicious in my salad tonight which also contains; poached chicken, fried eggplant, caramlised red onion, burnt figs, roasted sunflower seeds, rocket and cucumber. Delicious on a not-so-balmy New York spring time evening, and you go surprisingly well with whiskey (the only booze I have in the house and I can’t really be bothered leaving) so, for tonight, whiskey will do, and I’m not complaining.

burnt fig and eggplant salad

LIFE
I’ve been feeling  a bit rubbish today. Very rubbish. I had a terrible sleep last night, the one where you wake up every hour and never feel that you properly get to sleep and just generally feeling pretty average.. so when I woke up at half 5 this morning I decided to get up and go for a run. I listened to another ‘Food Seen’ podcast from my new favourite friends at Heritage Radio- this time with British Jelly pioneers or ‘Jellymongers’ Bompas & Parr. And I fell in love, yet again. God dam those british accents get me every time! And not to mention their very witty sense of humour… I spent most of my run in a constant giggle. I did record a little caption of it, but cannot for the life of me figure out how to upload an .m4a file to wordpress. So if you want to hear it, go to the Heritage Radio Network podcast’s and download episode 49, and scroll fast-forward the 40 min mark.. or just listen to the whole thing. You won’t regret it. Please excuse my untechsaviness.

Today, feeling a bit fragile and sleepy, after meeting a friend for brunch I came home and did something VERY out of character for me. I watched a film during the day. Yes I did get up a couple of times to make tea, check emails and walk around but I watched a film during the day, and you know what.. . I didn’t even feel bad about it! It was a ‘food’ film I’d been meaning to see for years; Like Water for Chocolate.  I adored it and was crying like a big girl by the end of it!

FASHION
I almost died today. Chloe Sevigny walked into the same little bookstore as me on Bond St and I immediately cursed myself for looking particularly underwhelming today (Lady Danger lipstick excluded). And let me say she is equally if not better looking in person. Dam I want to be you, or a least your best friend so I can borrow your clothes.

Tonight I’m having a night in, going to drink at least 3 glasses of whiskey, watch Mostly Martha and get a goods nights sleep before tomorrow’s potluckslideshow event, The Beautiful Bountiful Brooklyn Tasting Hour. I’m very, very, very excited about this and am teaming up with a new found chef friend to create a tasting plate to contribute to the ‘pot luck’ side of the event. We are still finalising our exact dish, so stay tuned for photos, tasting reviews and hopefully a whole new bunch of food fanatic friends.

Over&Eat.

I’ve been spending a lot of time on my own this week, pottering about, and don’t get me wrong I’m down with hanging out with me, myself and I, but sometimes you can do your own head in. So I’ve been listening to a lot of podcasts.. not surprisingly related to food. During my researching into the underground food scence in NYC I stumbled across an interview with one of the founders of potluckslideshow (the organisers of the Beautiful Bountiful Brooklyn Tasting Hour!) on the Heritage Radio Network. The radio station only takes about food. What a dream. I’m listening to a podcast at the moment with the girls from Gastonomista, who I have to say I have completely fallen head over heels in love with. I want to be them!! Did I mention that one of their favourite combinations of food is absinthe and oysters. Babes.

“…everybody thinks that because we are girls we only like cupcakes. Sure we like cupcakes but we also like bourbon”

Another thing that I have fallen in love with is this (which I found on their blog).

best invention ever

Perfect for the lady or gentlemen who doesn’t have a basket to put their wine in when cycling to a romantic dinner date or picnic- and at $25, you’d be crazy not to get one. Buy it here.

FASHION

I learnt my lesson yesterday about cycling in inappropriate clothing. My favourite ankle length sheer white skirt is now ripped and grease stained. Silly me thought it would be a great garment for cycling in, yet as soon as I hoped on my bike and zipped around the corner, I could cycle no further due to my skirt being wrapped in the chain of my bike. Fortunately, I was able to rip the skirt out and didn’t have to awkwardly wobble home with the bike wrapped around me, nor did I have to take the skirt off completely and walk home in my knickers with my bike wearing the skirt (kind of wish I had to now, would have made for a funnier story!).

poor skirt!

detail of the damage

I’m going to try and dye it grey or black, or maybe tie dye it so it is not completely ruined! I will be very sad to say goodbye to this summery beauty (and just when the weather is getting warm!!). So will I cycle in any more ankle length garments? Yes, I will just remember to tuck the dress firmly into my knickers before getting on my bike.

FOOD

Yesterday was so so beautiful and sunny so I spent the day cycling about the city on my bike. Cycling along the Hudson river on a sunny day is amazing- so many people out and about. I also discovered a new bar- a place called The Frying Pan. An old boat that is converted into a bar. I was drawn to it by the beautiful wooden archway leading up to the boat. Built in 1929, this historic lightship (one of the few remaining) is said to have spent three years at the bottom of the Chesapeake Bay before being salvaged and brought to Chelsea Piers to become the ultimate “dive” bar. The boat, docked on a railroad car barge, boasts a musty, barnacle-encrusted interior (complete with catwalks and an exposed engine room) straight out of a Nine Inch Nails video. The far end of the barge often serves as a moody dj lounge and stage for live acts. On the pier, a tiki bar serves up booze and burgers, and a 16-foot observation plank offers a fantastic view of activities on the Hudson… and perfect for any time of the day drinking in the sun. It would have been rude of me not to stop and have a beer.

The Frying Pan

Having a pint of heavy cream (you cant just call it ‘cream’ in this country as people think you are talking about ‘crema’ for your coffee) left in the fridge, and an unstoppable craving for needing to eat ricotta all the time, I decided to try my luck at making it. Seemed simple enough, cream, milk, lemon, curdle, drain and let sit. Unfortunately not! I think I may have gone wrong in a few places; not adding enough lemon juice, not letting it curdle enough, or the fact that I had to use calico instead of muslin only because guy in the fabric store was being a creep and ogling at me (like he’d never seen a girl in tight high waisted jeans and a cropped t-shirt, he was about 55 so surely he lived through the 80′s right?!) so I took whatever he gave me and was out of there quick smart. The calico was obviously way to thick so the liquid didn’t drain fast enough, and all the curdling sort of collapsed. I’m going to make a trip back to the wonderland that is Cake & Bake to get some muslin and to have another go at making it tomorrow… fingers crossed I’ll have fresh ricotta to enjoy for breakfast Saturday morning. Maybe even make orange & ricotta pancake. yum!

ricotta attempt #1

DESIGN

I hardly ever make clothing for anyone else. I’m not sure why, I guess maybe I feel as though it’s quite an intimate thing to do, like you are giving a piece of yourself away? Too poetic? Anyway, after a recent late night wine infused skype conversation with a good friend, I decided to make him a t-shirt. For some reason or another we were ranting about numbers and he mentioned that his favourite number was 24. When asked why, he said ‘because it relates to so many things, 24hrs in a day…’ and then couldn’t think of anything else- great reasoning! So when going to sleep that night I decided to design a t-shirt print based on the number 24. Here is the result.

final print design

Obviously all the things on the shirt relate to the number 24 (I may have lied about the egg yolks in a gin&lime tart, but I remember there being a lot.

the 'how many hassell's in da house' t-shirt

The shirt was an early birthday present/ good luck on your world tour present, as the band that my friend is in just left of a big tour. Here’s a plug for them… they are called SEEKAE. 3 three piece electronic music act that are brilliant (no bias of course). They are playing at a bunch of places throughout the UK and a few festivals…. dates and tickets are available here. Fingers crossed they’ll make it over to NYC!

here’s one of my favourite tracks of the new album +Dome. Seekae: Reset Head

And just to end with. My brilliant friend in the UK sent me this.. now that I work for Chanel, I have to be polished in everything that I do. Even behind closed doors!

Over&Eat

FASHION
I had my last day at Betsey Johnson yesterday, which was sadder than I excepted. When I was leaving, the gang surprised me with a present and a card saying how wonderful it was to have me and how much I will be missed which is very sweet of them (although I think it’s mainly to do with the fact that now they will have to get their own coffee). The items of clothing that they gave me were items that I couldn’t have chosen better myself;
- a black cardigan with puff sleeves, tails and a gold fleck through it and big gold buttons
- a pink lace summer dress (shoe string straps and down to my knees, just the way i like dresses)
and possibly the best item of clothing I’ve ever owned in my whole life….an emerald green velvet high waist harem pant jumpsuit.  honestly, i put it on yesterday and almost cried  I love it so much. I’m taking myself out on a romantic date for one tomorrow night to see James Blake (!) so I am going to wear it. It makes me feel complete. Stay tuned for a picture.

LIFE
I am very happy and very proud to say that I now work for CHANEL!! I received the phone call last Thursday and spent Thursday night drinking champagne, falling over on the sidewalk and dancing with joy- not only to have a paying full time job, but a paying full time job working for CHANEL. Dreams can come true!

some reading material

Unfortunately, applications for the NY marathon have closed. They closed in Feb… so I have to find a way in. Or maybe just train anyway and sneak in on the day. We’ll see. But I plan to train and keep running everyday as I think that this is why I have been so lucky with life at the moment. Healthy body healthy mind. And you feel better about yourself and give off more positive energy.

FOOD
I have recently discovered brilliant subcultures in New York. One of these (not surprisingly) being a food. There are a few organisations here that are sort of like a ‘secret food society’ . Two of these to note are  ’A Razor, A Shiny Knife’ and ’Studio Feast’. This group recently held a 6 course meal on the L train (main subway between 14th st Manhattan to downtown Brooklyn). You can read about it here. This is a subculture that I am very very very keen to get involved with, and have already started making my way in. On Saturday I am attending the Beautiful Bountiful Brooklyn Tasting Hour . Which is a festival to celebrate Brooklyn’s lively culinary community and sustainable food movement (I am also going to celebrate my Dad’s 60th birthday and eat and drink on his behalf.. Happy Birthday Papa!) I’ll post some images up net week and look forward updating you on some Bookery Cook vs NYC foodie collaborations.

One thing that I am enjoying about living on my own is being able to stock my fridge full of delicious treats that I love and not worry about someone else consuming them. At the moment I cannot get enough
- Ricotta
- Prosciutto
- sunflower seeds
- miso paste
- Tahini
- Whiskey
- brussel sprouts
- anything in sage butter (yes, still obsessed)
- Mussels

yum yum dinner on the fire escape

I wanted to make panna cotta for my friend  last Friday, I’d never made it before and I knew that it was her favourite. So I trekked off to find gelatine and other ingredients. To get gelatine I went to ‘New York Cake and Bake’. Which should be called ‘I died and went to baking heaven’. I have never been in such a wonderland! Tins, measuring cups, wedding decorations and everything and anything else you could ever need to make the cake of your dreams. Literally in edible bejewelled heaven!

Just when i thought life couldn't get any better. edible rhinestones.

I’m not really one for dairy heavy desserts (or anything in the dairy family really) so making panna cotta and actually consuming it was a bit out of character for me. But on Saturday night, I made a mixed berry, balsamic vinegar and red wine reduction to go over the panna cotta and when I tasted it, I fell in love with myself.

mmmmm

Then when I had finished it I passed out in a food coma. It was honestly delicious (and as far as my panna cotta experience goes the best ever!).

food coma

Over&Eat.

Excuse my lack of blogging of late. I have just moved into my apartment and still don’t have the internet set up. Seems as though everyone in New York is in a hurry to get everything done, except set up the internet in your apartment. So the wifi I’ve been scamming online lets me check my emails occasionally and I can’t upload images from my first generation ipad (#firstworldproblem).

I have had a really lovely few weeks- settling in to my own place has made New York feel like home. Cooking dinner and sitting on my fire escape is my favourite way to spend the evening.

Big things that have happened over the past few weeks- I have interviewed for my dream job.. a junior HR assistant at Chanel. 4 interviews later, 1 pair of new high heels, 2 nail jobs, a new outfit, a haircut- I’m still waiting for the verdict. My stomach has been in my throat all week and I almost trip over myself every time my phone rings to answer it! I’m trying not to think about it too much, but it will be a really exciting job and an amazing opportunity if I do get it, and if I don’t- its New York, something else will come along!

I’ve decided to run the New York Marathon. I’ve always loved running, and although I’d traded running for swimming in Australia, I’m very happy to say that I am back on the running train and I am loving every moment of it. I’ve been toying with the idea of running a marathon for the past couple of years, and yesterday with the purchasing of a grey anorak and new insoles for my runners and a rainy early evening run I made up my mind. Im going to do it. At the moment I’ve been running 5 miles, 5 times a week so I just need to maintain this, and trade one of these 5 mile runs for a 15-20 mile run once a month. I’m really excited, nervous and determined to actually do this. Running helps to clear my head and keep me healthy, so I think that this will be a really good personal challenge and milestone in my life… and what better time to do it than when I’ve just moved to New York. Just need to get my hands on a few super good play lists for the 20 mile run!!

I went to the Cherry Blossom Festival last weekend with a good friend from home who I recently recrossed paths with. The weather was beautiful so we cycled across town to play in the beautiful pink flowers, eat sushi and drink sake. Needless to say my cycle home at 10pm was very interesting and I woke up sunday morning with purple shins and a giant purple bruise on my elbow. Sunday was spent doing much of the same thing, cycling around Brooklyn in the sun, drinking frozen margaritas in styrofoam cups in the park and wobbling home on my bike.

FASHION THINGS

According to Womens Wear Daily (WWD) polka dots are big in New York this season. Like I didn’t know that. I think that people have seen me zipping about on my bike in my  old faithful giant polka dots trousers and taken quit a liking to them (one guy called me sex on a bike… success!!)

beyonce in spots

I popped into Lady Footlocker yesterday to get some new innersoles for my runners and had to stop myself from buying these very snazzy nike trainers..

love love love want want want need need need

FOOD THINGS

Food highlights of the week include my new all time FAVOURITE home made breakfast: Sage Butter Scrambled Eggs
4 sage leaves
decent knob of butter
dash of olive oil
2 eggs
dash of milk
slice of decent rye bread to serve on
salt and pepper

whisk eggs and milk
heat oil and butter in a pan, add sage leaves (oil and butter combo stops butter from burning)
cook until sage leaves start to colour
add eggs and leave sit (cook it more like an omelette than a scramble) and fold over a couple of times
serve on toasted rye bread and season with salt and pepper.

If you feel like giving yourself an extra treat- spread goats cheese over the rye bread before adding the eggs. this was an addition for a snazzy sunday morning version.. what a treat!!

Also-  ate at Five Leaves in Brooklyn (restaurant founded by Heath Ledger) which is one of my favs. The food, atmosphere, waitstaff and bloody mary’s are all incredible. My top choice is the mussels and the ‘Devils on Horseback’- fresh dates wrapped in bacon and cooked in the oven… they changed my life.

Also yesterday I had lunch at Souen- a macrobiotic, organic, natural japanese restaurant just around the corner from my house. Needless to say the food was amazing and I left the place glowing. I had ‘rice in soup with fish’ for $14. delicious- would be a great place to come after a bikrim class, or the morning after a big night to try and cleanse yourself- and yes they do serve alcohol!

ok that’s it for now. time to get out and enjoy the sunshine and pick up my washing and anxiously watch my phone praying for it to ring!

over&eat.

yes yes i do

I guess I am feeling so happy because I finally have somewhere to call home, and it’s AMAZING. An apartment more perfect that I could have hoped for. Located in Tribeca, which is one of my favourite areas of Manhattan. I’ve spent the last 3 days just wondering around my new neighbourhood and constantly feeling like giving myself high 5′s every minute.

beautiful Tribeca (home)

So now I have the task of trying to furnish the whole apartment… and my room! From scratch, bed, clothes hanging contraption, vanity, mirror, fairy lights, the works. We ventured to a place called ‘Antique Garage’ today- which is a big flea market selling everything and anything. Typically, I go completely distracted by the abundance of vintage clothing and sparkling jewels and didn’t even look twice at homewares! In my defence, I managed to stop myself from buying anything (although the a vintage bag from the 1980′s with a giant moon stone crystal for $150 was calling my name).

market!

so many sparkly things

I managed to score myself a part-time job teaching sewing lessons! I’m very excited.. and what a bonus getting paid to teach craft time! The company is called ‘Sewmoni’. A two-person owned and operated company, so I am very happy to be a part of the team now.

I’m looking forward to getting a sewing machine when I move in… I have been designing a few pieces that I would like to make for myself. Whilst running an errand at work last week, I ‘popped’ into a fabric store… 2 hours later I left with about 50 swatches and a million and one ideas running around in my head. This fabric store was a WONDERLAND. I had died and gone to fabric heaven. Every fabric you could ever dream of wanting was there.

one asile of 20... oh my!

this fabric was one of the best things ive ever seen. feathers all over it, too bad its $200 p/m...super snazzy though it would be worth every cent!

Please excuse my lack of blogging as late. I’ve been feeling a bit overwhelmed with the prospect of blogging and falling into the whole ‘fashion’ blogger stereotype of taking a photo of what I wear everyday and what everyone else is wearing. I’ve seen some super dapper looking people though. too many. everyone has their on thing going on and I love it. So I’ll post them from time to time and also tell you about things I am enjoying at the moment, like the brown cowboy boot/brown sock and sheer polka dot stocking combination I’ve been living in at the moment, but not all the time, because no one really cares about what I wear every day, except me. And also the security guard at work every morning.

Enough ranting from me! Im off to find dinner

xxx