A veritable feast of smoked salmon, poached eggs, ducks, geese, chooks, snags & currant brioches

Tuesday's b'fast, Eggs Atlantic @ Home of Gourmet Delicacies: smoked salmon, poached eggs, Hollandais sauce + fresh greens, skinny latte
Wednesday's lunch @ Duck2 Goose: chicken Caeser salad + Phoenix organic honey cola for me, same cola + DDG burger for Rajwant, one of my BFFs since Year One @ primary school in Malaysia when we were 6-7 years old  :)
Today's brunch @ 7 Seeds with the Princess of Arcadia + her mummy: French toast of currant brioche, maple syrup, marscopone, grilled banana ...
Today's buffet lunch @ Melb Zoo (work event!): prawns in tomato + capsicum ratatouille(?), grilled beef + chook snags, grilled veges, salads ...

Of green frappes, sweet-water pearls, Chinese silk collars & black rolled silk strings ... More hedonistic pursuits in the heartland of Melbourne Bohemia

Busy morning @ Gems & Beads International (Smith Street, Collingwood). My resolution to spend no more than 30 minutes there, and only buy the bare necessities ... By the time I left, 2.5 hours later, I was ladened with beautiful red Chinese silk collars, lots & lots of sweet-water pearls, Swarovski crystal flowers & butterflies ...

Lunch @ The Green Grocer (where else, on a sunny day which coincided with time-off from work!) in North Fitzroy: a superb green frappe made from grapefruit & mint, beef & mushroom pie with chutney & fresh greens.

More rummaging @ Boutique Beads: glass beads, black hand-dyed rolled silk strings ... Bliss!

The Duck2 Goose burger

Another sensational lunch @ DDG (Artemis Lane, QV mall, Melb CBD): the Duck Duck Goose burger & a Phoenix organic creaming soda (best Kiwi invention ever, I reckon).

@ Angela: lovely to meet you "properly" today  :-)

@ Dean: my compliments to the chef and yes, this definitely should be the DDG signature dish!

Steampunk, The Magdalene & The Da Vinci Code

Limited edition Steampunk filigree heart-shape pocket watch (my newest favorite accessory, direct from the USA); round disc filigree with peach resin rose & rosebuds and hand-dyed silk ribbon (wall hanging); and Celtic knots with black resin rosebuds (pendants for Avalon Chinoiserie -- available by 18.12.2011 at the latest)

Of silk strings & cherry frappes

Late lunch (early dinner?) @ The Green Grocer in Nth Fitzroy: a delectable moussaka with mince + grilled aubergine, a frappe of cherry-orange + ginger syrup, topped with fresh passionfruit.Then a delightful rummage for silk ribbons + rolled silk strings @ Boutique Beads, with thanks to Ms Angela & Miss Alice for their hospitality   :-)

Friday brunch @ 7 Seeds in Carlton

House-made beans with corn bread, avocado, sour cream & salsa - simply divine!
Followed by the best ice coffee in Melbourne ....

To iPad or not to iPad, that is the question

At least Shakespeare only needed to get a new quil when the old one broke ...

I'm starting to develop a squint from blogging on the BlackBerry, it may be time for me to invest in an iPad, not just for WearableArt Celtique etc, but also for work. Yes, I do have a day job which pays the bills!

But if I'm going to spend money on an iPad, I could just as well invest in a new laptop. However, iPads are lighter ....

Of ballerinas, spring blossoms, fairy silk ribbons & strings

This is my signature piece for the spin-off kids' label [of WearableArt Celtique], "WearableArt pour les Petites Fleurs". It comprises a pink & white cameo of a dancing girl, vintage lucite flowers, a large filigree disc, and worn by tying together the ribbon & rolled silk string.

Retro brunch @ Pronto Pizza, Melb Uni Parkville campus

Peri-peri chicken roti + Chai Malabar on outdoor terrace, retro 1984 greatest hits blaring from speaker system indoors. Yes, Pronto's is a take-away place, but value for money, they have the best pizzas, wraps, foccacias etc within a 5 km radius.

Duck Duck Goose

Their new Lunch Menu is sensational, a 21st-century twist on the fusion cuisine (East meets West & vice-versa) of the 1990s, and a definite improvement on its predecessor which tended towards high-end fine dining. I had the Peking duck risotto and an organic honey ginger beer - just right for a warm sunny day in the CBD.

Terra Australis - Of possums, wombats, kangaroos & polymer clay beads

Sunday morning began with a surreal dose of Australiana. First up, the annual Nativity play @ St. David's, where the kids & teens performed an adaptation of Mem Fox's Wombat Divine, where Wombat was replaced by Possum ... Afterwards, as I was chilling @ the local Rotary market, a kangaroo hopped pass me along Tunstall Road, with a police-car in pursuit!

Terra Australis is the label for a collection of limited-edition polymer clay beads (limited because the Australian supplier who provided these beads no longer exists) in my favorite colours of aqua, blue, lilac, purple etc (the Pacific & Indian Oceans) and auburn, yellow, orange, burgundy etc (our sunburnt country). (Jpegs will be uploaded to blog next week, so watch this space!)

Of frappes, cheesecakes + vintage cabuchons - a sunny afternoon of hedonistic pursuits in North Fitzroy

Back again @ The Green Grocer in North Fitzroy: baked cheesecake topped with poached nectarines, washed down with a frappe of strawberry, orange + ginger syrup. Bliss!
Then a delightful rummage through the treasure trove of the divine Ms Angela (happy birthday, dear) @ Boutique Beads, the newest additions (well, new since my last visit a week ago) being an assortment of vintage cabuchon box-clasps. I came away laden with cream rose pearls, tiny silver balls + miniscule silver platina chrystal rhinestone rondelles. There will be some serious crafting this weekend on the Princess of Avalon collection.

Retro Flower Power meets the Sacred Feminine

To keep updated about WearableArt Celtique

I will be blogging whenever I can, and [hopefully!] wherever I am. If you have a special place in mind for beads, vintage clothing & accessories and good food & drink, you are welcome to add to this blog. Simply click the Followers widget at the bottom and sign-in.

Of filigrees, roses & Chinese silk collars

 Avalon Chinoiserie Celtique

Avalon Chinoiserie

Gothique Avalon

Avalon Magdalene

Of French toast & Caravan tea

Breakfast @ 7 Seeds (Carlton): currant brioche French toast with grilled banana, spiced marscopone, maple syrup & toasted pecans; Caravan tea + hot milk. The best way to start a long day ...

Of blogging, blackberries & silk fairy ribbons

Note to self: it would be useful to remember one's sign-in details for mobile blogging, it would also be healthier not to blog on a BB with a 4.5 x 5 mm screen while travelling by bus (or any form of transport) ...

Silk fairy ribbons, in glorious shades of spring & autumn colours, arrrived yesterday from the USA, along with "fairy treasures" like Swarovski crystal pearls & silver & gold box-clasps adorned with Swarovksi pearls & diamante crystals ... As soon as pink rosebuds & sterling silver butterfiles arrive from across the border (NSW), work will begin on crafting bijoux for the Princesses of Arcadia & Avalon ....

Frappe + cake: the perfect ending to a crazy week

@ The Green Grocer, St. Georges Street Road, Nth Fitzroy right now, treating myself to a slice of their flourless choclate cake + a frappe of orange, melon + elderflower - simly delish!
Their brunches + lunches are fabulous too, especially the soup of the day.

Home of Delicacies

If you're after a satisfying brunch & you're within walking/driving distance of Tunstall Sq in Donvale, check out the Eggs Atlantic (eggs poached to perfection, greens, hollandais sauce & "real" fresh bread, not the square tiles that pass for bread in supermarkets) @ Home of Delicacies, which is owned by a father (Peter) & son (Bill) team. On most mornings during the working week, I'm in & out of there with a skinny latte expertly & speedily made by barista Bill. When there's no need for me to get to work extra early, I have a proper sit-down brunch :)

Show-case gallery

Martin Fella Vintage. (cont')

Sorry Martin! The lurching motion of bus + small screen on BlackBerry not conducive to blogging :p

As I was saying a few moments ago, Martin stocks a lot of amazing items, not just clothing, bags, jewellery + shoes (my 4 favorite words!), on my 1st visit I came across a real fur muff which used to be an Artic fox, a stuffed mousie ...

Vintage with a capital V, from 1920s to 1980s

My favorite place for vintage focal-pieces + findings, especially 1940s Czech silver box-clasps with diamante + pearl in-lays (all in pristine condition) is Angela Clarke's Boutique Beads on St Georges Street Road in Nth Fitzroy. And if you're after something incredibly unique, why not check out Angela's collection of African beads, Ethiopian crucifixes, hand-painted Chinese snuff-bottles + miniature glass lanterns, bakelite belt-buckles from the USA ...

My favorite brooch is a multi-layer enamel blossom with aqua + purple petals, ca. 1970s (from the UK), purchased @ Martin Fella Vintage on Queensberry Street in Nth Melbourne. Martin's got everything and then some: flower power dresses, electric blue brothel-creepers, a fur muff which used to be an artic fox ...

and it *does* work on my BB ...

Blogging right now with smart-phone, oh happy day...

How *not* to create a blog!

After nearly 4 hours, we finally managed to create not one, but two, blogs ... still not sure how that happened. Anyway, we're now up and running, so watch this space!