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

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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 ...