Two cafes to try

Thanks to Catherine (v. cool Melbourne blogger and inveterate traveller) at the brilliant Point of Difference, I've just become aware of two newish cafes that I want to pop in to and try a.s.a.p. Just flagging it here in my own blog so I don't forget!

First up, Friends of Mine, 506 Swan Street, Richmond:

And secondly, Sissi's, 1290 Malvern Road, Malvern:

[All images from Point of Difference]

Today I love...

Today I've been thinking about how much I love a bit of quirkiness in a cafe, for example:

I love these books stacked around the display cabinet at Mr Tulk cafe at the State Library of Victoria (so named in honour of the first chief librarian at the library). Mind you I'd be very tempted to pull out a book or two just to find out what's what.

Or how about these stools made from recycled road signs at Three Bags Full in Abbotsford:

And at The Commoner in Fitzroy... why keep your utensils in the kitchen when you can hang them on the wall!!

And you can forget about the piped in music at Gingerlee cafe in Brunswick East when they've got their own record player (now that's a trip down memory lane!):

Of course, no matter how cute and quirky a cafe is, it has to have good coffee! Do you have any favourite, quirky cafes in your neighbourhood?

[All images from Breakfast Out]

Of tiles and catch ups

I had such a lovely 'catch up' with my girlfriend Alex on Saturday. We met in South Melbourne as we both wanted to check out the tiles at Aeria.  I tell you, there are so many beautiful tiles in that one shop! I fell in love with these encaustic cement tiles (the ones on the left) - we're thinking of using them when we retile our front verandah shortly:

I also loved the plain encaustic cement tiles - such beautiful washed out colours:

The plain tiles look quite nice when an assortment of colours is used together:

Then we popped around the corner to St Ali's for the totally delicious pear and coconut bread paired with the best latte I've had in months. I seriously wish St Ali's was my local cafe. Unfortunately, I have to drive about 8 kms to get there!

Then we had a bit of browse around South Melbourne and fortuitously stumbled across (only because the car happened to be parked across the road) the recently opened Warehouse 8 @ 216 Coventry Street. Lots of vintage, industrial, provincial and depression era furniture here:

Their site has lots of information about the items in store - you can check it out here.

[Images: 1 to 4 - Aeria; 5 - Breakfast Out; 6 - Warehouse 8]

Place: Manly

Gourmet Traveller's recent 'Insider's Guide to Manly' definitely put Manly on my 'must do' list the next time I visit Sydney. Here's why:

Some swanky shopping at Mr and Mrs Smith:

And more goodies at Neck of the Woods:

Coffee seated here at Three Beans:

Dining with a great view at Manly Pavilion:

Do you have any Manly favourites?

[Images: Gourmet Traveller]

Love: Tiled walls

A very recent obsession of mine...tiled walls. Two lovely local examples (click on the pics for a closer look):

Ernest V Cafe @ 432 Glenhuntly Road, Elsternwick (I had a fabulous middle eastern style winter salad there a couple of weeks ago):

A newish cafe, Pour Kids, in Winter Street, Malvern - my husband was working nearby recently and we popped in for a coffee. The black & white tiled wall looks great with the bright yellow coffee machine:

Do you know of any other lovely examples to share?

[All images from Broadsheet Melbourne]

Coffee at Our Kitchen Table

Nothing is better than starting the working day by walking the dog and then having coffee and a quick chat with my husband after we have dropped our son to school, particularly if it's the very homely cafe 'Our Kitchen Table' that we drop into for our daily dose of caffeine (our limit is one coffee a day, and oh how we look forward to it). With all my might I try to resist the muffins!

Do you have a favourite way to start the day?

Our son particularly loves these disgustingly sweet lollie-laden cupcakes. Well really, what child wouldn't!

[Images: Our Kitchen Table]

Tank tops

My local fish & chip shop looks nothing like Tank Fish and Chippery in Lygon Street, Carlton. It's pretty swish. Mind you that's probably a good thing for my waist line because if it did I think I'd eat fish and chips a lot more often. Totally loving the blue and white tiles and great light fittings.

[All images from Australian Interior Design Awards]

Why Wye?

Answer: Because it's a million miles from the big city lights of Melbourne and it's got The Wye River General Store - the quintessential beach cafe.

The cafe might look a little bit on the plain side...

But it's situated right on The Great Ocean Road in a fabulous location where the river meets the sea...

More on the laid-back interior...

And the exterior..

However, the real drawcard is the bread and pastries, closely followed by the great coffee...

Just committing this to memory so that the next time we pass by Wye we will definitely make a pitstop.

[Images: The Wye River General Store]