+4C inBrisbane with Mulled Wine and Hot Choco!

Before you keep reading any further, I have a confession to make: this post is being typed while the QLD and NSW inhabitants  have their eyes pinned to the screens watching closely the Maroon and Blue teams  competing for the State of Origin tonight, if only the person who approved my visa knew that!.To my excuse I follow the score online ad drink my hot tea out of the maroon mug! 

Anyway, as many of you  freezing living in Brisbane would know, it is 4C - pretty cold winter, even to my standards, and I am from Ukraine! 

All I want to do is to RUN AWAY TO THAILAND   stay in drinking hot chocolate and  never leave my warm bed.

Such  a passive waste of my young years has reminded me of a wintery drink, that will keep your bones warm and your mind relaxed - Gluhwein or Mulled wine. 

Mulled wine tastes great and needs to be consumed with caution, as heated alcohol  is very effective!, unless the motivation is to get drunk so as not to feel any cold all together, in that case feel free to drink untill the RSA authorities would have felt ashamed for you being so irresponsible with the alcohol consumption. 

Next time you are contemplating with the choice of the evening drink try the Mulled wine: 

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 10 cloves
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1/4 cup brown sugar or honey
• 1 roughly grated nutmeg
• 1 orange (roughly chopped)
• 1 roughly chopped apple (skin on)
• 750ml light, fruity red wine, such as a merlot (or any other cheap wine as it will all taste like cinnamon and fruit!)

Method

1. Heat cloves, cinnamon, sugar, nutmeg,  orange and apple in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add water. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.
2. Add red wine and simmer for another 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Strain and divide among serving glasses.

The main point is not to let the wine boil - other than that feel free to experiment with the ingredients. Prior to serving Mulled Wine in make sure nobody is allergic to any of the ingredients!

Considering that Queensland is bound to be a Sunshine state mulled wine is not a commonplace here, but if you are too lazy to make it at home, you can get a couple of glasses (or maybe a few more?) at the  Woolloongabba hotel.

Hope you are  keeping warm!

xoxo

Julie

FIT Brisbane: RBWH Run, Mind Body & Spirit, Rock Climbing

Since My Man left on a long 5 week business & leisure journey 8 days ago (and, no, I am not counting!) I promised myself to become  a tiny bit more disciplined and get doing things that have been in the "Let's Make It Happen List". The hardest bit is to actually start, so here we go:

•  Exercising - you would have already read my ramblings about my Yoga classes at the Australian School of Meditation & Yoga, but at one point my enthusiasm burst out into signing up for the Royal Fun For Research (am still wondering if I was in sound mind) to raise money for clinical research at the RBWH - it's an 8km run or a 6km walk - and unless I break up with wine & chocolate  get serious with my running routine I will have to do the latter. 

They say you need to start small. The first step has been installing a 'Magic' App on my phone

 - I had a Moment of Revelation when I heard a woman from the Magic App informing me in a stern teacher - like voice the distance, speed, pace and calories burnt - what an Intelligent woman has moved in my phone (mental note: I wonder if the Stern Teacher can be substituted with Ryan Gosling's voice?)

Today I even went to the Mind Body & Spirit Festival after my Yoga class and discovered the 'best quality" supplements, juicers, blenders, 'healing jewellery', met avoided  mind readers, life coaches, fortune tellers - I left the place wondering Why there are still sick and unhappy people on our Planet  - the answers to all your problems have been been found long ago and can be ordered online with the Today Only 20 % Discount  . 

Sarcasm away, the Festival was unexpectedly big with a multitude  interesting stalls and great products!

• Mountain Climbing - we are finally doing it! - next Saturday (fingers crossed it doesn't rain!) - very excited for the Riverlife adventure at the Kangaroo Point Cliffs - next week's blog will feature photos of clumsy me hanging on to the Safety rope attached to the top of the Cliff. 

Happy New Financial Year and a positive Monday for tomorrow! 

xoxo

Julie

Spring (CBD)

Continuing the topic of the CBD dining let's talk about Spring... and I don't mean the season, even though I wouldn't mind a bit of warmth and sunshine in our Brisbane lives...Spring is that restaurant that has created a lot of buzz since its opening a few months ago  and many of you have heard of.

My first visit to Spring was not long after its opening. The design and unusual interior decorations sculpted heads and arms resting on the nearby table definitely made a pleasant impression -white crisp colours,  lots of light, wood, fresh pastry and salads displayed in glass cabinets and fancy bottles of wine prominently displayed, sneakily unveiling the action happening in the kitchen - an exquisite design with a twist, yet 'cosy' and welcoming and not at all intimidating. For a moment I felt like I was back in Europe in one of my back then favourite cafes.

During my fist visit the food  was good, but nothing too impressive. What deserves special credit is the service. While I was eating a nasty insect landed its tiny body in my salad and died right in between the spinach leaf and a piece of beetroot - the waitress reacted in a glimpse of a second and my dish was replaced promptly, which I haven't even requested as the appetite was gone as the wine tasted too good!

Anyway, this week I had to pick a place for a dinner in the CBD with a special person - a lady who was partially responsible for my  move to Australia 3 years ago -  sure thing I wanted to go to a nice place, where we would be able to enjoy good food, pleasant atmosphere and be able to have a decent conversation without having to shout to beat the crowd noise (and I wanted all that on Friday, when  the majority of the city workers start drinking at 3 pm!). After  a careful consideration  a google search at work  the choice fell on Spring!


My guest approved of my choice and we had a lovely time chatting for a couple of hours while enjoying our meals. Again, food was good, but nothing over the top exciting - maybe I am becoming spoilt or choosing not the best things off the menu, this time I went with the Salad with Pumkin and Haloumi cheese (it sounded a lot more fancy on the menu, but you get the idea) ? Service was attentive and the  coffee was yum!

Overall - a lovely experience, and definitely a unique place in the CBD.

Design:  10/10

Drinks:  9/10

Food: 7/10

Service: 9/10

The highlight: The atmosphere

Disappointment: The line to the ladies!!

Splurge: $$$ 

xoxo

Julie

Peony Asian Fusion:CBD Casual Dining

I have been meaning to write about the Peony Asian Fusion for a while now, as this is one of the places that has pleasantly surprised me the first time I went there a good few months ago and hasn't left disappointed ever since. 

Peony is one of those 'easy' places that would fit pretty much anybody's taste, featuring Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese cuisines,  wine, cocktails and Sake  and is perfect if you are aiming for a 'safe' option - nothing over the top fancy, but nonetheless nice and pleasant, with no damage to your bank account  (save the money for the End of Year Sales!!)

The atmosphere is calm and relaxing, tables are positioned at a fair distance, allowing for a decent conversation, the service is prompt and attentive. 

Now the food. If you are as bad at decision making as me you probably will struggle, as there are quite a few items to choose from, the menu features mouth watering photos of the dishes and the prices are so reasonable, that for a moment you feel like ordering half of the menu  (the items are ordered by  ticking the dish number on the piece of paper, saving you from the waiter's judgemental look), but beware! - portions are generous, ordering a 'light meal' salad made me wonder wether I would have had a need to eat the next day have I ordered the main as well. 

Prawn & Chicken Salad

Anyway, I think enough said. If you are looking for a place for casual lunch a dinner in the CBD Peony is the place to go. 

Design: 7,5/10

Drinks: 7,5/10

Food: 9/10

Service: 9/10

The highlight: Great variety

Disappointment: trying hard to think of anything....

Splurge: $$ 

xoxo

Julie

What's On Brisbane:Beat the Procrastination

I have been guilty of being slack recently, with both my blog writing as well as a few other commitments, and oh, I wish I had a serious excuse for that someone, delete Instagram from my phone! , like saving the world from the invsion of weird creatures from the Prometheus or something a bit more useful down to earth like cleaning my house and sorting out my wardrobe.

 But no, I have been stuck in pure Procrastination, and apparently ' it's cold,dark and gloomy out there' is not a good enough excuse.

It's not all that negative of course, a few great things happened in the past couple of weeks, that I can't help to booast about to share.

First of all, Winter Festival is on in Brisbane - tag along to King's George Square for some winter comforting food, mulled wine, and of course ice skating (and the rink is not even melting this year!)

Make sure you jump online to book though, as Brisbanites are keen for some winter experience and the tickets are selling fast.
http://winterfestival.com.au/

Lady Gaga concert.
I was lucky to go to the Gaga's last show in Brisbane last Saturday and see for myself the amazing perofmance of the Pop Star, I am not her biggest fan but , oh my, that woman knows how to create an incredible show! Great entertainment, even though she probably was a bit exhausted coming towards the last show, judging by how many times the F* word was said out loud!Nevertheless - great show!

The Nutcracker on Ice

For something a bit more conventional we went to see a Nutcracker on Ice at the QPAC.
The 25-strong cast of World, European and National Championship ice skaters performed their unbelievable stunts on stage - the performance is just breathtaking - most of the tricks are hard to perform on the ground, never mind on Ice!http://www.qpac.com.au/event/Nutcracker_On_Ice_12.aspx

Yoga.
I have been doing it for nearly 3 weeks now and I am just loving it - I think it is the reason why I have started my war with winter procrastination! The school of Meditation and Yoga in West End is a truly tranquil place - very peaceful,non-judgemental and professional and they give away sweets in the end of the class htttp://www.asm.org.au/locations/qld/brisbane/west-end/

xoxo

Julie

Bar Revolution in Brisbane - Our Place

I believe that Brisbane is currently experiencing  the Bar Revolution - over the past year The New World  City got quite a few quirky additions to its Winning scene. Think Brew, Super What Not, Dragonfly, Kerbside,  Survey & Co and ... Our Place - a relatively new edition to the Fortitude Valley's party precinct.

Our Place is a bit like Comfort At My Table, but for drinking - homely and cosy, as if you are at your grandma's sitting on a floral-print couch, watching a non-plazma TV and drinking tea...except your Earl Grey has Chambord with a hint of Cointreau in it. Pouring your cocktails from a  tea pot into your friends'   shot glasses is a great way to get drunk on a Saturday  to feel like you are at home having a party, only it's nicer and you don't have to clean up after.

Atmosphere at the Our Place is warm and friendly and the music is great  - what else would you want from a bar?

Where: 299 Brunswick St Mall, Fortitude Valley  

Design: 10/10

Drinks: 9/10

Service: 9/10

The highlight: Tea pots

Disappointment: nothing really..except got a bit too crowded

Splurge: $$

xoxo

Julie

Long Weekend - Tamborine Mountain

I think long weekends should happen  more often in our busy Monday to Friday mundane work lives.
The feeling of getting drunk  staying up till late on Sunday, knowing that you can sleep in on Monday  brings an utter feeling of freedom and happiness.

Going through our Let's Make It Happen list with My Man we took advantage of the warm and sunny weather and headed to Tamborine Mountain to drink wine and eat chocolate to  reward our urban- polluted lungs with some fresh air and enjoy the magnificent nature surrounding us.

The peaceful atmosphere combined with abundance of little cute shops selling hand-made chocolate, fudges and clothes made me think that we were somewhere in Switzerland (or at least the version that I have in my imagination since I am yet to explore the country).

Less than 2 hour drive and you find yourself in tranquil and harmonious heaven! Beware of wine tasting -  even though you are only 'tasting' the wine,  keep in mind that you do it at least 10 times and by the time you finish that last 'full-bodied dry red with a hint of melon'  the mind is not clear (the effect of the mountain air perhaps? ;)) and you  can't suppress a silly content smile on your face.

Oh, and don't forget to purchase a bottle of Moonshine Maddness -  a Coffee chocolate liqueur port made with a fortified wine base. It tastes yummy on the rocks! 

Next on the Lets Make It Happen list is a weekend getaway on the Coast - can't wait to wake up with the view on the ocean waves - perhaps one of the most powerful motivation boosters for me! 

Have a stress-free and productive short working week everybody!

xoxo
Julie

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