Full of Excuses

Farewelling long time friends Brooke, Tim and Jackson gave me a couple of excuses. I've known Brooke for exactly my whole life, Jackson for exactly his whole life and Tim somewhere in between. 
 

 

First their farewell gave me an excuse to sample the great pub grub at The Colonial. 

 

 

 

Bistro 76 had Lucas' tick of approval. 

 

I perused the extensive menu. With everything from pizza to burgers to chicken schnitties the choice was tough. I decided that with my step-dad paying for the meal it would be a good excuse to try something new. Sometimes being adventurous doesn't mean scaling a cliff face. Sometimes it means not selecting the same menu item from the same restaurant. Once upon the Alice Springs chicken from Outback Steakhouse held my heart, my stomach and my wallet. But tonight I would be giving the lamb souvlaki a go. 

 

The delectable morsels of tender lamb slipped right off the skewers. The salad was fresh and the chips were crispy. I left more than half my meal on the plate, but I was fully satisfied with my choice. 

Farewelling Brooke, Tim and Jackson also gives me another excuse to visit Queensland. Enjoy the sunshine state, guys! I'm sure your new beginning will be filled with bright adventures and exciting discoveries. Xo

 

The Colonial

http://colonialhotel.com.au/

Engaging Stuff

Dee and Ollie got engaged and reserved some tables at Public House Petersham to celebrate. 

Unfamiliar with Petersham, Steph used her phone to navigate. Despite the pranks played on us by the lady living in the phone, like telling us we'd reached our destination then suddenly springing a right turn on us, we made it. 

 

Our initial stroll into the trendy pub left no indication of the rainforest we would encounter. The mist might be refreshing in the heat, but the erratic Sydney weather was already quite lovely this evening. The sun streaming into the courtyard was a little bright, but there were plenty of tall people to block the glare. 

 

 

Public House Petersham hosts a stationary bike - a staple in every hipster eatery. 

 

Another essential is food. The lamb skewers were tasty, once I wrestled the morsels off like I'd been taught table etiquette by the Beast. 

 

My consumption of the calamari was a little more refined. 

 

Simone, me, Dee and Steph were there to celebrate the third engagement of our six member Forever New Crew. 

 

 

Once the evening was over I realised I did not grab of photo of Dee with her fiancé, Ollie, but I did get a photo of the gorgeous bling he proposed with. 

 

Public House Petersham

http://www.publichousepetersham.com.au

Celebrate 28

Nobody believes it, but a few weeks ago I turned 28. After spending my past three birthdays in America at Disney World,

Blog Post: A Very Merry Birthday to Me!

 

Disney World

Blog Post: A Magical Celebration

 

and pretending to turn 21 again in Vegas,

Blog Post: Only in Vegas

 

I decided a slightly more sophisticated celebration was in order. So I invited a few friends to the Cafe at Lewers for Sips & Sounds. 

 

 

 

I was the first to arrive. 

 

Sips & Sounds happens during summer Fridays from 5pm to 8pm, but you can show up whenever, even a bit later than you tell your friends you will... like I did. 

Next came the high school crew. Leesh, Keish, Laur

 

and Laur's husband Elisha. 

 

They all came bearing gifts. Keish and Leesh's card referring to the humidity soaked, hair frizzing weather. 

 

Laur and Elisha travelled to Harrod's especially for this present. I can't believe they went on a whole Contiki tour just for me. 

 

Steph and James joined the gathering next. We should all note this is James' debut in my blog, although his home was featured at Christmas. 

 

Then came Blue Mountains Musical Society (BMMS) friend Micah and so many flowers they needed their own chair. 

 

Rounding out the BMMS tribe for this portion of the shindig was Matt and Cassie. That's Micah on the side. Who stole the rest of Micah's face? We'll never know. 

 

Some people ordered sips, while the sounds of Karl-Christoph played. 

 

I neglected the sips. My dish for the evening was a beautifully presented, but difficult to consume, delicious bruschetta. 

 

Far out, it's tough trying to be sophisticated when you've got bread and tomatoes slipping and sliding all over your tiny plate. Maybe I'll just wait until I'm 29 to be a proper grown up. 

From the chilled vibe of the outside eatery, some of the gang moved to the gallery. We checked out the landscape inspired art of Mandy Martin. 

 

The draping leaves and raining light set the Willow Yellow paint and digital media combination apart. 

 

8pm was approaching, but I wasn't ready for the party to end. Matt, Cassie and I answered the chocolatey, free-birthday-churros-email call of San Churro. The normally quick drive made slightly slower when our convoy found itself following a slow, white van. Nothing suss there. 

We stood at the front of the restaurant waiting to be seated, until we noticed a sign that said we should seat ourselves. So we did. At the same table as Jess and Warren who had some spare seats. 

 

 

You may recall that free birthday churros email. Well, I needed to join the El Social Club to receive them. The el struggle to join was real. The internet eventually cooperated, but the el struggle continued. I had to choose between 3 free birthday churros or a fiesta of 18 churros for $15. Matt helped decided by paying for the fiesta. Unfortunately the so called "Fiesta" did not come with a mariachi band or sombreros, but I guess the 18 churros and 6 dipping sauces made up for the lack of traditional Mexican entertainment. 

 

A couple of other BMMS friends just couldn't resist the fiesta. I think Mark was more excited about his brownie, covered in brownie, sprinkled with brownie, served on a bed of brownie, accompanied by a dash of ice-cream. 

 

Amy just observed the fiesta. 

 

She didn't even want the last churro, which is probably a good thing because of that rule. You know, the one where whoever eats the last portion of shared food gets all the calories. 

We discussed important topics like which end of a Maxibon you eat first (you're weird if you eat biscuit end first) before being politely booted out at 11pm. Outside we found a place for a photo shoot where Matt's girlfriend, Becky became the resident photographer. 

 

 

Somehow Cassie, Mark, Amy and I ended up talking outside until midnight.

The entire evening was a fabulous way to celebrate 28. 

Cafe at Lewers

http://www.penrithregionalgallery.org/cafe/

San Churro

http://www.sanchurro.com

Another Day of Sun: Sydney Dance Company

Two weeks ago I trialled two of Sydney Dance Company's (SDC) classes for $22 each. Amy was there too. 

Accidentally finding ourselves in the quiet carriage on the way to Circular Quay, we communicated briefly through Facebook. The stroll to SDC winds past stunning Sydney sights. 

 

 

Once in the building, Amy, who is an SDC regular, swiped her card. I provided my details and paid. 

 

 

Then we waited outside studio 4. Expecting to break a severe sweat, we captured a pre class selfie so we could compare. 

 

After checking out the studio view it was down to business. 

 

Our first class was the 90 minute intermediate Lyrical with Zac Jaffar. Throughout the warm up set to Funk music, my muscles woke up after weeks off dancing. 

We moved onto the routine for the week. Into the floor. Out of the floor. Breath, focus, flow. Grounded movements sprinkled with elevation. Zac was clear and friendly as he demonstrated his choreography. 

Time moves fast when you're having fun and today was no exception. Before we knew it, the time had arrived for 90 minutes of intermediate Theatre Jazz with Leslie Bell. 

 

We were welcomed into Theatre Jazz with a smile and fast paced warm up with a soundtrack that included a song from Moana. During the brief drink break after technique across the floor, I wondered which song would accompany the upcoming routine. My heart started singing when a song from La La Land emerged through the speakers. There are mixed reviews of the movie circulating (I personally adored it). Even if you choose to forgo the film, at least give the soundtrack a chance.

Click here for the song Leslie chose for class that day. We danced to a jazzy minute from about 1:08.

It's fun, exciting, glorious and superb dancing music. A chorus of dancers galloped, turned, swished and leapt across the studio floor. 

Our post class selfie looked better than the before. 

 

I promise we worked hard. See. 

 

I definitely recommend SDC. Amy and I participated in intermediate level classes, which is the highest level. The classes had participants of mixed ability, but the choreography was taught quickly. Each class was structured with a standard weekly warm up, technique, then a new routine every week. I was a newbie, but the classes also contained obvious regulars who could've completed the warm up with their eyes closed.

If you too agree $22 is a little steep for a casual class, especially when forced to travel over an hour, consider purchasing ten classes for $160. Classes also run on Sundays when public transport is only $2.50 for the day. 

Amy and I couldn't resist a few dancey snapshots set against a sunny, Sydney backdrop. 

 

 

 

 

 

All that dancing and all those photos worked up an appetite. Thankfully, Buckley's was nearby. 

 

With lunch specials from Monday to Friday for $16 we had Buckley's chance of leaving without a feed. After taking forever to decide where to sit, our meals arrived promptly. 

 

It was a lovely day of Sydney sun, unfortunately followed by the 43 degree (110 Fahrenheit) Penrith furnace. At least we avoided the quiet carriage on the way back. 

Sydney Dance Company

https://www.sydneydancecompany.com/classes-and-courses/upcoming-classes/

Buckley's

http://www.buckleyssydney.com.au/