To cure your boredom

Happy Monday friends.

I have seen series like this around on a few blog and really love them, so I decided to start my own. I don’t promise to post it every week, though. Feel free to waste as much time on the internet as I do.

- This article was posted in the New York Times. A lady who is 124 sandwiches away from an engagement ring from the man of her dreams. Interesting...

- I need new cushions for my home and since most people love to look at cushions, I would recommend checking out this site.

- I don't live in Brisbane, but this is the shop (The Happy Cabin) of someone I know. It has a great collection of cute things. They do online shopping now too.

- An artists impression of the modern day Disney Princesses. This is really cool.

- A horror film that was filmed inside Disneyland without permission. I am a sucker for scary films. The scarier the better. Here is the promo video.

- This video is hilarious. I'm sure if you have children you can relate to this.

- This video really makes you think. It's ten minutes long, but well worth the watch. I would love you hear your thoughts on this one!

Not a very long list, but enough to keep you procrastinating for a little bit at least.

Have a great day!

Baxter Inn - Review

I, like many other Sydney-siders have heard of or been to The Baxter Inn. Baxter's is located down a somewhat dark and run down walk way, hidden behind office buildings through a tunnel. Sound confusing? It is. The first time I went to Baxter's I stood around on Clarence Street looking for signs of this cool bar I'd heard of, until someone also going through offered to show me the way. Now I am the one showing people how to get in as they mill around on the street looking for the same entrance I once did.

The place opens at 4pm and getting there any time after about 4:30pm means you might have a short wait outside as there is a limit to how many people are allowed in at once. For good reason too. Too many people and the place feels pretty small which is not helped by the underground location (no windows).

There is a lot of whiskey available at the bar; being mainly a whiskey bar and the whiskey + (fresh) apple juice is a real favourite. The bar staff dress like they are working in the 1920's adding to the really fun atmosphere of the place.  The decor is well thought out and really gives you the feel of what it would have been like to go to a bar many years ago. No area was spared in the interior design of the bar with the bathrooms also having been done up. The wood panelling bathrooms are dark and a little dingy, but cool anyway. 

S and I decided to pop by Baxter's on the weekend after shopping in the city. We were the first people in there and had time to speak with the bar staff to get a recommendation of the best drink to choose. We went with Old fashions...an old favourite of both of ours. I love the addition of a bowl of pretzels, though once I start eating them I can't stop!

I know underground bars are not for everyone, especially when you have to line up 90% of the time, but this is a favourite of ours and we often go for a little drink after work. 

How to get to Baxter Inn

Baxter Inn // 152 - 156 Clarence Street, Sydney.

- Head to Clarence Street and walk to 152-154. 

- You will see a tunnel that looks like a drive way down to an alley - walk down there. 

- Turn right and Baxter is at the end on the right. There will either be a line of people waiting to get in, otherwise it is down a concrete set of stairs. 

Enjoy your fabric!

Usually when I am buying fabric for my sewing adventures, I head over to Lincraft as it is in a good walking distance to work. Since their selection is no good, the shop is chaos and I walk out frustrated every time, I decided that I needed to turn my attention to some of the better fabric stores in Sydney. I have not sewn since probably six months ago because I just couldn’t find any fabric I loved at Lincraft and also because I have been really busy with Uni and work.

I went to The Fabric Store which is located in Surry Hills, Sydney. The Fabric Store gets a lot of rolls of fabric from designers that have used it for past seasons. The store is in a warehouse type setting and is clean, tidy and organised. S’s sister is a little fabric maven so she came along for the adventure to help me choose what I needed.

I bought this pattern recently and I’ve seen some great pictures of shorts people have made using it so I was inspired to make one or ten pairs for Summer. I bought a great greeny DKNY fabric that is 100% cotton for my first make of the shorts. The fabric was $18 a metre and I’ll only need a metre for these shorts, so when you consider the quality of the fabric $18 is not too much at all.

I bought this pattern for a blouse a long time ago and made a practice blouse in some awful royal blue with small dot fabric. Who knows what I was thinking when I bought that fabric as it is the stiffest, ugliest fabric out. Anyway, it’s good that I had it on hand, as I used it for my practice blouse and worked out that I needed much more relaxed fabric and that I need to sort out the neckline the next time I make the blouse if I want to be able to breathe.

I bought a lovely 100% silk Lisa Ho fabric for the task. I bought 2 metres of this, so hopefully there is some left for a skirt or maybe even some shorts. The fabric was $24 a metre and seriously, at $24 for a silk blouse why doesn’t everyone make their clothes? Just kidding. But in all seriousness, $24 is a steal for such quality material, so I better not stuff this up!

The staff at The Fabric Store are really knowledgeable and the service is great. They are happy to wander around with you and give you advice and they even smile! You don’t get smiles at Lincraft, only sighs and frowns. 

The Fabric Store//21 Cooper Street, Surry Hills

A new name

I never liked the name 'Vanilla Bliss' for this blog. I chose it one night when I was sitting on the couch with S. I had decided to create a blog and sat there playing with words. For some reason, I came up with Vanilla Bliss. At the time, it was ok...then as time went on I disliked it more and more. I was embarrassed to tell people I blogged because of the name. 

Ebb and Flow means to decrease and then increase; as with tides. The term is often used metaphorically and I feel like it describes my blog and the way I blog, well. I have always liked the saying and thought it fit this little space . 

I decided that updating the name would also call for a new blog design, so I jumped on etsy to see what I could find. If you are ever in the market for a new blog design, etsy is a great place to look. Many talented people on there that even have pre-designed blog designs so all you need to do is upload it.

Hopefully with a new name and design, I will be motivated to blog more often. I was quite busy this weekend and have a few posts coming up this week with the happenings around here; including a couple of cafe/restaurant reviews.

I hope you like it!