The Grounds of Alexandria

A few weeks ago, my friend Alyssa and I went to The Grounds of Alexandria for breakfast. It is situated in a converted warehouse in Alexandria (hence the name) which used to be a pie factory.The Grounds incorporates a cafe, coffee research and testing facility (sounds scientific!), an outdoor courtyard and garden complete with fresh herbs and vegetables used on the cafe's menu, a chicken coop (for the eggs, of course) and a bakery. 

Since opening earlier in 2012 it has become the talk of the town among Sydney coffee connoisseurs, hipsters and families alike. Since I apparently fall into one of those categories (guess which one!?), it was only natural that I was eager to visit. Like many trendy joints in Sydney these days, the cafe does not take bookings for groups under six people and I had heard the wait was often up to an hour. With this in mind, I met Alyssa around 11am on a warm Sunday. We put our names down, went to the bar next door for a cool drink and before we knew it our buzzer was going off. I'd say it was only about a 20 minute wait for us, so we were stoked.

I ordered the turkish eggs and a cappuccino. I was impressed with how quickly the food arrived despite how busy they were that day. I wouldn't say it was the best breakfast I've ever had (maybe because I burnt my tongue on the beans) but it was still tasty and the coffee was good enough for me (by now you're probably guessing I don't fall into the coffee connoisseur category!). 

We enjoyed having a wander through the gardens, inspecting the chooks and veggies before we left. On weekends, they also have different 'pop-up' market style food stalls selling the likes of egg and bacon rolls or homemade lemonade and the pictured boxes of delicious mangos. I'm currently investigating their options for larger groups as my birthday is coming up and I'm planning a brunch. Something in the garden might be nice!

The Veggie Patch Van

I've known about the Veggie Patch food truck for a while now. I think I first heard about it in Frankie magazine. It's a Sydney-based food van that offers vegetarian and vegan fair and utilises fresh, local produce. The founders are a mash-up between a Sydney vegetarian restaurant called Yulli's (yet to try) and a local design firm called TMOD. Interesting combo! 

To my delight, the Veggie Patch parked itself at the Finders Keepers markets this weekend which I was able to head along to for the first time. The markets were extremely crowded so I found myself heading outside for lunch pretty early on. The line for the Veggie Patch was dauntingly long, but to my delight moved really quickly. I ordered the zucchini burger and a grapefruit soda. I was super impressed! For $10, the burger came with beetroot, caramelised onions, mayonnaise, tomato relish, coriander and spinach leaves. The patty itself was really tasty - made from chickpeas, zucchini and feta cheese. The burger bun was nice and soft meaning it was easy to eat and not messy - important when you're on the run, methinks. I would have liked to try the sweet potato and kale chips but will have to wait until next time.

Being so crowded, I didn't get any good photos at the markets. It was frighteningly packed! I only managed to purchase one small Christmas gift before I needed to escape. Ah well, at least my lunch was superb!

Girly Saturday

Top: Cotton On, Skirt: Cotton On, Boots: Tony Bianco, Glasses: Emporio Armani, Bag: The Iconic (possibly an Alexander Wang knock-off)

Welcome to my first official outfit post. What an exciting day it is! Ben and I went out for breakfast this morning and I managed to convince him to take a few photos of me outside our apartment. I went for the element of surprise, sneakily grabbing my camera before we left and quickly turning to him to say 'Babe, can you just take a few photos of me here?' before he had time to think about what was going on. Sucker! I think I'll try this tactic more often.

Apart from whatever is going on with my hair, I think I did okay for my first outfit post. It all happened very quickly! This skirt/top combination is one I haven't tried before. The items themselves are nothing fancy - the top was a Christmas present last year and the skirt I scored from a work colleague who was trying to get rid of clothes a few months back. These boots have been serving me very well, though. They've just returned from the doctor's (ahem..boot repairer) because I somehow managed to lose the cap off the bottom of one heel without even realising. It wasn't until I was walking on some tiles that I noticed one shoe was making an odd hollow sound. Don't have any idea when or where I lost the cap, but I'm pleased to have my favourite booties back and in good nick again. 

Have a happy weekend, comrades!