The Week That Was

Wow, what a week! From the moment I walked into the office on Monday morning, things were happening at a million miles an hour. I had a few hours in the office before my colleagues and I headed to Darling Harbour to start the set up for our annual national conference at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre. It was a crazy few days but also a lot of a fun and despite being absolutely exhausted by the end, I was also feeling really inspired thanks to the range of speakers I got to hear from and all the people I met. Working in the NFP/associations sector means I'm always surrounded by leaders who are achieving great things in their respective organisations and industries.

Yummy bruschetta at our team dinner on Monday.

The beautiful Sydney skyline from Darling Harbour.

A highlight at our conference is always the dinner on the second night. This year it was held at Dockside at Darling Harbour and the 400 odd guests were treated to a delicious three course meal followed by live music and dancing. After all the hard work my team had put in over the last few months, it was great to bust a few moves together and let loose. The dinner was followed by an after party at The Star where we hired out the karaoke lounge. I fulfilled my duties as chief backup dancer (from the comfort of my chair) and managed to stay out until 2am. A pretty impressive achievement, considering we'd all been working since 7.30am! Still, I was one of the first to leave and word is some of my work mates stayed out until 4am, slept for two hours then got up for a fitness session at 6am and then managed to stay awake for another full day of conferencing. Crazy cats.

Toasted marshmallows at our conference on day one!

This year we had the pleasure of hosting a group of American delegates at our conference. On Thursday, they were booked in to climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge. At the last minute, my boss decided not to go which meant I was offered a free ticket to join them! Before I knew it, I was wearing an extremely attractive jump-suit and being briefed on the ins and outs of bridge-climbing. Now I've never been one to say I'm scared of heights, so I was feeling pretty chilled out. That was until I found myself climbing four very steep vertical step ladders on the edge of the bridge with the water to my left and hundreds of cars whizzing by beneath my feet. At this point I was beginning to wonder what I'd gotten myself into. Even though I was safely attached to a cable, I felt so exposed and it was like those ladders were never going to end. I eventually emerged at the top of the last ladder but was feeling quite dishevelled (in a hands shaking and sweating, short of breath, mouth completely dry kinda way). I had to talk myself out of it in order to keep on going and not let the height get to me. After all, there I was climbing one of the world's most iconic landmarks with the beautiful Sydney Harbour beneath me and skyline behind me. How lucky was I!

The rest of the climb was relatively easy as it's basically just one long stair case up to the top. At times the fear would creep back, but by the time we got to the top I was feeling so excited and the view was out of this world. We stopped for lots of photos and our guide George was full of heaps of interesting facts about the bridge and Sydney in general, much of which I had no idea about. The walk back down was much easier and we even had a chance to sit down while we waited for some of our group to have their photos taken. As I was sitting there, on top of the Harbour Bridge, the whole concept was blowing my mind. I mean, I've seen that bridge so many times now, stopped at various look-outs to take photos and driven over it at least once a week. To think I was there just chillin' on top of it was so crazy! I'm so thankful that I had this opportunity. If you ever hear me complaining about my job, just remind me that I got to climb the Harbour Bridge for free as a result of working where I do!

My workmate Alex and I looking super attractive in the full bridge-climbing gear (hats at night time? it was windy!). But hey, check out that view!!

Come Friday I was feeling a little sorry for myself thanks to aching muscles and lack of sleep. It was all worth it though and I managed to get 12 hours sleep last night so I'm feeling happy as larry. Ben and I are having a quiet weekend. We're going to do a bit of shopping this afternoon and having a movie date lined up tonight. I hope you all have a splendid weekend. xo

The House

My mum and dad are visiting at the moment so I took half a day off work yesterday to spend some time with them. Since one of my goals for 2013 was to be a tourist in my own city, them being here was a great excuse to go out on adventure into the city.

We took a walk down to Circular Quay, marvelled at the massive cruise ship docked there at the moment and also watched another one depart. We spent quite a while on the steps of the Opera House watching the beginnings of a wedding that was happening on a boat. Unfortunately we didn't get to see the bride which is usually the most exciting part. Mum loves a good wedding and will take any chance to sticky beak. The poor thing is still waiting for me to get married - sorry mum!

It had been a while since I'd stood underneath the Opera House sails and I'd forgotten just how impressive they are. It really is such a magnificent structure.

We finished the evening with dinner at Darling Harbour. I often walk past the restaurants down there thinking they'll be too touristy or overpriced. We'd done a lot of walking so when we spotted this Italian place we decided to just stop there and rest our feet. It turned out to be an excellent meal and while it was a little expensive the food and service was fantastic. It was so nice to sit there as the sun set and watch all the people go by. I'm looking forward to being a tourist again soon and snapping some more photos to share here.

Have a wonderful weekend! xo

Neighbourhood Favourite: Pablo & Rusty's

After an accomplished morning of housework and homework (for the course I'm doing), I took myself on a date to another of my favourite local cafes, Pablo & Rusty's.

Pablo & Rusty's has been bringing speciality coffee to Sydney's north shore since they were founded in 2004. They began by supplying beans to a number of cafes but it wasn't long before they established their flagship store in Gordon. They now have additional cafes in Epping, Lane Cove and Sydney Olympic Park, as well as their headquarters and testing facilities in Ryde.

My local, Epping, has recently launched a new cafe menu with lunch items as well as an all day breakfast selection featuring simple yet flavoursome food. Today I was in the mood for some carbs so I ordered the smashed avocado and tomato on sourdough with salsa verde. Such a simple light meal but the addition of the salsa verde gave it a bit of tang and I didn't feel so guilty for ordering something I could have easily made myself. I was also tempted by the poached eggs on sourdough with quinoa and smashed peas. Next time!

If you're ever around any of the locations listed above, I would highly recommend a visit to Pablo & Rusty's for an excellent coffee or light meal.

P.S I only just noticed that it appears they're using old jalapeno jars for their sugar (pictured above). Bec from My Bloggable Day and I are keen collectors of these jars. Don't be jealous but I now have nine of them!

All photos taken by me on my iphone and edited with the Afterglow app.

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!