Inspired by....................Sydney CBD

So, this week for my Inspired By I went to the CENTRE of Sydney. And I realised that there is way too much great STUFF in the CBD for me to see all of it in two hours.  

I actually spent almost all the time in David Jones which is (for those who don't know) a big department store that is incredibly elegant, sophisticated. For the last 20 years it has been the leading shopping destination in the CBD but THEN a huge, literally huge Westfield opened. Westfield is a type of mall for those who don't know. The Westfield is totally AMAZING TOWN, in my opinion. Then again, David Jones is a lot calmer. 

So, I took the bus into the CBD and went straight to David Jones. 


I went for a bit of a wonder and I don't need to go into any details because it was a bit.......well.......boring. 


Then, I went to the food court which is utterly superb. 

I saw a wall of tea. I absolutely love tea. I like unique tea. Orange, chocolate not just your average English Breakfast. Find unique tea recipes at the bottom of this post.  

I thought about guilty pleasures. I'll tell you why, I went to the lolly part. Sad thing was I had already spent most of my $7 budget (pretty pathetic, I know) on an 'organic' lemon lime and bitters (gross). So I had 50 cents which I spent on strawberries and cream and liquorice bullets (my favourite lollies). My guilty pleasures are lollies (childish I know) and SHOPPING. What are yours? (Feel free to answer in the comments)

At that moment I was thinking one thing
'I wish I had more money'.

  

Mmmmmmmmm.

Homewares level. Hey guess what. I love homewares.  

I love when mixers get
stylish

That's a lot of plates

How beautiful are these?
Who doesn't adore candles?
NO ONE!

This level reminded me of domesticness (yes, I like that word despite the fact it doesn't exist). I know for a fact that it can be very hard to be domestic and stylish at the same time. BUT I assure you it is possible. At the bottom of this post you can find an article about being domestic and obtaining stylishness and sophistication. 


Time was running out, I could only do one more thing. I had a quick look around Westfield. I saw some super cute, super cool and super stylish things. I also saw some SUPER UGLY things. 
Some ugly  enough to make you want to gag over the side of the elevator. Ok that might me a bit too much information.  

Pretty HORRIBLE

I find that sometimes, the problem isn't that the garments are ugly, it's the way they are paired with other things. They can just look HORRIBLE.  Do you know the do's and don'ts of pairing garments? At the bottom of this post you can find an article on pairing garments. 




















So here are the promised articles. Hope you enjoy! 


Unique Tea  

I'm all for trying new things. I'm a big supporter of uniqueness. You know, standing out from the crowd. So, as much I as I love the classic English Breakfasts and Earl Greys, I also am a huge fan of  more original tea. T2 has the most interesting teas ever, Turkish Apple, Chocolate, Turkish Delight!!! Where else do you see them? 


Chocolate Tea 
From http://blog.teadog.com/2008/03/20/make-your-own-chocolate-tea/ 

3 teaspoons of cocoa
3 cups of milk
3 cups of English Breakfast tea
6 sugar lumps

First, set aside about 1 cup of cold milk and heat the rest of the milk. Gradually blend the cocoa into the cold milk and add to the boiling milk. Next, beat the mixture with a whisk. Then, make the english breakfast tea, sweeten, leave to cool. Finally, mix the two preparations together and serve with ice cubes. Recipes makes 6 cups of chocolate tea. 

Turkish Apple Tea 

From http://www.turkishcookbook.com/2010/02/turkish-apple-tea.php 

2 red apples, do not peel and do not remove the seeds, cut in 4 or 6
1 orange, do not peel, cut in 4 or 6
1 stick cinnamon
2 whole cloves
4 cup water

Place all the ingredients in a saucepan, bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and simmer until the fruits are tender. Strain into the bowl pushing gently with the back of the spoon to remove all the liquid. Then pour into the tea glasses.

If you like you may sweeten with honey 

ICE TEA 

1 large (300g) orange
½ cup (125ml) water
½ cup (110g) caster sugar
1.25 litres (5 cups) boiling water
3 black tea bags
3 peach-flavoured herbal infusion bags
1 2/3 cups (400ml) peach nectar
¼ cup loosely packed mint leaves
ice cubes, for serving

NOTE: This recipe can be made several hours ahead; add ice cubes just before serving.

METHOD

Peel the rind thinly from half the orange, avoiding white pith. Peel off pith, cut orange into thin slices.

Place water and sugar in a small pan; stir over a low heat, without boiling, until sugar is dissolved; add the orange rind. Simmer, uncovered, without stirring, for 5 minutes or until thickened slightly; remove the rind. Cool, then refrigerate.

Place boiling water in a jug; add the tea and herbal infusion bags. Infuse for 5 minutes; remove tea bags. Cool, then refrigerate.

Place sugar syrup, tea, orange slices, nectar and mint in a large jug; stir to combine. Just before serving, add ice cubes.

Suitable to freeze without orange and mint. Suitable to microwave  

How to be stylish and domestic AT THE SAME TIME  

Being permanently stylish and sophisticated really boosts your self-esteem,to be permanently looking great makes you feel just over the moon. This includes at the home. Here are some tips to keeping your self and your kitchen completely sophisticated.

1.Wear a nice apron.  

I am obsessed with my apron, I'm constantly wishing it is a dress so I can wear it out. Even if there's a catastrophe in the kitchen at least I know I look great in my APRON.  
This site has a range of stylish apron's 
http://www.jessiesteele.com/kitchen/kitchen-aprons.html  

2. Keep a nice soap near the kitchen sink 

LOTS, of things get on your hands when you cook. LOTS, sometimes your handling raw meat and then you have to go straight to carrots. It's good to keep your hands smelling nice. Wash your hands frequently while cooking by keeping a hand soap next to your kitchen sink.  

3. Create an atmosphere 

Keep your kitchen and dining area looking beautiful. Have flowers in a vase or incense and candles burning. Be original! This makes it more enjoyable to cook and to eat. 

4. Keep everything SUPER neat 

Have your spice rack all laid out with labeled jars. Your herbs neatly together. It's much easier to cook in a neat space. Plus, it makes your kitchen look professional and nice. 

5. Have two essentials on hand 

Everything gets messy in the kitchen so it helps to always have a cleaning spray, this way you can clean up as you go. Also have a little pot of lip balm (I use Lucas's Papaya Balm) for applying when your lips get chapped.  




SO, the final article  


7 Fashion Pairing Mistakes That Don't Look Good on Anyone 

  
Sometimes you see someone and you think. 'Why would they do that'. The thing is, some outfits look ok in the darkness of your bedroom  or feel good because they're comfy but look shocking in the full light of day. Here are 7 mistakes you NEVER want to make. 


1. Sneakers and Jeans 
My least favourite fashion pairing mistake. EVER. Ok, converse don't count but your running shoes. Egggghhhhhhh. It looks so awkward and well, just plain awful. You may as well write 'I DON"T CARE ABOUT FASHION' on your forehead. 


2. Ugg Boots and Skirts (or even worse Dresses) 
I don't really like Ugg Boots at all but they can look ok with jeans. With a skirt they are just hideous. 


3. Socks (especially white ones) with sandals or thongs
If there is something that screams OLD it's this. Even if you were wearing the prettiest top and the best jeans the outfit would still be unbearable to look at if you wore sandals and socks. 


4. Leather Boots and shorts  
Boots are for winter, shorts are for summer. Pairing them doesn't make sense. Don't do it! 


5. Spots and thick stripes 
Print vomit. Colour vomit. It makes me want to vomit. Way too much (thin subtle stripes can look ok).

6. Hoodies and Dresses
A combination of formal and casual can look really good and REALLY BAD. This is an instance were it looks REALLY BAD.

7. Heels and trackies
That just completely stupid, why did I even list that?







Thanks for reading.


Bibliography
Ice Tea
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP52SLkbyI1KszR82WgmUk5WFWOBeqIpdDQSIZchIvHBoyf5CKnHqxdno0vPNX8atDIZ9IPjjG2V-6avaU1X1bgZHO1QkS0GKjF1kSdPUX2f-FhVf-CesJxpXOfkhy8V0wft3yxoGiR99F/s1600/lemon-tea-ck-1065493-x.jpg

50's Domestic
http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lozqic4ODR1qij82jo1_500.jpg


Sneakers and Jeans Picture
http://ssjustice.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/41786_2235901754_1606_n.jpg