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When was the last time you tasted something that completely blew your mind (or should I say, tastebuds?)??
Mine was today at 11.15am.
Today I had the best Thai Iced Tea and best smoothie of my life.
Brian and I decided to take some books and magazines to a quiet coffee shop in our area and just sit and relax. There's a little hole-in-the-wall Vietnamese coffee house near us that I wanted to introduce him to, and I knew it would be quiet because it's near a Starbucks that seems to attract all the attention.
Thai Iced Tea. If you haven't had it before, it's a black tea flavored with tamarind and star anise and mixed together with condensed milk. Yes - you read correctly - condensed milk. But that's not news to me, I've had Thai Iced tea many times before and always thought it was really good, the perfect blend of refreshing and sweet, but today's was different. It was a Thai Iced Tea Frappé. So imagine all that sweet thai goodness blended. With a ruffle of fresh cream on top. Divine!
And as if my Thai Iced Tea Frappé wasn't amazing enough, Brian's smoothie was the best smoothie ever! Have you ever heard of soursop? I'd never heard of it until Brian ordered a Soursop Smoothie. Apparently, it's a tropical fruit - and it has a sweet, tart flavor to it - the makings for an incredible best-ever-in-your-life smoothie! :)
After this little cafe visit, I spent ages researching soursop and how to make the perfect Thai Iced Tea. When was the last time your taste buds were blown? And I don't just mean a yummy meal. I mean a "I need to have this every day of my life" type of impact. Do tell!
There are too many months that have slipped by so quickly, aren't there? How can it already be almost November?!
When I was a little girl, the countdown to Christmas begun in mid-October.
My parents would begin their Christmas shopping, and I would begin my coordinated snooping in drawers and other hiding-places for any gifts. I was a very stealthy child, and made sure to conduct my searches when they were occupied doing other things.
Christmas-time is in the summer back in Australia, so while searching for gifts, I daydreamed about pink snow and candy canes. The closest thing we ever got to snow were pink flowering trees. And during one of those little daydreams I got sloppy. I had found a big shopping bag in my parents' bedroom and it had staples all along the top. I knew that I would have to pull them out carefully and replace them as soon as I'd peeked inside. So after unpicking each little staple, I was greeted by a bag full of colorful toys and books. My mind started wandering, and I guess I must have forgotten to replace all the staples, and only realized my mistake an hour later when my mum's stern voice called my name from her bedroom....
Did you ever get caught peeking at gifts before Christmas? For some people it might not be an issue, since a lot of people tend to do last minute gift-shopping just a few days before Christmas. Are you an early-shopper?
I still can't believe it's almost Christmas!!!
Imagine one long dinner table for 200 guests perched atop a hill on a farm, overlooking a lake.
Imagine eating a sunset dinner with new friends - with great local food and lovely wines.
You just imagined the dinner I had this weekend.
I have been wanting to experience an Outstanding in the Field farm dinner for three years now, and this year Brian and I finally were able to snatch up tickets before they all sold out. They tour the country (and now the world, with the addition of Euro tours this year, and Australia and Africa next year) putting on farm dinners with local chefs and vintners. Outstanding in the Field aims to unite foodies to the land that their food comes from. And we sure did!
Brian and I were first attracted to this idea because we love good food, and over the last few years have really become interested in the background of what we eat. Outstanding in the Field gave us the opportunity to have a wonderful five-course meal and meet all the farmers who grew/produced/raised each element of each course, and see the land that the animals were raised on. We were also excited about sitting at a table with 200 people we'd never met before with the same passion for food as us, making new friends with fellow foodies. How often do you get to eat a great meal with a table of friendly strangers? Funnily enough, a couple we know had the same idea, and we didn't even know they were going and just ran into them at the event. Great minds think alike!
It was such a lovely evening. We met people who were 3-year veterans at these dinners, and then a couple who came all the way from Boston for the Outstanding in the Field Experience in Texas. We met a couple who had lived in Australia for a few years, so it was great talking with them about Australia and all the great food we missed from out there.
Then as the sun sank below the trees, we made our way back down the hill, armed with flashlights they'd supplied us with, and a bag of cookies. A lovely end to a lovely evening.
I didn't think it was possible to top last year's Fashion Week here in Houston.
But they did. Big time!
Audi sponsored an awesome event from Monday through Thursday last week, showcasing the some of the best designers you'll ever see. I attended the show on Wednesday and Thursday nights, and was so impressed with everything I saw. Here are some shots of some of my favorites over the two nights I was there.
Chloe Dao was the opening designer for Wednesday night's show, and I loved seeing her designs last year and was definitely excited to see her collection on the runway again. She had lot of pops of color with fun retro silhouettes. Her clothes are so playful!
Next up was Aussie designer, Camilla - who had lots of flowy kaftans and dresses - things you expect to see in a whimsical african safari dream. With each new design that came out, the audience gasped and clapped - her collection was stunning!
Fabiola Arias was definitely the break-out star. I loved all the textural elements to her designs, and the amazing headpieces. She was another designer that had the audience all oohing and aahing as each model appeared on the catwalk.
It was such a fun two nights! It was also fun to see what the audience was wearing - some people wore chic dresses, some wore loud, statement pieces. On the first night, I wanted to have a more vintage look - so I wore one of my favorite BHLDN dresses - the 1920s inspired Tulle Era gown with a fun hairpiece, and then on the second night, I wore a long, fuchsia maxi-dress (another BHLDN dress) designed by Aussie designer, Fleur Wood.
Such a fun night out and I can't wait for next year!!!
