Still cooking, but wait, there's more!

Life has been wonderfully busy lately - I worked on the lovely new cookbook from the Good Taste team - Cook!, which came out yesterday. It's for sale at Woolies and various newsagents, and I thought it was a great project. I have cooked many of the recipes in there and can highly recommend it. My favourite? The Lemon & Chilli Chicken - just the right amount of heat and the citrus tang was fabulous.

However, my next project is the big one - my new wallpaper business! I know, it seems a different thing for me to try, but it combines my love of design, my passion for business and my knowledge of print. I think it's meant to be!

It has been so exciting and fun to be part of. I have been working on developing a range of Australian-made and designed wallpaper to sell to retailers and on the web. The designer, KT Doyle, has been a delight to work with and I think we have created some beautiful work between us. I've attached a sneak peak at the first design - all comments welcome.

New designs will be posted over coming weeks.

To market, to market

I just love a market. I have been to many of the great markets of the world - the flea markets of Paris, the Spitalsfield markets in London and the Boqueria markets of Barcelona (http://www.boqueria.info/ and apparently the best food markets of the world). It's always a memorable experience and some of my favourite treasures have been found amongst the junk. A vintage brocade jacket from London, French prints from a little village outside Carcassonne, coasters from Spain ...

I am a social person, so I think it's something about meeting the person behind the product - whether it is a zucchini, or a beautiful piece of vintage fashion. I like to chat, to pour over the goods and find something that is unusual, hand-crafted and perhaps unique.

At home, I head down to the Everleigh Markets here in Newtown every Saturday morning and it's become a weekly ritual that I adore. There are so many stalls I have become addicted to and I enjoy re-discovering old vegies as well as beautiful organic produce. The meats and cheeses that I find there are amazing ... and I can't stop raving about the potatoes! How can something so simple taste so good?

The markets are in the old railway paint shops as part of the Carriageworks complex and are open from 8am to 1pm every Saturday. It's a proper farmer's market, so the people selling the produce are the people who grow it. They know it well (and can be relied upon for a little chat and some great information).

It's all best taken in with a croque madame from Bird Cow Fish (thanks Alex) and a coffee from Toby's Estate - both regulars. Bliss!

Caffeine hit

There is something incredibly comforting about morning rituals. I walk to my local cafe each morning (via the local shop to pick up the papers) and order the same skim cappuccino. I usually have the same cheerful chat with the barista and waitress before wandering back home to enjoy the cereal, coffee and a quick scan of the headlines. Newtown is full of cafes, and I have certainly done the rounds, but I really think Cafe ism is one of the best. The coffee is smooth and not bitter and the staff are warm and welcoming without being intrusive. It's the perfect local haunt and the ideal start to the day.

Gould-fingered

Just wandered into my local second-hand book store, Goulds, in King Street, Newtown, on the lookout for some vintage art books for my sister Wendy. Found some fabulous prints of Sisley and Turner (she's into landscapes). If you've never been to Goulds, you should. It's a wonderfully disorganised cavern of chaos with literary treasures waiting to be discovered. Just don't go there with a plan ... instead go expecting to discover something - a new author, an old favourite, or perhaps a 1960s Marxist classic - it's all there. Just not where you expect to find them. If there is a system, it's not one I have ever managed to decipher.

Floral tribute

As I journey into this world of blogging, it has occurred to me that it's important not to lose the personal touch even as you communicate with a wider audience. Hand-written notes, bunches of flowers and little thank-you presents mean even more in an age when everything is texted, or emailed, or Facebooked ...

I visit one of my clients, Flowers By Teresa, regularly and I love picking up a pretty bunch of flowers and taking it home for either me, my partner, or a close friend. I know it sounds a little corny, but really it's the simple old-fashioned gestures that still mean so much.