15 bookmark-worthy sites I (only) discovered last week

79 ideas

79 ideas interiors/misc
design attractor interiors (amazing!)
modern legacy fashion

oscar's wild lifestyle

the girl can shoot fashion

breakfast with audrey misc

papered thoughts craft/stationary 

vision direct cheap sunnies!

oh me oh my lifestyle
tinker finca craft/diy
blog milk design/misc

circa-now fashion 
watermelon crush fashion
another donkey design design 
magic jelly food/misc

And a few blogs I'm really enjoying-slash-addicted-to right now (and want to make sure you all know about):
fox and beau
maurice and king
little paper lane
banjo and matilda
eat drink chic
Happy Tuesday Tonic-ettes (and happy last day of July)!

Table Tonic in today's Sydney Morning Herald!

Yes, it's always an exciting day when Table Tonic makes the press - especially the Sydney Morning Herald! It started with a text from a friend at 8.24am this morning - "Congrats on amazing SMH coverage", followed by a phone call from my Mum - "Have you seen the paper today??!". The anticipation was killing me. I hot-footed it to the newsagent before I opened the TT shop this morning...

SO happy! Oh, and our Gold Moroccan Pouffe also made it into last month's Madison magazine:

Our White Moroccan Pouffe is featured in the current (August) issue of Real Living magazine:

PS Have you checked out our brand new TT product category? It's a little bit beauty-ful! Happy weekend Tonic-ettes!

Diary of an Eat Fit Food "5 Day Cleanse"

Eat Fit Food provides fresh, healthy (and deeeee-licious!) whole food meals and snacks delivered to your door in both Sydney & Melbourne (with plans to expand nationally in the near future!). Designed and prepared by EFF chefs in consultation with their team of dieticians, EFF meals make eating healthy literally 100% effortless. I recently did the 5 Day Cleanse (gluten free, diary free, processed sugar & red meat free) and took away so much more from it than I expected to. Here's what went down:

(above) On the first day, 2 swish looking Eat Fit Food eskys were delivered to my doorstep before 7am. Bring it on. I was SO excited to open them!

(above) This was the scene that greeted me - with a great big leaping hug - on the first morning: A day's worth of food (including snacks) in each esky, clearly marked and accompanied by a "menu" for the day.

(above) Day 3 Breakfast: "Free range scrambled eggs with a potato rosti, baby spinach & tomato jam".

Breakfast on other days consisted of "Detox" muesli with rice milk & poached berries, gluten free toast with fresh tomato and hummus or brown rice porridge with rice milk, poached pear and walnuts.

(above) Day 2 Lunch: "Brown rice salad with shallots, pepitas, sunflower seeds, raisins, peanuts & tamari dressing".

(above) Day 1 Lunch: "Warm roast root vegetable salad with pinenut & lemon ginger dressing".
All Eat Fit Food meals are developed to "inspire health & wellness through calorie-conscious, portion controlled meals". Sustainable whole foods contain quality nutrition: premium protein, lower GI carbohydrate, fibre, vitamins, minerals and healthy fats. All the good stuff. 

(above) Day 3 Lunch: "Tomato, carrot, beetroot, avocado & hummus salad with ginger miso dressing".
TT TIP: When I found myself a bit peckish after lunch or dinner, I made a big pot of Licorice Legs tea and enjoyed it over the course of an hour. 

(above) Day 1 Dinner: "Warm tuna with chickpeas, almonds, roast capsicum & lemon caper dressing".
TT TIP: While EFF recommend heating things up prior to consuming (for safety reasons), I didn't (and would strongly advise against using a microwave to do this). We haven't owned a microwave for 3 years now. I kind of loathe them. Read more here.

(above) Day 3 Dinner: "Chilli, ginger & lemongrass barramundi with broccoli, green beans, brown rice, squash & lemon".

A bunch of programs for men & women are available from eatfitfood.com.au - click here for pricing (it's actually very man friendly - you can "upsize" the portion sizes on any program for just a little bit extra). A program is selected depending on your goal - weight loss, detox or just a get-back-on-track "recalibration" (as Sarah Wilson would say). They are designed to reset eating behaviours, digestive function and nutrient absorption. Bonus points: All programs will also "improve vitality, health and nutrition".

(above) This was my food for Day 5 (the last day of the cleanse): "Detox muesli with rice milk & poached berries, Spicy Thai brown rice with broccoli, omelette & fresh lime, olive crusted salmon with sweet potato mash, silverbeet & lemon. And 2 snacks.

ARE YOU BLOWN AWAY YET??!

Some of the things I was unsure of before starting included:
Can I drink tea/coffee/wine while I'm doing the cleanse? Course you can. But then why are you doing a cleanse, Silly?!
Can I have extra food while I'm doing the cleanse? Again - try and "work through" any issues. You'll get the most out of the cleanse by simply eating only what is delivered an nothing more. Did I sneak in a few walnus after dinner one night? No. Maybe.
How will I manage preparing the various meals if I work away from home? With the exception of dinner, you can literally eat everything else you put in your mouth for the entire 5 days, straight from the container it comes in.

If you do a cleanse like this, I guarantee you will feel great, look great, have more energy, a clearer head etc etc. That's a given. But what I really enjoyed taking away from this experience was a sound knowledge of what constitutes a good balanced diet on a day to day (long term) basis. Here is the gist:
- Snacks are important. Very important. They keep everything trucking along smoothly, appetite-wise and are a good opportunity to sneak more fruit and veg into your day. Veggie sticks and hummus, a piece of fruit or a gluten free (muesli-type) bar were the Eat Fit Food snack of choice - One mid morning, one mid afternoon.
- Portion size, portion size, portion size. You know the deal. Keep it small.
- A good dressing makes the world go round (again, just a drizzle). The dressings that came with the EFF food were some of the best I have ever tasted.
- Have your dinner, maybe a pot of herbal tea, then call it quits until morning. No more snacking!
- Vegetables or salad should constitute at least half of your lunch/dinner plate. Preferably raw or lightly steamed.
- Fresh fish is an ideal dinner. Aim for twice a week.

And there you have it Tonic-ettes! I hope I've shed some light and answered any questions you might have. If not, leave a comment below and I'll answer it!

When Ish & Chi came to Table Tonic

A few weekends ago, beautiful (and she is!) Viv from Ish & Chi popped into the Table Tonic shop. I've "known" Viv for years through the "blogosphere", so it was very exciting to see her in the flesh for the first time! And PS She looks like a doll - so pretty. So perfect. Viv is no stranger to Table Tonic (see what she bought - and blogged about - previously), but what did she leave with this time?

(above) Viv says: "I have been meaning to share with you my Table Tonic purchase. It's only small purchase (I would kill for a suzani bedspread!) - this white ceramic parrot ($30) taking pride of place on the new sideboard. Actually this is an old sideboard that was in the studio but it has now been moved to the entrance of the house. I love it here. I think it looks lovely against the dark wall."

(above) Read all about Viv's visit to Table Tonic here!

(above) And can we talk about how good she looks in the TT shop (enjoy your parrot Viv)! Click to shop tabletonic.com.au. 

TABLE TONIC

Shop 6, 20 Avalon Parade, Avalon NSW 2107.

Open Tuesday-Saturday, 10am-4pm.

Closed Sunday & Monday.

Daria Werbowy for French Elle... OMFG

The (new) hair. the tan. The jewellery. The styling!! Oh, hey yeah and the clothes. This is number one with a bullet on my favourite-fashion-editorial-of-all-time list. Trust the Frenchies to nail it...

4 cool things I want you to know about...

1. Velvet Lane: A brand new Aussie online store filled to the virtual brim with fashion-y finds and lifestyle-y goodness! That's me wearing my Scosha Velvet Lane Bracelet (in Burgundy & Hot Pink), $79. PS Don't miss a style beat - Follow Velvet Lane on Twitter!

2. Fertilise Yourself: There's a brand new ebook in town! Mother Nature has a way of making sure us humans are most "fertile" when we eat well. Fertilise Yourself is all about priming your body for fertility, with plenty of tips and tricks for a wellness overhaul. So if you're struggling with your fertility or your overall health, or just want to educate yourself a little more on optimum health like I do, it's a fabulous read. And just about the best thing you can do with $19.95 if you ask me! Download it here. PS Author Nat Kringoudis is the owner of The Pagoda Tree - Melbourne's Home of Women's Health, Traditional Chinese Medicine & Alternative Therapies. She's a Dr of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Acupuncturist, Natural Fertility Educator, Writer and Blogger. Phew!

3. Papered Thoughts: Her bio says it all - "Creative daydreamer seeks kind colourful folk to share pretty words & wishes with". Rin recently came into the Table Tonic shop to buy some washi tape (click to buy online at TT!). She told me she had over 100 rolls at home (but that we had some she'd never seen!) and that she writes a lot of letters. And then she told me about her blog Papered Thoughts. And I was blown away. Go on - go be amazed. Here.

4. Eat Fit Food: I just finished an Eat Fit Food 5 Day Cleanse (aka a mild detox) and YIKES it was good. Delicious whole food (everything you put in your mouth for 5 days), delivered to your door each morning, ready to eat. I'll be telling you more about it next week, so watch this space!

Happy Weekend Tonic-ettes! Don't forget to check out the 26 different kinds of Washi Tape on the Table Tonic online store. Go on! Get crafty!

JUST IN! Jute Bowls at tabletonic.com.au!

Some beautiful big Jute Bowls have just landed at the TT online store! Ideal for fruit/veggies, craft supplies, small children's toys or as a natural storage solution. 

(above) Shown with (left to right):
Washi Tape Sets, $17 each
Large Glass Cylinder Vase, $49
Glass Dome, $69
80-100 hour Hobnail Candle, $55
Background: Framed Vera Neumann Vintage Scarf, $468

So far, the Jute Bowls are one of our best sellers in store! Handwoven Jute Bowls, $55 each at tabletonic.com.au or in store (Shop 6, 20 Avalon Parade, Avalon NSW).

It's here! Happy Ivy and Piper Day!

As of today, the the August issue of Ivy and Piper is live live live! 

And on page nine, a lovely write up on the new Table Tonic retail store (Shop 6, 20 Avalon Parade, Avalon NSW)! 

(above) I'm wearing a Ksubi top, Bassike pants, vintage scarf and converse sneakers. Luc Remond did a beautiful job photographing the Table Tonic store recently, and huge thanks also to Mr Jason Grant for his super-stylist skills!

(above) Table Tonic Yellow Spot Ikat cushion and Cherry Chevron Ikat cushion. Click to read the August issue of Ivy and Piper. Happy Thursday Tonic-ettes!

Table Tonic Tour Guide: The Blue Mountains

For the third year in a row, we recently made our annual July pilgrimage to the beautiful Blue Mountains. This is what went down (and what I highly recommend).

(above) Avoid peak travel days: Traditionally, we leave on a Friday (this time we left on Thursday) and return on a Monday. Life's too short to sit in traffic, right?

(above) The Vintage clothing shop on Leura Mall (just down the hill from the Westpac, but upstairs): well worth a visit! Lots of rummaging to be done.

(above) Gratuitous cute child shot: Noushie wears Kmart jacket (I want one!), Country Road skirt.

(above) Scenic World: Kids or no kids, will blow your mind. This was our second time, and the "Scenic Skyway" (that big yellow box) is insane. It takes you 720 metres across the valley, 270 metres above ground level...

(above)... and this is where you end up! Spectacular views as far as the eye can see.

(above) Go bush: I never thought I'd be able to say I went bushwalking in Isabel Marant sneakers, but I (now) can. True story. Good for the soul - look at it! This is part of the visit to Scenic World as well.

(above) Gratuitous beautiful old church shot.

(above) Take a seat: Enough said.

(above) Logan Brae Apple Farm: Go there. Buy apples, apple juice and if they have any warm apple pies left? Jump on them! It's just across the railway from Blackheath town centre. Apparently you can pick apples in... apple picking season.

(above) I looked up one day. The branches were bare, the air was crisp. The sun was shining. I soaked it up.

(above) Red Door Cafe: Divine for breakfast (the omelettes are tops, so are their home made baked beans - which Noushie had each morning for breakfast). Excellent for lunch too.

(above) Princess Pantry: It was closed when we walked past, but I'll be popping back next time for sure. Very cute and fun!

(above) You know when you go away and you pack a suitcase full of clothes, but wear the same thing every day and the same thing every night? That. Trenery knit, Sportsgirl coat, Country Road scarf, Clare Vivier clutch from Suede Online. Travel tip: In the background, you can just see my Castle pillowcase/pillow. I once read that you should take your pillow in a coloured pillowcase when you go away - less chance of leaving it behind that way! See? Clever.

(above) We stayed at the same house as last year, despite being 2 people down. It just ticks so many boxes, and the central heating, despite the fact that it destroyed my lips, was a beeaautiful indulgence. For more details or to book, visit Crabapple Cottage.

(above) The bed. No words.

(above) The bookshelf at Crabapple Cottage was as impressive and well stocked as the rest of the house. Somehow I didn't manage to find the time to get stuck into any of it...

(above) And two couches + two plasma telly's = no fighting children (yeah right?!).

(above) Did I mention there were blankets everywhere?

(above) Leura Garage: Still excellent food (tapas and pizza), but no nutella/strawberry/ricotta desert pizza/calzone on the menu any more! We almost shed a tear. 

(above) I also met (genius stylist) Jane Frosh for the first time, as she lives locally. Made me want to cut my hair short and dye it pink. Jane has such a beautiful aesthetic in her styling work - earthy and natural and rustic. So clever. Her blog is way bookmark-worthy.

(above) Nikita Espresso Bar, on Leura Mall (Jane's recommendation): The vibe is quirky/hipster-y and the coffee is gooood. You just have to taste it to believe it. Our caffeine stop of choice, every day. Oh, and the orange and almond cake? Seriously. Just taste it if they have it. It was to die for. Full of almonds!

So there you have it! 
Click to read about our 2010 trip.
Click to read about our 2011 trip.

Please feel free to share your hot tips and must-sees in the comments section! Happy Hump Day Tonic-ettes!