GIRLS' DAY OUT AT MORNINGTON : BAY HOTEL : POMME: MORNINGTON ANTIQUES CENTRE

Herself and I had a girls day out to-day. We drove to Mornington. First of all, we stopped for lunch at the Bay Hotel.  You can see the bistro section - which was beautifully warm and toasty - on the right of the collage above.

We checked out the menu:

We had certainly picked our day because we were able to avail ourselves of the Monday/Tuesday Special which meant that if we picked a "starred" item we got it for $15 with a complimentary glass of wine.  I know I don't dine out often these days, Trad Padders, but I hadn't come across a cleverly marked menu such as this.  Along with the stars, the menu sported tiny 'v's for vegetarian and 'gf's for gluten free.  I am vegetarian and I appreciated this thoughtful touch and I am sure the gluten free brigade would too.

I ordered Mediterranean Pappardelle which, ordinarily according to the menu, has chicken.  I asked for the dish without the chicken and they were happy to oblige.  So my pappardelle came with roasted vegetables, pan seared with olive oil, tossed through the pappardelle and sprinkled with feta and toasted pine nuts.  Herself - who is a carnivore - ordered the Hopkins River Beef Burger.  I didn't have the wine.  Herself had mine and I had a coke.  She seemed well pleased with her vino.  I noted that The Bay promotes local Mornington Peninsula wines with other Australian wines bringing up the rear.  So, as you can see, we had good provender.

Our real purpose for the day was to visit the Mornington Antiques Centre.  But before we set off for there, Herself wanted to make a visit to the local Bed Bath and Table.  We couldn't find close parking in the main street and had to turn out of the main street only to find ample parking and more shops, including major chains like Target, behind the main street shops.  We got out of the car and Pomme caught my eye.  I figured in could do BBT back home any time.  And off I went to Pomme...

The chairs at the front of Pomme are bright and cheery

and the store will cover these chairs to the fabric of your choice.

 Display of art and design, jewellery and homewares

is beautifully done at Pomme.  Go see for yourselves.

 These delicate hanging pendants are filled with tiny treasures.

Behind them, are enchanting artworks of Belted Galloway cattle.

I purchased something for my sister's forthcoming birthday -

but I won't let out the secret here.

Then we were off to browse the Morninton Antiques Centre...

And we did walk away with some goodies.

Herself bought a beautiful print of pink roses.

I brought home a chest of drawers which I hope to transform

and two wooden cutlery holders for pens & scissors & etceteras.

Perhaps that will be the subject of the next post.

Chai and browsing in Sassafras

Miss Eagle did coffee with a friend at Ripe in Sassafras yesterday. Miss E has posted on Ripe before. This time Miss took some photos to show you. Because Ripe has no sign outside to tell you it is Ripe. There are an ice-cream sign and some tables and chairs so you might think it is just a cafe/ice-creamery not a fully-fledged eating establishment reviewed and blogged here and here. Miss E and friend did chai: chai latte for friend, black tea-based for Miss E. And passionfruit cheesecake. Miss E does have to comment on the predictability of dessert and pastry cake offerings at coffee and cake time across Melbourne. Time for a re-think and re-jig if some culinary brains could be set in motion on this dilemma.
Before going home to Upper Gully, Miss E popped into Tea Leaves because she was nearly out of chai at home. This time she is trying a green tea based chai. Tea Leaves is wonderful - wall to wall teapots and everything tea. Stacked and packed on shelves.

In the window and beautiful settings.
And then into another favourite place, Antiques in Sassafras. A delight to eye and spirit.

And these give a whole new meaning to "getting the blues", don't they?
And then the signs.
But, if Christmas really was in July and Santa could be expected on 25/7, here is what I would be seeking. Paris stamps! Everything from the Eiffel Tower to a post mark!
And there's news!

Antiques in Sassafras will soon be opening a home and giftwares establishment across the road behind Quirky's, the funky clothing place across from the plant nursery. Miss E expects it will be as beautiful and spirit-lifting as AiS.

Miss Eagle loves paper, loves printing, loves print, loves font. It is with great joy that she has discovered that this year is the 50th anniversay of the introduction of that famous and ubiquitous font, Helvetica. There is a movie. There is a blog.

Miss Eagle is a would-be-if-she-could-be calligrapher and, since the introduction of the personal computer, has transferred this love affair to fonts. She loves fonts: fonts to suit the words, fonts to express a mood, fonts just to lie beautifully on the page. Be still, my beating heart!

One of the limitations of Blogger, is its ultra-limited choice of fonts. No Helvetica. Neither MS Word nor MS Publisher has Helvetica. To download it, it has to be purchased. So ubiquity doesn't travel free, more's the pity!

So Miss Eagle, who has a penchant for sans serif fonts, tends to prefer Trebuchet in Blogger. Where there is a wider choice, the equally ubiquitous Gill Sans in all its variety is a favourite.

The movie is not due in Melbourne until 21 July - the Kiwi cousins across the ditch are getting it first.

In the meantime, happy birthday Helvetica!

The Collecting Chemist of Elsternwick - 3

This sign in the collection of The Collecting Chemist of Elsternwick is deserving of its very own post. It is a bit special. It is special because:

• it is bilingual
• it is two sided.

The Collecting Chemist of Elsternwick - 2

The Collecting Chemist of Elsternwick not only collects signs. He collects Apothecary's Jars. These were very difficult to get good shots of because they are up high out of harm's way and are such magnificent sets so that they are sitting side by side on the high up shelves. Please take a trip to Glen Huntly Road and see for yourself, dear reader. You will be well rewarded.

The Collecting Chemist of Elsternwick -1

Geoff and Sue Szwarcbard's Guardian Pharmacy at 393 Glenhuntly Road, Elsternwick has a treasure trove of items from chemist shops of yesteryear. Their chemist shop is quite ordinary. It looks like it could have been there a very long, long time but gets "modernised" every few decades or so. It is not large and spacious and bright like really modern pharmacies found in shopping malls. No this is a very traditional squeezed in chemist shop in a suburban shopping strip in the main street of Elsternwick. The first clue is the signs hanging in the doorway as one enters from the street.

The signs in the collection are metal - in some cases complete with rust.