SmallNotes

BEAUTIFUL STARS

With the warm breezes of spring invading, it’s back to the cellar for your Merlots and Pinot Noirs.  In their place, the heat begs for something cooling, with notes of lemon and lime or black currant.

Stella Bella Wines, hidden in the Margaret River region, offers a distinctive selection of replacements for winter’s Reds.  A blushing Muscat with an aroma of rose petals, musk, and Turkish delight; Chardonnay promising notes of peach and honeydew; the Semillon Sauvignon Blanc thoughtfully blended with spices and stone fruits.

For each wine, Stella Bella also offers a food pairing suggestion and time frame for imbibing when it’s most vital.

As a special treat to all SmallNotes readers, Stella Bella would like to offer you 10% off any order placed online.  All you have to do is enter the code SBW10 in the coupon box.  Better yet, delivery is free within Australia.  Click here to order.

Stella Bella is open daily from 10am - 5pm.  They are located at 205 Rosabrook Road, Margaret River, Western Australia.

FRECCIA GASTRONOMY

For those of you who love authentic Italian food, but want to avoid the sluggishness that comes with a traditional, post-pasta binge, Freccia Gastronomy in Subiaco is now offering a range of internationally recognised gluten free fresh pasta.

Guiltlessly feast on fettuccine, spaghetti, beef lasagne, pumpkin ravioli, beef ravioli and potato gnocchi.  Better yet, it’s all made in Western Australia by WA Gluten Free.

As a special treat to all SmallNotes readers, Freccia Gastronomy would like to offer you 25% off their lasagna, gnocchi and ravioli ranges for the next week.

While you’re there, try Alessandro’s gnocchi (via his Nona) it’s so light and delicious.  Team it with fresh tomato sauce and basil leaves and you’re good to go. Or sample his aranchini. Bitting into those rice balls filled with goodness, made us feel like we were back in Rome sitting in Piazza Navona watching the world go buy.

Freccia Gastronomy are located at Shop 4, 1 Forrest Street, Subiaco.  They’re open Monday to Friday from 10am to 6pm. Tel: 9380 9992.

DELICIOUS DAYS

The days ahead hold the promise of rice pudding laced with coconut, Zwetschgendatschi layered with juicy Damson plums and almond slivers, and shell-like Mallorcan Ensaimadas.

delicious:days, a porthole into the kitchen of Munich lovebirds Nicky and Oliver, is a gluttonous treasury of recipes and culinary inspiration.

When you’re full and sleepy from Panisses and Easter Bread with Chorizo, visit their suggestions for fun, secret spots in Munich to plan your next trip.

Visit delicious:days or, for something a little more tangible, pick up their cookbook here.

SPRING TEA IN THE GARDEN

Samantha Robinson has crafted all you’ll need for spring tea in the garden.

Porcelain illuminators cast an ethereal glow on freshly blossoming flowers. Tea cups, some blooming with poppies, others scattered with peacock feathers, and gourd-like teapots wait for Earl Grey.

Our personal favourites are the juicy red and green bowls, which call to mind the fruit they’ll eventually hold.

Visit Samantha online, or visit her every Saturday at the Paddington Markets and Sunday at the Bondi Markets in Sydney to purchase her wonderful porcelain creations.

MERCHANTS OF FANCY

Flying trapeze artists, a dervish-like shot-putter, and tea-cup-pollinating bees act as tour guides in a virtual amble through DISTRACTED: Merchants of Fancy, Perth’s preeminent curiosity shop.

It’s an alluring dance to get you to visit in person. When you do, you’ll get lost perusing French cutlery, Lomo cameras, and BedHead pajamas.

Extract yourself in time to stop by the Haircut shop where the stylists will make you feel polished without using your head as their own personal canvas. See Connie “The Ripper” Burt, their efficient waxing specialist, for a different sort of maintence.

Refresh at the Coffee shop, with sustainably-grown Fiori coffee, an ever-evolving menu of delicacies, and rich treats by neighborhood bakers. Or contemplate works by local artists in their gallery.

Make sure to mark your calendar for the first of every month, when they host their Distracted Manual Arts Academy, a workshop with instructors from a roster of respected local artisans.

SEND ME SEEDS

There was never a more delicious way to minimize your carbon footprint than by growing and nurturing your own garden.

Here to motivate you are sisters Sas and Kylie Allardice of Send Me Seeds, Pip (Pollinate, Inspire, Propagate), a seed subscription service offering natural, locally-sourced seeds for your own lush, sustainable Eden.

A one season subscription includes 6 seed varieties carefully selected to thrive in your current planting season and climate, where an annual seed subscription will assure you an abundant harvest throughout the year.

If you’re not confident your thumb is green enough, Pip also offers hints to guide you on the path to a flourishing garden.

Kitchen Casanova

In our misty fantasies, we have access to a Cyrano de Bergerac who not only tells us what sweet nothings to whisper to our paramours, but also hints at what to do in the kitchen to impress them.

Our dream-come-true has arrived in the form of the Kitchen Casanova who writes Cook to Bang, a blog about the culinary avenue to seduction.

Whether altruistically improving tenuous Canadian-American relations with succulent shrimp, sharing an oyster recipe as formidable as his ninja skills, or exposing his innermost, blondie-obsessed demon, Cook to Bang arms you with potent tools for getting some action.

A LITTLE RAY OF SUNSHINE

Once again SmallNotes has found a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

To the delight of all women in Perth, Aurelio Costarella is having another one of his famous sample sales.  His highly coveted designer dresses have been popping up on red carpets around the world, most recently Jennifer Hawkins, Dannii Minogue, Jess Hart and Gerri Halliwell to name a few.

The sale starts on Monday 21st September, 10:00am til 8:00pm FOR ONE DAY ONLY at 32 Wickham Street, East Perth.

The sale is CASH ONLY, but with garments starting at $20 be sure to get in as quickly as possible.  His pot of gold has a habit of disappearing fast as well all know!

Check out his collections at aureliocostarella

GLOWING LIGHT

The soft lines and glowing light present in Polaroids infuse the memories they capture with something beyond the ordinary.

Curated by Jenifer Altman, Polaroid Notes presents 20 such moments in notecard form. Red balloons stretching toward the sky, a richly frosted cupcake, an airplane wing cutting between clouds and deep blue: all evoke the nostalgia that goes hand-in-hand with the soon-extinct film.

Pick up your own set here.

SWEET ‘N SASSY

Misbehavior is inevitable, as are the requisite apologies that follow.  Here to help you use your words is The Beautiful Project with their tastefully conceived note cards.

“I’m Sorry For Being Such an Ass” is simple and direct.  Want to lay it on thick? How about “You Look Beautiful Today”? However, if you’re completely remorseless, we recommend “Hooray for me & F___ You.”

Visit their online shop here for more touching sentiments.