I heart Dean & DeLuca

Oh to be a Manhattan Mum coming up to Mother's Day next weekend! Check out some of Dean & DeLuca's gift ideas!

Image from www.deananddeluca.com

During my two years living overseas in London, one of the silly little things that always managed to give me butterflies was visiting places you'd seen on telly. You know, like Lords Cricket Ground, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben and Hyde Park. Then there are those little random sites that really make you so happy your cheeks hurt.

I went through high school and the first few years of uni obsessed with the tv show Felicity (remember Sally and her tapes, and Megan the goth roommate? Oh, and who could forget Javier?) and thanks to the show, I fell in love with Dean & DeLuca - one of New York's finest gourmet food merchants.

It's kind of America's answer to the UK's Fortnum and Mason. Or my heaven on earth.

On my way home from my time abroad, I dragged my dear friend Bree around New York in search of every D&D, the extremely yuppy supermarket and its oh-so-cute black and white paper coffee cups. Well, you would've thought all my Christmases had come at once when we finally stumbled across one of their stores. Seriously, I was like a kid in a candy store.

If only we had something like this in Adelaide, just imagine the fun I'd have planning a dinner party . . .

Meisha and her magic

Meisha! (She's like Madonna - she doesn't need a last name, everyone knows who she is)

My name is Kate and I am an eyebrow-aholic. There, I've admitted it to the world. For the last 18 months I've been I've been turning to the talents of Meisha Wright to tame my brows. Now don't get me wrong, they're no Johnny Howard caterpillars - I've always kept them under control, but Meisha, oh Meisha. She's taken them to a new level.

Having bought my own little place and moved out of the parental nest within the last 12 months, there are things I've had to sacrifice to be able to make my fortnightly mortgage repayments - but no way could I give up on Meisha. She's life changing!

I had my two monthly catch up with Meisha on Tuesday (there you go - I've pushed it back to 8 weeks rather than 6 - surely that's an effort to cut back on my spending!) and gosh, do I feel good! But it wasn't until I was telling my non-convert friends the next day about my session with Meisha that they put it into perspective - I had to scrimp and save the $10 needed for a pint and parmy at the pub afterwards (awesome bargain at this GFC troubled time! The Ed front bar - hilarious!) but am happy to hand over $45 for 15 minutes of plucking and tweezing.

Um . . . my name is Kate and I am an eyebrow-aholic.

So Meisha is just ah-mazing - she's also the most fabulous makeup artist and fashion stylist. Awesome talent for little old Adelaide. Check out her brilliant new venture It's The New Black x

Welcome to Masterchef!

Image from official Masterchef website

Okay, so was anyone as excited as I was tonight to see the opening episode of Masterchef Australia? I LURVE reality cooking shows and find myself flicking to the Food Channel on Foxtel these days rather than my usual haunts of MTV (The Hills) or Arena (Sex and the City). Is something wrong with me?

Was very disappointed with South Australia's poor efforts - come on! We're the home of Maggie Beer, Central Markets, Port Elliot bakery cheese pasties and Haigh's chocolates - seriously kids, get it together!

Looking forward to more inspiring creations at the hands of raw, untapped talent over the next three months.

We will remember them

Image and recipe from Donna Hay

ANZAC Day is a very special day on the calendar - especially for me personally ever since I experienced the magic of a dawn service at Gallipoli four years ago. Breathtaking. So I thought I'd better mark the occasion this year and hunt down a recipe for the traditional ANZAC biscuit.

Hot tip - I like my ANZAC biscuits chewy and soft, so tend to undercook them for that caramely taste. YUM! Another variation that my Granny swears by (and we are treated to every family catch-up!) is a jumbo sized biscuit that she covers with a layer of jam (apricot's the best), then slathers with cream, and then tops with slices of banana. Then you cut it into slices, like a pizza I guess! Don't knock it til you try it!

What's hiding in the pantry?

What do you get when you cross a journalism graduate, a passion for food and a severe obsession with all things pretty? The Polkadot Pantry!

The Polkadot Pantry has evolved from couch coversations with dear friends over wine to long interstate phone calls with my besties. We spend hours swapping recipe ideas, venue suggestions and party plans with each other and I wanted to capture all this creative advice.The piles of scrap paper with random scribblings of ingredients and restaurant names have been consolidated into this food blog (or 'flog' as a dear friend suggested!) and I hope it inspires and entertains along the way.