NOTD : CCO Shellac Review

So in continuing the pink theme for this week's posts, I thought I'd feature my current nails.

For Christmas last year, Liam's sister gifted me some gorgeous UV nail colours to add to my collection.  I've previously used CND (the original) and also Bluesky Shellacs, and whilst I find that CND is clearly the best quality of the two, it can get very costly.

The opacity of Bluesky is quite poor, and requires quite a few layers.  Once you've managed to get it to the desired thickness however, the quality is quite good and will last a good couple of weeks, chip-free.  Unfortunately, it stays on so well that it is an absolute nightmare to remove.  I've tried the foil wrap method as well as soaking my nails in pure acetone, and it never seems to turn flakey like it should.  For that reason, I avoid using it too often as I can't bear the thought of trying to remove it.

I was excited to test out this CCO brand, which is quite a clear copy of the CND.

As you can see, the boxes and packaging are all quite similar. Unfortunately, that's about where the similarity ends.  For my first time testing this brand, I chose a brilliant pink shade, and applied to the whole nail, using about 2 - 3 coats of colour.  Whilst it looked great, and had that brilliant shine that comes with UV nail polish, it lasted only 3 days before chipping off!

I decided to give it the benefit of the doubt, and tried it again, this time pairing it with a hardier Bluesky polish to achieve this pink tipped look.

Apologies for the bad lighting! It really does look much better in sunlight! 

Whilst I was thrilled with the results to start with, I am disappointed that just a week later I'm already sporting three chipped nails.  The one pro of this nail polish however, is that it comes off very easily! A quick soak (less than 5 minutes) in acetone will leave it in flaky little chunks which can be scratched off with an orange stick. 

I suppose, as the old saying goes, you get what you pay for!  There are plenty of shellac dupes out there at the moment, but for quality you just can't go past the original.

Food Diaries : Rose Shamrock Hotel

On Australia Day Eve, we found ourselves hectic busy. In between trying to do my nails and preparing for our Australia Day BBQ, I just could not find the time (nor could I be bothered!) to cook a proper meal. We toyed with the idea of eating potato chips for dinner, but decided that a far better option would be to stop by and grab a quick bite to eat on our way home from the shops.

That's where the Rose Shamrock Hotel comes in! We'd driven past it countless time, and even peered in while stocking up at the BWS bottle shop next door but had yet to try any of the food. As we walked past the pokies to the left and into the spacious bistro area, a sign greeted us declaring that all main meals were $16 every Wednesday. That sealed the deal!

We browsed through the menu, and after making our decision headed up to the counter to order.

Whenever we go for a counter meal, it's always a fairly safe bet that Liam will opt for a chicken parma.
He's going for the title of parma connoisseur, I think!

I decided on the fish and chips, with a side of salad and tartare sauce. I guess you could say we ordered fairly safe on this evening. Both were stock standard dishes, hard to really go terribly wrong with.

As for the standard of the Rose Shamrock? Well, as previously stated, the dishes we ordered were ones that were hard to stuff up. I was a little disappointed with my fish - I misbehaved and ordered it fried instead of grilled, and was expecting a lovely thick crunchy batter. When the meal was placed in front of me it looked flimsy and didn't impress me, however upon cutting it open the flesh was lovely, fresh and piping hot.

While the food wasn't fantastic, it was passable. I left the Rose Shamrock Hotel feeling fairly neutral overall. I didn't dislike my meal but I wasn't wowed by it either, and I didn't feel entirely satisfied. Full yes, satisfied no.

It was a cheap and easy meal, but I'm not sure I would come back again. On a Wednesday, the food is good value for $16 a meal, however any other day of the week you're better off going to the Stolberg just down the road which is also fairly reasonably priced for a much higher standard.


PS - Don't forget my mini-giveaway! :) xx

Food Diaries : Mornin' Gorgeous

A voucher deal came up recently for the cafe across the road from Liam's work which was too good to pass up! $7 buys a bagel of your choice and a smoothie juice from their bottled selection.  I LOVE a good bagel, so as soon as this deal came up I knew I had to have it!

We bought two vouchers, one for Liam to have at lunchtime during work and the other for him to bring home for me to feast on.  With the vouchers, we each decided to get the cream cheese and smoked salmon bagel, with salad leaves, cucumber, red onion and lemon capers.

 

The first thing I noticed when I unwrapped this bagel were the luscious chunks of salmon nestled inside.  This is not your ordinary supermarket-bought smoked salmon, no ma'am! The pieces were about three times as thick as the oily slices you'll usually find vacuum-packed in the shops.  They were lovely and flaky, unlike any other that I have had before.

Liam also had a chat with the owners when he went back to pick up my bagel.  One of them was so excited to hear that he was taking it home for me to try, and upon finding out that I was a bagel fiend told Liam that she really hoped I liked it! She told him that she actually made the bagels herself, so she'd love to know my verdict.  Well, here it is - a delicious dense chewy bagel, with a lovely crunch of salads, a generous smear of cream cheese and gorgeous lemon capers which burst with flavour in your mouth!

Although I have not visited the cafe myself, I can tell the service is friendly and welcoming.  That combined with the lovely quality food, I would highly recommend you visit if you're in the area! Testament to that is that Liam has already re-visited twice since then to sample some of their offerings.

Liam and I both use the iPhone camera for most of our shots, but I'd like to think my camera skills are far superior to his! ;)

ANYWAY.  Point of the story is - if you've got a hankering for a bagel of a lovely fresh sandwich... go, go, go to Mornin' Gorgeous post-haste! They'll help satisfy your cravings! :)

Food Diaries : The Coffee Club, Knox Ozone

We headed down to Knox Ozone for dinner on a warm summer evening.  We knew what we wanted, we just weren't sure where we would get it.  I had a hankering for a nice steak sandwich, and Liam had nachos on his mind. 

Knox Ozone has plenty of choices, and plenty of good options for whatever food you might be craving.  It ranges from steak houses to Japanese cuisine to just your reliable ol' pub fare.  What we were after is fairly standard grub, so as we browsed all the restaurant menus we realised that we could pretty much take our pick.  The Coffee Club is newly re-opened, and I remembered hanging out there all the time with friends during my youth, so we decided to give it a shot to see how it measured up. 

The menu looked promising, with many tasty offerings, but we knew what we were after.  It was all on the pricey side compared to the other restaurants in Ozone, but we hoped it would be a case of "you get what you pay for" but sadly, this was not to be the case.  Service, although extremely friendly and helpful, was hard to get a hold of.

The Pine Lime Frappe [$5.90] was very refreshing choice on a warm summer night.  I wish I'd gotten it spliced instead, which has ice cream through it.  Then it would be exactly like drinking a Splice ice cream!

The meals came out, and they were disappointing, to say the least.  Liam chose the nachos with chilli beef added.  The additional chilli beef cost an extra $5, bringing the price of the nachos up to $20.  For a $20 plate of nachos, we were expecting something special however what ended up being placed in front of us was a relatively small serving of corn chips with cold, gluggy chilli beef unceremoniously dumped on top.  

The steak sandwich did not fare much better.  Although the steak was well-cooked, it was sandwiched between what looked like generic-brand toast, and did not cover the piece of bread which resulted in mouthfuls of just plain toast.

What made no sense also, is that the Deluxe Steak Burger is the exact same meal but with added bacon and egg for an extra $2, however when I asked how much to add bacon to the Steak Sandwich [$16] I was told it would be an extra $3. Go figure! 

Overall, our experience at the Coffee Club was a major disappointment.  Although they have now added table-service and there is no more queuing up for food, you end up with a long wait time at the table before you are seen to anyway! Prices are ridiculously over-priced for what you receive, and there are too many superior options in the Ozone precinct for me to return.

Rant : The Canvas Factory

I'm here to warn you that if you want any sort of service or reliability, do NOT use the Canvas Factory! [www.canvasfactory.com.au]

There have been many deals popping up on group buy sites lately, like Cudo, OurDeal, Spreets etc.  I made the mistake of thinking this would be a good way to get a lovely Christmas present for my mum.  Turns out I was WRONG.  Instead, I will now have to spend the next couple of days running around frantically trying to find the perfect substitute gift for my mum, or she will have nothing to open on Christmas Day except an IOU. 

Knowing there would be a rush for Christmas, I tried to get my order in early.  I checked the Canvas Factory website and upon seeing that there was a 1 - 3 week turnaround I decided to buy a Cudo deal for a half metre canvas print.  I sent them a copy of the photo I wanted printed and asked them to send me back a preview. When they did so I was quite happy with the image so I sent in my order with a copy of the photo re-attached and instructions to print as per the preview.  I did this late-November thinking that 4+ weeks would be plenty of time to have the canvas returned to me.

Source: http://www.canvasfactory.com.au/pages/FAQ.html

I waited the 3 weeks expected, and nothing came so I emailed them to enquire the status of my order.  What I received was an automated reply thanking me for my email and stating that around Christmas time there could be a 2 - 6 week wait.   

WHAT IS THE POINT OF TELLING ME THIS NOW?! 

At the time of placing the order I checked the delivery time which was 1 - 3 weeks. Given this, I had allowed for 4 weeks for the canvas to be delivered thinking I'd be safe.  

This morning (2 days after sending my enquiry email) I received an email from the Canvas Factory asking me to please check my preview.  The same one I'd already checked and confirmed 4 weeks ago, you mean?!

This means that not only is my canvas NOT on its way, it has not even been produced yet! It has taken them FOUR WEEKS to get in touch to begin work on my canvas?! 

I am not happy, and I am so disappointed that my mother's awesome present will not be wrapped under the tree for her to open on Christmas morning.

The Canvas Factory is the Grinch who has stolen my Christmas.

Food Diaries: The Penny Black

Sundays... they're synonymous with suffering and hangovers, but are also the last day of the glorious weekend where you have to fit in as much enjoyment and relaxation before it's all over and dreaded Monday is here again! 

I have a love-hate relationship with Sundays.  Saturdays are usually hectic busy trying to fit in everything that needs to be done... but on Sunday the weekend rush is over and you can usually kick-back and relax.  However it also means that Monday is lurking just around the corner, and it will be over all too soon! If nothing else though, it is a good day to enjoy a nice greasy hangover breakfast, or if you've been well-behaved the night before then a gorgeous leisurely brunch.

We decided The Penny Black was our Sunday option for brunch.  We initially were craving the traditional egg and bacon fare, but The Penny Black menu drew us in and we decided to get a few items from to share.  The day was overcast but the weather was quite mild so we decided to sit out in the beer garden.  Disappointingly there was a large marquee set up, so it was just like being inside.  Necessary I suppose, because of all the rain Melbourne has been seeing lately - but it would have been nice to be able to sit in the open air.

It was fairly isolated when we first arrived around midday, but it filled up rapidly and many of the tables were booked for parties.  As two of the main tables had been booked already, there were patrons trying to re-arrange the existing tables to accommodate their needs and the staff were very helpful.  

We placed our order at the bar, then pottered outside to sit back and wait for our food to arrive.  I decided to try the new Bulmers blackcurrant cider, which was nice, but I far prefer the Rekorderlig Apple & Blackcurrant if we're comparing!

 Salami Pizza [$7.90]                                                             Penny's Spicy Fried Chicken

                                                                                         w/ house made BBQ sauce [$7.90]

The fried chicken came out piping hot temperature-wise, but there was no trace of "spicy" as the name lead to believe.  You can tell it had been served fresh out of the fryer, and was nice and moist on the inside but every single bite oozed with oil.

The rest of the food must have been sitting around for a little while and as a result was soggy.  The thin-base pizza had a nice spicy kick to it and went down well with a beer, but would have been improved vastly if it were slightly crispier. 

 Sweet Corn Fritters                                         Sweet Potato Chips

           w/ spicy green salsa [$5.90]                        w/cinnamon yoghurt dipping sauce [$5.90]

The sweet potato chips were fluffy paired well with the cinnamon yoghurt but did not retain any crunch.

The corn fritters were not what I expected at all.  What I had envisaged when I read the menu were the floury cakes filled with bursty little kernels, but what greeted me instead were balls of batter surrounding the pieces of corn.  This was a very blokey kind of dish, and with a little less oil content could have been the perfect (albeit unhealthy!) beer snack.  As it was, I was glad I had my cider to wash down the oil.

One thing all these dishes had in common was the oil factor.  Everything was tasty, but by the end of the meal I had a layer of grease coating my fingers and lips, and a pile of napkins in front of me that were translucent from the grease!

Whilst The Penny Black is great place to come for a few drinks, whether it be pre-drinks before a night out or a good day time session, I am not sold on the food yet.  I am keen to come back and try their shredded chipotle beef tacos [$8.90] or to give their 100% Wagyu beef burger [$17.90] a go before I make up my mind.

I will definitely keep The Penny Black in mind as a destination for Sunday afternoon drinks this summer though!