Love

Thinking about: White sweaters

Ah sweaters...you're the best and I can't wait to break you out this year.

Melbourne's summer was long and glorious this year and consequently we're all late to the game when it comes to cold weather dressing. After another Indian summer-like weekend where we all got about in shorts and t-shirts, I expect the chill of autumn will finally arrive and no one will be prepared

I'm completely obsessed with knits this autumn and am busily researching how the cool chicks are wearing them. How great are the three looks above? I'm not usually a fan of floaty skirts but the one on the left if picture perfect, while the one in the middle just makes me want to give that woman a hug, that's how cuddly she looks!

My challenge this winter is to be more imaginative with how I wear them and I'm going to try a couple with bare legs before winter arrives in earnest. Not sure I'll be able to go all the way and wear open shoes like the ladies at left and right though, my feet get cold easily and although I really want to look cool and fashionable, comfort still rules in my world.

Fat Bob's Bar and Grill

I live right next to one of the least trendy suburbs in Melbourne. Don't get me wrong, it's not a hellhole, far from it, it's just full of families and grandparents, furniture stores, factories and primary schools.

At the weekend, you find yourself scrambling over prams, toddlers and blonde dogs to get to the three decent coffee joints. If you want dinner, the story is same but the location changes to the only two (Chinese) restaurants open after 6pm.

The one really cool place around is a brewery with great beer but limited food choices called 2 Brothers. It's pretty popular and usually packed on account of it being open just two nights a week.

So you can imagine the delight a childless couple in this neighbourhood would have in discovering Fat Bob's Bar and Grill. The place looked promising from the sign outside (I've had many memorable evenings in similar looking American bars during my road trips) and, to paraphrase Judas Priest, it delivered the goods.

The owner, Fat Bob, owns the sign writing business out the front and decided to convert the back shed into a beer and burger joint. The place is decorated with Bob's impressive collection of vintage signs and looks fantastic.

I'm not a big beer drinker but am assured the selection on offer is pretty good. I am a fan of a good burger though and can testify to the tasty, juicy and delicious burgers on the menu. It's not a big list but has enough choice to satisfy return visits.

Anyway, I don't think I've ever written a restaurant or diner review but this one compelled me to start because it's local, it's cool and I want it to stay a long time.

Fat Bob's Bar and Grill, 80a Cochranes Road, Moorabbin

Happy things: Smells

I'm under strict instructions to lighten up around here - nobody likes a spoil sport - so I thought focussing on things that make me happy would be a good way to start.

This one's a bit weird but it's the first day so I'll forgive myself a false start. Anyway, just because it's weird doesn't mean it's wrong. I love the smell of onions and garlic sauteeing in olive oil. It's a smell that's been with me since childhood - a garlic and onion fry up is the start to most Portuguese meals. Consequently it's full of delicious promise and possibility - it could end up in anything from rice to croquettes to a stew, soup, omelette or even just plain old onion jam.

Versatile.

A funny thing happened on the way to the closet

Technically, this isn't so much a funny-ha-ha type of story and that's not my closet so who knows where this is going!

But seriously, it's getting chilly in Melbourne and I've had to start dipping into my cold weather clothes, which is where the 'unfunny' story begins. You see, I completely forgot that at the end of last winter, I was so fed up with my wardrobe that I threw out practically half of my cold winter clothes.

At the time I thought it was a bold move; I was looking forward to a trip to New York in late autumn where I could stock up on fabulous winter goodies. Not so much. My trip turned out to be more about a couple of investment purchases in the form of coats and now I'm left with two long sleeve tops to get me through chilly autumn mornings. The closet math doesn't add up - it's too cold for the warm tops I don't have, but it's not cold enough for the amazing coats I do have.

I'll get a chance to really assess the damage this weekend when I changeover my hot and cold closets. I'm dreading it in a way because there is a remote possibility this photo could be an omen - knowing me it's possible I could dig into my winter clothes and find a pink tutu, some black sleeveless dresses and a bunch of empty shopping bags.

Off the beaten track in South Australia

Out here there are no meetings, no email, no laptops or deadlines.

4pm Melbourne CBD

A glass of wine in the mid afternoon in the middle of the city on a workday. It's funny that it sounds indulgent yet it was the only 40 minutes under my control the whole week, so it's quite sad really.

Life is a bit of a challenge at the moment - always is when work dominates. When your 9 to 5 starts to look more like 8 to 10 things just aren't fun any more.

Makes the last 40 minutes very pleasant indeed.

Make shit happen pep talk

This is a very appropriate image for the last few months for me. After being laid up for a number of months with an insiduous and difficult to treat soft tissue injury to my shoulder (would you believe too many push ups or too much sleeping on my side? Sadly, both are true in this case), followed by the first cold of the season - which was technically probably the flu given it knocked me out for seven days - I feel like a downright slacker.

Having to cut out any exercise more strenuous than walking for almost four months and then doing nothing than walking between the bed and teapot for another week, it feels like I've lost all muscle tone in my body and I swear I'm wearing my ass around my ankles. It's amazing, and more than a little scary, how easy it is to start losing muscle tone and fleibility with only a few weeks' break from usual activity. It's criminal really.

The compounding sadness to all of this is essentially that my starting point is back at square one. I'm back to running only 3km instead of my usual 6km because my calf muscle lost conditioning and my lungs took a massive hit with the cold. I'm lifting beginner weights because starting again at a high weight will likely re-injure my shoulder tendon. I also only just started doing push ups again and (this is embarassing) am back to doing them on my knees after spending half of 2012 conditioning myself to do them on my toes, man style.

Right now this is all at a stage where I'm just about ready to tell myself to cry me a river. It's time to make some shit happen people.

Which brings me to this little guy - Kid President. I'm completely won over by his style and swagger and I wish I had his front and jive talking. This pep talk is for you and me.

Like Johnny Cash - all black

In my early twenties, I wore black almost exclusively. Head to toe, day to night. Black, black, black, black, black.

Then something happened and I started weaving in a bit of white, some navy, a piece of green here and there. The years went by and I'm now the owner of brightly patterned trousers, fluorescent sneakers and several heavily flowered pieces.

Perhaps it's human nature that takes you so far out to one extreme that all you can think of is the other one.

Thinking about: Winter hats

Last winter, I spent a lot of time talking myself out of buying a felt hat. There were a couple of lovely fedoras that caught my eye on Asos but I was never sure enough to buy one. I'd have to dream up new outfits, change the way I wear my hair and, of course, clear a space on my desk to accommodate it while at work.

In the midst of all the thinking, I figured out how to work it and now that I'm ready to buy one, they're scarce as hen's teeth because this winter, the must have hat is a knitted beanie. I'm back at square one - beanies are even worse than hats from an outfit perspective and they're absolutely hell on hat hair. They may be fine on women with straight hair but combining woolen knits with curly hair is a recipe for an afro.

Anyway, I can feel a never-ending loop beginning if I don't just (a) go find and buy a felt hat, or (b) make up my mind quickly on the knitted hat. If I don't make a choice soon I will have missed the boat again for another winter and will find myself debating hoods or scarves or woolen caps in twelve months' time.