M U S I C : From me to you!

Here is some good audio to help you do that stuff (homework) you were meant to do but had to do that other stuff (watching the 1st season of the OC for the 43rd time) because it was apparently more important at the time:

Recently been loving these tracks! My Soundcloud is over here. Happy listening!

T A S T E B U D S : Aboard the Vegan Voyage

Yesterday, my friends and I trekked all the way to Ascot Vale from the Eastern Suburbs for some delicious vegan desserts. They're both vegetarian and vegan, so whenever I'm out with them it's a chance for me to try and change my lifestyle, one meal at a time. Slowly but surely, one day I'll be living a plant based lifestyle and both myself and this lovely Earth will thank me for it!

MISTER NICE GUY'S BAKESHOP

Coordinates? -37.774101, 144.915413 (or 151 Union Road, Ascot Vale 3032)

Instagram Worthy? Yep. Retro chic and neat typography. Also, there are grass bunnies and chalk board menus.

$? Cupcakes and cakes are under $5 but almost everything else is not. But for the organic and vegan goodness, it's understandable! Minimum of $10 on Eftpos though but there are ATMs down the street!

Tastebuds? Satisfied. I had a curried Tofu bagel which was very filling and delicious! I usually dislike Tofu but I didn't even know it was Tofu when I bought it! I also had an Organic Cola and I swooned when I saw the packaging. Following this, I had a Golden Comb cupcake which was a vanilla toffee cupcake with caramel frosting, drizzled with chocolate ganache and honeycomb - sadly the honeycomb was like a rock! All in all, about a 7/10.

I've seen countless photos and recipes that tickled my fancy (and tastebuds) about raw, dairy-free and vegan food. I was on my way to work and had enough time to drop in to my local Go Vita shop who are always out of CoYo. Lucky for me, they weren't and it was on sale! I bought passionfruit as there was none of the natural kind left. I also had to buy some Loving Earth chocolate as I walked back to the counter. I'm very easily persuaded. However, my tastebuds didn't react as well to the Organic Raw Coconut Mylk Chocolate as it did to the CoYo - which was so creamy and very much mirrored the texture of Greek Yoghurt, so yum! - as I'm not used to raw foods but it's growing on me.

Hopefully you can try some of these vegan goodies the next time you are scribbling down yoghurt or chocolate on the shopping list. They're available at most health shops! Next on mine are the coconut mylk and caramel Luvju chocolates by Loving Earth and the coconut milk Ice Cream by CoYo. I don't even feel guilty about grabbing a spoon and digging into it, straight out of the container. If it's good for the Earth, it's good for me!

Oh, and I'll take any chance to jam to 'Mmm, I like!' by Nikki Webster. There's a 99% chance that will be your reaction. And be sure to post your favourite recipes or products in the comments!

W E L L B E I N G : Girl Power with Amy Poehler

So there's this woman, right, a super cool woman, who makes girls feel good about wanting to embrace themselves, and all of the wonderful things about them. She created an awesome website that empowers girls to have confidence and provides real, comedic and functional resources to go along with it.

You might know her as Regina George's mum, Leslie from Parks and Recreation or Tina Fey's #1 gal... Do you have a guess at who it is? Can I have a drumroll please?...It's Amy Poehler!

The site is intertwined with its social media (in a really good way) and revolutionises blogging as a platform to spread a variety of DIY Projects, killer campaigns and the impact girls all around the globe can have on the media, the Internet and the world.

It shines a spotlight on feminism and being proud to call yourself a chick. Anyone can be a Smart Girl and get involved in helping make a difference in yourself, the wider community and even the globe. Amy orchestrates several segments that creates a mini web series, all things arty, causes to fight for and information to immerse and absorb yourself in.

Being a Smart Girl gives you a sense of belonging and not feeling so small in a big, wide world.

Thanks Amy, and remember to change the world by being yourself!

website | tumblr | instagram | twitter

T A S T E B U D S : Grace Café

Ever Urbanspoon-ed a café that has good reviews, reasonable price and a delicious menu? But then gone and found it was the Instagram hotspot and way too busy with waaaay too many people whipping out their phones? Yep. We've all done it. Sometimes we're the culprits.

However, one day, my friend and I had decided to go to Brunswick Street and after 20 minutes of tossing between a few different places (including Black Cat that was featured on Offspring - I will get there one day!!) we decided on a little café down a side street called Grace Café. It was a gorgeous little shack with a courtyard out the back, rustic tables on the inside with the atmosphere of Alice In Wonderland - bottles of salt, sugar and page excerpts from the book framed on the window sill.

So there we sat, without the clink and clank of cutlery and the toots of trucks and cars. Sweet silence and the smell of coffee wifting through the air. I ordered Quark Filled Crêpes with cream and berry coulis, an absolute bliss of a breakfast.

Grace Café is located on Rose Street in Fitzroy and is a 10 minute walk from Parliament Station. Why not head for a stroll in Carlton Gardens and a bit of a shop on Brunswick Street too? Be sure to leave your favourite spot for a bite to eat/drink to sip in the comments below. Happy feasting, friends!

M U S I C : Alpine (are not) Seeing Red

About 2 years ago, I started to create a magazine called Tea For Two, which I published on Issuu and it experienced its (tiny) five minutes of fame. I really loved all the feedback I got on it so I started working on the second issue, but began to slowly abandon it as the year went on and I got busier with extra curricular activities. Or you know, the dreaded L word... LAZY!

Before I got lazy though, I managed to chat to Lou, half of the vocals for Alpine and caught them in the time that they were rising high and reaching new heights that was even unbelievable for them! They are an incredible bunch.

Simone: Hey Alpine! I've been interviewing a bunch of talented people for an online magazine (as a hobby) and I'd like to add Alpine to the mix? I've got some questions. Would you guys be up for that?

ALPINE: Hey Simone, we can totally do that! Do you need them in a rush though? We're heading off to the US in the morning so it might take us a while to get to them. But definitely send them through!

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A while later... (SXSW adventures, gigs, travelling, jet lag, some gentle nagging...)

Simone: Tell me a little bit about how ALPINE came together.

Lou: We're all friends first. Phoebe and Lou met at school in year 9, Christian was a guitar teacher at their school at the time. Phil and Christian grew up together in Phillip Island. Lou and Phoebe met Ryan while he was backpacking around Australia. Lou met Tim at University. Over the years we began hanging out and became good friends.

Simone: Describe ALPINE's journey after going from supporting Matt Corby to venturing off on headline tours.

Lou: To be honest, we were a little apprehensive about supporting Matt Corby. We love his music! We just weren't sure that his fans would dig us. Luckily, we won them over. I think Alpine supporting him was a little unexpected but was such a worthwhile tour. Him and his band are legends and we've remained good friends. Our national album tour that followed was awesome! It's amazing to sell out shows and know it's because of your own music. Really special!


Simone: Is it weird to hear your songs on the radio or see the crowd singing along to something you created?

Lou: Heaing a song on the radio or seeing people in the crowd singing along at first is surprising. You have a hugh smile on your face and the reality hits you that people are digging what you are doing. It makes it all worthwhile.

Simone: Who or what are your influences?

Lou: Our influences vary - a lot! 6 members with such different influences that come together in the tour van. We're really open to hearing new genres or new artists so it's great that we get to share music we are digging with everyone. If there is a style of song we are all loving at the one time, it's fair enough to say that will influence new Alpine songs.

Simone: Do any of you have bad habits?*

Lou: Of course we have bad habits! But they are a secret! Shhhh

Simone: If you knew it was your last day on Earth, how would you spend it?

Lou: In a tropical climate, in the ocean watching fireworks at night!

Simone: And lastly, fill in the blanks: "I love _____..." and "I hate _____..."

Lou: I love dogs and I hate bad attitudes!

Simone: Thank you so very, very much!

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IMAGE: I took that photo when I  was lucky enough to have a day off school and be able to catch them live at Melbourne Uni for freeee!

CONNECT WITH ALPINE

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*I giggled at this question when I was brainstorming

T V : It's Block-a-clock!

It was very cool to meet young, innovative individuals that spruced up a not-so-pretty building. Modern design really thrives in the creative hub of Melbourne and it was awesome to see the finished work in real life!

I can feel a copper obsession coming, too. Can't wait to see where they end up!

Melbourne, you are so nice to us. Thank you for the weekend (and the free Cat Empire gig last night!)

M U S I C : Oh Sia

New music! I repeat, new music! I am welcoming back Sia with open arms. Recently, we've had fresh beats from The Kooks and Washington, so I was wondering when it would be her turn. Of course, she has recorded some tracks for The Hunger Games and The Great Gatsby over the past year or so, but nothing purely just for us. I have definitely missed her, she used to be the familiar score to the emotional and the not-so-emotional scenes in Packed To The Rafters (which I also miss. Bring it back, Channel 7!)

Take a listen below and let me know what you think of her new song called Chandelier! Maybe she'll have you swinging your hips (as she 'swings from the chandelier'.) Sorry, bad joke.

Stay tuned peeps for more music-y goodness.