"When Its All About Design Excellence With Outstanding Service"
You can find more of our design work on the Charcoal Interiors website
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THIS WEEK....WE LOVE....
We fell in love with this custom upholstered chair delivered this week for one of our special clients.
She wanted a feature chair in her bedroom to finish off what is now a sophisticated and fresh look.
The beautiful tonings inspired by Spring is the current big look in Europe.
Our client is in a word...thrilled!
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OUT AND ABOUT
...LURE ON LATROBE...
My favourite place to have breakfast on a weekend is Lure on Latrobe. The food is consistently fresh and of great quality.
As a dining experience goes, its relaxed and very laid back. I actually feel like I am in Bryon Bay in a friends front garden....but not....because we are surrounded by loads of people who all seem to be enjoying the space as much as us.
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Last Saturday we got a seat under a shady tree out the front...the perfect little nook for 'people watching' along Latrobe Terrace at oh so swish hip and happening Paddington.
The service is always with a smile and sometimes you have to wait to be seated but its worth it. Lures' popularity and success besides consideration given to the awesome food, seems to have been based on establishing good relationships also, and there's nothing nicer than the staff remembering you, or even your name.
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On this particular day we had the 'Brekkie Burger' which is always fresh and even if avocado isn't in season Lure seems to be able to source the freshest, greenest and tastiest!...how do they do that?...mine are always practically concave and brown in the off season....just another testament to their dedication to quality produce. The coffee is always spot on and everything was delivered to our table with a smile. No matter how busy the staff are, they stop for a hello and 'how's ya day'....love it.
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Lure also is renowned for having the Best Chips in Brisbane....ok...arm is twisted...thats next on my 'must try' list!
Lure on Latrobe ticks all the boxes....service, food quality, ambience....and if you really want the complete blissed out experience there is a massage therapist in the main building...supposed to be great...will have to review that one too!...mmmmm...chips and massage...I'm in!
Lure on Latrobe. 24 Latrobe Terrace.
Ph. 07 33672900
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SOCIETE DU VIN (Translation...Very Special Wine Tasting Facility)....Oh My!
credit - New York Times
You've got to love a man with a vision and owner of Houston Rockets NBA team Leslie Alexander is our kind of guy. Not only did he have a big vision for restoring an old Potato Barn in Bridgehampton N.Y but he also enlisted one of the best to transform it into the most lavish wine storage facility we have ever laid eyes on. And of course who are you going to entrust your $5 million dollar budget to?..none other than Hollywood Set Designer Elvis Restaino...also known for his recent Gerard Butler NYC apartment transformation. We were big fans of his work in the Butler residence which was quite breathtaking and you can see more of this project in our previous blogs.
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Black And White Gerard Butler Pictures - Pictures
The wine storage and tasting facility is called Socie'te' Du Vin, the idea motivated by lack of places for people to store and visit their wine.
There is also a spacious salon room where owners can open and taste their wine, and also entertain in luxurious surrounds.
The old Potato Barn is now a distant vision of the past, with this new beautiful facility created with the usual Elvis Restaino stamp of grandeur.
For the full story on this amazing project, please click on the link to the New York Times (above).
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CRAB, CORN TARTLETS WITH TARRAGON
These are simply deeeelish. Great picnic food. To be made the night before.
What you will need....
2 cups plain flour
225 grams cold butter
300g cooked crab meat
1 and 1/2 cups raw corn kernels
1 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon
3 eggs
450ml pouring cream
What to do....
To make pastry, dissolve pinch salt in 75ml water. Place flour in a stand mixer with paddle attachment. Cut the butter into small squares and then add to the flour. Mix at a low speed until the mix looks like a rough crumb. Add salted water and then keep mixing until the dough forms a ball. If you don't have a stand mixer you can rub the butter into the flour with your hands. Turn onto a floured bench top and using your hands bring the dough together and then gently knead it until its smooth and there's no chunks of butter remaining. Add extra flour to the bench as needed. Take care not to over work the dough. Form into a disc, wrap in plastic and keep in fridge for at least an hour. Roll pastry to about 2 mm thickness. Wrap rolled pastry tightly in plastic wrap and then pop in fridge overnight.
Next step....preheat oven to 160 degrees celsius or 140 degrees for fan forced ovens.
Cut pastry into 9cm diameter rounds and use to line a tarltet tray. Leftover pastry can be used later and also frozen if needed. Line each pastry case with baking paper and fill with rice or baking weights. Blind bake for 10 mins and remove paper and weights and bake a further 7 mins or until golden and cooked through. Remove from oven and set aside.
Mix crab corn and tarragon together in a bowl and season well with salt and pepper. Place about 1tbsp in each tartlet shell.
In a separate bowl, beat eggs add cream and mix to combine. Pour egg mix over crab mix and fill tartlets as high as possible. Bake until puffed and golden...about 15 mins. Keep a good eye on them whilst baking. Gently remove to a cooling tray.
Makes around 24 - 28!
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YAAAAHOOOOOO......IT'S COCKTAIL FRIDAY!
Hands up if you've had one of those weeks where, when it gets to Friday you just want to put your little head on your messy desk and juuuuuust close your eyes for a moment and then.....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....well wake up! It's Friday, which means the weekend which means cocktails for everyone!
OK..you now how you can buy those 3 or 4 ingredient cookbooks which are amazing and you literally only need just a few ingredients to make something incredible for dinner?....well, how about if I told you that its possible to make an incredible cocktail from just 2 ingredients??....don't believe me?...well start! Over the coming weeks we are going to showcase a range of cocktails that you can make using just 2 ingredients!
And so, for starters here is the Paloma...just 2 ingredients!
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Cocktail Drinks Pictures - Pictures
THE PALOMA
What you need....
1. Tequila
2. Grapefruit Juice
What do do...
In your cocktail shaker, put a shot of Tequila and the rest with Grapefruit Juice...add ice..and shake, shake, shake.
Pour into your cocktail glass and garnish with a slice of lime
Feet up now....close your eyes...think of Gerard Butler....I find this easy.
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Wishing you all a very happy and enjoyable weekend with your Paloma cocktail and Crab Tartlet picnic!
Until next week...Love, Laughter and Light...The Charcoal Team!
xxx
Below...Einsteins 'Theory of Charcoal Interiors'
