You can't catch me I'm the Gingerbread man.....

The Hula Hoop.. (with sparkles) from Beatrix 

 I have a new obsession, (like I need a new one!!)..  Its none other than collecting and eating Gingerbread men! Darby is the lucky one who gets to eat most of  them, I just like a taste and to gaze longily at how perfect they are. It is such a bizarre craze,  maybe it needs its own blog - will wait and see if the obsession grows. Maybe it is due to the fact I cannot for the life of me cook a good ginger, they are either too fat, too thin, overcooked , undercooked and the list goes on, so when I find a  perfect one I just can't resist!
Of the 100 or so cafes I have been to, the Gingerbread man seems to be a pretty standard item most likely to keep the kiddies at bay whilst the mummy's and daddy's can enjoy their coffee's in peace....  
My search is a little different, I'm not after the garden variety type, you know the ones;   the  little man with a smile and a couple of buttons (and bow tie if you are lucky).   I am after the quirkiest, most original looking, and they are proving  hard to find, I only know of a couple of places that are going the extra mile with their Gingers.

 Our latest Ginger/coffee experience is at a relatively new cafe (I'm not sure how long its been open but it has only popped up recently) just around the corner from Laura's in Queensberry St North Melbourne. Its called Beatrix - go and check it out! 

My coffee! 

Beatrix is situated on the corner of a residential street, it is away from the hustle and bustle of Errol St... I had noticed it has been opened for a maybe few months and was always intrigued when I drove past. I went a few weeks back for a takeaway coffee and  I was instantly impressed by the quirky and homely appearance... and of course the food and coffee.
It is clear to be seen that  at Beatrix they have a passion for sweets... which I just love.. cakes, brownies, whoopee pies and biscuits.. mmmmm,  they look jaw droopingly amazing.  From what I witnessed they do a lot of business from people getting takeaway cakes and I can understand  why!! mmmm 
Darby and I went there last week to sit down and enjoy the experience  and lo and behold they had Ginger's.. not a man as such, but some colourful Hula Hoops! Wow! In bright Purple and Orange.. even better. 
We ordered a purple one pronto and it arrived on a Sesame St plate, so very cute and 80's, I was delighted (who is this biscuit for again?!?!?!?!?!) Darby got stuck into it whilst I drank my glorious coffee. Beatrix use All Press coffee which is really great to drink. All in all we will be back for the coffee and the Gingerbread.. 

Footy Themed Ginger... I couldn't bring myself to buy
the Collingwood one! 

A not so happy Ginger at "The Pint of Milk"

Another of my favourite ginger locations is Pint of Milk in close by Newport. We venture here quite frequently and my favourite ginger has to be the Monday"not happy face".. gotta love it. Today we went to grab a takeaway and I couldn't help but buy a footy one. They had Hawthorn, Cats and Pies. I couldn't bring myself to get the Collingwood one, although there may be some kind of sadistic satisfaction eating one all up! Alas I chose Hawthorn, and my picture today my sum up how they are feeling after the prelim loss to Collingwood on Friday. So I think the Pint of Mil is leading the way in innovative Gingerbread men... other cafes get on board and start baking! 

(update: we were back again at Beatrix for lunch on Saturday with Janine - after what was the best Egg, Bacon and Beetroot Roll (you must go and try it),  we attempted to eat a Red Velvet cake!! Oh my!! Red food colouring sent Darby and I crazy, probably not a great idea, although it was picture perfect and amazing)

Until next time life is too short to drink crappy coffee! 
(oh and I just did a count and I have completed 72 cafes from my challenge! 28 TO GO......... That's 2 a week until the end of the year! YIKES!!!)

Ginger from Auction Rooms

Classic Ginger Flower at Corner Shop

Its been four awesome years..... powered by coffee

This weekend my young man Darby turned four. I can't believe he has blessed my life for four glorious  years, it feels like yesterday that I was pregnant and impatiently waiting for his little whirlwind arrival into my life, and what a wonderful whirlwind he has been. He has made me laugh and cry  and feel happier than I knew humanly possible .... These array of emotions,  I am sure are very normal of anyone  who has had  a child...Its such  a cliche but you really cannot remember life without them in your life, maybe thats because of the brain cells lost from all that sleep deprivation.. who knows, but life is certainly more interesting with them around!
He has coloured my world more than any rainbow could... ... so it also got me thinking about how he has inspired me  in  my love for  coffee and helped shape my coffee journey  (other than being such a great coffee buddy most of the time!).  

Iremember once whilst sitting at my favourite local cafe,  Le Chien utterly sleep deprived and delirious in that newborn kind of bubble....  and pondering about how my daily coffee (or sometimes two) was a) to help me get  through the sometimes very long  days, but b) it made me feel like me, complete, satisfied, feeding a part of my needs whilst every other inch of energy was going into this gorgeous baby.   If I did nothing else in the day than have a shower and have a coffee, my day was perfect, done and dusted ! This continued all through those first few months and years, and that feeling has stuck with me now..  My Day is not complete without that one coffee... (now I'm probably just a little more fussy with the coffee I drink!) So it is rather ironic that on his birthday this year  I did not manage to drink a cup!! I'm sure Ill make up for it in the many more birthdays  to come... 

Oh and I found out with a bit of hard work that I do have pretty good Birthday Cake baking (and putting together) skills. With some invaluable help from my parents I managed to put together a Pirate Ship cake for Darby's Pirate themed party!! (Very typical on the day though that Darby said to me "mum I don't want to be a Pirate any more!" Arrrghhh you can never win!! 

A standout from the crowd: Bluebird

After a long week at work I was ready for a relaxing weekend of coffee tasting and putting my feet up.. generally  just a stress free couple of days! How wrong I was!! My weekend of lattes and lie ins was quickly ruined when I had a delivery on Friday at 4.45pm Friday of 900 lunch boxes to deliver to staff by Monday ! A lunch box for everyone seemed like such a fantastic idea a few weeks ago,... but when faced with the mammoth task I quickly began to  regret my decision. I  was  about to sink in a sea of cardboard!  

So before I could even think about carving open 450 boxes, a good coffee was on the cards, no make that great.. it was going to be absolutely necessary..

As usual my decision making skills were not at their peak and I could think of a plethora of places to go but couldn't put my finger on it... 

So  I let geography make the call for me.. I had an appointment with the Apple store in Doncaster - yes I am turning into a converted Mac user and I'm sure the Apple store is  my new "hot spot for singles".. I'm still sure the man of my dreams is lurking there somewhere!  I thought I would stop at any place on my way  that took my fancy.   I wasn't far on my journey, when I was driving down Johnstone St ,Collingwood,  when a cafe caught my eye and I immediately pulled over.. The cafe endearingly  called "Bluebird Espresso" grabbed my attention with their gorgeous fresh  and  colourful tulips at every table! Enough to brighten my mood instantly!  The staff were very friendly and took my soy latte order right away! It arrived on my table, the milk still settling in that  cascading manner I could watch all day. The crema was a perfect inch and the colour was just asking to be drunk!  I still longed for my Soy Cappuccino's!!- I think I would get funny looks asking for a latte in a cup with a touch of chocolate...mmm Ill contemplate!

 I took my first sip.. and almost shocked .. the coffee nearly took my breath away which rarely happens....the coffee was silky smooth with a sweet caramel, burnt toffee finish, with slight smokiness which just enhanced it further! I have been drinking alot of good coffees of late, but this was a "wow factor " coffee!! One that certainly stands out from the crowd.  I love it when this happens.. it keeps me inspired to keep tasting and discovering new places, it does keep me on my toes.  I wanted to order another but resisted, my body couldn't handle the extra caffeine hit! 

Upon leaving I mentioned to the barista how much I enjoyed the coffee, this is not something I do.... so I knew it was a coffee that had a significant impact on me! They were very appreciative of the feedback, and of the compliment..They informed me they used local coffee brand Syndicate (which I have only tasted before at the Bendigo Corner Store).... 

Ill be back and I hope and pray the coffee is as good on my return... 

Until next time, go and seek out a "wow" coffee or just head to Bluebird!!