Patissez introduces: The Freakshow Milkshake

Patissez introduces: The Freakshow Milkshake! Patissez at Shop 2/21 "The Lawns" Bougainville St. Manuka, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2603.
Photos taken on my Nikon D60 Sigma 30mm lens.

In the heart of sleepy Canberra, with majestic trees, wide open roads, peaceful parks and slow cars, there lies a small cafe that happens to serve these epic FREAKSHOW milkshakes.
Word spreads fast in Australia, and Canberra's Patissez found themselves featured on national TV that led to a huge amount of visitors flocking to their door.

The hype is all about their signature Freakshow Milkshakes. These passionate owners home-bake all the food components the night before and they have a couple of hours sleep per night. Their efforts are worthwhile - milk, popcorn, Nutella, pretzels, fudge, marshmallows, brownies and whip cream are in these mason jars to create four amazing flavours.
The popularity has really soared in the 7 short weeks Patissez has been opened. These days the owners have to take table bookings in person (as they haven't even had time to set up a phone line yet!) and the wait can be from two to four hours. Even take-away orders can be up to a two hour wait. Usually by 1.30pm they run out of ingredients or have such a huge back log of queuing customers they have to regrettably turn customers away.

Being the foodie I am I had to see this place for myself! Living in Sydney, it was a three hour drive to Canberra. With all our knowledge, I planned to leave the area by 6am and get there by 9am and organised activities for the wait. We arrived at 9.30am Saturday morning - booked a table for eight and were told it would be a minimum two hour wait, just as I had thought.
So me and my friends had our 'first' breakfast and went down to the park to play frisbee and kick the ball around while our stomachs grumbled again slowly.

We went back to the cafe four hours later and found out we were next on the list! By 1.30pm we finally were seated. Sitting down never felt so satisfying. The people at Patissez served us and were so nice and apologetic, especially when they broke the news to us they had run out of the 'Muddy Pat' milkshake (no more ingredients!).
We were not fazed though - we kept on ordering. We ordered the three other milkshakes - The Nutty Pat (warm salted caramel shake with popcorn), French Vanilla (cold real vanilla bean shake with caramelised puff pastry) and the Nutella & Salty Pretzel (cold Nutella shake with salty pretzels).  For Lunch we had The Big Pat and the Cheeky with extra mushrooms.

Well, the photos says its all - I really don't need to describe how good the milkshakes were, as they taste as good as they look! Each Freakshow is $9.50 and I think that is a fair price for the size and the freshness and creativity put into each shake. The presentation was enough to drool over. My friends and I scoffed down our lunches then took our time savoring each sip from our milkshakes. My Nutella and Salty Pretzel shake was rich and delicious. I enjoyed dipping my pretzels into my whipped cream. Hmm.

A few minutes later me and my friends went through a joint 'food coma' and 'sugar crash' experience and we sat in silence gazing into the distance appreciating our satisfying meal. Good food and good company is always a good combination. With our stomachs full and holding on to our takeaway cakes, we drove the three hours back to Sydney to share our stories about our epic Freakshow adventures in sleepy Canberra.

An Event: Taubmans Look Book Launch 2012

An Event: Taubmans Look Book Launch 2012 (Photos by me and courtesy of DEC Public Relations)

I was fortunate enough to attend the launch of the new Taubmans Look Book for 2012 a few weeks ago. Although Taubmans is associated with interior paint and decorating, they decided to use fashion to reflect their new paint ranges. Their new look books are Eclectic Mix, Modern Living, Classic Interiors, Beach Lifestyle and Retro Revival. Shaynna Blaze, Taubmans Colour Ambassador, and Lydia-Jane Saunders, leading Australian stylist were kind enough to lend us some stylish tips for my Lucy and The Runaways readers:

1.) Those with an eclectic fashion sense know it's about breaking the rules – finding your own style and expressing it. When bringing this eclectic style into the home, it's important to include a blend of what makes YOU happy. Our best tip is to use strong raw colours and materials complimented by textures and embellisments, creating the balance of confidence and intimacy that this style is all about.  

2.) Those with an appreciation for modern fashion styles understand the beauty of strong, uncomplicated and statement looks without looking like you really tried. To achieve this in the home, mixing bold colours and balancing and subduing them with greys and mettalics – is a great way to translate this clean and powerful style.

3.) Classic fashion is about avoiding fads and playing with personalised timeless elements. We love the romance of this style, and think the best way to translate its classic feel is by using bold rasperrys, soft pinks and crisp whites. If your classic style is a little slicker, inspired by the sophistication of Old Hollywood perhaps, translate the jazz era with a solid base of grey, whites and blacks, and a twist of teal. Perhaps say something about how classic will never date? 

4.) So many styles come to mind when thinking of Beach. If your (you're) are more romanced by the energy of the ocean, deep grey and dark green hues capture well the moodiness and reflective element of this style. If you like the simplicity and fun of the beach style, lean towards using primary colours, which have a strong sense of pure innocence about them, keeping a little bit of the spontaneous child in you. 

5.) Lovers of the Retro fashion style love capturing looks of the past and reproducing these in a modern context. Revamped chartruse and sexy blues bring back the coolness of the sixties. Whereas translating Vintage style into the interiors of your home calls for comforting neutrals, warm oranges and calming greens that bring with it a sense of nostalgia of times gone by and holding on to times when life was simpler. 

Crediting Shaynna Blaze and Lydia-Jane Saunders for these great styling tips. You can get some of the amazing shoes and clothing from these designers: Nine West, Josh Goot, Tony Bianco, Lovisa, Grandma Takes a Trip and many more.