Both close to the city centre and yet its own little world, the Balmain Peninsula is a truly unique side to Sydney. And its restaurants, cafes, shops and historic pubs make this waterfront suburb the perfect spot for a bit of romance. Brought to you by Balmain Rozelle Chamber of Commerce A travel photographer friend of ours, who had never been to Balmain before, once commented that it feels like someone’s plucked a well-to-do county town from regional NSW and dropped it in the middle of Sydney. And I can see his point. From its narrow streets and sandstone cottages to legendary pubs and cosy ..read more

As the summer comes to its end, we usually expect things to quieten down in Sydney. But if anything, things have become even busier in the city. Huge art exhibitions like the Biennale are in town, new bars, new restaurants and even a dance-off comp (have you ever heard of ‘waacking’?) have kept us very busy. And in between all of this, there’s been a trip down to the beautiful Southern Highlands—there’s nowhere better to see the autumn colours—and a judging panel for Australian whisky! We hope you enjoy this Edition. Cheers—Jim & Christina xx 2024 sees the 24th Biennale of Sydney. This b ..read more

We’ve always said we travel for food! Driving seven hours south, almost to the border of NSW and Victoria, we’re off to the beautiful Sapphire Coast. About the halfway mark between Sydney and Melbourne, this region is home to some of the best oysters in the world! But it’s not just the oysters we’re making the trip for; the region’s annual food festival, EAT is on. This four-day tribute to the Sapphire Coast’s providores and culminates in a food stall street party right on the water. We’re also checking out a local motel that’s been fixed up, plus an a glamping retreat some 45 minutes inland ..read more

Wine tastings, elegant restaurants, 3 nights in your own private retreat, hot air balloon rides and even a relaxing couples massage in your room for a romantic stay in the Hunter Valley! Here’s your chance to win this amazing experience for two. Working with our friends at Bimbadgen, we’ve put together an amazing experience that gives you so many of the best bits of the Hunter Valley and none of the stress of organising it. Christina and I have been visiting the Hunter and its amazing vineyards for years and we’re still discovering things about it. There always seems to be a new winery to fin ..read more

Sure, you can watch Elf, Bad Santa, Scrooged or even The Snowman over Christmas, but what if you’re after something different? Here are 7 Christmas movies that you probably haven’t thought about. There’s nothing quite like a good ol’ Christmas movie to help the turkey, prawns and pudding go down. Die Hard, Gremlins, Home Alone—they all take a turn on our TV over the festive season. But for something different, here are 7 Christmas movies that I bet you either didn’t realise were Christmas films or haven’t heard of at all. You can see which services you can stream these shows with Just Watch ..read more

Beauty and cosmetics products make such great Christmas gifts, but with so much to choose from it can feel overwhelming. Here’s our quick list of awesome cosmetics gifts and beauty products for Christmas. I am a self-confessed spa rat. Even before I met Christina, I loved a massage and all kinds of skin treatment. My sister used to be an aromatherapist and my mum brought me up using moisturisers, face masks, toners and oils. My dad has always hated any creams or lotions on his face by the way, and would sit and grumble while my mum and I sat next to him with clay covering our faces. Christina ..read more

Christmas is the perfect excuse to buy something for the home you’ve been thinking about—especially with sales times at their hottest around Christmas and New Year. Christina and I made it a custom a while ago to buy the house a Christmas gift as well as things for each other. It’s usually something we’ve both been meaning to get but have never got round to it. Or it’s something that’ll make our place look or smell nicer, or adds a bit of style or comfort to our favourite rooms. Or maybe something that’s just bloody cool. These gift ideas for the home are part of our annual Hint Magazine guid ..read more

It feels like it’s been ages since we’ve been out in the city and that there are just so many places and things to do that we haven’t heard of. So it was with an odd feeling of being a bit out of touch that we ventured into Sydney to check out a few things that have started up in the past few weeks. We’re talking a new bottle shop and bar, an old bar we feel like we should’ve been to a lot more often, a brand new whisky bar and even a bit of culture. So here are some of our new top tips for Sydney – click these links to take you to each section: Barrelhouse Cellars’ bottle shop and tasting ro ..read more

It’s that time of year again when we all find ourselves foraging around looking for the perfect present for the people we love. Hint Magazine makes things easy with some of the best gift ideas and inspo. This year’s Hint Mag has some of the best gift ideas we’ve published to date, and I’m not just saying that. So flick through these virtual pages and find the perfect gifts to give the ones you love this festive season. Hint Magazine 2023 Click below for your free copy of this year’s ultimate Christmas guide: Click here for your free copy of Hint Magazine 2023 You can also click here to open t ..read more

Is it me or does July always have a funny feel to it. It’s like the slow bit at the top of the hill before the rollercoaster plunges full speed into a big dip. That’s not to say the rest of the year’s a big dip–quite the contrary. More that this calm-before-the-storm always seems to happen. And to say everything’s been quiet isn’t quite true either. As you’re about to find out, we’ve been pretty busy with all kinds of dinners, parties, festivals and yes, as the title somewhat unsubtly hints at, gigantic sandwiches. We hope you enjoy this TWE edition. Cheers – Jim & Christina x That’s rig ..read more