Ask Mr Lace

Watched Gran Torino last night, starring Clint Eastwood. I had no idea what it was about beforehand (I vaguely knew it had something to do with an old car), but it turned out to be one of the best movies I have seen in a long time. A mixture of comedy, action and tragedy – you can read about the plot at IMDB.

An outstanding performance from a very grumpy Clint Eastwood and the rest of the cast, with plenty of twists.

4/5 Mr Lace stars

If you are looking for something for Mum, make sure you visit our Shopping Guide. We have created a category especially for Mother’s Day gifts, and have started early so you can be organised! Click here to visit our Mother’s Day Shopping Guide.

We also have compiled our top 5 casual games for March, with free trial downloads of course (100% safe). You can take a look here: Casual Game Picks.

There is an easy recipe idea, Nacho Turkey Bake which is a good one for the blokes!

The perfect dish for watching the footy now that it is back on!

Enjoy!

The opportunity to open for arguably the world’s biggest band right now was intensely sought after, and Sydney outfit Decoder Ring couldn’t be more thrilled to have been hand selected by Coldplay for the job. They will take the stage in front of over 150,000 eager fans when they perform in eleven arena shows across Australia, on Coldplay’s ‘Viva La Vida’ tour later this month.

Their first performance takes place in less than thirty days in Perth on Friday 27th February, the first of two shows at the Burswood Dome. They will then go on to astound audiences in Melbourne over three nights, Brisbane over two, and finish up in Sydney with four massive shows at Acer Arena.

Decoder Ring play music that has been described as cinematic, emotive and sublime, and with a almost indescribable sound compared to the likes of My Bloody Valentine, Mogwai, Pink Floyd and Sigur Ros. They are a multi award winning six piece possibly best known for creating soundtracks to complement independent and short films. The 2004 release of their record “Somersault,” a spectacular soundtrack for the Australian film of the same name, won 5 awards out of the 7 nominations it received, including a coveted AFI award and the award for best music at The Jackson Hole Film festival USA.

More recently, Decoder Ring have finished recording their fourth album, in the United States with producer Scott Colburn (The Animal Collective, Arcade Fire) all the while continuing to collaborate with drama, documentary, and live productions.

Decoder Ring combine rich organic sounds and psychedelic electronic arrangements in an audiovisual journey that is as expansive as it is moving, and will no doubt set the stage for Coldplay’s own audiovisual concert spectacular.

Australians, the countdown has begun. Coldplay will be on our shores in less than four weeks, with strictly limited tickets available across the eleven arena shows. Don’t miss your chance to witness the astounding performances from support act Decoder Ring and the main event, Coldplay, on their biggest ever tour of Australia.

Tickets available now through www.ticketek.com.au or 132 849

Times are tough financially for people around the world, and even in Australia the shops seem to be much emptier than usual. Maybe it’s just me, but customer service is the best it has ever been and haggling to lower the price is much easier than ever before. I suppose it is a case of a small profit is better than none.

I find it really confronting to enter a large retail outlet that is virtually empty and even feel guilty if I don’t make a purchase out of sympathy rather than want.

If you do have money to make a purchase, now is a great time to shop even with the weak Aussie dollar and I would love to hear your feedback on the subject. For big purchases the price is never “the real price”.

Anyone out there scored a bargain lately or had to make sacrifices in your day to day living?

Just in time for Christmas, The Dark Knight has been released in Australia to DVD. A great gift for any guy, and an absolute blockbuster which smashed the box office when it was in cinemas earlier this year.

Heath Ledger was truly amazing in his role as the evil mastermind – the Joker (why so serious?) and even though he has passed, he will be remembered for this role forever.

Christian Bale plays the slightly damaged Batman, and Katie Holmes was replaced by Maggie Gyllenhaal, but the transition was seemless and Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine are also back for more.

Available in stores now

I recently purchased the NEWEST model of the Kayanos for a big summer of running. A couple of runs in and I’m loving them, previously my old Asics Gel 1120 didn’t seem to have the support I needed for my over pronating feet. I’ve owned a 12 model of the Kayanos before and swore by them, however when going to purchase new shoes I didn’t have the funds at the time for a new pair.

The Ascis Gel Kayanos have a great track record and were voted Internationals Editors choice 2008 for their 14 model.

The variances in models have some consumers preferring previous versions but we’ll have to wait a little while before people try out Asics Kayano 15’s.

The notable difference between the models 14 and 15 is they’ve re-tooled the heel structure and modified upper geometry to improve a better comfort and fit, the heel and forefoot contain GEL cushioning, and the upper has been re-worked to ensure that the heel remains secure and the instep is stabilised through the new asymmetrical lacing system.

RRP 259.95 AUD

However I purchased mine from Olympus Sports and it arrived the following day via express post. “Note free postage in Australia” www.olympussports.com.au for $234.00 AUD

I definitely recommend this store and product

Mr Lace

While on the lookout for Men’s skincare, I have discovered a cool gift pack that would make the perfect gift for the man in your life this Christmas.

The brand is Facestuff, and the products are FOR MEN. Extremely masculine and packaged in black, blue and white, the starter pack comes with:

The Cleaner (otherwise known as cleanser), The Renovator (otherwise known as exfoliator) and The Undercover Agent (otherwise known as moisturiser) – with product names like those it is hard to get embarrassed using them.

He will be happy with the simple routine and you will be glad to know the products have loads of essential oils and are not tested on animals.

The moisturiser comes with inbuilt sunscreen, which means one less thing for you to nag him about this summer.

This month Beauty and Lace are giving away two of these packs and for a chance to win, visit our competitions page.

To find out more about Facestuff, please visit: www.facestuff.com.au

A few days ago I was getting the recycling sorted to take to the depot (our local council is a bit behind the times and don’t collect it from us – slap!) and when I got to the glass items I had an interesting surprise.

Inside a chocolate topping bottle I saw a weird brown shape…I thought it was a stick but on closer inspection I realised it was a dead mouse! It must have gotten excited by a few drops of sticky chocolate and climbed its way in.

I thought the bottle could still be saved so I did try to get the mouse out by shaking it upside down…but it was well and truly stuck. The tail was hanging out the top and all I can say is I am lucky my wife didn’t see it…the neighbours may have called the police due to all the screaming that would have occurred.

The bottle is now in the regular bin, so RIP little mouse!

I love a good, hearty stew and have recently discovered this delicious Beef and Vegetable Casserole recipe from BBC Foods:

Beef and Vegetable Casserole Recipe

To make it go further, I like to cook double the quantity and add extra vegetables – zucchini, broccoli and anything else that takes my fancy, you can’t really go wrong.

Pop the leftover serves in the freezer for quick and easy meals during the week.

Serve with mashed potatoes or rice and you have one yummy meal!