The Carousel

Some candles make your home smell like a flower market. Others smell good enough to eat. Then there are the ones that can transport you somewhere completely different without you having to leave the sofa. The right candle can change the mood of a room in minutes, whether you want something fresh and floral, warm and indulgent or soothing enough to signal that the day is officially over. Here are five candles for five very different moods.

Everyone knows New York’s Times Square. Fewer people know that one avenue west, the neon gives way to something with a lot more personality. Hell’s Kitchen runs roughly from 34th to 59th Street, from Eighth Avenue to the Hudson River, and it packs in an aircraft carrier, a restaurant for every mood and enough theatre to keep you busy until last drinks. It’s also where one of Manhattan’s best-known hotels is about to get a very big makeover. Here’s how to do it properly.

Four First Nations artists have been recognised for their work at one of South West Sydney’s longest-running celebrations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art and culture. The winners of the 34th Annual Mil-Pra Aboriginal Education Consultative Group Exhibition & Art Prize were announced at Liverpool Powerhouse, with four very different works taking out this year’s major awards.

Some perfumes belong to the morning. Others to the hour after dinner, when the last plates have left the table, but nobody has moved, the windows are open and the night has gone soft at the edges. Inspired by the Italian resort city of Rimini, and the rare beauty of the Black Moon after dark, Tiziana Terenzi’s Adhara falls firmly into the latter. On Italy’s Adriatic coast, Rimini is home to a long history of seaside glamour.

If you cannot decide between the convenience of Britain, the cuisine of Italy and the colourful culture of Tunisia, there is an island in the middle of the Mediterranean that quietly offers all three. Malta sits about 90 kilometres south of Sicily, closer to North Africa than to the European mainland, and it has spent several thousand years collecting the infleunces of the people who passed through. The English is fluent, the espresso is Roman, and the language is a Semitic one with Arabic bones.

Yeehaw, this one’s got all the fixings! Australia has well and truly gone country, with Southern-inspired food, BBQ flavours and backyard cookout culture having a serious moment. And what better way to get in on the action than with a dinner that brings those big, smoky flavours straight to the table? These golden, gooey mozzarella cauliflower bites ride shotgun with a vibrant Southwest bean salad that’s got more kick than a stubborn mule.

Every good Foodie’s Guide to Waikiki, Hawaii has, by long and cliched tradition, the same three names on it. Duke’s, for the mai tai with a side of surf-and-turf. The Cheesecake Factory, because nothing says “Aloha America” quite like a 1200-calorie slice of Oreo cheesecake followed by a trip to Target. And, a BBQ Bacon situation from Cheeseburger in Paradise, doing its level best to make you feel like you never left the food court back home.

Your head knows a walk would probably help. Your heart also knows the couch, a family-size block of chocolate, glass of Sav Blanc and the endless scroll are right there. (And they’re a lot easier to say yes to). And your hips? They’re just confused. If that sounds familiar, you’re far from alone. New research commissioned by Viva Leisure, the company behind Club Lime gyms, found that 77% of Australians say exercise makes them happier and less stressed.

Dinner and a show? Cute. Dinner where a dancer wearing a lampshade suddenly materialises among the audience, someone gets involved in a very questionable cream-related incident and a shoe becomes a drinking vessel? Now we’re talking. That is essentially Society at Viva – where the usual rules of dinner theatre are apparently checked at the door. With red velvet, low lighting, cocktails and tables arranged around the stage, the scene is set.

Eggs get most of the glory when it comes to hitting your protein goals before 8am, but whoever decided that omelettes were the only options for #gains, didn’t try this recipe. Creamy, tangy and crunchy, these breakfast cheesecake cups are basically cheesecake’s more responsible morning cousin. Brookfarm High Protein Granola gives the base a deliciously nutty crunch, while Greek yoghurt and cottage cheese make the filling creamy and protein-rich without needing protein powder.