Thursday, March 31, 2011
The Graduate
Monday, March 28, 2011
Our kitchens rule
A group of friends and myself are having a little competition based on the show 'My Kitchen Rules'. Basically we take it in turns every Sunday night to cook an entree, main and a dessert for everyone in the group. We then score the meal and the winner at the end of the six weeks gets a dinner paid for them at a nice restaurant. So far we have had two very successful nights of cooking. It is a great way to start the new week knowing you have a delicious meal to look forward to on Sunday. Here is some of the delicious meals we have so far sampled.
Fig and tomato bruschetta
Salt and pepper squid
Prawn and tomato linguine
Flambe Bombe Alaska
So far every meal we have had has been delicious which means I am super nervous for my turn this Sunday. So far I have planned a country style theme, tomato and fennel soup for entree and a goats cheese tart for main but I am stuck on a dessert. Something chocolatey, a cheesecake? Custard? Some type of slice? What do you think?
Sunday, March 27, 2011
What is in my make up bag?
I have the most basic make up bag in the entire world. The photo above pretty much displays its entire contents. It makes travelling easier but I sometimes wish that I was more into makeup and had more products to experiment with and could do more then one look.
So whats in my bag...
1. Clinque 'Superbalanced' liquid foundation (Colour:27 Alabaster)
2. Clinique 'Almost powder' (Colour: 3 light)
3. Clinique Eyeshadow and Blush - is it obvious by now that I am a Clinique girl.
4. Blush brush
5. Nutrimentics Micro- Dermabrasion - this isn't make up but I just started using this product and it is amazing, my skin is so silky smooth I recommend you get in it.
6. Black eyeliner - so old the brand has worn off
7. L'Oreal moisturier - did you know your meant to wait 20 minutes between moisturising and putting on your make up, I only learnt this on Thursday not sure if I am behind the ball game or its an old wives tale.
8. Dior 'Rogue Dollce Vita' #14
9. Sportsgirl lipgloss 'Peachy Keen'
10. L'Oreal Lash Architect
11. OPI Sparkle-icious
12. Black XS perfume
I have other lipglosses/sticks, nail polishes and perfume but just wanted to show my favourites of the moment. Is there any products you recommend I try? I feel like I need to expand my horizons. I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend. I am spending my Sunday afternoon buying a new bed, doing the groceries, going to the gym and watching True Blood - very addicted to this show.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
~Wednesday Friendsday - Erin from Pughs' News~
Today I want to introduce you to my dear friend Erin. I am not even sure now how Erin and I stumbled upon each others blog but I am so glad we did. Erin always leaves blog comments that brighten up my day and sends the most gorgeous cards in the mail. I love reading about her life on her blog and hope one day that I will be able to visit her and share a pot of tea. Thanks so much for joining in Erin!
Location: The beautiful west coast of Canada, in Victoria, BC {a short ferry ride from Vancouver}
Blog name: Pughs' News
Tell us a little about your blog... My blog makes me happy! It's a place where I chronicle the adventures of my little family {me, my British hubby and our two adorable boys}, write reviews of the books I'm reading, talk about my hopes and dreams and goals {writing them down helps to keep me accountable}, share photos; stories of beautiful things I've discovered online, and do my best to appreciate the beauty in life, even on the days when it's a bit of a challenge..
Can you remember the first friend you made through blogging? I made a few blogging friends around the same time, Cassie of Hydrangeas' and White Daisies and Micaela of Dolce Vita. Cassie and I connected right away, over our shared love of the movie You've Got Mail! We started emailing each other regularly, getting to know each other better. Then she sent me a lovely "Pay It Forward" parcel, and we started sending real mail too. After that it was daily blog comments, Facebook chats and Skype sessions. Micaela and I "met" through her first ever Christmas ornament swap, and we began to write long, newsy letters to one another. I adore both these girls {along with a few other friends I've made along the way}.
Have you met any blog friends face to face? Yes! My dear friend Cassie and I met up in England last summer, and though it wasn't exactly as we'd planned it {just a few hours instead of a few days together}, it was fantastic! We had a delicious lunch and chatted just as though we were the oldest and dearest of friends. My husband, boys and I travelled by train from London to Ipswich and I'll never forget seeing Cassie and her husband James waiting for us on the platform. "There they are!" I said to Alan, and it wasn't at all like we were meeting for the first time, but being reunited. I know that Cassie and I will be friends forever, and next time we're in England, I plan to spend a lot more time with her.
| The "oldest and dearest of friends," August 2010 |
Is there anyone you can't wait to meet or have plans to meet? I'm really excited to be meeting Brandi of Not Your Average Ordinary this summer! She's doing a road trip from California up to British Columbia and I can't wait for her to come stay with me here in Victoria! We've got plans to make brunch, go out to all my favourite cafes and have a great, girly time. Cass of The Plum and Posy will be in Victoria this August and we hope to meet up for a cold drink at Starbucks, and if Faiza does a cross-Canada road-trip, I hope she'll stop by, too! I feel certain I'll meet Micaela one day as well. Not sure when or how, but when we do, we're going to while away the afternoon drinking Starbucks' lattes together, aren't we, M? And then we might put in the LOST dvds and crack open a Dharma beer ;~)
One more blog friend whom I completely adore is Kim, from the fabulous Fill Your Well. That girl is awesome, with a capital A! She and I have exchanged many an email, and a few letters too, and I would love to meet her and hang out one day. I am positive we'd have a fabulous time. Good thing BC and California aren't too far apart. Maybe she'd like to hitch a ride up with Brandi this summer? Either that or I convince my hubby that it's time we took the boys to Disneyland...
| Mmm, Starbucks... |
What do you imagine you would chat about? Books, movies, blogging, mutual blog friends, boys...
What would be for dinner? Tough call. There are some really great restaurants I'd like to take them to, but it's always fun to stay in and make dinner too.
What would your parting gift to them be? It would really depend on the friend, because I like to personalize that sort of thing. But I think there might be a book from Munro's {my favourite little bookstore}, tea from Murchies, a chocolate or two from Rogers' Chocolates, a few Victoria postcards or some notecards from The Papery, and probably a piece of artwork made by these two...
Cheers!
Erin xo
Now your in New York
I have never been good at keeping secrets. I am the last person you want to have as your Secret Santa, you will know that I have you and what your getting well before christmas day. I had promised myself that I wouldn't share this news until I had an airfare firmly planted in my hand but excitement has got the better of me and I just want to scream from the rooftops that I am going to NEW YORK at the start of October. Remember how I was meant to go to New Zealand in June - well unfortunately that fell through and so instead of being bummed I decided to be spontaneous and messaged one of my good friends to ask if she wanted to come to America with me for two weeks. Within five minutes I got an excited "YES" reply and now were in the fun planning stage and hopefully booking within the next couple of weeks.
New York is a definite destination for one week of the trip but we are completely open to one or two cities for the second week, so please feel free to throw suggestions at me. I just can't stop dreaming about Central Park in Autumn, Forever 21, Times Square, Anthropologie, yellow taxis, Urban Outfitters, Sex and the City, The Empire State Building Broadway etc. If you have any New York suggestions things to do, see, eat or shop please leave me a comment I want to know as much as possible. I am just about to download Gala Darlings guide to New York, I am sure it will result in excitement overload.
Now the hard part begins - saving!
Monday, March 21, 2011
Ladies Day
On Saturday I went to Ladies day at Rosehill with my sister and good friend Chloe. It was such a fun day even though it rained a little bit. Wine was drunk and bets were placed. We ended up breaking about even but that didnt mean we restrained from celebrating when one of our horses did win. I love going to the races I think its up there with one of my favourite yearly events. We even got little showbags full of Hollywood Extra products, there were a few chicken fillets flying by the end of the day :-P
Leah and I
Me and Chloe
One of our winning tickets
Excited after winning
My sister is kinda stunning...
Rosehill race course and some of the horsies
I hope everyone had a relaxing and fun weekend!
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
~Wednesday Friendsday~ Claire from Casual Ambiguity
I loved Claire from the first moment I stumbled upon her blog. I was constantly inspired by the outfits she puts together and appreciated all the encouragement she gave me when I was completing my honours project. Her tumblr is now one of my favourite places to hang out - bath bench? Yes please. Without further ado, I introduce you to the lovely Claire...
Name: Claire
Location: Adelaide, Australia
Blog name and link: Casual Ambiguity http://casualambiguity.tumblr.com
Tell us a little about your blog…. Until very recently I was blogging outfits over at blogspot, but I decided to switch it up this year, and expand my blogging horizons. Now I guess I'd say my blog is more of a lifecast, and a forum for me to share my stories and interests with people... It is just getting started, but I am super excited about it!
1. Can you remember the first friend that you made through blogging? Well the first blogger I communicated with really was a lady I bought some clothes off of on Etsy, whose blog I also loved to read. One day I tweeted about wanting to start a blog and she replied back saying I should... so I did!
2. Have you met any blog friends face to face? Yes! I went to the USA last year, and managed to meet two blog friends. Christina from Second Skin Style, who is the lady I was talking about above, and Amanda from the Upside of Wonder. Some other last minute attempts fell through, but the thought was there :) I also have met several local bloggers at a meet-up we had once. For such a small city, Adelaide has HEAPS of style bloggers!
3. What makes having blog friends important to you? I think people are super open to making friends on the internet, and it is always nice to know there are people out there to listen to you, joke with you, and share random facts with that IRL you wouldn't bother with! Plus I have a theory that people with blogs are heaps nicer than average!
4. Is there anyone that you cannot wait to meet or have plans to meet? Hmm I haven't thought about that for awhile... My girl-crushes change constantly, so ask me on any given day and I will be desperate to meet different people!
1. If a blog friend came to meet you in your home town what would you plan to do and see with them? I would definitely recommend blog friends visit Adelaide in Februrary/March, because the Fringe Festival is in town! I'd love to hang out in the Garden of Unearthly Delights with them, it's one of the most chilled out places I like to frequent this time of year. I'd also like to take them to the Gilles Street Markets for some old fashioned bonding over hunting for wardrobe bargains!
2.What do you imagine you would chat about? I think it really depends on the person. I'd be up for some 'blog chat' but after a couple of glasses of wine some girly chat would be fun too :)
3. What would be for dinner? We'd be eating out for sure, because I am not much of a cook...
4. What would your parting gift to them be? It'd have to be a secret! Although, when I visited my blog friends in the USA I gave them each an Aussie slang book, it was a great conversation starter, heehee.
Garden of unearthly delights -Source
Gilles Street Market - Source
Monday, March 14, 2011
A perfect weekend
It was a long weekend in Canberra and I have had the most wonderful three days! I came home from work on Friday night and Brendan had made gourmet pizza's and it was nice to chill out and watch tele and eat yummy food.
On Saturday the weather was absolutely beautiful and I decided to go for a walk to enjoy the sun before Autumn sets in. I went out for lunch with one of my really good friends. Were always really busy so can only catch up every so often but when we do it is always alot of fun. She is one of those people you can not see for weeks but when you do its as if you just saw her yesterday.
I used this tutorial to do my hair on Saturday and got so many compliments, its one I will be trying to do more often. Saturday night I went out for drinks with work friends and just had such a fun night. I am so grateful to work with such inspiring people, and to be making such nice new friends.
Sunday was a beautiful day again and Brendan and I with one of our friends decided to head to the beach which is approxamately two and a half hours from where we live. We went to Tuross which I had never been to before and it was absolutely beautiful. We spent the day fishing, swimming and laying on the beach reading. We also ate really delicious fish and chips and ice cream (New York chunky style chocolate, I die!) I do not want to see my food coach tomorrow, I will be in trouble.
Today has just been a really restful stay at home kind of day. Brendan and I cleaned the house this morning and I spent most of the afternoon writing letters and drinking tea. The perfect end to a long weekend!
A very cool thing happened...
The ability for the blogging community to completely make my day never ceases to amaze me. On Friday I found out the gorgeous Gracie, named two of her new headbands after me. Not only is this a super sweet thing to do but completely made my day. I mean really how often do you get to say someone named one of their creations after you? I already own lots of Gracie's creations and I just have to say I love her headbands, they actually manage to stay on my big head and not slip off during the course of her day. So go on check out her shop, Gracie Bella Butterfly.
Photos courtesy of Gracie..
Friday, March 11, 2011
Autumn Inspiration
I despise Winter, nothing makes me more glum then the cold. I try to not take this hatred out on Autumn but considering it usually signals the start of the weather cooling down it can often not be helped. In a quest to stop these loathing feelings I am going to try and fill my wardrobe with lots of warm Autumn/Wintery colours. I have started a little collection of inspiration below.
Blue Tailored Blazer - Zara
Wrapped in wonder heels - Modcloth
ASOS Blue Coat
Rope short jacket - Zara (please hurry up and open in Aus Zara!)
I am meant to be on my clothes shopping ban for another 3 weeks but I feel that my strength is waivering and this weekend may end with a few new purchases, oh well I lasted two and a half months.
ASOS Blue Coat
I am meant to be on my clothes shopping ban for another 3 weeks but I feel that my strength is waivering and this weekend may end with a few new purchases, oh well I lasted two and a half months.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Books I have been reading...a vlog!!
I am super nervous about posting this but I have wanted to vlog for ages and it was so much fun, so I am willing to share. It took all my strenth not to open with "Gday mate" for any international readers but I managed to resist the urge. Anyway I hope you enjoy. I have included a list of the books I refer to in case it wasn't clear at times. Yes, I am wearing my gym clothes,not sure if your meant to dress up for these things :-p Oh and just a warning there is a weird noise like 30 seconds in not sure how that happened... please ignore.
- Matched: Ally Condie
- Along came a spider: James Patterson
- The Gargoyle - Andrew Davidson
- The luminous life of Lily Aphrodite: Beatrice Colin
- Unsticky - Sarra Manning
- Clockwork Angel - Cassandra Clare.
Wednesday Friendsday: Tillie from She waits for whispers
I am so excited to introduce Tillie to 'Wednesday Friendsday", this series is all about celebrating the friendships people have made through blogging. Tillie writes one of my favourite blogs "She waits for whispers" and I think you should all check it out! Tillie is just across the ditch from me in New Zealand and hopefully if plans go accordingly I could bump into her when I visit NZ in July - fingers crossed! With out further ado here is Tillie and a little about her home New Zealand.
Name: On my birth Certificate its Natalie Alice Stevens, but my friends call me Tillie... So you can call me that too hehe.
Location: A little room, in a little house, in a little city, in the beautiful little country New Zealand.
Blog name and link: My blog is She Waits For Whispers... come wait with me at http://shewaitsforwhispers.blogspot.com/
Tell us a little about your blog…. My blog is a place for me to escape, to share, to learn, to collect and to display. Its a little snippet of my life that I get to give to the world. I do hope that you will come and join me.
1. Have you met any blog friends face to face? Living in New Zealand, Im a little far away from so many of the lovely writers that I read (ya'll all live so far away!!) so I havent had the opportunity to really do this at all yet. So! I think everyone should just get on a plane and come and visit me! All at once! Oh wouldnt that be fun! A couple of the girls who I follow are friends of mine from around the city, but that doesnt really count because I got to know them long before they blogged.
2. What makes having blog friends important to you? Well! Really, should the question be what makes having friends important! Its the same deal with the beauties that I have 'met' through blogging, as it is with the people that are physically in my life. These beautiful ladies that share their lives through their blogs have become real life friends, even if we havent been able to go and get that chai latte like you could with your 'regular' friends. My 'blog friends' are there with me through everything, and they become just as important to me as the people that I get to see on a daily basis.
3. Is there anyone that you cannot wait to meet or have plans to meet? Oh boy! Yes yes yes! There are so many amazing ladies that I would just adore the chance to hang out with. I dont even really know where to start. Summer {http://www.bisforbrownie.com/} is one of the most inspirational women I have ever had the pleasure of calling a friend. Micaela {http://dolcevitamicaela.blogspot.com/} is the by far the sweetest girl in the blogging universe. Alana {http://highmaintenancehippy.blogspot.com/} is astoundingly creative and clever, and one of the most kind and caring girls I have gotten to know over the last year. And how could I forget, this beautiful lady, who is probably the closest one to me hehe....{http://www.timeaftertea.blogspot.com/}
4. If a blog friend came to meet you in your home town what would you plan to do and see with them? Auckland is such a beautiful city, with so many different things to see and do. I guess we would have to start with breakfast at my favourite little cafe, Circus Circus. Its so cute, and themed just like a big top, and they have the most amazing food. Then the day would be filled with sight seeing, including a trip up the iconic Sky Tower, for 360degree views of the city, and of course some shopping down High St. For lunch we would have a picnic up on the Mt Eden crater, with some of my friends, and I think to end the afternoon we would all head to one of the beautiful beaches just out of the city, for some hang times with the guitars and cameras! For dinner, We would most definitely be heading to my favourite spot in the city, Tanukis cave, where we would order the best food and drink a little sake. The night would just be starting, when we would go to the organic gelato place, Giapo, that only uses produce from around our beautiful country, have a stroll through the city and end up and my favourite bar, where one of my boys or maybe even me, would be DJing the best rock music and from there... we would dance the night away!
5. What do you imagine you would chat about? hopefully a bit of everything! I dont really know what we would talk about exactly, but I imagine that once the conversation started it would be hard to stop it. Most of the ladies that I have become friends with have similar loves to me, so I imagine the conversation would be full of all the best things, music, friends, stories about our lives. Maybe even a few secrets along the way.
6. What would your parting gift to them be? Lately ive been making friendship bracelets again! you know the ones, like when you were a kid and you spent hours knotting different coloured yarns to make pretty patterns. So I would most certainly make them one of them! Who knows what else, maybe a little kiwi soft toy for good measure ;) hehe.
Monday, March 7, 2011
A kinda outfit post
I wore my 'table cloth' dress to work today, it is one of my absolute favourites - the skirt is an old table cloth! I also love that I have never ran into anyone else wearing it. It is made by Australian designer Laura Maidment and you can visit her online store here. I have another one of her dresses that is currently MIA but when I find it I will have to show it off too.
The whole set up with this outfit shot is kinda crazy, it started when I got home and I had my dress, stockings, shoes and belt on and I had a play around with the camera by myself until Brendan got home. However an hour later Brendan wasn't home to take the photos and I was too hot so pulled off the stockings and shoes then low and behold guess who walks through the door? So I was too lazy to put everything back on and dont have a "real" shot to show you. So much respect for fashion bloggers.
I hope everyone has a wonderful Monday and please feel free to share how you achieve a work/life balance as I am currently struggling.
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