Sunday, January 31, 2010

Day 163: Neenish Tarts


These things are my weakness. Damn them.

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Day 162: The Beauty Budget


So a few weeks ago, I was chatting to some of the lovely Twitter girls and decided that I needed to stick to a beauty budget this year as I have sooo much stuff that I really don't need or use. I decided that the amount for the year would be $520, working out to be an average of $10 per week. I'll update on progress throughout the year but have realised that I've already made a serious dent in the budget - eeek!

I'm undecided at this stage whether hair products come into the budget or not. I think I will decide at the end of the year when I have no money left and then remove them from the budget haha. I am definitely not including my shampoo/conditioner/treatment as that is $60 every time I buy them and would take up a big chunk of the budget.

So far with everything in the pic above I have spent $130. Crap!!! Did I really need 18 nailpolishes this month???

Friday, January 29, 2010

Day 161: It's been way too long


I caught up with Robyn and Juliana for dinner tonight and we all kept saying that it had been way too long since we had last seen each other. It's funny how time flies by so quickly and before you know it, months have passed.

We had drinks at the Stoned Crow followed dinner at this little Italian place in Crows Nest called Il Barone. The service was great with the waitstaff very friendly (they offered us free gelato to entice us in haha) and the food was gorgeous.

I had the quattro formaggi pizza (which was divine) but kept eyeing off Jules' turkish bread & dips haha.

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Day 160: Headband collection



Umm, I love headbands! Nothing else really needs to be said on the topic hehe

In total I have 63 (a couple missed out as they were at work/I forgot them as they weren't where they were meant to be)

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Day 159: I heart my iPhone


Everyone who knows me knows that my iPhone is almost always permanently attached to my hand. It really has become an extension of me haha. I've never been in love with a phone before, but this thing really is something else! I've had it for close to 18 months now and I still love it just as much (possibly more!) than the day I got it. Awww that's love right there!

This is the front page of my apps and is a mix of function and fun. I think this is my perfect combo of necessary apps, tho I guess tweetdeck can be moved to make way for something else. Most likely Shazam.

Also shoutout to my little bro who is celebrating his 19th birthday today! Love you!

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Day 158: Happy Australia Day!!



I love Australia Day! I know some people think this makes me a  bogan (probably true, I am from Queensland afterall! but I really don't care. I love the country I live in, and sure it has faults, but generally I really do believe that we are lucky to have what we do and should be appreciative of that.

I spent the day with my lovely friend Robyn barbecuing, drinking cocktails and listening to Triple J's Hottest 100.  I do this pretty much every year haha, love my Australia Day tradition!



PS - How freaking crappy was the No. 1 this year? I hate that Little Lion Man song with a passion. Grrrr.

yep, the local $2 store loved me!


the pavlova I made in yesterday's post

Monday, January 25, 2010

Day 157: Pavlova


In honour of Robyn's Aus Day bbq tomorrow, I decided to make pavlova for the first time ever. It's now out of the oven, has cooled and looks gooood! Will be interesting to see what it tastes like, but I'm loving the crunchy-ness of the outer layer already.

Used the left over egg yolks to make some lemon curd as I have been wanting to make a lemon meringue tart for ages but never made curd. With all the leftover yolks, it was the perfect time. IMO it tastes pretty decent, but isn't as thick as it would need to be for a tart. All good in the hood tho because this one might be drizzled over the pavlova which will be dressed in fresh whipped cream and fruit.

Will do an update tomorrow of what it looks like when it's dressed.

Hope you all have a fantastic Australia Day!

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Day 156: Dinner at Balmoral


After recovering from the BDO, shopping with the lovely Robyn and getting a mani/pedi, I headed to dinner with the D's, Claire & Jonno at Balmoral Beach. It wasn't the best day for it (bloody drizzle) but it was great to hang out with everyone. Seriously good bunch of people, and by the time I got home at 1am, I still wasn't sick of them - gotta be a sign of some great peeps!

When we were at the beach I was reminded again to find out what the hell this place is. Each time I go to Balmoral I think "I must google that" and never do, so I took a photo to remind myself to google.

BTW  - Every time I hear the name Jonno I am reminded of that ute commerical from a few years ago - cracks me up every time.

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Day 155: Big Day Out (round 2)

So I promised a follow up from my previous post so here it is.

BDO was freakin amazing!!!! I seriously had such a fabulous day and could not top smiling haha.

Started off the day in the front of the moshpit for Eskimo Joe. These kids put on a damn good show and I never get bored of them no matter how many times I see them. I tweeted about having my fingers crossed they would play Sweater and when they said "now we're going to play something from our very first record" I nearly wet myself! They played Wake Up, which was a bit disappointing cos I had convinced myself that this would finally be the year they played Sweater.


Joel had his shirt unbuttoned and there was a bit of nip action - delightful!

So it was freakin hot in the moshpit (temp was around 40degrees) but then out of nowhere came this crazy cool change and some rain!! Like WHOA!



Next up was Hilltop Hoods (represent represent!!) who put on an amazing set - very impressed. I've seen them once before so knew what to expect - their fans get a little nuts so we stayed on the outer edge and then got trapped when all the Dizzee fans made their way in. Holy shit,I've been in teh middle of many a moshpit (including a crazy Hilltop one) but this was freakin insane. At one point neither of my feet were on the ground and I was sure everyone was about to land in a big pile on top of each other. At this point I lost one of my shoes and we decided to get out of there.




Actually turned out for the best cos it meant we could go to the back of the stadium and dance up a storm (couldn't even move your arms in the middle of the pit), soaking wet and barefoot, to the awesome Dizzee beats. This part was probably the highlight of my day.

Oh, that... and seeing boys in meggings lol.

After Dizzee, we left the crowd because shitty Lily Allen was up. For someone who performs live a LOT, she was absolutely shithouse live. We went to find me a pair of thongs, grab something to eat and drink some fabulous vodka passionfruit slushies

Next on our agenda was Powderfinger. I love these guys but was a little disappointed about 3/4 of the way through their set cos they played a lot of their mellow songs, and I was really hoping for the more rocky upbeat anthems. turned out they saved those til the very end!! Yewww!


Bernard Fanning may just be the love of my life. Though he has some very strong competition from the lead singer of the band that were next on our list - Grinspoon! I've seriously been in love with these two guys (and their bands!) since I was 13. Sexy Phil was in fine form with his crazy dancing, and I was disappointed that we didn't get to see the whole set (overlapped with Powderfinger and then was freakin miles away) but we got there in time to hear Just Ace, More Than You Are and Champion. Heck yes!! 3 of my fave Grinspoon songs!!


We skipped Muse, took in the teachings of Peaches (lolol, she is hysterical!), watched some crazy rides, had more vodka pash slushies then headed back to the main stage for the fireworks before heading over to take in some of Fear Factory's set.

 

Seriously the BDO did definitely not disappoint this year! I really regret not going for the last few years now because I had such an awesome time. Looking forward to the next festival now! Yeewwwwww!

Day 155: BIG DAY OUT!!!


 Represent!!

So crazy excited to go to the BDO today! Haven't been for yeeears now and have never been to one at Olympic Park. Oh how I miss the days of BDO's on the Goldie!

Super psyched to see Powderfinger, Grinspoon, Hilltop Hoods, Muse and Dizzee.

Will report back tomorrow on how it was!

Friday, January 22, 2010

Day 154: SURPRISE!!!!


I've had an awesome start to 2010 but today was the definitely the best day so far (well it was technically yesterday, but you know, whatever!) I got home from shopping and was just chilling at home when I got a Ping from my dear friend Damo. He was asking if I was at home, how I was, etc and told me that one of his friends had left something in the mailbox for me.

I thought "omg they're here" (I've blogged about the boys before, they've been overseas for 9 months) but then though, no way and assumed it was invite (I was hoping to an engagement hehe). So I went downstairs and still had the small glimmer of hope that they would be here. I walked to the mailbox and couldn't see anyone so figured it really was just an invite or something.

As I went to open the letter box Damo and Dan jumped out frombehind the wall!!!!!!!!!!!

I screamed!
W hugged
We kissed
I said "omg I can't believe you're here" at least 50 times in the next few hours!

Seriously, it was the best surprise of my life! These two amazing boys mean the absolutely world to me and I have genuinely missed them while they have been away. It is so freakin good to have them home!

p.s. the pic was taken about midnight, so I figure it qualifies for today. plus, there is nothing else I have thought or spoken about today hehe.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Day 153: What's your addiction?


Is it girls? Is it money? Is it weed? Well no, Kanye West has dibs on all those unfortunately (damn him!), so therefore mine must be shopping. Oh dear.

I bought 2 books - Lauren Conrad's second book "Sweet Little Lies" which was an awesome surprise as I thought it wasn't out til 1st Feb and Elizabeth Noble's "Things I Want my Daughters to Know" These will assist me in taking part in #morereadinglesstweeting.

Alannah Hill was have a 50% off sale so I bought from there the If I Was a Bird hairclips, Born to Please necklace and Unfinished Sympathy headband. I already have outfits planned in my head that these accessories will complement. Looking forward to wearing the necklace with ym For Audrey CG nail polish. Yessss matchy matchy heaven.

So umm, no shopping for a long time now.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Day 152: Mean Girls Cupcakes


Tonight was spent hanging out with some very lovely ladies and it was a delight as always. We started off the night with dinner at Counter Burger (umm, how many times have I posted about Counter Burger??) then went to V's place with the intention of watching Mean Girls. We were so busy eating coloured popcorn, muffins & cupcakes and drinking Moscato (thanks J!) that we ditched the movie in favour of a gossip sesh hehe.

I made vanilla cupcakes with rose icing but think I used a bit too much rose essence (well for my liking anyway, I like subtle flavours in icing). 

The lovely R made us some nametags so we each had to be one of the cliques. I was Art Freak, because as they said in the movie, "these are the best people you will ever meet". WORD!!!

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Day 151: Tony Ferguson


I've been doing the TF shake diet for 2 weeks now and have lost 2kgs so far! hooray! I've done this diet before and couldn't last more than a few days so it makes me think that I am actually ready to do it this time as I haven't found it difficult at all. I've also given up soft drink for over 2 weeks now!! Shocking I know! But again, it must be the right time for me to do it as I haven't craved it at all.

Will keep you all updated on progress throughout the year.

Monday, January 18, 2010

Day 150: Umm I got some more stuff today


So I had 2 cards to pick things up from the post office. I was sooo sure it was going to be my CHina Glaze Up & Away's but when I picked up my packages, I got a surprise. There were some nailpolishes (not the Up & Aways though - the lovely Teegs got hers on Thursday last week, I want mine already) and an order from Evans from 3 months ago that they had refunded because they thought the package was lost in transit somewhere.

The dress is stunning and fits really well (it's more purple than in this pic) and the skirt is also gorgeous but is a little snug but all is good because I have been trying to eat better lately and have already lost 2kgs this year. Woohoo for me!

Other things I got were:
a container for cupcakes
Mix cookbook
Super Food Ideas
pink napkins
Awesome dressup glasses thar I currently have no use but couldn't leave them on the shelf
US InStyle with Taylor Swift on the front!!! Only a couple weeks til the Taylor concert - weeeeee!!!!

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Day 149: Things I bought yesterday



Yes I have a shopping addiction. I admit it. And I don't really care lol!

So I bought this gorgeous City Chic dress which was reduced from $180 to $40 - bargain! #spendingmoneytosavemoney (lol)
Also bought, boring stuff (toothpaste, makeup remover pads, hair dye), Janice Dickenson's Modelling Agency dvd, earrings from Diva and some piping stuff. I didn't really need it, but whatevs.

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Day 148: Yogenfruz



IT AIN'T NO PINKBERRY.

Just saying.

Seriously this stuff is gross. It tasted pretty crap but it was the texture that really got me, it was like disgusting slime or something. I had a couple spoonfuls then threw it out. GROSS.

Friday, January 15, 2010

Day 147: Wish


And I wish that I could have just one more chance and I wish that I could be your pillar of strength. If you jsut started singing this Human Nature song, then I hope you are also making the pained facial expressions and clutching air with your fist!

This is a christmas decoration that I thought was cool, and its now hanging on one of my bed posts.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Day 146: Govindas



Tonight I went to dinner with some of the lovely girls from my work to Govindas in Darlinghurst. I had never even heard of the place but it has been around forever and is a really popular place. It's cool because it's buffet indian vego food, but they also have a mini movie theatre on the second floor. It's like huge big lounges so you can lie down and watch the movie - so cool (except for everyone's smelly feet haha).

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Day 145: Declutterisation


Yes, that is in fact a word.

Quite a few of us have been inspired by the blog of Faux Fuschia (she really is all kinds of fabulous - check her blog here) who has been on a decluttering rampage recently and have decided that we need to join her on her crusade to have out homes free of unnecessary things/stuff/junk.

My gorgeous friend Sian has done a fabulous job with her decluttering - check out her blog here

So with Sian and FF as inspiration, it was time to make a start! It is going to take me FOREVER as I have so much crap as I am insane hoarder, a trait I picked up from my grandma. You want rental statements from 30 years ago? She has them! Thankfully I am not quite that bad...yet!

I have decided to start with a section of my room that I look at every day - the makeup/moisturiser/perfume/hair products section of my room. I find it so hard to throw away old makeup and beauty products. My issue is that I never actually finish anything because I am always buying new exciting products (lol) and so the old ones are forgotten. I am aiming to change this in 2010 and be more thrifty.

Here is the start I made this morning. It's only one shelf, but it's better than nothing! More updates to come in the upcoming weeks

EDIT - the entire section is done!!! Woooo! Still can't find my MAC Sequin lipstick or Benefit High Brow pencil :(



Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Day 144: Snooki!!!


Man I LOVE this girl!! She is freaking nuts! She's totally trashtastic and is the star of a new MTV reality show called Jersey Shore. I am in love with JS which may just be the trashiest of all reality tv shows I have ever seen.

The general idea is that a group of guidos and guidettes (Italians) live in a house on the Shore. They have a job that they share working at a tshirt store but asides from that the show is all DRAMA!!! They party, wear next to know clothes, tan, get trashed, get into fights and hook up with randoms - all day every day!

If you haven't seen it yet (its up to episode 6 of the first season), check out a bit of it on youtube and you will die of laughter!

Monday, January 11, 2010

Day 143: Alannah Hill


It's well known that I love accessories (there are plenty of posts on this blog that confirm this!) and I have added a new piece to my constantly growing collection.

The latest addition is the gorgeous "It's A Circus" headband from Alannah Hill. It looks massive, but for some reason when you put it on it doesn't seem quiet as big even though it still takes up half my head haha. I thought I'd show off my other Alannah Hill accessories as I simply just love them. Actually, I adore Alannah's clothing line as well, but unfortunately none of it will fit me. If it did, I think the majority of my wardrobe would come from there!

Also eyeing off a very cute bag there atm, but I know I should be good as I plan on being budget friendly this year (more to come on this in future posts).

For now, enjoy the gorgeousness that is Alannah Hill!

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Day 142: Fondant


I went to a cake decorating class ages ago and bought a hole heap of fondant, modelling paste, gum, cutters, tools etc and this afternoon I decided I wanted to try making a bow as I'd like to put some on my cupcakes.

After plying around for a little bit, this is the result. Needs a fair bit of work (the fondant was a little hard as container had not been sealed properly) but not bad for a first effort I think.

Will play around with making some of a smaller size next weekend.

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Day 141: AVATAR!!



So anyone who knows me will know that Avatar is totally not my kind of movie, but because everyone has been RAVING about it I decided to give it a go. And, I loved it!

James Cameron really is amazing (and about as subtle as a sledgehammer! thankfully I tend to agree with his point of view so had no problem with the political references) and has such amazing vision. The #D effects were jsut incredible, and I couldn't get over the stunning colours and imagery of Pandora.

This is a bit odd, but towards the end, where the sky people had come in with their bulldozers and they stopped Sam Worthington's avatar (why cant i remember its name?) I has this really weird epiphany about life ending and how all of a sudden it just stops. It made me think about what is important to me and realise that I am happy with what I have and who I am and if there are things that I want in future that didn't happen, then it really doesn't matter cos at some point, it all just disappears (I'm not a believer in life after death tbh). Weird message to get from the movie, but it made me feel a bit more chilled about not feeling like I am 'advanced' enough in my life. If I'm happy, nothing else really matters. And you know what... I am.

Friday, January 8, 2010

Day 140: Random Dinner


Originally I had planned to have baked chicken breast with mashed sweet potato for dinner but during the day I got a huge craving for Chorizo, so decided to change my plan. I couldn't figure out what I wanted to chorizo in so decided to have random bits for dinner. Since I had already defrosted the chicken, I figured I may as well use it because I won't be home for dinner tomorrow and possibly Sunday.

So dinner was chorizo slices (which I burnt a bit, but still tasted fab), satay chicken pieces and bruschetta (I had turkish rolls so cut one in half and topped it with tomato, basil, red onion and balsamic vinegar). Not a healthy dinner, though probably not as bad as getting takaway (well thats how I'm justifying it anyway!)

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Day 139: Shopping Spree


I went shopping at Parra tonight to see if there were any more bargains to be had at the City Chic sale and turns out there was! Yay! There were so many pretty dresses makred down to $30 or $40 that I really liked but they were all wrong sizes (all XS ans XL) however I did manage to find the dress in the pic above - It was marked down from $180 to $20!!! Score!!

I also picked up:
a headband (cos you know, I don't have enough already)
Britney's For the Record dvd (it made me cry when I watched it on tv)
Tony Ferguson magazine (stories in it are really inspring)
tart tins for hen I attempt Matt Moran's chocolate tart
black tank top
Australia fan lol
another necklace from Diva

Shopping problem?? Not at all!

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Day 138: Diva is the female version of a hustlerrrr


hahaha, I love this Beyonce song, it gets stuck in my head ALL the freakin time!

It's totally irrelevant to the post, but whatevs. So today is a pic of my Diva haul over the past week. I love accessories so Diva is right up my alley. Lots of fun, cute and on trend accessories at an affordable price. And at the moment, a lot of those pieces are on SALE!!! Yewww! Everything in the pics was $5 (except the fascinator, it was $3 lol) so I paid a small amount for a lot of great accessories.

So I got...
3 x structured headbands
2 x loose hadbands (eg, the elastic band and tie up styles)
3 x flower clips
2 x necklaces
3 x rings
1 x pearl comb
1 x fascinator
2 x pairs earrings

Score!! Wish I had kept all the tags so I knew exactly how much I had saved. I know on 4 items, I spent $20 and saved $46 (2 x rings, the elastic headband and the black bow headband)

ps - one of the things that annoys me about diva sales is that there can be two identical items, jsut in different colours, but only one of the colours is on sale.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Day 137: Presents!!! Yay!!


So this year was really random in that I didn't get a lot of actual Christmas presents, but did get a lot of vouchers which suits me fine cos I like to buy my own stuff. But 3 of my gorgeous friends each bought me pressies which fit me PERFECTLY!!

Makia bought a trio of Stila lipglosses which are just divine, Siany bought me these gorgeous bamubushka measuring cups, and Jen bought me some super cute stationery (there was also a red leather pencil case but I forgot to photograph it)

Seriously, these presents capture my three loves - makeup, baking and stationery!

Such sweet girls and I totally love my presents! Cannot wait to use them all and think of the lovely girls who bought them for me every time I do.

Monday, January 4, 2010

Day 136: New York, I Love You



I really do love New York and as soon as I saw this 365 photo calendar I knew I had to get it. Today was the first day back at work, and the first day the calendar got some use. It will make me smile when I look at the pics, which is definitely something needed when going to work everyday!

Today is also the day my changes for 2010 start. The rough plan is:
pay off all credit card debt
lose 30ish kgs by doing Tony Ferguson program, eating better and exercising
wear all the accessories I own
keep a makeup budget of $520
Keep a To Do list that never ends!!!

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Day 135: Bye Brisbane :(



It rained. Typical! It rained for nearly 10 days straight. Boooo.

Saturday, January 2, 2010

Day 134: oooh SUN!


Sun was rare on Brissie this week so I got outside the second I saw it! Wooo! I went to Southbank and shopping in the city which I hadn't done in a long time. Walking around Bris made me realise how much I miss it. Awwww!

Pic from the train looking back down the River.

Friday, January 1, 2010

Day 133: Happy New Year!!!



I had a quiet NYE this year, after all, how was anything going to top Vegas last year? haha.

Had a good night drinking mojitos and playing Band Hero. The best I got was 99% on this Maroon 5 song. I am determined to sing 100% at some point. damn that 1%!!!

This was the first photo of me and J for the new year, before we went on our shopping adventure