Ombré Nails

I've come across some awesome nail art on Instagram and Tumblr lately , in particular the ombre effect. After searching around online a bit is seemed easy enough so I gave it a go. Here is my first attempt.

With terrible lighting at night.

In natural light.

I have to say I love it! I mean this is only a iPhone quality picture so doesn't really capture the true awesomeness that has me staring at my fingers constantly but you get the idea. 

Here is how I went about it, and I promise it is just too easy!

STEP ONE | Choose a base coat. You can't really tell but I have done two coats of Essie Au Natural which basically looks like 'your nails but better'. Next time I will step up the base coat intensity a notch. Wait for the base coat to be reasonably dry. 

STEP TWO | Choose a colour for the top of your nails. I wanted a sparkly natural/gold effect so I've gone with a BYS fine glitter gold polish which is opaque in one coat. You will need a paper plate ( or similar) and a makeup sponge. Pour a tiny amount of the polish into the paper plate and dab a bit onto the edge of the makeup sponge. At the very tips, gently sponge/ wipe on the polish being sure to make the coat quite thin. Wait for this to dry a little.

STEP THREE | Using the sponge, apply a little more polish further down the nail, covering the tip and extending further down. This will intensify the colour you've already put on the tops of your nails and subtly graduate down to your base coat. 

STEP FOUR | Choose your favourite flaky glitter nail polish. I used BYS Gold Glitter which is clear with gold glitter and flakes. I again poured a little onto the paper plate but only because I wanted to be able to pick up as much flakes as possible for the tips. I simply dabbed into the very tips of my nails and that was it!

See - easy! As this was something I did on a whim I didn't really prep my nails properly ( hello red polish stains) and some of the layers went a little too far down my nails but I already have plans for trying this again next time, possibly with a purple/gold combination. 

source

This pretty much sums up the past week for me. 

My head and my heart aren't speaking to each other at the moment and I can't say I am a fan of the situation. 

Absent

It would appear I have been absent from blogging for a little while. I wish I could say I had an incredibly exciting life which impedes my ability to blog but sadly for me , that is not the case!

I did go for a drive up to Leura in the Blue Mountains last week with T, that was actually a really nice day. Being a public holiday it was twice as nice. 

 I'm turning into my mother. I spent an inordinate amount of time repeating "It's just soooooo beautiful here!" to no one in particular. It's hardly my fault it was such a stunning day.

I mean would you look at that view! I love heading out of the 'burbs and getting a temporary hit of fresh air. So rejuvenating.

BAM! I got my hair cut! Fringe galore! My cowlick is causing all sorts of issues but it's nice to have a change.  

How much do I love MAC Russian Red lipstick by the way? Probably sooooo much.

Moustachio continues to be supremely cute. He also nearly gnawed my leg off as I ate pineapple in front of him the other night. We had a repeat performance this morning. The frantic meowing was kind of hilarious. He didn't seem to want to hear that cats probably aren't fans of tropical fruits. CUTE!

In other news that doesn't require me to add a lame speech bubble, I have a new JOB! I finish my current role in two weeks time and then on to bigger and better things. I am equally excited and nervous! I am also glad I do not have to attend any more interviews any time soon. Although they all went well , I am not a fan of rushing from the city to work all before 9am! I really do need to purchase a few new items for my work wardrobe which leads me to ask......

Where are we all obtaining our work appropriate clothes/shoes these days? Please share!

Wine & Cheese Night!

On the weekend I decided to dedicate a night to indulging in two of the things I love most in this world - cheese and wine! Combining the two is ALWAYS a good idea. I felt like hanging out with the girls and having a few drinks without having to organise taxis and outfits ( gah, the worst part of going out!) and I have to say that being in stumbling distance to my bed was a pretty awesome perk ha ha!

Moving on, what is a cheese and wine night without CHEESE?!

Oh sweet lord, so so much cheese. But not too much, because too much cheese doesn't exist in my world. 

I bought a small bunch of these white flowers from the supermarket to spruce up the table but it just wan't enough so I went through a wander out in the garden and picked a whole bunch of jasmine, leaves, and pretty much anything else that had botanical qualities! As you can see I ended up with three vases/ jugs and added some candles to set the scene. 

Brassiere Breads' olive and rosemary loaf, the cheese pictured above ( with little flags marking which was which), quince jelly, fresh figs and sesame sticks for starters! The arrival of my girlfriends saw many other delicious goods added to the table, albeit for a short time before I devoured them!

I of course had wine too, however the stupid picture kept uploading sideways wahhhhh!

My bestie bought along some macarons and mini gelato cones! You can see why she is my BFFE right?

Such an awesome night and the best part was that there was no cooking involved so all the more time to chat , eat and drink the night away!

Do you love wine and cheese? What do you and your friends do when you get together?

The Best Day Of My Life

Yesterday started like any other day. I woke up, battled through traffic to get to work and spent way too long pondering what to have for lunch ( sushi). Little did I know that something was about to happen, something that would change my life forever......

J.CREW NOW SHIPS TO AUSTRALIA! 

Excuse my while I rejoice and plan my assault on my savings as I contemplate whether green or fuchsia capri pants are needed in my life.

Happy shopping!

Delicious Treats

I've been indulging in quite a few yummy things lately!

On the weekend I went out for high tea to celebrate my girlfriends' birthday!

What is it about crustless and cut up sandwiches that makes them so much more delicious? I always wish there were more sandwiches at high tea!

I usually go for the Russian Caravan tea ( I do love a strong brew!) however opted for the traditional Chai and my oh my it was delicious!

A glass of sparkling wine never goes astray! Such a lovely afternoon hanging out with friends and eating to my hearts content!

In fact, I loved it so much that I was equally excited to meet up with Rioters Bloc the very next day for some more scone action! Ohhhhhh they were so delicious! 

We went to The Tea Cosy  at The Rocks and it was great! Big fresh warm scones and lovely thick cream, just as it should be. You could even choose your own jam and I had vanilla and pear which was divine - as was the Madagascan vanilla tea that I paired with my scones. I recommend that you pop in here if you are in the area for perfect scones at a reasonable price.

Sadly I am having to pull back on my scone intake - it was a joy while it lasted!

Who else loves scones? I assume the answer is EVERYBODY!

Sally Hansen Gem Crush in Lady Luck

I saw an advertisements for these new nail polishes recently in a magazine and I was instantly attracted to this colour, so when I needed a bit of a cheap and cheerful pick me up I headed to Priceline for a fix! 

I believe these usually retail for around $10.00 but it was on sale for $6.00 which is pretty reasonable. 

I don't wear much glitter polish as it doesn't tend to 'go' with the outfits I tend to wear and it is super hard to get off but I really liked the look of this colour. 

Unfortunately this isn't a 'two coat and you're good to go' kind of polish which I soon found out after one coat. 

In the end it took FOUR coats for it to look anything like what it looked like in the advertisement. Ahhhh, the power of marketing! 

 PROS:

-Nice colour once you build it up.

-Relatively cheap

-Large brush

- Easy to find in store.
-A bit of fun.

CONS:

- Need a multitude of coats to make this work. 

- The finish doesn't stay glossy at all so I had to add a top coat which didn't really do much, and meant I had 6 coats of polish together with the base coat I put on underneath!

-Thought this was a purple polish with glitter but it's really a clear polish with fine purple glitter and flakies.
-Seems to chip easily.

I think next time I will put a purple base coat of polish underneath and that should fix most of my problems. Overall, I don't hate it but I'm not head over heels for it either. 

Have you tried any of the other colours in this range? Are you a fan of glitter polish?

Printstagram

I don't know about you but I am addicted to Instagram. I spend way too much time flicking between filters and posting photos of just about everything delicious I eat, as well as sharing snaps of the places I go and the things I do. 

I don't carry a camera with me, and I never get around to sorting through digital photos and getting them printed out. Recently I stumbled across the website Printstagram who print out photos from your Instagram account! I choose photos similar to mini polaroid snaps and ordered a set. You can choose up to 48 photos which cost $12 plus shipping which was about another $12.

These mini prints are seriously awesome! I plan on writing little notes on the back so I can look back on them in a few years and remember where they were taken!

It took a few weeks for the photos to come but I wasn't in any rush so it didn't bother me. I love my little happy snaps and will order some more once I have racked up a few more photos.

Say My Name

Gillian

If there is one thing that sticks with you for life, it is your name. Well I know you could change it but not that many people tend to. 

Personally, I love my name and I couldn't think of anything else I would rather be called. I suppose it's because after 22 years I have become quite accustomed to being a Gillian - funny that! To an extent though I do think your name does shape your personality. 

I'm a Gillian with a G, so technically I should be Gillian pronounced Gill-as-in-fish-gill-ian but it's pronounced like Jillian with a J. My mum actually wanted it to be pronounced like it is spelt but people didn't say it like that that so it never stuck!

Depending where you look the meaning of my name is meant to be  'youthful' , 'young at heart' or 'downy haired'. Um, when I think downy haired I think of some unfortunate genetic condition! I prefer to lean towards  'young at heart' as I like to think I will be young forever and I think that shines through in my personality. 

For a bit of fun I searched Gillian on Urban Dictionary and this was the first entry:

"An amazing person inside, attractive, can be shy on the outside to new people but once you get to know them very outgoing and silly in a good way. Best friend to possibly have, never tells secrets. Sometime insecure because others put them down. Gillian is a truly fun person to be around."

Some of those things describe me, I am definitely outgoing and silly in a good way ( that's what I tell myself!) , don't tell secrets and am fun to be around. 

So tell me about your name? Do you like it? Would you change it? What does it mean? Tell me all!

Leopard Spots

So apart from my Pistols, I haven't bought any other clothing or shoes so far this year. I haven't even been making a conscientiousness effort, more so that with the unpredictable weather I have simply given up on trying to put together any new outfits. 

As summer officially comes to a end very soon, for the first time I can actually recall I am looking forward to   building up a winter wardrobe. I usually hate winter dressing with conundrums as to exactly which jacket I can find to keep me warm yet not clash tremendously with my outfit when going out on the weekend. 

I am seeing a lot of neutral colours in the shops which I am loving, but I have seen a lot of outfit inspiration by way of leopard print flats so when I saw these simple round toed babies in Witchery, I couldn't purchase them quick enough.

Witchery Angel Flats $149.95

They are leather lined with a leather sole - remember it is all about quality!

I also bought this oversized knit which I can't find on the Witchery website so please make do with this Instagram picture! Super comfy and cosy! I tried it on paired with my (fake) leather pants and pistols and I was very happy with the results! 

So many things I wanted in Witchery actually......must continue to practice restraint. 

Do you prefer a summer or winter wardrobe? I have to say I prefer summer as there is usually let ironing involved not to mention no stockings which personally drive me mad!

They Tried To Make Me Go To (Nail) Rehab....

And I said NO NO NO!

My nails are a hot mess. A flaky, split mess to be more specific. It really is the bane of my existence. Luckily I have quite a long nail bed so they look pretty long even when I keep them short. 

Over the last month or so I have been trying out Revitanail. I'm not convinced it has helped too much but then again am I really surprised? It is pretty much a given in my life that if it a product is raved about, I will be the one exception that it does not work for. 

After a month of NO NAIL POLISH ( cue gasp of horror) I finally finished the Revitanail cycle. It was time to mark my glorious return into the land of polished nails, but as usual I was crippled by indecision. 

At first I thought I would go down the nude route. Turns out it looked super boring. So I added some gold. Then it looked super not what I felt like. I then decided I could wait no longer to wash my hair. You can guess what happened to all those little dots. Smooshed beyond recognition!

Sometimes you just have to go with the classics. Enter OPI Big Apple Red. 

What can I say? Perfection. 

Tell me, what is your go to nail polish colour?

Surprise Surprise!

I am not easily surprised. 

There have been verrrrrrrrrrry few things in my entire life that have ever truly surprised me. I actually LOVE surprises, but people seem to feel the need to tell me they have a surprise for me ( half the surprise is already ruined) and I always manage to add two and two together. I never ruin peoples fun by telling them I know and I try tell myself that maybe I am wrong, but I always seem to have it figured out. 

I remember once when T and I were young lovers and it was nearly my 17th birthday. He had bought me a fairly expensive ( given he was an apprentice and our age) dress as my present and I had no idea. Well I had no idea until one of our jerk friends was talking to me at a party a few days before and said ' Wow T must really like you to have bought you that dress you told him about". UMMM WUT! Why would you do that?! WHY? Surprise ruined. 

Having said that I have been truly surprised before and I loved it sick!

From the time I was 15 I worked in a coffee shop for 5 years throughout school and the start of uni. I used to keep another blog for a short while years ago where I recounted this awesome surprise I got while I was working there:

"So I was in bed on Sunday morning dreading having to serve crankies, clinging to my electric blanket. When i finally managed to get myself up and at it i got an awesome surprise.

My insanely chirpy little awesome boss comes in and hands me a bag.

Not just any bag but a Louis Vuitton bag!

WHAAAAAA?

Turns out she has brought me a cute little pouchette. 

I still dont know why?!

To this day I have no idea why she bought me this out of the blue, I mean it wasn't even my birthday! I was not even 18 at the time. I have great memories of working with my old boss and when I drop around to the local shops for coffee we still chat about Net A Porter and Strawberry Net ( I may have introduced a bad habit there.....) and freaky customers ha ha.

Another really cool surprise was when I turned 21. My friend L took me out for a coffee and when I opened  up my card I found out she was taking me away for a weekend in Melbourne! The scariest part at the time was that I had spent the day thinking about how much I wanted to go there again and came home after work and told me mum I was booking a plane ticket just hours before I was surprised. 

You can read about that trip here on my old blog.

So what about everyone else? Have you ever had a big surprise? Do you even like surprises? Tell me all! 

Bang Bang Pistols

So i've had my Acne Pistols for just over a week now....... IT IS LOVE!

The courier delivered this massive box wrapped with Net-A-Porter's signature ribbon...

... and I pulled them out for a look!

The quality of these boots is just amazing. They are fully leather lined and I can see them lasting for a really really long time if I look after them.

The sizing is a little out of kilter , the size 39 were way too big with my heel slipping as I walked so I ordered the 38s. They were initially very tight and though I knew the leather would stretch out width wise I was worried about the fit length wise. I bit the bullet and decided I would keep the 38s and now after wearing them out and about they are becoming much more comfortable. A 38.5 would have been perfect but alas they don't do half sizes. 

I was a little worried that they would give me a stumpy leg look but I don't think that they do. 

I was also worried they wouldn't look good with dresses but that fear has also been alleviated! 

I wish I had better photos to share but alas I am only one girl with a iPhone ha ha!

I'm very very happy with my purchase and I am glad to have finally crossed this of my list of lust!

In Paris

So I woke up this morning and the first thing I did was watch this video when I was still in bed.

" She said Ye can we can get married at the mall?

I said look you need to crawl 'fore you ball

Come and meet me in the bathroom stall, 

And show me why you deserve to have it all"

That shit cray.

AMAZING!

B.O.N.D.I

What an amazing yesterday was . Sydneysiders would know that the weather recently has been beyond dismal and that we are expected to have only four days where it doesn't rain for the rest of February. May I remind you that it is still summer! I knew when I woke up yesterday morning that I would have to do something REALLY good to make use of the day. 

Well all it took was for a lovely Melbournite Milijana  to post photos on Instragram of the beautiful views of Bondi and it was decided, to Bondi I would go. And by go I mean eventually go after two hours, a train and two buses. One would think I was travelling from Perth, not within Sydney.

I'll let the photos do the talking. 

Bondi Icebergs

Atonement, which I picked up from the markets and read on a grassy hill.

Imagine waking up to these views? So beautiful.

Bondi Pavilion

Looking at the cliffs towards Bronte. 

Love the natural landscape against the sea. 

It is easy to see why Bondi is so iconic. Sure, there are plenty of beaches that surpass it in beauty in Australia but the atmosphere and crowds combined with more blue sky then you could poke a stick at really does give it a special feel.

I had lunch at Ravesi's and continued reading. I ate lychee gelato. I dipped in the water and dug my toes in the sand.

It was completely refreshing and exactly what I needed. Sometimes a girl needs a day alone in a beautiful location to collect her thoughts and regroup. 

I'm sure the lovely Kirryn would agree it was an amazing day!

Where do you like to go to recharge your batteries? Do you enjoy 'me' time by yourself or do you prefer to have company to bounce your thoughts off?

Facing lots of challenges this week, in a good way. Wish me luck xx

Another Weekend Wrap Up

Continuing on from Friday......

I went to see Kanye West's concert! I loooooooveeeeeeeee Kanye, I think his songs are amazing and I spend a good amount of time rapping along to them each day while I am driving. Actually, the way I rap the songs is so passionate you would think that it was ME who wrote them! You don't even want to see how I behave when Gold Digger comes on when I am at a club. I don't want to see that either, it is sure to be horrendously embarrassing. 

ANYWAY, the concert was great although I do wish he played more songs from College Dropout which has some of my favourite tracks i.e School Spirit, Last Call and New Workout Plan. Oh well! 

It was a great night and the crowd was really into it which was great because there is nothing worse then being in the seating section and wanting to dance but everyone else is sitting there with a bored look on their face. 

In between dancing like a maniac I was double parking with gin and tonics and excitedly tweeting the lovely Ballet Flats who was also there. 

This is my sister and I before we left. She is so tall wahhh not fair! 

Ahhh yeh...... that is one terrible picture of Kanye haha. 

I took this one short video, but I couldn't help but notice people were standing there videoing the whole thing on their crappy iPhones?! Surely it would be better to actually watch the concert and use your MEMORY to recall how awesome it was instead of a grainy screechy video like the one featured below haha. 

Yesterday I was waiting for T to come back from Melbourne and to avoid having my second nanna nap of the day ( addiction) I made an easy butter cake. Topped it with some rosewater whipped cream ( YUM!) and strawberries and took it to share with T's family. Nice and easy dessert. 

Had a few glasses of wine which always go down well. Severe lack of cheese was noted. 

Went to my favourite breakfast/brunch/lunch place for a late lunch. Wildpear! It is a little place is a nursery out in Dural and it is so surprisingly good! If you ever in northwest Sydney and in need of food you should go there!

Behold the magnificence of fig and ricotta bruschetta with mint and orange blossom honey. SO. FREAKIN'. GOOD!

Wildpear people! That is where it is at! Google it! 

I love figs and I really need to pick up a box from the many roadside stalls near T's place. I find that they tend to spoil quickly though?

Oh I also made a trip to Bunnings on my own accord to buy a new plant for my room ( Read: To replace the one that met an untimely end after a extreme sun/too much water ) incident. At $2.50 a pop  it is a much cheaper option then fresh flowers!

As I had just finished at the gym I was really keen on a sausage sizzle but it wasn't ready yet. THIS IS WHY I HATE BUNNINGS! Too much walking and the denial of sausage sizzles. You've crossed me one too many times! 

Finally, I went ahead and bought the much lusted after Acne Pistol boots and they should be with me before the end of the week! SO EXCITED! Thank you Net-A-Porter! 

So that does it for me. As usual I would love to know what everyone else got up to? And does anyone have any plant growing tips to share? HELP ME! 

Ps. I shall go insane if this humidity does not up and leave ASAP! 

Lately...

Hope you all had a great Australia Day!

Due to the weather ( Fake Summer 2011/2012 strikes again) it seemed pointless to organise a BBQ, go swimming or head to the beach. So I had a think and and decided the best course of action was to head to high tea!

As I have a large memory bank of eateries all around Sydney stored in my brain I recalled that the high tea at Lilianfels in the Blue Mountains was meant to be good so I rounded up the girls and away we we went! And by off we went I mean we took a hour and a half drive there battling blinding rains on the freeway and ominous fogs haha. It's a really pretty place though!

YUM! 

Scones with jam and double cream are so good ! My favourite! Sandwiches with the crusts cut off on lovely soft bread! 

Now the sweets were nice but personally I feel quite sickly and one or two is enough for me, I'd prefer more sandwiches!

The area where they hold the high tea is so lovely and with the rain outside it was super cosy.

Love my girls!

Pretty gardens!

Last night I had nothing to do and I was really bored so I took myself down to Woolies for supplies.

 Lychee liqueur with this raspberry lemonade and lemon slices was heavenly!

I will never knock back some camembert with fig paste. Hello dinner. 

I then settled in and watched One Day. Excellent movie! I wish I had read the book first. There were tears.....wah! Loved it!

I took today off work as leave in anticipation of the hang over I thought I would have and then friends I thought would not be working. I WAS WRONG! 

After moping about hating on the rain I decided to get my self together and took myself off to Paddington to the Acne store as I realllllllly wanted to try on some pistol boots for size. 

This is what I wore. 

This rain is wrecking havoc with my hair. I rediscovered NARS Flamenco lipstick. Still not sure about it. 

Bad photo, but I LOVE THEM! I needed a size 38 though as the 39 was a touch too big and they didn't have them in stock. I tried on a suede pair in 38 and there were perfect. Have ordered them in but will search online for a better price in the mean time . YAY! This is the most I will have dropped for any item of apparel ever. To be honest, I think about these shoes every day. 

Had a bite to eat, read some Pride and Prejudice on the Kindle ( not enjoying) and came home. 

Tonight I am going to see Kanye West. My main objectives is to sing like I wrote the songs myself and have a child with Yeezy. Can't wait!

Whats happening with the rest of you? Do you like high tea? Do you agree that the sweet to savoury ratio is out of proportion? Anyone else feel like the rain is ruining their lives? Tell me all!