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?

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!

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! 

The Dress Saga

I went to do some Christmas shopping with T today when I spotted a gorgeous dress in David Jones that I thought might be nice for New Years Eve. I decided to try it on as it would only take a minute..... OR SO I THOUGHT.

Because the material didn't stretch and it was covered in sequins it was a little challenging to put on , especially as I went a size down because dresses tend to be a little loose in the chest area for me ( WAH!).  Once I had it on I thought it looked quite nice if not a little tight and lumpy around my butt.

I love the back too, very pretty.

Then I tried to take it off. Hmmm. Getting it back up over my butt was one thing, but for the life of me I couldn't get it over my arms/shoulder/head.

My thought proces went a little like this:-

1. Denial - This dress can't possibly be stuck, I just need to keep wiggling.
2. Acceptance - OK it's stuck. I'm stuck in this dress.
3. Anger- I'M STUCK IN THIS F#@KING DRESS. WHYYYYYYYYY?!
4. Fear- What if I am stuck in this dress forever? I'm going to have to wear it to work everyday. I'm going to be the girl who wears sequins during the day. GET IT OFF GET IT OFF GET IT OFF!

In the end I got permission of the girl at DJ's ( who no doubt thought I had problems ) for T to come in help me wrangle this dress off. After much effort I was finally free, but I'm pretty sure I lost half my skin and hair to sequins in the process.

Long story short, I should have tried the next size up instead of fleeing in my frazzled state. Now I can't stop thinking about it! It was on sale from $399.00 down to $199.00 but of course my size is sold out on the Thurley website! The worst part is I know they had the next size up in store .....grrrr.

So opinions please, should I continue on a mission to find and obtain the dress that nearly destroyed me today?! And if I did get it, what accessories would be appropriate?

Weekend Wrap Up

Had a lovely weekend!

Friday night I headed to Rockpool Bar & Grill with my girlfriend for some after work drinks and a bite to eat! Wish I could share some photos but I am afraid it is way to dark in there to take sneaky iPhone pics. Flash is out of the question! Finally tried the wagyu burger , sOoOoOo good. Have to admit, that was the first of many NoSugarVember slip ups this weekend, whoops!

Up bright and early yesterday to do my personal training session, did some dead lifts and let me tell you my hamstrings are feeling it today! After the gym I did my usual volunteering gig.

Casual Saturday outfit!

Hard to see in this photo, but I love these Zara pants. Black coated jean type pants with gold zipper detail as pockets and at ankle!

Today I had to get out of bed way to early when T went to work. I had to get my car cleaned professionally after an unfortunate incident last week when a bottle of balsamic vinegar leaked all over my passenger seat :/ :/ You can imagine how lovely that smelt , especially on a hot day. 

While I was waiting I walked to the local homemaker centre , the shops weren't open yet so  got a coffee ( my first all month!).

And then I stumbled upon the most dangerous thing I could have possibly stumbled upon..... CANDLES!

Ahhhhh can't believe I have to admit that I am now ADDICTED to delicious candles. But would you look at these Glasshouse special edition Christmas candles?!

Must resist.....must resist.......Oh I've already swiped my card? Fail. Smells so good though, NO REGRETS!

I brought two of these super cute sets ( also Christmas edition) to give as gifts come Christmas. At $39.95 they are pretty good value considering Glasshouse prices! In a pretty box too :)

My nice and clean car, now lacking a balsamic glaze. 

Came home and decided I had to tackle my hot mess of a room. Not just a usual clean though, my once a year ' get rid of sentimental crap' and 'clothes that you NEVER wear' super clean. 

Now tell me, am I the only one who takes forever to clean their room? It seriously took me all day. I just can't help it, I have to go through EVERYTHING and take a long stroll down memory lane. 

Like my Year 7 diary.....

Ok, I'll admit I loved Beau Brady but I don't recall loving Malcolm in the Middle's big brother hahaha?! EWW.

Found a picture of me when I got my photos taken one day when I was doing work experience at Jackon's on George in the city ( what a seedy dive hahaha). The question was "What is your favourite thing about summer?" by the way! I was 15!

Finally sorted all my little photos out and put them in a photo album. Some great memories here, whether it be me and the girls skipping school to go to the shops, being under the influence of a lot of wine at an engagement party, or the really old ones I used to stick on my bus pass.

I threw away photos for the first time today. Ok, they were really bad ones of a girl I was friends with in Year 8 and zoo animals but seriously, I've never done that before. Progress!

De-cluttering feels so good!

Are you the type of person who can just throw old cards etc or are you like me and keep holding onto them?

Beach Trip

Today I did one of my favourite things in the whole world, spent the day at the beach!

I love Freshwater Beach because it is not too hard to get to ( given I live out west!) , it's a beautiful place, it's not toooooo crowded and most importantly, you can actually find a parking space less than 6 suburbs away from the beach ha ha!

Beach trips call for bright nails and salt water friendly accessories!

I love this polish, it is Rimmel 'In Style Coral'. I brought it last summer, it was so cheap. I hope they still have the colour!

So this isn't one hundred percent compliant with 'NoSugarVember' but it was the best I could do. And I enjoyed every single bite. I've been going great, perhaps I should do a post on my sugarless journey as the month progresses. 

It was such a beautiful day, hot but not too hot, sunny, glorious!

There is something about the beach that completely recharges me , nothing beats getting out there in the waves and letting them wash away any worries or stresses. I know I feel completely zen floating on my back in the ocean.

I was appropriately covered in sunscreen at all times and had the hat and sunglasses going. I managed to avoid blinding the whole beach with my intense whiteness by hastily applying some fake tan on Friday night ha ha!

My hair goes so cray cray after a swim, dry and bleh! 

The best thing next to the beach, is coming home and having a cool shower to wash it all off!

Anyone else love the beach as much as me? Wish I could go more often, must try harder this summer!

Also, Sydneysider's hit me with your favourite local beaches please! I hear Balmoral is glorious!

Another Weekend Wrap Up

Ahhhh so I didn't manage to post anything since last weekends wrap up. My bad. Here is a wrap up of this weekend. 

I wore : 

Anthropologie striped maxi dress with asymmetrical top. I am into maxi dress' in a big way at the moment, I like simple colours and absolutely NO halter necks myself. So comfy and easy to wear.

I drank:

A truck load of cider and too many vodka sodas. Loving it. 

I went:

Out for drinks with my girlfriends for some pre-birthday celebrations, damn you mid week birthday!

Was so looking forward to downing a few million mojitos but the place RAN OUT OF ICE. No thank you I don't think I will be waiting 20 minutes for my drink, give me a Strongbow ( poor substitute by the way.....).

Our table number is my soon to be age, damn this past year has gone quickly.

I burnt:

Glasshouse Coconut & Lychee candle. So summery, so good. A big thank you to my gorgeous bestie for gifting this to me!

I hated:

The fact that my skin is getting it's freak on and has morphed into a itchy mess! WAH! WAHHH I SAY! 

My mum is sooooo nice and brought me a bodywash from Lush to try help, thanks ma!

All up it was pretty good as far as weekends go!

Thanks for all your good wishes last week, am pleased to say I did pass my exams! YAY! YAYAYAAY! Although they did sent the results to my house early so I was convinced it was a letter of failure and spent a good two minutes having a nervous breakdown before I opened it :/ :/

This week: re-enrolling for uni, my birthday, boy toy taking me out for a super nice dinner on Friday!!

Weekend Wrap Up

I am loving that Sydney is slowly easing its way into the warmer months, it's so lovely this evening which is helping to dull the pain of the fast approaching Monday morning. 

I had a pretty nice weekend, although I am certain I have never consumed so much sugary junk in such a short space of time!

It started when I got home on Friday and my sister was holding a Girl's Night In to raise money for breast cancer. So many delicious things! Like these pink cupcakes for example. 

T took me out for a nice dinner on Friday night , we ended up going to a Lebanese restaurant that I adore. I ate so much lebanese bread and labne ( my favourite!) that I practically had to be rolled out of the place. 

Despite this feeling of being about to EXPLODE, I still managed to suggest we go to Cold Rock for ice cream. Clearly my stomach knows no bounds. 

They have a Red Bull flavoured ice cream, can you imagine how horrific that would taste?!

I discovered that orange juice with frozen ice cubes made with pureed strawberry is really yum. 

I got my first film developed that I took using my Fish Eye 2 camera, some of them look really good! Others, well I forgot to take the cap off the lens.....duh. Looking forward to experimenting further.

I saw my Aunty who gave me an early birthday present, a cute little coin purse she brought for me when she was in Spain recently. I haven't heard of Loewe before, but apparently they are known for their excellent quality leather. I like the little 'L' on the zipper as my family nickname is Lila, cute!

Today T and I went on a bush walk, it was such amazing weather for it! It ended up being pretty challenging! I love getting out and enjoying nature every now and then, so invigorating.

I can't wait for this week to be over, I am expecting exam results on Thursday ( after waiting for nearly two months!) and am so nervous. Fingers crossed for me please!

Hope you all had a lovely weekend, now excuse me while I attempt to shake myself out of this sugar coma x