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!

For The Public Record

The madness must stop. This man is not hot, nor is he a babe, or even inexplicably attractive. 

RYAN GOSLING

STRAIGHT UP VANILLA!

To set the record straight - please feast your eyes on the following.

Jake Gyllenhaal in a straight up babe kind of way. Yes please.

Josh Homme in a 'I've wanted to have babies with you since I was 14 you tall sexy man' kind of way.

Clive Owen in a hot dad kind of way. Never underestimate the power of a hot dad ( not your own father....gross). 

Chris Issak in a I don't know why but it just feels right kind of way ( please see Kenickie from Grease, and only in Grease,  for a further example).

Alexander Skarsgard but ONLY as Vampire Eric, and preferably naked.

Ed Westwick but only as Chuck and only for his irresistible bad boy charm.

And a new entry.........Ryan Reynolds. I only want to hear the words 'Ryan' and 'hot' in a sentence if we are talking about this fine specimen. This came about after a dream in which Mr. Reynolds was my uni lecturer however all he did was perform sit ups in his underwear. YES. PLEASE.

You have to be careful though. Sometimes someone who you thought was THE BEST THING EVER somehow does a 360 on you. Meet Aaron Carter, my future husband circa 1997.

Hello handsome.

Uhhhhhhhh....nice shirt.

Wait a minute...

WUT.

RECAP:

Hot:

Not Ryan Gosling

Not:

Robert "Footface" Pattinson or any other star from Twilight.

Zac Efron. I don't trust a man with eyebrows that perfect.

Paul Walker , because he reminds me of my most hated movies of all time.

Bradley Cooper . As if he isn't the same person as Marv from Home Alone people. Did anyone think MARV was a babe?!

WHO IS WHO?!

So tell me, am I the only person in the universe who doesn't get the Ryan Gosling thing? Did you just unsubscribe from this blog because I said it?

Who do you find to be totally babein? Or did someone turn out to be your Aaron Carter?

Summer Holidays

The beginning of the New Year brings a close to another glorious three weeks off work! Back to work tomorrow to join the rest of the masses for another year......sigh.

At least there was plenty of this. 

And this.

Oh and this! Can anyone say FastFeb?!

Stalked plenty of adorable cats. 

Did not nearly enough of this. 

Headed out for NYE and had an AMAZING NIGHT!

Wore plenty of cool summery clothes.

Ate plenty of BAD things to ease away hangovers.

Lounged in the pool.

Lounged in the spa.

Lounged in the sun! A whole lot of lounging and I was loving it sick.

Beautiful sunsets.

Breakfasts galore!

No complaints here - just how I love spending the break!

Anybody else going back to work tomorrow? I don't even remember how to get up before 10am these days. WAH!

New Year Dreaming

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas! I certainly did, plenty of time spent with family and an abundance of food made me one very happy girl. My only question is, when will the increased intake of food ever stop?!

Like a lot of other people I take this time of the year to reflect on 2011 and think about what direction I want my life to take in 2012. 

All up 2011 was a good year for me. Highlights include:-

Heading to New York City for an adventure which was a life long dream of mine. 

Learning how to manage my finances and plan ahead which meant I was able to save for the above trip in a matter of month and wasn't left scrambling to pay big ticket bills like car insurance.

Bettering the relationship I have with my boyfriend T. After 6 and a half years I feel like we are better than ever. Spending a long weekend together in Byron Bay was one of the best parts of my year!

Slowly coming to terms with the fact that my life cannot be measured against others - everyone has a different path.

Now as we come into 2012 I have thought of a few things I would like to aspire towards including:-

• Continuing to work on my savings for some long term goals including a home deposit amongst other things. A mini goal here is to also be able to save for a small overseas trip.
• Work on the way I interact with my family/siblings as I am very quick to respond in a negative manner which I don't do with any other people in my life! I am disappointed that I still do this and I really want to change this about myself. 
• Apply myself to my studies and strive to do very well rather than strive to get an assignment in on time!
• Possibly the most confronting for me......... leave my comfortable job with a great employer for something more challenging?!
• Depending on how the year turns out - look at moving out of home!

That is about it for me at the moment, but I would love to hear about any goals/ aspirations/ resolutions/ dreams that you are hoping to strive towards in the New Year?

The Dress Saga- Update!

Thank you for all your encouraging comments on my last post, it only confirmed what I already knew - the dress must be mine!

Never underestimate the power of Twitter people. After blogging about my dress woes for all to see, the lovely M of She Wore It Well alerted me to the fact that the dress was selling on the Westfields website for only $99.00!

Come to mama! 

 Considering it was originally going for $399.00 this is AMAZING! First thing I did this morning was roll out of bed and purchase it and it will be with me in 3-5 working days, yipee!

It's been a while since I've gotten a bargain, I am very pleased indeed. 

Has anyone else got any bargains to report? Do share! 

xx

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?

Friday Ramblings

Firstly, check out this song. Amazing. AMAZING. I am in love. Of course I just found out Lana Del Rey is playing a show at the Oxford Arts Factory in Sydney in February and the tickets went on sale and promptly sold out this morning. DAMNATION!

Totally suits my mood at them moment- but I won't even start on that for fear I will never stop!

Thought I was getting to finish work for the year on Monday, that has now been changed to Wednesday. I can barely get out of bed in the mornings. Gah. 

For the first time in my ENTIRE life I submitted an assignment a day early this week. It felt so GOOD. So that is what it feels like not to be finishing off referencing 30 minutes before it's meant to be turned in haha? Might have to do this more often. 

My oldest friend from back in my primary school days texted me this morning to let me know that she is being induced to have her first baby this morning. SO EXCITED! BABBBBBIEEESS! Nothing cuter than a baby I tell you. I was thinking about my three best friends from when I was around 13-14 today. The one I just mentioned is of course having her first child, another is married and has two children and the last one is getting married next week! It would seem I am a bit behind haha? As I am 22 I am not worried! 

Next thing: OVER SHARERS. I've discovered throughout my life that I have a special quality. Apparently if there is someone within a two kilometer vicinity who loves to share every single detail of their life, I shine like a golden beacon and they come talk to me. At the work Christmas party this week I had a man tell me all about his two knee reconstructions, how his sister donated a kidney to him, how his Endone tablets make him feel like he can fly and that the last time he ate prawns he had gout so bad he couldn't walk for a week. Not only did I have no clue who he was, I don't even know how he started talking to me. WOW. But hey, that's nothing compared to the girl who decided to give me the full rundown on her psychotic episodes and a detailed history of her past drug use as well as dysfunctional family life the week before last. Hey chick- I DON'T KNOW YOU SO WHY ARE YOU TELLING ME THIS!

I'm sorry, my life has been so boring lately and I have nothing to blog about! Now excuse me while I continue to consume the contents of Christmas hampers with great enthusiasm. 

New Years Eve

Last night I went to the movies and saw New Years Eve. You know the one, has about three million actors in it including Katherine Heigel and Lea Michelle, both of who I cannot stand! I'd say the actual film was average but it did really make me want to spend one NYE in Times Square NYC. Now wouldn't that be brilliant?!

It got me thinking about NYE in general. I feel like each year I plan on having the most CRAZY, FUN, WILD night EVER and each year it never lives up to my expectations. Also, despite the fact I can stay up late basically any night of the year, I feel like falling asleep at 10:30 on NYE ha ha!

I haven't made any plans for this year yet so I guess I have left it too late to do something really fun, but my god please don't let it be worse than last years house party where we were 'shhhhhhhsed' when screaming out the countdown and where the host promptly went inside at 12pm, drew the blinds and basically waited for us to leave :/ :/ :/ . YES REALLY. To make matters worse I was forced to leave my jug of lovingly prepared sangria behind! RIP YOU DELICIOUS JUG OF BOOZE!

NYE 2010!

This year T will be overseas so I won't even have a midnight kiss! Wah!

I think I'm going to buy a bottle of expensive champagne, wear a new frock and hope for the best!

Have you got any plans for NYE? Please let me live vicariously through you!

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?

November Goals!

Ohhhhhhh hello!

I hope you had a fantastic weekend my lovelies. I know I sure did, a combination of sleep ins, fancy dinners, cocktails, friends, pub lunches and sunshine saw to that!

So I have again forayed into the world of videos and now produce my second video!

This time I thought I would share my goals for the month of November ( yep, I'm getting in a little early!), I hope you enjoy. 

Would love to hear if you have set any goals for this month x

Shake It Off

I feel like I have been stuck in a bit of a glum mood the last few days. Not good, not good at all! 

There is nothing worse than being in a bad and or sad mood, I can't stand it myself because I hate feeling down and I especially hate when I inevitably take my feelings out on unsuspecting bystanders eg. poor T!

Time to retreat to my standard mood-busting activities I think!

Spend more time with my boyfriend:-

Mushiness alert! T is so suuuuuuper cute and shares an incredibly bizarre sense of humour, he never fails to make me laugh. He is also really good at bringing me back down to earth and helping me realise that some things really aren't a big deal, and instead of whinging, do something about it!

Source: We Heart It

Boxing:

 This ALWAYS work for me. I don't visualise punching peoples faces or anything, but just hitting something as hard as you can for an extended period of time is amazing. Always works, whether you've had a bad day at work or your everyone is just being a JERK!

Hot Bath:

 Get that bath tub nice and full and jump on in. Add something that smells nice, light a candle, put some music on. RELAX.

Sleep: 

When shit gets too real or you can't shake your mood, sleep on it. Call it quits early ( no playing on your iPhone for hours in bed either) and just sleep. Chances are you'll feel better when you wake up, even if you don't at least you had a good solid 8 hours of unconsciousness.

What do you do to shake off a bad mood? Please share your wisdom with me !

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!!