Tuesday 25 December 2012

an aussie christmas

This has been one bizarre Christmas. Not only is it my first Christmas away from family but I was spending it in 40 degrees. The day started early with a small champagne breakfast, then a trip to the beach. The beach was so much fun with reindeer antlers, Santa hats and Christmas songs on the beach radios. We only stayed at the beach for an hour or so because even though it was so early it was still so hot. We went back to our apartment to have a BBQ. We had sausages, chicken and steak with potato salad and a green salad. It was so nice but it doesn't beat a roast dinner.
After a big meal I needed to have the traditional Christmas Day nap, I felt exhausted. When I woke I spent a good few hours on Skype calling my parents, my brothers, grandad and gran and then again a few hours after so I could Skype my uncle and my nan.
I had a really fun day with my friend and her family but for me there is no place like home this time of year. I will admit that I did cry a little after skyping my mum and dad but I'm just grateful I got to speak to them and be part of their Christmas Day back in England.
 
As mentioned previously, I have now started my YouTube channel and I have loaded a video of my aussie christmas.
 
Christmas tee - Woolworths
Christmas shorts - Primark
Bikini top - Cotton On
Bikini bottoms - Asos
Dress - Dotti
 

Sunday 23 December 2012

number one

I have finally got round to doing my first youtube video. I'm learning as I go along when it comes to editing and being in front of the camera. Let me know what you think.

Thursday 20 December 2012

para-para-paradise

This is what I wore today to Rottnest Island, which can only be described as paradise (travel blog post here).
I bought this dress after seeing it on Julie's blog. As a plain black dress I thought it could easily be dressed both down for the beach or up for a day/night out which is perfect when you're living out your suitcase.
 
Julie's blog post - here
Dress - Asos
Sunglasses - Ray Ban
Flip flops - Havaianas
 

Wednesday 19 December 2012

jaws

I woke up this morning to a 'Shark Alarm' going off on the beach opposite. It sounds whenever a shark is spotted so surfers and swimmers know to leave the sea. I found out later in the day that 13 Tiger Sharks were spotted and had eaten a dolphins not far from the beach.
 
Today was a beautiful day to go to King's Park (see pictures of the stunning view here). It was 28 degrees which I think is the perfect temperature and it was lovely to sit on the perfectly kept grass and look at the city. I can't wait to go back with a picnic and some cold alcoholic beverages.
After we got too hot from sitting in the sun we went for lunch at The Lucky Shag which is right next to the bell tower. The pub looks over the river and I have been told you can some times see dolphins as you eat. The food was beautiful and it was an amazing location and I will most definitely be back there again.
 
This is what I wore for the day. My wardrobe has become incredibly casual and basic but it's just what you need in this sunshine.
Shorts - Cotton On
Tee - H&M
Sunglasses - Ray Ban
 

Tuesday 18 December 2012

so much love in airports

Yesterday I wondered around Perth Museum (post here) whist waiting for my friend Becky to arrive back in Perth from Cairns. I finally met my beautiful friend Becky in the early afternoon (cheeky picture) who I'd not seen for 8 months. Becky literally ran at me, massive smile on her face, screaming. I dumped my bags on the floor, ran at her and had the best hug I've ever had, being picked up and spun around. I've missed her so very much.
 
I have been lucky enough to fly to many different countries and have been through many airports, but I have never gone to an airport and waited for someone in arrivals. Today we made our way to Perth airport to pick up Becky's mum, Maggie, who has flown from England via Singapore to spend Christmas and New Year here.
As we were in the International arrivals part of the airport, you know that some of the people who are being met may not have seen each other for months or even years. It was surprisingly emotional to see the smiles on everyone's faces as they catch the eye of the people they are meeting. Whilst waiting for Maggie we saw many tears, laughter and happy people being welcomed in to Perth. It reminded me of when I met my dad in Heathrow airport in 2010 after spending 3 months travelling around Australia and how happy I was to see his face light up when I walked through arrivals. This thought made me feel homesick for the first time. Mum, dad, Steve, Mark if you're reading this; I love you guys.
Maggie soon arrived and it was great to see how excited she was to be seeing Becky after 8 months and to be in Australia. We drove her back to our beautiful apartment (a review and peak inside here) and then walked along the beautiful Scarborough beach (pictures here).
 

Friday 14 December 2012

feeling festive #10 - markets

I am staying at the Emperor's Crown hostel in Perth for 6 nights (review here). The family I was staying with have recently gone back to England for a holiday over Christmas and New Year, so I am staying at the hostel until Monday when I will be meeting up with my friend Becky. I have known Becky for absolutely ages and she come to Australia for a year in April so I've not seen her for 8 months. Excited is an understatement.
Each Friday there are markets just round the corner from the hostel but as we are now in December there was a Christmassy theme. There was some beautiful home made crafts, delicious food and a small band singing festive songs. I had such a fun night and I finally started to feel a bit festive. You can see more pictures of the markets here on my travel blog.
This is what I wore to the markets. Please excuse my hair, this is what no conditioner, hot weather and a lack of hair dryer and hair straighteners looks like. You can see a better picture of my shorts here.
 
Tee - Dotti
Shorts - Cotton On
Bag - Zara
 

Monday 10 December 2012

fruit loop

I hate having flat hair and so I had a go at using the BaByliss Pro conical wand. Once I got the hang of it I though it was quite easy to use despite a few burnt finger tips. I am still waiting for the day that I have the perfect sea matted, long, wavy surf hair.
As mentioned in this post, I have wanted lilac hair for a long time and I did some experimenting recently. I like the stripe of colour but I would ideally like a much lighter shade if I was going to do my whole head. I have no idea what the name of the colour is, but I am going to go with raspberry.
 
Tee - Topshop
 

Saturday 8 December 2012

walking on sunshine

Today I woke up full of cold and generally feeling crappy so I decided to make my nails more summery as it was officially summer on 1st December here in Australia. I decided to use the Ciate mini in Speed Dial from the ever so cool advent calendar. I can be quite picky with nail varnish and I think some of the more expensive nail varnishes can be a bit crap (OPI and Essie) but I really liked Ciate and thought it went on really well and looked good after only 2 coats.
I used to live in gold jewellery but recently I've found myself loving silver jewellery again. The absolutely lovely Faye from The Bohemian Collective gave me this above knuckle ring as a leaving present and I haven't taken it off since. I've teamed it with this beautifully simple ring that I have borrowed from the lovely Sian and Emma who I am staying with.
 
When I was packing for Australia I knew that I would want to paint my nails but I wanted to pack as little as possible. I got the Instant Nail Polish Remover from Savers for £1 which is an absolute bargain and it works so well. I also bought this nail file buffer block for a cheap way to keep my nails looking nice.
I'm now going to spend the rest of the day celebrating that I have finally got my iPhone to work and browsing Pinterest. I don't know why it's taken me so long to finally sign up for Pinterest but I'm so pleased I finally have.
 
 
 

Thursday 6 December 2012

park life

 
The family I am staying with have dogs and today we went for a walk through the local park. It's been a bit stormy the last few days so it was nice to finally have some sunshine.
I'm still not 100% sure if I like the top I am wearing (similar top here). I like the loose fit but I'm not sure if I like the back of the top as it is so much longer then the front.
Top - Primark
Leggings - Topshop
Flip Flops - Havaianas
Sunglasses -Ray Bans
More pictures of the local park on my travel blog.
 

Monday 19 November 2012

see you soon

 

champagne at the rubens . afternoon tea with my mum . christmassy lights in london . taking my family out for their christmas surprise . my families christmas surprise . me and my brothers on top of the O2 . the last "christmas" supper . fire lanterns . my family bought me fireworks and fire lanterns as a surprise . beautiful fireworks . bye house . my farewell pint at the airport

The past few weeks have been hectic. I've been trying to see all my friends and family whilst packing and organising my life. As per usual I left everything to the last minute but this is it... I am finally following my dreams and on my way to Australia for the next year or two. The past few weeks have confirmed that I have absolutely brilliant friends and family who I am going to miss so much. A special thank you to my mum, dad and brothers for making my last day in England so special. Lots of love, see you soon <3

Tuesday 23 October 2012

beside the seaside


I think I am meant to live beside the seaside; it is definitely my happy place. I spent the weekend in Little Hampton, Sussex to see some family for the last time before I leave for Australia. I'm hoping the next time I have a picture on a beach it'll be in the sunshine instead of the rain. Saying goodbye to family has made my trip to Australia seem even more real. Although I'm sad I'm not going to see everyone for a while, I am getting even more excited to leave. In 4 weeks at this time I will be settling down to an in flight movie on my way to Hong Kong.
My to do list over the next few weeks is ridiculous. I need to re-write my CV, sell even more of my life on eBay and pack. I literally hate packing! Goodbye sleep, hello zombie eyes and getting shit done.

Thursday 18 October 2012

laura ashley blog birthday

I had a brilliant time at the Laura Ashley blog birthday event with Laura on Tuesday. We were greeted with cocktails in the most beautiful cups and saucers along with some of the best brownies I have ever had. After having a browse of the Christmas collection, we were treated to some wonderful music by Liz Lawrence.
I have always loved Laura Ashley's homeware but never really taken the time to look at the clothes. There was a sample of their wintery jumpers, bags, scarves and cute bobble hats at the event, all which I absolutely loved.
We were asked to pick our 3 favourite items at the event in the chance to win them. The first item I fell in love with is this cute bobble hat (you can see it better here). I have been after a hat like this for ages and I really liked the colour and it fit perfectly on the back of my weirdly shaped head.
The second item I love is the bird cage decoration. I think it is incredibly cute and would look festive handing from any Christmas tree. I love the sparkly glitter and it would look great handing next to some twinkly lights. In fact, if I had this it most likely wouldn't be packed away for Christmas and stay in my room all year round.
My third and final item is the ginger bread house candles. I absolutely love candles and will usually pick candles that look and smell the best. I thought these ginger bread house candles were really festive and would look great burning next to our fire.
So there you have it, my 3 favourite items from the Laura Ashley blog birthday event. I took pictures of pretty much everything and it took me quite a while whittling it down to just three. I had a great night and I'd like to say a massive thank you to my lovely friend Emma for inviting me along. You can read the Laura Ashley's blog post about their party here (with a little picture of me finding out what I got from the 'wish tree').


Tuesday 16 October 2012

once upon a time



This is what I wore tonight to the Laura Ashley blog birthday event. I met the lovely Laura and after getting slightly lost (damn google maps!!) we were greeted with beautiful cakes, tea cocktails in vintage cups and saucers and the amazing Christmas collection which is well worth a look.

Playsuit - Primark
Jacket - Zara
Scarf - Edinburgh, Scotland
Bowler Hat - H&M

I am holding a gift from the 'wish tree' and I was lucky enough to get the set of 3 white lit birds which have already found the perfect spot in my room. I had such a wonderful evening.
 

 

Saturday 13 October 2012

if you never try you'll never know


I feel like I haven't blogged or been on twitter properly in ages, when in reality it's only been a week. On Monday I handed in my months notice at work. It's official; I'm leaving a second job to go to Australia! It is finally starting to sink in that I don't have a lot of time at all before I leave.
I hate eBay with a passion. There's always someone who doesn't pay or asks to have their item shipped to a different country when you've specifically stated UK only. As my parents are planning on doing our house up whilst I'm gone, and I could do with some extra cash, I have been going through all my clothes to see what I can put on eBay. I don't think I've thrown anything away for at least 5 years so there was A LOT of clothes to go through. Secret hoarder much! Pretty much everything is going to start at 99p so if you fancy a bargain please have a look at my eBay page. There will be much more going on over the next few weeks so keep an eye out :)
As well as selling my life on eBay I've also got to fill my iPod with some epic tunes, learn how to blog and edit videos/photos from my iPad. It's going to be a busy few weeks so I apologise if I don't blog, comment or tweet much. I've also decided that I will be creating a YouTube account so I can vlog whilst I'm in Australia, so prepare to laugh at my first video in the next few weeks too. So much to look forward to ;)
Playsuit - Primark
Jumper - Zara


Monday 8 October 2012

no one gets left behind


I thought I'd do an outfit post from #ldnbloggermeet. This my lovely friend Laura who I met at my very first blogger meet over a year ago and we have stayed great friends ever since. I love how many people I have met and become good friends with through my blog, it really makes it all worth it.
 
I am wearing:
Dress - Topshop
Bowler Hat - H&M
Earrings - Broome, Australia
Bracelet - Gift
 
Laura is wearing:
Playsuit - Lipsy
Blazer - Mango
Ring - YSL

Sunday 7 October 2012

lush at #ldnbloggermeet



Lush have been absolutely amazing sponsors of #ldnbloggermeet. Not only the meet that was yesterday, but three out of the four I have organised. We are always lucky enough to try our the newest products and yesterday was no exception.

FUN - I am really excited to try this new invention. It smells absolutely delicious and I am excited that it can be used in so many different ways -  as body wash, shampoo or in the bath. If I don't use it all up before I leave, then I am going to take it with me and hand wash some of clothes whilst being poor and living in a hostels.
 
Fair Trade Honey shampoo - I usually hate anything to do with honey; the smell, the taste, the texture. But the Honey shampoo actually smells really nice and I am looking forward to trying it out. I have used Lush shampoos in the past and they have made my hair feel really nice so I am hoping this is the same.
 
Emotional Brilliance in Motivation - I am really looking forward to trying this eye liner. I really like the colour and the brush is really thin and easy to use. There are lots of other beautiful colours in lipsticks, eye liners and eye shadows. I also really like the lipstick in the colour Bubbly.



Saturday 6 October 2012

my final #ldnbloggermeet



Today was the day of my final #ldnbloggermeet... Or my last one for a while. We all met at The Warwick pub just off Regent Street. I held #ldnxmasbloggermeet here last year but decided to go back because it's such a nice venue.
 
I had a great time chatting, laughing and getting to know everyone! It's a shame I didn't get to meet some of you sooner but I'm pleased I got the chance to before I leave. I have laughed so much today my throat hurts and drank cocktails far too early my head is a little cloudy.
 
Once again I was lucky enough to have Lush sponsor the event. We got some lovely new hair care products and glitter eye liner to try out. A massive thank you to Sarah Jane (twitter here) for all the amazing products.
 
Here is a list of all the lovely bloggers that attended with links to their twitter and blogs:

Laura's blog and twitter
Emma's twitter
Nicola's blog and twitter
Lauren's blog and twitter
Chelsey's blog and twitter
Joanna's blog and twitter
Julie's blog and twitter
Hayley's blog and twitter
Annabel's blog and twitter
Becka's blog and twitter
Sophie's blog and twitter
Aysha's blog and twitter
Safira's blog and twitter
Maria's blog and twitter
Mona's blog and twitter
Lodz's blog and twitter
Lauren's blog and twitter

Finally, I'd like to thank everyone that come today for my final shindig! I had the best time and I hope you did too! I always get so nervous before but I really don't know why when people like you come along! It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy when I think of you all meeting up again whilst I'm on the other side of the world. I'll be there in spirit!



I want to say a final massive thank you to the lovely Joanna who surprised me with a leaving gift which bought tears to my eyes! Joanna bought me the cutest make up bag with the great London landscape on the front and inside was the perfect shade of lipstick for me.