Weird and Wonderful!

A few weeks ago, Danielle from Underland to Wonderland tagged me in a post she wrote called "Get Your Freak On" to answer these questions and the other day, Leona reminded me about it when she tagged me as well, so I thought I better get my act together, answer the questions and give you all a little bit more insight to who I am.

1. What's a nickname only your family calls you? 
When my little sister started talking, she couldn't say my name properly so she just called me Nae Nae, and to this day it has stuck, but the one that really stands out is that my Grandad used to call me Fang because I eat everything in sight, was always first to finish my food and am basically a bottomless pit without proper table manners. I know its probably not the kindest nickname, but it caught on and my whole family calls me fang now when I ask for seconds or basically any time I'm eating. How endearing of them!

2. What's a weird habit of yours? 

I don't really have any weird habits, but I do bite my nails, even though I know it's gross. It's a nervous habit more than anything, but since moving out of home and learning what real stress is, I can't seem to stop!

3. Do you have any weird phobias?

Soggy paper and bread completely grosses me out! I start gagging any time I touch it because it just feels disgusting! I'm also terrified of balls, which is going to sound really weird, but it's because I'm so uncoordinated! Any time I am near people playing ball sports I freak out that the ball is going to hit me or roll ear me and I'll have to throw it back. You would be surprised how many times I have been hit by soccer balls and footballs in my life. It's like I have a target on my forehead or something!

4. What's a song you secretly love to blast and belt out when you're alone?  

Oh God. I'm not usually embarrassed about my taste in music, because it's pretty broad and I can usually find an artist or song I love which I have in common with someone, but it's not often that I turn on Taylor Swift in company, despite listening to Trouble all the time when I'm home alone, complete with dance moves that include dropping on the floor and pretending to cry as I roll around holding a hairbrush. Yep, embarrassing!

5. What's one of your biggest pet peeves?  

SLOW PEOPLE! I hate people who walk or drive slow. It drives me insane! Also, this might come across as rude, but I get really pissed off when I'm around dipshits. You know, the "dumb blonde" type, but they don't necessarily have to be blonde. Just people who have nothing interesting to contribute to conversation, and yet they always seem to be the ones that butt in with comments that make you go "huh?". You all know who I'm talking about!

6. What's one of your nervous habits? 

I've already answered this! I bite my nails. I also bite the inside of my cheek and tap my feet a lot. I'm jittery. I'm also a nervous talker!

7. What side of the bed do you sleep on? 
The right side! Although I used to sleep on the left until Jake and I swapped. Yep, Leona and I are twins. 

8. What was your first stuffed animal and it's name? 

His name was Pierre and he was a clown teddy. He was massive and I slept with him in my bed every night til I was about 10. I will admit, he ended up in my bed once or twice this year, too when I was feeling lonely living on my own, and had stayed up late watching Criminal Minds. I still have him.

I pull some good heads. See Pierre's feet in the top left corner? 

He is massive! now he would stand to just below my knee. 

9. What's the drink you always order at starbucks?  

I don't like Starbucks, nor do we have one near where I live, but at the uni coffee shop I have two regulars. White chocolate mocha with marshmallows, or a latte with two sugars. When it's hot I get a strawberry milkshake or a coffee frappe.

10. What's a beauty rule you preach, but never actually practice? 

Washing make up off before bed, and moisturising. I know they're both so important but there are more nights than I'd like to admit that I don't wash my make up off, claiming I'm too tired, and regret it in the morning. I never seem to moisturise either, unless I've just shaved my legs, which is also rare.

 11. Which way do you face in the shower? 
I always turn a billion different ways in the shower depending on what I'm doing. Most of the time I face the bathroom door in case a murderer bursts through, but if I'm washing my hair I face away from the water.

12. Do you have any 'weird' body 'skills'? 

I can roll my tongue, flip it upside down both ways and tie a lolly snake in a knot with it. If only I was that flexible elsewhere in my body!

13. What's your favorite comfort food that's 'bad' but you love to eat it anyway?  
Comfort food makes up most of my diet, to be honest. I have some healthy comfort foods I love, but I also eat chocolate, ice cream and Nutella almost daily, and lately I've been obsessed with scones with jam and cream. The jam goes first, in case you were wondering. 

14. What's a phrase or exclamation you always say?  
There are too many to list! Jake likes to joke that my catchphrase if I was a superhero would be "I'm stuck!" because I tend to say this multiple times a day, and get myself into the worst situations. It's usually said with a puty, whinging voice too, so I'd probably make a terrible superhero. I swear a lot more than I'd like to admit, so you can bet that those words are up there as well! Plus I'm Aussie, so...

15. Time to sleep, what are you actually wearing?  

In summer, one of Jake's shirts and my knickers. In winter, flannelette pants and a long sleeved shirt. I can't wear button ups because I get tangled in them!

16. What did you used to wear that you thought was cool but now you realize it wasn't that hot? 

I was such a dag when I was younger. I didn't care what I looked like enough to worry whether something was cool or not. I just threw clothes on and wore what was comfy!

Well, there you have it! I hope you all feel like you know me a little better now. I tag Libby, Anna and Magdalena to join in!

The Last Week On Earth

Okay, so it's not really my last week on Earth, but last week was the last week of my uni holidays, and I don't quite know how to feel about that. On the one hand, I am so excited for everything this semester at uni has to offer me, but on the other I just know that by week 2 I will be swamped with assignments and feeling hellish. Anyway, I just thought I'd recap my last week of holidays for you, because some pretty big and emotional things have happened, and that is why last week felt like my very last week on Earth!

How can I put this? Ummm..... My housemate can no longer move in with me, and told me this two days before my lease ran out and then I panicked, and my boyfriend panicked and now if I don't find somewhere on the Gold Coast to live in the next three weeks, I have to move back in with my parents and drive two hours each way to uni, three days a week!

There, said it. Now I can breathe.

You can only imagine the emotions I felt upon hearing this news. I was distraught because I didn't know what to do, and I was panicked. I think I have had three panic attacks since Wednesday, and I have had to basically continuously do breathing exercises to calm myself down. The thought of packing all my stuff is so overwhelming, and the thought of leaving this unit just as it has started feeling like home is just destroying me. When I thought I was going to have to move back to mum and dad's I was lamenting the loss of freedom that would come with living with my family again, and I was dreading telling my boss that I had to leave work, because I really, really love my job!

Thankfully, when I turned up at work yesterday and told my boss my news, at first she was upset, but quickly she resolved that she would find me a place to live come hell or high water, and if I didn't find anywhere by the time my three weeks were up, I'd be moving in with her! Strangely, the fact that I had three whole weeks before I really had to panic didn't sink in until that moment, ad the fact that yes, it is possible I will find somewhere really came to light! Her reaction to my news made me feel good. I would be missed if I left work, and I had actual hope of finding a place to live, so what was I panicking about?

Yesterday afternoon, I watched a good friend of mine compete in a modelling competition (which he WON!) and went out to All You Can Eat Pizza Hut with him and a bunch of his friends from uni who I'd never met before to celebrate. They were lovely, lovely people and I am so glad I finally got a chance to meet them. We had a great time, and so some of us decided it would be a great idea to go out in Surfers Paradise last night to mourn the end of the holidays, even though most of them had uni this morning, bright and early. Even though I didn't have uni, I offered to be deso driver so that I could make sure everyone got home alright and would make it to uni this morning (quack quack, mother duck!). Also, because I live furthest south of everyone, and so would have to drive past all their houses to get home anyway, and I was determined to get home so I could sleep in my own bed! At first i wasn't going to go at all, but Grady insisted that he wanted to do whatever I wanted to do, but I knew he would like to go out, so I gave in. Well, turns out that going out was the best idea that anyone had all night, because I had a ball, and when we met up with other people at the clubs, and I got talking to one girl in particular, I actually found a potential place to live! I'm going to check out her place tomorrow afternoon after uni, and I'm so excited about it! Plus, because it's the smallest room in the house, if I rent it I get the garage to myself as well, and I'm going to deck it out as a combined lounge room/sewing room. Yep, I'm already planning, and I'm planning a bit of redecorating in my bedroom as well when the move takes place. I'm really hoping all goes well when I meet the girl's house mate tomorrow and that I like the room, because it's less than 10 minutes away from uni, and I really don't want to move back in to mum and dad's place!

Wish me luck for tomorrow. Things have just started looking up after a hellish week of uncertainty, and I'd really like to continue along this path. What have you been up to this past week? Have you had holidays where you live?

A Day To Remember

A few weeks ago Jake and I found out one of my favourite bands, A Day To Remember, were about to come back to Australia to play some shows in the capital cities. I was so excited when we found out, as I have wanted to see them live for ages, but I had only just started my job and I was too scared to spend any money on myself until I got back on top of things financially. With great self-restraint, I stepped away from the computer without buying tickets, and decided to carry on with my life. I mean, they've been a band for 10 years and they come here every few years, surely I'll get a chance to see them one day, right?

Well, my self-restraint lasted and I soon forgot all about the concert. Until last Wednesday, that is, when Jake texted me reminding me the concert was in two days' time! My self-restraint broke at once. I was adamant that I would be at that concert, and after a quick check "just out of curiosity" to see if there were any tickets left, I all of a sudden found a pair of them in my email inbox. Gee, that escalated quickly, I thought!

Jake couldn't believe I had been so spontaneous, as I'm normally such a meticulous planner, but after Friday night, and the amazing experience we had at the concert, I'm so glad I was! Every now and then, I tend to turn things on their head and do something crazy and out of the blue. Last time this happened I got a tattoo, and this time, here I am with a new band shirt and a bunch of blurry photos to remember a fantastic concert!

A Day To Remember are fantastic live. Jeremy McKinnon's voice is so versatile, and the rest of the band are just so great at what they do! Jeremy entertained us with some little stories between songs, which were often quite hilarious, and resulted in the whole band ripping on him, and it was an incredibly high-energy concert with the band throwing out free t-shirts, beach balls and toilet paper which made the crowd go crazy and was heaps of fun! For the first half of the set, I was a little bit disappointed, as they only played one of my favourite songs, but then the second half of the set started, and BAM! There they all were, one after the other! Plus, they played a four song encore which included Downfall of Us All and If It Means A Lot To You, and that was AMAZING! Jake and I both had a great night, even if he was a wuss in the mosh pit and even if I did almost end up in a circle pit/crushed to death by some fat bitches with spiked cuffs on. It had been so long since I'd been to a concert and I'm so glad that I went, survived the night and survived a 9 hour shift at work the next day with my condition. Excuse the cheesy pun, but it was a night to remember!

Steps towards becoming Positive Polly, and dreams for the future

Too often, I find myself getting caught up over the little things in life. Not the good, little things, though. The bad ones. The everyday, niggling little things that make my life feel mundane or put me in a bad mood. Today I have decided that it has to stop. I need to reinvent myself as Positive Polly, before I spiral back down the road they call depression. So, I have started a few little projects which I am hoping will help me to transform into Positive Polly, and just generally make me feel better about myself. I took inspiration for doing this from Laura, Leona and Anna and decided to not only start being positive, but to start doing more positive things, and to keep track of them so that I can remind myself on bad days what it is like to have a good day.

The first thing I have decided to do, is a 101 in 1001 days project, like Leona's. This is something which I think will be really worthwhile, not only to keep track of the big goals I have for the next 3-4 years of my life, but also all the little things which I've been telling myself for forever that I'm going to do, but never have. This 101 in 1001 days project will also make up a part of a bigger project, which I hope will be ever evolving - my Bucket List. I'm really hoping that combined, my 101 in 1001 days project and my Bucket List will really help me to stay positive, concentrate on the good things in life, and just generally be a happy person.

So, while I'm kickstarting my 101 in 1001 days project, and thinking up things to put on my list (which I will share on the blog when it's done), here are a couple of the things I've already thought up for my Bucket List. One budget item which will be part of my 101 in 1001 days challenge, and one dream item, which I'm hoping to make come true in the future, once I have finished uni and saved enough money for it. I'm entering this challenge into MoneySupermarket's Budget Bucket List Challenge, by the way, so check it out if you have a chance, and maybe you will be inspired to take part, too.


Budget Bucket List - Learn To Surf

Some day I want to experience this view of the world.

I live in one of the most beautiful places on the earth - a surfing mecca, with beautiful beaches, rolling waves and the kind of lifestyle that many people would kill for. To learn to surf would be a total dream come true for me. I am not the most co-ordinated of people, but I really want to make an effort to get fit and lead a healthy life, and what better way to do that than to learn the sport which I have always dreamed of doing and loved to watch? So, what's stopping me? Fear I'd say. Fear that I might suck at it, or might embarrass myself. Also, I don't have a surfboard, but my dad is a surfboard shaper, so really that is no excuse. I just have to shove my fear aside, and put in an order. Doing regular exercise and spending more time in the ocean would have to help me to stay positive in life, don't you think? I really need to hop to it and cross this one off my list!


Extravagant Bucket List - Move To The UK

I will make it to the UK some day. 

Many of you will already know of my obsession with moving to the UK some day. It is a dream which has driven my life for as long as I can remember. Move to the UK. See where my mum was born. Use my new home as a base to trace the rest of Europe, and experience the kind of culture and history a girl can only dream of in Australia. I want to go to Yorkshire and see where the Bronte sisters lived. I want to visit castles in Wales, and see Buckingham Palace in London. I want to drive through the Irish countryside, go on a historical tour of Edinburgh and try to find the Loch Ness monster. I want to meet Leona, Michelle, Kirsty, Laura, Erica, Kim, Libby and all the other bloggers who inspire me from the UK, and who I've made friends with, and who know me better than many of my real life friends here in Australia. Ticking this off my bucket list could be the most important thing I ever do. At times, it certainly feels like it! If I was finished uni, and had a little money behind me I'd do it tomorrow. Experiencing life in another country, in the country where my mum was born and where she would have lived were it not for  her parents making the move to Australia is incredibly important to me. I can't fully explain why. It's just something I feel like I've got to do, and it would make me incredibly happy to make this dream come true. 

Well, there you have it. After putting in writing my plan for becoming more positive, and a few of the items off my Bucket List, I am already feeling on track to becoming Positive Polly. Wish me luck as I attempt to do this, and I tag Laura and Leona to enter the MoneySupermarket competition, since they helped to inspire this post, as well as Libby because she is really creative, and I'd love to see what she comes up with! 

Hey, Big Spender!

I had every intention of making this post a vlog, but unfortunately, my iMovie isn't co-operating today, and so I have had to make-do with photos and a written post, rather than subjecting you all to my nasty Aussie accent!

Last night I had a friend from uni stay over for an old-school sleepover, complete with girly movies, mass amounts of junk food, and a shopping trip to Pacific Fair, one of the larger shopping centres on the Gold Coast, today. We had what I could only describe as an extremely emotional night last night, watching The Vow, The Lucky One, Stick It and G.I. Joe. I think we almost flooded my lounge room with our tears while watching The Vow, which is just such an incredible movie, so we really needed some happy-go-lucky Channing Tatum in G.I. Joe to cheer us up after that!

Today, we set off for Pacific Fair with a very strict list of what we actually needed to buy stuck in our heads, determined that we wouldn't let all the pretties distract from what we were there for. I knew I needed a pair of jeans, some jumpers and some nice, uni-friendly tops and Mikeala knew she needed a nice jacket to wear out and about. Well, Mikeala walked out with nothing, and I walked out with only a pair of jeans from our list, but plenty more pretties as evidence of a day well spent!

The first shop we went into was Temt, and what can I say other than that I was Temt-ed by almost every single thing I saw in there to break my promise with myself! SO MANY PRETTY DRESSES! Thankfully, Mikeala reigned me in, and I walked out with only one thing, the maroon, paisley knitted dress which is at the back of my haul picture. For only $10, I just couldn't say no to it, because even though it is figure-hugging, I know I'll get a lot of wear out of it because it is quite nice to wear to uni, and it's really warm.

The next shop to make me cave was Jay Jays, to my surprise! I don't often shop in Jay Jays, but I really wanted a pair of black, high-waisted jeans and I knew they had them because my sister bought some. I'm planning on wearing them to see A Day To Remember tomorrow night, and so I bought the striped crop-top in Jay Jays as well, to wear with them, but I ended up finding the maroon and black top by my favourite surf brand, Mooloola for only $19 in City Beach straight after I left Jay Jays, so now it will be worn tomorrow, and the stripey top will just have to wait it's turn!

I love the cut-out details in this top, and I also love that it's a little bit longer than a few of the other crop tops I tried on today. I'm not usually much of a crop top person, because ew, belly! but with high-waisted things, I think this top will look really nice! One of the most exciting things that happened to me today is that this top is only a size 8, and the maroon dress is only a small! Normally I wear a 10 or a medium in clothes so this got me all in a tizz. I haven't been trying to lose weight or anything, but I have noticed it has been hapening and I quite like the way my body looks right now. I really started to notice my jeans hanging off my butt a few weeks ago, but it seems that I'm between sizes at the moment, becuase I still had to get a 10 in the black high-waisted ones, so now I'm just praying they don't stretch too much, as I know Jay Jays jeans tend to do!

OH! And today I found out that Australia has Lush!!! I've never seen a Lush store over here before and then, ta-da! There one was, right in the middle of Pacific Fair! This is really exciting to me, because I am allergic to sulfates and have really sensitive skin, so I'm always looking for quality, yet affordable natural products to use on my hair and skin. After describing my skin type to the assistant there, she recommended Angels on Bare Skin for me, as I had guessed she would. I was a little bit sceptical of it at first, after Erica's review, but I have heard great things about it from other bloggers, and when she demonstrated it on my hand, I had no bad effects from it. If I like Angles on Bare Skin, I will definitely be going back for a toner and moisturiser as well, because they felt great on my skin and I love the calming, rose and lavender smells! The assistant kindly also gave me a sample of their Rehab Shampoo, as I had asked about sulfate-free shampoos and told her that I had extremely dry hair and this is what she recommended. Unfortunately, Lush uses sulfates in all of their hair products which was a massive bummer to me. Their excuse was that they haven't found a replacement for it that they don't need to test on animals, but I call bullshit because I've been using natural shampoos for years, and none of them are tested on animals, nor do they have sulfur in them.Apparently the sulfates in Lush's shampoos is natural and derived from coconut, so I'm going to give it a little tester and see if I react to it. I've never had a reaction from eating coconut before, so I'm hoping that their products are safe to use on my hair!

The two nail polishes I bought are from Sportsgirl and I LOVE them! I've already painted my stubby, little fingernails in them, in the hopes that if they look pretty I won't bite them, and boy do they look pretty! The gold is really opaque, which is exactly what I wanted. It looks like frosted gold on my fingers and I only used two coats! I could have gotten away with one, as well if I hadn't missed a bit of my finger. The pink is a little less impressive, as it's much lighter than I anticipated and really needs three coats to even make your nails look painted, but on long fingernails, it would look fantastic!

All in all, I had a great day shopping despite not getting what I was after. Have you been shopping recently? I don't go often so when I do, I usually go all out. This was a very constrained shopping trip, compared to my usual! How do you go at controlling your spending? I would also really love to hear about your experiences with Lush products, since I'm so new to them!

6 Reasons Why Australia Is Worth Visiting (AKA Where the Bloody Hell Are Ya?)

Okay, so a lot of my devoted readers are from the UK, and since I sort of flit around in UK blogger circles, some are quite surprised when they realise that I live in Australia. Maybe it's my use of proper English which confuses them (have I ever said mate or G'day on here?) or maybe it's the fact that I don't seem like a convict? Either way, it stumps them. As their answer stumps me when I suggest they visit some day:

"BUT, EVERYTHING WANTS TO KILL YOU OVER THERE!"

"BUT, SPIDERS!"

"BUT, ISN'T IT DANGEROUS!?"

Yes, my foreign friends - every day I battle creatures of varying appearances and deadliness in the attempt to stay alive another day. Our city streets are filled with deadly creatures around every corner, and instead of parking my car outside the uni, I dismount my kangaroo in the paddock across the road where he and my classmates' bouncy steeds graze for the day.

I won't deny that my beautiful, rugged country is home to many a biting and stinging creature, but hey - not all of us go stumbling around in the bush or the desert all day. That's just looking for trouble! Besides, our most common furry, eight legged friends are quite harmless. Daddy long legs are my favourite, because they scare off other spiders and look hilarious, and huntsman's, while looking big and scary, are like the eight-legged equivalent of a kitten! So harmless, and easy to take care of with a spritz of Mortein, or a carefully aimed rubber thong if they're really getting your knickers in a knot. Anyway, I haven't seen a single spider in 6 months, so there's a statistic for you!

These puzzling remarks from the inhabitants of "The Mother Country" really got me thinking - what sort of garbage are people telling these Brits to have them so scared out of their wits of our country? And hey, Tourism Australia - WHERE THE BLOODY HELL ARE YA?

So, after a little reflection and a lot of tweeting, I decided it was about time I set my foreign readers straight and gave them this post - 6 Reasons Why Australia is Worth Visiting, or in the words of Lara Bingle, Where the Bloody Hell Are Ya?

Obviously, the first and foremost reason you should visit Australia is because I'm here. Simple as that! I love cake, am a mean chef and quite enjoy long walks on the beach at sunset. I would also make a great tour guide - I'm great at making up random 'facts' and almost every time I'm lost, I discover a beautiful place I've never been before!

With a sexy head like this, why wouldn't you want to visit me? ;)

The second reason you should all jump on the next plane to Australia is the weather (duh!). I'm sure you all don't need me to rub it in, but it's the middle of winter here right now, and as far as I can tell from all your moaning on the majestical world of the internet, we are STILL having better weather than you are! I'm talking mid-twenties in the middle of winter. YEP, YOU HEARD ME! If it gets below 20, I pull out the Ugg boots and thick, wooly jumpers. You see, we Australians like to think we own the sun, and occasionally we let the UK borrow it while we are sleeping. We Australians are greedy bastards though, and that's why if you beat us in sport you have shit weather! True fact.

I'm going to go right out on a limb here and say that you should all visit Australia for the culture! Don't snigger, I'm being serious! We're unique! We're also hilarious. Where else is it acceptable to head out for the day in boardies, thongs and a singlet, swear like a sailor, crack open your first beer at breakfast, and put dead 'orse on a meat pie and call it breakfast? We have more public holidays than any other country in the world, and I've also been told by reliable sources that we are remarkably nice people, and extremely laid-back!

Now, I know that all you foreigners really like to think of Australia as home to only the most dangerous and ugly creatures, but there really are some very cute and unique animals on this continent! We have koalas and emus and kangaroos and platypuses and a whole host of other pretty creatures roaming around! Not to mention the sea life, which includes my personal favourite animal, the dolphin! These little buggers aren't elusive, either. I have personally made a kangaroo into road kill (by accident, guys!), cuddled a koala, petted an echidna and swam with a dolphin. Anything is possible in the Chosen Land!

D'aww! Why wouldn't you want to visit the country 

that's home to this furry, little creature? Via

Another reason to visit my wonderful country is the food! Okay, so we may not be as classy as the French, or as clever as the Italians (I mean, come on! Pizza is like, the best invention ever, right?) but we do have some mean cuisine of our own which I'd be happy to show you! First of all, VEGEMITE! Black gold, the lifeblood of the land, it is the single most delicious thing IN THE WORLD! Meat pies (not technically Aussie, but definitely an icon of our country) are the  best hangover food ever invented, and a good substitute for breakfast if you've run out of Vegemite. We are also pretty good at sweets! I mean, it was an Aussie who invented pavlova, lamingtons and ANZAC biscuits, and who doesn't love a good, fresh fruit and whipped cream covered pav?

If you don't think this is hilarious, there's something wrong with you.

Last, but not least, and one of the most important reasons that I think everyone should visit Australia is the landscape. We lovingly like to refer to our country as God's Playground, because if ever there was a God, he must've put a great deal of effort and imagination into creating this place. Kilometre upon kilometre of sandy, deserted beaches with water so crystal clear that you can see the fish swimming beneath you while you're out past the break. Waves pounding against rugged cliffs, covered in bright vegetation. Sandy, orange deserts stretch through the middle of our continent, and cattle stations are dispersed throughout barely habitable land. The big rock in the centre of our country is incredibly famous for a mound of hardened dirt, but it is not the only natural wonder you will see when travelling our land. Around every corner there is a surprise, whether it be a cool rainforest, home to crashing waterfalls and brightly coloured birds; rock formations in the desert; mountains shaped like something tangible, with dreamtime stories to explain their existence. Vast, colourful reef can only be explored properly by snorkelling or diving. It's like a whole other world under there. We could find Nemo, if you wish? Or maybe the wonder you've stumbled across is a crumbling natural arch creating a bridge out into the ocean, or on the low-tide, a tunnel under which to walk hand-in-hand, making footprints in the sand. Even from where I sit right now, looking out my window the view is so diverse and so breath-taking. To the left I see blue-green mountains stretching off in the distance, and to the right the ocean stretches between myself and the city in the distance, where the sun is glinting off the glass in tall buildings. Closer to home, bright, neon kites dot the sky as kite-boarders ride the north-easterly wind up and down the coast. 

1/2/3/4

I promise you, if you ever have the opportunity to travel to my country, you will not be disappointed. It's not all spiders, sunburn and blue-ringed octopi! The people are friendly, the blokes are well-built and surf, and the atmosphere is unlike any other you have ever experienced. If you're lucky, you might even get to cuddle a koala! I may be biased, but I truly believe this is the most beautiful place on the planet, and if you ever do come and visit, it will take your breath away!

House Tour

A while ago, I wrote this guest post, a "real" house tour, for Anna of The Dusty Attic. I hope you don't mind recycled material, because I thought that I might share it on my blog today for those who missed it on Anna's. I warn you, though - I am a real person, and so my house is not the pinterest-perfect thing you see on most blogs. I'm a student with no budget for decorating, doing her best to make her house a home with the limited, second hand things I have available to me. I also am quite a messy person, so this my house on an average day. I say this because on a good day, it can look a million bucks for about 5 seconds, and on a bad day, well - you'd be lucky to see the floorboards! Anyway, I hope you enjoy having a nosy into my house. I love these kinds of posts, so I'm pretty confident that you all do too!

Starting on the verandah, here is a quick glimpse of the view from my third story flat. It's quite beautiful, day or night with the city off in the distance. I only wish I had a better camera to show it off more clearly! If you look in the other direction to this off our verandah, the view is of the mountains in the distance which separate the liveable portion of the country from the desert. It's rather nice being able to pick our view, and hearing the rumble of the ocean is so soothing at night!

Once you walk in the front door, you have landed in our living room! Its quite a nice, large space for such a small apartment, and it gets great natural light throughout most of the day, but especially during the morning. There's nothing like a bit of sunshine to wake you up and brighten your day!

This room is probably the most "decorated" of the lot, so far, as I bought the rug for a steal from spotlight to make the room more cosy, and have sprinkled some antiques throughout to make it feel like home. I also have my Blue Willow collection on display in this room, nice and close to the kitchen because I lack cupboard space in this place, and it looks rather pretty in the cane hutch. Functionality was more important to me when I moved in, on such a limited budget as I was, so the fact that my Blue Willow collection is pretty and functional is a huge plus for me! Another feature of this room, which brightens it up whilst also being functional is my dining table - the biggest DIY project I have ever taken on!

Excuse the black edges on this photograph, I can't seem to find the original, non-instagram version and my editing software isn't cooperating right now for me to get rid of them! This little chunk of the room is my absolute favourite, visually. It was never intended to have a blue and orange theme in this room, but I love the way it is coming together. This antique plate was my mum's and she has graciously let me have it to decorate my space :)

The kitchen in this place is tiny and I hate cooking on an electric stove, but overall the kitchen is functional, even if it does lack cupboard space. The people who were renting this place before us apparently ruined the kitchen, and so we were lucky enough to get a brand new one before we moved in!

The boyfriend, demonstrating the kitchen's functionality and making me a sandwich! I have trained him well ;)

I haven't really found that there is much I can do to inject my personality into this kitchen, as it's so modern and plain (unless leaving dishes in the dish rack for three days counts? It shows my laziness!). I have been displaying these little beauties with pride since my mum gave them to me, though and the big one is used to store tea bags! I'm rather fond of them, as they remind me of mum.

My bedroom is soo bloody frustrating as far as decorating goes! I really haven't bought much for it since moving in, and I have no idea what direction to take it in. All I know is that I'm keeping the bedspread the same, as cream will go with almost everything and I love the rose details.The bedspread is one of the few things I bought new solely for decorating purposes for this house. This room is very plain at the moment, and usually is adorned with piles of dirty washing on the floor near my wardrobe. I'm just stuck on what to do with it to make it feel more "me" without going too girly so that Jake (my boyfriend) doesn't feel uncomfortable, or not at home.

Update: Since posting on Anna's blog, I have decided that to hell with what boyfriend thinks! I am decoratng my room in pastels and he has no say in the matter (not that I really think he will care!) I am hoping to start picking things up here and there over the coming weeks to make this room feel more bright, pretty and "me". You all know that means lace and florals, don't you? I thought so!

This other view of my room is rather depressing. I've been meaning to do this dresser up since Jake's parents gave it to us, but just haven't had the time or the energy for such a project since I moved in. Plus, it's not big enough and I really, actually want to replace it with something more functional. At the moment it is adorned with random antiques and the jewellery box my grandad gave me, but again, I'm not sure which direction I want to take this room in and this will probably change. My dresser is always messy, as I like to have everyday needs within reach. Obviously, a flower crown is an everyday need for a blogger ;)

There's not much to really say about the bathroom... it's lacking storage, but it's in good working order.

And finally, my baby. My precious spare room, which was supposed to be an office/sewing room, but never quite got there! This room is my happy place, my dumping ground, my creative space and the space where everything gets to much and I feel as though I'm ready to drop out of university! I love this little space, even though it never really got to where I wanted it to go. Sadly, I am saying goodbye to this space in a few weeks, with a housemate moving in as soon as she gets her finances in order. I'l be sad to see it go, but I am welcoming the company and the financial relief a housemate will bring. Somehow I have to fit all this stuff into my bedroom, though and that is a scary thought!

Well, thats it! A virtual tour of my whole house done and dusted! It's not the biggest space in the world, and it's far from perfect, but as a first time renter and uni student, I feel so lucky to be in it at all! I hope you've enjoyed my little tour, and I hope that soon I'll be able to keep you posted on the changes that happen to the house as I start getting some decorating done here and there!

Florals, Ice Creams, Tea and Harry Potter

What do florals, ice creams, tea and Harry Potter all have in common? Well they are my favourite things, of course!

They also all appear on the backs of the iPhone cases in my latest Etsy treasury list. It's no wonder I can't choose a new iPhone case! Look at how cute they all are! Anyway, my current iPhone case is starting to break and I have realised since having it just how impractical it is for me to have a case with sticky-outy things on the back of it. It doesn't fit into my car charger with the case on, and I tend to always be knocking bits and pieces off it. So, time for a new one, but I need your help to choose which one! My heart i being pulled 12 ways right now, so I'd really appreciate your input on which case you like best!