Hiatus

So things have been hectic lately with still settling into my new job and a whole lot of other stuff happening in life also which has been a whirlwind of fun, exciting, decision making and everything else in between.

I've been doing lots of cool stuff which I am dying to post about but I don't want to let my little blog down and fall behind with my normal schedule of trying to post twice a week. So I've decided to officially go on a blog hiatus for the next month until I sort out some stuff in my life. Don't worry, I'll still be around, and when I do get a free moment to breathe I may try and post but for now, I need some 'me' time and blogging is the first to fall off the priority list unfortunately.

If for some reason you're crazy enough to want to continue hearing from me, I will still be tweeting so follow me there :)

See you in a month, and let me leave you with a photo of beautiful Sydney when I was walking around the harbour last week!

Magnum 'Pleasure' Store

I love Magnums, but am really picky - I only eat Ecuador Dark Chocolate Mini Magnums. Specific, I know! Partially because I can't stand the sickly sweet non dark chocolate and I just can't finish a whole magnum by myself. Anyway, when I knew that the make-your-own Magnum Pleasure pop up store was opening in Westfield Sydney for August I just had to go. Plus Whitney Port endorsed it, which is enough to convince me!

I of course started with Dark Chocolate. My add ons were rose petals, crumbled meringue, chopped hazelnuts and rose praline. Then I chose a drizzle of white chocolate, which wasn't really my first choice but I got peer pressured into it. Excuse the blurry photos!

Look how many choices there are though!

I was specifically told by disappointed friends not to get the dried strawberries or the sea salt, but otherwise I would have got the first one.

Verdict? Definitely tasty! It is also smaller than a normal full size Magnum so I was able to finish mine. I liked the mixture I chose, but to be honest I can hardly see any combination failing. Sugar, ice cream, chocolate and more sugar, how can that go wrong at all?

Get in before the end of the weekend if you would like to try it! The lines have been long long long (even on a Sunday afternoon, when I went, it was a 45 min wait and that was considered 'good').

A Beginners Guide To Wine Infographic

Don't you love a good infographic? I'm not much of a wine drinker (spirits are my vice...) but I might just have to start consulting this pretty little picture :)

Reuben Hills, Sydney

I finally made it to Reuben Hills, a hugely popular cafe in Surry Hills with Honduran/South American influences. I have to say, everything on the menu sounds absolutely amazing and from what we shared amongst a table of four, it definitely didn't disappoint.

One thing I think is great too is the prices are really quite reasonable and with sizeable servings it definitely makes one of the 'cheaper' cafes around the area in my opinion. No doubt that probably is one reason why the wait can be quite long for a table at times!

Anyway, here's some snaps of the food we ordered:

Clockwise from top left -
Baleada - Honduran tortilla and this one had pulled pork filling. This was really large and quite tasty, though not the most amazing tortilla you've ever had

f-ing great fried chicken - this was crispy, tasty and not too greasy so definitely a winner for finger licking goodness!

Chorizo grits - this serving size was really decent and the grits, avocado, beans nachos dish was easy to share and flavoursome

Dirty bird - this chicken burger as you can see had a huge lean slice of chicken. I inhaled my share of the burger so fast I can't remember really how it tasted exactly but it must've been good for me to eat it so fast!

And a meal wouldn't be complete without dessert - this is give a dogg a bone which is a raspberry icecream sandwich with blackberry mousse. This was really well balanced in that it wasn't too sweet but it was rich enough to make it a very good dessert.

I will definitely be back, though now I've tried most of the non breakfast menu I think I may have to wait a bit!

I hear you, sister

I've always loved beautiful jewellery, especially rings and I am constantly on the lookout for new pieces. I came across this article and it resonates so much with me! Its written from the point of view of a lady who wasn't going to sit around waiting for someone to buy her a ring, so took matters into her own hands. Have a read if you get the chance - click here

"An obsession with shoes and handbags is perfectly acceptable... But buying yourself a beautiful ring is a powerful statement"

Priceline 40% off Skincare!

Of course half the world shopped up big during last week's Priceline 40% off deal on Skincare. I love how they rotate these deals across the different items. Skincare is definitely an area where 40% off is much appreciated because the items are staples you always need and are often on the pricier end.

Anyway, this ended up being my haul:

I'm so happy Trilogy Rosehip Oil was included on the deal because most places tend to exclude it. I actually probably didn't really need to buy it seeing as I still have a stash from the last Myer sale, but 40% off was just too good. And the Neutrogena moisturiser is my cheapie but good moisturiser that can last so I always buy when its on sale!

Then I read some bloggers thinking of buying the Clarisonic 'copy' that Olay make and I'd been meaning to try Clarisonic (which of course is quite pricey). At a mere $20 with the sale this Olay version was an easy purchase, and for $6 (sale price) I chucked in the extra replacement heads.

On first look opening the box I was impressed by it. I've used it twice now and am happy with the cleansing it does in terms of not being overly harsh, and it does feel like its doing a good job in at least getting rid of dead skin cells especially on the T Zone. My main concern was it just moving around dirt from one part of the face to another but so far no issues, but my skin has been playing up lately (lots of blind pimples!) so I will report back once I've been using it for longer.

What did you buy during the Priceline sale?

Gelato Messina Creative Department

A few weeks back Gelato Messina's Creative Department was renovating and closing for a week so were giving out free serves of their 'monoporziones' i.e. mini cakes if you arrived at a certain time and lined up. Well I sure did try my luck and managed to get myself one of these beauties!

I wish I remembered the name - but its basically a pavlova based gelato cake which was obviously right down my alley seeing as I love anything meringue.

This was seriously tasty...I mean they're not cheap but for one off occasions they definitely make a cute cake! This was passionfruity gelato at the bottom with raspberries and then the meringue at the top, with a chocolate base which you might just be able to see in the next photo.

Keep an eye out for my future posts about Messina - I'm going to their gelato appreciation course soon :)

Shoe Watch: July 2013

I have been trying to be good with saving money lately so all I am allowed is to online window shop. So it seemed high time to do a shoe watch post! I went on a few US based designer department stores to look at the shoes on offer and was realllly disappointed...I suppose that's good for my bank balance? But of course, I can always find stuff to buy on net-a-porter so that's where all these can be purchased!

Grusanda 85 £625

As you know, CL can do no wrong in my books and while this pair is simple and classic, there's something about satin, pink and bows that just does it for me. Are they not adorable? Maybe its because I'm thinking of a Marchesa dress that has been sitting in my wardrobe unworn which is this exact colour and has a huge bow on the front. 

Gucci Beverly Heel £455

I am in love with these shoes. I could imagine myself wearing them sooo much. I just love me a sexy pair of patent T bar heels. Love love love!

Nicholas Kirkwood £850

And these Kirkwoods seemed so fun and 60s mod that I was drawn to them. I mean white boots is so impractical, but pretty much all Kirkwoods can be described as being that so I still think these are uber cute.

Can you tell I'm in a boring simple shoe phase at the moment?