Wednesday, January 27, 2010

In Need of Inspiration...

Ashley Greene has said in the past that she does pilates 6 times weekly and Dita Von Teese has said she does pilates with Mari Winsor and on her own 4-5 times weekly; she said she loves Winsor Pilates' bun and thigh sculpting workout and she thinks every woman should own the dvd because it is fantastic. I'm hoping that there are some fit and healthy people out there who would be willing to share their regimen in the comments section. Maybe what you eat, or what you do to stay fit and healthy. All ideas are more than welcome and very much appreciated...
Image via Justjared.com

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

I've Been A Lazy Girl

I have a bit of a confession to make. For the past few days, or over a week now, i've been a pretty lazy girl. I've been waking up towards midday and going to bed just before sunrise and i'm very aware of how detrimental this pattern could be to my body and my fitness. Least to say, i've become a couch potato and i've only had two decent workout sessions in the last 2 weeks and i really need someone to act as my personal trainer to get me off the couch and do one of my workout dvds or go for a long walk up a hilly road. I've been so lazy that i've had the same nail polish on for about 3 weeks and counting which is VERY unlike me. The only thing i've consistently done is take care of my hair, apply for jobs and have two phone interviews, have my training sessions for AVON and clean my apartment religiously! I need something or someone or even just an inspiration to spur me into action because i'm getting tired of being tired.
I almost forgot to mention that i'm officially done with my shopping ban! For about 24 hours, i wac excited about shopping and the lot because i haven't done it in such a long time but right now i really can't be bothered anymore. For some reason i've lost all interest and the only thing i'm really keen on is getting my new Apple laptop i told you guys about a while back. I'm meant to be going to Sydney next month for a spot of shopping with Cookie but i must admit that i've also lost interest in that. The only thing i'm truly looking forward to during that trip is our usual stop at China Town for lunch/ dinner; i can't wait to get my teeth sunk into some delish food and i think this time i'll order something with pork. I say pork because i think that's what Cookie ordered the last time we went and it tasted real good!!!
Image via Stylewillsaveus.com

Monday, January 25, 2010

Stuck In The Middle

This is a situation i never hoped to get into. See, i applied for a University accommodation but i never really got a reply from them which was quite odd as i applied the 1st week of August last year which is pretty early because that was just 2 or 3 weeks after the new semester started. Usually, they'd send an e-mail by November saying whether you got a place or not. By the end of December i still hadn't got an e-mail from them. So i was advised to look for another accommodation which i did; i found myself a nice apartment that i'd lived in before which is about 25 minutes walk to uni up 4 annoying hills but i took it and paid half of the bond so i wouldn't be left feeling homeless. My parents on the other hand weren't too pleased about this; my dad doesn't want me to live alone because it's gonna make my social life more non-existent and my chances of meeting a future prospective hubby more difficult. My mum on the other hand blatantly doesn't want me to live in a non-university affiliated accommodation except i'm living with a group of friends.

So you can imagine her excitement today when i told her that i had infact been offered a place in university accommodation. I also had to tell my dad cause for the last couple of weeks he's been making it clear that he's not happy with me living alone eventhough he doesn't want me to feel like he's trying to dictate what i should do. My mum feels exactly the same way and when they found out that i got a place today, they asked me to talk to the other people i got a place with and forfeit it; eventhough it means losing the deposit i already paid which is quite substantial. Before we get into the details, i must admit that i'm absolutely excited about the university accommodation that i got offered. It is less than 5 minutes walk to the city mall and very close to woolies, just a stone throw away from the free bus stop to uni, has a swimming pool and a restaurant just downstairs. So idealy i shouldn't feel bad right? I should be excited that i have this opportunity to live in the lap of luxury whilst i'm still at uni. Did i mention that it is only $10 more expensive than the other place and whereas i have to spend an extra $10+ on bus fare in the other apartment to uni, i get the bus free for this one. So that means i'm only losing my deposit right?
But i still feel a bit weird about going to have that conversation with them. What do you guys think?
Image via Pgteenspace.files.wordpress.com

Friday, January 22, 2010

MAC Collection: Warm & Cozy

MAC has released a new collection aptly named 'Warm & Cozy'. I want to assume that this collection is more about prepping us for Autumn which is almost 2 months away as opposed to the current summer because it is already hot. Here's what MAC describes this collection as:
"Cuddle up, cozy down, chill out. Beauty succumbs to the most sensuous and luxirious essentials. Dim the lights, and relax in the soft candlelight of thisseason's most mellowed-out shades. Be warm & cozy"

The collection contains 4 eyeshadows, 4 shadesticks, 3 lipsticks, 4 tinted lipglasses, 2 tinted lip conditioners with SPF15, 2 shades of mineralize skinfinish, 2 blends of essential oils and 2 nail lacquers. The only thing i'm looking to buy from this collection is the tinted lipglass in feeling dreamy. When my shopping ban is over, if i'm in a very generous mood i might pick up one of the eyeshadows. Does anything from this collection interest you?

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Interesting Read

So....yesterday i was doing some random browsing on the internet as i've been quite bored and being on a shopping ban means that it's a very bad idea for me to be hanging around places like Sportsgirl, Cotton On and Supre for some bargains to keep me entertained. And i must say that it is pretty good as it has made me reconsider all the amount of emotional shopping i've done in the past and how i could have saved the money. Plus, the recession that has swept across the world has increased my belief in sticking to my simple style as opposed to passing trends and fads that tend to hurt the wallet every season. By not shopping like a candy-happy child, i've managed to save myself some money that could come in handy in the future...

Anyways, back to my online browsing i was talking about. I came across an interesting article about how to conquer your cravings and i think it might be helpful for me and others out there that tend to have a lot of sugar craving. You can read the article here.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

I'm Being Haunted

...by Valentino's booties! Just yesterday i blogged about Camilla Belle's Valentino Couture black petal detailed peep-toe booties and how i wasn't jealous. Well now Amanda Seyfried is also wearing one in nude. So who else is going to spot these long enough to torture my soul? I don't even want to know how much they cost because that's even more torture, all i want is to find a remix! So over to you Cookie, cause you're better at finding remakes than i am. Oh, i forgot to mention that i'm in love with Amanda's dress and her hair.
Images via Justjared.com

Monday, January 18, 2010

I'm Not Jealous!

Usually when i see a picture of Camilla Belle, i can't stop gushing about how beautiful she looks with minimal makeup and how her style seems so effortless. Or how i'd kill to have hair and eyebrows like hers. But today, even though i've noticed all of the above, i can't help but drool over her black sandals which look like peep toe boots to me. My chin nearly hit the floor when i saw them but i'm so not jealous - i wish! All i can think of is being a 'Jumper' like Hayden Christensen in the movie 'Jumper' and just magically appearing by her side, getting her wasted, taking her shoes off her feet and jumping right back to Oz! How amazing would that be huh?
Images via Justjared.com

Thursday, January 14, 2010

MAC: Love Lace Collection

Love Lace is the new collection from MAC that has been released in Australia. I don't know if i'm alone on this but their collections are becoming more boring and uninventful as time goes; i feel like i can compare their lacklustre releases to Nokia that also seems to be losing their mojo in the mobile phone department. I can't possibly see anything from this collection that i'd want to shell my money out for.
Credit: Image

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Barkins

Yesterday, i made a trip down to my local Barkins to see what they had to offer. For me the best part about barkins is their shoe collection as they have quite an ample lot to choose from at a very affordable price and i was impressed at what i saw yesterday and once my shopping ban is over, i plan on getting this pair of ankle boots for just $60. You see, i've always wanted to own a pair of ankle boots especially peep toes but most of the ones i've seen are either too expensive or really thin stilettos and i can't walk in stilettos neither am i willing to totally throw away my comfort for fashion. But this pair from Barkins is a great find because it is just $60 and although it is stilettos, it does have a platform base which should make it much more comfortable to wear.
Source: Barkins

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Budget Planner

Hi Guys and Gals! I figured since i blogged about money yesterday that it'd be a good idea to talk about budgeting today. Most people especially students tend to ignore this important aspect of saving money because its boring or because they have no idea on how to do it. I must admit that when i first gave it a try, i had no idea how to go about it. But what i did to help me was to make a note of all the things i did in a month. I then went through it and budgeted to suit most of the things i did and in places where i had no idea what to name the expenditure, i just put it under miscellaneous. Now you have an even better start as i've scanned a page from last year's UOW 2009 diary that details how to make a budget. Now you have no excuse as to why you aren't doing one. If you want more in-depth information then please read: The Balanced Money Formula.
Scanned by me

Monday, January 11, 2010

Easy Ways To Save Money

Last week, i had a very interesting phone conversation with a friend of mine and i think its not too boring to share with you guys. She actually called me for one reason: how she could curb her spending habits. You might be wondering why she called me for advice as i'm no financial guru or bank manager. The thing is - i used to be a hardcore shopaholic - i could easily survive on toast and jam just to buy a pair of heels that i'll end up treating like my partner or even a bag that i might end up idolising. I actually survived on jam and toast for a couple of weeks while i was schooling in Togo so that i could shell out some major dough to have my prom dress custom made. I've always been a saver and a shopper because i've been saving money since i can remember; its a habit that was instilled in me by my parents so i've pretty much done it all my life. But i also had a deadly shopping habit: not only was i keen on having new stuff everytime, i was also an emotional shopper. So i wouldn't touch my savings but i'd gladly starve to save enough money specially to buy something. It was really crazy and i knew i had to do something about it.
The first thing i did was to minimise shopping on the spur of the moment. So instead of buying something i like the minute i see it, i'd go back to the shop about 3 or 4 times to look at the item, decide if i REALLY love it enough to wear as much as the price. If the answer was no, but i still wanted it, i'd end up waiting to see if it went on sale. Most of the time i did this the item always ended up being sold out helping me curb my habits. The next thing i started doing was to set myself a short-term goal [this could be anywhere from a couple of weeks to a few months]. In my goal i'd detail all the items that i wanted to purchase and i ranked them in order of importance. I'd then go on a shopping ban to save every spare penny i have over this period and after the shopping ban is over, i tend to spend a portion of what i saved and leave the remaining in my 'trust fund' that i've been accumulating since i was about 12.
She then went on to ask me if i spend everything i save from my shopping ban because the only expensive things she knows i tend to buy are skincare products, makeup and perfumes. I usually try to save at least 1/4 of whatever i save during my shopping ban because i also have long term goals that i would like to achieve and this involves having a robust bank account and this is my main reason for having a trust fund account. This account actually has nothing to do with my parents as i opened it when i started going to boarding school and receiving pocket money. I use to save half of it in the account and whatever spare change i had i saved towards getting my mum a birthday present because each year i give her a perfume for her birthday and she actually keeps the empty bottles and now she's got more than 10 empty bottles sitting in her room. The funny thing is eventhough i'm no longer at home, i actually send her money for a new perfume every year and i tell her the name of the perfume that she MUST buy with the money. If i decided to spend everything i saved from a shopping ban in a year, i could easily walk into Burberry and buy myself a wristwatch and maybe a scarf depending on how strict i was with every penny but since i have a long term goal, if i've saved a large sum from the shopping ban then i usually remove a large sum to go towards my trust fund.

If you're new to saving money then it's best to start with a short term goal. You'd be suprised by the amount of money that you're able to spend when you decide to be strict with your expenditures. I'm not talking about being stingy; that's a totally different story. Instead you are looking for little changes you can make to fatten up your bank balance. Using myself as an example, i've been wanting to buy a spectacular laptop for myself as mine has been living a life of its own. At one point i planned on getting a Sony that retailed for about $1800 and eventhough i was on a shopping ban, i also decided to reduce my weekly grocery expenditure from $40 weekly to $30 weekly and only allowing myself 1 week in every month where i spent $40. I was able to do this by swapping my weekly $6 Milo cereal purchase for $4 rolled oats that lasts me for a month and sometimes more, drinking more green tea and less milk tea which shaved off about $2.17 off my weekly expenditure and eating meat for a maximum of 2 weeks every month instead of weekly. There's always something that you can tweak a little bit so you have more spare change to add to your account. Consider making a list of everything you buy for 2 weeks and then go through it and see where you could shave off some expenses.
When you've finessed this, i suggest you open a savings account and if possible have more than one. I think i have about 4 savings account to date with 2 of them being in UK and the other 2 here in Australia. This way each savings account is used for something else. There are so many options out there so you can shop around to find which ones you prefer. My preferences are the online saver and bonus interest savings account. With the online saver, you can't withdraw money using an ATM, you can only use it online. With the bonus interest account, you get a % bonus monthly if you don't withdraw anything from it and nothing if you do. When you've accumulated quite a bit of money [such as $500+] why not get a term deposit where you can secure a % amount of return when your money is fixed. The longer you fix it, the higher the return but don't be tempted to fix it for too long if this is the only form of savings you have. I've had one for a year and then another for 3 years. I actually forgot about the one i had for 3 years until i got a letter from the bank telling me it was almost time!
Enough with all my words, here are some websites to get you into action if you're interested. Westpac for some savings account options, Money Management Ideas and Get Rich Slowly
Credits: Pink Pig Photo & White Pig Photo

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Biting The Apple!

After much thinking and research, i've decided that i'm going to get a Macbook for next semester as my HP laptop is currently on its last legs. I guess you can say i've caught the Apple bug and crossed over to the other side. The pink Sony laptop that i've been wanting to get that ended up being discontinued was a close second choice and the replacement that was produced just doesn't seem like its worth the money at all. Hope y'all are having a good weekend, i plan on giving myself a mani-pedi tonight to glam it up a bit before i watch movies and eat tuna pasta bake!
Credit: Image

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Less Is More!

Doesn't she look beautiful? She could easily pass for someone in their late 20s but she's actually in her 40s!!! I hope i look this good when i'm her age. I love how her makeup has been done as its been used to highlight her best features - her eyes and cheek bones. They've also blended it in properly and applied the products with a light hand. This is exactly what makeup should do for you: enhance your features without looking like you've got a mask on! Now i'm off to go practice my blending techniques because i need to perfect my everyday look that i want to use starting March 1st [beginning of a new academic year for moi!]
Credit: Photo

Friday, January 8, 2010

People's Choice Awards

When i saw these pictures of Jessica Alba, i noticed 3 things: her hair, makeup and legs!!! Then it dawned on me that she rarely wears outfits this short for an event; or as far as i'm aware anyway. I love how clean and natural her makeup looks, the shade actually matches her skin as on several occasions in the past she wore shades that were a bit too pale for her colouring. But most of all, i'm loving her haircut and the slight shimmer on her legs! There are other things to this picture you might notice but i don't want to talk about...^_^. Digressing, Ashton Kutcher looks very dapper in his suit and i love his chunky ring!
Credit: Images

Thursday, January 7, 2010

What I've Been Up To

Growing up as a kid, i was always surrounded by creative people. My mum has several crafts under her belt - she sews, knits, does amazing headrest crochet designs, she sometimes caters to weddings and also decorates the venues, she bakes, makes amazing ice cream by hand [it's the reason why i'm real picky with ice cream]. But she doesn't do any of these as a full time job because she's actually a lecturer. All these mini projects stop her from getting bored and aid with her creative side. As for my dad, i think the only creative side in him is revising a car engine to suit his needs after he's purchased it as he's a nutter for engine details. I must admit i never used to get what he found so fascinating in spending his weekend entirely covered in engine oil while he looks for a way to custom-make an already perfect car engine. My mum's brothers turned their attention to electronic items such as radios and VCRs and also making items out of metal. Home was always bursting with creativity and there was always something new to see and 'destroy'.
I managed to pick up on a few skills from my mum - i cook, knit a little bit past beginners level, i think i do a pretty good job with crochet as long as i have a book to guide me with the patterns. But i think my best skill is with a needle; i'm still a beginner when it comes to sewing machines but when i have a needle in my hand, i can pretty much make anything i want. I've successfully made a dress and a skirt just using a needle and thread; true to form i wore it till it fell in pieces and then fixed it again until my mum took it upon herself to throw it away. I'm yet to perfect my cutting skills though because it was my mum who finessed the pattern i used when i made them. It's been over 8 years since i last did any of these things so out of boredom and frustration, i decided to make my own diary for 2010 and i must say i'm impressed with what i've done so far. After binding the pages, it is over an inch thick and i'll take pictures of it later and post it so you can see. I know making it wasn't that much of a stretch as it involved me printing out the things i wanted in it and compiling the pages together but i think its a good start for me.
The next thing i want to try is knitting/ crochet. I still know the basics so that's good as i don't need to learn anything. All i need to do is just get a knitting book, wool and some pins so i can get my creative juices flowing. The first thing i want to make is an oversized beanie hat. I've always been fascinated with large beanies and how they just flop and add a bit of boho-chic to your look. I once made a beanie hat in dark brown which i think i made during my holidays in 2004 as i took it with me to England and wore it all through my first winter. But one of my friends ended up taking it because she liked it and said i should go make myself another one...ha! That one was a fitted beanie hat which could almost pass off as a beret i guess, i made that with my mum's supervision so it would be interesting to see what it'll look like when i make it on my own. The best thing about all these is that i can get all my supplies from Spotlight.
For the past month, i've been collecting pictures of items i'd like to make from scratch. My mum is so excited about it that she's even offered to make detailed patterns of some of the things i'd like to sew and scan it to me so i can print it out to scale. I'm excited and nervous at the prospect because most of the things i like to wear on a daily basis or clothing that i think defines me tend to have clean lines. The fact that i can be particular about what i want usually irritates me because on most occasions i can't find the exact item i'm looking for especially when i have no idea of the brand or if they aren't stocked in Australia and don't ship to Australia. But right now, i plan on taking everything one step at a time so for this month i'm just going to collect pictures and ideas of the things i'd like to make. I'm currently on a shopping ban up until February so i really can't make any purchases now. Here are some sewing blogs to get your creative juices flowing: lesbabouchkas.blogspot.com, angrychicken.typepad.com and heatherbailey.typepad.com

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Looking for?

...A pretty little white dress (LCD) to add to your array of clothes in your closet? Well, now you have a pretty option to try from Aqua Couture. I've noticed that most of their designs tend to stand out from the crowd - sometimes they aren't that pretty but i think this one is a looker. It would set you back £85 from ASOS.
Photo

Monday, January 4, 2010

Does This Look Familiar?

Remember Kate Hudson once wore a Roberto Cavalli dress that looks just like this? Well, now you can afford to look just like her by purchasing this Aqua Couture Mirror Maxi Dress from ASOS for £125.
Photo

Different Thoughts

Looking at this picture today made me realise that Marc Anthony has a 'uniform' that he wears for every single occasion be it an actual red carpet event or a 'fake' red carpet event like this one. Fake in the sense that they are actually attending a Miami Dolphins game. For me they always seem to be putting too much effort as it doesn't look natural. But let's talk about Jennifer's outfit. What do you guys think? At first i only noticed the belt because it stood out pretty odd from the rest of her outfit, maybe black ould have been a much better option? As for the print, i'm on the fence...

Saturday, January 2, 2010

Healthy Start?

I was watching TV last night and most of the people that got interviewed about their New Year's Resolution said they all wanted to lose weight. Well, if you read an earlier post i made then you'll know that i didn't bother making this particular resolution because i know how easy it is to fall off the resolution bandwagon. But i have a link for those of you who might be interested in going on some sort of health detox or cooking something lighter and healthier. Click here...

Friday, January 1, 2010

Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010 is here Ladies and Gentlemen!!!! Happy New Year. I hope you're all excited about the prospect of New Beginnings ahead of you for the rest of the year. Have fun celebrating responsibly ^_^
Photo Credit, Photo Credit