Dreams

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So last night, i had two completely different dreams. The first one was an absolute nightmare that took me a while to wake up from. I was dreaming in my dream people! It reminded me of the scene in Inception where they talked about the 3 levels of dreaming or something along that line. In my dream, i saw someone in my family line that i've been ban from speaking to or having any form of contact with. The minute i saw this person in my dream, i started screaming and it just felt like the entire room was shrinking all around me. I started feeling claustrophobic and having difficulties with breathing; almost as if i was getting choked. Why is it that whenever i have nightmares within a dream i can't scream? Does this happen to anyone else? I had to struggle for a while before i could wake up; and when i did, i had to sit up for a bit and then sleep on the other side because i noticed that whenever i sleep on the same side that i was in when i had a nightmare, the dream continues the minute i fall asleep again. Not cool at all.

My second dream was much more calm and to my taste. I don't know if i've said this before but i'm obsessed with everything French and Italian even though i haven't been to either of those countries. But in my dream, i was talking about Supernatural with a girl in her apartment and one of her flatmates (a guy) came out and joined us in the discussion (i can't even remember the last time i saw Supernatural). Anyway, he was about to go out with some of his friends and he said he'd like to hang out with me sometime if it was ok; and that he makes a good 'French Florentine' and he'd love to make it for me the next time i come to see my friend . Of course i said yes! Other than him being cute, all i needed was some French to make me interested.

On to the question, what on earth is 'French Florentine'? Gosh, my dreams can be so random! 

Envy

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Do i want that scarf or what?!

Flood Issues

If you've been watching the news by now then i'm sure you're aware that the most of Queensland has been inundated by floods and about 3/4 of the state has been declared a natural disaster zone. This is so scary and i've been watching it on the news since last night and my heart goes out to all those people that have been affected by the floods. I can't even begin to imagine what they're going through at the moment. While i was watching the news last night, the Sunshine Coast river was highlighted as one of the places that might be affected and 2 years ago, i was living on the Sunshine Coast.

Some places in northern New South Wales are also being affected by floods and i truly pray that we in the Gong region do not get affected by this. After watching the live coverage last night i could not help but scrap together some cash and donate towards the flood relief fund. I might not have much but i know that every dollar helps at the moment and going hungry for a little while is not that much of a big deal because if i can do it to save for something, i can certainly do it for this.

If you're interested in donating towards the flood relief (both within and outside Australia) click here. I'm yet to find the link for the NSW flood relief (if they have one)

Green Hornet Premiere

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Orange How Do You Do?

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I honestly can't explain why i'm in love with Drew Barrymore in this dress. I know that the dress does look a bit odd towards the bottom which gives it a weird fishtail effect. I'm also loving the colour coordination of her lips and her cheeks. She pulls it off quite well i think.

How's everyone doing so far? Finally gotten into the groove of the New Year? Well, i gained about half a kilo from this holiday season so i desperately need to work that off because i don't want anything to keep piling on me. 

On another note, i finally gave in and opened a Tumblr page. I've been loving the whole idea of being able to reblog a post you're in love with. Don't worry, i haven't given up on this blog yet. I'm merely using my Tumblr as a photo storage and kind of a way to figure out my interests without the use of too much words :) So, feel free to check it out here

Sales Mania

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I'm one of those people who stalks an item i love online until it goes on sale. That's exactly what i did with this Mischa Barton bag. I've been stalking it for quite some time and i was quite excited to find out that it was on sale. Of course, i had to wait to find out if any of my friends wanted anything from ASOS before doing any online shopping. But while i was online staring and drooling over the bag, it went out of stock. I thought i was going to have a mini panic attack but luckily as at this afternoon, it was back in stock and i wasted no time adding it to my basket. All i need to do now is sit back and wait for this baby to arrive home to me. I hope it looks as awesome in person as it does in the picture. I also ordered these boots in anticipation of our upcoming winter as i only have one pair of decent boots. The one i had last winter is on its last legs as i absolutely wore it to death. This slinky dress is also making its way towards me and now i can gladly say that i have the dress i've been coveting for months!!!

So, how did your New Year's celebration go?

Happy New Year!

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Well, it's almost midnight here in Australia and i just want to wish everyone all over the world a Happy New Year! It's been a long and awesome 365 days and i hope that the coming year will be filled with more joy, happiness and amazing things to come. Have a safe one :)

Merry Christmas!

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Merry Christmas to everyone out there. It has been a fabulous 2010 and i hope 2011 is more blessed with for all of us. Do have a fun one :)

Hi Lo

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How's everyone doing? Ready for the celebrations yet? Well, Santa gave me an early present as my tooth has finished growing and its no longer sore! I'm looking forward to having a proper meal tonight and tomorrow because i can finally chew!!! I don't think i'm going to be having custard anytime soon because i'm already over it from consuming it so much. I guess by the time 2011 comes in, i'll have my complete set of 32 teeth. Yup, you read that right! The last one started growing this week and i can already see a little bit of it sticking out. I'm so grateful that it doesn't hurt as much as number 31 so i doubt i'll be having any complaints about it.

Due to my survival on liquid food over the last week or so, my fridge only had milk and eggs in it. Just seeing it so empty broke my heart so i went off to Woolies today to stock up on some broccoli, cauliflower and other chewable items that i can cook with all through next week. I've never shopped on Christmas eve before but today was a first for me. The aisles were really maniac with humans and trolleys everywhere you turn. It was almost like a traffic jam in some aisles with lots of people waiting to go through and others waiting to browse. I hope that's not me in a few years time.

My arms had a bit of a workout today because i bought quite a lot of things that were heavy and i had 2 bags to carry. I'm one of those people that only likes going food shopping 1-2 times per week. I can't stand going into Woolies anymore than that in a week because it makes me feel like i'm spending too much money. So i always try to make a food timetable and a list for about a week ahead so that everything i buy revolves around that. It also means that all the fresh items i buy like basil, kaffir lime and coriander leaves can be used up in time before they start dying on me.

As for Christmas, mine is going to be a really quiet one because there's nothing i like better than watching movies and drinking wine on Christmas day with just a few people around. What are your plans for Christmas?

I'm Teething :(

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Now i can completely understand why babies cry so much when their teeth are coming out. so, number 31 is currently growing and it is giving me absolute grief. Over the last few days, i’ve been living off custard, Nurofen, water and ‘So Good chocolate bliss soy milk’. I can’t bear to chew anything because it hurts so much. I can’t even shut my mouth properly because my gum is swollen and whenever my upper tooth comes in contact with it, the pain is exacerbated. Not i see why my friend keeps telling me to go have it taken out. The only pain that has come this close is the tummy ache i get during that time of the month. I keep consoling myself by saying there’s light at the end of the tunnel

The upside to all of this? I think i’ve only spent about $20 this week as most of that went towards getting milk, a packet of custard powder and one pack of Nurofen tablets. I guess there’s always a bright side to things non?

For those of you who have your complete set of 32, you need to share with me how you survived the pain because i’m not looking forward to number 32 coming out anytime soon.

Phew

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It's funny how things work out. Last night i was just complaining about not being able to have a cute blogger template installed because of several issues that seem to come up after installing it such as not being able to access my dashboard and all. Well, the lovely Bursting at the Seam left me a comment about understanding my plight and as usual, i went over to check out her blog. After seeing her cute template, i could not help but scroll down to see who designed it. Long story short, it led me to getting the new template i have up now. What do you guys think of it? Is it worth it? Or should i go back to the simple purple theme i had before? As usual, your comments are very much appreciated so please do feel free to tell me what you think :)

Free Templates

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Two posts in a day huh? My bum is almost numb from sitting down for so long. I've been trying to upload a free template from one of those websites that have blogger templates; but i'm having issues with the XML aspect. Being that i'm completely inept when it comes to things like this, i'm still unable to get it working. For some reason, i can't see the code to copy onto my HTML gadget. So, i actually have to upload straight from the folder which is being an absolute bugger at the moment. Here's to hoping that i can get it working at some point.

Healthy Eyes

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Had a trip to Specsavers today to have my eyes checked and i'm glad to say that my eyes are getting better. My astigmatism on my left eye has slowly corrected itself and my right eye which is short sighted is much much better now. Due to the prescription i got today, i actually don't need to get glasses for the mean time until i get my eyes checked again same time next year. But, the doc did say that i should consider using my lenses when i feel the pressure building on my eyes. So, i need to go look for frames at some point in the near future but there's no rush as i won't be needing it at the moment.

How has your Thursday been going? Mine's been pretty simple. Other than my eye appointment, i browsed the mall briefly before heading back home to do some research on possible ways to keep myself entertained over summer without having an impact on my wallet. I'm still enjoying catching up on the blogs i didn't have time to read while i didn't have any internet. I've been reading The Simply Luxurious Life over and over again to absorb some of her amazing posts that i missed. My favourite series for this week from her blog is 'why not...achieve your dreams'. Do head over to her blog and you won't be disappointed

Delish!

So...my return to the WWW has come with a minor glitch. For some unexplainable reason, the net is unbelievably slow. I can't even begin to come up with a sensible excuse for this occurrence. But i won't let that dampen my mood because my first meal for my flatmate's mum has gone off with a bang! Or should i say it went down well.

Anywhoo...halfway through eating, i realised that i didn't take any pictures of the meal. Very silly of me i know. I can't say i used a certain recipe because i'm known for my random acts when it comes to cooking. But for those who are a wee bit interested, i'll make it simple and tell you what i did. I've never made chicken with honey before so i kind of just winged it as i went along; if you happen to know an exact recipe for this let me know.

What i did:

I soaked the chicken in a mixture of water, maggi cube and dark soy sauce. I usually make sure the water covers the chicken because i like my chicken soft. I let it marinate for about an hour and poured out all the liquid from the marinade. I added a few teaspoons of grapeseed oil and honey to the chicken and just mixed it till all the pieces were coated. I grilled the chicken for about 40 minutes (at 160C) and turned it once halfway through

PS: i sprinkled a bit of salt and black pepper on each side while it was facing upwards

FINALLY!!!

...my internet just got fixed about 30 minutes ago. I have so much catching up to do, thanks for your patience guys. I'll be back either later tonight or tomorrow to do a post. I'm expecting a guest at home in the next 27 minutes so i have to go start up on dinner. My flatmate's mum just arrived from Thailand and will be here pretty soon.

Just thought i'll give you guys a quick update before i attempt making fried rice and grilled chicken breasts with a honey and soy sauce marinade :)

Sore Feet and Gum

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Since my last post, i've been constantly on the move looking for things for my new place and trying to find as much 2nd hand items as possible. If anyone tells you moving and furnishing a place from scratch isn't stressful, please send them over to me so i can conduct an interview. Don't get me wrong, it is pretty fun having to choose stuff for a place you're going to live in as opposed to just having to put up with what someone else has chosen. But it is also really stressful. Coupled with the fact that we started doing this pretty much straight after exams, i haven't had much time to rest. My feet are currently killing me and i could do with a really good massage right now. On Tuesday, Cookie was kind enough to come help us out while we moved some of our things to the new place and also while we bought items from Woolies and Reject Shop.

These days, i pretty much fall asleep once i hit the sheets. Tomorrow is going to be another early day for me because i have to dis-member my bed for the removalists to come take it to the new place and then put it all back again. I'm also moving finally tomorrow, which means lots of cleaning and packing tonight. Unfortunately for me, the internet at the new place won't be ready until the middle of next week or Friday by the latest and that sucks because it means that i won't be able to read any of my favourite blogs until then.

As for plans after moving, i honestly don't have any. Moving is expensive business and after everything, i plan on staying indoors as much as possible to minimise any possible expenses as all the places i applied for a job didn't offer me any. I think some time at home would give me a chance to dig in deeper and find a creative and cost-free way to keep myself entertained. What have you all been up to?

The V Pose

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This picture of Anna Paquin and her gorgeous hubby Stephen Moyer absolutely cracks me up because they're mirroring each other's pose on the red carpet. I'm sooo loving the little grey beard he's rocking with that broody look of his.

Today has been a pretty long day for me and i can tell you that my feet are sore from all the walking we did today scouring everywhere for as much bargains as possible. I must say we saved ourselves some major $$ with the second hand items we found today. I can't wait to see how it's all going to come together when the items are delivered next week. We got a dark chocolate couch and bookshelf for the living room; a red rug, red poppy painting and a red floor lamp to contrast with the dark chocolate. The floor is actually wooden and also in a dark shade of brown so there's a bit of a moody look going on there.

When we woke up this morning, we didn't have much of an idea of what colour of couch we planned on getting. But we knew our cut off price and we knew that getting a couch for that price would mean one just big enough to sit 3 people. So you can imagine our excitement when we found a 2nd hand couch almost 1/3 less the price of our original budget and almost twice the size of what we expected. The fact that we found a couch so cheap automatically dictated the colour scheme of the living room as there was no way on earth we were leaving without placing a holding deposit on the couch.

How was your Friday? I need to go have a relaxing shower, massage my feet and watch a movie so i can slowly drift off to sleep. Have a good one guys :)

A Sigh Of Relief

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Phew! Exams are finally over and i must say it is such a relief! I'm so glad that i survived this semester which has been the hardest so far since i've been in Australia. I was so tired after my exams yesterday and when i got home, all i wanted to do was sleep. But i knew that had to take a back seat because the next important thing was to find a place to live as soon as humanly possible. We had 4 different viewing yesterday, of which i attended 2. There was one we were really hoping to get and so we just applied on the spot. We had 2 more viewing today which were very disappointing. In the midst of us grumbling about our disappointment at how the place looked, we got a call saying we've been offered one of the places we viewed yesterday. I cannot begin to tell you how excited i was and still am. This means no more annoying viewings, scanning and photocopying documents, hoping that you can beat someone else to the place. Now it is all about finding as many cheap stuff as possible and this includes a trip to two second hand shops tomorrow to see what they have to offer.

I'm secretly wishing that the other place we really liked calls us tomorrow morning to say we got the place. That would mean that we actually have a choice of two places, but if that doesn't happen, it's ok as the one we've been offered is pretty good.

On another note, we scored a pretty good deal on a christmas tree today. Anyone who knows me in person would tell you that i've been drumming about owning a christmas tree for too long now. Even the boy has gotten sick of hearing it and just told me to get a tree already! Well, today we saw a pretty white christmas tree at Myer but it was really expensive. That was before we found out that there was a much smaller size of the same tree at a more reasonable price. But it doesn't end there, there was a 30% offer off all christmas items if you purchase 3 or more items from the christmas section. Of course, we got ourselves a tree and 2 small bells that are meant to decorate the tree. We plan on sticking these on our door; so anytime someone opens our room door, there would be a little announcement in the form of bells! How childish right? Well, i don't care, i was just really excited. Anyway, the entire haul cost us $69!!!!!

I'll definitely keep you guys updated on all the occurences as we go through moving into the new place. Happy Thursday people :)

Really Quick Update

Hi Guys

Just want to let you know i'm still alive. Just currently doing my exams and my last one is on Wednesday. After that, it'll be straight onto house hunting and hopefully i'll be able to resume posting on a frequent basis from next week. Thanks so much for your understanding

xoxo Hermine :)

Very Summery

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It's very rare for me to feature Jennifer Garner as an outfit inspiration cause she tends to wear trainers a lot and that's something that i don't like doing. But when i saw this picture of her, i immediately thought 'calm and collected summer'. Anyone who knows me would tell you i run away from shorts and mini skirts because i feel shy and awkward about showing my legs during the day, and i hate shaving my legs. But i think these loose casual pants make a good substitute for jeans during the hot summer days of Australia don't you think? I could easily pair this with a tank top or a short sleeve tee; finish off with a nice pedicure and thongs {flip flops}. Now can someone tell me where i can find something similar? A darker shade would be much appreciated.

On another note, my first exam is tomorrow morning at 9am, do wish me luck bloggers :)