I’ve been really sick this week, thus the lack of posts 🙁 Every time I go to one of these gigantic events I always come back home with whatever bug is floating around. This time it’s some kind of nasty flu-ish thing that involved me laying next to a bowl for a long time with a cloth trying to break the fever. Very icky.
So what are your favorite foods when you’re sick? I like tea (obviously) and James has started making these frozen juice pop things because I can’t stand drinking the stuff.
Other than that I keep it simple with plain crackers and lots and lots of water. I hate chicken soup so tell me your favorites so I can get James to make for me XD
Anyway I’m going back to bed again now, will be back on top soon to show you all the fun we had at ABBW last weekend!
We’re off, I’m hoping to try to update from the hotel while we’re away but if not feel free to check out my mobile Cuties blog because I’ll be posting photos there as I go and as per usual the most recent 5 will show up in this post below ^_^
As I mentioned the other day I’m going to be making V-Logs there as well as interviewing as many people as possible so let me know if you want to see anything specific. Otherwise bring on the make up and beauty fun! Hope you all have a fun weekend too!
We start by me reliving my childhood with a slapband 😀 I loved these so much. They’ve made them much safer now though, this one is encased in rubber so you can’t poke people’s eyes out. Pft!
As I mentioned the other day James and I were invited to go to a press premiere of Crazy Stupid Love which is the new Steve Carell movie.Enjoy this picture of the back of his head while he signs autographs 😉
There was a cocktail party before hand and he gave an introduction to the movie. I don’t really follow celebrities so I think everyone was a lot more excited than I was XD
The movie itself wasn’t what I was expecting. It was billed here as being a romantic comedy but about 70% of it was quite depressing and angsty. There was comedy but not a balanced amount to be a romantic comedy. Lots of intertwining plots, there were some really good parts but this wasn’t really my kind of movie. It was still a fun night though because I got to see friends I don’t get to see often!
Awesome gigantic chandelier at Melbourne Central, it doesn’t look big here but it is huuuuge!
I wasn’t quick enough to catch a photo of the Tiffany’s tram. The whole thing has been coated in tiffany blue as a big advertisement, much prettier than a normal tram XD
This guy is my current favorite busker, he rides an invisible train all day and sways in time with it sometimes almost falling over. It doesn’t sound cool when I describe it but it’s awesome to watch, I can’t imagine how strong he must be to not fall over *_*
Sharon from Hear Mum Roar came to visit too! We’ve been friends online emailing for yeeears so it was great to finally meet her!!
Me on the steps of the state library 😀 I love this building too!
A very cute jacket James saw 😀 I totally want to make a whole suit of stripy material like this! Though staring at it on the screen right now is totally hurting my eyes haha.
More beautiful buildings and you can see the leaves starting to poke out, Spring is definitely coming even if it still feels like Winter!
One day I want to have a little window box like this, its so cute! I think if I tried to do one here our balcony would probably break off, it’s held on by very little *_*
The view from the top of Myer… because that’s pretty much the only interesting place I’ve been lately XD
And lastly, the view of the city from Costco… I told you I had a boring few weeks 😉
To keep myself motivated I’m breaking my long craft lists into smaller more manageable ones! I’m only going to put 5 projects at a time on each list and then I think I’ll be able to get through stuff faster without being overwhelmed. Once stuff gets crossed off this list I’ll update it with more stuff from the big lists!
Reader requests:
Nail art using fimo slices
Purikura iphone app reviews
New Blythe outfit for Miss Rosebudd
Pencil wrapping/embroidery
How to apply false lashes
Long term (stuff to do while watching movies at night):
Knitted scarf- 60% done
Embroidered purse 25% done
Reupholster the couch 0% done
Quilted handbag remake 50% done
Short projects (stuff I can do a couple of a day):
Suspenders out of house hold junk
Using pocky mold for chocolate
Rice crispy square recipe
Black wedges remake
Butterfly hair clips
Sewing machine required:
Recycle tartan skirt
Pink nightie to skirt
Basic hime dress
Pinstripe skirt and jacket
New slippers
Hair/Make up stuff:
Bun with side twisty things
Hurry up and edit morning make up videos
Looped braid hair
Making 1 curl last a week on holidays
What to do with short nails
So this isn’t a completely boring post, here are some random purikura photos I made XD
Well enough talking, it’s time to get to it! I’m going to put my new exploring Melbourne thing into practise tomorrow and head out to some local markets 😀
So following on from my chef’s hat yesterday it’s Food Friday today 😀 Fridays will now be full of baking, favorite midnight snacks, yummy cafes/restaurants I visit and other food related things. I preface by saying I don’t know much about food or cooking, but I know that I like eating it! James does most (all) of our cooking at home because I’m usually working but I do enjoy making things (mostly sweets) when I have free time. So this is going to make me get away from the computer a bit more and start enjoying it again 😀
This post is about a cute cafe I found so it might not be too useful for overseas readers. If you are still in the mood for food then check out some of my old baking posts, here’s one for macarons, mochi/daifuku and chocolate fudge!
So let’s start with a discovery. I am terrible at directions and I don’t have a lot of time to explore, we’ve lived in the Melbourne CBD for over a year and haven’t eaten out much because of the expense. James and I don’t go out much ourselves we usually go out with a purpose eg. to get to an event or meet someone for a work. So even though I’m right in the middle of it, if you asked me where a good place to eat in Melbourne is I would probably look at you blankly and suggest McDonalds and then frantically text my food blogger friends for suggestions 😛
That’s why my first non-friend-referred discovery was so exciting! My Dad was visiting for the day and after we went to dinner at a Greek restaurant he and my step mother wanted to go for coffee. James and I had only been in that area of town twice and no where else seemed to be open. We wandered back down to the Bourke St mall and headed up past Target hoping something would be there on the way to the hotel. Everything was closed until I spotted a cute little cafe from across the road, eagle eyes for the win!!
So that long and convoluted story is how we discovered Puccino’s. As it turned out they had just opened 3 days before so I didn’t feel quite as bad for not knowing it existed XDThe cafe is adorably decorated with a quirky feel, spindly chairs, flowers everywhere, lots of lights and water in jars with lemon and mint. A little like the kind of faux French cafes you find in Japan, very cute and lots of little details.
James had a hot chocolate and a lemon tart. I went for a green tea chai latte. Dad and Beth had coffee, some little tart and a donut which I forgot to get photos of.
I can’t comment on the prices or taste of the coffee because I don’t drink it and have no clue about it but both Beth and my Dad are avid drinkers and they said it was as good as their favorite place back home.
James’ lemon tart was quite sweet and balanced out the hot chocolate which had that slight bitterness dark chocolate lovers adore. He loves anything lemon flavored and really enjoyed the combination of the tart and chocolate together. I was more interested in how cute the display looked 😉
Green tea latte is one of my all time favorite hot drinks but I’ve never had it with chai before. I’m always on the fence with chai things because they are either really good or really bad, there’s not really any middle ground. Luckily this one was really good! $4 for a large is pretty good too so I’ll definitely be going back for more. I think I even liked the really milky chai version better than most of the plain green tea lattes I’ve had around Melbourne XD
While we were chatting the owner came over to see how everything was and if we had any problems or suggestions as they are such a new business. He came back with complimentary macarons for us to try! Such a sweet gesture!
The four flavors were pistachio, black sesame, rose and salted caramel.
There were around 10-15 different flavors in the displays, they were average sized and prices for Melbourne macarons. They had a deal for 4 for $10.
The texture was really nice, they were not the cakey rubbish some stores pass off as macarons but the soft melt in your mouth kind with a crispy shell. Of the 4 flavours the salted caramel was my favorite! The rose was sweet and buttery and the pistachio was very tasty but could have been a little stronger. The black sesame wasn’t something I was used to so I didn’t like it at first but as I kept eating it was grew on me a bit. I think I just don’t like the flavor in general not the macaron in particular!
On they way out I went to say thank you and goodbye to the lovely owner and he presented me with a take home box of 4 more macarons too :O So nice of him!
They were really lovely and accommodating and the beautiful girl at the counter even took a photo with me! So sweet 😀
The macarons were rose, salted caramel, raspberry/chocolate and passionfuit. The rose and salted caramel were again very nice, James’s favorites are always the super fruity flavors so he got the other two. His report: mmm yummy. After taking a bite too I will translate that to mean: these ones both had a very strong flavor, yummy and definitely for fruit lovers! I liked the raspberry/chocolate one the best… probably something to do with my love of chocolate… where as James loved the passion fruit one.
So in conclusion, friendly staff, lovely desserts and a *very* nice chai green tea latte means that I will definitely be going back again.
If you want to visit, I can’t give you the exact address because they don’t seem to have a website or any reviews up yet but if you’re in the Bourke Street mall, walk up past Target towards Russell St and it’s on the left side of the tram tracks. The Puccinos shop front is quite small and there is a sign on the overhang but keep an eye out because you might miss it. If you’ve reached Hungry Jacks you’ve got just a bit too far!
Definitely worth a visit!
Hope you guys enjoyed the first Food Friday, next week I’m going to bust out my apron and chef’s hat and get to some fun things to do with chocolate 😀 See you next time!
Well if you followed me on Twitter you would probably have guessed where I was the weekend before last: the Adelaide Beauty Conference! I’ve done my first V-Log at the end of the post too so enjoy!
I was flown up to be the special guest speaker and also to provide a nail art demonstration. James was the photographer for the day too so credit to him for all of these pictures.
The event it’s self was a huge amount of fun, it was held at Liquid Hair Salon and there were demonstrations of Dermalogica and Cloud 9 as well as make up from Miss Kitty and my nail display.
My models for the day were Sherry and Neena who were both so lovely and accommodating for me. I did a rose design on Neena and leopard print on Sherry.
I’m always nervous when doing nails for other people but I was even more so at having to talk and answer questions at the same time. Talking isn’t really my strong point but once I got to know the girls and we all got chatting a bit I felt so much better! It was like hanging out with my friends 😀 I know Saku video’d the whole process so if she uploads it I’ll post a link for the rest of you.
There was an awesomely delicious spread from Monnie at Cupcake Treats. We hadn’t eaten much all day so I spent a lot of time monopolizing the food table 😛
We only spent the day in Adelaide so James and I got up super early to fly in the morning and then out right afterwards. I had been hoping to go to dinner with the rest of the girls but there was an early curfew on the airport so even on the last flight we missed out ;_;
This is totally my favorite photo of the day, I wish I had gotten to see Kitty’s display to understand what was going on here XD
The best part of the day for me was getting to meet girls that I’ve been talking to online for months (or in some cases years!) in person finally!
Of course getting to play with nails was fun too! We covered all of the basics in my awesomely technical manner: splotches, squiggles, stripes and decals 😉
Being a blogger meet there was an influx of awesome cameras 😉
Liquid Hair was decked out in some serious bling, very appropriate!
The Dermalogica display was really informative and they presented us with some great information on the FITE women’s charity too.
With the amount of running around we had done that day (plus the getting up super early) I almost volunteered myself for the facial haha!
I found Emma’s Cloud9 demonstration really interesting too and it made me think about upgrading my hair appliances a step and maybe giving my wand another try! I’m pretty good with the straightener but no matter how I try I fail miserable at using those styling wands which is why I still haven’t reviewed/done tutorials with the one I have >_<
I got to see the O heated roller system in action too which cleared up a lot of questions I had about it! Emma also showed us an interesting powder which is supposed to take the place of teasing/back combing. That was something I was very interested in!
Speaking of hair products, if anyone has a good heavy duty hair spray recommendation please let me know, they’ve discontinued my black label Cedel ;_;
Other than my display I spent most of the time getting to know the girls and answering questions about blogging. Next time I definitely want to stay for a couple of days so we can hang out more and see the sights!
Biggest thank you of the day goes to Celeste for organising my trip and being a wonderful host! Thank you for ferrying us around, being so organised and for letting me borrow your nail polishes!
Thank you as well to the Adelaide girls for being so nice to me! It sounds obvious but I was blown away with how nice people were, we had so many offers of lifts and at one point my eyes were watering from hay fever and no thought at all Jac was straight to her bag looking for antihistamines for me! *so appreciative*
Kitty’s make up presentation using all kinds of cool colours:
Everyone seemed to have such a wonderful time. Driving around there has gotten me thinking about moving again XD Such cheap rent too!!
Of course it was another good excuse to hand out business cards, I’m completely obsessed with them right now. Probably good too because my printing company gave me double the amount I ordered so I’ve got quite a few to hand out!
The event ended with thank you’s, cheers and gift bags. Celeste surprised me with some really lovely gifts as well, I’m really lucky to have wonderful friends like her! I ended having to leave most of it with her because of my lack of baggage but I can’t wait to try out what I did bring. Especially the Ardel 6 week false lashes, that sounds like such a cool idea so I’m going to try them tonight!
Cheers to everyone and thank you all so much for having me as your blogging exchange student!
Now something I’ve been looking forward to (and dreading slightly) my first vlog! I debated for a while how to pronounce vlog (as in VEE-log or like blog with a v) and settled on VEE log because rather than being short for “video blog” I’m going to make them short Violet’s Log mwahahaha! Now I can make all kinds of nerdy Captain’s Log jokes too ;P
I’m still getting the hang of recording and remembering to look at the camera but it was fun to put together so I might start doing them more often if you all enjoy it ^_^
Thank you so much to all of the Adelaide girls for giving me such an awesome intro!!!
Ok that’s it from me for now, I hope you all enjoyed coming with me to Adelaide and had as fun of a time as I did!!
Illustrator. Strong tea, knitting, watercolours, and making a video game called Moonlight in Garland. Living with her adorable husband Jimmy, fluffy puppy Miss Lottie and Bergamot Bunny in Melbourne, Australia.
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