Photo Of The Day | TWENTY NINETH JULY

Today was a very, very chill day! I slept in till lunch, did my laundry {Oh so exciting!!} watched more youtube than I'd like to admit to and took my doggie to the beach. Even though we are in the middle of winter and it's about 5 degrees, it was such a gorgeous day! There was hardly a cloud in the sky and the water was crystal clear. I almost wanted to go for a dip but I knew I would possibly turn into a ice block if I did! Seeing this amazing scenery has helped me get out of my winter slums and reminded me that there is always something to be thankful for and that we are all so blessed! 

Much love,

Liebster Award!

So In the last month I was greatly surprised to be nominated for a Liebster award, Twice!!! First by gorgeous Sarah from Squares and then by the lovely Lynn from Makeup With Tea. Now being relatively new to the blogging world I wasn't quite sure what it was all about but I think I've got the general gist of it all! 

 The Liebster Award is an award given to small bloggers with less than 200 followers. It's a way to give them some recognition among the blogging community. This award does have some rules, there are: 



-You must link back to the person who nominated you. 
-You must answer the 11 Liebster questions given to you by the nominee before you
 -You must pick 11 bloggers to be nominated for the award with under 200 followers 
-You must come up with 11 questions for your nominees to answer 
-You must go to their blogs and notify your nominees


I am going to break the rules a little here and not answer all the questions from each lady; I do want you to get through the whole post without your cuppa tea getting cold! So instead I've chosen to answer all the even numbers from Sarah and odd numbers from Lynn :)


1. Whats your favourite part about blogging?
Definitely being able to ramble on about anything I want, in my pyjamas at two in the morning without judgment! 


2. What made you want to start blogging?
I wanted a place to share my thoughts {and obsession with makeup} with other likeminded people! Most of my friends think I'm crazy HA!

3.Favourite Hobby {Besides blogging}?
Baking! I love being in the Kitchen. 

4.Who is your blogging inspiration?
I don't really have just one! There are so many amazing blogs out there that I love reading; and almost each one has inspired me in one way or another.

5.Describe your style in one phrase.
Girly Grunge.

6.Which person would you choose as your makeup/style inspiration?
Nicole Warn from Gary Pepper Vintage. I am in awe of her gorgeous style and a little envious of her getting to jet around the world!

7. Favourite make-up brand?
Hands down Estee Lauder!

8. Favourite food?
Anything sweet :) Chocolates, Macaroons, Croquembouche - You name it i'll eat it!

9.Where do you want to be in 10 years?
In a quaint little town somewhere in Europe {We can dream can't we!!}

10. If you were a superhero, what would your power be?
I'd love to be able to read peoples minds. I'm a little bit of a sticky beak; I like to know everything!

11.Where do you want to travel to?
I know most people want to go somewhere hot on holidays but I really want to go to Austria or Switzerland; Anywhere where it snows!


My Nominees are:
Rachel from Emerald Skies
Thoughts and Encounters
Sophie from Sophie Jane Thorne
Rosie from Every word Handwritten
Jade from Pint size Pixie
Paula from Beauty by Paula
Laura from Pale girl Reviews
Tilly from love, Tilly

{I only got eight blogs.It was harder than I thought and I didn't want to add someone purely because I didn't have enough blogs! I read each and every one of these blogs and they are all Amazing!!}



And my questions for you Lovely Ladies:

1. Whats your Favourite old school board game?

2. If you had to shop at one make-up counter for the rest of your life, Which one would it be??

3. Would you rather Champagne or Red wine?

4. Where is your favourite place to get away and relax?

5. Who/What is your biggest life inspiration? 

6. What is your go to colour of Lipstick?

7. What language do you wish that you had learnt at school?

8. Whats your idea of a perfect night in?

9. Whats your best memory from your Childhood?

10. Whats the First thing you do in the morning?

11. What colour eyes do you have; And if you could change them, would you?

Simple Citrus-Coconut Tart!

Last week one of my closest friends moved into a new house, and we have a celebratory tradition of Lemon tarts whenever something exciting happens! This Citrus-Coconut Tart is a great variation of that. The Coconut in the pastry really adds that extra texture and so much taste! 

So here's the recipe....

For the pastry  

- 100g Icing Sugar

- 100g Desicated coconut

- 200g Plain Flour

- 125g Butter

Chuck all of that in a food processor and blitz it till all the butter in mixed in!

Then add four egg yolks and process again until it come into a ball. The pastry should be firm but a little sticky! Ideally you should rest it in the fridge for an hour or so but you can press it straight into the tin if you like. 

Blind bake it for about 15 minutes depending on how thick you like your pastry! It should be golden brown and feel crispy around the edges!

For the Citrus Curd

- Squeeze out the juice of three lemons {If you like your cakes a bit tangy add the zest aswell!}

-150g Butter

-100g Sugar

Put the butter, sugar and lemon juice in a saucepan and bring to the boil; Once it's boiled let it cool for a few minutes. 

Whilst your lemoney mix is cooling whisk together four whole eggs and another 100g of sugar. Then slowely pour the hot mix onto the eggs whilst continuously whisking.

Once that's all combined stick it back into the saucepan and slowly bring it back up to the boil. Now if your sitting at your desk screaming You cant boil eggs it'll split like custard!  Never fear, thanks to some loophole in the food science handbook the lemons somehow prevent the eggs from splitting! So yay for uncurdled eggs. You will however, have to stand at the stove for a good 15 minutes constantly stirring to make sure it doesn't catch on the bottom. Once it's thickened up nicely pour it into a long dish and cool it in the fridge overnight.

Just before you go to serve it pour the curd in so you don't get soggy pastry, unless your into soggy pastry in which case go right ahead! I sprinkled some toasted coconut around the outsides; you could use slivered almonds or if your feeling adventurous try candying some limes for that extra special WOW!

I'd love to know if you attempt to make this! It's a little time consuming but so yuumy!

Topshop Sydney Mini-haul !

Whilst in Sydney last month I paid a visit to the Topshop store there. After having watched more than my than my fair share of Youtube videos from the UK stores my expectations were fairly high. So after getting off the train at the wrong station and having to walk a bazillion blocks I finally found the store; and was a little bit disappointed. It may have been partially my fault for getting my hopes up so high but after looking at some of the clothing and almost dying at the price tags {It was ridiculously expensive for the quality !!} I jetted straight to the makeup instead, with the hopes of finding a few gems. 

{lip Crayons: Top- Powder Room, Bottom- On The Cards

Lipstick - Saint }

The Lip crayons were what really caught my eye, they have a similar formula to the Revlon kissable balm stains but without the lasting power {Ironically, when I got home I realized that I actually have almost identical colours in the Revlon range; whoopsies!}. However they are super creamy and give a gorgeous colour just be ready to re-apply every hour or so. On the Cards is quite bright and does smudge slightly after a while so I'm on the lookout for a liner to mach this however its perfect for a statement lip. Powder Room  is definitely my favorite out of the two but it has somehow gone to that black-hole where makeup you really like goes only to re-appear months later! I'm hoping it shows up soon :)

And I couldn't pass by Saint, a gorgeous nude-peach. It doesn't have the greatest colour payout but I really love the subtlety that it gives. It's so, so creamy and such a lovely addition to any lipstick family!

{L-R Saint ,On the Cards, Powder Room}

I also picked up a few nail polishes! Now I wanted to do some swatches for you but I cannot for the life of me find a nail wheel anywhere in my house, I swear it was only a few weeks ago I brought about 100; and my nails are far to shabby to put on here so you'll have to forgive me! They are pretty much the same colour as the photo shows though! 

On the left we have Chase, it's a gorgeous pale violet but is packed with silver glitter that gives it a pearly look after a few coats! I think this will be my go-to spring colour! Then on the right we have Sea Mist, which is a super shiny silver that has so much glitter in it that it's almost metallic  It's great as a feature nail and is almost permanently on my ring finger! In the middle is one of Topshops Peel off Nails, I'd love to give you a name but the closest I can find is 201, so that'll have to do! I'm a little torn about this one, I'm in LOVE with the colour but the consistency is so plastic like that you have to be super careful when applying so that it stays smooth. I also found that it chipped off after only a day or two, even with a topcoat. So I'm a little on the fence about little 201 but I shall give him another chance and hopefully it'll work out!  

Take me to the Snow !

Last Sunday we decided to brave the cold weather and take a trip up to the snow! One of my favorite parts of winter is going up the Mountain and spending a few hours freezing your bits off! It had actually snowed so much that we didn't even make it half way up the mountain but there was still enough snow to slip on my behind more times than I'd like to mention!

   

Laura was in heaven with the snow, she's one of those oddballs that picks the ice cubes out of drinks and sucks them! 

What trip to the snow is complete without a snowball fight. Ours ended up being three against one so poor Daniel was covered in snow HA!

While we were up there we made our own snow boarding course on a quite heavily trafficked footpath, it was complete with boogie boards, a few tree roots that made quite good jumps and a pile of snow that was supposed to stop us from crashing; it didn't work and I ended up going head first into a tree! You have my permission to laugh at me, I look like a complete knob :) Also I have come to realize  that I have no concept of appropriate clothing for the weather FYI one shirt will probably not keep you warm when it's only 2 degrees! 

We were also a little naughty and 'adopted' this snow man ie; shoved our carrot into an abandoned one and claimed it as our own! But seriously look how much effort somebody has gone to! It needed to be appreciated by all you lovely's.

This was Daniel and Sam's attempt; not even five seconds after this was taken the poor snow-head was cannonpaulted into the trees behind! Such violence!!! 

I love how the snow falls over the ground, it looks so magical when its falling and instantly makes me feel like a child again every time it snows; and I don't think i'm the only one. Almost every adult that we passed had that kid-on-Christmas smile plastered across there face, it was so gorgeous!!

Do you guys have a favorite snowy memory? 

Mine would have to be in grade six it snowed so low all the schools were closed down and we got to spend the whole day playing in the paddocks and climbing the trees {In hindsight that seems a little dangerous!} but I have such a great memory of spending time with my family and having such a exciting day! 

Chanel Vitalumiere !!

I love Chanel. I love the way its packaged. I love how they consistently bring out amazing products and I love how even if you don't follow fashion or beauty chances are you know who Coco Chanel is.

I've been wanting to try out some new foundations, I've been using the Rimmel Wake me up all year and I still really really like it {C'mon It's full of  sparkles; Whats not to like!} But you know when your foundation almost becomes a bore to use and it's just another bottle on your counter? That's when I know its time to go shopping! 

Purchasing this was such lovely experience! I'd never actually brought anything from a Chanel counter before! Gasps all round !!  It's sad I know but the only other Chanel products I own are lipsticks and I've always brought them online. I was so,so impressed with how friendly the assistant was and how gentle she was when she applied it. 

The foundation itself is gorgeous! It has quite a runny consistency which makes it so easy to work into the skin and a little goes such a long way! I use not-even one pump and it gives enough to cover my entire face flawlessly. Its so good that I wouldn't even bother with concealer for those lazy days, as it covers my overly rosy checks to perferction!  It is a dewy foundation so it doesn't suit everyone but I really love the finish that it gives. Another big plus is that it has such a pleasant smell, I've actually had people comment on how nice I smelt! I didn't have the heart to tell them it was just my foundation, far to polite for that!! I have to say it {and hopefully I won't jinx myself} but to me, this is the perfect foundation. I love, love, love it !!!