Chai Laneway Markets // A tea lovers Paradise

It's well known on this little slice of the internet that I am a tea nutter. But if I was only aloud one type of tea for the rest of my life it would most definitely be the humble Chai. It's sweet but spicy, has a punch of flavour but mellows itself out as you sip- it's simply divine! So you can imagine how my heart raced when I found out there was not only a tea festival going on but one devoted entirely to Chai Tea. So early Saturday morning early for me- not so early for the normal population I managed to drag myself out of bed gather some clothes and get out the door without waking anyone in my household up. Quite an accomplishment in our house as the walls are paper thin and I'm not very delicate; mum used to complain that as a toddler I would never walk just run from point A to point B and I don't think I've ever grown out of it! 

By the time I got to the Markets, which were actually held in an open air piazza of the local shopping centre, it was well after 11 and I was in desperate need of a coffee. I popped into Coffee Traders for a quick latte and snoop of the local paper before braving the sudden snap of weather and venturing out into the market. The smells that were in the air was enough to draw a huge crowd; regardless of the awful weather! It was a Chai lovers paradise out there, if it was possible to overdose on Chai well I think I came pretty close to doing it! The chai chocolate fudge was to die for and something that I'd never even though of doing before. The original Foxi iced Chai is something i've never come across and will be lusting after coming up to those hot summer months!  

There was also plenty of options for non-chai lovers too; macaroons in every flavour you could think of, Farmer Jo's musli had an unbelievable selection of homemade artisan oats and musli. It was probably a good thing my bag was bursting with goodies by the time I got to them otherwise I would have brought far more than I actually needed. The Chai Room had the most amazing ginger masala Chai that I have ever had with a punch of spice that mellows out and leaves the sweetest taste in your mouth; i'm going to be chasing them around markets from now on just to get a pot of that ginger masala blend. But if your more of a chai latte kinda girl don't worry, we won't judge you  Chai Me has hands down the most sensational Chai Latte Spice I have ever tried, even my friends who aren't huge fans of chai loved it- and thats saying something! By the time I had meandered around every stall the weather had taken a turn for the worse and I decided to make the long drive back home. An hour and a half later I was curled up in-front of the roaring fire with a book and a steaming mug of chai tee; the perfect way to spend a saturday - absolute bliss!

Baking // Banana and Blueberry oat bread!

For those of you that have moved out of home I think you can feel my pain when I mention mums home cooking. Not that my or your cooking is terrible its just that theres something about coming home at the end of a long day to find that your precious mumma has been baking. This Banana oat bread was one of those things that mum used to alway bake for me because I really can't stand bananas when they're fresh but absolutely love them baked into cakes and bread. So the other day while I was feeling a little homesick I decided to give mum a call for her recipe for that simply scrumptious banana oat bread which she gladly handed over! I decided to mix it up a little bit and add some blueberry just for something a little bit more exciting and it turned out so well that both little loafs were gone that afternoon and I had to get baking again the next day. So if you feel like a bit of weekend baking or have a few of those manky old bananas laying around why not whip this up! 

Also be prepared to get a little bit of Gwen Stefani's Hollaback girl stuck in your head for a few days; god knows how many times i've had to say b-an-an-as over and over just to spell it out ;)

*I forgot to mention in the recipe that the loaf tin size that I used was 10x10x18 but really you can use any size tin or cake pan that you have lying around at home! Just make sure you check on it regularly to make sure it doesn't burn. x

Maybelline Falsies Big Eyes Bottom lash Mascara // Review

I've always been a fan of Maybelline products; and boy have they brought out a few smashing products is the last couple of months. However i've always found their mascaras to be hit or miss. When the original 'Falsies' mascara came out years ago it was probably one of the first mascaras that I actually fell in love with. It was a huge step up from whatever cheapie mascara that my mum had passed off to me and I loved the way it made my lash's seem so much longer. Now that being said I really didn't have much of a clue about make-up back then so what was my mascara staple for quite a while isn't my favourite now. When I was walking through Priceline a few weeks ago I saw that they were bringing out a new formulation which was looking quite fancy with its double ends and bottom lash formulation and even though it's not high up on my most loved mascaras I thought screw it; everyone deserves a second chance right!? And I'm so glad that I did. The bottom lash formula is actually really nice, it doesn't smudge which is what we're all really looking for in a bottom lash mascara right :) The brush is super thin which helps to coat the lashes really evenly and leave minimal clumping. It's also not to black which I really like; nobody wants those crazy spider lashes. As for the Normal mascara wand side of things, it really hasn't changed that much for me- it's an okay formula and it does the job at making your lashes nice and dark but I've found that it really does't work with my lashes that well at volumizing them. I'm still going to use it but probably just on days that i'm bumming around the house and running errands! So Maybelline, could you pretty please with a cherry on top bring out that fabulous bottom lash mascara by itself? I'd love you forever and ever if you did :)

Have you tried Maybellines new mascara? What were your thoughts and did you like it ? :) 

High Tea at the Queen Victoria Building!

Last Saturday my adoptive family and I ventured into the city of Sydney to celebrate my best friends 21st Birthday! I can't remember if I had mentioned it before but when I made the big move to Sydney I left all my family behind and the only people that I really knew was my best friend Emma and her lovely family. They are probably one of the nicest and most down to earth bunch of people that I've ever met; I mean seriously they've let me move into their home and they put up with me day after day. So really they've become my adoptive family and have treated my like one of their own kids. So not-so bright and really really, early Saturday morning we made our way into the city centre to spend the day at the Tea Rooms in the Queen Victoria Building; eating piles of delicious little cakes and drinking copious amounts of tea. As luck would have it we managed to get to the Tea Rooms over an hour before our booking, the concierge was incredibly understanding and let us leave our bags there while we went for a wander around the glorious Queen Victoria Building. We decided to grab a quick coffee- we needed some serious waking up after a rather boisterous night out celebrating the evening before. Actually who am I kidding; we'd been celebrating Emma's for the entire week beforehand, you do only turn 21 once after all!!

 When we eventually made it into the tea rooms we were absolutely mesmerised. I felt as though we had just stepped into a grand ballroom that Marie Antoinette would have found herself in, we felt like royalty! It wasn't long before tiers upon tiers of macaroons, scones, sandwich fingers and pots of tea started arriving. I don't think there was a peep from our table for a good five minutes whilst we all nibbled away silently just absorbing the flavours and textures of our feast. I think that the scones were the highlight for me; I know scones are probably the most un-exciting thing that was on that table but when you get a scone that is made the way that they're supposed to be and served with homemade jam and proper clotted cream- oh my word are they incredible! It was simply scrumptious.

If you ever find yourself with a spare couple of hours and feel like spoiling yourself a little why not take a trip into the stunning Queen Victoria Building and pop into the Tea Rooms for an afternoon of indulging with a mingling of sweet treats and even a glass of champers!

THE TEA ROOMS- QUEEN VICTORIA BUILDING

https://www.thetearoom.com.au

LEVEL THREE, NORTH END

Queen Victoria Building

455 George Street, Sydney

02 9283 7276

Treat your skin // Milk & Co Rejuvenating Masque

We all love a good face mask, that feeling of smothering your face in thick, cold goop brings back all those old memories of high school sleepovers when you and your friends would cover your faces in excess amounts of packet masks and leave it on till it started to crack every time you moved a muscle. Now not dissing on the old one time sachet face mask but more often than not those things don’t live up to our expectations, they were more for fun than to get actual results.  So it wasn’t until I started wearing makeup regularly that I realised the importance of using a good mask. It took me a while to find one that I really liked and that suited my skin. I had one horrid experience with a drugstore mask that smelled amazing but as soon as I had it on my skin I knew something was wrong when my skin started to itch like crazy. Before I could even get to the bathroom on the other side of the house to wash it off I felt like my face was on fire and I was bright red! 

Needless to say that scrub went straight into the bin; with that experience in mind I’ve since always stuck to mask’s that have natural ingredients instead.  Which brings me to the Milk & Co Rejuvenating Masque; I’ve spoken about this brand before {Here} and my love for the product but not the packaging but in the case of this Masque there’s no complaints all round. The packaging probably is a little chunky but it isn’t too much of a problem. As for the Masque itself this definitely brings home the bacon; its not to thick and not to thin- you won’t get that awful feeling of liquid dripping down your neck. It’s also super purifying which sometimes people can take as giving bad when you get a breakout the next day but it’s actually pulling out all the nasties that are hiding under your skin and sometimes that means a pimple or two popping up. Don’t freak out, your skin will thank your for it afterwards. I try to not wear makeup at least twice a week so I’ll often use a mask on those days just to give my skin a little more of a break and help it out a little more. So if your skin is in need of a little pick me up go out and get your hands on this bad boy if you live in Australia you can pick it up at priceline here if not check out this one, which ships worldwide!