Take a Trip to Bondi...

Last week I took a little trip into the city to visit one of my favourite spots; Bondi Beach! I know its super cliche but theres just something about Bondi that is so chilled and relaxing; and it's always so pretty. I can't use #nofilterneeded enough, there is simply no need to edit anything when the shot is as beautiful as it is. {Oh god, did I just use a hashtag in a post!? Someone slap me!}  We decided to have a look around the Bondi Markets which honestly made me a little homesick. Back in Tassie there is a huge market in the city every Saturday called the Salamanca Markets, it's fairly famous and if you've ever been you'll know why. It's the atmosphere of thousands of people passing through the cobbled stone paths, all smitten with the amazing produce and stunning views of the docks just over yonder. Going to the markets was something that my family always did together so visiting a market without them felt slightly odd. {They got a sob phone call later that night with all the details so they may as well have been there}. If your into one of a kind pieces of jewellery and vintage clothing then this is the place for you. There are so many bits and bobs that are so individual; my favourite of all was an amazing stall by the designer Soto Smith. All his pieces are designed to be completely individual, seriously edgy and in the designers own words 'Not for the feint hearted'! You should check him out ;) After spending far to much time wandering around every stall we made our way down to the beach with our purchases: me: a trio of homemade candles that smelt insane and olivia: just a lusting after one of Soto Smith's tanks! 

We got down to the beach just as the sun was starting to dip and we were instantly drawn to a crowd surrounding the skate park next to the beach. Now i'm not usually one to hang around at the skate parks {Besides a short stint as a wanna be skater in about the sixth grade; but we won't get into that} but there was an air of community as we strolled past the graffiti covered wall and made our way up the steps. I certainly wasn't dressed to fit in but nobody cared. There I was standing in my long flowy dress next to a surfer chic with sun bleached hair and a kid with knee pads; and nobody looked at me as if to say you shouldn't be here. Point of the story here is it was nice to immediately fit into a place that isn't in your comfort zone- you should try it some time, you might enjoy yourself. As for me don't expect to see me with the shin pads and helmet on any time soon but you never know I may stop past the 'bowl' next time I'm in town ;) 

After the skating was over we walked up to the lookout, took a few selfies, some serious shots and then ran for the bus back to the city. The Vivid Light festival is on at the moment so if you happen to be around the city you should check it out. I did take a few snaps of the lights but I wasn't as impressed as last years {this was last years vivid post!} and the photos didn't turn out as well as I had hoped; if I make it back into the city before it ends I'll get some better ones and do a post but if I don't you'll just have to go check it out for yourself. My one tip is to go on a weeknight and get a ferry from Circular Quay to Darling Harbour; you get to see the opera house lit up from the water- it's the best seat in the house! 

Lots of love,

Bondi Markets are on every Sunday from 10 AM to 4 PM.

At Bondi Beach Public School - Campbell Parade

Bondi Beach NSW 2026

http://www.bondimarkets.com.au

Berry, Coconut and Chocolate Muffins!

Eating healthy at uni is hard. Like seriously hard; theres always so many quick and unhealthy options to choose from and when you've turned up to the kiosk for your umpteenth coffee that huge chocolate chip muffin or vanilla slice is just staring into your soul asking you to eat it; you do! I've given in on more than one occasion- it just wrong not to have a buttery slice of banana bread with you coffee. Right? So with it being super unhealthy and ridiculously overpriced my little afternoon sugar kick has got to go, or be replaced with a slightly healthier version. I was flicking around pintrest the other day and found this recipe for some healthy-ish breakfast muffins. I've decided change it up a bit to incorporate some of the ingredients I had at home but the end result is equally as delicious. They are super dense and moist- perfect for filling you up in-between study sessions! Why not give them a try?

I've decided to add recipe cards for all my cooking post's from now on- so that it makes it easier to follow if you guys do decide to make anything! Feel free to download them if you find it easier to read off paper than have a laptop sitting on your kitchen bench! 

This is quite possibly the easiest recipe you'll come across for delicious muffins. Pre heat your oven to 170 degrees celcius and line a muffin tin with baking paper. This recipe should make around 12 muffins depending on what size you want. Then combine the almond meal, wholemeal flour, coconut sugar, desiccated coconut and baking powder in a bowl; give it a quick whisk so that its all incorporated. Then make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and add all the wet ingredients. {Make sure your butters melted!} Then gently fold it all together! Fill your muffin tray and bang it in the oven for around 30 minutes. So easy :) 

Revlon Lash Potion Mascara

I need to go to mascara-aholics anonymous. There I said it- I'm obsessed! I have a different mascara for every occasion. Everyday? Night out? Big Lashes?  I can most certainly dig one out for you. So when I spotted Revlon's New Lash Potion Mascara a few weeks ago I almost felt obliged to add it to my collection. Maybe it has something to do with the packaging; super cute and easy to spot in my drawers or the fact that it claims to add 'spellbinding volume and supernatural length' but this has definitely replace some of my higher end mascaras. I picked up the 'Blackest Black' non-waterproof version. The formulation is thick but still wet enough to coat the lashes lusciously. I usually stop after two coats as that gives enough volume but if three or more coats is your thing I honestly can't see it getting to clumpy- a little climb yes but not to much ;) I'd heard through the grapevine that several people had found it to smudge under their eyes; well there was none of that here, if not the complete opposite I have to give it a fair scrub to get it off. It actually reminds me quite a lot of Benefits They're Real with both the formulation and lasting power; I wouldn't go quite as far as to say that it's a dupe but it is pretty damn close. As for the wand I think thats what has won me over, I'm gonna sound craaaazy here but it seriously looks like those dish cleaners your mum kept in the cupboard to clean bottles. But it does the job fantastically so who knows, if you ever loose a mascara wand and are extremely desperate it could work. (I'm definitely not condoning using an old bottle cleaner on your lashes HA!) Oh and did I mention it smells like honey!? Slightly weird honey but honey nonetheless. 

Have you tried this Mascara? Or is it on your wish list of Mascaras-To-Try? {Please don't be scared off by my bizarres dish cleaner illusion!}

DIY// Hot Chocolate Mix

I love chocolate so it makes sense that I would love hot chocolate right?! Well not exactly, I love the idea of hot chocolate, the snuggling up in front of the fire with a big streaming mug topped with marshmallows and cream. But I can never seem to find the perfect blend of sweetness and chocolate. But i've been mixing and matching different combinations and I think I've finally found the perfect blend. It's sweet, vanilla-ry, with a little hint of salt and has the perfect amount of chocolate in it as well. If your in a hot chocolate rut like I was why not try this out and see if it can cure you! It's super easy; In a large-ish bowl combine One Cup of Brown Sugar, 200g Chocolate Buttons, One and a Half cups of Cocoa Powder, One Tablespoon of Salt, the insides of Two Vanilla Beans as well as the beans and two Cups of Milk Powder.  Make sure all the dry ingredients are combined before filling up mason jars- or any type of container that suits you!

If you need a present for a friend but don't want to splurge to much why not make them a Hot Chocolate Kit? Fill one jar with Hot Chocolate Mix, another with marshmallows and find a cute mug to go with it. Then tie some ribbon around them all and your done! They'll think you've gone to a lot of effort, when really it was the easiest present you've ever given ;)

Are you a lover of Hot Chocolate? 

Weekly Catchup // Twenty-Sixth May

I can't believe that we're almost half way through the year already! First semesters is almost over except for exams that is! So in the spirit of almost holidays I took a trip into the city for a day of sightseeing and tourist-y photo snapping. Whenever me and Livvy {my other housemate} venture into the city we always seem to end up at Bondi Beach. It really is an amazing place to sit and relax for a few hours. The thing that I love the most is that whenever I snap a photo down at bondi I never have to use a filter. {First world problems ey'} 

But mother nature is that spectacula it deserves a mention!

'Succes is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts.' -Winston Churchill

I just had to include this simple quote and pair it with the brilliant words of Winston Churchill. They are definitely words to live by. If your never brave enough to take a chance you'll always be wondering what would have happened if you did!

Who doesn't like a ice-cream; especially from an ice-cream truck in the middle of Sydney city, with the lights of the Opera House twinkling in the background. If you happen to be around the Sydney over the next few weeks make sure you pop into the city as the Vivid Light Festival is on until the 9th of June! It is a spectacular sight to see the Harbour Bridge and the Opera house lit up in amazing designs. If you want to find out more their website is here and if you want my take on the festival heres last years post. If you go in get a choc-fudge-nut icecream- it was delicious!

Thats it for this week; I hope your week was as enjoyable as mine!

P.S My Shanghai Suzy Lipsticks Giveaway ends tomorrow night- if you were thinking of entering make sure you do before it ends!

Shanghai Suzy giveaway is almost up!

Hey guys, if you were still thinking of entering my Shanghai Suzy giveaway you've only got one day left to enter! Can you believe two weeks has gone so fast? I'm so thrilled to give one of you lovely ladies some gorgeous lipsticks that I personally love to bits; i'm almost excited for the giveaway to end just so I can draw the winner. But I have to wait patiently for all the last minute entries; so if your like me and leave things to the last minute head on over to the giveaway post, fill your details into the raffelcopted widget and your all done! Good luck lovelies :)

lots of love,

The Australiasian College Broadway // A Beauty School in the heart of Sydney

  

Last weekend I was lucky enough to be invited to the Australasian College in Broadway. The award winning college is situated right in the heart of Sydney- only a few minutes walk from central station.  They have several specialised courses including Hair, Makeup, Beauty Therapy and IPL. Along with my best friend/ room mate / might-as-well-be sister Emma, we made the venture in from the west into the city. Now we could have walked from the train station- but since we were feeling fancy-schmancy we decided to catch an Uber to the college and my word was it swish. I don't think I'll ever be able to catch a normal taxi again! We arrived feeling like princess's and having been greeted so lovingly {And with the prospect of Champagne} it only added to amazing day. We were given a tour by the lovely Jen who would have to have been one to the warmest and most inviting ladies I have ever met! She really made the tour amazing. The facilities were WOW; amazing! I was so impressed. We started out with a squizz into their IPL centre; I've always been slightly turned off at the thought of sizzling off my hair but after seeing how it is actually done and how careful the College is i'm convinced, sign me up! We then got to speak with Greg Morling, a massage therapist who has an inspirational passion for hot stone massages. I think I speak for both of us when I say we could have spent all day with Greg, he was hilarious but also so intriguing! I loved that he has worked so closely with Indigenous Australians to create collections of stones that have such heartfelt meaning. After the hot stones we were given a crash course in giving the perfect massage on some very relaxed looking mannequins. If your interested in studying beauty therapy this is where you start out, before moving onto soft a softer version and then finally onto your own customers. We also got to visit the makeup and hair side of things- both had such talented artists and stylists, they definitely put little old me to shame! The aesthetics and overall atmosphere was so classy but relaxing at the same time and we were made to feel so welcome that I really didn't want to leave!

If you have ever thought of starting a career in the beauty industry or just want to find out a bit more about the college I 100% recommend checking them out, they are amazing- I'm seriously considering dropping out of uni to do a few course's here

87 Bay Street Cnr Wentworth Park Road
Sydney  Australia  2037 
Phone:  8587 8888
Email: info@tac.edu.au