July Book Reviews

I used to read so much when I was a kid and as I've gotten older I found I slacked off a lot. But this year I'm back in the groove and rekindled my love for reading so I thought I'd share with you a few of my latest reads. I read these three books back to back and found I couldn't put any of them down. Sometimes there's nothing better than sitting down on a comfy couch, with a blanket and cup of tea to read a book. Everyone get on it!

#GirlBoss by Sophia Amoruso 

#GirlBoss is the story of Sophia Amoruso's life from petty thief to founder and CEO of Nasty Gal- one of the most successful fashion retailers around. This is an empowering, brutally honest read packed with useful tips on how to achieve your dreams. 

Beautiful Ever After by Katie Piper
I saw the documentary on Katie Piper a few years ago and have continued to follow her story. Her extraordinary story of strength and courage are captured in this book as she tries to rebuild her life after the shocking acid attack that scarred her body and face. This is the sequel to her memoir that delves into how Katie has coped in the years after the attack and moving out of her parents home. An absolute must read in my opinion. Her story is truly remarkable. I would recommend reading her memoir Beautiful first.

Still Alice by Lisa Genova
Still Alice by Lisa Genova was a New York Time's best selling novel....and I know why. I read this entire book on the way home from Melbourne. It was so captivating and heartbreaking at the same time. Alice Howland is a cognitive psychology professor at Harvard with a loving husband and beautiful children. One day she goes for her usual daily run but can't remember how to get home. Alice becomes increasingly disorientated and forgetful and is tragically diagnosed with Alzheimer's at the age of 50. This book gives you an understanding of those affected by early-onset Alzheimer's and keeps you long inspired after you've put it down.

What are some of your favourite books?

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2015 Bucket List Continued...

So as you would have read from my post a few months back  http://whattshesaid.blogspot.com.au/2015/03/2015-bucket-list.html I created a bucket list for 2015.
Last year was pretty tough in terms of having time to do anything fun and for myself. I had just landed my first full time job (wish I was very thankful for) and started the day after I finished my final exam at university. Working full time was a bit of an adjustment and one thing I found out very quickly was that 20 days of annual leave a year does A) not accrue fast enough and B) is purely not enough to span across 365 days! So I spent my first year working and not taking any time off. In 2015 I was determined to have some fun so devised a list of things I wanted to do. This included:

- Go jet skiing
- Go scuba diving
- Go stand up paddle-boarding
- Go to Serpentine Falls/See a waterfall
- Go kayaking
- See and explore New York City
- Ride a horse on the beach
- Participate a charity fun run (and actually run)
- Ride a camel
- Go rock climbing
- Go to a zoo
- Feed a giraffe
- Pat an elephant
- Climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge
- See a psychic 

Considering it's only the start of July, I think I've done quite well! The items in pink are still yet to be completed but with that being said I've got my trip to America booked in October and Sydney (almost) booked in December for Christmas so they can almost be crossed off. Hard work paid off and I finally started doing all the things I wanted to do.

Here's my year in review so far.

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Walking in a Winter Wonderland

My highly anticipated holiday to Falls Creek has come to an end :( What a whirlwind of a trip it was.

My best friend and I were super excited to go on our first trip together and it couldn't have gone better. 

Not gonna lie- the travelling to get there was pretty brutal (three hour plane trip at 1:45am and a five hour bus drive up a mountain) but it was so worth it. 

Falls Creek is located in the Alpine National Park in the Victorian Alps, approximately 350 kilometres from Melbourne. When we started planning our trip, we knew one thing- WE WANTED SNOW! We deliberated going to New Zealand to ride the slopes but decided on staying in our own beautiful country for our first solo mission- and I'm glad we did. 

For first time skiers Falls Creek was perfect. We went just before peak season and school holidays so there weren't too many people around and while initially we were disappointed there wasn't real snow falling, by the end we were so incredibly thankful. It would have been so difficult to get around.

Falls Creek has beautiful restaurants, the nicest people I have EVER met and some of the most glorious views I've ever encountered. 

Here are some of my favourite photographs. 

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Travel Necessities

I've done a bit of a blog revamp so I hope you all like it! I just wanted something a bit more modern and fresh. People are always changing and I think this year has been a bit of a wake up, so I wanted my blog to change with me and reflect my style.

But in other news, I wanted to share with you some of my go-to travel necessities. I'm heading off to Victoria at the end of June to go skiing at Falls Creek. Cannot wait to see the snow! I'm going with my best friend and this will sort of be our first independent travel adventure, so while it's a bit nerve wracking we are also super excited. Some of my biggest concerns are keeping warm and protecting my skin from the harsh conditions. So here I wanted to give you an insight into just some of my essentials I'll be taking to combat the harsh climate.

       

       

       

Nivea Fruity Shine Strawberry

Nivea Hydro Care SPF 15
Crabtree & Evelyn Summer Hill Hand Therapy

Valleygirl Sunglasses
Mario Badescu Facial Spray with Aloe Vera
Sun Sense Daily Fac
Mario Badescu Herbal Hydrating Serum

Mimco watch

Pantene shampoo and conditioner 

Benefit they're real eye makeup remover

Revlon colour stay lip gloss

L'occitane hand cream

Lancôme visionnaire

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Nails of the Day

I bought this nail polish quite a while ago. It is Natio and the colour is called Blossom from the Pearl and Pop range. I loved the shade and wanted something slightly different to my every day nail polishes. This is the first time I've bought/used Natio nail polish and unfortunately for me, will be the last. To achieve this dense look required three coats. It was slightly streaky to apply and regrettably chipped within a few hours. With that being said, it was quite cheap at $5.95. The 9ml bottles are perfect for those who like to switch up their nail polish daily or for special occasions.

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Melbourne City

Ahhh Melbourne. One of my favourite places to go for time away from work.

It was a long weekend over here in Perth, so we decided to take a girls trip and meet the rest of our family from Sydney in Melbourne.
Melbourne is a beautiful city; full of things to do, places to see and the atmosphere is electric. When we go on a girls trip away we focus on three main things:
1. Shopping
2. Coffee
3. Food
I also think that these three points are ones you should never have low standards about!
Melbourne has all of this and more.
So with this, I've devised a list of the best places to shop.

1. Bourke Street Mall
In my opinion, this is one of the best places to start your shopping adventure. Filled with a variety of shops and treasures, this is considered the heart of Melbourne's retail therapy. Located between Swanston Street and Elizabeth Street, it is only accessible by tram or on foot. We took the free City Circle tram from our apartment straight up Flinders Street and walked up to this shopping haven. Housing a fantastic David Jones, Myer, H&M and so much more, this mall is impressive from the get go. There is also access to the new Emporium which is full of great retail stores from Chanel to Uniqlo.

2. Chadstone Shopping Centre
With its status as Australia's largest shopping centre, the Chadstone complex on Melbourne's outskirts is a massive, sprawling and modern hub of shopping activity that's big enough to dwarf Perth city. High end retail mixes with boutique shops and department stores to ensure that almost every shop you've heard of is represented here. If you've got money to burn and are happy to spend an entire day (or three!) shopping here, Chadstone is easy to recommend. We spent one whole day here and got through maybe a third of what it had to offer.

3. Chapel Street
We didn't make it to Chapel Street on this trip but it certainly is a great place to visit. If you're going in winter, make sure to rug up as it is street shopping and it is quite chilly out in the open. Chapel Street is part of Melbourne's premier retail fashion districts where you will find a range of great boutiques as well as some ritzy cafes and restaurants.

4. Melbourne Central
Home to over 300 retail shops, Melbourne Central is a stylish destination for shopping, eating and entertainment. The architecture is beautiful and it is so easy to get to. Public transport drops you right out the front so you don't need to stress about getting to your favourite shop!

Melbourne has so much to offer and is such a fun and exciting place to visit....especially with people you love and don't get to see often.

In terms of what I purchased....I won't list everything as it's a bit embarrassing the amount I bought. But I will let you in on one of my favourites; courtesy of my Aunty G who wore this amazing piece on her wrist that I copied!

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Getting ready for the winter months

Part of me is a little bit sad about summer coming to an end, but the other part of me is so excited to get into a new season of clothing! I find winter so much easier to dress for and love being able to have staple pieces in my wardrobe that I can mix up with a few different accessories to make it look like a whole new outfit.

So I thought I'd share with you some of my tips for winter and what I think are must haves for the colder months!

1. Invest in a decent coat
I absolutely adore jackets and coats. In my opinion you can never have to many. I love structured tailoring- I find it very flattering on pretty much every body type. That being said this winter I will be taking out some of my coats from last year as I think they will continue to stand the test of time!

One of my personal favourites is this military inspired coat from Forever New I purchased a few years ago. Despite many fashion editors saying double breasted coats are a go-to piece for winter I find them difficult to wear unless they are buttoned up (which I hardly ever do) and feel they overwhelm a lot of figures. What I like about this coat is that it gives the illusion of being double breasted without the excess material. Classic military looks like this continue to be fashionable each season, it's a trend that won't go out of style, and one we see popping up on the runway each winter.

2. Learn to layer

It can be absolutely freezing outside but as soon as you walk into a room the heated air conditioning can make you swelter. So you need to learn to layer. I make sure that when I layer, I can take pieces off and still love what I'm wearing. Whether that be by putting a chunky sweater over a form fitting top or adding a belt around a cardigan if you don't want to look too bulky there's plenty of ways to make that happen.

Make a knit look more interesting by adding a patterned shirt underneath and letting the collar peek out. Or make a cropped sweater warmer by wearing it over a button up. One look I like is wearing a faux fur vest over a long cardigan or fitted top. The options are endless!

3. A good pair of boots are the key to keeping warm.
I think it's important to have a comfy pair of flat boots and a pair with a heel for the more dressy occasions. I love that with boots you can wear them with pretty much everything, whether that be a nice pair of jeans, with a dress and stockings or leggings with cute socks.

4. Accessorise it up
Ahhh the scarf! One of my favourite additions in the winter. A scarf not only keeps you warm but it adds a little something-something. Invest in a few scarves and you can update any outfit. I love a little pop of colour or print a scarf can bring to the table.

5. Look after your skin
I know this isn't quite fashion related but your skin regime needs to change for the colder months. Winter does little favours to our skin, from sore eyes to cracked lips, exposure to the harsh elements such a biting winds and dry central heating creates a range of problems. It's important to keep up the SPF as your skin is still vulnerable to ultra-violet rays and invest in a heavy moisturiser as the wind strips the skin of its natural moisture.

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