Love: St Frock's Arctic Furry Jacket

Tuesday, April 29, 2014
St Frock Arctic Furry Jacket Lipstik Pronto Shoes Heels
St Frock Arctic Furry Jacket LOVE Black Strapless Jumpsuit
St Frock Arctic Furry Jacket LOVE Black Strapless Jumpsuit
St Frock Arctic Furry Jacket Limecrime Suedeberry Velvetines
St Frock Arctic Furry Jacket Limecrime Suedeberry Velvetines

Wearing: St Frock's Arctic Furry Jacket via St Frock; LOVE Black Strapless Jumpsuit thanks to LOVE; Upbeat Jewellery's 'Star Cymbal' Necklace thanks to Uncommon Goods; Lipstik's Pronto Heels; Limecrime's Suedeberry Velveteen Lipstick

As May starts to creep up on us, I get more and more excited about my birthday coming up. I will be turning 27 on May 12th in exactly two weeks. 27! I am going past my mid-twenties and into my late twenties. Wow.
I will be celebrating my birthday in solo fashion for the first time in about 7 years (having had joint birthday parties for all this time). And this occasion marks me celebrating as a single gal for the first time in 4 years too. Usually going for big themed parties and drink ups, I've decided to keep it low key and only invite my closest friends and family.
For my four day weekend, I'm planning to have a quiet birthday dinner with my friends, then the next day I hope to watch The Lion King (the musical) at Capitol Theatre then on the third day I will head out to a Jeep Car meet at Stockholm Beach with my closest work friends. After all this my real birthday will be on the forth day and I will carpool with my close friends as I will have a shift that night (and I really don't mind).

I'm daunted yet excited about my solo birthday this year. A year ago I was a different person and I felt like I've changed more in the past year than in all my life. I've improved some friendships and I've lost some friendships/ I've had alot of emotional clarity bought upon me and I find that I'm much stronger than I think, and that's something new I've discovered.
However this is just me in a nut-shell, give or take: I also found out I'm a home-body and I love to read books, play my Nintendo and watch my movies and TV series, snuggled up in bed. I found out I have a gamers streak (currently obsessed with playing Ingress and I have Ingress gamers dreams), I love white rice, Japanese curry, coffee and hot chips, and I'm a music know-it-all. I live and breathe my phone, it stresses me out when my phone battery  goes below 50% (wow). I sometimes think I have a better personality via text rather then in real life. I really love baking. I still love my lipsticks. I always cry at Animal rescue news reports and I will never be able to watch Horror films. I wikipedia everything and am a Google nerd. I make lame jokes and I mumble alot because I still think I have a better personality via text. My dream superpower is still Flight (hate flying in aeroplanes) and my favourite things to do are to eat cold white rice with dry beef when I come home late at night, holding hands, forehead kisses and doing the running man dance/happy clam clap when I'm happy. My friends mean the world to me and I would happily sacrifice time to care for them as much as I can.

These things remain consistent, and I was worried a few years ago that I can never appreciate the type of person I am and that I should 'change' myself for the better. Yes, I could improve my emotional strength and stand up for myself more and blah blah. But its sometimes just so satisfying to know my likes and dislikes so well; be comforted by my sense of self and be proud of what I've accomplished in my short life-span.

Happy 27th Birthday to me!
And as for my outfit, I'm wearing a beautiful strapless jumpsuit from LOVE and a stunner of a coat from St Frock. These clothes scream me: a bold lipstick, a new hair-do, a strapless top, killer heels and an unique faux fur coat. And I have a special necklace from Uncommon Goods that has a pendent made out of old musical instruments that represents my love for music. It's also nice to understand your sense of style with confidence as you get older and learning not to give a crap what people think. All in all, I think I'm going to have a wonderful 27th birthday proudly being me, rather then trying to be someone else.




A Campaign: Polka Milk x Hello Kitty SS14 Collections

Monday, April 28, 2014
Polka Milk Liberty Hello Kitty Fashion Campaign 2014 Blog
Polka Milk Liberty Hello Kitty Fashion Campaign 2014 Blog
Polka Milk Liberty Hello Kitty Fashion Campaign 2014 Blog
Polka Milk Liberty Hello Kitty Fashion Campaign 2014 Blog
Polka Milk Liberty Hello Kitty Fashion Campaign 2014 Blog
Polka Milk Liberty Hello Kitty Fashion Campaign 2014 Blog
Polka Milk Liberty Hello Kitty Fashion Campaign 2014 Blog
Polka Milk Liberty Hello Kitty Fashion Campaign 2014 Blog
Polka Milk Liberty Hello Kitty Fashion Campaign 2014 Blog
Polka Milk Liberty Hello Kitty Fashion Campaign 2014 Blog
Polka Milk Liberty Hello Kitty Fashion Campaign 2014 Blog


How cute are these! London Based culinary inspired Polka Milk has just released their new T-shirt range in collaboration with Hello Kitty for Spring Summer 2014.
I grew up owning alot of Hello Kitty products including notebooks, pens, plush toys, calculators and jigsaw puzzles. My cousins lived in Japan for a while so they always bought over new merchandise for me and it thus fuelled my soft spot for all things Japanese. As an adult I still eat Hello Kitty candy and have a Hello Kitty shaped alarm clock. So I'm super excited for this new collection!!

Fusing the concept of fashion with culinary flavours, Polka Milk have released playful and colourful visual candy in the form of 7 different "flavoured" pocket t-shirts with contrast sleeve cuffs. With extremely limited numbers, these shirts are made using rare, out of print, Japan-only Liberty fabric prints. 

Polka Milk uses 100% organic, climate neutral cotton to enforce the brands ethos on sourcing wholesome ingredients. 
These shirts are selling at 47 British Pounds (approx. $85 Australian) and are ready to buy after 25th April. Polka Milk are so creative with their product names - I've come across some called 'Blueberry & Tomato Flavour' and 'Matcha and Strawberry' and ties in with their Culinary inspired concept so well.



Charge It Up 7 Day Challenge with Fitness First; Bonds Active Outfit + Protein Balls Easy Recipe

Thursday, April 24, 2014
Bonds Yoga Outfit Active Range Stretch Now Eco Yoga Mat

My Super Charged 7 Day Challenge with Fitness First (sponsored by Fitness First), including new Yoga outfit, Yoga Mat and Protein Ball recipes

For the month of April, Fitness First generously donated $250 for me to super charge my health and fitness goals in celebration of Australian Fitness Week. So much excitement. I've always wanted to explore my options into clean eating and commit myself to a new fitness goal. 
But before I did all this, I decided to pursue a separate goal, that is- to participate in a triathlon. I was invited by Fitness First as a VIP guest to participate in their annual Corporate Triathlon as part of a relay team. I did the 3km run at the end of the race but my team mate did the 800m ocean swim before completing a 8km bike track. I achieved a time of 18mins for 3km which is something I am really proud of. I really slack off in the sport of running, I can't stand cardio and I can't stand being out of breath.... yet I pushed myself to do it. 
Now after the event (I really would not have believed it myself 6 months ago), I'm slowly developing an appreciation for running and squeezing it in into my daily routine. I find it really lets me clear my mind and I've learnt to control my breathing better. How things have changed!

Fitness First Corporate Triathlon 2014 2015
Fitness First Corporate Triathlon 2014 2015
Fitness First Corporate Triathlon 2014 2015

The Triathlon Finish Line! I found the support of my team and the company looking after me really made me so proud to cross that finish line. So many people were cheering for me. You can register your interest for next year's event here.

Bonds Yoga Outfit Active Range Stretch Now Eco Yoga Mat
Bonds Yoga Outfit Active Range Stretch Now Eco Yoga Mat
Bonds Yoga Outfit Active Range Stretch Now Eco Yoga Mat
Bonds Yoga Outfit Active Range Stretch Now Eco Yoga Mat
Bonds Yoga Outfit Active Range Stretch Now Eco Yoga Mat

Wearing: Bonds Active 3/4 Pants (Grey Marle); Bonds Overdyed Pullover (Grey Marle); Bonds Basic Tank (white) [all Bonds Items sponsored by Fitness First]; Vans Authentic; Agent 99 slouchy beanie

In addition to achieving my first triathlon, I decided to bring some more peace and relaxation into my life. I always loved Yoga but with my shift work I find it difficult waking up for classes. I decided to bring Yoga to my home. I found a beautiful eco friendly Earth Mat from Stretch Now with a matching bag for only $55.00. The material is soft yet sturdy and came in a beautiful lilac colour. I spread it out on my tile floors at home and as well as the park for Yoga and it gives great traction. 
I think I am clumsy and ungraceful when it comes to completing Yoga poses (like the Tree pose you're supposed to hold for 1 minute, or the Extended triangle which is actually harder than it looks), so my immediate thought was: Yeah I'll need some comfortable breathable clothes. Bonds clothing were the first to come to mind. I browsed their Active range for some slouchy 3/4 pants with a convenient back pocket for my iPod. I also included a Basic Tank and Slouchy Pullover for a relaxed look. In total my new Yoga outfit cost just under $100 from Bonds. It made a great investment into my well-being and peace of mind, forcing to take my fitness outdoors into the warm sunlight and fresh air which I rarely do (always indoors at the gym breathing in air conditioned recycled air).

Apricot Goji Berry Protein Bliss Health Recipe Food Blog
Apricot Goji Berry Protein Bliss Health Recipe Food Blog
Apricot Goji Berry Protein Bliss Health Recipe Food Blog
Apricot Goji Berry Protein Bliss Health Recipe Food Blog
Chocolate Date Protein Bliss Health Recipe Food Blog
Chocolate Date Protein Bliss Health Recipe Food Blog
Chocolate Date Protein Bliss Health Recipe Food BlogChocolate Date Protein Bliss Balls Apricot Goji Berry Recipe Food Blog

Recipes: Chocolate Date Protein Balls and Apricot Goji Berry Protein Balls (Protein Ball Ingredients all sponsored by Fitness First)

And last but not least, I used the remaining money to buy ingredients for home-made Protein Balls. I have been introduced to clean eating by my bestie Betty but I decided to take it more seriously this week. I even used some money to buy ingredients for Green Smoothies (recipe can be found here).
With the help of Betty, we managed to produce two types of delicious protein balls. Here are the recipes for each.

Apricot Goji Berry Protein Balls Recipe

50g rolled oats
100g dessicated coconut
100g cashews (or walnuts/almonds)
100g dried apricots
50g goji berries
pinch of sea salt
2 tablespoons raw coconut oil

Chocolate Date Protein Balls Recipe

100g dessicated coconut
100g chopped cashews (or almonds/walnuts)
2 tablespoons organic peanut butter (with cacao)
2 tablespoons cacao powder
2 tablespoons agave syrup or honey
pinch of sea salt
100g pitted dates

For both recipes, you just blitz all the ingredient into a blender, food processor or thermo-mix (those machines are amazing!) until you get a nice consistency. The magic of these protein balls is that you can mix and match ingredients from whatever you have in the pantry. Make sure the batter is sticky enough to roll into a ball. If you find the batter not sticking together when formed into a ball, you can add more wet ingredients like coconut oil, more fruit or agave and blitz again.
Roll all batter into small balls with lightly wet hands, then coat in fine dessicated coconut. Alternative coatings include cacao powder, cacao nibs, crushed peanuts and chia seeds. It's also fine to have without coating. Then store in the fridge for an hour to firm up before serving. Can keep in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to two weeks. Perfect snack for on the run or to fuel up pre or post workout!

Tips: You can add a tablespoon of protein powder if you're in training mode. Freezing them makes them firmer and chewy.

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So all in all, I think I really made use of the $250 to super charge my health and to achieve my Fitness goals. Making protein balls really opened up the potential of eating healthier snacks. I tend to opt for crackers or a muesli bars which I'm sure is quite processed. Protein balls only took about 15 minutes to make and I stored enough for a whole week. The reassurance I was eating something organic, clean and healthy was great too.
And then adding Yoga to my week bought calmness and peace. Something about stretching in the open air listening to the winds bristling the trees and birds chirping makes the small problems seem miles and miles away. The new Bonds outfit and Yoga Mat really motivated me too.
And of course, I am still proud of my triathlon achievement. It may have been minor compared to people who did the whole course on their own (these people are so motivating) but I found that it has opened up doors to the idea of adding running to my fitness regime. My motivation for cardio really has soared.
Thanks Fitness First for such an amazing and enlightening week!


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