Boxing Day Sale Treats

In Australia, the one day of the year that is fantastic for scoring jaw dropping sales is Boxing Day. Some go just for the sake of looking, others go because they have things they need that are normally far too expensive! Normally during Boxing Day, I avoid the shops and spend the day lounging around chilling out, watching tv etc etc. But this year I was lured by the sales and went shopping. I joined some friends bright and early (9am to be exact!) at Westfield's Doncaster store to take advantage of the sales.

Whenever anything is on sale, for some reason I don't like it. But this Boxing Day I actually found some pretty cool things (that I actually needed as well). I've created a little scoreboard of what I went home with. As you can see, I spent the majority of my time at Peter Alexander. They are usually to expensive for my uni student budget so I definitely stocked up on their super cute intimates!

#1/#2 & Ice Cream Knicker in Cone @ Peter Alexander | | #3 7 Day Knicker Funday Set @ Peter Alexander | | #4 Ipanema Thongs in Red Polka Dots (also super cute in blue!) @ Novo Shoes | | #5 Salon Effects in 'Kitty Kitty' @ Sally Hansen 

Before I went I made a mental note of things I needed so I wouldn't overspend. I didn't stray once and was pretty damn happy with my purchases. I even ended up buying some suncream as while I was driving around on Christmas Day, I managed to cop some wicked painful "driver's burn" on my arm. I lathered up on the stuff when I got back into the car for the drive home!

I also learned a few things, which I am going to tuck away for next year. The major one being starting super early (as in way before 9am!), bring some water and comfy shoes, and get some suncream for the driver there and back (depending on the weather of course!). Being patient while waiting in ques and trying to find a car park also helps. I spent most of the time in the ques at Peter Alexander singing along to the songs they played which made the shopping trip more enjoyable and go quicker!

Getting my volunteering on this Christmas.

I have always thought about volunteering. It's always been in the back of my mind but I didn't want to be one of those annoying folk who rattle cans around and harass you in the middle of the street when you're on your way somewhere. I've also been held back by fear which is ridiculous because there's nothing scaring about helping people!

I was surfing the web and loosing myself amongst the maze of gorgeous blogs and stumbled across Vision Australia's Gift Wrap program. They set themselves up in the Australian department store Myer every year from the 17th-24th December and offer a gift wrapping service. The cost of the service is a simple donation ($2, $4 or $6 - depending on size) although you are welcome to pay more if you like. 

I love wrapping gifts - it's one of my favourite things about Christmas so my natural response to this was HELLS YEAH! It automatically put me in a great mood and all I'd done was sign up! I attended a training session yesterday afternoon and am really looking forward to getting into it in the next few weeks. 

The theme of the gift wrap this year is pretty and classy with corporate white boxes, corporate white tissue paper & wrapping paper and a gorgeous red grosgrain ribbon tied into a classic bow. (I will be posting sneaky pics as soon as I start.)

It's nothing nearly as extravagant as the scene in Love Actually, which is what I thought of as soon as I saw the advertisement for it and it put a huge smile on my face (I really like that scene - if you have forgotten I've linked it below).

I'm going to be based at the Chadstone and Doncaster (and possibly Spencer Street) locations, so if you're in need of getting your gifts wrapped pop in! 

Too many fries? Naaaaaaah.

One of my favourite places to go to is The Lounge, which is in the heart of Melbourne's shopping precinct, on Swanston Street.  The Lounge is an excellent venue with super friendly staff. It's especially enjoyable when you have perfect, sunny weather as you can enjoy your day/night on their decent sized balcony.

My friend V and I spent our Sunday avo enjoying a jug (or two) of Sangria (my favourite cocktail) for $14, a bowl of chips for $8 and some mini hamburgers with a side of (moar!) fries for $13. I absolutely love this entire meal. Always satisfying!

The burgers are beyond super cute! And so good!

Cocktails and Cupcakes; Oh my!

Last Friday night my friends and I discovered a few new places. Sure, they had been there for years, but to us they were very new. We went to The Spice Market, then to Longroom to see DJ Havana Brown spin some tunes. It was very 'trendy' and a wee it pretentious looking. We usually hang out at bars that are more casual but we've all been longing for something a wee bit different with music we all love (r n b and dance tunes) and Longroom was perfect. It's a good excuse to put in effort and get dressed up.



Since then, the week has been fairly quiet. Fan Dancing at House of Burlesque on Monday was wonderful. I was taught a few new interesting movements including the Peacock and the Angel. I found that quite tricky. We all want to buy our own fans but they are far too expensive! I'm going to have a look and see if I can make one of my own for practice. I've seen quite a few nice ones on eBay but you can never tell if it's super quality or not. You want to make sure it's with real ostrich feathers and nothing dodgy!



As last night was Thirsty Thursday, I had a few drinks with B and Dee. We went back to the Longroom to test out their cocktails. We didn't really get a chance to try them last time we went as we were busy taking silly photos and dancing. By chance, they happened to have their signature cocktails on special for $10 a piece. They were beyond wonderful. It was a nice, chilled out vibe, with people our own age just wanting to have a quite drink, some good food and conversation. The service was impressive and the staff were ridiculously good looking. I highly recommend going there for a few cocktails!



It seems to be that on a Friday afternoon in between leaving work and arriving home, I am in the world's worst mood. I'm tired and hate every single thing possible. However, I did a wee bit of retail therapy (The Time Traveler's Wife, a backup birthday present for my sister as hers hasn't arrive in the post yet) which helped and went home via Melbourne Central. I just happened to be walking past the new food court on Level 2 when a girl gave me a card announcing I was able to get a free Red Velvet cupcake from Cupcake Central. Apparently they had 1,000 Red Velvet cupcakes to give away as it was their opening day. I must say, it was superb. It is rare to find a cake that isn't overpowered by the icing and isn't dry. This cake was moist. The icing was so great. As I sat on the ground at the station waiting for my train I saw quite a few eyes on my cake and I could tell they were trying hard not to rip it out of my hands. I decided to purchase a few of them and I also tried the Raspberry and White Chocolate (not so good - icing far too sweet), Passionfruit (very yummy) and a Lavender w/ a lemon filling. WOW. What an explosion. That was by far my favourite!




~ Miss Rose
x x o