spank me, i ran away.

apologies to you all, as i know i've been on the run for quite some time now. i guess i just panicked. got a bit lost. didn't know whether to continue, or what to continue with. do i want to continue? do i have time for this? everything just got a bit much.
but i'm thinking of maybe coming back. if you'd still have me that is. i know i was pretty selfish to run away, but if you'll accept my apology, maybe i'll organise some super stuff for this blog. i'll make it up to you guys, i promise.
i need to get back in the groove.

on a side note, it was such a pleasant surprise logging back in to see a lovely message from amy from 'amy grace' blog who had nominated little old me (yes, i was surprised too) for a liebster bloggers award. unfortunately because i was in the middle of playing hide and seek, i missed out but when people say 'it's the thought that counts', this was definitely one of those glorious moments. so thankyou amy, you may just have convinced me to sit at this keyboard once again.

product review: lush 'sunny side' bubble bar.

so i FINALLY had enough cash (aka, spent some savings) to snaffle up some lush products to review for you guys. almost 70 bucks worth of products to be exact but i must say i've quite enjoyed giving them a go over the past few weeks.

first up for review is the last product i picked up as i was approaching the counter. i'll be honest, the only reason i picked it up is because it was glittery. as in completely covered in glitter. as in gold glitter. so quite obviously, i had to have it.

^ photo property of lush cosmetics (i forgot to take my own beforehand).

anyway the idea is you basically place it under the running bath water for a minute or two until the bath bubbles up. as the bubble bar is yellow, honestly it kind of makes the actual water look like someone peed in the bath (i assure you i didn't). but otherwise it just creates some bubbles like bubble bath would and the gold glitter sits throughout the bath. smell wise, it was a bit sweet. it's not really something i would rush out to buy again but if i was there and had some spare change, i'd get it solely for the glitter factor. plus playing with the glitter kept my childish mind entertained.

the aftermath. the bath definately needed a wipedown.

next up from lush i'll be reviewing their 'rub rub body scrub' so stay tuned.
much love! x

i am loving: embracing the winter chill.

first off, i just wanted to apologise for the late blog post. i've had a horrible cold recently and haven't had the energy to do much at all, let alone write a snazzy blog post. but we can now praise the lord, as the drugs are starting to kick in and i'm finally on the mend.

now in australia we're already a third of the way through winter if you work the seasons by months. however in hobart, it's only just now that you can really start to feel the harsh kick of icy coldness that is now throughout the air. that crisp air that sometimes hurts a little if you breathe it in too far, that swirls around your exposed fingertips and the tip of your nose turning them into pink little ice blocks and sometimes even from the inside of your house, turns each breathe into a visible white mist. i must say, i am loving it. and because of this i'm writing a little list of things i'm excited for with thanks to this cold weather hit (inspired by the gorgeous louise from sprinkle of glitter).

stormy nights in bed: where the rain patters on the roof while you're curled up inside with a hot water bottle and a good book (perhaps also snuggled up with your other half).

a snow adventure to mount wellington: one of the only places high enough above sea level where snow actually settles. not only allowing one to enjoy some fun in the snow but also a pretty spectacular and peaceful view.
tummy warming drinks: especially when it is super cold and you can literally feel them warming you up from the inside, out.

layers: jumpers upon jackets upon leggings upon wooly socks. as long as i'm cosy warm, bring on the wooly mammoth look.

hearty meals: the ones that make you feel so satisfied, you've no choice but to spend hours on the couch afterwards in a food coma.

coats: i've slowly fallen in love with investing in timeless coats and this weather is only a perfect excuse to add to the collection.

crafts: indoors time means plenty of craft time in any way, shape and form. hand me the knitting needles and a paint brush and i'm likely to be amused for hours.

my birthday: after a series of unfortunate events on my few previous birthdays, the day is no longer something i enjoy. however this year it means my boyfriend is on uni holidays which means more 'us' time and i'm thoroughly looking forward to it.

pj days: enough said. pjs, all day.

beanies: i am in love with beanies at the moment. not only are they perfect to disguise a bad hair day, but practical in the cooler months too.

movie nights: snuggling under a giant blanket with a movie and some popcorn on the side. i think i'd be rather content.

i'm sure in a few months time i'll be saying bring on the warmer weather, but for now i'm quite happy to embrace what the cold has to offer. is there anything you guys love about winter? let me know, below.

also, it's also good to remember that while we get to snuggle up in warm beds when it's freezing outside, a staggering number of us don't. so donate a blanket, jacket or socks to your local charity this winter. not only will it leave the person who receives it feeling toasty on the outside, but i guarantee you'll get a fuzzy feeling on the inside too.
stay warm!
love, t&e.

*the photo used in this post does not belong to / was not taken by me.

diy: coffee cup for the glitter obsessed.

 

it suddenly occured to me, i haven't yet blogged a 'diy' yet, so for my first diy i thought i'd just do something nice and easy that's just five simple steps.

now i did do this diy before i started blogging, therefore i don't have any 'during' shots but a while ago my mum bought me a cute take-away coffee cup with a paper paris themed picture on the inside. after using it for a while my dad put it through the dishwasher and of course, it leaked through and stained all the paper. i still wanted to use the cup and had seen a few pictures of glitter take-away coffee cups online so decided, now that the picture was ruined, i may as well give my own glitter coffee cup a whirl. although i did see other posts on the net, i pretty much just made my diy up.

you'll need:

- take-away coffee cup (example of what type is below)

- glitter in your choice of colour (larger glitter flakes work better for this project)

- glue (mod podge glue is amazing for this)

- smallish paint brush

- container or bowl to catch excess glitter (& newspaper if you're likely to be a little messy)

 

note: the kind of coffee cup you'll need will be able to unscrew from the bottom and will have an inside and outside layer. the outside layer should obviously be clear plastic so you can see the glitter.



step one: take apart your coffee cup like above ^. on the clear section paint a layer with your paint brush over half the cup with the glue and quickly sprinkle a generous amount of glitter into the cup. roll the cup from side to side so the glitter spreads across the glue but if you have a hole in the bottom from where the two layers connect, be mindful glitter doesn't fall out the bottom. feel free to lightly pat the glitter down into place too. tip any excess glitter into the spare bowl or container.

 

step two: repeat the above on the other half of the coffee cup. you can use any excess glitter you may have tipped out before, on the other half of the cup. you'll notice the glue will be very white, but it will dry completely clear so don't worry if the outside looks more white than glittery.

step three: continue applying the glitter, alternating between the two halves until there is a nice layer covering on the inside. make sure the layers aren't too thick however, or the inside part of the cup will not fit back into place. any tiny gaps between the glitter won't matter too much as once it's dry you generally won't notice them and if you do, you can always fix them later.

 

step four: if you want, once the glue has dried for about half an hour you can gently paint one last layer of glue over the entire inside of the cup, just to seal the glitter in place. you don't have to do this, but i did, just to prevent the glitter from shedding over time.

 

 

step five: now you just have to wait for your cup to dry! as i said, it may look very white from the outside because of the glue but the white will become clear once it's dry. if you've missed any spots, you can just go back over them with a little more glue and glitter. screw the two sections back together and you're ready to have your coffee on the go.

 

and TA-DA! you're very own glittery coffee cup. i'm so glad i did this diy as it looks so effective once you're done. just note that you can't put the whole thing in the dishwasher (although you can't with most of these types of cups anyway). if you want to try and put it in the dishwasher however, you'll be best to unscrew the two parts and put the non-glitter half in there on it's own.

 

 

let me know if anyone gives this a whirl and what you think of this diy.
cheers, x

current fashion crush: scolding hot pink.

sometimes i follow trends, sometimes i don't. more accurately, sometimes i like things when they happen to be in trend, and the rest of the time i just like whatever the hell i like.

 

i never used to be a pink girl, however if you showered me right now with all things 'legally blonde pink,' i'd be the happiest girl alive.

 

 

 

fashion haul: topshop.

yippeee, my top shop delivery has finally arrived.
thought you guys might want to have a quick squiz at what i got, incase you take fancy to any of the items.
it basically all started with me wanting a beanie, but then i thought i might get a few other goodies and got sucked in to the free delivery for spending £50. i ended up with two beanies, a cropped top, cropped jumper and two pairs of socks.

colour block skater beanie: £10
i loved the splash of pink seeing as this style of beanie usually has more of a grunge and boyish look. looking forward to figuring out how to style this beanie as i'm not quite sure what i'm going to wear it with or how to wear it on my smallish head. this was the original item i jumped on topshop to get before i ended up with the following.

snow faux fur teacosy beanie: £7 (on sale)
the second beanie was a gamble. on my trip to europe a few months ago, i saw some super cute faux fur head gear so when i spied this, i thought this might be exactly what i was looking for. it was hard to tell through just the photo how big the beanie was and how exactly it would fit but for the price, i was willing to try it out. it came in black and cream but i thought the cream was a bit different. so glad i picked this, it's the cosiest thing ever!

dweeb crop top: £7 (on sale)
i thought this top was nice and plain which means i could dress it up or down depending on what i'm wearing. i love a plain top with a bold 'statement'. they always look effective.

mickey mouse crop sweater: £22
this one was a little more expensive but i have a slight obsession with anything mickey mouse, so i was willing to spend a little extra cash. i liked that it was cropped, as it makes it different and easier to style as it's not so bulky so you could pair it with anything highwasted. the bottom is a chopped off style without stitching which i didn't originally realise but i think it adds something to it.

ankle socks (cat and polka dots with lace): £3.50 each
i pretty much bought these to get me over the £50 mark because all the other items i wanted would have made it the equivalent of paying postage and i didn't really have the money to be buying things in the first place. i'd really wanted the cat socks for a while anyway and the polka dot ones would be really cute on a day when i'm feeling a little more girly.

so receiving my delivery today has made me super excited to start styling some of these pieces as the cuts and styles of them make them a little bit different to things i might normally wear.
have you bought anything online recently that you've been wearing a lot? let me know.
have a fabulous week,
cheers!

product review: products from sos emergency hand rescue.

howdy guys.
so after a pretty shit and stressful few weeks, i'm back with a quick product review using some goodies i suggested in the 'sos: emergency hand rescue'.

l'occitane on minute hand scrub:
for about $30 bucks, you can pick up a 100ml tub of this stuff. it's basically an oil with organic brown exfoliating sugar. the oil aims to nourish the hands and contains shea while the exfoliating sugar gently scrubs away any dead skin cells. after a little scrubbing, your paws will be feeling pretty damn smooth, however occasionally the oil really likes to do its job (at being oily) and requires a some soap to encourage it to wash away. this stuff doesn't smell the best either, but overall as a hand scrub, it does its job pretty well so it's good for a quick treatment every so often. you'll have hands as soft as a baby's bum in just over a minute.

l'occitane shea butter hand cream:
the 150ml size of this is about $40 bucks, which is a decent price. the cream itself is a best seller (one is sold every 3 seconds) and i can see why. it's super great for nourishing and protecting the hands from becoming dry and contains 20% shea butter. shea butter is basically a complex fat that is sourced from the nut of a shea tree and is used throughout many cosmetic labels thanks to its properties in moisturising, healing and renewal processes. for these reasons, it is found in a lot of l'occitane products. once thoroughly rubbed in, the cream is not oily or greasy and thanks to it's very subtle and almost non-existent scent, it's great for those who don't like or can't use scented creams. i use this every night before bed and i love it!

butter london: horse power - nail fertiliser:
for best results it is directed that you apply one coat everyday for a week, then remove and repeat for the duration of a month, with a months break in between each cycle. i have to admit, i rarely do this for the full month but i find it good for giving my extremely weak nails a bit of extra oomph when i'm trying to encourage them to grow and i also love using it as a basecoat when i'm applying colour to my nails. i picked up my 17.5ml polish for about $25 so it's not extremely cheap but so far, it seems like a little product goes a long way, so it probably works out well in the long run.


sorry again for my brief break, but i'm back and ready to blog.
do you guys have any nail products that you love? let me know, i love trying out new ones.
cheers, x

SOS: EMERGENCY HAND RESCUE.



after returning to work for the week, my day was running pretty smoothly for a monday morning. i'd somehow forced myself out of bed, slapped some makeup across my face, put together an outfit that covered the necessary areas and stumbled my way to the bus stop in a sleepy haze. arriving at work, things were good early on. as i served and placed items in a bag for a customer, we chatted about her plans for the day but i became suddenly confused when i proceeded to pass the kind lady her bag. it appeared it wasn't my hands passing it over, but the severely aged and dry hands of perhaps a ninety year old grandmother who hasn't seen the need to use moisturiser for the past ten years. i panicked even further when i realised these were in fact my own hands and although mine have never been close to hand model standards, i could not believe how much i'd neglected them. my hands have a tendency to completely dry out during the colder weather, while my cuticles seem to enjoy encroaching upon my nails personal space bubble and my nails themselves like to break, peel and show off all signs of weakness.

 

although the entire rest of the day i so desperately desired to stash these 'old lady' hands out of sight (perhaps into a nice pair of woollen gloves), that was unfortunately not appropriate nor practical. i have a feeling wrapping gifts would have proved much more challenging and probably would have tested the patience of many customers. fortunately for me, no one appeared to notice (or felt comfortable enough to point out my mitts needed some serious tlc), so that afternoon i scurried home to give them the love that they truly deserved. after all, the least i could do was primp, preen and polish them so they could face the public eye with a little confidence. they do enough for me, don't they?

 

want some ideas for your own emergency hand rescue? read below.

EMERGENCY HAND RESCUE: for your neglected mitts.

 

1. rescue those nails from encroaching cuticles and tiny bits of skin (the ones that hurt like hell and enjoy bleeding when you pull them). i usually just press the cuticles down with my own nails or 'cuticle pushers' and trim them with nail clippers.

 

2. don't let those nails think they're escaping a little snip here and there. trim into your desired shape. feel free to use nail files but they make me shiver (nails on a blackboard anyone?).

 

3. plop a nice twenty cent piece size of l'occitane one minute hand scrub onto the palm of one hand. get imaginative and pretend those hands are having hanky panky, so rub them together close and vigorously for, oh i don't know, probably a minute or so. once done, rinse and dry those now substantially smoother mitts.

 

4. massage some l'occitane cuticle and nail cream into and around your nails. this is your way to apologise for trimming their unruly 'locks' without their permission.

 

5. encourage those nails to grow long and stronger with some help from butter london's - horse power nail fertiliser. one coat should do the trick (for best results continue to use as the bottle directs).

 

6. once those babies are dry, smother them with love in the form of body shop spa wisdom africa hand and foot butter.

 

7. if you do this a while before bed, before your slumber you can apply l'occitane shea butter hand cream for some extra goodness and if you desire, a pair of moisture gloves to soften those hands all night long.

 

i'll be doing a product review on these products, including prices, over the next few days. until then, i hope you keep your mitts in better condition than i have and if not, that my ideas might give them some much needed relief.

 

 

much love, t&e.


* please note that i am NOT in any way, shape or form connected to any business or company. all products are purchased with my own money and all opinions are my own.

current jewellery crush: chunky & chained.

sometimes i follow trends, sometimes i don't. more accurately, sometimes i like things when they happen to be in trend, and the rest of the time i just like whatever the hell i like. however you want to put it, right now i'd like some chunk mixed with chain, please.

 

brand exploring: lush cosmetics.

 

lush. the word itself promotes a feeling of abundance and sensual thriving. just reading descriptions of 'lush cosmetic' products makes my skin crave some serious tlc, thanks to the almost orgasmic way they can talk about avocados and seaweed (it just sounds so damn good!). i've always called myself a lover of 'lush', however recently i have rather naively based this adoration solely on the company values (such as their anti animal testing and environmental campaigns), rather than the products in funky packaging they continuously give birth to. after having a scrumptious brunch with a friend who works at my local lush store, i realised how long it has been since i purchased one of their products, which i really don't have an excuse for as their shop front is directly opposite my own workplace. i was suddenly embarrassed. how could i proudly profess my love without being able to remember the last time i set foot in the store, let alone brought a product.

and so it was decided. on my way to work this morning i set off early and eagerly, ready to do my research in that 'store across the road,' before it was too late and i sooner or later exposed myself for the fraud that i really am. i must credit my cheerful experience to the lovely lass working today who constantly chatted too me as i strolled bug-eyed around the store, trying to take in each texture, colour and smell from the many cosmetics covering the tables and shelves. at the end of my visit, she offered me a copy of 'lush times' which i happily skipped away with and spent all day longing to get home, just so i could delve into its pages and see what else my inspiring visit could potentially offer me.

as soon as dinner was over, i spent the next hour browsing 'lush times' page by page, creating a continually growing list of the many products i'd like to try for myself. i figure many of my current beauty products are starting to run out, so this is the perfect opportunity to swap things up and try some new, crazily scented goodies (never mind my prevelant lack of money, we'll just have to work around that). hopefully over the next few weeks i will be able to start bringing some 'lush' product reviews to you, once i can find enough loose change around the house and in the bottom of handbags to support my new endevour.

have you guys used many lush products? do you have favourites you'd recommend or ones that you wouldn't?

cheers, t&e. x

 

p.s. as of today i am now the (both proud and slightly embarrassed) owner of a 'peter alexander' two piece, black velour tracksuit. i've always wanted one so i'm rather excited, however it's a very early birthday pressie so i have to wait another sixish weeks to wear it. boo you whore!

tv show of the month: the following.

 

unlike people such as my sister, who have seen every tv series released in the last ten years, i myself have difficulty finding time to watch tv quite so religiously. almost every female i know in the 15 to 25 year old age bracket has watched all seasons of gossip girl about three times a pop, while i'm yet to move on from the first. it's not that i don't want to watch tv, i just seem to struggle to find the time or i'll start a season and never get to finish it, therefore forgetting what happened in previous episodes and finding story lines all over the place. i do have a few exceptions which i shall perhaps share with you on another occasion.
however, i thought it only fitting that for my first 'proper' post i'd share with you my new absolute FUCKING FAVOURITE tv show (& possible favourite tv show of the year). anyone who has not heard of or seen 'the following,' i am officially taking it upon myself to give you homework for the week and watch it. i stumbled upon this gem by complete chance and have been absolutely addicted, watching almost all twelve (so far released) episodes back to back. it was a pleasent surprise, as the description i read worded it like your typical crime/thriller/police chasing bad guy kind of series which didn't sound all too exciting or different from the hundreds of others out there. 'the following' brings a whole new oomph to this 'typical' genre by adding some super story lines and character twists (think 'pretty little liars' or 'revenge'). is is more graphic than most tv shows, so if you're a squeemish kind of person, it might be worth steering clear or at least having hands at the ready to sheild your eyes in any vomit inducing moments.
i must make request to anyone who does decide to watch and that would be PLEASE watch the unscencered version. australian tv is currently playing the censored version which is the biggest piece of crapola i have ever seen and really doesn't give you the full effect of its amazingness!
if anyone does decide to check it out, comment and let me know what you think. do you agree with me or not? also, what are your favourite tv shows? i'm always on the look out for more.
cheers, t&e.

welcome to thoughts and encounters.

hello blog world.
this blog is about anything and everything. it's a place to share my interests, likes, dislikes and opinions. somewhere to share things i find on the internet, in magazines or in books. i'll share funny things, sad things, thought provokers and yummy things to make and nibble on. if you like to be crafty like me, i'll share those things with you. fashion, music, beauty? i can do that too. if enough people enjoy my life musings, i might even let you guys choose some subjects. if you don't, please tell me to stop clogging up the internet and go back to spending my life eating nutella and wishing i had money so i could afford more than $10  bottles of champagne.
but for now, let's see where this journey takes us.

to blog or not to blog?

well i guess we have our answer.