Thoughts of the week…

01) Haus of Gloi have released their Autumn collection, and the last time I checked all of the ‘Ghost Puffs’ goodies were out of stock. Ugh.

02) The day finally came, the very first pair of Country Road stockings that I ever bought (four years ago) have a hole in them and need to be chucked out. I can’t recommend them highly enough, they are amazing quality and I continue to buy them year after year. This is the first time since I started wearing them that I’ve ever needed to replace them. They certainly are long lasting!

03) This article about Taylor Swift finally embracing feminism is pretty interesting (and frankly it’s about time). Speaking of Taylor, here she is in iambic pentameter.

04) Somehow we managed to successfully grew some catnip, and Pepsi has been high ever since.

05) This piece has made me really excited for Lena Dunham’s book.

06) I got spendy this week and ordered some books and makeup. Oops.

07) I can’t wait for Parks & Recreation to be back on our screens. Meanwhile, Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman both continue to live their lives in the most awesome way possible.

08) Beyonce’s performance at the VMAs was perfection. As per usual. Speaking of Queen B, apparently she is coming to Australia with the On The Run tour with Jay Z. Interesting…

09) We finished watching the final season of The Killing, and it wasn’t how I thought they would end it, but I’m mostly satisfied with it being all wrapped up.

10) We went to see Mythbusters Live on Wednesday night, and it was a lot of fun. I wasn’t sure how their show would translate to a live audience, but I really enjoyed it. It was also really nice to head out into the city mid-week, as I rarely do. It was bustling!

August Fitness Chat

Wow, another month down. Isn’t it crazy how time flies? It all seems to go a lot faster when the second half of the year rolls around. As with my last few updates, I’m still not 100% back on track with my fitness plan. But at this stage I’m putting it down to a mix between the winter weather draining my motivation, and the bouts of illness I’ve been having over the past few months. I’m still not feeling better but there have been some really lovely days lately, with the sun out and the temperatures not too low, and I’m feeling more motivated now than I have done in the past few months. Onwards and upwards!

July Goals
I was slowly getting back into the swing of things this month, and kind of accomplished my goal of more gold stars in my planner. Well… there’s more in there than there was last month, I’ll say that much. As for visiting our local gym and trying out their services – no. That did not happen.

Monthly Goals
I’ll have unlimited access to a treadmill in September, so I want to focus on building back up to running again. I also want to undertake a kind of fitness ‘challenge’, and at this stage I think it’ll be the squat challenge from the Lorna Jane fitness diary. I also want to get my health on track, and my doctor and I have the ball rolling, and hopefully we’ll have something figured out soon.

Health & Fitness Related Goodies
* If you’re after some inspiration to help you push just a bit harder during your next workout, check out the Nicki Minaj film clip for Anaconda. Sheesh. What a body.

The Fortnightly Face

fortnight 01
givenchy photo perfexion foundation in perfect ivory
ysl touche eclat in #1
laura mercier loose setting powder in translucent
hourglass ambient lighting palette
nyx cream blush in tickled
the balm mary-lou manizer
urban decay eyeshadow primer potion
mac eyeshadow in all that glitters
mac eyeshadow in blanc type
stila smudge stick waterproof eyeliner in stingray
benefit they’re real mascara
maybelline master shape eyebrow pencil in deep brown
skindanavia no more shine makeup finish
clinique chubby stick in mighty mimosa

fortnight 02
givenchy photo perfexion foundation in perfect ivory
ysl touche eclat in #1
laura mercier loose setting powder in translucent
hourglass ambient lighting palette
nyx powder blush in peach
the balm mary-lou manizer
urban decay eyeshadow primer potion
shiseido silk eyeshadow duo in taffeta taupe
stila smudge stick waterproof eyeliner in stingray
lancome hypnose mascara
maybelline master shape eyebrow pencil in deep brown
skindanavia no more shine makeup finish
fresh tinted lip treatment in rose

Thoughts of the week…

01) Ingrid has me convinced that I need the Bumble & Bumble Thickening Dry-Spun Finish. With Mecca’s recent price drop, it’s now a few bucks cheaper and I’m seriously tempted to pick this up.

02) Taylor Swift released a new song (and an accompanying music video), and it’s pretty damn catchy. I do love Taylor, but I also agree with a lot of what these people are saying. I’ve never loved Taylor’s ‘pop’ songs, I’ve always preferred her more heartfelt story-telling style, but I’m interested to see what the new album is like. Hopefully it has a nice balance of both.

03) Speaking of music videos… Nicki Minaj’s Anaconda sure is interesting. (NSFW)

04) Pepsi loves it when I clean out my wallet. Scrunched up receipts make for exciting new toys.

05) The Charlotte Tilbury sets at Netaporter are beautiful. Anyone want to buy me one?

06) This dog video made my week.

07) I really hope Bardarbunga doesn’t erupt. All of the reports about this are quite scary, and with my parents bound for Europe (AGAIN!) next week, I’d hate to think of the chaos it would cause.

08) If you’re in the market for some new books to read, this list of book releases that are due out in the second half of the year is definitely worth checking out.

09) Shape Magazine’s best running tips of all time.

10) 13 reasons to follow Neil deGrasse Tyson on twitter.

Spring/Summer Book Haul (shop my stash edition)

So I seem to have developed a nasty habit of buying a whole lot of books and never actually reading them. The ‘to-read’ section is fast overtaking the shelves of my bookcase that house the books I’ve actually read. In light of this (and to help with my current no-buy situation), I’ve decided to pick my Spring/Summer books from my existing collection. These are the books I intend to read when the warm weather kicks in:

Oryx & Crake by Margaret Atwood
Seating Arrangements by Maggie Shipstead
The Raft by S A Bodeen
The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta
The Returned by Jason Mott

Do you have a particular book that you love to re-read over the summer? I do, and it’s one that I’ve had since I was a kid. It’s ‘all in the blue unclouded weather’ by Robin Klein, and every time I read it I get transported to summer. It’s a children’s book but I love it.

What I Bought…

I’ve had a very strong urge to buy things recently. It drove me to the edge, I caved, and I spent some money. But it’s all good, I’m back on the wagon now and saving my pennies once more. I didn’t go too crazy, but while I was at the shops buying a gift for my nephew on the weekend I stumbled across a couple of things that I couldn’t resist picking up for myself.

I’ve been looking for a lightweight jacket to wear during the transition to the warmer months, and this one from Peter Morrissey for Big W is perfect. It’s a loose boyfriend fit, the sleeves can be easily rolled or pushed back because the lining is black, and it’s a lightweight material that should be comfortable to wear when the warm weather kicks in. The second item I wasn’t really planning on, but as it turns out I can’t walk past a Sussan store without going in to have a look. I feel like a lot of people overlook Sussan, but they have some really beautiful pieces. They’re pricey so I always check out the sale rack first. This pretty little split-back blouse was on sale, and I picked it up because it’s 100% my style and now I can’t wait to wear it. While I was in the store I spotted these linen blend t-shirts that looked like a nifty little tee, so I ordered myself after coming home and thinking about it for a bit. The necklace I saw in store and couldn’t get the idea of a ‘pop’ of yellow for spring/summer. I think it will bring a lot of life to some of my darker outfits next season.

Tags: haul, wardrobe, what I bought