tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82565200067775317812023-06-16T04:24:12.867+10:00Four Letter BirdsTwo sisters, one blog.Georgiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06760428674073745863noreply@blogger.comBlogger118125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256520006777531781.post-36890508428462536122013-04-30T11:49:00.001+10:002013-04-30T11:54:24.778+10:00Skyrim HoardersTwo of my favourite varieties of entertainment combined - Skyrim and Hoarders!<br />
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<a href="http://youtu.be/Vcx6UbMCtfI" target="_blank">Skyrim Hoarders.</a> (I can't seem to embed this one here.)<br />
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They missed buckets and brooms though... those are the things my Skyrim character seems to hoard the most.<br />
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Georgiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06760428674073745863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256520006777531781.post-89476928078706360012013-04-06T14:26:00.000+11:002013-04-06T14:26:11.736+11:00Instagramming.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Georgiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06760428674073745863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256520006777531781.post-17734996273766629982013-03-19T07:30:00.000+11:002013-03-19T07:30:00.934+11:00These are my new favourite songs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are so many new albums coming up that I can't wait to get my grubby little mitts on, it's insane. Also, please note, my hands aren't actually grubby - they are quite clean and well manicured today, thanks to Georgia and her awesome manicuring skills.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My first new favourite song is from Paramore. "Still Into You" is the second single from their upcoming self-titled album, and it's a corker. The album is the first they have recorded as a trio, since brothers (and two of the founding members) Josh and Zac Farro left the band in 2010. I saw the band live a few months before the split and it was painfully obvious that the Farros did NOT want to be there. While the three current band members were bursting with energy, Josh and Zac literally stood behind their instruments and did not move. It was still a great show, but I felt pretty bad for Hayley, Jeremy and Taylor, having to work with that kind of attitude. I really dig this song and have been listening to it on repeat for the last few days. It kind of has an eighties punk sort of feel, and makes me think of Siouxie and the Banshees and Blondie. Not because it sounds particularly like either of those bands, but more like Paramore were listening to them a lot when writing and recording, and little things have seeped in...Unfortunately, I can't embed the video directly on to the blog, but check it out on YouTube <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjZsuCKI-Uw" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">City and Colour have a new album out soon, and one of the tracks "of space and time" is now up on Soundcloud </span><a href="https://soundcloud.com/cityandcolour/of-space-and-time" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify;" target="_blank">here</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">,</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> for your listening pleasure. I will never get tired of Dallas Green's voice, it is just so beautiful. For those of you not familiar, City and Color is the solo side project of Green, who is also the singer for Alexis on Fire. If you're interested, I highly recommend checking out other songs, such as The Grand Optimist.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last but not least, Laura Marling has a new album coming out in May. The first song to hit the interwebs is called Where Can I Go? and it is beautiful. It reminds of all the great female singers from around the 1970s - EmmyLou Harris, Linda Ronstadt and Rita Coolidge. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Check it out on Soundcloud </span><a href="https://soundcloud.com/lauramarlingofficial/laura-marling-where-can-i-go" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">here</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. I love Laura Marling and could wax poetically about her all day long, she nails what so many others are trying to do and who always seem to fall slightly short of the mark they are aiming for. Go out and listen to everything Marling has done ever. Right now.</span></div>
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<br />Carolinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14423241052956431768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256520006777531781.post-6105742184771449262013-03-17T07:30:00.000+11:002013-03-17T22:41:00.473+11:005 Things I Love: Veronica Mars<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I know, I know. The movie hasn't been made yet. It hasn't even started filming. But with all the excitement this week, I thought it was definitely appropriate to do a 5 things post. Finding out that they reached their Kickstarter goal of two million dollars - in one day! - and that the movie will actually happen, was right up there with getting third row tickets to see Bruce Springsteen in my "greatest moments of my life" list. It's just one of those warm and fuzzy examples of what people can actually achieve, and using the interwebs for good and not evil. And nerdpower, of course. It's kind of like girl power, but far more inclusive.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. A strong female heroine</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As a girl who went through my teenage years in the nineties, I consider myself pretty lucky to have had a few strong female role models on my television screen (speaking of girl power). I don't really feel like I can say the same about the last decade or so. In the last year or two things things seem to have been looking up a little, but not quite enough for my liking. There are still better roles for women on television than there are in film, but it feels like there always has to be some kind of caveat. Claire Danes does an amazing job as Carrie Mathieson on <i>Homeland</i>, but Carrie's intelligence and strength is inextricably linked with her struggles with bipolar. Lena Dunham is starting some serious conversations with <i>Girls </i>yet people still just seem concerned with how often she is naked (and the fact that as someone who is not a size two, she probably "shouldn't" be naked on our screens. Our eyes! Our valuable eyes! Her thighs touch! How will we ever be the same again!) as opposed to the stories Dunham is telling, the comments she is making and questions she is asking about being a young woman and that particular journey towards independence, self-worth and self-awareness (hopefully). I'm not even going to touch on all the great female comedians there are gracing our television screens at the moment, but I just get this overwhelming sense that these characters aren't allowed to be intelligent, successful and strong without being slightly unhinged, or worse, obsessed with their dating lives. There's a little too much laughing at, and not enough laughing with sometimes. Cue, wacky camera angles and those awkward moments that make me cover my eyes and just try to ride it out until the scene is over. I mean, Geena Davis started the <a href="http://www.seejane.org/" target="_blank">Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media</a> for a reason. If you haven't figured out what that reason is yet, I'm not sure I can help you...</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xBXdwqrW8g4/UUQtIcfhXoI/AAAAAAAAAbE/dll--Zxxid0/s1600/veronicamars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="208" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xBXdwqrW8g4/UUQtIcfhXoI/AAAAAAAAAbE/dll--Zxxid0/s320/veronicamars.jpg" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anyway, I could stand on this soapbox all day, but for the sake of my blood pressure I won't. My point is, that in the last ten years, Veronica Mars has been one of the best examples of a strong female character. Like Buffy (you didn't think I'd get through this post without mentioning Buffy did you?) she's strong, not just because of her internal resources, but because of her friends and mentors. Strong female characters don't need to be lone wolves, but they do need to be interesting, independent, layered and diverse. When Veronica displays vulnerability that's exactly how it's portrayed, rather than as weakness, when the two are too often mistaken for one another. Sometimes she's overconfident and falls down, needing someone to help her up again. Mostly however, she is three (or four or five) steps in front of everyone else. She stands up for those who are downtrodden and harassed, and for what she believes in. All in a completely realistic wardrobe for a teenage girl, and with a good helping of snarkiness, of course.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oh yeah, and Kristen Bell is amazing. Seriously.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. I just love a good noir</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For the unfamiliar, Veronica Mars is a story about a high school girl who is also a private investigator, in the fictional California town of Neptune. Veronica investigates the death of her best friend Lily, while assisting her P.I. father (who used to be the town sheriff), and solving mysteries for her school classmates - for a fee, of course. Being noir, the show has a darker side of course. In the pilot episode, Veronica describes how she was drugged and raped at a party, and how she is still looking for answers in regards to that particular investigation. The show also addresses the class divide in Neptune, with the town being divided between the ridiculously rich, and the people who work for them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It sounds like a lot of Very Important Issues for one TV show, but it's all handled intelligently and with grace and humour. So much humour. There are so many quotable one liners, your head will spin trying to remember it all. One of my personal favourites:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But remember, it's noir, so don't go expecting too many happy endings, okay?</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. What's that song?</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Choosing songs to appear in episodes of TV shows is a big deal, with most series' having their own soundtracks, and it can be an amazing platform for unknown artists to be heard. It's certainly one of the ways I sometimes find out about new music, and the Veronica Mars team were particularly good at finding great songs to appear in the show. Plus, they got <i>We Used to be Friends</i> by The Dandy Warhols for the theme song. I don't think it gets any more perfect, you know? So if you like shows that not only have smart and clever scripts and casting, but smart and clever music choices as well, this is the show for you.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. The supporting cast, featuring Enrico Colantoni, i.e. the best TV Dad ever</span></b></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PnAvGr1Lycw/UUQs-pTU67I/AAAAAAAAAa8/nJIQVuqQeJY/s1600/ricoBW3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="307" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PnAvGr1Lycw/UUQs-pTU67I/AAAAAAAAAa8/nJIQVuqQeJY/s320/ricoBW3.jpg" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I could write a whole blog post about each of the supporting characters in turn, and I kind of want to. Who knows, maybe I will? My favourite though, is Enrico Colantoni who plays Veronica's father, Keith Mars.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I touched on this a little in my 5 things post about <i>The Perks of Being a Wallflower - </i>I get really tired of dysfunctional families being overused as part of the narrative arc in films and television. The relationship that Veronica has with her (single) Dad, played by Colantoni, is a delight. The chemistry between Colantoni and Bell is undeniable, and together they have some of the best scenes in the show.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's full of humour and care, and the difficult father/teenage daughter moments are navigated with a light touch rather than that baseball bat that I swear some screenwriters keep beside their desks with "use liberally" painted on the side. Plus, Colantoni is just awesome. And for those of use who love it when things get "meta", there's a storyline in which he dates a woman played by Laura San Giacomo from <i>Just Shoot Me</i>. I <i>know</i>, right?</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5. You adorable marshmallows, you.</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fans of Veronica Mars are referred to as "marshmallows" and as I write this, contributions from the marshmallows to <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/559914737/the-veronica-mars-movie-project" target="_blank">Kickstarter</a> to fund the film are standing at almost 3.5 million dollars. Not only is this an amazing show of passion about a show that was only on for three seasons and left the air <i>six years</i> ago, it's opening up a whole new way of getting things made that people want to be made but the big studios won't give the green light to. Firefly, anyone?</span><br />
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Carolinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14423241052956431768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256520006777531781.post-78113407203706228042013-03-08T07:30:00.000+11:002013-03-08T07:30:01.329+11:00Liebster Award<div class="post-header">
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The lovely and adorable Bec over at <a href="http://papertrailing.blogspot.com.au/" target="_blank">Paper Trailing</a> has nominated us for a Liebster award; an award for up-and-coming
bloggers with less than 200 followers ...The Liebster award is a bit like a chain
letter, but it seems like a great way to share some facts about
yourself, spread the love to some other lovely bloggers, and kill some
free time. Of course, there is no obligation to answer the questions if
you're nominated. But it is fun!...</span></span><br />
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<u><span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The rules:</span></b></span></u></h3>
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<li><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Share 11 random facts about myself,</span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Answer the 11 questions the person who nominated you asked,</span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nominate other up-and-coming bloggers for the Liebster award (don't forget to let them know you've nominated them) and, </span></span></li>
<li style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ask the people you've nominated 11 new questions.</span></span></li>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eNKqh2RCcQQ/USiDMbCfwsI/AAAAAAAATn8/4eqeqHFrjrA/s1600/carolineportraitwithtet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eNKqh2RCcQQ/USiDMbCfwsI/AAAAAAAATn8/4eqeqHFrjrA/s200/carolineportraitwithtet.jpg" width="125" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><b>11 random facts about me - Caroline:</b></u></span></span></h3>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>1. </b>I hate strawberries.<b> </b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><b>2. </b>I'm incredibly clumsy, and am usually sporting bruises on my legs from bashing into various items of furniture.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><b>3. </b>I have strong homebody/hermit tendencies that I try hard to manage, most of the time.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><b>4. </b>Drivers who queue through intersections and pedestrian crossings drive me crazy. It's just so selfish and rude.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>5. </b>I try to be active on social media, but most of the time I forget that it's there. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>6. </b>I have two </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">degrees - neither of which have anything to do with my professional career. I regret nothing!</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>7. </b>I am claustrophobic.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><b>8. </b>I hate having my back to the door in restaurants.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><b>9. </b>I love classical music, but much prefer chamber music over orchestral.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>10. </b>I don't like speaking on the phone socially, and hate calling people because I feel like I'm probably interrupting them.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><b>11. </b>I value independence over many other things - sometimes to a fault.</span></span><br />
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<u><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Bec's questions - Caroline:</b></span></span></u></h3>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. If you had to move to a different country tomorrow, where would you go?</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Probably Britain, as some of my favourite people are in London. Although, I am also a huge fan of Seattle and moving there one day is a favourite daydream of mine, so also the USA, potentially. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. What is your favourite comfort food?</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Macaroni and cheese - the really processed stuff that comes in a packet and costs like $1.50. I very rarely eat it though, as dairy and wheat are not my friends.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. It's raining outside... What are you doing to keep yourself occupied?</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Write! For Four Letter Birds, or some creative writing. Also, clean, read and reorganise my wardrobe.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. What's the weirdest dream you've ever had?</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I recently had a dream in which I was good friends with the Obamas - Michelle wanted me to write a speech for her to give at the inauguration ceremony, and they were trying to set me up with one of his political aids. I wasn't into it, even though he was cute. What's wrong with you, dream Caroline?!</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5. Who is your most embarrassing celebrity crush?</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All of my celebrity crushes are pretty vanilla, sorry to disappoint. Even in high school my big crushes were on cool people like John Cusack and various members of Blur. Although in primary school I thought Edward Furlong was pretty dreamy - and this was just from pictures </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">in TV Hits magazine - I've still never even seen Terminator Two.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6. What song do you listen to when you need cheering up?</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Magic by B.O.B. featuring Rivers Cuomo.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">7. What is one habit you have that you don't want to change?</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Being an early riser. I do like mornings.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">8. And one you do want to change?</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Staying up too late...see above!</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">9. What is the first album that you ever purchased?</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">River of Dreams by Billy Joel.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">10. If you could hang out with someone famous for a day, who would it be?</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jennifer Lawrence - she is my spirit animal. I figure we could spend all day eating corn chips and talking about boys, and then go out for Mexican food and tequila shots, but still be home before midnight.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">11. What is your favourite TV show?</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I could never choose just one! Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Friday Night Lights, Girls and Vampire Diaries to name a few. Oh and Homeland. Good lord, how could I almost have forgotten Homeland! I'm sorry Mandy Patinkin.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;"><u><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>11 random facts about me - Georgia:</b></span></u> </span></h3>
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>1. </b>I am almost six years older than Caroline. <b> </b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><b>2.</b> Like Caroline, I also hate telephones. I hate ringing people and I find talking on the phone extremely stressful. Working in an office as the receptionist/office coordinator was terrible and it didn't cure my problem. If I can avoid talking on the phone I usually will.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><b>3. </b>I'm really bad at telling jokes. In fact, my husband and my brother sometimes encourage me to tell a joke just so they can laugh at how bad I am at telling it. Premature punchlines are my forte.<b><br /></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b> </b><b>4. </b>If I hadn't gone to art school I think I might have become a geologist of some sort. My husband laughs at me because I can be a bit of a rock nerd when a documentary about volcanoes comes on the television.<b><br /></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>5. </b>I got a High Distinction in a Performance Art class at university!?!? I'm not a big performance art fan and I tend to be pretty shy and self-conscious. Not great traits for a performer really.<b><br /></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>6. </b>I used to play <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sims" target="_blank">The Sims</a> for hours and hours every day. I think I might have even taken a day off work once so I could play it. I would probably still play it if I wasn't the mother of a toddler and if my computer was powerful enough to run it properly. I now play 'The Sims Social' on facebook most days. If you need a new neighbour, let me know... although I don't need more reasons to play that time-waster.<b><br /></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>7. </b>I can recite the alphabet backwards very fast.<b><br /></b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><b>8. </b>I've never seen the movies 'Jurassic Park', 'Independence Day' or 'Titanic' and I don't want to.<b><br /></b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><b>9.</b> I once won a competition for flying a paper aeroplane the furthest.<b></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>10. </b>I swear that my baby boy's nostrils were little heart shapes when he was first born.<b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><b>11. </b>I really value good manners. I'm not sure if I always display them... actually, I know that sometimes I don't... but if someone I meet has good manners I will usually remember them well.<b><br /></b></span></span><br />
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<u><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Bec's questions - Georgia:</b></span></span></u></h3>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you had to move to a different country tomorrow, where would you go?</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That's hard! I might choose France because I have been there before (briefly) and loved what I saw. I might choose Hawaii or Japan because I haven't been to either of those places yet but would love to go.</span><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Also I'd love to check out the volcanoes there (see point #4 above).</span><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. What is your favourite comfort food?</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Food.</span> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I suppose at the moment it would probably be a cup of tea and some Caramello Koala chocolates.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. It's raining outside... What are you doing to keep yourself occupied?</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It actually is raining outside. I'm writing here on the blog and waiting for our toddler to wake up from his nap.</span><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. What's the weirdest dream you've ever had? </span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have so many weird dreams! Apparently I woke my husband up early this morning by yelling out something like 'But I can't get any sleep!'. I can't remember what that dream was about but I was reading an old diary of mine recently and came across a funny dream I wrote about. I dreamt that I got married at the local library. I didn't know who the groom was but my dress had yellow plastic flowers on the shoulders. I wish I remembered that when I actually did get married! Ha!</span><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That would have looked lovely!</span><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5. Who is your most embarrassing celebrity crush?</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bA1cvNpsLp8/UTAXOTo8VeI/AAAAAAAAUBI/3HGYQPS_SZk/s1600/Michael_Tunn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bA1cvNpsLp8/UTAXOTo8VeI/AAAAAAAAUBI/3HGYQPS_SZk/s200/Michael_Tunn.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ha ha! I was almost going to do a whole blog post about this but decided it was too embarrassing. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I think my most embarrassing crush <i>was</i> on Michael Tunn. You may not know who Michael Tunn is if you aren't an Aussie somewhere in your '30s who used to watch 'The Afternoon Show' on the ABC.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> I think I found his awkwardness endearing and non-threatening maybe? I did get over that crush fairly quickly though. I'm not sure if I have a current crush, embarrassing or not.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6. What song do you listen to when you need cheering up?</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Probably something by The Sundays... or Van Halen!?! Any number of songs can cheer me up... and any number of songs can make me depressed too.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">7. What is one habit you have that you don't want to change?</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Cleaning my teeth morning and night.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">8. And one you do want to change?</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Not flossing my teeth often enough.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">9. What is the first album that you ever purchased?</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I can't remember what the first album I purchased with my own money was. It was probably Kylie Minogue or Kate Ceberano or maybe Icehouse. The first music video cassette I bought was 'The Kylie Collection'. I remember that day and our trip to Brashes music store vividly.</span><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">10. If you could hang out with someone famous for a day, who would it be?</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I often wonder who I would like to invite to a dinner party if I could invite anyone I wanted to. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">If I could hang out with someone famous for a day I might choose</span> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">a number of real or fictitious people. It would depend a lot on what they were going to do with that day as I suspect that many celebrities live normal and boring lives.</span> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I don't think Wonder Woman would have boring days though so I might choose her. It might be interesting to spend the day with a famous recluse, like Doris Day, if they would allow it, to find out what changed in their lives.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">11. What is your favourite TV show? </span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hoarders, Hoarding - Buried Alive, The Hoarder Next Door, How Clean Is Your House.</span><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(Can you see a pattern forming?) </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For some reason I also really like watching<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Middle_%28TV_series%29" target="_blank"> "The Middle"</a>. Sue Heck, the teenage daughter character, cracks me up... actually the whole family does. I love Sue's jackets with hearts on them. She's so '80s in a hearts, rainbows and colourful pencil-cases kind of way. Hey, Caroline, that makes me think, I know you love Shoshanna from "Girls". I think maybe you'd like Sue Heck too but in a more family-friendly, younger, sitcom way. Actually, that also reminds me, my new embarrassing celebrity crush could be Axl Heck, the teenage son... embarrassing mainly because I am almost old enough to be his mum... if I was a teen mum.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><u><b>Another Liebster</b><b> Nomination</b></u></span></span></h3>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Also, after seeing that Bec had nominated us for the Liebster Award I remembered that another blogger had nominated me back in September last year and I haven't answered her questions yet. Here are the questions from Hui at <a href="http://huitheyogini.blogspot.com.au/2012/09/liebster-award-tag.html" target="_blank">Putting The World Back On Its Axis.</a></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b style="line-height: 1.4;"><u>Hui's questions - Georgia</u></b></span></b></span></h3>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 1.4;"><b><span style="line-height: 1.4;">1. What is your fashion style? </span></b></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 1.4;"><span style="line-height: 1.4;">Denim I suppose, if that is a fashion style. Jeans or skirt on the bottom and a nice t-shirt or blouse on the top. Smart casual? I like dresses too but they aren't very practical with little children.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 1.4;"><span style="line-height: 1.4;"> </span><b><span style="line-height: 1.4;"> </span></b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 1.4;"><b><span style="line-height: 1.4;">2. Medicine or naturopathy? </span></b></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 1.4;"><b><span style="line-height: 1.4;"> </span></b><span style="line-height: 1.4;">A bit of both depending on the problem. Natural remedies can work to a point and then sometimes medicine needs to jump in to help out. I think if you lead a healthy lifestyle in general (not that I always do) then you will need less of both of these.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 1.4;"><b><span style="line-height: 1.4;">3. Which one Youtube guru/Makeup blogger is your absolute favourite? </span></b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 1.4;"><span style="line-height: 1.4;"><a href="http://www.lisaeldridge.com/" target="_blank">Lisa</a><a href="http://www.lisaeldridge.com/" target="_blank"> Eldridge</a>. She seems very professional, experienced and realistic. I find the fact that she is a bit older than me helps me to respect her advice too. She works with some very big names but she is also happy to talk about her own personal makeup preferences for her own face. The thing I have most recently taken on board from her is that you don't need to apply foundation all over. Different products (foundation, concealer, primers, highlighters) applied to different areas can help you achieve a much more natural and much less ageing appearance. </span></span></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="line-height: 1.4;">4. Fitness junkie or couch potato? </span></b><br />
<span style="line-height: 1.4;">Neither. Those are both a bit too extreme for me.</span><b><span style="line-height: 1.4;"> </span></b><br />
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<span style="line-height: 1.4;">5. What is your worst food habit? </span><br />
<span style="line-height: 1.4;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">It <b><i>was</i></b> drinking too much Cola but with some encouragement from Caroline and our Auntie plus a little bit of will-power, I have cut right down!</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 1.4;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span> </span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.4;">6. How old were you when you first discovered makeup?</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 1.4;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I discovered some makeup when I was a young teen as I had bad skin and was always trying to cover it up a bit. I didn't really start trying to figure out how to use it properly until a few years ago. I think you need to change the way you use makeup as you get older to work with your changing face and skin.</span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 1.4;">7. Top 3 books </span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="line-height: 1.4;">A difficult question. I reserve the right to change my mind on this but today I choose - </span></span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="line-height: 1.4;"><i><a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=%22http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0380730405/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0380730405&linkCode=as2&tag=fouletbir-20%22%3ERebecca%3C/a%3E%3Cimg%20src=%22http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=fouletbir-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0380730405%22%20width=%221%22%20height=%221%22%20border=%220%22%20alt=%22%22%20style=%22border:none%20!important;%20margin:0px%20!important;%22%20/%3E" target="_blank">Rebecca</a> </i>by Daphne Du Maurier</span></span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="line-height: 1.4;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=%22http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1442428783/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1442428783&linkCode=as2&tag=fouletbir-20%22%3EHomecoming%20(The%20Tillerman%20Cycle)%3C/a%3E%3Cimg%20src=%22http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=fouletbir-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1442428783%22%20width=%221%22%20height=%221%22%20border=%220%22%20alt=%22%22%20style=%22border:none%20!important;%20margin:0px%20!important;%22%20/%3E" target="_blank"><i>Homecoming</i> </a>by Cynthia Voigt</span></span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="line-height: 1.4;"><i><a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20target=%22_blank%22%20href=%22http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0140316728/?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&condition=new&creative=390957&linkCode=ur2&qid=1362657614&sr=1-1&tag=fouletbir-20%22%3EName%20Your%20Link%3C/a%3E%3Cimg%20src=%22https://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=fouletbir-20&l=ur2&o=1%22%20width=%221%22%20height=%221%22%20border=%220%22%20alt=%22%22%20style=%22border:none%20!important;%20margin:0px%20!important;%22%20/%3E" target="_blank">Hating Alison Ashley</a> </i>by Robin Klein</span></span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="line-height: 1.4;">These are three books that<b> </b>I have read at least twice and would happily read again at any age.</span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 1.4;">8. How often do you buy beauty items? (eg. skincare, makeup)</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 1.4;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Sometimes too often and sometimes not often at all. It fluctuates. </span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 1.4;">9. How did you come by your blog name? </span><br />
<span style="line-height: 1.4;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I can't remember exactly. I think I was just brainstorming ideas and Caroline and I were sending ideas back and forth until this one stuck. We had some other choices we liked but they were already taken by other blogs.</span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 1.4;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span> </span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.4;">10. Where do you see yourself in 5 years? </span><br />
<span style="line-height: 1.4;"> <span style="font-weight: normal;">Dropping the kid/s off at school then going home to draw pictures for money?</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 1.4;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span> </span></div>
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<b><span style="line-height: 1.4;">11. Top 3 makeup must-haves </span></b><br />
<b><span style="line-height: 1.4;"> </span></b>
At the moment my must-haves are Benefit's Porefessional, any of my favourite mascaras and a little face powder.</div>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b style="line-height: 1.4;"><b style="line-height: 1.4;"><u>Hui's questions - Caroline</u></b></b></span></span></h3>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.4;"><b>1. What is your fashion style? </b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 22px;">Hmmm, I don't know what I would describe it as. I wear a lot of skirts and dresses, and I tend to gravitate towards styles that are a bit classic or retro. I wear a lot of scarves, and almost always flat shoes. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><b style="line-height: 1.4;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></span>
<span style="color: #444444;"><b style="line-height: 1.4;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. Medicine or naturopathy? </span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="line-height: 1.4;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Both? Neither? I'm yet to make my mind up about either.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 1.4;"><b><span style="line-height: 1.4;">3. Which one Youtube guru/Makeup blogger is your absolute favourite? </span></b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 1.4;">Georgia! Duh.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="line-height: 1.4;">4. Fitness junkie or couch potato? </span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;">Neither. All things in moderation.</span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 1.4;">5. What is your worst food habit? </span></div>
It's a tie between skipping meals out of laziness, and too much sugar.<br />
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<span style="line-height: 1.4;">6. How old were you when you first discovered makeup? </span></div>
<span style="line-height: 1.4;">Old! Probably in my early twenties was when I really started using it.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="line-height: 1.4;">7. Top 3 books </span></span></div>
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="line-height: 1.4;">Just 3? Sheesh. In no particular order:</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;">1. </span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=%22http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0486295559/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0486295559&linkCode=as2&tag=fouletbir-20%22%3EPersuasion%20(Dover%20Thrift%20Editions)%3C/a%3E%3Cimg%20src=%22http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=fouletbir-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0486295559%22%20width=%221%22%20height=%221%22%20border=%220%22%20alt=%22%22%20style=%22border:none%20!important;%20margin:0px%20!important;%22%20/%3E" target="_blank">Persuasion by Jane Austen</a><br />
<span style="color: #444444;">2. <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=%22http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0375842209/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0375842209&linkCode=as2&tag=fouletbir-20%22%3EThe%20Book%20Thief%3C/a%3E%3Cimg%20src=%22http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=fouletbir-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0375842209%22%20width=%221%22%20height=%221%22%20border=%220%22%20alt=%22%22%20style=%22border:none%20!important;%20margin:0px%20!important;%22%20/%3E" target="_blank">The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;">3. <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=%22http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/014240733X/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=014240733X&linkCode=as2&tag=fouletbir-20%22%3EThe%20Outsiders%3C/a%3E%3Cimg%20src=%22http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=fouletbir-20&l=as2&o=1&a=014240733X%22%20width=%221%22%20height=%221%22%20border=%220%22%20alt=%22%22%20style=%22border:none%20!important;%20margin:0px%20!important;%22%20/%3E" target="_blank">The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton</a></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 1.4;">8. How often do you buy beauty items? (eg. skincare, makeup)</span></div>
<span style="line-height: 1.4;">Only when they run out - it's one of the few new year's resolutions I've ever kept!</span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 1.4;">9. How did you come by your blog name? </span></div>
<span style="line-height: 1.4;">Georgia thought it up, because she's good like that.</span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 1.4;">10. Where do you see yourself in 5 years? </span></div>
<span style="line-height: 1.4;">Hopefully I will have escaped corporate life, be writing more (maybe even professionally) while living near the ocean in a white house with wooden floorboards, big windows and a colourful garden.</span><br />
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</span></span><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="line-height: 1.4;"><b><span style="line-height: 1.4;">11. Top 3 makeup must-haves </span></b><br />
<span style="line-height: 1.4;">Bronzer (Guerlain), blush (whatever is available) and mascara (usually one I've picked up free with a magazine).</span></span></span></span><br />
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<u><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Our nominated blogs:</b></span></span></u></h3>
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's tricky finding blogs with less than 200 followers isn't it? I guess that is the point of the Liebster Award though. It makes us dig out some of the lesser-known folks on the internet.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.theloft-sg.blogspot.sg/" target="_blank">The Loft-SG</a> -
This is our cousin Tom's blog - but I'm making an executive decision
and declaring him eligible! He lives in Singapore (Singas!) and is
pretty much the best ever.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.workclothesisuppose.com/" target="_blank">Work Clothes I Suppose</a> - I love a good "real-life" fashion blog. Brie-Marie lives in Seattle and has cool glasses. Love it!</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://allthingskirpy.blogspot.com.au/" target="_blank">All Things Kirpy</a> - I've chosen Natalie's blog as she is one of our (few) blog followers and she has less than 200 followers of her own (and she has a cute little bird next to her blog title too).</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://ggsdolls.blogspot.com.au/" target="_blank">GGsdolls Blog</a> - Gigi collects some unusual and cool dolls and builds some great little dollhouse rooms to display her collections. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There is no obligation to take part at all but go for it if you are interested! </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><b>11 Questions for our nominees:</b></u> </span></span></h3>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. Why do you blog?</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></span>
<span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. What is your favourite song?</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></span>
<span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. Do you collect anything interesting? Tell us about it. </span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></span>
<span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. What is the best job you've ever had, your favourite job? (If you haven't had a favourite, what do you think would be your favourite, dream job?)</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></span>
<span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5. If you had a time machine and you could go back in time is there something you wish you could tell yourself? </span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></span>
<span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6. Do you have a favourite artwork (famous or not well known at all)?</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></span>
<span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">7. Gold or silver (or other)?</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></span>
<span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">8. If you could give yourself any gift today, what would it be?</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></span>
<span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">9. If you could give a loved one any gift today, what would it be?</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></span>
<span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">10. Facebook has been around for a while now. Do you think it is still useful or 'fun'?</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></span>
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>11. Which TV show do you wish you could see more of? And which TV show do you wish there was less of?</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Caroline & Georgia</span></span><br />
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Georgiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06760428674073745863noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256520006777531781.post-46147407562504142042013-03-05T08:00:00.000+11:002013-03-05T09:04:46.868+11:00Travelling bugs<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm on the downhill run to my next overseas trip - in 8 weeks and 2 days I will be on my way to London, and I won't be home again for just over four weeks. It's been 5 years since I've been away (I don't count a week in Bali) - not that I'm counting the days or anything. It will be my second time in London, I went to Europe way back in 2005. It was my very first overseas trip and London was my very first stop. I was jet-lagged and a bit shell-shocked and I also arrived in the middle of a heatwave, so I'm probably the only person in the world who associates London with uncomfortable, muggy, sweaty heat. Ever since then, my feelings towards London have been pretty lukewarm. It wasn't the greatest experience of my life, and I'm so looking forward to going back and getting a "do-over." It's my chance to put all those lessons I learned last time into practice - and really, how often in life do we get to do that? (Don't answer that. I realise it's probably a lot. Just let it be rhetorical, okay?) </span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. Some details are really important.</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, I'm all for not over-scheduling or over-planning before going away. However, because it was my first big trip, I didn't really have any idea what I was doing. I didn't bother to find out important information, like what time I could check into my hostel. Cut to me landing at Heathrow at some hour of the morning that I'm not even going to mention, because it doesn't exist in real life, and then arriving at my hostel only to realise I had oh, about 7 hours to go before I could check in. Combine all those things with jetlag, exhaustion, and a heavy dose of first-time-out-of-the-country stress and what do you get? Tears. I'm not going to lie. I sobbed. I managed not to lose it in front of the check-in guy, but I the first phone call I ever made from one of those red telephone booths was to my mum. Which leads on to my next lesson...</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Education on the tube (c) Four Letter Birds</td></tr>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. Don't call your mum (or dad) in tears.</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I want to make something clear here: my mum will disagree with this lesson, because she is loving and supportive and hates to think of any of her family being in distress and feeling like they can't talk to her about it. However, although a phone call home will make <i>you</i> feel better in the short term it is in fact, spectacularly unproductive. When you hang up the phone, you will still have a problem that needs solving, and not only that, you now have a parent who is probably at home fretting and worrying and wishing they could be there to fix whatever the problem is. Plus, you will probably feel kind of guilty about making them worry. I know I always did. So my advice here is to figure out your own catastrophe scale, and only call your parents when things are becoming dire. I mean, definitely CALL them, but don't deviate past "Everything is super great, yeah I'm a bit tired and man, hostels are noisy but I'm having SO MUCH FUN" unless you <i>really</i> have to. Find other ways to solve your problems like...</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>3. When travelling, fixing problems by throwing money at them often works.</b></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo courtesy of Vogue China</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This little gem was handed to me by my sister-in-law, and it's a travel-code that I live by. In this particular situation, I had a friend also in London (actually it was <a href="http://fourletterbirds.blogspot.com.au/2013/02/five-things-emma-loves-gettin.html" target="_blank">Emma!</a>) and my solution was to jump in a cab and go and spend the day with her until I could check in. I probably spent about $200 on cab fares that day (at least), and I'm certainly not sitting here now, eight years later, reprimanding myself for being so extravagant. I was upset. I was alone. I sought out a friend. At that time in my life, it was the right thing to do. Just remember there are problems and there are "problems." Wanting to buy all the clothes ever, is not a problem. It's definitely a "problem." I'm looking at you, me. </span><br />
<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><br /></b><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><br /></b><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><br /></b><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><br /></b><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left;">4. Be better at making friends.</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This might come as a surprise, but I was not always the charming, erudite, social butterfly you see before you now. One of my biggest regrets (yes, I believe in regrets) is that I wasn't more open to meeting new people in my travels as a younger me. To be honest, I was always slightly suspicious of people who tried to strike up a conversation with me. I'm sure suspicion was the appropriate emotion in some instances - after all I was a young woman travelling alone much of the time - but I wish I had been more confident and loosened up just a little. Because travelling is about people. When I tell people about my time in Dublin, I always tell the story about the friendly guy on Grafton street, who was signing people up to make monthly donations to Greenpeace. Once he figured out I didn't have an Irish bank account, he proceeded to spend twenty minutes chatting to me about Australia, my travels, and what I should do in Ireland. And the lovely woman who ran the hostel I stayed in near Waterford, who emailed me a photo of her two adorable kids after I left a positive review of the hostel on a website. People are, on the whole, inherently good. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dublin and the river Liffy... (c) Four Letter Birds</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm not doing so much travelling alone this time, although I hope I squeeze some in as it has become one of my favourite things, ever. One of my main motivations for this trip is to visit some very beloved friends in London, and I am looking forward to seeing the city through a local's eyes. I don't know if I'll ever be able to shake that "I'm doing it all wrong" feeling, but who knows? Maybe London and I will get a second chance at love...</span></div>
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<br />Carolinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14423241052956431768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256520006777531781.post-19683807938711942092013-02-28T08:30:00.000+11:002013-02-28T08:30:01.283+11:00Five things Emma loves: Gettin' Enthusiastic<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Today we have our very first guest post here on Four Letter Birds. Please give a warm round of applause to Emma, as she shares with us her thoughts on enthusiasm. Enthusiastically. Because that's how she rolls.</i></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How do you do, Four Letter Bird readers? I am most pleased to be the first guest blogger on this lovely blog! One of my favourite things about FLB (ACRONYMISATION) is that a lot of it is about liking stuff without worrying about liking the ‘right’ stuff or liking stuff in the ‘right’ way. As I get older, I find that nothing is more wearying to be around than too-cool-for-schoolness. I want to be around people who are enthusiastic! Exclamation mark! The general positive vibe of FLB is something that brings me back to it again and again, and the “Five Things I Loved” feature is a perfect example.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So in light of that, here is my guest twist on “Five Things I Loved”, with five examples of enthusiasm making life better.</span></span></div>
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<b style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. Our friend (let’s call him... Shmobertson) at Weezer.</span></b></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Weezer toured Australia for the first time in sixteen years recently, playing a ‘Best of...’ selection and then The Blue Album in full. I’m a big Weezer fan, but I have many friends who are far bigger fans than me; none more ardent than Shmobertson. Weezer is his favourite band and he had never seen them play live before. We were all excited at their show at the Sydney Entertainment Centre, but he was just RADIATING joy and it was fantastic to be around.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Also one time he had Iced Magic for the first time without realising it’s supposed to go hard and crispy (he’s Canadian... wait, I mean... Schmanadian) and his reaction to that was also awesome.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. <b>Effortful Halloween parties.</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’ve. only been to a couple of proper, all-out, spookily-decorated, elaborate-costumes-encouraged Halloween parties, but they were so awesome. The most recent one in October last year was especially enthusiastic – there was a SMOKE MACHINE. YES. ONE OF THOSE MACHINES THAT PRODUCES SMOKE. There is nothing worse than going to a Halloween or costume party where no one has made an effort , whether out of laziness or concerns about looking silly. This party was great because almost everyone just threw themselves into it with gusto. It was like being in a Halloween episode of Roseanne.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I dressed as a vending machine. The plus: snacks at the ready. The minus: did not fully consider the implications of the fairly low-slung placement of the retrieval section: looooooots of ‘box’ and ‘flap’ jokes.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. <b>Dancing at weddings.</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With the occasional break to track down any cake that has been left foolishly unattended, I usually try to spend the majority of a wedding reception on the dance floor. Just a bunch of slightly tipsy, happy people tearing it up like dorks to songs that errybody knows all the words to. Most recently, my cousin got married at a beach resort on Rarotonga in the Cook Islands (I know, whatever, no big deal, right?) and the dance floor was sand. Sand! So forgiving of experimental and risky dance moves!</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My favourite dance move I learned that night was moving my arms like a ticking clock then miming an explosion (ahem.. essplosion) for the “Tick Tick Tick Tick BOOM” part of Boom Boom Shake the Room.</span></span></div>
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<b style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. The Nerdist podcasts.</span></b></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A friend recommended Chris Hardwick’s Nerdist podcasts to me a few months back and after downloading a couple from iTunes I was instantly addicted. Hardwick (and occasionally his various Nerdist colleagues) has these rambling, super interesting conversations with some of his favourite people: Tina Fey, Bryan Cranston, Nathan Fillion and heaps more. Think of all the people you love in film, comedy, music and television – Hardwick will likely have interviewed a huge chunk of your list.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I think my favourite so far is the Tom Hanks one. Firstly, because it made me realise Tom Hanks is so much more awesome than I had previously appreciated. He came across as a completely wonderful guy. And secondly, because of the <a href="http://www.lettersofnote.com/2012/10/damn-you-all-to-hell.html" target="_blank">story of how the interview came about</a> (Letters of Note is an amazing blog, BTdubs).</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>5. Paddle Pop afternoons at work.</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One time months and months ago it was a slow afternoon at work, and my manager at the time and I were talking about how much we wanted a Paddle Pop. So my manager went and bought a couple of boxes for the team. This has now become a fairly regular thing that encompasses all four teams in the area I work in, with Mini Calippos and other awesome frozen treats thrown in as well.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since that glorious first event, it does not matter how many times I am offered a Paddle Pop on an afternoon between the horrendous zone between approximately 2.30pm and 4pm when it actually genuinely truly FOR REALSIE feels like the day is never going to end and my life for eternity is going to be me at my desk with only Eclipse mints to eat and the same Excel error recurring for the reeeeeeeeest of my whole liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiife – every single time it feels like it’s the first Paddle Pop anyone has ever offered me.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Thanks Emma! Come on back anytime...</i></span></span></div>
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Carolinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14423241052956431768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256520006777531781.post-47464295411462704272013-02-21T08:30:00.000+11:002013-02-21T08:30:00.085+11:005 Things I Loved: Father John Misty<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've blogged about Father John Misty before, and on Tuesday night I was lucky enough to catch his/their show at The Metro theatre in Sydney. Now, when I go out on a school night I expect my efforts and lack of sleep to be rewarded appropriately. Thankfully, I wasn't disappointed! Let's get started kids.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>1. Everyone loves a frontman</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I watched a few live videos of Joshua Tillman on the YouTubes I found that he came across as more of an oddball than a classic frontman. Boy, was I wrong. Or maybe he's special brand of charisma just doesn't translate over the internet. The man was dropping charm bombs left, right and centre. Chimney sweep jokes, just the right amount of amusing self deprecation about his amazing dance moves and also - what is pretty much my favourite thing in any person ever - he cracked up at his own jokes more than anyone else did. I know that may sound like a weird quality to appreciate in a person, but I just love it when someone gets that glint in their eye and starts laughing before they even get the words out. It's not obnoxious. It's delightful.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Plus, he was wearing a suit. Extra points. The singer from the support band "Oh Mercy" was wearing a sleeveless denim vest that said "Cold Chisel" on the back. While that was awesome in its own way, a suit is always better.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>2. Be good at what you do.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I love a tight, professional performance. I get tired of watching half-hearted sets by musicians who don't even really know how to play their instruments all that well. It's like there's a certain school of thought that says as long as an artist is "truthful" (or whatever), or just tries really hard, they don't actually have to be good. Um, no. That's not so. Learning your craft is still important for any kind of artist.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>3. Let's all be weird together.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">FJM's bass player was like a rock and roll wizard. Or a Russell Brand character. Or both. Actually, Russell Brand should make a movie about a rock and roll wizard. Let's all just think on that for a while.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anyway. The guy had sparkly face paint, floral trousers, threw his arms in the air when he got excited and delivered some pretty mean backup vocals. The lesson that we should learn here, is that we should all march to the beat of our own drummer and let our freak flags fly. Because it's awesome.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>4. Dancing magic dance.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oh how he danced. GOOD LORD, how he danced. Danced the night away. Fantastic dance moves involving the flailing of arms, flinging of limbs, and often the use of his mic stand as a prop. He even brought a lady out from backstage at one point to join him in an impassioned dance solo. It didn't come across as forced or insincere - it was kind of like that cheesy phrase that gets printed on fridge magnets "Dance like no one is watching" being brought to life, the way it was intended to. Except we were all watching. Because we paid to be there.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>5. Not all songs are serious.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, country inspired music is a <i>thing</i> at the moment. And it's so nice to see it done well. However, when they came on for their encore, Tillman started talking about a song they had written while taking a drunken visit to the Sydney Opera House after a gig. They played some of this song for us (it apparently has 27 verses). It's called "Sexwalk." It sounded like something Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake would have written - and I mean that in the best possible way. This is not "Sexwalk" but you should definitely watch it anyway.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Carolinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14423241052956431768noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256520006777531781.post-1067039002362026032013-02-20T07:00:00.000+11:002013-02-20T07:00:01.535+11:00What's got your blogging stopping, Georgia?Lately I've been trying to work out why I haven't been blogging much.<br />
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Recently, Caroline seems to have really found her blog-mojo again but mine has been AWOL for a while. There are obvious physical reasons like most of my time is spent looking after a 2-year-old but I knew there must be other mental reasons.<br />
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It occurred to me that maybe I'm spending too much energy trying to blog like (some) other bloggers. I had it in my head that I had to blog like the cute 20-somethings who like to go out to abandoned factories and pose in their favourite outfits from Modcloth or Urban Outfitters. Don't get me wrong, I have bought some nice things from Modcloth in the past but I'm not a cute 20-something who likes to be in front of a camera and I couldn't blog like that if I tried. I am me. A 30-something who does like a lot of the things that appear on those sorts of blogs but who is also a mum who likes looking for vintage Fisher Price toys on eBay for <strike>myself</strike> my son or sewing wonky bibs for him. I need to keep reminding myself to stop trying so hard to be something that I'm not. It's an old lesson but it pops up at various times in life doesn't it? <br />
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From now on I am going to try to stop attempting to create a 'blog persona' and just write about the things I have actually been looking at, doing or thinking about. Maybe it doesn't seem like I've been trying to be someone else here on the blog... it's hard to know without having some distance from the blog... but that's how it seems inside my head. Hopefully a change of attitude will make it easier for me to write again.<br />
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Here are a couple of things I've been looking at or thinking about lately.<br />
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1. <a href="http://www.thesmallobject.com/images/2013dailyResolutionChart.pdf" target="_blank">The Small Object - 2013 Daily Resolution Chart.</a><br />
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I've printed this chart out and put it on the fridge door to track my 'Quit Coca Cola' progress. There are a lot of other cute things on The Small Object blog and in the shop too. I've been visiting the site for quite a few years now.<br />
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2. Without getting into politics, I like our Prime Minister <a href="http://www.news.com.au/top-stories/julia-gillard-sports-hipster-glasses-at-national-press-club/story-e6frfkp9-1226565029113" target="_blank">Julia Gillard's new glasses</a>.<br />
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I know it is probably old news now but I think they look good. I'm not sure I'd call them 'hipster' glasses like in the linked article but they are quite stylish. To tell you the truth, I'm not entirely sure what a 'hipster' is these days... but who cares anyway?<br />
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<br />Georgiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06760428674073745863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256520006777531781.post-33339615236813877212013-02-09T09:45:00.000+11:002013-02-09T09:45:43.597+11:00Saturday Reads<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A Beautiful Mess did a <a href="http://www.abeautifulmess.com/2013/02/a-beautiful-mess-flea-market-shopping-tips.html" target="_blank">great post</a> last week on how to approach flea market shopping - or I guess what we would call op-shopping here in Oz. I really enjoyed this, and frankly, I think a lot of it can apply to shopping in general so it's worth a read even if heading out to Vinnies or the local car boot sale isn't really your thing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Read <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/27/fashion/the-race-grows-sweeter-near-its-final-lap-modern-love.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0" target="_blank">this post</a> from the New York times about new love late in life - it's so beautiful! You won't regret it!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I devoured all 5 seasons of Friday Night Lights with obsessive glee...but it probably would have helped if I'd read t<a href="http://www.nfl.com/rulebook/beginnersguidetofootball%E2%80%8F" target="_blank">his beginners guide</a> to American football before hand. It really cleared things up for me (being literal, not sarcastic here). Hey, it was Superbowl week, I wanted to know the rules once and for all.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://judithannbraun.com/" target="_blank">Judith Ann Braun</a> takes finger painting to a whole new level.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I want <a href="http://www.myurbio.com/collections/retail-collection%E2%80%8F" target="_blank">these</a> for my flat! So clean and cool! Although, as someone who has killed a succulent, I'm not sure if I should invest, or just accept that my thumb is really, really not green.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://www.cracked.com/blog/4-difficult-ways-to-simplify-your-life-that-are-worth-it/" target="_blank">This article</a> from Cracked.com on how to simplify your life is funny, well-written and choc full of good advice. I particularly like #3 "If you're jealous, you have to be jealous of everything - i.e. if you're going to be jealous of someone's career success, you also have to be jealous of the hours of study and unpaid overtime they put in to get there.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A different kind of <a href="http://replacementhipsters.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">fashion blog</a>...</span></div>
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Carolinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14423241052956431768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256520006777531781.post-71230509469173986022013-02-05T07:50:00.002+11:002013-02-05T07:50:15.028+11:00These are my new favourite songs<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've been listening to these on repeat for a while now, so I thought I should probably share them with you - they are not brand spanking new, but they are pretty new. I'm particularly in love with the Solange song, and the video clip! Who is Solange? Solange is the younger sister of Beyonce Knowles - just as talented but with a very different style.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I stumbled across Flume because the album was the iTunes $9.99 album of the week. What can I say? Sometimes I feel like $16.99 is far too much to pay for a download, but I strongly believe in paying for my music - does anyone else agree? Anyway, I really, really enjoy this album and this is one of my favourite tracks. I don't often get into electro/dance music but when I do, this is the kind that gets played over and over. I feel like it's the sort of music that would get played at a cool house party in a movie (because those kinds of house parties don't actually happen in real life). And yes, for those wondering, the name is in reference to the Bon Iver song.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Carolinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14423241052956431768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256520006777531781.post-25162189571918032432013-02-02T09:00:00.000+11:002013-02-02T09:00:05.099+11:00Saturday Reads<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, Saturday mornings are generally when I find somewhere comfy to park myself with my laptop and a coffee and I catch up on all my favourite blogs and links that I've bookmarked or emailed to myself over the week. I guess it's my version of sitting down with the weekend papers. I thought I would start sharing some of these as a regular Saturday feature on the blog...we'll see! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Over at <a href="http://welcometoladyville.com/2013/01/25/celebrity-crush-jeff-goldblum/" target="_blank">Welcome to Ladyville</a>, Kerry is talking about Jeff Goldblum. I mean really, who <i>doesn't </i>want to talk about Jeff Goldblum? The man is a delight.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">US Vogue's latest cover lady is <a href="http://www.vogue.com/magazine/article/rooney-mara-the-changeling/#1" target="_blank">Rooney Mara</a>, who I have to say, I find fairly fascinating. I think it's the eyebrows. I miss her super short fringe though - or bangs, as the northern Americans say. Plus, I find Hamish Bowles' features in Vogue a good deal less annoying than much of their stable of pet writers. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">The Disney short </span><a href="http://www.wired.com/underwire/2013/01/disney-paperman-online/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify;" target="_blank">Paperman</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> is nominated for best short film at this year's Oscars and can be viewed on the inter webs for those who didn't manage to catch it before a screening of Wreck it Ralph. It is so lovely. And also, our leading man is like a 2D Jim Halpert - in other words, adorably charming. A pretty mean feat for a black and white cartoon dude who doesn't speak.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lonely Island have a new song! <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5Otla5157c" target="_blank">"YOLO"</a> (You only live once) is pretty much safe for work and under 18s, which is probably a first for them. Is it embarrassing that I didn't even know what YOLO meant until I watched a parody based on it? Probably. Oh well. It also features Adam Levine. I think that's pertinent information.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I recently bought a <a href="http://www.maeve.net.au/index.php?route=product/product&path=1&product_id=13" target="_blank">mud mask from Maeve Botanicals</a> and I think I'm in love. It's only $14! Winning! Plus, they are 100% natural, and 100% ethical and 100% cruelty free. I like it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There is potentially going to be a <a href="http://hollywoodcrush.mtv.com/2013/01/30/the-fault-in-our-stars-movie/" target="_blank">movie</a> of one of my favourite John Green novels, "The Fault in Our Stars." Hoorah!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wondering how to write a good professional thank you note? <a href="http://adultingblog.com/post/40136631101" target="_blank">Adulting</a> has you covered.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/zoe-triska/please-no-more-ugly-class_b_2573702.html?utm_hp_ref=books" target="_blank">This</a> article about the cover image chosen for a recent reissue of The Bell Jar got me thinking about how books are marketed to women, especially <i>young</i> women. I know if I see a book cover with involving lipstick or shoes I don't even bother picking it up.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If I hadn't already cut my hair, I'd be going for the <a href="http://www.dailylife.com.au/dl-beauty/beauty-trends/chop-chop-20130130-2dk1t.html" target="_blank">Karlie Kloss bob</a> for sure.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">30 Rock finishes up this week! <a href="http://tv.nytimes.com/2013/01/31/arts/television/tina-fey-signs-off-30-rock-broken-barriers-behind-her.html?_r=0" target="_blank">This</a> is a pretty good summary of the awesomeness of Tina Fey. </span></div>
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Carolinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14423241052956431768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256520006777531781.post-77913654040555727042013-01-31T09:00:00.000+11:002013-01-31T09:00:00.084+11:00Life with Bird A/W 2013<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We're all still hanging around in shorts and t-shirts in front of the fan and it's hard to imagine it ever being cold enough to wear winter clothes again. It always surprises me how early designers and labels start to advertise and see their winter collections - I'm just not that much of a planner when it comes to shopping (to my detriment, probably). That said, I did enjoy looking through Life With Bird's A/W 2013 collection online, and have included some favourites below. I'm really pleased to see that gorgeous, digital floral prints are sticking around - breaks up those winter blacks and greys!</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For any keen beens, pre-orders open Feb 25 at <a href="http://www.lifewithbird.com/">www.lifewithbird.com</a></span></span></div>
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<br />Carolinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14423241052956431768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256520006777531781.post-1765277952239997762013-01-30T09:00:00.000+11:002013-01-30T09:00:05.717+11:00Five things I loved: Silver Linings Playbook<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I went to see this on Sunday night with a couple of my ladyfriends - yep, one word, I'm making that call - and it was one of those rare occasions where a movie lived up to my expectations. I try not to buy into hype about movies - the only thing about the Oscars that interests me is the dresses - but it's been pretty hard to ignore all the fuss about <i>Silver Linings Playbook</i>. Thankfully, I was not disappointed. Here are the reasons why:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>1. Bradley Cooper doesn't look quite so much like a dinosaur anymore.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I understand that many, many ladies out there find B. Coops one sexy fellow. He was even declared People Magazine's sexiest man of the year recently (apparently this caused small groups of Ryan Gosling fans to protest...like, hold literal protests), but I've just never been on that particular band wagon. One of my friends commented a while ago that he reminds her of a velociraptor, and since that moment whenever I saw him in anything, that was all I could think about. The resemblance is striking, no?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Also, I think the first movie I ever saw him in was that terrible <i>He's Just Not That Into You</i> movie and it was not really a good introduction. However, good news! As he ages, he looks less a velociraptor. Hence, I did not spend most of the film thinking about Jurassic Park.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">See? Totally not prehistoric.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b> 2. Happy, but sad, but happy.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you're not familiar with the storyline of <i>Silver Linings Playbook</i>, I'll give you a very brief rundown. Pat (B.Coops) has just finished an 8 month court ordered stint in a mental health facility, after beating up his wife's lover and being diagnosed as bipolar. He returns to his parents' house to try to rebuild his life and his marriage and meets Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence), a young widow with her own set of problems, and things get complicated/funny/interesting. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The film deals with some pretty heavy subject matter, but it's all addressed with just the right tone, at the right time. It wasn't always funny, but at points the whole cinema was cracking up. It wasn't always bittersweet, but there was more than one moment when I felt teary. It was the perfect level of emotional manipulation. And really, isn't that life? Sometimes funny, sometimes sad. Don't those two emotions go together like coffee and chocolate anyway?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am a sucker for a dance scene in a movie. SURPRISE! You would never have guessed, right? I'm not going to say too much because I don't want to spoil it for you, but the dance scene in this movie is pretty amazing. It's going to knock your socks off. As it should - both the actors and the characters worked very hard towards this goal.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I just think she's the best. I've said it before, and I'm pretty sure I'll say it again. It helps that every time I see or read an interview with her she comes across as completely genuine and hilarious. And frankly, anyone who says that their holiday to Belize was <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=l6ehlLlcXfo" target="_blank">"unbelizeable"</a> is my kind of person. For a pretty good ode to Jen, check out <a href="http://hellogiggles.com/jennifer-lawrence-is-pretty-much-the-best-right" target="_blank">this</a> article on HelloGiggles.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Also, I think she's a stone fox and she looks really good with dark hair. Just putting that out there.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There's a scene in the Ethan Hawke/Julie Delpy movie <i>Before Sunrise</i>, where Julie Delpy gets her palm read by a lady in a charming little town square somewhere in Vienna. As the palm reader walks away she reminds them both that we are all made from stardust. Silver Linings Playbook made me think of that scene because it's so accepting of every character's imperfections - not just accepting, because that can be a really passive word - it loved each character for exactly who they were. If you believe the palm reader, we are all made of stardust, all of us are special and none of us are perfect. </span></div>
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<br />Carolinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14423241052956431768noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256520006777531781.post-18478117792850644842013-01-29T09:00:00.000+11:002013-01-29T09:00:05.070+11:00Enough of that funny business young lady, and get back to work.<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sometimes, you just need a laugh. Maybe you're having one of those days when you've got your cranky pants on, but you're self aware enough to know that you just need to change your focus, and you can turn your day around. It's times like these I turn to YouTube. I have a couple of favourite videos that I go back to again and again that I thought I'd share. These videos still make me laugh so hard I cry, or if I'm watching at work and trying not to be too obvious, do that silent laughing that has the potential to make water come out my nose (I know, right? Subtle).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm putting these up on a Tuesday because, in my opinion, Tuesday is the worst day of the week. Monday is okay because you're all refreshed from the weekend, Wednesday is hump day, Thursday is the day before Friday, and Friday is well, Friday. Tuesday is nothing. It's the a#$ end of the week (pardon my language...somewhere my Dad is shaking is head and making comments about "13 years of high school...seven years of university...") So hopefully, these will make your Tuesday a little more entertaining. Today is the day after a public holiday here in Australia - going back to work is just that much more painful after a three day weekend!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's the laughing in the background in this one - gets me every time!</span><br />
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<br />Carolinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14423241052956431768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256520006777531781.post-16738727356972010362013-01-26T09:00:00.000+11:002013-01-26T13:02:40.965+11:00Five things I loved: Band of Horses<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I went to see Band of Horses at the Enmore Theatre here in Sydney on Tuesday night. It's the third or fourth time I've seen them, and if possible, I think I love them even more now. It was an amazing show, absolutely worth staying out on a school night for.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>1. The band members just love each other SO MUCH.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are few things better than watching a band play, who just really freakin' <i>love</i> playing music with each other. Band of Horses have had a changing lineup over the years, with frontman Ben Bridwell remaining the beating heart of the group, however they've been pretty stable recently. It seems like they've found their rhythm as a little musical family. Ben hugged his fellow band members multiple times - really spontaneous "I just really love you man" type hugs. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>2. Amusing lyrical substitution.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Marry Song" from their sophomore album (and my personal favourite) <i>Cease to Begin</i> opens (usually) with the line "I'll marry my lover, in a place to admire." However, on Tuesday night Bridwell took it upon himself to sing the song as an ode to his impressively* bearded guitarist Tyler Ramsey - "I'll marry my Tyler." LOLs. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>3. We know you have favourite songs - don't worry, we'll play them.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I like it when bands recognise the songs that helped build their audience and find success without resentment. Even if you don't know Band of Horses, odds are you've heard "The Funeral" before in a TV show or film - I think it's even been in a video game. They introduced it with a good natured nod to the audience, playing it as beautifully as ever. The setlist was a perfect combination of material from their four albums, leaving out none of the crowd favourites. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>4. Ben Bridwell's voice.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's kind of different. Unusual. A bit nasal, frankly. But it's beautiful and emotive. The man has a gift.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I also highly recommend checking out <a href="http://www.purevolume.com/news/band-of-horses-ben-bridwell-exclusive-interview-mirage-rock" target="_blank">this</a> interview and video on Pure Volume - Bridwell is an interesting guy, and behind all the beard and tattoos is widely known to be one of the happiest and most courteous performers out there. The video following the article is a live, acoustic version of one of my favourite tracks on Mirage Rock (their latest album) "Slow Cruel Hands of Time." Seriously worth watching, especially with the snow-capped Wyoming mountains in the background.</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5. Ben Bridwell looks like a Muppet.</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He just does. And to me, there is no greater compliment. Who doesn't want to be a Muppet?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">* that was a sarcastic "impressively." I have no time for this hirsute trend of bushranger beards and wish it would go away.</span></div>
Carolinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14423241052956431768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256520006777531781.post-90775908260052450472013-01-20T09:00:00.000+11:002013-02-19T21:29:16.179+11:00Sunday Somethings<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is the first Sunday Somethings of 2013, no? I'm simultaneously surprised that we are halfway through January and also that we are ONLY halfway through January, if that makes sense. Christmas and the new year seem so long ago. I guess that's what happens, holidays finish, we go back to work and our routines continue. As a Taurus, I don't really think that's such a bad thing. Routine! Stability! These things make me feel pretty comfortable and I go about my life with lower stress levels if I can count on them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>1. Browsing arts</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I would like to purchase some art for my flat sometime this year. As I know very little about art, I feel like this is going to be a purchase that I will spend a fair amount of time researching and planning before I outlay any cash. Not that I'm planning to spend heaps of money or anything, but it will hang in my home so I want it to be a considered purchase. At the moment I'm surprising myself by my own interest in abstract painting. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Painting by Elizabeth Chapman. Check out her etsy store <a href="http://www.etsy.com/people/colorsplashes" target="_blank">here</a> and her website <a href="http://www.elizabethchapman.com/Elizabeth_Chapman/Home.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. Shoes</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don't buy shoes unless I have to. Any other kind of clothing I happily purchase on a want not need basis, but shoes are definitely a needs based thing. I just find so many of them ugly and uncomfortable - I'm not into the clompy platform heels that won't seem to go away, and a good pair of flats is hard to find. I'm kind of stealing this from Georgia, but she recently ordered some shoes from <a href="http://thehorse.com.au/" target="_blank">The Horse</a>, and I am having shoe jealousy. They are having a sale. Could this be love?</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. The Staves</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I just did a quick search, and I'm surprised I haven't mentioned this band on the blog before as there was a few weeks there when was listening to them non stop. They are three sisters from the UK who sing folk music. Their music is gentle and lovely, sometimes just what I need to ease me into the day on my commute to work.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Their album is not yet available on Australian iTunes which is a bit annoying, but they have a few EPs that I highly recommend! </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> 4. Stickygram</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I recently used <a href="http://stickygram.com/" target="_blank">Stickygram</a> to order two sheets of magnets with photos from my Instagram feed printed on them. One sheet for me, and the other for Mum as part of her birthday present. It was so quick and easy! At $14.95 a sheet and with free postage I thought it was a pretty good deal as well. The pictures I chose for mum are mostly from her garden - one of my favourite places to photograph!</span></div>
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Carolinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14423241052956431768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256520006777531781.post-35872295147276566812013-01-18T09:00:00.000+11:002013-01-19T12:04:49.488+11:00Missing Children<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've mentioned before that blogging is fun because I get to write about the stuff that I like, with no reason required other than "because I can." If anyone was thinking of arguing with me about this, I will closely follow that with a "you're not the boss of me" and then a "you don't know my life." You've been warned.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the things I like about life is the wonderful and talented friends I've been fortunate enough to meet along the journey so far. The sole purpose of this particular post is to introduce you to some of them too.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today we have the delightful <i>Missing Children</i>. It's been fun watching these guys grow over the last couple of years that I've known them as a band, both literally and figuratively. I mean, they are all adults so no one is getting any taller, but they have certainly grown in number. When my friend joined as cellist a couple of years ago they were an ensemble of three - guitar, vocals and cello - and have since added drums, bass, more guitars to create a more layered, intricate sound. I'm very terrible at accurately pinpointing genres and influences so I'm just going to say have a listen instead. </span></div>
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You can purchase "Papertrail" on iTunes <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/au/album/papertrail-single/id586475930" target="_blank">here</a> and find them on Facebook <a href="https://www.facebook.com/missingchildrensydney?fref=ts" target="_blank">here</a> to find about upcoming gigs around Sydney. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Enjoy!</span><br />
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<br />Carolinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14423241052956431768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256520006777531781.post-72291762464980321832013-01-17T09:00:00.000+11:002013-01-17T09:00:04.691+11:00Insert "polka dots" pun here.<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">No, I didn't forget to write a title for this post. I just couldn't bring myself to call it something like "going dotty for polka dots", so I decided to let your own clever brains think of something better. Good move, am I right?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anyway. ANYWAY. I like polka dots. I like printed pants. I like that the two have joined forces. I originally fell in love with with them after stumbling across the below picture on <a href="http://atlantic-pacific.blogspot.com.au/" target="_blank">Atlantic-Pacific</a>.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-X3nQ-Go7CoA/UPTNQOdA3iI/AAAAAAAAASE/-Dk9PAFa4Jc/s1600/week+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-X3nQ-Go7CoA/UPTNQOdA3iI/AAAAAAAAASE/-Dk9PAFa4Jc/s1600/week+1.JPG" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Picture courtesy of atlantic-pacific.blogspot.com.au</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm still searching for a mustard or yellow pair, so let me know if you find them somewhere! However, I've found some other good options below, that I am tempted to investigate further. And by investigate, I mean purchase. I love the idea of styling them with stripes. I think they key would be to make sure the stripes are really thick, to prevent things looking too busy.</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.polyvore.com/spots_stripes/set?.embedder=4113291&.svc=copypaste&id=68975380" target="_blank"><img alt="Spots and stripes" border="0" height="474" src="http://cfc.polyvoreimg.com/cgi/img-set/.sig/L1Tzcr9UbrPeQ0GBJ6RA/cid/68975380/id/ekvRxpraSBCLDHjx8f04dQ/size/c600x474.jpg" title="Spots and stripes" width="600" /></a></div>
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<small><a href="http://www.polyvore.com/spots_stripes/set?.embedder=4113291&.svc=copypaste&id=68975380" target="_blank">Spots and stripes</a> by <a href="http://carolinelt.polyvore.com/?.embedder=4113291&.svc=copypaste" target="_blank">carolinelt</a> featuring <a href="http://www.polyvore.com/ankle_length_pants/shop?query=ankle+length+pants" target="_blank">ankle length pants</a></small></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">xx</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Carolinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14423241052956431768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256520006777531781.post-21602382665323247362013-01-16T09:00:00.000+11:002013-01-16T09:00:05.121+11:00Beauty tips that I actually found helpful. No really.<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Every now and then it becomes glaringly apparent to me, that just because someone is employed in a particular occupation doesn't mean that they are any good at it. I'm sure you've all experienced this in some form or another, or maybe you've even been that person? I know I sure have been. I was once told by a restaurant manager that I wasn't "a natural waitress." It was a comment that was probably unfair at the time, given it was my first time waitressing. Thankfully however, I saw the humour in it and never spent any time berating myself for my lack of success in that arena. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The start of the new year always finds the internet flooded with new-year themed articles from beauty and style writers. I recently clicked on one titled "Top Beauty Tips for 2013." Cool, I thought to myself - I'm stuck in a bit of a makeup rut and maybe this will provide some ideas about new things to try. I was so disappointed...so, so, disappointed. I'm not exaggerating here - some of these "Top Trends" included "wearing sunscreen" and "washing your face." Now, I'm not saying that these aren't good things to do on a daily basis, they absolutely are, but I would tend to categorise these under the heading of "common sense" or maybe "personal hygiene" rather than "top tips."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, as a lot of us do when we are in a situation like this, I thought to myself "They got paid for that? I can do better than that!" And hopefully I have - here are some tips that I've come across that I have actually found helpful - I hope you do too.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>1. Keep your eyeliner pencil in the freezer.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I know, right? It sounds whack. But it actually makes perfect sense - eyeliner pencils are always soft and smudgy, and sometimes this makes it really hard to draw a precise line. Storing your eyeliner in the freezer will harden the pencil and help you create a look that is sharp and clean - perfect for work, when you're probably not going for the smokey, smudgy look. Probably. I mean, I don't know your life.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>2. Do your eye makeup first.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was a bit of a late bloomer when it came to makeup, and never really had anyone show me what to do or how to do it. There were certainly no YouTube tutorials to help me out. I just bought some makeup and off I went. I'm sure this contributed to some odd looks and odd habits over the years. I always, always used to start with foundation and then go from there - I mean, it makes sense semantically - the foundation always goes first. BUT, when you do your eyes first, you can then clean up any smudges or mistakes without the hassle of redoing your foundation. Totally sensical. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>3. All you need to exfoliate is olive oil and sugar.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the past, I have spent crazy amounts of money on facial scrubs and body scrubs. I've never found a cheap one that actually did the job, and the expensive ones well, they're expensive. When someone told me how easy it was to make your own at home, I was completely won over. All you need is a jar, some olive oil and some raw sugar. I say raw sugar, because white or brown sugar are too soft and you won't get that really scrubby texture that gets rid of the dead skin cells. Added bonus, you can play with the ratio of oil to sugar until you get the texture that you prefer!</span></div>
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Carolinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14423241052956431768noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256520006777531781.post-83148757651558357492013-01-09T20:26:00.001+11:002013-01-24T20:09:00.503+11:00Number(s) of the Day - 7, 8 & 9Catching up with 7, 8 and 9.<br />
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Georgiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06760428674073745863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256520006777531781.post-122879727728719992013-01-06T09:21:00.001+11:002013-01-06T09:21:51.453+11:00Number of the Day - 6<p>6 on the 6th.</p>
<div class='separator' style='clear: both; text-align: center;'> <a href='http://lh5.ggpht.com/-LydBk6dz6Yc/UOinakN2WwI/AAAAAAAANvU/Qzj2DZP2msQ/s1600/IMG_20130106_080306.jpg' imageanchor='1' style='margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;'> <img border='0' src='http://lh5.ggpht.com/-LydBk6dz6Yc/UOinakN2WwI/AAAAAAAANvU/Qzj2DZP2msQ/s320/IMG_20130106_080306.jpg' /> </a> </div><div class='separator' style='clear: both; text-align: center;'> <a href='http://lh6.ggpht.com/-Brpc8L7C-ZM/UOincKSJgfI/AAAAAAAANvY/b6JKFoAo8n0/s1600/IMG_20130106_091541.jpg' imageanchor='1' style='margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;'> <img border='0' src='http://lh6.ggpht.com/-Brpc8L7C-ZM/UOincKSJgfI/AAAAAAAANvY/b6JKFoAo8n0/s320/IMG_20130106_091541.jpg' /> </a> </div>Georgiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06760428674073745863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256520006777531781.post-37712164461759284472013-01-05T22:59:00.000+11:002013-01-05T22:59:24.768+11:00How to Quit Drinking Cola Without Really Trying.Yeah... I've got no idea... It's time to try though.<br />
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I've been drinking too much of the stuff for too long so at Christmas time I was talking about this problem with my family around the dinner table. My aunt and sister have both decided to make a deal with me. If I can quit drinking cola by Valentine's day I 'win a prize'! I believe part of this prize will probably be a small purchase from one of Caroline's and my favourite clothing stores in Sydney, Dragstar. Will that be motivation enough to put the habit behind me? I hope so. It is an expensive and unhealthy habit for sure. There are plenty of other reasons to give it up I know.<br />
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The last time I stopped drinking cola was when I was pregnant. It tasted absolutely foul to me so it was no effort to stop it that time around. Once the morning sickness passed and our little boy was born it tasted normal again and I fell right back into the habit. A refreshing can after struggling to get the baby to sleep seemed good but once you start worrying that you don't have any in the house and you must get to the supermarket as soon as possible you know you have a problem, right?<br />
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So here I go. Operation Quit cola 2013.<br />
Wish me luck. 40 days until the deadline.<br />
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<br />(And thanks to my family for encouraging me to do this again. Gah! Where's the ibuprofen?)<br />
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<br />Georgiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06760428674073745863noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256520006777531781.post-54374022700125384212013-01-05T09:48:00.001+11:002013-01-05T22:00:56.078+11:00Number of the Day - 5Number 5.<br />
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Georgiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06760428674073745863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256520006777531781.post-23392529849505350912013-01-04T08:56:00.001+11:002013-01-05T22:00:26.531+11:00Number of the Day - 44<br />
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