Logies 2012 - Best Dressed

I know I kind of missed the boat earlier in the week, but I did just want to quickly post a few pics of my faves from the Logies on Sunday night! 

Katie Ritchie

I love the design, the colour & everything about this gown (by designer Steven Khalil) 

Katie's makeup and hair was amazing (I noticed her makeup artist, Lilly Miljkovic used a lot of NARS products - check it out here) and I think she looked just gorgeous! 

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Jennifer Hawkins

Oh my gosh, I am gaga for this colour!!! If I am shopping, be it top, shorts, jewellery - you name it - if it is this beautiful aqua colour, then I want it!!! The cut of the gown isn't my favourite, but myohmy, that colour!! 

Loved the pairing with coral shoes - fabulous!! 

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Stay Fabulous! xx

Week 1 :: Completed!

I successfully completed Week 1 of my 12 week program [cheers] Hooray for me! 

Surprisingly, I found that I didn't struggle as much as I thought I would with the new diet & training regime, but it did help that I was verrrry prepared. As in, here is what my kitchen looks like every 3 or so days: 

These consist of poached chicken, sweet potato, broccoli & carrot - Don't screw your face up at the poached chicken - I urge you to try it, it's actually really yummy, especially cooked with some mixed herbs! 

It's definitely a good idea to make all your lunches & dinners for the following few days if you can. After a long day at work, then a gym sesh, I can just come home & heat up my dinner & get it in my belly!! :) And that makes me and my belly happy! 

Soooooo after a week's training & eating clean, I managed to lose 1.0kg and over 10cm from my body [can I get a hell yeah!!!] I am super excited by my first week's result, but need to remember that the weight lost will be partially due to getting rid of excess fluid that has been unwelcome-ly sitting in my body! 

So we are straight into Week 2 Full Steam Ahead! I did an RPM class this morning and heading back to the gym for a weights sesh tonight! I have bought a new pair of workout shoes, which I will post a pic of later in the week - they are super awesome! 

In other news, my amazing husband and I shared our 2 year wedding anniversary yesterday, and today marks our 11th year together - It's been an awesome 11 years and I can't wait to see what the future holds for us! 

This is how I feel about our marriage <3

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Aaaaand finally, here's a pair of Lorna Jane pants that were launched yesterday that I am in love with! Need to get a pair of these babies STAT! 

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Stay Fabulous! xx

Happy Hump Day!

Morninggggg :) Happy Hump Day to you internet!! 

Here's today's funny (Note: I do not condone violence but this makes me giggle)

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Stay Fabulous xx

Poached Chicken - The Verdict!!

I was a poached chicken virgin until about 10 minutes ago! Apparently I was enjoying it so much that forgot to take a pic before I started devouring my meal :P

Happy Hump Day

I think I will start a tradition of posting funnies each Wednesday (Hump Day) as celebration that we have made it half way through the week, and there's only 2 more days til the weekend Yipeeeeee! 

So without further ado...

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I could not stop giggling when I saw this on Pinterest last night :) 

Stay Fabulous! x

Winter Wonderland... In April??

I may have stolen that fabulous post title & idea from Starts With Cupcakes but as the person residing nearest to any snow resort, I am claiming it :P

So. Apparently it was a balmy 1 degree here in Canberry this morning. And apparently it freakin' snowed in Thredbo & Perisher on the weekend!!! Ummm it's only April!! WTF!! 

As if getting up to go to the gym wasn't hard enough with the early morning starts, it's now going to be a smidgen harder with those lovely one-digit temperature starts :P  Although I must say I do love a bit of winter fashion - complete with coats, gloves, boots, stockings, ear-muffs, scarves & hats! 

 

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Carmen Kass is rockin this outfit! Love it! 

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How cute is this set??!! Um yes please!!! 

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I love me some pompoms!! 

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Here's a peek of how the mountains closest to us are looking after the snowfall over Easter: 

Thredbo Source

Perisher  Source

Fingers crossed we will have a stomper of a snow season this year!!! :)  I'm officially excited!! Hopefully Miss Andie will come for a frolick in the snow this year! 

Stay Fabulous x

Tomorrow

Just a quickie - I start my 12 week program tomorrow, and I feel a mixture of excitement & anticipation for taking the first steps towards my new body & lifestyle, as well as a bit of nervousness at how I will go when I am faced with temptation, and knowing that there are gonna be days where it will hurt! 

I AM READY!!!!!!!!!

Pic from here

April Favourites - Makeup

I always like to read about other bloggers' favourite makeup items, (you know, because I need more makeup lol) so I'd like to share my current faves: 

sorry for the dodgy image quality - must really use my camera (not iphone) lol

1. Maybelline Define-a-brow in Light Brown - great for helping me fill in my slightly wonky eyebrows without looking too fake

2. Bourjois Delice de Poudre (Bronzing Powder) - great for... bronzing lol. It doesn't have any glitter/shine to it, so it's a great matt bronzer, and also good for contouring

3. Maybelline Fit Me Pressed Powder (Honey Beige 320) - this is great for setting my foundation, I find that it doesn't make me look too powdery (think cakey Nanna makeup) and finishes off the look nicely

4. Maybelline Fit Me Foundation (Medium Buff 225) - I really like the coverage this foundation gives - it covers my freckles/imperfections without feeling heavy on my face

5. NYX Blush (PB Peach 06) - I love blush on other girls, but I don't really love it on me. But this blush gives me colour, without it looking too over-the-top, and it's my go to blush at the moment

6. Revlon ColorStay Mineral Finishing Powder (Brighten 010) - Even though this says its a finishing powder, I wouldn't use it all over my face, as it gives a lovely shimmer to wherever it is applied. But it looks fabulous as a highlighter, on the tops of my cheekbones, and I find I am using it more and more frequently!

7. L'Oreal Voluminous Mascara (Blackest Black) - This mascara is the boom-diggity!!! I saw lots of makeup bloggers raving about it, and thought to myself, how good can this stuff be?! Well its ah-mazing!! I haven't used any other mascara since ebay delivered it to my door around 6 months ago!! LOVE!

8. Estee Lauder Tom Ford Collection Lipstick (Bronze 07) - This is a very creamy nude lipstick, almost a dupe for MAC's Viva Glam Gaga 2, and I never leave the house without one of these babies with me! I do love me some nude lippie, and I am crying coz I am alllmost out of the EL one :( But these 2 lipsticks just finish off most looks for me, and I can't get enough! 

So I hope you enjoyed that!! I will post a 'favourites' update every now and then :)

Stay Fabulous xx

It's on like Donkey Kong!

In my first post, I mentioned that something exciting was in the pipelines - well it's all coming to fruition - I am going to be embarking on a 12-week program, and on my team of support is none other than Amanda from Me vs the Bulge!!! 

I am not super comfortable with sharing this with everyone, but sharing is caring. During my 20's I was able to maintain a comfortable weight of 67kgs, with what I remember as very miminal effort. I ran around 4kms a few times per week, didn't do any weights, and situps, pushups, lunges and squats were nowhere to be seen!! I was also able to eat relatively whatever I wanted! Oh to be young and carefree again!!

Then the years rolled by, and I became closer to the big 3-0 and my metabolism decided that it would start slowing down, after all the hard work it had done for me over the years. I joined a gym in an effort to turn back the clock, and to move the kilo or 2 that I'd put on, but wasn't very serious with my training. Then I decided to become a Full-On-Geek, playing an online game World of Warcraft (cringe!!!) and with that new addiction came even less physical activity, and more late night snacking on Twisties... Not a very good combination!!

I have tried so many times to start one new diet after another, with words like "tomorrow I'm gonna start again" and "I'll just enjoy this weekend then start next week". Well enough is enough!!! I am tired of feeling bloated, sluggish, tired, jiggly, unattractive, and I'm tired of starting over and over again!!!

So, I am announcing to the interwebz that I am doing this 12 week challenge, with a goal of 67kg as my final weigh-in. In addition to the number on the scales, I want to feel fit, strong, healthy, and to have more energy for all my other loves in my life!

I am not in delusional-land, as I know this won't be easy. Not even a little bit. But if I want it bad enough (which I do), then I can & will do this. I know Amanda and the rest of Team Bree's Support will be there cheering me from the sidelines, and when times get tough, I just need to remember this motivation I feel right now, and focus on the goal at the end of the tunnel. 

I will keep you updated along the way, with my trials and tribulations, so stay tuned.

And because a bloggity post is always better with another picture, check out Amanda's transformation:

taken from here and find more from Amanda here

Stay fabulous x

Road Test :: Quinoa

Ok, so I've heard a lot about this little superfood, especially on Me Vs The Bulge. I do love my oats in the morning, especially when it's cold outside but like some other unlucky others, I find that I feel quite bloated and yuck afterwards (sad panda). So I decided to give quinoa a go!! 

Wikipedia tells me that quinoa is a species of goosefoot (Chenopodium), is a grain-like crop grown primarily for its edible seeds. It is a pseudocereal rather than a true cereal, or grain, as it is not a member of the grass family. As a chenopod, quinoa is closely related to species such as beets, spinach, and tumbleweeds Mmmm tumbleweeds :P

Unlike wheat or rice (which are low in lysine), and like oats, quinoa contains a balanced set of essential amino acids for humans, making it a complete protein source. It is a good source of dietary fiber and phosphorus and is high in magnesium and iron. Quinoa is gluten-free and considered easy to digest.

Wiki goes on to tell me that it can be used as a substitute for pasta, white or brown rice, couscous, oats, AND it can be used in salads, AND its flour can be used in wheat and gluten free baking - it sure is a super food!! 

So after reading all of this jargon, I was really hoping that I would like it, given its health benefits!

I found it in the health aisle at my trusty local Coles, and noticed that it comes in either a little-ball-looking version, or a flake version (looks really similar to oats). I picked up both lol as I wasn't really sure which one was better... 

Yesterday morning, after my sprint/jog workout, where I worked up enough appetite to eat a horse, I threw the quinoa in the microwave and after my shower, it was all ready for me to eat! The kitchen had a distinctive nutty smell to it - I had read that quinoa has a nutty flavour - so far so good! 

I scooped some of the cooked little balls into my bowl, messily chopped half a banana on top, added a few spoonfuls of organic yoghurt and drizzled with a bit of honey. I did forget to take a picture of mine, but thanks to google, here is what the breakfast could look like (mine wasn't quite that pretty lol) 

And hallelujah - I loveddddd it!!!!!! I will definitely be grabbing quinoa more frequently as my go-to breakfast!!! 

Stay fabulous x

Pic from here

EDIT: I tried quinoa with my chicken & veggie stir fry last night, replacing brown rice and it was delish!!! Also, I noticed that I wasn't peckish for sweet snacks after our dinner, like I am most nights, so not sure if that was quinoa-related, but it made me happy :)
I will definitely be re-purchasing this super food!! 


Also, this is the beautiful sunrise that greeted me before I sweat my pants off yesterday morning :)  What a glorious start to the day! 

Happy Easter!

It's only a few days until Easter, which means 2 things: 

1. a blissful 4 day weekend!!! 

2. simultaneously a torturous 4 days of trying not to eat too much chocolate

I did find these pretty Skinny Coconut Cupcakes on Skinny Taste which I think I might have a crack at over the weekend, to curb my sweet tooth :)

I like that they are based on a store cake-mix too, makes it easier for my not-so-awesome kitchen skills! 

Of course I will share these around, as opposed to eating the whole batch myself :P

Happy Easter!! xx


Pic from here

Welcome

Welcome to my little bloggity :) I basically just started this so I could be as cool as the other kids who have blogs that I follow religiously:

Starts with Cupcakes

LOVE in the Kitchen

Me Vs The Bulge

XOShaaan

Confessions of a 20 Something

Style Me Pretty

Jasmine *

These are just a few that are on 'recently viewed' allll the time :) As you can see, true to my gemini nature, I have a million interests, and am always finding something new to throw myself into! 

I am hoping to embark on a new, healthier lifestyle verrryyyy soon, so watch this space! I will share with you all (like my 1 reader :P) my trials and tribulations along the way! Here's a few pics to get me motivated

Pic 1 http://www.girlswithmuscle.com/154471/

Pic 2 http://www.nickyjankovic.com/Portals/NickyJankovic/Images/News/Lesley%20shoot.jpg

Have a fabulous day!! xx