Monday 31 March 2014

Fiasco Italian


Hello lovely lot!
Today I have a restaurant recommendation for anyone who is in Sydney; Fiasco Modern Italian.
Like the name suggests this is an Italian Restaurant located in Manly. I went with my Mum during my last visit. It was the first night and we had arrived fairly late to our hotel so we thought we would duck out and find something quick as we were starving! We just happened upon this restaurant and as we are both utterly obsessed with Italian food we walked straight in!
With a glass of prosecco wine and a pizza to share we were two happy campers! The pizza was just amazing, so much so that on our second day I said to Mum during the day 'would it horrible to say I want to go back to Fiasco tonight?' to which Mums response was 'that's exactly what I was thinking!'
So we returned for the second night in a row and had the same pizza again, but this time one each! Yes they are that good! Made fresh with the thinnest base, freshest toppings and tasty wine what's not to love!?
So I highly recommend you try out Fiasco if you ever happen to find yourself hungry in Manly, here is a link to their website - HERE! 
I know where I'll be heading next time I'm in Sydney, enjoy the pictures!
xoxo






Wednesday 26 March 2014

Photo Diary: A Day In Canberra

Hello there, how are you today?
A few weekends ago I spent a Saturday out and about in the town I live in, Canberra, Australia. It was actually the weekend celebrating Canberra, so there were a lot of events happening!
First thing we did (aka me and the fella) was wake up at stupid o'clock to get up and see the balloons by the lake. There is an annual balloon festival here where a tone of balloons all take off together by the lakes edge and a few more interesting balloon designs take off too!  


This one probably being the weirdest, meet Sky Whale ... hmmmmm.



Best thing about being up at 6am? The sunrise fo sure!











Up...



Up...






Up ... and away!







After having a looksee at the balloons we headed to another part of the lake to have a breakfast BBQ. This is something I LOVE to do, but rarely think of actually doing!






mmmm mmmm, our yummy breakfast; egg and bacon roll



The National Carillon 



In the evening we headed out with my boyfriends family to Skyfire. Skyfire is an another annual event where they put on a fireworks display over the lake to celebrate Canberra. I don't think I've ever missed a year! 



The fireworks show









And there we have it, a day spent out and about. 
What sort of events does your town hold? Any you always attend? 
Until next time!
xoxo


Thursday 20 March 2014

Updated Tanning Routine


Hi everyone, welcome back! 
Today I have an updated post on my tanning routine, to see my first tanning post which goes into a bit more detail on what base color you should look for in a tan, tanning mitts and more click HERE!
~
Ok, so if you know me at all you will know I am a lover of summer and being tanned! I do love me some sunshine and natural color but I try to keep tanning in the sun to a minimum as I know how terrible it is for my skin. Insert fake tan .... perfect to maintain a healthy glow, extend a natural tan and avoid tanning in the sun too much! 
Previously I had been using Xen-Tan which I still love and recommend, especially for people with naturally dark skin but it isn't easily accessible here in Australia. Since then I have found myself a perfect tan combination, and one that is Aussie made - tick! 


Let me introduce you to Bondi Sands, my new holy grail. They have quite a range of products now from these foam tans to creams and sunscreens; however the above are still by far my favorite from the range.
When it comes to tanning I think the most natural look comes from foam tanners and using a tanning mitt, that way you can apply the foam softly and avoid streaks. Along with the Bondi Sands I have found that the Le Tan gradual tan is the best way for me to extend my tan for around 10 days. Bondi Sands do have a moisturizer with gradual tan as well but I'm not as fond of the scent as I am with this one, this one just smells like a beach holiday - that is honestly the best way I can describe it!
~
So what I do is exfoliate completely in the shower to ensure there is no dead skin that the color will attach to. I then apply the foam all over using a tanning mitt. I use the light/medium color in winter when I am naturally a little lighter and the dark color in summer when I already have a tan to ensure I am achieving a natural look.
So I cover myself in the tan using the mitt, then wash my hands and dry them whilst also using the towel to blend the color from my arm into my hands to create a natural transition, you don't want it to look like you tanned your arms and have white hands! I then put on a jumpsuit that is lightweight and loose, or if its in winter i'll put on a onsie (this helps stop the color transferring to your bed sheets!)
I always tan in the evening so I can allow it to develop completely overnight whilst I sleep. Another big tick of approval for these tans is that they smell nice! My boyfriend doesn't mind the smell of them at all which is a big indicator to me that they don't have that 'tan' smell to them!
In the morning I will just shower off the color guide and voila! tan is done!

I will then apply the Le Tan moisturizer two to three times after I shower within the next week of  the tan being on to help extend it further; normally I can get it to last really well for two weeks before I feel like I want to re-apply. The other great thing with Bondi Sands is that it fades evenly and doesn't leave patches or streaks as it wears off. For a gal that is obsessed with Tone It Up and running this is a big deal for me! So many other tans have given me the weirdest patches in my elbow crease from running!       



The above picture is my before shot. This is in the middle of a very hot Aussie summer so I am already quite dark for my skin tone, ill remind myself to do a post like this again in the middle of winter!




And this photo is the after the next night. So as you can see it is nothing too crazy on the color, looks quite natural in my opinion and is the right tone of 'tan' that doesn't have an orange tint to it. 



So there we have it, my must haves for tanning. In terms of face tanning, I don't ever tan my face naturally - I will always wear SPF in the sun and in my foundations. I don't even self tan my face as I scrub it each day so don't really see the point. Instead I just use bronzes to match my neck to my face which always works best. If your going from quite light to a darker tan I would recommend using a shade darker foundation and then lightly bronzing, or if your just going for that sun-kissed look then just dust the bronzer all over your face once you've completed your make up routine! 
~
I hope you enjoyed this post, let me know if you use these tanners or if there are any that you swear by or recommend.
~
Until next time!
xoxo



Thursday 13 March 2014

Sydney Opera House


Hi there, welcome to my slice of interwebs!
Today's post is a little mini photo-shoot of the Opera House in Sydney. I went on a little getaway with my Mum and we actually went to an Opera (which was amazing, the way they use their voices and project them is mind boggling to me!) and whilst there we had a wander and I snapped some shots of the external façade using my DSLR Camera. I am starting to get back into Photography in a big way this year so snapping shots of things I find interesting is turning into a big hobby of mine. I am currently taking a Photography course and enjoy learning more about my camera and overall knowledge of photography so I decided to share that here on my blog with you!
Interesting fact about the Opera House: My Grandfather actually designed the very first model of the Opera House to see if it was even possible to build - pretty cool!
All these images are direct off my camera, settings were changed within the camera to create different lighting effects. 



















What do you think? Constructive criticism is always welcome! I'm thinking I may print one off and frame it - which would you print off if you had to pick one? I cant choose!
xoxo