beauty-and-beyond

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[beauty-and-beyond]

Things I am loving right now: The Ariana Tab Tote by Kate Hill

I am a great fan of Kate's bags after being introduced to them by a friend, and in fact own several of her clutches as well as a 'weekender'.

Kate has introduced some beautiful bags into this season's range, and I'm just loving the Ariana Tab Tote.  It is also available in blush and black, but the grey combined with the gold trim has a certain sophistication about it and I am always a fan of the signature Kate Hill lining.

There's no such thing as having too many handbags, so I'll be popping this one on my wishlist! For those who don't subscribe to Kate's emails, if you buy two items at the moment the second item (of equal or lesser value) will be discounted by 50%.  

You can check out the new range today at http://www.katehill.com.au/

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Today I came across an article online regarding an english girl who suffers from misophonia so severely that she can not go out for dinner with her partner. Misophonia is a neurological disorder where specific sounds trigger negative emotions such as anger, disgust, anxiety, etc.  It is not a hearing condition, but rather how the brain processes the sound. Whilst many people read the article and took to social networking sites to exclaim that the woman is basically bat-shit crazy, I simply took a sigh of relief.  Whilst I have never been officially diagnosed with misophonia, the symptoms are all too familiar and are something I live with each and every day.  

Beginning when I was much younger, the sound of mum slurping a hot cup of coffee was like nails down a chalkboard and to this day she will look at me worried and say "sorry!" if she realises she just slurped when I was nearby.

It is not uncommon for me to glare at my husband whilst he eats anything that is remotely noisy; especially pies, soups or any kind of spaghetti/noodle dish.  Also, the sound of someone pouring a glass of water makes my ears bleed, figuratively speaking.

But more often than not, the time where this affects me the most is at my place of work; I now share an office with another staff member and that staff member eats and drinks at their desk all day long.  

Every mouthful of drink is a long, drawn out slurp that makes my heart race, my head pound and my temper flare.  Every mouthful is a moment where I have to remind myself "it's not him, it's me. MY response to this is irrational, he is just having a cold drink." - although having this internal conversation doesn't necessarily make me feel any better.

The sound brings on a sense of anxiety and panic, but more than anything, it brings on the feeling of blood boiling rage. There is no other way to explain it than a fight or flight reaction; every time I hear a can of soft drink being opened, I want to leave.  I want to pick up my bag and get the hell out of there as quickly as possible to avoid having to hear that sound.  In the absence of being able to escape, my second instinctive reaction is to want to scream "SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP!".

At the moment my only salvation is music; I spend my entire day wearing headphones and listening to music for no other reason than to drown out any sounds that may trigger these stressful emotions.

I've never widely discussed this issue before. In fact, I've only recently become aware that there is actually a name for it, but there is something mildly reassuring about knowing that I am not alone.

So the next time that you are clicking your pen, taping your foot or slurping the last drops out of your frozen coke and you realise someone is glaring at you with crazy eyes, for the love of god, just STOP making the sound before they snap and kill you.

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When I stumbled upon Never Google Heartbreak on Amazon, one line immediately caught my eye:

“Readers of Lindsey Kelk, Sophie Kinsella and Paige Toon won't be able to put this down”

That’s me! I’m a reader of Lindsey Kelk! I’m a massive, massive fan of Paige Toon! I downloaded the book immediately, and began reading that very night. 

After having her engagement broken off for the third time by her twat of a fiancé Rob, Vivenne decided to pack her bags and leave – but only to teach him a lesson.  Viv moves into her own apartment and waits patiently for Rob to realise the massive mistake he has made, and come rushing back begging for her forgiveness.  Instead, Rob reveals that he has met someone else and that the relationship is over, leaving Viv broken hearted. 

Leaning on her best friend Max for support, Viv embarks on a mission to win back Mr Wrong and throughout this process discovered that her Mr Right has been right under her nose the whole time.   Hailing from York in England, Never Google Heartbreak is Emma Garcia’s debut novel - and what a cracker!

The book was fast moving, with Emma’s writing style keeping the reader fully engaged at every twist and turn.  Throughout this book I found myself cringing with embarrassment, laughing out loud and, of course, quietly rooting for Viv to realise that her happily ever after was not where she thought it would be. 

My only criticism is the ending; I felt it was very rushed, and somewhat anticlimactic compared to the rest of the book - probably the only area Emma needs to focus on improving in future novels.

Filled with hope, humour and romance, I found this book clever, witty, engaging and difficult to put down.    

The next instalment, “Oh Baby!” is scheduled for release on 5 June 2014, and I can't wait to catch up with Viv and Max to see what comes next.  

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Dream Diva is one of my favourite stores for plus size fashion, there is never a day that goes by where something from their range isn't on my wish list.

Based in Melbourne, the Dream Diva team are refusing to accept the idea that fashion is only for the slim, which is music to my ears! They are focusing on a range of clothing that is not only modern, but that is tweaked to ensure the cut of each garment enhances and flatters the figure.  

Tweaking the garment so it flatters the figure is so important, as so many brands think they can introduce a plus size range by simply making their garments bigger.  Unfortunately, it's just not that simple, as the clothing usually doesn't sit correctly unless it is actually designed with the plus-size body in mind.

The brand offers a range of garments that have a classier, more sophisticated feel than some of its competitors with the range including essentials, jeans, pants, shorts, skirts, tops, jackets and dresses. Unfortunately, I am not currently working in a role that requires corporate wear, otherwise I would definitely be adding some of Dream Diva's beautiful blazers to my working wardrobe.  

It's really refreshing to see business appropriate jackets for larger women in colours other than black, grey and navy.

Personally, Dream Diva is my number one store for dresses.  If I need a knock-out dress that is going to make me feel a million bucks, you would be safe to bet a reasonable sum of money on the possibility that I purchased it from Dream Diva. 

Lusting after these two beautiful dresses.

Their range of evening dresses are modern, stylish and are created using beautiful fabrics in a range of lovely colours.  Typically, these dresses range from $129 - $169 but if you’re patient (or lucky), you can often score a lovely dress from their sale section for as little as $49.

The other items I often buy from Dream Diva are tops, always fantastic quality and always a great fit.  Once again, if you don’t need the item immediately, it really is worth being patient and keeping a close eye on the sale section of the website to grab a bargain.

Both on my Dream Diva wish list, and I have just spotted the lace jacket in the sale section!

Dream Diva only have one concept store, which is located at 134 Bridge Road in Richmond (Victoria); for the rest of us, their range is readily available via their online store.  

Shipping is a flat rate of $11 within Australia, with all parcels being delivered by TOLL Priority.  Delivery has always been very quick with most orders arriving within 2-3 business days, and on the occasions I have needed to exchange or return items, I have found the customer service team to be friendly and helpful.

For the plus size ladies who haven’t discovered Dream Diva yet, pop on over to  http://www.dreamdiva.com.au and check them out today!

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Tonight's 12WBT Dinner:  Lamb Cutlets with Mushy Peas, Ricotta & Mint Calories: 301/serve This was a super simple dish to cook, dinner was literally cooked in under 10 minutes; I popped the cutlets into the pan over a medium heat and whilst I allowed those to cook for approximately 3 minutes either side, I prepared the peas. The peas were frozen baby peas, boiled for just 1 minute, crushed and then combined with mint leaves, lemon juice, lemon zest and ricotta. In terms of flavour, I didn't mind this dish.  I wasn't certain when I first read the recipe, but I am usually willing to give things a try at least once, so I went with it.  The combination of lemon, mint, ricotta and peas was something I found enjoyable, especially when eaten along with a bite of lamb.  The lamb itself was nice, but it didn't have any sort of coating or sauce, and there really wasn't a lot of it. Unfortunately, both Mr Beauty-and-Beyond and I found this dish to be very small compared to some other meals and neither of us felt quite satisfied.  He rated the dish a 3/10 (safe to say he didn't enjoy the pea combination?) whilst I would have rated it a 7/10 based on flavour if only the portion wasn't so tiny.

Will we have again:  The husband says 'NO'.

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Tonight's 12WBT Meal:  Beef with Grilled Capsicum, Bok Choy & Sweet Potato Calories:  320/serve Have I told you guys how hot it is here at the moment? It is super hot!!! Our house cops the sun all day long, through all the back windows in the morning, and all the front windows of an evening.  It's so damn hot, that I just sat all these ingredients on the bench and dinner cooked itself. Amazing!!! 

Okay, not really... that would have been awesome though, if it did.  

What the heat DID do was make me tweak this meal just slightly.  The sweet potato was supposed to be roasted but I just could not bear the thought of cranking up the oven and heating the house further, so I opted to quickly boil and then mash the sweet potato.  With 250g of sweet potato per person, there was a mountain of mash!

The dish was also designed to be a kangaroo dish.  I do not like kangaroo.  Do not bother saying to me "Just try it, it's delicious!!!" because I have tried it and I do not like it.  So just accept that, all you kangaroo lovers, and move on.  I substituted the kangaroo for beef, because I'm a rebel and that's how I roll.

The beef (or kangaroo, if you wish) is quickly dipped in a mixture of garlic, brown sugar and salt reduced soy sauce before being pan-fried and the coating was really tasty.

Along with the sweet potato, the side dishes included bok choy and grilled capsicum.  I grilled the capsicum myself, which I have never done before - the recipe said to grill it until it's black and then remove the skin.  I was paranoid, SUPER paranoid, that I was burning it so I actually undercooked it.  It tasted fine, but the skin was really hard to remove.  I'll know better for next time. Overall, this was a really tasty dish, and sometimes it's just nice to sit down to a piece of steak, yeah? Yeah!!! Mr Beauty-and-Beyond rated this dish 7/10, I give it an 8/10. Will we have again? Yes.

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As a long time lover of the hit TV series The Block, I am just SO excited that it's back on and I couldn't wait to sit down and watch the very first room reveal on channel Nine tonight. Set in Melbourne again, I'm loving the old movie theatre that is being converted into loft apartments; one day when I am rich and famous, I too shall own a very swanky loft apartment.  Mark my words. I missed a few episodes this week for various reasons, so hadn't seen what was going into the rooms nor had I seen the lights from the light making challenge. 

I do love that the judges will not know throughout the season which apartment belongs to who, it will take away any ability for them to unintentionally raise the bar higher for the 'faves', or go easy on the 'fans'.

For my thoughts on the rooms presented this week, please read on:

Brad & Dale

I was mildly concerned about Brad & Dale's ability to style a room without Lara & Sophie by their side, but I think they did well.  I was initially concerned that it was a little too minimalist, and I agree with the judges that a mirror would have been appropriate.

I am surprised that they were not chipped for the creases/wrinkles in their bed linen as I have seen couples slammed for not ironing those out in the past.  

I also did not like how the curtains 'pooled' on the floor.  I know that some people, including the judges, do like the curtains to do that but to me it just appears that the person could not be bothered to have them hemmed to the correct length.  I also cringe thinking about how grubby they will get.

I loved the headboard, it was sleek, modern, minimalist and the entire room had that lovely loft feel;a friend asked whether it had built in storage, I don't think that it did, but that could have been a minor improvement as you can never have too much storage.

The walk in robe was fantastic and I absolutely loved Brad's choice of art work, it had a unique edge being round and he did such a fantastic job at choosing that.  

Alisa & Lysandra

I had, and still have, very high expectations of Alisa & Lysandra.  Their apartment was my absolute favourite last season and I am totally stoked to have the girls back on my screen. Whilst they can be catty at times, it keeps the show interesting and they always come through with the goods in the end.

I smiled as soon as I saw it the room, it just screamed "swanky loft" to me (yes, just like the one I'll own when I am rich and famous!).  The elevated desk space was great, it just gave the room a luxurious and unique edge, and I like that they were clever about installing storage underneath.

I don't normally go for deer prints, I don't see the fascination, but I felt that the one they selected tied in really well with the room.  I also adored the exposed brick that is so typical of beautiful loft apartments, it brought a real sense of warmth to the room.

Kara & Kyal

I also had high expectations of Kyal & Kara, given Kyal's carpentry skills. I think he has the ability to save a lot of coin by bringing some stunning hand made, one of a kind pieces into each room so I'm really looking forward to seeing more of that throughout the season.

I am a bit torn with the room they presented this week.  I think the room had a good feel to it, I loved the wooden pendant lights and I believe under floor heating will be a fantastic selling point in Melbourne.  

I wasn't a great fan of their choice of art, I really didn't like the random brick panel in the room and overall I felt the room was over styled and very cluttered. These guys just need to remember not to go overboard.

Chantelle & Steve

I was highly concerned about Chantelle & Steve's ability to style a room given some of the cushions Chantelle was picking in the challenge, the selections were just woeful.  

All week these guys have come across as complete rookies, running around like chooks with their heads cut off, struggling to even organise decent tradies and I just didn't think they had what it takes.  That feeling hasn't changed.

The two positives about their room was the barn door, as much as it was picked on, it was beautiful and I love it.  I also think the bed was ingenious, a fantastic element for a guest bedroom as the space can be utilised for other things when not needed by guests.

Beyond those two elements, I'm sorry to be so blunt, but I just hate it.  The rug is ugly, the curtain is hideous, the light is horrible (no idea what Shaynna was thinking), the room is cluttered and nothing gels.  

If I was judging this week, the winners would have been Alisa & Lysandra, followed by Brad & Dale, then Kara & Kyal followed by Chantelle & Steve. The judges were pretty much on par with me this week, Alisa & Lysandra winning, Brad & Dale tying with Kara & Kyal in second place and Chantelle & Steve coming in last. Already looking forward to the next room reveal, be sure to check back for my thoughts.

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Today's 12WBT Lunch:  Ploughman's Lunch Calories:  297/serve

Instead of a dinner review, I decided today I would review a new lunch. Typically, we have been sticking to wraps and toasties for lunch for two reasons; they are simple to prepare and it saves money if you just choose a couple of lunches and alternate them throughout the week. Whilst we do like the wraps/toasties, I felt like something a bit different this week so I decided we would give the Ploughman's Lunch a try. The Ploughman's Lunch consists of Multigrain Crispbread topped with lettuce, tomato, cheese, ham and fruit chutney.  As you can see from the first image, it was quite a large lunch. It was very tasty and so filling that I actually didn't finish it all, so that's a win. Verdict:  Filling and yummy Will we have again:  Yes, it's on the menu several times this week

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Today I wanted to do a review of a new feature of Woolworths Online Shopping called Track My Order. We first started using Woolworths Online to do our groceries at some point in early to mid 2013.  The reasons we shop online are many and varied, and I don't feel the need to justify it to anyone - we weighed up our options and found this was the best choice for us.   When you place your order you are required to provide a three hour window within which delivery will be made, and you must be at home for the entire three hours; for me, this is perfect, as I always schedule the deliveries to take place when I know I will be doing my housework - so by the end of those three hours the house is spotless and the groceries are packed away. One of my biggest pet peeves has been late deliveries; they don't happen often but you can bet when they do, it will be on a day that you have somewhere else to be after that three hour window (like our first wedding anniversary dinner!).  

The other annoyance is when you realise you REALLY just need to duck out for 5-10 minutes during the 3 hour window, but you don't know how far away your order is - that is where Track My Order comes in!

As you can see from the picture I have posted above, you just log into your online shopping, first click on My Favourites and then select Track My Order from the left hand menu.  Once you do that, a drop down box will appear, you select your most recent order and click enter, then your Estimated Delivery Time appears. So today, I decided I would give this a whirl and see how accurate it is and whether or not I felt I could trust it enough to do that 5-10 minute dash in future.  

I checked our estimated delivery time at 11.30am and it stated the order would arrive between 12.20pm and 12.50pm, so theoretically if I did need to duck out, there would have been plenty of time... right?  

As I began preparing this post, I hear a rumble up the driveway followed by the familiar 'beep beep beep' of the truck backing up, and there was my delivery, at 11.45am.  If I had of trusted Track My Order, I could have missed the delivery completely.

So in conclusion, sorry Woolworths, but your delivery tracker is completely pointless if it can't provide accurate information. 

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Things I am loving right now: 

"All of Me" by John Legend - so beautiful.

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Even though I was only introduced to her work about 18 months ago, one of my favourite authors of all time is the lovely Paige Toon. I have been waiting with baited breath for her latest book "The Accidental Life of Jessie Jefferson" to be released.

One thing that I love about Paige's writing is how the characters in her books are so often linked and, knowing that this story followed on from Johnny Be Good and Baby Be Mine, I was really surprised (and perhaps a little discouraged) by the cover.   It was only then that I did some research and realised that Paige had coined this book "young adult" rather than the usual "chick-lit" which caused me to momentarily ponder at what point exactly we cease to be young adults… hmmm!? Here is what Paige had to say about her cover:

We've gone for a different look from my yearly chick-lit (adult) books, which will continue to be illustrated in the vein of The Longest Holiday, One Perfect Summer, et al.

The thinking behind this is that I really wanted to make sure my current readers could tell right away that there was something a little bit different about the Jessie series and take a closer look at the synopsis before deciding to download it. I wouldn't want anyone to not buy Thirteen Weddings because they think I'm only writing for teenagers now!

Saying that, I didn't find that writing for teens was any different from writing for adults and I fully believe that my current readers will enjoy the Jessie series too.

Not deterred by this, and having read both Johnny Be Good and Baby Be Mine (along with all of Paige's other books), I was so excited at the thought of being reunited with two characters that, to me, feel like old friends of mine.   Initially, I found the book a little tedious; Jessie had been acting out ever since her mothers sudden death and was not only treating those around her poorly, but was also becoming self destructive.  It all felt very "teen" and was a little hard to get into, but I am glad that I stuck with it as it really picked up once Jessie had stepped into Meg & Johnny's world. Admittedly, it was a little unusual to be reading about Meg & Johnny's life from another persons perspective, I often found myself wondering "what is Meg thinking right now?" and "oh Meg, what did you do that for?" as the story developed.  Not wanting to ruin the story for those of you who are thinking about buying the book, I can promise you that once again Paige Toon has not disappointed us.  This book is filled with characters who feel so very real and whose emotions you can relate to. You will fall in love with Jessie as she finds her place in the world, and your relationship with Meg & Johnny will develop as you see how they have settled into parenthood and how they handle this newest challenge. Once again, I couldn't put this book down and I powered through it over the course of three nights - so it seems the saying is true, never judge a book by it's cover! The Accidental Life of Jessie Jefferson is not a one off, Paige has announced that there will be a series of "Young Adult" (there's that term again! i'm still young… right?) books about Jessie.  To be honest, I was disappointed that the book ended where it did, so I am looking forward to catching up with Jessie again when the next book of this series is released in 2015. In the mean time, make a date with your couch or favourite reading spot on 22nd May, as that is the release date for Paige's next chick-lit book "Thirteen Weddings".

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Only days ago I mentioned my displeasure with Lust Have It for being so slow at releasing the January Box, which was my first. The CEO of Lust Have It, Greta Stojanovic, today released an open letter apologising for the delay and explaining some changes that are happening going forward. We get it, Greta, sometimes things don't work out as planned, it just would have been nice to be communicated with so we knew where we stood.  It just added insult to injury when the box finally did arrive, and the contents this month really weren't that special.  It is good business sense to accept responsibility though, and I am sure your customers appreciate the apology.  I haven't cancelled my membership over this one incident, and I look forward to both receiving my February box soon and seeing what the new reusable boxes are like when they are ready for release.

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Bargain Find!!!  Cute pink flats from the Caputre range at Ezibuy for just $9, these will look super cute in Autumn with a medium-coloured pair of jeans and a white or pink top.

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Those of you who subscribe to Ezibuy, especially those in the plus size bracket, would have come across a new line that forms a part of their Modern Curve range called Addition Elle.

Addition Elle is a Canadian brand that was established in 1967, offering a range of fashion including intimate apparel, sleepwear, activewear, outerwear and accessories in sizes 14 to 26. Only newly available in Australia via Ezibuy, there is only a very small portion of the Addition Elle range available at the moment as I suspect Ezibuy are testing the waters before fully committing to this brand.   The limited range lead me to seek out their direct website and take a look at what they have to offer.  I have to say, my first impressions are pretty good and I could have been tempted to make a purchase had they offered international shipping. As is the case with almost every clothing line, there are always a whole lot of items that don’t appeal to me and a small number of items that simply scream "buy me!" - Addition Elle is no exception.  With some lovely dresses, an extensive collection of jeans, comfy sleepwear and feminine lingerie, this is a brand that I implore Ezibuy to expand their stock hold of as I would love to see a broader range of this brand available in Australia. For now, I think I have my eye on the cute red top!

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My beautiful mum passed this product on to me to try out, after she had an unpleasant experience.  She wanted to know if it was just her, or if the product really was as bad as she found it to be. The product is Catwalk Curlesque Lightweight Mousse by Tigi and I believe it's available for purchase through Price Attack.  I was quite excited to be given the opportunity to try it, as I am a long term (ten years!) fan of Catwalk Curlesque Curls Rock Amplifier by Tigi which is more of a cream than a mousse. I decided that today was the day to give this baby a try, so I followed my usual 'curly hair' routine of washing/conditioning my hair and then allowing it to dry off lightly in a Turbie Twist whilst I did my makeup. Once I'd finished applying my face, I put the diffuser on my hair drier and lightly dried the hair before rubbing a small amount of mousse between my hands and scrunching it through the hair.  It didn't seem like enough product so I went for a second squirt, and continued scrunching as I dried with my head upside down.  I then flipped my head back upright. WOAH, NELLY!!!! The one thing that I will give this product is that the curls that appeared in my hair were AMAZING, and had an insane amount of volume - far more than what I achieve with Curls Rock.... BUT... it was completely unmanagable.   The hair was SO sticky that if a fly accidentally bumped into my head, it would have been stuck there forever.  I couldn't work with the curls, I couldn't style them, I couldn't manage them... I was one giant, sticky, poodle and it was horrible. When Mum used the product, she immediately re-showered and washed it out but I didn't have time for that, so I did what I could with what I had and hoped for the best. Within about an hour or so, the product dried out and the stickiness went anyway.  The product held the curl really well, however, the curls feel very 'crunchy' when touched and there is no way I could run my fingers through my hair without causing unprintable words to be spoken. The product claims to be lightweight and it also claims to create 'curls with movement' - I just can't agree, it felt heavy and there's no movement in my hair at all. With that being said, if you have naturally wavy hair that you want to volumise into wicked curls for a special occasion and you need to know that the curl will hold, this product is worth a try, as long as you have at LEAST an hour post hair-styling to allow it to dry. Update: After shampooing and conditioning my hair this morning, it felt very tangled... by the time I was half way through drying it, it became very apparent that there was a metric butt-load of residual product left in my hair.  So today, my hair resembles straw and is again very hard to work with.  This product is headed straight for the trashcan.  Yuck!