Leaving on a jet plane... with way too much stuff!

Chao Ban!
That's hello in Vietnam  (well atleast that's what Google has just told me...) and that's where I am headed in just 2 short days, eek!
I have 3 1/2 weeks of travel planned through South East Asia and I couldn't be more excited!

I am travelling with 3 other girls and we have spent the last few weeks emailing and texting each other with silly girl questions like...
"Are you taking heels?" (all answers varied from "Yes" to "I don't know...." to "Wtf are you serious? Why would I need heels?"
"Are you taking a hair straightener?"
"Will I need 2 pairs of jeans or one?"
"I'm fat and nothing fits me, I want to kill myself".
You know how it is!

I am an absolutley shocking packer. Terrible! I always over pack and end up sitting on the hotel room at the end of my holiday with crap strewn all over the room thinking W.T.F. And why did I even bring half of this stuff???! Why didn't someone stop me??? Or why didn't I listen to them when they tried to more like it!
 I always buy too much stuff when travelling and trying to fit it into an already full suitcase is impossible. I know you are supposed to go on holiday basically with an empty suitcase but when you are a paranoid freak like me it's hard to leave behind all the medications, sunscreen, after sun lotion, antibacterial gel, pain killers, etc, etc. And lets not get started on the toiletries!
 I don't think there has been a holiday yet where I haven't had to sit on my suitcase and try to get that damn zip to close (expander open and all....)
I would like to think I am getting better ( because I sure as hell couldn't get worse!) but we shall see!

Lovely Lydia suggested I do a travel post with what I'm taking (she is a travel fanatic like me!) and I thought since I haven't blogged for awhile that would be a fun idea :)
So this is what I* deem to be absolutley necessary to survive in South East Asia for 3 1/2 weeks!
*I am a bit of a "girl" so I do find it hard to travel without makeup, hair dryer, etc. Sad but true.

Packing in progress- What a mess!

 My attempt at a "Half full" suitcase...

 My new travel wallet. Scored this little beauty at David Jones and thought it would be perfect for travel. My passport fits inside and it has a sturdy zip to keep all my cards and money safe.
Plus it looks pretty too ;)

 This is my "day bag" and pretty much the bag I lug around everywhere. It's a Longchamp bag and it's great for travelling. It has a zip (so no nasty pick pocketers can put their sweaty hand inside without me knowing). It's also canvas so it's pretty water proof, the straps are nice and sturdy and it fits a fair bit in. I guess each trip differs with what goes inside but for this trip I have my money belt (which I will have to wear in some of the bigger cities I think), my wallet, an umbrella and poncho (gotta love monsoonal showers), wet wipes, a paper fan (35 degrees and humidity, fun times ahead), tissues and a little beauty bag with deoderant, panadol, hand sanitiser and an eye mask and ear plugs for the plane.

 I love this eye mask. It's not new but it's so soft, silky and pretty. I wonder if any one has ever wondered if I'm really famous when wearing it? Haha ah no.
What celebrity would be flying Jetstar economy? I'm guessing none.

 My good old "liquids bag". Gotta love security regulations.

All under 1000mls I promise! Deoderant, Hand cream, dry shampoo, insect repellent and hand sanitiser.

 This is what I've chucked in my good old carry on bag.

My folder full of flight details, hotel details etc. I always carry this on my trips. I am pretty obsessive compulsive and like to make sure I have every booking printed out, and all my travel insurance details etc in one folder. I even type up an itinerary. I like to be organised- plus it is fun :)

Also got my trusty neck pillow, books and inside the stripey bag is a portable DVD player I bought recently to keep me occupied!

 Ah yes and this is the inside of my suitcase. It looks fuller than what it really is. I honestly don't have that much in it.... My damn toiletries take up half the room!

 This is the good old zipper pocket thing which I'd die without. Got all my junk in there basically. Shoes, belt, a satchel bag, insect repellant (3 bottles... after a cull), hair dryer/hair straightner (in the spotty red bag), and medications to last a lifetime. Oh and the teapot bag is all my chargers and power adapters. See all stuff I neeeeeed.

 Carry on bag again : )

 The good old toiletry bag aka the BEAST

 Seriously, have you ever seen so many toiletries in all your life! And this is AFTER I culled stuff. But I honestly can't live without it, I promise you!

Shampoo, Conditioner, Pantene 1min treatment (my hair gets so dry), silver shampoo, Kevin Murphy Powder Puff (I will only use this for nights out), Fudge dry shampoo.

 Dermalogica Face Cleanser, Clinique Face Scrub (in the little pink bottle), Dermalogica travel toner spray and day/night moisterisers.

 Cotton balls to last a life time, Dermalogica Pre Cleanse (in the Neutrogena bottle- the Dermalogica one is too big to carry), and Neutrogena Eye makeup remover.

 Toothpaste, toothbrush, soap and mini Soap & Glory Body Butter (I ended up culling this after I took the photos). Also Hair detangling spray and Dove Summer Glow Moisteriser (in the little bottle).

 Deoderant!

 Instead of lugging around my huge MAC palette I decided to be a little tricky and use my old Hello Kitty palette that I've never used. I got rid of the colours out of it (ghastly green, hot pink and blue- why I ever bought it is beyond me!) and depotted my most used colours.

L to R: All that glitters, Expensive Pink, Satin Taupe, Woodwinked.

I am pretty sure this will become a great little travel palette for me now. It's just the right size!

 Nars Laguna Bronzer, Revlon Photoready foundation in Nude, Dermalogica Clearing Mattifier Primer Gel.

 MAC Well Dressed blush and Australis Paparazzi Perfect 'Screen Siren'

2 blushes is probably overkill but they are both so different I can't decide...

 Eye stuff- Smashbox Highlighter pencil, MAC Penultimate liner pen, Harlotte smudge eye liner pencil, Smashbox Full Exposure mascara.

 NYX lip gloss "Smokey", MAC "Angel" lipstick, MAC lipgloss from the disney collection, Napoleon Love Bites gloss, Australis and L'oreal lip liners. Lip Liners I could prob do without as well....

And all the tools of the trade! Sharpener, Smashbox eyebrow gel, eyelash curler and my dodgy brushes- a blush, contour, eyebrow/eyeliner and eyeshadow brush. Don't mind the quality of the poor blush brush. I decided not to stick it back together after the handle fell off because it fits better in my makeup case lol

And last but not least my trusty makeup bag courtesty of Victoria Secret. I love this makeup bag it is the perfect size. I can't wait to get another one when I go to the USA at the end of the year. It is perfect for travelling!

So there you have it! My travel necessities.

I would love to know what you deem "necessary" for your travel and what things you just can not live with out!!!! :)

Getting Juiced!

Happy friday!!! :)

I'm trying my luck out with a bit of a "healthy" blog post today.
If you follow me on instagram (avalou - my puppy dogs nickname) or on twitter (@GoldiIocks) you might have noticed I have recently posted a few photos about my new lover - my Philips juicer.
This love affair came about quite unexpectedly. I was sitting at home one sunday afternoon watching TV like the lazy slob that I am and I was obviously extrememly bored because I started to watch TVSN, the shopping network channel. As much as I love shopping I don't usually subject myself to this stuff. I much prefer online shopping or the real thing!
The guy showcasing the juicer was Jason Vale. Having never heard of him I got onto Google and found out that he is pretty big in the "juicing" world (Who knew there was even a juicing world?) He has his own website (http://www.juicemaster.com/), his own detox retreat and spa in Portugal and stacks of recipe books. Basically he is a health nut!

I have heard of juice detoxes and diets and stuff before and they seem to be pretty popular atm but I've never taken too much notice because A). My willpower sucks and B). I am pretty cynical with most of this stuff. Everyone knows that healthy eating and exercise should be an ongoing thing not a 3 day and I'm done thing. What's the point of that?

Anyway I ended up ordering a juicer ("For just 3 monthly payments of $83 plus postage and handling" lol  you know the drill!). It arrived a few days later and it came with Jason Vale's Juice Master recipe book.

The Recipe book comes with a 3-day Juice Detox program which you can follow. It promises amazing health benefits and added weight loss. I am thinking about trying it out but for now I am just excited to be experimenting with my juicer and all the amazing juices I can make.

So far I've been chucking in random fruit and veges thinking this is going to taste revolting but I gotta say they have tasted amazing! Boost juice has nothing on them!
The things you can juice are insane.
Fruits include: apples, apricots, bananas, blueberries, blackcurrants, cherries, cranberries, grapefruit, grapes, kiwi fruits, lemons, limes, mangos, melons, nectarines, oranges, papaya, peaches, pears, pineapple, raspberries, strawberries.

Veges include: avocado, beetroot, broccoli, carrot, celery, cucumber, fennel, ginger, parsnip, peppers, spinach, tomato, watercress and more.

I don't need to tell you how many antioxidents, vitamins and minerals these all contain. And the things they can do for your body is mind blowing.

Needless to say I'm hooked and trust me I am not usually easily sucked into this kinda stuff.

The recipe book is amazing and some of the things that Jason Vale writes really hits home.
This one really hit home for me and has made me rethink how I treat my body...

Replenishing your health bank account

"None of us are perfect on the food and drink front, but one thing is for sure, every time you pour the liquid fuel contained within the fruits and vegetables into your body, you are replenishing your enzyme ('life') bank account. This is probably the most important account you will ever hold and it's worth knowing that when you eat and drink the wrong things, you are effectively dipping into this precious account. The 'life' bank manager often sends 'warning statements' to say you are slowly but surely using up your account and at this rate the account my be closed much earlier than expected. These 'warning statements' come in the form of headaches, weight gain, skin disorders, arthritis, etc. we often ignore such warnings and just carry on as normal, popping a few asprin along the way (the equivalent of tearing up the statement and putting it in the bin). This one account  you really don't want to overpsend on- once this is spent, so are you.
By simply having even one frehsly extracted fruit/veggie combo juice a day, you are doing more to top up your life account than the average person does in a whole week".

Good stuff!

House of Harlow Trinkets

Helloooooo out there! (Waiting for the echo...)

My attempt at blogging has been nothing short of pathetic! OOps. I really need to work on that!
I am actually feeling inspired at the moment simply from reading my beautiful friend Lydia post about her big trip to the USA. She's just gotten back home to the UK after a huge trip and all her posts have made me realise how fun blogging is! You can check out her blog here- her photos are gorgeous, and so is she!

Well I thought I would share my new brand obsession at the moment- House of Harlow (aka the Nicole Richie stuff). I don't know what it is but recently I can not get enough of the stuff, ahem, sorry Nicole, pieces.

My current collection is only very small! I have these 2 necklaces below, both of which I bought online. I'm not sure if you can get them in any stores here in Australia or not...
(I will endeavour to take some proper photos of these being worn on the weekend!)

And as for the rest these babies, well these are all on my ever-expanding wish list...

Do you have any House of Harlow pieces?
I'd love to hear what is a must have piece :)
Thanks for reading- more posts coming soon--- pinky swear!

Disney princesses strike a pose!

As a huge Disney fan I was so excited to see the princesses featuring as magazine cover models! It is just too cute (and clever) for words!

I love some of the captions and headlines on some of these, they are pretty clever if you have seen the movies!
Each princess really does suit each style of mag too, dontcha think?

I love Aurora on the cover of Glamour and Ariel on Seventeen. But I also like Jasmine being a saucy minx on the cover of Cosmo too!

Who is your favourite?