Oh wow, Cassie! Lovely!

I'm openly admitting my girl crush on Cassie Ainsworth from Skins Season 1 & 2. Cassie may be old news in Skins world but I had the pleasure of watching Skins Season 2 recently after falling in love with her years ago in Season 1. *sigh*

She has always been one of my favourite characters on the show. Her smile, her kookiness and even her eating disorder (probably the most realistic depiction of the bizarre relationship people can develop with food to control their self worth). Cassie is complex, heart warming, charming, sweet, completely nutty and disarmingly astute when it come to her friends and relationships around her.

I didn't eat for three days so I can be lovely - Cassie, Skins

And best of all, she has a killer wardrobe. Apparently, Hannah Murray the actress who so lovingly plays Cassie used her own wardrobe; vintage dresses & skirts, t-shirts with cute prints, lurex socks/tights, Mary Janes and t-bar flats, oversized sunnies and an amazing collection of hair clips. Her first appearance cemented my favour when she teamed a glittery mini-dress with tuxedo tails.

If you haven't caught this show yet, WATCH IT NOW!! Season 3 has a new cast but that hasn't let the quality slide at all. The only sadness is that Cassie is no longer there to inspire me with her beautiful and whimsical UK style. And if you feel you need a little more Cassie inspiration, check out this funny but cute how-to so you can Be-like-Cassie-from-Skins. Enjoy

Happy holidays,
GB xoxo

Tea, sweets & vampire kisses

This is what occurs when one overindulges in cakes, scones, crepes, tarts and ice-cream at the Windsor Hotel High Tea. Yes, that's me in a self-induced 'sugar'-coma. Oh the joy! Oh the joy! :P

To celebrate a relationship milestone, BF & I decided to check into the Windsor Hotel & check out their Sunday afternoon High Tea. Nowadays, high tea often refers to an elaborate afternoon tea rather than supper or 'meat' tea as it was traditionally known. Regardless, it was still lovely to sit in the Grand Ballroom and wonder which Melbournians & out-of-towners have also dined here. After all, the hotel has been serving afternoon tea since 1883.

We joined a handful of couples (maybe 6 men in total) & scores of women folk in celebrating an old Windsor Hotel tradition. So I donned my DKNY dress (now a wardrobe staple) & tried to remember not to place my elbows on the table, not speak with my mouth full or slurp or make any loud noises. Also you must be very polite to your servers. I succeeded in being polite to our waiter (yay 1-for-me) and also managed to NOT talk with my mouth full... well, only because I was completely engrossed with the delightful treats on offer. Seriously, who can talk when you're mesmerized by scones, cream & chocolatey treats?? Not me!! I did however break the hold long enough to Twitpic which I'm certain breaks many etiquette rules. *droolz* Oh well... too bad.

Oh the choices at High Tea



Round 2...

Looking back on the pics does give me a slight sugar headache hehehe.

BF & I also took in a late night horror treat at MIFF on Saturday night. Nothing screams romance more than a Korean Catholic priest who becomes a vampire, develops sexual urges, covets his best friend's wife & she becomes a blood thirsty psycho. No? Doesn't it sound like fun?? Well it was!! Bloody, gory & hilarious! With a running time of 133 minutes, Thirst was a tad too long. I've give it 3 1/2 stars ... it made me laugh, it made me squirm & the whole journey was awesome. I just wish it did it more succinctly. Check out a Screen Daily review for more details or watch the trailer below:

Hope to see some more films at MIFF this year. Any suggestions, do let me know. Before I go, how crazy was it that the MIFF website was hacked by the Chinese for not withdrawing "The 10 Conditions of Love" from the Festival. "The 10 Conditions of Love" is a documentary about the exiled Uighur leader Rebiya Kadeer. Festival dirctor Richard Moore was contacted by the Chinese Consulate last Friday demanding the film be withdrawn and wanting justification for its inclusion. Obviosuly, such a request was declined (Yay!! Mr Moore). It appears the Chinese governments efforts to squash this little film & the minority group it represents have backfired with programmers around the world contacting the Festival Director for their chance to screen the film too. Chinese government did succeed in withdrawing the Chinese films from the Festival. It's an interetsing display of bullying and censorship in action. I hope it's not a sign of things to come.

Later
GB xo

Revenge of the Nerd... I hope

So I feel a little bit like 'Josie Grossie" from Never Been Kissed. Not the "Smokin' hot babe who wins the boy" at the end of the movie. No, not her... the pre transformation one. The one wearing glasses & braces, has acne and is either weezing or sucking on her Ventolin. OK so maybe that's a slight exageration but it's pretty close. *weeze*

I've been on this crazy-ass diet for a week now to determine what food intolerance I have. Last week I tested for allergies and didn't react overtly to anything but I did react slightly to certain foods. So for 4 weeks I cannot have caffeine, wine, breads, olives, onion, etc, most vegetables, all fruits except pears, most spices, drinks, nuts, oils, OK most food and no dairy products but thank god for rice milk. This is torture for a good old ethnic girl who only ever listened to her mother when she said "eat more". Luckily I can eat meats, potato, rice and more importantly I can have gin & tonic!! Liquid diet it is then :P

I discovered that food is the second most common cause for nasal & sinus congestion. It's taken 34 years to discover this fact but finally I may put an end to this constant cycle of illness... the sniffles, then sore throat & viola a chest infection... Not only am I tackling this with crazy-ass diet but I have an arsenal of WMD's.. yes that's right... Weapons of Mucus Destruction. See my pretty babies below.


Results so far are: 6 days of headaches (gone now), hunger (from not knowing what to eat then just putting off eating - my fault), grumpiness/anger/irritable (my poor BF) because I'm hungry but best of all.... I'm congestion-free (almost). However I must bitch about how bad, bad, bad flavourless toothpaste is. GAG!! EEEK!! Day 7 has been pretty good as I finally figured out what to have for lunch... Mountain Bread. Lunch was always my stumbling block. I wouldn't eat it cos I didn't know what to eat, I'd get hungry, then angry and then headaches. I really am so predictable. How disappointing!

Moving onto the the not-so-predictable. My lovely friend Verity chose to go to a Burlesque class for her Hen's night party on the weekend. I was a little hesitant. Choreographed movements & I don't go so well together. However this was quite a bit of fun!! Thanks to Bottoms Up Burlesque on Brunswick for a fun night out with the gals. Two surprising outcomes from the night:

1. I successfully completely a short choreographed routine. Like wow! Seriously!
2. I surprisingly had a great time using a feather boa.

Highly recommend it for a night out!! And am considering further classes. Check out our moves below:

The Lady of the hour, Miss V

Strike a pose

Best get some ZZzzzZzzZzzZz's now. Plenty of work to do the rest of the week along with my arduous nasal routine & diet. Dear lord *shakes fist to sky* this better work.

Later peeps
GB xoxo

An Inconvenient Lock Out

What a super fantastic start to the week I've had. Thanks to **spirit fingers** Just Jack at the c word, I nabbed an invite to the launch of Safe Climate Australia. Al Gore was the keynote speaker for the launch. I'm still pinching myself I was in the same room as him. He was such an inspirational speaker. I'm really excited about the possibilities & opportunities that will come from tackling the climate crisis.

Unfortunately this was the only shot I got of the man himself. I was half tempted to rush over to him like the rest of the crowd but had an appointment on the other side of town to get to. I didn't like my chances of battling it out with 1000 other guests for cabs at Docklands.

So check out the Safe Climate Australia website for more information. SCA are a non-government organisation which plans to mobilise all the scientific, technological, economic and political expertise to tackle the problem of climate change. There is plenty to do to keep the world & us safe, so sign up or donate or educate others if interested.

Lovely sunset in Elwood after being locked out of house

*sigh* I must say I peaked way too early this week. GirlBug world came crashing down to reality with a thud ... computer crashes, wedding dramas (not mine), doctor enforced diet (oh dear lord, my 1st ever diet) and getting locked out of my house. Ahhhh a comedy of errors really. Can't wait til Friday when I can dance my 'troubles' away Burlesque style at Verity's hen night. This should be fun, no matter how uncoordinated I am when it comes to choreographed moves.

Later peeps
xoxo
GB

Mornington Peninsula bliss

After a crazy busy week at work with some 5am start times, filming a DVD plus keeping on top of other work, it was so wonderful to head down to Shoreham for the weekend. I was EXHAUSTED by Friday afternoon so had a sense of déjà vu when I was walking down the street in the rain dragging my little wheelie bag. Lugging that bag plus my giant Mimco handbag from tram to train to car with my weary body... made me feel like I was back in Europe :( Oh well... it was a weekend away.

And what a relaxing weekend away it was. Spooks marathon, cuddles with a cheeky puppy (& BF of course), a local footy match in the rain & plenty of delicious food. BF's mum was super super nice & made us a mouth watering lasagna (yes we're spoilt :P). I made a sweet potato, ricotta, pecan & baby spinach salad. The lasagna had black olives throughout the sauce & worked so well with the salad. It was a perfect match *droolz*. Must make that combo again.



After lazing about & eating til our ♥'s content all weekend, we decided to take Bea, the crazy puppy for a walk along the beach. With dreary, grey weather since Friday, it was good fortune to have the sun shining as we headed out for a walk. Beautiful weather, beautiful beach... exhausted as Bea walked me. My arm was almost yanked out of its socket several times. En route home, I was glad that Bea led me up the hill hehehe.


So I have an early start again tomorrow. Pick up at 6am *weeps* although it should be our last day of filming tomorrow (fingers crossed anyway). This week I will be counting down the days til pay day. I've been lusting after this bag by Melbourne designer Lulki. This week it will be mine... all mine!! Ok yes I have to wait delivery... but then it will be mine... all mine!!


BTW I'm loving the quality of photos from my Jesus phone. They do not look like a camera phone, do they?

Enjoy your week. Later peeps

GB xoxo

Design, Dali & FOOTY!!!

Many people have been asking me how I've settled back into life in Melbourne?? Very well actually. I ♥ my home. I ♥ my kitties and of course I ♥ my BF. I was also very lucky to be offered a wonderful job on my 2nd day back. I'm the first to admit that life has been pretty good to me of late.

But also what makes the transition easy is that I ♥ Melbourne. This year marks 10 years living in this city. I gasped when I saw the Eiffel Tower, had to catch my breath watching a sunrise in the Sahara Desert... but still after 10 years here, my ♥ skips a beat when I see the city skyline. Its not the perfect city (like that exists) but its my city.

Last Sunday, the BF and I enjoyed some afternoon delights in the city. Design Market was on... yipeee!! We cruised through the Fed Square car park with the hordes of other Melbournites looking for goodies. I did um & ah about a pair of chain leggings... I want, I want. But held off. The change rooms on offer didn't look like a place I was willing to gamble on. I envisioned trying to remove my Cheap Monday skinnies only to flash my derriere to the rest of the crowd. No thank you. I took their email instead... which reminds me, MUST EMAIL those girls!!! They had great jewelry, great leggings and out-there head pieces which would turn heads come Spring Racing Carnival time.

Another treat of the Design Markets is always running into Micheal Pham ... if u don't know Pham... poor u. And if u don't know his button collection, shame on you. My 'Hold Me Closer Tony Danza' is one of my prized possession in my wardrobe... as is my Rick-Roll badges. Check em out at Stitch Badges.

Being so close to NGV, we couldn't pass up the chance to check out the Salvador Dali exhibition. Do yourself a favour and go check it out. Its a varied collection spanning Dali's entire career so its good to see the style change over the years. The exhibition is running until October 4th.

We'll be heading back at we only had an hour to check it out. No time for the films screening. Although a favourite part was the jewelry by Dali. Firstly, I never knew he made any. Big surprise! Second, I love how it was displayed. The room was covered in red velvet padding with sweet music playing. I felt like I stepped back in time to my childhood and walked into my jewelry box. The only thing missing was the little ballerina spinning in the middle of the room. I can't say I loved all the pieces but it was impressive nonetheless.

Tomorrow I'll be venturing out into the cold to go to another staple of the Melbourne winter calender. Community Cup is BACK!! w00t!! After a year hiatus, CC has a new charity Reclink on board and a new location, Elsternwick Park in Elsternwick. Espy Rockdogs V RRR/PBS Megahertz remains unchanged... looking forward to the match. The bands begin at 11am and bounce is at 2.30pm. Go Megahertz ... I don't think I've ever seen them win yet but I just can't barrack against a team wearing the Swannies colours. Finger crossed the change of location brings a little luck their way.

Tonight, I'll be keeping warm, resting a little and start to put clothes up on my ebay store. After years of hoarding, I've decided to part with a few jackets for now. There's plenty more that has to go... but "polako, polako"* is my motto. Its taken for ever to get to this stage, so let's not overwhelm the @girlbug hehehe

Enjoy the rest of the weekend,

Girlbug xox

* Polako, polako translate to Slowly, slowly :P