Chill Out with Smoko Inc!

27 November 2014


A little while ago, (probably ages ago) I posted about Smoko Inc's amazing toastie handwarmers on my tumblr and it ended up getting quite a few notes. (26,000!) As a thank you they sent me a few goodies that I could enjoy & also show off on my blog.

At the time I did post a selfie with the stuff, but now that I have a proper blog I thought I should properly review and thank them! Because it was super generous! Especially sending it all the way to the island of Australia!  :)

Pictured Above:
Toast USB Wired Handwarmers (Tato) | S'Mores USB Heated Slippers | Toaster USB Hub | 2 x Toast USBs (Tato + Crisp) |


The USBs are 8GB each and look super cute on their own or in their matching little toaster USB hub.
The USB hub has 4 USB ports, and a spot for a camera card as well! Which is handy for if your computer doesn't have one.



The Toast Handwarmers are perfect for Winter and as they're USB powered, you can plug them straight into your computer so that your fingers don't freeze while you type.
Or you can plug them straight into anything else that has a USB port.


The S'mores slippers are probably the sweetest things ever, and they also heat up via a cord and USB! But you can unplug and wear them as regular slippers too if you like.
I plugged mine into my PS4 USB ports while I play so that my toes stay toastie while I game.

Looking pensive with desserts on my feet



Cya! xx

*These items were provided to me to be reviewed, all opinions are 100% my own. 

Beauty Haul

26 November 2014


The other day Priceline had 40% off all cosmetics so I decided to drop in and pick up a few items.

Models Prefer Brow Highlighter | Maybelline Brown Brow Pencil | Sally Hansen Purple Heart Nail Polish | Australis Mineral Face Highlighter | Loreal Infallible Foundation

The brow highlighter pencil comes out pink and sparkly which was super unexpected but whatever.

I needed a new brow pencil that was a lighter brown but that still worked well and I really like this one, and that it has an eyebrow brush on the other end.

The nail polish is such a lovely pinky purple I really like it!

The mineral face highlighter is a gold creamy liquid, that doesn't come out of the pump bottle very efficiently at all, but it does look nice and shimmery once you put it on your face.

I already loved this foundation, I just wanted to buy a darker shade for summer. It's too dark for me yet so I just used it as a bronzer.



Go Braless!

22 November 2014

Backless dresses, and strappy tops. Anything that shows a little too much sideboob. Constant dilemmas in the female fashion world. They want us to hide it away but show it at the same time.

Strapless bras are often a disaster. I spent an entire work shift the other day pulling it back up after it kept falling down underneath my dress. And no boob size doesn't seem to relate to holding those things up.

Then we have the stick on bras. Silicone or fabric. Most people have given this a go for their backless dresses, and they work for a while.. sort of. Firstly if you sweat at all you run the risk of your stick on boobies just falling off completely. If your dress has cut out sides you may not even be able to position them so that you can't see them, which is annoying as hell. They make your boobs look odd shapes as they sit awkwardly on top. Worst of all they don't even come in many sizes. The largest being a D cup, but I can hardly find them, as most stores only stock up to a C.



Enter Nipple concealers or covers. I only just discovered these and man I have been free boobing it half the time now. These little silicone covers are reusable, and in the shape of like a squished flower. They are super cheap, and you can wear them under anything. Obviously they don't offer any support, but girl you are young and you rock those strappy and sheer dresses!

They are usually quite cheap to purchase as well, so I completely recommend giving them a go!



Nipple Concealers - Cotton On Body $6.95
Nipple Covers - Bras & Things $14.99

Our Urban Townhouse

20 November 2014


My partner Josh and I are about to move into our first home together. A lovely 2 storey townhouse in arguably the best part of town.


A 10 minute walk or 5 minute bike ride from the beach, and a 1 minute walk from an entire street full of boutiques and restaurants.

The townhouse is nestled at the back of a block of units, with a single garage and 3 bedrooms. The entire house is tiled with a light creamy coloured square tile, which means we have a great excuse to use as many rugs as we like, probably. We've already purchased a large black and white one from IKEA for the living area and a dark grey shaggy rug for the bedroom.


We have our very own cute sized courtyard that is paved at current but is soon to be renovated with decking installed. The deck will come up high enough that you will be able to step straight out of the back doors without going up or down. The entire back windows/doors are able to be opened as well so that it's all very open living. I love the vines that are growing up the top as well, and would love if they would completely cover the lattice!

I'll probably keep the pots but replace the plants in there with something better suited, as the courtyard doesn't often get full sun.


Our single garage leads into the house with a sliding door making for easy entry after we put our car away. Also that incredibly large cardboard box? Our couch! Waiting to be unpacked when we move in! 

Cleaning supplies are currently hanging on hooks on the walls, but I'm going to purchase a cupboard (this one) and fit it with hooks and shelves etc and keep it in the corner to have all our cleaning stuff in, including the vacuum. 


One thing we don't have to worry about in the kitchen is storage space, though the pull-out pantry is quite narrow and could be done better. But the excess cupboard space means food can be stored elsewhere as well. We also won't be short on bench space which is always handy. We might add some bar stools in front of the bench eventually for extra seating on top of our dining table. 


The living area is all one big room, so we needed a slim dining table that's not too long, for it to fit in the space properly. The previous tenants (Josh's Sister & husband) used this table which fit the space perfectly, but they're selling it now so that we can put our own in. We're currently looking at the Stockholm table from IKEA.

The following pictures are super boring & bare. The Before images. But it will be awesome to see how good the rooms look after we move in and decorate!

The Master Bedroom (also me)
The Guest Bedroom
The Study
We already have so many ideas and furniture picked out for all the rooms so I'm super super excited to start decorating! 

The Entryway
The entryway will be a difficult section to style as it's so small and narrow. We are hoping to put a narrow shoe cabinet from IKEA on the right there, (where the trolley is) as long as we are still not blocking the under stairs storage. 


Josh & I were lucky enough to basically be handed a lovely rental property, but beforehand when we were just browsing for places online, it was really tough to find something that we loved, had a great location and that was in our price range. It would have been sooo much easier with a website like Compass

Urban Compass is a website that helps match you to your ideal apartment. With heaps of helpful tools such as ones that help you find the perfect neighbourhood for you. They have a great section of Neighbourhood Guides which is such a useful addition, because moving to a new place, a new city, (especially New York City!) can be super daunting, and you want to know that you're making the right decision for you. The detailed look on the area is exactly what I would want when deciding on a new neighbourhood to look for.

 It's only available in New York at the moment. So hopefully someday there will be something just as cool for me to use in Australia. 

Cya! xx

The Pros + Cons of Having Your In-Laws as Your Landlords

19 November 2014


Josh & I are lucky enough to get to live in a beautiful townhouse for our first place together, that his parents are renting to us. Obviously this comes with a lot of perks, but that's not to say that their isn't some downsides involved as well. All in all we are incredibly thankful and lucky to have such generous people in our lives.

Pros


- Incredibly Affordable Rent:
There is no way that we could afford a place like this in the location that it is in, if we had to pay a normal amount of rent. They're also paying for our water, which means as young adults that don't have full time jobs, we will be able to afford to live a lot easier without being weighed down by super expensive rent and excessive bills. 

- No contracts/forms/credit checks:
 They trust us, they know we aren't going to trash the place, not pay our rent or be overall crazy. They know us personally, and well enough to know what we're like. 

- No Kick Out Date:
We don't have to worry about our contract timing out or anything like that, the place is ours. Kind of. 

- They've got our backs:
If for some disastrous reason Josh or I, (or both of us!) lost our jobs then we know that we are not going to become homeless. They would look after us, and not kick us onto the street. So that's pretty nice of them. 

- More Lenience with Design:
Obviously we would still have to ask out of politeness, but we are more likely to be able to install things, attach stuff to the walls, and even paint if we wanted. It also feels less like wasting our own money as the house is a long term situation and doesn't belong to a stranger that will be reaping any benefits. 


Cons


- Every Visit is a House Inspection:
Obviously even if the house wasn't theirs, they are welcome whenever. Having your in-laws visit was already a good reason to make sure the house was looking spic and span, but now every visit is also from the landlord. Are you looking after the house properly? Do you always have the house in this condition? Not that we won't keep the house clean, but every visit will be a cringe of "I hope everything is satisfactory." 

- It's Still their house:
They have keys, and can let themselves in whenever. To do whatever. Of course they can. It's their house. I could come home and find stuff moved around, and I guess they can do that too because it is their house. 

- They have more personal input than a typical landlord:
No I don't think that should go there, you should move that somewhere else. Tegan stop buying furniture.
Landlords who aren't family would probably keep that to themselves. 


Overall there are a lot more pros than cons, and we are so grateful for getting to live in such an amazing place. I wonder if more things for the list will arise after we start living there? xx


November Goals

18 November 2014


Ha okay talk about being better late than never I suppose.
I have been working a whole lot but now I finally have some time off to get back to blogging! Woop!

Here are three November goals I've scrounged up.

1. No more buying House stuff until I move in!
This is very important. It's not that far away now and I need to stop.

2. Start Buying Christmas Presents!
I have a few ideas but I need to start shopping. I did buy a lot of things for myself yesterday though..

3. Use more of my own photos for blog posts.
I tend to go back and forth on this one, but I'd like to start having all the images be my own.
I currently use images from places such as Unsplash, which have free unlicensed photos.



Happy Birthday to Me

10 November 2014

Me being a cutie on my 4th Birthday

It's my birthday month! In fact my birthday has already passed by.
On November 3rd I turned the old age of 22.

 I asked for money for IKEA this year and everyone was soo good to me! Thanks family!
I love furniture shopping so much I did a trip to IKEA for my birthday. Which would seem lame for people that live 10 minutes from their nearest store, but living a solid 2 hours from the nearest IKEA means that any trip there is rare and an adventure.

Armed with a vague list, gift cards, and my boyfriend pushing a trolley we ventured! The only rule was nothing that we couldn't fit in the car. I think we did pretty well. Here's what we bought!


1. Cushion | 2. Cutlery Stand | 3. Dish Drainer | 4. Cushion | 5. Wooden Spoon | Whisk | Pasta Server | Ice-Cream Scoop | 6. Soap Dispenser | 7. Pot Stand | Wooden Chopping Board | 8. Hemnes Bedside Table | 9. Stockholm Rug | Grey Shag Rug |

Apart from buying stuff we managed to accumulate a lot of inspiration. IKEA, we will be back!

It was a pretty good birthday and I can't wait to start moving in all my stuff!

I ended the day with a family dinner at a mexican restaurant.

Me, My Mum & My Sister