On Monday, myself with two friends decided to go and catch-up at Macquarie Hotel Liverpool Bistro. What drew us into this bistro is that it offers 'Buy One Get One Free' with mains every night for dinner and the whole day on weekends. This pretty much results in a very cheap meal.

The meal was pretty good and the servings definitely made the money worthwhile. The mains pretty much range from high 10s to low 30s with the high 20s and low 30s being for different types of steaks. The seating was very relaxing with an interior and exterior option. The two are separated by bifolding doors and loungers (which looked very comfy).

We ordered the Inferno Wings and Chips, Portuguese Grilled Chicken, Salt and Pepper Squid and Creamy Boscaiola Schnitzel. I didn't personally have the Schnitzel so I can't comment on that but everything else was pretty good. The Portuguese Chicken wasn't as spicy as I would have liked but it was still delicious to eat and I really liked the Salt and Pepper Squid. The Inferno Wings were okay but to be honest, that may have been because I was getting full by the time I decided to have one. We had chips and salad with each dish but you have the option of mash or chips and salad or vegetables for the Schnitzels. I really enjoyed the chips but I pretty much enjoy all chips unless you really stuff them up but the salad for me was something that I could have gone without. I'm pretty certain that it was the dressing as I could eat some parts of the salad with no complaints but I would get to one portion of the salad and I just couldn't stomach it.

Overall, I would go back if I wanted a cheap but fulfilling feed - potentially trying the pizzas next time I visited.

Early 2014 marked a lot of travelling for me. Once I got back from Gold Coast, my cousins from Adelaide made a visit so we decided to go on a quick road trip to Newcastle.

I had been there previously with my dad and siblings for a daytrip and it was nice to go there for an extended stay of 4 days and 3 nights. We went to the beach, Newcastle Art Gallery, the public library (which was surprisingly really good), Fort Scratchley, ate at some really nice cafes, did some late night fishing and just generally explored the area.

One of our favourite things to do in Newcastle was go to the baths where the ocean water comes into a pool area so that you can swim in a confined area. It's really cool since you get the waves crashing into the pool and the ocean water without the risk of drowning or rips. This time around we discovered the 'Bogey Hole' which is like the baths but it was somewhat naturally made due to the cliffs surrounding it. The water is so nice and the feel of algae under your feet is a really cool feeling. We found out from some locals that once the sun sets, it becomes a really popular skinny dipping spot since it's never closed like the baths.

Overall, it's a great area to explore and highly recommended if you want a weekend getaway from the hustle and bustle of Sydney.

I had my first encounter with high tea last February with a visit to Tea Salon located in Pitt St Westfields.

Tea Salon offers the traditional high tea experience but it also offers you an option to just order food and tea separately and we opted for the latter. We chose to have a selection of sandwiches, a side of fries, scones, a salmon salad that included avocado and capers and a pot of tea (I forgot what type of tea we had ... )

The decor of the open restaurant was really quite nice. It wasn't overly girly but it had hints of femininity and freshness throughout the restaurant. I found the middle service table to be quite nice to look at especially with the cupcake stand with mini champagne bottles.

The service was really nice with the wait staff giving off a friendly and warm vibe. They kept checking in with us and making sure that everything was to our liking without being overbearing. I really liked the sandwiches and fries but I don't think I would order the salmon salad again. It was a large serving, which was nice, but it sort of overwhelmed all of us. We really struggled to finish it and there was 3 of us.

Another downside that I found was that the table was quite small for us. It may have been better if we were seated at a 4 person table but the table struggled to hold all of our food and we felt quite cramped with the space.

Overall, it was a nice experience and I would go back but maybe ask for a bigger table.

In the first week of February, myself and a group of close friends planned to go to Gold Coast.


We rented a beach house off "Stayz". I had booked off this website previously when I make a trip to Melbourne after I finished HSC. What I like about the site is that it has a comprehensive list of accommodations, you can chat to the home owners, check out other reviews and photos so you know what you are renting out.

Our week was pretty much comprised of visiting Surfers Paradise, going to theme parks, hanging out with one another, going to the beach that was one street away, playing board games (and getting called a cheater way too many times) and getting addicted to "Come Dine With Me". It was a week filled with friends and some very memorable memories. For me, it was a great week to have with my friends since I hadn't seen them for 5 weeks due to my overseas trip.

This post marks the first monthly favourites of 2014, YAY~  This monthly favourites will pretty much be an accumulation of all the things that I've liked for the past couple of months so don't be surprised by the range of things that are included.

So let's get stuck into it.

Make-up/Skin Care:
Since I was overseas, I have started to wear some make-up on a somewhat daily basis - meaning whenever I am bothered, as I purchased so much since the make-up in Korea is relatively cheap and really good quality. Once I got back to Australia, I realised how much make-up I actually had after I decided that I would organise everything. I used to be be able to fit everything into one tiny little bag that I got from an Easter Show Showbag one year but now I need a bag that is 3 times the size to fit everything.

So, my daily everyday look is pretty much eyebrows, concealer and maybe a lippie and I have been loving these products for this.

For eyebrows: Missha 'Perfect Eyebrow Styler'



Firstly, I absolutely love the packaging of this. It's so adorable and the heart imprint on the actual lipstick itself just tops it off. What I really like this lipstick is that it is a really nice sheer lipstick but still gives a really nice colour pay off so you know it's there but not BAM! in your face. I'm not really into outrageous colours so having something nice and subtle but still with some colour is really good for me. Also, the lipstick smelling like jelly beans doesn't hurt it at all.

Eye-cream: Etude House 'Collagen Moistfull Firming Eye Cream'



I first got this product as a sample and absolutely loved it. I love how thick the cream is without making your under the eye area feel heavy while still moisturising the area. Since using the product, I have found that concealer does stay on better under my eye and lasts longer.

Youtube:
When I returned back from my trip, I was really starting to miss the Korean variety shows. That is when I stumbled on 'KBS World TV' on Youtube. They are the official KBS Youtube channel and offer English subtitles, which is absolutely awesome for fans, like me, who have very minimal understanding of Korean.

TV Show:
That segways into one of my favourite shows for the past couple of months, "The Return of Superman".


It's a really nice, cute show about 3 celebrity dads spending an entire 48 hours with their kids and how they deal with having the taking care of the kids by themselves as their wives are the main parenting person. Watching the show is really heartwarming and seeing their interactions make me really think about my childhood and how my parents would have dealt with thing.

Another show that I have been loving is "The Block: Fans vs. Faves".



Though the case is quite bulky, it's a really nice comfort to know that I have essentially another 80% or so worth of battery handy just in case my phone dies - which has happened quite a bit. I pretty much never leave the house without this case in my bag as it's an absolute life saver.

Another purchase from Korea that I am seriously loving is my diary.



It's relatively small compared to other diaries I have had in the past and I am loving the size of it. This year I vowed to get more organised and this diary is really assisting me in staying on top of all my school work and other commitments that pop up. I especially love the mini year overview that comes out as shown in the second photo since it's used as a bookmark too so I'm not flipping through the whole diary to get to the present week. Another great feature that I love is that at the start of every month, it has a general month overview where I can see where upcoming assessments are so I can get my butt moving.

That pretty much rounds out all of my favourites for March and the previous months. Sorry this post is super long - just like pretty much all of my other posts :( I have a really bad problem of writing long responses to everything. I will try and condense my writing somewhat hopefully by the end of the year.