Retail Therapy in Rundle Mall

The above shots are me showing off my new clothes that I brought after spending an afternoon in Rundle Mall, Adelaide. My family is currently on holiday in Adelaide, and my mum, my sister and I did the first bit of our shopping this afternoon. I found the skirt in Copycat Fashion from $45, which was only $5 more expensive than skirts of a similar style in Supre, and the Supre skirts weren't as nice and flowing. I also got the wide black belt with the gold cross clasp from Copycat Fashion, and that was $28. After Copycat Fashion I went off to Supre with mum and my sister, and brought the black singlet top for $10, and the blue over top for $25. So, to put both outfits together cost only $109, which is pretty reasonable considering how good both of them look. 

Tomorrow I am going back into the mall to buy some jewelry and maybe a body product or two from Lush, as well as checking out the Oxfam Shop, which I always do when I come to Adelaide. I am also going to meet up with a friend in the mall tomorrow, and we will probably do lunch and a spot of shopping. I haven't seen her for ages and I am so looking forward to catching up with her. We met on a YMJT social justice conference and she is the only person from that group that I have managed to stay in contact with since the conference ended late in 2010.

Well, I'd better go now, my grandparents are coming around soon, so I have to get ready to see them.

~ Australian Kiwi 

Lyrics from Safe and Sound by Taylor Swift (feat. The Civil Wars)

Tears on my Keyboard

Currently, I am sitting at my computer working on the first draft of a novel, writing a section where the wife of a warrior succumbs to childbed fever after the death of their newborn son. To tell you the truth, it is heavy going, I've got tears running down my cheeks as I write the scene of their final parting. I have lived and breathed these characters for so long that I feel like they are part of me, and killing off this woman feels like killing off a part of me. I can feel her husband's pain as he holds her hand and tries to calm her while she calls out in her fever, and I can feel as his soul is ripped to pieces when she slips away. Maybe I'm getting too deep into my writing, but maybe not, if I live and breathe these characters than perhaps they will feel more real to my readers. Well, I'd better get back to writing, there'll be a few more tears before the end.

~ Australian Kiwi

Getting Crafty with Junior Guides!

Ladybug Pot Plant Decoration (from DLTK)

For those of you who are unaware, I recently became a Girl Guide leader with the Sunraysia Junior Guides. I got an email from my district leader today, asking me to sort out an activity to do with the girls on Tuesday when we meet again. As it is Valentine's Day next Tuesday, I wanted to do something with a Valentine's Day theme, and I found a craft site called DLTK, which had a whole heap of printable crafts for kids and, in the Valentine's Day section, I found templates for heart shaped animals. After falling in love with the heart shaped ladybug, I printed one out and made it myself to show the girls on Tuesday, and then my mum suggested that I tape a straw to the back of it, and so make it into a pot plant decoration. I am super-excited to help the girls make their own ladybugs on Tuesday, but I'm always looking forward to seeing the Junior Guides.

~ Australian Kiwi

Accepted

So, finally, after months of impatiently waiting, a letter arrived for me today from TAFE, telling me that I had been accepted into the Diploma of Early Children's Services and Education, commencing on the 13th of March 2012. I was over the moon!

But now I simply must continue waiting until the 13th of March. My orientation day is on the 7th of March, so that will be good, and hopefully I can get my books early so that I can start reading them and preparing for my course. I got a book list and a timetable with my acceptance letter, but the timetable is all in code, so I don't know what my units are yet, but I will find out when I go to orientation. It looks like my longest day this year is going to be Wednesday, which is 9:00am - 4:00pm, Thursday will be the next longest, running from about 9:30am - 4:00pm, Monday and Tuesday both will be running from 9:00am - 3:00pm and Friday will be a half day from 9:00am - 12:00pm.

I'm excited!

~ Australian Kiwi

2011: The Year From Hell, 2012: The Year of Australian Kiwi

I have to be honest an say that I am not at all sorry to say goodbye to 2011, it's been a terrible year. From leaving uni, to being unable to find a job, and stressing out about my future, the year really only improved after I went back to uni and did my history paper. Then I went on holiday in Melbourne and that was just... words can't describe it, it reminded me of where I want to be in the future. Who said country air is good for your health? I didn't, that's for sure!

But, 2012 is going to be my year. I'm going to TAFE to study Childcare, something I love, and I'm going get a job (at Woolies or Coles or something like that), and do my creative writing course. I'm going to go to the gym more often and set up a yoga and meditation practice. 2012 is going to be the year of Australian Kiwi, so watch out world! Here I come!

~ Australian Kiwi

New Year's Resolutions


1) Go to the gym three times a week for a workout.
2) Do a full hour of yoga once a week.
3) Read Eckhart Tolle's The Power of Now and A New Earth.
4) Go out nightclubbing on Friday night once before I turn 19.
5) Finish one book in the Voices of the Trojan War collection.

Retail Therapy, Mebourne Style

I have left Mildura (but sadly it is only temporary) and traveled to Melbourne with my family to spend Christmas in the best city in the world. I haven't even been here a full day and I already have a new t-shirt, two new dresses, an engraved mirror and comb, a heat pack and two new books about ancient Greece.

Have I Got Your Attention

I brought my new tee (it's hot pink in real life, even though it looks orange here) for $15 at a store called Ginger Tree which is next door to the apartment I am staying in with my family.

The First Blue Dress

Also from Ginger Tree, this beauty was discounted from $49 to $29 dollars and the shop assistant gave it to me for $25. It is a beautiful dress, and I have a top which is a similar colour, so I already know that this kind of blue looks good on me. It is light-weight enough for summer in both Melbourne and Mildura and stylish enough to be considered smart casual. A side note, this dress sits perfectly on my figure.

The Second Blue Dress

$40 at the Queen Victoria Markets in Melbourne (discounted from $45) this one is very similar to the one above, but there are important differences. For a start, this dress is made of a much heavier material than the one above, which means that wearing it on really hot days when there is no air conditioning is out, and it is definitely formal rather than casual. The material also has a slight shine and is more figure hugging than the dress above, but the dark colour and detailing around the chest draws attention away from my body.

Engraved Mirror and Comb

Brought more because it looks good than because it is practical, this lovely set was $15 at the Queen Vic markets. My name is engraved on the mirror.

Heat Pack

It may not look very impressive, but this little beauty is one of the most nifty things I have seen. You click an aluminium disk in the pack and some chemical reaction occurs and the pack goes hot. I'm hoping it will help with neck, shoulder, back and period pains.

AND SAVING THE BEST TILL LAST...

The Ancient Greek World People and Places

I brought this book for $10 at a store on the corner of A'Becket and Elizabeth Streets in Melbourne called The Book Grocer. This book is a detailed reference tool packed full of facts and photographs of the ancient Greek world and giving detailed information on everything from the way they built their temples, to what they ate! In fact, there is a whole section on ancient Greek architecture, which I am loving!

The war that killed Achilles

This book is said to be something of an analysis of the Trojan War, drawing on material from Homer's Iliad and other lost epic works that make up the story of Troy. It looks at the broader themes that the war spoke of, and how these the ghosts of Troy still haunt us to this day with the continuing conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan.

So, there you have it, let Australian Kiwi loose in Melbourne to go shopping, and this is what you get. I'm sure there will be more photos as I continue my holiday, and of course, there is Christmas tomorrow.

See ya!

~ Australian Kiwi