Golden Globe Fashion Run-Down

The Golden Globes, a place for the fashionable elite to strut their stuff.

As promised, here are some of my loves, and love-to-hates from night... Enjoy! 

Claire Danes: One red hot mama. Those eyes, that hair, that body (2 months!) after baby! I'm in awe! Versace being worn by the worthy.

Tay Tay Swift: Although I love my country songstress, I think this was a rare miss for her. The colour just does nothing for her complexion and it swallows her body up while simultaneously making it look like the stick-thin starlet has wide hips. Tsk tsk. 

Taylor in Donna Karan Atelier

Emily Blunt: This Michael Kors creation is divine. DIVINE. and her come hither stare is equally mesmerizing. A++ Em.

JLO: Methinks Jenny from the Block needs a new stylist. A rockin' bod she may have, but there is such a thing as TOO much. Yes, even in Hollywood. 

JLo in a Zuhair Murad lace gown. 

Eva Longoria: Usually so polished, this housewife looks desperate to avoid an uncomfortable paparazzi flash with a thigh high split Emilio Pucci gown and wind resistant beehive. 2/10 for effort.

Jessica Alba: LOVE the color, love the shape (Oscar de la renta), love the hair and love the jewelry. But wait, what's that she's holding? I would LOVE this a lot more if Jess had left her chinchilla in the limo, but when you've got a body like hers, it's almost acceptable. 

my new favorite IT couple: Rachel Weisz and Daniel Craig cut a dashing duo on the red carpet in Louis Vuitton and Tom Ford.  Looks like Bond is already auditioning his next leading lady, and I LIKE. Weisz is both demure and risque in her peekaboo polkadots with a crimson lip.

and MY BEST DRESSED of the night goes to..

NICOLE RICHIE: Finally, boho chic that's not in a neutral. I'm in heaven. Her Naeem Khan gown is perfection on her frame with old Hollywood curls and a cheeky fringed clutch. Add a swipe of matching statement eye shadow and I've got style lust all over my computer screen. 

Congrats Nicole, you rocked it out. 

B.A.C.K. and better than ever

SO... with a surprise return to Sydney for 10 days naturally I had to bring this back to chronicle some of the most exciting bits! Here's some of what went down over the last weekend for my American besties keeping track...

-Helped Kayla pull off what can only be described as the best birthday surprise ever! She is seriously the best sister for organizing the whole surprise- I may have to steal her from G and adopt her for my own :)

-Went out with the Carbert and Buchan-Ford families after the surprise to this tequila bar [they just get me] & restaurant called Monkey Mya and had an abundance of food, conversation and sangria. Happy birthday G!

-Went SKYDIVING, in Wollongong this city about 2 hrs outside of Sydney with Kayla, G and Woody (Woody just observed). It was seriously the most amazing time ever! Can't believe that I did it [& loved it], since I have a ridiculous fear of heights. We fell through a huge cloud which was amazing and got to drift over the ocean before coming down on this grassy patch in the middle of a field.

-Spent some quality time with Lily over lunches, coffees and brunches. :] with the occasional interlude from Billy and Pattycakes [sans mustache, thank baby jesus]

-Finally made it to Palm Beach, and with G's grandma, Mama, nonetheless. She is the real OG and has major old lady swag. I think she and Gpa would be friends ha. We had some coffee and enjoyed the great weather at the beach house.

^Besties^

-Caught up with the Carberts (aka, my main man Chrissy and Les) over dinner on Friday at 4th Village this farmer's market/restaurant/gelato place that's totally adorable and amazingly delicious.

^my favorite Carbert man - Chrissy^ :)

-Beached/brunched it with Kayla, Kate, and G at Dee Why. Got my sunburn on and now have the most ridiculous tan line in the shape of a bow ever.

-Had brunch at Ripples in Milson's point again, this time with G and Kayla. Banana bread was nowhere up to Eden Cafe's standards.

-Ate at Eden twice in 10 days. Some would say OTT. Everyone else would say delicious.

-Went ice-skating with ^ + Woody at the Macquarie Shopping Centre. Felt SO good to be back on the ice. G was such a good sport and totes made it around the rink without eating it :) yeahhh buddy

-Left Tory at the ice rink [againnnn] and G sleuthed it out and found her the next day. What a guy. **Heather/ Hessie you guys will appreciate this!

-Tried an 'achachi' fruit...its like an Aussie mix of a lychee and a banana with a seed in the middle! SO weird and yummy at the same time..

^Achachi^

-Went for drinks at Woody's work, The West Ryde Hotel. It was a hilarious night to say the least.

-Attempted paddle boarding in Manly on Vday with G. Discovered that we're literally the most unsuccessful paddle boarders of all time, and that we're totally cool with it. I'm more of a pro tan getter anyways.

-Finally managed to get G & I a res at Yulli's in Surry Hills for vday dinner (mostly thanks to Kayla!) It was SO yummy. We sat across from the cutest gay couple ever, and next to another who didn't exchange a single word their whole meal.

^on our way to Yulli's^

-G is finally coming round to my love of hello kitty (or just acknowledging that he can't totally get rid of it) judging from my Vday pressies. Could you just die?! #amazeballz

He just gets me :)

-Met up with all my Edelman peeps for some afterwork bevvies at this bar called 'The Slip Inn' Was SO good to catch up with everyone.

-Had the most amazing surprise dinner from G at Cafe Sydney [again props for Kayla's planning] The view was stunning and the weather was perfect for it. Not quite on the same level as Pumphouse [I kid] but close.

^The view from our table^

G. wasn't a fan of the petit fours..

-Became besties with Hobo on our evening walks. She's like a my-size puppy :)

-Taught the aussies how to play BP.. Its my FAVORITE drinking game but I'm not entirely convinced its going to catch on there.

-Got my fill of Max Brenner chocolate.. again. It never gets old. Never.

-Went out in the cross to Piano Room and Kit and Kaboodle on my last night in the city. Never been to Piano Room before but they played a perfect mix of 90's throwbacks and hip hop tracks with a classy (for the cross) feel that I loved! Such a good night.

^back to the fat buddha on the stairs @ K&K^

-Caught up with Lily, Ben, Kat and Ivan right before heading to the airport at this restaurant called Baffi & Mo. Martha Stewart ate there and asked for the hash.. guess who also ordered the hash? Yeah I did :)

-Came back to SF with 2 new pairs of shoes.. purple platforms and bright yellow wedges] a new dress and the best memories.

I seriously cannot wait to be back... t-minus 4 months til I return! Back to the best of friends, my family, and some silly foreign boy.

xxx

And she's far far away..

Byeeeee Australia :(

Wow. I can't believe I'm back in the USA already.

It so doesn't feel like I spent the last 3.5 months in a foreign (and totally amazing) country. It's only been 2 days and I miss it (and certain important people) like crazy already.

This is also the final blog entry (I can tell y'all are heartbroken) seeing as it's called "Ish's Aussie adventures" so writing more while back home would kinda defeat the purpose.

Anyhow, here's what I got up to the last 4 days of my cross continental adventure...

-New song obsession.. heard it while shopping and think it's hilarious. Get it Willow Smith :)

-Played Billy Luu at pool on Monday. He won 2 of 3 and therefore deserves a shoutout :)

-Went to this cute little place called Grandma's bar with G, Lil, and B, which is like a hole in the wall place with toastie sandwiches and unique cocktails. (note- "unique" doesn't always mean delicious) It was a cute place tho and right up the street from PhD.

^G stole my drink^

^Thank you for photobombing this Billy... not.^

-Aced my final exam for cinema. Granted it was open note and took me all of 45 min to complete but what does one expect from a study abroad program.. an education? Get real.

-Spent the day with Kayla on Tuesday. We decided to eat in Avalon where there happened to be freak 150 mph winds (ok maybe that's a slight exaggeration, but it tore up our hair like it was) so we rush picked a restaurant to get out of the weather. Turned out to be the most random/ not tasty lunch ever. We were both VERY unimpressed. Constantly pleasantly surprised by how amazingly well I get along with Kayla tho, she= awesome :)

:)

-Made up for the horrible meal by gorging ourselves an hour later on Max Brenner. Standard behavior.

^why don't we have white chocolate chai here?!?^

-Ate with G. at this restaurant called Pump House. His food was literally neon yellow and both of our dishes were extremely questionable. Needless to say we won't be returning for another meal there.

^questionable meal @pumphouse^

-Wandered around Darling Harbour for the last time with G. and re-lived my head slamming incident when we passed the spot on the sidewalk. Ahh memories.

-Met Mama Carbert. She is an amazing woman and reminds me so much of my grandpa it's not even funny. She is also hysterically funny so I can see why she's G's favorite. I have now met the entire clan basically and can safely say I adore every one of them!

-Managed to get all my stuff into my 2 suitcases/ carryon without being overweight. Not entirely sure how this was possible but I have no issue with it.

-Ate with a lovely group at GPO's tapa's bar called Postales. Was so delicious! It was even better watching Sassycakes try so hard to understand the share plates. Apparently the Shire doesn't do tapas :)

-Said goodbye to lily and my most favorite person. Was so heartbreaking.

^Miss this already^

-Am now the owner of a stuffed Koala named Nellie. G thinks it has creepy eyes. I disagree.

-Ate breakfast my last morning with G at this cute place called Ripples right under the Harbour bridge. Was a perfect last day and even got to talk to Chrissy during the meal to say goodbye. Love him!

-Sat in front of a GLEE club.. yes, a GLEE club on the 14 hr flight back to the states. They literally didn't stop talking/ singing once. I wanted to die.

Reflecting back on my time in Oz here are some conclusions I've reached...

*I hate vegemite (Sorry G.. but you already knew this... nothing will ever top PB&J..nothing!)

*I will miss this place like none other

*I need to come back if for no other reason besides the fact that I have been here twice and still haven't experienced a true Aussie summer. Damn.

*You can buy 13 pairs of shoes without going over the baggage allowance for Qantas. Yeee!

*I missed the environment of NM even less than I originally expected.

*Sydney > Melbourne

*Koalas are not friendly creatures apparently. This is disappointing since I just want to hold them baby style at all times.

*Australia needs to experience Hot Cheetos. PRONTO

*Being on "holiday" = best excuse to get fat for a semester

*Sydney is scarily similar to SF, but with better accents and more sunshine.

*I am now officially a Bourbon and coke drinker.

*New girl is the best show ever. Totally Hysterical.

*AU needs a country music station. BADLY.

*I will be back. See y'all in the spring (give or take 6 months) so GET READYYY :)

She's a party rocker from night 'til noon

Dear baby jesus where did the time go?

My last weekend in Aussieland has come and gone and I'm currently 1 final test, 2 loads of laundry, 3 suitcases and 4 nights away from leaving the most amazing time of my life.

This last weekend was NUTS and so I figured if I absolutely must go (thanks to Visa/ finishing Uni lame-ness), at least it was a crazy fun and memorable time! Can't believe I'll be back in the USofA in less than 4 days and I'm totes not happy about the situation. If I got emotional over things like this I feel like now would be the time to shed a tear. But I don't, so I'll just blog about what I've been up to this last week instead. :]

-Finally ate at this Vegetarian place in Surrey Hills on Wed. night called Yulli's [that G and I have been trying to go to for AGES], with Joyce and her friend (ironic). It was so yummy. We got tofu and prawns and potato dishes each totally different and equally yummy!

-Ate [yes, i know, this blog should really be called "Schnitty's adventures eating around Sydney"] tapas with G. at this Spanish place called Captain Torres' Restaurant that i've been to once before with Lil. Still totes yummy and different from the usual feed.

-Went out with Lil, G and some sweet PhD peeps on Friday for drinks at this cute bar called Assembly on Kent St. that just opened. Then the night turned into a chinese food hunt/ strange drinks/ boys night +me but was still heaps fun. Billy and I kicked ASS at pool- four games in a row. Yeahhhhh buddy. Soz Damo.

^out & about^

-Decided that newbie PhD'r Andrew is my favorite person. He held Lil's umbrella for her all night. What a sweetie.

-Finished up my internship with Edelman Sydney. I loved my time there and can't wait to come back (fingers crossed) after graduation. They were SO sweet and all wrote me notes in a giant card and got me a hug mug and chocolates from Max Brenner. What a perfect gift.

-Went for farewell drinks with the work mob @Argyle. They are so nice and fun. I'm going to miss my time with them for sure!!

^Farewell drinks at Argyle^

-Celebrated Thanksgiving dinner with our whole program + Tracey from work at an event in the Grandstand at Sydney Uni and ate my body weight in sweet potatoes and turkey. It was heavenly.

-Went to STEREOSONIC which is basically the Australian equivalent of EDC, at Olympic Park with G, Lil, N, and a bunch of other random people we ended up meeting up with. This year was officially the biggest festival that AU has ever had. It was so completely sick. I'm totally glad we went. We were there from 3- 11pm and danced the whole time. Saw a tiny bit of Kaskade, Avicii, Benny Benassi, LMFAO and Armin Van Buren. #'s 2-4 were definitely the best but everyone that was there was phenomenal!!!

Obviously we took 98298457982 photos, so here's some of the quality ones from the day..

^So MANY people^

-Loving this song after the weekend!

-Went to El Phoenician on Sunday with Kayla, G and Marty for a lebanese banquet dinner right by the harbour. It was SO much delicious food and the restaurant was brand new and gorg. Photo spotlight below, since I've mentioned her tons but had no visual to use so far!

-Kayla and I jammed out to Ja Rule and Ashanti on the car ride there and back. Lets just say there was extremely loud singing involved and i may or may not be tone deaf. Props to the boys for putting up with it. #sorryimnotsorry

^@El Phoenician totally stuffed^

^love them^

-Spent quality time with my favorite people and have plans to do the same for my last few days in town. I couldn't have asked for a better 3.5 months here and I know that I'll definitely be back to get up to more shenanigans after graduation in May! Only one blog post left to go next week.. but who knows maybes I'll keep it up after just for kicks.

Love you all and can't wait to see your shining faces for the holidays!

More soon, as per usual!

*I*

xxx