August Favourites

Hello all!

August 2015 is nearly over (yay spring!) and we have always enjoyed these kinds of posts and videos from other bloggers, so we decided to do one ourselves.

Note: both of our favourites are mixed up in this photo

CLAIRE

My Paris Dream by Kate Betts
The first thing that grabbed me about this book was the cover. I mean, look at it. Blush pink, copper and Paris? It's just too pretty. An autobiography, this book is about Kate Bett's, who, in the 80's, moved to Paris with little plan and no job after graduating from Princeton. She then snagged the chance to work at Womens Wear Daily magazine and became submerged into the life of Parisian high culture and fashion. I took it on the train with me to and from the city (and the hometown) as a nice easy read, and a break from academia and studying.

Tortoiseshell Sunglasses
I got these glasses for $10 from The Rocks Market during our trip to Sydney last month. Even though August was quite a dreary winter's month, I loved having these on when the sun came out. I love the shape, and tortoiseshell and gold sunglasses are my favourite to wear. I expect to be wearing these a lot more in the warmer months.

SIMILAR 

BIEN Necklace
I have been wearing this necklace everyday these past few weeks. Fully adopting the classically chic Parisian style, I have been wanting a subtle long chain necklace to wear with t-shirts and jumpers. My love for all things Paris and french has really flared up this past month, so I just adore this necklace! I am also a gold jewellery person so it's just so pretty.

I got this necklace from Sportsgirl at the start of the month, but it was on sale so it is no longer available. However, I am definitely going to be getting some more delicate long chain necklaces for Spring/Summer, and Sportsgirl has some beautiful ones at the moment, so check them out. 

Sephora Universal Lip-liner
For someone who wears red lipstick everyday, I have never used lipliner before (which is a lipstick faux pas, because it actually prolongs your lipcolour.) However, I was always hesitant because I always found red liners that are darker than my shade of lipstick, so they just didn't match. 

During our trip to Sephora in Sydney, I decided to try out their universal lip liner. It's an invisible liner which can be used with any lipcolour and still prevent feathering and keeping your lipstick all in one place. I have been using it everyday and my lipstick is so much neater.

(P.S Melbourne is opening a Sephora in Melbourne Central, which is currently set to open at Christmas, but I got that information from their Instagram, so fingers crossed it's true!)

Sportsgirl Pout About It Lipstick in "Bombshell"
I have been using this lipstick all year. While I do own a number of different lipsticks, this is always the first one I'll grab and use basically everyday. The one I currently have is a repurchase, so I must trust it.

I love a matte lip and so what I love about the Sportsgirl lipstick is how matte they are, but yet extremely pigmented. I love the colour, it's nice and bright and for $10, it's pretty great.

The Mindy Project
This show had taken over my life for the past two weeks. I just love Mindy Kaling and her character Mindy Lahiri so much. Lahiri is such a great character, and I loved the show. Sometimes Danny is like, the worst person ever, but eh, he has his moments.  I just finished season 3 this morning, and I am looking forward to season 4 (thanks, Hulu!) 

GRACE

Lily Pulitzer 2015/16 Planner in Wild Confetti

I have been eyeing off the Lilly Pulitzer agendas for a while now, and when I saw the new prints for the 2015/16 agendas, I finally decided to take the plunge. Sadly, Lilly Pulitzer does not ship to Australia, so I actually ordered mine from Amazon. It did cost a pretty penny, but when it looks this cute, how could I resist? Plus, it spans from August 2015 through to December 2016, so this planner is taking me through to the end of my degree! Definitely a worthy investment.

Jeweled Cuff

This navy and green gem bracelet I bought on sale from Forever New last month, and it has easily entered my every-day arm candy. What I love about this bracelet is that it easily goes with every outfit I wear, seeming that navy is my neutral. It also reminds me of the darling (but super expensive!) Kendra Scott Andy and Elton bracelets. 

Amazing Grace perfume by Philosophy

My dear friend, Miriam, bought me the travel sized version of this perfume for my birthday/Christmas (December baby!) last year. Basically, this scent is perfect for me, being a) being literally named after me, and, b) the brand is called Philosophy which holds a lot of meaning to me. When my travel size ran out, I automatically bought another travel size, and a full size, without even thinking twice about it. It smells so light and floral, and perfect to be my signature scent. 

Navy Blue Loafers

I actually bought these shoes earlier in the year, probably around late February. They have caused me a lot of pain over the past few months as I have been breaking them in. The backs of my heels will never be the same again. However, I have FINALLY, broken them in enough that they are so comfortable. They have been my go-to shoe when I don't feel like wearing my riding boots or L.L. Bean Boots. Seriously, I wear them basically every single day. So cute, and so totally me!

Disney's Descendants

I am not ashamed to admit that I was totally a Disney Channel pre-teen growing up. And okay, maybe I still am. When I found out they were making a Disney Channel Original Movie (DCOM) about the children Disney's best villains and heroes, I was intruiged. The movie aired on July 31st, but it took me a while to get around to watching it. Verdict: I actually enjoyed it, and now I cannot get the songs out my head. Probably because I keep on listening to the soundtrack. (I'm totally a normal 19 year old, I swear!) I think what I enjoy about it most is that it reminds me of my Disney-loving pre-teens. How can it not, when it was directed by none other than Kenny Ortega,?! Which totally makes sense with this final number that gave me serious HSM flashbacks. If you don't mind a DCOM, I do recommend. 

Special mention to K Chen's performance as Maleficent. The woman can do no wrong!

While this Winter hasn't been too bad, we are so ready for Spring! 

Stay gold,

Grace and Claire

Funfetti Cupcakes

Hello all!

The latest season of Great British Bake-Off has begun (hooray!) and we are LOVING it so far. As always, when watching Bake Off, we just want to bake all the time!

We had a Betty Crocker box in our pantry for a while ever since they were on special for like $1.50 (bargain!) Keen for a night in, we decided to finally make the delicious vanilla cupcakes. EXCEPT WITH A TWIST. We decided to make them Funfetti Cupcakes, which is a trend that has been going around for a while, especially on Pinterest. 

Basically, Funfetti is when you add rainbow (or any) coloured sprinkles to a cake, which then melt into the batter and create a confetti type effect. Super cute and fun (hence the name)

We also made the white icing the box came with pink with some food dye because who doesn't like pink?!

The ingredients: Vanilla Cupcake mix, 2 large eggs, 1/2 a cup of milk, 60gm of butter, rainbow sprinkles and pink food dye (for the icing)

As it says on the box, you mix the butter, milk and eggs in a bowl with the cake mix, add some rainbow sprinkles, bake the cupcakes and hey presto, Funfetti cupcakes!

We are in no way claiming this recipe as our own. It's just a cake mix and some sprinkles. 

However, Zoella made some from scratch, so you can check her video out! (super baking envy with that bronze Kitchen Aid of her's...)

The sprinkles we used were quite pale, because they were the only ones Coles had, but you can kind of see the confetti effect in this photo. Super cute, super fun, and that pink frosting though!!

To make the icing pink, we emptied the pre-made frosting from the mix into a small bowl, added a couple of drops of pink food dye and just mixed it all up. To ice the cupcakes, we made a make-shift piping bag out of a sandwich bag with a corner cut off. 

They taste so good! Hopefully in the future we can bring you more baking posts (from following an actual recipe/from scratch, we promise) in the future. What would you like to challenge us to bake?! Note: we are not as skilled as the contestants on Bake-Off, so no 3D biscuit sculpture's please. 

What is your favourite thing to bake? We'd love to know!

Also, if you're a fan of Bake Off too, come talk to us about it! Any season at all, because Grace has watched all of them.

Bake-Off time is all the time.

Stay Gold!

C & G xx

A Change Will Do You Good

Hello all!

People usually change their hair to signify a new point in their life. When I graduated high school, I cut my signature long locks into a shoulder-length bob (It is funny how this style would become the hair trend the following year). 

As I am leaving my teens, I feel that I am finally coming into my own. I am feeling really good about this semester, and the rest of my degree even. This is when things in my life start to take off, so I would like to change my hair to commemorate that.

When I told our Dad that we were going to change the colour of our hair he said, “Well you and Claire have never done anything really outrageous before.” Which is true, and is why I am making such a big deal about dyeing my hair a totally normal shade. 

For me, this is one of the biggest, spontaneous thing I can do, bar buying a ticket overseas without the proper amount of money saved.

Likewise, Claire is also feeling like she is coming into her own. Double major of media and cinema studies finalised, and a volunteering gig under her belt, the future is taking shape and possibilities are opening up. 

Also with the help of Pintrest, (typical), I have figured out my style, and am in the process of re-vamping my wardrobe. It's out with the old and in with the new. While us dyeing our hair is the most outrageous thing we have ever done (thus far, we still have our 20s for more outrageous adventures. Like moving overseas! But that's a discussion for another day....) this is also an opportunity for our outsides to reflect our insides. 

Reaching Peak Claire and Grace!

Three semesters left of university. With jobs, volunteering and blogs happening, they are going to be wild. And of course, there are the endless possibilities of what to do AFTER Graduation. We are excited for what is yet to come. 

Claire isn't 100% blonde yet, but we are on our way! And there is still more to do for Grace, but dyeing your hair and finding a hairstyle that suits you is a process. We are proud to say that is has begun.

Stay gold!

C & G xx

Claire on MIFF 2015

Hello all!

One of the best things about Melbourne is that there is always a festival on. Yay culture!

At the moment, we (the city, and I, for that matter) are a week into the Melbourne International Film Festival. This is my first year attending MIFF and boy oh boy, it has been amazing already. And there is still another week to go!

This year I was lucky enough to volunteer at a MIFF event called the 37 South Market. Sadly, as a weekend event, my time volunteering is now over. Boo. But this means I now get to enjoy the festival and see as many films I can (Which, unfortunately, isn't that many in the grand scheme of things. But nevertheless)

As a volunteer I was lucky enough to attend the Opening Gala at Hamer Hall (oh my word). The film at this event was Force of Destiny. Directed by the esteemed Paul Cox and starring David Wenham, this film was about an artist who is diagnosed with liver cancer. With 6 months to live, he falls in love. There was a quote said at the opening, before the film started, saying Paul Cox makes cinema about people, and this film is definitely an example of that. Quiet and moving, the film makes you think about life, love, and donating organs. 

Hannah Frederickson and David Wenham in Force of Destiny, image from the Melbourne International Film Festival

I have also been lucky enough to attend two premier's thus far. 

The first was The Daughter, directed by Simon Stone and a contemporary adaption of the Henrick Isben play The Wild Duck. 
And this film is stunning. STUNNING. The cinematography alone was gorgeous. However, the performance by Odessa Young as Hedvig (aka, the daughter) blew me away. All performances (Geoffrey Rush, Sam Neill, Ewan Leslie, Paul Schneider), actually, were phenomenal. I have no faults for this film. Unfortunately there is no trailer available yet, but if it get's a general release (which it will) I will be sure to let you know!!

The phenomenal Odessa Young in The Daughter, photo from MIFF

The second was Putaparri and the Rainmakers. 

Not only was this documentary directed by a woman, but I had the absolute honor of witnessing Putaparri and his family's story and their fight for land rights of Kurtal in the Kimberly's Great Sandy Desert. An amazingly enriching and insightful film, and the perfect example of the effects of the Mabo ruling. Also an incredible way for white people to understand the importance and connection to the land aboriginal Australians possess. A must see for everyone, to assist in your understanding of this country and aboriginal people. 

This film will be screening again at MIFF on Saturday the 15th. This session is on Standby, so more tickets might be released the night before! It will then be released at Cinema Nova later this year, and on NITV in March. Hopefully the film will be distributed more! 

Tom "Putaparri" Lawford, photo from MIFF

This week I am also seeing Neon, a documentary about neon lights and those who love it; Early Winter, a story of "intergenerational love", connection and family; and My Life Directed by Nicolas Widning Refn, an intimate, behind-the-scenes look at the life of the director and his family during the filming of the 2013 Ryan Gosling flick "Only God Forgives." 

Nicolas Winding Refn in My Life Directed by Nicolas Widning Refn, photo from MIFF

There are SO many more movies I'd love to see, but unfortunately, University and work calls! You can check out the full program at the MIFF website, or download the app. It is very handy. 

Are you seeing any films at MIFF this year? Have you gone in the past? I'd love to know!

Stay gold!

Claire x