CHICACHIA

Aaaaaaand it's December!

Every year I convince myself that I'll start shopping earlier. 2016 may actually be the year it all turns around. First day of the month and feeling pretty confident!

Annual Christmas Gift Guide; Let's do this.

1. Mini Rose Cake via getFOODi 

Okay, I know you can't look past it either, so let's talk about this amazing cake. I recently discovered getFOODi and now I'm hooked. Gone are the days of jumping from website to website (or between Insta pages) to find bakers in your area, compare prices and choose bewteen cakes; getFOODi is essentially a one-stop online marketplace curating everything for you. There are delivery and pickup options and the best part is you get to chat directly with your baker and tell them what you're after. I'm especially loving Stella's cakes (this little beauty is her Mini Rose Cake), and now that the hassle is taken care of, there's really no excuse not to pick something up for your Christmas party ;)

2. AXSHER Soy Candles

I'll be the first to admit I have a love-hate relationship with candles. Some are absolutely delicious and others just give me a headache. My perfect candle has to be sweet but not too sweet, fruity but also fresh... Yes, I'm hard to please - so when I find something I love, I stick to it and spread the word! I love that these AXSHER candles come in matte black (how classy!) but mostly I love that they smell of my favourite things. Personal faves here are Lychee Infusion (goes without saying), Between The Sheets & Strawberry Bellini.

3. BLOOM Lippies

Coming from a girl who carries at least six lippies in her bag at any one time, I say you can never have too many. Bloom have a great range and I especially love their lip definers (I'm on to my second one in 'Trace' - it goes with EVERYTHING and you guys know I love a vampy lip). I've just started on a few of their new lipstick shades too...hey, the more the merrier!

4. DEITEA Tea

Have you ever seen such fancy tea!? I know the monogrammed/personalise-everything-in-your-life train has really taken off over the past two years, but personalised tea? If this wouldn't make a good gift, I don't know what would. You can get personalised little tea boxes, or personalised tea canisters, and oh it's all just too cute. My favourite blend at the moment is White Wedding but really, all tea is good tea. #teaovercoffee

5. OLYMPUS PEN E-PL8 Camera

A slightly bigger-ticket gift, but if you've got someone who loves photography then this could work out quite well. I took the Pen E-PL8 with me on my recent trip to Seoul (travel vlog coming soon!) and totally did not regret it. As you can probably tell, it's super sleek with a slight retro finish. I'd recommend reading through all the features to make sure it's got exactly what you need - but from personal experience I was really happy with it. Good photos and overall easy navigation, but best of all: the WiFi functionality meant I could post Insta updates on the go!

6. MONDAY BLOOMS Rainbow Box & Scented Wax

You can't go wrong gifting flowers - even for Christmas. These flower boxes are the perfect size for an office desk or a coffee table, and you can add to it with chocolate, scented wax tablets or body care items. I've got my eye on their special Christmas Collection - those succulents are cuuuuuute.

7. BENSIMON Sneakers

So we don't get to have a White Christmas in 'straya but you can make up for it with these super cool Bensimon kicks. Classic vintage and super comfy - they go with any outfit and make a great summertime gift. Mine are still a blinding white but I'm breaking them in!

8. CARPE KOKO Chocolates

Possibly the most fancy pants chocolate gift boxes ever, Carpe Koko has the added benefit of actually being really yummy. The presentation is gorgeous so you can actually bring some to Christmas lunch without feeling like you're taking the cop-out route of generic supermarket chocolate *coughFavouritescough*... My favourite flavour is Darling Almond, but the Passion De La Fruit is good too. Actually maybe the Salted Caramel if you're into that. Actually just get them all.

9. MOR Cosmetics

Who wants to smell like a creamy marshmallow? We all do. If you're not great at gift wrapping, MOR has you covered with their beautiful Christmas Gift Sets. The Believe Trio Set contains a little travel/handbag-size hand cream, a soapette and a perfume oil whilst the Joy Set comes with a classic cosmetic purse. Functional and pretty - that's a tick from me.

10. ALIAS MAE Shoes

Last but most certainly not least, I have been alternating between these heels over the past two weeks straight! These strappy DITTO sandals perfectly complete a summer outfit (I'm thinking of getting another pair in Tan - what do you think?), and I've been rocking this BADU at work. 100% leather and super versatile; What's not to love?


So that's another year (almost) all wrapped up!
Sending lots of love to you and your families. Happy shopping & Merry Christmas!


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A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of trying out Vaniday, a new beauty platform offering search, instant bookings, and overall ease when it comes to pampering yourself. As you may already have noticed, I love getting my nails done and that fresh, polished feeling I get strutting out of that salon with perfect claws. My biggest gripe, however, has always been the waiting, the sitting, and having half my afternoon taken from me! So when Vaniday reached out offering a quick and easy online booking platform, guess who was the first onboard? ;)

I jumped on, did a little research of salons in my area (made easier by having photos and little write ups available for each listing), picked a new one to try, booked in a date and time slot of my choice and voilà! I showed up at The Last Strand in Surry Hills a little skeptical about my appointment running to time - but I was wrong. The team did a lovely job with my mani & pedi, and all in an hour and a half!

Overall, I had an amazing experience and would definitely recommend giving Vaniday a go.
A one-stop shop to make your life that little bit easier...what's not to love? :)


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At this year's Smooth Festival of Chocolate, Kayter Co. launched their brand new dessert trailer, Kaytercon. The VIP area on the roof was decked out Willy Wonka style and I managed to drop in for a little look (and taste)! As you can see, you placed your order by dropping a coloured ball down a chute - and a few minutes later, ta-da! I've heard that they've already been hitting popular streets around Sydney so keep an eye out for unicorn explosions ;)

Oh and here's a GIF of me munching on corn. Because you go to a chocolate festival to have perfectly buttered corn on a stick, obviously!

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Wearing: ROMWE Off The Shoulder Top, Hello Parry Skirt

Holey moley this is one of my new favourite tops!

You all know I'm a fan of simple minimalist designs, and this sweet piece from Shilla The Label certainly fits the mould. It's airy, it's floaty, and the cut outs are all aligned which is great if you have a bit of OCD ;) Pairing it with classic black jeans results in an easy outfit for a nice Sunday brunch whilst throwing on a pencil skirt makes an office-appropriate combo!

I know I'm a little late to the party on this one but I've just gotten into the Bachelor and oh, give me more drama! I may or may not have been up till ungodly hours of Saturday morning binge watching the last five episodes (and finishing each off with a Rosie Recap). Yep, no shame!
#nochocolatefondueforawhileplease

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Wearing: Shilla The label Paramount Net Top, Topshop jeans, Pandora rings

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of popping into Doux Amour Patisserie in Roseberry to visit Kevin & Carol, and of course the Animal Puff Family! Fellow cream puff lovers, brace yourselves.

So I've gotten into the bomber jacket thing going on this winter, and have really been enjoying channeling my inner Pink Lady! I'm glad I went for this pastel hue instead of khaki as I think it strikes a happy balance between sporty and girly. I've been especially loving teaming it up with simple classics like this LBD to take the look from night-out to street style.

Keeping my eyes peeled for some sort of embroidered floral number next- I saw one at Zara over the weekend and can't stop thinking about it... Hmmmmmmm. Tempting.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: I went to WICKED at Riverside Theatre tonight and it was amazing. It's running until the 13th of August so you may still be able to grab some tickets! No, it will never get old, and yes, I will be binging on the soundtrack for the next week.

Wearing: Sheinside Scalloped Hem Keyhole Dress, Valleygirl Bomber, Cluse La Boheme Mesh Full Black Watch, Mon Purse pouch

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All the ones I've tried seemed to cut me off at an awkward length, putting me at an odd intersection between looking tall... but short.
So for the past ten years, I've pretty much been avoiding midi skirts like the plague. Lately though, I've managed to find a few keepers that maaaaaaaay be swaying me the other way!

I picked this metallic pleated skirt up at Glassons last weekend - thanks to the lovely sales assistant at the counter, whom I shall now refer to as Magical Glassons Girl. Her outfit was on. point. Her hair was great too, but that's another post for another time.
So I had finished shopping and was walking out when I spotted Magical Glassons Girl donning this pleated skirt. Did a double take, marched back into the store, hunted it down, pulled it off the rack and onto the counter. Try it on? What do you mean 'try it on'? Look how amazing it looks on Magical Glassons Girl! This skirt can do no wrong.

Anyway, I walked out of Glassons for the second time, when I caught a glimpse of Magical Glassons Girl's jacket - a classic cropped black leather jacket paired perfectly with this midi skirt. Is there any other way to style this? Well, not anymore! So yes, I (rather sheepishly) shuffled back in and started looking for this (now also magical) leather jacket. Unfortunately it was from last season so they didn't have it in store. Bummer.
Thankfully I have found a few other ways to style my skirt (refer above!) but sadly I can't be Magical Glassons Girl's twin.

Moral of the story?
Employee dress codes totally pay off. Also, Magical Glassons Girl is magical.

Wearing: Glassons Metallic Pleat Midi, Glassons Silk Cami, Sleeveless Blazer from Hong Kong, Samantha Wills Wild Magnolia Necklace, ZU Malik Boots

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When you think of lunch in the city, you'd usually think overpriced fancy sit-down meals or $10 food court combos or sushi boxes. It's tricky finding a good in-between, especially one that hits the mark on both value and quality. If you choose to attempt squeezing a nice meal into your lunch hour (travel/walking/queueing time included), don't even get me started on the waiting, the ordering, the watch-checking, more waiting, the hurried eating and power walking back to the office.
Well, Sydney kids. Let a sister help you out here. I had the privilege of dropping in at Jamie's Italian to try out their brand new Super Lunch menu, and honestly guys, they have your CBD work lunch situation all figured out.

Jamie's Super Lunch Menu was created with us busy folk in mind. Everything on the menu is designed for fast prep with no compromise on the quality of produce and ingredients. We opted for the 3 course lunch for $30 (yes, $30 for three Jamie's Italian dishes. Amazing.) Service was really quick and it didn't take us long to demolish everything either! I'll let the photos speak for themselves, but I did have a few favourites!

For starters, we had the Arancini, Crispy Squid and Truffle Tagliatelle. The Truffle Tagliatelle was the absolute star dish for me; smooth, buttery and full of real truffle goodness - Given the option, I could totally have gone for another serve as my main...
You simply can't go to Jamie's and not load up on pasta, so we ordered the classic Bolognese and Pumpkin Ravioli. There are bits of crushed amaretti throughout the ravioli so you get surprise bursts of sweetness and nuttiness to complement the pumpkin. My personal pick between the two was the spag bol - you guys know I'm a sucker for classics and this meat sauce was just delicious.
We finished off nice and sweet with one of each dessert option - the Panna Cotta (my favourite of the lot), Orange Blossom Polenta Cake, Chocolate Brownie and Ice-Cream Trio.

By the time we were done, an hour was up and I was rolling out the door and into a food coma.
Back to an afternoon of productive work? Pshhh, oh please. ;)

Thank you, Jamie's Italian! I will most definitely be back.
P.S. Could I please have a Truffle Tagliatelle in a super main size? Please?


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