Ni Hao, Knee Highs











Hey, just a quick outfit post.
Sorry if the image quality is less than brillo - I took them off my Chictopia account.

So these are my new kne- oh.... I guess they are actually meant to be called 'thigh high' socks, which ruins my post title, damn! Oh well :P the point is, I like these socks and I was excited to receive them in the mail despite them just being plain and black, because they were cheeeeappp!

End of story.

Hope you are cruising along sweetly, and we shall have more one way convos very soon (UNLESS you feel like commenting on my blog then it will surely be a proper conversation :) ).

xZ

An Australia Day recount, from someone who wasn't drunk


Marching into the froth


As a young adult, I've often spent Australia Day on the beach, boozing with friends, listening to JJJ Hottest 100. Like everyone else. This year, though, it was all about the fam, in our new location: Margaret River (ie. I don't know anyone else!!). 
It was a bliss day - nice and hot, as it should be - so we dined out for lunch before hitting the beach. 

Check it out...


Rivermouth Beach, Margaret River, WA



Don't you just feel like you're there? In the clutches of that great aqua swell





And lunch was pretty relaxing too! At a place they call "Sea Gardens" which overlooks the ocean. 








I painted Louie's face! He was super keen to post his picture on the Triple J website


However, it ended up being pretty pricey. All thanks to a quiet mention in the menu that we'd overlooked...


'Happy Australia Day! Here's a surprise 17.5% surcharge on your meal'


While saving a kangaroo is a very Australian feature of our day, a restaurant keeping this detail quiet is not. Has anyone ever heard of this before? Maybe I just don't eat out much on public holidays... Oh well, luckily we had only ordered one meal each and no drinks... so it ended up being around $100 with $20 being the surcharge amount.

:) 
Anyway that's all, just a quick share of life. 

Sorry, I'll integrate some fashion into my posts again SOON, I promise. 

xZ

The day I stopped traffic


If you’re nearing the end of your day and you’re thinking, “Oh no, what can I do for today’s good deed??” then why not scan the roads for an animal in need?
I’ve done it before, even if the ‘animal’ is 100% un-rescuable. ie. I have, once, scraped a flattened mouse off the road and given it a little burial in the dirt, with flowers and everything. Just to show a little compassion for the poor thing. But more often, and I guess more helpfully, people can respect other drivers and animals by dragging bigger animals - who have been hit and sadly killed - off the road; 
or they can save a stray dog who is dangerously darting between cars; 
or, probably in the hardest case but most respectful of an animal’s needs, people can spot animals who are suffering from injuries, assess their chances of recovering, and take them to a vet... or kindly put them out of their misery.

My family and I were on our way back from the beach when we spotted a kangaroo laying in the ditch by the road. He seemed to be functioning okay in terms of looking around and holding his head up, but we gathered that he wasn’t just there to chill out while cars at 80kms zoomed by. 

A car had pulled over on the opposite side, and we decided we’d volunteer ourselves for support. My stepdad Andrei, who was driver, U-turned his way back to the spot, and figured out it was a ranger’s car.
The ranger himself was pondering how he would go about saving the animal with all the traffic around, and was actually thrilled that someone had come to assist. He asked whether we would like to drive up a couple of kms ahead and stop the traffic from coming down while he went the other way and stopped it there. Andrei hopped in with the ranger, and Mum took over our wheel.

Tom casually leading a long line of stationary cars

Definitely choosing to get OUT of the car (just in case the next corner-turner was a speed demon with bad brakes), we parked it right in the middle of the lane and waited for traffic to pile up behind.
Drivers were confused at first, and some angry, but Tom did his best to walk up to them and explain. One man listened to Tom before saying, “Well is it going to die?”…?? and impatiently turned out into the next lane and drove off down the road anyway.
While this fuss was going on, I heard two shots.

Cars started appearing ahead of us, and one lady leaned out her window to say something like “They’re finished now, so it shouldn’t be much longer”.
Meanwhile, I asked Mum whether she’d heard the shots, and she replied that no, she hadn’t heard anything.
The ranger drove back to us to drop Andrei off and thank us for our help.
Andrei explained that there was nothing anyone could do to save the poor kangaroo – his back was broken. The ranger had known this before we arrived, but was at odds as to how he could go about waving around a shotgun with cars and civilians about. He hadn’t been able to get the police down there, and I think the other rangers were busy at other areas, so our help really was a godsend.

I was sorry that the kangaroo had to be shot, but better that than it sitting in a ditch and suffering all night before dying.
And really, how selfish of that man to just drive on? I can understand if someone is on their way to hospital, then they are welcome to cut the line and race to their destination – but under regular circumstances, you should just trust that you’re being held up for a reason, and that could be your own safety as well as others’.

So that was my most Australian act on Australia Day – saving a kangaroo.
The rest of the day was bliss. :)  I’ll have to upload some photos on a separate post. 


xZ

A-maze-ing




Once upon a time I may have wondered if giant hedge mazes actually existed - thinking what a fun feature it'd be in your backyard, and how oh-so-lucky my Sims characters were when I spent time making mini pixel hedge mazes for them.

Last Sunday, I realised that I was, in fact, living DOWN THE ROAD from one, real, giant hedge maze!


And so my family and I visited for a little arvo treat.

Amaze'n, Margaret Riveris a big family amusement garden... set up by a couple 17 years ago who still run the show today. Visitors arrive at the site first by entering the park's café (and perhaps buying delicious icecream like we did) and then there is a fee charged before they are able to enter the grounds where the giant hedge maze and several smaller activities are spread out.

The maze, by my standards, is indeed gigantic. You can't see over the hedges, and only sometimes can you see through them. I'm proud to say that my family and I did manage to survive it without sneaking through any branches! Though it was tempting to cheat because we were racing each other to the exit.

Also, yes, we got lost. Which is what you want from a maze like this. Am I right?


Tom ponders the way.... "Didn't we just come from there?"

Taking a break from the race to just stroll and enjoy 


So I probably loved this maze mostly because it reminded me of both Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and of Labryinth. I kept wanting to see funny little creatures around every corner, and I imagined creepy eyes peering through the branches, watching us. My little brother Louie did a commendable impersonation of Cedric being dragged under the enchanted hedge and I asked the others, 'How cool would it be to be in here at nighttime?!" 
...but I knew Tom was spot on when he teased that I'd be scared out of my wits in such a situation.

Sneaky, sneaky overview

:)

The smaller activities in the rest of the garden were worthwhile, too. Actually, the 'Turn Left Maze' was great for a bit of intellectual challenge - where, obviously, you are only allowed to turn left around the miniature hedge blocks and work your way out by logically deciding how to get there. 



There was also a 'Stepping Stones' puzzle which challenged the hell out of us! You had to follow a sequence of white, red, black - following the painted lines between the stones in order to find your way to the middle one. It's very complex especially if you forget which way you came before each consecutive try. Pretty sure only two out of five of us succeeded.






Lastly, we checked out 'Flying Saucer Hill' which I liked because, in amongst all the creative and complexly grown features, here was one natural hill that had been bought with the property and likened to an image of a flying saucer, so smack boom, here it was, and labelled as an exciting landmark on the map.... brought to you by Amaze'n:



The incredible Flying Saucer Hill


Just so you know, we made good use of it...



Mum rolls down the hill and takes a second to lay there and regain normal functions.... 
I [maturely] yell: "Mum's drunk!" 
Mum: "Ohhhh, I AM drunk, I feel out of it now!" and lays there some more while surrounding picnickers are amused [or judging].
Haha.


So that's my share of a weekend, hope you enjoyed yours just as much. Has anyone heard about other giant mazes existing? There's got to be some!

Look forward to replying to any lovely comments, as always. 

xZ 



Oh and one last thing; I wanted to say that I'm not sure why I chose to wear a full-on touristy style hat on this day, but WOW am I glad I discovered it in our home. Bright blue and yellow, with an IN-BUILT SOLAR FAN to cool your face,,, it is definitely WORTH all the capitals in talking about it! Sweet stylin'. 

Who DOESN'T love a good bargain?

...Which is exactly why I was viciously elbowed so many times today.

Haha, let me introduce you to Margaret River's fortnightly 'Lion's Shed' sale. It gathers donated clothes, furniture and bric-a-brac, and sells them at low prices you wouldn't expect.
Held in a huge shed [obviously], hosted by tame lions [jokes], you definitely want to get there when the gates open at 8:30 on a Saturday morning.
Because from that point, the large pack of early-bird civilians will just march right in, scan the stock and snap up the best bits within the first minute. You definitely need to be quick at making decisions. Ie. it's best NOT to be me, who, for example, can easily spend seven minutes deciding on which Subway sandwich to go for, and that's before I get to the sauces.

Luckily I had my mum, stepdad, and boyfriend, all there for moral support today. And wow... I'm proud of what our team managed to pull together...



After weeks of looking in second hand shops and chasing misguided Facebook sale posts, Tom and I finally got a couch! Bright blue & the perfect size for our little bungalow, for $30!


This wooden cabinet was difficult to resist, and so handy, for $60.


And THIS is my haul of clothes - some lovely, some I'll cut up, sew, and dye to make into better things.
Guess how much...?



FIVE DOLLARS!
You fill up a plastic bag with whatever you can fit, and you get the whole lot as a package deal. I'll definitely do that again next time, and again and again until I can clothe Ethiopia.

- And a free bracelet


As well as the Lions Shed sale, there also happened to be a garage sale down our road, where we picked up a $10 fan (post-vigorous scrubbing to remove grime):


And also this groovay necklace which the homeowners suspected might be made of bone!


It's actually pretty heavy! I think it looks awesome with floaty, white clothing. $2.




All this has got me keen for doing up our home (I admit I've been lazy so far, but that's gonna change!). We even stopped at the hardware shop and smuggled a mighty bunch of paint tabs - focusing on blue, green, and aqua tones. Remember how I said we were going to paint the ceilings with colour and leave our walls white? We aimed for lighter colours so as not to lower the ceiling too much.



Think this is our winner!
Not too flashy, and it gives a refreshing, calm vibe. Can't wait to fill our bungalow with beautiful things.

xZ

Just an outfit post

I've noticed that the majority of my posts have been very wordy lately, so if you're thinking the same and saying "Shut up and show me some pretty pictures!" in your head or even aloud [you crazy!], then this post is for you.



This is my absolute favourite dress of late - especially on days when I'm not satisfied with the sun. It was one of the items from that crazy sale I was telling you all about here!





Also, this is a quirky looking spider that I found attached to the crotch of my dress, argh! I promptly flicked him onto the ground (out of alarm, sorry little guy) and then he was just chillin', cruising along like no amount of rejection gets to him.



Cool, hey?

xZ

Cheeky booze time at Bootleg Brewery

Aloha! Today I've been enjoying a lovely day full of chatter, chocolate, and uhh... beer!



We celebrated Tom's twenty-third birthday with a 'family' lunch at the Bootleg Brewery in Margaret River. I use the inverted commas because sadly, it was only my family today; Tom's parents and siblings are still back in South Australia.
I so admire Tom's strength in staying here with me - and even more so, his brave choice to move in the first place. We're a relatively new couple, we hadn't even known each other for a year before we moved here a month ago. He's such a family guy though, super close to his mum especially, and he does miss them a lot from time to time.
I wanted to work hard today to make sure he didn't miss them TOO much. Just quietly, I think I did pretty darn well! Brekky in bed, homemade carrot cake, and a lovely outing to Bootleg.

It's a pretty cool place, orientated outdoors with lush green grass and big umbrellas everywhere.

I think they do live music on Saturdays, so it's busier than it usually is on a Sunday like today... but I didn't think the atmosphere was lacking. Our big table chatted constantly, in between devouring the huge meals we'd ordered.

I had a gorgeous filo-wrapped chicken breast stuffed with brie, pine nuts, and sundried tomatoes, covered in hollandaise sauce. Yummmmm! .

We tried all the beers too (by the jug!), some stranger tasting than others. I myself am not a huge beer drinker, but I like to taste.


If you can read the above beer list, you can notice that the last one is called the "Raging Bull". This has an alcohol percentage of 7.1, as opposed to 4.0% in the others!! We didn't knock back too many of these.

Instead of ordering any baked or icecreamy desserts, the birthday crew chose to head over to the Margaret River Chocolate Factory. Where we dove into the free samples and walked out without buying anything! Hehe. Actually, Tom was gifted some amazing dark mint chocolate, which I now cannot photograph, because it has mysteriously disappeared...

This is what I wore for the occasion:

A plain black skirt & singlet combo, with my new Target jacket thing on top. Floaty, pink, with a vintage look to it... ahhh I love it so much! With my pearl ring, favourite chunky bracelet and jeweled sandals I felt elegant and romance inspired.





Loving that we're seeing more and more of beautiful Margaret River each week. It's definitely a stunner of a holiday destination, for anyone wanting to check out an aesthetically pleasing part of Australia as well as getting a feel for a rich and arty culture.

If I wanted to continue raving, making this post even longer, I'd start with the beach. Ohhhh, bliss. I'll leave you with just one shot & hook you up with more another time.

xZ