Foodie Monday #4

Hi Guys! 

How have you been doing?

It’s the time of the week for my food review. I am so sorry about the delay in posts, but since we now have two weeks of school break, we will keep up to date. Promise! 

So the week before was my 18th birthday, I decided to treat myself a lovely brunch at Top Paddock. I had heard so many amazing things about this place, and all the pictures from instagram were irresistible. 

It was really easy to get there and when we arrived there were hardly any seats left (it was a Friday morning). I have to say the place was decorated beautifully, modern and classic at the same time. The staff were also extremely friendly and helpful!

After looking through the menu, we decided to have a hot cake, a ginger and chocolate cake and a portion of homemade bacon and eggs. The wait was around 15 minutes for all three dishes to come. I was absolutely pleased by the sophisticated decoration of the hotcake, however, I was a bit terrified by the size of it. 

It was bigger and thicker than I thought, but the taste was undeniably amazing, and the cake was moist and even tastier than I expected. The berries and figs balanced the sweetness and the ricotta was perfectly light. 

Even though we had to share it between three people since it was so big, we all agreed that it was one of the yummiest cakes that we’ve ever tried. The ginger and chocolate cake was okay for me, and I found it a bit dry.

The last dish was bacon and eggs, pear jam on bread. The homemade bacon was amazingly delicious. It was definitely the best bacon I have ever had and again, the balance between the sourness and the saltiness was nailed successfully.

Overall I was so happy and satisfied with my yummy birthday brunch. I’m definitely going to come back and try other dishes soon! For me, Top Paddock is a must-try place for all the Melbournians. 

If you have tried the delicious food from Top Paddock then share your opinion with us!  

The address is 658 Church Street, Richmond 3121. I hope you will like this place when you try it!  

Feel free to recommend to us any of your favourite foodie places in Melbourne so we can go check them out!

Love Ivy xx

Top Paddock Website
Top Paddock Menu

Shopping Haul #1

So a couple of days ago when I was in town, I decided to treat myself, after having a barrage of medical checkups. I went to Lush, Sportsgirl and The Body Shop.

Some of the items were on sale, so you may not be able to find them at that price anymore, but I'll mention that when I list the price! I've been using most of the products since then and am pretty happy with my purchases!

So naturally I headed into my favourite store, The Body Shop! From here I got the Tea Tree Skin Clearing Lotion ($11.95), Tea Tress Blemish Fade Night Lotion ($19.95), Travel Size Argan Oil Shower Gel ($3.95), Coconut Hand Cream ($6.95) and Peppermint Foot Fizzles ($2.95). The Tea Tree products are working miracles on my skin, and its looking so much better already! 

These items I got on sale from Sportsgirl. They were all heavily discounted at 50% off the sale price so I was happy to pick them up! These beauty products are from their own line, and I've had success with their beauty products in the past. I got the Nail It Moondust Nail Polish ($2.47), Colour It Hair Chalk ($2.47) and Eye Sparkle Glitter ($2.47). I love glitter and the nail polish is great! The hair chalk also has been a pretty cool, and safe addition to my boring blond/brown hair colour!

The last shop on my shopping haul was to Lush, my first time making a purchase. I really wanted to get one of their amazing looking bath bombs, but sadly I don't have a bath. I also discovered they had a makeup range so I'll have to investigate in the future. I got the Ultrabalm ($9.95), Grease Lightning Spot Treatment ($13.95), Yellow Fun ($9.50), Aquatic Toothy Tabs ($2.95) and Breath of God Toothy Tabs ($2.95).  Toothy Tabs ($2.95). The Ultrabalm is working wonders on my dry heels, the spot treatment is saving my face and the yellow fun has been a great replacement for body wash.

The only purchase I was disappointed with were the Toothy Tabs, they were horrible, and I felt pretty sick after using them. The smell and taste was overpowering and after trying one, I'm not going to use or buy them again. I wouldn't recommend these to anyone.

Overall apart from the Toothy Tabs from Lush I'm super happy with my shopping haul!

Have you had a beauty shopping haul lately?

Love Katie xoxo

Beauty Review Friday #2

Today  I want to feature a few amazing Sukin products I love.

Revitalising Facial Scrub (125ml)

"This gentle creamy treatment promotes healthy skin circulation, refining texture and smoothness, leaving clean radiant skin."

I love this product and it is a non-abrasive, natural facial scrub. It manages to clean my skin and pores without clogging them with nasty chemicals. I use it every couple of days and rotate with another facial scrub. For only $9.95, this really is an affordable natural facial scrub.

Hydrating Mist Toner (125ml)

"This alcohol-free, skin hydrating mist combines chamomile and rosewater to help soothe, tone and cool tired skin. Use after cleansing or whenever your skin feels tired or stressed. Perfect for hot days, long flights or long days in an air-conditioned environment."

I always take this travelling and on plane flights as it keeps my face hydrated and refreshed. There's nothing worse than hoping off a 10-hour flight feeling shrivelled up and dry. A perfect travel companion and a convenient size. This product costs $9.95 also.

Do you like Sukin? If so what is your favourite product?

Katie xoxo

Katie's Corner #1

Take A Moment

When you walk outside do you look up and around at your surroundings? Do you observe the beauty of the world around you and embrace the natural essence of life? Or do you walk quickly with your head down, because you're in a hurry?

In our busy lives we often don't take a moment to observe the natural beauty around us, we are to worried about work, money, family and the material world to pause. 

Taking a moment out of each day to just watch what's going outside is truly important in finding a connection with our world. The moments we spend with our world, rather than in our world are a time of reflection and relaxation. 

Reflection on how amazing the miracle of life is, whether spiritually or scientifically, on yourself and your connection with the world is an extremely important part of connecting with our roots. Relaxation with the beauty of nature and the precious gift of life that is bestowed on us, brings peace to our busy lives.  

Take time this week on your way to just pause for a minute and reflect and relax with our home, the earth.

Love Katie xoxo

Gift Idea Wednesday #2

Today I want to share with you wonderful journals from Kikki K. These journals have always appealed to me, as they often have prompts, lovely prints and are bound really nicely. If you plan on keeping them to look back on in the future they are perfect!

I have often used these journals as gifts, and they have always been well received. Usually I'd write a little note on the inside of the front cover, as that gives it an extra personal touch.

A Sentence A Day Journal

"Often the first step to making a change is to understand how you’re feeling today. With this unique Sentence A Day Journal, you’ll be prompted to answer a fun thought starter each day. Over three years you can look back at how your answers changed over time, giving a special insight into your loves, ideas and wishes. This makes a beautiful gift for your loved ones."

101 Dreams Journal

"Did you know... Dreams help give your life meaning. They inspire you to find your passions and live with purpose. They enhance happiness through hope and imagination.
Use this journal as the perfect tool to think consciously about what you want to achieve in life and record those dreams on paper. The fun exercises, prompts and inspiring quotes will help you explore your passions and understand what gives your life purpose.
Record a list of 101 dreams then divide them into short term and long term dreams to work towards making them reality."

These journals are absolutely beautiful and perfect gifts for any occasion! Do you like journals? What do you look for in a journal?

Hope your had a lovely day!
Love Katie xoxo

***GIVEAWAY***

To celebrate the launch of our new blog- Beautiful Temptations, we have decided to run a giveaway competition for one lucky winner to receive a $25 JB-HI-FI Gift-Card!

The link to the giveaway widget is on the right hand side of this blogs homepage, alternatively you can find it here.

We can't wait for you to join us on our journey and share in our experiences!

Love Ivy and Katie 

PS. Sign up for our weekly newsletter here, we'd love for you to join us!

Foodie Monday #2

So today I'm going to share the delights of the classic Chicken and Sweet Corn Soup. This is one of my favourite soups and one of my go to choices at Chinese restaurants. I love the flavours and It never fails to cheer me up on a cold day. If you're feeling creative here's a recipe to try your hand at it.

Sorry for the short post today, life's been crazy lately! I'll defiantly be back strong on Wednesday!

Let me know what your favourite go to Soup is in the comments below!

Love Katie xoxo

Ivy's Corner #1

Hi Everyone!

How was your weekend?

I’m Ivy and this is exciting because this is going to be my first post on our blog!! 

As you know, we will post things weekly based on different themes, and Katie is the one who writes most of the posts (believe me, she is definitely the best co-blogger you could ask for!!). She’s genuinely good at ideas and writing so yeah, you’ll see tons of cool entries from her weekly ;)

I’m more into personal things so I’ll probably write things about my experiences and perspective, or my life. I know it sounds boring, but I promise I’ll try my best to make the topic interesting.

Please let me know if you have any cool ideas, that you want Katie or I to write about. It would be great if we can get any feedback from you guys so don’t hesitate to comment down below :D!

This week I’ll start off with one of my favourite hobbies: reading! I know nowadays we’re connected to the Internet 24/7 and our devices have become our best friends, we’ve tended to lose interest in newspapers and books.

But believe me, sometimes when you need a break from life, books are one of the best options you can go with.

Today I’ll recommend to you one of my favourite books of all time: The Protected by Claire Zorn. Claire is a young adult author who is currently living in NSW, and you may have heard of her from the book, “The Sky So Heavy”. If you haven’t, you should definitely check her books out.

They are enjoyable to read and great to think about.  I’ll attach a link below so you can have some more information about the book and also about Claire! I don’t want to get into too many details about the book, just in case someone doesn’t want spoilers.

But the book reflects my thoughts perfectly and somehow I can see myself in Hannah - the main character. For the rest, I’ll let you decide whether you like my suggestions or not! Feel free to suggest for me any of your favourite books, because I love to read in my free time!

Here is the link to the book’s description:

http://www.uqp.uq.edu.au/book.aspx/1300/The%20Protected

That’s my post for this weekend! Thank you all for visiting us and leaving comments! We are super appreciative of your feedback and support!

Thanks again and have a lovely week!

Love Ivy!!!