Mar 31st - Happy Easter!

It's Easter time :) that means lots and lots of chocolate. Great for my tastebuds but not so much for the waistline :p

Ah well only once a year :) haha we had a fun morning hiding easter eggs for our patents and then they hid eggs for us :) its our family tradition and it's a lot of fun, especially finding all the interesting places eggs have been hidden.

Then me and mum went and saw the movie Goddess with free passes we had. It was pretty funny :) I really enjoyed it and it was great to see many Aussie actors in it :) work was also great today too - so relaxing when it's an easy meal for dinner.

Mar 30th - New coat and a little splurge

I've been eyeing off a few coats at chadstone lately and with winter coming up what better time to get one!

There was a few at Valleygirl and Temt that I was looking at and I decided after working that public holiday and earning a lot that I would splurge a little and go on a little shopping spree :) I I finally decided on a nice maroon colored coat from Temt. It was $50 which is a bit more than I usually spend on clothing, especially when I usually go op shopping and pay around $5 but a little splurge won't hurt now and again. It is so warm and flattering and I just love it :) it will definitely get a lot of use especially on my upcoming trip to New Zealand.

Mar 29th - Work sucks but at least it pays well...

It's just one of those days I suppose. Actually more like one of those weeks! Work is just getting worse and worse. Even though I woke up in a bad mood this morning (carrying on from last night - found more of my things in the bin :/ my housemates have been throwing my stuff away without telling me and not even broken or anything) I thought today would be a good day. I made raspberry and lemon curd madelines from my new cookbook and they were delicious and I took them to work to share and everyone loved them. And at work it was a public holiday so 2.5x pay! Yay great for my holiday fund. But everything went from bad to worse and instead of finishing dinner service at 5.30 we were still serving at 5.50pm and running around getting food for residents who were late when I should've been finishing the dishes. I feel bad for my coworker who will be late tonight :/ my work doesn't pay overtime very often. They are very stingy. It's ridiculous. I wish I could quit :/ I think it's time to go home and curl up in bed with choc and Disney movies...

Mar 28th - Another day, another dollar

Work. It's driving me insane. I feel trapped in my job. I can't quit because I don't have another job to go to. I can't quit because if I do I can't pay my rent or my bills. If I quit I'd miss my colleagues too much. The catering team feels more like than just a bunch of coworkers. We are a family. Still dysfunctional but still very close. As much as I'd love not working and doing anything or nothing like my housemate currently is, I'd go insane with loneliness and probably become even more depressed. In some ways this feels like its helping me get better. The daily blog posts. The good things in my life. I remember seeing a book at Dymocks called 'Saved by Cake'. It was a cookbook and the lady had had depression and it was baking sweet treats that helped her through it. I think baking is definitely one of the things that helps me through my darkest days. Cooking for people I care about and sharing joy. Making people smile.

Mar 27th - Early Easter treats

Today as is with every Wednesday is trivia day! And as its Easter on Sunday, we decide to celebrate today :) so we brought along our bunny ears, easter eggs and treats and had a mini party :) I made these really cute Easter nest cupcakes and gave half of them out at work :) everyone loved them! It was a lot of fun and definitely what I was looking for to all day :) definitely also something to take my mind off tomorrow's house inspection eek! We have lived here nearly three years and never had one so I guess we are quite lucky compared to some people who have them every year or Ben every 6 months! My room is soo messy! Long night ahead to tidy it up :/ serves me right though for leaving it to the last minute. Worlds best procrastinator - I am definitely a contender :p

Mar 26th - Favorite new YouTube series

My friend recently posted about this YouTube show called 'The Lizzie Bennet Diaries'. I found out its a modern retelling of pride and prejudice via short clips made in the style of a video blog. Its really clever and I must say I'm quite addicted. I really love the movie Pride and Prejudice as well as a tweaked version called Lost in Austen. If you like pride and prejudice you should check out this quirky new take where a modern girl swaps places with Elizabeth Bennet and falls in love with Darcy. I also found a book at the op shop called 'Me and Mr Darcy' which follows a similar storyline. Lots of pride and prejudiceness :p lots of videos to catch up on! Watched 20 so far, 68 to go :)

Mar 25th - Early mornings and blind dates

So after staying at my friends house after her fiancé's bday, we had a super early start as she dropped us at the station on her way to work. 6am Arg! Way too early to be awake and it was freezing! At least when I got to my station I could have maccas for breakfast. Yeah I know not the healthiest thing to have but I do love their sausage mcmuffins :) once I got home I couldn't even go back to bed because lucky me I had a dentist appointment :/ I hate going to the dentist. Luckily it was my last trip for a while. One filling and one sealant later, my mouth was still numb and sore but yay no more dentist for a while. I decided after I'd go exploring the city. My friend yesterday had a really great dress and I tried to go and find it but sadly they didn't sell it anymore but I did find other great dresses at the bargain clothing stores down flinders street. Everything $10 or less? Hell yeah! Then when I got home I found out I had a date. So nervous! Especially when he arrived to pick me up. Eek! But it went so well :) I dunno how things are going to go but we'll see what happens :) I'm trying to stay positive. I'm so bad at dating - all these 'rules'. Ugh I feel like I need to change to fit the mould to get anywhere :/

Mar 24th - Sponge cake worked!

My friend asked me a couple of days ago if I could make two sponge cakes for her partners bday dinner. I'd never made sponge cake before and I'd heard of the terrors of flat cakes and cakes collapsing,etc. But you never know how you're going to go until you try and it worked! It was so simple too! I made the cakes last night and they turned out beautifully :) I was so happy! I decorated them this morning with jam and cream between the layers and covered it in chocolate ganache and choc flakes. She loved them :) Mmm who doesn't love a good choc cake :)

Mar 23rd - Damn free samples!

Yesterday just before work I popped into the supermarket to pick up a few things. A lady from Lindt was there and as much as I tried to avoid the tray of free chocolate she got to me and how could I resist? She had some free samples of coconut intense and strawberry intense. I tried the strawberry intense and damn it was good! Stupid free samples working their way into my taste buds and what happens when I pop into the shops today to buy groceries? Two blocks of Lindt intense choc slip into my basket and got through the checkout and come home with me. I bought orange intense and strawberry intense. Tastes soooo good but soooo bad for my waistline! :/

Mar 22nd - Birthday cupcakes!

Good old Facebook reminding us about our friends birthdays. Sometimes where would we be without it :/ I know those helpful reminders have gotten me out of a few sticky situations. Today I found out it was my friends birthday at work. I also asked if she was going to be in tomorrow and so I had some cupcakes and icing from my cupcake making marathon leftover and I thought it would be great to make these birthday cup cakes spelling out her name :) hopefully it will be a nice surprise to brighten her day :)

Mar 21st - Cupcake frenzy

I have been neglecting my baking lately and it's a shame cause it always makes me so happy especially when trying new recipes. I decided after going to my cupcake workshop that I would try out some new flavours and have a bit of fun decorating. I made choc mint, vanilla, cookies and cream, chocolate, cherry ripe and choc orange. I took 2 dozen along to trivia tonight and they disappeared very quickly. Everyone enjoyed them :) I also won a prize in the raffle which can pay for my dinner next week :) yay!

Mar 20th - Chocolate fix

Today at work was just one of those stressful days where every little thing drives you mad! I could not wait for work to be over so I could just relax and do my own thing. I went shopping at spotlight to use my bday vouchers to get some more cake decorating supplies but it was a smaller store so went home empty handed. Then I came home to cook a somewhat healthy dinner of rice paper rolls, followed by a treat of choc fondue and movies in bed :) only thing I'm missing is cuddles with someone special and it would be perfect :) I've been just wanting to be alone a lot lately. I feel a bit suffocated in my house cause it's so small I can only escape to my room or have to wait till late when my housemates are sleeping to have downstairs to myself. I wish I could afford to live alone sometimes.

Mar 19th - Sad Farewell

Today was the day where we said farewell to our boss at work. After 9 months (which flew by way too quickly) it was time to say goodbye. Two weeks ago we were all called together where we got the unexpected news that he had resigned and would be leaving in two weeks. It was a bit of a shock. Everyone was quite sad and some of us were trying hard not to cry. I knew I wanted to do something as a thank you and to remember me by. I decided to make a cake and have a go at making a topper of him out of fondant. When I took it into work everyone loved, especially our boss :) it made him laugh and he was really touched. It will be very sad to see him go :( we met our new chef who will be here temporarily for now and as nice as he is, it just won't be the same anymore...

Mar 18th - A bit of a scare

Well today things just went from bad to worse :/ work was stressful. Residents changing their orders, nurses demanding things now, residents yelling at me :/ I just couldn't wait to get home. After a shopping trip to buy more baking supplies, I had caught the tram and was waiting to cross the road when I heard a loud bang. I looked up and saw two cars that had hit each other coming right at me. They had almost hit me but a pole right in front of me stopped that happening. I did get sprayed with something and I stunk! I really needed a shower after that ugh! And also needed one to help me calm down. I think I went into shock a bit. I couldn't stop shaking and after I finally crossed the road to the bus stop I started crying after a lady who had witnessed everything asked if I was ok. There are really nice people in the world. She drove me home and walked me inside to make sure I was ok. It mean a lot. My housemates took good care of me - feeding me dinner, making me a cuppa and taking me to a movie. A good night sleep will help too.

Mar 17th - Game of pool and mojito madness!

Right now I've just woken up and am getting ready to go to work :/ worst thing about working on a Sunday is when you've had a big night Saturday and you can't just sleep and do nothing, you have to get up and go to work tired and hungover. But ah well at least the pay is good. Makes it worth it. Last night was great! After the flying trapeze class I headed to strike to meet up with some friends. We played some pool, I ate an entire pizza and we drank giant jars of cocktails! It was awesome! One litre of mojito :) mmmm it was good.

Mar 16th - Flying high

So today my friend and I finally used our voucher to go try a beginners flying trapeze class! There are so many great deals out there on coupon sites like groupon and living social :) you should definitely check them out! So in the evening we made our way to the Flying Trapeze Centre in Blackburn. On the way in the car my friend was really nervous but I was super excited! When we got there it was a different story! I was so scared, climbing the ladder each time to the platform was terrifying. Even with the nets and safety lines leaving out to grab the bar took much courage. Even jumping off the platform I felt my legs turn to jelly. I got so frustrated with myself that I couldn't hang on the bar with my knees and let my hands go. Everyone went through four times and the first three I couldn't do anything but swing back and forth. When I was last left to go, I finally did it and I felt so incredibly proud of myself and it was great to hear everyone cheer me on :) it was such a rush! We can't wait to go again.

Mar 15th - St Patrick's Day at work

Work really gets into the swing of things with celebrating holidays. St Patrick's Day was no exception. They celebrated it today and we all got to dress up. I love not having to wear uniform to work. It's just more comfortable that way and also fun. Yesterday when the residents did craft, the lady running it made me a shamrock brooch. It was pretty awesome :) I bought this really cool vintage style green dress and teamed it with some green leggings and really got into the spirit. It was great seeing all the residents enjoying happy hour and dressed in green. Some of the staff went all out too and had giant hats and ties and it was hilarious.

Mar 14th - St Patrick's Day celebrations

Every Wednesday after work I have pub trivia to look forward to! It really does keep me going through the bad days at work and it's a great way to spend hump day. Yesterday we decided to celebrate St Patrick's Day! I found some cute little hats from the reject shop and made some little cupcakes using mint leaves to make shamrocks :) we had a great time even with a small turn out this week. One of my friends brought along her two friends and they are fantastic! We have formed a great bond already and can't wait to spend more time with them soon. Its always great to meet new people, especially those you have things in common and who are down to earth and friendly :) i also found out it was one of their birthdays recently so I surprised them with a cake which they loved. It made me feel so great at how touched they were :) little things that you can do for people really can touch people's hearts and make their day :)

Mar 13th - Time to shop till I drop!

Today was chadstone's VIP day! It happens about every 3 months where almost every store in chadstone shopping centre has sales on! What more could a girl want! Boy did I need a good dose of retail therapy. I found some great things including some sexy corsets, a great skull bag for my pirate obsessed friend and a blazer. Don't you just love when you are unsure about something but then you decide if you don't get it you'll probably regret it? That's what I did when I found an awesome blazer which I thought was $30 (so would've got it for $21) and it ended up scanning at $20 so I got it for $13 :) yay! And I wore it out tonight and I love it! Been looking everywhere for a great blazer and tried on heaps that didn't look so great and now I finally have one :)

Mar 12th - Cake Decorating

So my newest friend Nicole recently celebrated her birthday and when I found out she would be at trivia this week I knew I had to make her a cake! Give me any excuse to bake and I'm so there! I decided to make a chocolate cake with chocolate icing and fondant flowers. In my most recent cake decorating magazine I got a silicone flower mould and they are so easy and they look gorgeous! Really easy to make and would look great on any cupcake, cookie or cake :) so much cheaper than buying those pre made flowers at the supermarket and so easy! I made the flowers today so they could dry over the next 2 days before I put them on the cake.

Mar 11th - Nothing better than a good read

I love reading books. I have everything on
my bookshelf from Twilight to Harry Potter and even 50 Shades of Grey (yes I know many people hate it but I do love it!). I always devour books and then am stuck for what to read next. My new recent obsession is the Fallen series by Lauren Kate. I'll try not to give too much away but it's about fallen angels and forbidden love and it's really interesting. I found the first two in the series at savers during their big sale recently and I decided to buy them without really knowing what they were about and I've become addicted to reading them. I devoured the first book and am up to the second, Torment. Somedays there is nothing better than relaxing with a good book :)

Mar 10th - Catch up and girly goss

Last night my friend and I dressed up and headed out for dinner and a catch up. We headed to Knox to this fancy cafe. The food was good but really pricey. I had a Wagyu burger which was really nice. I love Wagyu (gold class did a better job with their mini burgers when they were on the menu). We had a good catch up and goss session cause we hadn't seen each other in a while. I needed a good girls night out and dressing up with nice clothes and make up makes you feel good too.

Mar 9th - Cupcakes cupcakes everywhere!

I was sooo excited this morning when I checked my inbox to see that I had won a free cupcake decorating class at Cupcake Central! I entered a competition on facebook from my current favorite magazine - Cake Decorating. You had to say why you wanted to win a spot and as always creativity usually pays off and it did for me :) I made up a little poem about cupcakes and kit kats and it won me a spot :) I had such a great time and definitely learnt a lot! We made the best cupcakes I've ever tasted! I can't wait for their new cookbook to be released! Unfortunately I missed out on the preorder so I have to wait an extra 6 weeks :( but ah well, it'll be worth it. I also learnt how to make sugar roses :) its so simple and they turned out so well :) it will definitely help with my cupcake business :) I had a blast :) might have to try their cake pop class too

Mar 8th - Op shop, a cactus and a cake!

So today was an action packed of fun! Well not entirely fun but the start of my day was :p before my dreary day at work I met up with a friend for coffee and cake. I had a Tim tam cheesecake. It was good but it was soo rich I couldn't finish it. I would've been sick! After a good chat and catch up I couldn't resist checking out the op shop across the road :) I didn't find much even though they had lots of sales on (like 50% off handbags :p like I already have enough of those but I did buy one hehe) but I did find a cute cactus plant in a mug which I bought for my gardening loving housemate :) he thought it was great :) it now lives in our kitchen windowsill. Too bad klutzy me broke the handle off when I took it out of my locker t work but at the least the cup is still holding.

Mar 7th - Go Team Tryhard!

We had a fantastic surprise when we got to trivia last night :) every week quizmeisters run a drawing challenge called 'pandas doodle'. Last week the theme was Evil breakfast mascots. My friend and housemate Paul drew Commander Crunch. When it got to pandas doodle at trivia, they announced last weeks winners and our picture came up on the screen! We all cheered :) we won a case of beer and we plan on having a pandas doodle party to drink and celebrate :p No one from our venue has ever won it before!

Mar 6th - Looong day at work

Today was definitely a struggle! It started with annual work training. They put all of our mandatory trainings in one long boring day. It went from 9am - 1.30pm and then I had to do my permanent shift from 1.30 - 6. The training was so boring it actually put me to sleep which was a little embarrassing :/ everyone was staring at me apparently as I dozed off. My eyes kept closing and I kept jerking awake but then I must have actually fallen asleep for a bit. So awkward! I did need the extra money though and getting the training out of the way in one go instead of short bursts made it worth it. We also found out the sad news today that our boss is leaving! He got a new job in a better position closer to his home. He'll be here for 2 more weeks. I never thought I'd say this but it will be sad to see him go! Especially how things were when he first started! I would've been happy to see the back of him! Funny how things change.

Mar 5th - Feeling down

I've been feeling really down lately - really out of it. One of my best friends and I have been fighting a bit lately. I won't post those details here but I just needed some space to think. I didn't want to say anything I would regret. When I get upset or angry I tend to lash out with what I say. When I came back to try and talk to him, in the middle of our conversation my phone battery died and I couldn't let him know that. I couldn't charge my phone until after work and when I got back on Skype he had deleted me :( this seems to be the fight that broke our friendship and I have been so upset about it every since :( I cried myself to sleep last night and have felt like I've been in a bit of a daze. It's going to take a while to get over it. We were so close and now I just don't know what to feel :/

Mar 4th - Boys and blunders

So the weather was great and what better day to enjoy the sunshine with a nice swim with a cute boy? Or at least so I thought... It was fun hanging out with him but after a short time I must have got boring as the television and video games became more entertaining and took away his focus. I really need to start looking for more mature older guys rather than younger ones who are just looking for a good time :/ where are the nice single guys in the world hiding? Someone direct them my way please ... At least I had fun with my underwater camera haha

Mar 3rd - Chocolate galore!

So whilst I am nursing a bit of a hangover after my giant daiquiri, I am also nibbling on some sweets! Mm fantails :) random movie facts & choc and caramel :) yummm also love milkos! Anyways... We had lots of fun after TGIFs last night at time zone! Hadnt been to one in a while, wasn't sure they still existed :p we played sooo many games! I even won the car racing and I was the only one out of all of us who doesn't drive hehe and we played the candy machine and got sooo much candy!! Hence the yummy treats I'm currently eating for my breakfast :p

Mar 2nd - TGIF

Yes I know it's not Friday but we did decide to go to TGIF for dinner. I have never been before but I love it! Love it even better that we had coupons! They are a tad on the pricey side but we had a voucher for buy 1, get 1 free meal voucher! Yay! The food was really good (and so were the cocktails!) They had daiquiris on their cocktail menu and I was so excited :) my nickname is actually daiquiri girl (more about that later) and it was huge and very delicious :) Mmm I could go another one right about now. Definitely going back soon. Apparently lunch is a lot cheaper so will go back then.

Mar 1st - Waffles for the win!

So the end of last year for my birthday I got a waffle iron! Yay such a cool present. It's like some people read my mind (I had many cool presents!) not that I thought about buying one lately or that I need one but it's still awesome! So I finally decided that it was time to take it for a test run. I found a recipe and it turned out ok. Few more recipes to test out though. It took care of my sweet tooth though! Waffles, ice cream, homemade choc fudge sauce and roast almonds :) match made in heaven! And my housemate loved it too :)