Easter Holiday in Singapore

Hope you all had a great Easter and a lovely break with family and friends. I sure did! If you follow me on Instagram (if you don't, I suggest you do) then you'll know that I've been in Singapore for the last week and a half with one of my girlfriend's for a break of food, shopping and relaxation. 

I've been to Singapore many times, mainly as a small stop over or a fly through, but haven't done the whole tourist thing for probably over 10 years. So this time, and also because it was my friend's first time into Singapore, we decided to spend a bit longer here so that she could see and experience the sights, sounds and flavours of Singapore. 

We didn't spend the whole time in Singapore; we broke up the trip and made a side trip to Bintan Island, Indonesia, for three days of resort living to soak in some sun, sand and massages. I wrote a separate post about our time on Bintan Island which can be read here. 

The stunning beach on Bintan Island

Singapore doesn't have a lot to do but 5 days here you can seriously pack in quite a bit and really embrace yourself into the various Asian cultures that make up Singapore. It is pretty easy to get around Singapore via their public transport system; we mainly travelled on the MRT (their train network) and the cost to get from place to place is on average 0.90 cents (totally cheap!) and if you have to get a taxi then even they are cheap here!

Cereal Prawn

There are some highlights of Singapore that is worth experiencing and my number one recommendation is experiencing the food culture that Singapore has to offer. Singapore is made up of Chinese, Malays, Indians, Caucasians and Eurasians and other Asians of different origins which means the variety and options are plenty. Singapore is famous for their chilli mud crab, Hainanese chicken rice, roti and my new favourite, cereal prawn.

A very good friend of mine lives in Singapore and every time I come I always will catch up with him and his beautiful girlfriend. During this visit, as always, he met up with us and took us out for dinner at Clark Quay where many restaurants, nightclubs and bars are surrounding this waterfront. We had an amazing array of food which consisted of chilli mud crab with man tao (asian bread to dip in the sauce), cereal prawns, aromatic duck (also served with asian bao) and asian greens (to be healthy).

Aromatic duck and the man tao (steamed and fried versions)

The famous Singapore chilli mud crab

To really experience Singapore's amazing food culture you have to go to their many hawker centres which is like a massive food court offering a variety of food stalls. There you'll get to tasty many different cuisines and dishes for the cost of a coffee! Many dishes there cost around $3 - $5 so you can grab a few to try. The one that we went to which serves more local food is Lau Pat Sat. 

Some tasty food that you can get at many of the Hawker Centres

Ice cream in a slice of rainbow bread that you can find on the streets

Singapore Zoo would have to be my favourite zoo as it's the one zoo that I know that doesn't have cages (at least for 98% of the animals) as they have designed it in a way that the animals cannot come out and human can't go within. We had a special Jungle Breakfast with the Orang Utans that you can organise at the zoo. It's a buffet breakfast so that is plenty of options and then they bring out the Orang Utans to join you for breakfast and the keepers provide you with a history of them and what they get up to and enjoy. The best bit is that during the breakfast is that you get to get up close and personal with the Orang Utans and get a photo with them. Amazing! 

Restaurant where the buffet breakfast is served

To have breakfast with the Orang Utans, you had to book online. I would suggest getting in early as it gets booked out. It costs $33 pp (adults) and $23 pp (children 6 - 12 years old) for the buffet breakfast with the Orang Utans and $32 pp (adults) and $21 pp (children 3 - 12 years old) entry into the zoo. After breakfast you can then spend the rest of the day at the zoo exploring all the other animals and attending some of shows; which for me I had to attend the Elephants of Asia show. Elephants are my favourites so I couldn't miss that show.

Mother and baby Orang Utan enjoying breakfast with us

Baby Orang Utan chilling out and being cute during breakfast

Elephants of Asia show

Chinatown and Little India are a couple of places worth experiencing. I found Chinatown more fun and interesting with a lot more to do and see. Little India was a great place to go to if you really want to buy a sari dress and gold. Chinatown had markets to explore and traditional foods to try.

You haven't been to Singapore if you haven't been to Raffles Hotel for a Singapore Sling; the original Singapore Sling. So of course we made a trip to Raffles Hotel, to Long Bar, where the original Singapore Sling was invented. I'm not really a cocktail girl so we ordered one for my friend and I had a whisky. The hotel is beautiful and kept in its traditional 1920's style and the service is fabulous; the bar staff are quick to attend to you and will offer to take your photos with the famous cocktail in hand.

With my whisky at Long Bar, Raffles Hotel, Singapore

Laneways or Arab St is another place you should experience while in Singapore. Not only is it the place to go get some amazing Arab food but the laneways has some unique boutiques to explore and some great street art. You can wonder through the streets and just explore the different stores and cafes. Arab St also has many fabric stores so if you're after some beautiful fabrics, I would suggest going there. 

Haji Lane (parallel to Arab St), Singapore, with many boutique stores to explore 

Colourful wall art along Haji Lane, Singapore

Marina Bay Sands is also another place to visit especially if you're a shop-a-holic and a shop-a-holic of high-end fashion brands. Here you'll find the likes of Alexander McQueen, Kate Spade, Channel and Dole & Gabbana, just to name a few. Whilst there we treated ourselves to high tea at TWG Tea, the world's finest tea. 

One of the many TWG Tea places where you can enjoy high tea or lunch

We were provided with the tea menu and no joke, there was seriously, thousands and thousands of different teas to choose from. Not being a true tea drinker, it was like stepping into a unknown planet! Feeling a little under pressure to choose a tea, I fittingly choose a tea under the heading "day time tea" assuming that you drink these tea during the day!

Preparing for our tasty high tea

Singapore's Merlion

Sentosa is a little island that is part of Singapore and is a short tram ride or cable car ride across. We took a cab to Faber Peak to get the cable car across to Sentosa. At Faber Peak you can view the city of Singapore and from there get the Superhero themed cable car to Sentosa which crosses through a building and provides a stinging 360 view of the southern precinct. There are plenty of things to do at Sentosa so it does warrant either a full or half day there. If you have kids then it would have to be the perfect place to go to as there is a movie world there with activities and a (man-made) beach there were you can enjoy and relax.

Superhero cable car from Faber Peak to Sentosa

This time round I have experienced and viewed Singapore in a different light and I would happily say that I'll be more than happy to come back and spend a few days here; mainly for some light shopping and the food.

Thank you Singapore (and Bintan Island)…until next time.

Jo x  

Where we stayed?
While in Singapore we stayed at:
Orchard Hotel Singapore
It's located on Orchard Rd and the closes MRT is Orchard MRT. I totally recommend this hotel for anyone as it was comfortable, modern, friendly staff and very central to everywhere you need to go to in Singapore. 

Hello From Bintan Island, Indonesia

As the title calls, "hello from Bintan Island", I'm writing this post from the island itself! This is our third day here and seriously my first time on the laptop to write a post in what seems to be a while. About a week ago, a friend and I travelled to Singapore for a holiday of sightseeing and to enjoy the culinary delights Singapore has to offer.

We've since taken a side trip to Bintan Island, Indonesia. It's only a simple 50 minutes ferry ride from Singapore. I'll write a separate post about the amazing Singapore trip later but for now I wanted to share my time on Bintan Island with you. 

Bintan Island is part of Indonesia and as I mentioned before, it is only a simple 50 minutes ferry ride from Singapore so it's a fabulous and easy side trip for anyone going to Singapore and wanting something a little different. This is the first time to Bintan Island for me and I only came across it because of advice from friends and to break-up the Singapore trip I had planned.

We're staying at the Bintan Lagoon Resort which is about a 30 minutes drive from the ferry terminal when you arrive. The resort is nice but personally, nothing too flash; however, it does have everything that you need. The decor is still very much in the 70's and 80's - some updating to the decor could be done but I guess that is what the charm is about this place. The staff here, however, are very friendly and are always there to assist with anything you may need or not even need. 

Our private beach - bliss!

The resort is pretty much on the other side of the island from where the ferry lands so you are a little further away from the main town/village and the downfall is that they don't provide a shuttle bus that goes from the hotel to the main village. To get there you would need to get a taxi which would cost the equivalent of approximately $50 AUS for a round trip (a little expensive). However, there are 12 restaurants, bars and cafes so you do have plenty of options to choose from including two pools, the private beach, beach activities including kayaking, gym, activities for adults and children and even a karaoke bar!

One of two pools available at the resort

It has been great being here just lounging around by the pool and beach, reading and just generally relaxing and recharging the energy. Today we treated ourselves to a 2 hour body de-stress message at the Aroma River Spa which is a 50 minutes drive from our resort. Yes, we could have had a massage at our resort but Aroma River Spa provides a better value and the cost includes lunch and transport to and from. So, it was a nice treat to get away from our resort for the day and experience another part of Bintan Island. 

The massage was amazing; starting off with choosing the salt scrub, the aroma oil for the massage and a tasty lime and masala ice tea you're instantly relaxed and prepared for the next two hours of bliss! After the amazing massage we were treated to a boat ride through the mangroves, arriving to where our tasty lunch was being served with a giant coconut water! 

Our amazing and delicious lunch

Stolling along the beautiful beach

Ahhhh, I'm feeling all relaxing and my skin is feeling soft like a baby's bottom! A delicious dinner will end this day perfectly. 

Jo x

The Oscars in Sydney 2015

I know I've been a bit quiet of late and haven't written any post for a little while or even been very active on my Instagram account. My 9 to 5 daily job has seriously been keeping me busy and I've been interstate or working late nights and have been so tired in between; then there's time spent catching up with family and friends, attending birthdays, hens night and volunteering in between. Life can be so full on at times!

Last Monday night, Sydney time, I attended "The Oscar Challenge Academy" (OCA) 4th Annual Oscar Challenge that was superbly organised by my boot camp friend, Annette, the OCA President. Annette absolutely loves the Oscars and is excited about it premiering each year, so the OCA began 4 years ago in her lovely lounge room with her bestie, Adam, OCA Vice President, and a few of her friends.

From her small little humbling Oscar Challenge in her lounge room in Sydney's northern beaches, it has since grown and in its fourth year, it had over 35 people (friends of friends) attend and the location moved to a theatre in Fox Studios Australia at Moore Park. For my first time attending, it was an awesome location and my first time driving through Fox Studios - so cool!

Our very own Oscar Awards

The entire event was thoroughly thought through and organised perfectly. Everyone attending had to come (fancy) dressed up as any character from any of the Oscar nominations and the effort that everyone made was outstanding and serious business. I'll have to get on top of that for next years event for sure! There were awards for Best Dressed, Most Films Watched, Newcomer, and even a Quizmaster, which I failed miserably but it was fun!

The night consisted of us walking down a red carpet, being interviewed along the way, taking photos, being treated to champagne, dinner, popcorn and plenty of lollies to out-do a kids party. 

It was the first time I had ever watched the Oscars from start to finish and I would have to say it was so good and probably because it was challenge. I love a challenge! We had to complete a ballot of who we believed would win in each category and then on Monday we were all in media lock down (which included Facebook) so no-one was allowed to know who or what won so that the evening can be a surprise and fun for everyone, which it was. If you love the Oscars and love to get involved in some serious fun games, I would suggest coming to this even next year!

If you love the Oscars and think that you can take home the gold man then why don't you join in on the fun with us next year and the bonus thing is that you get to meet some amazing people and make some incredible new friends. 

The Amazing Presidents

Got to love Lego!

To the OCA team, well done on an amazing event and thank you for inviting me. I loved every minute of it and am so pumped for next year to at least walk away with one Oscar!

Jo x

Dating Experience…..Mr. R

I wanted to share a dating story I've experienced. It would have to be an experience I was not expecting and a "you cannot make this stuff up" dating story. 

Firstly, let me take a step back and set the scene for you. I went out with girlfriends for a Sunday afternoon of music and drinks at a pub in Sydney and we met various people at the event which was a lot of fun as I love meeting new people. I got talking to this one guy, let's call him Mr R, and our conversation was going well where we were getting to know each other of "what do you do?" "where in Sydney do you live?" "what do you enjoy doing?" 

Mr R began to compliment me saying that he'd like to get to know me more and would like to take me out for ice cream. Yep, he had me at ice cream; I can never say no to an ice cream date! He was charming; saying all the nice things to make me giggle like a little girl and making me feel special....you know, one of a kind. Before I knew it, it was late in the evening and I was ready to head home, but before I did, Mr R said that he wanted to tell me something, "I've been in prison"….. "I served six months with two of my friends, we appealed and won so I don't have a criminal record"…

Not sure why, but I didn't question it too much. I just asked why and accepted the answer that it was for assault charges. I guess I initially assumed that boys are boys; they get into fights with each other. So, before I left, we agreed to meet the next day.  To add another element to the situation, the following day I found out through a friend that Mr R has a girlfriend and enough evidence was provided to me to confront Mr R about it. So, I questioned Mr R about his "so-call" girlfriend to which he denied and was upset that I was listening to my friends instead of confronting him about it face-to-face.  {I know, I know, a couple of red flags are flying right now}

So, I agreed. I agreed that we could meet face-to-face so that I can ask him directly to his face about his so-call girlfriend and what the story is there. We met afterwork for ice cream and at this point is when I asked him directly to his face "do you have a girlfriend?" to which is replied "No".  The only problem with his response was that his facial expression wasn't aligned and he couldn't look me in the eyes to confirm. I told him straight up that I still didn't believe him, his body language and face said otherwise and my gut was warning me.  For now, I let it go....for now.

We then went to a nearby pub for a drink. We sat in a lovely booth and shared a bottle of wine and talked more to get to know each other. He was telling me about his work and his plans to change direction with his career to stay in Sydney to be closer to his family; then suddenly, I had the urge to further question the reason why he had served prison time. 

It just didn't make sense to me. To me, for someone to serve prison time they would have to have gotten into a serious fight where they may have one-punched someone, put someone into a coma, paralysed them or accidentally killed someone (touch wood). If it was just a group of guys getting into a fight, I would assume that they would have received a warning, or a fine, or ban from the venue, or had to serve community service. My gut feel said that there was more than what he had told me, so I pushed and pushed for the full story and about about 10 minutes of pushing, Mr R finally told the full story.

Mr R and his two friends were charged with "assault" which was a "polite" word for rape!

Yes, you read correctly. I stared at him for a few minutes as the word echoed in my head and my insides just dropped like I was falling from a cliff. At first I thought I had misheard him but unfortunately, he was telling me the truth. What do you do? How do you react? What do you say? As I sat there in silence, I listened to his side of the story as he proceeded to tell me that he had no involvement but was charged for being an accessory because he was there.

The date didn't go on for much longer after that; we headed out of the pub to make our separate ways home. Mr R was keen for another date and even believed he should have gotten a kiss at the end of the night; but I kindly declined the kiss stating that I don't kiss on the first date.

What would you have done in this situation? What would you have said? Would you have considered another date with Mr R? For all I know, Mr R could possibly be telling the truth but I did have to question why was he in that situation? And given that he was in that situation, why didn't he stop what was happening. 

I'll admit, it's not a date I thought or ever imagined I would be in and I don't hope to be again. However, I'll give him credit for being honest with me and telling me the truth. This is a situation that he'll have to live with for the rest of his life and I hope he'll be honest with every girl he meets. You'll be pleased to know that I haven't and wasn't turned off dating again, but it was a situation or a dating story I never could have imagined telling....or even write on my blog.

Would you have given Mr R a second date? Have you been on an usual date? Share your story with me and others. 

Jo xo

Note - location and names have been kept confidential. 

"Moeloco" Dream Crazy

Most of you know I'm all for a good cause and a strong believer in helping those in need, where you can and when you can; whether it be through donations, volunteering or fundraising. I've previously written a post about my work with Oz Harvest and my joy of volunteering with them, which you can read here. 

So, when I heard about a new social enterprise in Australia, here in Sydney, that recently started I just knew I had to share this with you and support this local inspiring organisation. So what did I do? Well, in true Jo style, I went direct to the source! 

I contacted Kathy Wong, the Founder and CEO (Chief Energy Officer) of Moeloco - Good 4 Your Sole. I was lucky enough to ask her some questions but before I get into those, let me share a little of Moeloco with you. They design thongs (aka flip flops) with inspirational words on the sole of them so when you're walking in them on the beach the words are imprinted into the sand leaving lovely messages behind you for others to see, smile and be inspired by.

However, what I truly love about Moeloco is that it has gone one step further; they have built the foundation of parallel giving. What does this mean? It simply means that for every pair of Moeloco thong purchased, Moeloco will provide a pair of school shoes to a child in India as part of The Hope Foundation. Simple! You buy a pair and a child receives a pair of shoes - It's a win/win situation for everyone. 

There are over 300 million children without shoes and just by providing these children with a pair of shoes means that you'll assist them with attending school; it's amazing how a pair of shoes can help and encourage a child with attending school. Something that we, Australians, take for granted everyday. I remember when I attended school, there was never a thought about not attending because I didn't have shoes but for these children, it matters.

As I mentioned above I was very lucky to have the opportunity to ask Kathy a few questions about Moeloco:


WHAT DOES "MOELOCO" MEAN?

Moeloco is a combination of two words used to create its name. "Moe" is derived from the Hawaiian word Moehani, meaning "dream" and "loco" is latin for "crazy". Dream Crazy!

WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO PUT INSPIRATIONAL QUOTES ONTO THE THONGS/FLIP FLOPS?

There were a few reasons. I wanted a product that was something everyone easily recognised and had mass market appeal on a global scale (Dream Crazy). I knew that for me to have a maximum social impact I need to sell lots of product and I felt the flip flop could allow me to do this.

In Australia, the average Aussie has 5 pairs of flip flops. The shoes are also a great vehicle for my story. Here we are in western countries never thinking about shoes; its a given. We just have them, however, in India there are children who will never wear, have or own a pair of shoes in their life and some are dying from the consequences of not having shoes. 

Flip flops usually conjure up positive, good times, holidays, relaxation, the beach and this is a very different, almost polar opposite meaning for these children. From a creative perspective it's a wonderful surface area to work with for inspirational quotes. Moeloco is about inspiring people to chase those seemingly impossible big dreams and in doing so they will naturally make a difference as they affect others with their energy.

HOW DO THE CHILDREN RECEIVE THEIR SHOES?

Hope Foundation makes the decision of which areas of care they feel need the shoes the most at the time we are donating. Moeloco are also jointly being as fair as possible and distributing the shoes over several groups at a time.

WHAT'S ONE INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE YOU LIVE BY AND WHY?

"Be the change you want to see in the world." Because it's only that which will create change. It's the only difference between a change-maker and one who just thinks about change. The change-maker thinks and then does.

AS YOU "DREAM (BIG) CRAZY", WHERE DO YOU HOPE MOELOCO WILL BE IN 5-10 YEARS?

I hope Moeloco has global communities everywhere that have inspired people to start their own projects to create positive change in the world. We have to eliminate poverty by creating further opportunities that teach people how to rise above poverty through education. 

I'd like to personally thank Kathy for her time and inspiring change into this world. You can find out more about Moeloco by visiting their website www.moeloco.com and you'll be able to purchase a pair of inspiring thongs (they will forever be thongs to me) for yourself and at the same time a pair of shoes to a child in India. 

Jo xo

Note - This is not a sponsored post and nor was I rewarded. I simply believe in good causes.

Need to Diet and Happy New Year!

Oh wow! How did you guys pull up for Christmas? I feel like I'm still rolling around from all the yummy food that I have consumed in 8 days. Yes! You heard correctly; I didn't stop eating for 8 whole full days. Best 8 days of my life.

Christmas dinner with my immediate family is always fun as I get to be a kid again and play games with my nieces. As they get older and find their own personalities and become more independent, I find myself still treating them like little toddlers. Soon we'll be clubbing together! LOL....NEVER! Not for me anyway.

Every year I spend Christmas day with my extended family and this year was the alternate year where many of my relatives spend Christmas with their partners and/or in-laws so it was a small crowd but was still consisting of 30+ people. You can only imagine how many people we have for Christmas when everyone is here in Sydney together. Christmas has always been big for me and it's not just family, we have many very close family friends who join us because they don't have family here in Sydney so it's a big celebration.

Even though it was a "smaller" crowd this year it meant that I really got a chance to spend some quality time with my aunties and uncles who love to tell stories of when we were younger and all the trouble we use to get up to - these are the moment I cherish and laugh at the most, especially when I find things out about my brothers!

Over the next few days I had friends over for dinner and catch-ups and in my proud cook-off moment I successfully made a triple chocolate mud cake with salted caramel chocolate pieces and topped with chocolate butter-cream and my ultimate "move over Kylie Kwong" moment was my PEKING ROAST DUCK! Totally made from scratch and all made by me. I'm still so proud of this that if heads really did grow in size then mine was massive!

Doesn't look sexy but it was amazing

The rich triple chocolate mud cake with salt caramel chocolate pieces and topped with chocolate butter-cream.

The amazing roast duck was accompanied with steam fish, asian greens and brown rice.

Dinner on another night serving slow roast lamb, mash potato, honey carrots & broccolini with butter & toasted hazelnuts.

My final (for now) indulgence day of eating, the 8th day, was dinner at Le Pelican in Surry Hills (Shop 2, 411 Bourke Street, Pelican Private Hotel). This was the first time I've been there and what a lovely cute little place it is. The restaurant has in-door seating and through the back has more seating in their lovely cute outdoor courtyard. It is French bistro combining fresh local seasonal produce to create classic and new favourites.

For entree I had a couple of fresh Wapengo lake organic oysters with lemon and shallot dressing and the pork and duck foie gras pâté with cornichon and onion jam served with a crusty warm baguette which is absolutely amazing. For main, I had the special, roasted pigeon; can't remember what it came with but it was tasty and tender. To finish it all off I squeezed in a couple of scoops of ice cream: chocolate and olive oil sorbet.

It was the first time I've tried  olive oil sorbet and it seriously did tasty of olive oil including the oily texture in  your mouth. You could only eat a couple of spoonfuls at a time and then it just gets too oily so I would recommend having it with something else as it needs to accompany another dessert. Being the lover of food and all things sweet, I then proceeded to try everyone elses dessert: Baked fruit soufflé with chocolate ice cream, strawberry and rhubard meringue with lemon gel and olive oil sorbet, chocolate fondant and thyme ice cream and the cheese plate that consisted of Ossau Iraty, Buche d’Affinois and Fourme d’Ambert.

Olive oil sorbet and chocolate ice cream.

So, that was my final day of indulgence eating. I have since gone back to eating healthy (as much as possible) and have started walking and swimming again to lose (what feels like) 100kgs I have gained in these 8 days! Meh, it's Christmas and I've enjoyed every moment of it; I love the fact that food brings people together.

As I draw towards the last couple of days of 2014 I wish you all a fabulous New Year and and awesome 2015 and beyond. I hope you all have a great time whatever it is you're doing and stay safe. I also look forward to sharing more of my journey and moments with you in the new year so do come back!

What are your plans for New Years? Will you be securing a spot for the fireworks in Sydney?

Love,
Jo xo

Merry Christmas ….. Keep Dreaming and Sparkling

Firstly, wishing all my family, friends and followers a very Merry Christmas! I hope you all have a wonderful time wherever you are and with those that are important to you.

WOW! Another 12 months have past and here I am writing a Christmas post. For me it's been a hectic, fun and an eventful year. I have personally experienced and learnt many new things. One of my biggest achievements of this year is moving into my place and decorating it in my style and personality (this never seems to stop) and I've been falling in love with what I've done each day. I'm proud that everything I own is mine and no-one can take it away from me. 

Another achievement that I'll point out and really never thought about ever doing is starting this blog and becoming an official blogger. It is been both inspiring and personal for me; a place where I can share and write about my thoughts, my experiences, my reviews around Sydney, my travels and my journey in life. I wouldn't have been able to achieve this without the help of my beautiful friend, Camielle, who has a blog of her own - Gen-Y Mum. If it wasn't for her guidance, advice and IT help, I wouldn't have got this off the ground. To Cam: Thank you!

The world has experienced many events in the last 12 months and in Australia, especially my own city, Sydney, we have recently been faced with not-so-nice events but events that I believe has brought us closer and made us stronger. Although these events have happened, I believe that there is always a positive to come from it. We may not see it straight away but in time we'll know. 

Reflecting on 2014…hmmm… like I've mentioned above, I've had a couple of achievements that I'm really proud of and many special moments with friends and family. However, I am ready to say goodbye to 2014 and hello to 2015. So with this in mind, I'm looking forward to spending Christmas with my family (and the extension of my family) tomorrow and eating myself silly (which pretty much began a couple of days ago). I'm also looking forward to spending the following days with friends celebrating the end of 2014 and brining in 2015.

Have a fabulous Christmas and thank you all for following on my journey this far…… 

Jo xo

Thank you InBloom Town Hall

I want to share a lovely gesture I experienced on Wednesday by InBloom Florist in Town Hall (train station), Sydney. They so kindly demonstrated the strength and compassion us Sydney-siders have. 

A few of us from work decided to walk down to Martin Place to place some flowers in memory of the Sydney siege and to pay our respect. After walking around to two nearly sold-out florist we finally came across InBloom in Town Hall. 

They themself didn't have much left either but they did have what we were looking for so we decided to grab what we needed - two bunches and three pink long stem roses. While standing in line to pay for the flowers I noticed a sign saying (something along the lines of) "If you're purchasing flowers to place at Martin Place, let us know as it will be 50% off".

WOW! Was my first thought. We got to the front of the line to purchase the flowers and I commented to the florist "what a lovely gesture that you're doing and I comend you for being so kind". She was so lovely and said "we're experiencing a valentines day peak of customers and we didn't feel that we should be profiting from this situation".

It's just a beautiful thought and support this small business was providing and something I really wanted to share with those who read my blog. It's these kindness that shouldn't go unnoticed and they deserve the spotlight. 

To InBloom florist - thank you for your kindness and support. You have provided from the bottom of your heart and your generosity will be returned. 

If you frequent or travel through town hall station you'll find InBloom florist through the tunnel, on the way out towards George Street. Be sure to stop by and get yourself some beautiful flowers. 

Jo xo

Christmas is Just Around the Corner

EEEEEEKKKKKKKKK......!

I would have to say that I'm a pretty good organiser and planner and most years I have been really good when it comes to Christmas present shopping. I have always been one to plan early and have everything purchased, wrapped and waiting nicely under the Christmas tree.

Photo Credit: DIY Network

This year.....well, this year has completely been thrown out of the window. I'm not sure why and I'm not really sure how, but I have left most of my Christmas shopping until the very last minute. I've been stressing about the types of presents to buy, where to buy it, who I'm buying for and if it will be well received! Not a cool position to be in.

However, on the plus side (and there always is a plus side to everything), once I had decided what I was getting everyone, all the items suddenly were on sale. BOOM! Not a bad outcome for leaving it till the last minute. Might have to leave all my Christmas shopping till the end.

Only 7 days until it's Christmas. I'm looking forward to spending Christmas with my immediate family as well as my extended family. I'm also very excited to be celebrating Christmas with friends just before and just after Christmas Day and this year I have many of them coming over to my place to celebrate the mini holiday. It will also get me back into the kitchen to cook up a feast which I haven't really done in a while.

I've always loved having people over my place and cooking up a feast of something yummy to enjoy as I love bringing people together over food and drinks. It's a great social catch up and it's always a fabulous laugh. Plus I just like to feed people!

What are your plans for Christmas? Have you finished your shopping or still going? Are you a last minute planner? If you're hosting Christmas, what will be your specialty on the day?

Jo xo

Sydney Siege….WHY?

Today is Monday 15th December 2014. It should just be a normal Monday where we all suffer the typical "mondayitis". However, this Monday of 2014, just 10 days away from Christmas, Sydney is faced with a siege. As Sydney-siders went about their day and made their way to work, me included, at 9.45am we were faced with the news that a gun man had taken staff and customer's hostage in the city's Lindt Cafe in Martin Place.

What has happened? Why is this happening in my city? 

I'm not someone who watches the news a lot, but today, I've been glued to the television and any updated reports via the internet to understand and see what is happening. My office was in semi-lock down and we were advised to stay in doors; work at this stage pretty much was non-existent as everyone was concerned with the event going on. 

My thoughts and my heart goes out to the hostages, I don't think I can even imagine what is going through their minds or even how they are feeling. I pray that you all get out of there safely and very soon.

As I am faced with today's news I am reminded that life is precious. It's too precious to be stressing about the minor things such as shopping for Christmas presents. It's 10 days away from Christmas, we should be thinking about what is important. I know for me, it's about spending time with my family and friends and being grateful for what I have. 

We still need to continue living life and we shouldn't given into fear. No-one knows what will happen, when or how but you have to keep living and stopping every so often to remember what is important. Remember to enjoy life and spend quality time with those who are important to you; work isn't everything in life.

Stay safe and strong Sydney. 

Jo xo