A Black & White Affair

Last weekend I had a much deserved night out with my friends at the Black & White Cocktail Affair put on by the Post Graduate Student Association at my university. It was a ridiculous fun night and much needed since we had all been working hard.  It was held at the Q1 building which is the tallest residential building in the world and the views were amazing.

Mister Aussie and I in the lobby.

He likes to ruin pictures with ridiculous smiles

One of my closest friends here and I

In a photobooth with my friends :)

Afterwards, we went and got yummy sangria at this awesome lounge bar.

Law school makes us all pretty unsocial because it is so full on, I seriously live for nights like this! We'll be on break in a month and I am so excited to actually be able to go out and do fun things with the awesome friends I've made here.

What are some things you love doing with your friends?

Surprise! Ruined.

So Mister Aussie and I are obsessed with trying to surprise each other big time when it comes to gifts. Then once we have figured out what the gift is we taunt the other with how awesome it is but no way can they have a hint about it. It's pretty absurd.

Well his birthday is coming up {August 3rd} and I had been thinking for AGES what would be a perfect gift. Being the twenty something guy he is, he kept saying he wanted an Xbox Kinect. That's where you don't need a remote at all, your body is the remote! Wooo cool new technology:

Then, we both saw a commercial for the Foo Fighters, along with Tenacious D, coming to play here. He nearly died with excitement but then dismissed it and said it would be too much money. But, in my head - DING - perfect gift!

But I still couldn't decide between the two of them and ended up bidding on a Kinect on ebay. After I bid, I knew instantly that I did not want to get him that and wanted to get the concert tickets instead. The ebay gods came through and I was outbid {happy dance}.

I did more research on the concert and found out how I could sign up to purchase pre-sale tickets. I was pumped because Mister Aussie was going to be beyond surprised and I was DEFINITELY going to get good tickets. After I purchased the tickets at exactly 1:00 on Friday when they went on pre-sale, I immediately started plotting how I would wrap them in a huge box to fool him.

BUT, wait...

One hour later I received a bbm from Mister Aussie, "wanna go to the foo fighters and tenacious d concert?" Oh come on, you have got to be kidding me! I replied "oh, uh, maybe...you thinking about buying them?" and he says "yea, about to put in the credit card details. it's been too long since I have heard live music."  Wahhhhh. So, had to tell him I had already purchased the tickets and why. 

Good news: He was definitely surprised. He didn't believe me at first.

Bad news: I didn't get to see his face. That's the best part of surprises!

Oh well, it's going to be an awesome time and can't wait {we have to wait awhile, December!}.

Stress, Stress, Stress

I stress.  A lot. Often times it's a little unnecessary and the rest of the times I am verging on neurotic going overboard. Some people might says it's because I'm a Pisces (I don't know, I just read it on a tweet) but I think it's just my borderline type A personality coming out to play. I think I have a little bit of a dual personality sometimes when it comes to that, sometimes I am beyond type B and then other times my type A is just screaming to get out.

My Mister Aussie, on the other hand, is pretty much the definition of type B. Ying and yang maybe? Going with the astrological theme I Googled what would be the compatibility of a Leo Man and Pisces Woman. Well the first sentence describe the Pisces Woman as being introverted. BEEP. WRONG. So moving on from that.

While my Mister Aussie has actually started to stress sometimes when it comes to school, it is still no way like I do. After living with him for awhile, I have finally realized how some of my stress habits are not healthy.

Here are some things I have started doing to help deal with everything. You might already do some of these things, but hopefully you'll get a new idea.

1. Making lists. I love making lists, I get to cross things off and feel accomplished. It also helps me get a better sense of what I need to get accomplished and when instead of just thinking a million things in my head in a disorganized way. I also love sticky notes and stick them all over my planner! These sticky notes are super cute!

 Lifeguard Press

2. This might sound extremely ridiculous, but breathing. As in, sit for a minute, close your eyes and just breathe.

3. I have started reading at night before going to bed. It helps get my mind on something else and wind down so I can actually go to sleep when my head hits the pillow. Right now I am reading The Hobbit. I've never read it and it was a deal with my Mister Aussie that I would read the Lord of the Rings books if he read Harry Potter.

4. Working out. Exercise helps your brain work better. I don't have a science degree and I haven't looked for a source to back that up, but just trust me? I know I've read it somewhere...can't hurt, right?

5. Listening to music. I walk a lot, nearly a mile to school. Listening to music while I walk helps me chill out and focus on something other than my stressful law classes.

6. Pack up my backpack/make my lunch BEFORE I go to bed in preparation for the next morning. Makes my day way less stressful.

What do you do to help manage stress?

Happy Birthday Cheerios!

Ok, fine, it was actually yesterday - but Cheerios turned 70! When I was little, I literally could not leave the house without a bag of cheerios. There are countless photos of me in my car seat eating them or asleep with my hand still in the bag. I didn't even eat Honey Nut Cheerios, just the original ones.

I still love Cheerios! However, of course, Australia does not have the Cheerios I have always known and loved. I am pretty Australia has only had them a couple years, but they are like 4 different kinds in one. They're good, but just not the same. Here's the box:

Just another little difference I have gotten used to by moving here. People always ask me what I miss about home and really is little things, like my Cheerios.

What was your favorite cereal as a kid?

Procrastination

I am seriously procrastinating finishing this client portfolio I have for my law of civil remedies class; so wanted to make a post about some of things I am dying to have right now. I am pretty much using all of this as motivation to get through the rest of this semester (and degree)!

Burberry

I just know this would look beautiful on my arm.

Krabi, Thailand

Seriously dying to do some traveling to the south pacific islands while I'm here.

Uluru, aka Ayers Rock

Going with my parents and my mister in September!

Tory Burch

I love these. They are beyond adorable and would go with everything I own I'm sure.

 One of my fabulous friends here can do cakes like this! I would LOVE to learn how and one day she is going to show me how she does it. Along the same lines, there are so many different cuisines I want to try cooking. My school schedule and budget hinders that a good bit, so looking forward to free time when I can really start cooking again!

I think you get the gist of the fact that I am ready to not be a poor law student anymore! I can't wait until both the mister and I have graduated and we get to start traveling and enjoying things together. He's only got two semesters left after this one, lucky duck, and then I have four! There's just so many things I want to accomplish and do in my life that I just get antsy. All this hard work will pay off one day though, right? Of course it will.

What are some of your dreams and motivations right now?

Being Green, and Cute

As I'm sure you know, the big thing these days is being green and cutting down on our own personal waste. One of the easiest ways to achieve this is by cutting down on your plastic use. However, no worries, there are tons of cute ways to do it with awesome reusable containers available.

Lilly Pulitzer

Lilly Pulitzer Re-usable Grocery Bag

I wish I drank coffee, because I love this Jonathan Adler coffee thermal mug!

Another perk - many places discount your coffee when you bring your own mug :)

 Starbucks is basically everywhere now, look for their collectors tumblers when you travel!

 

 

Of course the classic, Tervis Tumbler, that you can create yourself or shop tons of cute ones. They also sell lids and straws for the perfect on-the-go cup.

 

Last but not least, my favorite: the Camelbak Better Bottle. It's great for so many things, virtually indestructible and comes in so many colors!

Perspective: Everyone Needs It

Well, I've learned a lot from moving to another country but one thing that is major is perspective.

Perspective in regards to this side of the world's view on my home country.

Perspective in regards to being the one and only outsider.

Perspective in regards to being a foreigner. 

Perspective in regards to how BIG, yet how small, this world actually is.

There are fifty million reasons I am so glad that I decided to make this move, but the four perspectives above rank at the top of the list. I have moved to another country to go to school and hope to stay afterwards for a few years to start my career and an exciting new life; that basically makes me an immigrant. Maybe this is a weird thought in my head, but I think it sounds funny to be an immigrant when I already am from a country with countless freedoms and opportunities. However, here I am, an American in Australia worrying I won't be able to get a visa to stay after I graduate and worried I won't be able to live my dreams.

I hope this wasn't a too "heavy" of a post, but I think it's important everyone gets perspective at some point. I am not saying do something as drastic as move to another country, but it can be through something smaller like volunteering in a homeless shelter. Getting perspective helps use evaluate what is important in life and understand and empathize with other people.

What has given you perspective?