Kmart

Review: Alexia – Kmart’s plus size range

/ Lisa / 1 Comment

I don’t really need an excuse to head to Kmart – I love the homewares and exercise gear. But I would often look at the Alexia range and never find anything that I really liked.

So when I received an email saying the range had had a refresh and that more focus was being put on the plus size range by Kmart designers, I was intrigued as to what I would find.

So a trip out to Kmart in Porirua was needed.

The Alexia range has definitely had a refresh – I tried on a lot of pieces. Roughly 18 pieces in total, there were rotations and a bit of a change-room circus.

WHAT I TRIED ON

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It was a year ago…

/ Lisa / 2 Comments

Just over a year ago Jethro and I moved in to our house.

It’s been an interesting year. How can it not when a pipe bursts your first day of home ownership? That was a learning experience. I don’t think I ever blogged about that – most people who know me IRL have heard the story. It’s a pretty simple one, but something I will never forget. Having only taken possession of the keys a few hours earlier I wondered what the hushing sound coming from the dining/kitchen area was. At first I thought it was nature! Because we have a lot of trees, birds and other things around. But no. Thus began the hunt for the toby of which we have two and the one by the house apparently doesn’t turn off all water. The real one is at the top of our 38m long path. Yay for dux quest (not).

Since then, owning a house has been a bit easier, but still one massive learning experience.

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Aussie Curves – Cocktail

/ Lisa / 4 Comments

Greetings from the Gold Coast!

As I haven’t really had much time this week, what with all the traveling, reading, swimming and eating I have been doing, I realised I hadn’t done my Aussie Curves post this week for Cocktail. But I have done it just in time!

Now cocktail is something that I can really do – I have so many pretty dresses, as Man Piece would say.

However, as I am without camera or really most of the things needed to create an awesome post, this one is mostly going to be a flash back to what I have worn this year.

This year seems to have been one filled with cocktail events for me, particularly for my job and mostly in the last quarter of the year.

I have been lucky enough to be invited to several architecture awards nights and a wedding or two. From this I seem to have accumulated a few really nice dresses.

For this week’s blog post, I am going to show you three of them, as well as the best cocktail venue I have ever been to.

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Things I Hate About Australia.

/ Lisa / 1 Comment

So, Man Piece and I have been in Australia for almost three months now and it would seem that the “honeymoon” phase of a new country/city is drawing to a close.

I’m starting to find more and more things that I hate about Australia/Sydney, which ultimately make me miss home like made.

So I have decided to make a list, just to get things off my chest and maybe, thanks to @thomasbeagle‘s suggestion, in six months time I will make a “Things I Love About Australia” list.

Here goes:

  • The coins – the fact they are so big and that there are still 5c pieces. 5c pieces are SO over.
  • The heat.
  • The humidity.
  • The people – the pure number of people and also, a lot of them can be right ol’ C U NEXT TUESDAYS.
  • The lack of EFTPOS, especially in small denominations. I also find it ironic how there are advertisements on buses saying, “EFTPOS, the way Australia pays” which is absolutely false.
  • The time it takes to get anywhere.
  • Nice places being shut on weekends, particularly around where we live in the CBD, cafes etc.
  • People not understanding my accent – it happens surprisingly often.
  • Lack of culture.
  • Alcohol pricing.
  • Not being able to buy alcohol in supermarkets.
  • Certain shops not being anywhere near the CBD, or any place that is even easy to get to. E.g. City Chic, Autograph, places like Kmart or Big W (which I find is a lot like the Warehouse)
  • There being no big red sheds! I actually miss going and getting bargains – Target (and even Myer) failed me today when I tried to go and buy a cheap hand beater and spring-form cake tin. I’m actually going to have to make a specific trip out to Macquarie Park now just to go to Big W to try and find them.
  • Not being able to split bills when going out for a meal with friends.
  • An outdated payment system for transport. Seriously, install a tap card system already, it is so much easier and allows flexibility.
  • The bugs, oh my god, the bugs.
  • The heat.
  • Non-air conditioned public transport, especially in 30° heat – which is often!
  • The huge number of homeless people – it is actually shocking – and how they constantly ask you for money and if you say, “No, sorry” they abuse you.
  • The noise – it’s enough to keep you up at night.
  • Having to walk everywhere – my feet are so sore ALL THE TIME – but the alternative is driving with EVERY OTHER SINGLE PERSON and not being able to find parking, or having to pay ridiculous parking costs.
  • Our shit came-with-the-apartment TV – where does a Celestial ChangHong TV come from, anyway?
  • The fact I sweat constantly now because of the heat. I feel gross ALL THE TIME.
  • The ridiculous price I paid for contraceptives at the pharmacy – I will be happy to pay the $5 price when I eventually return to NZ. Hell of a lot better than $25.

That’s about all I can think of right now. A few of those really got to me today and just seriously pissed me off. Especially the coin one – I was given $1.50 in change all in 10c pieces. If only there had been a homeless person asking for money in Chatswood. (It has now been put in our cute little Owl money jar.)

Australia is not all bad though, while writing this list, I have managed to think of things which are better than New Zealand, like the speed of internet and how awesome the public transport actually is, despite its payment methods and dodgy air-conditioning.

And even with all these things that I hate, which would probably make anyone re-think their decision to move to the Western Island, the one thing that is going to stop me going back right now is my job, because I am absolutely loving it.