New Years Resolutions: 2017

So 2016 has come to an end. I know this year hasn't been the best in a lot of ways but personally I have had a very good one. I've visited some amazing places and met lots of incredible people along the way and now I'm finishing the year in Aukland New Zealand with another year of adventures to follow.
 What better way to start a new year than with some new goals? I'm not gonna lie, last year I was terrible and hardly got through any of the goals I'd set myself but I'm not gonna dwell on that too much, I've still had a cracking year (I've been watching a lot of Gavin and Stacey lately and think I've picked up the lingo). I'm going to try much harder this year to make sure I do the things I've set out to and have thought of 5 main goals for 2017 to make sure it's a good one. 
1. Explore as much of New Zealand as possible:
While we were in Australia we travelled around a little bit and did manage to see some amazing places but that country is so big it's almost a little bit intimidating and trying to see it all seemed like an impossible task. New Zealand seems a little more do-able and I really hope to be able to explore both Islands this year. We are currently in the North Island and have managed to do a few little road trips so far. I'm hoping in the new year we will be able to go a little further and then work our way down to the south island later in the year. From what I've seen so far New Zealand is incredibly  beautiful and I can't wait to see more. 
2. Do an obstacle race:
A couple of years ago I set out to do the same thing at home and ended up doing Total Warrior. I ended up doing it by myself and being pretty slow to get over the finish line. I still really enjoyed it and was really proud of myself for getting through it but would love to do another with a group and hopefully do it a bit faster. This means I will also be working on getting a bit fitter as I have let myself go since my last Fitness Friday post.
3. Visit a South Pacific Island:
This has been on my radar for a while now. Why wouldn't I want to go and hang out in paradise for a week. Ideally I'd love to go to all of them but due to the fact I am not super wealthy I will settle for one. Every person I have met from the South Pacific so far has been really friendly and I would love to go and experience that culture. 
4. Spend more time in the water:
I'm ashamed to say it but in a whole year in Australia I went in the sea a grand total of once! The sea usually makes me squirm, I hate sea weed touching my feet and standing on rocks and shells just hurts. Throw in the threat of killer jelly fish and shark attacks and it loses all of it's appeal! I have already been for a paddle in the sea here and it was much nicer. I did't feel any sea weed touching me and the water was really clear, plus I'm told that shark attacks here are very rare! I am definitely planning on swimming in the sea more plus I really want to have a go at surfing, paddle boarding and kayaking. I've always loved water sports when I've done them before and can't wait to spend more time doing them in the beautiful New Zealand sea. 
5. Read and watch LOTR and visit the sets:
This one is mostly for my Lord of the Rings loving boyfriend. He's a bit of a super fan and has recently got a tattoo showing his dedication. I have seen all of the films before but was quite young when they came out and found them really hard to follow after they left the shire. However I loved the Hobbit films and the book so now I want to give the LOTR  another go. They filmed everything here in New Zealand so it would be amazing to go and see all of the sets and locations. Even if you're not a massive fan of the films there's no denying that they're stunning! The shire and Rivendell are definitely what I'm most looking forward to. 
So there we have it. I will definitely be documenting my year on here and on my youtube channel so make sure you're following along to see if I keep my word. I know that these are more goals for the year rather than resolutions but I don't believe in those so much. Let me know any goals and resolutions you have for this year. 
Have an amazing New Years, let's make 2017 a great one! 

12 days of Christmas day 11: Christmas make up look

"On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me...eleven pipers piping"  It's Christmas eve guys! Hands up if you're excited!!! To celebrate I wanted to show you the makeup look I will be wearing for the big day. I'm planing on having a pretty chilled "friendmas" that will hopefully involve eating my body weight in rocky road and vegan cheese but I still wanted my makeup to be a little bit special.  Disclaimer: As far as I know everything used is vegan but if I'm wrong please let me know :) 

The skin: 

-dermalogica phyto-replenish oil

-elf maximum coverage concealer

-nyx concealer 

The cheeks:

-sleek contour palette (heavy on the highlight of course)

The eyes:

-elf shadow lock eyelid primer in gold

-elf beautiful browns palette

-elf black mascara

-elf black eye liner

The lips:

-elf lipstick in posh 

I hope you enjoyed today's post. Let me know if you recreate this look. Now get your stockings hung up ready for tomorrow and I will see you over on my youtube channel for a special Christmas day video! 

Twelve days of Christmas day 9: Festive nails

"On the ninth day of Christmas my true live gave to me....nine ladies dancing" I decided to have a go at some Christmassy nails for today's post. I know most people reach for the reds and golds at Christmas time but I decided to go for something a little bit different and have actually come up with some thing a little bit more Frozen inspired.  Disclaimer: As far as I know everything used is vegan but please let me know if I'm wrong.

How to:

-I used a clear polish from Topshop as a base coat

-I painted both hands with two thin coats of Topshop nails in a pale blue (the names rubbed off my bottle and I can't find the dame, sorry!) and left to dry

-I then used the pritti princess polish in Aladdin's diamonds to create a gradient from my cuticle to the tip of my nail. I found it easiest to place a blob by the cuticle, wipe the brush clean and then drag down lightly.

-Once this has dried, repeat.

-Apply a second coat of the clear polish all over the nail to even everything out and protect the polish. 

This is a really simple design that I think looks really effective. you could definitely try this with lots of different colour combinations too. Let me know if you try these out.

12 days of Christmas day 7: Vegan Christmas Biscuits

"On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me...Seven swans a swimming"  I love to bake year round but especially in the festive season because I feel like eating your body weight in cake is acceptable at this time of year. I wanted to create some vegan Christmas biscuits to nibble on throughout December. I use a Betty Crocker recipe as inspiration and tweaked it slightly.  Ingredients:  - 2 1/2 cups of plain flour -1 cup of vegan butter -1/4 cup of almond milk -1 1/2 cups of caster sugar -1 cap of orange essence -icing and sprinkles to decorate (or anything you like)  Directions:  -pre-heat oven to 180 degrees -cover two baking trays with baking parchment -cream sugar and vegan butter in a bowl -alternate adding flour and almond milk a little at a time, mixing as you go -add a little orange essence and mix (you could use peppermint if you prefer) -sprinkle flour on to surface and roll out dough -use Christmas cutters to create biscuits and pop them on the baking trays making sure to leave space between them -bake for 10-15 minutes making sure to check on them -leave to cool on a wire wrack for 10 minutes  -ice and decorate in any festive way you like  I can confirm that these are delicious and I haven't stopped eating them since I last made them! Let me know if you give these a go, I suggest you do! 

Twelve days of Christmas day 5: Vegan rocky road

"On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me.....five gold rings" I have another festive treat for you today. This one is definitely inspired by Steven's mum, Hilary, who always makes the most amazing rocky road at Christmas. As we're on the other side of the world this year I have had a go at recreating it, only I've made it vegan. 

Ingredients: 

-300g of vegan chocolate (I used Sweet William)

-1 loaded tbs of vegan butter

-a good blob of golden syrup (precise I know)

-100g of marshmallows

-75g of glace cherries

-75g of pistachios 

Instructions:

-line a small but deep baking tray with baking parchment

-melt chocolate in a bowl with the vegan butter and golden syrup

-add cherries, marshmallows and pistachios and mix until everything is coated in the chocolate

-pour into the baking tray and pat the mixture down so that it's even.

-refrigerate for a couple of hours so that it sets

-slice into pieces and sprinkle on some icing sugar or any other decorations you like 

I was really pleased with how these turned out and was surprised how easy and quick they were to make. I have actually popped these in the freezer ready for Christmas but made sure to try one first and they are delicious. I can't wait to share them with every body on Christmas day. Let me know if you try these out at home. 

12 days of Christmas day 3: Christmas traditions from my childhood

"On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me, three calling birds" Welcome back to my 12 days of Christmas count down. Today I am taking a trip down memory lane and sharing some of the Christmas traditions we had when I was a little Christmas pudding. 

1. Going to the cinema on Christmas eve:

I'm not sure we did this one every year but I definitely remember a few festive cinema trips. One that stands out is going to see Elf which is still one of my favourite Christmas films. We'd go to the cinema in the evening and then when we got back it was nearly Christmas! I think I may plan a Christmas eve cinema trip for this year!

2. Pantomimes:

Who doesn't love a panto at Christmas! I haven't been to see one in years but I used to go to my local ones every year when I was younger and they were always so magical and really made you feel Christmassy! I was a brownie guide when I was little (shout out to 1st scotby brownies whoop whoop) and we always went on a trip to the panto before Christmas. They used to throw packets of jelly belly beans into the audience and then we would count all of the Christmas trees we could see on the way back home. I can't think of anything more festive!

3. Waking up VERY early: 

I know most children do this but I remember it so clearly. I probably didn't sleep much at all on Christmas eve when I was younger, even now as an adult I still find it difficult to sleep for the excitement. Me and my sister used to share a room and we would wake up at around 4 am and try and head to our mums room, we were obviously told to go back to bed for a bit so we used to sit on the top of our bunk beds opening our stockings and reading Christmas stories together. When we were allowed to go through to see my mum and dad we used to have to open our stocking again and pretend we didn't know what was in them! My little brother was always hard to wake up on Christmas morning so once we had him we'd all go downstairs and into the living room, once my mum had checked that Santa had been of course. We always had cats in my house and my mum would always say that the cats would of seen santa delivering the presents and I always thought that was really cool!

4. Stockings:

Little bit random but for quite a long time we used my dad's football socks as stockings, I never really questioned it and thought that was the norm. You can actually fit a lot of little nik-naks in a football sock! When I was very small we had two stockings! The football socks would go on the end of the bed and then we would have a little one hanging by the curtains full of chocolate lollies!

5. Boxing day party:

On boxing day we would always have a party with all our family. If we hadn't all eaten enough on Christmas we would eat even more. The year we got a karaoke machine for Christmas was hilarious, my Grandad's drunken rendition of Danny boy won't be forgotten!

So there we go! I hope you enjoyed this blast from the past. Comment and let me know any of your Christmas traditions and remember to head over to my youtube channel tomorrow for the 4th day of Christmas. 

12 days of Christmas day 1: Tips for having Christmas abroad

"On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me...a partridge in a pear tree"  This post is the start of my 12 Days Of Christmas series. This will be alternating between my blog and youtube channel and is going to take us all the way up to the big day!  This Christmas is my second living abroad. Last Christmas felt very strange and I was actually pleased when it was all over. This year I am feeling way more festive and I'm definitely going full festive cheer! I thought I would share some tips on how to have the best Christmas away from home.  1. Affordable Christmas decorations:  When you're travelling, the last thing you want to do is spend money you don't have on lots of fancy Christmas decorations but I do like to add a little bit of Christmas spirit in to my surroundings. This year I raded K Mart's Christmas section and found a few items to brighten my room on the cheap. A Christmas tree ornament, fairy lights and a festive candle and it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!  2. Embrace the changes:  I learnt last year that trying to recreate you're usual Christmas doesn't work and you can end up feeling a little down about the whole thing. I think the best thing to do is really experience Christmas the way the country your visiting does. This way you don't feel like your missing out an anything and you get a whole new experience. 3. Avoid Christmas specials: This doesn't necessarily apply to everyone but I remember feeling really sad last year while watching very British Christmas specials such as the Vicar of Dibley and Downton Abbey. I think I will be giving them a go again this year as I'm feeling much more settled in general but I would give them a miss if your feeling a little bit home sick.  4. Be with friends: This speaks for itself. Surround yourself with people you care about. No one wants to be alone on Christmas. If you happen to be in a new place where you don't know any people yet then what a perfect day to get mingling. Tis the season and I'm sure you will find a group of people happy to share the festivities with you. 5. Keep in touch with home (sort of):  We all want our loved ones to know we're thinking about them over Christmas and vice versa but when that turns in to 6 separate Skype chats mixed with a 13 hour time difference you can pretty much say good bye to Christmas day. I would recommend splitting them up over a few days so you can still chat with everyone without it being such a military operation. They all have plans for Christmas day too so it works out better for every body. You can send any cards and gifts you have well in advance so they still get a little something from you on Christmas day any way.  So there we have it. This may not be relevant to every one but I hope it can help some of you out. Make sure to keep following my 12 days of Christmas. I have lots of exciting things coming your way so make sure to follow along. See you over on my youtube channel tomorrow for day 2. 

Another country another update

I know I've barely blogged since my last update but as we have recently moved I thought it was time to fill you in on where we are and what we're up to.

After being in Australia for a whole year we have moved to Aukland in New Zealand. We managed to get a house share before we left Australia (there's a dog called Frieda who lives here and I love her) so we were ready to move straight in when we got here. We also have friends from Melbourne living here too so we had ready made tour guides waiting to greet us from the airport. Even though we thought we were quite organised in moving here we've actually had a little bit of a tough time getting set up here. We're both planning on working here which means we need bank accounts. As a word of warning to back packers, avoid the city banks, they are far too busy for any one on a working holiday visa and will find any reason not to help you. The suburb banks are much more helpful and I am pleased to say we have both finally set up accounts today with the help of a lovely guy who happened to be a huge Harry Potter fan who was asking us about the studio tours in London.  Steven has managed to start work, he always makes finding jobs look so easy. He's working with our friends from Melbourne and they all seem to be enjoying it. I've heard about numerous games of Pictionary and I have never, why have I never worked some where like this! I'm looking for work currently but think it could be the new year before I find anything so I am mostly filling my days with exploring the city in our car....ps. we bought a car! So far I have learnt that kiwis like to beep there horns, or they certainly like to beep them while I'm driving!  I hope this post doesn't seem negative. New Zealand seems very laid back and relaxed which is why I think we've found getting set up here a little bit more difficult but in the long term I know that can only be a good thing. We spent last weekend exploring Piha beach and plan to go to another tomorrow. That to me is what New Zealand should be about. All I've heard about is how amazingly beautiful this country is and I can't wait to get stuck in and see every thing. Be sure to keep following along with my blog and youtube videos because I think this year is going to be epic! Ps we now both have tattoos...but I'll save that story for another day ;)

Oh deer it's Halloween

Although Australia has started to rapidly heat up and I have almost forgotten about one of my favourite holidays all together, Halloween is just around the corner. I have done a few spooky make up looks over the last couple of years and have always really enjoyed them but this year I struggled. Between switching my makeup to being completely cruelty free and the fact that the weather is any thing but spooky I was lacking a little bit of inspiration...so I took to pinterest!

This look is by no means original, it has been done time and time again by the vast majority of  beauty bloggers but I still think it's very cute and a little bit more fitting to the Spring weather I'm experiencing! And I already had everything I needed to create it aaaand it's cruelty free! Winner! 
The base: -Nyx full coverage concealer -Bare minerals original in golden medium -Sleek contour kit (I used the darker shade all over my cheeks and temples)
The Eyes: -Elf brown stone palette  -Nyx eye brow cake powder -elf black mascara -elf black liquid liner
The nose: -Nyx brow cake powder -elf black liquid liner
Lips:  -Nyx butter gloss in fortune cookies 
So there we go....this was super easy to create and I think it looks quite cute! I haven't heard many people mention Halloween over here but if I get any amazing last minute plans this is what I will be doing. I will hopefully have more posts up for you soon as we're getting ready to move on soon so keep your eyes peeled. 

Fitness Friday: Back to it

I know,  I know, I'm as shocked as you are to see a Fitness Friday post. It has indeed been a while but after several months of eating whatever I like and spending far too much time sitting on my bum, I have started looking after myself again. 
I had planned on joining a gym in Melbourne but always found excuses not to so when we moved to Brisbane I knew that was something I needed to make happen. I was originally looking for yoga groups or dance classes but my boyfriend was told about Venus Women's gym from a friend so I had a little look on the site and got in touch with them. A week later I was in for my induction which just happened to be a pretty intense full body work out doing things my body had never done before. The next couple of days were painful to say the least but I knew I was definitely going to get results here. 
I've never been to an all women's gym before and whilst being in mixed gyms had never been an issue for me before, I think I do feel more comfortable this way. The actual exercise is very different too. There's not a treadmill in sight! Venus work in small group sessions in the morning and evening and they're all targeting different things. I've tried a few different ones so far and I always come away feeling like I've worked my arse off! I've been aiming for 3 sessions a week and a month after I'm already starting to feel stronger and more capable. I've never squatted so much in my life but  keep finding myself standing with my hands on my bum because it's feeling so toned haha!  
I definitely need to organise my week a little better as I've definitely been working some areas more than others but that just a case of planning which is what I am going to focus on this month. I've even been starting to look into obstacle races in Brisbane (eek) I'm not making any promises just yet but I think if I keep doing what I'm doing then I could be getting very muddy in the near future! 
The girls at Venus have been so supportive and encouraging and I already know I'm going to miss it when I move on from Brisbane. This experience has definitely taught me a lot about how I want to exercise from now on and I know that when we make the move to New Zealand in a few months that I will be looking for something very similar. 
That all being said look out for more Fitness Friday posts, I'm a women on a mission for a great bum! 

Current Cruelty Free Favourites

If you're a regular reader of TheRobynChristina then you may know that I recently made the decision to go cruelty free.  This means that I've had an excuse to try out some new products recently and thought I would share some of my new finds.  Yippee!

Original Source shower gels

I've loved these shower gels for ages and since discovering that they are vegan and don't test on animals I'm just working my way through the collection. The Pineapple and coconut one is definitely in the running to be my number one as it the perfect holiday smell but I know my boyfriend loves the mint one! They're really affordable and are really easy to find in the shops. 

Palmers Cocoa Butter Natural Bronze body lotion

I've used bits and bobs from Palmers before but since discovering that they're a cruelty free brand I've been trying a few more of there products. One that I have really been enjoying is the natural bronze body lotion which is basically a gradual tan. The scent is the classic cocoa butter which my boyfriend is definitely not a fan of, I quite like it and it stops the nasty fake tan smell so I'm happy. It leaves my skin feeling super soft and gives a nice natural tan than builds up quickly over a few days. This is definitely up there with my favourite gradual tans. 

OGX shampoo and conditioner 

I'd seen this range around before and had never really looked in to it but after running out of shampoo one day and having to quickly stock up I found these and turned out they're cruelty free so that was me sold! They have a lot of different versions and I have only tried a couple so far but I really liked the macadamia oil one a lot. I've been trying to get my hair in really good condition lately and felt that these really helped nourish it. 

Dermalogica skin perfect primer 

You may or may not know that I am a beauty therapist and I have recently been doing some training with dermalogica. Training usually involves trying out lots of products and I always end up wanting to buy everything. Some times if you're very lucky you get given some samples to try and I ended up with a few of these beauties and I'm a little bit in love. This is a tinted primer that creates the perfect base for you're makeup. If I want a lighter look I sometimes just wear this with a little bit of concealer. It has anti-ageing properties and spf 30 so is just an all round gem. I will definitely be getting a full size when my minis have ran out 

.Sleek Matte Me liquid lipstick in birthday suit

I've recently been looking for a cruelty free version of some of my favourite nude lipsticks. Luckily for me Sleek is a great brand that also happens to be cruelty free and whilst browsing there shelves I found this little beauty. Birthday suit is a gorgeous dark nude and dries completely matte. It doesn't budge once it's on. Like most liquid lipsticks it does tend to get a bit dry but popping a little bit of lip balm on top helps with that. 

Being cruelty free is still new to me and I am definitely still learning. Please let me know any recommendations you have on any other products you think I should try. I will be keeping you posted on any other great finds very soon. 

Going Cruelty Free

I've been a vegetarian for a long time now and a few years ago I decided to stop wearing leather so I don't know why it's taken me so long to realise that it's equally bad ( or worse) to use cosmetics that aren't cruelty free. I'm honestly a bit embarrassed that I didn't realise sooner. Looking on the brighter side, I am 25 years young and have the rest of my life to be cruelty free.

Making this decision hasn't been too easy for me. There's a lot more to consider than you might think and I am still in the transitional period. I had products that were already opened when I made the decision and I decided it made sense to finish those before buying animal friendly replacements. It also wasn't until I noticed cruelty free cleaning products in my house that I realised I would have to consider those as well. It's definitely a learning curve but I'm starting to get the hang of it now and for me it's definitely worth it. 

If you've read all this and are feeling frustrated because I haven't actually explained what being cruelty free means, then I apologise for my poor blogging skills, sorry. To me, being cruelty free  simply means using products that do not test on animals and that don't use animal derived products. I've started to find some good brands that match this criteria and I'll definitely be sharing some of my faves once I've found them.  All in all I'm happy with my decision and I now have an excuse to try out some new goodies! Yippee! 

A little update

Well my little blog it has been a while, I'm very so for neglecting you for so long, how are you? If you've been watching my youtube channel then you'll have some kind of idea of what I've been up to but I thought it was a good idea to put pen to paper (so to speak) and let you know where I am and what I've been up to... We decided to leave Melbourne around a month ago. It's one of the greatest cities I've ever visited and I loved my time there but we were getting a little too comfortable. You can only work for 6 months in one job while on a working holiday visa and as our 6 months were nearly up we decided to have a look into doing our regional work so we could apply for our second year visa (all sounds a bit complicated...and it is) We had some friends who had already moved to a town called Innisfail in Queensland where they were staying at a working hostel who found regional work for you, we made arrangements to do the same but couldn't get in straight away...this led us to Cairns.  We stayed in Cairns for around five days. We stayed just outside the city and I had my first Air bnb experience. We had a room in a really cool house where three guys lived, they were all really nice and they had two lovely dogs, Sally and Rocky, so I had a lovely time. Another couple were staying there as well, they were really friendly and it's always nice to meet fellow travellers.  If I'm honest I didn't love Cairns. I think staying in Melbourne for so long had spoilt me. It was sort of just a big sea side town. There's nothing wrong with that and parts of it were very pretty but I think I may have been bored if I'd stayed much longer. One place that was very special, however, was Palm Cove, this beautiful seaside town was around 30 minutes away from where we were staying and was a very pretty place. We had beautiful weather on this day too and I had a lovely time walking around in the sun! After our time was up in Cairns we made the move to Innisfail. I'm not gonna lie, I was very nervous about what life on a banana farm might be like but I was trying to keep positive. My positivity faded when we hopped off the grey hound and where greeted with a girl called Sam from one of the hostels who was a straight up bitch! She dropped us off at one hostel called Walkabout and told us to wait while she picked everyone up from work. It has such a horrible atmosphere  (very lads on tour) and I felt so over whelmed that I had a little cry. We ended up staying in a 'hotel' called Queens. It was definitely still a hostel, we had a shared room with another couple and a guy. It could have been much worse as they were all really nice and seemed to enjoy the work they'd found. We had friends staying at the third hostel (Retreat) that was owned by the same people  so we hung out there on the evenings, we were hoping to get moved into Retreat because it seemed like such a close group there. It cost $200 each a week to stay at the hostels, this was for accommodation as well as finding work and transport to and from work. It turned out that most girls were waiting 2-3 weeks and were only getting a couple of days work and the boys could only get humping jobs (yes if you picked bananas you were a banana humper, unfortunate I know). Steven did a couple of days humping and found it very hard, I've never seen a muddier person come through the door at the end of the day!  After a stressful few days we decided against farming. Financially it wasn't going to work out for us and as we had only ever intended to use a few months of our second year visa we didn't feel like it was going to be worth it for us. I hope this doesn't make it sound like we gave up. If we had both been able to find full time jobs straight away and were able to save money like we'd planned then I'm sure we'd still be there. As it turned out it was probably going to cost us money for a pretty miserable time that wasn't as essential to us as we first thought. I definitely take my hat off to any one that manages to stick it out and I'm sure I'll be jealous when you're all still loving life in Australia while I've moved on. This brings us to now. We are currently in Brisbane and this is where we are planning to be for the rest of our visa. We really landed on our feet coming here. After a couple of days in a hostel we managed to find ourselves a room in a house with some really lovely people. I managed to get a job at another franchise of the spa I'd worked at in Melbourne and Steven also started work straight away. Not gonna lie it was a good feeling and immediately felt happy with my decision to move here.  As for future plans, turns out you can get a three month tourist visa for Australia for absolutely free so anything we don't have time to do on our current visa we can do then. We also have plans to spend some time working and exploring New Zealand and I plan on having an amazing time in Asia before heading home. All in all a very exciting year ahead and I can't wait. I always knew we'd make some mistakes whilst travelling and I'm lucky that they've been small so far. It's all about bouncing back and making the most of this experience.  Bring it on!  

What I Should Have Packed - Part Two

When I left to travel the world I packed a big bag and as it turns out I packed it badly. In fact I packed so badly that I had to write two whole posts about it. If you would like to read the first part (which I suggest you do) then click right here. This time I'm talking more about the clothing items I wish I'd brought...

1. Warm things: Turns out, Australia isn't always hot...who knew! I came away with two very thin and very casual jumpers. I didn't bring any hoodies or nicer jumpers and I didn't bring any blazers or jackets for evenings out. Melbourne has very mixed weather and there have been times when I've just been plain cold! 
2.  Nice tops: I brought t-shirts and then last minute one nice topshop cami (and thank God I packed I did because I've barely taken it off) In general I'm not a t-shirt girl so I don't really know why that's all I brought. I think I thought I would forever be on the beach....I actually live in a city with mixed weather.
3. Shoes: I obviously fetched some shoes but it was minimal. The one pair I wish I had are my Topshop boots, unfortunately these are rather chunky and would have been too big to pack but there have been multiple times that I've wished I had them with me. 

4. Leggings:

I'm actually not a massive wearer of leggings usually but I keep thinking how much I wish I had a pair with me to go underneath things. I have a really nice pair of wet looks that I wish I had too. These would have been so easy to bring with me and would have been a little bit warmer than all the pairs of shorts I have with me. At least leggings are usually cheap to buy so I can always pick some up. 

So there we go...I have actually done a little bit of shopping recently and filmed a haul about it which you can watch here. There's still a few things that I'd like but I'd rather spend my money on more travelling and fun things so I don't know if I'll end up buying anything else. 

I hope you enjoyed today's post. Make sure to follow me to see more!