The Liebster Award! | Yay!

I wanna thank my mamma, my papa, my mate who listens to all my blog rambles, my boss for taking a chance on an unknown kid, and last but not least, the wonderful crew from McDonalds who spend hours making those egg McMuffins (if you got my reference, I LOVE YOU).

This is gonna be a fun post because the gorgeous Rebecca from RebeccaCoco nominated this lil blog for the Liebster award! Woo! This girl is stunning, don't forget to check out her blog :) I was chuffed to be nominated and am excited to nominate some other blogs that I love reading and checking out too.

So the jam with the Liebster Award is that you get to check out blogs with less than 200 followers to help 'em get recognised. If you've been nominated, please nominate 11 other bloggers for the award. 

Getting more official...
1. You must link back to the person that nominated you.
2. You must answer the 11 Liebster questions given to you by the nominee before you.
3. You must pick 11 bloggers to be nominated for the award with under 200 followers.
4. You must come up with 11 questions for you nominees to answer.
5. You must go to their blogs and notify your nominees.

Boring rules over, lets get down to the questions :D

1. Three favourite online shops? 
This is easy. For sure, most of my parcels come from ASOS (though the falling AUD makes me more nervous now!), eBay and iherb!

2. What was your first blog post about? 
Err.. I think it was an empties post! It's been drafted loong time now :P

3. Something that you learned recently? 
That some things take time to learn. It depends so much on who you are, where you are in your life, what you've experienced to properly take in something sometimes. The last lesson I learnt took me 3 years, I was finally in the right frame of mind and had experienced something to trigger that lesson.

4. What is your favourite season of the year? 
Even though I love Autumn colours, clothing, Spring just makes me happy. I always feel like it's a bit of a refresher in the year, probably because my birthday is in the Spring (in Oz that is!) as well. 

 5. Your biggest pet peeve? 
Uh oh, too many. But one current one is jokes about 'first world problems'. I don't know, sometimes it's done okay, others times it just annoys me.

 6. If you could travel anywhere is the world, where would you go?
I'm a little in love with London right now and am dying to go (more like move) there right now. One day I really want to travel around South America as well, the culture, the spirit, there's something about it.

 7. Bourbon or custard cream? 
Imma go with custard cream with this one!

8. If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?
First thought: ice cream. But I could get sick of that. 2nd though: chips. But I'll die quickly so I'm gonna go with bananas :D

 9. Do you have a nickname? 
Nope, *sad face*. Nothing ever caught on!

10. Do you sing in the shower? 
Nope. I stick my shower list on and dance to it though!

 11. A beauty product you could not live without?
Argan oil. Just. The. Best.

Blogs I nominate..
- Hannaxelle: gorgeous taste and her blog just seems really sweet. 
- May's Corner: May just started her blog as a space to share her thoughts, and she is such a good and authentic writer, jealous (:P). 
- Mayah and Sabrina's Call it Vanity: hilariously well written blog by two beauty lovin' girls who know their ingredients and green beauty well and share it in such a fun way.
- I have loved EcoChicBeautyDiva by Nicole for ages and appreciate her simple and honest posts about beauty products she's trying. 
- NeonMizzle: a new find of mine, love her edgy yet still simple taste with posts about fashion, beauty and decor. 
- TreesMushroom needs to post more: I love her photos and how put together her posts are.
- ReservedforRuby: beautiful blog, with lovely pictures, posts and layout.
- Julie's Collective Beauty: a beauty hub with so many gorgeous products and well written, detailed reviews, advice and recommendations. 
- AnnaBlush: One of my fave blogs from Oz,  such well put together, thoughtful posts and photos. 
- Every Word Handwritten: If I could swap blog names with anyone (let's face it, 'between the end and the start' is quite a mouthful!) it would be Rosie's. Her blog is a personal one but is wonderfully varied and a fun read. 
- SamanthaDawn: I was in awe of  after reading her childbirth story (to twins!); she writes so openly and honestly, my two favourite qualities.

The Questions!
1. Describe your favourite colour with as much detail as possible.
2. Finish this sentence: When I was 12, I was in love with...
3. Beauty or Fashion, pick!
4. What are your favourite kinds of blog posts to write?
5. Current Favourite Song/Album?
6. Mac or PC?
7. What's on your nails right now?
8. If you lived in Middle Earth, would you be a hobbit, elf, dwarf or wizard?
9. What do you think is over-rated right now?
10. Favourite book you could read time and time again.

That's quite a long post, I'm outta here!
x, mai-anne

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New In: A Notebook Haul

As my URL suggests, I love me a notebook. I love wondering through stationary stores but my budgety side has always gotten the better of me so I usually just stick to the ol' uninspiring exercise books.  A few weeks ago I decided I wanted to properly get organised all the parts of my life but in a fun and inspiring way.

So there went a few weeks of scouring all the online shops and making lists of notebooks to get, ironic, eh? After spending too much time lusting, I decided to take the plunge and buy them all in one go (very unlike me) and without a discount code (what?!).  I had a mini spree at Typo, their latest offerings were right up my street.

This very happy customer came home with four notebook buys and an excited grin on her face. The haul? Two a4 spiral books and another 2 A5-ish sized ones. The a4 books for my music doodlings: one guitar book since I just started proper guitar lessons and the other is for planning. The purple a5 geometric number is for blogging and general notes. I love that the colour scheme is similar to my blog layout. I had my eye on this one since my list making week and when I saw it I had that cheesy moment of, this is me. The mini cloud notebook is for my scribbles for my uni project, it's little size is perfect for quick scribbles.

A notebook for each major part of my life, now I really feel like I'm paddling each of these ships forward. Now I just gotta keep them up..!

x, mai-anne

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The Week That Was #18: baby steps

I am at the start of my last semester of my 'masters' (I use the quotation marks because it makes me sound more qualified than I actually am, ha!) and got a little jittery because it hit me how big my undertaking is going to be for my project due at the end of the semester. But baby steps, baby steps.. I'm going put everything I've got into it because it means so much to me. Now, onto some favourites and discoveries this week...

Lyric: "I stood for nothing/so I fell for everything", Katy Perry, Roar

I know, I know cheesy pop song but my doggy ears perked up when I heard that line. It just summed up so many things in my life, and answers my insecurities. Time to turn them around and give them better meanings.

Hobby: writing and reading blogs

I know, um, duh.  But I started doing this with music in the background and it was like my two loves at once. Whenever I listen to music, I feel like myself, but for the last few years, for many and confusing reasons I stopped. I didn't realise how much of me was missing until a few months ago when we reconciled. Life is so much better now *happy face*. Now added during blogging time, bliss.

Song: 'Not Even the King', Alicia Keys

Love this girl and this new album has some absolute gems. Was just milling around today when the first lines of the songs caught me. 'Some people so poor; all that they've got is money'. I'm always on a budget and am always thinking about the future, since a creative girl isn't necessarily destined for riches. But that line made me remember how little money matters. I made a pact with myself a long time I wasn't going to live for it, and insecurities have clouded this promise. This was a beautiful reminder, love this song.

Moment: Wednesday

Oh, just one of those days that starts like crap, and then somehow just suddenly turn around and things fall into place. Sometimes all you need is just patience. :)

Now I'm off to relax.. wild saturday night :P

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ASOS Wishlist #1

I love a bit of ASOS, who doesn't! I usually wait till there's a 20% off deal but since there are so many things I'm currently lemming I'm tempted to make a few purchases soon.. :D

I'm loving some of the bag choices they have up on their site: the white, floral body bag just looks gorgeous for easy summer days, whilst the black Monki number is a cute all-rounder for day and night. I love the felt backpack and am thinking of picking it up for my last semester at uni!

I'm not usually a dress person, but a few cute ones have popped onto my radar, and nothing like a chunky black boots to err, man it up. The berry Glamourous dress is such a gorgeous colour and the Only polka dot dress is just plain adorable. I'm lovin' the dungarees comeback and the black Asos playsuit looks so easy to wear, and the denim pinafore dress is boyishly cute.  When it comes to clothes, if there's anything I'll probably never tire of, that is plaid shirts (or plaid anything, if I'm being real!). This one by Whitepepper is such a sophisticated version though way out of my price range *cries*.

On the jewellery front, I've realised that I have a thang for watches.  I actually have another 3 on my actual Asos wishlist, but to list them all would be a tad overkill (right!?). This one by River Island looks so unique with the jewel stone face, and I love a good man-style watch.  I'm itching to start wearing earrings again, and these Orelia star earrings are beautiful. I've been on the hunt for some midi rings and haven't found anything to really catch my fancy, so in the meantime my eyes are on these cute, dainty heart rings, kyoote...

What's on your Asos wishlist right now? C'mon, fess up!

x, mai-anne

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The Week That Was #17: So it took me a.. YEAR?!

So this ain't the 17th week of the year, *grins*. After a few, confused months I didn't know if I wanted this segment on the blog, but I'm glad to say (without any awkward sob stories) that yes! It is here to stay, even if no one is reading (I don't blame you, haha).  

Movie: Almost Famous

I just watched this a few hours ago and I love it. The Gen Y in me did mean that I was doing other things while I had it on but it definitely got me and I'm definitely going to watch it again. Not sure why I waited 13 years after its initial release to finally watch it, but it's a gorgous movie, with beautiful characters and set in a 'period' which is always one of my favourite types of movies since I love history. It's not as serious a film that initially imagined it to be, but it is thoughtful and on the light-hearted side of things which made it all the more enjoyable. 

Blog Posts

These are from the last few weeks as I've bookmarked a few knowing that I was going to start my TWTW posts again. 

Miranda Kerr, Into the Gloss: This coincided with my Natural Standards Tag. Definitely feelin' where Miranda is at when it comes to health and indulgence, and finding a balance. I love that she's aware of ingredients but isn't about being strict, and admire her for being honest about not saying "always" or "never", because we are imperfect beings. 

FashionRocksMySocks Asos Preview: Gawd I love Asos. While A/W is almost over here, it's my favourite season to dress and so I always find the looks gorgeous.  I love how Rhiannon put the video and pictures together and just love her aesthetic and its expression in general.

BloominBeautyBlog and Essiebutton's peachy and coral posts have got me in the mood for the coming warm Oz months. I love, love, love warm blushes - can't wait!

Moment

My Bar Broadway gig on Thursday - fricken hilarious and the first time I felt like I performed to the wave of the audience. It had been a long time since I felt the buzz of performing and this gig has got me excited again.

My Blog

I've had my blog for awhile now, and while it's just a little fish in the huge ocean, I love having one. I can't even remember when I actually started it because I started, restarted, then started again. I couldn't decide if it was a beauty blog, a personal one, and this see-saw'ed pretty much for the past year (and each time I was convinced that I got it, ha!) so yes, it took me a year to figure out what I wanted to do with it!. Am I that fickle? I actually think it's just the process of figuring yourself out. For me, I feel like a chicken that just hatched and ran excitedly everywhere and this blog reflected that. This week, it clicked. Finally! In short, it's a smorgasboard of things I love, thoughts, an inspiration board and a place to express myself. This blog is one of the triggers that made me realise that at the core, I am a creative person. Yup, I'm a chicken that just hatched.. whoopee!

x mai-anne

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For the next 5 years...

After seeing a video by Allisonvlogs who mentioned it, I hurriedly bought this little 5 year Q+A book. I love how it's an easy way to say something everyday, sometimes meaningful, sometimes just fun.  Everyday counts, and that's something I really want to learn and instil inside myself. 

I'm not gonna lie, I've forgotten to do it sometimes but writing this post has got me excited again. Discipline is key! And that's something I also need to learn and really admire about Allison, how disciplined she is as a person.

So here we go again! I think I might restart it tonight (I've only done like 2 pages anyway :P).

x mai-anne

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zooey deschanel

 I love Zooey Deschanel, who doesn't?! She's such a cool free spirit and you just get that she lives by her own beliefs and standards. One of my favourite things about her is that she's one of those rare creatures that isn't defined by her age and you just don't think about it when you think of them. When people are so unique, who they are and what they represent are so much more important than their age or when they achieved something.  Love how free-spirited and ageless she is.

And that's how I want to be. Just myself and free. 

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