Being sick is not fun at all, except..

your boyfriend surprises you with a McDonald's bag in his hands!!!

I have been sick for the last 3 days but yesterday I actually got temperature too. So I was lying on the couch all day, taking naps (and sometimes feeling a bit sorry for myself). Ben just went onto another business trip. The second one this week! So I was prepared to be home alone, again (hoping I won't have any feverish nightmares). But then at 8pm I heard the news - Ben decided to drive home and a few hours and probably 5 phone calls later I heard the sound of his keys in the lock. He had been driving for 16 hours, but he decided to come home (maybe for his sick girlfriend or maybe because he didn't feel like staying in a hotel. Anyways, I prefer reason number 1)! And he brought me some McDonalds. I couldn't have asked for more!

PS: I've had about 4 burgers in the last 10 days and I am starting to feel really bad. I am telling myself "Oh come on, you are sick, why don't you get something that makes you happy?!" or "Oh just one more burger and after that I'll start being healthy again!" or "Tomorrow I'll start a diet" It doesn't seem to work.  So Ben decided we should start a diet together. Not for losing weight but for the sake of being healthy again. We will try the "Caveman Diet" for about a week, which means no processed food in that time. This is a perfect reason for me to eat as much candy and chocolate in the next few days, since I am not allowed any of it during the diet. I am actually eating a cookie while I am writing this. Gosh, it's going to be hard. So hard!

Maybe the best hot chocolate I've ever had?

After a few hours of cleaning the apartment on Sunday I thought we have to reward ourselves (I basically  reward myself for almost everything, like good grades, cleaning, or after I've been really sick, etc. It's fun right?) It was a hard decision for Ben because it was pouring outside and I think he would have rather spent the day on the couch. But I always know how to get him excited so I decided we should treat ourselves with a Lindt Hot Chocolate in the city. Thank god it wasn't much of a walk so we didn't get too wet in that rain.

Benny is always a bit sceptic about branded places, thinks they are overpriced and doesn't really like them. Oh well I kind of forced him to go with me and - oh surprise - he liked it.

I loved how we got the cup, the chocolate and milk separtely so you can mix your own hot chocolate (plus it was actually 2 cups, which is good considering it was quite expensive)

I couldn't resist buying a piece of cake...even though it was $13 for that tiny piece (I didn't tell Ben how much it was because I knew he wouldn't get it). Now read the description and understand my purchase: White Chocolate Framboise - An impressive layered cake of white chocolate mousse, almond success and raspberry puree, finished with a ruby glaze of pureed raspberries and a shard of white chocolate. Sounds amazing right?! I loved it. And I knew when Ben paid he thought I am retarded to buy a piece of cake for that much money. (I know because he heard the sum and said: "Umm can I see the bill please because I don't think we had that much..." and I had to tell him that the cake was maybe a bit more than expected...) But he didn't complain, so everything was good!

My First Pumpkin Cookies

I have never made pumpkin cookies but my friend told me that they are absolutely amazing, so I thought it's about time to try! It took me a while to make them because I didn't use canned pumpkin but made the puree myself, but I guess that just made them even better. You can find the recipe here! I didn't use the icing because I am trying to be a little bit healthier, but they are still very tasty! I strongly recommend!

My Saviour...

Oh my lovely Chai Latte.

 I know this is not at CHAI Latte but they only had this pic...Image from Cafe Brazil Website

Thank you Café Brazil for making my at-home-studies more enjoyable and especially my study breaks more desirable! I feel like we are best friends already but since I have sooo much school work and brainstorming to do in the next 3 weeks I think we have to take this to a whole new level! I will see you tomorrow.
 Again.

Pictures from Café Brazil Website

The Leather Skirt (Part 2)

I got a few questions how I would wear a leather skirt after I posted it here, so I decided to make an outfit for it!

                            1. Bailey 44 Stay Six Forever Top in Trench/Creme
                            2. Vince Linen Shrunken Blazer
                            3. Topshop Premium Textured Stretch Wristwear
                            4. Theory Light Leather Blisa Skirt
                            5. Forever 21 Two Tone Leatherette Handbag
                            6. Jeffrey Campbell Clift

London, I miss you!!!

and this is why:

* Public Transport! Oh how I miss you! When I was in London I complained about waiting for 5 minutes, this is how spoilt I was! Waiting 10 - 15 minutes in Bondi Beach seems average here..
* The people: crazy, amazing people everywhere and no one seems to care! You can wear whatever you want, what you want and when you want. no judgements!
* Shopping: nothing compares to fashion in London!!!
*Getting a group of 15 people dressed up like they just came straight from 1985 and party on a Sunday at 1pm. (or let them dress up as sailors, or anything they want)
* Having bbq's in the garden
* hearing gunshots at night. (oookey that just happened twice, but still, I didn't hear any in Sydney yet!)
* Strongbow Black, my favorite drink in pubs
* Policemen on horses
* Policemen EVERYWHERE on Saturdays during football games
* Policemen at tube stations, oh I felt so safe! (I actually feel very safe in Sydney too though)
* London Westfield, no one can keep up with you!!!
* Cinnamon Pretzel stand in London Westfield handing out free samples every day (and walking past the one person handing them out and then turn around walk past the second person and grabbing ANOTHER piece!)
* Notting Hill: looking at amazing vintage clothes, holding my handbag tight cause I'm scared someone will steal it
* my oyster card: best system for public transport in my opinion
* the polish bakery in Shepherds Bush that had amazing little pies, so perfect for a snack
* loving Shepherds Bush during the day but be so scared at night that I run home every time I am out

But what I don't miss is the weather and mice in every house!!!

I kind of like rainy weekends..

..and I didn't mind the rain all weekend at all! It makes you want to stay home, crawl back into bed and read your favorite book! The only thing missing was - my new book. I still haven't received it yet...So as you can read, the weekend in Sydney has been rainy. Very rainy. It was still good though - me and Ben were out and about - had dinner at the Stuffed Beaver (they have delicious burgers AND their burger bun is a brioche - ah-mazing) and a hot chocolate at the famous Lindt Café. I will post the pictures of that tomorrow - but I can tell you: it is worth the price! I also spent a night in while my boyfriend had a pub crawl with his boys. And I didn't mind it at all, I ordered pizza and watched movies til 2AM. I also listened to christmas songs, only 3 more months to go! (Christmas is by far my favorite holiday of the year) I didn't miss going out at all - maybe I'm getting old! Anyways, here are some impressions from the weekend!

And how did you spend your weekend???

My boyfriend went to the gym while I am eating cupcakes on the couch

Me and my friend Oksana went to Balmain today to advertise the children's play we are organising. As we handed out fliers we saw a tiny store called The Cupcake Factory. Who would have thought - a guy from our study program was in there behind the counter. After a little chat we had to try some of the cupcakes and I was in heaven. They are honestly the best ones I have ever had! The most amazing thing: they have tiny little cupcakes in different flavors too! I thought I'll surprise Benny with a box of 6 mini cupcakes with different flavors. Good thing is my boyfriend loves sweets too!

Surprise from Austria

I was so happy when I saw the card for a parcel pick  up in my mailbox! I already knew it was going to be a parcel from the other side of the world! I picked it up and it was huge! I love it when my mum sends stuff, because even though she usually has a reason to send me things like medication or books, she always puts little treats in it as well. This time she sent me cooking stuff and sweets. Oh, I  already forgot how much I miss Austrian candy and chocolate, plus I love sweets. (It is kind of weird I guess, but when Benny and I go out for dinner, the first thing I look at in the menu is the dessert.) BACK to my parcel! Because my mum is the best in the world, she also sent me clothes and beauty stuff AND recipes. I miss her. One more month until I can give her a big thank-you-hug in Austria!

Sometimes I am thinking why can't Australia be any closer to Austria. But then people would probably mix those two countries up. Like they almost sound the same, you know what I mean? So maybe it is good that they aren't that close. (I am joking) I just wish I could have at least a every second week a visit home, I could deal with one visit per month too. But with 26 hours minimum flight time and return prices from $2.000 it's quite hard...

This is why I am telling you right now - if you live close to your family, give them a hug, because I can't. And I miss it a lot. 

A nice treat

My handsome boyfriend invited me for lunch today, so I stopped doing schoolwork and went to the other side of the city to spend his lunch break with him. It was so nice out and warm, I couldn't believe it. It was sure it was at least 26 degrees but when I checked on my phone it only showed 20 degrees. (It felt really warm though!) So since I have been craving Mc Donald's for the last 5 days Benny treated me with a Big Mac Menu. My reward for my good grades at uni. It was delish, I love Mc Donalds. I was so surprised when I got Shaker Fries. I have never ever put my fries into a paperbag to mix it with some seasoning, it was interesting, but I prefer my normal salty fries.
So this visit actually made my day and let me forget the bad start of it, which you can read here.

One of those days...

You know when you get up and you're not feeling well. There is nothing wrong with you but you would just rather stay in bed... I have one of those days today. Even though it never bothered me to be so far away from home, it does right now...a lot. Maybe it is because I am not so happy with school at the moment or maybe because I had some health issues last week. Sometimes I think it is so different here, and just wish to be home. When I am moody everything annoys me, starting from the public transport over to the dinner that I couldn't make right. I get so frustrated then, that I think the only way out is to go home. But of course I am drama queen and I know that things aren't that bad at all. I usually let it out on my boyfriend who really didn't do anything wrong. But he is patient with me. I am grateful for that, because he can cheer me up on my bad days. It usually takes 10 minutes for him to make me smile again...in the last days it was a little longer than that. I am quite frustrated at the moment...but he makes me see the positive side in everything. And then there's my mum, that I am writing with. She makes me happy and makes me look forward to the nice things in life. I am glad I have those two people around me, even if my mum is only here virtually via iphone or skype. Sometimes things can get really stressful especially when you want to write top essays but you are writing in another language. Or when you have a conversation and you just can't think of the word, but you know it in your native language and just wish you could express yourself better. Anyways, I have to focus on the positive things here and one for sure is the weather. It is so nice out these days, I feel like being in the sun all day. (I am also writing this post on my balcony). The weekend is coming up too and school is finishing soon! There's only 4 more weeks of stress and then I can relax for a while and enjoy some time with my family in Austria...I can't wait!

Summer is definitely on its way

I know that because:

* it was 27 degrees at 9.30 AM yesterday
* Ben and I really don't need all those blankets at night
* the heater is in the far corner now
* students enjoy their time in between classes outside on the lawn
* I felt too hot wearing a cardigan and a jacket
* people wear shorts on the streets
* I have this need of getting some ice cream
* the oranges are getting more expensive
* there are sandals in every shop window
* I feel like having breakfast on the balcony every morning
* there are flowers and trees blooming everywhere
* Ben feels like he has to train more
* I would rather be outside than doing school work indoors

The picture is from my campus. I love it when all the people are relaxing outside in the sunshine. It's such a good atmosphere!

Fish Tacos

My boyfriend made me fish tacos. They were quite delicious, I have never had tacos with fish before, but it"s definitely worth a try! YUM! Or how we would say in Austria: MAHLZEIT!

I could stare at these for hours...

Audrey Kawasaki's pictures painted on wood are breathtaking. Just one word - amazing.
All images are taken from her website

New Project: Grow our own Vegetables

On the weekend Benny and I got some plants for our balcony. This is going to be our new project! We got a tomato plant, basil and strawberries. At my family's house we grow all herbs and vegetables in our garden, I am missing that! Let's hope I can use home grown tomatoes and strawberries soon!

A weekend with my glasses on...

On Saturday it was the first really warm day here in Sydney, so Ben and I went to the Botanic Gardens! It felt so nice not having to wear a jacket and feel some sun on the skin! 

I might....

I might have said that I will have a week free of candy and chocolate but have accidentally eaten up a whole pack of chocolate pretzels...

I might have said I will save extra money for a trip to Canada but I couldn't resist those nice summer shorts...

I might have said I will bake a cake but the tv program got me distracted...

I might have said I can't wait for living in a country where it's always warm but I actually miss cuddling up in my bed while it's snowing outside...

I might have never ironed any of my clothes properly and am not really able to but I have a boyfriend wearing shirts that are just ironed perfectly

I might have forced my boyfriend a few times to watch a romantic comedy with me...

I might think that furless cats are beautiful creatures...

I might miss my friends in Austria more than I thought...

I might just have spent my last cent on clothes but I already have in mind what I could do with next month's budget...

I might wish that my hair grew 1cm a day...

I might think that I am still young but wonder why I wake up being hungover after just 4 drinks...

I might forget sometimes how blessed I am to have such amazing parents that support me no matter where I am in the world...

I might be a little too excited to see my 2 month old niece in only 42 days...

Where's my money?! Oh yeah, I left it at the doctors'...

Crazy week! I actually felt something coming on Sunday already! Well...after I got eyedrops from the doctor, both of my eyes were inflamed and red. I got sent to the eye hospital and got different eye drops, which didn't help either. I got called in the next day again, to hear "Well, it should have been better today, but I can't see an improvement..we have to monitor this as it's not just a simple eye infection" Well, yeah ok, but not when I am paying $120 every time I see you for 5 minutes, doctor! I went to an eye specialist yesterday and he told me that they treated me for the wrong thing! I got new eyedrops and my eyes were better immediately!
I am so glad I went to the specialist...I have left almost $400 in just 3 days in Sydney's doctors' bank accounts and it doesn't look like I'll be able to claim it back...but healthy eyes are more important than that!

It looks like I have to wear my glasses for the next weeks and I shouldn't be in direct sunlight, which is great given that it's going to be 28 degrees tomorrow - the hottest it has been since I've been here. (I actually mean it is devastating, I'd rather be on the beach than sitting inside..) but hey, at least I don't have red zombie eyes anymore!

Have a great weekend everyone!