No Moet, no goet

So the holidays have officially ended, and I can confirm that they ended with a bang. A literal bang. On Sunday, the final day of holidays, I went along to the Christening and 1st birthday of Dad's cousin's child. You're probably thinking "how is that exciting in any way?!". Well, my friend. Phoebe and I were the first people to walk outside upon arriving at the 1st birthday party...and what did we see? Bottles and bottles of Moet. I FINALLY got to have my (much fantasised about) glass (es) of Moet. Consider life made.

That isn't the end of the story though. It only gets better. You see, Phoebe needed to use the bathroom so we wandered into the house...and five minutes later Phoebe was locked in the bathroom. An hour later, she was still locked in the bathroom. An hour after that and she remained locked in the bathroom. This is where the 'bang' comes in-15 men in suits were trying to get her out, trying everything from credit cards and pliers to screwdrivers (they took the entire handle off). After two hours, the crow-bar came out. Yes, you read that right. They had literally resorted to either smashing the window of forcing the door open with a crow-bar. By this time there was a crowd of about 20 spectators, all waiting for the 'big rescue'. Just as they were about to break down the extremely expensive door, someone thought of bringing in an "emergency locksmith". Forty minutes and $200 later, Phoebe was free. She can never pay me out for my embarrassing moments ever again. Toilet Girl.

Yesterday was my first day back at uni, and it was only when I set foot on campus that I realised how much I had missed it (more specifically, hot chips from Manning Bar). I had my first Renaissance lecture which was really enjoyable, despite making myself look like the biggest idiot when I realised that Leonardo Da Vinci kind of painted the Mona Lisa. After that I had an intense catch-up session at the uni bar, and then wandered to my first journalism lecture which was insanely awesome! I have never been more excited about studying a subject, and our lecturer used to work at the New York Times (I fangirled a little). It's nice to finally be studying something in Media that's practical!

To top off an awesome day, I went for dinner with friends from high school to celebrate an eighteenth birthday [HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAROL! ^.^] at Jamie Oliver's Italian restaurant...all I can say is that HOW HAVE I NOT BEEN THERE BEFORE!? The atmosphere was awesome, the waiters look like Italian models and the food was DELICIOUS. It was just so lovely catching up with all of my friends too-I haven't laughed so hard in ages!

I am now off to have a bath, eat chocolate mousse, and freak out over the fact that Ed Sheeran is on the same continent as me.

Talk soon,
ChlobeWan

OPENING CEREMONY

Definitely WITHOUT A DOUBT worth waking up at the crack of dawn for (i.e 5.30am). To be honest, I wasn't expecting it to be that great...but I was blown away! Below I've posted what may or may not have been one of the most brilliant things I've ever watched.

Rowan Atkinson at Olmypics 2012 Opening Ceremony from Babu on Vimeo.

So I wented and gotted Instagram

Naturally the first photo I uploaded was an image of food, however this particular bowl of pasta was special. Quite special indeed. In fact, it was so special that I would go as far as to say that it is more special than special itself. Why? Uhhh because I KINDA SORTA COOKED IT ALL BY MYSELF! Yes, you read that right. I produced food which required the use of the stove. My next mission is to conquer the oven (I.E. work out how to turn it on). Your next mission is to follow me on Instagram (my username is chloesaintilan). It gets lonely only having three followers. I cry myself to sleep every night.
I am now off to NOT eat Betty Crocker icing from the cupboard, and to prepare myself for the pure amazingness that will be the Masterchef grand finale.
Ta ta!
Chloe x

UM WHAT.

I get my blog up whilst trawling the internet so I can watch the Samsung ad with George Craig for the fifty trillionth time, and then saw when I posted it-A WEEK AGO! I didn't even realise that it has been a week...these past few days have absolutely flown by. Now you're probably thinking "UM WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN UP TO IN THESE PAST FEW DAYS JUST TELL US CHLOE OMG DON'T KEEP US HANGING OMG I CAN'T STAND NOT KNOWING!?!?!??!?!!?". Well, my friend. If you calmed down a bit perhaps I'd tell you. Take a deep breath or two. Here we go:
1. I took my little brother and two of his friends to go and see the latest Spiderman movie. Dearest Andrew Garfield, will you please have my children?
2. I played the role of supportive sister on Tuesday when I went to my little brother's last ever primary school athletics carnival. In the 100m he bolted from the starting line when the gun sounded and I began to scream my lungs out cheering his name, only to have him yell "SHUT UP CHLOE!" as he ran past. Yeah, he yelled that out DURING his race IN FRONT of all the parents and students. Feeling the sibling love!
3. I was watching Rage whilst babysitting, and all of a sudden a video clip came on which I decided was the most cringe-worthy thing I have ever sat through. It's called 'On Top' by Johnny Ruffo. Not only does the video clip have the most dry plot ever (a valet/waiter/slave to girls at a mansion), he dances like a creepy uncle AND the main lyric of the chorus is 'I feel like I'm on top of the world when I'm on top of you'. Click here to watch it. 
4. I was walking along Circular Quay with some friends and we literally got guilt-tripped into participating in an ad for the new series of X-Factor. Prepare yourself when watching TV in the next couple of weeks-the ad is going to be more awkward than Jessica Watson thinking she's a celebrity.
5. Some of my friends and I went to see The Birds at the State Theatre which was SO much fun. The special effects were so bad that everyone in the audience was just laughing, but overall the film was actually really good! Watching it in the old and insanely beautiful theatre made the experience all the more pleasurable. I'm definitely going back to see some of the other old-ish films they're showing at that theatre to celebrate 100 years of Universal Pictures!
6. I've been reading 'The Psychology of Love', and I've folded the pages of things to write about here. I came across an essay in the book on love as an 'addiction'. I thought this sentence was particularly interesting/hilarious: "He (Liebowitz) argues that passionate love brings on a giddy feeling comparable to an amphetamine high. It is phenylethylamine, an amphetamine-related compound, that produces mood-lifting and energizing effects of romantic love. He observes that "love addicts" and drug addicts have a lot in common: the craving for romance is merely craving for a particular high. The crash that follows a breakup is thus much like amphetamine withdrawal". I think this gives a whole new scientific meaning to Kesha's song 'Your Love is My Drug", no?

I am now off to read the 20 Cleo magazines that the lady who works at Edmunds and Greer gave me. I hope you all are having a splendiferous Monday.
Muchos love, Chloe x

Successful Advertising

Gold star for Samsung. Just whip George Craig into an ad AND I'LL BUY YOUR PRODUCT JUST TAKE MY MONEEYYYY I LOVE GEORGE CRAIG ARGHGHGGHGH.

Back to reality.

So I'm officially back in Sydney town. Well, technically I've been back for two days, but those 48 hours don't count because I was lying in bed watching Game of Thrones (I finished season one which was profoundly epic in the epic of most epic levels). I'm now sitting inside on this beautiful day typing this post with a very old Apple keyboard that I plugged in especially because it's just so much fun to type with. It may sound silly, but hitting these chunky white keys and hearing the noise it makes kind of makes me feel like I'm in a movie. I like it...

Broulee turned out to be just what I needed in terms of clearing my head. I was on the verge of a mental breakdown before I left due to reasons I'm not even sure of (probably watching Game of Thrones for an abnormal amount of days in a row?), and as soon as I hit that highway freedom-bound it was like a huge pile of bricks had been lifted off my shoulders. I sound like I'm trying to be the woman in Eat Pray Love. But seriously. Nothing quite beats the feeling that you get when you drive around the corner on Mossy Point and catch the first glimpse of Broulee Beach, and leaving my phone at home turned out to make the  week all the more splendid. The weather was absolutely BEAUTIFUL, meaning that despite it being Winter we went for long walks along the beach every morning, went kayaking with manta rays (I will admit I nearly died of a heart attack the first time I saw one by the warf), ate lunch down on the water at a sea-side cafe, went bushwalking, had daily walks to the Muffin Shop (best coffee and raspberry and white chocolate muffins in the world), ate the famous fudge at Mogo, and just made the most of the stunning views/fresh air. Definitely succeeded in clearing all the smog out of my head. Oh, and I successfully talked Eleni into getting a second piercing on her left ear.

Along with these outdoor activities, I must say that I watched one too many romantic comedies. I'm the number one advocate of romantic comedies-I'm all for cheesiness and unrealistic romance (movies are supposed to be AN ESCAPE afterall, no?), but You've Got Mail and What Women Want were so cringe-worthy that I found myself sitting there criticising it like a pain-in-the-ass aunt at a family barbeque. Crappy movies aside, I also watched The Help and Robin Hood, both of which were absolutely fantastic. Kind of balanced out my movie watching palate, you could say.

So there you have it-Chloe's Broulee Adventures of Winter 2012. I've arrived home feeling refreshed and rejuvenated (Not on the scale of Eat Pray Love), however still need to fulfill two goals I've set to complete by the end of the holidays:
1. Get my L's (two years late)
2. Cook a dinner USING THE OVEN (which I currently don't even know how to turn on).
My cooking HAS improved since the dessert I made before Broulee-Today I cooked Phoebe a grilled Asparagus and Bocconcini sandwich thing, and I bought a couple of custard apples which I hope to make something mind-blowingly brilliant with.

I am now off to NOT lie in bed watching Season 2 of Game of Thrones or destroy the tub of Betty Crocker chocolate icing in the fridge.

Laters,
ChlobeWanKenobi x

Bon Voyage!

Yes, it's that time of year again where I run off to Broulee to clear all the Sydney smog out of my head and come back as fresh as a watermelon (couldn't think of an other way of putting it, sorry...I like watermelons). I have spent the last week lying in bed watching Game of Thrones, occasionally walking outside for a coffee, and last night even cooked dessert which, to my surprise, the members of my family actually ate...AND ENJOYED?! So yeah, this past week was my official 'doing absolutely nothing' week of the holidays, and I am now more than ready to run away to Broulee, which is without a doubt one of my favourite places in the entire world. I'll be gone for a week, so don't miss me too much. I'm leaving my laptop AND BLACKBERRY in Sydney, because I've decided that I've become too attached to them and it's just a bit sad really. I also like the idea of being uncontactable for an entire week. If your Chloe withdrawal symptoms are getting the better of you, go to your nearest cafe and order a large skim cappuccino with one sugar (the coffee I drink every single day), and it'll feel like I'm right there with you. Love you all! I'm now leaving you with some photos of Broulee last time we were there that I stole off Eleni's Facebook page. 

Sorry to disappoint...

But I DO NOT have a major crush/am in love with Fred Niles. This won't mean anything to you if you didn't catch the post on this blog that Phoebe wrote when she hacked it (before I deleted it an hour later), but for those we were (un)lucky enough to read it, I am here to say that:
a) I do not go for older men
b) I do not go for leaders of the Christian Democrats
c) I do not trawl the 'Fred Niles' tag on Tumblr all day

In other news, I have spent the last two days enjoying doing absolutely NOTHING. I have really, really missed being a full-time bum. I've slept in until 9.30am both days (that's a record sleep in for me-I usually wake up at 6.30), and have enjoyed spending the days watching Pride and Prejudice (the one and only BBC version), spending too much time at Edmunds and Greer (I swear they're going to stop letting me in), getting overly excited at the fact that I successfully converted Eleni to Downton Abbey (welcome to the dark side), and not exercising (making my days all the more better).

I am now moving on to my rant for the day. In the town where I live you will find three major things:
1. Spoodle dogs
2. Old people
3. Cyclists
My rant for today centres on the latter of these three things. Cyclists. I don't even know where to begin. I know that cycling is healthy for you (I should try doing it sometime..nah), it helps prevent global warming, and that it helps with the traffic. BUT THEY MAKE MY BLOOD BOIL TO A DEGREE HOTTER THAN JOHNNEY DEPP. They think they OWN THE ROADS, that they can do ANYTHING THEY WANT ON SAID ROADS BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT REGISTERED SO I CAN'T REPORT THEM, they take up EVERY SINGLE SEAT at Edmunds and Greer and nearby cafes on Sunday mornings, and they fail to realise that bikes ARE NOT cars and shouldn't act like they're top of the food chain. The worst part is that in my area they travel around in packs wearing matching tshirts with the 'logos' of their cycling groups, so I'll be walking down a road to see a stampede of bike riders forming in the distance. It's like a horror movie.
I think Hitler sums up this rant pretty well. Shane Warne speaks the truth. (I actually nearly died laughing at this video. Watch the whole thing if you haven't seen it).