Friday Finds.

Here are a few of my internet finds (and loves) from over the past week:

\\  These evil eye vanilla pudding "ice cubes" are an awesome Halloween cocktail addition.  //
\\  How freakin' adorable are these gold temporary freckles?!?!?!!  //
\\  Look at all the fun candy apples. Yass.  //
\\  Butternut pumpkin pancakes with crispy sage and brown butter - I can't think of anything better for the Autumn/Winter months.  //
\\  This giant jack-o-lantern balloon DIY is all kinds of fun (and cute).  //
\\  A comforting bowl of apple steel cut oatmeal wouldn't go astray.  //


Happy Friday!

Friday Finds.

Here are a few of my internet finds (and loves) from over the past week:

\\  Oh lawd I need some jumbo butternut pumpkin ravioli with kale pesto.  //

\\  Beer cheese soft pretzel garlic bread. Yeah you heard me.  //

\\  Kombucha cider smash, anyone? I'll take three.  //

\\  Somebody make me some rainbow gold lustre bath bombs. Kthx.  //

\\  DIY mini lawn flamingo pumpkins - how fun!  //

\\  Oof! This London fog hot chocolate with mapled whipped cream, though.  //

Happy Friday!

My Month on Instagram - September.

If you've been following Christie's Take on Life for any amount of time, you'd surely know by now that I'm a major lover of Instagram! It's the perfect outlet for posting inspiration and little snippets of life, and seeing what my favourite bloggers and friends are up to.

There are so many times that my Instagram posts never make it to my blog, and that's a damn shame because I consider myself to be quite the photographer..

..Not really, but it's a shame nonetheless!

Instalife over the past month looked something like this:

Ded. 😋 #Pancakes #Blueberry #BlueberryPancakes #IceCream#VanillaIceCream #CheatDay #IcingSugar #PancakesatCarillon #SweetTooth #FoodPorn #Breakfast #Brunch #CityDates #PerthCity #BreakfastofChampions #Food #FoodPorn #SugarRush #BreakfastinPerth #Dessert

A photo posted by Christie Brown (@christieee__x) on Sep 10, 2016 at 11:02pm PDT

Oh look. Food. What a rare occurrence on Christie's Instagram. *insert eye roll emoji here* For reals, though. These blueberry pancakes were to die for.

Mornings are for mimosas. 😋 #Morning #Mimosa #Holiday #HotelLife #Champagne #Wine #Juice #OrangeJuice #Beach #ScarboroughBeach#SleepIn #RendezvousHotel #BreakfastofChampions #FreshlySqueezed #Breakfast #BreakfastinBed #LateStart #HowToBeParisianWhereverYouAre

A photo posted by Christie Brown (@christieee__x) on Sep 14, 2016 at 7:26pm PDT

Every morning of my mini holiday started like this, I holidayed right.

I'm already sad that I have to say goodbye to this view soon. #BalconyView #OceanView #Beach #Ocean #ScarboroughBeach #BeachBum #Holiday #RendezvousHotel #HotelLife #BeachView #ClearWater #BlueWater #Calm #PerthBeaches #Perth #Australia #Sunny #WesternAustralia #SunSandSurf

A photo posted by Christie Brown (@christieee__x) on Sep 15, 2016 at 1:23am PDT

Such a gorgeous view to wake up to every morning.

Brunch matcha lattes. 🍵 #Matcha #MatchaLatte #GreenTea #Tea #Latte #MatchaGreenTea #MatchaLove #PlantBased #Brunch #Breakfast #BreakfastofChampions #Cafe #LotSixZero

A photo posted by Christie Brown (@christieee__x) on Sep 15, 2016 at 10:17pm PDT

I felt just the right amount of hipster sipping my matcha latte. If you are ever to see my Jesse on the street, be sure to offer him a matcha latte. He loves them. Also be sure to spell his name Jessie. He loves that too.

I love finding pretty new feeds to follow on Instagram; leave your account deets in the comments, or come find me: @christieee__x!

Friday Finds.

Here are a few of my internet finds (and loves) from over this past week:

\\  These healthy (-er than actual doughnuts) doughnut shaped apple snacks are pretty neat.  //

\\  OR! How about these not at all healthy oatmeal baked apples with maple brown butter?  // 

\\  Some no carve watercolour pumpkins would look lovely sitting on my doorstep.  //

\\  It's not Fall here, but I'm still going to pumpkin spice all the things, including rice pudding.  //

\\  As a lover of skulls all year 'round, I'm smitten with this DIY skull candle holder.  //
\\  This is why Anissa is my spirit animal: peanut butter and jelly pancakes.  //

Happy Friday!

September Beauty Favourites.

One: L'Oréal Professionnel Expert Color 10-in-1 Perfecting Multi-Purpose Spray

For someone who takes the most care with their skin, it's embarrassing how neglectful I am with my hair. It's so thin, meaning that it has been incredibly dry and brittle over the past few Winter months. I've been spraying this on the ends of damp hair at night and on dry hair in the morning religiously for about 2 weeks now and the difference in my hair's condition is astounding. I noticed results right after my first use, and it just keeps getting better and better. This is geared towards colour treated hair (which I do not have), but my natural light blonde locks really love this stuff. It's multi-purpose, so it does a whole lot of good things from adding shine and de-frizzing, to heat protection but the most noticeable results for me have been how smooth and soft my hair is and how the drastically the appearance of split ends has reduced. It has a pleasant smell, is non-greasy, versatile and makes my hair look and feel 10x healthier than it's ever been. Life's good.

Two: Origins Ginzing Energy Boosting Treatment Lotion Mist

I'm hooked on the whole facial mist thing, guys. I was gifted my first bottle of what I thought was a gimmick product last year, and I haven't looked back. I have since switched to Origins' offering, however. This bottle of goodness really helps to energise and refresh my skin whilst delivering a whole bunch of goodies and nutrients to my skin - it's absolutely lovely. A quick spritz after my lunch break in the sun and I'm left with radiant, hydrated and healthy-looking skin for the rest of the day.

Three: Bamboo Charcoal Konjac Angel Cleansing Cloth

ISN'T THIS THE MOST FUN PRODUCT YOU'VE EVER SEEN?!

I mean, it's a natural ingredient-filled cloth.. that's rigid and shaped like an angel.. but unfolds when wet to a soft, jelly-like exfoliating cleansing cloth. Like?????! I picked up the offering that contains bamboo charcoal opposed to the one without since we all know how amazing (antibacterial, oil reducing, decongesting) charcoal is for the skin and have been using it in place of a flannel/muslin cloth - it's far gentler. Although pretty damn effective at removing face masks, my favourite way to use it is in the shower with a small amount of my facial cleanser which works to remove make-up and dirt wonderfully. It is gentle and soft while still exfoliating, pH neutral, leaving my skin feeling soft, clean and conditioned. The best part? It's reusable! Just rinse it out and hang to dry and it'll revert back to it's rigid form.

Four: Maybelline Color Tattoo 24 Hour Cream Eye Shadow in 'Pink Gold'

I have a whole bunch of these little babies, and I do talk about them a lot, so I won't go in to too much detail again, BUT! This shade! This particular colour isn't stocked at Priceline, so I just had to pick it up when I discovered it's pretty pink, coppery undertoned goodness by accident on Amazon. It's the perfect shade to wear during these upcoming Spring months (it would also be good for Autumn, too). I lovelovelove blending this out in my crease for a daily look. Plus, it lasts all day without creasing. Everybody wins.

Five: Peter Thomas Roth Meet Your Mask Kit

Peter Thomas Roth face masks have been sososo hyped for as long as I can remember, so when I stumbled upon this 6 piece mask sampler kit (for only $25!!), I bought it without a second thought. Sample kits are a great way to trial a few different offerings without committing to a costly full-sized product. This particular kit houses a Blue Marine Algae Mask, which is probably my favourite of the kit. It's an incredibly hydrating and refreshing gel formula for drier skins. A Rose Stem Cell Bio-Repair Mask, also gel, that is aimed towards anti-ageing. The 24K Gold Mask, which I'm sure you've heard raved about 615004952 times by now, also anti-ageing with additional brightening components to it. An Irish Moor Mud Mask, which is amazing for decongesting the skin, drawing out all that gunk. A Cucumber Gel Mask, which is amazing for soothing dry, irritated skin. And finally, the Pumpkin Enzyme Mask, which I have previously mentioned on the blog as a wonderful chemical exfoliating mask, but can be irritating to sensitive skin. I am surprisingly incredibly happy with all masks, and I definitely will be picking up most of these in their full-sized offerings in the future.

As always, this post has not been sponsored in any way, meaning that none of the items mentioned have been sent to me, endorsed or paid for by anyone other than me, myself and I. This post may (or may not), however, contain affiliate links. Feel free to find and purchase the products mentioned elsewhere if you don't get down like that. :)

The Jurlique 6 Step Skin Ritual.

As a human with skin, and her own set of oh-so-joyous issues with said skin, I know the importance of a good skin care ritual. I mean, skin care should be an essential part of everyone's daily routine. I'd even go as far to say that it's as, if not more, important as that make-up routine that you stick to day in and day out as if it were scripture. It's a big statement to make, I know.

I truly believe that the skin gets used to any product after a while, and I'm convinced that it’s beneficial to change the products you use regularly. Lately, I've been using Jurlique*. I've actually been a fan of Jurlique for years now. It's kind of embarrassing that it has taken me so long to actually bring their products in to my daily rotation (Shoutout to my Winter saviour, Rose Moisture Plus Moisturising Cream).

On that note, I thought I'd share a quick little 6 step skin ritual video with you all today, courtesy of the somewhat new-found love in my life. Because I'm all about helping others. Karma and all that.

Click here to view the video

What is your skincare ritual?

*I was asked to share this video on behalf of Jurlique in exchange for a small fee. However, all comments and opinions expressed are 100% my own. I would never promote anything to my readers that I do not 100% believe in.

Friday Finds.

Here are a few of my internet finds (and loves) from over this past week:

\\  I mean, I hate cats, but this DIY litter box cover is super cute.  //
\\  How pretty (and fun) are these gemstone soaps?  //

\\  This sugar skull balloon backdrop for Halloween, though.  //
\\  Pistachio pancakes with pistachio butter AND vanilla brown butter syrup? Dead.  //

\\  This rose apple pistachio tart: HOLY TART!!  //
\\  Yassss to everything about this boho haf-up top knot.  //

Happy Friday!

September Look Back and October Goals.

And so concludes my clusterfuck of a September. I apologise for being absent on the blog.. and everywhere else, for that matter. Between working my full-time job, course workshops and deadlines, a concert and a mini "holiday", 25 hours of work experience and two good friends' birthdays, I've had less than no time to do anything other than die work and sleep. Today I have finally caught up with a month's worth of everything, and I can get back in to my routine. Just in time for my birthday - whaddaya know.

Here's a look back at September's goals:

Create a Pinterest board for the blog

"I've read more and more posts recently about the benefits of having a blog Pinterest board. It's something I've been meaning to do for a while, I've just never been overly bothered with the re-taking of "pinable" images, fixing old content, yadda yadda yadda. The benefits, though, are well worth the time."

Cross: I thought about it. I looked at my Pinterest account. I closed the Pinterest tab. Nailed it.

Lose 3kg

"I haven't been doing too well with my weight loss journey lately. I exercise regularly, but then I go ahead and eat all crappy foods. Counterproductive. I really want to focus on my eating this month, and lose at least 3kg before my birthday celebration (October 15)."

Cross: Although I didn't get to the gym enough, I thought that my zero down-time and small set meals would help me to lose weight. I was wrong.

De-stress as much a possible

"September promises to be a hectic month for me. On top of my full-time job, I have birthdays, course workshops, work experience and commitments galore. As someone who handles stress horrendously, I need to take as much relaxation time, just Jesse and I, as I can."

Tick: This one is kind of up in the air. I didn't take the time to de-stress after each day, but I made the most of my mini getaway before it all got hectic. I didn't go on a murderous rampage, so we'll chalk this one up as a win?

October's goals

Finish Event Registrations and make a start on Event Project

GUYS! I only have two units left of my course and I'm done! I have a few months left until my completion date but my study coach has set me the goal of October 14 (You're pushing your luck, Scoob). It's unlikely that I'll have it all done in less than two weeks, but I'd definitely like to at least have the Event Registrations assessment submitted by then.

Get back in to the habit of using MyFitnessPal

I lost a lot of weight when I took the time to record all my food and exercise in the MyFitnessPal app. I got lazy and stopped for a few months, and it's showing in the results. Time to get back to staying under my daily calorie limit.

Buy myself pretty new workout gear
After losing my workout buddy, I find myself getting less and less motivated to get to the gym. I do only have maybe 3 workout outfits.. and they're all pretty daggy. I bet $100 that buying a pretty new Lorna Jane set will motivate me to get back in to it. For a little while, anyways.

Go on more dates
This whole saving for a house thing has meant that Jesse and I have sacrificed a lot of our old lifestyle. I'd definitely like to get out from in front of the TV (AKA our natural habitat) and do more fun things together. There are a lot of inexpensive and even free things we can do, especially now that it's warming up for Spring.