Second Sunday

I’ve been going on about the Nike Training Club for months now so I thought it would only be fair to recap the final event – #NTCtourSYD that took place yesterday in Pyrmont. Prior to the event, we were sent some really nicely boxed event packs that came with a magazine, event information and tanks that came in three slogans. I personally thought mine was the best (Burn Burpee Burn) because it was the punniest but they also had ‘Does your core want more?‘ and ‘Sweaty hair don’t care‘.

The morning started with an opening workout led by Nike master trainer Kirsty Godso at 11:30. It was streamed online and simultaneously kicked off Melbourne and Auckland’s event too. There were about 3000 people there so the event was split into groups depending on the exercises you had picked upon registration. I did boxing, circuit and dance. Dance was my favourite because we were front row and they had some fun zumba-style routines to songs like Hotline Bling and What Do You Mean. Each group also had a ‘rest’ period where you could get a massage, have your hair braided, get flash tattoos and special one off nike manis. They also had health lab bliss balls and I tried the mint chocolate one which was super good but the maple water was so gross! It messed my stomach up, 0/10 do not recommend. We had a closing workout at 3:15 and the event wrapped up around 4. We collected our ‘congratulations for killing it’ bracelets and carried our tired selves back home.

It was a decent experience but I don’t think I’ll be going to the full event next year. I definitely recommend taking advantage of all the free classes in the lead up though because those were really fun and much more intimate and well organised! There’s also the option of volunteering as well. If you’re thinking of attending in the future I would recommend you bring a hat, pack lots of snacks, sunscreen up and arrive early if you want to snag all the free goodies!

Hope your weekend was energising – I am super excited for the 4 day week followed by easter long weekend – I need a double weekend filled with chocolate and hot cross buns please! Also, if you’re curious, the white sneakers in the first photo aren’t real, they’re actually made of plaster!

SSCHRISSY

dress /  flats / laptop case

In an ideal christmas wonderland, I would be able to create 24 days worth of content (an SS advent calendar type thing if you will) to ring in my favourite holiday of the year. Unfortunately, time and lack of wifi for the first third of this month got the better of me so with 10 days left until the big fellow be creepin’ I have created a smorgasbord of festive things that will make you say oh oh oh. Oops I mean ho ho ho! Read on to see what I have been up to in terms of decking the halls and how you can give your house that Rockefeller treatment even if you are experiencing 30 degree plus heatwaves on a weekly basis.

NETFLIX & HEAT

I.e. stay horizontal to the ground as you wait for the thunderstorms to roll in and signify the end of yet another 30 degree Sydney day. All the Home Alones are always a classic, Love Actually, Elf and Santa Clause are viewed with greater enthusiasm each year and any Christmas themed television episode is always a delight. I watched Christmas Eve on the weekend which is a 2015 film – very realistic but not the greatest. Vlogamas has also become quite a tradition my favourites being: Zoella, Rachel Jade Annear (Australian), Aspyn + Parker & the Sacconejolys. If you want to feel like a Christmas Grinch, go watch these people. Do it in style with a marble laptop vinyl like mine from CaseApp and get 20% off your next order with the code SMORGASBORDCASE20. 

recipe

BAKE IT OFF

Make like T-Swizzle and have a baking day with your squad. Listen to Christmas albums with some JB on the side because as much as we love to hate the Biebs, we all love Purpose. Was our icing intentionally crafted to look like snow or was it purely an accident? Only you and your friends will know this delicious secret that you will take to the snapchat grave. Great bonding sessions guaranteed. NB: No gummy bears were hurt in the process of building our gingerbread mansion despite the fact that they do look like they are falling off the roof.

pocketprints

MONOGRAMMING IS SO 2015

Personalise your tree with print outs of photographs from the year. If you could do this on a 2 metre pine, it would be the perfect conversation stater piece slash subtle bragging ensemble. Oh yeah .. this quick snap was from the Maldives in early Jan and ah I look so tan here from my 2 week Greek Island escape.

golden wonder bath bomb

TREAT YO SELF

As important as giving and receiving is blah blah blah … you know whats the most important? When the giver and receiver is both yourself. Yeah that’s right hun, you go and spoil yourself silly this silly season. A nice long bath away from all your responsibilities and to treat those paper cuts from over wrapping is a start. Lush knows whats up with the Merry Christmas gift set filled with their most popular Christmas treats: Cinders Bath Bomb, Golden Wonder Bath Bomb, Lord Misrule Bath Bomb, Father Christmas Bath Bomb and Dashing Santa Bath Bomb . If you’re feeling generous, I guess you could give them to friends and family too. Look at those smart cookies, saving you from doing any wrapping.

Products featured c/o Pocket Prints / Lush / CaseApp 

Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram @stylesmorgasbord for all the latest #sschrissy updates and I wish you all a safe and happy holiday season! 

November 2015

November was an exam month so not much happened before the nineteenth. Highlight of the month was definitely the 1989 concert!!! I’ve been waiting for this day since I was 12 and first heard Love Story on the radio in the supermarket carpark. I guess you could call that love at first note. What an event! With a 76 000 strong crowd (the biggest crowd she’ll play to this whole tour!!!), there was really something magical about being in a confined space with so many people who all know the lyrics to your favourite songs. Visually, How You Get The Girl was my favourite with the floating street lamps and light up dress but I think I danced the hardest to Out Of The Woods and I Knew You Were Trouble. The flashing wristbands were such a neat idea because they pulsed to the music (see above) and I’m glad they still work after the concert because it makes for a nice memento. I’m so glad this was the concert that was filmed for the DVD because I’ll have to get it just to relive the night :’)

Bite Beauty in Glace / Top Shop Beauty in Perplex / Rumba Time in Madison (c/o)  or via Shopbop/ Seed Marble Phone Case 

I have been looking for an affordable marble phone case for over a year and I finally found this one from Seed when they were doing 20% off storewide at VOSN for under $10. I was looking to find a Kylie Jenner-esque colour lip pencil and this one sadly misses the spot but is still quite pretty as you can see me wearing in ‘Paint Me Like … By Your French Door.’ Finally, I have a new time piece from Rumba Time in my life that is less glitzy than my MK one because there aren’t any crystals but its still very shiny because of they way the edges are cut. 

Topshop opened their second store in Sydney (took their time am I right?) and its kitted out with a Doughnut Time. On the opening day they gave away 500 doughnuts and I scored two – ‘The Cereal Killer’ and ‘Oreo’. These artisan doughnuts are hand dipped and so scrumptious.

There are only a few weeks until Christmas and then its the new year and 2016 will be upon us :0 I’ve put up the trees in my house including this new baby tree from Bed Bath n Table. Its a bit underdressed right now but I’m hoping to add a few homemade ornaments when I get back from my holiday.

YEARBOOK ONE

STYLE SMORGASBORD turns ONE today! How crazy is that … ? I think its particularly crazy because I launched SS on the day after I finished my HSC Exams and a year later I’m celebrating its birthday on the day after I finish my first year of university.

Sometimes I get into a funk because I question what I’ve achieved in the past 12 months but then I look back and I realise you know what, I actually did a lot blogging and life wise. But more on life stuff on New Year’s Eve. Halloween is the day we look back on SS.

Thank you to everyone who has ever stumbled upon SS. Whether that stumble ever led to a backtrack and an oh hey! I always appreciate your eyeballing, liking and commenting. I also want to thank all the people I know in real life – family and friends, that creep on my blog and are always too nice to say no when I ask for them to take photos of me. Thanks for feeling awkward behind the lens and going with it anyway ❤

I would like to think that year one was more of a testing the waters type thing. Style Smorgasbord gained some traction as to the general way blog posts are formatted in the last month and I intend to continue with this format for the near future. Here are some of my favourite blog posts: DIY Marble Side Table / Sun Salutations / Stay Gold / Entertainment By The Sea / Varsi-Prep and where it all began: Style. 

Finally, I have some goals for year 2 that I’ve been debating whether or not to write down but if I never put them out in the open, I’ll never have any motivation to achieve them so here we go:

• Invest in a new camera
• Move to WP.org and become self-hosted
• Change my blog’s design
• Increase consistency and frequency
• Develop a more recognisable brand

Vitamin Sea

It’s almost that time of the year again … Not Christmas though … STUVAC is rolling in with one week left of uni. I almost didn’t write a blog post today because I thought I didn’t have anything to put up but then I realised I still had this draft sitting pretty since June just after I had wrapped up semester 1. One of the biggest motivators for me during STUVAC last semester was texting my study and workout buddy each morning with motivational quotes so I hope this post gives you a little inspiration to go out and tackle your finals head on. Don’t forget to get off your studying bum once in a while, stay hydrated, eat clean and get a lot of vitamin sea. Also, I thought I would include my 10 STUVAC Commandments:

1. Wake up and go to sleep early: a good night’s rest = clear mind; trumping last minute cramming = groggy mind
2. Stay active: an active body equals an active mind – go for a walk outside or do some Blogilates
3. Plan something to do outdoors after your exams: I like to go to the beach for some much needed vitamin sea
4. Find a study buddy: to cheer you on and keep you sane ❤
5. Beat unproductive days: with the Pomodoro Technique 
6. Be comfortable in: // Sweater: Old (similar here) Pants: Uniqlo / Sneakers: Nike //
7. Study in different places: you’ll be more likely to recall information in a foreign location come exam time
8. Clean: your bedroom and other studying spaces before everything starts to go crazy
9. Consider using a: bullet journal if you struggle with organisation or plan like me!
10. Use: Self Control 

If you are still keen to extend your study break (are you procrastinating on SS haha, check out some post exam inspo here ) / Photos by study buddy: Adela x Styliminal 

Wet My Plants!

September slipped in and out so quickly that I forgot spring even started. It doesn’t help that the weather was such a party pooper and I couldn’t get on with my spring cleaning because I’m still stuck in my sweaters and parkas. On the bright side, the gloomy weather meant I wasn’t tempted to go outside which was fine with me because I had a stack of exams and assignments to burn through. My Instagram didn’t get a lot of action this month so I thought I would show you some random photographs from my SD card instead. Does anyone love the new Instagram update though? The square is so 2 years ago.

I like to call these flowers ‘premade flower crowns’. Honestly, look at them, no need to string flowers on yourself, nature’s done it for you anyway. They’re actually called weeping flower blossoms I believe.

The Bathers’ Pavilion delivering all the drinks served with a view.

Wisteria everywhere! Nature’s own ombre. I read Why Not Me by Mindy Kaling this month. 10/10, that woman is so quick and smart and funny, if you don’t have the time, get the audio book and laugh to yourself on daily commutes like a mad woman. Her show also returned for a fourth season streaming weekly on Hulu. There’s been an engagement and a birth already done in typical Mindy Lahari fashion.

Balmoral also treated us with a double rainbow. Its so magical, it looks like I photoshopped it but its real I promise.

I guess this image reminds me a bit of San Fran (its actually taken at Barangaroo Reserve) which is the setting for my new favourite dystopian series: The Maze Runner. I watch it mainly for the cast: Dylan O’ Brien, Ki Hong Lee and Thomas Brodie-Sangster. I think if you actually read the books, you wouldn’t be too keen on the film adaptation but I am yet to have the time to get another trilogy down my belt lol.

Bonfire night with my TC. All my friends were impressed and appalled with my lack of regard to lyrics.

Happy Mid Autumn Festival! I hope you had some good mooncake ❤ Lets hope October brings us some good weather! Christmas ornaments are already filling stores and I cannot wait to bombard y’all with some DIYs come November-December.

Mini City

Everything is just so much more precious in miniature form. Look at this ‘Hong Kong in Miniature‘ pop up exhibit located in Westfield, Sydney. Ain’t it just so squealin’ cute? My parents both lived in Hong Kong at one point so it was lovely to see what Hong Kong looked like for them when they were young. The detail is flipping amazing, if you look closely at the sticker store, you can see the individual characters: Dora The Explorer (pretty sure that did not exist back then); Disney Princesses and Hello Kitty! Then there are the signs and cameras which flash discretely, something that could only be captured by a good old GIF.

All twenty-four models have been flown in from Hong Kong and include a one-metre tall ‘Bun Tower’ made from 5,000 buns and a mini-replica of the Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance which lights up through optic fibres. The miniature models showcases Hong Kong’s old traditional shops, such as an Incense House and Chinese Medicine Store; festivals like the Tai Hang Fire Dragon and Cheung Chau Bun Festival; and culture, such as Chinese Opera and the Lam Tsuen Wishing Tree. The exhibition is organised by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Sydney (HKETO), with Hong Kong Tourism Board as a supporting partner. #MiniHongKong

August 2015

What a jam packed month! It was so busy and according to my planner, September will even be more intense. Below are some of my food adventures and above is a flat lay I am particularly proud of. I have a couple of exciting features lined up just in time for the new season and I’m hoping to start introducing to you guys some new and quite different personal style looks. // Pictured here (anticlockwise): September Harper’s Bazaar, Sausage Dog from Kmart, Pandora, Essie ‘Urban Jungle, The Body Shop blush, Forever New Booties, Kikki K 365 day journal, Essano Rosehip New Zealand, Formula 10.0.6 Be Pure Mud Mask, Naked 2 via Mecca Maxima, Revlon Balm Stains, Sali Hughes’ Pretty Honest, Charlotte Smith’s Dreaming of Dior and Minchinbury Wines.

Aqua S Hazelnut & Seasalt with Sweet Popcorn via Macquarie Shopping Centre / Blue/black/rasp/straw/berry and banana smoothie at home

Lemon Tart via Brendan Dewar Patisserie / Berry White Chocolate Mousse via Passion Tree Velvet

Spit Pork soft shell taco via El Loco in Surry Hills. This was such a fiesta for all the senses!

Clipper Cafe in Glebe / Protip: Bring your Access card to get major $$ off 🙂

Venus Wholefoods in Surry Hills / Smashing Pumpkin via Shores Restaurant in Hornsby

Local brunching and coffee art-ing :0

Winter Break Polarised

Semester two is well underway which means back to the daily rumble of 6am wake ups, 4 hour back to back lectures and multiple cups of English breakfast and green tea. Regardless, I feel like I’m excited for the next 13 weeks but ask me again next week and the answer may be something different. Here’s a collection of pictures from my break :). I also wanted to mention that my previous every 3 day posting was kind of confusing so if you check SS often, check every Monday and Thursday (or Sunday and Wednesday depending on where you live) for a brand new spanking post

Credit to DanielFoodDiary for Tim Ho Wan photo

June, Came Upon Us Too Soon

June was an uneventful month with finals so I spent my time making my own fancy drinks.

I always appreciate some good tiling particularly marble and Moroccan.

2 reads: Pretty Honest – Sali Hughes and the last Princess Diaries – Meg Cabot. Highly recommend both.

A bit of a sneak peak of some gorgeous photos to come.

Title Lyrics: ‘June’ – Spock’s Beard