Tasmania Easter Break

For the remainder of my 2014 Tasmanian Easter trip, my partner and I had lots of fish and chips, an overpriced dinner, some more amazing site seeing, farming and whatever else in between. This is not your typical Tasmania Cheese and Wine tasting adventure as I'm not a fan of cheese or alcohol - bummer I know... but this is how it kinda went...

 Welcome to our accommodation in Hobart, we stayed at Wrest Point Hotel Casino 

 this was our magnificent view from the 15th floor

thought I'd throw this in, as it was such a unique shower, there were 5 different shower nozzles lol, it looked impressive but it felt normal to me, water pressure had to be compensated due to the many water distribution route (hence the pressure intensity wasn't up to my liking). I must admit nothing is like taking a shower at home

we took to trip advisor, and #1 on the list was Louisa's Walk, unfortunately due to the public holiday it was closed, but when I called up to book for a tour Ms. receptionist told me that this tour was book out a week ago. So a tip before coming here would be BOOK IN ADVANCE!

This tour was on a Street named Cascade Road, and we stumbled across the Cascade Brewery (who would have thought heheheh). If you're an Australian, you would know that Cascade is famous for their premium beer and drinks, I got so excited when I realised that the beer I see everywhere was made right here, ofcourse I had to take a photo. I hate the taste of beer but I love seeing historical icons that still exist today. 

adjacent to the Brewery there was the Cascade Park, the atmosphere would have been calmer if it weren't for the Easter egg hunt, these kids were hunting for Easter eggs! it looked fun, innocent and exhausting at the same time. I wish I was a child again. I do recommend anyone who visit Hobart visit this place, its so refreshing to be able to breathe fresh air and hear child's laughter with cascading water in the background

#3 on trip advisor was Mount Wellington. It was under 5 degrees when we reached the top, but the bloody view was magnificent, I was over looking the whole of Hobart. there's not much else up here besides the view and winding road. Just don't go on a cloudy day, fog and cloud would block all your view

next pit stop was Barilla Bay, they specialised in fresh oysters, I'm not a fan of anything raw, but I must admit these Oysters were sweet and fresh from the shell. I recommend getting the dozen in the box as it was only $11, the other dozen with lemon & sauce on a plate was about $17, why would you pay more for the same thing?

Mid Way Point, Pitt Water

from there we travelled to Sorell Fruit Farm: most of the fruits here were out of season but luckily we managed to pick some strawberries and apples. The entrance fee was $8, and you get a small plastic container to take home from whatever you've pick.

picking and eating strawberries

birds getting full on apples

there were rows and rows of assorted apples.

This was our harvasting, two buckets of this. Cleaning fruit inside an ice bucket from our hotel room, improvisation lol.

Fish & Chips at Dunalley Fish Market was the next thing we ate, it's not a market but more of a "by the sea fish & chip family eatery" 

the view was again beautiful, it was so peaceful having lunch with a dog & a seal (solitary seal just bathing and showing off, very cute, I don't know if this is the Dunalley Fish Market pet or if it's from the wild which happened to cross path with us that day)

OMG BEST $10 FISH & CHIPS EVER! recommended must visit place for fish & chips in Tasmania Dunalley Fish Market, the seafood was fresh and it tasted authentic like home made food. This is a single portion made for 1, it was enough to fill me and my partner up  as we've been eating along the way. This is incomparable to our dinner at Mures Tasmania the night before which cost us $70 (waste of money)! 

this was dinner at Mures Tasmania the night before, sorry to say but it was expensive & not fresh, more like a fast food joint for Fish & Chips. 

 on then way back we passed Seven Mile Beach

On our way to Drunken Admiral Resturant

the theme & deco in this restaurant was impressive it was very detailed, just imagine yourself shipwrecked on pirates of the Caribbean 

more oysters with special sauce and fried garlic

mocktails

my $37, 3 skewered grilled scallop a salad and chips, my partner had the same grilled platter but with fish instead. Our total bill rounded up to $160. This place in my opinion has great ambience but the food was overpriced for something I could buy fresh and grill at home, it wasn't as special as the price was. 

just me lounging around waiting to depart, BYE TASMANIA!

Beige on Black on Beige

I spent the Easter Break long weekend in Tasmania, the weather was always cold but who can complain when the sceneries were amazing. I travelled on the Spirit of Tasmania and arrived in Davenport (I hate sea travel!), the next day we spent the whole day driving through the long winding roads of Tasmania, passing Burnie, Cradle Mountain, Strahan, Queenstown, and finally reaching Hobart! I didn't think I was such a weakling until I suffered severe motion sickness on sea and road, my stomach was totally empty when I reached Hobart since I threw up twice on the road - yuck!

For this 3 day trip, I wore mostly:

TOP: my knee length zipper OJAY 2 textured coat - very warm and I got it on special from $200, down to $50! inside that I would wear something thermal such as a skivvy.
BOTTOM: black thick tight pants
SHOES: Coach sport shoes - which I got on a special in the USA at one of the many outlets hehehe
I bought this beige scarf (copied version of Burberry) in Hanoi street market years ago seeing that it was the thickest and largest on sale for $10.

I paired the shoes and scarf as one beige tone, and the rest of my attired was black, it worked out pretty well which didn't look too dull for such freezing days and not giving up on comfort

trying to smile after throwing up :|

It was beautiful in Strahan

Queenstown

 see that sickening winding road! :(

Patterned Specials

I've recently bought this pair black strappy sandal heels from Windsor Smith for $25 (bargain!), I've been eyeing this style for a while but haven't bought anything since I didn't want to pay too much for what I may not wear on a regular basis. They are made of leather with a golden plated heel.

Shopping Tip: personally I rarely buy anything at full price as I know "what goes around comes around" in fashion, something I like will eventually go on sale, especially my size (I'm XS in most clothing size and a 5AU/35 in shoes). Same would apply to you if you are petite or XL in shoes or clothing size. I would usually shop at Factory Outlets where most items are more then half price, or buy something that's "faulty" or oversize, as my Mum is an alteration genius! EBAY is my next platform and of course closing down/warehouse sales are the best

I'm also into vintage old styled items, hence I paired this with a flowy ankle length white with blue patterned print skirt, and a Louis Vuitton Yellow Epi Petit Noe. I bought this bag from a Japanese eBay seller for about $220AUD with shipping, I would only buy branded vintage items from Japanese sellers because it is illegal to sell fakes in Japan and there is a huge penalty for that type of trade in Japan. 

EBAY Tip: never rush into buying branded items, be patience, search around and only bid when you are happy to pay that price, hence I was on the look out for over 3 months, before I found something that nobody wanted to bid anymore for, don't get desperate and increase your budget out of the blue, there will always be another item. But in saying that it all depends on your luck and how many people are bidding. Goodluck with eBaying it's addictive!

To top this attire up, I wore a sleeveless lacy top with a white woolly button sweater to keep warm.

OOTD:

TOP: Lace sleeveless top - bought in Vietnam, H&M woolly button sweater
BOTTOM: Flowy white with blue pattern printed ankle length plaid skirt - bought for about $14AUD online www.aliexpress.com, style inspired by the beautiful actress Fan Bing Bing
HEELS: Strappy sandal leather heels from Windsor Smith
Belt: Patent Salvatore Ferragamo
BAG: Louis Vuitton Yellow Epi Petit Noe

The Little Secret Site

This is the Givenchy Black Antigona medium bag in which I borrowed from a friend at a party, she let me into this little secret as her husband isn’t meant to know about the cost of this buy as she’s got an extensive collection as we speak…heheheh

Well the price was approx. $1500 USD, which is a bargain for a brand new 100% genuine Givenchy Antigona. The secret site where she got it from was “L’inde Le Palais” they sell amazing up to date seasonal designer brands from clothing to shoes to accessories, and registering as a new customer scores you a welcoming 10% off promocode, YEP that’s how she got it on a discounted price.

There’s a catch if you reside in Australia, this site does not deliver to our doorstep :( boohoo… so my friend had a cousin who lives in Hong Kong, so she sent it there, then it was reposted to her. If you have a posting address from overseas you could use this same technique as my friend did and pay a flat rate of $34USD in shipping for items on “L’inde Le Palais”

information above was passed on from a friend of mine, so if there is any fault don't hesitate to tell me, I'm here to learn from you too :)

Care to share your little secret fashionable sites that you find amazing?

Layering Black & White

As all Melbournians are well aware there are sometimes 4 seasons within a day here, this is a simple classy way to layer black and white to wear for work, meeting or casually out.

OOTD:

TOP (inner – outer layer): long sleeve sheer white lace top (found in the street market of Vietnam), H&M boyfriends fitted blazer, Alexa Chung inspired tweed black & white coat.

Bottom: Forever New thick zipped skinny pants (was on special for $12)

Heels:  Oroton classic patent pumps
Belt: Patent Salvatore Ferragamo

Bag: Givenchy black Antigona medium bag (something borrowed, there was a little secret that was revealed to me on it’s price and where to get it… will tell you what I found out on my next post, some of you may already know)