A collection of helpful links and funny pictures.

Books - As someone who loves the printed books, I often buy my book, online. Here in Australia books are expensive and Boarders is long gone. Use booko.com.au to compare prices, tip - best to get the ISBN to use in the search bar. Most of the time Book Depository is the cheapest site, delivered within a fortnight from the UK. Need to keep track of what you're reading, your to-read list and read? Use Good Reads.

Photo Editing - I first resize my pictures in a batch using 'Picture Resizer' (PC) then edit using PicMonkey. If I need to host it then I use Photo Bucket.



How I feel about my industry: An internship position means you'll never have to pay someone to fulfill that position. I've also been in position (yes during internships) where I found the cheapest place to get something, and the manager asks me to negotiate to get said item/service for free, in exchange for exposure...  

Due to tech. issues (usb died wants to be formatted) we lost some posts and two weeks worth of content, pictures as well as projects. We'll be working hard to recover those and will be back next week!

How long have you been blogging?
As of 2016, 5 years. 

Where are you based?
Melbourne CBD, but we do have a weekend home in the South Eastern suburbs with a huge garden too. But not big enough to have a hedge maze :P

What's your day job?
In theory I'm an Events Planner. In practice I'm a checkout chick. 

Do you take your own pictures?
Yes, or if it's not mine it won't have the same editing (rounded off corners).

Do you get invited to all these fabulous events you write about?
Rare. We buy a lot of tickets. A lot. I also have other ways of getting into events, without an invitation. ;) If we were invited it's mentioned at the top of the post.

Will you give me a good review if I send you my product or invite you to a launch?
I can't guarantee that, but what I can offer you is an honest review.

Would you like an invite to event x?
Sure, if it fits the blog. 

How long will it take you to get the post up about our event?
If it's a pop-up event and you need it fast, 3 days. But usually it takes a week, and up to 2 weeks during exams.

Why don't you write about beauty products?
Because I'm not an expert on make-up, my area is skincare. And specifically tailored to my crazy skin type. I don't have combo or some normal skin type, so a generalization that product x works for me, and hence you won't work out.

Are you on social media?
Yes, you can find me on facebook and instagram. I'm most active on instagram. Links on the main page sidebar, and 'Follow' tab.

How can we contact you?
Contact tab, or link in the side bar on the main page.

What do the dollar signs mean? What do you consider a cheap eat?

Saturday 16th April



The best way to respond to negative reviews is to delete them all, block the posters (if possible) and deny they exist. Agree and disagree?

The ‘If No One Sees It, It Didn’t Happen’ approach. If someone left you a scathing review on your Facebook page, you may want to consider sending them a cheese basket or something to thank you. Because, it means they were kind enough to come to you first and that there’s still time to fix the relationship [Imagine if the people you dated did this!]. If you then go and delete that comment, you’re going to make an already-disgruntled customer simply more frustrated, essentially telling them you don’t care about their feedback. You’ll be sending them away even angrier than they arrived and they’re not going to keep that to themselves. They’re going to up the fire and leave an even nastier review about your business on Yelp or Google Places. Or they’re going to start a tweet war about how you censored them. Or they’re going to write a blog post with your company name in the Title tag. Any of these things would be way worse than one negative comment on a page that you control. To avoid it, let the comment sit on your Facebook page, addressing it calmly and sympathetically. It’s always better to keep the conversation at your own house than to let it spread elsewhere.

Pop Up Events' Squizzy Taylor's Ball 2016 



Fitzroy 1920...Gunmen, Sly Grog, Prostitution, Extortion, Cocaine, Gang Wars and Vice... but most of all, Fun.

More like sly organisers, extortion prices for what they're actually offering and not such a fun time when you're hangry.



No cloak room, drinks on arrival or fingerfood. $50 is for entry which doesn't include anything but entry itself. Tickets optional as no one's checking and there's no hostess to welcome you. And if you post negative feedback on the event page they'll just delete it. 




Arriving a bit after 8pm, but before the show started there was no one to greet us at the doors, drinks were not offered on arrival as promised nor was there a cloak room. My friend arrived at 7pm when doors open and said she's asked about drinks, but no one knew anything.



Throughout the night there was dancing, mainly by the Swing Patrol group who'd been invited to perform, in between very short acts on stage. Most of the music was not live, there was a band but left a bit after 9pm, and the party ends much later than that. For $50 I'd expect them to play all night (with breaks). Instead they left a bit after 9pm, and through the front door too. If you're going to sneak out at least use the back door!

There was no food or drinks as promised, though there were drinks and crepes to purchase. By 10pm we were starving, and left. Still no food and drinks. We did not have a good time, and there were many others who felt the same way, hungry and ripped off. And we soon found ourselves at McDonalds, along with many others in costume.   

For $50 firstly we'd expect more, secondly if you aren't going to have food and drinks as promised, don't promise it in the first place. Outsource the catering to food trucks and lower the cost of the tickets to $15-20 as the only thing you are offering is entry.


There were a couple photographers on the night, though one was awful. Not the guy himself but the quality of the photos, there's blurry pictures, bad lighting (flash!) and red eyes to name a few issues. I could have taken those photos, and that is not a compliment when it comes to event photography. There is a reason work doesn't ask me, even though I have a camera.  

To date this has been the most disappointing event we have attended, where we were starving and felt ripped off. Promised the expected but failed to delivery. Not only that, instead of responding to negative feedback the organizers decided to all the negative feedback and pretend they don't exist.

Worst event ever. To be used as a case study in class of what not to do.

Wednesday 13th April



The Langham's had high tea for women ladies, kids (come in costume), and now tweens/teenage girls. Will they come up with a theme for gentlemen? With Cuban cigar wafers, after dinner mints and absolutely no pink? What do men like, and how can that be used to create a high tea set? Mini burgers (sliders) with fries? Or a 50s MadMen theme, with leather furniture, chocolate cigars and hard drinks instead of tea. I'd like that.

It was a few years ago the high tea was the thing, it started with the hotels then spread to cafes. The Langham's always been on the list, and it's the kids ones that I wanted to go to, but we decided to pick the tween one. Tweens are an emerging market, it mainly is focused on girls who are too young for boys (in theory) and too old for toys. These days kids are getting more allowances then we were, and more purchasing power. They all have smart phones, and social media. You'd think home was a safe zone from bullies, but not anymore. Moving on. Witchery and Barbot have come up with fashion for them, and they can be seen as mini adults, with a lot of them having a social presence and been influenced by well, influences. Fashion and flatlays are in, according to le beau.  


Located on the other side of the Yarra where not only is the grass is greener, but there is actually grass is The Langham, a chain of five star hotels expanding across four continents. Hotels and the art/recital centers is where you'll find the best customer service and so we had high expectations.













I love lemonade, and the word is conjours up the best lemonade we have ever had at a wedding event (Bursaria's lemonade). As we were at the Langham I was expecting something similar to a rosewater lemonade with a spring of mint or wedge of lemon with pink sugar on the edge, perched on the glass. Nope. This one was Schweppes, with flowers on top though not infused in the drink. With the note that this high tea is designed for 13-19 year olds, their needs and wants would be different to a 24yr old sugar addict lifestyle blogger. 



While jas loves tea, I'm more of a hot chocolate person, though I do like iced fruity teas which isn't considered a real tea, and milk tea. I may have added too much milk and sugar, for this selection leaned towards milk tea. 





Working from the bottom to the top tier we started with ribbon sandwiches, with light rye bread, my favourite. While there were four selections we only had two due to food allergies. 





The scones were perfect though the butter was hard, as it had just come out of the fridge. Deep fried croquettes were great, as anything deep fried is, though we felt that it needed a dip of some sort.
  





XO cookies - Butter cookies are always good, as they melt on your tongue and are made up of the best ingredients: butter and sugar. While these tasted very good they didn't look the same standard as in the promo pictures. It reminded me of McDonalds, in that the one on the promo picture looks perfect, but the one you actually get isn't the same. That was disappointing. 

I wasn't really a fan of any of the other desserts, the macaron was chewy, the rose meringues didn't taste like rosewater. Cinnamon donut with a chocolate dip and gold dust, while it looked lovely it didn't taste as good. And the chocolate mousse waffle cone had us asking why? A mini version would have been cuter, or I'd replace this with dessert tubes. 

We had a good time, everything smelt great and the service was excellent. Though the food was a bit average. Not sure if it was because it was designed for tweens therefore needed to be visually appealing only, but not taste as good, as they wouldn't know? Was it because we booked the tea that looked pretty but was more novelty, rather than the normal high tea? We'd like to assume so. If you book the mother's day high tea or B&P Edition I'm sure it'll be much better. 

Meanwhile the service was great! Everyone was very friendly and checked on us every so often, but not too often, to see if we needed more tea/water. I do find that the friendliest people in service are at hotels and at the arts/recital center. 





Have you been to high tea at the Langham? Where is the best high tea you've had? Our best is the Providence Cafe, at $40 not only is it the cheapest, it is also the best value for money and everything was delicious! How do we know? We went twice! 

We've also been to...

• The Hilton - The worst, there was sushi but no soy sauce? $60. 1/5
• The Bridal Showcase - Unknown Caterer. Great. 4.5/5
• A Crafternoon Tea - Pretty awesome! And not ran by a hotel or cafe. $80. 4/5
• Windsor - We did the buffet, very good but the most expensive. $70. 4.5/5
• Rendezvous Hotel - Tarts, Sandwiches, Cupcakes. Average, but very friendly. 3/5
• Angliss - Budget friendly but not really high tea desserts 3/5.

Events
                         2013 
                                    Amazing Race x Scavenger Hunt
                                    Melbourne Central Shopping Festival
                                    Melbourne Spring Fashion Week (MSFW) 2013
                                    Sand Sculpting 'Under the Sea' Exhibition
                                    South Melbourne Market Tour
                                    Taste of Melbourne
                                    Yarra Valley Chocolaterie
                         2014 
                                    Bounce Inc. Opens in Blackburn
                                    Daiso on Flinders St Opens 
                                    Dumbo Feather Conversation Series x MSO
                                    Good Food & Wine Show
                                    Jason Grech's Bridal High Tea Showcase
                                    Love, Desire & Riches Exhibition
                                    Melbourne Spring Fashion Week (MSFW) 2014
                                    Natvia x Cupcake Central
                                    Piccadilly Craft Market
                                    T by LuxBite Launch
                                    Taste of Melbourne 2014
                                    Thai Night Sugar Hit Pop-Up
                                    The Disappointing High Tea Party @ The Hilton
                                    Unleash Creative Workshop
                         2015 
                                    Craftlicious High Tea - Crafting x High Tea!
                                    Good Food & Wine Show
                                    Virgin Melbourne Fashion Festival (VMFF) in the Docklands
                                    Melbourne Spring Fashion Week (MSFW) - The Hub
                                    Summer Night Noodle Markets - Food Festival
                                    Royal Croquet Club - Food Festival
                                    Taste of Melbourne 2015
                                    Time Out Magazine's Food Awards Night
                                    The Langham's Designer Teen High Tea
                                    Vapiano Pizza Pasta on Flinders Lane
                                    YOMG Opens in Glen Waverley
                         2016 
                                    Australia's Biggest Morning Tea 2016 
                                    Ba'get's Vietnamese Street Food Masterclass
                                    Good Food & Wine Show
                                    VIP Shopping Days @ Chadstone & Eastland
                                    Weekend Trip to Sovereign Hill
                                    Yelp Workshop Party




Our Favourite Eats
                            
                            A-Z 
                                    Angliss Training Restaurant - Bookings Required
                                    French Toast @ Dip in Café (Open Brunch Hours) $14 
                                    Camberwell's Curry Camp - ($7.50 Lunches & $22 Banquet)

                                    Green Refectory - Cheap Classic Cakes  
                                    Huxtaburger - Our Favourite Burgers
                                    Providence Cafe - Best Value High Tea
                                    Shyun - Japanese, Local Gem
                                    Sushi Tokui - $2 Sushi Always
      Lunch Only
                                    Pumpkin & Key Lime Pie @ Mason Dixon 
                                    Camberwell's Curry Camp $7.50 Deal

      Timed Offers
                                    Father's Office After 11pm - Old / New
                                    Ikea's Annual Swedish Julbord Dinner
                                    Mussel Monday at Acland St Cantina - St Kilda
                                    Oriental Tea House - All You Can Eat Yum Cha $30
                                    Chapel St on Tuesday & Chastone on Wednesday
      Closed
                                    Helados Jauja Gelato - Off to Travel the World!
                                    Yaya Chica - Never came back from holidays?
      Favourite Brands
                                    Healsville's Fudge by Rich
                                    Summer Snow Apple Juice (Pink Lady)
                                    Whimsy Farm Twine


Collaborations

        Product Reviews
                                    Pitango Organic Soups  
                                    Milo - Choc Malt Powder

   Restaurant Reviews
                                    Can be found on zomato! 
                                    Looking for something specific? Google "curious charlie [search]"
                                    South Wharf Progressive Dinner


Guides

       Art & Craft 
                                    Conversation Candy Heart Brooches
                                    Easy Cut Out V'Day Cards
                                    DIY Drab to Fab Accessories
                                    Felt Cupcake Brooches
                                    Twine Lollipops
       Lifestyle 
                                    Budgeting - Adventures of Saving while Spending
                                    Coming Soon - 10 Things Every College Student Should Know
                                    Limited Spaces x Christmas Trees
       Places 
                                    Labassa 
                                    Krispy Kreme Factory Tour
                                    Ikea Richmond - Compact City Living

       Recipes
                                    Matcha Triple Choc Chip Cookies
                                    Wedding Lemonade by Bursaria
                                    Coming Soon - Mini Xmas Puddings

       Wedding Series 
                                    Abbotsford Convent Open Day 
                                    Crazy in Love - Wedding Planning Workshop
                                    Etsy x Bride 'Meet the Maker' Wedding Showcase


Featured On...
                                    The Bank on Collins - Retail Savvy Group 
                                    Ba'get Vietnamese

Monday 11th April





Not as productive as planned the day was spent wallowing. It's wedding week. I miss him, and saw him at a concert on Saturday, though he didn't see me. Current mood: devastated. Our wedding was to be this Saturday, 16:00 16th April '16. We had our venue + caterer, the dress and everything else on hold. A wedding two years in the making, due the very popular location and date. 

Tuesday


Buying tickets for a show, location says go to head office as this branch doesn't accept gift cards. Head office says they do, someone's in trouble. I didn't buy the ticket from HQ because there's a $7 fee - yes there's a booking fee for booking in person too! Then there's the card fee, and mailing/printing fee. Hell yeah we're going to charge you for using your own paper and ink.  

The cheapest way to buy tickets is on the day in cash, but of course there are either no tickets or only bad ones left. All those online ticketing systems suck. Cash sales in person as soon as the event tickets are released are how you avoid the fees with the arts and recital center. They don't charge you for printing either and hand you your tickets right away. 

No I will not pay $7, I rather walk a few blocks with very heavy bags that are cutting off circulation in my arms. I will also enlist Lola who is an expert at customer service, and also file a form complaint. 


Picked up stuff at Lovisa, can you believe they don't sell online or offer free shipping if you spend over $100? There was a sale, I spent $837. Jokes, it was on sale down to around $100. Bought  27 things says the receipt, but I have 25. Don't think anything is missing, so something was accidentally scanned twice. It's not everyday you have someone clear out your entire headpiece shelf/rack. 

Waited for a wheelchair guy in the lift and missed my train! NOOOO! Just catch the next one, no big deal... no. It was peak hour, so because I missed my train I missed the bus that comes thrice an hour, which meant that I was almost an entire hour late for class. Add traffic, as it took 20mins to get from the station to school. It is not my day - fortunately our teacher believes in better late then never. Also there were two-three others who arrived after me. My excuse was that the guy at the ticket box didn't want to accept my gift card, and I had to hold the lift someone. 

Class was good, this one always is. It's a seminar. 


Fast forward to the show, Swing Man with Damien. It was ok, not a waste of an hour. Jas enjoyed it more than I. The venue was nice, the Malthouse. Afterwards we had cheese and crackers with cranberry jelly (the kind that goes with turkey), jas say it was meant to be fig paste? Guess who's in charge of buying that next time :P. We do love cheese, a bit of blue is fine though I won't buy a whole block. Yes it is a thousand calories, but how often do you get a cheese platter to yourself? Cheese and wine is something I associate with fancy event. 

Wednesday


Pizza with Lola then a stroll along the Yarra. Don't walk along Flinders near the aquarium. Cross across the bridge instead.






It's lovely outside on the other side without the garbage truck coming by every hour or two to empty the bins, no horses, no fast food. I smell everything, and sometimes don't want to leave my room. My neighbor two rooms away scents her room with deodorant much like the girls' locker room in middle school.


White or yellow lighting? White gives the luxury look, as when you think of hotels everything's white, the sheets, billowing curtains. On the other hand yellowy warm lighting is inviting. And  if you shoot with white lighting you can always increase the warmth. Vice versa doesn't happen.



Thursday


Lunch thanks to NAB was a burger from, Mr Burger for $1. Before we dashed past coffee and to class. In which a rare thing happened - we actually learnt something we will use in real life. Like portfolios, elevator pitches and bios. 


After class we had a events marketing seminar with networking. In which an elevator pitch would have been great. Networking and people skills offline isn't one of my abilities, as I prefer the safety of a delayed response online. 

Friday




Tickettek and I are not friends. Collins says we don't accept gift cards, go to HQ. Referring someone to HQ means you're in trouble, or will be when they tell me you could have processed it. HQ says they can do it, but with a booking fee. Hell no, so I took it back to Collins, who said no. Called HQ, waiting for almost an hour on call waiting after fighting with a machine to get through to a person. And then the guy at the booth agrees to process it when I ask for the T&Cs - using my lawyer-ing skills, as I specialize in contracts. 

The afternoon was spent fighting, something that happens a lot for me, due to bad customer service that I encounter weekly or more. No work was done before we went to the theatre. 


Bright World, (tell us about it). The set was a court, complete with that wooden rack of bars that no one seems to know the purpose of, and the dreaded beep test. Little did anyone know I had a panic attack in the theatre. I liked the play, it was entertaining though got confused as there were quite a few characters. Scenes from William Cooper's life, Hans & Alice in Vienna, Hans & Alice at school, and Andrea x Elise in present day, and then their backstories.

Saturday


An underwhelming event that failed to deliver. We left starving, and that's how a midnight dinner happened, along with the story of the worst customer service I have ever experienced. If you delete the negative reviews and delete the poster then they don't exist right? Wrong. Big time.

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