What to do in Melbourne???

Hi everyone,

This week I am going to tell you about things to do in Melbourne. If you have been reading my blog you will know I went to Melbourne for my birthday, and also for a One Direction concert on Valentines Day. I have been to Melbourne four times now, as I have friends that I have visited there and its a great place to visit and explore.
I thought if I told you about a few of the things I did when I have been there, if you ever found yourself in Melbourne, Australia, it may help you with a few things to do, how to get around and accommodation.

Transport
Whenever I go to Melbourne I fly there. The way I to get from the airport to the city is to take a SkyBus which is a bus service that runs 24/7 and is about $17AUD per person, each way.
Once you are in the city they have free trams within the city to help you get around, but if you want to go out of this area or use the trains you will need to get a Miki card they are sold at most 7/11s and you can download the Melbourne transport app from your app store to get timetables etc.

Image is from Google my photography skills aren't the best sorry.

Accommodation
I have stayed somewhere different every time. This last time I stayed just up the road from Crown Entertainment Complex which I thought was a very good thing because it has everything you could want such as a cinema, cafes, restaurants, bars, beauty salons, fast food and a bit of shopping. Its a good central base, i'm not saying stay there, although it would be lovely, and I will one day, it is very expensive to do so. But staying anywhere close to there or in the city is good if you want to explore the CBD.

Things To Do
There are so many great things to do in Melbourne you don't even have to leave the city. There is the Eureka Skydeck 88 it is the tallest building in Melbourne at 88 stories tall. When you get to the top you get the most amazing view of the city and surrounding areas its breathtaking and pretty cool, and not too expensive.
The zoo is good too, its not the best zoo I've been to but its pretty cool, especially if you want see the native animals. You do have to catch the train out to the zoo.
Also, in the city is the old gaol which is very cool, it has lots of information on the convicts, especially Ned Kelly. So, if history is your thing head there it is close to the museum which is awesome. If you would like to see more animals and learn all about them then head to the aquarium, they have so much information and fun exhibits, its great. That's just a few of the things I have been to, there are also lots of arts, theater and art galleys to see and enjoy.

 

Image is from Google my photography skills aren't the best sorry.

Image is from Google my photography skills aren't the best sorry.

As for shopping, there is a ridiculous amount of places to go. Like I said earlier, crown has some shops but they are more high end ones like Guess, Forever New and Peter Alexander. but if that's not you, or you want more choice, there is a lot to choose from like The Emporium shopping centre which has shops like Topshop and more high end shops as well. There is also Melbourne Central, Docklands harbor town, and Chadstone which is the biggest shopping centre in the southern hemisphere and has everything you could imagine.

Dining and Nightlife
There is an unfathomable amount of places to eat they are just everywhere, I have only been to a few. But from those I have tried they have all been lovely. I went to this really cool Irish pub for my birthday, it was like you had stepped into Ireland itself and it was just how I would imagine them to be there. The food was really yum and it was called P.J. O'Brien's I had a lovely night and even tried my first Guinness. There is also a lot of places that do breakfast too if you want to go out and start your day with something delicious.

Image is from Google my photography skills aren't the best sorry.

As for the night life, like clubs and stuff, the only place I went for that was in The Crown Entertainment Complex, they have a few clubs, lots of bars and a massive casino. We went on a Saturday night and it was very busy. If thats not your scene, I'm sure there are plenty of other places within the cbd I'm just not sure where they are.

I hope you find this a little helpful if you are planning a trip to the lovely city of Melbourne, Australia. I love it there and so i hope you do too.
 
If you want to know more just ask and I will try my best to help you from what I know or if you have any other suggestions for things I should check out next time I'm there please let me know.


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One Direction Concert

Hi everyone,

I’ve had such a wonderful week on holiday in Melbourne with my mum and catching up with friends that I’m going to do a post on my whole trip next week, but today I will tell you about the highlight of my holiday, the ONE DIRECTION concert!

So, I went to the Valentine ’s Day concert and it was amazing! We got to the stadium really early because I was very excited and didn’t want to miss a thing. We had hot seat tickets which meant we got a free watch and lanyard and seat quite close to the stage.

It seemed like such a long wait before anyone came on. Samantha Jade was first, I’m not really a fan of hers, she looked like a girl having a dance in a club with her friends and not so professional. It was hard for her because she didn’t have all the big lights and stuff and it was still day time. 

I was so happy to hear that McBusted were going to be the opening act for the show because I love them.  I sang along to every song! Not many people knew their songs, I felt like the only one. They had amazing energy and looked like they had a ball up on stage.

Then there was a very long wait before “The Boys” came on, it was never-ending ads and music videos, because they were late coming on stage.

Then finally, the intro video started and all the lights went down, the smoke came and they appeared from the middle of the stage looking and sounding lovely. Everyone was screaming, some louder than others and I danced the whole time, it was amazing. My mum was taking the photos so I could enjoy the show, thanks mum.

The show felt like it went really fast, I swear it was only 10 minutes long. The highlight of the show for me was when I caught Harrys drink bottle when he threw it into the crowd. The girl next to me and I went for it at the same time but I got it first and she said well-done which was very nice of her. I was so happy.

I had a fantastic time it was a great way to spend Valentine ’s Day. I can’t wait to see them again!!!

Have you ever been to a concert? If so who did you see and did you enjoy it? I’d love to hear your experiences...

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What to do with Green Tomatoes?

Hi Everyone,
Last week my mum and I made some yummy Green Tomato Chutney so I thought I would share the recipe with you and some tips on how to make it :) Hope you enjoy...

Green Tomato Chutney

Ingredients:
2.5kg green tomatoes, roughly chopped
0.5kg onions, finely sliced
4 tsp / 30g salt
1L malt vinegar
0.5kg soft light brown sugar
250g sultanas, roughly chopped
3 tsp / 20g ground pepper

Equipment:
A large bowl and a large pot
7 - 10 jars with lids
Food wrap / cling film
Sticky labels

Directions:
Step 1: Prepare

Finely slice your onions and wash and chop the green tomatoes, cutting out any bad bits. Add to a large bowl and stir. Add the 4 teaspoons of salt, stir again and then cover with a plate or cling wrap and leave overnight.

This will draw out lots of the tomatoes juices and help enhance the flavours. This step can be skipped if you don't want to leave it overnight, just reduce the salt by half.

I thoroughly recommend doing this step though as it will reduce the time you need to cook your chutney for. Much of the cooking time is just reducing the liquid down so it's a thick enough consistency for chutney.

The next day...

Step 2: Heat the vinegar, add the sugar.

 

Place the litre of vinegar into a large pan. Add the 500g of light brown soft sugar and stir over a medium heat until all the sugar has dissolved.

Bring to the boil.

Step 3: Sultanas.

Roughly chop the sultanas then add to the simmering vinegar and sugar. Bring the whole lot to a gentle boil.

Step 4: Drain and add the tomatoes and onions.

 

 

Remove the cover from the tomatoes and onions that you've left overnight. Drain well but do not rinse. Rinsing will add more water and the goal of leaving overnight with salt was to remove as much water as possible without pulping them.

Add to the chutney and stir in well. Add the 3 teaspoons / 15g white pepper and bring to a gentle boil.

Step 5: Cooking time

Once all the ingredients have been added they need to be boiled gently for 1.5 to 2 hours until thick and golden. The goal of this cooking time is to reduce the liquid down so the chutney's thick and to soften the tomatoes and onions until they take on the sugar and turn brown.

All you're doing for the next 1 - 2 hours is stirring occasionally and adjusting the heat if they start to boil too vigorously.

You might as well get your jars ready now!

Step 6: Preparing your jars

Wash your jars and lids well in hot water. I bought some jars from 'Cheap as Chips' which is just a discount variety store and they have really cute red checked lids!

Place them in an oven preheated to 140 degrees Celcius (280 Fahrenheit). This will dry and sterilise them.

Step 7: Is it ready yet???

When your chutney has reduced by almost half and is thick and golden brown, it is almost ready. Boil it a little longer, I'm almost certain you'll be as impatient as I am and need to leave it just a tiny bit longer. I found a good gauge of it being thick enough was when I could drag my wooden spoon across the bottom of the pan and see the bottom for a little while after it had passed. When that happens, it's ready.

Remove your sterilised jars from the oven and place on newspaper or a chopping board, be careful because they will be hot!! This is the messy part of the process and the newspaper makes it easier to clean up afterwards.

Holding the hot jars in an oven mitt in one hand, spoon the chutney into the jars with the other. When full give them a quick tap on the bottom against the work surface to knock out any air bubbles then fill the next jar.

When all your jars are full place a double layer of cling film or food wrap across the top of each jar and then trim around it. As the chutney cools the air below the wrap will contract, sucking the cling film down against the surface, protecting it further from mould.

Step 8: Labelling and topping off.

While the jars cool, I wrote the date, and name of it on the lids.
When they are cooled then you can add the lids. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can start eating the chutney right away, or leave it to mature for one or two weeks. I couldn't wait so had some warm with cheese and biscuits :)

The finished chutney, if preserved well, should keep for six months or more. 

I hope you give it a try because it was fun and easy and so tasty!! 

Have you ever made a pickle or chutney? How did it go?

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Whats In My Going Away Makeup Bag

Hi Everyone,
This week I have decided to do what's in my makeup bag that I will take away with me on holiday.
After doing this I realised that I probably take too much when I go away. Anyway, I'm just going to show you the make up side of things otherwise if I included moisturisers and everything else it would be a neverending post.

So here we go:

Primer: I use the Home Made Primer I made in a previous post. You use it before or after you have put your make up on.

Foundation: Elizabeth Arden Flawless Finish Perfectly Nude in the colour Alabaster.

Powder: Elizabeth Arden Skin Smoothing Loose Powder in light. I don't like taking this one traveling as it goes everywhere but it is the best powder I have at the moment to go with the foundation.



Blusher: Elizabeth Arden Radiance Blush in Sweet Peach. I really like this blush its a great colour for summer as its nice and fresh.

Highlighter: Besame Brightening Violet Powder. I use this as a highlighter you can use it all over the face or just on your cheek bone and under your eyes.

Bronzer: Designer Brands Bronzing Powder Pressed in the Winter shade.

I take a few different eye shadows with me some for day time and then night time ones.

Eye Shadows:
Calvin Klein Tempting Glance in Arctic (white)
Jordana Cosmetics in the colour Supernatural (pale gold)
Sleek Eye Dust in Dirty (shimmery Brown)
Nutrimetics in Dark Fawn (Soft brown)
Savoir Faire Cosmetics in the color Immortal (dark shimmery brown)
Coastal Scents Revealed Palette Sampler (cream, pink, shimmery mauve and dark mauve)

Mascara:
Model Co Fat Lash Volumising Black Mascara 
Elizabeth Mott Its So Big Volumising Mascara (black)

Eyeliner:
Revlon Photo Ready Kajal (blue and white) I only use the white end.
Rimmel London Exaggerate Waterproof Eye Definer in blackest black.
Maybelline Eyestudio in blackest black.



Eyebrows:
Ardell Brow Defining Palette in light
Anastasia Beverly Hills Clear Brow Gel 

Lipstick:
Besame Red Velvet, Besame Camine, Besame Dusty Rose and Revlon Living Lipstick in Peony Pink.

Lip Gloss:
The pink and blue one I actually cant remember the brand but its just a nice glossy pink that's plumping.
Besame Sweetheart Balm in Cherry. I have all of these but this ones my favorite.


Lip Pencils:
Laqa & Co Lip Lube in Bees Knees 
Bellabox Pout Pencils in Pinky Promise For Lips

When I apply my makeup I use brushes so I will take them with me too but I havent included them in this post.

I'm already starting to get excited about going away!! I want to start packing but I still have a week till I go, so I am mending a few items of my clothing in the meantime and getting ready that way to keep me busy instead.

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed seeing what I take in my makeup bag. Make sure you subscribe to me on bloglovin to keep up with my holiday and what I get up to. Also, if you would like to see pictures from my trip and concert on valentines day subscribe to my Instagram and Twitter. All my links are at the top of the page.
Hope you have a lovely week.
 
Hannah xx


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