The first novel I ever read

Yes, yes it was Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone.

Harry Potter was my childhood!

Much to some of my friends annoyance, I am a gryffindor, and proud of it dammit! I was not placed in this house because it is the "popular" house, in fact my favourite house is a tie between Hufflepuff and Slytherin for many reasons. I suppose it is kind of ironic, considering my star sign is Leo.... However, like the wise words of Mufasa "I am only brave when I have to be," I will always protect my friends.

Needless to say, this book influenced me greatly. I learnt that even if two children are raised exactly the same, they can grow up to be polar opposites of each other. I learnt that prejudice against race is a horrific thing that leads to conflict and that love is the most important thing of all.

Speaking of the houses, I have a close friend in Ravenclaw who I accused of being narrow-minded because they decided to believe the crap written online about Gyrffindor, they did not like the fanbase's perception of it so therefore they did not like the house. Needless to say, I got a little offended but I could understand where they were coming from. I did not necessarily tell them they were wrong, but I did question the why and explain the merits of all the houses.

Harry Potter led me to my passion of reading and writing, and JK Rowling became a true inspiration with what she wrote. There is a reason the series is called a "worldwide phenomenon", it convinced an entire generation to pick up a book and read it. It captured our hearts and it is a story that will live on even when we all may have great-grandchildren to read it to.

Always! xox
Taz

Flourish and Blots Favourites

Yes, you've probably guessed the first one from the reference.

You can tell a lot about a person by what they read, so here are some of my favourite series.

(Note: I will be using the blurbs to describe them to avoid spoilers)

Harry Potter (Book 1: The Philosopher's Stone) 

~JK Rowling

Harry Potter is an orphan brought up by his aunt and uncle who do not like him at all. Together with his cousin Dudley they wish that he didn't exist at all and make him live in the cupboard under the stairs. Harry though, is special. He finds out that he is a wizard and that he is to go to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to learn magic. Only when he arrives at Hogwarts does he realise how special he actually is…

Unfortuanely I'm a little young to be in the 'Harry Potter Generation'; the first film coming out when I was 3 and the first book published before I was born. My dad encouraged the series and it has become one of my favourites. I have met the Phelps twins and Mathew Lewis at cons. I have merch and books and yes fanfictions. I have been to Harry Potter World and Levingston Studios where it was filmed. So to say I like the series is an understatement.

Shifters (Book 1: Stray) 

~Rachael Vincent

There are only eight breeding female werecats left...

And I'm one of them.

I look like an all-American grad student. But I am a werecat, a shape-shifter, and I live in two worlds.

Despite reservations from my family and my Pride, I escaped the pressure to continue my species and carved out a normal life for myself. Until the night a Stray attacked.

I'd been warned about Strays — werecats without a Pride, constantly on the lookout for someone like me: attractive, female, and fertile. I fought him off, but then learned two of my fellow tabbies had disappeared.

This brush with danger was all my Pride needed to summon me back... for my own protection. Yeah, right. But I'm no meek kitty. I'll take on whatever — and whoever — I have to in order to find my friends. Watch out, Strays — 'cause I got claws, and I'm not afraid to use them.

Favourite series! Amazing, bad ass, self empowered female lead who wants to change the feudal (and sexist) social construct her species are guided by. Funny in some places but it also deals with mature themes like kidnapping, m*rder and r*pe. So this book is not for everyone. I got the entire series for £11.

Chicagoland Vampires (Book 1: Some girls bite)

~Chloe Neill

They killed me. They healed me. They changed me.

Sure, the life of a graduate student wasn’t exactly glamorous, but I was doing fine until Chicago’s vampires announced their existence to the world. When a rogue vampire attacked me, I was lucky he only got a sip. Another bloodsucker scared him off and decided the best way to save my life was to make me the walking undead.

Now I’ve traded sweating over my thesis for learning to fit in at a Hyde Park mansion full of vamps loyal to Ethan “Lord o’ the Manor” Sullivan. Of course, as a tall, green-eyed,

four-hundred-year-old vampire, he has centuries’ worth of charm, but unfortunately he expects my gratitude—and servitude. Right…

But someone’s out to get me. Is it the rogue vampire who bit me? A vamp from a rival House? An angry mob bearing torches? 

My initiation into Chicago’s nightlife may be the first skirmish in a war—and there will be blood.

Ok it may sound a bit corny but it is hilarious and the main character is sassy and bad ass. I promise it's really good, I actually still need to read the next in the series. Later in the series there are some sexual themes.

Deltora Quest (Book 1: The Forests of Silence)

~Emily Rodda

The evil Shadow Lord is plotting to invade Deltora and enslave its people. All that stands against him is the magic Belt of Deltora with its seven gems of great and mysterious power. When the gems are stolen and hidden in dark terrible places throughout the kingdom, the Shadow Lord triumphs, and Deltora is lost.

In secrecy, with only a hand-drawn map to guide them, two unlikely companions set out on a perilous quest. Determined to find the lost gems and rid their land of the tyrant, they struggle towards their first goal - the sinister Forests of Silence.

With Deltora Quest do not compare it to the series, the series is nothing like the books, they changed the plot, characters appearances and the books were much better in my opinion.

A Series of Unfortunate Events (Book 1: The Bad Beginning)

~Lemony Snicket

Dear Reader,

I'm sorry to say that the book you are holding in your hands is extremely unpleasant. It tells an unhappy tale about three very unlucky children. Even though they are charming and clever, the Baudelaire siblings lead lives filled with misery and woe. From the very first page of this book when the children are at the beach and receive terrible news, continuing on through the entire story, disaster lurks at their heels. One might say they are magnets for misfortune.

In this short book alone, the three youngsters encounter a greedy and repulsive villain, itchy clothing, a disastrous fire, a plot to steal their fortune, and cold porridge for breakfast.

It is my sad duty to write down these unpleasant tales, but there is nothing stopping you from putting this book down at once and reading something happy, if you prefer that sort of thing.

With all due respect,

Lemony Snicket.

The movie is a rearrangement of the first 3 books and the movie is really good too. I'm excited to see the Netflix Original series in production. Once I started the series I couldn't stop.

Happy reading!

Catch you later xx

Drama Queens

I'm so tired, I'm planning to collapse after I click publish.

Today was my drama performance. The assignment was to perform a play as well as be part of the production team; I was on costuming. Oh and did I mention the performance had to be influenced by Tim Burton?

The running joke throughout our rehearsals was 'when we do it on Broadway' - we even made up songs and stuff. I noticed that there's a certain chemistry in our group that made it work. Basically you need the right combo of motivation, creativity and hard work.

Types of people in a performance

The Princess (Calista), Costume by me

• The 'Zoe' - Zoe is the one who keeps you all up to date and makes sure your on track and if you stuff up she'll fix it. Everyone needs a Zoe. They are usually the director. 
• The 'never here' - the one who barely shows up to class and will only have everything ready the morning of the performance, they are the root of 70% of stress.
• The 'stress head' - the one who stresses not only for themselves but everyone else, they probably have 20 other assignments due and are superstitious.
• The 'floater' - this person's always in the background, they're there when you need them, but when they aren't needed they disappear. This person more than likely is handling the arts side of things i.e. music or sets.
• The 'Alice in Wonderland' - This is me, the one who forgets stuff. Can I borrow this? I'll bring it tomorrow, I swear. This person always pulls through but their heads are sometimes in the clouds when they should be working, but when their heads are in the clouds they come up with great ideas, for the Broadway version that is XD

Catch you later xx

Watercolour? how even?

My mum likes to paint

For the past couple months or so, my mother has been experimenting with watercolour and she very nicely consented for me to share it with you.

A delicate orange rose

The lovely magnolia!

Behold! the mighty Mufasa! Majestic, don't you think?

A beautiful flower with a dark background

I really like my mother's art and how she fiddles with her colours until they sit right on the page. These pictures are by far my favourites, she has a real knack for painting flowers.

Hakuna Matata babes! xox
Taz

Perks of short hair

A YEAR AGO I CUT MY HAIR OFF!

Best decision ever! I felt so light and cute, and then the reality set in...

My ten thoughts on short hair:

1. Maintenance! Short hair looks weird unless you style it every day - doesn't help when you don't want ANY heat damage...
2. Even when you style it, some days will never look right and you've just got to accept that. That is where hats come in handy.
3. Bobby Pins become your best friend in the world because hairties become useless.
4. Short bobs make you look like you are from the 1920s (which is awesome by the way)
5. Pixie cuts can make you look androgynous which may not be a bad thing in general but can lead to some confusion.
6. Short hair is cool in summertime although the back of your neck is more likely to get sunburnt (usual stuff in Australia though)
7. Short hair wont get in your mouth when eating! Awesome
8. It is also less likely to get in your face in general depending on length.
9. It can be considered unprofessional in some workplaces.
10. It's very fun to play with! 

Now my hair is long again, im thinking of cutting it even shorter. The picture is me by the way, from the beginning of 2015 on the day it was cut off. I'm very lazy so I didn't maintain it very well, Its long now and frizzy but wavy and is turning silver and green from the purple dye... not fun but again, I'm too lazy to do anything to it besides braid it or pull it up.
Still... Hair grows back.

Keep real peeps! xox
Taz

Stylish and Broke

I am unemployed and all my pocket money for the past 6 months has been wisely invested into my bank account for my dance trip.

Luckily I haven't grown an inch for 5 years, so I'm not lacking the basics - plain black shirts and jeans. On Thursday my school is raising money for breast cancer and I have to wear something pink...guess it's gonna be either a flower crown or my adventure time bow.

Cheap Stores

Kmart became my saviour, $4 tank tops and $10 jackets? Yes please. I literally got my Marceline cosplay from Kmart...

My favourite item of clothing is my red check flannel shirt from Target, it has a tiger face on the back made of beads. Target does have some more expensive items but it is probably the only store in Adelaide that sells orange shirts.

Thrift Stores & Charity shops

Ewwww, other peoples clothes- Wrong. I used to think that second hand clothes were gross but if you wash them and pick carefully you'll be good; that means no swimsuits or lingerie of that skirt with the weird brown stain.
My formal dress - brand new with tags - $14.
Shoes that aren't worn with socks I put gel inserts in.
Savers, the local charity store, is where I got many cosplay odds and ends. The have racks of fabric too, my book club coordinator got a really nice, cosplay quality, teal wig from there once too.
Thrift stores are great because you find really unique stuff that you can never find in store, you can also find stuff for a quarter of the price.

The best part about thrift stores is you really get to explore your personal style more - I used to be a jeans and t-shirt girl, which I still am. But now I enjoy wearing cuter stuff every now and then, or fandom merch, or disneybounding. My brother says I dress like a country girl sometimes...

Speaking of second hand stuff - borrow your friends stuff. The beauty of have friends similar sizes is that your wardrobes become a swap meet, just make sure you look after their stuff and keep track of it. Older siblings or family members may give you their hand-me-downs, unfortunately I'm the eldest sibling and my cousin is way taller than me. My mum has clothes from when she was my age; I fit her jeans but her dresses are tall and skinny, where as I'm really short.

Multiple use

When buying clothes on an unemployment budget - purchase stuff you can wear multiple times, with multiple outfits. For example if you can buy the back high heels or the green floral ones, though they may go with that cute skirt you have, the black will go with everything for all occasions - formal or casual.

When I'm investing in wigs for cosplay I try and think about their multiple uses - i.e. a short brown wig that will do Meiko (Vocaloid) and Kiki (Kiki's Delivery Service) or a wavy brawn wig that will do Hermione (Harry Potter), Padmé (Star Wars) and Belle (Beauty and the beast).

Jewellery wise, getting a pack of bangles doesn't hurt, it's cost affective and you have choice. A couple of gold bangles will match most outfits. I mainly wear the studs I got when I got my ears pierced or the Mickey Mouse ones I got for my birthday; simple studs look cute at a picnic or at a formal dinner. A simple chain with a charm is cute necklace wise - there is some nice time at Equip and Lovisa, especially if you shop sales.

Which brings me to my final point - SHOP THE SALES.

Spotlight becomes a war zone during sales, 3 patterns for $10??? Fight me!


So they are my tips for buying on a budget!
Catch you later xx

So that was an interesting weekend...

 

LETS START AT THE BEGINNING!

We are going to start from Friday night. I walk into work at the pizza shop, not at all enthusiastic, and the first words I hear are,

"We are going to town tonight," from my best friend and manager (Who's birthday happens to be tomorrow, 20!) Cut to 11pm where I'm in my room putting makeup on for my first foray into a nightclub, ready to get completely smashed. 11:30 we are in the club, have already downed two drinks with RedBull in them (bad idea!) and some guy is trying to set me up with his friend!

By the end of the night my group and I were in some pancake house drinking orange juice and had "borrowed" our driver's phone and were screwing around with his Tinder!

I manage to sneak into my house at 4am with no one noticing and in the morning I have a message from my mother, 

"Are you home?"

Saturday was hungover but I managed to take a pretty decent picture of the sunset.

Quite proud of that one actually...

Sunday... I slept and worked. As for today? I spent the day travelling around the CBD taking photos of signs for my linguistics course and rounding it all out with a gym session with my personal trainer.

Sleepy time! xox
Taz

(btw Tabby, I like silly trinkets ;) love you!)