Hello Everybody! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, ate so much you couldn’t move and got spoilt rotten because how else would it be considered Christmas if not for all those things.

Today is another part of my holiday adventures and this time it is something I absolutely adore doing, in fact it has always been my lifelong dream to be a profession figure skater, however, since I live in the tropics where there is no ice rink, and feels like summer everyday, this makes my dream a little hard to accomplish. But this doesn’t stop me from going ice skating at every chance I get.  You know how you get a little overwhelmed when you finish a really good book, or stupendously (is that a word?!) excited when you’re about to travel to a new place like Italy, Paris, New York? Well that is exactly how I feel when I’m Ice Skating, I feel like I’m flying across the ice, and sure the rental skates are a little rough, and the ice isn’t as smooth as you wished it would be since there is no Zamboni involved (you know, that big machine that cuts the ice and makes it all shiny and smooth), but I am loving every minute of it.

 I love the cold, and I always feel cozy in my over-sized jumper. After a while, you tend to not notice the cold, and are unaware that the blisters forming or that your feet are hurting.  I plug in my own music, either classical (Schindler's list theme) so I can imaging I am a figure skater doing all the tricks and spins (I cant do any of this haha!), or some nice upbeat music to find my own rhythm when I skate. Then I teach myself tricks that I learnt on YouTube (yes this is what I do in my spare time…don’t judge haha… I also watch Figure skating routines as well… I need a job…) and I stay there perfecting the trick until I get there. And I do! I have now learnt how to skate backwards; do forward crossovers, and slowly getting the hang of a simple spin. I love it. I just wish a rink was where I live so I could go every day, teaching myself the one sport I don’t terribly suck at. It also gets you out of that summer heat and trust me that is always a plus here in Australia! To me it’s all about finding the right balance, so if you are looking for something fun to do during the summer (or winter!) holidays just bend your knees and skate away!

Thank you for reading!

I hope you enjoyed this other short post of my summer adventures. Let me know in the comments below when you get stupendously excited or overwhelmed or even your dreams and goals, I’d love to hear them!

Love ya

Sophia

Xoxo

Currently Loving: Mangoes and Cold Drink

Currently listening: Disney music…shhh… don’t tell me you don’t love Cinderella or Tangled!

Hello, Privet, Bonjour, Aloha, Bonjourno, Ullo, G'day, Konichiwa

! 

So with less than 2 days less till Christmas, I thought now would be the best time to do my Christmas tag. I hope you enjoy and get a little insight into what I do during the Christmas Holidays.

When do you start getting excited for Christmas?

I start getting excited as soon as I see the stores like Target or Myer get out their amazing Christmas decorations with their tinsel and Christmas themes scenes. It makes me so happy. And even though there is not going to be any snow in Australia, I love the idea of snow during Christmas, but don’t get me wrong I love the hot days where you can just lounge by the pool.

Do you stay in your PJ’s or dress up?

I think when I was a little girl I would stay in my PJ’s in the morning when it present opening, but then when we go to see family or getting ready for a Christmas dinner, I will put on the red lipstick and  wear a pretty dress.

Do you open your pressies Christmas Eve or morning?

This actually depends, because when I was little we would be allowed to open one present on Christmas Eve, while watching movies and eating chocolate. And then in the morning we would open the rest of the presents. However, now that I’m older, we generally open them Christmas day with all of my dad’s family, or sometimes (like last year) I actually opened my presents a week before (It was an iPhone…I don’t know why I was allowed to open it a week before but I still loved getting my present before anyone else hehe)

Typical Christmas day?

Hmm…this is a toughy because I sometimes spend Christmas with my dad, or with my mom. So if its with my mom, we would wake up to a delicious breakfast usually Crepes, and then we would open presents. After that it’s a quiet day where we would lounge around or go to the beach. We don’t really have her family come over as they live in Russia haha It’s a relaxing day and I love it now that I’m older to just chill with the scented candles, take a bath and watch Christmas movies until late. And then there is a typical Christmas day with my dad. Woo where do I begin! So we spend Christmas with his whole family (the brothers and sisters and cousins…a lot of cousins) and in the morning you would here the feet running around the house, looking to see if Santa ate the rumballs or drank the milk. Then they spot the Christmas tree filed with presents and immediately go for the biggest hoping it’s theirs. At this point, the parents are now awake and finally letting the kids to open their presents. Maybe you’re wondering what I’m doing at this point…I’m just watching or helping the kids open their gifts because I find that so much more fun than opening my presents. And usually I only 3 -5 ish presents as opposed to the 20 that my cousins get.  Then we have breakfast, swim in the pool, have Christmas music and movies playing all day and then have a massive Christmas dinner/lunch talking and eating and it’s a lovely atmosphere!

What do you like to do during the holiday break?

I love ice skating! I wish there was an ice rink in where I live so I could be a professional figure skating (the only sport I have ever loved haha), so if I’m going somewhere for the holidays I always try to find if there is an ice rink (I have an Ice skating post going up on the 27^th so stay tuned!).

Other than that, my holidays consists of shopping, swimming, going ot the beach, bowling, watching heaps of movies and TV shows and praying that maybe school will be cancelled for 2015…hey a girl can dream cant she haha!

Fave Christmas songs

I love Baby its cold outside by Colbie Calliat, All I want for Christmas is you (do I really need to say who this is by hehe), It’s the most wonderful time of the year, Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas by Michael buble…ok I love Christmas songs and I do have quite a list, but I love hearing these when they come on the radio or in the shops.

What do you eat for dinner?

If I am with my mom for Christmas, she would bake a little pork roast with potatoes, gravy, broccoli, carrots and then we would have Ice cream with frozen raspberries for dessert. And then if I’m with dads family we would have ham, pork, prawns, fish, mangoes, potatoes, carrots, watermelon, graving, more seafood, bowl of cinnamon rolled almonds etc etc etc. We eat a lot with the big family and I love it haha

Favourite Christmas smell?

The food duh!?

Fave holiday movie?

ELF!! Or The Grinch!!... I did a little Christmas post here: Its Beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Wishlists?

Lindt Chocolate (does this count?)

Trip to New York (This will never happen but pretty please)

Anyway that’s the Christmas tag, I hope you enjoyed this Christmassy post and don’t forget to leave a comment about what your Christmas day consists of.

Thank you for reading!

Love ya

Sophia

Xoxo

Currently Loving: Ice Skating

Currently Listening: All I want for Christmas is You, Michael Buble’s Christmas Album, Ariana Grande’s Santa Tell me!!

 - I hope you are all wrapped up with Christmas -

It’s December, almost the new year, and there is no better way to get in the mood for Christmas than watching some of the best Christmas movies (in my opinion). To me, Christmas is all about the giving and not the getting because a) it’s an exciting time and buying presents is so much fun and b) I don’t actually have a wish list this year so I’m only looking forward to sitting by the pool, enjoying some sort of cold drink and reading books or magazines, while getting a glorious tan for the new year. You’re probably wondering, Tan? What tan? It’s too cold to go outside!  I live in Australia and that means a hot hot hot summer during the Christmas Holidays, where the aircon is on full blast, and the pool is your new best friend. But sometimes, I do wish I could have a Christmas in New York, Ice Skate at Rockefeller Square, do expensive Christmas shopping is the festive shops or dive into the snow at central park. Wow, I just realized I went on a massive tangent…oops! Back to what this is about!

Watching Christmas movies is like a feel good thing, you break out the old Christmas DVD’s that you had as a kid and remember what Christmas was like as a child. Or you go on Netflix, pick an old school movie like White Christmas or It’s a Wonderful Life and cuddle up on the couch with a hot chocolate. Needless to say, Christmas movies is what you look forward to during the Holidays (And the presents, duh!). So without further ado, here are my top picks for Christmas Movies!

The Santa Clause

It’s one of the older ones with Tim Allen, and such a cute one at that! I’ve seen this movie, as well as The Santa Clause 2 at least 5 times when I was a kid, up to the point where it’s one of the annoying Christmas movies, but I still love it, the whole Santa set up and his little elves at the workshop. If you don’t know the story, Tim Allen’s Character basically kills Santa Clause and eventually takes over his role, getting fatter, growing a white beard, rosy red cheeks and finally giving into the Iconic Character of Santa Clause as he tries to fix Christmas. It’s cute, funny and to me a Christmas must see as a child, and even now if your are feeling nostalgic.

 Home Alone

EEEH! I loved this movie, especially Home Alone: Alone in New York. Each genius, hilarious films about a young boy , played by Macaulay Culkin, who feels left out by his family (They literally leave him behind on a family trip) and is basically ‘Home Alone’, when bandits enter his house. But the bandits don’t know what hits them, as Kevin McCallister tortures them as any 8 year old could though his quick-witted actions.  The second film was centered in New York and features the return of the Bandits who want revenge on Kevin during Christmas time. I remember when I first watched it, there was this one part which I laughed at so much and it was towards the end of the film as the Hotel Manager and his staff run up to the room, because they have found out he is ‘Home Alone’ and tell him to open up, but the TV is playing a film and shouting all these lines that the Hotel manager believes is an actual person, following his commands like ‘Get down on your knees’. I know it doesn’t sound funny, but to me that was comedy (Or maybe I just had the giggles when watching this ahha).  I loved this franchise and Macaulay Culkin, and is a definite must see during the Christmas time!

Elf

YAASSSS! By far one of my favorite Christmas films, and definitely something to watch on Christmas eve, as part of a marathon! This was hilarious and Will Ferrel is amazing acting like a little kid. I’m even laughing as I’m thinking about some of the scenes. I know some people don’t actually like this film, in fact some say it’s the worst Christmas movie but haters gonna hate. And I love it and will definitely watch it this Christmas. As an ‘Elf’ on a journey in New York , accompanied by all the Christmas music and snow, makes it as Festive as it gets. Add the comedy element, and the fact he works at in the Christmas department puts you in a Christmas mood from the get go. Ok, I’ve rambled enough about this movie. I’ll just let you enjoy some of the moments I loved and laughed at!

How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

Jim Carey was amazing. Like no word for how well he did this character. I loved this film. I watched it as a kid every Christmas eve and only now as I’m older I can fully appreciate the humour and greatness and how relatable this film was!

I mean, the Grinch literally described most of me (and our generation) now. If you haven’t seen the film (which I highly doubt), its basically about a creature, Grinch, who hates Christmas because of a traumatic bullying experience when he was little. But throughout the film, after hating on Christmas, he finds the love again through the funny looking people of Whoville with their funny noses.  And I don’t believe adults when they say it’s for children because everyone loves the Grinch, young or old. So go Dr. Seuss!

Finally, my number one pick.  This movie contains so many famous people that left me with crushes on Hugh Grant, imitating the Severus Snape voice, and loving the Christmas Spirit through the many stories in December leading up to Christmas. I only watched this movie when I was 12, and some parts were a bit raunchy for me then, but I remember crying and laughing because it was such an amazing, romantic, cute film and I’m still wishing that Keira Knightley’s character ended up with her Husband’s best friend (is that bad?). The all-star cast took part in a very very Christmassy movie, with Bill Nighy being an always Drunk singer, whose song actually reached #1 in the UK (the I feel it in my fingers, I feel it in my toes, Christmas is all around us, just let the feeling show…you get the gist). A Prime Minister who fell in love, an adorable little boy whose mother died but is in love with a girl who has an amazing voice, which we witness through the song All I want for Christmas is you. There are so many stories and I also loved Rowan Atkinson’s role in the film that allowed the adorable young boy to pass through the airport security and profess his love. MMM the feels. Anyway, this is always going to be my favourite Christmas film, and I’m not just saying that because everyone else loves it, it genuinely is a good film with amazing storylines for each character.

Thank you for Reading!

I hope this has got you in a Christmas mood, snuggling up, drinking your hot chocolate and watching these movies. If you have any favourite Christmas films, let me know in the comments so I can watch them!!

Love Ya

Sophia

Xoxo

Currently Loving: Merry Little Christmas by Frank Sinatra, Christmas Shopping

Currently Listening while writing this: Memo by Years and Years, God Help the Girl

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I read the entire Hunger Games series by Susanne Collins in under a week, and I was very impressed because they just kept getting better and better. Catching Fire was by far my favorite book though while the movie was amazing there was one part that was a bit of a let down: when we didn't get to hear Haymitch's story of his time in the hunger games. Regardless, Mockingjay Part 1 did not disappoint! Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss was amazing in both her acting and portrayal as the 'Mockingjay' and throughout these franchise, I couldn't have asked for a better Katniss. 

But let's talk about the plot. I have to admit that it had been over 2 years since reading the series and I did not remember anything that happened in the book, happening in the movie, except for when she visits the hospital with all the people.... so either I need to re-read Mockingjay, or they changed a little bit that was going on. But i'm not complaining because what was delivered was absolutely amazing. They chose amazing people for Coin and Cressida (Who actually add-libbed some of her lines through her roles as 'Director' of Katniss's portrayal) and allowed Effie Trinket to come back, instead of having Katniss's other make-up artists etc. 

-Spoilers-

Let's get to Peeta. Wow. The feels. The heart-pounding moment during Peeta's, Annie's and Johanna's rescue was amazing and I was in the edge of my seat because I didn't want President Snow to know they were there. But of course he did. Then we have the reunions, starting with Johanna who gave us her stubborn, humorous character of 'No F*cks given' Haha, and then there was Annie and Finnick Ohdayum ( I mean O'dair), which left me crying because they were just so in love and he got to see her again and ugh..THE FEELS. And then it was Katniss's turn and I was so ready for their loving reunion (Because that's what I kind of remembered in the book, but I'm not sure anymore), but then Peeta 360's on us and attacks Katniss, throwing her against a window and slamming her to the floor, choking her until she passes out. And in this moment I was like what the poop just happened, because Peeta had completely changed and I was traumatized. The acting in this part was my highlight by far. It was thrilling and I loved it! and now Peeta is crazy and I have no idea what is going to happen in Part 2. 

I love the rebellion, from District 8 (correct me if i'm wrong) who went to the forest, climbed the trees and set off bombs, killing the Capitols guards which was pretty badass. Along with Katniss's singing of 'The Hanging Tree' as it weaved through the districts with their melodic singing as the blew up the Capitols dam, causing a blackout, leaving the Capitol defenceless. 

I was very impressed, confused and thrilled by the final installment the series part 1, and I am way over excited for Part 2, because I honestly don't know whats going to happen???? Will Peeta get better, is it going to be similar to the book in terms of who dies or doesn't?? Let's just say I thing Part 2 is going to be massive because SO MUCH IS GOING TO HAPPEN...it sucks that we have to wait a whole year :(

So, while I am no movie expert, I still love movies and I am giving this and 8.8/10!!

Tell me your thoughts?? Was it what you remembered from the book and what do you think will happen next? Leave a comment below so we can discuss!

Thank you for reading!

Love Ya

Sophia 

xoxo

Currently Loving: God Help the Girl, Comet, Castle, Christmas

Currently Listening: Years and Years (I LOVE THEM!)

-It's December and you know what that means-

Bonjour and welcome back to my France adventures part doux…Did you miss me? Shh yeah I know you did.

Ok I don’t want to keep you at the edge of you seats for much longer so here is my Parisian adventures…

We had just got off the bus at the hotel which we were staying at which was located in Republique which was the perfect place since it was located near everything! However not much enjoyment can be said about the room but we will leave it at that. As we all disappeared for an early night (it was like midnight already) you could tell everyone was planning their outfits for the next day….and I was no exception. After a long night sleep, a quick shower and a made up face, myself and my school were more than ready to visit the sights of PARIS and the first stop was la Lourve.

Now, as you can see, yes I did see the Mona Lisa and yes I did get a guided tour of the Lourve which was extremely quick but still amazing to see all the paintings and sculpture so the Lourve is definetly worth it…however I would advise not going as a tour group because we went past so many things and our tour guide babbled about nothing for the whole time. As we finished the Lourve, we had a cute lunch in the cafeteria and spied the many baguettes* in the room which were delicious! And soon we were off walking down the Lourve park (I’m not actually sure if it is called this but it was a park next to the Lourve so go figure! Haha). However, I forgot to mention that before that we visited the most famous bridge in Paris, the lock bridge. It was filled with so many locks that one had section had already fallen off and replace, and another was about to because their were hundreds or even thousands of locks ranging in many sizes depending if you bought the el cheapos for those selling without a permit or proper colourful ones. I, myself, did not buy a lock as there is no second half in my life but it was still mesmerising to see the loved up couples at the bridge listening to the old man playing the accordion and locking their love onto the bridge. So really it was quite beautiful even if it made you feel incredibly lonely. Anyway, now it was back to walking down the Lourve park which was filled with green bushes, Ice cream stands, many baguettes* and other people who were lounging around on the deck chairs placed in front of the fountain. As we reached the end of the long stroll we came across the oblisqe where there were Ferraris and lambohginis parked as well as stands set up for the Bastille day celebrations. I also forgot to mention that our mode of transport was by the metro, which is like the subway of Paris. We were told on the very first day in Paris to keep our bags close to use since there were so many pick-pockets, luckily I did not have the experience of being pickpocketed… but some people were not that lucky.

Side note: If you are looking to travel to Paris here is my guide to spotting a pick-pocket.

1. They will try and get you to sign very old sheets of paper

2.   They look poor and trying to get money

3.  They have children with them while they are asking you for something (i.e. a picture of them when they are obviously not tourists)

4. They will try and sell you things

5. JUST WATCH YOUR BAGS OK!

And there you have it, the unofficial guide of avoiding and spotting a pickpocket *ting*

Anyway back to the story...well the pictures anyway…

Still on the Monday (which was our first day in Paris), we visited the famous church called Sacre Ceour, where you have to climb a thousand steps since it was on a hill, but it was totally worth it because both the church, view and baguettes* were amazing. So we spent the rest of the day here and I did most of my souvenir shopping and touring around this cute cobbled section of Paris.

I feel like now is a good place to mention the food of Paris. Our school had already planned where we were eating which was at “traditional Parisian” restaurants which was odd for on the first night we went to a seafood restaurant and got pork, second night was Italian and we got a curry rice, third night was seafood but we got chicken, and last night….well that was a disaster… Still even though we couldn't choose what we wanted to eat the atmosphere and the food of the restaurant was delicious and amazing because it was always cool to see what you would get for the entrée or deserts since we actually had no idea.

Tuesday was an early start as we were taken on a bus tour around all of Paris, getting glimpses of the Arc de Triumph, Champs Elysees, military schools, palaces, parks and the Parisian atmosphere. It was a short quick tour but completely worth it as we finished on the Eiffel tower. Yes, today was the day that we climbed the Eiffel Tower (and by climb I mean take the lift up to the top). The place was packed since it was around 11am but thank god we were in a group because literally in any place we went we were able to speed past the line. We went up to the second floor which is the main observation deck…but if you are feeling incredibly fancy there is a very expensive restaurant on the first “floor” of the Eiffel Tower. The view is really hard to describe in one word because you got a panoramic view of all of Paris that left you in awe everywhere you looked… not to mention the baguettes*. Our French teacher thought ‘hey, why don’t we all go to the very top’ and so we did (my story telling is genius haha) and as we reached the very top you could literally see all the shapes of Paris.

On the Wednesday we visited Notre Dame, Arc de Triumph and walked along the Champs Elysees which we should all know by now that it is the most popular street of Paris for it is filled with so many shops. The Notre Dame is mesmerising, we got to climb the bell tower (another leg workout) all the way to the very top which gave another beautiful view of Paris. We saw the gargoyles that Notre Dame is famous for as well as the place where Quasimodo, the Hunchback of Notre Dame lived. We also got to go inside the massive cathedral where my friend Nadia and I were hit with awe, it was that beautiful! We were also very lucky that there was like a choir rehearsing so they used the giant organ and the whole experience was very melodic. I loved it!

We then ventured to the Arc de triumph and Champs Elysees which are in the same place. The Arch de Triumph is beautiful and really big, it also has a tomb of the unknown solider which I didn’t even know there was a tomb there so there’s a fun fact. The Champs Elysees was also massive filled with soo many shops and baguettes*, but obviously my first stop was Pierre Herme and Laduree to be finally reunited with my Macaroons (Pronounced macarOn!!!) and raspberry tarts mmmm! Paris has the best food, if you don’t want to go to Paris for the sights, do it for the food wow.

As it was finally Thursday which was our second last day in Paris, we made a trip to the Chateau de Versailles (King Louis Palace) which has to be my favourite place on earth right now. It is so stunning. It took us forever to get there since we got lost but when we did we were taken on a private tour of the kings chambers which are not actually in the main part of Versaille that is open to everyone (see there is a bonus of being in a group). Everything was shiny and embroided in floral prints with pinks, blues and well,  gold. We also saw Marie Antoinette’s dining room, bedroom, the massive church within Versaille, and the Kimye engagement party place. But as that tour was done we were left to wander around the public part of the palace and the main part which is jaw dropping, and consists of the famous hall of mirrors which is filled with chandeliers. As we finished the palace we ventured off to the gardens for a cute lunch where I was craving a cheeseburger and I was not disappointed for it was gourmet and heaven! Mmmm

We also went on the Sienne River cruise which was so amazing and probably the perfect way to end our last night in Paris because we would wave at the French people having picnics on the banks  as we went passed on the boat, not to mention we got the best view of the Eiffle Tower at night.

Friday came so quickly and none of us were ready to leave, so thank god our flight wasn't until 9:30pm. To kill time our group went to catacombs and waited in line for two hours to see skulls and bones…which I’m not complaining about because there were baguettes* there which kinda made up for the waiting. As we got to the undergrounds, it got colder and a little muddy but the rows and rows of skulls kinda took your breath away and made you think about life and the people of the past (wow, getting a little deep there Sophia…). Anyway when we finished the Catacombs we split into two groups, one that went shopping and one that went to Musee de Orsay, an impressionist museum made from an old train station. I think its pretty obvious which one I picked…haha no it wasn’t the shopping. We were in a rush since it was already 2 and we had to be at the hotel to go to the airport at 4:30pm. Thank god that children were free and our French teacher already told that only a small group was coming so we got let in pretty quickly. We had lunch and started at the very end of the museum since it was kinda set out like a time line of the impressionists. If you don’t know who the impressionists were they were artists like Monet, Manet, Devy, Van Gough etc. I was so excited because I had always wanted to see Monet’s ‘Water Lillies’ and Van Gogh’s ‘Starry Night’ and his famous self-portraits without the ear. Which I did get to see! (sorry I wasn't allowed to take pictures).

Time crept on us really quickly and by 4:20 we realized we had to get back to the hotel…so we quickly jumped on the closest metro and we arrived back at 5:00…oops haha. Anyway, we went to airport, and Paris airport, or the one we went to is quite the lovely one with all these very expensive and very famous stores like Burberry and Laduree…too bad we were late and had to board. As it has been previously established, I loathe flying. I struggled so much on the flight home for I wouldn’t eat because everything made me nauseous, I didn’t want to vomit because I have a fear for it and when I almost did I got really upset and hyperventilated which was actually how I discovered I have anxiety over vomiting. I also didn’t want to vomit because from Singapore to Brisbane there was an attractive boy behind me and how unattractive would gagging look. Anyway, I was very glad to come home and sleep for 2 days…which is exactly what I did ahah.

France was probably the best experience of my life and I still can’t believe I was there. I’m still dreaming of the sights and the baguettes* and the food. If anyone is in doubt of going anywhere in France…what is wrong with you, it is mesmerizing and I still haven’t been to all of France, including Cannes yet!

Thank you for reading!

I hope you enjoyed this two part story on my adventures to France, I tried to include as much as possible but knowing me I probably forgot a lot. Leave in the comments what your favourite holiday has been because I think I have become a travel junkie…minus the flying, I mean why can’t we just teleport there!

Love ya

Sophia!

Xx

Ps. You probably noticed the word Baguette*, this refers to the beautiful boys of Paris, so if you were confused as to why I loved baguettes so much well hopefully this cleared it up. Hahah

Currently Listening: Bubble Wrap by Mcfly

Currently Loving: Macarons, The Mistletoe Bride by Kate Moss (Not the model...) and Divergent (Both book and movie)