Symphony Under the Stars

Tom and I got the opportunity to go to the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra's Symphony Under The Stars on Saturday night. Every year, they put on this free concert and thousands of people attend, it is truly amazing.

We were right next to a speaker, so we didnt really need to be so close to the stage

It started at 8, and we got there at about 5, just to get a good seat, relax, read and knit. It was 36 degrees Celsius yesterday, so we were looking forward to getting a shady spot, that wasnt too crowded. There wasnt that many people when we arrived, but at about 7:30, people started pouring into the park. It was weird to watch! 

Where it was being held is on the edge of the River Torrens, the main river through Adelaide. We found a shady spot on the river side of a hill, and the breeze coming off it was fantastic. 

They played:
Candide: Overture-Bernstein
Morning-Grieg
Concerto for Violin No 1, 1st Movement-Philip Glass
La Strada theme-Nina Rota
Beat Girl from Inflight Entertainment-Graeme Koehne
An American in Paris-Gershwin
Huapango-Moncayo
Concerto for Sanborn and  Orchestra 1st Movement
In the Hall of the Mountain King-Grieg
1812 Overture-Tchaikovsky

This is the Festival Theatre behind it. Love the shape!

Amazing night! Love classical music, and the ASO played it fantastically!
If your city does something like this, I would recommend it!

How to Save Money (on clothes shopping!)

I've been busy, blah, blah, normal excuses, blah...
Ive had quite a few interesting experiences over the last few weeks, and now with a bit more time on my hands, I will show you!!
But first, I want to show you my tips on how to save money. These tips are if you are doing clothes shopping. I will do another tip list of shopping for other things later on. So, I use all of these tips, and I dont really spend a lot of money (a lot of my money goes to food!)

Tip #1
>Wear lots of layers or difficult clothes to get out of.
I know for me, going into fitting rooms and taking off every bit of clothing to try on one pair of pants or a new shirt or dress, is irritating. If I wear a lot of clothes and I see a shirt that I like, i think 'Is it worth getting out of all this, just for one shirt!?' and then I put it back on the shelf/rack.

Tip #2
>Set a money limit you can spend on clothes, and have it in cash. Not card! 
Say $25 and you cant go over. Or less or more, whatever works best for your budget (I usually say $20 for clothes and $30 for thrift shopping or art supplies). It is always better to have it in cash. Psychologically, if you can see the money, the less you will spend it. People see card as an inifinite amount of money, and having it in cash means you know how much you have and you know that it is all there! I had to buy cheap business shirts for my boyfriend once, and I had $50 to spend. I managed to get 4 business shirts, a casual shirt, 2 ties and a shopping bag for $50.15 (15 cents only because the bag was 15 cents). I was happy with that!

Tip #3
>Dont go higher than a basket! 
Dont go for a shopping trolley (this includes wheely baskets!) Stay either holding everything by hand, or with a basket. If you have that limit, there is only so much you can carry, and it equals a smaller amount of things bought!

Tip #4
>Review everything you have before you pay
Before you go to the register, go through your basket and ask yourself if you really need it, if it has as least 3 outfits it works with, and how often you think you will wear the item. I bought these awesome pair of boots at a thrift store last year. I havent worn them, only because I havent got anything to wear with them, I found myself looking at buying clothes just to go with a cheap pair of shoes. Always check to see if it will work with your wardrobe!!! At this stage, I also go through and add up all the prices with the calculator on my phone. If it goes over my Tip #2 budget, I put something back, or find a cheaper option.

Tip #5
>Stick with your own style!
I went shopping the other day, and saw a lot of clothes that I would probably like, I then looked around and saw everyone else wearing the same thing. I realised I liked the clothes, only because it seemed to be following the trend, and the 'cool' thing to wear. I immediately put down everything I had picked up. If you like following trends, and always buying everything when it becomes cool, certainly go buy it! But that isnt for me, if I wouldnt wear it when i am by myself, i wont buy it. Simple!!


Right, well, there are some of my tips on how to not buy so many clothes, I may do a second part to the clothes, but I will definitelty be doing one for food and entertainment and things like that, but for now, this is it!!
Hope you enjoyed reading, and I hope it helped someone somewhere!!

French Kissing-Catherine Sanderson

French Kissing-Catherine Sanderson

Blurb:

'Name: Sally Marshall Status: single mother Age: 32 Nationality: ten years in France, yet still English through and through. I like: living in Paris, playing with my daughter Lila (four years old), the company of good friends, the smell of baking bread...

So reads Sally's ad, posted on a French online dating site called Rendez-vous, Sally left Nicolas, her boyfriend of ten years and Lila's father, after she discovered that he was having an affair with his secretary. Six months have now passed, and although most of the time she feels like she's just dashing around like a headless chicken, Sally's beginning to bounce back. 

But making a new start is fraught with complications. As she meets freshly-single Frederic for a drink, spends the night with charmer Manu and runs away from ex-pat Marcus, she wonders: can she find a way to reconcile motherhood with single womanhood? To what extent can she keep Lila and her love life separate? And is she truly ready to turn her back on Nicolas?'

 My Review:

First Thoughts: 

I knew this book would just be a nice, simple book to read quickly. The front cover was cute and it seemed like an interesting concept. 

Final Thoughts:

I actually really loved this book, the language was interesting and the main character, Sally, didnt get on my nerves so much! As the book is set in France, there is quite a lot of French language written in it, which was a nice challenge for me (I speak a little French). The only criticism I have is that at one time she acted a bit like a child, but I can see that this is her first time learning how to be a single woman with a child, and it sort of justified it a little bit. I really enjoyed it. Well worth a read :) 

Inspiration Station #1

Hello! This is one my new features here on MissOwlB. 

I am constantly on Pinterest, We Heart It, and Tumblr*, so I have a lot of inspirational photos and ideas floating around me all the time. I have decided I would like to start a feature where I show the main things that have been inspirational for me recently! 

**Just a quick side note about the Tumblr. I made the site when I was 17. I am definitely not the 17-year old anymore, anything on there was interesting at the time. :P Sorry. I just look at photos these days, I dont necessarily reblog anything :) 

Here are today's inspirational photos!

Found here

Found here

Found here

Found here

Found here

Found here

Ok! There is a few for today. If i see more, I will upload them as a new post :) I'm looking forward to doing this, its going to be great! 

Have a great day!!!

Shopaholic & Sister- Sophie Kinsella

Shopaholic and Sister- Sophie Kinsella

Blurb

'Becky Bloomwood thought being married to Luke Brandon would be one big Tiffany box of happiness. But to be honest, it's not quite as dreamy as she'd hoped. The trouble started on their honeymoon, when she told Luke the tiniest little fib, about the teeniest little purchase. Now she's on a strict budget, she doesnt have a job - and worst of all her beloved Suze has a new best friend. She's feeling rather blue - when she receives some incredible news. She has a long-lost sister!

Becky has never been more excited. Finally, a real sister! They'll have so much in common! They can go shopping together...choose shoes together...have manicures together... 

Until she meets her - and gets the shock of her life. It cant be true. Surely Becky Bloomwood's long-list sister cant...hate shopping?

My Review

First Thoughts:

I thought it seemed interesting when I picked it up. I admit, at first it didnt click it was part of the series with Confessions of a Shopaholic. Once I realised that, it seemed less interesting, as I am not as much a fan of the movie. But I read it, anyway, just so I could see what it was like. 

Final Thoughts:

I cant say I liked this book very much. The main character was irritating, and although you could tell she meant well, it just grated on your nerves in not a good way. The story line was okay. I liked it, the problem was that it didnt seem to flow very well. I loved the ending though. The ending did exactly what a book should do if it has a sequel, makes you want to read the next one!!! (Unfortunately, I fell for it and am currently reading the next one, Shopaholic and Baby) Oops!

If you a shopaholic, which I definitely am not, you will like this book. Really, if you can sympathise with the main character, but unfortunately, this series is not really for me, im afraid.

Let me know what you guys think of it, if you have read it!!

How to cope with lonely?

Hey guys! My main goal this week was to read a whole bunch of books in order to have some book reviews in my queue. I go through stages where I cant be bothered reading anything and I just want to watch TV all day, or times when I want to read every second of the day.

Just a quick word about the book reviews.
Most of the books I review, wont be recent. I like reading books that have been out for a while, just so I can  get used to the authors writing and then see how it changes after several books/years. All the books I read, should be able to be found in your local library or bought for cheap off the internet, if this changes, I will let you know!

So my goal of reading as many books as possible this week, I'm doing pretty well. (My actual goal was finish 4 books) Its Wednesday night and I am up to halfway through book 3. Not too bad!

The mister is working two jobs at the moment, full time one, part time the other. Well, one is a placement for his uni course (thank God it's over in 1 more week!) I have been by myself a LOT, in the last 2 weeks, and I am finding plenty of time to read. Unfortunately, it leaves me being lonely for the few days that I dont have work!

I have always said that I dont want to work. I dont like working, and i know my boyfriend doesnt like me working. (I get very stressed and my moods go all over the place. Luckily, i changed positions at work, so much better!)
But after this week of being alone, I love the social interaction that work gives me. I get to meet people, and I dont feel so lonely all the time.

I find myself turning on the tv, or radio just to have some noise. It's an odd sensation, being alone. I'm yet to get used to it.

But I have my blog to keep my company for now, its nice to be able to let my thoughts out of my head.
I'll just sit here with a lasagna dinner meant for two, and wait till I get my boyfriend home.

Have a nice night!

Rain, Rain

Its a spectacularly rainy day here in the south of Adelaide, and what better way to spend that rainy day then planning, goal-setting and organizing. We were set to retry blackberry picking, but because of the weather, we have decided to stay in today instead. It's the type of weather that just makes everyone lie around in bed all day and not bother moving. A Facebook status a friend wrote this morning was; 'If it cant be done on my phone or from my bed, it's not going to happen.' Too true! But I am actually looking forward to setting some more directions for my life, and I plan on doing that today.
I love writing lists...and cold weather!
So ultimately the best day for me!
I might make a post about it in the future!
I have a few posts already lined up, I just have to type them up and set them ready! I love reading everyone else's blogs, and I have lots of good ideas brewing! Now, I just need the time to do it :D

Well, I hope everyone is having a fantastic day!

January

Today is the first of February where I am! Its weird how fast January has gone!
I thought I would go through my 2013 goals and how I am going with them so far!
(You can find the original post here)

So this post has been in the making for a long time, however, I didnt have the internet for a few days, I worked full days and now my boyfriend has taken my laptop to work for a couple of days. But I am stealing his computer while he is using my laptop, so at least I now have some contact!

It's been a little crazy around here! Tom has been doing a work placement and then his normal job, so I rarely get to see him at the moment! But his parents went on a trip to Fiji for a week and a half, so I'm staying with him and get to be the housewife for a few days! I've been excited about this for a long time.

So here is what happened in my January!

-I started writing my blog part-time
-I picked up extra hours at work
-I bought a car!
-My family got 2 kittens
-I bought a camera
-My brother-in-law's book series got published
-Bought business cards

Within the original post, I gave a whole list of things I wanted to work on in 2013. Over the last month, I have added to the list and wrote the list on a piece of card, which I keep in a slot in my purse. Its great to see it constantly, where it reminds me exactly what I'm working towards. Alright, here is the list thats on the card!

-Stress Less
-Be more social
-Eat healthy
-Get my brain active
-Write more
-Lessen my dependency of technology
-Enjoy the little things
-Take more photos
-Save/Budget money
-Smile and Laugh more
-Love: Whatever the circumstances
-Dance more

I am loving my progress with my list and I hope to go further with it!