Showing posts with label january wrap up. Show all posts
Showing posts with label january wrap up. Show all posts

Sunday, January 31, 2016

January Wrap-Up

And that's January done and dusted. I MEAN WHAT? You guys... there are 11 months left of 2016... I feel like I'm still living in 2012 or something LOL. This month has flown by, 2015 has flown by... just everything flies. Jaz flies. I wish.

First month of 2016, ok let's wrap it up!




New Zealand
Oh and did I go places. I did a 10 day tour of New Zealand's North and South Island and it was BEAUTIFUL. The tour itself (the company) were absolutely atrocious but company and actual NZ are mutually exclusive.
Day 1: Auckland! We sort of just walked around the city after dinner but nothing much was open since it was Christmas
Day 2: Waitomo Glowworm Caves and HOBBITON!!! 2h tour walking around seeing the beautiful Hobbit holes and drinking ale in the Green Dragon Inn. You jelly? Then at night we went to a sulphuric mud bath and springs!
Day 3: The Redwoods at Rotorua (massively tall trees) and then the Pohutu Geyser which spat out sulphuric mud
Day 4: Christchurch! Walking around seeing the rebuild efforts after the 2011 earthquakes. Visiting the Canterbury Museum which some really amazing exhibits including a Leonardo da Vinci one. Then to a beautiful rose garden before we reached Lake Tekapo and Lake Pukaki later that night. These lakes are astonishingly blue and the water is so clear. Just beautiful, especially with the alps in the distance.
Day 5: Mount Cook. Went on a helicopter for the very first time on a tour of Mount Cook National Park. Got to see the Ben Ohau Mountains and glaciers from above as well as landing on snow high up in the mountains! One of the best experiences of my life. Then we went to the Puzzling World at Wanaka which had these weird and whacky things like leaning towers and mazes.
Day 6: Queenstown <3 took the Skyline gondola up to see Queenstown from above and then at midday we went on the TSS Earnslaw which is a steamship that's as old as the Titanic (1912). It took us across Lake Wakatipu (the lake at Queenstown) and then dropped us off for a BBQ buffet lunch. Best. Buffet. Ever. I have never had such delicious grilled chicken in my life. And that pork belly nomnom. I didn't take any photos because I was too hungry and it disappeared off my plate every time before I could remember to take photos. Oops. I somehow also managed to do some shopping at shops we have here in Sydney (don't ask) but also got a Cookie Time haul. YOU GUYS THESE COOKIES ARE AMAZING. If you ever go Queenstown you must go to Cookie Time and buy cookies there. The range at their super markets don't compare.
Day 7: The tour stuffed up so we ended up in Invercargill at the Bluff which is the southernmost point of NZ! Then we got to Te Anau and spent NYE there. Watched fireworks from the lake shore and they were beautiful and we were so close!
Day 8: Happy New Year! Was extremely happy to spend the day cruising through the stunning, breathtaking, exceptionally beautiful Milford Sound. I'm told that we were extremely lucky to have complete blue skies. I got douses by a waterfall at some point hehe.
Day 9: Dunedin where we saw some road that was famous for being really steep? Weird. And went to see the Moeraki Boulders which are these interesting very round boulders on a beach.
Day 10: Back to Christchurch and it's our last day. It's raining but we take a tram touring the city before we hop on a plane back for Sydney.

I'm so happy that our 10 days there were all sunny. If it had been even slightly cloudy, the helitour would never have happened and none of my photos would've turned out so nice LOL. I definitely want to go back to New Zealand to see how Christchurch looks after it's finished being rebuilt, go see the Tasman glacier, and definitely go back to Queenstown because I loved the vibe there.



The Palace Tea Room QVB
During the first week back (at work) my work mates and I were stumped at what to eat for lunch. We decided on high tea but the QVB Tea Room was full so we ended up downstairs at the Palace Tea Room which was just as beautiful! The food was really nice and as with high tea, had everybody struggling to finish by the end. The difference between this place and the QVB Tea Room is that each person gets their own little stand of food whereas upstairs, you share with someone else. The service was fabulous and I loved the luxurious decor.

Bondi Beach
Spent the day with work friends at the beach because it was like the first hot day we'd had in ages. Sun, sand and sea = my fav. Deep blue cloudless skies, white sand and ocean made for some very fun wave jumping. Which I might add were very high that day. I got thrown under a few times when waves smashed in straight after another.

Din Tai Fung World Square
Y'all know this is like my favourite eatery. I took mum there when we went out shopping and we ordered the Spicy Hot and Sour soup, Shrimp & Pork Wonton Noodle soup, Fried Pork Wonton, and my fav, the soybean milk. DTF never disappoints.

Ribs & Burgers (Rhodes)
Ended up at Rhodes for a meeting one day and they had Ribs & Burgers there. I got the Pocket with chips and my god it was delicious. It's on the small side for a burger but the brioche bun and the cheese were just so good with the patty and salad. FYI there's a Ribs & Burgers at the Star in the city.

I also did lots of shopping throughout, buying books because. And I spent today with Jess shopping in the city. We both had a lot of self-control not buying books... but not so much where makeup and clothes were concerned. We both got quite the hauls.


I got lots of books and I read lots of books YAY. I've been on a bit of a graphic novel binge so yeh.


Book Haul



Books Read

I READ SO MANY BOOKS I'M SO PROUD OF MYSELF. Ok tbh the numbers are upped because of a novella and graphic novels haaaaa.


  • Castle Hill (On Dublin Street #3.5) by Samantha Young - this was cute, I got my Joss and Braden fix
  • Ready Player One by Ernest Cline - this was fabulous and so amazingly thought so. Stellar world-building and totally spoke to the nerd in me.
  • Firstlife (Everlife #1) by Gena Showalter  - great concept but I had a lot of issues with this, namely the overpowering romance which I didn't like. Review to come.
  • Passenger (Passenger #1) by Alexandra Bracken - great time travel book with great world building.
  • Emmy & Oliver by Robin Benway- this is the best contemporary I've read in a LOOOONG time. Gosh it's so sweet and adorable and realistic. Very well written.
  • Me Before You by Jojo Moyes- left me in a very emotional state but again very realistic and I loved how there was no right or wrong in the views of the characters.
  • Rat Queens vol 1: Sass & Sorcery- this is my fav graphic novel so far. I love the dynamics between this team of female mercenaries. They're so funny and the story is awesome.
  • Wayward vol 1: String Theory- wasn't a fan of this one sadly. It was confusing and moved too quickly.
  • Slave to Sensation (Psy-Changeling #1) by Nalini Singh- really great world-building, Nalini Singh always comes up with such great concepts. I got a bit confused with the PsyNet though and the romance was very overpowering. Got to remember this isn't UF but PNR.


Reading: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Listening To: The Sound by The 1975
Watching: The 100, Jessica Jones, Shadowhunters - Shadowhunters just for the laughs (I've been live tweeting as I watch). The 100 and Jessica Jones are AMAZING.

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Monday, February 2, 2015

January Wrap Up + Book Haul

If you haven't figured out already I'm not doing great with the filming videos thing so I'm back to writing up my wrap up/book haul posts hah! The amount of time required to edit and film the videos is just not worth the return right now.

January was very awesome for me and I think I really started 2015 off with a bang. Despite going on holiday to Tasmania for 5 days (where I trekked Cradle Mountain and braved the 40min walk up a consistently upward incline to see Wineglass Bay) and Hamilton Island for 4 days (relaxing on the beautiful Whitehaven Beach and snorkelling in the Great Barrier Reef - dream come true!) where I read nothing, I still managed to read 10 books. I also held my 2 year blogoversary and am so happy to be sharing books with you guys. I was also part of Australian leg of The Mime Order global blog tour hosted by Bloomsbury. I could have made it 11 books as I was halfway through Red Queen by yesterday but I my friend and I drove (well he drove) to the Hunter Valley to do some wine tasting - it was a beautiful day and I tasted lots of lovely and uh... interesting... wines and brought back some for myself. The vineyards were extremely picturesque and the air was so fresh.

Some pictures for your viewing pleasure...

Cradle Mountain and Wineglass Bay, Tasmania

Hamilton Island and Whitehaven Beach, the Whitsunday Islands Queensland

Hardy Reef, one the 2000+ reefs part of The Great Barrier Reef Queensland

The Hunter Valley, New South Wales

Let's break down January book-wise!

Wrap-Up

Reviews Posted

I only posted 2 as I wanted the focus of the month to be on my blogoversary giveaway (thanks for all your entries and your comments, I read through every single one of them <3)



Books Read

Unite Me (Shatter Me #1.5, #2.5) by Tahereh Mafi (4/5) - Destroy Me (Shatter Me #1.5) 4/5, Fracture Me (Shatter Me #2.5) 2/5, Juliette's Journal 4/5. I loved Warner's thoughts in Destroy Me, it was this ordered chaos after meeting Juliette and I loved the way he saw her potential. I really disliked Adam's POV as he was this emo, sulking guy who kept thinking Juliette was weak and breakable. She is NOT fragile! Juliette's Journal was very realistic. Overall, I liked how each had its own unique voice so I could immediately tell who I was reading, very believable.

The Mime Order (The Bone Season #2) by Samantha Shannon (4/5)

Something Strange and Deadly (Something Strange and Deadly #1) by Susan Dennard - 2.5/5 this just wasn't for me. While I liked the premise of zombies and the steampunk vibe to SSaD, the MC really annoyed me and I didn't find her relatable.

Ruby Red (Precious Stone trilogy #1) by Kerstin Gier - 4.5/5 such a fun read and I enjoyed this immensely. I rounded up the rating to 5/5 because I haven't read such an amazing book 1 since These Broken Stars back in 2013.

Sapphire Blue (Precious Stone trilogy #2) by Kerstin Gier - 3/5 I disliked how this one concentrated so much on the romance and it felt very juvenile with the MC sulking over the guy, it was like insta-love and that definitely stole from the story's arc which I wanted this book to develop more.

Emerald Green (Precious Stone trilogy #3) by Kerstin Gier - 4/5 a satisfying end to the trilogy with some great revelations. Overall, the series had a LOT of flaws, I think there were plot holes (even from book 1 but especially as the series developed), insta-love and other problems but I couldn't help but overlook them in the fast-paced story that had so much wit, hilarious moments on the MC's part and just how much I enjoyed this.

I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson - 4/5 if you liked The Sky is Everywhere (which I LOVED) you'll definitely enjoy this. It's got that Jandy touch where the story is a standard one but the writing and the POV's are so eccentric it really makes the book out of this world.

Mr Penumbra's 24h Bookstore by Robin Sloan - 3/5 I enjoyed the mystery and the premise to this, as well as the good explanations of technology but I REALLY disliked the MC and I swear he had like no morals... well where secrets were concerned. There are some things so rooted in tradition that they are best left like that. Sure we have technology for a reason, but there's a reason why people still prefer to read the printed word. He could NEVER keep a secret. Ask the MC to keep a secret and he'd go and spread it to the world. Swear to god I wanted to punch him. He kept thinking he was doing the right thing and I think in the end he sort of learned his mistakes but yes my issues with him ruined the experience of the book.

Snow Like Ashes (Snow Like Ashes #1) by Sara Raash - 2/5 an extremely hyped up debut in my favourite genre so I think I set my expectations too high. I was quite disappointed by this, unrelatable MC with her coming to terms with things so quickly when she was opposing them moments before, insta-love (despite me shipping the couple), predictable plot, and simplistic writing that seriously hindered the world-building - a high fantasy needs eloquent and lush writing to really support the world.

The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton - 3/5 very beautiful writing but so much sadness and wtf moments. Full review to come.

Book Haul


NetGalley


Red Queen (Red Queen #1) by Victoria Aveyard (4.5/5) - I already read this, and it is a FANTASTIC debut. Full review to come.

Thanks to Hachette Australia for this e-galley!

Review Copies





Books Bought and Gifted


(From L to R, top to bottom)



Whew, this haul completed so many trilogies - Everneath, Mara Dyer, Splintered and Dante Walker :D
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