Pebble Penn

xoxo 

Penn 

But my Jurlique Rose Hand Cream was running low and I decided to give it a go. I had never previously used Crabtree & Evelyn before, so apart from expecting the hand cream to smell quite unique and strong I had no idea what to expect. 

The pack included the Gardeners Hand Therapy 100g, Gardeners Nail & Cuticle Therapy 15g, Gardeners Age Defying Hand Remedy 25ml and Gardeners Hand Scrub with Pumice 195g. Underneath the top layer is a set of gardeners gloves, and a spade and mini pitch fork(?); I don't do much gardening so I am not sure that they are! How embarrassing! oops. 

As you can see in the picture I have used the Gardeners Hand Therapy 100g alot, I don't mind carrying around that size in my hand bag, and it works wonders. Initially I was abit confused, not quite sure what the different between the Hand Therapy and Hand Remedy was. The Crabtree & Evelyn website recommended apply the Hand Therapy and then the Hand Remedy to compliment. 

Upon further investigation, I found that the Hand Therapy was meant to rehydrate, while Hand Remedy was meant to combat signs of ageing by ensuring plump firm skin. 

On a daily basis I find using the normal Hand Therapy is enough to ensure smooth skin, however at night, when I am at home reading blogs/typing blogs I like to apply the Gardener Hand Remedy - after all I believe your hands will give away your age when you get older! 

Once a week, I squirt a line of Gardeners Nail & Cuticle Therapy across my fingernails and ensure my nails and cuticles also get some attention. I like to change my nail polish colour regularly because I love having different colours on my fingers while I am at work, reminding me of all the fun things outside of work! By using nail polish removers so much, cuticles start to get dry and nails extremely unhealthy, so this is just a simple way to ensure my cuticles don't show my age! 

As for the Gardeners Hand Scrub with Pumice, I confess I have only used it once, because I never feel the need to really scrub my hands; to be honest my hands hardly ever get extremely dirty, not at work in an office job, not when I am home either. However in that one time I used it, I thought it was surprisingly refreshing and make be feel so clean and hands so smooth! I will definitely make an effort to utilise this more. 

All in all I am glad that I finally opened the pack and started using the goodies inside, however I must say that when I first smelt the creams I found it quite overwhelming, and overpowering. I don't generally use creams or gels that have a mixture of herbs and smells, as I like things to be simple - ie. like rose hand cream, one smell - but once my nose got used to the mixture of chamomile and shea butter, I couldn't resist it!

I liked it so much I went to Crabtree & Evelyn on Boxing Day and purchased a gazillion mini Gardeners Antibacterial Moisturising Hand Gel at AUD$4 a pop. 

And I must say, this is a life saver, I sometimes have to touch money, and shake customers hands at work, and there is no better peace of mind then to use an antibacterial that smells nice and rids of nasty germs. 

Wishing everyone wrinkle-free, age-defying, moisturised hands!!

Have you used any Crabtree & Evelyn Hand Care products? 

xoxo 

Penn 

So after much thinking and listening to other peoples resolutions and watching other peoples resolutions on youtube. I have conducted my almighty list. 

And I am glad to say, so far so good. I have not broken my resolutions yet! 

My 2014. 

- Budgeting. Budgeting Budgeting. 

It is not how much you make. It is how much you save. 

Savers are winners! That is my new motto for the year, my group of friends are all approaching the quarter century mark as well and right now we are all moving into a new life stage; houses, weddings, families. All of which cost more money then we have ever had before. 

I spend the most on food and going out. Inspired by my friends, I have started a $150 per week budget for food and going out (including weekends). 

So far I have been within budget, and have found another additional funds to place into my high interest savings account. 

- Organisation is key! 

I have vowed to be an organisation guru this year! So cleaning, boxing, and putting things into the right places  is my newest plan. 

I have been trying to be good, if I take out a cardi to try on and but it doesn't match my mood/outfit then I will put it straight back on its coat hanger rather than cascading it over my bed and double handling.
2014 is a big year for PC Projects! The newest being to redecorate one of the very neglected living rooms downstairs; its so embarrassing, 5 years on and it still looks like a dump!!

- Healthy. Happy. Fit. 
So yes... every year I say I will loose weight, exercise more etc etc. However this year I feel like my mind has opened to other things rather than just being "skinny" or wanting the "thigh gap".
I want to be healthy, happy and fit. You can be skinny but extremely unhealthy. So I want to exercise at least half an hour everyday - small things, squats, planks, ab exercises - things I can do in my room. I will have better core muscles, and I don't feel like I am exercising at all.
I had put on a little bit of weight, nothing anyone could see, but I definitely felt it. I was feeling tired and inflexible just by being unhealthy, eating out, drinking sodas and alcohol regularly, and overall being a couch potato.
I really want to change that this year! And me and bestie Miss B have been going strong!
(aza aza 2 min planks, 3 sets of ab exercises x 4, sexy legs challenge tonight!!)

- Glowing Skin.
So as per my previous Pimple vs Penny post, my pimples have cleared soooo much! But acne scarring is still there; however I have been lazy with moisturising my body and now I am definitely paying the price.
Skin on my arms and legs look dry now (yuck. gross. I know.) So 2014 is a year of vigilance and routine! Clean face, clean hair. and then moisturise moisturise!!
Also, this summer has been particularly cruel, fluctuating Melbourne weather has left me with my first ever hay fever reaction. It is absolutely horrible! I get thick flaking dry skin just under the eye, sometimes if it is bad I cant really open my eyes and look like I am squinting.
So in 2014 I want to have consistently glowing skin! What is nice is that staying fit will also help with having glowing skin! win win. Love it.

- New Job. 
A lot of my resolutions include changing certain pre-existing behaviours for self improvement. However this one is the closest to heart. A year ago i made the hard decision to quit my very steady, very good paying full time job in pursuit of the unknown - because I didn't feel 100% happy nor did I feel like I could spend the remaining working career doing that particular job. There was nothing bad about the job, but it just wasn't for me.
I am now part time working, one day a week volunteering at World Vision and the rest of my days are spent completing my Masters degree. It is fulfilling, but it is also easy to get so comfortable with what is happening.
So my goal for 2014 is to get a new job, stepping out of my comfort zone and hopefully closer towards working in HR, or being an ombudsman.

He has always wanted to fly a small aircraft, and I decided that this was one thing I would like to tick off my bucket list, so we headed off on a sunny Melbourne Friday - nervous, excited and with butterflies in our stomachs! 

We arrived at 10am at Soar Aviation and was greeted by reception, it was smaller than I had expected, but the feeling was so surreal. The person who flew before us, was a young boy aged 16, and he was clocking his hours for his license - later on we found out from the instructors there that he was the son of Cole's CEO; and another tall kind looking man who was there was his father. 

It was such a beautiful day, although our instructor was late because of a car accident it definitely did not dampen my spirits! An instructor sat us down and explained some of the mechanics of flying an aircraft in preparation for the flight. When Micky arrived he took me to the small aircraft. I flew a Jabiru small aircraft, capable of taking two adults. 

I must say, I must have looked quite silly to Micky. I have never been in a small aircraft or investigated how it worked or functions, so of course I followed him to his side of the door to try to get in, couldn't open the door, couldn't close the door, couldn't do up my seatbelt etc etc etc. We made our way to the runway and took off. 

And the feeling is amazing. No words can describe the freedom in flight. The beautiful scenery that accompanied being 2200 metres above ground. The beauty of the shoreline extending across the horizon, the breeze of fresh air that comes from outside. Micky turned out to be a pretty awesome guy, he laughed, chatted, spoke about planes and aircrafts! 

I got to control the aircraft once we were in training airspace, completed tasks such as flying straight, checking for traffic, turning, descending, ensuring the aircraft maintained in balance. Simple things everyone can complete, but allowing you to have a window of opportunity to experience flying and being a bird in the sky. 

All in all I absolutely loved the experience and am in the midst of organising my schedule for 2014 to include flying lessons. 

I hope everyone has a very Happy New Year! And that everyone puckers up the bravery to complete something they never thought they would or could complete in 2014! 

Wishing All A Wonderful 2014 To Come! 

Filled with Happiness and Smiles! 

xoxo 

Penn