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Ali


It was announced in 2018 that Harry Potter and the Cursed Child would be coming to Australia; so naturally, being a massive Harry Potter fan, I knew I had to see it.

My sister got onto the tickets as soon as they were released and waited in an online queue with what I assume was thousands of others. But she managed to snap up some tickets for February, actually for my birthday, and that's how I found myself in Melbourne a month ago.

Melbourne is a beautiful city, but to be honest I'm definitely more of a Sydney girl - mainly because I grew up out west of Sydney and have a tonne of family there, but none in Melbourne. So I was excited to venture down to Melbourne and do a few things, but I was mainly excited for a break and a holiday that involved doing very little.

And that is what Melbourne was, a great break doing very little. We of course walked around the city and ventured through the shops, not buying much as we are both saving, but it was nice to look. 

Of course our main reason was to see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and it did not disappoint. I actually think I loved it more than when I saw it in London, but I also think I was so excited to just be in London that I didn't take in the play as much, if that makes sense. Anyway, I noticed far more seeing it a second time.

For example, I don't know if they changed the theatre in London - they probably did and I was just oblivious, but I noticed in Melbourne they changed the carpet just for Harry Potter, they changed the decorations in the theatre, they changed so much! It just blew my mind how much detail went into just preparing the theatre for this play.

The play itself was so amazing, mind blowing, fabulous and the greatest thing I've ever seen, yeah that's how I'm describing it. The actors were great and just seeing how they perform magic is mind blowing. I honestly recommend everyone to see this play, even if you aren't a Harry Potter fan, I still think you will walk away smiling and asking yourself what just happened.

For those wondering you can currently see this play in London (the original), New York on Broadway and Melbourne - that's it. So if you find yourself near any of those locations - go see it! You will not be disappointed and I could ramble on so much more about this extraordinary play, but we must #KeepTheSecrets.

One more thing about Harry Potter, I recommend seeing it on two seperate days. I watched both Part one and Part two in London all in one day, and it's a long day (but of course if this is all you can do, do it!). It was nice doing it over the two nights in Melbourne and I think being split over two nights on the second night everyone was just so much more excited, the atmosphere was unreal.

My sister and I also managed to play Pixar Putt while we were in Melbourne. It was down in St Kilda but I believe it is heading for Darling Harbour, so Sydney-siders get onto this! It was such a fun hour or so playing mini golf, and as a Disney fan I loved every hole. Each were themed to a different Pixar movie and it was so well done. Tickets weren't too expensive and I think it makes for a great family activity, or even date night, or even just a get together with friends.

Lastly I want to mention this amazing little Japanese restaurant we found in Melbourne. It is on Lonsdale Street and it is called Izakaya Chuji. Miki and I were so lucky, we found the restaurant on Google and decided to head there, thankfully somewhat early. We rocked up, no reservation and got the last table. We watched so many people get turned away - which is always a good sign because it means, you got a good restaurant. If you love Japanese food you will NOT be disappointed. My sister loved it so much she is now obsessed with Asian food, whereas in the past I had to drag her to an Asian restaurant, so I highly recommend.

Below are a few snaps I took while away, so enjoy! I also vlogged this trip, which we can over on my YouTube channel.










Love, Ali
6:00 PM No comments

This is something I've been wanting to do for the longest time. My life is pretty boring, but I occasionally have moments, outside of holidays since I actually vlog those, that I wish I had on film. I love vlogs. My entire watch later list is full of vlogs. I don't know what it is, but I truly enjoy watching other people live their lives and I know I'm not alone because there are a tonne of vloggers in the world and people watch their videos.

So here I am, finally trying weekly vlogging for myself. I don't expect people to watch and please don't expect my life to be interesting - it's not. I work a full time job, exercise and attempt to catch up with friends, repeat that every week of the year and there is my life. But I want to capture those moments. I want to in years to come look back at these videos and see my whole family and remember the things I've done.

I've left my first weekly vlog below, if you're interested check it out and let me know what you think. Unfortunately this will be probably be the best weekly vlog of the year since I actually did something other than work.



Love, Ali
5:00 PM No comments

Did you know I had a YouTube channel and I vlog all of my holidays? Well I'm just about to come to the end of my Papua New Guinea Cruise vlogs so I thought I'd share them on here for those of you that are interested. I haven't shared any of my vlogs in the longest time and I want to get into the habit of sharing what I do on YouTube with my blog. 

As you may or may not know, this vlog series is from my 2018 August P&O Cruise to Papua New Guinea. It was a great week away with the family, nice and relaxing and everything you'd want from a cruise.

So if you are more into videos then reading words, feel free to check out part one below.




Love, Ali
5:00 PM No comments

Another year, another birthday. Let's answer some questions.


1. What is the date and time?
Thursday 21 February 2019, 11:43pm - yes my birthday is nearly over!

2. What is the weather like?
Lovely! Currently in Melbourne and it's a refreshing 17 degrees celsius outside.

3. What's the last movie you saw?
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - currently watching it so it counts.

4. What was the last song you listened to?
I Want To Break Free - Queen, thank the movie Bohemian Rhapsody for that.

5. What do you do for living?
I still work in Digital Marketing, websites, social media and stuff.

6. Do you want children?
Yes, still want children, still need a man.

7. What do you see yourself doing in the next year?
Working, travelling. Maybe finally meet the man of my dreams? Wishful thinking.

8. How do you feel at this moment?
Amazing, excited and tired. I just got back from seeing Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Part One for a second time and it still blew my mind.

9. How often do you laugh?
Still everyday, normally at myself.

10. Do you have siblings? How many?
I need to get rid of this questions because it can never change.

I technically have 2 brothers and 2 sisters. I say technically because my oldest sister is my half sister and I don't see her much. My 2 brothers are only half brothers but I don't think of them like that, they are just my brothers who I see all the time and love dearly. And then there is my little sister, she is the only sibling where we have the same mum and dad.

11. When was the last time you cried?
I teared up during the play, it's Harry Potter I couldn't help it.

12. What do you do in your spare time?
Watch YouTube, read, sleep.

13. Picture yourself in 5 years from now.
Once again hopefully married, or close to being married...maybe.

14. What's the first thing you do in the morning?
Normally curse at my alarm for going off.

15. What are you thinking just before you go to bed?
What do I have to do tomorrow, and then I continue to make a list in my head and then I over think a million things and this is why I don't sleep properly.

16. How do you travel to work?
Car pool with my Dad. Save on petrol and parking.

17. Name the thing that annoys you the most.
Right now? People who always one up you or claim to know better, try and change your opinion - that annoys me.

18. Do you regret anything?
I try not too, but don't we all regret something?

19. What is your favourite meal?
Anything asian, particularly Chinese food.

20. What is your favourite movie?
Even though I love Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings and so many more films - I freaking love Twister!! I will never get sick of that film.

21. Do you drink alcohol?
Nope, tastes like crap.

22. What are you proud of?
Right now, nothing.

23. If there is one thing in your life you'd want to change right now, what is it?
My weight. I try and I try and I try (stole that from Queen), but I love yummy food too much and I'd rather starve than eat healthy all the time.

24. What are your thoughts about turning 27 today?
I'm old and alone. I seriously thought I would have achieved more by now.

25. Sum up your life in one sentence.
I still stick by Eat.Sleep.Travel.Repeat.

Travel is all I have to live for.

26. What's the best thing that could happen to you right now?

If I could drop a heap of weight that would be amazing.

27. What celebrity do you currently have a crush on? (I decided to make this year's extra question interesting)
Currently I'm a tad obsessed with Tom Holland. Even though he is younger than me, he is just so damn cute.

Love, Ali
11:09 PM No comments

I live in Townsville; North Queensland, Australia. You may or may not know but this regional town of roughly 180,000 people was hit with the worst flooding this city has ever seen. To put it in perspective, Townsville was hit with the same amount of rain that Melbourne receives in three years - in 10 days! 

I was extremely fortunate; where I live is on higher ground. And although the river I live close to did break its banks and make it's way onto our streets, it never went further than people's driveways. 

So let's start from the beginning. 

Townsville finally got rain on Australia Day, 26 January. I remember being at my friends house dancing in the street loving the rain - little did I know a week later I wish it would be over. Townsville has been in a drought for the past few years. Our dam, which is our main water supply, got down to 16% but with a nice decent rain last year in 2018 it got up to 90% and slowly was falling again.

So of course when it started raining Townsville rejoiced, finally our normal rain season was back and maybe this was a sign our water problems would be over for now. On Wednesday 30 January I got the message that the Townsville Local Disaster Management Group (TLDMG) had moved to Stand Up - this is serious business. By this time some suburbs had already experienced major flash flooding - people had shipping containers, cars and houses floating past them. We thought this would be the worst of it.

On the Thursday I got called in to work at the Disaster Centre, and from that point on I pretty much lived there for next 11 days. I worked with a small team, but majority of us worked 14 hour days to send critical information to the community.

It kept raining, and the dam kept filling. On the Friday I told a colleague I'll pick her up to take her to work at the Disaster Centre. I was slightly terrified when I left my house and couldn't even see a few metres in front of my car due to the severe amount of rain falling. I turned into my friends area and immediately wish I hadn't - water all over the road. Not a small amount either. I could feel my car wanting to resist, water was spraying up past my car and it was a really bad decision on my part. I remember stopping in the middle of her street, as it had the least amount of water being the highest point, and calling her to run into the street and get in my car. The water was deep, and I had to watch her step through the flooding outside her house which was insane. It's okay though, we both made it to work safely.

By Saturday the rain still hadn't stopped. The dam was still filling and by this point I think it was at 200% (don't quote me on that, I could be wrong, and can't be bothered to get technical right now) but pretty much the dam was well and truly over capacity. The dam gates were already open, they actually opened when the dam hit 100% on January 30. 

Sunday was the worst day. I remember sitting there working and watching the TLDMG as they finished a meeting. Everyone suddenly looked more serious, some looked scared. In the hours that followed we were told the dam just had 300mm rain fall over it, and the dam gates would have to be opened fully - this meant flooding a heap of suburbs. I remember waiting for the maps of the impacted suburbs to come out and I prayed I didn't see my street on the list, thankfully it wasn't. But I saw friends houses on it, people who were at the centre had their houses on the map and at about 6.30pm/7pm we were told to leave the centre now or you might be stuck here for night, possibly the whole next day. So I up and left. I worked from home and looked at social media in shock of what I was seeing. So many people didn't evacuate their houses and now needed saving - stranded with water levels rising. I didn't sleep much that night.

I made it back to the centre the following morning, at about 6.30am. Thankfully the flooding didn't impact the roads I needed to take. When I arrived it was crazy. People had slept there, beds were on the ground, some people still asleep under desks and it was still raining. I just went back to work, put my head down and helped where I could.

The week that followed was a blur, we were all on auto pilot, just getting done what needed to get done. I figured out on top of my normal work hours, which is 37 hours a week, I did an extra 66 hours in overtime in 10 days. No wonder why when I finally did get home and was given a day off I was so exhausted and just wanted to sleep, which I did sleep -  a lot.

The team I worked with were absolutely amazing. We all got to know each other on a whole new level. We cried together, laughed together and went to hell and back together. We also tried our damn hardest to keep the community informed and I think we did a pretty good job.

I'm devastated for the people who lost their house, their personal belongings and some their cars. I can't even comprehend what that would be like. Businesses are closed, some to never re-open. Schools were closed for the longest time, with one not opening until around May it received that much damage. 

It's so surreal because for me I've only seen photos and videos on tv or social media. I don't live in the affected areas and I haven't driven through them as they are swarmed with services helping to clean up. 

One thing that has been amazing to see is the community working together. I was still working at the Disaster Centre but on the Monday (or Tuesday) after the dam gates were fully opened there was a full boat operation in some of the suburbs. Anyone with a boat turned up to a make shift boat ramp, normally a main road but it was so under water it looked like an ocean, and people started rescuing others still in their homes, collecting people's belongings and saving pets. 

Once the clean up begun people just turned up in the suburbs ready to clean, strangers helping strangers. People walked around handing out bottles of water for free, restaurants were cooking up food and giving it to everyone working - it was such a nice thing to see everyone helping each other.

Now you might be wondering why I'm writing this all in this blog. Truth be told I want to remember what happened and there is no better place than here. Some people won't read all this but at least in years to come I can look back at what happened.

So I'm going to stop typing for now. Below I've found a bunch of videos and photos online (credit given below) of the rain event, so you can get an idea of what it was actually like.


Credit: Triple M YouTube

Credit: Josh Bavas

Credit: Glenn Minty Mintern

Credit: ABC News (Australia)

Credit: outdoorhobbits shared with #ABCmyphoto

Credit: stumblearound.photography Instagram


Credit: Guardian News

Credit: Michelle Haydon Facebook

Credit: Glenn Minty Mintern

Credit: Mike Harting

Credit: Callan Lund

Credit: Glenn Minty Mintern

Love, Ali
5:00 PM No comments

2019 - it's here. Does anyone else find it mind-blowing that next year is 2020. Because I think that is what freaks me out most about it being 2019 this year. Anyway, enough of my brain vomit - let's talk goals.

I like having goals, it gives me something to work towards. I guess these could also be known as New Year's Resolutions but I don't want to put that pressure on myself so let's just say these are my goals of 2019.

one

Put away at least $200 a week into my savings account. I'm very fortunate to have a well paying full time job and have the ability to still live at home with my parents (even though I'd love to move out) but this gives me the ability to save and travel so much. I should probably start saving for adult things, like a house, so I'd like to at least save $200 a week.

two

Reach 1000 subscribers on YouTube. I'm well aware it shouldn't be about the numbers, but at the same time I'd love to see my channel grow. I have so many ideas and truly it just comes down to my laziness or being so time poor that I don't get to do a quarter of the videos I'd like too. So I'm going to put more effort into filming videos, including trying weekly vlogs, and work on improving my editing skills. 

three

Every year I say I want to read at leat 10 books, and every year I completely and utterly fail - but not in 2019! I will read 10 books and finally tick off some of those books I've been wanting to dive into for the longest time. You'll be pleased to know I've already started a book this year and I'm more than half way through - for those wondering it's Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan, absolutely amazing so far and different from the movie.

four

Cut back on the take away. I cave into how easy and fast it is to just order take away food. Don't get me wrong, there is a time and a place for ordering take away and I'm not going to cut it out completely, but I need to cut down. This will not only save me a heap of money but it will also mean I'll be cooking my own food a lot more, and that food will be healthier than a lot of the crap I get as take away for convenience. 

five

Walk my dogs. I know, I know, I'm a terrible dog owner. I just get so lazy when I get home from work that I can't be bothered to take them for a walk - and then late at night I feel so bad. So I want to walk my dogs at least twice a week. They should definitely probably be walked daily (well one of my dogs has a hip problem so she can't really walk that much), but I'll start with twice a week first and work my way up. 

Just to clarify, they do get walked, but it's more like once a week or once a fortnight if I'm a real terrible dog owner.


And there we have it, my goals of 2019. I didn't want to make the list too long as then I'd probably just have more things I didn't achieve by the end of the year - I'm a total pessimist I know. 

Don't forget to share your goals in the comments below!


Love, Ali
5:00 PM No comments

Nothing like a new year starting to make you realise you haven't done much in a year and it went by super fast. 2018 had some big shoes to fill, especially after my epic amount of travelling in 2017 and I knew it'd never match up. But, it's good to reflect and look back on the year that was 2018.

Travel

Sure I didn't travel as much in 2018 as I did in 2017, but I still managed to tick another country off the list. In 2018 I was fortunate enough to travel to Papua New Guinea. Naturally we went by cruise ship, because in my family it's the only way to travel. It was a lovely relaxing week off surrounded by family,  blue water and sunny skies.

I also went back to Disney World, because I'm happy to admit I have an addiction and would happily go there every six months. For me it's the ultimate holiday. Once you step foot in Disney you just know everything will be fine and I love that feeling.

Family

I'm happy to say my family became bigger in 2018. No, I didn't have a kid but my brother did. So I became an Aunty again! It's always nice when the family gets bigger.


And not much else happened in 2018. It was actually a quiet year. I feel like I didn't achieve much in many aspects. I didn't lose as much weight as I wanted, I didn't read 10 books like I wanted too, my YouTube channel didn't grow that much (I was hoping to make it over 1000 subscribers), I didn't stick to my blogging schedule, I still live with my parents (although that's how I afford to travel so much) and I didn't weekend vlog like I planned.

There are probably plenty more things I didn't achieve, even though I wanted too, but oh well. So with this new year I can only look forward and hope I can tick off more goals in 2019.


So I'd like to know, what did you love in 2018? Leave me a comment below!

Love, Ali
5:00 PM No comments


So I've been MIA and I don't really have a good reason. To be honest it came down to poor planning. At the beginning of the year I literally wrote down months worth of content and for the first half of the year I just followed that schedule. Then I became lazy, couldn't be bothered to plan and decided my vlogs were more important so let my blog fall by the wayside.

I enjoy blogging and have plenty of ideas but when it comes down to it I'm very lazy. But I'm back, I planned my posts till the end of the year and changed the day I'll be posting. I used to always schedule a new blog post to go live on a Saturday night and then the very next morning my vlog post would go live on my YouTube channel - this was not a smart idea. I put so much pressure on myself to get them both live within 24 hours of eachother I realised there would be a far better way.

So my new blogging day will be Wednesday! Expect to see new blog posts every Wednesday at 7am AEST. There will be plenty of Disney blogs, life blogs in general, reviews and fitness blogs - because yes I'm finally feeling motivated enough to get my butt of the couch and lose some weight.

It's good to be back.

Love, Ali
7:00 AM No comments
I love books. I just wish I made more time to read them.

I thought it'd be nice to put together 5 quotes from books that I love, now I'm not going to lie I could easily just have 5 J.K. Rowling quotes from Harry Potter (I restricted myself to 2) but there are other books I love too. So in no particular order, quotes from books that I love.

P.S Yes, I made all the images myself.

1. Not all those who wander are lost. - J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring


2. Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light - J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban


3. To die will be an awfully big adventure - J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan


4. It's no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then - Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.


5. It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live - J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone



What are your favourite book quotes? Let me know in the comments below!

Love, Ali
5:00 PM No comments
Top 4 Instagram Snaps



Vampire Diaries
I love The Vampire Diaries, well at least I did when it first came out, let's not lie to ourselves it really started going downhill from about season five. So I started re-watching the entire series, mainly because season eight finally became available on Netflix Australia and even though it literally made me fall asleep in season seven, I have to finish the series.

Before we go any further, I'm a Stephan fan and nothing you say will change my opinion. Maybe that's why I also started disliking the show - haha. I also know how the show ends and I'm not happy about it.

But re-watching it from the beginning has made me fall in love with the show all over again. I forgot so much had actually happened and it's been good to watch it again. 

Instagram Stories
I remember when Instagram Stories first came out and I hated it, why did they do that when we all had Snapchat? Well the tables have turned, I don't know many people that still use Snapchat and I don't either - besides to use their filters to then post on Instagram Stories (c'mon Instagram pick up your filter game). 

But Insta Stories have really grown on me, only downside is it takes me forever to catch up with everyone's stories at the end of the day. Anyone else loving Insta Stories over Snapchat?

Song of the Month


River by Eminem ft. Ed Sheeran
So this has been the song I've been blaring in my car for the past month. I love Eminem and then throw in an Ed Sheeran chorus and you have a pretty damn perfect song.


Love, Ali
5:00 PM No comments
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I'm Ali - twenty seven years young from Australia. This blog is a place where I want to share all my thoughts & the things I love with you!

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