Hi everyone! 
I’m back home and so writing to you from (unusually) sticky and humid Adelaide. It’s meant to be autumn – what’s going on?!
If you follow me on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook you may have seen some of my photos over the past week – I was in Melbourne and had a great time! I stayed with one of my best friends and spent time with her, went to some work-related training, and caught up with some lovely Melbourne based bloggers.
This post is quite long but is mostly photos, so make sure you are comfortable! Grab a cuppa and a seat.
***
Melbourne is approximately 4 times bigger than Adelaide (context: Adelaide has a population of 1.2 million) and there is a lot to see, do and eat! The weather tends to be a bit milder than here in summer, but much colder in winter.
One of my favourite places to have coffee is in Melbourne – Starbucks (hahaha! 
it’s in Sydney and Brisbane too) – and there are a lot of gourmet foods. Like Adelaide, Melbourne is big on the cafe lifestyle, which I love!
*
On the Sunday I had the pleasure of meeting several local Melbourne bloggers, many of whom I have known online for some time.
Going round the table… Mel, Me, Kerri, Nalini, Ling, Emma, Norlin, Jenny, Tine and Amy!
There were so many photos taken that it was hard to get people all looking at the same camera at the same time LOL!
I would like to send out another BIG “THANK YOU!!!” 
to each and every one of the bloggers who came out to have lunch with me on the Sunday. It is so much fun to meet the faces behind the blogs and get to know people better; it really made my week! Many of the attendees were fellow #bbloggersoz Twitter chat hosts and/or participants so it was a bit like having a real life Twitter chat (which sure beats the online version! ). There aren’t any new #bbloggersoz chats planned for the near future but hopefully we can get it up and running again soon.
Later that day I went out with Madam M from The Beauty Dispensary (who has collaborated with me on some past blog posts!) and her partner for dinner. In case it is not clear from the photo, it was K-BBQ (yum!). She took the above photo.
I also was fortunate to have the opportunity to have dinner another evening with Nalini from The Made Up Maiden, and I grabbed some delicious Laksa with Ling from Pork Chop’s Nest, too!
*
I’ll keep this short, sharp and shiny – I LOVE DAISO! For those of you who are not familiar with it, Daiso is a Japanese discount store at which every item is sold for AUD $2.80. I love a bargain and Japanese inspired stuff so this was a dangerous store for me to be in LOL! I went with my best friend and as soon as we entered, she assured me I would need a trolley. She felt a basket would not be enough! She was right….
Before: Ready to Shop!
Here I am at the checkout (the glasses were just for the photo ):
After: I be haulin’
A birds eye view of most of the things I bought (I also bought some crockery but these were wrapped up in newspaper and I was lazy and didn’t want to re-wrap for the flight home!). I will be featuring products that I have found to work well for me in the weeks and months to come (as let’s face it, I bought a lot! ):
You can see my bed for the week and my friend’s cat! Big thanks goes to my friend who let me stay with her!
I also did some other shopping at Illamasqua and an interesting vintage Japanese kimono and fabric store. I picked up a genuine vintage kimono for $20! (Needs a dry clean but will be gorgeous to lounge in around the house!)
*
Coming soon will be my Empties for the past few months (too much from Daiso to fit that all into my usual “Empties and Newbies” style post! ) as well as information about a Certified Organic Australian makeup range. There is quite a bit of variety coming this month which I hope you will enjoy.
As I went really crazy in Daiso, I’m also considering running a giveaway of some Daiso goodies. This will be open to Australian readers only (as I spent waaaaay too much and need to keep postage costs down!). Is anyone keen on this idea???
***
Did I go too crazy in Daiso?
What was your craziest shopping haul?
.
.
Check out the blogs of the Melbourne bloggers I met – if you haven’t already! In addition to Madam M/Mel, Nalini and Ling P’s blogs previously mentioned, you can find:
- Kerri at Beauty & Things
- Ling (1 or 2? ) at The Best Beauty Blog
- Emma at Emma Bovary Beauty
- Norlin at Bubbles, Baubles and Bags
- Jenny at My Funny Valentine
- Tine at Beautyholics Anonymous, and last but not least,
- Amy at Things I Love !
yeah I love daiso shops! That one in Melbourne looks so fun. I am definitely taking my sister to the Adelaide one tomorrow when she visits from NSW!
I say YES to the giveaway, also
Thanks for the fun post!
Hi Anna yes they are great aren’t they!? What did your sister think of Kawaii Fashion? Lol ok vote noted.
A pleasure I like to try and mix things up a bit!
Oh my Goooood. I am so jealous. I WANT EVERYTHING. Lol. So many goodies. Glad you enjoyed your trip.
Ughhhh, how humid is it today.
Bethany recently posted..Etude House Sweet Recipe Dear My Jelly Lips-Talk (JPK002) Review + Swatch
It was pretty crazy everything in there was either really cute, really interesting and/or really useful so it was hard not to buy a lot!
Thanks!
Yes it sure is humid, confusing as it’s usually rare to be like this. I’m hoping it rains to get the moisture out of the air and hopefully things will improve from there!
You can open your own Daiso store with everything you bought
Bottled Beauty recently posted..SPOTTED!!! New Rimmel to Priceline and Chemist Warehouse in Australia
Lol maybe Amy but then I’d have to mark it up beyond $2.80 to make a profit!
WOWWWW. I have never seen anyone buy as much as you have at Daiso. How many did you end up spending?
Louise recently posted..Louis Vuitton Fall 2013
Hi Louise lol that’s what friends in Melbourne told me too!
ummm…. Bit embarrassing but almost $300!
It was wonderful catching up with you (both times)!
And yes, I think you bought HEAPS from Daiso, lol! I am really impressed you managed to get it back to Adelaide without exceeding your limit, well done!
xx
The Made Up Maiden recently posted..Illamasqua Raindrops – Broken Hearts Collection.
Thanks Nalini, likewise!
Yeah my strategy was to have a cabin bag (just a regular Woolworths shopping bag haha!) + my backpack onboard so that I didn’t have to squash everything into the case. The other useful tip my friend gave me was to remove as much packaging as possible before packing the Daiso stuff away!
It is so humid here and has just started raining! For the first time I can remember I am thinking Melbourne’s weather is better lol!
So glad you enjoyed Melbourne, wish I could have gone to the meet up to see you in person. I’m so jealous of your Daiso haul, my boyfriend does not understand my obsession with that place and so I can’t fill my house up with Daiso goodies!
Megan recently posted..Valley Girl Sheet Masks
Hi Megan, oh I didn’t realise you are based in Melbourne! LOL well my boyfriend didn’t really get it either… He likes the slippers and food I got him though hehe!
Next time I think I’ll need to bring an empty suitcase as there was some cool storage stuff I could’ve used but just didn’t have the space for (no pun intended lol! 
). Thanks for stopping by the blog and taking the time to comment! x
OMG Sarah! When you said you bought alot at Daiso I wasn’t imaging that big a haul. Very impressive. I am looking forward to learning more about what you got and whether you like the products.
Kate from Seduced by Beauty recently posted..Face of Australia Lipliner in Red–Thrifty Thursday
Hi Kate LOL yes it went a little bit crazy! There really is just about everything you need; it kicks IKEA’s butt in terms of home storage stuff and general cleaning stuff like dustpans and brooms, as who can beat $2.80? I will be reviewing the products that I find work well for me; there was so much cosmetics stuff there and nail stuff but the quality appeared so/so (so what I picked up is only a very small reflection of what you can find there!!!
So glad you enjoyed Melbourne! I hope we can get the #bbloggersoz chat up and running soon, as I really want to get to know some more Aussie bloggers a bit better – so I can catch up!
xx
Jasmine recently posted..Coastal Scents Divine Line Gel Eyeliner
Hi Jasmine, thanks! We really need more ppl willing to host!
In the meantime do join the FB group if you haven’t already – send me an email if u r not sure how to do this!
x
nahhh, i wouldn’t say you went crazy. i would say you had a well deserved blast at Daiso and a much needed mini vacation in Melbourne! what fun! ha ha, this reminds me of my trips back to Tokyo when i go shopping and have to control myself lest i run a little too wild. but that being said, sometimes you just have to ‘go big or go home’ and live la dolce vita. i think you made some wonderful purchases that will be of great use (and great fodor for some awesome blog posts). can’t wait to read more about your hot picks! xo
Lol I think you’re right, Emi!
Oh boy I think going to Japan would take it to a whole new level! I’d probably go broke! Lol!
So far I’m really loving the makeup brush/sponge cleaner, that will be at least one of the items featured in the weeks to come.
I also found some really useful items (storage stuff and hair stuff) that Ill probably buy more of next time I visit!