its tax time!!

i know this is really sad, but the FIRST thing i did these school holidays was make an appointment to see my accountant.


Getting my taxes done and getting the refund cheque in the mail was TOP PRIORITY!
only coz i need the money to pay back debts, credit cards, mortgage and other very not exciting things.

My accountant is a brilliant, brilliant man and somehow managed to squeeze every cent out of the tax return :). which gave me great joy!

my refund looked healthy enough to afford me a chanel handbag AND a major accessory!!
you couldn't wipe the silly grin off my face ... :o)

oh - it was happy days for me! fantasizing about the bags i could possibly afford (but had no intentions of buying because i still have debts to pay off) i could have a big chunk of it saved for the trip to sydney late this year and maybe splurge on something something? i could also pay a HUGE chunk out of my mortgage and make it look more decent.

until ...several days later .... another group certificate showed up in my mail box! this group cert was BAD news. BAD BAD news.... so i rang up my accountant and told him the extra figures which had to be adjusted - ARGH!!!! somehow i had managed to earn enough money to start paying HECS and my refund money does not look as healthy as it once did.

So now my refund is not the amazing chanel bag & accessory combo i once dreamed of...

my refund will not afford me an amazing chanel bag anymore - an accessory yes - handbag no.

i knew it was all too good to be true - at least i have paid a nice chunk out of my HECS debt which is disgustingly over 20k.

luv.clio

ps: mr s got a nice refund too - which could of bought me a new balenciaga - but he said "when hell freezes over". i guess my bag ban still stands.

(have not bought a designer bag since Jul'07)

WOW its been a bloody long time!

oh my god...
its been a bloody loooong time since i last blogged...
did u guys miss me?
i missed you heaps!! :P

anyhooo .. even though i wasn't blogging very much.. i have been taking lots and lots of photos!
i have been taking lots and lots of photos of
1. dogs (no body else would pose for me)
2. food (when i quit teaching i wanna be a food pornographer - sorry i mean photographer)

even though im on school holidays - i feel totally stressed out.
its the horrible, sinking in the tummy feeling, something always on the back of your mind stressed.
teaching is one of those horrible jobs that follow you home, and you feel like you have never done "enough".
i know i have just had a 2 week break, but it felt like 4 days only.
so many things to do... so little time... sigh...


... while i have been on holidays, my brother has come to visit for a month!!
so in honor of his birthday - i decided to bake cupcakes and test my baking skills.

here are my little naked babies - i used the magnolia bakery vanilla cupcake recipe (just google the recipe!) these were soooo good fresh and warm out of the oven that we incurred 6 casualties in 15 minutes. and here are the little bubs after they have been dressed more appropriately.
enjoy!
miss.clio

sorry for the long silence...

sigh...
god i wish i was on school holidays again....
this term is chock-a-block full on
which explains my suuuuuper long absence...
i know lots of people out there miss me

the clever banter
delightful life insights
wacky shopping finds, just cute lil ol' me

well ... i have been extremely busy
this term is effing crazy
its one thing after the other...
i am just trying to catch my breath and some sleep between all the freakin work im doing right now...
sigh.... i cant really see the light at the end of the tunnel right now...
but i sure cant waqit till this term is OVER!!

i will post pics of my gorgeous new aquisitions soon
or i hope to anyways...

luv. from. shopaholic.clio

skipping!!

i heard a little rumour that skipping was good for you
and so... being the lazy person that i am
have fully embraced skipping instead of trying to run 2-3kms a day (AS IF!!)

the stats say that skipping for 10 minutes straight burns about 100 calories
people should aim for about 1000 skips a day before any of the exercise has any effect.
500 skips in the morning and 500 at night or whenever you get it done.
And to give skipping more intensity - you can add weights to your hands or feet!

which is good enough reason for me to go straight onto ebay and buy me self a skipping rope with a counter (i am not counting to 1000!)

i have now been skipping for just over a week and so far so good.
i love skipping in front of the TV and in front of the dogs - but the dogs like to get in the way
i love doing exercise in the comfort of my own home without looking crappy in the general public.
2 birds 1 stone = satisfied.

so far my thighs and legs are feeling slightly sore - i think im burning fat down there!! anyways i will keep you all posted. its going to be easy for me to keep this up during school holidays, but when school comes back on, it will be a challenge!

luv.clio

skipping rope from oxfam $12.00.

hand painted handles, made in sri lanka this is like my digital skipping rope from ebay about $12.00 as well

other random skipping pics :o)

currently lusting after...

ok...

now i know WHY i am always in DEBT

and have zip/nada/ shit all/ non existing savings!!

because i keep finding beautiful materialistic things to stuff my consumeristic life

but oh my god....

when i saw this bag ...um ... 1/2 an hour ago ...

a bell went off in my head saying "ding ding ding"

i think i got to have this one... especially in purple, or was it black? white looks hot too...

never mind the colour... i gotta come up with the cash soon!!!

and hell will freeze over :oP

and so i am lusting after this bag from afar...

its around the $950 mark - so any secret admirer sugar daddies can reveal yourselves now and i will be eternally grateful....anyways i have some super hot dresses that will go with this bag or i can go find more super HOT dresses to go with this bag :oP.

mmm sweet vuitton loving....

now ...

the other thing i'm totally lusting after is a nikon d200...

i know this is a million worlds away from the usual designer stuff im always lusting after...

but there is something soooo exciting and hot about this camera!!

its probably because i have been playing around with angels camera that makes me want to get one soooo bad!!! and i would love to muck around with this camera ...maybe become a food stylist/photographer in the next life? (i dont know if i want to teach for ever :P)... sugar daddies PAY ATTENTION!!

luv+clio

i love ETSY!!

some of you may have heard of etsy before
some of you -- maybe not

etsy is a truly amazing place full of artsy, crafty and talented people.
almost everything made on etsy is hand made
its truly remarkable

its like ebay - you have heaps of sellers and stuff, different categories, lots of sellers stores etc etc.
you buy the stuff like ebay, but there's no auctions - its like a HUGE craft market on the internet.
pay through paypal
get your stuff
leave feedback

anyways... my favourite hang out place on etsy is "the paper good & stationery"
as most of my close friends know
im a total paper & stationery whore
(as well as a bag and shoe whore)

so here are a couple of beauties i found on etsy to share with the rest of the world (or my small group of friends)

the following items are laminated notes - you get 2 in a pack for US$8.00
you are meant to leave them on the window of a fellow driver who has TICKED you OFF BIG TIME

its a great way to get back at all those fucking assholes that are on the road now days.




to check out the world of etsy go to www.etsy.com
those cards are from a seller called : scotiamade

luv.clio

more cherry blossoms

more cherry blossoms...
how could i resist?
looking at them makes me smile
ahhh... the simple pleasures of life

i think i really need to buy myself flowers :o)

oh to be in japan right....
one of my fellow colleagues, the japanese teacher
is currently in japan right now
shes travelling around japan for 5 weeks!!
lucky duck
soooo jealous
i think shes "chasing" cherry blossoms around the country

luv.clio

pics courtesy of www.shutterbean.com - love this blog!