REVIEW - OVI HYDRATION

Dear Diary, 

Sorry I didn’t keep my word in regards to the OVI Hydration review. I haven’t been on top of anything… school, MASTERCHEF, and of course this blog. BUT, better late than never, and I hope you guys can forgive me! :)

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A couple of months ago, I was invited to be a part of a campaign with OVI Hydration. I was sent 9 full-sized bottles (500mL) and had the opportunity to try out all three flavours: Citrus, Peach, and Berry. This is a fairly new drink that has only been out in the market for a couple of months. Although I was sent these products, the point of “trying it out” is to tell you my honest opinion.

I have always more of a Vitamin water type of person compared to a Powerade/ Gatorade person. So when I saw the description of what OVI hydration is, I knew I had to jump on board. It retails for around $3.84 at Coles, but I’m sure you’ll be able to find it at other supermarkets such as Woolworths, IGA, etc. 

Marketing (from their website): "We believe life’s about what you put in to it, not what you take out. Ovi Hydration is a delicious infusion of water, fruit juice, honey and natural minerals with antioxidants from green tea. It's this simple combination of natural flavours that will tingle your taste buds and keep you hydrated. 

Hello Tasty. Bye Bye Badditives."

Comments: It was refreshing. I would repurchase it from time to time because I think the drink is quite nice. With that said, it’s not something I would grab every time I leave the house. I do enjoy it, but water is definitely still my go-to. Water is obviously one of the best beverages out in the market (and plus it’s free, kind of). OVI Hydrations is MUCH MORE beneficial to you than soft drinks. On top of that it has no calories, no artificial flavours and colour. If you’re not very sure which flavour to try out first, I personally recommend the Peach flavour (but that’s a biased opinion, I love peach flavoured everything). Something that I also find interesting is that Ovi Hydration is a brand of the company Frucor, who also manufactures drinks like Ribena, Up & Go, V, Rockstar & much more. 

Check out their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/OVIHydrationAustralia

Diary Ratings: 8/10 (Enjoyable and refreshing, but still like water best!)

P.S. THANK YOU TO OVI HYDRATION & CONTAGIOUS NETWORK FOR ALLOWING ME TO BE A PART OF THIS EXCITING CAMPAIGN

Love,
The Miss Diaries.

DOUBLE REVIEW - TK SOMETHING BBQ RESTAURANT & WON JO KOREAN BBQ

Dear Diary,

This is just going to be a very brief review of two restaurants that I've recently been at. Hope it helps! Again, I will attach photos soon - it's just a little hard for me to transfer my photos from my phone to my laptop right now.

TK SOMETHING (CANLEY VALE)
So last Sunday (12/04/15) I went with my old co-workers (many of them left so it was a nice little reunion) to eat at TK Something. It's a buffet so you can eat as much food as you want within the time frame of 120 minutes. It's $30 per person though keep in mind that this doesn't include drinks. Unlike your typical buffet where you have to stand up with your plate and go pick whatever food you want, this restaurant gives you a menu and you just choose what you want and they'll bring it out for you. We literally ordered everything on the menu which i will attach very soon. There's also a self-serve dessert cabinet... this is a MUST TRY. If you go there and they have the creme brulee, I say, definitely give that a try - especially if you have a sweet tooth and want a break from all the meat you're eating. My favourite dish to order from the menu is definitely the Chilli Pork Ribs. Drool. Overall, I think this is definitely a go-to place if you're trying to find somewhere to go with a group of friends. Make sure you don't eat before you go - because how else would you be able to eat your $30 worth of meat?? I would say, my only 'complaint' would be how long they took to bring out our food. Since there were 11 of us, we split up and sat on two tables. The food for my table took so long to come out - we were just eating our side dishes (which is also refillable) while crying because the other table was deliciously grilling their meat. Talking about the side dishes, I LOVE the side dishes here.

Diary Ratings: 8/10 (This was my second time here - guess my co-workers really love meat... but I'm not complaining at all!!) P.S. Thanks Huy for the shout! <3

WON JO (STRATHFIELD)
Just mentioning Strathfield means you can't go wrong with Korean food. It's the holidays and I've barely been out due to being sick and lazy. My cousins kindly drove me out yesterday to Strathfield to eat some Korean food. We parked at Strathfield Plaza and walked towards Won Jo. I've heard so many great things about this place so I was definitely very excited. None of us felt like eating meat, so we opted for the other dishes. I'm so sorry I don't have the prices or the exact name of the dishes because I didn't really look at the menu since my cousins were the experts - I left the ordering job to them! I did say I wanted to try Korean Fried Chicken though - and this was the dish I was most excited for. We ordered Bibimbap, some sort of Stew, Seafood Pancake and half-half Fried Boneless Chicken. Funny... I just realised I wrote that in the order from what I most liked to least. The Bibimbap was amazing. It was so flavoursome and much to my surprise, the rice wasn't soggy or anything. The stew was also to die for. I was initially so scared because the colour of the broth was literally bright red, but it was actually quite sweet. I could imagine how wonderful this would be on a cold night. The seafood pancake was also quite good. Although it's not my cup of tea, I think it's definitely ALOT better than many of the fried pancakes I've had. It wasn't oily, yet still crispy and full of... seafood!! haha. Unfortunately, the KFC was a little bit of disappointment for me. Maybe it was because I had really high hopes for it, but i felt like there was nothing really special about it. It saying that, the chicken was very juicy on the inside and crunchy on the outside. Not very flavoursome though. Overall, I really loved going here and would hands down come again to eat the bibimbap and stew when I get a chance to do so! Afterwards, my cousins took me around Strathfield for a bit, but there's really nothing to do there HAHA so we went back into Strathfield plaza and got ourselves some Chatime. I got the Match Latte and it was delicious, as always. The embarrassing part was I gave them my 'Chatime' membership card, only to realise it was actually my 'EasyWay' card after I had given it to the worker. Sigh, didn't even end up getting points because I was too embarrassed to give my ACTUAL card again. We walked to this small Korean Supermarket and my cousins picked up a few things. They told me to choose any snacks I wanted but I didn't choose anything so they got me this box of chips they thought I should try out. It was delicious, and tastes kind of like Pringles in the Cheddar flavour.
Again, thank you so much Jennifer and James for the wonderful day and thanks for the food. I really enjoyed it!! :) <3

Diary Ratings: 9.5/10 (Will definitely be back!!)

P.S. I'm going to the city tomorrow to do some damage, so I'll write my OVI Hydration review once I get home tomorrow!

Love,
The Miss Diaries.

MINK PINK MEGA WAREHOUSE SALE + THE VOICE 2015

Dear Diary,

I sincerely apologise for my very long absence. I actually half-wrote another blog post talking more about my absence and also a first impressions on some new products - but I'd rather try them out more and write a more in-depth review for you guys! :)

To cut it short, I had exams - and once my holidays began I became pretty sick. I only went out twice so far during the holidays and it's already my last week. Sigh.

Oh, and HAPPY 17TH BIRTHDAY ANDY! :)

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So last Friday (10th April), I went with Tanya to the Mink Pink Mega Warehouse Sale. It wasn't as crazy and crowded as I thought it would be. However, in all directions, there were girls changing in and out of clothes since there were no change rooms. At first, I was a bit weirded out, even though it was in a hall... it was so open? But what can you do, right? Haha.

After searching around I ended up buying a fitted crop top from Paint It Red for $20. So, as you can tell, the clothes weren't all that inexpensive as well. I'll attach a picture of me wearing it below soon. 

Tanya and I took the bus back to Chinatown and got ourselves some Gongcha milk tea. We walked to Darling Harbour, and just talked. We took touristy pictures of each other. While I was taking a picture of Tanya, in the corner of my eye I saw a group of guys - and maybe had awkward eye contact. They approached us and one of the guys introduced himself as Dan (I think). He asked if he could take a picture with me, and I said sure - I mean no harm done, right? He was pretty friendly and all his friends were a little bit cray. 

Tanya and I ended up walking back to Central to catch a bus back to Entertainment Quarter, Moore Park to watch The Voice. We got a little lost and met some guy who was also trying to find his way to the audience waiting line. We finally arrived there and got our raffle tickets. It was around 2:45pm. We quickly ran and bought ourselves some food (Large Oporto Chips - the "large" portion was ridiculously small). The waiting time to get in was crazy. Since there were so many people in the priority line (friends and family of contestants) everyone in the general admission line were getting extremely nervous. I mean, no one want to wait hours, and then be rejected in. 

Luckily, Tanya and I did get our wristbands and we made it into the studio. We were asked to change seats about 2-3 times but ended up sitting in a very good position. We were 3 rows behind the judges and next to the VIP reserved seats for special guests and family/friends of contestants. I was sitting next to the dad of one of the contestants who I think has a very good chance of winning the competition... that's something, right? HAHA. Since I can't say anything about what I actually saw that night - it was absolutely breathtaking. The hosts were extremely funny, the judges were very nice and chill and the singers were incredible. Definitely one of the best nights I've had in a while and something I'll never forget. Definitely tune in, and watch The Voice Australia 2015. You'll be in for many surprises - I promise!

The Crew were all really nice and we were provided with bottles of water, chips, ice-blocks and chocolate. After many hours of recording we finally got our break. And by this time, everyone was super hungry. Although it was sprinkling outside, the queue to buy bagels was still very long. I finally got Tanya and I a bagel each ($6 ea ... I don't remember the actual flavour, but it had bacon in it). Thank you Brooklyn Boy Bagels - it was totally scrumptious. And I look forward too seeing you guys open stores around Australia. 

It was a very long day since we got home around 12am in the morning. (Yes, we recorded for about 8ish hours. However, this was definitely an unforgettable day.

I'll tune in tomorrow night since I'll be heading to Strathfield with my cousin for lunch. And I'll also review a Korean bbq buffet since I went out to with my friends from work last Sunday!

Also, I will post up a review of some drinks I received a while ago ... As I mentioned earlier, I was sick and so this review is very, very delayed.

So definitely keep your eyes out, because I'll be posting a lot of things in the next few days!!

Love,

The Miss Diaries.

FEELING LOST

Dear Diary,

Sorry I haven't written a post in so long...
I guess a part of me wanted this blog to be all about positivity and spreading positivity. And to be quite honest, I don't think I've been feeling 100% lately.

I know that this year, there will be many times when I will become an emotional mess. Last year of high school - and from now until I graduate the examinations and assessments won't stop. I don't tend to look stressed out like all the other students when it comes to exam time. I am that person that bottles everything up and just seems 'genuinely' happy all of the time. I am that person that 'runs away' from my problems, and I know very clearly that that doesn't fix anything. Instead of studying, I feel so screwed, so scared of failure, that I end up watching movies or sleeping to take my mind of everything. I've been sleeping 9-13 hours lately because I'm just so confused with everything, I'd rather just shut my thoughts up. Of course, I know that's not what I'm meant to do. It's like I know what I'm meant to be doing, but I just can't bring myself to do it.

I took the whole day off today so that I could start and finish my oral presentation preparation (for my assessment on Thursday), but I become so fixated on wanting every single word to be perfect. This is not good enough. This sounds bad. This is worst than what I wrote last time. Can I give up? No, you can't give up. I have this internal conflict with myself...

I'M WASTING TIME...

Sorry for not posting anything in a while. Perhaps no one actually follows my blog and maybe the view only comes from people stumbling across my posts. But regardless, thank you.

On a brighter note, I do have a few posts which I want to upload. Maybe after my exams. I've been meaning to make a post on my first impressions of some new goodies (make up + clothing items) - so that will be exciting. AND I have a two week break after my exams, so I'll definitely be making more posts then.

Love,
The Miss Diaries

LIFE IS CONSTANT?

Dear Diary,

25.02.14

This post probably won't make much sense as I wrote it during my 15 minute break at work. It was a long day and I wasn't feeling too happy about anything. So, I decided to write a little bit about how I was feeling to make me feel a little better.

I'm here to let you know what you already know. Sometimes, it's alright to feel confused, lonely, sad and angry. It's perfectly okay for you to express your emotions. Someone will listen, because someone does care.

And if you ever need a person to talk and listen to you, or someone to give you advice, I'll be more than happy to help you out. Just shoot me an email at themissdiaries@gmail.com and I'll do my best to help you! Love ya! I mean it.

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21.02.15

The hustle and bustle of the world...

I sit on the sofa and lean my head backwards to rest my head. All I can hear are the echoes of people working, people talking and dishes clattering together. Can I remain this way forever? To be able to hear the distant murmur of craziness of the world and not have to do anything about it?

I close my eyes -  a hundred thoughts running through my mind. What do I have to tomorrow? The exam? Do I have anything that needs to be completed by next week? Or next month? The mind is constantly reminding me of all the worries I have to deal with. But then it refuses to co-operate. Refuses to help me out. I feel like giving up. If only.

You. Your constant nagging next to my ear. Thank you for making it no better. You blame me for so many things. But it's not my fault. Though, I'm not up for an argument. So, say sorry. Smile. And walk away.

Can't I wear my bathers and float in the swimming pool, look up at the cloudless, blue sky above me and the close my eyes in peace? And for a single moment, can I just forget about everything? For a single second, can we just escape the world?

As humans, we remain on our own roller-coasters. And no, the ride doesn't end (perhaps only when we die, but I don't know). The roller-coaster is a constant up and down. And let me remind you, you have no control on how fast and in which direction the roller-coaster goes. It does whatever it want to. Your job is to just deal with it.

You may not have control over everything, but you can control how you feel about the situation. And you decide on what your next move is.


Love,
The Miss Diaries.

EXPOSED ft. Erica

Dear Diary,

19.02.15

Like I mentioned in my first post - I plan on writing about everything and anything. I have decided to start a new series on my blog called "Exposed". In this series, I feature a friend on my blog and ask them to write anything they want! It could be a little bit about what they think of me, their favourite memory of us, and something a little meaningful (advice - not to me but about life in general, life morals, etc.) they wish to share. I have decided to called this series Exposed because my friends play a huge part in my life, and perhaps sometimes, they know more about me than I do. So not only am I sharing the very fine details of my life with you guys, but my friends are also helping me learn more about who I am and where I stand in life. 

Love,

The Miss Diaries

ERICA IS GOING TO TAKE OVER NOW! BYE! ;)

Erica and I at our Year 11 Informal - good times...

20.02.15

Without too much cheese I'll write this in the most simplest and deepest manner. 

Friends come and go and of course after high school, we all go our separate ways. As much as I want to say, WE R FWENDZ 4LYFE, its something that I have no control over. 

On another page, this bunch of people that I see everyday (5 school days) have suddenly become a part of my life, especially this chapter and that's one thing that would never change. 

Yes we have uni and yes it will all be different and yes we will eventually find new friends to hang out but of course I would never be able to experience this great friendship again. 

I enjoy moments where we look at each other and go 'yep yep yep gotcha' as if telepathy actually exists!

I enjoy the moments of Mr A, B , C , D, E, HAHA and more as we become great stalkers. 

I enjoy the moments in class. Especially biology and prac work.

I enjoy the laughing that I share with you and the others. Just cos we weird. 

I enjoy that camp night. Along with a few other ppl, I enjoy talking about feelings that should be shared only when necessary haha. 

There are simply too many moments that I could've missed but funnily enough the one I'm most fond of is our last camp together, bush walking. That track was the deadliest and I'm sure you have the worst memories there hahah but at that time I knew I couldn't leave you alone and dramatic as it sounds I was happy we made it out alive (even tho I was no help. Thanks AH). 

This is not the end. Trust. We have a vacation afterwards just for the soulmates xoxo

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What can I say. 

I wouldn't say this is MY favorite memory/moment but it could be hers (who knows hahah :P) 

But if I remember correctly in our early junior years at hs, having to face the utterly MOST difficult situation ever was having to choose between who to sit. And yes, at that age, I was struggling to make the "right" decisions because honestly pleasing two people is harder than you think. You could easily tell who stayed by my side ("or won") HAHAHAHA and I guess that was one of the moments that I'll remember and cherish forever. How one childish giggling over the table moving can lead us to where we are now.. Buddies who have countless of baes. I have one. She has more. (That's right. I said it. Choose one pls HAHA)  
There are many things I could say, but I'll end it here or else I'll have nothing else to say in my letter geez. But, I'm sorry and thank you. I'll leave it as that for her to think about why

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"Sometimes no matter how hard i try, some things hold me back from moving on. A lingering moment, the false hope and i fall back a few steps."

I blame the mind. The mind constantly filled with unrealistic thoughts that yes, maybe one day, it'll be the same again. So many unanswered questions start to pile up and then you ask yourself the most trivial yet important question. Why?
Blaming yourself as if you had any control over it and blaming them for not treating the situation differently.

But, 'if only' comes into play.
If only this. If only that.

And, 'what if.'
What if this. What if that.

Stop lingering and move on, she said.
Don't worry, it's just a phase, he said.

What a jerk.

I forgave this jerk. 

DOUBLE REVIEW - KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE & HOT STAR FRIED CHICKEN

Dear Diary,

18.02.15

I only had three periods of school today (yay!) which means that I finished school at 12pm. THAT MEANS that I have the opportunity to run around and go out (jokes... once in a blue moon). I went with Thuy, Laura and Maria - we bought our $1 Large Frozen Cokes from McDonald's and quickly made our way to the movie theatres. We bought a large box of popcorn ($8.80 between the four of us & we didn't even finish it!)
Coincidentally, we ran into Steven and Tony in the movie theatres and we all happily watched the movie together.

Movie Review (Kingsman: The Secret Service):
I am no professional when it comes to writing reviews, so I'm going to keep this short, sweet and simple. Overall, it was a really good movie (thanks Rotten Tomatoes for heading me into the right direction). It had the perfect amount of seriousness, action and humour to keep you entertained. I'm no graphic designer or movie director, but as a viewer, the movie looked really low budget. The special effects (explosion, blood, etc.) looked incredibly fake. Now, don't get me wrong. I (and all of my friends agreed) said that they must've used their low-budget to their advantage, because the bad special effects made the movie incredibly funny. We all sat there laughing for 15 minutes straight. Ugh, I want to talk about the movie so badly, but I don't want to spoil it. The movie does provide some advice to viewers, like loyalty and teamwork. It has a few sexual references here and there (probably justifying the MA 15+), and a few unexpected scenes that have you sitting in your seat completely mind-blown. In fact, in some parts of the movies, I was covering my eyes with my hands and peaking through my fingers because it was just so intense. I don't particularly like action movies (sorry!) because I find them boring, but this action-comedy movie is definitely worth a shot! Super funny, and would definitely recommend! (I can't say enough good things about it!!)

Diary Ratings: 8/10 (It was pretty amazing, but I've seen better movies.)

Food Review (Hot Star Fried Chicken):
Man, I have a lot to say about this. I'm well aware that I'm super late in trying this out but anyways I bought a piece of fried chicken (spicy) for $8. I personally think you get enough bang for your buck (worth it). The piece of chicken is unbelievably big. It's called "Large Fried Chicken"... what was I expecting? I dropped by my workplace to share it with my friends because I was going to die if I finished the whole thing myself. Thuy and Maria have tried this place many times before (they've previously tried the Medium Spicy and the Extra Spicy) and yet they couldn't handle the spicy level this time round! STRANGE! I guess it really depends on how much chilli powder they shake onto your chicken, considering they could eat extra-spicy last time. They have different levels of spiciness for you to choose from, by the way. I would say I'm actually not that bad in handling spicy food, but I was literally dying. I was choking every 5 seconds and crying the whole way through. I know it sounds like an exaggeration, but I think I'm actually making the scene sound better than what it actually was. Thuy and Maria were cracking up so much the whole entire time while watching me eat (they were also crying because it was so chilli). I want to (or do i?) try out the Original next time. My other coworkers came by and I could barely say hi because my tongue, lips, and throat (basically whole mouth) felt like it was on fire. On the bright side though, the piece of chicken was very juicy and tender, and the coating was very crunchy. Fabulous fried chicken - perhaps I just didn't choose the right level of spiciness. Will not be paying a visit anytime soon because I'm still traumatised, but maybe in the far, far future, I want to give Hot Star a second chance.

Diary Ratings: 5/10 (due to it being too spicy... probably my fault though)

Overall, it was a good day, even though I'm still trying to recover from my food coma. I feel like this is the perfect time to roll into bed, snuggle with my blanket and go into deep sleep. Unfortunately, I have overdue English homework I still need to complete and submit! So sleep will have to wait...

Love,
The Miss Diaries.