The saving of daylight – who knew anyone, could write a whole blog entry on the subject?!

I have a little piece of info that I have wanted to clarify for you (OK and for me) for some time now. It’s something that Sydney-siders go ga-ga over every year. Kind of like our intro to summer. Daylight Savings.

Dating back to the days of our great grandfathers and grandmothers in the U.S of A (of course), during World War 1, the idea of the longer lighting was to save money on fuel. ‘Really?’ I hear you all gasp in astonishment?! Yes! Hard to believe, I know.

So, why do we still have daylight savings then? I mean, yes, understandable that many years ago our grandfathers wanted to save money (I can only hear my grandfather, too clearly, yelling at me to turn the light off when I walk out of a room, not to mention my dad). But, what is the meaning behind the extending of the days during the warmer months? Is it a plea for employers to prolong the working days? So we sit at our computer screens for that extra hour and then don’t realise it’s 7 o’ clock til the cleaner comes in and starts vacuuming around our feet. Is it so we can go to the beach at the end of the working day? I doubt the government would have been that giving!

I have done my research on the subject and it seems that one of the main reasons that daylight savings has been up kept is actually quite simple: safety. Hmmm. Some people believe that if we have more daylight at the end of the day then we will have less accidents. I, for one will not support that ‘theory’. It was less than a week ago when I got an early mark from work and crashed up the bum of the vehicle in front of me. And trust me; it was pretty damn light outside. The accident was caused due to my delayed response to watch what was going on in front of me (duh). It had nothing to do with the sun setting. I have been in a handful of accidents in my life and 100% of them have been in the day. Maybe I’m just lucky?

Basically, I think it comes down to the fact that these days we are more eco-aware. We want to do more to help our slowly disintegrating home we call Earth. Therefore, having the sun’s light keeping our lives lit for longer each day (was that a tongue twister for anyone?) means saving a hell of a lot more electricity and energy, which, in turn makes our Carbon footprint less, um imprinted.

Personally, I LOVE daylight savings and I think a lot of people would agree with me. It marks the start of the warmer months and the Sayonara of the cooler ones.

Daylight savings starts this weekend! Come Sunday you can all breathe a sigh of relief as we lose an hour. Why, you ask? Well, I'll be getting on a flight from Melbourne to Sydney. It departs at 7am. Which actually means it departs at 6am. Which means I will be getting up at 5am. So think of me while you're all sleeping in.

Peace Out,

Girl Next Door xoxo

Good vibes are all the rage right now

If you’re like me and you have not been living in a bubble for the past couple of weeks (those of you reading this that live in the Northern Beaches can no doubt relate) then you would have realised that summer is creeping up on us faster than you can say slip, slop, slap!

Summer means a lot of different things to all of us. One of the main realms of excitement for me lies in those long hot 30 degree (D) days spent at a good ol’ Aussie music festivals.

All you need is your sunnies, high waisted shorts, a cute top (if you’re a chick), I.D and some good dancing shoes – not to mention that drink bottle of whatever you may decide to put in it (only because to buy any drink at a music festival you have to be a millionaire. 1 x Bottle of Water = $6+!!! ). On second thoughts scrap that last sentence, security confiscates all drink bottles on entry anyways.

As some of you know I’ll be missing out on the first instalment of festivals for this year (My trip to NYC will be a festival of its own kind). To get the ball rolling there’s Parklife next weekend, then there’s Harbourlife in late Nov. Then Homebake on the 6th of December. This, my friends, is when the real fun begins. Aussie bands in their element and this year the annual festival brings back one of its finest home grown talent’s ever to touch our soil (cue drum roll): that band is of course Crowded House.

I saw Crowded House play at Homebake back in 2006 and wow, did they get the crowd going! Even though they were the last act, it was unbelievable the amount of people who waited all day to see this band get back together and make the ending to the day Something So Strong.

Next up is Field Day on New Year’s Day 2009. Not one for me, especially after what I heard about the 2007 day. It was 40D and people were overheating and passing out left, right and centre. Fuelled by alcohol and whatever else gets past security is not a good mix in any weather above 30D!

Then there’s Big Day Out (BDO) which I haven’t heard anything about yet – I have always loved this festival but for some reason this year there were just too many people and the whole day was spent standing in lines to get a drink or trying to find a line that wasn’t so long to get a drink. Not so cool.

Good Vibes is my absolute fave festival these days. Not too big and not too small, PLUS they always seem to get the best acts playing – even more so than BDO now.
2007 saw the ‘mystery act’ on the timetable appear as none other than Snoop-Doggy-Dog. You should have seen the crowd when he came onto the stage - the entire festival (a huge sea of people) just migrated straight towards him! It was so surreal to have such a huge celeb playing right in front of us. It helped that I had some Media Passes and was allowed into the Photographer’s Pit to get pics of him. Talk about up close and personal!

So far all I’ve heard for next year’s Good Vibes is that Sam Sparro is playing.
I’m at the point now where I don’t even care who’s playing it’s just such a good day when you’re there with all your mates, there’s such a good vibe (no pun intended - promise!!) you can’t not have a good day. BTW Tickets for this event go on sale 9am October 13th 2008. I’d get in there quick coz these ones don’t last long.

Then there’s V Fest in late March – the last of the festivals for the Australian summer. Boo! But, usually by the time this one finishes up we’re all ready to take a break from festivals for the next 6 months!

Phew! I’m exhausted just writing about them – but also so super excited!!!

There’s only one thing left to tell you now: Bring on Festival Season! YEeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwWW!!!!!!

Peace Out,

Girl Next Door xoxo

Need some inspiration for the weekend?

In this hot, sultry, get-yourself-a-summer-fling kinda weather we’ve been having us Aussies start to get back a little something called ‘motivation’.

After the cold winter months of staying in, snuggling up to your boyfriend (or puppy) and making hot chocolate after hot chocolate (with one too many marshmallows) we decide that, yes, it’s safe to go outside again. Local pubs have made their killing in the winter months – for those of us who crave a night out on the town and can only be bothered to step outside our front door and straight into another one - one with warm air conditioning.

But it’s when the heaters are turned off, the coats are pushed right to the back of the wardrobe and the weather is ALWAYS above 25 degrees the real fun begins. Buh-bye winter – Hu-llo summer! Yep, summer in Australia is more than getting sun burnt; it’s a way of life.

The gym has been packed to the brim every day this week, after our first 28 degree day in about 6 months! Last Saturday Sydney-siders upped the ante on their exercise routine and felt the need to get into shape for those long hot days at the beach.

For some, well for some, it was time to set a World Record. That someone just so happened to be my Uncle. That’s right; Mark Battistella a Sydney born, Central Coast personal trainer led a spin class (FYI: I struggle through my 45 minute class!) of 11 bikes and 200 cyclists on the road to a 26 hour world record. The current world record is 24 hours! They did break for 5 minutes every hour and Battistella snacked on protein bars and a few servings of my *Nonna’s pasta to keep him performing at his best. Now, the big question that I know you’re all dying to know the answer to: Why would anyone want to do this? Jad Raguz, the owner of the Mt Druitt gym that the World Record took place says, “We did this because we wanted to try something so out there, and participate in something outstanding.” They definitely succeeded in that.

My Uncle going for gold!

But, if some of us moan about getting up two mornings a week to exercise, there has to be some kind of super human force behind these people – right Uncle Mark? “It’s all the crazy training, he says, “When the pain barrier comes, it’s the mental part of training that helps.” Too right.

What an inspiration – congrats to everyone who was involved and more importantly congrats to my Uncle Mark!

Peace Out,

Girl Next Door xoxo

*Nonna is Nanna in Italian.

The best thing you can do today (apart from enjoy the sunshine)…

I’m not being a bossy boots but, I do highly recommend that you flick on over to beautyeditor.com.au after reading this post and check out the latest tips and tricks that are heating up the globe – beauty wise. If it’s advice you’re after you can contact Kat – the site’s creator/editor/beauty extraordinaire/very good friend of Girl Next Door’s and she’ll happily pass on any inside info you need and have you on the road to Happy Land sooner than you can apply liquid eyeliner (properly) onto just one of your eyes.

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So if it’s a personal beauty editor you’re after then look no further then beautyeditor.com.au

Peace out,

Girl Next Door xoxo