Goodbye Dubai.

I left Dubai in September, my home for the last five years!!
I miss it already but I'm glad to be back in my hometown, Melbourne.

On my last night in Dubai, my girlfriends and I spent the evening out at Armani Hotel.

Mabellie and I in the foyer of Prive.
I'm wearing a dress I had tailor made in the Satwa souks of Dubai (blogged below) and that cute pink 'Allanah Hill-ish' purse is a thrift shop find!

This is my favourite photo. Dee took it on her blackberry but it turned out pretty magic. It's the background of my phone screen actually, I love it that much!

Ski bunny!

The other week my friends and I went to Ski Dubai, the indoor ski slope and snow park in Dubai's Mall Of The Emirates. Five years of living in this city, it was the first time I actually visited the place... it actually opened a couple of months after I arrived!

I'm originally from Australia and I have to say, I'm not a winter person - I love to be in the summer sun (which is why I avoided this place for so long!) but it was so much fun. We had skiing lessons and a bit of a play around in the snow park with all the kiddies.

 Overlooking the indoor ski resort. In the background there you can see the glowing yellow lights... that's the shopping mall! 

While you're shopping you can stop and watch people playing in the snow.

(PS sorry about my facials... it was cold! I can't be accountable for my facial reactions, I'm not used to it ;))

The mini slope where we took our first ski lesson. I was actually quite surprised and it was easier than I thought it'd be. 

I think I'll be taking more lessons before I leave Dubai. What a story to tell people... 

"So Cathy, what'd you do in Dubai?" 

"Oh I learnt to ski!"

"You learnt to ski in the middle of the desert?!"

 Avalanche Cafe, a place to escape from the -2 degrees chill.
The chill is a nice change from the outside temperatures of approximately 48 degrees though.

 We couldn't resist... Fashion blogger poses. ;)

Sporting our ever stylish (and borrowed) snow suits courtesy of Ski Dubai.

We've both been terrible bloggers, Mabellie and I, with such infrequent posting, but the blogger in us still lives.

Girls night in.

On Friday night, my friend Majeigh hosted a little 'cupcake party' for Resh, Mabel and myself.

Not only is Majeigh's house just absolutely adorable, but she prepared for us a gorgeous table of macarons and cupcakes.

Cute, right? It felt like we were dining in some chic and sweet cafe.
The delicious girly cupcakes were decorated with icing of handbags, shoes and lipsticks! ;)

 

I wore my New Look lingerie dress, Carvela short heels and my purse from Bangkok markets.

It was such a great evening in with the girls. The chance to just dress up a bit and indulge in all these sweets...

I'm definitely going to miss nights like this when I leave Dubai! :(

Belated happy birthday to me.

My gorgeous friends organised a surprise dinner for me on the weekend to celebrate my 25th birthday (which I was out of town for).
They're so sweet (and secretive!!). I was so shocked and the tiniest bit annoyed because I really hate surprises!!

The venue was absolutely amazing though. On board the Bateaux Cruise, which is a 2.5 hour journey along the Dubai creek, we had a beautiful 360 degree panoramic view of the city since the boat was made almost entirely of glass. We had an amazing three-course meal and went up on the deck to take photos with the lovely city we currently call home.

 Me and some of my friends who all looked gorgeous in their summer florals.
I wish I knew about the party, and that I was going to be on the Bateaux Dubai!! If I knew in advance, I definitely would have dressed up more. I was just wearing a Zara embroidered shirt with a long woolen vest over, and the oldest pair of crappy flat sandals I own! 

Note to self: when living in Dubai, make sure you ALWAYS look fancy!

Very full after a three-course meal of salmon for starter, sirloin steak for main and raspberry creme brulee for the dessert. Then the chocolate cake of course (couldn't eat it - too full!)

Thank you to my dear friends for such an unforgetable evening.

***

I'd definitely recommend dinner on the Bateaux if you're ever in Dubai.

For more information, visit their website here.

Fauchon and some discourteous fashion.

Last night went out to Dubai mall for dinner with some friends and after dinner, my best friend and I decided to have some dessert at Fauchon Cafe. While in Paris I was told that Fauchon's food jewelry (resembling 'jewelry' in small pieces of lovely coloured desserts) was the best in the city. So I was pretty excited to see if the Dubai version had equally tasty accessories.

Naturally, we tried the macarons - orange, vanilla, lemon, pistachio, raspberry and chocolate.

I've always been a fan of the chocolate but after trying the lemon from Fauchon I think I've changed my preference.
PS - doesn't Dee look gorgeous (and coordinated perfectly to the cafe) in hot pink?

AND ALL GONE.
Also, every night on the waterfront there is a gorgeous fountain show.
I snapped the following photos of the show which plays every 20 minutes between Souk Al Bahar, Dubai Mall and the Burj Khalifa Tower. 

These 'dancing waters' remind me so much of fireworks. It's amazing how high they shoot up.

As we were making our way back to the parking, a security guard approached us and handed us a small card.

Here's what it read:

I guess I kinda forgot that Dubai Mall is a little more strict than some others (obviously we 'broke' the first courtesy rule there) and I felt really bad about it. We rushed back to my car kinda quickly. Next time, must not forget my pashmina!

I've had a busy weekend packing, unpacking and moving into a new apartment. 

I hope you're all having a great one!

Blog to follow: ilegallcargo to go.

I've been naughty and haven't posted any photos from my holiday earlier this month like I said I would.

You should check out Crystalline's travel blog though: http://ilegallcargotogo.blogspot.com

She's taken the time to blog almost daily short stories and photos while she's on a family trip. Her gorgeous photos show us the easy, beautiful, tropical life that is a holiday in the Philippine Islands.

Jealous, jealous, jealous. I want to be back.

Enjoy the rest of your vacation CC! x

Just shoot me!

My awesome Franki boy from back in Melbourne town has just unleashed his latest shots.

He's a bit of an ametuer photographer, preparing styled shoots in his spare time, and lucky for him, surrounded by beautiful friends that are willing to model! His latest models are my little-sistah-from-another mister Kim and my cousin Stephen, I must admit he's a bit of a hottie, no? ;)

 

 Great work J, I'm really digging these.

Friday in pictures.

Spent yesterday shopping with bbff (best blogger friend forever?;)), Mabel.

Here are some pictures from our day at the newly opened Mirdif City Centre. They had a special 'fashion weekend' in sponsorship with Viva magazine so there were catwalk shows by Topshop, Bershka, Jane Norman and others. As well as heaps of sales and freebies!

 First stop, launch party for Garage clothing store from Canada.

Free icecream cupcakes from Cold Stone - WIN!

They announced they were having a singing contest, just had to sing a few lines from Lady Gaga's Pokerface. She was so shy but I managed to get her to enter. The other contestant was pretty good but when Mabel sang, everyone was WOW-ed. She won a 50 dirhams gift voucher, easiest ever!

Browsing through F21.
Their prom collection is totally cute. I wish the fashion was like this when I was still in High school!

The mall was pretty cool, reminded me of Chadstone in Melbourne (except filled with European brands;)).

While waiting for our dinner, I was subject to Mabel's paparazzi practice.

 Chicken wingssssss.

 

Sugar fix via the BEST cupcakes in Dubai.
Sunnygirl dress from a store in the Walk Arcade, Melbourne city. 

Hope you all have/had a great weekend!

xx Cathy

Ilegallcargo (and an Ericka Crosse visit).

A big, late thanks to ilegallcargo blog for featuring me last month. You can check out her little tribute here. I featured Sidney and her photography company Another Surography earlier in my blog so click here if you missed that.

As she mentioned, I was reunited with our mutual friend, Miss Ericka Crosse recently for a few days and got to tour her around my beloved little city. Firstly, of all my friends, she has the most epically awesome hairstyle.

The Cassie-Ventura-inspired half shaved head.

I wish I could do it, but it's definitely not something I could pull off!

Here are some photos from our mini-Dubai tour.

On the traditional dhow boat from Deira side, across the creek to Bur Dubai.
Cheapest mode of transport in Dubai - just one dirham!

At the entrance of quite a small but amazing mosque in Bur Dubai. Years ago when I was still new here, I would wander around old parts of the city and I actually discovered this place. Amid the boring sandy buildings surrounding it this structure really stood out. I'm glad we accidentally stumbled across it again.

And back over on the Deira side of the creek, entering the Gold Souks.

Just some store windows showcasing their blinding, shimmering collections.

In Khan Murjan restaurant, Wafi City for a traditional Arabic (Lebanese;)) lunch. 

The hummus and fattoush here is SO GOOD.

A little bit of a self-timer angle fail here. In front of the massive Atlantis Palm hotel.

I love playing tour guide here in Dubai, although I'm not 100% educated on the city and it's history, I still like to give my point of view (and the little I do know).
Not many friends have visited me over the years - I wish more would, preferrably before I leave!!