As 2012 comes to a close, I thought I'd share with you my top 10 songs of the year. I am a self-confessed music-a-holic and love nothing more than sharing what I've been listening to.

10. Esmerelda - Ben Howard

I discovered Ben Howard this year and instantly fell in love with his voice. Esmerelda the first single off his 2012 EP Burgh Island. The song is very raw and not overproduced and I love it for that. It's a little bit dark too and always reminds me of an emotional video montage scene in a movie.

Summadayze 2013 Set Up

So I've been back at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl for the past couple of days helping set up the 2013 Summadayze music festival. I was pretty much doing the same thing I did when I worked at Parklife which I setting up skrimming (material that goes over the fences) and putting up signs. It's hard work and you get completely covered in dirt and a bit sunburnt, but it's so worth it.

Day One.

The Boatbuilders Yard

Happy Boxing Day. I've been up since 3.50am because I had to be at work at 5am. It's now about 3:00pm and I feel like I've been awake for a million hours. I managed to get about 6 hours sleep last night so I'm not too tired... yet. I finished work at 10am and decided since I was already amongst the madness of the Boxing Day sales, I may as well stick around.

Merry Christmas

I thought I'd spread some Christmas cheer with you by blogging about my recent trip to The Boulevard in Ivanhoe. The Boulevard is about half a kilometre long and most of the houses are covered in Christmas lights! There's also plenty of Christmas music and lollies if you look hard enough. Now if you're expecting a nice, quiet, romantic stroll down this street, think again. The Boulevard draws crowds of several hundred every night, so expect a lot of children, prams and tourists. 

Rooftop Cinema

After climbing up a million flights of stairs you emerge at the top of Curtain House and experience the wonderful view that Melbourne's Rooftop Bar has to offer. We made the hike tonight because it's that time of the year again when the Rooftop Bar is turned into a cinema with the best view in the world. The movie we watched was the comedy classic Zoolander even though I, and everyone else there, had seen it so many time we could quote the whole movie.

The Moser Room

A couple of nights ago I went to a 21st in an amazing venue in Melbourne called The Moser Room. Located in the heart of Chapel Street, Prahran (pronounced Pa-ran), is this Victorian meets Moroccan themed bar. With baroque lounges and lavish chandeliers, The Moser Room was a little piece of luxury amongst Melbourne's busy nightlife. 

Gaijin Lunch Bar

So this is another one for the students. The Gaijin Lunch Bar is an Asian cafe with very eclectic decor located in Melbourne. The best part about is it has good affordable food and cheap alcohol. The perfect place for dinner and pre's before a night on the town. Or just a quick feed. Don't get me wrong, the food isn't three hat worthy, but it's good for the price and it's rarely very busy. 

Costume Madness

You know the saying, one woman's trash is another woman's knight in shining armour. No? Well in this case it was. My friend told me about a costume warehouse sale and it's just something you can't say no to. Located just out of the city in a shady factory area of Melbourne was a huge room filled with what I assume are antique or very worn costumes. Prices started at just $2 but got to in excess of $650. A bit out of my budget.

The Big Design Market

Today saw us back at the Royal Exhibition Building in the Carlton Gardens for another arty/crafty design market. Most of the stalls at The Big Design Market were different to the Finders Keepers market, although I did see some familiar stores, and everything was more homey compared to the last one. There was still definitely an abundance of jewellery but not as much clothing. 

On Wednesdays, We Wear Pink!

The other night we hit the town for my friend's 21st. We started at everyone's favourite place, Taco Bill, where the margaritas were 1/2 price. We gorged on Mexican food and decadent fruit margaritas for a while and then headed to one of the best places in Melbourne if you're a poor student like we all are. 

Gingerbread Village

Christmas has officially hit Melbourne and to celebrate the festive season the Gingerbread Village by Epicure Catering is back! Located in Melbourne's City Gallery are some of the major Melbourne landmarks baked out of gingerbready goodness. 

On The First Day Of Christmas...

*Heads up. You're going to want to read this one*

Each year my family have our Christmas celebration early because it's so difficult to get everyone together. This year we had it on the 1st of December which is a lot earlier than usual. I tried my hand at baking again and made these tasty gingerbread cookies. We also feasted on a huge amount of delicious delicious roast dinner which I may or may not have had seconds of. I had a massive food baby for the rest of the day but it was so worth it.