I never want this to end

Playsuit- Wildpair/ sweatshirt- second hand market/ hat- hospice op shop/ shoes- rubi shoes/

Beautiful weather was the motivation for this throw together. The hot days here have been welcomed with open arms. I'm only nervous it will end soon. Managed to spend a sweet day at the park with a picnic and card games in this ensemble first though. The play suit and the shoes were presents from my parents for my birthday, though true to my pledge, the playsuit was on sale. Btw I LOVE PLAYSUITS. Feminine like a dress but suitable for hardcore shorts fun. Also this hat!! So good! We've bonded already. Me and this hat, we're goin' places.

LANEWAY 2014

Last week I went to the  Laneway festival in Auckland. I know this is a late update for it, but better late than never and I feel like I need to fill in the blanks of my absence a little bit.

The day was a cracker, better than expected even. A good day with good friends and good music. Found some new bands I didn't know of that I fell instantly in love with. And we hung around in Auckland for a couple of days and waited for the Lorde sideshow. Which was totes amaze as expected. Yusssss. 

Peace.

Jelly tiiiiiiiiiime

Between now and the last post one million years ago, I moved to Australia, lived there for four months, and then moved home again after my boyfriend got a job in New Plymouth. That's the short of it anyway. In between there were lots of new people, new adventures, learning curves and ups and downs.

                                Enjoying the park at South Bank in Brisbane, Australia

Back to the here and now though.... I made Jelly!!!

So yum! And fun! Catch you later alligator xx

Almost There

I am so close to being free. In the next five days I will complete the final assessments of my degree. I'm sure at the end of it I'll have something more insightful to say, but for now it's just study, study study. The end is nigh peps, I can taste it...almost...just five more days, just five more days...

p.s. good luck to everyone else in their final days as well...we're almost there!! xx

Friday Flowers

Here's a little something pretty to brighten up your day, I know they make me feel generally better anyway! And just incase these flowers don't do the trick, at least it's Friday!! May the weekend bring you many good things xx

A Bit of Fun

  On the weekend my friend Lindsay J, who I introduced to you previously here, came down to Welly for three days to celebrate her 22nd birthday. On Saturday we caught up with some close friends from high school and had a good, good time. First things first, I made a reservation at the wrong restaurant so we had to go on the hunt for somewhere that had a table of six at peak time on a Saturday. Luckily we found one at Casablanca on Cambridge Terrace which is a super cute Morrocon BYO. So with bottles of wine in hand, we settled in for a feast.....

 After dinner we headed to Chow for two for one cocktails (brilliant idea for a Saturday). Needless to say it was a winner...

As Chow was closing up we decided to move on to El Horno, where unfortunately I took no photos because I was too busy having a good time! It was a successful night and Linz and I were photogenically on form, pretty much the whole time haha

  Until next time....xx

Making an effort

Sorry I've been a bit absent over the last week but we're on mid-semmester break at the mo. I've come home to Tauranga/Whitianga, and the internet is a bit hit and miss. I've been bogged down with the flu for most of the time I've been back, but I'm just shaking it off now. Although on Friday night I did have an extra special 21st to go to, so I took the chance to make a bit more of an effort.

 I loved wearing this dress. I bought it from an outlet store while I was in Australia in February. The bust is embrodied with an assortment of colourful beads that look like lollies and the skirt is full and hangs so nicely, I feel like a princess when I wear it (haha, a girl can still dream right?). My orange wedge sandals were so comfortable, I didn't notice my feet all night, which is how it should be! It felt special to wear something that was extra girly for the night.

The party was a great chance to catch up with friends. I had to make a speech which I was a bit nervous about, about it all went down a treat and it was a really fun night.
I'm travelling all around the place this week so no promises of posts, but I'll be back in Welly by Monday and I'll be back to routine then. Until next time..stay safe and sound xx

Good Things come in Packages

Yesterday was made extra special when I received this seemingly large package from my wonderful sister Sarah from Australia. I had been expecting it but I think that made it even more exciting because I had been looking foward to it for so long. And as I knew I would be, I was spoilt rotten by what was inside...

So much goodness! Where to start?! The wooden sandals were the reason for the package in the first place, as Sarah doesn't wear them enough and I was more than happy to take them off her hands. Watch out for them in outfit posts over the coming weeks.
The three perfume bottles I spotted in IKEA when I was visiting Sarah in February but I resisted from buying them mainly because I couldn't fit them in my suitcase, so I'm super excited to have been sent them now.
The candle in the goblet, the flower pot and the berry tealights are also all IKEA treats. I go through truck loads of tealights, as Sarah is well aware of, so they will be burnt up in no time and my room will be smelling delicious.
Speaking of smelling delicious, she also sent me 2 cakes of rose soap in beautiful packaging. Rose is one of my favourite smells and I can't wait to use the soap, although I'm keeping it pretty in it's box for now.
Lastly, Sarah packed in these super cute dishes in the shape of teapots. They're supposed to be for holding tea bags but I think I'll use them for holding my rings on instead!

Have any of you received any exciting packages in the mail recently?? I'll cross my fingers that there's one in the post for you.....xx

Old School

Ay Caramba!

I know we're only a week into August, but I already feel like it's flying by! I can't believe it's only another 3 weeks until midsemmester break, I'm still feeling like we only just got back! That illusion is slowly fading away though, as the next group of assignments begin to loom (why are they always all due at the same time?) plus that test next week that I found out about this morning that I imagined to be many moons away...ek! Everything feels like a rollercoaster at the moment, with so many highs and lows...but hey, here I am blogging two days in a row so it can't be too bad, right?  And if it all just gets too hard, let's run away to mexico together instead, afterall you can never be unhappy in a poncho! xx

All that Glitters

Happy Monday Peoples! I hope your weekends were as lovely as mine. One of the main events to end my week was celebrating a friend's 21st birthday. It's always nice to dress up a touch more fancy and go to an extra effort for a 21st and I wrapped my outfit together with this gold glitter nail polish as the final touch. I'd seen  a lot of girls wearing it over the past month and felt compelled to join in. I was tempted to try a DIY version after another friend did so with large success however I concluded that I don't share her knack of costume makeup and would probably end up with more glitter everywhere else than on my nails.

I splashed out a whopping $7.99 for a bottle of the shiny stuff which isn't too bad I thought. However I have to confess it is probably the trickiest nail polish I've applied myself and I had to do about four coats. This was because the glitter was very good at sticking to the brush of the bottle and the glitter to clear polish ratio wasn't very high. When I was buying the stuff I also had to decide between your average tiny glitter or this larger variety. It was not easy my friends. Ahh the dilemas of consumerism....which reminds me of an essay I should be writing. Cheerio for now..xx

Sweet as..

I'm going to let you all in on another one of my vices....I have the biggest sweet tooth. I love lollies. You might even say I'm addicted. I always have been since I can remember, spending all the money I got from my paper run when I was a kid on sweet treats at the dairy.

And not much has changed since those paper run days either. Whenever I go to Petone, I can not resist stopping in at the UK Goodies store and walking out with a bag full of delectable delights. The giant jars full of all sorts of different candies look so appealing, which always makes it harder not to ask for a few of everything.

Last time I was there I bought these pastel coloured freckles, which are the white chocolate version of the bright multi coloured dairy milk equivilent. I also got some of these pink and white mice. Aren't they cute!?
After I realised how aesthetically pleasing this combination was, I had to wait just a little longer to eat them (which i confess happened all in one sitting) while I photographed them to share with you. And by the way they were delicious! xx

An Afternoon in Heaven

While I was absent from the blogsphere, my sister Sarah came over from Australia to stay for a couple of weeks. We had so many good times as only sisters can do and I have been busting to share with you our one afternoon in heaven that we had the pleasure of experiencing while she was staying with me in Wellington.

To fully understand how much I enjoyed that afternoon, there are some things about me you have to know first. I love drinking tea and I love eating good food. I mean really love. I confess I do believe a cup of tea can only improve any situation. And who doesn't love food? I love learning about differnet types of food (like cheese for example, I'm a big cheese fan right here) and trying new flavours. Once you know these things, it comes to no suprise that for a long time I have been wanting to go to high tea at the Museum Hotel restaurant, Hippopotomas. Sarah coming to stay seemed the perfect oppurtunity.

I have been to other high teas before, so I knew what to expect; bottomless cups of tea and a high stacked tower of mini treats, but still I was blown away. The restaurant is French. The food is french, the head chef is french and all the wait staff are french. And they used this to their full advantage, their accents were so charming Sarah and I were instantly seduced. Add to that the glamour of the Hotel and Restaurant and we were feeling like we were pret-ty special. Sarah ordered Rosehip and hibiscus tea while I went for the Morrocan Mandarin. Both were so delicious I was more than happy to drink my six cups worth....And then comes the food. Sarah got here half gluten free which was an extra bonus. The bottom layer was savoury while the top two, as well as an additional plate that came out later, were all sweet (which I was extra happy about as I have an enormous sweet tooth).

I thought about going into detail about every mouth watering treat that they gave us, as I do whenever I retell this event to someone in person, but I thought maybe I'd spare you the hunger pains. Here's a brief list of what we were given; vegetable fritata, cucumber sandwhiches (a high tea essential), salmon and avacado tart, tuna, apple puff pastry, espresso, caramel and chocolate layered cake, chocolate nougat cup, almond cake, chocolate mousse and last but certainly not least, the iconic macaroon. Can you see why I died and floated willingly to heaven?

In short, the whole experience was flawless. The location, the service, the tea, the food and did I mention it only cost $30 each? Which is around about the standard $25 anyway. Plus Sarah and I had a voucher which brought it down to only $45 for the two of us. Bargin! Plus don't you just love these sugar cubes....xx.

It's been so long

It's been a long time since I was here. I could come up with so many excuses but let's not waste the time like that. In short I got given these beautiful flowers and felt a new wave of motivation and now I am here. The good news is I now have a small stockpile of things to catch you up on which is especially handy when the weather behaves like it is doing today!
Anyway that's all from me for now..Keep cool till next time xx

Born this Way

I have a confession to make. I did have an alterior motive to going to Auckland than just to hang out with my family. On sunday night I became a monster. And I don't regret it. For those of you who are a bit lost on what I actually did, I went to Lady Gaga's concert, the Born this Way Ball, with my sister.

It was AMAZING. She looked like she was really enjoying herself and she interacted heaps with the audience. Her costumes and set were incredible and her set list was perfect. She even sang Just Dance, her first single. She is so talented. Her singing and dancing combo was flawless but my favourite was when she sat down and sang and played her piano without the rest of her band. So much r-e-s-p-e-c-t for her, even more than I already had. She came across as so genuine and her concert exceded my expectations.

Here's some photos I took at the concert. The quality isn't the best but I just wanted to give you a bit of an idea of how it went down...

My sister and I waiting before the show.

A view of the set while the castle was closed. A number of times during the show, the castle opened up.

Gaga on horse

Opening costume

Giving birth

Motorcycle Piano

 Tomorrow I'll give you a look at what I wore to the concert..xx

Degas to Dali

One of reasons I was excited to be heading to Auckland was to visit the Degas to Dali exhibition at the Auckland Art Gallery. The exhibition was on loan from the National Galleries of Scotland and I was stoked my visit to Auckland coincided with the end of the show. I took Art history as a subject in my last year at high school and also in my first year at Uni. I think without that exposure, I wouldn't have the appreciation for art that I have now.
I had never been to the Auckland Art Gallery before and the space is very impressive. There was a large installation outside the entrance to the gallery and another in one of the foyers.

The outside installation

This installtion in the foyer was a giant flower chandelier. The flowers constanly inflated and deflated sporadically, each flower at different times.

 

Once I got inside the Degas to Dali exhibition I was starstruck. I found it such a surreal experience to be standing in front of works from Monet, Degas, Picasso, Braque, Van Gogh, Dali, Matisse, Warhol etc. It's like being in the presence of the celebrities of the art world. The detail and use of colour and form is in no way overrated. So much impressive talent in one space. These were a couple of my favs from the exhibition,

© The Fergusson Gallery, Perth and Kinross Council

© Salvador Dali, Gala-Salvador Dali Foundation, DACS, London 2004

 (Images courtesy of the National Galleries Scotland Online Collection)

So that was the highlight of Saturday, (that and my sister arriving from Australia) and as you can tell I was not disappointed. If you happen to be in Auckland in the next few days and you haven't seen the collection yet I highly recommend you go. It's open until the 17th of June and they have concessions for students so take your id. along. That's enough of my nerd spewing for now..I'll post more about my weekend later..stay tuned xx