Those moments you're just like YES

I love those days and moments when you're just like YES cause things are going well. I had a day like that on Sunday. I was back in Hastings for the 22nd birthday of my best friend. I love going back to Hastings, especially in summer. It's where a lot of my favourite people reside and in summer the weather is beautiful and they have the best summer fruit and there's lots of lovely things to do outside whilst soaking up the sun.

So anyway, I had a lovely lunch surrounded by lovely people, then bought some deliciously juicy strawberries from the strawberry patch and chilled back with friends before driving back to Palmy. Even the drive there and back was good because I had new music on my ipod and a new car that is super smooth to drive. Ahhhh bliss.

I got to spend time with this gorgeous birthday girl, which is always a pleasure:

xx

Last weekend

Last weekend was one of those beautiful ones where everything was lovely and well with the world. This was very nice considering the car sadness of late.

On Friday my lovely mother picked me up from work and drove me down to Hastings. We had my favourite meal – a kebab from Café Anatolia (if you’re ever in Hastings, you must eat there) for dinner then spent the night catching up with the grandparents. On Saturday morning I went to the gym with my sister, which was good fun, then that afternoon my sister, mother and I went around Napier for a bit. The weather was divine. Later on, le sister and I shared a drink and a plate of salt and pepper calamari along the waterfront, just enjoying each others’ company and the splendid sun. That night we had a roast with the grandparents, and then watched a movie. So nice. On Sunday I went to church with the mothership, and caught up with one of my best friends whilst there. I got the bus back to Palmy that afternoon and chilled out back at the flat for the rest of the night.

Then it was fabulous waking up on Monday morning knowing I didn’t have to work! (4 day weekend here in NZ). In the morning I went to the gym then cleaned the house a bit. Spent the rest of the day with le garcon (walk, bird watching, bowling, dinner, movies). SO NICE.

Aaaaaaaan it’s Wednesday already!! Wooop!! This means only two more days and it’s the weekend again!! Love it.Hope you all had great weekends readers 

xx

Put flowers in her hair, baby

I went to a birthday party last night. My friends and I all wore flowers in our hair. It was lovely.

It's nice to be all girly sometimes :)

xx

Last weekend

After being relatively unsocial and nanna-ish of late, I had a fabulously social weekend last weekend. A very dear friend who lives in Hamilton came down to visit from Friday to Sunday which was outstanding. On Friday night a group of 6 of us went out for dinner at The Brewer’s Apprentice (if you’re ever in Palmy, stop here, it’s the place to be on Friday nights) which was delicious. After dinner and a cheeky walk to get dessert, we went home to get changed and then went back into town for a bit with another of my lovely friends who was visiting from Wellington. Saturday morning we hit the gym for two hours then saw Johnny Depp’s latest flick The Lone Ranger, which was very amusing. That night we had a few friends over for drinks and hit town (the first time in agesssss for me, considering my town appearance history). It was a lot of fun. Unfortunately my Hamiltonian friend had to leave on Sunday which was sad – a weekend visit just isn’t long enough. But regardless, it was a fantastic weekend.

My friends are just fabulous.

xx

Bunnies visit Wellington

Hola readers. Again apologies for not being as frequent with my blog posts. Life happens, and things get put on the back burner, which unfortunately tends to be the blog. But do not fret, I always return. I had the most glorious weekend in Wellington last weekend for the flat warming of a good friend. It was a pretty crazy night, after the flat party we hit town and stayed out till about 5:30am. I worked out that this meant that I had been in my heels for about 8 hours straight! And my feet were in so much pain as a result. But it was fun. Wellington town is so much better than Palmy. There's this club called Famous which is my favourite (that I've been to anyway) cause it plays all my favourite tunes and has a real cool atmosphere.

The next day was pretty much a write-off cause we were so tired. But I did try Bubble tea which was a first. I had a milky Taro flavoured one, and didn't really like it. But I had a sip of my friend's mango non-milky one which was delicious so I'm still on the bubble tea fence (so to speak).

All in all, a great weekend. 

Thank you Wellington, always a pleasure :)

xx

Cray Cray

So last night was going to be a relatively quiet one, a few bevys with a couple of girls. No big deal. HAHAHA well that plan was shot through the roof and we ended up having an amazing flat party with about 20 people. It was off the chain. And the best part about it was that everyone had a good time. Excellent practice for the big one this coming Saturday!! Which reminds me, I'm almost 21!! Wow.

My left arm is currently covered in vivid ramblings which, despite my best scrubbing efforts, are refusing to budge. Sigh.

I saw a funny quote today:

"Heat makes things expand. So I don't have a weight problem...I'm just hot..."

Also, I have begun the process of returning to blonde. Had my first 'eraser strip' session on Saturday which lightened my hair quite a bit. Next I am getting foils done to further lighten. Very excited :)

This is the goal:

 

Colour before (please excuse the completely posed nature of this selfie)

Colour after (hopefully!) (also, JLawr is such a babe blonde!!)

Peace readers

xx

Inadvertent absence

I've been rather busy lately. More socially than anything, though my work hours have also increased a bit (such a relief). A few things I've been up to lately:

• Work experience at the local community paper. This has given me an insight into journalism and I like what I see!! Have had 3 articles published so far including one front page!! :)
• A 21st in Wellington for one of my dear friends. It was absolutely awesome and we ended up staying out till about 4:30am (at which point we were pretty much falling asleep in the clubs lol)
• A very enjoyable visit to Wellington zoo.
• My first ever hotpot experience. I was the only non-asian present and found the whole experience super interesting. Delicious also.
• Attended Jim Beam Homegrown. And what a day it was. My absolute favourite was Minuit. 
• Job screening test in Wellington at Sentia Media. Such a flash office! Would absolutely love to work there.
• Being super social. Town 3 times in a week is not uncommon atm (possibly need to ease up hah).

My favourite picture from our zoo trip:

so cute

xx

Hold on to your seat...

It's 10:30pm on a Saturday night...I'm bored, sitting on the computer. I am not used to this. So to occupy myself, I am attempting my best scary face...

HOW do I have friends?

Broken cycle

Had a lovely weekend, hope you did too!! After going out every weekend (and sometimes twice) for the last 20+ weeks in a row, I broke the cycle and didn't go out on Saturday night, instead opting to study for my forthcoming exam. How sensible of me.

Have an exam on Tuesday then am heading up to Hamilton on Thursday to visit the parents then up to Auckland on Saturday for Coldplay!!! ARGH!!! excitement maximum!!

Random side note: I've been straightening my hair a lot less lately because I simply cannot be bothered and have recently become a renewed fan of the braid....which gives my hair a nice kink when taken out. Here is a pic of how my hair has been lately:

Does it look at all stylish or just messy? I'm thinking messy in this particular photo...lol..

Had a visit from le garcon too on Friday which was lovely :)

xx

Pink lips, pink nails

So I'm heading to a 21st tonight (filled with nervous excitement) and have bought a new LBD for the occasion. I've decided to accessorize with a single chunky gold bangle, a gold heart necklace and little gold rings. I'm wearing my black strappy heels, and to add a pop of colour I have painted my toenails and fingernails bright pink and will wear my bright pink lipstick to match!

Le outfit

Le nails and lipstick (which you can't really see but it's very bright!)

I've tried the outfit on a few times and am happy with it so hopefully I can pull it off tonight! :)

xx

Well hello there

Interesting things as of late:

• Watched Memento for class yesterday. Brilliant movie, so intense and intellectual! Just how I like. I think Christopher Nolan is up there with my favourite directors. He must be one smart cookie.
• Worked at an 80th birthday party last Saturday. The man whose birthday it was, Fred, was the sweetest little old man ever. He has Parkinsons and couldn't hold his drink for long due to shaking. So sad to see.
• Bought a dress online the other day from Nasty Gal. Can't wait for it to turn up!
• Going to a 21st this weekend that is going to be absolutely insane. Met the guys whose house it's being held at last weekend, such crack ups.
• Two songs we are cranking a great deal lately: Gangnam Style and Feel Inside (and stuff like that). Also loving Pursuit of Happiness by Steve Aoki and Kid Cudi. 
• Had the cutest Gilmore Girls date the other night. 3 of us (one being a boy) sprawled on my bed watching Lorelai and Rory go about their lives. Currently on the second season (I've seen them all multiple times) which I think is one of, if not, the best. I love Gilmore Girls, actually.
• Despite sounding cheery above, in reality this is me a bit lately...

It hasn't been the best of weeks :(

xx

Current life haps

Hey there! Sorry for the delay between posts, I keep meaning to post but then don't get round to it...my bad. Here's what's up with me lately:

• Uni - getting pretty busy atm. 3 assignments due next week (gaaaaah). I'm sure lecturers get together in their staff room thingys and connive to put due dates all in the same week. evil. 
• Work - got heaps of hours over the study break which was excellent (ca-ching!). Next few shifts are doing nights which I much prefer, so cruisey!
• Flat - going ok at the moment. Things have calmed down somewhat (for now anyway). As always, love living with Jac who is my go-to/confidante/partner in crime/SB4lyf.
• Weekend - Nuts. Had 2 crazy Australians visiting the flatmate over the weekend. So the boys decided they would do a 3 day bender: going out Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. Thursday night I sober drove them to town (5 big boys in my little hatchback (one in boot) = LOL), they got home 2:30am. Friday night they had another added to their number and hit a party then went to town. Awoke at 3am to moaning in the hallway followed by retching in the bathroom. Poor Graeme had a wee bit too much. Saturday night they were all over the place so Jac and I went to watch the rugby at Erik's and then hit town with him. Met the boys in town. Got home with the boys at 3:30am and went straight to sleep. Pretty sure a few boys slept  on the floor that night cause we didn't have enough couches/beds for everyone. Crazy but fun times. Also hung with the parents on Saturday during the day which was awesome. So lovely to see them again. We went out for lunch, I took them for a tour of my work and then we had a drink beside the fire at Brewer's Apprentice. So nice. Also got to see Jess and Ethan on Sunday which was also cool! Such a mean weekend filled with my favourite people :) :) :)
• Le Garcon - texts everyday, is coming over for a movie night on Friday (ta for advice Emma), is also coming to party in Hastings with me&jac&erik this weekend! excite! still incredibly attractive ;)
• Gym - really enjoying it lately. Body Attack tonight YAY (that is not laced with sarcasm btw).
• Music - getting into a bit of trance music lately, courtesy of le garcon. Armand van Buuren what up.
• Recent splurges - went clothes shopping with Jac yesterday, spent too much oops. Bought a khaki parka (have been wanting one for aaaaaaaaages so this purchase was justified I think), a top and some cute ankle boots. Also bought some new flats today. Soooooo balance has suffered a wee bit.

Here are some photos from Thursday night. Adam, Blair and Dan were gutted they weren't on my photo wall so made me take some  photos. However, they wouldn't stay still so the pics are all rather blurry. This is probably how they were seeing things though hehe...

Me & Adam - I was standing on the bed so I could be the same height as him. 

Me, Adam, Blair

Adam and Blair - he actually wasn't punching Blair in the face.

Adam, Blair and Dan. Silly boys wouldn't stop moving. LOL

good times though

xx

Return to diary-style posts :)

It is the most beautiful day here today...in more ways than just the weather! It's the last day of this half of the semester, uni work is cope-able at the moment and I'm living with my best friend again. Looking forward to heading back to Hawke's Bay this weekend with two good friends for a 21st which will undoubtedly be manic (but in a fun way). Have been getting back into a good 4-5 times a week gym routine lately too which is super!

A wee secret I'll share with you readers....I have developed a 'liking' of someone recently, who I've known for a while but haven't had much to do with. Have had a few chats with him before but last Saturday we talked for like 3 hours about everything and anything, and just clicked. He is also mega attractive too which is a bonus, and highly intelligent and witty. However, there are a few cons about this person: he is the best friend of my flat mate, he has a kid (and hence the mother will always be around and there's that history there...), and I don't know how he feels towards me! It is most likely that nothing will happen here though. And it's ok to have a crush right?

Hmmmmmmmmmm...

xx

Our trip to Hamilton

It seems to always be the case that when things seem to be going so well, and life is great, it all comes crashing down. This is the case in my life at the moment. After living a relatively drama-free existence for the majority of my life, I don't really know how to deal with the recent dramas in my life. Thank goodness I have the most amazing best friends who are with me every step of the way. Without these girls I don't know how I'd cope. I'm trying to act normal and be myself but it's hard to keep that up when other people make it difficult. Gaaaaaaah.

Anyho...I got back from an amazing week up in Hamilton recently with my parents and my two best friends. It was great. During the week I went out for many meals, went clubbing with the girls, went for a walk around the lake, went to the Hamilton Gardens, played Squash, watched movies, made dinners, went shopping (and spent far too much $$ as a result..eek) and just had a generally lovely time catching up with my nearest and dearest. Some pics from my trips away...

Love these girlies :) Thanks for a great time 

xx

Making the most of the holidays

Wow. You know how I said I was mega excited for exams to be over and done with cause there was so much excitement to look forward to? Well, all the things I was looking forward to certainly didn't fail to provide one of the best weeks of my life. It's been crazy. It's been eventful. It's been entertaining. It's been soooo much fun. And that, dear readers, is why I haven't posted for so long. Sorry 'bout it ;)

A sample of what I've been up to: movie marathons, late-night convos, playing pool, the cinema (saw Snow White and the Huntsman - was pretty average), a 21st, town two nights in a row, pokemon, pizza roulette (hilarious), and just general catching up with 6 of my best friends that I don't see often enough. The people were definitely the best part about my amazing week. I have the best friends and flatmates I could ever ask for. 

During this epic week I've stayed up past 2am every single night. lols.

And to top it all off, I'm going ice skating tonight with a good friend and probably out again this weekend!

LOVE the holidays!! 

Have been spending lots of time with this lovely lady 

Hope you readers are all doing good :) x

The art of film

Hey there! Thanks for stopping by :)

Today's post topic is film for the simple reason that I heart film. I've always been quite a movie buff, and enjoy watching movies with friends and family. Film study in English at high school was always one of my favourite units and instilled an appreciation for the way films are made. But it wasn't until uni, this year in particular, that I really came to appreciate the way films either reinforce or challenge our beliefs and ideas. I love being challenged in this way, and formulating my own standpoints on issues, so I think it's awesome when you can really sink your teeth into the issues a film raises. This has made me really want to watch some films that are praised for being contentious or effective in the message they want to get across. I also think that like books, movies can make you smarter and more well read. While doing some internet trolling about acclaimed (but perhaps lesser known) films, I have compiled a list of films I want to watch, and since the mid-year break is fast approaching, I should be able to make a start.
Here's my list...

Elephant
Brick (the protagonist is played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt so I'm pretty sure this will be a goodie)
Boyz n the Hood
Memento
Running with Scissors
The Artist
Donnie Darko
Life is Beautiful
Sonatine
Small Change
Citizen Kane



I love discovering a movie that I absolutely love, so hopefully one of these will be like that!
Have you seen any of these? Can you recommend any others?
xx

A blissful day

I had such a lovely day yesterday. It started off in the best way possible, with a sleep-in, then comprised an hour long pump class, trolling the internet, a small amount of uni work, a lovely chat with the parentals and then, the best part of all, leisure reading! My golly I have missed reading things that I want to read. My weeks have been filled with academic readings such as Diachronic studies of linguistic landscapes in Ukraine and Gendered and Racialized discourses of national identity that take so much brainpower to internally translate into understandable English in order to understand what the heck it is the author is actually saying. So reading a book that I actually wanted to read was just fabulous. This book was Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons, which I had started at the beginning of the year but had to put down on account of the aforementioned readings.

 I finished the book off in the evening and didn't really think much of it. It was just ok, but nevertheless it was delightful to be reading again and I plan on doing  much more of this during the mid-year break :) I have since begun a book that my flatmate lent me, Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain which is so far proving hard to put down.

A snack I made for myself during yesterday's blissful period of reading..

Cheese and tomato with basil pesto, capsicum and cracked pepper on meal mates....Yum.

And this is what I made myself for dinner...

Toasted turkish bread topped with herbed cream cheese, spinach, tomato, cheese, baked garlic field mushroom, capsicum and cracked pepper. Delish. 

Hope you are all having a fab weekend :)

xx

Weekend.

This is what I've been doing all weekend. Sitting staring at my computer screen, watching the word count of my essay sloooooowly increase. This will also be my weekend next weekend, cause my life is that exciting.

p.s. it's cold and raining, hence the hat and dressing gown.

xx

A sisterly visit

I had a lovely weekend this weekend, and I hope you did too. My sister came up for a visit on Saturday, and we spent the entire day shopping up a storm (her more than me) then went to the movies and watched The 5 year engagement which was brilliant, really funny. Jason Segal is awesome. Theeeeen today we did a spot of op-shopping, had Pita Pit for lunch (arrrrrrgh so yummy) and chilled for a bit before she had to leave again :(

I love having visitors, its so fun (hint HINT).

^^ This is the tattoo my friend and I are getting. You like?

(I was totally going to do a ponderous blog post tonight but then couldn't be bothered. sorry).

xx

Simple Sunday

Yo.
So today I spent time with a good friend. We went to lunch, at Aqaba, then went for a wee shop. I didn't want to spend much (as I usually tend to do) and managed not to! I did get a really cool pastel purple shade of nail polish && some super cute $10 red sneakers. Pretty happy with that. The rest of my day was spent on an assignment...oh the joys of being a university student...!

Hopefully this week coming will be a goodie :)

xx