Wedding Song

I've found my wedding song. I may not even get married but if I do one day, this is the song we'll do our first dance to. It's SO BEAUTIFUL AND PERFECT. The groom doesn't get a say, this is it.

Also, I want to date Ed Sheeran.

xx

Hair up #2

So I had a hair treatment today and my lovely hairdresser wanted to practice a hair-up on me afterwards. I was more than happy to oblige, and here's the amazing result:

She did a quiff thingy on top, plaited the sides then did a spirally thing at the back (super technical terms haha), and these photos don't really do it justice. It looks very elegant and lovely and I hope hope hope it lasts the night so I can show it off at work tomorrow!!

xx

A fantastic read

I just finished a book that I can’t get out of my head. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. It’s a beautifully written novel about one man’s search for redemption, set in the backdrop of a turbulent Afghanistan (the shift from monarchy to Taliban rule). I think it is quite possibly the most poignant book I’ve ever read. I cannot fault it, it is just fantastic.

The crux of the novel is the protagonist’s search for atonement, after an event during his childhood had continuous repercussions on his life. But while this is the continuous theme running through the novel, the various relationships that are explored, along with the intersection of Afghanistan’s political situation, make for many layers to sink your teeth into.

This book is a lesson in the persistence of the past, of friendship, love and tension, the abuse of power and personal growth. There’s just so much to learn from this novel, so many ways the lessons apply and make us evaluate our own life. It’s a definite tear-jerker as well.

Because I think everyone needs to read this book (and also because I do not want this book review to become too gushy), I won’t say much else other than that I’ve read many great books in my life, but this one stands out considerably. Please read.

xx

Rocking the Braid

Last week I went to the salon for a hair treatment and because I was waiting for over half an hour for my appointment to commence (not that I really minded, they were all stocked up on the latest magazines), my amazing hairdresser Joanna did a free hair-up on me. She did a braid that started at my fringe and went all the way around my head. I loved it! Take a look:

Pretty aye!! She's such a talent.

xx

I want to be this kind of beautiful

xx

Gatsby

So I went and saw The Great Gatsby last week. I don't even know which word would accurately describe it. Perhaps something like sensational, epic, amazing, fantastic, brilliant, visionary, dazzling, magnificent, majestic. Yet these words still don't grasp just how great it was. The cinematography was beyong brilliant, the casting perfect and acting exceptional. The costumes were gorgeous and the music contemporary yet somehow still of the time (1920s). Argh. I don't think I have ever been so in awe of a movie, and still so in awe of it a week on. And here I was thinking Leonardo DiCaprio was past his best. Oh no, my love for him is completely reaffirmed. I wrote a review for it which featured in the Guardian on Thursday the 13th June. If you're interested, read it here (page 20).

This movie was just delicious. Definitely go and see it on the big screen. It needs to be done.

xx

Sail - Awolnation

This song is simply brilliant. I can't get enough of it at the moment. There's just something about it that is really moving and just gorgeous. Love. Love. Love.

Hope you fall in love with it as much as I have.

xx

Arrow

So I watched the first episode of this new TV show called Arrow tonight. A friend recommended it to me so I thought I'd finally check it out. Wow. So intense. Here is the blurb:

"The series follows billionaire playboy Oliver Queen, portrayed by Stephen Amell, who, after five years of being stranded on an uncharted island, returns home to fight crime and corruption as a secret vigilante whose weapon of choice is a bow and arrows"

This all sounded interesting enough. But then I watched the episode and saw the main character...

Talk about babe alert. I'm hooked. Unfortunately there are only ten episodes at this stage so it won't take me long to watch the entire series. I encourage you to watch it too and enjoy Stephen Amell's aesthetics. 

You can thank me later ;)

xx

One magical night

On the 8th of December it was the 21st of one of my nearest and dearest friends. A group of about 20 of us went out for a meal at Lonestar in Napier and then went back to her place for dessert and drinks. My amazing friend had completely decked out the backyard with a gazebo, fairy lights, candles and other lovely things so that the effect was a magical wonderland of sorts. It was just beautiful. The dessert was fantastic too - cream puffs, jelly slice, cheesecake, strawberries, whoopie pies, mini pavlovas...!! It was the most wonderful night. Great food, great music and great company. Unfortunately I didn't get too many photos of the setup but here are some that give you a rough idea (though they don't really do it justice):

^^and one of the cool kids couch ;)

I believe that Jess got a few ideas for decorations from pinterest. Definitely a source of inspiration if you have any events coming up!!

xx

A salute to the suit

I don't think there is any outfit that looks better on a guy than a suit. They just look so crisp and clean and sexy when they're worn well. And it's such a rare occasion these days to see a guy (especially in NZ) in a suit. My dream is to one day go to some super swanky event in a beautiful designer dress with a man in a suit on my arm....the kind of event that has live music, champagne, delicate little nibbles and all that jazz.
Bahaha...a girl can dream, right?

Join me in my appreciation of the beauty of the suit...

Liam Hemsworth

Joseph Gordon-Levitt (I have a massive crush on him)

Eddie Redmayne (love this guy)

The Cloonster...always so suave...

Matt Bomer

If that spread doesn't convince you then I don't know what will. 

I hereby salute the suit :)

xx

Coldplay

So, last Thursday I journeyed up to Hamilton and then to Auckland on Saturday to go to the Coldplay concert at Mt Smart Stadium. Having never been to a big concert before, I didn't really know what to expect, though I'd heard that they put on an excellent show. I don't really know how to describe it other than in single adjectives: Amazing. Mind-blowing. Extraordinary. Fantastic. Brilliant.

Every song was a hit, Chris Martin was perfect live (and mega energetic - had to change shirts about 4 times due to sweat soakage), and the crowd were soooo into it. Such a buzz. My personal favourite was Princess of China because the band relocated to the front of the stage (it was a runway sorta shape) which was super close to us!!

Also very cool were the different coloured wristbands that every audience member got. These lit up during certain songs, in time with the music!! Soooooo awesome. The stadium looked like a Christmas tree (minus the tree part hah). The show also included fireworks, confetti blasts, a laser show and these giant inflatable ball thingys that were sent through the audience. It was truly spectacular.

After my first concert experience I can definitely say I am keen to go to many more in the future. And I love Coldplay very very much :)

The Temper Trap (most famous for Sweet Disposition) who opened for Coldplay were also amazing.

All in all, a great experience. I want to go again. 

xx

Nailed It

One of my good uni friends, Jessie, has gotten into nail art this year and every time I see her I'm intrigued to see what design she is currently wearing. She is amazingly talented at it, and I always marvel at the patience she must have to painstakingly paint each different design.

Here are some of my favourites...

Floral Pattern

Cute cat pattern

Sneakers! so cute!

Despicable Me minions!

Pacman - amaze.

Watermelon

Pretty florals 

My personal favourites - rose pattern :)

Ain't she talented! Check out many more amazing designs and the tutorials for them on her blog and be sure to check out and 'like' her facebook page!! She's an awesome chick too :)

xx 

Matt Bomer

New crush. Stars in Magic Mike. Wow.

xx

Mr Pilger

At uni this year I've come across a few figures that I've come to have massive amounts of respect and admiration for. Jane Austen is one, who I blogged about here, but the newest addition to my list of inspiring figures is John Pilger. Though he has been around for a long time, it is only recently that I've actually read and researched his work. A paper I'm doing this semester uses his book Tell me no lies as its set textbook so I'm learning quite a bit about his career.

As someone studying Journalism, he is the ultimate. His investigative reporting focuses on foreign policy and has covered Cambodia, Australia, East Timor, Palestine, Diego Garcia, the USA and numerous other nations. In a class last semester we watched a snippet of his doco Stealing a Nation about Diego Garcia. It struck a chord with me for some reason and got me interested in his work. Youtube it if you want to see an example of shocking injustice that has slipped by relatively under the radar.

I also like that Pilger uses the quote by George Orwell regarding how censorship in free societies is infinitely more sophisticated and thorough than in dictatorships because "unpopular ideas can be silenced and inconvenient facts kept dark, without any need for an official ban" as inspiration for his work. His dedication to exposing injustices is remarkable and I have the utmost admiration for him. 

I salute you, Mr Pilger

xx

Who knew?

I think New Zealand is a pretty sweet country. As I've grown older (and wiser..I hope?) I've come to appreciate this great country of ours much more than I used to. Though I have nothing to compare it to and I am biased because it's where I come from, I think New Zealand has so much going for it. This view was reinforced when I stumbled upon this article. Turns out, there are some mean cool places to stay around our country, places that differ from your general hotel or b&b. Take a look....

The Boot, Nelson. 

Straight out of the 'There was an old woman who lived in a shoe' nursery rhyme!

The Giant's House, Akaroa.

Looks like something out of Alice in Wonderland or Dr Seuss's head!!

Yurt accomodation, Raglan.

This is the interior of the yurt, which is pretty much a tepee. I kid you not.

The jailhouse, Christchurch.

Each room is fully kitted out like your everyday hotel room. Buuuuuuut it's an old prison.

Not too sure I'd like this one, have seen too many scary movies in this sorta setting...

Woodlyn Park, Waitomo.

Stay in the hobbit hotel (pictured) or in a plane, train or ship!!

Solscape eco retreat, Raglan.

Stay in a tepee (again, wow), an earth dome or train carriages which have been converted into rooms.

(plus feel good doing it, its all eco friendly)

So cool! Staying at these places is definitely going on my bucket list!! 

xx

Outpour

So much on my mind lately, am going to vent some on here but will try not be too complain-y as I know it's not fun reading girls complain heaps.

Firstly, Facebook.
It's safe to say for me that I'm pretty addicted to it as I tend to check it multiple times each day. In saying that though, I have gone days and even weeks without it before and haven't really missed it because I've been otherwise occupied. I guess I just go on to keep up with the haps, coz I'm really nosy and coz I'm bored/procrastinating. HAH just went on again. But more often than not I really despise it. It gets frikn depressing when those rich, Havelock North girls constantly post pics of their oh-so-glamorous lives (eating at flash restaurants all the time, drinking fancy cocktails, casually hopping over to oz, partying at their richie rich Auckland/Wellington flats, always being suh fashionable etc etc). And those people who are always partying and seem to have the most amazing social lives and look good in every single photo. And those people who are always becoming friends with new people, when you haven't had a friend request in weeks/months. Then there's those annoying people who update their status' like 20x per day, and those people who put 'meaningful' quotes as their status, that really bugs me, like they're trying to be all deeeeeeeeep.
Don't get me wrong, there are those blessed souls who actually make the visit worthwhile, those who put crack up status' up and share interesting links and who you actually want to keep in contact with etc etc. But generally speaking, Facebook sucks. So tempted to delete my account, or at least have a massive purge and get rid of all the people I don't actually care about, which would leave me with maybe 50 friends. And that's another thing, Facebook can be cruel fuel for one's insecurities, when you don't have as many friends as other people, when no one writes on your wall etc etc. And I know you may be thinking that if I feel this way it's my own fault, and yes I know that's the case. But this is my blog and I can write what I want and you can hate if you want, whatever.
First rant over.

Secondly, Food.
Body image/exercise/eating/comparing oneself to all other living beings on earth/failing constantly at goals you set yourself/trying to eat healthily....constantly plagues my mind. What I think about most. Sad eh? I have this one friend who has got the whole 'healthy lifestyle' thing down pat, and that's something I'm insanely jealous of, I just can't seem to get into it. Don't wanna rant about that too much as I will just sound like a sad loser.
Second rant over.

Thirdly, Nek year.
So many people have been asking me what I'm gonna do next year and it makes me feel so lost and worried when I'm always answering with "I have no idea". I've tossed around a few ideas...move to Hamilton and work up there for a bit (way more opportunities there and I have friends and family there, but where would I live? Don't think I'd be able to live at home again, I'm too used to flatting now, but wouldn't really want to live with randoms), live and work wherever I can in Hastings for a year, but would I really want to live with the grandparents for a year (and they probably wouldn't want me there for a whole year) or in a flat with randoms?, move to Wellington and flat with my friend there (lots of media opportunities there and a pretty cool city but so ridiculously expensive - I can't fathom spending $180 a week on rent alone, esp without student loan!), flat with the sister and work in Hawke's Bay? But don't know if I would like to flat with my sister tbh!, stay in Palmy? Have a great flat here, but don't really want to stay here after finishing my studies!, move down South and flat with my friends in Dunedin? Very tempting, and lots of opportunities for work there, but then I'd pretty much have to start from scratch and sell all my furniture etc etc. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh. This is becoming quite a source of worry/stress for me. All I know for sure is that I want to work full-time for a year and then head overseas. So insanely keen to travel. But then I'd have to have someone to travel with and none of the people I'd want to travel with seem to be keen or able to when I want to. Sigh.
Third rant over.

Wow. This is one heck of a depressing blog post. Guess you can tell I'm not in a great mood tonight.
Hope you're feeling happier than me.
xx

Officially an adult

So I turned 20 yesterday. Sheeeeesh that's old! And I got totally, unnecessarily, but awesomely spoilt. Received mail/packages from the bestie, a cousin, the twinnies, the grands && something everyday for 6 days (!!) from the mothership. Also got an amazing, super-customized-just-for-me present from the other bestie. Unfortunatly I had a 9-5 day of uni and work but when I got home, the flatties had a beautiful cake and candles waiting, and there was another package in the cupboard.
This is what I discovered upon opening the package....

12 beautiful cupcakes of various flavours.

And they taste amazing. 

Mum, you really outdid yourself, I can't wait for my 21st!!

xx

A song to soothe

I think I may possibly have found the most soothing song ever. After hearing it in a friend's car and immediately loving it, I bought it and have been playing it pretty much every night before I go to sleep ever since. It's so lovely and relaxing.

It makes me think of Asia, as the music is sorta like the music in Memoirs of a Geisha and Mulan. 

This song just makes me drift and dreeeeeeeeeeeeeeam...

What do you think?

xx

Field Candy

I like camping. I haven't done a heck of a lot of it, but have good memories from the camping I have done, and want to do more in the future. Even camping out in the backyard with friends was a highlight of my childhood! My friends and I planned to have a backyard campout at some point this summer, though I'm not sure if it'll happen coz we're kinda running out of time. I saw the most amazing tents on KuTE KIWI the other day and just had to reblog them. So incredibly cool. Here are some of my favourites...

FieldCandy

Kayso I pretty much like all of them!! But seriously, how hip would it be to rock up at a campsite with a tent like this! Make a statement much?! Haha.
I love.
xx