Amazon Haul Baby!

I got an Amazon voucher for Christmas this year. I had thought I would just get one or two books and then leave the rest until I had stuff I really wanted buuuuttt... nope! I now have 12 new books on my kindle.. YAY :)

The books I got were:

Afterburn by Sylvia Day

Winter Wonderland by Belinda Jones

The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

Faking it by Elisa Lorello

Stardust by Neil Gaiman

Enchanted by Alethea Kontis

Legend by Marie Lu

The noticer by Andy Andrews

First Ink by Laura Wright

The theory of opposites by Allison Winn Scott

The Complete Emily Trilogy by Lucy Maude Montgomery

Some of these are random and ... um 'adult' novels LOL. Gotta have a bit of trashy fun sometimes. I LOVE Belinda Jones for a great chic lit fix. I've already finished Winter Wonderland and it was SO GOOD. OhMYGawsh I am now dying to go to Montreal and Quebec even more than I ever was before. She has such a way of selling the locations of her books.

I have a huge T.B.R at the moment so not sure what I will tackle next but on this list The Hobbit, Stardust, Sharp objects and Legend are my main goals.

Now I must continue watching the news of all of the weather carnage and drinking my peppermint-vodka-coffee cocktail. WOOOOooo!

x

LUSH lovlies

I got my first pay check in almost a year last week. I was determined to spend some of it in Lush and purchased the Seanik solid shampoo bar which I'd had before and the Big solid conditioner. I haven't reviewed products and I don't really intend to but sometimes things are just cool! I forgot to take pics before I used them so these come from Google images :)

This stuff rocks my world! My hair absolutely loves it. I found it really strange to start with but now I really prefer the solid form shampoo. I simply lather it up in my hands and then rub it through my hair but I guess you could always rub it directly onto your head. The Seanik bar gives my hair such a good clean and I always end up with such a shine! Perhaps the best thing about it though is that it lasts and lasts and lasts! It's kind of expensive but when you consider how long it lasts and the freaking awesome results it is honestly so much more cost effective than anything at the supermarket.  

I used this for the first time tonight. I have to say that if the lovely girls at Lush on Queen street hadn't explained it I would have freaked out! Its so bizarre. There is no lather and it doesn't really dissolve in your hands. You have to break off a bit and sort of just pull it through your hair. I wasn't holding my breath in the shower let me tell you. I couldn't even see how it would get to all my hair. It seems to just sort of sit in clumps but in reality some sort of alchemy happens. I left it on my head while I did my face scrub etc and then rinsed it out. Even at that point I could tell it was going to be a win. 

With the combo my hair is so good right now! I'm a bit bummed that I'm just in my pajamas watching the music countdown on tv! I look so good I should really be out flaunting it LOL but ... I'm old so what-eves. 

10/10 to this combo for sure. I will absolutely buy it over and over again as the money allows. The only problem is that the conditioner will last a fraction of the time the shampoo does but I guess it will give my hair a chance to breathe in between and not get too used to the one product.

Thanks Lush

x

Making New years resolutions with Mrs Carter....

"Stop making a big deal out of the little things coz I got big deals and I got little things. Lets get carried away..."

Merry Christmas :)

It's December 25th and I'm sitting in my house all by myself drinking a green coffee and watching Mama Mia... kind of awesome :) 

I'm just waiting for my friend to come pick me up and then we're off to see my family for some Christmas goodness. This is the outfit i wore to the hospital yesterday. I wear it every Christmas eve and usually people just look at me like I'm weird and they pretend they didn't look at me but yesterday it was so cool to see people smiling at me all day long and loving my weird outfit. I felt like I was making people happy which was awesome.

Last night we went to see the lights on Franklin road. This mirror ball goodness was my favourite. Can't beat a good mirror ball!

This window made me laugh. It was pretty funky with all kinds of Christmas imagery ...and ALF! hahahahaha LOVE IT

At the top of the street we popped into Fred's for a coffee. I would never have even known it was there if my friend wasn't already a fan. Such a sweet place! All funky staff and painted brick walls. The coffee was pretty great as well :)

On our way from our Mexican cafe dinner back to our car we stopped in to watch the final 'joy to the world' at St Patrick's. I love this cathedral even though I'm not Catholic. Absolutely beautiful and in the back ground our Sky Tower all lit up for the season :)

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to  every body . I hope  y'all are having better weather for it than I currently am! Grrr Mother Nature what is the steaming hot lead up and then a wet and grey day all about?

x

True That!

While I'm loving Beyonce and Sol3 MIO right now I am really feeling the lyrics in this song. It's so beautiful :)

"My girl, she ain't the one that I saw coming
And sometimes I don't know which way to go
And I tried to run before
But I'm not running anymore
Cause I've fought against it hard enough to know

That you love, who you love
Who you love
You love, who you love
Who you love
You love, who you love
Who you love

Oh, you can't make yourself stop dreaming
Who you're dreaming of
If it's who you love
Then it's who you love

My boy, he ain't the one that I saw coming
And some have said his heart's too hot to hold
And it takes a little time
But you should see him when he shines
Cause you never wanna let that feeling go"

x

I'm slightly in love ...

I was introduced to SOL3 MIO by my mum. I'm not generally one to go for opera but ... just ... it's so nice to listen to and they're so damn adorable. As I always say .... Samoa = land of the beautiful people!

This video will definitely get you in the Christmas spirit if nothing else will. Enjoy :-)

  

x

Fashion and Hello Kitty... all in one morning!

This morning I caught up with a friend I haven't seen for a while. She's been busy moving to the other side of the city and getting employed and such while I've been hanging out reading a lot... LOL

We went to the Auckland Museum to see their 'Selling Dreams' fashion photography through the years exhibit. I really liked it but nothing compares to the 'Who shot rock and roll' exhibit from the Art Gallery last year :) There are some pics from the museum below. I even took a couple of snaps of my fave photos before I noticed the no photography sign. Apparently it's a copyright thing so I wont load them up here even though they rock! I don't know if I would recommend a special trip for this exhibit but certainly check it out if you happen to be at the museum. It's cool but not large enough to really justify paying for it I don't think.

After that we went to the pinkest cafe in the history of the world... seriously I could have got myself a dose of diabetes just by looking in the window! Actually it's pretty cute and if they put a little more effort into the details they would have an A-MAY-ZIng little cafe. As it stands I would love to host a 6 year old girls birthday there :) The coffee was pretty good and of course they have super cute templates for decorating. The wedges were amazing. Really perfectly cooked. I just think that if they made it a little more luxe by focusing on little details like the cheesy little stickers on the walls and the cheap white plates they put the coffee mugs on then it would elevate them a lot. I'm also obviously a terrible person but I found it quite off putting that the staff were all male.... I don't know. They were perfectly lovely and good at what they did but it just felt kinda wrong. I know... off to sexist jail for me but .... really??

I'm not gonna say anything about that chair ... it was pleasantly firm... bwa-hahahahaha :-P  The collage is sadly not as clear as the photos are individually but the idea is to showcase how crazy awesome I am at having my photo taken!! hahahaha I have the dumbest look on my face in every one of them. I hardly look like I brushed my hair! LOL.  It just makes me laugh :-)

x

Federal Delicatessen and Montreal Poutine!!

A couple of weeks ago my friend Hue was so excited to let me know that she'd found somewhere that was selling poutine. Ever since I returned from my year in Canada in February 2010 I've been missing the stuff. I mean it's kinda gross and really a heart attack on a plate but it's just soooooo tasty and holds a ton of fab memories for me. I especially used to love hitting up the Dairy Queen that was behind the library I worked in for cheap poutine and an iced tea the size of my head. Good times!

The restaurant in question is the Federal Delicatessen. It's a gimmicky little New York style (I assume) place opposite the Sky Tower. From the waitresses uniforms to the menu it's all about 50's fun.

 

The menu is very Jewish with Kosher this and that. It just screams tasty. I wanted to eat almost everything on the menu. Sadly my food intolerance meant that I was pretty restricted. Sometime I will go back and just carpe diem and eat the damn cheese! hahahahaha yesterday though it was all about memories....

May I present ... dum da dum.. Montreal Poutine!!!! yaaaaayyyyyy!!!!! :)

This delightful little concoction is fries, gravy and cheese curds. It doesn't look so amazing but it's seriously tasty. I would say that the Federal Deli did a pretty admirable job with recreating the awesome but not perfect. It just wasn't... heart attack-ey enough! LOL. I think if they'd presented it in a bowl and been a bit more generous with the gravy and the cheese then it would have been almost perfect. For me the flavour of the cheese wasn't quite right either but that's probably a personal preference type of thing. I really remember the curds being a very mild sort of flavour and these ones were quite intense by comparison. Still.. this was great! I will absolutely order it again but next time I'll try one of the amazing looking sandwiches or mash dishes. This really is my kinda place! 

I heart Radio presents Stan Walker and Jessica Mauboy

Well I'm obviously never going to make a concert photographer... especially with an ailing cell phone to work with BUT you get the idea :)

Last night I went to the I Heart Radio concert at the Civic in Auckland. I'd put my name in the draw for free tx a while ago and then promptly forgot about it so I was a bit surprised when I actually got tickets! I wasn't too sure what it would be like. I appreciated Stan Walker. I even have some of his songs  on my ipod but I had kind of written him off as a teenybopper. I couldn't find anybody to come with me so I nearly wrote it off. I wasn't too fussed about Jesssica Mauboy as I enjoyed the couple of her songs I'd heard but I didn't really know her.

WELL. I am so very glad I sucked up all of the "I dont wanna go alone" "it's raining" "I'm going to be the oldest one there" "wednesday?? seriously??" thoughts and just went along. It was an amazing show. It started with Identity dance crew doing the routine they did on the NZ has talent show ( I think..) and then Mr Walker. WOAH that kid has talent and showmanship simply vibrating in the air around him when he's on stage. He's amazing. Really fun and O.T.T but there is just so.much.talent! How cool that he's one of us. It actually made me pretty proud and happy that the one show I got to see this year was a kiwi and as good as anything anybody from overseas could bring! What would be freaking amazing would be Stan Walker and Brian McKnight... hmmm who can I suggest it too??

Jessica Mauboy was up next and as I mentioned I really only knew her from doing the song 'Galaxy' with Stan. She won the crowd over and had everybody jumping and having a party. It was such a fun and cute performance. I don't mean to be patronising with 'cute' but she managed to be on the stage alone and get the whole crowd on her side and it started with a small group of obvious fans and then slowly it spread... hahahahaha so many smiles and so much obvious FUN going on. Of course it helped that the girl can SING. SHeesh all of that in that teeny little frame. She has some power. Though seriously what was up with the stage outfit? I didn't get it.... leopard print pants suit. Hmmm I'm obviously out of the loop with what the kids are into hahahahahaha.

The sound was a bit messed up but other than that this was the perfect perfect PERFECT way to spend a rainy Wednesday evening. Thank you so much I heart radio :)

Walking Stars Half Marathon 2013

On Saturday my sister and I walked the 'Walking Stars' half marathon for the Cancer Society. It was a hell of an experience. I am so proud of myself for finishing it when finishing things I hate really goes against my grain. This year I have learned the fine art of perseverance. I have learned to suck it up!

The walk led us around our fair city and it was actually pretty awesome to be a part of it. I loved walking by the harbor bridge at night and right alongside busy motorways. I loved all the drunk encouragement from the night club punters as we went through that part of town. It was amazing how they had timed things so perfectly that I was just saying to my sister that I really wanted some poweraid or something and then we round a corner to the rest stop where they are providing electrolytes! Awesome. I nearly didn't make it because the first hill just about did me in. I felt like throwing up and nearly did right in front of a classy looking building. If I had I think I would have been so embarrassed that I would have stopped. Luckily I kept it together :)

I think they could have planned a better route perhaps than one that had us finishing by slogging up a massive steep hill! that was the worst part actually. I came so close to skipping the last 2k but I didn't ... mainly because my sister wouldn't let me LOL

We were walking for our aunt Bev who passed away earlier this year from leukemia. It was really sad to see all of the people who were walking with long lists of names on their backs. Some people were walking for several family members AND a bunch of friends. It was just so sobering. I think the whole event was really cool and importantly a big FUCK YOU CANCER!!!

I have some lovely friends and family who have been so generous in supporting my sister and I. We managed to raise our team goal so hopefully our little contribution combined with all of the other contributions on the night will make a difference in the fight! 

Next year some decent shoes and some good training and I will own those hills!

x