Looking after ze kisser...

I recently saw the paw paw and honey balm reviewed in a blog and went straight out to purchase it! This stuff is so amazing. The texture isn't sticky and it really lasts on your lips. I've been loving how moisturising it is and even how it tastes is a win! I've found that the Lucas pawpaw ointment that most people are buzzing over tends to dry out my lips and disappear in 2 seconds and this version does neither. Awesome Awesome AWESOME!

I recently had a blonde moment and left the house with a clean but unmoisturised face and ended up sunburned! The sun here in NZ is intense and a few day later I am still suffering with painful lips. My day moisturiser has an SPF 30 in it and I usually put on a bit of sunblock on top of that so without the protection my face burned in a few minutes :(

And so today I realised that despite how much I absolutely love the Suvana I need to go get some lip protection with a good SPF in it. Neither of these do the balm part as well but they are pretty decent and they'll actually protect my lips for the long future kissing career ahead of them! hahahahahahahahaha

xo

Awesome Auckland day .. despite the weather.

Today my friend Michael and I went to the Ports of Auckland open day and also hit up the museum for a lil photo exhibit and ... the garden center for a coffee! LOL you start to wonder how old you really are when you suggest the garden center for coffee :)

I have an unhealthy obsession with the port. Absolutely love watching the giant machines driven by the (comparatively) teeny little men moving all that mysterious freight off the ships and into such specific locations... 

AHHHHHHHH!!!!! This was beyond cool. I was worse than the little kids around the straddle carrier. I didn't even think of getting my photo inside but after the little kids did I was next in line! Of course I had been in the rain and was wearing a dress that doesn't apparently translate well but whatever! I was having a ball so who cares? The lovely guy telling us about it said that all you need is a drivers licence to get hired! hmmmmm

After this we raced up to the museum to see the "A decade of days - Auckland through Robin Morrison's eyes" exhibit. It was really small but very awesome and as an Aucklander who gets in free I reckon absolutely worth the trip. The photos are really amazing and you also get a cool little bit about Sir Edmund Hillary's trip to the top of Mt Everest. The Auckland Museum is really such a gem and these days they're constantly having little surprising gems. 

And after that we decided to skip the crowds in the gallery cafe and hit up Palmers garden center for our caffeine. It's such a lovely place, I love to pause in the entry and take a giant deep breath just to appreciate how beautiful it smells :) - the service is pretty average and the goods much of a muchness with any other place but it's just so ... nice! and a good place to feel VERY young on a Sunday afternoon. There are so many things to look at after you finish your coffee and muffin...

xo

Fancy-schmancy shopping!

Today, for the first time in my life I made a purchase at Smith + Caughey's on Queen street. It's the kind of store that really makes you wish hard you were made of money. I was salivating my way through the beauty department let me tell you.

This is my new boyfriend and my bit on the side. Sorry Mr-Mr I have found L.O.V.E in the schmancy tea isle. There is a serious addiction forming here! This stuff is divine and I want to go back and try the choco-coconut flavour and pumpkin spice. Just have to get rich LOL

I do have to say that the mannequins below really put me off. How creepy are they! OMGawsh and they're kind of offensive. Why on earth would you display clothing presumably for human women on mannequins shaped like aliens? I will never understand high fashion if that's what this could be described as.

xo

Caffeine withdrawal is a bitch

I've been feeling like a zombie with a sore head for the last 4 days or so and it only hit me last night that what I was experiencing was in fact caffeine withdrawal! How embarrassing but stopping coffee has pretty much sent me to bed for days!!! I gave in and brewed a pot tonight ... which I've enjoyed with some Tia Maria and now I feel so much better hahahaha 

The coffee has had to go because I've been finding that it's making me feel really gross. I just end up with so many things not right after a cup of coffee that in the end it's better to forgo that pleasure. I am now trying to be a tea queen. I miss the creamy hot drinks so much so this is a really hard transition. I completely understand that's very much a first world problem but it's my reality for now and it's sucking :(

Today I spent hours under a tree in the local reserve trying to let the fresh air and calm do it's thing on my foggy head. It really didn't help AND I think I got sunburned but while I was there I shot a lil silly vid for my Mr.Mr. I had been thinking I wanted to see what real speed reading would look like LOL

I'm currently reading "Crazy Rich Asians" by Kevin Kwan. It's pretty fun so far :)

xo

Dogmatic on Queen Street

Yesterday I was between buses and sooooo hungry so I decided to check out the flash hot-dog place at Britomart because ... well really because I couldn't come up with a better alternative.

It's a cute little deli type place that has signs up saying 'standing room only' and 'keep calm and eat hot dogs'. Some tables during summer time at least would be pretty cool but that's a hellishly busy little bit of footpath so I bet the council would either flat out say no or charge an arm + a leg + a new born from every staff member who ever worked there for the privilege and thus the deli takeaway situation...

The hot-dog I chose was ... actually I have no idea of the name but it came with coleslaw and cheese. It normally has BBQ sauce but that's just nasty so I took that shit OFF! LOL.  It was so weird to read the menu and see mashed potato as a key ingredient of some of the hot-dogs!

Here's what it looked like and no it didn't come pre-bitten I just decided to review the place after I'd already taken a bite hahahaha. I was in a bit of a time crunch as, like I said, I was between buses so I ended up speed eating a sausage in public! Ba-hahahahha it was very sexy :-P

Overall I wont be back. It's a cute place and I like the premise. I even enjoyed the hot-dog whilst I inhaled it BUT it's wildly overpriced. That thing was $9.80! It's really good quality ingredients and ... you know all of the requirements from newborn children from the staff and all but I still really felt super ripped off. I was dying for a coke but $3.00 for a can? I don't think so sista! The service was just average and the experience was a bit of a let down all in all. Also I ended up with some nasty green crap all over my hand while I was waiting... I think it was relish or I hope it was!

Of course it's all personal opinion but I don't think these guys will last at that price point. If they were selling the hot dogs for perhaps $6.00 people might be more enthusiastic and the kids who mill around the precinct after school (and during the day) might splash out. They're nice enough that people might come on their lunch breaks but they're not $9.80 nice and especially because they do NOT in any way constitute a whole meal. In the food court I can get a massive kebab or rice meal WITH A DRINK for only about  a dollar more and it will be all the food I need for a day. Their hot dogs just do not compete. Nice as they are.

xo

more 1am ravings - on walking the talk

I took this selfie as part of a message to Mr.MR this morning. It turned out so of course I instagramed the crap out of it and it's now my profile pic on everything!! Apart from those "totally normal and not annoying" impulses I had another instinct that I didn't actually follow through on. I had the thought that I should send it to somebody that I used to know so he can see how good I look! LOLOLOLOL! 

WHY THE EF??? That guy is not worth a tenth of MR.MR so what do I care what he thinks? How freaking dumb. When I slowed my roll for a second it really made me realise how easy it can be to ef up your life and loose important things if you don't value what you have. Not that I exactly have Mr.Mr and of course he's not a thing and I most certainly value him but the premise remains the same. I talk about how lucky I am and how grateful but I should probably walk that talk a little more. So I didn't follow through on that bizarre idea and sent some extra "I'm so excited to have you with me in this city" vibes to Mr.Mr :) 

-one of these days I will hopefully wake up and grow up and start thinking right! until then though I still love this picture and I don't even care that the selfie revolution is turning me into an annoying vain idiot! hahahahaha For every shot I like there are 50 I hate and a bunch of days I feel so crap I wouldn't think to take a picture so you know what? When I'm feelin it and liking what I see Im going to celebrate that coz it's a good thing. It's just lucky for everybody connected to me via the internet that they get to celebrate alongside me! woohooo yay you guys hahahahahha :P

xo

A bird in the hand is really really worth two in the bush...

So once again it's 1am and I am not asleep. Instead I am listening to John Mayer and ... well really I'm just wishing I were asleep! LOL. I wish it were easy to just switch off your brain. I cant stop thinking! 

Yesterday ... or the day before I kind of loose track but in the last day or two I applied for a role doing what I used to do before I decided to go be a Teacher. Of course the very thought of it sent me into an existential tailspin. I'm just that person who for every choice or every decision I can automatically see so many outcomes for every option. So many What IFs. I know I piss everybody off because sometimes these things are things that I need to put on my big girl pants and just freaking DO. I like to discuss and work out my thoughts with my friends and family when really there is no way to actually answer the what if because the thing has to happen first.

When I did this role in the past I had a really hard time with it and didn't love going to work so I'm guessing it will be a surprise for the manager that I'm trying again. Apart from the obvious one ( I NEED A JOb) I chose to apply for the job for a couple of different reasons. I really like the idea of a 9-5 where you can leave it all on the desk when you go home. I have always said that I want to work to live and not live to work.  I've realised in the last few weeks of working as a temp that I love being a part of the hospital machine and, sad as it might sound I enjoy customer service. This role is one that appeals to my ever growing ocd streak... I like tidy and organised!

Perhaps the biggest thing that I've come to realise recently and truly appreciate at every level is that a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. When you have something good it's so much more valuable than the great perhaps. If you don't have any version of what you want, or a bad version of it then wander into that perhaps but if you have something good that works and provides all you need then cherish it!

This job does nothing to look after the parts of me that I have to satisfy to be happy. It's not creative, it doesn't change that much, there's not a ton of contact with people directly, it provides no outlet for expressing myself or learning things that make my heart happy. 

While it doesn't do those things what it does provide me is a way to contribute to something important and the facility to get all of those things outside of work hours. It will allow me to do something meaningful while working to live and not living to work like a Teacher does. That's pretty cool I'd say.  I left to follow a convoluted dream that I had my facts wrong about anyway and when that dream was in my grasp I realised that I wasn't in love with the idea anymore. I gave up my bird in the hand for the possibility of the two in the bush and found out that not only were they common sparrows but that I hate birds! 

So. Lets see. I know that if I'm lucky enough to have an interview I will need to be very eloquent if I am to persuade them to employ me again but I want to try :)

xo 

My first crack at documenting my life!

This was so much fun to create! WOW. It's terrible but it does show a little about how pretty the city center is in summer and it basically has been my life for the last week or so. I need to find a way to stop glare, hold the camera steady AND figure out how to manage the ambient noise but those things will come I'm sure.

Also staring Janelle, Sheri (+ ninja tabby Molly),  the girl I worked with today AND random Aucklanders. The song is Paris (oh la la) by Grace Potter and the Nocternals :) 

So New Years resolutions are off to a great start!

:)

xo

Mr....

These pictures are all from my pinterest account and they all make me think of someone who has become very special.

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/224687468882810197/

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/224687468882140107/

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/224687468881877620/

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/224687468882668159/

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/224687468883063207/

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/224687468883024031



He is someone that I've only met in person a couple of times and yet he occupies a LOT of mental real-estate. This man is quirky and cute. He is passionate and protective. He loves his family and doesn't take any bull. He's so cool and yet he doesn't know it. He's my polar opposite in many ways and yet I have never met anybody that I want to spend time with more. He constantly makes me smile and laugh and wish that I could wake up next to him. This is a man that I could absolutely have introduced to my grandfather which about says it all. The pictures say fun and comfort and beauty to me and that's what THIS man represents.

I am such a girl though, spending all this time imagining him as mine! LOL I haven't come across many people who are so adamantly their own person. I have no idea what the future will hold. I don't know if we will ever live in the same city or if it will even be the same if we do. I know I can be pretty annoying sometimes... and we really are quite different. 
I guess that time will tell and I'm still winning even if we only ever stay friends. It's so much fun to dream though, to really imagine he and I as a couple. I think it would be so much fun to hang out with him all the time! 
Just in the way you can't really plan an epic night out I believe that things like this just happen if the time is right. I'm putting it out there into the ether BUT I'm just going to go with the flow. It goes against my nature not to at least have a little bit of detail about the close future but this will happen if it's supposed to...
It's quite exciting :)

xo

Friday night is but a drunken haze of awesomeness

It's summer time and as I am currently... between appointments... I've been enjoying myself like crazy. Last night my friend Janelle and I went to Wynyard Quarter and had a fabulous drink (or two) in the sun at the fish market and then an AMAZING-Send you to church- Best food EVER dinner at Miss Clawdys. I mean ... seriously the person who thought of combining rhubarb and pear cobbler with rum eggnog is a freaking genius! WOW

I 110% recommend the wonderful Miss Clawdys with awesome drinks and better food all in a cool restaurant with a great vibe. GO GO GO!!!

The cocktail list all sounds good so for that reason alone Ima go running back! LOL I want to try all of them! I had the punch (pictured) which was delicious and a hurricane which was fine but not amazing.

The desert was the hi-light of my week. SO.DAMN.GOOD

of course, being summer the night markets are on at Silo Park. They were a fantastic place to clear our (read my) drunken haze and full tummies. I always enjoy the markets and actually purchased something this time. Loving my little skull bracelet. Great for summer and weirdly my first skull purchase.

Even though I've spent the day recovering I had an awesome time and totally recommend both beers at the fish market and dinner at Miss Clawdys. The whole precinct is just bursting with awesome and more is coming all the time. 

Just one more awesome thing about this city :)

xo

 

Breaker nation

This is my team... I love the Breakers and they are in fact the ONLY sports team I have ever given a crap about. This pic is from one of the championships they won over the last couple of years from google images. 

I decided to write this post this morning when I saw that they lost again against a team that they creamed last year. This season has been really rough for them but I really don't care. I didn't expect that they would reach the same level in this season as the past couple. They are almost totally a new team and they're soooo young. They even have a new coach!

I hate the way Kiwis are such bitches to sports people when they don't win! It's one of the things that has really alienated me from sports as a whole. The culture here is awful. I love the Breakers and I don't mind at all if they don't win and let me tell you why. 

This team is young and they're getting there. They absolutely have the goods but they'll need some time. .. Just like the franchise as a whole did before they started doing all the winning. 

I love how they are so humble and always admit when they simply play badly. I follow a number of them on twitter and it's never a blame game they acknowledge when they get out played and vow to work harder!

They win my heart over and over again when I  see how much they appreciate their fans. It's so cool to see the players taking time to hang out for a second with kids or simply slap the waiting hands as they head back into the dressing room. They deserve their fans loyalty! As a fan I feel so much a part of it somehow. I'm not a crazy fan who knows all the stats. I honestly don't know all the rules of the game or even all the players names. I just love to attend the games because I always have a great time. They put on a fabulous show and it's just so much fun! I love how sportsmanship counts and how they play hard but still respect the other team.

I can't say enough good things about this team and I just hope that their fans stick by them. They wont win this year but next year might be a different story. They totally have the magic it just needs a little time to come together and they need our support as well! 

I'm a committed fan win or loose and I hope that I can say the same for the rest of #breakernation. They do their best for us so we should do the same. Lets change the culture in this country! There is so much more to it than winning every game. 

Sorry for the ranty post but ... well ... I'm kinda passionate about this

LETS GO BREAKERS

Hell yes 2014

They say to start as you mean to continue and I certainly have :-) The first two days of January have been cool. I have spent time at the beach, read a good book, seen some movies and eaten the best french toast I have EVER eaten. Looking good for the rest of the year I'd say. This post is my 'goals for the new year' post. I wasn't going to but for some reason it's on my mind. I feel the need to organise my thoughts about the year to come because I want it to be different ... better than the previous year. So with out further ado...

I want to continue to...

*walk as much as possible

*be grateful for where I live and the people in my life

*enjoy book tube and find other awesome content makers. SUPPORT THEM.

*build my relationships with new friends 

*dream

I want to learn to...

*make videos

*grocery shop like an adult

*stand up paddle board

*master the Natarajasana (not-ah-raj-AHS-anna) pose in yoga.

*understand more about religion

I want to stop...

*eating so much sugar

*over thinking everything (see 'making resolutions with Mrs Carter')

* Watching Shortland Street

specific to do list...

Get a JOB

Go to Edmonton or Japan

Live in the city

Play with make up a bit - wear red lipstick!

Start writing ... something

Go to Wellington

have a small but stocked booze cupboard 

Learn one great meal to make

Have one dinner party

Get new glasses

Read 5 classics that aren't written by Jane Austin or Maude

buy a mod cloth dress

See a show at silo or Q theatre.

Hmm this is fun! I could go on for a LONG time doing this. There are just so many things I want to do! still that's the basic idea of how I'd like my year to go :)

Happy New Year