Recently loved movies and stuff

I'm pretty useless about reviewing things but there are three movies,one book  and two apps that I've really enjoyed recently that I wanted to do quick reviews of on this rainy holiday Monday 

I LOVED this movie. It was the first one that I've actually had to look away from because the action was too intense though. It's all bravado and stunts and it's stupid as hell but SO COOL! People start talking plot holes with these movies but the only plot hole that matters is that they'd all be dead before the first half was up if any of that ish actually happened to them. It's so slick and so shiny. There's a LOT to like about this movie if you take it for what it is and don't expect anything else. I think my fave bit was when The Rock flexed his way out of a plaster cast! LOL!!!  Oh ... and also Vin in a tux ... just sayin.

The last bit was so well done and they really did well paying tribute to their lost friend. Over all 10/10 AWESOME

This has just come out here but I think it's pretty old. It had zero advertising and the only way I knew it existed was that I saw the trailer when I went to see another movie.. but lets not go there ( Into the woods blurgh).

We have a typical love triangle/interfering parents type fairy tale here. Everyone  knows how this story goes but I adored the way they presented it. The animation is bright and bold and vaguely Tim Burton-esque ( to this untrained eye at least) and the setting is so original. It's a movie about life and love told in the realm of death. I love the idea that no one is ever really dead so long as there is someone left to remember them and the Day of the dead festival to do just that. Personally I think it's more beautiful than morbid or scary. It was a little slow to build but seriously by the time I left the theater I was so in love with this. It's one that will still be good at home even if you don't have a giant TV to play it on so go watch it people! 8/10

I hadn't heard anything about this movie at all and actually watched it at home. I just .. ITS SO GOOD! I don't even know how to write something articulate about it. It's funny and cute and made me cry, it's smart and sensitive and just the best animation I've seen in forever. LOVE LOVE LOVE Big Hero 6

This book has had a ton of hype which can sometimes make me a little wary but I saw it on the rental shelf at the Library and decided to grab it. It's hard to explain the book without giving it away but it's about an experiment done by a Doctor of Philosophy on his family and the life long effects. It's about Animal rights and what family really means. It's so many things to be honest. I found this families life absorbing and read the book in a few sittings. It feels like a true story and when I was having a discussion with my mother a few weeks later about a similar issue I had to stop and think if I'd heard it on the news or read it in this book. We are all completely beside ourselves is intense and a bit weird and in some places it feels like you've read this story before ( BUT no you haven't). It's really original and feels smart though it's one of those things that will incite people with a bit of knowledge on the subject to come out swinging against it I'm sure. Take it for what it is and don't expect a fun ride. It's unhappy and bumpy and will certainly make you think about what you think about the world. 7/10

so that's what I've been loving recently. I also want to mention this ap

I just downloaded it a couple of days ago so I'm still in the fun, figuring it out and playing with things phase but so far it's awesome. I'm using the free edition and you can make videos up to 60 seconds long and use about 10 photos and 40 seconds of video. I've made a couple of little things that are really cool :)  ... and of course this one which turned my boyfriend into the prettiest little stripper out there...

My Idol is all in Chinese but reasonably easy to figure out. At first I was a bit frustrated because the photos of my boyfriend were going onto female figures and every time I ended up as a male! I thought it was using some algorithm to decide he was just prettier than me but then I looked a bit harder LOL. Lots of fun but I'm probably going to be over it pretty quickly. 

We're off to see the Avengers this afternoon so if I like that as much as I liked the first one I'll probably review it at some point :)

xoxo

Good bye Jonathan Crombie. Thank you for the memories.

I was so sad yesterday to hear of the death of Jonathan Crombie. It's ridiculous to be this sad about the death of someone that I've never met, almost a little disrespectful to his family who actually have a claim to mourn him. Still, Jonathan has a very special place in my heart and to be honest my life. 

Jonathan, your 'Gil' was the first love of my life and like many around the world the standard to which I have very unfairly held every non-fictional love. Thank you for Gilbert.  RIP

xo

A Sunday night track

I been thinkin bout a slow dance :)

xo

A weekend away with the man

This past weekend was Easter and Tony and I went to Hamilton ... yep. Hamilton.  It was amazing weather and honestly every time we go down there I have an awesome time! I never thought that Hamilton would equal fun and relaxation but there ya go 

It's SUCH a pretty drive. I love driving through all the country side and it was so nice that this time it was pretty much green. Often at this time of year its all brown after a long hot summer. We had the most relaxing breakfast ever in the most relaxing cafe I've ever been in ( The Kaimai cheese company). Then it was time to hit up the Hamilton Gardens with Taiga!! My nephew is seriously the cutest thing in the world. He got a hold of my phone and when I put the front camera on he LOVED it and took about 50 photos of himself. LOL

On Easter Sunday we went to see Fast and Furious 7 at the XTREME screen at Te Awa. Firstly they are the flashest theaters I've ever been in, just luxury and cool personified and secondly, movie review to come. After that we went all hunter gatherer in the name of lunch which is a lot harder than it sounds when you take NZs archaic Easter trading laws into account. We happened upon Diggers bar and LOVED it. It was just had a cool vibe and we enjoyed our pizza and beer :)  Then we finished the day with a little more Taiga time.

On Easter Monday we went home via Bridal Veil falls and Raglan. I fell in love with Raglan. It's the perfect beach town. I would absolutely live there if I could support myself somehow *le sigh* hahahaha. It's actually a little bit too cool for me. Everywhere you looked there was just Surfer peoples being cool! I was in no way cool enough and I didn't even mind because it's so PERFECT!! ...yes I'm just a little bit enthusiastic about the town.

This weekend made me feel so crazy lucky. I feel so grateful to have been born in such a stupendously beautiful country and to have free access to it. I feel grateful to have such a lovey man who takes me away to places like this and holds my shoes and towel when I have a swim in the freezing ocean. I feel so grateful that Taiga is mine (well my nephew at least hahaha) and that he's so happy and healthy and smart. 

I wish everybody could be as lucky as I am. 

xo

Cinderella 2015

Yesterday I had the very cool privilege of taking someone to their first movie EVER!!! My fave little girl, 3yo Sophie, her Mum and I went to see Cinderella at Mission Bay.  Sophie did so well! I was really proud of her because it's actually a really long movie and it's confusing and it's 100% not a cartoon. Unfortunately it starts with sadness, death and dying ( oops) but luckily Mum was there with pretty fantastic answers to all of the questions.

I was so surprised but... I really enjoyed this!!! I thought the marketing to women instead of/ as well as girls was a bit weird but I get it. This fairy tale has such an appeal and they've vamped it up just enough to make it relevant and give it a place in 2015.  It's still a fairy tale and of course there's the Insta-Love problem and the 'Prince has every female dance for him then chooses a bride' problem but given that it's Cinderella and a fairy tale we'll let it slide.

I loved this Cinder. She was just a little bit sassy and she never gives in.  She handles the Step mother and sisters as we've come to expect Cinderella to but you never really get the sense that she 'becomes' the slave girl or that she gives up hope of a different life.

Of course they've done a beautiful job of making it beautiful! *Sigh* - That dance at the ball. Oh MY. I now want a big swirly dress and a classical dance at my wedding. So. Freaking. Perfect.

Go see this movie people. Take it for what it is ( a fairy tale) and just get swept away. As modern females of course there are problems with this story but it's not a modern story and at the end of the day it's fun to day dream about dancing with the prince at the ball ( Harry I'm Looking at you!).

LOVE 8/10

xo

I've found the secret!!!

A long time ago my friend gave me a great bit of advice. I was rabbiting on about not having the will power or determination to get myself on the health train and she said... (dum da dum dum) "Don't take things away just add them" 

It's actually such a simple and elegant solution to the "I cant give up sugar" or "I don't have time to exercise" or any other excuse. In essence don't give up sugar. Don't even think about the sugar you eat and drink just add as much water and clean food that you can. Drink that coke and eat that chocolate but add in a few glasses of water and some almonds for example. The idea being that if you slowly keep adding "good" things you eventually wont have space or time for the "bad" things that you're trying to give up or change about yourself.

I took her advice on board at the time. I thought it made sense and was pretty smart actually but didn't really do anything about it until recently.  Since I've moved into my own house I've been trying to add things to my routines. I'm very driven by routines , I love them. In the last month I've added a glass of water, A face washing-hair brushing-tooth cleaning routine to my mornings and I've added a ton of walking to my day.  So far I'm noticing that waking up is so much easier and I'm so much more on to it when I get to work.

I've added in my asthma preventor medication twice a day and OH MY GOD I ran for the train this afternoon and humid as it was I was barely out of breath and nothing like the red faced, heaving chested wheezy mess I usually am!!!!

I'm loving this simple idea and it's already working for me. In the next few weeks I want to add as much water as I can and I want to add more sleep. About 8 hours a night sounds good to me. After that I will add some sort of exercise class I'd say. I've only been thinking about doing it for about 3 weeks but the results are great so who knows what the future might hold and I can still enjoy drinking coke and eating Easter chocolate!! PERFECT

xo

I want to be a Ballerina when I grow up!

http://www.rnzb.org.nz/news/news/rnzb-begins-2015-with-flirtatious-favourite-don-quixote/

Last night I was lucky enough to attend the opening night of the Royal New Zealand Ballets season of Don Quixote. I wish I could have take pics in the show but of course that's not allowed. This one comes from their site and is a still from one of the first of two sequences that just honestly delighted me so much. I looked like such a dork sitting there in my seat unable to restrain my delighted face and silent claps :)

This was my first 'real' ballet and it was both breath-takingly amazing and magical ... and kinda long and boring. The two lovers above were so so so so so so so SO awesome. I didn't want to blink when they were dancing. I just don't know how they learn to do that with their bodies and they were so perfect to watch. They had a lovely chemistry together and ... just ... UGH SO GOOD!

I guess my short attention span was a bit to blame for being a little underwhelmed by the rest. It wasn't their fault at all.. not even a little bit. They really put on an amazing show but like I said, this was my first Ballet and to be honest I could have done with some singing or dialogue or something. Yes, I'm pathetic. I know this. 

I won my tickets from Auckland Live and I'm so grateful for the experience. I have wanted to be someone who goes to Ballets for a long time and now I am. Of course I now want to be a Ballerina when I grow up! They're so strong and graceful and powerful and beautiful :)

And now, on my weekly trek to the Library tomorrow I'm looking for this bad boy...

xo

A moment of perfection

I've been running all over town recently doing a bunch of fun things. There has been the Auckland arts festival going on and it's been such nice weather why not make the most of it? I moved into my new flat (which I LOVE), my nephew said my name properly for the first time which was really cool , it was Tony's birthday and the list just goes on and on . 

It's been a busy and exciting and really really fun time. In the middle of it all there was one special moment. It was one moment that took my breath away. In that moment everything was so perfect that I didn't quite know how to process all the amazing-ness :)

Tony had gotten us tickets to see Fela! the concert at the Civic. We had just taken our seats which were amazing and I was sitting there in that special, beautiful building with my wonderful man beside me. We were watching the band warm up and I was staring at the ceiling waiting for the shooting star to shoot across the 'sky'.... I've never felt luckier or happier. There was literally no where else I would have wanted to be.

I've been trying to recognise those moments and document them. I don't think that I'll ever forget sitting there and having to catch my breath but if I take the time to document it then when I'm having a really crappy day I can read back through my archives and remember that actually perfect things do exist and they do happen to me. 

xo

Tomorrow is February 14.. whatever

It's amazing how intense conversations about valentines day can get! Today at work it went a little like this 

ME: " LOL all I got for valentines day was a " haha I'm working on Valentines day"

PERSON I WORK WITH: " A relationship without romance will fizzle you know"

ME: " WTF" ....

Or you know, something like that. I'm going to go ahead, put it out there and go on record as saying I think valentines day is dumb. YEP let me put it in caps for ya VALENTINES DAY IS DUMB

This is the first February 14th in my life that I've been in a relationship. The first commercially dictated day of Romance that I could reasonably expect to enjoy but it feels so meaningless. I admit that I am a spoiled princess and soooooo lucky but I have romance most days. My Mr is the master of doing little things that make me smile and make me feel so special all the time. I value him and all the things that he does for me without thinking about it, with out any intention or even realisation that it's going to make me happy.

The sexiest and most romantic sentence ever uttered is definitely something more along the lines of "See that line? that's where the kitchen starts. Don't Cross it" and not " Happy Valentines day, here's the thingamy you forced me to buy you"

Just sayin

Reading slump OVER! :)

Since Tony has been a big part of my life I feel like I've done less and less of the things that used to be imperative to me. I mean, I  have an awesome time and feel so satisfied with the way I spend my time. We discover things together all the time and I have a whole new set of things to love so I'm not complaining . The one thing that I really do miss though is reading. I have never, in my 36 years, read as little as I have in the last 6 months or so. I used to blow through 1 or 2 books a week and I don't think I managed a single chapter in January!

Tonight it was so hot when I got home. The thermostat thingy said it was 29 degrees inside so I decided to take advantage of my time in this lovely little hood adjacent green oasis. I took my  book and a Fruju-Snow ice cream down to the park to chill out (literally ) under a tree. It was such an good decision because despite the grass being insanely itchy I managed to finish half the book before I even looked up. 

The book is just a fun 'chick lit' paperback that my mum got from the Library sale but I feel like it's broken the reading slump and that makes me so happy. The quality alone time that is provided by escaping into other worlds is invaluable and OMG I'VE MISSED IT :)

I think Tony is going to have to entertain himself for half an hour a day so that I can get back on that train and once again be the little book nerd he fell in love with 

YAY

:)

Musings from the shower...

I'm off to spend the weekend with the BF tomorrow YAY :) 

I was just in the shower doing all of the things so that I look as good as possible for him and thinking about how I want to cook him my favorite tomato pasta for dinner and I got so embarrassed! I started thinking how silly I was being and how it's insane that I'm getting excited to cook for him because I'm a terrible cook!  He cooks and I do a mean set of dishes hahahaha

AND THEN I gave myself a mental slap and realised that this doesn't mean I'm turning into a 1950's housewife or that I'm not a modern woman at all or even that I'm acting like a 15 year old. It means that we have a good relationship I'd say. These days it's so frowned upon for someone to say that they're actually in love with their partner. To say that they want to look good for them and do things for no other reason than to make them happy. In our particular relationship these things have tended to fall within traditional gender roles which just adds an extra layer of weird.

I wish that it were socially acceptable to say these things out loud! I'm just so sick of all this weird feeling that it's only ok to speak about a man if it's negative or sexual. I'm done with it and just so I'm not a hypocrite here goes....

I'm a modern , educated woman who makes sure that she shaves her legs and cuts her toe nails before spending the night. I make a point of trying to enjoy some of what he enjoys and I always tell him how handsome he is. I love him and it's not cute or sweet it's just how it is. Giving those things to him does not diminish me in anyway because he lights up my life in completely random ways all the time. We work because we're always trying to impress each other and it's awesome!

... SO THERE! 

Hahahahahahah Rant officially done

xoxo

The Jar of good memories

My friend Anoushka made this jar for me for Christmas... well, she decorated and purposed it for me I'm pretty sure her glass blowing skills aren't that great! 

The idea is that I write down all the moments that either make me smile or are ones I want to remember and store them in the jar over the year. At the end of the year it will be really nice to read them and reminisce about all the great things that happened during the year.

This photo was taken on January 20... it's safe to say my life is pretty good at the moment. I think they range from "Mum cooked an awesome meal" to "Tony came to have lunch with me and it was so sweet it nearly made me cry"!! hahahaha!  So, it's  smaller things AND larger things but all things that make me grateful and appreciative of all of the people I have.

I cant wait to read through them all at the end of the year but I think more to the point I cant wait for all of the moments that I know are going to be filling that jar to overflowing between now and then :)

xoxo

So I'm back!!!

The last time I posted was almost 4 and a half months ago! 

That time has changed my life a lot. I have done heaps, seen so many things and come to some new conclusions. I don't remember what I was going on about pre blog-break. I feel like it was a life time ago and I'll probably seem different and maybe at odds with who I was. For most of the last 4 1/2 months  I've had no internet access at home and writing isn't really something I wanted to do in a public space.

So now I'm all internet ready and full of beans to have another go at keeping this baby flowing. You can see by the Instagram and Good Reads links in the side bar what I've been up to and hopefully from now on you will be able to read all about it here as well. 

I have been lucky enough to see cool shows, listen to cool music, read some awesome books and attend fun events. I'm coming up on one year with my boyfriend  and I'm about to move into my first ever apartment. 2015 seems to hold so much promise that I'm sure I'll have a LOT of material. I have wanted to write about the things I've been up to so much but I'm not going to look back it's all about moving forward baby! 

Bring.IT.OOONnnnn 

xoxo