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

A sad week at the movies

In the last week or so I've been to two different movies and they've both been super sad! Normally I'd run the other way from all of this emotion but in the first movie I had no idea what I was getting into and in the second I knew exactly what I was getting but it was something I've been excited for for such a long time I grabbed my tissues and almost literally ran to the theater!! 

Movie one is a micro-budget New Zealand movie. I thought the story telling and the movie stuff , like acting (and stuff) were pretty amazing. This story is honestly heartbreaking. As much as I usually go to the movies to be transported to a 'better', 'funnier', 'more beautiful' world there is really something so compelling about the dark side of reality. The movie centers around Tania who is working nights to try and raise enough money to take her little brother to Australia to find their dad. It's all going well and things are working out when reality hits. I love the way that they were able to infuse so much humor into such a terribly sad story without showing any disrespect to the characters and their situation. It was hard to form an articulate response to this movie because every part of the story is something that I have no experience with and very little knowledge of.  Though I did grow up just up the road from where they filmed it :) 

Fantail is something that we can all be proud of and I'd love to see what these guys could do with a budget! 

The. Fault. In. Our. Stars... do I need to say anything else???

I have been looking forward to this movie for more than a year so I was so excited to finally get the chance to see it yesterday. I had my extra tissues so I felt prepared for what I knew was to come. I don't know what the problem really was but as much as this was an awesome adaptation of the movie, as much as the acting and scripts were great there was just something that didn't reach the same heights as the movie that played in my head while I read the book. I think perhaps I'm old and crotchety and have too high standards for movies?? I really liked this. I cried a bit and smiled in the smiley parts and honestly appreciated what I was watching but I didn't fall in love.

xo

an awesome long weekend

Ahhh got to love a long weekend! ... of course being pretty much unemployed means that the public holidays mean next to nothing to me. I spent the weekend with Mr and it was really good even though we didn't do heaps. I have been loving listening to his old school LPs and hearing a bunch of different music played on that format. Could possibly be a real music snob hiding under my layers of love for Beyonce :P

We listened to the Sound City album and then watched the movie. What a cool experience. I'm not into rock particularly but the documentary was really interesting and I actually did enjoy the music. After that we danced around the lounge to Dr Hook... LOL

We went to a birthday party at Little Easy on Ponsonby Road. There was a tab which was a nice surprise and on the whole I loved this place. Great music, fab staff and a really cool vibe designed by Lovelace & co (I think). 

Mr lives close to a really good Op shop. He found a few amazing buys. A great jumper that looks amazing on him for $5! I didn't find anything except this creepy Ronald McDonald doll in the toy bin .... which I didn't buy LOLOL

I've been reading this book over the weekend because Ariel Bissett who is one of my fave book-tubers recommended it so highly. I'm not quite done but at this point I must admit..."my name is Anita and I am loving a book about mermaids" HAHAHA

So there ya go. A weekend of hanging with my fave man and broadening my musical horizons. Drinking on a tab in a great bar, watching documentaries and just generally having a great, low key time. I wish I could do that every weekend!

xo

The most relaxing day EVER

This weekend I'm planning to be super productive and get myself back on track towards no longer failing at life. I have plans y'all :) On my to do list for the weekend is to read two books. I haven't really been reading much over the last few months and I miss it. I need that in my life. This is my selection for the weekend and it was so hard to decide which to jump into first but in the end I read 'Love letters to the dead' in one sitting pretty much today. OhMyGawd I have to agree with every You-Tuber who I've seen praising this book. It's so sad and so intense but the writing is AMAZING. It's really beautiful. Actually this reminds me a lot of Eleanor and Park.

Today I woke up at 6am (thanks brain but its Saturday!!!) so I tried really hard to go back to sleep but when that was a fail I just lay there day dreaming and watching you-tube clips on my phone. Finally I got out of bed around 11.

Then I ran up to the shops for some supplies and a coffee and when I got back it was time to turn on spotify and fall into a different world. As I mentioned I chose well :)

I took two breaks to do a workout inspired by blogilates from YouTube. I only did about 15 minutes and 8-10 minutes but let me tell you....Im'a feel that ish tomorrow! WOWZERS. It's all part of my getting my shizz together plan and I feel like I can fit that into everyday at least once. Tomorrow if it's not raining I plan to go for a walk instead. No point living at the beach and not making the most of it.

I didn't talk to anybody except the lovely girl who makes my coffee all day and while that would usually make me feel bored and lonely for some reason today all I feel is incredibly relaxed. It's been awesome and I reckon one more day will be brilliant. I think I'm going to jump into 'crash into you' tomorrow and I also have Pretty Little Liars and Hart of Dixie to watch. I cant wait :)

Hope your weekend is as awesome as mine.

xo

Can we just talk about Chaos Walking for a second?

I recently posted a completely inarticulate rave about "The Knife of never letting go" but I'm now reading "The ask and the answer" and I just had to write about the Chaos Walking series.. THEY.ARE.SO.GOOD... SO GOOD!!

I've never read anything Sci-Fi before and these ones are pulling me in so deeply. It's such a grim and disturbing plot and yet they're still so hopeful. I don't know too much of the plot and I haven't researched them at all but I'm so curious to see what happens. I have no idea AT ALL where the story is going or what's going to happen to Todd and Viola and very weirdly I love it. The writing is so fresh and  absorbing and even in the harshest moments Todd's innocence and pure heart shine through.

I wish so badly that I knew a young teen to pass my books on to. These are so awesome that I don't want to be the only person I know who has read them!  

If you're looking for something absorbing and fast paced that will leave you breathless and turning the pages as fast as you can then this is the series for you. 10/10

xo

K is for (The) Knife of never letting go

This is a bit of a cheat but OHMYGAWSH I just finished this book yesterday and ... ARGH SO GOOD!!! This is the same book that I have a picture of in the "b is for buying books" post and wowowowow did I make a good choice. This is amazing and I can't come close to articulating how much I wish I had a 14-16 year old that I could pass it on to. I don't even know how to explain how good this book is. It's a horrible plot in so much as the characters suffer so much but the story is so amazingly compelling. I am not usually a sci-fi kinda gal but this won me before I was half way through the first chapter. It's exciting and really really hard to put down!

READ.THIS.BOOK

xo

B is for buying books

This past week I was staying with my mum in Thames. She was awesome and decided to buy my sister (who was also staying) and I a book each. What she didn't know was that this lovely gesture is really stressful. Books are so incredibly expensive that I've come to the point where the only time I want to own a book is when I really think that I will read it over and over again. I like to not own too much 'stuff' but I do like a good bookshelf....within limits. Generally I'm all about the Library. GO TO YOUR LIBRARY PEOPLE!!!!

Carson's is a beautiful store in Thames. They have an amazing selection of great books. It's so unusual to actually find a store that is about books and not stationary+toys+lotto tickets+music++++++.  The focus really brings that quality. I told the manager of the store I wanted to move in!

We had to go back twice and I think I must have picked up 50 books before I ended up with 'The knife of never letting go'... THE STRESSSSSSSSS I wanted to make sure I got something good and didn't waste my mothers money. When you read as much as I do and with such an A.D.D palate this is quite a hard ask. I've seen this book gushed over on book-tube a lot and the premise sounds pretty great so I went for it. 

Yes. This is my life that A - I can pack up and head out of town at a moments notice to hang at the beach with my mum and B- this amazing luxury stresses me out! LOL. This is the definition of a First World Problem hahahahahaha

xo

The beginning and the end

I took this photo on Thursday. I took the same photo 10 months ago on my first day of university! Thursday was my LAST DAY and it's so fun to think back on who I was then and who I am now. I've learned so much about myself and also, of course about how to be the best teacher that I can be. I wont miss the university even a little bit but I am grateful for the chances that it will hopefully afford me.  I took this snap as I was walking out of the campus for the last time on my way to my mothers beach house for a weekend in the sun that I was completely desperate for :P

I met this guy while I was hanging out on the beach. He would waddle around and just stand about a meter away from me and just stare at me. He never approached me or tried to steal my food or anything... just staring! hahaha I think he's my spirit animal or my new best friend or something. I decided to call him Gary. 

I had a fantastic weekend with my mother. She let me have my fave meal 

(salad + sausages + boiled potatoes) each night and I just relaxed, read three books and applied for teaching roles. It was insanely relaxing. We went Pipi hunting and I managed to have my first swim of the season. A perfect weekend and now the future awaits!

x

"To Monica from Walter. March 20th 1917"

Every year the ASB stadium in Auckland is host to one of the best book fairs around. It's a 24 hour event and this is the line to get in 10 minutes before it opened...

It improves my faith in mankind somewhat to see that a book fair can attract a line, three abreast from the door to the road :)

This year I'm a student so I have no money. I usually go in several times over the 24 hours and spend about 50 bucks. This year I went once and spent $2.00. Well not even that. I didn't have the cash so rather than breaking out the eftpos card for that amount my friend gave me the $1.20 I was short! LOL.

What I got just makes me so happy. I LOVE that I own it. It's a 1907 edition of 'Sense and sensibility' 

It even has the "onion paper" or whatever that transparent paper at the front is called!

The thing that really makes me smile about this book is that it has a dedication in the front from Walter to Monica on 20th March 1917!!! It's so cool to wonder who they were. Was it a brother buying something for his sister or perhaps this was a very sweet romantic gift? ... I mean I don't know about anybody else but I'd call this a very romantical type of gift. Where did Monica and Walter live and how do I have their book now??  I just love things that have a history. These little things just make a great book so much more exciting :)  

So, side note for anybody who might ask me to marry them in the future... try a ring from an antique shop or a junk shop in a random place rather than Michael Hill! LOLOL 

x

David Levithan

I read this today. I love the way this man puts words on paper :)

x

When there's nothing to read...

I was wandering around the Library this afternoon and I was just in the type of mood when NOTHING was taking my fancy. I hate those days when you walk in and there is NOTHING to read in the whole Library :P

I guess I was feeling like I wanted to read a book that I could relate to. 'I' am not in any books because my life is so average and normal. I don't have great struggle or great luxury. I don't have great happiness or unhappiness I'm just there in the middle. Probably not the stuff that a blockbuster is made of. Aaaaand yet I'd really like to find myself in the pages of one of the books I read. A character that I can actually really relate to.

Perhaps I need to write my own novel. A story about a mid-30s single gal in the city. She's working towards a career after years of floating along. Not much really happens but she has her stuff. The frustrations with the boy she's always wanted (but will never have). The budget struggles the odd nights out. The friends and the people who will never be. The books and movies and art exhibitions. The photography and coffee addiction. The over involved family and the lack of ownership over her own life after a year of living like a teenager for the sake of university. The dreams and hopes....

Yeah maybe not! hahahahaha Perhaps next year when I'm gainfully employed and stressing over my job instead of university. When I have a different living situation and the ability to completely participate in my life I will be able to find myself in the pages or maybe find the time to put myself in some pages :)

Bring on 2014 !!!

x

Gone Girl

This book is not new but I just finished it tonight. I wont write much about it because the power of it lays in not knowing. I have never read a book with characters that I disliked as much as this. I have never read a book with an ending so unexpected and unusual...

This was a horrible book and I couldn't stop reading it once I actually got into it. I ... just.. ARGH!!! what to say about this book. I applaud Gillian Flynn for her superbly planned out and creepily imagined book. I do have to wonder about the state of her mind if she could create that person! 

Woooo! 8/10 sort of .. I mean it deserves that but ..I just don't know...

It's SPRING and I'm loving some things :)

Hell YES! Woooo it's spring time here in the Big Little City. It's come so fast that a lot of the trees and insects and things that kinda live by spring are all confused. I think that must have been the .. smallest (?) winter on record. It just had such little impact, a couple of colder days that required a hat.. a little bit of rain here and there but over all it was warm, dry and FAST. Many of those confused trees have been in flower for weeks!!

I am currently sitting about 2 months away from finishing my course at University. I mean how fast has this year gone?? I can't believe that these months have flown by because it has really seemed to be interminable while I've been struggling through them. I have come to really hate being a university student. I love being in the class, working with the kids but as far as my classes at uni and the way they're run... I CAN NOT WAIT till they're done. I just...  I don't even know how to express how much I am looking forward to walking out of that place and not going back!

First LOVE. Last night I celebrated my friends birthday at Orphans Kitchen in Ponsonby ( ... and Long room it must be said). I don't have any pics because we'd already been at Long room for a while before we got to dinner ( .... lol) and we were having a lot of fun so taking pics wasn't high on my list of things to think about.  The place has only been open a couple of weeks so my trendy friends were hot to get there asap given the amazing reviews that they've been getting all over the place. I was a little baffled when I saw the menu ... I didn't really understand a lot of it. I mean a margaritas and nachos at the Mexican place in Mission Bay (Dos Amigos) is how I normally get down for a celebration and this was remarkably more intense and 'foodie' than that. I decided that my friend should just order for me. she did and it was so A-MAY-ZING I was reduced to a drunken pile of 'omagawd omagawd' as I chowed down on the BEST gnocchi in the world and a spectacular version of a banoffi pie. Along with some yummy red wine that I would NEVER have decided to drink on my own. So in conclusion FOOD n WINE = Indescribable. I mean how many times can you say amazing and ohmygawd before it ceases to really mean anything (... OK I know ohmygawd doesn't really mean anything) ATMOSPHERE = really very conducive to having a great time and SERVICE = so friendly and actually pretty fast I thought given the overwhelming crowd they were dealing with. I think my friends who go to 'proper' places a lot had a couple of things that they noticed could maybe be improved. I don't know what they were but even my friends enjoyed the over all experience so much they didn't care.  So yes, Orphans Kitchen is the first thing I'm loving right now. I was so serious... chef Tom, if you are single and straight MARRY MEEEEEEEEEEEE :P

The second thing I'm loving is the Infernal Devices series by Casandra Clare. I heard that it was better than the Mortal Instruments series and as it's the prequel I decided to start with this series. LOVING IT. I am totally getting the collective swoon of book nerds around the world for Jem. *SIGH* Great writing, I love the way that the action grabs me and I am literally swearing out loud when I'm surprised by something. All of the best books make you react out loud :)

I got my hair cut a couple of weeks ago and I finally got around to taking a pic and posting it up yesterday. I'm kinda in two minds about it. I do like it but it's quite different and I don't know that it expresses 'me' very well but maybe as I get older I'm no longer the messy curls person .. I don't know.  I predictably got a lot of nice comments on Face Book. You have to love your friends for that right? Problem is that they're friends and they have to be nice. I asked a guy I know who I wouldn't count as a friend for his opinion on the way girls wear their hair to try and get a bit of balance... and I was kinda curious. I am not the girl who is going to do something like cut my hair to impress a guy but it's still interesting what they find attractive collectively. Well the dude was so useless!! He told me he likes my curly hair (which this is NOT lol) but had no idea what I was talking about otherwise. HAHAHAHAHAHA poor thing, just so easy to bamboozle. Oh well, I guess it's not like I can put it back on my head so his opinion or lack there of is pretty irrelevant. :)

LASTLY. I've noticed one tag or link up or what ever on my blog roll a lot recently and while I'm not going to link up I thought I might finish this post with a reduced version of "the songs that define me". I've given it some thought and here are my top 10 all time favorite songs ever... in no particular order... 

1. For the people - Nesian Mystic

2. Spin One - Aradhna + Che Fu

3. So True - The Black Seeds

4. Waka - Che Fu

5. Slow Jams - Baby Face + Tamia

6. The rest of my life - Brian McKnight

7. Summertime - DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince

8. Arithmetic- Brooke Frasier

9. Get Me Bodied - Beyonce

10. History in the making - Darius Rucker

:-)

I love how many of them are Kiwi artists. I didn't realise how much I love New Zealand music until I started to think about this list. Some honorable mentions are : Red Camero by Rascal Flatts, Faithful by Brooke Frasier, Around the way girl by LL Cool J, Whenever You Call by Mariah Carey and Brian McKnight, Jumpin Jumpin by Destinys Child and I'm ready by Tevin Campbel. 

Day 3

Today is day 3 of my man flu. Luckily I am improving but gees it's impossible to do anything of a vertical nature for more than a few minutes without becoming so exhausted that I can hardly keep my eyes open. Off course I am also unable to sleep when I do put my head down so.. BRAIN MELT!!

It's amazing weather for staying in bed and cuddling up with some tea and a book so that's what I'm about to do even though my brain wants to sleep... like seriously I am having such trouble focusing and thinking and stuff. OMG I am so sick of this!! GRRR

Anyhow, I have my green tea, I have the best blanket ever, I have some mallowpuffs for good measure and am going to dive back into 'Clockwork Angel'. I'm about a quarter of the way in and so far I love it. Hopefully I wont have to re-read everything I read this afternoon. 

And then 'Heart of Dixie' is on this evening so ... sweet! 

x

Man flu and a cool book haul

The last couple of days have been full of Social Studies essay writing and being sick! ARGH I hardly ever get sick. I generally get a head cold or two per year but that hardly counts. This time I have actually been forced into bed! OMG this really sucks ... (shockingly hahahaha) I think as much as anything this is the one time when being a single person with no car is hard to deal with. I want somebody to bring me stuff and cook me food! I'm too dizzy to walk up the road to the supermarket and then be trusted with the heat required to cook. UGH. Oh well I will stay on this bed and hopefully the world will stop spinning by this afternoon and then if I stay a little longer hopefully I will be able to walk down to the Library tomorrow because I have a CD that is a few days overdue and racking up fines like a mofo!

In the last couple of days, whilst writing that essay I discovered my uni library! .. yes with about 6 weeks of classes left I have discovered all of the resources available but what eves. The first thing that rocked my world (apart from the man flu...) was working on a huge desk top computer. Gosh it was awesome to write on a big screen on a comfy chair instead of a lap top. Might have to think about that when I get a job next year. In the computer lab they have this awesome piece of art. It's done with glitter which doesn't show up particularly well but WOW it's perfect. I really love this piece :)

The other thing that I discovered at the Library was an amazing .. AMAZING selection of YA novels. OhMyGAWSH they have all of the new and popular novels. I picked up a bunch of books that I am currently about 20th to 40th in line for at the public library. Seriously wish that I'd looked a bit further when printing off my assignment cover sheets earlier in the year.

I've decided to give David Levithan a final chance with these two books. I seem to have gone from completely loving his stuff almost 'meh' in the space of 3 books. With the Mortal Instruments movie just released I was going to read that series but so many book-tubers have said that the Infernal Devices series is better so I'm starting there. I've just started following Maureen Johnson on twitter and she's so funny so I thought I would look up some of her work. I was so surprised to realise that I have actually already read several of her novels so I grabbed this one as I enjoyed 13 little blue envelopes from memory. 'Holes' is simply my first foray into books suitable for primary age kids and 'The boyfriend list' is one that is beloved by my fave book bloggers ....and it was there...so yep. I have actually had 'The Golden Lily' in the past and never got to read it so hopefully this will be my opportunity. I mainly picked it up because I really enjoyed the Vampire Academy books.

The Uni Library is now my favorite thing! Not only all of the above awesomeness but also a set of L.M.Montgomery books from 1938 which is only 3 years after the original publication date of some of them! ... I know its a weird thing to get excited about BUT ... they're old!!! 

The other thing that happened yesterday was that my nephew came to visit! YAY! Love hanging out with him. I really hope that I didn't pass on my bug to him. I was going to refrain from picking him up but that's impossible so I just tried to stay away from his head ... I know I know I'm a horrible germ bag :( anyhow he's got teeth!! he looks so different with his two front teeth poking through. It was really weird to begin with but then I stopped noticing them. He's also crawling like a champ and pulling himself up on stuff. I think it's about time that all of this growing and learning new things stopped!! hahahaha  :-P   

I'm astounded by the lunacy

Today I skipped a couple of lectures to spend the day in the public Library working on my Social Studies essay. I know! I know! never going to do well if I skip classes but ... well ... I still feel like I got hit by a truck AND I was super productive so .. yeah what eves :-P

On my way down to the bus I thought I might try to spend my bookshop gift card. WOAH!! I still have the card because everything is so damn expensive that I couldn't find anything worth parting with the possibility of the card. How is it possible that a YA novel can cost $22??? I mean they were even asking that for a copy of "Diary of a wimpy kid" .. not that I would ever buy that crap but still... that one is for little kids. SERIOUSLY? $22 for a tiny little childrens book? ARE YOU KIDDING Whitcouls ?? It really explains why nobody buys books anymore and bookshops are closing down left and right. It's really sad but I guess it means that Libraries will be able to pick up some extra business and people will continue to knock down the door of big book sales. 

SAD :(

The second rant of the day is going out to television in New Zealand. It's beyond pathetic the amount of cheap and nasty reality shows we have. Tonight I saw a teaser for possibly the worst one EVER.. " Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners". Yep it looks like they're sending in the O.C.D people to sort out the hoarders. There are no words! 

I guess it's a good advert for bookshops... oh.. well .. hopefully the Libraries are profiting from whatever the hell our excuse from television is called. 

OK breathing through it

Being Zen

LOLOL

:)

This weekend kicked my butt!

WoWZERS It's been a hell of a weekend. I'm sore from my nose down! hahahaha :P

Luckily it's all in the name of heaps of fun. On Saturday night I went to my friends first ever public performance with her ukulele group $4.30. It was more about having fun and supporting my friend than really expecting them to be perfect musicians but guess what... win on all fronts :)

While nobody is ever perfect I actually think they did really well with the music part of it. Go Them :) The 'gig' was on K rd which is a super cool but kinda ... OK.. really dodgy part of town. I don't normally go up there and I don't think I've EVER been at night but I was with my friend and we were really early on in the night so it was all good. He and I had a few drinks in a couple of places and took a few photos of the sights as we are want to do. The people watching was great!

So today, after one drink too many and about 3 hours sleep to few I got up early to go and be an acid green shirt wearing volunteer at the Story Lines festival at the Aotea Center.  This year is the 20th anniversary of the festival so it's a bit special. I was with the face painting team and to be honest I absolutely couldn't tell you if there were 5 or 50,000 people in to the event. My GOSH it was intense. Little face after little face, all the concentrating and trying to make shy little kids talk. Doesn't sound like a crazy hard kinda deal but WHEW it was draining. I am physically in PAIN and I SAT DOWN for most of the day hahahahhahah :P

There ya have it. Sweet weekend :)

It was so cool to see my friend stepping out of her comfort zone to perform in public. I am really inspired by her! It was also super cool to hang out with the friend that came to the show with me. He's probably  not someone that I could have introduced to my Grandfather but he's so sweet to me and really cute so I guess I will keep him around ;-) Lucky he doesn't live in this city so it's not even an issue. It was great to be a small part of what I assume was a fantastic festival devoted to stories! How cool is that? Now I am going to have to fight myself to stay awake till a decent hour to make sure that I'm not awake half the night. Tomorrow is devoted to my social studies essay. There WILL be a kick ass draft before I get on that bus to come home.

Happy Monday! 

mmm yeah

Whateves!!!

:)

It's raining it's pouring...

It's been a little while since I've written a post actually about anything. My problem is that .. actually there is so much to write about! I've been reading and trying new things and enjoying what the lovely Auckland has to offer and at the same time going to university, doing assignments and being present with the kids in the school I'm doing my practicum in.  

I went to the film festival and saw some great documentaries in some of my favorite cinemas in the city. I cant help but take a ton of pictures when I'm in the Civic. It's just so beautiful :) The festival was really cool and I'm already looking forward to next year!

I've been spending so much time in the Library and feeling really inspired by books. After my aunts funeral my uncle sent me a book voucher to say thanks for giving a eulogy. While that in itself was all sorts of awkward I do love having a book voucher to spend. It's almost a responsibility LOL. I never waste a book voucher. It requires research and consideration and I will definitely make sure I get the right book with it. Actually this lead to a cool little encounter. I was chatting with the sales assistant in the shop on one of my intel gathering trips and she said to me ".. can I just ask.. are you a nerdfighter??" LOVE IT :) she was the first person I've ever met who knew what that meant. AWESOME 

I ended up working in a pub to get one of my assignments finished hahaha. I am so classy sometimes but seriously that place was super conducive to working and I only had one beer to keep my wedges company so no harm no foul ... right?

My friend and I tried out Ugly Bagels at the city works depot. Absolutely worth all the hype. Not great for sitting and enjoying but that's just because they're so busy and I guess they cant be blamed for that :)  The Karma Cola was such a novelty. I still have the bottle to use as a vase because I just love the design. Of course the cola was also nice.

I'd love to write about things like the New Zealand edition of Iheart radio, or meeting a boy on the perfect end of the spectrum who is just very sadly not ready to be with anybody :( - or how one guy actually called me scary last night!! SERIOUSLY hahahahahhaahahahaha  I could write about university and how I have major struggles with not going postal on most of the student body who will just NOT SHUT UP when in lectures... or the way that our current weather is freakin me out man!  or even how I am so tempted to vote for Dave in our local body elections. He is NOT the right person for the job but he's such a local personality and at least I see him every day and he knows how to spell some really hard words .. (hehehe) The problem is that none of these directions are really how this blog was intended to go. I will have to think a bit about it because I actually like writing about that sort of stuff.

This weekend I am doing awesome stuff!! Tomorrow night I'm going to my friends ukulele concert. I'm very excited about that. on Sunday I'm painting faces at the Story Lines festival. YAY meeeeee :) So hopefully I will be more in the mood to write about those experiences. 

Well happy weekend!

:)

I'm such a wimp

Today I was wandering around Twitter as you do and @Auckland_Libs tweeted about an event which is happening tomorrow. It's a panel discussion about censorship in NewZealand literature. It sounds A-MAY-ZING!!

The problem is that it's being held in a gallery in town which is pretty cutting edge by the looks of it and I am way to intimidated to go by myself! LOL. It's going to be dark and the people there will be all cool and intellectual and stuff. It's way to stressful. Seriously.

The blog from one of the key contributors can be found here "Tuesdays at method and manners"

I wish I could cowboy up for this one! hmm maybe I'll see how I feel after school finishes tomorrow. 

WWBD?? -Beyonce would suck it up and head into the gallery like she owned it of course....

:-/

Last weekend things

Last weekend I did a few cool things which I posted pics of in the previous two posts BUT I realised that I didn't really write anything about what I was doing so here goes ...

Saturday breakfast at De fontein in Mission Bay

This was a pretty cool surprise. I've been to beer-o'clock at the down stairs bar and I've eaten their mussels but I never knew that it was possible to get breakfast here. We had picked a beautiful day and so despite it being the middle of July we sat out on the balcony overlooking the bay. AWESOME start. We started with hangover busting glasses of coke and then on to the coffee. It was totally fine coffee but not amazing or really much to write about. My friend got an omelet which was also a bit underwhelming but essentially fine. I had a raspberry waffle and WOW it was soooooo good. It looked beautiful and tasted perfect. The location and the great service really made this a great experience.  

The average omelet and coffee lets them down a little but to be honest it was such a relaxing and enjoyable experience that I will still give them an 8/10 :)

Matariki celebrations at Orakei Marae (KITE DAY)

This was very cool. The Marae is in perhaps the best location in the city with sweeping views over the ocean. The kite day was a simple event ... literally flying kites on the hill :-) There were a few professionals there with some pretty eye catching displays. What I loved about this was that there were no hi tech anythings and yet the hundreds of people there were having a ball. FANTASTIC.

Rekorderling winter lights pop up pub

I was really looking forward to heading into the pub. It had been all over my face book and blog roll. They had taken over a small corner of down town and claimed to have a bar that evoked a winters night in Sweden  The claimed snow and warm fires and it just sounded awesome! 

I have to say that frankly it was crazily over hyped. It was cool with the fir trees and fake grass. There was a little bit of fake snow falling when you first walked in but I was expecting it to be covering the place. This ended up being the sort of place where young people in their party clothes were sitting on the floor and the giant glasses they served the alcohol in were littering the place. I don't know why I was so underwhelmed. It worked on paper but in person I wasn't into it. Perhaps because it was such a warm night in the city or perhaps because there was nowhere to sit even though the place wasn't packed when we were there... I reckon the problem is that everybody was expecting so much and were determined to have fun despite the fact that it was .... at the end of the day just another pub. 5/10

Matariki lights at Maybury Park in Glen Innes

Now THIS was really really cool. Another free event put on by the local community board that was very well attended by the community. There was a trail laid down around the park and all the way around were sculptures made from neon lights. There was even a mirror ball in a tree which I LOVED. It was really fantastic and as Saturday was the last night of Matariki it was topped with a fireworks display. FANTASTIC. Awesome firstly that it was free and awesome secondly that it was so well attended :)

Silo park markets and dinner at Wynyard quarter

Definitely love me some Silo Park.  The markets were on and at almost every stall was some little treasure that I wished I could take home with me. The weather was awesome and so the beer garden was busy. Such a lovely way to spend some time and again its always awesome to see the public spaces being so enthusiastically used. We went to the fish market for dinner. My friend had salmon and chips. It was so simple - a salmon steak and chips for $18. Absolutely perfectly done and given the price of fish in this country it was really reasonably priced.  I had the kids fish and chips and the first great thing was that they gave me the option to have it battered or crumbed. Again a simple dish but elevated by it's perfect execution. 

Lilac gelato at Smiths in Glendowie

On Sunday I went for a walk around the spit in Glendowie. Again it was pretty fab weather so we stopped in at Smiths for some gelato.  I'd never really had gelato before so it was a very new experience. The Lilac flavour is so hard to describe .. a little strawberry a little minty and perhaps even a little chocolate. Very sweet but not intensely so. .. Quite the mystery but VERY delicious :)