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

Romance is dead?

I was walking around downtown Auckland taking photos of the street art as I am want to do and came across this...

It struck me as quite sad! I mean.. romance only exists in novels?? That's not true at all. Romance is everywhere. My perspective on this debate is that it's really a question of what you're picturing when you think 'romance'. If the only thing you can think of is 12 red roses and dinner that costs hundreds of dollars then yeah... maybe for you romance is dead. For me romance is going out of the way to take you to their favorite fish and chip shop. It's getting out of bed first to make a coffee and making sure that the coffee is nice and strong. Romance is sunset at the beach even if you have to drive to get there. It's buying groceries when you don't have much cash. It's fixing your i-pod and loading your computer with a bunch of cool stuff that makes it work faster and the internet way more fun than it's ever been. 

Finding romance is about taking your head out of the novels ( ... cant believe I just typed that!) and noticing what you actually have right in front of you. It's when someone thinks of you and does things to make your life easier and a little brighter just because...

Even if you take a partner out of the equation surely the flirty barista, the person who gives you their seat on the bus, the smell of freesias , playing with a puppy or reading a good book in the sunshine ( there it is!) all add a bit of something lovely to your life that could be called romance :)

Romance does not exist only in novels. Romance is EVERYWHERE

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

Pharrell Williams - Happy - We are from Auckland

I saw this on my facebook feed this morning. I'm quite over the song to be honest BUT this really made me smile. Check out my awesome city and the beautiful people who live here :)

xo

And he hits it out of the park AGAIN :)

I had such an awesome Sunday this weekend. It made me feel so grateful to live in this lovely city and so lucky to have such a cool guy to share such fun times with and make me feel so special.

We began with a quick stop at a flash hotel to have a look at the view from the top. It was pure glamour and I tell you, I want to move in there :) Super beautiful. 

Ahhhhh I love it. The building has a long history in Auckland and I have vague memories of coming to this room for morning tea with my dad when I was little and it was still used as a canteen type of place. It's much prettier now.

I stopped into St Patricks to listen to the choir prepare for the service. I was a little disappointed (just a little though) to miss the service because from what I could tell the male choir leader was singing and his voice is just so amazing!  I lit a candle for my flat mate and all my hopes and dreams before I left.

After the hotel we went down to the seafood market at Wynyard quarter and absolutely destroyed our seafood platter for two and also a bit more beer than was probably good for us. It was fantastic and eating like that really lead to a great vibe. We were sharing and just going slow and enjoying the beautiful food. I love that restaurant and after chatting with the manager it sounds like there are some exciting things on the horizon for it that will mean it's going to be a top choice all year round and not just in summer like it is now. If you're ever in Auckland and looking for a great place to eat ... look no further.

HEHEHE this is how good the sauce on the muscles was. mmmmmmm He actually just beat  me to it. I would totally have had a go at the bucket if I thought of it first, I mean there weren't that many people around... 

Stolen from Mr's facebook.. I stopped taking photos by the time we got here :)

After spending hours and hours eating and drinking and sneaking in to watch the Warriors play on the big screen in the wine theater we strolled up to Ichiban Japanese restaurant on Albert street. It's a teeny little place with a whole wall of fun manga to look at while you eat. I have never quite got my head around graphics ( I know I suck) but these were really cool to flip through because they were all in Japanese. It just enforced my feeling that the best thing to decorate with is books!! I have no idea how we had room for any more food but I have to say that my curry went down very well indeed :)  I still prefer Ramen-Daikoku in Britomart for cheap Japanese but this was fun and absolutely value for money.

So. Awesome city + Awesome boy = Extremely happy me :)

xo

A few of my faves from the weekend :)

I stole Mr's shirt! It's so soft and cozy and it's great to sleep in AND wear with jean shorts to hang out. Score :)

We moved the cut down thingy (LOL) and had ourselves a lil fire. Then we started playing with the lasers. So fun.. and pretty as well. 

My view on a great morning from the current place I'm working. It really makes it easy to get up early to start at 7.30am. I love how beautiful my city looks from here.

This blury pic is of a cruise ship leaving Auckland. I was hanging out at the beach with my friend and just loving how beautiful the night was and how nice to be out and about making the most of the end of summer :)

Brian McKnight 'More than words' tour

Last night this happened....

I had the most amazing afternoon/evening :) I started off by finding an outfit that didn't totally suck and having an OK hair day. Then I was off for a drink with Mr who was ... well he was buggered after a long week but still his lovely self. Then I went to the Aotea Centre for the best show ever. I'm still a little overwhelmed by exactly how good it was!

popping into my flatmates room to use her mirror for a kissy-face selfie. I had to send it to my sister to get her opinion on the outfit or it was gonna be a really long decision making process LOL

LOL - Mr and I enjoyed a beer at Orleans which shares an outdoor area with Racket bar. Thought this was a funny idea. Wonder what the bouncers think of it...

Tevin Campbell (my first love) was the opening act. He is so funny looking now all bean pole body, shiny shoes and hat. He was so good. I mean... just... WOW. There was no sense of it being at all pathetic for him to be singing songs from when he was 15 and 16 as I feared. To be honest I actually think the lyrics worked pretty well for a 37 year old. He still has that voice and I have to admit that I pretty much burst into tears at the opening notes of 'I'm Ready'. During his set it was weirdly hard to remember to breathe. I was so happy for intermission ahahahahaha

Brian McKnight was next and he was even better than last time though ... the shows were different. I dont think he needs the band and all the lights even a little bit. BUT. They were really cool. I loved his bass player who added some comedy and of course a mean bass line. This time around there was a lot less talking and importantly he sang my all time fave song from his catalog "The Rest Of My Life". *SWOON*. I'm seriously not even joking. Again it was kinda hard to remember to breathe. He is just so good! I mean really??? WOW. There are no words to adequately express how amazing he is. 

It was honestly a night that I don't think will be topped in a hurry. I can't imagine what could come my way that would be better :) The only downside was all the stary-eyed couples around me hanging on to each other and slow dancing the show away. Honestly they were so cute and it was so cool to see BUT .... I was there alone!!! Bummer hahahahahaha

I feel so grateful. Grateful to my mum for giving me the ticket for Christmas and even more than grateful I think privileged to have been in that auditorium to see those men perform.  So thank you Mum thank you Tevin and Thank you Brian :)

xo

So yeah... my teenage dreams are coming true!

This morning I was laying in bed playing around on my tablet thingy and remembered that I needed to check the date of the concert I'm going to next week. I have no idea how it's not burnt into my brain but I guess when you get tickets so early the exact day seems so far away you don't think too hard about it. Anyhow... I am seeing Brian McKnight at the Aotea Centre and I nearly had a heart attack when I realised that TEVIN CAMPBELL has been added as support. OHMYGOSH. Tevin Campbell is my first love. I had him all over my walls and school books through the early years of high school and one of the first guys I ever had a big crush on in real life looked so much like him LOL. Oh 14 you're so funny ;)

So essentially I am going to be under the same roof as TEVIN FREAKING CAMPBELL and BRIAN MCKNIGHT at the same time. OMG I CANT BREATHE lololol I'm a little sad that I'm going to the show alone but probably for the best as I'm absolutley gonna make a fool of myself. Kinda makes me wish I'd sprung for the better seats now but what can you do.

I cant stop smiling. Seriously. I look high. LOL :D

OH the beauty. The visual and auditory ( is that the word??? lol) beauty is going to be intense and I know this coz I saw Brian last time he came to NZ. HEHEHHEE This is the coolest thing ever and I don't even care how high my dork flag is flying right now. 

Girls got a right to be insanely excited in times such as these right??

xxoo

#100happydays was almost a fail today

When I woke up today I felt awful! I didn't want to get out of bed and to be honest I didn't till well after 12 pm. I had no plans and no money so in my grumpy mood I didn't know what I would find for my #100happydays picture.

Then I realised it's summer,I live in a beautiful part of the world and nothing beats the feeling of sunshine on your skin and a warm breeze flirting with you. I love the sounds and importantly the smells of summer time at the beach.  So I ended up with a lot of pics. They may not have been different than anything I've been taking pictures of since I moved here but they truly are what make me happy on the daily :)

xo

Pakuranga Night Markets

*Edit*

The main reason one goes to the night markets is for cheap and diverse food options. It's so fun and such a cheap way to eat out. LOVE IT. We were on the hunt for fried ice cream... yep you read that right! Hahahaha. Both boys love it and I was so curious to see how it would even look but alas the booth wasn't there last night. Still, we ate like kings. I had the best steamed red bean bun. Om nom nom. I prefer red bean over pork buns but it is like having desert for dinner.

What I really appreciated about the markets was the fact that the stalls had things I wanted to buy at a price point I could actually reach. I found so many necklaces and things I wanted to buy but I walked away with this one...

Something about this thing just took my fancy. It's totally weird and it's going to require the 'right' outfit ( which is obviously NOT this one! LOL - excuse the cleavage) but I just love it and I reckon I can be pretty sure nobody will have the same one :-)

We ended up spending 3 hours at the markets. I had such a great time and I 'd love to go back but given that it's quite far from my house ... aaand I don't drive I doubt it will happen any time soon. 

*more edits*

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

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

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

 

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

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