phoneography: july

theobroma chocolate lounge, dunkin donuts from akl, the boy driving a forklift;
USA vs Canada hockey game, finally got my resident's visa, snow and palm trees;
first snow of winter, dodgy toilet @ spencer park, caramel crunch cheesecake;
hot chocolate supreme, tableware @ running bull, finger bowl @ running bull;
glassons shoes, carousel, chch airport;
tuna sushi, pistachio macaron, french macarons

what i wore: lumberjack

THE WAREHOUSE dress (kid's section), cardigan, and boot; DOTTI belt

This has been the longest, most stressful, jam packed week in history. Last Saturday I received an email from my landlord telling us they were selling the flat...that would have been fine if it wasn't 24 days before our current lease expires. I spent all week driving all over ChCh looking at flats, and my manager from hell wouldn't give me annual leave for the time off, so I would have to go back to work and makeup my time. That makes flat hunting VERY hard.

On top of that I had a job interview on Tuesday and have been freaking out about the possible outcomes all week. The Dr. told me he would try and let me know either way by Friday, but I haven't heard anything yet. I don't think I got it and am pretty gutted about that. Then J had a last minute work trip to Auckland. He literally was told Wednesday morning that he was going, on a plane on Thursday morning, and back on Friday night. Wish I could have gone, but work isn't that nice.

This outfit is from a couple of weekends ago and one of the worst things to photograph ever, hence why it is done like this and not like my normal photos. Cannot remember where I wore, but I wanted a thicker dress as it was freezing out. Paired with my beloved cardigan (I wear this ALL THE TIME and usually in place of a jacket) and well worn motorcycle boots. I am a walking advertisement for The Warehouse in that. I don't normally wear one store from head to toe.

I'm hoping I can get a cheeky shopping trip in next week. I feel like I haven't been in ages, and I popped into Glassons yesterday to have a look and wanted almost everything in the store! I could easily spend a month's wages in there no problem. And it seemed every store in Westfields was have a massive sale...always happens when I'm on a shopping ban.

what i wore: beached as

THE WAREHOUSE cardigan and boots; JAY JAYS floral top and denim skirt; COTTON ON watch and sunglasses; GLASSONS bag; FARMERS belt

I'm not sure if I've mentioned on this blog that I have a habit of dressing completely inappropriately for most occasions. Like every time J and I go out for a bit of a trek around I'm always in a dress and ballet flats. We took a spur of the moment day trip to Kaikoura one day, a day where I had woken up and put on a flowy dress, tights that will not stay up no matter what, and worn in ballet flats. Having never been to Kaikoura I didn't know that the beach was not sand, but flat rock that was covered in some very slick algae. Also didn't know that we would walk around the beach and have to jump over canyon sized gaps with a high tide fast approaching. After the flat rock it was sharp, stony paths that cut right through my shoes. I was rewarded for my efforts however, with a large group of seals resting on the rocks. Almost walked past one, but saw it and turned around...they attack apparently.

So when I suggested we go back to Spencer Park in the daytime I should have thought to wear something beach appropriate. I didn't. I remembered to wear boots as it was chilly, but didn't think when I put on a skirt that is a size too big and the same tights as Kaikoura. I will never learn.

It was a nice day, not too warm or cold, and much better than being at work. If I could have days like that and get paid for them I would. In fact, right now I would settle for anything than my current job. I have a job interview on Tuesday that I'm prepping for. So far that has included getting rid of my orange tipped hair, which I was glad to see go, and freaking out about what to wear. I have an outfit in mind, just need to put it on and see if it works. I really want this job, but can't really afford to take a pay cut as we were notified that our current flat is going to be placed up for sale by the landlord. So we have until August 22 to find something else, or do a temporary lease to stay on until we find something. We also have the option of buying it, but I don't want to. I have no long term plans to stay in New Zealand, I love it here, but I would love to move to the UK one day, so buying a house here seems rather pointless.

*The title of the post is from beached as whale. so funny! typical kiwi bru speak.

week in photos #005

001. Muddy paths and well worn boots. Next time I go trekking I'm investing in some hiking boots, althought wellies would have been a good choice as J and I stumbled upon a swamp that borders the beach. Did not know that was there until we got to the top of a very high dune.

002. Updated my ipod with new music and deleted some of the songs/bands I always skip. The Airborne Toxic Event is being rotated heavily, along with Mona and Two Door Cinema Club. Still need more music, but haven't heard any new bands that hold my attention. I'm open for suggestions!

003. If you look in the corner you can see a little crab, kind of blends in with the rest of the inside, but I can assure you it is there and it freaked me out. I feel really bad about it as I thought it was full of water and sand, so I pried it open only to find whatever it is still in there with said crab. Refused to touch it after that, and because that was one active crab and I was terrified it would climb out on me.

004. Gorged myself on peanut M&Ms this week. They served as my lunch a couple of days when I was too lazy to have anything else. Really need to cut back on the chocolate, don't usually eat it much, but this week I feel like I haven't stopped.

005. View of the beach from the top of a dune. Climbing dunes is hard work and my legs were shattered after. J loves stuff like that, being all "at one with nature", I on the other hand grew up in the country and have a serious dislike for that. Got it out of my system when I was a child, now I'll take a city adventure over hiking any day.

005. We found a flag on a pole on top of the dune, which is the whole reason we climbed up there...and to get down to the beach and away from the swamp. Don't know who put it up, but it was rather tall and impressive in person.

007. As well as a beach and swamp there was also a lovely wooded area at Spencer Park. I wish wish wish I had a size comparison for this, it was bloody massive! Probably the size of my hand or larger.

Rather boring week, it was all work and one day at the beach. I find it odd that a week ago I was frolicking on a beach and today I'm sat wrapped in two blankets with the heater on as high as it will go, wearing 2 scarves, a woolie hat, and a dressing gown and there is a good covering of snow outside. The mind boggles.

weekend wishlist: wildpair

all from wildpair

I love most of the things in Wildpair, especially the shoes, but I don't love the prices of most of the items. It is seriously overpriced for the quality of most of the clothes, and I could find something similar and cheaper at Glassons or Cotton On. That said...they have some of the cutest dresses and shoes ever.

I've had my eye on that galaxy print dress for ages, but even on sale it was around $80. The price has dropped a little, but not enough for me to buy it...yet. I need that black and white graphic dress in my life, and the white dotted dress. I need it all.

Currently addicted to blue satchels at the moment, but I did like the burgundy version of the one on the right. And the necklaces!!! That rabbit one is adorable, must have it! I'm loving turbans right now as well, not sure if they would look good on me as I can't seem to pull off head wear of any sort, but I would like to try it out.

Might have to pop in this weekend and get the cross ring. Right now I only have the double finger cross ring that everyone and their sister owns. I love crosses, only in fashion as I'm in no way religious, but I'm always looking to add to my collection.

THE SHOES!!!! Marked down to $49.90 from $100+...they will be mine. I own a pair of wedges I bought from the Wildpair clearance store at Dress Smart and they are some of the most uncomfortable shoes I have ever worn in my life. I love them and will continue to suffer, and that will not put me off buying these beauties!

week in photos #004

Posting this very late, but I was internetless from Monday afternoon until around 6pm last night. Was not best pleased with that, but I did catch up on some sleep, cuddled with the boy, and did lots of relaxing and de-stressing. Will probably do that this weekend as work has been hellish.

001. I actually hate my hair colour right now. I had it dip dyed from red to hot pink, and I loved it, but after two months of having it and doing touch ups to the pink every 3 weeks, 4 weeks for the red, I was over it. Plus the pink colour alone was $17, plus another $17 for the toner that I mixed with it to get the right colour, then another $15 for the red...that's just far too much money for hair colour IMO. So in a flash of "brilliance" I decided to go back to red, except the bleach ends didn't take the colour at all. It now looks like an ugly ombred style, red to orange with bits of baby pink in it. So much hate. Think I'll break down at some point and buy some manic panic off trademe, probably in red so I can have one shade. And I'm a lover of MP, used it when I lived in America and it's my favourite. Much better than the Fudge Paintbox hair stains that I used for the pink, that get every where and never fully wash out.

002. This is probably the worst photo ever, but I like it. J and I went to see Harry Potter on Saturday, and my god it was bloody EPIC! Afterwards we didn't feel like going home or to the pub, so we did our normal thing of getting in the car and picking a random destination from a map. We only chose somewhere in ChCh that we've never been to. Ended up at Spencer Park, on the beach in the pitch black. J wanted to walk around some of the paths, but made the mistake of mentioning the horror maze we went to and someone jumping out on us and that was enough for me. We did stay for a bit, and I took far too many bad shots of the moonlit ocean, but we had fun.

003. I spent $30 on that bottle of OPI shatter polish and I've probably used it 2-3 times. I wanted it so much when I first saw other bloggers posting pics of it, and when it finally came to NZ I bought it. I loved it when I got it, and proceeded to buy more off trademe in purple and dusky pink. Now I never use them. Stupid. Going to try and start, and I did find a white one at the weekend that I was literally dreaming about. I've gotten rather lazy with my nails as of late, which is a shame because I love nail art. Rocked some awesome cupcake and leopard nails before, need to do that again.

004. J and I celebrated our anniversary on Saturday, and had planned on cooking a big 4 course Italian feast for ourselves, but I received my IRD refund and that plan flew out the window. Instead we went to the Running Bull, where I had the best BBQ ribs outside of the South. I've had them before, and have wanted them again. J had a t-bone, which was so tender and had just the right amount of seasoning. There was so much food, J finished his off without a problem. I, however, brought home enough ribs for J and I to have as another meal. It was a good day.

wishlist: glassons 50's riviera collection

GLASSONS 50's Riviera collection

After a couple of mediocre collections for winter, Glassons is stepping up their game for spring. The newest collection is not usually my norm, but it is gorgeous. I'm in love with just about every item.

The dress and hat I saw on the rack as well as on one of the sales associates at the Riccarton store. She was absolutely adorable in it, and dressed it down nicely with a pair of worn brown boots. Great for winter, but I think the wedges would look amazing with it. They are absolutely fab in person. Navy suede and raffia covered wedges, yum! They also come in tan, but I prefer the blue. The shoe collection is fantastic, but unfortunately they don't have all of them on the site, which is a shame.

The blouse isn't from the 50's riviera collection but the relaxed luxe collection. Another one where I am coveting almost every item. I'm really into flowy sheer blouses at the minute, something my wardrobe is seriously lacking, but I'm probably going to have to get this one.

The bag and sweater are so cute. I want the sweater in all four colours, and a pair of those navy shorts wouldn't go amiss. The bag isn't really my style, but I love the vintage look of it. I could easily spend my whole paycheck plus some on getting all the items I want. Better lock my eftpos card away for safe keeping.