An update

Well, it has been a while since I've added anything to my blog. This post I guess is a bit of an update.

The main thing which has happened is I have moved out of my home in Island Bay and am currently staying with a friend until something else pops up. The circumstances under which are not the greatest but I am starting to understand and appreciate that these events are just part of life. However I am also realising it is these big and significant moments are the ones I don't like and would usually try to avoid.
For now I am okay. Just settling into my new path, wherever that leads.

I very much have January to look forward to, as I have booked to go see three concerts! First is The xx who I am super excited about and am travelling on my own up to Auckland to see them. A couple of days after I have booked to see Fleet Foxes who are playing in Wellington, and at the end of January back up to Auckland for Laneway Festival.
I always find it helps to have something to loom forward to.

Anyway, hopefully I'll have more to post about soon with some pictures

x

Things I was loving in July

So I hear a lot of people saying this and I will too... I can't believe it is August. I have no idea where the year has gone! 

Todays post is just a look at some of the things I was loving last month. I thought it might be fun.

Sad Girls, by Lang Leav.

I talked about Lang Leav in my favourite books post - as I am in love with her poetry and the lovely illustrations in her books. Recently she released a novel called Sad Girls which I started reading last month. I am now about half way through it and liking it! 

I don't want to talk about it too much as I'm not finished, but I do think it's worth a read.

Next up is some make up. I love trying out new products and am always so happy to find one that works well for me! Living in New Zealand it is becoming much easier to get hold of brands so I'm pretty happy about that too.

First up is this highlighter by Pixi, which I picked up on Asos.

It's a really pretty light shade but isn't too glittery or anything like that. I just love it and have been reaching for it a bit lately.

Next is this Mascara by Bare Minerals. This again came to me in July and since I received it I use it every day. The wand is a little bigger than what I'd normally go for but it makes my lashes nice and long and separated. As the wand is big I then use this Innisfree mascara on the bottom - such a good combo!

Last month I went to see a couple of new films - Baby Driver and Dunkirk. I am glad I did! They were both truely good films and I thought very original in there own way. I'm a big big Nolan fan so just had to see his new film in cinema and it was very much worth it!

Finally I have been loving my new desk which I talked about last time. I find now that I have the space, I'm much more motivated to be creative and have been painting and drawing more. Plus I picked up this lamp which I'm obsessed with...

As I write this I'm sat in the sun listening to Nico. I've baked some brownies, repotted (more) plants and done a bit of house work. Tonight I'm going to see some friends to see the new Game of Thrones episode!

So that's all for this post. July has been an okay month, but then I feel it's been an okay year so far. Can't wait for August to be over though and for summer to nearly be here!

Desk/workspace

Hi friends,

I finally picked up a desk! I found this super cute trestle desk secondhand, so I picked it up so I can have a little space to set up my art supplies. You know, just having the space has made me feel more creative.

I only just set it up yesterday, but here's some pictures. I'm really happy with it.

Some cute lil' cats I painted.

The two plants I picked up on a recent trip to New Plymouth from a market. I think they are perfect desk plants! As you can see they get a nice bit of afternoon sun.
The three little cats I made. They are super cute.

That's all for today.

Good books.

Hi friends,

Today has been a cold and rainy day, so I've just stayed home doing chores, repotting plants and reading. I'm currently reading Paper Towns by John Green and so far I am liking it. This post today is a look at my current favourite books.

The first is an author, and I love all the books so they all get a mention. The author is Lang Leav, and they are books full of short poetry. They are honestly so lovely and nice to leave around as you can pick them up to a page and read a poem. I really like them.

Next up is Milk and Honey - by Rupi Kaur. This is again a poetry book and similar to Lang Leav's work. I highly recommend both.

A novel I really I enjoy and have read multiple times is the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime. It's a mystery type book but written from the perspective of a boy - Christopher. I don't really want to say much more but it's really good and written in a different way.

A second novel I thought I'd mention is Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children. I recently read the second book and this was also good - I'm excited for the next one. I didn't love the movie but can highly recommend the book and it features some creepy photos of the children too.

The two other books I am going to feature, are the Language of Flowers, and Household Worms - for different reasons. The Language of Flowers is more of a reference book with beautiful drawings of the flowers. It just talks about the plant and I just really like it. I keep it on my coffee table.

The last one I will mention is called Household Worms, by Stanley Donwood. Stanley did some of the artwork for Radiohead which is how I found out about him and this book. It's a book full of short stories, and I would say is one of the books that inspired me to start writing and will alway be one of my favourites.

What's your favourite book/any recommendations?

New makeup :D

For a few years now I've been getting quite into makeup and like building up my collection and colours.

Here's a look at some of the things I picked up recently.

The first place was BeautyJoint, which I love when I'm after some cheaper brands (make up is quite expensive in New Zealand!) So I picked up a couple of items from NYX to add to my soft matte lip cream collection and the butter bronzer from Physicians Formula (I've been wanting for ages and it smells so good!)

The primer is also really nice and is illuminating! It reminds me of the Loreal Magic-Lumi (but has a better price point). 

The NYX concealer is also really nice and I haven't yet tried the mascara but I have heard a few people recommend it so I picked it up.

The next place was Mecca Maxima, which is pretty new for us in NZ and we now can get some great brands easily! 

There were two collections I was excited for - the Urban Decay Basquiat and Too Faced Natural Love - so of course I picked up an item from each.

This is a face wash from a brand that is new to me - Frank. I'm really liking it so far and the bottle is really nice with  pump which is always good!

I chose the Blinded by the Light highlighter - it's very pretty.

This collection has the best packaging. I'm liking this palette so far.

The final place I picked things up from was Sephora, to get a couple of things from Kat Von D. I'm slowly starting to collect the everlasting liquid lipsticks from the brand as they are really nice - I picked up the shade exorcism. I picked up a concealer too.

I'm really liking the concealer so far, it's a bit better of a colour for me than the Nyx one. I picked up L3 Warm (KVD) and Porcelain from Nyx.

Kat Von D is bottom swatch

Here's the lipsticks so you can see the colours (I love liquid lipsticks at the moment). They are all great but I think my favourite is Soft Spoken.

See you next time!

New Plymouth, June 2017

Hi friends,

So today I've just returned from a short getaway - we went to Foxton Beach and New Plymouth.

On the first day we were in Foxton Beach, staying with my mum and my cousins who were also visiting. We went shopping and had a bbq for dinner, so was a perfect kind of day!

On Friday, we left for New Plymouth, where we had rented a lovely place for two nights. Why New Plymouth? Mainly because I haven't been since I was younger and Nate never at all, and it's also not too far away so we could make a weekend of it.

We didn't have great weather sadly, but we were able to do a bit of sightseeing. Here's a few pictures from our visit.

We ate a lot of food... like you always do on holiday. This is a pistachio and ginger slice - so goood.

Monday bakes // Pusheen doughnuts

A while back, I picked up a doughnut baking tray on eBay and when it came in the mail I thought I better to put it to use.
I had seen this super cute picture on instagram, which I then tracked to a recipe and a how-to decorate them like a super cute Pusheen!

Here's some images along the way,

Sea/sky

Hi friends,

So here is just a collection of photos taken recently, of the sea and the sky.