April 2013 - Page 2 of 2

April 2013 archive

08
Apr
2013

Made Me Smile: 8th April

Hi All!

So it is Monday (groan, sigh, grumble) and time for a Made me smile post with a few nice things from the last couple of weeks that brightened my days!

Last weekend Edd and I took Mr 5 and Mr 11 to the Coca Cola Easter Show (I preferred when it was called the Royal Easter Show just FYI). There were lots of farm animals (obviously), some incredibly overpriced rides, delicious burgers, circus acts involving 5 motorbikes and a metal ball (I KID YOU NOT) and enough candy floss to keep Mr 5 wired till the next evening. It was expensive but it was fun!

On the long Easter Weekend I also got to catchup with Mum and Co. down in Waiuku and together we watched the entire season of Auckland Daze (which if you are in NZ you should go checkout all the episodes right here!). It was hilarious. We also had an amazing vegetable lasagna which I plan to recreate in the near future and blog about. We also caught up with the In-laws for a pizza night! So all in all a pretty great weekend.

Although the sun is still shining, Summer has definitely moved on leaving a pretty cold chill in her place. This called for new pyjamas which also functioned for a PJ birthday party (which was as mature as it sounds). Callie approves of their cuddly warmth and cute owls, I just though all of you would like to know.

These bowls of delicious candy were just one part of a very enjoyable night with two friends, watching a movie with lollies, pizza and lots of laughs. Have I mentioned how much I love coke bottle lollies? I love them.

The movie we watched was this little gem that I had never heard of before. Robot and Frank is a sweet and unique little movie about a retired cat-burgular with worsening dementia who reluctantly gains the company and assistance of a rather charming robot, Robot. Together they get back into planning one big heist. The ending was the only thing that annoyed me about this movie, it felt unfinished or not thought through enough for such a thoughtful and sensitive film. Funny and sad and worth a watch!

Babysitting Mr 5 and Mr 11 called for making a delicious dinner of homemade wedges and pizza. Edd and I had pizza packed with vegies and ham whilst the kids piled on pineapple, ham and cheese on to theirs. It was a fun evening cooking with them and Mr 5 kept trying to sneak ingredients off the other pizza for his own.

Sleepy Dog.

Another movie I watched and Loved this week was My Neighbour Totoro. Might be my favorite Studio Ghibli film but its hard to choose between this, Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke and Ponyo I love them all! And cat bus is probably my favorite, can I have one??

Last up I will leave you with the most recent unlikely animal friendship, kindly sent to me by Edd!

06
Apr
2013

Friday’s Letters: Running late…again

categories: Friday's Letters

Dear Feet: Sometimes you and I have no idea where we are going but as long as we have fun on the way and enjoy every day we are blessed with the destination is much less relevant. Dear Weather: I am enjoying this cool yet clear weather!! No rain but cool enough for me to wear my fox jumper yay! Dear Callie: You’re a funny thing. Please stop sleeping on the driveway. Dear Health: You have been a pain in the … lately but I can’t blame you when I haven’t been treating you with enough care and respect. Thanks to a much needed trip to the Dr I think we have the jump start we need to heal up and start being healthy, inside and out! Dear April: I’m excited to see what’s on store and I’m praying that things fall in the right place. Dear Nails: Why you keep breaking?! Dear Daylight savings: Thankyou for the extra hour sleep tonight, it’s much needed. Dear Edd: Thank you for challenging me and making me think. Sorry if I don’t always get it as fast as you, we aren’t all blessed with your brains haha.

04
Apr
2013

Random Favorites for March

categories: Favorites, Random Favorites

Hi all!

So for the last favorites post for March I have some random apps, noms, tv shows and so on that I have been loving throughout March. There’s quite a collection so let me just get started 😉

Goodreads: This is a website/app that I have really gotten into over the last month or two. Its a social media type of website for sharing info on what books you are reading and your opinions on them. I have found it a great source for new book inspiration and it also motivates me to get books finished (I’m aiming for 50 books this year). I also like the chance to ponder over a book and give it a review as it encourages me to think a bit more and be more critical over what I read instead of just finishing it, throwing it into the black hole that is my book shelf and never thinking of it again. If you are a member or decide you want to be than connect with me! My username is Lizzy Weaver (Lockhart). If you want to check out what I have been reading so far here is a post I did a little while ago

Brooklyn Cateye Sunglasses from CottonOn: Now that I am wearing contacts I have been enjoying being able to wear sunglasses again throughout Summer and this pair has been my favorite (although I think they may be a little too big for my face). I like the classic cat eye and the brown tortishell colour. For $10 I was pretty happy.

Spotify: My second computer program/app this month is Spotify which I’m sure most people are aware of (if you’re not its a music social media type of business with the ability to listen to radio stations, follow people’s playlists and create your own that you can listen to both online (for free) or offline if you pay the monthly fee of … something). I joined up to the 30 day trial and had heaps of fun downloading (legally) albums that I wanted to try out. I found lots of new music to try out (see my Albums of the month post for a couple of examples). I would love to keep up the paid subscription but at the moment I’m not sure. Luckily as a free user you still get to enjoy spotify online.

Sours Squirms: At the beginning of the month Edd and I had our little road trip/honeymoon and these were the sweets of choice for the duration of the trip! I love The Natural Confectionary Co. for attempting to make lollies slightly less evil and yet still delivering delicious morsels of sugary goodness. I also love sour lollies and these were….well, sour? Yum!

thereadables: Having gotten back into reading big time I found a youtuber who talks alll about BOOKS and I love her! Priscilla is cute, colourful (she even organized her bookshelf by colour, I can barely see what books I have with all the random piles I have going on) and shares each month a variety of book related videos including book hauls, reviews and more. Check out her channel if you feel like taking a break from all the makeup/cat videos :). She also has a tumblr which I am quite a fan of.

Modern Family: Okay so not a new favorite but this month Edd and I rewatched every season up until the current episode and I never get over how much I love this show. I made the mistake of watching it whilst at the gym and couldn’t control fits of laughter from escaping my body whilst cycling, I apologize to those who were lucky enough to my presence. Anyway above and below are two of my favorite quotes, can you tell I love Mitch and Cam?

Well that’s it for another month! What have you been loving in all things random?

04
Apr
2013

March Beauty Favorites!

categories: Beauty Favorites, Makeup and Beauty

Hi All!

Here are this month’s beauty favorites including some lip products, a blush, skin care, perfume and of course a nail polish! They sort of all fell into the same colour family which I thought was cool (woah, calm down guys, it’s not that exciting). Anywhoo, here they are and tomorrow my random favorites will be posted!

Maybelline BabyLips Colour in R0se Addict: I couldn’t help but pick up one of the new baby lips with colour range and chose this light rose tinted balm to try out. I like the baby lips formulas for light hydration (not heavy duty but they do the job). The scent is obviously lovely, as all babylips seem to be, and the tint is very natural and sheer (a my lips but better kind of colour). I would love to pick up some more in the range to see what they are like. These are around $4 at places like Kmart, Farmers and at the Supermarkets too!

MUA Blush in Shade 4: I picked this blush up with an online order on the MUA website for a measly pound (which was a couple of NZ dollars) and was stunned with the quality and pigmentation! Next time I place an order I will definitely pick up some others in the range as the pigmentation is intense (as in it took me a while to learn how to not apply this in a clown like fashion) and the finely milled, soft powder blends into the skin beautifully letting you either create a dramatic blushed effect or go for a more natural, healthy glow. This colour is a lovely natural muted orangey-pink (a subdued coral according to the website). There’s no obvious shimmer but still has a little sheen which I love. Great product, great quality and amazing price. I have my eye on Shade 1 next!

Maybelline Vivid Lipstick in Vivid Rose (904): Ugh the vivid range from Maybelline, where do I start!? I have two colours from this range and I was mindblown by their bright, glossy gorgeousness. This colour is a bright, vivid pink/red colour that I absolutely adore. Its pigmentation is great and the lasting power really surprised me as I wasn’t expecting much but this lasted really well on my lips. For around $24 at Farmers and Kmart I will definitely keep my eyes out for a chance to pick up some more (I’m looking at you Mandarin Orange!)

Some quick swatches for you: Top is the beautiful vivid rose lipstick by Maybelline and the bottom is a light swatch of the MUA blush (that’s right, light! This baby has some pigmentation!)

Trilogy Certified Organic Rosehip Oil: I won’t say much about this other than it has become a new holy grail item for my skin care. Here is the review I did a wee while a go.

Elizabeth Arden Green Tea Perfume in Cherry Blossom: Along with Marc Jacob’s Daisy this was my other perfume during Summer. I love it’s fresh, floral scent with a hint of citrus and the green tea base notes (I should stop speaking like I have any knowledge about perfumes whatsoever) stops the sweetness from being too over powering. Clean and feminine and easy to wear.

Butter London Nail Polish in Macbeth: Last up is my nail polish for March and it was quite hard to choose one but in the end this beautiful pink toned red by Butter London had to be the one. I wore this several times this month and love the brightness and the beautiful formula of this creme polish. I also rather love the name…

That’s it for beauty favorites! Let me know what you have been loving or leave a link in the comments so I can check out your post

02
Apr
2013

Albums of March

categories: Albums of the Month, Music

Hi all!

So March came and went and my favorite posts were no-where to be seen! Don’t fret for they shall still be shared with you (hopefully before the end of April haha). Here is the first; my three favorite albums for this month. There is some great music in here and if you haven’t already listened to these definitely check them out.

#1: 500 Days of Summer Soundtrack

So 500 Days of Summer is one of my all time favorite movies ever and Edd and I watch it over and over, at least once a year, because we adore everything about it. I’ll try and avoid ranting about the movie itself except to say that music plays a big role in the movie thus it came as no surprise when both Edd and I loved the soundtrack that attempted to bring together the two character’s eclectic music tastes. The collection included so many songs that are big BIG favorites of Edd and I which was surprising but awesome. This came out of my music blackhole for our honeymoon road trip up North and I had forgotten how much I enjoyed it. A great collection of songs ranging from brit-pop to folk that successfully captures the movies emotions, characters and key moments.

Songs you should listen to: Us by Regina Spektor (probably my favorite Spektor song ever), There is a light that never goes out by The Smiths (this is a song Edd and I have always loved so of course we were ecstatic to see it in the movie), Quelqu’un M’a Dit by Carla Bruni (another old favorite) and Here comes your man by Meghan Smith (Don’t prefer it to the original but still an amazing song).

#2: The Lumineers

This American folk band came to my attention after seeing it all over spotify and I decided to give the album a listen and was enthralled for the entire time. If I had to choose one favorite for this month this would be it and I see the album being a steady listen for a long time to come. Their music is simple and rustic falling under the roots revival that is going on at the moment. The songs aren’t hidden in complicated music but thrives in the simple instrumentation and emotional vocals. I love this album and really recommend it if you are a fan of acoustic, rustic folk music, amazing vocals and beautiful lyrics.

Songs you should listen to: Flowers in Your Hair, Submarines, Ho Hey and Stubborn Love

#3: Passenger – All the little lights

I kept seeing this British singer/songwriter being talked about on Twitter and so eventually I went and downloaded the album on Spotify to listen to in the car. It wasn’t what I was expecting at all but I really enjoyed this album and had it on repeat for about a week (sorry Edd!). I guess this album falls under folk/pop/indie singer songwriter but the album and sound is so unique it’s hard to categorize. The vocals remind me of Ed Sheeren but there’s something even better and more charming that I adore. The songs and lyrics are beautiful and Mike’s amazing vocals don’t hide any emotion at all. I love this kind of album that feels personal with instrumentation that compliment his lyrics and lead you through the album.

Songs you should listen to: Things that stop you dreaming, All the little lights, The Wrong Direction, Holes,

Go listen to some music and let me know what has been occupying your ears this month!

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