Archive of ‘General/Life’ category

19
Nov
2012

Made Me Smile: Tea and other things

categories: General/Life, Made Me Smile, University

 

Hi All!

I hope everyone had an amazing weekend where-ever in the world you may be. Here are the things from the last week (or a small collection of them) that made me smile :)

Monday was my last exam (Hurrah!) so now I am officially unemployed for the first time in my life (sidenote-awkward…) however to celebrate (and because I am lazy) Edd and I got amazing takeaways from a Kiwi burger/fish and chips joint in Kingsland that do amazing food! As per the photo we also splurged on some Rekorderlig cider which I hadn’t tried and was DESPERATE to. These were the two flavors recommended via Twitter and they were right on. These are amazing and unlike any cider I have tried (I LOVE cider!). Slow to the party as always haha.

For me the lack of exams essentially means more time for coffees (or chai lattes in this case) and reading! Gone are the 4 years of textbooks and lecture notes that made me feel guilty when I picked up anything half interesting. I may be unemployed but at least I can read fiction guilt-free. Its the small things right :P? On a side note this book is amazing so far and I also have a post planned with my recent reads which some of you may find dead boring but I hope at least one internet soul finds slightly interesting :-/

Went to visit Edd’s rather lovely family this week, one of whom is Tilly the lovely old kitty who Edd misses quite a lot (though he would never admit it). I really am very lucky with my future in-laws! (the people…not just the pets…)

Saturday…Ugh Saturday where to begin. AMAZING day (all concentrated into a couple of hours mind you) with a wonderful friend who took me to her local tea cafe where we chose from the WALL of teas. I was seriously in tea-lovers heaven.

In the end we chose Caramel and Cream Rooibos tea (I’m pretty sure I spelt that wrong whoops) and it tasted like a tea version of Werthers Originals. Delicious.

Did I mention I also got pancakes? Not enough maple syrup (I mean is there ever really enough?) but hit my sweet spot for sure. If you live near Milford check this Tea place out…Sorry I can’t be more specific than that haha, useful right? It has tea in the name?

The other major thing that occurred this weekend was Edd and I taking over My dad’s house with Kids and Animals included (YAY) for two weeks whilst Dad and my Step Mum are living it up in New York. Meet Tilly. (p.s. Children are tiring).

And how could I leave a week in smiles without this familiar face? Edd is keeping her company for several nights this week and I pop in every now and again to make sure she knows we still love her. Baby.

Xx

12
Nov
2012

Made Me Smile

categories: General/Life, Made Me Smile, Restaurants

Hi all!

So today was my final exam for my undergraduate BA/BSc degrees and it all feels kind of strange haha. But anyway, here is my past week in the things that made me smile.

So last Monday was the day of the worst exam of the year (which I hopefully still passed) so to recover on Tuesday I retreated to Waiuku (in the country down South of Auckland) where my mum, nana and 3 amazing siblings live along with a plethora of animals. Here are the bunnies and ducks :) A great day full of opshopping, chats over teas and coffee and being with people who have supported me over the past 4 years. I’m a very lucky person.

One of the large nmr of photos I took of Callie during her photoshoot on the car in the middle of the week. This girl can pull some pretty awesome faces.

Also this week we had new neighbours move in above us in the house we live  in which is subdivided into two flats. I was keen to scope them out as well as make them feel welcome so baked some of my normal, fail safe chocolate cupcakes with chocolate buttercream on some and a new icing of peanut butter and cream cheese on the others. Both flavours were incredible and I’m not sure which is my favorite. Either way they both went down well and luckily there were a few left overs for Edd and I to munch on!

I was lucky enough to be bought an early Christmas present from the lovely Mr when I was totally sucked into buying some of the amazing mineral dead sea products from the mall. Although sceptical at first, after trying them out in store I was convinced. Since using them at home I LOVE the nail kit, the buffer works incredibly well and has a lifetime warranty so if it craps out I can get a new one yay! The body scrub and butter are divine as well and much needed for my poor dry skin. Made me very happy indeed.

Ok that same shopping trip as mentioned above Edd and I spotted this Fox mug at Starbucks and I was over the moon! Edd who understands my crazy love for foxes and annoyance that in NZ there is so little fox stuff so he bought it for me right away. It is now my official tea mug and spends every afternoon at my side. I love it. Possibly unhealthily so…

Mail is something that always makes me smile (when it doesn’t contain bills or loan statements of my hideous student loan) and this week I received my big order from MUA over in the UK. Boy was I like a kid at Christmas. Haul post coming up very very soon but here is a photo I snapped of one of my favorites – their lipstick in shade #1 which they sell for a grand total of 1 pound. Yup.

On Saturday Edd and I took my Grandma who is at a resthome due to her Alzheimers out for some delicious lunch at a restaurant called Elevation situated in the top of the Waitakeres in West Auckland. The food was great but my goodness that view! It was stunning. NZ is a blessing in its lush landscapes and blue skies and Saturday reminded me why I love it here.

Ill leave you with another stunning photo from the deck where we ate lunch. Seriously, if you are anywhere in Auckland make the time to take a trip up here and head on over to Piha while you’re at it! What a magnificent view.

Hope all had a beautiful weekend :)

Xx

09
Nov
2012

Friday’s Letters: Life is Precious

categories: Friday's Letters, General/Life

 

Dear Fox Mug: You and me were meant to be! I hope you will enjoy the daily tea sessions you and I shall share in the future. Dear Neuroscience exam: You got me good. I stuffed up studywise and felt the ramifications in one of my most horrible exams to date. I just hope I wrote enough crap down to pass you and move on with my life. Dear Edd: Thanks for buying me an early Christmas present! My skin is gonna felt like silk with all these dead sea mineral salt scrubs and what not! Woo! Dear Mum: Thanks for letting me come down to Waiuku and spend the day opshopping to forget about the previous days terror of an exam. And thanks for not acting like I shoulda done better :) Your constant support means the world. Dear Sister: I have so much love for you especially after you spent the day looking after me at blood tests and CT scans! Sometimes I forget you are the younger one, you are so calm and collected, quite unlike myself. Dear Peanut Butter and Cream Cheese Icing: Why you taste so good? Dear Nail Polish: I don”t know why but you are chipping a lot more than usual…Am I doing something wrong here?  Dear Life: After hearing about a death at the University this week I am feeling so blessed to be alive. No matter the stress of Uni and horrible horrible exams I have a life full of people who love and support me and for that I am so thankful. I know not everyone is so lucky and I just hope people know there is help for those who need it. Life is precious and I hope I remember that for as long as I am lucky enough to be alive.

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05
Nov
2012

Made Me Smile

categories: General/Life, Made Me Smile

 

Hi All,

So putting up this post was a bit of a challenge and I wasn’t planning on doing it at all but figured I would push through and throw up a few snapshots from this week.  Had an exam this afternoon that didn’t go very well at all. Most likely passed but was a generally unpleasant experience. Totally my fault and so I felt like crap all evening haha. Anyway, after some pizza and reassuring words/cuddles from Edd I feel a bit better. Anyway….here’s my week in smiles :)

So first up this week I ventured into the world of self-saucing puddings with this Ginger and Toffee self-saucing pudd. I have never thought these would work very well (at least not with my skill set) however after a twitterer tweeted she had succeeded and passed on the recipe to me which seemed unrealistically easy I figured what the heck? Plus, it was an excuse to stop studying for twenty minutes! This isn’t hugely attractive, I know, but trust me the taste was incredible!!! Very gingery so beware if you don’t want a ginger slap in the face but I loved it. Will definitely be made again although I may attempt a chocolate pudding first.

Sleepy morning sleep-ins with Callie. Need I say more?

So I was supposed to make some dinner but got carried away with photos with my October favorites so Edd took over and made this amazing butter chicken curry (with peas cause I need my frozen veggies!). The most Indian restaurant quality curry we’ve made at home. Thanks Edd!! Nomnom!

Wednesday night was Halloween of course and Edd and I went to Spookers (a haunted attraction type of thing) along with our old flatmate and a couple of her friends. It was terrifying and my throat was sore from screaming so much but definitely an adrenaline filled fun night. Here is the only photo of moi with one of the lovely dudes wandering around the grounds of the old mental institution. He was pretty friendly but the worms in his nose were a little off putting.

Sunday with my lovely brothers involved a school gala! I seriously love school galas. Seriously. This was Mr 5’s favorite thing, a giant blow up obstacle course. His little legs powered through this like nobodies business!

My favorite thing at the Gala was this rainbow slushy. How old am I again?

Aaand I’ll leave you with a kitty shot from Miss Flick (dad’s cat) in all her glorious sleepiness. She’s much more vicious when awake…

xx

 

03
Nov
2012

Random Favorites for October

categories: Favorites, General/Life, Random Favorites

 

Hi All!

So here is part two of my monthly favorites, a slightly random collection of things I have been loving this month with a special Callie favorite included too (I know, I know, I’m Crazy)!

First up are these amazing iced tea drinks by the Arizona brand. Holy wow these are delicious and full on flavour! I have been enjoying these as a little exam study treat every now and again and the two above (pomegranate green tea and iced peach tea) are my favorites although I have yet to find one I don’t love. Quite sweet but as a good friend advised, watering them down a bit makes them a bit less full on with the sugar load. I also love the packaging and kinda almost didn’t want to chuck them away (I warned ya’ll I was crazy)

Keeping in line with the tea theme here is my tea of choice for this month. I think I raved about this in a Monday Made Me Smile post but thought I’d just mention it again cause I love it so much! This range by Dilmah is yet to disappoint (especially at less than $3 on special). This specific one with rose and french vanilla was recommended by my future mother in law. I love the full ceylon flavour with the rich vanilla taste and the rose primarily comes through in scent. Seriously, I just sit sniffing my tea while I’m supposed to by studying…so strange. Turkish delight in tea form. Delightful.

With study and exams comes stress and with stress comes emotional eating. Okay fine I do it all the time. Edd and I have a bar of chocolate which we enjoy for desert and getting a different one each week is always a sadly exciting decision. This peanut butter one by Whittaker’s is divine! I love peanut butter and chocolate and you don’t really see it a whole lot in NZ so I was very happy when this came out here. Delicious and rich so a couple pieces is enough to satisfy my chocolate cravings (usually…). I do wish they had it with dark chocolate though to balance some of the sweetness…mmmm

Last up for my random favorites is this diffusion set by Tribal Infusion in the scent Moroccan Orange. I got this for like $10 at Postie Plus and have been in love with the scent ever since. Leaves my bedroom smelling like fragrant citrus, perfect for spring!

Last up is Callie’s favorite of the month! We got her these when she returned from having her stitches taken out of her tail and she is obsessed! She loves cheesy stuff and is constantly trying to steal my Twisties  or grab some cheese from my dinner so this was an obvious choice with its cheesy flavour. Am I weird for having a cat favorite? Probably. She can even help herself if we hold the bag open.

And just in case there was any doubt here is Callie trying to get some whilst I was taking photos for this post. A rustle of this bag and she comes running!

And that’s it for this months favorites! I look forward to seeing what November brings along with Thanksgiving (yay for having an American friend who celebrates it here in NZ!)

Xx

24
Oct
2012

Perfection

categories: General/Life

I’m Not Perfect

I’m not the perfect daughter, sister, fiancee, friend, student, cat-mum, cleaner, baker, blogger, wedding planner or Christian.

I Make Mistakes

Sometimes I hurt other’s feelings. I forget birthdays. I forget how to say sorry. I get stubborn. I swear unnecessarily. I get jealous. I lie to others . I lie to myself. I forget to do things. I don’t treat others with respect. I don’t treat myself with respect. I leave everything to the last minute. I lose important stuff. I eat too much crap. I yell. I forget to take my vitamins. I avoid housecleaning. I forget to take my makeup off before bed. I put others down. I put myself down. I forget to be thankful. I over-mix my muffins. I cry too easily. I don’t tell the people I love that I love them enough. I worry too much. I watch too much reality TV. I forget to pray.

This is obviously not an exhaustive list.

But I try.

I try and enjoy each moment. I try and say sorry when I know I’m wrong. I try and ask for help; from friends, family and God. I try and forgive people who make the same mistakes I do. I try and treat others the way I want to be treated. I try and smile at strangers more often (although some people find that creepy). I try to pay attention to the recipes more. I try and be a little more organised without losing the ability to enjoy spontaneous moments of fun. I try to tell others how beautiful they are. I try to think about all the good things in my life and all the amazing people who I love and who love me. I try not to worry so much about the future and enjoy the present as I live it. I try and do kind things for others without expecting anything in return. I try to take better care of my body. I try to recognize the source of my jealousy and insecurities and work on not feeling them anymore. I try to study harder. I try and be there for my friends and family when they need someone. I try to become a slightly better person.

Perfection, for me, is an ideal that is not worth worrying about. All we can do is aim to improve and get better each day. Knowing where I go wrong and what my weaknesses are allows me to try and become a better person.

As hard as it is sharing some of my weaknesses and mistakes in life I know that we all experience moments of failure and disappointment,  either with ourselves or others. But life is about growing and moving and changing and that is what I hope to keep doing for everyday that I am lucky enough to be here :)

Hope you are all having an amazing week. Please feel free to share some of your faults so I don’t feel so awkward baring all 😛

 

19
Oct
2012

Friday’s Letters

categories: Friday's Letters, General/Life

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Dear Pizza: You make my belly happy. I shall worry about your horrific caloric content at some other point. Dear Lectures: You are now completely over for my undergraduate degree(s)!! Dear Exams: See you next Saturday. Thanks for throwing 3/5 exams at me in the first 4 days. Dear Callie: Only 4 more days and then that annoying collar can leave us all alone! Dear Auckland: Please start behaving like it is actually Spring. I keep putting my big jumpers away and then having to dig them out a day later. Too confusing. Dear Fawlty Towers: I love that I can watch you over and over and you never stop being hilarious! Dear Edd: Can’t wait to get married to you! Even though nothing is ready yet … Lets just do fish and chips on the beach?

15
Oct
2012

Made Me Smile…Kinda

categories: General/Life, Made Me Smile

Hi All!

So this week has mainly consisted of vet trips, vet bills, angry kitty, annoying kitty, sad kitty, keeps me up at night kitty and so on with a not so small side of assignments. You get the picture. The bad news was that Monday night Callie had to go to the vets and she had her tail amputated Tuesday. The good news is that she can start healing (with one of those ridiculously annoying collars around her neck) and getting back to normal. Not my most favorite week. Here are the highlights :)

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07
Oct
2012

Ken Yakitori!

categories: General/Life, Restaurants

Hi All!

So Friday night, amidst a hell of essays and assignments, Edd and I went to our favorite place to eat in Auckland, a Japanese Yakitori Bar called Ken Yakitori. This was kind of a belated dinner to celebrate Edd’s graduation on Tuesday due to me being a terrible girlfriend and being so stressed out by Uni work that a night off after a day missing lectures for the graduation was a no-go.

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