Random Favorites for February!

Hi All!

Here is my last post for February! I hope you all had a good month. February was pretty hectic but awesome for me with valentines day, our wedding and my birthday all rolled up into a couple of weeks. The only downside to Febraury was the not so successful job hunting…sigh. But life goes on! And here are a few miscellaneous things that I’ve been loving this month.

1. Rose Gold watch from Lovisa

I got this watch as a very early birthday present right at the beginning of the month and have been loving it a lot. Rose gold has been all the rage much to my delight because I think its a gorgeous metal tone and love all things in it! When I saw this chunky boyfriend style watch I fell in love and snapped it up with a couple other jewelry items (they always seem to have a buy 2 get one free sale on which is quite alright with me!). They are one of my favorite jewelry shops because they are pretty good quality for reasonable prices and always have products that fit with the current trends which is great for a fashion noob like myself. Anyway, I see this being worn a lot for a long time to come. It was $34.99 NZD and here is the online link to it 🙂

2. 2 Broke Girls

So for TV this month there hasn’t been anything groundbreakingly awesome but Edd and I did start the second season (I think) of 2 Broke Girls. This isn’t the BEST comedy out there (I prefer New Girl and The Office US for example) but happens to be what I have been watching a lot of this month and it makes me laugh. A lot. So it can’t be too bad. The comedy has a lot of sexual and stereotype jokes so if that kind of slightly crass humour isn’t your thing than I’d give it a miss. But I like it and I love the characters, especially Max who is the stunning brunette and who is my favorite thing about the whole show. Also they bake lots of cupcakes which I like… The one thing I hate is the overused laugh track. Ugh just turn it off, please?!

3. MyFitnessPal

My app of the month is MyFitnessPal. I have an upcoming post about some health/fitness changes I’ve been making and I’ll mention this in that too but this is basically a free calorie and exercise tracker with an added social element where you can follow other people and comment on their entries and what not. I never was a fan of “calorie counting” and hated people who checked the calories on everything before they had a bite but actually this has been really useful in helping me keep track of what I’m taking in and the exercise I’m doing each day as well as helping me make some better diet choices. If you use this and want to connect with me (cause I’m so awesome and interesting…) then my username is liz_lock 🙂

4. Ferrero Rocher

Ok so swinging from Calorie counting to chocolate heaven seems like a bit of a contrast but oh well! February was Valentines and so Edd and I have been sharing a box of these little morsels of deliciousness all month! Somehow we are able to resist ourselves to one every second night or so (again, being able to look up the calories packed into one tiny mouthful on MyFitnessPal helped to curb my cravings haha) and the box is just under half full yay! Usually these would be gone in a couple of days. I have no self control :(. But yes, I’m sure you all know how delicious these are so I won’t go on.

5. Powder Blue bag from Forever New

So Forever New is one of my absolute favorite shops where I love pretty much everything and can afford nothing! Having said that although there stuff isn’t cheap it’s not ridiculously priced either and well worth the money for the gorgeous clothes and accessories. Anyway, when looking there one day I saw this bag which is the perfect blue colour to go with the wedding stuff and I didn’t have a wedding day bag yet. So I grabbed it…I mean it’s absolutely gorgeous with gold accents and a leopard print lining and its the perfect size for me. However come wedding day everything was so amazing and chaotic I completely forgot about my bag and didn’t end up using it at all haha. Luckily it’s my favorite colour and is a bag I will wear forever until it crumbles and dies on me. From memory this was about $50 but it’s no longer on their website so can’t be sure. My perfect bag. I should have bought a backup haha.

6. Tribal Infusion in Star Anise and Vanilla

A few months ago I posted about another scent of this brand of infusers (Moroccan orange?) and this is the other scent I bought a couple of months later but haven’t got around to mentioning yet. I got this for $12 from Postie Plus and I haven’t seen them there for a wee while so I am terrified they may be gone 😦 This scent is lovely, mainly a sweet vanilla scent with a slightly spicy tone. I love both of the scents I have from this range and love the packaging too. They last for ages and throw a good amount of scent into the room. This one is kept in the bedroom whilst the orange (nearly empty :() is in our lounge.

7. Totoro Hat!

Last weekend was the Lantern Festival (and my birthday) so Edd got me this ADORABLE hat from one of the many stands at the event. I love totoro and with Winter approaching (although it doesn’t feel like it at all) this is cuddly perfection. So I had to include it. I think it was $10 not that it really matters because I have no idea where you would get these from…

So there’s February, done and dusted! See you all in March

Xx

February Favorites: Beauty!

Hi All!

Here are 6 beauty related products I’ve been loving this month! I haven’t been using much makeup this month hence only 2 makeup products being included but there’s a couple other things I have been enjoying for the month of February.

1. Daisy by Marc Jacobs

I featured this in my recent haul post but this perfume has been a big favorite this month. Fresh and floral and perfect for the end of summer when I want something soft yet sophisticated. I can’t see myself ever falling out of love with this scent. Lasts a good few hours but is definitely subtle. I could easily see this being my signature scent and I haven’t ever felt that with a perfume before.

2. Revlon Kissable Balm Stain in Smitten

As you can see by the wear of this poor balm stain this has been in my handbag all month, not a safe environment for anyone. This month I haven’t been wearing much makeup but have been enjoying a pop of bright but easy colour on my lips. I love the fact these are moisturizing so I don’t have to worry about dry lips and this also lasts on me for ages! Better than other lipsticks or balm products I own. I also love these berry toned pinks. This looks a lot darker here than the pop of berry pink you get on the lips. Hasn’t replaced Honey as my favorite Balm stain of all but a close favorite.

3. Thin Lizzy Mineral Foundation in Oriental Doll

This was another product in my rather recent haul and has been one of the only foundations I have been using this month because it is so quick and easy to buff some on before I head off. Gives  beautiful coverage without looking cakey and doesn’t irritate my sensitive skin. This shade is perhaps a tad to light for me at the moment but will be perfect in the Winter and seems to still work fine at the moment.

4. a England in St George

This has to be my favorite nail polish of the month even though I received it pretty late into Feb. This is  a stuning teal/forest green colour that shimmers away all the time but when you step into the sun the holographic scatter throughout it really pops. This makes it a slight driving hazard I should warn you. Stunning colour with a stunning holographic shimmer. In summer the only dark colours I wear are these that are just to beautiful to wait until Winter/Autumn. If you haven’t heard of or tried a England nail polish before I highly recommend you do! They are very reasonably priced and there are often good specials on. I now have 7 in total and haven’t had any issues with them. They often only take 1 coat to be opaque!! And are always stunning and interesting colours that are hard to find elsewhere. Also, they ship world wide last time I checked, so no excuse!

5. SteamCream

So this is the pot of goodness I received in my sample bar glam pack in January  and like all good sample box products it was put in some dark corner of the abyss that is my room, never to be seen again. Until a couple of weeks ago! I pulled this out just before bed to quickly moisturize my neck and decolletage area as well as my arms that were feeling a bit dry (too much info? Sorry, my skin thinks I am an alligator 90% of the time). The steamcream did a decent job of moisturizing, but so far nothing to write home about. But the reason I love this, especially before bed is the beautiful scent of lavender and orange blossom (mainly lavender but I find the orange blossom stops it being too strong, although I know lots of people dislike the lavender scent anyway). The scent of lavender always relaxes me and this is perfect to help me get to sleep.

6. Pure Fiji Coconut milk and Honey hydrating body mist

Another product from the haul…sorry, totally didn’t notice this when choosing my month’s favorites haha. This is my favorite of the two scents my brother got for me. It’s subtle and yet smells like I’m on holiday. I love the soft and sweet coconut with honey combination and have been spritzing this like a mad woman on the hot days we have been having lately.

So there’s this month’s beauty favorites, what have you been loving for February? Tomorrow my random favorites should go up so see you all then!

Xx

Albums of February!

Hi All!

So the end of February approached at light speed and suddenly today I realized I had to get organized and do my monthly posts! This month, music-wise, I signed up for the 30 day free trial on Spotify (slow to the party, I know) and have been having heaps of fun finding old music that I no longer have and also listening to some new albums. Here are three albums I have been listening to quite a lot this month, only one is a brand new to me find but there are heaps more I just haven’t had the time to listen to properly yet. So enjoy!

1. The O.C. Volume 2

So way back when I was pretty obsessed with the O.C. My best friend had all the DVDs and we would watch them endlessly. One of my favorite parts of the O.C. is the great music they use. So many bands I love I discovered through the O.C. haha, is that sad? I love all their sound tracks but this 2nd one is a favorite and just happened to be the one I kept putting on this month. A great mix of indie/alternative music that is quirky, fun and a little bit interesting.

Songs you should listen to: Specialist (by Interpol), You got me all wrong (by dios (malos)), Popular mechanics for lovers (by Beulah) and Eastern Glow (by The Album Leaf)

2. Emile Sande: Our Version of Events

So this is my amazing new find of the month! Somehow I clicked through to this album by the young, beautiful Scottish singer Emile Sande. I believe this is her debut album and I absolutely love it! I don’t listen to a lot of soul or R&B music but do love a good singer along those lines. Emile’s voice is simply stunning with a lot of soul and emotion and her songs are fun to sing along to even if I do a crap job of it. The album has a good mix of upbeat songs and slower, more melancholic tunes. Definitely give her a listen if you like R&B singer/songwriter stuff.

Songs you should listen to: Heaven, Suitcase, Next to Me, River

3. Florence + the Machine: Lungs

Last up is an old favorite that you will all know I am sure! I have listened to the new album by Florence + the Machine and it left me wanting to go back to this album which I used to have and loved to pieces. On Spotify one of the first things I did was go and find this again! Florence has one of the most beautiful and powerful voices in my opinion and this album exemplifies this along with a variety of amazing songs that incorporate rock, pop, soul and indie qualities. Such a huge talent and an album I could listen through over and over. (I should add that choosing my favorite songs below was quite a challenge).

Songs you should listen to: I’m not calling you a liar, Between two lungs, Cosmic Love, My Boy Builds Coffins

That’s it for this month! What’s been keeping your ears occupied?

Made Me Smile! Foxes and Birthday Things

Hi All!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! My made me smile monday’s have been a bit sparse recently and I considered just stopping but I really enjoy looking over my past week or two and some of the things that were positive. Especially in times that are a bit challenging I find this reflection very useful so they are here to stay but no guarantee they will be every Monday. Anyhow, here are some things that made me smile recently 🙂

One night I got lost on Etsy under the key word Fox. I am always on a hunt for anything foxy and unfortunately this doesn’t happen very often. Until Etsy. Seriously, give me $100 and I will buy all the fox stuff I can! How cute is the baby hat? Do they make adult sizes? Argh, so cute!!!!

Callie has been especially lovely lately. The one upside to being unemployed and going through the joys (or not so much) of job hunting is having Callie with me when I need a cuddle break. And when she needs a cuddle she uses her legs.

Edd and I went to the Auckland Lantern Festival Saturday night at Albert Park. I got a couple of birthday treats, we ate some delicious food and saw some cool lighting stuff. But I have a little post with a whole heap of photos so for now I’ll just assure you that this was heaps of fun. Not necessarily just because of the festival itself  but because it was a date with my husband!

Sunday I turned 22 (yay me!) and although I was technically working looking after my two lovely brothers we had a wonderful lunch up in the Waitakeres at Elevation. Consumed far too much pizza (that was AMAZING) and enjoyed a stunning Auckland summer day. Then for my birthday evening Edd and I went to my Friends flat for a huge serving of handmade dumplings and a movie night of the Labyrinth. Seriously though, how amazing/weird/terrifying/funny is that movie? I now understand why this movie totally weirded me out as a child…cause it’s awesome. Bowie in tights.

Here are some videos that made me smile this week:

The first one Edd sent me and it’s just a Lion giving the lady who rescued and raised him a giant hug. Sounds pretty average but click over, it makes me feel or warm and fuzzy inside! youtu.be/6Xp7M0_hdUE

Then today Mum emailed me this video of 8 reasons why your cat is secretly a dog. Worth a look if you are a fan of cute cats or just a crazy cat lady like me: youtu.be/6Xp7M0_hdUE

Oh yeah. Edd got me a Totoro hat from the Lantern festival. Winter come at me!

Other things that made me smile: hour long cardio workouts at the gym whilst watching lie detector results on Jeremy Kyle, watching new episodes of Parks and Recreation, getting through 4 loads of washing in one day, an 11 year old brother who is great at choosing out sweet little birthday jewelry gifts, getting back in to blogging, new perfume from the husband (sorry I can’t stop calling him that now!), long long long emails with friends who desperately needed to be caught up with, the joy of buying multiple pairs of cheap sunglasses now I have contacts and eating healthy but delicious food.

What’s been making you smile?

What I’ve been buying

 

 

Hi All!

 

So I am not one to do “haul” posts, not sure why as I enjoy reading them. Maybe it’s the shame of the money I spend? Or the fact that I don’t often buy a lot of products at the same-ish time. Anyway, this is a bunch of stuff that I bought or received in the week prior to the wedding so I thought I would do a little haul post for you to show you what I got! . I’m not going to do a seperate photo for each product as it’s a waste of space on wordpress and makes the post longer to load but please let me know if this kind of way works with one photo at the top? Or do you prefer a separate photo above each piece of text?

1. L’oreal nail polish in Rebel Blue and Jordana nail polish in Smooth Blue.

So these two nail polishes were bought in my pre-wedding search for the perfect blue nail polish for the big day (yes I know, instead of a french mani I opted for bright blue nails). The Jordana is a mid-blue creme whilst the L’oreal is a shimmery slightly darker blue that also has a little bit of a more dusty tone to it. In the end the L’oreal was what I went with and it perfectly matched the blue hydrangeas we had everywhere. Also the L’oreal formula was excellent and really good at not chipping even without topcoat. The L’oreal was $10.95 for a measly 5 mL (:() and the Jordana was $3 for a full size.

2. Maybelline Baby Lips Color in Rose Addict

I love the original clear babylips lip balms cause they smell great and are decent at keeping my lips moisturized so when I saw that a range of tinted versions had been finally released in NZ I had to grab one. In a rush I just picked up the Rose addict shade which provides a very slight strawberry pink tint to the lips. Smells amazing (as to be expected) and I am keen to grab a couple more. I think this was on special for about $4.

3. L’oreal Infallible 18hr Liquid Foundation in the shade Classic Ivory

Okay so this product and the next one are the two foundations that I picked up on advice of my friend who helped with my makeup for the wedding. I loved this foundation because it felt incredibly light on the skin, had an SPF coverage, provided good medium coverage over any of the red pigmentation on my skin and lasted AGES without budging. It blended really easily into my skin and was quick to apply as well. This was $40-$50.

4. Thin Lizzy Flawless Mineral Foundation in the shade Oriental Doll

Although I will do a little post on my very basic wedding day makeup, this was the second product I used on top of the liquid foundation above. This just gave me that little bit of extra coverage for a truly flawless look and also set the liquid foundation so the combo lasted perfectly all day (12 hours and perfect foundation the whole time up until I went to bed!). I think this was around $49.

5. Trilogy certified organic rosehip oil and Trilogy Hydrating mist toner

These two products were gifts from my friend who uses this range a lot. I have never tried this brand mainly due to price so was super excited to give them a go! I won’t say too much here as I think I will do a little review of these products and how I use them.

6. Pure Fiji Hydrating Body Mist in Mango infusion and in Coconut Milk & Honey

My brother went to Fiji for a month or so prior to the wedding and came back with these goodies for me! Again, I haven’t tried any Pure Fiji products before but I am absolutely in LOVE with these, especially in this hot weather! I don’t think I can choose a favorite scent as they are both gorgeous and I love spraying them all over me when I’m dying of heat. So perfect for summer!

7. Daisy by Marc Jacobs (50mL)

My incredible generous mother bought this for me as a wedding day perfume. This was one that I have been wanting to get for FOREVER and I adore it’s gentle floral scent that smells fresh and girly but still elegant, was absolutely perfect for the wedding. I think this is my signature scent that I will have to keep buying forever! I believe this was $130 from Life pharmacy. Thankyou Mum!!!

8. Elizabeth Arden Green tea with Cherry Blossom

This was another perfume I had been wanting since I tried it when it was launched here in NZ. My dad and step mum grabbed this duty free earlier and were saving it for my birthday but I got it a week early yay! Another lovely fresh and floral scent that smells a bit sweeter than Daisy. I also adore the packaging of this perfume (hence it’s extra picture haha). I think from the pharmacy this is around $70. I always want to keep pretty perfume boxes but then my small place gets full of rubbish and I’m trying to be a little more clutter free haha.

So those are all my amazing goodies that I got recently. Aren’t my friends and family amazing? And I’m not buying any more makeup for a while haha (except those Maybelline Vivids which are now out and I NEED desperately! Oh and the new Euro collection from OPI….uh oh)

Xx

 

Friday letters: Married life

Dear Edward: It makes me so happy to be your wife. Our day was perfect and I couldn’t have asked for anything more. Thankyou for asking me to be your wife 5 years ago and for waiting with me until the time was right. Dear Universe:I can’t thankyou enough for bringing me to this point in life. I may be currently unemployed (not for long I hope) but I couldn’t be happier with my little life and my little family of 3. Dear Friends and Family: Thankyou for sharing such a big part of our lives with us and for all behaving yourselves, I know it couldn’t have been easy :p. I couldn’t have planned the wedding or carried it off without the help and support of so many of you. Dear Gym: I love you for having a TV screen on each cardio machine. Less love for how busy you can be at certain times of the day (I’m looking at you post-work exercisers hogging all the cardio machines!!). Dear new Die Hard movie: Thankyou for not being rubbish like I was semi-expecting. Dear Lantern Festival: You. Me. Tomorrow night. I’m excited! Dear Self: Life is too good right now to let immature drama get you down 🙂 Never stop speaking your mind. Dear 22 years of age: See ya Sunday!

SampleBar Glam Pack for February 2013!

Hi All!

So I received the February Sample Bar Glam Pack on the 19th (bit later than normal) and here are the things it contained! The theme of the box was valentine’s day (even though it arrived afterwards) to provide some tools for pampering and to turn a few heads.

1. Tooth Spa in Fresh Orange

So this first product is a full size organic, all natural tooth paste by a NZ company trying to provide an alternative to the more typical toothpastes full of fluoride and other chemicals (I personally have no idea whether chemicals in toothpaste are actually harmful in any significant way to our teeth). I think this is a really cool idea, especially for people who do try to cut down on the chemicals they are using. I haven’t used it long enough to test it at all in terms of how well it works but it smells lovely. The taste is a little odd, orangey but there’s a bit of an odd slightly salty taste in there too. It doesn’t foam which feels strange at first. Cool product concept but don’t think I would repurchase at $15 for 70g.

2. Heart shaped toe seperators

Pretty self explanatory, perfect for a pamper session. For some reason I haven’t already got any of these so quite happy to get some. These are $3.99 from samplebar.

3. Lash Card

Another full size product, with 10 lash cards (individual mascara shields for those pesky little smudge marks on upper eye lid when we apply our mascara). Again I think this is a really cool idea for a product but I generally don’t have a problem with mascara application, probably because my stupid eyelashes are so tiny. Regardless these will definitely be given a go.

4. Flirty Little Secret Firming cream with pheremones

So this is from a brand called Booty Parlor (never heard of them) and it’s a body lotion with some added shimmer and bronzer along with firming action and pheremones (seems a bit odd…?). This was a 5mL sample  so hopefully enough to use on both my legs or something. Full size (135mL) this is $67.99 so luckily I don’t feel super desperate to repurchase.

5. ModelCo Shine Ultra Lip Gloss in StripTease 

This is the other full size product and I LOVE this! I love when makeup products are included in the glam packs and this lip gloss is a great one. I haven’t tried ModelCo products before but this lip gloss makes me want to. It smells incredible (like sour fruit lollies) and has a beautiful nude shimmer. Doesn’t feel too sticky and I love the doe foot applicator (as well as the mirror on the side making application on the go super easy. Great product! To buy these on SampleBar they are $19.

6. Shiseido Skincare night moisture recharge enriched

This was a 10mL sample of the night cream and I have a feeling this will go a long way as the cream is super moisturizing! I love this feel of this, smooths into my skin without feeling greasy or heavy. Love skin care products so glad this was included in this month’s box. Unfortunately the full size is $85 so unlikely I will repurchase in my current state but maybe one day once I’m rich!

All  in all, I was pretty pleased with this month’s box. The toothpaste would be great if the taste was little less odd and I don’t think the lash cards are that useful for me personally but the lip gloss and the night cream were great and there was nothing I really didn’t like. I was happy that there were 6 products in total and only two of these were little samples. At the moment I am trying to decide whether to continue my subscription or put $25 a month into a product I really want so I need to decide quick about next month but this box was one of my favorites since joining.

Click here to take a look at the Sample Bar website or Here to view my first post explaining what this subscription service is 🙂

Xx

Overdue for a catch-up

Why hello there,

I return from a blogging hiatus as the Wife of my best friend and so I thought I should have a quick chat (to myself basically) to update you all and let you all into what my life has been like in the past couple of weeks and what it is like now 🙂

First off I missed blogging but life got so chaotic the couple of weeks before the wedding and still hasn’t quite returned to normal. Blogging was the easiest thing to sacrifice and to be honest I was too stressed to sit down and blog even when I did have the time!

Secondly: the wedding was on Sunday just gone and it was perfect. It exceeded my expectations in many ways and I only have one regret (which was my weight, no one wants to get married when they don’t feel like they are at the right weight but this is a tiny teeny detail in the full scope of what the day was like). It was the perfect weather for our little outdoor ceremony and for the marquee garden party dinner. Edd and his boys looked amazing and my two bridesmaids looked like models! I won’t go into a huge amount of detail as I have a whole series of posts on various aspects of the big day that I will start trickling through the blog. Unfortunately the wedding photos will take a good couple of months to arrive so until then I will make do with the small number taken by some friends and family.

I had a slight hilarious disaster the night before our wedding eve that through everything off! I can’t wait to write a blog to share with you guys about it. It makes me laugh now but at the time I cried like a baby.

Now that the wedding is over (our *honeymoon* isn’t really until the beginning of march where we go up north for a week) I am back to full time job hunting. Pre-wedding I was feeling pretty horrid over the job hunting business after being rejected several times for lack of experience or for my age or for my ethnicity. After the small job hunting break pre-wedding I feel recharged and ready to keep being rejected until someone takes me on! I’m also applying for jobs outside of where I want my specific experience as I figure the main thing is to get an income and then I can use my free time to volunteer and get experience that way.

Being a Wife feels pretty much the same as before hahaha. Edd and I haven’t quite clicked on to it all yet but I doubt much will change. I have to find out how I am supposed to change my name because I have no idea how I go about doing this haha. I am planning on hyphenating my name (Lockhart-Weaver) although the celebrant at our wedding ignored my carefully typed out ceremony that I wrote and called me Mrs Weaver regardless hahaha. Cue everyone in the ceremony being confused.

Edd and I have joined a local Jets gym (one of the 24 h0ur gyms throughout Auckland) and they have TV’s on EVERY bike, cross-trainer and tread mill. Despite some channels not being available I am very happy to be able to distract myself from the pain of cardio by absorbing myself in pointless tv shows that normally I would be slobbed out on the couch in front of. Also Edd is an amazing gym buddy and being in a pair makes motivation a lot easier. When one of us doesn’t feel like it (usually me) it is a lot easier to push through and go when I know Edd is there with me.

Our house is full of left over wedding cupcakes that we all can’t bear to eat haha. Who would have thought it could get to this?

I also can’t bear to face the dishes as there is icing equipment from the wedding, platters, containers and so on that have taken over. For now I refuse to clean and that means no cooking either as we have zero room for it (Edd will be horrified that becoming a wife hasn’t turned me into a perfect house cleaner and cooker, sorry love!)

Now the wedding is over we can also start putting some thought into planning our trip to Europe at the end of this year (around August/September) and that makes me excited! All I need is a job so we can budget how much extra we can save.

This weekend I am going to the lantern festival in the city (Saturday night) for the first time so that’s exciting and it’s my birthday on Sunday (I become 22)! (although I am working, but it’s looking after my brothers so doesn’t feel much like work). Sunday night a close friend is cooking me up dumplings and teaching me her ways (I hope). Exciting weekend yay!

I think that’s enough rambling to catch y0u all up! Look forward for lots of posts coming up, I have a haul, sample bar from February a job hunting ramble and a whoooole lot of wedding day posts on stuff like our decor, the makeup, the clothing, the music, ceremony blah blah (so sorry in advance if you have zero interest in all that rubbish!)

Happy to be back

Xx

(p.s. here’s a sneak peak of the big day 🙂

Friday’s Letters: Feeling the excitement

Dear Wedding: Holy cow! How did you get to being 9 days away? Also how is there still so much left on my list…. Regardless of the stress the excitement is even more pronounced and I can’t wait for the day where I become the wife of my best friend! Dear Cabbage Soup: You were okay the first day of this dumb diet but now I am sick of you. The only good thing is that every time I am hungry (and you are my only option to eat) I automatically cease all feelings of hunger so that’s good…Dear Gym: I am so happy to have rejoined a gym. And boy you are fancy! I love the TVs on every bike and treadmill screen so that I can channel hop while I exercise. Dear Edd: Thankyou for being my gym buddy and helping me with my workouts. This whole thing is so much easier with someone by my side who pushes me and supports me (and corrects my bad wrist positions when I do weights). Dear Callie: I know you love the rain and that you also love getting a towel dry but coming in and out several times in the space of an hour just to enjoy this repeatedly is a little time consuming. Dear Family: I can’t believe how supportive everyone is during this time of stressful last minute planning. No way could I do this myself. Dear Job Hunting: I would love to tell you to get stuffed but unfortunately I still need a job 😦 And all of my energy going into wedding planning makes this rather difficult. Why can’t the perfect job just find me? Dear Auckland: Thankyou for being so beautiful.

Things I’ve been loving in January!

Hi all!
Here are a few random favorites from January 🙂

<br /
1. The Office USA.
Edd and I are big fans of both the original series as well as the US adaptation but recently we rewatched all the US seasons and have started on the new ones. I love this show and the amazing characters that drive its 30 minutes of non-stop laughter. A great distraction from a few of the more stressful aspects of my life at the moment.

2. Blue and gold iPhone case from Forever New.
Let me start by saying that I love Forever New, such a gorgeous shop that I spend way too much time in considering I can afford very little of their beautiful stuff. This is a iPhone case/wallet that is a cornflower blue with gold inside and I had been lusting after it for ages! Finally I saw this with 50% off and I grabbed it with a huge smile on my face! Now it’s my favorite iPhone accessory. I should add that the colours of my upcoming wedding are this kind of blue and gold which probably explains my love of this combo!).

3. Game of Thrones season 2.
Edd and I are also huge fans of GOT (the first season and book) so we were excited to watch this latest season last month! I was slightly disappointed with the small amount of story lines concerning the DRAGONS! But otherwise it was amazing and wonderful. As good as the first season? Maybe in different ways but definitely filled the gaping hole in my life that the first season left.

4. Monopoly deal card game.
I don’t know when this game came out but my brothers got it for Christmas and we have been playing it nonstop!! Luckily for me I love it so this isn’t such a big issue haha. A great short alternative to the board game that can take us all day to play. Even mr 5 is able to play it ( and beat me pretty consistently I should add) so a game that pretty much anyone can enjoy.

5. Homemade peach iced tea.
We all know by now I have a tea problem but at the moment in the heat of summer my hot tea drinking has declined dramatically and in its place a large icy pitchers of peach iced tea. I make this using this brands cordial type drink that can be used 1 part to 4 with water and then customized with sliced fruit and in my case a squeeze of lemon to enjoy on those insufferable days.

Oh well another month’s favorites over and out! There won’t be an albums of the month as I’m running behind on a few wedding posts I’d like to put up on the next two weeks (14 days til the wedding!!!!) and my music has been pretty much the Of monsters and men album from last month still on repeat.

Let me know any of your random favorites or any TV recommendations you may have!
Xx