Monday, November 7, 2011
SUMMER
Sunday, October 16, 2011
TOM FORD - Black Orchid
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| Black Orchid Campaign with Julia Restion Roitfield |
My long awaited bottle of Tom Ford Black Orchid just arrived from Europe via my family friend's suitcase! Having stupidly missed out on purchasing it on my way back from Munich (I thought I would be clever a wait til I got to Hong Kong airport, sadly it isn't sold in Asia or NZ much to my annoyance), it's been a long time coming but most definitely worth the wait.
I love the campaign partly because I'm a little obsessed with art deco at the moment. I keep on seeing run down art deco houses around. There's a particularly nice one opposite the roxy in Miramar, which would look gorgeous with a bright paint job, sadly I didn't have my camera with me.
A.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Procrastination and Firenze
Sadly the bunnies aren't mine, oh how I wish that they were. They are soooo cute! And fluffy and soft and all things nice!
Poor you all sick. I bet it's something to do with Tom's famous pub crawl? I think I only made it to the 2nd bar then things got blurry, we all got seperated and well, I think probably worth its whole entire post!
I want to know all about your time there! Gossip, sites and pretty pictures! I'm starved of European adventures, all I have is my collection of photos which I need to sort out. Here's one that I'm sure you'll recognise!
How is your Italian going? So jealous, I want to read Velvet and pretend to drink Italian coffee. You better bring the latest one back with you! Although I'm sure by now that you have way too much to fit in under 25kg. Did you do any shopping in Firenze?
Love and miss you too!
A.
PS - most importantly I hope that the riots in Rome havn't affected you. Eeek.
AUTUMN FALLS
Miss everyone, expecially you Alex, can't believe your've got bunnies! xxxx
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Arnaud et Amelie
This weekend just been I went to the country side with the family to visit a friend. Still recovering from my illness I spent Saturday lying on the couch in front of the fire after our lunch and introduction to the newest addition to her family, Arnaud and Amelie.
Below are photos of them in their new run, the raspberry patch. I must say I never knew that bunnies had such interesting personalities. Arnaud was by far the bolder around people and liked to show off by doing flips in the air. Amelie was a little more timid, but also just as cute. x
Below are photos of them in their new run, the raspberry patch. I must say I never knew that bunnies had such interesting personalities. Arnaud was by far the bolder around people and liked to show off by doing flips in the air. Amelie was a little more timid, but also just as cute. x
Arnaud
Amelie
Doing what rabbits do best - being very fast.
Spring Time
It's been awhile since my last post, times have been busy since I got back to Wellington. I feel this blog is more apately named even than I first thought...
I'm just getting over my 3 week mystery bug perhaps due to the flowers gifted to me by a kind friend who realised I was in need of a cheer up after spending our only week of sunshine cooped up in bed. I love the colours!
Below the flowers is my pre-bed ridden purchase to cheer myself up, the pink Butter nail polish. (Pictured with it is the Butter nail foundation, which I would recommend.) The colour is called Snog.
Love,
A.
PS - Photos to come of my weekend with my two new friends, Arnaud and Amelie.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
German Bread
Little bit obsessed with this bread. Actually all German brown bread. Something I'm going to miss when I'm back in two weeks. This one is particularly nice as it has fennel seeds on it. YUM! It has a little edible sticker on it too.
There is still so much to do here and so little time. I have read about a few good bread shops which would love to go to. Sadly design is taking over and I haven't got enough hours in the day to do everything. Munich I am not done with you yet. Why doesn't school start back in August? Gah.
A. xx
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Milano
My pre-conception of Milan was of fashion and the industrial city so I had this rather bizarre image in my head: soot and factories mixed with fashion of the rich and elegant. Needless to say this warped dreamlike image was nothing really like Milan - a few nice outfits were seen however.
I must say that Milan was probably my least favourite of the four places I visited in Italy. Im not sure why - maybe because each of the other cities are so culturally rich that Milan seemed lacking in a way. Having said this I had a lot of fun seeing Nora, a friend from my exchange year in Spain and making our way through the city.
We stayed at this expensive but not so nice hostal out of the center of Milan. I think I was a little spoilt in Portugal where the accommodation is amazing. We ended up sharing a room with four or five other people, 1 of which we were convinced was a prostitute - the words "I go out a lot and I'm always working" were the clincher for this assumption. It turned out that she and 2 of the other girls were models, who didn't speak such good English.
We visited the Duomo of course. I would recommend climbing the stairs to the top and contemplating the view, which is rather spectacular! I loved the figures on the tops of the spires. We saw several other museums too - 1 to a modern Design Museum and the other to Museo De Novecento, which has just recently opened. I remember at the time being quite in love with the building and the exhibition. I managed to visit the Abitare (Italian architecture magazine) offices too and got a tour round the building and the neighboring design school. It was really interesting to talk to Renata (editor and sister of my parent's friend) about how the magazine industry works in conjunction with architects and architecture, however I think my real experience of Milan was through the food.
Here I ate my first Italian pizza at a rather bad restaurant. Our waiter tried to get away with taking my 50 euros and not giving me any change back. "Ah I'ma so sorry. I am tired. Ita slipped my minda." Yeah, sure. Dinner was more successful our second night, we went to the canals near Darsena, where they have a Happy Hour of sorts except you get all you can eat food. It's right by 2 canals so you get a lovely view of the water. It was recommended to us by Nora's Milanese friend who took us to the roof top bar of La Rinscente, which is next to the Duomo. I had the most expensive orange juice I have ever consumed there (w or without alcohol) - 8 EURO! Yes, that's not a typo. She ended up shouting us to the relief of my bank account and to be honest both the view and the orange juice were very nice. She also told us about a little shop, Luini, which sold panzerotti, which I got a little bit obsessed with. They are filled bread normally with cheese and tomato! Yum, just thinking about its dough goodness makes me want to go back (and then I think about my thighs and I'm glad that I don't have enough time). I even tried to take 2 Dutch girls that I met while waiting in line for cheap tickets for a show at La Scala. Sadly we didn't get tickets (after waiting 1 and a half hours), Luini was closed and we ended up eating a strange vege pizza, which had carrot on it. The tiramisu for dessert by far made up for it.
My love affair with gelato also began here and only got better the further I got through Italy. One word - Bacio (choc hazelnut gelato).
Next stop: ROME!
xxx
UPDATE: Here are the long awaited photos courtesy of Nora:
I must say that Milan was probably my least favourite of the four places I visited in Italy. Im not sure why - maybe because each of the other cities are so culturally rich that Milan seemed lacking in a way. Having said this I had a lot of fun seeing Nora, a friend from my exchange year in Spain and making our way through the city.
We stayed at this expensive but not so nice hostal out of the center of Milan. I think I was a little spoilt in Portugal where the accommodation is amazing. We ended up sharing a room with four or five other people, 1 of which we were convinced was a prostitute - the words "I go out a lot and I'm always working" were the clincher for this assumption. It turned out that she and 2 of the other girls were models, who didn't speak such good English.
We visited the Duomo of course. I would recommend climbing the stairs to the top and contemplating the view, which is rather spectacular! I loved the figures on the tops of the spires. We saw several other museums too - 1 to a modern Design Museum and the other to Museo De Novecento, which has just recently opened. I remember at the time being quite in love with the building and the exhibition. I managed to visit the Abitare (Italian architecture magazine) offices too and got a tour round the building and the neighboring design school. It was really interesting to talk to Renata (editor and sister of my parent's friend) about how the magazine industry works in conjunction with architects and architecture, however I think my real experience of Milan was through the food.
Here I ate my first Italian pizza at a rather bad restaurant. Our waiter tried to get away with taking my 50 euros and not giving me any change back. "Ah I'ma so sorry. I am tired. Ita slipped my minda." Yeah, sure. Dinner was more successful our second night, we went to the canals near Darsena, where they have a Happy Hour of sorts except you get all you can eat food. It's right by 2 canals so you get a lovely view of the water. It was recommended to us by Nora's Milanese friend who took us to the roof top bar of La Rinscente, which is next to the Duomo. I had the most expensive orange juice I have ever consumed there (w or without alcohol) - 8 EURO! Yes, that's not a typo. She ended up shouting us to the relief of my bank account and to be honest both the view and the orange juice were very nice. She also told us about a little shop, Luini, which sold panzerotti, which I got a little bit obsessed with. They are filled bread normally with cheese and tomato! Yum, just thinking about its dough goodness makes me want to go back (and then I think about my thighs and I'm glad that I don't have enough time). I even tried to take 2 Dutch girls that I met while waiting in line for cheap tickets for a show at La Scala. Sadly we didn't get tickets (after waiting 1 and a half hours), Luini was closed and we ended up eating a strange vege pizza, which had carrot on it. The tiramisu for dessert by far made up for it.
My love affair with gelato also began here and only got better the further I got through Italy. One word - Bacio (choc hazelnut gelato).
Next stop: ROME!
xxx
UPDATE: Here are the long awaited photos courtesy of Nora:
Canals near Darsena
 |
My first Gelato!
I loved this bridge in one of the contemporary art museums that we went to.
Italian flags were everywhere as it was some Italian holiday
View from the top of La Rinascente
The top of the Duomo and the lovely statues
A crazy staircase off the side of a building near the main square
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Thunderstorms
Its now June! 6 weeks til I come back, scary! We have been having crazy thunderstorms in the evenings. It makes me think about the sunny weather we had in Italy. Here's a photo I took in Rome. I love this girl's hairstyle. Maybe its time to go shorter again. The photo doesn't really do it justice. I always feel awkward taking photos of people I don't know.
Post on Italy coming up!
Hope all is well!
A.
x
Post on Italy coming up!
Hope all is well!
A.
x
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
A Few Observations of German Culture
1. Heavy doors - its like in wellington when the wind blows and you can't open them but there's no wind
2. Knocking on the desks instead of clapping - been caught out several times
3. No jay walking - except when crossing the road to the mensa. Germans are such law abiding citizens.
4. Beer is the essence to Bravarian culture - There is a glass for Weiss Beer and Helles. You can't drink weiss beer with out a glass - its frowned upon
5. Its normal to wear lederhosen and dirndls - I see a least 1 person a day wearing them. I am yet to spend 100euro on 1 like some of the other ERASMUS students though. (For those that don't know what lederhosen/dirndls are, google it.)
6. Everyone speaks English too well. (German language fail!)
7. PDA, PDA, PDA!
8. Don't put your feet up on the seats in the U-Bahn. No one has ever said anything but I feel there eyes boring into me.
9. Germans like Parks. They also like creating beaches where you can go and drink, called Beach Cafes - i have never seen so many people playing sport, picnicing, drinking beer in a park before. Love!
10. Germans love their dogs - big, small, going for a run, going shopping.
11. Germans like to get naked. Enough said.
12. Germans are so organised and composed I feel awkward if I leave the house without drying my hair or if my t-shirt is slightly wrinkled.
13. I think we all know this one too: be on time! The Germans have worked there magic I am now mostly on time. Although once an unpunctual person, always an unpunctual person, despite an excellent transport system.
More to come when I can think of anything.
To update everyone on what is happening in my life now: Laura came and visited me on the weekend. We went to the Englische Garten, drank Radler, shopped and dined in a cute cafe! I will leave her to fill you in on the details. And this weekend I'm heading to Hamburg!
Love to you all,
A. xxx
2. Knocking on the desks instead of clapping - been caught out several times
3. No jay walking - except when crossing the road to the mensa. Germans are such law abiding citizens.
4. Beer is the essence to Bravarian culture - There is a glass for Weiss Beer and Helles. You can't drink weiss beer with out a glass - its frowned upon
5. Its normal to wear lederhosen and dirndls - I see a least 1 person a day wearing them. I am yet to spend 100euro on 1 like some of the other ERASMUS students though. (For those that don't know what lederhosen/dirndls are, google it.)
6. Everyone speaks English too well. (German language fail!)
7. PDA, PDA, PDA!
8. Don't put your feet up on the seats in the U-Bahn. No one has ever said anything but I feel there eyes boring into me.
9. Germans like Parks. They also like creating beaches where you can go and drink, called Beach Cafes - i have never seen so many people playing sport, picnicing, drinking beer in a park before. Love!
10. Germans love their dogs - big, small, going for a run, going shopping.
11. Germans like to get naked. Enough said.
12. Germans are so organised and composed I feel awkward if I leave the house without drying my hair or if my t-shirt is slightly wrinkled.
13. I think we all know this one too: be on time! The Germans have worked there magic I am now mostly on time. Although once an unpunctual person, always an unpunctual person, despite an excellent transport system.
More to come when I can think of anything.
To update everyone on what is happening in my life now: Laura came and visited me on the weekend. We went to the Englische Garten, drank Radler, shopped and dined in a cute cafe! I will leave her to fill you in on the details. And this weekend I'm heading to Hamburg!
Love to you all,
A. xxx
Friday, May 20, 2011
R O A D T R I P
Living the life of an ERASMUS student (all be it a fake one) and Architecture Student does not leave room for much else. However I have somehow managed to go to Berlin and Vienna in that time. Stories yet to be told as I'm so far behind in this blogging it is ridiculous.
I thought I would tell you about Portugal - it seems like so long ago now. I don't even no if I remember what we did. Oh no that's right - crazy Roadtrip up the coast, which meant Jae driving on the wrong side of the road, lots of fun and slightly stressful moments ensued.
I am still rather amazed at how he convinced me that it was a good idea. Maybe it's because he always so self-assured. After agreeing to his roadtrip idea (I mean roadtrip through Portugal - it sounds awesome) and booking the car, Jae gave me the guide book to read - Getting Around: "Portugal is renowned for it's insane drivers - it is highly unrecommended to drive here". It turns out Jae also thought that Portugal was a very small country, which had one highway up and down the coast. Lesson 1: Jae may sound like he knows what he's on about, but its not necessarily true.
We set out from the airport with me trying to ignore my gut instinct which was to jump out of the car, navigate using iPhone dearest (battery:50%) and constantly shouting "Righthand side"! Jae soon discovered that Portugal is indeed not a small country with one highway (and yet he still insisted that we didn't need a map) and I thought - why did we opt out of insurance?!
Recommendations for driving in Portugal:
1. Don't drive in Portugal unless you are into extreme sports and an adrenelin rush
2. Get a GPS system
3. Even though you can drive through the toll booths your not meant to. To avoid paying 20euro straight up please take a ticket and don't do what we did - "Whats this? Oh look you can drive straight through. Sweeeeeet. I wonder why that is? This is the third one we have passed maybe we should suss this shit out? *Talk to the man.* Uh, we don't have a ticket, we got lost and are naive NZ tourists. That will be 20.70 Euro (=$40). Why? It just is."
4. Always carry cash on you. Sometimes your card may not work.
5. The highway might be expensive but navigating the back roads is not worth it = lots of big trucks and no sign posts
6. Make sure you are going in the right direction. You can't turn off very often.
After going in the wrong direction and getting lost several times we made it to destination one (Alveiro) just after night fall and in time to go to the sweetest bar ever. It was set out a la Apartment Bar in Wellington but with a hip bohemian vibe and more rooms - no bed. There were also 2 little shops selling tees and CDS and extremely cheap beer! If you go through - take a trip through the Canal too. We couldn't but it looked really lovely.
We got the driving thing down pat by the second day. Co-pilot sussed out the map and driver sussed out which side of the road to drive on. The next stop was Barcelos, an awesome market (one of the biggest in Europe) which had everything from cheap knock off clothes to wild geese to farming supplies to souvenirs. In the evening we arrived in Porto which had to be my favourite city. The hostel (Rivoli Cinema Hostel) was the best hostel I have stayed at - themed rooms (we had Pulp Fiction), Wii, flat screen tv, ROOF TOP GARDEN - apparently they have BBQs there in summer and a paddling pool and really nice staff. Who's keen?
We did a quick trip to this amazing little book shop with the most elaborate staircase you will ever see and then on to La Casa de Musica, which blew both our minds I think. Wavy glass - super cool. Make sure you do a trip to the various Port Houses - very tasty and free.
Favourite quote was from Jae: Alex don't be silly, Port isn't from Porto.
Sintra was my second favourite place. We spent the day exploring old castles and amazing gardens. Probably the most interesting was the Quinta de Regaleira, a gothic garden with grottos and a maze of underground tunnels which come out in unexpected places. It was so magical and mysterious. I felt like a child exploring the unknown.
We and the car made it back to Lisbon, thank god! There the most spectacular thing the Fado concert, we discovered in the back streets of the Old Alfama. By chance we stumbled upon this small restaurant, with a family quartet of guitarists and various singers. It was the kind of music that sends shivers down your spine.
Writing this has made me think about Germany vs. Spanish/Portguese culture. I've been here for 6 weeks now (OMG)! I've have noticed that there is so much more passion and openess in the south compared to the more reserved nature of Germanic society. Ideally I like the southern culture better - the passion, the emotion, the way they lay themselves bare (they have no fear of judgement), however Germans are so similar to the English that I am and I feel that I associate a lot more with their cultural norms. It's interesting looking at your ideals and reality. Once you live in another culture some part of you is changed forever making you neither one or the other.
Sorry for this rambling post, which is way too long. If you get to this point, I will reward you with a postcard. If you understand what I am on about, I will send you two!
I'm off to Dusseldorf on an architectural field trip tomorrow so I'll put up pictures when I get back! Hello, peter zumthor, Tado Ando and many others! Inspire me with your amazingness.
Love to you all. I miss you so much!
A.
PS - Laura, Im so jealous! It looks so picturesque. Is it bad that I thought of the sister hood of the travelling pants just now?
I thought I would tell you about Portugal - it seems like so long ago now. I don't even no if I remember what we did. Oh no that's right - crazy Roadtrip up the coast, which meant Jae driving on the wrong side of the road, lots of fun and slightly stressful moments ensued.
I am still rather amazed at how he convinced me that it was a good idea. Maybe it's because he always so self-assured. After agreeing to his roadtrip idea (I mean roadtrip through Portugal - it sounds awesome) and booking the car, Jae gave me the guide book to read - Getting Around: "Portugal is renowned for it's insane drivers - it is highly unrecommended to drive here". It turns out Jae also thought that Portugal was a very small country, which had one highway up and down the coast. Lesson 1: Jae may sound like he knows what he's on about, but its not necessarily true.
We set out from the airport with me trying to ignore my gut instinct which was to jump out of the car, navigate using iPhone dearest (battery:50%) and constantly shouting "Righthand side"! Jae soon discovered that Portugal is indeed not a small country with one highway (and yet he still insisted that we didn't need a map) and I thought - why did we opt out of insurance?!
Recommendations for driving in Portugal:
1. Don't drive in Portugal unless you are into extreme sports and an adrenelin rush
2. Get a GPS system
3. Even though you can drive through the toll booths your not meant to. To avoid paying 20euro straight up please take a ticket and don't do what we did - "Whats this? Oh look you can drive straight through. Sweeeeeet. I wonder why that is? This is the third one we have passed maybe we should suss this shit out? *Talk to the man.* Uh, we don't have a ticket, we got lost and are naive NZ tourists. That will be 20.70 Euro (=$40). Why? It just is."
4. Always carry cash on you. Sometimes your card may not work.
5. The highway might be expensive but navigating the back roads is not worth it = lots of big trucks and no sign posts
6. Make sure you are going in the right direction. You can't turn off very often.
After going in the wrong direction and getting lost several times we made it to destination one (Alveiro) just after night fall and in time to go to the sweetest bar ever. It was set out a la Apartment Bar in Wellington but with a hip bohemian vibe and more rooms - no bed. There were also 2 little shops selling tees and CDS and extremely cheap beer! If you go through - take a trip through the Canal too. We couldn't but it looked really lovely.
We got the driving thing down pat by the second day. Co-pilot sussed out the map and driver sussed out which side of the road to drive on. The next stop was Barcelos, an awesome market (one of the biggest in Europe) which had everything from cheap knock off clothes to wild geese to farming supplies to souvenirs. In the evening we arrived in Porto which had to be my favourite city. The hostel (Rivoli Cinema Hostel) was the best hostel I have stayed at - themed rooms (we had Pulp Fiction), Wii, flat screen tv, ROOF TOP GARDEN - apparently they have BBQs there in summer and a paddling pool and really nice staff. Who's keen?
We did a quick trip to this amazing little book shop with the most elaborate staircase you will ever see and then on to La Casa de Musica, which blew both our minds I think. Wavy glass - super cool. Make sure you do a trip to the various Port Houses - very tasty and free.
Favourite quote was from Jae: Alex don't be silly, Port isn't from Porto.
Sintra was my second favourite place. We spent the day exploring old castles and amazing gardens. Probably the most interesting was the Quinta de Regaleira, a gothic garden with grottos and a maze of underground tunnels which come out in unexpected places. It was so magical and mysterious. I felt like a child exploring the unknown.
We and the car made it back to Lisbon, thank god! There the most spectacular thing the Fado concert, we discovered in the back streets of the Old Alfama. By chance we stumbled upon this small restaurant, with a family quartet of guitarists and various singers. It was the kind of music that sends shivers down your spine.
Writing this has made me think about Germany vs. Spanish/Portguese culture. I've been here for 6 weeks now (OMG)! I've have noticed that there is so much more passion and openess in the south compared to the more reserved nature of Germanic society. Ideally I like the southern culture better - the passion, the emotion, the way they lay themselves bare (they have no fear of judgement), however Germans are so similar to the English that I am and I feel that I associate a lot more with their cultural norms. It's interesting looking at your ideals and reality. Once you live in another culture some part of you is changed forever making you neither one or the other.
Sorry for this rambling post, which is way too long. If you get to this point, I will reward you with a postcard. If you understand what I am on about, I will send you two!
I'm off to Dusseldorf on an architectural field trip tomorrow so I'll put up pictures when I get back! Hello, peter zumthor, Tado Ando and many others! Inspire me with your amazingness.
Love to you all. I miss you so much!
A.
PS - Laura, Im so jealous! It looks so picturesque. Is it bad that I thought of the sister hood of the travelling pants just now?
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Here comes the sun...
Finally all of my travel plans are going to take place... on the 19th of May I am flying to Milan then going on holiday in the mountains around Trento!
Then hopefully visiting friends in Florence, south of France, Paris and my most cherished friend Alex in Munich!
I am soo excited, even though I know I am going to miss home!
I will be updating more regularly from now on I promise!
xx Laura
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