The Wanted in Auckland

Last Monday (so on the 13/08/12) I was lucky enough to see The Wanted at an exclusive showcase in Auckland. I won a double pass through the radio station ZM and that was the third time I have ever won anything in my life, and what a prize to win!

They were only on for half an hour because they were only here to promote their EP, so it was not a full blown concert, but I am still super excited that I got to! It's not often that you walk up to a showcase with your name on the door. I have been a fan of The Wanted when I heard their single Gold Forever, this was a long time before they were even popular over here in NZ so I was very excited to see them live, and was impressed that they sounded so good live!

Taking my friend from Uni we ventured to a place called Turkish Cafe on K'Rd (as The Wanted were playing at The Studio) and had a kebab. When we got our kebabs they were nothing like we expected and were instead on panini bread. But these kebab's were amazing! I am definitely going back there another day because they were also cheap, and I want to try one of their wood smoked pizzas!

A treat well deserved!

Glassons top, Glassons dress and Remix magazine.

I felt that I deserved a treat. And I did just that. Today my lecture was cancelled so I decided to go shopping instead (and also to celebrate getting a job!). I walked into Glassons and headed straight to the sale section as I love to buy a bargain! That's where I found my new top (NZ$15) and new dress (NZ$25), I can't wait to wear them now. Also my major weakness is magazines, maybe because I want to work in the industry but I just love buying magazines! (you should see my collection) so I finally bought the HUGE issue of Remix magazine and I can tell you now I will probably be spending more time reading that than studying tonight. 

Spring fashion wishlist

 

Glassons skirt, Glassons top and pants, Ketz-ke dress, Ketz-ke blouse and shorts.

So over here in NZ we are heading out of winter and into spring, which means new fashion trends. Here are some pictures of clothes on my wish list! As you may be able to tell I'm really liking the pastel blue colour for spring mainly because blue is my favourite colour, but also I'm just liking all the pastel colours for spring!

Blasting in my Earphones

I am a huge music fan, I can't remember a time in my life that I wasn't a music fan! People say that without music in their life they wouldn't be around right now and I fall into that category. Listening to music is the time when I can just loose myself for a few moments in my life and just listen, it's refreshing.

I have been searching the Internet to find some new music to listen to when I stumbled upon the bands Imagine Dragons and The Royal Sons, and I must say what great finds they are!! I am in love with both of these bands. The two images are of my two favourite songs "It's Time" and "Through and Through", I recommend you listen to their work on YouTube because it is worth it TRUST ME!! I would class the bands as Indie music, some might agree some might not but just listen to their music. There is so much hidden music out there you just gotta search hard for it, but at least you will find some amazing music at the end of it!

Imagine Dragons Soundcloud
Imagine Dragons YouTube

The Royal Sons Tumblr
The Royal Sons YouTube

Reunion, of a sorts

 Top to bottom: Best rice ball in Christchurch, my sister all rugged up, a cloudless sky in Christchurch, going for a walk around Hagley Park, spending time with two of my best friends, braces are off, my mum, a book I found at my nana and grandad's, going through a car wash, catching up with friends, glow bands, Mt Hutt, the mountains which I grew up looking at.

I am now back at Uni after my four week break between semester's, and what a busy four weeks! I went down to the South Island for two weeks for the holidays, and it was nice to get away from the hustle and bustle of Auckland and to enjoy the open space and quiet. I also got to spend time with my friends and family which I was very thankful for and I finally got my braces off which I am very happy about and I can't seem to stop smiling. My first week I spent in Christchurch with my sister and I got to see all of my best friends which is very rare since we have all spread out throughout New Zealand, so it was a very good catchup. The second week I went to my hometown Methven and spent it with my mum and just relaxed and enjoyed the beautiful mountains, even though it was freezing. And then in my last weekend I went to Timaru and seen my Nana and Grandad, and ate too much food as per usual when I visit them. It made me realize how much I do miss them. Moving to a new city where I didn't know anyone has been tough, but I'm happy that I am doing it. I've been through some tough times in my life, but its made me who I am, so I know I can get through with living far away from my comfort zone.

Getting away for a couple of weeks gave me some more determination to keep going and studying what I love and to not give up. It was a trip worth taking!

Taking a Break!

Shot time after exams, the amazing burrito, iTunes visualizer, working on the play list, ticket and flights, Matt Corby's EP, my new postcard.

What a week! I am now officially on holidays since my last exam was on the 14th, so my friend Abby and I went to the student bar after our exam and celebrated with a few well deserved drinks, and the bar was filled with nearly every person studying the same degree so it was big celebration for the Communication students. But Abby and I weren't silly we decided to try out the new burrito place which is conveniently close to uni, I was expecting some small burrito but it was huge! The picture doesn't do it justice, I couldn't eat it all so I brought it home with me to eat after we went out drinking, and what made it even better is that it was only $10, so I have now found my go-to burrito place!

Since I am now in holiday mode and I don't have a job I am going back down to the South Island for a couple of weeks! And to make the trip even better my best friends are also going to be flying into Christchurch so the gang will be back together in Christchurch which is a very rare event for us, I can't wait! We are all going to this Ministry of Sound event on the 28th which will be an amazing event, and of course we are having pre-drinks so I have decided to make a playlist for this epic night! While I was playing around with iTunes I discovered it has a visualizer!! I have had iTunes for like 5 years now and I did not know it had this, it feels like I have a new gadget it's awesome!

While finding new music for this place my friend told me to check out a guy called Matt Corby, and all I can say is WOW! His voice is so different and it gives me little shivers when he sings, he is super good and his EP was a free download so of course I downloaded it! and it has been playing non-stop.

I also got another postcard from my mum over in the UK. She is flying back on the 23rd and to make it even better my sister, her boyfriend and I are surprising my mum, nana and grandad at the airport. They think that I am flying down on the 24th, but I am flying down on the 22nd so they won;t be expecting me and my sister has told them that she can't get time off work but she has! It is going to be so much when we see there faces, I can't wait!

My two weeks in the South Island is going to be crazy, busy, epic, exciting and I just can't wait to see my family and friends!

One down!

Top to bottom: Burgerfuel yum, my new necklace, some of my study notes, postcards from my mum and grandparents.

What a week!! My week has been filled with study, study and more study, and next year it will only get worse, I somethimes wonder why but then I remember what I want to achieve in life. I can't wait till exams are all over. But everyone needs a break when it comes to study so I treated myself to some Burgerfuel (best burgers ever!) and went and bought myself a new statement necklace for only $7 from Portmans (thanks to my flatmate who works then told me they were having a big sale). Also I received two postcards from the UK, one from my mum and the other from my nana and grandad. I wish I was there with them.

I had my first exam on Friday and what a disaster! I thought my exam started at 3pm when I went to looked at my timetable I relaised it started at 2pm! I lloked at the time and it was 2:20pm. Luckily I live 3 minutes away from uni, so I raced down and luckily I just made it before they have the cut of time half an hour after they start. But I had to write two essays in an hour and a half. Luckily the questions fitted perfectly for what I studied, so fingers crossed that I at least pass that exam!
One down two more to go.

After exams I have one month off, and since I still don't have a job I am planning to go back down to Christchurch for a couple of weeks and catch up with friends and family. I can't wait for that trip!

There and Back Again

All these photo's I have taken myself of the drive over to Greymouth and back again to Methven.

So today was officially the last day of my classes for Semester 1, which now means that exams are next week! I haven't done in exams since 2010 since last year when I was studying towards my certificate it was all practical work and done in assignments and we didn't have big tests like exams at the end, so now I have to get myself back into the habit of studying for exams.

On a completely different note I was searching through my laptop trying to find a nice new background photo when I stumbled upon the folder of the pictures I took last time I was in the South Island. My mum and I went road tripping  to the West Coast to see my sister who is on her placement over there, so I thought I would share some of my photos of the lovely scenery I took. It makes me miss the mountains as I use to wake up and see them every morning when I was living in Methven, but my scenery has changed now.

So just remember to take in your surroundings while you are somewhere and appreciate what is around you, and don't be afraid to open your eyes because there is always something beautiful to see.

IKEA!!

Photo via WeHeartIt

Today has been a very rewarding day, and I don't get many rewarding days it seems anymore. It started by going into my media ethics tutorial and we were getting all our assignment marks back, our teacher made it sound like the class didn't do very well - but then she said but this class did well, so we were all slightly confused and nervous about what we got. Sitting and waiting was horrible, and finally she called my name she gave me a weird smile and I opened my essay and I got a B-. So for some of you this might be bad but I was super excited it was such a hard essay and I passed it, as they say C's get Degrees!. And then I got my group assignment mark back for ethics and I got an A- it seriously made my day!! It's the highest grade I have ever got, I am normally more of a B person.

To make this day even better I was texting my sister chatting about how mum must be having fun in the UK, when I got a phone call from a number I did not have. After a 5 minute conversation I now have a job interview on Friday for a furniture store called My Flat Pack which sell Ikea products! I am super excited for this interview, the job would be amazing! So now I am going to do a little bit of research about the products they have in stock so I can impress them.

And last but not least I found out that I am getting my braces off on July 5th, EXCITING!!

So today overall has been a VERY good day! Hopefully this lucky streak will help me in my study for exams tonight!

Quote of the Day #1

"All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better."

Ralph Waldo Emerson 

The Candy Woman Can

  Photos via thread.co.nz and blacklognz.blogspot.co.nz

My future/dream job is to work for some high end fashion magazine, so I constantly hunt down whats happening in the fashion world. In the last couple of years I have really been focused on what NZ designers are doing and I am happy that more and more NZ designers are getting recognised for their amazing work. Recently Karen Walker launched Karen Walker Candy Bar, for 12 months this Candy Bar will travel around the world stopping in different countries to showcase these limited edition sun glasses, the first stop was in Tokyo Japan at the boutique store called RESTIR. It got me thinking on what an amazing concept this is, to travel around sharing her designs like this, imagine the people you would meet and the pictures you could take. I hope more NZ designers come up with great ways to showcase what they do to the world, it would be good for the countries self-esteem.