Shore life

It's so easy to take what we have for granted! I've been redesigning the website for Browns Bay for my final Uni assignment and when I went to take photos I was super happy with the results. This is why I love where I live :)

I was so tempted to try steal this dog!

It was a lovely, crisp Spring day with the sun shining; it just made me so happy to be alive and so grateful to live on the Shore. I regret not getting gelato and waffles from Ben Gusto though!

Warehouse Summer Fashion Launch

Shout out to nzgirl for taking me to the Warehouse Summer Fashion Launch! Me and two other bloggers were asked to attend to find our favourite piece, so heres mine:

This cute little dress comes in black, white, blue and peach and has a gorgeous texture, it almost looks knitted. 

If you're not from New Zealand, The Warehouse is like K-Mart or Target I guess. It's affordable and accessible, those dresses are $29 (NZD). 

We were treated to some lovely food and drinks while we were there and they several ranges for us to peruse.

Mambo - 

Garage - 

Underwear - 

Active Intent - 

Accessories & Footwear - 

Amongst it all I found many items that are going on my wishlist for this coming summer! I was very impressed by the new stuff The Warehouse has to offer, sometimes with cheaper stores you don't get a very good range or much quality but this season they've got me excited! 

21 - time to stop worrying and start living

They say that your 20's are great - you get out of University (maybe) and the world is your oyster. 

That'll be great, but then there's job hunting - will I find a job that I like, what will I be making in my first job, how far is it from home, will I have to do shitty, boring jobs for the next 5 years before I get anywhere, what if my boss and co-workers hate me, what do I wear to a job interview, was my degree worth it in the end, what am I even doing? And so on. 

And then there's life questions, we don't want to get into those, I think television has that covered quite well :) I only wish I end up with a cool group of friends, like on Friends, or How I Met Your Mother or Girls or Big Bang Theory. Maybe not Gossip Girl, I don't know if having friends that rich would be worth the drama. 

Best case scenario when I come out the other end at 30 would be - working in a cool industry, such as PR or Editorial of some sort where my workplace is child friendly so I can work part time and still raise my two gorgeous kids, a boy and a girl, and walk my ridiculously big dog who saved my life once. And have a third child if I want to because I've been so awesome that they'd rather let me work from home than lose me. Married of course. Well travelled and living in my own home, preferably in Auckland. And in our lunch breaks, my hubby and I will hang out with our friends in a coffee shop, discussing the fun stuff we do with all our hard earned dough. 

Worst case scenario when I reach 30 - dead. 

There is a lot of middle ground there, but it seems like I'll need to be sorting my shit out now if I want outcome 1. And I guess that is why I'm so scared - the choices I make now, not the ones I made in high school, are the ones which will effect my future. Who knows, maybe at 31 I'll be not much further than where I am now and worrying about the same things. Only it would be worse because I'll look back and think "what did I do with the last 10 years?"

But how do you start living? I guess I'll start by taking it one day at a time, seize every opportunity and do more yoga :)

Off to Imagine Dragons concert, danced away my worries

Personal Stylist Session

Thanks to nzgirl I had the opportunity to try a personal stylist session and I jumped at the chance. I’ve just started an internship and will be looking to join the work force soon. I want to look absolutely fabulous at work, but still effortless and on trend.

Keep it classy.

My stylist, Rose, was professional and friendly right from day one. She emailed me about a week before our session to find out about me, my personal style, my measurements etc because she was going to scout out some ideas before our session. This was really good because when we met up she already had some stuff to begin with.

It was easy enough to spot Rose; she was wearing a cute pink blazer over a lovely patterned dress which had accents in the same pink. No doubt she’s a stylist. She took me to Glassons first and in the two hours we were together we looked in Glassons, Collette, Valleygirl, Temt, Hannahs, Wildpair and Number 1 Shoes to find some outfits I could wear to work. 

I found some really cool pieces that I bought and some that I will be buying. Some were definitely out of my comfort zone but I was glad she picked them out for me, like this citrus blazer

I love lemons :) why not? 

Some things were more for fun, but maybe if I'm feeling a little rowdy some time...

But I got this cool outfit, and will be adding the yellow blazer to it soon. I think it's a great outfit for work, the PR company I'm at is pretty laid back but they all look a million bucks no matter what they're wearing it seems!

Pants and top from Glassons and necklace from Collette which we need on the Shore!

I think the stylist session was great, personally wouldn't be buying one again for myself but if you're hopeless with buying stuff then definitely go for it. Check out Rose's companies website Stylists Inc  for more deets. 

Product Review: V05 Smoothly Does It range

Using VO5′s Smoothly Does It range, I created beautiful flowing curls that were fun and easy. I'm not a huge fan of the shampoo and conditioner, but I love the Frizz Free Creme and Tame & Shine spray.

STEP 1

In the shower, massage Smoothly Does It Shampoo into the hair from scalp to roots then rinse. Add Smoothly Does It Conditioner to the lengths of your hair and leave for a couple of minutes. I never put conditioner on my scalp because it will get too greasy too fast. Rinse out conditioner.

STEP 2

Towel dry your hair to get rid of excess moisture. Rub Smoothly Does It Frizz Free Creme into the ends. I made sure to get it on my fringe ends as well as the rest, because that is the one thing I will blow dry if I have no time to do all my hair. Avoid the roots again.

STEP 3

Blow dry the hair until it is all dry. Normally I wouldn't blow dry it all but I'm not worried about damaging it so much when using a heat defence product like VO5's Smoothly Does It Frizz Free Creme, as it is designed to protect the hair from too much heat. It is not a good idea to style wet hair, I have found, as it can damage your curler/straightener, and it won't last. I let my hair rest between drying and styling.

STEP 4

Section the hair off and starting at the bottom, curl sections of hair that are about 5cm wide, the bigger the section, the longer you need to curl it for. I was using a new curler which I found was a lot faster than my old one, a few seconds was all it took. Straighteners can also produce a nice curl one you get the hang of it.

STEP 5

When your curls are done, hold your hair spray about 20cm from your head and spray your whole head. Smoothly Does It Tame & Shine Spray smells delicious and does not make your hair sticky like some hair sprays tend to. It has a very light formula, it's my new favourite!

STEP 6

Use a large round brush to brush out your curls if necessary and then use your fingers to twist them together into large curls.

FINAL LOOK

I really liked how easy it was to do my hair, but the curls fell out pretty fast and I've found lately that my hair gets greasy pretty easily when using the shampoo and conditioner. The post-shower products are great though :)

Verdict - 

Try the Smoothly Does It Frizz Free Creme and Tame & Shine Spray :)