Girl About Town // Malayka in Auckland

Here we have the last remaining Guest Post from my Girl About Town series! Today's post is from Malayka over at Dashfield Vintage. She has some great vintage clothing posted over on her blog, as well as a cool hair tutorial I noticed recently! Keep reading to find out about her favourite places in Auckland.

Hi there,

My name is Malayka.  I moved from Germany to Auckland about 27 years ago (yes that’s right I was 2 years old!) and although I have lived in numerous other cities and countries around the world I seem to always gravitate back to Auckland.  At the beginning of this year my partner and I moved away from the city and out into the country where we live in a little cottage close to the beach.  My little blog is called Dashfield Vintage and features all sorts of vintage related fun, events, life ramblings and regular updates about my vintage store (www.dashfieldvintage.com).  When I’m not skimming through blogs I am working as a translator, writer and vintage seller.  Anyway here are a few of my favourite haunts around Auckland,

Eat

One of my favourite cafes in this city is Cosset.  Truth be told I only discovered it a few months ago and have since become a regular customer!  Cosset has this adorable rustic/ vintage décor, super relaxed atmosphere, the most amazing vegan food (trust me you’re going to love this even if you’re not vegan!), and delicious homemade sodas in flavours like hibiscus and lavender. 

Quite on the opposite end of the health scale is my favourite pizza joint Sals.  This has since become a bit of a chain place around town but they still serve the best and only ‘big as your face’ slices of authentic New York style pizza’s!  They are super thin and drowning in fantastic gooey mozzarella.  What more could you want from a naughty treat!

Shop

Auckland is slowly seeing the return of vintage stores and small time designers which is fantastic!  Although they are dotted all over the city a great place to start is St Kevins Arcade on Karangahape Rd.  This is a beautiful old deco building filled with sweet little shops selling one off vintage and hand made designer pieces.

Something else that is making a real come around here are weekend craft markets such as First Thursday, Kraftbomb and Supermarket.  For specifically vintage ones look out for the monthly Travelling Vintage Sale.  It’s not only a great place to find unique treasures but it’s also nice to know that you are supporting local artists.

Best spots

When it comes to ‘getting away’ without ever leaving the city you really can’t beat the winter gardens in the Auckland Domain.  This is by far my favourite place to be in Auckland!  These amazing glass houses were built in the 1920s and are true to the art deco style.  One is a tropical hot house filled with all sorts of exotic plants (and a great place to warm up on a cold winters day I might add) and the cool house has equally beautiful plants that prefer a colder climate.  Oh and while you’re there you may as well check out the war memorial museum followed by a coffee by the big ponds.

If you’re feeling a little bit more adventurous then another really fun place to go in Auckland is North Head  North Head is situated on (and in) a giant hill in Devonport.  It consists of a series of tunnels (yes you can go into them), old army barracks, rusty canons and all sorts of other spooky and exciting things.  It was built in the 1800s to defend against the threat of a Russian invasion.  This place is rife with mysterious stories and suspicious tales.

It wouldn’t really be right to visit Auckland and not soak up a little culture.  After years of renovating, the Auckland City Art Gallery has finally opened and much to everybody’s surprise it looks amazing!  Oh and after you’ve checked out the art work, make sure you go upstairs and have a coffee on the new balcony over looking Albert Park, I could happily spend hours up there in the sun!

Lastly I would recommend checking out the viaduct if you are new to the city.  You have probably heard all sorts of horrifying stories about the sleazy bars and wanky restaurants down here but thankfully it has more to offer than just that!  On a sunny day the viaduct is a beautiful place to hang out, go for a walk around the Warf, have a nosey at the super luxury yachts and maybe even be tempted to jump on a ferry!

So you see Auckland City has a lot more to offer than you might think!  I used to always complain that living in New Zealand was so boring compared to places like Europe, in all honesty though you just need to look at this country through the eyes of a tourist and there’s actually so much to see and do!  Thank you Kasey for inviting me to come and brag about my city J.  x

Thanks Malayka! What an awesome post. I love the look of that travelling vintage sale! And a lavender soda from Cosset?? Sounds amazing!

I hope you've all enjoyed my Girl About Town Series, thanks to all my lovely guest posters - Maria in Dunedin, Sarah in Christchurch, Trees in Wellington and Malayka in Auckland. Soon I'll have a post up about Invercargill for you and some of the awesome places I've found!

Guest Post // A Tea Party

Today I'm guest posting for Rosie over at Such Stuff as Dreams are Made on. She is holding a Tea Party over on her blog to recognise Mental Health Day which is the 10th October. I certainly think talking helps when it comes to depression as I've had my own battle with it in the past . So join in! The party goes all week. Here's a link for more information about Mental Health Day. 

Pop on over and check out my tasty Mini Baked Doughnuts recipe. Yum, yum! I love doughnuts. Every time I go to Melbourne I always go to a doughnut shop. We don't have them here! Well, not in Dunedin or Invercargill anyway. Now I can make them at home! Waaaay better....


I hope your week is going well!! I had a terrible morning yesterday trying to finish off a job for work that has been stressing me out, but I'm on to a new one today so it's looking much brighter! See ya!

Helping Hand // Index Pages

I've got something special to share with you guys! I spent a couple of hours creating some indexes for my blog. Now you can go straight to the index you want (recipes, outfits, cakes and reviews) by clicking on the little text icon under the blog header and you will arrive at a page that will look something like this;

Easy-peasy! Just click on the picture that interests you and you'll be magically transported to the post relating to the picture. A nice clear way for you to find your way around my blog, no?

Like this idea? Well, here is how I did it. 

**Please note I came up with this by myself and wasn't influenced by posts on any other blogs or sites. If you wish to use this idea on your blog, please reference it back to me. Thanks!!

So, first I labelled my photos. I use a program called Draw Plus which I downloaded off the internet. It functions similar to Photoshop, but I find it easier to use. I would highly recommend using the tutorials to get a feel for the program.

 All I did was insert the picture into the drawing, drew a rectangle over it, filled it with colour, set it so it was slightly transparent and added some text on top of it. I then grouped the picture, text and rectangle together and dragged the whole thing onto my Picasa tab and cropped it as required. Save it to your pictures folder. You could just add the text, or skip this step completley and just have the picture by itself on your index page. It's up to you!

After setting up a new page in Blogger, I loaded my index photos in the normal manner, and set them so they were size small. This way you can drag 2 together side by side. I then opened a new internet tab (hover over tab and press Ctrl+N) and opened my blog, where I selected the "outfits" tag from the sidebar that I have attached to all my ourfit posts. 

Now all you need to do is select a post, (click on the post title) copy the link from the bar at the top and return to your other tab where your new page is open. Select the photo which relates to that post and click "edit link". Just paste the link you copied into the box and voila! Your little photo will link to the post you want it to. 

I hope you found that interesting! I'm always keen to find new ways to edit photos or content for my blog. If you have any tips for me they would be greatly appreciated!!

Outfit Post // Crochet Dreams

 Head Scarf - Salvation Arny Tay St, Crochet Top - Windsor Salvation Army,  

Black Jeans - Jay Jays, Black Ballet Flats - Kmart

 I found this top hanging on the wall at the Windsor Salvation Army Store a couple of weeks ago. One of the Shop Assistants got it down for me and I held my breath as I checked the price tag...$8. Sold!

It's quite a heavy top, although I can't wait to wear it in Summer with shorts and a bikini underneath. I went for this simple outfit to head into town to have lunch with the bf - I don't think this top needs anything complicated worn with it. You'll also notice I have a scarf in my hair! I've worn 3 of the vintage ones I own over the last week or so, the purple one, blue one and this one which is the green and pink one. Even the bf gave his seal of approval! I'm keen to add to my collection now....

I'm spending my weekend unpacking boxes and tidying up the kitchen at the new house. I've been trying to find a dresser for my sewing room for the last weeks and it's proving difficult!! I don't really want to be living out of a suitcase for much longer, 2 months is enough!

Please bear with me with all the changes I keep making to my blog, I'm trying to find something I'm happy with and a way to present my posts in a tidy and interesting way. I'm also going to get started on a few index pages, one for my recipes, outfit posts, cakes and DIY's (of which I have a few planned over the next wee while!) so I'll let you know when those are up!

Do you have any crochet clothes? What do you have planned for the weekend?

Thrifty Friday // Cake Stand

Yes, I may have forgotten about Thrifty Friday - whoops!! I figure since it is still Friday on the other side of the world, I can put it up today and everything will be fine - right?

So here is my latest find - A pretty shiny cake stand! 've been looking for one for ages and I finally came across this at the Habitat for Humanity Store the other day. Isn't it pretty? Piled high with cakes, slices or cupcakes I think it will look pretty good in my new kitchen.

Have you found any good kitchen finds lately? I'm always on the look out to expand my collection!

Wishing Well // Candy Thermometer

 Candy Thermometer - Picture credit here

This is what I need to get my hands on on pay day (not till next week! Boo!) I have dreams of making all kinds of tasty goodies...remember my Turkish delight? I want to attempt that again plus find the perfect fudge recipe and perhaps make some toffee...

Thanks so much for all of your support on my Cakey Business post last Monday! I was so excited I emailed the lady about the markets the middle of last week. They aren't taking any more food stall holders for this year, but may be for next year.

Unfortunately the rules are pretty tight when you're selling food to members of the public here in New Zealand and I would need to make my cupcakes in a certified commercial kitchen. I investigated if I would be able to certify my home kitchen, but according to the local council rules you must have a separate kitchen from your domestic kitchen, where you produce the food. *sigh* so it's all a bit complicated!! There is one other option, where I could find a Cafe/Bakery or Hall that would let me use their certified kitchen after hours, although I can imagine how much they might like to charge and I would have to factor that into my prices somehow...

 Anyway!! It's good to know there are options. In the mean time I'm going to practice at home and keep making cakes and cupcakes for friends and family.

Do you know what the rules are for selling food to the public in your city or country? 

Outfit Post // Golden Roses

Golden Roses Dress - Trademe, Vintage Brown Leather Belt - Shop on Taieri, White Lace Tights - Glassons, Cream Boots - No. 1 Shoe Warehouse, Red Lipstick - Australis

 I bid pretty fiercely for this dress on Trademe! I knew it would be perfect to get me through the Summer and well into next Autumn and Winter. Luckily I got a bargain and only paid $10!! I love when that happens. 

You'll also note I seem to be wearing different boots for a change - I saw these at the beginning of Winter but wasn't keen to shell out $50 for them, so I was pleased to find them marked down to $27.95 today! I love how they kind of look like vintage ice skates - I can't wait to pair them with a bunch of 50's style dresses!!

I'll be having a busy weekend, as its time to shift all the furniture into the new house. Although the settlement date isn't until the 14th, the house is currently vacant and the owners are happy to let us move in our furniture while we wait for the finance to come through. Exciting times!! By the way notice my gorgeous wee puppy Hershey who wanted her photo taken too?? She loves the sunshine!

What are you up to this weekend? Anything exciting planned? I'll put up some photos of the new house soon!!