Outfit Post // My Grandmas Garden

Lately I’ve been in a bit of a rut when it comes to getting dressed in the morning. As in I just haven’t been getting dressed. Yep, workin’ in my pj’s all day! It really wasn’t helping my motivation levels and I was feeling a bit down.

 Purple Dress - Recycle Boutique, Black Camisole - Stolen from Mum, 

 Girl Guides Belt - Shop on Taieri,  Black & silver Glitter Heels - Warehouse, but glitter DIY'd by me!

So when I headed to Dunedin the other weekend I made a quick visit to Recycle Boutique which has moved around the corner from its old location. I did a quick survey of the specials rack and found this dress for $4.50! Its amazing how a small purchase like that can lift your spirits.

I’ve worn it a few different ways since I got it – with tights & boots, by itself with a camisole underneath & sandals and with a lace body suit peaking out and a cardigan. I love the little coloured flowers – they remind me of my Grandmas garden in spring. Thankfully this little dress has kick-started my love affair with my wardrobe again!

Oh - I can't forget the shoes. These used to be $60 at the Warehouse a few months ago. I held out for soooo long - and the other week they were marked down to $7.50!!!! They had a wood-grain bottom part on them, which I couldn't decide if I liked it or not, so I decided to glitter DIY (see my tutorial here!) them instead. They are my new favourite shoes - They're so easy to walk in with the super chunky heel! I can't wait to wear them out, but for the moment I'll just have to keep doing my housework while wearing them...

I hope you have all had a good week. We had a long weekend here with Waitangi Day, so I went to visit some friends and their new chocolate lab puppy called Gus – Hershey and him spent all afternoon playing together while us humans ate blueberries and had a BBQ on the deck. My Mum and Sister also came down from Dunedin for a visit and brought my little nephew with them, so we had a look around the shops and had a coffee date at a local pub. It was a nice weekend!

What have you been up to lately? Has it been sunny and warm where you are or have you been playing in the snow? I kinda hope we’ll get a decent dump of snow here this winter!

Instagram Fest // The Week That Was

I realise I have been a little absent lately! Between sorting my internet, trying to get rid of the pile of cardboard boxes that are still littered around my new house and frequent trips to Dunedin in the weekend blogging has been at the bottom of the heap over the last couple of weeks! I have plans to get back onto to it ASAP though, so no worries!!


I went up to Dunedin in the weekend and reviewed the Imperial Russian Ballet Company's 'A Festival of Russian Ballet' which is touring New Zealand at the moment.You can read my review here if you like! also caught up with a couple of friends and had a quiet drink in town which was fun!

So you all know what else I've been up to lately, here are some lovely Instagram pics to fill in the gaps. I love how my phone is always there to capture little moments and entertain me when I'm bored!

 A pretty thrifted playsuit I bought off Trademe, making hot chocolate at home on my espresso machine, a pair of thrifted silver mary janes I plan to do a DIY on, the dress pattern and material I am using at dress making class (middle right!), my old ballet shoes I found when moving and wore while doing plies using my dresser as a barre, the view from my awesome seat before watching the Russian Ballet Company perform (read my review here!), a cheeky cherio lunch yesterday, an awesome vintage tutu I just bought (I've been looking for one for ages!!) can't wait to get it!!

If you have Instagram too look me up sometime - my username is sparkleylining. I'd love to see what you take photos of!!

The rest of this week will involve looking for storage solutions for my sewing/dressing room and cake studio, baking some tasty treats to take to Dunedin this weekend  when I go up to see Sleeping Beauty (yes, more ballet!) beginning to sew my dress at dressmaking class on Thursday and waiting by the phone in case my little nephew decides to make an appearance this week!!

What are your plans for the rest of the week and the weekend?

Life Lately // NZCDG Conference 2011

 The venue where the conference was held - Malborough Convention Centre

I mentioned in my last post I was away at the National Cake Decorators Guild (NZCDG) annual conference over the weekend. It was the first one I have attended as I only joined up late last year so it was a bit intimidating/scarey not knowing what to expect!!

 My Dunedin group (me - bottom left!) - A few travelled up by themselves

There were 6 of us going together in a van from Dunedin, which was a long trip! We did it all in one day with quite a few stops, we left at 8am on Thursday and arrived in Blenheim about 5:30pm that night!

Because I was a newbie I got to be a delegate for my local club (I represented the Dunedin Sugar Craft Guild but I'm also a member of the Foveaux Cake & Sugar Art Guild in Invercargill!) which was so scarey! Me and another member went to the AGM on the Friday and had the responsibility of voting for the new President of the club and also voted on where the next South Island conference would be held - the options were my Invercargill Club or Nelson - unfortunately Nelson won by 2 votes!! So close.

My favourite berry of the lot - Rosehip. 
Demonstrator - Betty Debnam from Tasmania, Australia

 

 Wedding Dress Cake - Piping, brush embrodiary, pleating fondant

Demonstrator -Toba Garret from New York, USA

 

 The goodies I bought on Saturday - From the Trade Show

On Saturday I saw some 2 demonstrations, 1 on some berries which would make perfect fillers for floral arrangements, and a pretty wedding dress cake - the piping was so perfect and tiny!! I also got to go shopping - they have a whole lot of trade tables with people selling all kinds of cake decorating equipment. I didn't spend too much but I got some things I had been meaning to get for a while!! I also checked out the plaques some of the clubs entered and the competition flowers and cakes!

The plaque my club entered - The theme was "Through the vineyard window"

 A competition cake I liked

The cake that won the Peoples Choice - It was covered in tiny little fairies - including a 

Bride and Groom fairy!!

On Saturday night we had a formal dinner at the Malborough Convention Centre where the conference was being held. I sat next to a woman from the Whangarei club and it was really fun chatting to her all night! There was also a Cake Decorating Judge at our table and a few other women who had been to lots of conferences so they told me all about the ones they had been to in the past. 

 I absolutley love this little Elf - Strip cutter used for stripes (they sold out I missed out!)

Demonstrator - Raewin Kelly from Gisborne, New Zealand

 Butterfly Lily - She also showed us a ribbon rose (left)

Demonstrator - Pam Archibald from Victoria, Australia

Sunday was the final day of the conference that we were attending, and I saw 2 more demonstrations - 1 on a super cute little Christmas elf (I loved the tips for modelling little people its right up my alley!!) and the other was a pretty Butterfly Lily. 

 Bottom left are some seals on the beach!

A cute little road-side shop - Near Kaikoura

We headed home again on Monday, stopping briefly just out of Kaikoura to watch the seals playing on the rocks and to pick up some crayfish at a cute little road-side shop!

It was really cool being in the same place as a whole bunch of other Cake Decorators, learning heaps of new skills and tricks and remembering names and faces for the next conference I go to. We really need more young members like me to join so the older ones have someone to pass their skills and experience on to!! Definitely look up a local club if you're interested in Cake Decorating, I'm pretty sure there will be something similar all over the world. Next year I'm keen to attend the State one held in Melbourne, Australia too!!

Life Lately // Plans for November

Advertising for the Cake Decorating Conference in Blenheim - iPhone/Instagram

 Hello everyone! It's been a while. It wasn't a deliberate break, but more of an unfortunate situation involving Telecom and their inability to sort out a faulty phone jack point for an entire week!! No internet for work or play!

Anyway, I'm back in action!! I just got back last night from the New Zealand Cake Decorators Guild (NZCDG) annual conference which was held up in Blenheim this year. It's held in the South Island one year and then the North Island the next year. It was a pretty cool experience - I was a Delegate for our local club (Dunedin Sugar Craft Guild) and attended the AGM meeting, I saw 3 demonstrations from Cake Decorators hailing from America, Australia and New Zealand and I picked up a bunch of cool cake decorating supplies. The next South Island one will be in Nelson in 2 years so I'm looking forward to it! I'll post some photos from the trip tomorrow!

This weekend coming I'm reviewing the Imperial Russian Ballet which is touring New Zealand at the moment. I'm so excited! The last time I saw the Russian Ballet was just after I graduated with my Architectural Draughting Diploma - I had started my first 'real' job and shouted my Grandma a trip to the ballet. The following weekend I'm reviewing Sleeping Beauty from the Royal New Zealand Ballet which I have been looking forward to since I heard about it almost 2 years ago! So I'll have a busy couple of weekends up in Dunedin over the next little while. 

To top it all off I'm about to be an Aunty soon! My sister is due on the 15th November so not long to go now!

What have you been up to lately? Do you have any exciting plans for November? Oh! For the guy in your life - get them involved in 'Movember' !! I used to work in an office where I was the only girl among 10 or so guys - they all grew beards until the 29th November, then shaved most of them off into funky beards or moustaches. There were prizes for the best design, least hair grown, etc. Great cause!! 

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!

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!!

Girl About Town // Maria in Dunedin

I'm so excited to introduce this new little feature series for my blog! As I've mentioned before, the Rugby World Cup is in full swing here in New Zealand and there is currently an influx of rugby-mad supporters travelling around the country in campervans and flag-covered cars. So why not introduce my lovely readers to some of the awesome cities around our little country? Sounds good!!

First up is Maria from Pepper Dee telling us about Dunedin (my home town!!) and some of her favourite places. 

 Can you see the stadium?

Hi! I’m Maria from over at “PepperDee” I was so excited to do this guest post because I love my city and there are so many places in it that are wonderful to visit. Plus I was flattered, because I’m sure Kasey knows Dunedin just as well as I do!

My favourite cafe in Dunedin

It wasn’t difficult to choose which cafe in Dunedin is my absolute favourite. Only a month ago a new cafe and dessert bar opened up on George st, in the central of the main shopping area, right opposite the Meridian mall. It’s called Angus, and has the best food you can possibly imagine! Think anything from burgers and fries to pasta and salad, cheesecakes and gateaux, coffee or alcohol, all for an affordable price.

baileys triple chocolate gateaux, bacon panini, $7 each

It’s a big place, but it’s always packed and has seating from couches, to booths, to regular dining. Their interior decorator is an absolute genius, so if you don’t visit for the food, at least visit to check out the lighting! You can find locations and info here. They also have a bar and restaurant around the corner for evening dining. One of the barmen is famous for making up unique cocktails on request, and they flick around the glasses and bottles to keep people entertained - even though sometimes they drop and smash them!

My favourite shop in Dunedin

It was difficult to decide which shops in Dunedin were my favourite because to be honest, most fashion stores are franchises which are available in any other main city in New Zealand. There is a unique little boutique called modern miss which is also in the middle of town. 

 I love this window display!

They sell beautiful vintage clothing which is a little pricey, but beautiful quality. I’ve been going there to look for a unique and vintage wedding dress that suits me (so far no luck) but if you love vintage pieces, this is definitely the place to go. At the very least, it’s fun for a browse!

And I wish my shoe closet resembled this! I sourced these photos from the Modern Miss facebook page

My favourite place in Dunedin

My favourite place in Dunedin is the peninsula. It's more like a scenic drive than a 'place' but you can spend the day driving along Highcliff Road and then back along the winding road around the harbour, visiting beaches, the albatross colony, old bunkers from the war, and New Zealand's only castle. I honestly believe it is the most beautiful place I have ever been.

via google maps

 What you might see:

The first photograph in this post is taken on the peninsula, so you can see how close it is to town!

Well, that’s it! I hope I’ve inspired you to come and visit us down south. I had heaps of fun putting this post together - now I can’t wait to read about other places in NZ!

Thanks so much Maria!! I can agree that the cake from Angus Cafe is AMAZING and as I was bought up in Portobello on the peninsula it holds a special place in my heart too.

Check back later for more posts from some blogger friends in Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland, plus I'll post some of my favourite places I have found in Invercargill so far!