What’s In My Bag – Winter Edition

Seeing as it’s officially winter in New Zealand, I figured it was time to do an updated ‘what’s in my bag’.

I’m currently using my Kardashian bag; I bought it last winter and like it because the coral gives a nice pop of colour when everything is grey and dreary. I also love that it isn’t bulky and fits just about everything I want/need (I found out that it can’t fit my umbrella and a water bottle; I always end up carrying the umbrella).

I’m notorious for over-stuffing my bags, so have been making a conscious effort to not carry more around more with me than I need. Here’s what I currently have in my bag:

• A makeup bag
• My Wallet
• My Phone
• A spacer (I use this with my inhaler, and have been taking it with me a bit more lately; I’ve been super sick lately, and have been using my inhaler a bit more than usual).

In my makeup bag I have:

• Comvita lozenges
• Fisherman’s Friend lozenges
• Paracetamol
• Hand sanitiser
• Antibiotics
• Chia seed oil
• My inhaler
• Tissues
• A Vicks nasal inhaler
• Lipstick
• Lip balm
• Rescue Remedy

I can’t do a what’s in my bag post without featuring what’s on my bag – a little minion my friend Leonie gave me (which reminds me, I need to find the double up minion I got in my kinder surprise to give to you). Thank you so much for this little guy, he’s SO cute!

Monthly Summary of June 2015

 This Time Last Year
Nothing too exciting was happening; I was still getting used to my camera and had started counting down the days until our trip to Canada.

 Entertained by:
Minions, we saw the movie on Saturday and it was so lovely (I am minion obsessed and have figurines on my desk at work as well as in my office). I’ve also started playing Far Cry 3 on, and really enjoy it.

 Purchased:
Visits to my GP/medicine. I’ve been sick as hell lately and have been to the doctor’s about four times in the past monty. Shit ain’t cheap. Also, I’ve been buying a crap tonne of lush bath bombs and bubble bars lately.

 Watching:
IZombie as usual. The season has finished, so I need to wait another year to get my fix

 Listing to:
Lots of Skrillex, especially Make It Bun Dem and Bangarang.

 Highlights:
Jelly TIp Whittaker’s chocolate (it’s so good), the minion movie, catching up with a friend for brunch, pho (I haven’t been wanting to eat much aside from pho lately),  the pineapple container my SiL gave me (thank you so much T) and seeing my nieces; they’re gorgeous.

 Lowlights:
Being sick, I’m so over it

 Looking Forward To:
We’re going to see Inside Out this weekend, and I can’t wait.

Winter Is Coming – photo post

Dealing With The Winter Lurgy

I have the flu; I’ve spent two works off work (aside from the two days where I went back to work, before I started feeling shitty again), bored out of my mind.

I was freezing in that photo, I was wearing a pair of woollen tights, a pair of pants, two long sleeved tops, a hoodie, fluffy socks and was wrapped in a fluffy blanket, and I was still fucking cold.

We all know that being sick, and bored sucks, so I thought I’d share a few of my favourite things to do when I really don’t feel like doing much.

 Watching TV/Movies
I watch pretty mindless things when I’m sick; stuff I know I’ll enjoy, but won’t feel bad if I fall asleep watching (trashy reality TV shows and romantic comedies are my not so secret guilty pleasure). Right now, I’m rewatching the season of finale of iZombie (turns out you miss a whole bunch when you can’t concentrate properly).

 Watching Youtube Videos
I’ve been watching a lot of Youtube videos, especially clickednetwork.tv (it’s a Singaporean lifestyle channel); I’ve really been enjoying a few or their shows, especially Tried and Tested, The Clicked Show, and Hack It – they’re so entertaining.

 Reading Books
I downloaded a few eBooks onto my kindle at the beginning of the year, and so read a couple of those while I was in bed. I chose books that were simple, with storylines I knew I’d enjoy, so I’d be able to concentrate, without doing my head in.

 Going For A Walk
I really needed fresh air, so on Friday, I went for a walk to Fisherman’s Plate to get some Pho (seriously, their pho is the best) and to get some more supplies from the supermarket.

 Having a warm bath/shower
Warm baths are relaxing and great for achey muscles, so I’ve had a few baths recently.

 Other Tips
Make sure you have everything you’ll need close by (I have a little box on my bedside table with painkillers, antibiotics and vapour rub and have a pile of DVDs next to my bed), drink plenty of fluids, eat well (pho and fresh fruit have been my lifesavers) and get plenty of rest.

Eateries: The Chippery

For dinner last night, Phillip and I had Fish and Chips; we had been meaning to go to The Chippery in Thorndon for a while, but never got around to it (I work a few blocks away and was going to shout us dinner on Friday night after work, but ended up getting sick and spending most of the week in bed, I was pretty gutted).

So, after cleaning the house, we put an online order through to the Thorndon store, and then headed to New World to do some grocery shopping before picking collecting our order (you can choose the time you want to collect your order, so we weren’t rushing around; we were about 10 minutes early).

The fish is fresh, and the list of fish on offer changes depending on what’s available – I had the warehou, and it was amazing* (I also got a half portion of curly fries  and stole some of Phillip’s hand it  l, and was SO FULL by the end of dinner).

* I ordered the gluten free batter (they have a separate fryer for gluten free cooking; I KNOW, RIGHT?!), so I can’t vouch for the regular batter, but I’m sure it’s great!

Disclaimer: not sponsored, I just love that I can eat fish & chips again (without having to make them myself).

Taking Stock – My Life Right Now

It’s been about a month since I last did a Taking Stock post, I decided to do it again because quite a bit has changed since my last TS post (I was a bit of a wreck) and it has been popping up in my RSS reader lately, so I thought I’d jump on board that #NZBloggers train and join in.

Out & About (feeling much better)

I was getting serious cabin fever, so this afternoon we went for a walk to get lunch and before heading down to the waterfront (today, was the only day aside from my doctor’s appointment on Thursday that I had been out of the house all week, being sick sucks).

 

Blog Q&A

I’ve been in bed for the past three days, bored out of my tree (there’s only so much sleeping you can do/online TV you can watch when you’re sick), so i decided to search for some blog tags and came across a Blog Q&A.

I used to love filling out surveys on livejournal (am I showing my age?) and thought that this would be kind of fun. If you’d like to join in, I’ll leave the list of questions at the bottom of the post.

 When did you first start blogging and why?
Honestly can’t remember, I think I was probably about 17, and used the journal section on my bolt.com profile (did anyone else have a bolt account?, thankfully I can’t remember the username I had, but I’m fairly certain it was embarrassing as hell).

 Have you had any past online presence?
Yes; I had accounts on livejournal, deadjournal, melodramatic, geocities, tripod and angelfire as well as accounts on bebo and myspace. I’m not going to lie, my older accounts may have featured green text on a black background and scrolling marquees. Oh, the shame.

 When did you become serious about your blog?
Within the past year? I had always wanted to blog regularly, but never really made it a priority.

 What was your first blog post?
On this blog, it was a what’s in my bag post, featuring some very blurry photos (which is pretty embarrassing considering I used a DSLR, I really hope I’ve gotten better at taking photos)

 What have been your biggest challenges blogging?
For me recently, it’s a been finding the time to blog while juggling work and life stresses. In the past it’s been juggling what I want to write vs what I think people who read my blog want me to write, and how my posts will be perceived.

 What’s the most rewarding thing about blogging?
Being able to articulate how I feel. I tend to be better at writing how I feel than I am at speaking and find that blogging has been a great outlet for me. 

 What is the most discouraging thing about blogging?
I feel discouraged most when I write a post that I have put a lot of effort into and it doesn’t get many views/comments.

 What is your lasting inspiration or motivation?
I have joined a couple of New Zealand based blogging groups on facebook and have found them great for meeting new people and keeping me motivated (#nzbloggers and #brunchclub for those of you in New Zealand who want to connect with other bloggers).

 What is your blogging dirty little secret?
Not sure if I have one.

 What is your current goal as a blogger?
To make blogging a priority, and to figure out a balance between blogging and day to day life. 

Questions

When did you first start blogging and why?

Have you had any past online presence?

When did you become serious about your blog?

What was your first blog post?

What have been your biggest challenges blogging?

What’s the most rewarding thing about blogging?

What is the most discouraging thing about blogging?

What is your lasting inspiration or motivation?

What is your blogging dirty little secret?

What is your current goal as a blogger?

2015 Goals Update

Seeing as it’s the middle of the year (how is it June already?) I figured that I should probably do a goals update post, and let you know how I’m going with the goals I set myself at the beginning of the year.

Goals

 Blog Regularly – I think I’m doing okay at this? I know I’ve been pretty slack recently, but I think I’m doing a lot better than last year (I’m going to make a posting schedule for the rest oaf the month, and will try to stick at it). .

 Read More – so far this year, I’ve read two books, which is more books than I read last year, so I guess this is kind of done? (I set myself a goal of reading 15 books this year on goodreads, so far I’m 4 books behind schedule, which is where the ‘kind of’ fits in).

 Get healthy – This hasn’t happened. I went all out at the beginning of the year and then kind of ran out of steam and fell back into bad habits (eating all the food, pretty much).

 Happiness – I’m not sure, I’m happier in some ways and just kind of over it in others. I guess generally, I’m happier than I have been in a while, so I don’t know. Kind of done?

 Get out of town more often – We have definitely done more of this; buying a car last year has made this a lot easier. My best trip has either been my birthday weekend in Rotorua (entirely because of the alpaca farm) or our trip to Auckland in April (lunch and shopping with Jes was so much fun).

Bonus Goals

 Figure out how to use this pen – I think the last time I used my wacom pen was when I posted a juice recipe at the beginning of the year, so that hasn’t gone too well!

  Care less about what other people think – still a struggle sometimes, but we’re getting there.

  Do more things that scare me – This year has been all about doing things that scare me. some of which has been documented on the blog (outfit posts, meeting new people), it has been pretty challenging, but also a lot of fun.

Verdict: 3/5 goals and 1.5/3 bonus goals – not bad! What goals did you set for yourself this year? Have you kept any of them, or have you completely fallen off the wagon? Let me know xx

Monthly Summary of May 2015

A few days late, I know, but I’m currently sick in bed with the lurgy (I’m missing out on a zomato event tonight, which really blows – I was looking forward to touring the Wellington Chocolate Factory factory).

 This Month Last Year
Looking back through iPhoto, last May wasn’t too exciting; I bought a few things for our trip to Canada in July and got used to the camera I bought for the trip.

 Entertained by:
Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella, I was lucky enough to win a copy on instragram and read it in a couple of days. Would recommend.

 Purchased:
Lots of minion themed kinder surprise eggs and tictacs (I might have a bit of a minion obsession).

 Watching:
iZombie – I’m watching an episode now.

 Listing to:
The ‘Morning Commute‘ playlist on Spotify

 Highlights:
A few hightlights from this month have been: brunch with dad at Drexels, dog cuddles with my fave, family lunch over Queen’s Birthday weekend, lunch with Jes and Peter (it featued the most delicious gluten free/vegan ‘french toast’ cupcakes) and walking along Otaki beach with dad and Phillip.

 Lowlights:
Being busy/stressed and getting sick – the usual.

 Looking forward to:
A possible trip to Auckland in a month or two, currently looking at dates and stuff.