Take cover

It's New Zealand Fashion Week right now so I've been really excited seeing things unfold, via the internet. I'm eternally grateful to my dear friend Courtney's wonderful website Always Sometimes Anytime for keeping me updated. Pictured above are images from the latest Twenty Seven Names range Take Cover, taken from their NZFW exhibition. Be still my beating heart! You can see more pictures here.

Birthday loot

Lucky me! Even though my birthday was last month I have still been receiving gifts. When my boyfriend arrived in Japan he brought with him some amazing antipodes products, a gift from his friend who designs all the antipodes packaging. As well as that, my dear friend James sent along the charm bracelet pictured above - tres kiwiana chic!

I was so surprised and happy but the gift giving continued. My boyfriend presented me with some new leather boots, a gold charm bracelet and a copy of Russh magazine. I have been savouring each page, thoroughly enjoying an English magazine. All my christmas' at once!!! 

Why thank you Mr Postman

Easter love

A bon voyage postcard my friend Yuko

A hand drawn postcard from Tokyo, lucky me!

Miffy came all the way from Paris!

New Years postcards are my absolute favourite

A wooden postcard from Taiwan

I volunteered at my local hospital and helped some of the disabled patients make postcards. They did a great job!

 

My best friend kept her feelings concise!

I love sending mail and receiving mail. Writing letters, postcards and assembling packages is such a delight. And there's nothing like the feel of paper and seeing the handwriting of those dearest to you. Ahh the thrill of finding a treasure in your letter box! I especially love stamps from foreign countries. I inherited my Grandmas stamp collection and it is so interesting to see what themes have been popular over the years. Certainly a lot of space travel, the royal family and creatures of the sea!

 I've been really lucky to get lots of wonderful postcards this year from friends on various adventures. If you're in need of a fantastic letter set to dazzle your friends should check out the new Hello Sandwich letter set that came out today. It is ridiculously cute and I can't wait to order a set and blow my friends socks off! 

Doris

It's one year today since my Grandma passed away. I can hardly believe it. Instead of feeling sad I'm channeling my energy into thinking about the things I loved about my Grandma:

 -Her evening jumper selection that were bejeweled and embroidered for special nights when her and her husband went dancing

-The softness of her cheeks. They felt like silk, and smelt like lavender

-Her handwriting. The most beautiful I had ever seen

The things she made. Doilies, needlepoint masterpieces and long knitted scarves. Every piece she made was loaded with time and love

-Her ability to make killer pavlova

-The house she lived in; filled with antiques, trinkets and photographs

-Her collection of diamond rings, 5 stacked on each finger. Her hands were bedazzling

-The fact that she wasn't like most Grandmother's. She was very subdued with her emotions and affection, meaning a hug was incredibly significant. On my last visit she asked me for a kiss on the cheek. It was our way of knowing it was the last time we would see each other. I feel so lucky I got to say goodbye.

One thousand tears of laughter

ME AT NINE, PERFORMING TO MADONNA IN SUMMER '91! from Robert Jeffrey on Vimeo.

Word to ya mother

I'm no craft master but I managed to whip this up for Mum. Only the best effort for the very best of mothers! My Mum is an enigma wrapped in a riddle who still continues to amaze and baffle me. Only when you get a little bit older do you come to realise how spectacular the people closest to you are. Bessy defied a 1700 year old tradition to marry the man she loved.  She moved to the other side of the world knowing no one but him and set up an amazing life for herself.  She makes the best food I have ever tasted, loves ABBA and Lady Gaga and  is selfless in everything that she does.  Happy Mothers day Mum! xx

Chicky chicky parm parm

Bill

Swanson pyramid of greatness

Turning dreams into reality. From the new season of Parks and Recreation. Glorious stuff. 

Triple swoon

I happened to stumble across Katie Merchant's thank you, ok a while back and it is now a firm fixture with my morning cup of tea. I nearly fell off my seat when I saw these pictures of stationery she purchased in South Korea. I can only imagine the excitement of receiving such a beautiful envelope in the post. This is the stuff of stationery fantasies!

Heartache

I am friends with some of my exes. Some, not so much. You never picture the end at the beginning and if you did, well, I doubt you’d start anything. I’ve only ever had one ex boyfriend whose break up deeply affected me. When we ended I was still very dearly in love with him but I knew it could never ever work. Instead I turned into a crazy lovesick person who couldn’t eat or sleep, checked Facebook obsessively and wept quietly on public transport.  

The world became a muted tone of grey and I sought solace beneath an excess of duvet covers and flannel pajamas, scrunching my face in despair and wishing things were otherwise.  I started going to bed at 7.30pm, compiled mournful emotional playlists and stopped washing my hair.

The thing is, I didn’t want to get over him. I didn’t want things to become easier. He was the only person I had ever felt slightly in awe of. Friends urged me to see the light and look beyond him, to see life after heartbreak. But that would be an even greater tragedy because I’d have to admit it was over. I turned away from sympathetic looks and well intentioned cups of tea.  Instead I retreated deeper into my world of denial,  dreaming of him, thinking of ways we could meet again, concocting bogus reasons to ring him and remembering the times we had. I clung to my sadness because if I let go of mourning I would let go of everything we had.

I still think about him sometimes, that one person who was capable of breaking my heart. He wasn’t a bad person, he just failed to feel something that I felt. We were looking for different things in each other and it floundered miserably. In hindsight I know he wasn’t as amazing as I imagined him to be and I only say this because I thought he was, quite literally, perfect.

It may be one of the greatest tragedies, unrequited love. Hindsight has taught me I can always come out the other side and that makes me feel bolder. The heart may be a little wary, wrapped tentatively in cotton wool, but beneath its protective layers it is ready to risk consuming undeniable heartbreak all over again if there is a shot at love.

Love is always cool, lust ain't ever.