The Sugar Man

I recently watched a brilliant documentary, Searching for Sugar Man about a mysterious (but unbelievably talented) musician named Rodriguez who was somehow overlooked during the 70s and vanished after two failed albums following rumours of the most grotesque public suicide. Unbeknownst to Rodriguez, South Africa loved his music to the point of calling him "bigger than Elvis". The documentary follows a tedious investigation into this mysterious individual only to find him live and well, leading a modest life in Detroit! The film is accompanied by his own music including unreleased tracks, and you wonder, how on earth did he not "make it". It's music like no other, perhaps too ahead of its time? South Africa heard it - what were the rest of the world doing?

It's a story most wouldn't believe, one of fairytales and myths.

DIAMONDS!

So ordinarily, I would not be described as a diamonds-are-a-girl's-best-friend type, but Karen Walker's latest Diamond ring collection just might tip me over the edge. They're not your usual, "look I have a giant rock on my finger that I could have instead purchased the entire overpriced apple range of gadgets" rings, but instead very sweet and dainty rings while still containing the all-important rock!

Moth & Dane

I love those cheap little novelty rings that you can find at dinky markets, but sadly I've been inflicted with the common allergy to "cheap jewellery." So I've been on a bit of a quest to find a ring that doesn't look like a generic chain-store piece (not that there's anything wrong with them!). A little while ago, I came across a beautiful collection by a couple of kiwi girls called Moth & Dane who have created some simple, yet original and elegant pieces. I personally have my heart set on their Daisy rings.

 The single daisy ring can even be stacked with others!

How cute are they?!

Top of the world!

A handful of snowtrips down, and sadly we're almost at the end of ski season in NZ. The weather hasn't been particularly kind to us on the weekends that we've made the several hour trip but there has been some stunners. In particular was the day we (bordering on insanity) made the hellish hike up to the summit of Mt Ruapehu - one of our active volcanoes. My body constantly begged me to stop and turn back... it was a tough battle of mind over matter...

... eventually making it to this magnificent view!

Worth every painful step!

I live in one heck of a pretty city!

Last weekend I got to view my city from a vantage point like no other, all thanks to my lovely boy. A glass of bubbly later, we donned a headset, lifted into Auckland's night sky (which was luckily crystal clear, only hours prior to a huge thunderstorm!) and hovered above thousands and thousands of twinkling lights. It's an entirely different world up there. No pictures or words would do it justice (although here is a snippet of the view)! A night-time chopper ride is definitely one to experience (at least) once in anyone's lifetime.

HOLY MOTORS

The NZ Film Fest has already come to an end with the pleasure of viewing a grand total of 13 films. There were many worth noting, but hands down highlight for me was Holy Motors, directed by Leos Carax. It is anything but ordinary. In fact it is absolutely mad and weird and crazy, but completely wonderful. We've come to the age of sequels and remakes so when you come across something truly original, you really appreciate it. It's about a man who makes numerous "appointments" hopping in and out of his dressing-room limousine, playing out (to the extreme) various characters ranging from motion capture man, beggar lady, an accordianist, a father, a monster man and so on. On top of it all, Carax crafts every scene in beauty, it is very literally an artform he has mastered.

M.I.A.

I've been completely MIA for months!! But life got a little crazy: 

submitted my PhD thesis (yay!),

                                         

holidayed in Japan,

celebrated my and my besties birthdays in 1920's style,

and now gearing up for the NZ International Film Festival again. CAN'T WAIT!

Films about movies

I've finally gotten back into movie mode again and caught up somewhat on the films I've been meaning to watch for months. There are two though, that have really stood out to me as clever and original films (especially in the current age of remakes and re-remakes) despite gaining so much Oscar hype (which is so completely over-rated...). The first was Hugo. I've always been a Scorsese fan, but this was one that really showed his true talent in direction. Every scene is beautifully crafted with some charming acting by the young cast.

The second was The Artist - a wonderfully original film shot as a black and white silent film set in the glitz and glamour of the 1920s (my favourite era). The over-the-top acting and wide smiles never gets old. A must-see for any girl who's an old-school romantic!

I think the most magical thing about these films is that they're about the magic of film-making. I know we will never get to experience the sheer panic and awe of those that first experienced film, when they thought a real train was rushing towards them (which incidentally is touched upon in Hugo), but I still think there's nothing quite like the original classics from the old Hollywood era...

Tiny World in a Bottle

The Japanese sure know how to take it to the next level: Akinobu Izumi is an architect by day and probably the most patient person at every other time of day, because he painstakingly creates these pieces of magic! (Take special note of the photo - yeah, they are FINGERS!!)

While you might be nodding and thinking to yourself "well, of course he's japanese," consider for a second that the dinosaurs leg is smaller than a single ridge of his fingerprint. Imagine the surgeries he could have done! McDreamy? Pffft no contest!

 

Little vintage tea party!

Last Friday we surprised our lovely friend Victoria with a "green" (her fav colour) afternoon tea party at Florentine Tearoom, a gorgeous little cafe nestled in the suburbs of Epsom, to celebrate her engagement. The setting is so charming, like we were having afternoon tea in an old lady's back porch, with mismatched cups and saucers and the sweetest little cupcakes topped with sugar roses. And there were macarons, the real French ones!! They've become quite a craze here, and they don't come cheap, but if you get a good one - GOD THEY ARE WORTH IT!


Such a delightful afternoon! Congrats Victoria <3

VERAMEAT

I recently discovered Verameat while reading a now-forgotten blog post (sorry!), kindly directed at men who have girlfriends that don't like conventional jewellery. Being one of those myself, I have deep sympathy for such men, since these lovely sheilas are the epitomy of "hard to buy for". But apparently there is a solution to every problem: that is VERAMEAT!! Best part is, you can select the materials for each piece so you don't go broke after the first gift-giving saga.

 Isbens Buck Ring

Skeleton's R Us Bracelet

Skeleton dress

There's something about this that I love! No way that I could pull it off but still...

Stolen Girlfriends Club - Skeletal Mini Dress

A Monday Smile

Best gig EVER! Typically, I would spend my Monday nights at home, literally doing a whole lot of nothing. Because lets face it, noone ever does anything on Mondays. If someone asked you what you did last Monday, bet you wouldn't remember. But not this Monday. This Monday was probably the most delightful Monday I have experienced in a long time! All thanks to the genius that is Beirut. I know I refer to a lot of people as geniuses, which totally contradicts the idea, but Zach Condon truly is the definition of genius. He rocks out on the ukulele, the trumpet, the piano and sings, all whilst looking quite marvelous actually.

Here is A Sunday Smile, my fav <3

Christmas snackboxes

For Christmas this year, I decided to go a little crazy and make little gift boxes filled with baked goodies. Most likely the first and last time I will definitely be doing something like this though. It was one of those projects that I began with epic intentions only to realise halfway through how lazy I actually am... but I followed through to the end so that a few (hopefully) lucky people got to (hopefully) appreciate the nightmare I threw myself into! Worst part: making the bloody (insert profanity here) boxes (with see-through windows); best part: having so much left over.

Contents:

• Mini reindeer snickerdoodles
• almond biscotti
• coconut ice
• miniature white chocolate sandwich cookies
• chocolate covered pretzel sticks