Running Hot & Cold

Today Mother Nature was A.D.D and couldn’t make up her mind on what season she wanted to put into play. Morning was slightly chilly with grey skies and moderate showers but by midday it was sunny and unbelievably humid. For days like this, layer, layer, layer off and layer on again. The sheer shirt was great in the humidity but when it got cooler; the vest was a lighter option in coverage (and is easier to carry round than a jumper or jacket). My clutch was a lucky find at my local hospice store, uber cheap too at only $1. Although it was plain at first, as soon as I got some studs ($2.40 worth), I quickly got into bedazzling it and is something I’m proud to rock round. Other than that it’s just another day in Auckland city, experiencing four seasons in one day. 

 

Red, Red Wine

My Wine coloured cape-cardigan is one of my fav items of 2012, purchased from Valley Girl. Now Valley Girl is a store I don’t frequent at, as their sizes are limited to 14, which obliviously I am way beyond. But in desperation to find a birthday gift for a friend I wondered into the store only to leave with a gift for myself. The capes tag reads as a size small which on my 2-4XL body is mind boggling but it reminds me that you can’t always trust the tag. If anything these days with sizes varying from store to store, body shapes that fit and fill items in different ways, labels are merely suggestions. Something I had forgotten about but always good to remember! 
Quick tip- if that cute skirt doesn’t fit round your hips, bring it up to your waist and rock it as a high waisted skirt, you’ll find that you can shop in the straight size section and have much more choices available to you which is always a plus.

Cape- Valley Girl

Top- Kmart

Tights- Farmers

Shoes- Number1Shoes

Necklace- Diva

Ring- Diva

Red Shirt

Today saw me going to the local flea market in my oversized red shirt and scarf turned head wrap, both purchased recently at a local Hospice store. I was lucky enough to catch the final days of the Hospice sale, where clothes were half off including their vintage stock which I went through with a fine tooth comb. Two stores in two different area codes later, I had 2 scarfs, 3 dresses, 2 tops and a cardigan bursting out of 2 plastic bags. Unfortunately today’s market venture wasn’t as successful but the thrill of the hunt was enticing enough to get me out of bed. Nough said. 

Shirt- Class, Thrift, Hospice New Lynn $2.50

Tights- Maya, Warehouse

Scarf- Thrift, Hospice New Lynn $4.00

Shoes- Romans, Number1 shoes

Lime Way

After my sunburn last week I decided it would be safer to cover up. My top, although black, is sheer so it’s cool to wear in summer and the blue skirt adds a pop of colour so I don’t look completely emo. The bag is my sisters, a birthday gift from me that had been m.i.a for a couple of years until it was unearthed recently on cleaning fit. Lesson learned; clean your closet out every season, to find the lost, clean the unkempt and toss the unwanted. Plus, if you have siblings, you can usually find your lost property up in theirs, they have a tendency to collect and forget.

The bag has been painted over in certain areas to cover what could be considered offensive. It’s a fine line when you mix religious symbols with anarchist or pop culture, you usually find yourself pissing someone off. But I love the stencil graphic of Jesus (this was when the whole, Jesus is my Home Boy, Mary is my Home Girl thing was happin’) but it’s not all innocent, look closer and you can see Jesus is giving the finger. So naughty.

Top- Moda, Target

Skirt- Thrift, Avondale Flea Market

Shoes- Roman Sandals, Number 1 Shoes

Bag- Borrowed from sis, store/ label unknown

Glasses- Cotton On  

Lantern Festival

 

Happy Chinese New Year! It’s the year of the dragon and that’s about as far as my knowledge goes. But every year around the beginning of February, Albert Park (located in the city) plays host to the lantern festival. A free public event that celebrates the Chinese New Year and gives everyone the chance to experience the smells, tastes, sights and sounds of one of Auckland’s largest communities. It’s a sight to see during the day, but when night falls, the lanterns radiate, glowing in all the colours of the rainbow.

Plus it’s one of those rare times you can enter a park at night without looking like your hooking, druggin or have the fear of been attacked.

 

Shirt- Thrift, Avondale Flea Market

Cape- Valley Girl

Pants- Wild Child, Farmers

Shoes-Roman Sandals, Number 1 Shoes

Necklace- Made by Me

Bag- Portmans

Glasses- Dollar King Store

AKL Zoo

On the weekend my sis and I took a trip down memory lane to the family friendly Auckland zoo. It had been over 10 years since I had last been and obviously there had been a lot of changes that I looked forward to exploring. Before we knew it four hours had gone by and I scored myself a mean sunburn on my chest and shoulders. I am usually very diligent about the ‘slip- slop- slap and wrap’ rule as my skin burns like an albino, despite the fact that half my genes come from the pacific islands. But my attentiveness eluded me on this one day and now I get to walk around with my chest looking like the missing meat in a sweet and sour dish (it’s that red!). 

Lesson learned. 

Before the burn.

Top- Kmart

Pants – Wild Child, Farmers

Cropped Cardi- Millers

Shoes- Kmart

Glasses- Le Specs

Necklace- Diva

Hat- taken from Sis

And my sis Anne wears:

Dress- Thrift, Avondale flea market

Bag- Thrift, Red Cross

Bracelets- Mix from, Diva, equip, cotton on, $2 shop and hand made. 

Hammer Time

 

I had brought these pants 3 weeks ago, after waiting patiently for them to go on sale. Holding back on my consumer urge, I was able to snap them up for $20, saving me $40! I think of them as my MC Hammer pants, easy to wear, light weight cotton, made for summer wearing and are a great break from my usual dark denim or plain black pants. But time will tell how these will stand against the thigh test. Cotton is great, but the man made poly, nylon blends hold out longer against wear and tear (something that the bigger peps will know what I’m talking about). So for now I’ll wear them sparingly and hope that they go the distance. 

 

 

Top- Moda, Target

Pants- Wild Child, Farmers

Bag- Blue Bird, Strandbags

Bangles- Taken from my sis

Necklace-Love Love

Ring- Lovisa

Shoes- Kmart

Glasses- Le Specs