Outfit of the night #2

Sorry I forgot to put on shoes when the photo was taken.. Oh well :)

Went out again to a friend's place for catch-up drinks. I kept looking at this dress and seriously debating whether to buy it but being unsure because white clothes have so much potential for disaster...

I put it with a belt because it seemed to look good this way, but when this picture was taken, I had just eaten a huge meal at Lone Star and had to loosen it to avoid feeling sick..
I keep forgetting to wear any jewellery, so sorry about that, it's just that I'm always wearing something with long sleeves over the top so you wouldn't really be able to see it anyway..

Dress (Includes singlet-part under mesh) Glassons 2012 $60
Tights Ambra 2011
Waist belt 2010 From sister :)
Black ballet flats (Not in picture) $10 Kmart

It's nice to find longer, higher-neckline dresses that still look good, even when you don't have much of a figure! 

On a side-note, I should tell you guys about how amazing the food is at Lone Star. If you ever go to Auckland (Or Wellington, I think) you should try it out. It's very carnivore-based, just to warn you. I wish I had taken pictures, but will just let you know that I had a medium rare 'Big John the Sirloin' with onions, buffalo chips, coleslaw and garlic butter as my 'sauce', for $28.50NZD.
My boyfriend had the Johnny Cash Stash, with 2 chicken breasts stuffed with mushrooms, spinach, cheese, sundried tomatoes, crusted and with a mushroom sauce. Their food is always exceptional, plus they have really good service! 
I would highly recommend this place :)

Well, this is all I have time for now, hope you like the dress, because I certainly do! :)
Have a good day! :)

Outfit of the night #1

Going out on a Tuesday is 'backpackers night'. It's not only foreign people, lots of NZers are there, too, dancing and having fun. The particular one we go to is Cassette Nine, a club that has really unique décor like a 'jeans wall', a part of the ceiling covered in fake ferns and a whole bunch of old boom boxes above the bar. They make cocktail type drinks for you in teapots with little plastic shot-glasses, they taste pretty amazing. 

I went shopping earlier in the day because after lots of browsing of online shops, I was really in the mood to check out real things I could actually try on. I ended up buying this dress for $30NZ/ 24US because I loved the material.

Love sparkly fabrics :)

Look, it's me! Minus the camera in the way :P

My favourite blazer 

My flats and minty toes 

Dress: PaperScissors from Temt (2012) $30NZD
Blazer Valleygirl (2012) $20NZD
Sparkly flats: Myer from Australia (2011) $20AUD
Nailpolish on hands: Orly Kiss the bride $10NZD
" On feet: Orly Ancient Jade from Dressmart (2012) $10NZD

I didn't like the blazer when I first bought it because the buttons were so cheap looking (Gold plastic) so I took them off and replaced them with ones from a craft emporium, they look much better now I think.

I had a lot of fun last night, dancing with everyone and just have a really good time :) I never wear heels because my feet really hate me unfortunately, this is why I wear flats even for going out. Wish I could though..

Hope you enjoyed the post, hope to see you all again soon for some cooking adventures haha!

-Jenn

Outfit of the day #3

To be honest, the camera quality is really bothering me, am considering borrowing a camera from my sister..
But anyway, this is what I wore on a date the other day.
I like the dress because it's really comfy, so is the jacket/blazer,but I still feel cold all the time so put a charcoal cardigan underneath the jacket and a black infinity scarf over the top. The blazer is probably closer to a peachy-pink than the photos show, and I think it definitely makes the outfit more interesting.

Blazer/jacket: Valleygirl (Bought in Australia, early 2012)
Strapless dress: Maitai (Same as above)
Necklace: Diva (2010)
Polar fleece tights again: Ambra (2012)
Black shoes: Number 1 shoe warehouse (2010)
Charcoal cardigan: GinaTricot, From Dressmart (2012)

Scarf: Rubi Shoes (2012)

 I really can't wait till summer, I'm pretty tired of being cold all the time. I think I'm jumping the gun just a little because it isn't even officially spring yet, but I can still dream..

Eating out :)

This type of post will be about my attempts at cooking and baking, also reviews of restaurants and places I go. If you're not interested, just ignore until it's replaced by a new post :)

A few days ago I unexpectedly found myself going on a brunch date with my boyfriend. We've never really done this before because we're always busy with our degrees and generally only seem to make time for dinner dates.

This time we found a café in Auckland's CBD that looked really nice, the food and drinks were really good, too! Here's the link if you ever happen to be around, it's called Lorne Street Cafe and Restaurant. Like the majority of NZ cafés and restaurants, unless they're quite popular, they often don't have websites. This is frustrating, but sites that give them reviews can still often be found..

I ordered a chai latte ($4.50NZD/3.50USD) and he got a mocha ($3NZD/2.40USD). I really prefer strong drinks to the weak ones that you find at so many cafés in New Zealand, so was pleasantly surprised when my latte was hot and spicy and sweet and creamy all in one (Mmmm) and the mocha, too, was nice and hot and strong.

Mini cookie with my latte :3

For mains, we ordered sweet-corn fritters and steak and chips for him.

My fritters were really nice they came with a little bit of onion 'salsa', sour cream, avocado, side salad and lots of bacon :)

His steak came with a salad, chips, onion relish and cheese sauce. 

mmmmmm Hope you're not hungry when you read this..

Overall, it was a nice date because of the good food and drinks, the nice atmosphere of the place, and friendly waitresses.  I would recommend it to anyone in the area, though I'm fairly sure that most readers are probably american?

Anyway, I'm off now, can't stop looking at modcloth and wondering if I should attempt to buy something (What if it doesn't fit!) Yeah... first world problems.. :P

Bye for now!

-Jenn

Study Hairstyle

Hairstyles

So today as I was studying, my hair (That is currently in a  transition period between short and long) kept getting in my eyes. I know I need a haircut but just don't know what I want yet! 

It always does this, mainly because I have a side-parting, a very long side fringe, plus the hair itself is pretty straight and fine, too.

Anyway, I decided to attempt a side French braid to get it out of my eyes, and it seems to have worked way better than expected!

I took 3 pieces of hair from the top layer of hair on the right side of my head ( My hair naturally falls in a side-parting) and began to braid it, adding hair from below on the 2 outside strands of the braid. At the back, my hair was too short for some sort of pretty ponytail or bun, so I tied the braid with a little elastic band, then  pinned my remaining left hand side hair over it to hide the odd half-n-half look. I needed a few more pins so it still ended up looking a bit awkward, but hey, it's ok for a first try! :)

The pins are really visible because of the camera flash, so forgive that :)

The slightly awkward back, Plus my pasty white neck :P

I think that, for the amount of time and effort it took, it looks quite pretty!

I then had an idea of detracting from the pins by putting something in my hair. People on places like Pinterest always add pretty things to their hair to complete a look or make it look more summery and delightful. I shamelessly copied this!

These roses were bought at a big craft shop in the upper north island, I don't know what their actual purpose is.. Maybe for scrapbooking??

It's a pity I'm not going anywhere today because now I wish I had a maroon dress and a barbeque to attend! (Pity it's still technically winter in NZ so I would freeze.. [And by freeze I mean the coldest it ever gets in Auckland is about 2 degrees C. (35 F.) and is probably currently about 15 or 60 F.].. Yes I'm probably overreacting and should be happy I don't live in places where it actually snows..) 

Anyway, although people in NZ really love their bbqs, it's just not warm enough to be fun!

Hope you like the hairstyle, feel free to let me know what you think, and if you are just starting a blog, too, let me know and I'll check it out! We can get a support group going, guys! :P

Bye for now

-Jenn

Outfit of the day #2

The first official day of spring tomorrow! I got a little overenthusiastic and dressed as though it was a lot warmer than it is.. though in reality it was way too cold for that outfit. 
I particularly love the blouse, it was passed on from my grandma's next door neighbour to grandma to my mum to me (It's from the early 90's). I haven't seen anything like it in shops and think it's a really nice material. It even looks a bit Shakespearean to me, and I really love Shakespeare as a writer, so maybe that's another reason I think it's an amazing find.. Looks great with tight jeans or pencil skirts!

It tends to ride up, making it look like I need to pull my jeans up.. oops

You can't really see, but the jeans have that 'worn' look, which I can't say I love, but it still works ok (Plus I've never found a pair of pale blue skinnies that actually look good on my legs apart from these..)
I got them in a recent trip to Australia, where the shopping is kinda just like New Zealand but with more selection and a lot more of a 'surf' style (At least in the Gold Coast!)

I still haven't brought myself to move into the 'statement necklace' faze, because I swear whenever I wear big necklaces, I look like a little kid trying to dress up in their mum's clothes.. Therefore I always go for delicate, pretty, small pendant-type necklaces, especially with long chains <3

Forgive the hair, it's actually naturally pretty straight but it was wet and in a bun so it did some rather fluffy things in the photo.

Even though the shoes I'm wearing aren't really very 'fashionable' any more, I think they are still a flattering style on most people and hence don't want to stop wearing them haha..

Blouse/top (new?) vintage, NZ made brand Etam (1990) 
Rocking horse necklace: Diva (2011)
Cameo pendant: gift from sister bought on Ponsonby Road, Ponsonby (2011)
Jeans: ValleyGirl Australia (2011)
Boots: Hannahs (2011)
Gold knot ring: Equip (2009)
Gold & Onyx ring: Rainbow Doorways, Arrowtown (2009) I love this ring, was bought as a replacement for one I lost that had a lot of sentimental value. I found it in a tiny shop in the beautiful little town- Arrowtown (South Island). If you live in/ ever visit NZ, I recommend going there, it's beautiful.

Looks nice in this light :)

I love gold rings

Still think they're cute 

Cake

A slice of cake for the Indecisive people among us :)

Don't worry guys, it was delicious.