Tagged: vacation

June 22, 2012

NZ Trip Part 2 – The food

Went to NZ over the long weekend. Primarily to watch the rugby game between All Blacks and Ireland. (It was my husband’s birthday present this year).

Since he hasn’t been back to Auckland in 10 years, I decided to show him some of the great eateries I know from my Uni days in NZ.

Here is my favourite breakfast place:

Frasers.

Located on Mt Eden Road, in Mt Eden.

Its a small cafe located on a busy (ish) street (for NZ that is:))

Very boutique feel – cozy old wooden building with high ceilings. I’ve read it being described as a rustic nook before.

This place is best for breakfast (in my experience). I remember the magnificent eggs benedict and the latte served in a bowl. Nothing else can make you feel as cozy and relaxed.

Sipping on my giant bowl of chai ( Since I gave up coffee recently)

Eggs benedict in all its glory

I used to say I would marry the chef of this cafe because the food was sooo good! ( I said that to my husband and we had a laugh…hmmm ) Maybe he has moved on, but the eggs still tasted fantastic that Saturday a couple of weeks ago!

Pitstop number 2 – Sunday brunch

Walking around high street is fun. Its a small street with boutique shopping in Auckland. This street is one way and very narrow. I once witnessed a man in a jaguar reverse into a pole on that street in order to reverse park himself properly. Talk about expensive lunch!

Although this one is a bit of a franchise, I actually love the feel of this cafe which is tucked away in the corner close to High street on Chancery.

Mecca.

Here is us sitting in the outside area surrounded by twinkle lights. Its more enchanting at night as you can imagine. It’s location makes it a pristine conversation place.

My husband posing

Another chai.

This is a French toast dish as I remember it being served in NZ. Large servings, lots of syrup and amazing bread. French!

I am yet to find a place in Sydney which does French toast the way they do in Auckland…

This food looks almost too good to eat!

I’ll leave you with these maple syrup and compote cream covered pancakes. To die for!

This is where you’ll find Frasers: ( you can even do the virtual tour on google maps )

View Larger Map

Mecca Chancery: (Mecca also has a Mission bay location in a stone house which is very beautiful – recommend for dinner)

View Larger Map
All photos taken by me except for the very top one which is courtesy of sixthseal.com

June 14, 2012

NZ trip part 1 – The Antipodes beauty

One of my girlfriend’s from NZ introduced me to the Antipodes brand face cream about 2 years ago. Its an amazing face cream with vanilla bean and made out of all natural ingredients. Although super moisturising, this creamy blend of scented goodness is quite light and gets easily absorbed into the skin. Its a day cream after all and we can’t be walking around looking oiled up and shiny.

Here is the little pot of gold:

The main ingredients are avocado oil, macadamia nuts, manuka honey and kawakawa. Each of these products on their own ooze awesomeness, imagine what happens when you put them together?

I can’t get enough of this moisturiser and when I ran out I couldn’t find any in Sydney (this was 2 years back). When I went online, I did see some in vitamin shops but they were over $100. This cream cost $50 NZD which means a big win for AUD! The Antipodes brand is NZ owned and made. I am more than sure that you will start seeing this brand in department stores and supermarkets very soon.

I had to get one for myself, my mum and my mother in law while in Auckland.

The girls at the Farmer’s (NZ department store) counter were asking where I was taking all these products and I said I am running an export to Australia

I also bought these for myself and my mum as her birthday present:

Night Cream – this one doesn’t smell as amazing as the day cream Vanilla Pod, but does wonders for dry skin.

The Skin Savour balm – for all your skin care healing and moisture needs. This is what the product says: Cell and skin repair are dramatically optimized by antioxidant-rich echinacea and Vinanza Grape from grape seeds in this pure and natural cure-all that brings rescue daily. Use it to help the whole family with dry and cracked skin, grazes and bruises, chapped lips, sore muscles, sunburn, natural baby care, protection after shaving, conditioning cuticles, and in-flight hydration.

Key ingredients: Vinanza grape, tea tree and totara

This face oil is good to use after cleansing and before moisturising. I use mine at night. It cleanses and hydrates skin. Think of it as a midnight snack for your skin

The oil came in a pack with the Organic Lip Balm. Key ingredients: Cocoa butter and lime. Great product!

On the Antipodes site you can now shop online and it looks like you can buy these items in Australia too. It is much cheaper to get them in their Mother Land of New Zealand but I urge you to try them either way

I hope that this becomes another great things that has come out of the little country called Aotearoa (the land of the long white cloud) because it truly is a great natural company.

May 12, 2012

Fashion Weekend Sydney 2012 – Catwalk

For those of us who weren’t fortunate enough to go to the Fashion week catwalks, there is always Fashion Weekend!

Getting excited!

The Fashion Weekend Sydney kicked off last night and I keep browsing Facebook for updates. I am going for the Friday night catwalk and some shopping!

The photos on FB already look amazing and Peep Toe have just posted this:

http://www.fashionweekend.com.au/sydney/

Some of the designers/brands I love who will be there:

- Bec & Bridge

- Camilla & Marc

- Fleur Wood

- Hussy

- JETS

- Maurie & Eve

- Peep Toe

- The ICONIC

I am armed with my camera and will post shortly…………….

(some time passes ….)

It’s nearly midnight and I’ve just finished uploading all the photos I took from the catwalk show. It was great – intimate setting and the brands I wanted to see were on display in a very wearable manner. All the stalls were amazing and the discounts you got on some of the clothes, shoes and accessories were phenomenal! I would say most of the stuff was up to 70% off – I personally couldn’t step away from the Peep Toe area and returned three times to the same spot, pondering shoe choices.

Here are some of the photos from the catwalk:

GINGER SMART - A lot of colour blocking and bright shades with baggy T-shirts and lots of material. Very summer focused – colour is key.

BEC & BRIDGE – Hats, dresses. Body wrap styles and a few purple/blue shades. Very pretty. A step away from what was sold in the Bec & Bridge stall – greys, creams, blacks. Here again, a lot of colour which is good to see.

WHITE SUEDE – A brand I feel I must get into. Very girlie and the models are clean cut. Very neat.

NICOLA FINETTI - Classic chic are the words that come to mind with this collection. Dresses you could wear to a charity luncheon and dress up into the night.

MISS UNCON. – Pastels, pinks and shades of cream/yellow. Feminine, subtle and stunning.

CAMILLA – Can I hear the sounds of Carnival? Beach, sun, busy market streets and a touch of Latin! Fun fun fun!

JETS – One of my favourite swimwear brands. All I was thinking was Noosa – sun, glamour and an amazing summer vacation with lots of bold colour!

KIRRILY JOHNSTON – Casual chic. Saturday afternoon strolling down Paddington shopping strip. Merging with office wear – nothing boring though. Colour colour colour!

TALLULAH – Triangular patterns ranging from small to big. Scattered across the body, symmetry is key. Earthy tones of red, brown, yellow. Desert storm. Bravo!