Frankie Magazine, Nail polish & Brownies

I love a good read and painting my nails. Especially on my day off which usually is Sunday & Monday. It's funny how Monday's aren't so blue after all when it's your day off!

I found a mulled wine recipe in the latest Frankie Magazine as well which I am eager to try out. Fingers crossed it taste as good as it smells.

Chai Tea Recipe

I'm not so much of coffee person and would way rather choose a pot of hot chai over an espresso coffee believe it or not. Some people think I am a tad odd because of it, I just call it intelligent taste buds. I am much more of a tea girl. Name them, I have drank them all...rooibos, elderflower, green tea, white tea, peach nectar and of course my all time favourite has to be chai tea.

CHAI TEA RECIPE 

(4 cups of tea)

Ingredients

• 8 cardamom seeds
• 8 cloves
• 4 black peppercorns
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 2 cups whole milk
• 8 teaspoons sugar or more, to taste
• (I use brown sugar to give that caramel taste)

Directions

1. Place all spices in a saucepan on the stove and add your milk. Let steep for 10minutes. 

2. Pour into mugs and add sugar to taste. Enjoy!

Yellow Mellow | Outfit

top, yellow skirt and red loafers - cotton on

A quick hi from the comfort of my bed. I had a great day today and enjoyed catching up with friends, sleeping in, blogging, reading Frankie Magazine & putting together puzzle pieces. 

Tea Time | Martha's Pantry

Awhh Wellington you have endless amounts of awesome places to eat, see and shop at ! Why don't I live there again? Oh yeah, because your weather is outrageous. 

If you haven't yet found Martha's Pantry it's at the top of Cuba street. They specialize in high-teas only so make sure you go there for a slice of cake or try out their world famous  milkshakes.

Six Barrel Soda Co.

While visiting Wellington we found a cool coffee shop called  Six Barrel Soda Co. You can expect cute paper straws, tunes from The Beatles, warm and friendly staff and a "home like" atmosphere. It's of the beaten track and a bit hidden. If you do get the chance to travel to Wellington do mark this place down in your dairies as it's definitely worth a stop.

Thrifting on Cuba Street | Travel

They don't call Cuba street New Zealand's coolest street for nothing. It's home to the hipsters, thrifters, artists and lovers of vintage. You can find all sorts of treasures from clothing, interior, art and the odd instrument here or there on Cuba street, Wellington. 

This might be a wild statement but I prefer Wellington to Auckland any day, without the wind of course. 

Forever Young

It's Mike's Birthday today! For those of you who don't know, we have been married for four and a half years. I made him his favourite cake which is carrot cake. We are planning to go out for a wine after work to celebrate with family. He has his eye on a winter wetsuit (I might have to break the bank on this one). 

Free Fonts

Download Lavanderia here



Download Abraham Lincoln here



Download Blanch here



Download Carton here

Being a graphic designer as well as a blogger I wanted to share a few favorite fonts I love to use. I know most of us are always on the hunt for free fonts we can use. So all you have to do is type in the number 0.00 in the amount box when you download and it will automatically start downloading. Happy downloading everyone!

Typo Stationary

I was lucky enough to have received a few gifts from friends last week which made my day. The card and the pencil is from a new favorite shop called Typo which is owned by The Cotton On Group which most Australians and New Zealanders would would know very well.

It's so funny how little things like this can cheer you up.

Make Your Own Book By Blurb

After loosing some photos on my computer, I wanted to get books made instead of keeping my photos on my laptop. If I was to loose all the photos of all our traveling I think I would walk around with a big broken heart for the rest of my life.

I researched a few online book stores and tried out Blurb. I spend $40 US for to get a coffee table book of our trip in Italy and it looks like a book I bought it from a store. My next investment will be to print a few more of our trip in France, Spain, Greece, South Africa, Dubai & Qatar...

In the near future I would definitely consider having my very own blog book from Blurb. They really encourage bloggers to get their own books out there which I think is such a great idea..

Crosses

crosses top - cotton on

Last week was also a difficult one for me, as my auntie in South Africa passed away, her name was Helleen Kleynhans. Sadly being so far away from pretty much any country in the world I wasn't able to attend the funeral which was yesterday.I don't usually post about these types of things but I just felt the need to today.

4 Ways To Wear A Beanie

Finally I got my hands on a knitting pattern. I had to learn the abbreviations but was lucky enough to have a few friends show me the ropes. I successfully knitted my first beanie and gifted it to my sister-in-law for the winter. 

4 Ways To Wear A Beanie:

1. Over your face = sneaky sleep time
2. Side on covering ears = feeling snug
3. Flopped back = casual Tuesday
4. Flopped to the front = I'm ready to party

If you are into knitting or might want to start learning you might want to have a look at this. 

Things To Do In Wellington

 Things to do in Wellington

Me & Mike had the opportunity to visit Wellington here in New Zealand and looked up a few things to do while staying there. We had so much fun and would like to recommend a few things to see and do: 

1) Ride the cable car
2) Visit the Botanical Gardens 
3) Visit the Dowe Museum 
4) Drink a milkshake at Martha's Pantry 
5) Visit the Weta Workshop and see all the props from Lords of The Rings, 
King Kong and Narnia
6) Drink coffee at Six Barrel Soda Co

Embracing Life

Wearing: Striped navy dress from JayJays

Being a bit of a nomad I embrace my surroundings wherever it may be and lately me & Mike have been enjoying a lot of time at the beach, feeding horses apples, picking walnuts, bike riding, pushing each other on swings and purely just taking each day as it comes.

Last year was definitely a complete opposite year for us so it’s nice to take time out for the more simpler things in life.

Loafer Love | Tory Burch SS2013

Tory Burch SS2013

Did you hear the news? Tory Burch is now shipping to New Zealand girls! I am definitely standing in line for a pair of loafers. Pretty exciting right? I personally like loafers because it’s snazy and comfortable to wear plus it’s still trendy.

Smoothies & Macarons

My friend Amanda has inspired me with her smoothies and thought I would try them out.If you need some smoothie recipes do visit Here Comes The Sun. She makes the most amazing smoothies.

On another note, this little macaron book also arrived for me in the post from my sister-in-law which I have not been able to put down ever since it has arrived. Definitely a good read!

ps: I can’t wait to share my road trip to Wellington with you all this week!

How To Make Your Own Jewelry

I wanted to share a quick and easy tutorial on how to make your own necklace for those who have always been interested in making jewelry.

How To Make Your Own Jewelry

WHAT TO GET:

String, jewelry clips, pendants ( all these are availble to order through WholePort ) 

1. Cut the string according to the length you want 
2. Slide on the pendant you want
3. Tie together the strings onto the jewelry clips
4. Your done!