Escaping to the tropics

..Ok so it's mid September so maybe not the tropics, but Mt Maunganui does seem to be the place to be over summer. I got work off on Thursday and the boy is playing golf over there for a few days so I thought I'd join him. If you're reading this from another part of the world, Mt Maunganui is a beach town 1.5hrs drive from where I live. I haven't been there a lot but it is one of the many places to be over summer. See that mountain in the background? Everyone climbs that.. I just might do it once or twice while I'm there. 

I'll definitely be going to these famous hot pools though..

No doubt I'll be watching a bit of this aswell.. 

Or a lot? 

If you don't hear from me, at least you know I am "out of the office" {ha ha} and will be back at the end of the week. I will take my camera and see what amazing things I can capture. Hope you are all having a fab week, catch ya on the flipside xx

My Friday.

Now, since I'm on holiday I thought I should be a kind daughter and head home to the farm to help Dad get started with docking. All the little lambies are happily running around with their mums at the moment, but realistically, their tails need to go - so yesterday, we spent the afternoon on the farm.

 This was a perfect opportunity to take more photos for my assignment, {It was a stunning spring day - perfect sun for a tan I thought. Unfortunately - I'm still as white as I was when I started - ugh} These photos are some of my favourites. 

Yes that is a ewe - and that little thing next to it is the teeniest lamb ever. Brand new but oh so cute.

Again... Dogs love having their photo taken. 

I thought this image captured "farm life" so perfectly. Dogs, sheep, camouflage truck. 

Hope you all have a fab weekend. Weekend for me = working :( Hard life being a student you know, I love it. Ex o

Apologies!

Right, I'm sorry I haven't blogged all week! No excuse really - am on holiday so just pottering around home, trying (but failing) to get work done, looking at flats for next year and enjoying this gorgeous spring sunshine. You may have noticed I figured out how to add pages to my blog, so down the right side of my main page, there is now an "about me" and "my favourite sites" section. Have a read of these and see what you think. Does anyone know how to make the titles of the pages larger though? Jess you little blogger? Help me out here, I'm stuck on this one. 

Anyway, shooting home again to take photos on the farm as well as help out Dad in the afternoon. Hope you are all out enjoy this weather, will have more photos to blog tomorrow (hopefully!)

A few photos that are getting me very excited for summer, just around the corner. Isn't this house stunning? 

Have a wonderful day xx

Honestly, your life isn't that bad.

This may be a bit of a more serious post, which isn't usually me, but something has to be said. Recently, I've found myself listening or seeing people complain about the lives that they live and how everything is "just so bad." I think of myself as a reasonably positive person (usually!) and so when I hear my friends, family or acquaintances complain about the smallest of issues, it really grinds my gears. 

I get that life can be hard, but life is full of challenges (corny - I know) but sometimes we just have to pull through and be thankful for what we do have, rather than what we don't. Sometimes I just want to say to people.. Think about what you are complaining about. Are you alive and living? Do you have a roof over your head? Are you fed every day? It sometimes just takes a little nudge of reality for people to realise that they are blessed. 

I found this on we heart it the other day, and it stood out to me

This is really simple right? Yet so many people are living their lives doing things they hate. People who are just out of university are in jobs they dislike. What is the point in this? I know that in this day and age, it's hard to get a job but who is to say that you shouldn't enjoy what you do? We spend thousands on university, don't waste that. I haven't even finished my degree yet, but I know that there is no way I'll sit at a job that I don't enjoy. Life is way to short, live it well. 

This is what a tutor told me to do at the beginning of the year, and I did. Changed my major in my degree 'cos I didn't know where I was going. 

And lastly.. Some of the stuff I have seen on other blogs recently has been completely the opposite to "classy." Don't be silly on the internet, everyone can see it. Just be classy, fabulous, positive and driven and I'm sure you'll live a much happier life. 

Sorry about the wee rant that I went on, some people just need to look at their lives and be grateful for what they have been blessed with. 

So why don't you just take a step back, look at your life, and how lucky you are to have it? Pretty good isn't it? End of rant. Hope you all had a beautiful weekend, love x

A trip home

I am on holiday for the next two weeks but still have work due after the break. So I headed home to the farm today to do a photo shoot for a photography assignment. As a lover of all things vintage - I got a little bit excited at all the old things I found on the farm. 

Woolsheds are such gorgeous buildings to photograph so will definitely be submitting an image of our one for my finals. The top image is of the very old petrol tank which was once used for the farm petrol. It sits on the side of the road by a shed - shows how much NZ has changed. Petrol tank on the side of the road these days? Could be an issue. And the old letterbox which was once used. 

I took photographs of dogs/sheep/lambs/bulls, and you'd actually be surprised at how much these animals love having their photo taken. One of the farm dogs Paige, was loving it. 

And what would a day be without flowers? 

Enjoy x

The tattoo trend

I went home on Sunday for dinner with the family, and on the TV programme, 'Sunday' was a feature about New Zealand women and their tattoos. According to them, New Zealand women are the most tattooed women in the world, which is scary, but believable. It was an interesting feature, which got me thinking about just how much our lives are changing, and the more accepting we are becoming of sub-cultures like this. In some cases, this post relates to a previous one about young girls and how fast they are growing up. Tattoos are something I don't desire to have but I'm not completely against them. This is vastly different to the generation above me (including my mum) who sat there gobsmacked at the television because she does not understand why anyone would get ink on their skin.

The woman featured in the programme was going through the process of getting all her tattoos removed. She got her first one when she was 14, but has decided that she doesn't want to be ''that'' person anymore. She looked like such a gorgeous woman, but had bright coloured tattoos all down her arms which makes the public perceive her differently.

It seems to me, that although older people aren't so accepting of them, young people are becoming much more understanding of friends or other people with tattoos, because it's part of the norm now. We have grown up with it all around us, and for me personally, I believe it's the individuals decision, and if they one day regret this decision, they only have themselves to blame.

Some of the small tattoos I've seen, I actually do quite like, but the sleeves I'm just not so keen on. This one below is a bit intense for my liking.

Although....Celebs like Katy Perry, Lea Michele (has 14!!) and Miley Cyrus all have quite a few small tattoos, which may seem desirable for people of my age (and some of which I think are quite cute -  just don't tell my mum.)

Although I'm not saying, "don't ever get one of those, they are hideous," just because I have no intention of getting inked (my friends would laugh and wonder what I've done) I would just hope that young girls don't go jumping into anything, and that they double think how their actions could impact their future.

Here's a really interesting article which shows just how the NZ tattoo culture has changed

Birthdays!

Happy birthday to my very special friend, Pippa. Oh the years have flown by - this gal is a great gal, and 20 today! Hope you have the most amazing day chicky, love ya xx

Must have: Aioli Recipe

Aioli is a necessity at my parents house, therefore it's now a necessity at my flat. This is the most amazing aioli recipe which mum has - not sure where it originally came from but lets just call it 'Cath's Aioli.' We have it on and with everything. Roast lamb, roast veges, burgers, sandwiches, stirfry - you name it. Definitely something I could honestly not live without. 

Cath's Aioli

2 Eggs

3 tbsp (tablespoon) white or wine vinegar

1 tsp (teaspoon) salt

1/2 tsp sugar

1 tsp mixed mustard

1 large clove garlic (crushed)

2-3 tbsp chopped parsley 

Put above ingredients into food processor/magic bullet and whiz until finely chopped. 

Then add 1 3/4 cups oil in a slow stream until mixture is thick. 

Add 2 tbspns lemon juice

1/2 cup sour cream

Blend! Serve chilled with anything and everything. 

Helpful Hints: Only use sunflower/canola oil, not olive oil. 

You can use pesto instead of parsley, and can add other herbs such as dill or chives. 

The oil is what makes the aioli thick, so don't add as much if you would rather it a bit 'runny.'

Enjoy x

Something natural..

For FMS Photo A Day today, the guide was "natural." I couldn't think of anything that exciting to take a photo of, so instead, took a photo of the most obvious - my hair colour. 

Total yumminess

Photo A Day #6: Everyday. 

Ok so, I wish I had pancakes for breakfast every day, but I can say that I have breakfast every day, so this works. 

The best thing about spring...

All the gorgeous daffodils that are around! My flatmates mum is so lovely and brings us daffodils when she pops in, makes me day.  And some of them smell amaaaazing! Photo A Day #5 is something "bright" so here's the daffodils on our table. 

Stop. Growing. Up

Today in class, we talked about how the media shows children/teenagers, and what should be shown and so forth. This bought up the debate about James Webster, who died after drinking a bottle of vodka in May 2010 and how he was perceived by the general public. 

It has become apparent to me, that these teenagers are growing up way to fast, and the risks that some of them are taking are seriously just not worth it. This got me thinking about what teenagers are doing these day, and how they show it. For young girls, Tumblr is the new craze, and many of these girls Tumblrs show alcohol, smoking and sex. They are portraying themselves in such a demeaning manner that shocks me. 

I'm no saint, but when I was 15, I was taking selfies with my friends and having sleepovers with girls, not boys. It would never have crossed my mind to repost photos of girls smoking, drinking and having sex. It's like some people have no understanding, that what they put on the internet, is on the internet forever and anyone can see it. The saying YOLO (you only live once) gets chucked around when this debate comes up, and although this is somewhat true, you can live your life a little less wildly, and still have fun. Here's a few photos I found that had been reposted, these are some of the most tame images, and this is nothing that I would personally post. 

Does anyone else find this crazy for teenagers to be thinking about? Or is it just me? 

In my letterbox today..

Photo A Day #4 is something that was in your letter box. Sadly, nothing exciting was in mine. Just a power bill (which was way over what we usually pay - mhmmm flat meeting was upon us) and a random letter for Miss Tay whose mail we get every day. Told us she couldn't afford to change her address.. Another one to return to sender. 

Far Away..

Photo A Day #3: Far away.. Christmas is far away. Yet so close. Depends if you're a glass half full kind of person. 

Happy Fathers Day!

It's fathers day here in NZ/Australia so Photo A Day #2 is a photo of your father. Seeing as though I don't live at home, here is a photo of a photo of me and my Dad at my graduation ball a few years ago xx

Seriously, Photo A Day!

August Photo A Day was a serious fail, so take two 'cos here is September! As someone not so keen on silly selfies - I didn't really wana do this one but here it is. 

Photo a day #1- You now. So here's me, now. 
Here is the list if you want to join in, check out Fat Mum Slim's blog for the full list with a guide to what you could do for each one. xx