I Went To Taranaki And Some Other Places

Warning, there are a lot of photos and they are a mix of proper camera and iPhone.

This post takes place over Christmas/the start of January. So after Christchurch I zipped back to Wellington and had two hours to pack for a two-week camping trip in the North Island. My fella and I flew to Taranaki and had a beautiful Christmas with his family, who, like my family, eschew traditional Christmas celebrations and opt for a backyard-cricket-and-Pimms vibe, which suits me nicely.

And then, post-Christmas, Jack and I set off on our road trip! There was rain forecast for the entire time, but we remained optimistic, hit up some amazing small-town opshops and made roadside sammies on our way north. I found some great 80s cotton print dresses for $1 each, perfect for balling up in the bottom of our little shared duffel bag until my other clothes got too filthy to wear.

So first up we drove to Otatu Bay in the Coromandel, and on the way in we drove past a sign that said "FRESH OYSTERS", at which point we didn't even need to consult each other because, fresh oysters. We ate a dozen each, half battered and half raw, and they were a third of the price they are in Wellington. When we got to the campsite, we found that the family camping next to us had a boat and fished every day and they brought us even more beautiful fresh kai moana. It was a great start to the trip.

 It rained on the second night we were there and so we moved the mattress from our teeny tiny tent into the back of the car, at which point we realised the car was ten times comfier than the tent. So for the rest of the trip we used to tent to store our chilly bin, and just slept in the car, with our heads up the back looking out the boot window at the stars every night. It was gorgeous and perfect and I was grateful, as always, for being 5"1' while my tall boyfriend's feet dangled off the edge of our folded-down-back-seat makeshift bed. Sleeping in the car for that long also cemented my view that yes, I CAN live in a van while driving across the United States, which is something I've always wanted to do but been unsure whether it would be liveable.

The campsite and beach were great, in a calm little Coromandel inlet with pohutakawa everywhere . Also looking at these photos makes me regret not using my proper camera more and relying on my iPhone so much.

I Went To Christchurch

So I spent Christmas this year with my boyfriend's family in Taranaki, so I wanted to catch up with my parents before Christmas. The festive season doesn't mean a lot to us, but I barely get to see my parents because they live in Vietnam for 95% of the year so I was super excited to hang out with them and drink sav in the sun.

When I arrived, I saw Aaron Gilmore in the airport! So the trip was off to a good start.

 I was also super excited to see Christie and go opshopping with her, such is customary every time I go back to Christchurch. First we stopped off at her place where I tried on everything in her wardrobe and we, as always, dressed in matching-ish outfits. It's a pretty regular occurence when we hang out that people ask if we are sisters, which is hilarious because do you know any sisters who have the same haircut and dress in the exact same way? Nooo. But we just run with it.







But yeah, after like 5 hours of shopping and bargain-finding and a little bit of arguing over 1950s dresses (THANK YOU CHRISTIE, I LOVE THE DRESS SO MUCH!!!) we were parched and some fancy drinks at The Tannery were in order. The Tannery is a new development in Christchurch, full of sickeningly beautiful boutiques and homewares shops and cafes. We took some outfit snaps too, in front of the beautiful Christmas tree.

Christie is wearing a 1950s floral dress that her grandma made for a sewing contest, with Urban Outfitters t-bars and her Cambridge Satchel.

I am wearing a 1950s rose-print velvet dress that I got from a vintage garage sale thing, with won-from-Mimco t-bar sandals, opshopped belt, bangle from Ziggurat, 1950s sunnies from Trade Me and my Cambridge satchel.

I always sort of forget to take photos on my proper camera but here are some Instagram shots from Chchchch:

Drinking something minty and delicious / Overcast garden in my childhood home

Cracks in my (condemned) childhood home / The flat my mum lived in when she was my age, where she met my dad, now earthquaked

My mum and I both wearing opshopped 1950s dresses / Returning home to my massive wardrobe

Stay tuned for Part 2: I Went To Taranaki And Some Other Places

Plato's Dress

If you asked me to describe my perfect dress in a series of keywords, or if you added up my top 10 favourite dresses and divided the result by 10, you'd get this dress. It's got every feature I require in exactly the right ratios - 1950s, decent cotton, blue, rose-print, a decent cut, a good length, sleeves and a work-appropriate neckline. Plus I didn't even have to engage in a bidding war to make it mine. Scooore.

My life at the moment is pretty much entirely consumed by planning for me and Jack's big Christmas-y camping break, but my temporary flatmate Zoe has a tripod so I nicked it to take some outfit photos. At first I tried to get Jack to do them for me but he isn't really photographically inclined (sorry, Jack) so I just got him to push the button once I'd lined up the shot, haha. The experience made me realise that it's dumb that I own like 100 dresses but am unable to spend $40 on a tripod of my own to take bloggy photos without needing someone's help, so I am definitely gonna get my own - but not until after she's moved out and taken her tripod with her.

It is pretty obvious that I was messing around with different backdrop-y things, though. The white curtain is the cover for my wardrobe. Also let's just pretend my carpet isn't in desperate need of a vacuum and there isn't an empty plastic bag on the floor behind me. God. If I had photoshop I would've edited that out, trust me. 

Wearing:

1950s blue rose-print dress - Trade Me

Black and gold leather belt - opshopped

J pin - vintage sale

Shoes - won from Mimco via Lost In The Haze 

Lipstick - Mac Rebel

Satchel - Cambridge Satchel Company
Plus my usual rings and the only hairstyle I can be bothered with when it's this hot. 

Bonus photo: Jack was pushing the buttons on the camera and thought it would be hilarious for me to do this.  For every one photo I post on here there are at least 50 outtakes featuring double chins and mid-blink eyes and poses even dumber than the ones that make it to the public viewing stage.

SOME MORE STUFF I'VE BEEN DOING

Ugh I am so bad at blogging. Summer is grand and things are pretty busy. So here's the ultimate cop-out: an Instagram roundup!! Fun.

 Kelly came to Wellington and I wrote us an opshop schedule, we looked cute in Petone, I got an iPhone and the quality of my photos dramatically picked up. 

 

 Wore novelty prints, got smooshed by Puss, wore my uncomfy 60s flats.

 

 SAW NEUTRAL MILK HOTEL LIVE TWICE AND GOT THEIR SET LIST AND MET THEM AND SHOOK JEFF'S HAND AND HAD THE MOST WONDERFUL, BORDERLINE-RELIGIOUS-EXPERIENCE TIME, went to the Dashfield and co garage sale in Auckland, bought lots of cute stuff.

 
 

Louise looked cute, we spent a day drinking beers and lounging at Mission Bay, it was lovely. 

 

Spent too much time and money at Hard to Find Books Onehunga, got airport donuts, got the best milk bottle lolly brooch. 

 

Won some Mimco stuff and bought cheap Doc Martens, wore more novelty prints, opshopped this amazing pale blue late 1950s dress for $10 in Auckland! 

 

Louise found me a brand new navy Cambridge Satchel suuuuper cheap at Recycle Boutique, got my favourite Karen Walker Patio dress in a second colour, boyfriend's mum bought us tonnes of cheese from the Naki.

   

Puss being adorable in the herbs, a Croatia Vintage dress, a Friday arvo cheeseboard.

Got some really excellent stuff from a vintage sale, and me modelling the best 1950s rose printed velvet dress.

Coworkers at a Filipino feast and the best selfie of me ever.