Moustache madness on Etsy

When I found etsy store Modern Madness I knew I wouldn't be able to resist treating myself to some moustached goodness and it only took me a minute to decide to buy the tea and coffee cups (pictured in the first photo).

I highly recommend you check out the shop, you can pick and choose from a bunch of different moustache styles (comeplete with noble names- Albert, Victor, Heath etc) colours and mugs, glasses, soup bowls etc.

Some of you might remember this post I did on mustache mugs. Very excited to be finally about to have some for myself!

We do things differently

(pictures by c o p i t o d e n i e v e from Argentina)

Some of my favourite pictures I've stumbled upon this week. Too good not to share :)

Also, just a note: I always think of this because my macbook so kindly highlights it with that annoying line of red dots, but for my international readers- please don't think I'm a bad speller! In New Zealand we have the letter U in a lot of words that you don't put it in in America (and possibly other countries??)

For example: we spell honor as honour, favorite as favourite, humor as humour etc etc you get the idea!

I just wanted to point it out because spelling is actually very important to me (English was always my favourite subject) and I hate the thought that people could think I'm misspelling these words all the time! 

Ok rant over :)

♥

(credit)

Hello Sunshine

The sun has finally blessed us with its sweet kisses here in New Zealand and it's got me so excited for this summer. I can't wait to pack away my winter wardrobe and enjoy a summer full of barefoot adventures, picnics, barbecues with friends, runs around the lake and evenings under the stars.

I love this time of year!

Iko Iko

I was so excited to discover this weekend that one of my favourite New Zealand stores, Iko Iko has a facebook page. For any kiwi's reading this, Iko Iko is situated on K Road in Auckland and Cuba St in Wellington. They stock heaps of cute giftware, homeware, jewellery, books and zines and it's definitely worth the visit.

I go to the Auckland store every time I'm in the city, and this November I'm heading to Wellington on holiday and very much excited to see the Welly store too.

Sneak Peak

I spent my Sunday afternoon playing with my Diana Mini and having a photoshoot with a friend for an upcoming feature (more info on that soon) and I thought I would share a bit of a sneak peak of some of the pictures. 

More info on the photoshoot soon, and not long and I'll be able to get my first Diana film developed to share with you too! 

Be Yourself: Advice for new bloggers

“Great things are not accomplished by those who yield to trends and fads and popular opinion.” Jack Kerouac.

The most common email I get from you guys is advice on how to get your blog up and running and your site traffic increased and I say the same thing everytime: be yourself.

The amazing thing about a blog is that it's your uncensored view of the world- so share the things that are important to you, the things that inspire you and the things you love- you never know who you might inspire in the process!

Of course there are more things you can do as well to help increase your traffic and readership, but I think in the long run, being yourself and not just blogging about the same things everyone else does, will be the thing that not only gains you new readers, but keeps them with you for the long haul.

This isn't to say I know it all, I have a lot to learn about blogging still myself. I just seem to have been asked this question a lot lately so it's been on my mind and I thought the Jack Kerouac quote fit perfectly.

(pictures by Rebecca Williams)

Flickr Faves Friday- Come join in!

(Balik)

(Ezgi Polat)

(Balik)

(Candace Filip)

(Stefany Alves)

I'm declaring today Flickr favourites Friday. If you want to play along share 5 of your favourite flickr finds from the week on your blog and leave a link below so I know you're joining in and can come see yours.

The pictures above are 5 of my favourite finds from the last week. I know I share Stefany Alves pictures a lot but I can't help myself, she is so talented!

Anyway come join in :)

Carey Mulligan

I have a confession: I've been girl crushing on the beauty that is English actress Carey Mulligan. Lately her face has been popping up everywhere thanks to two new films- Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps and Never Let Me Go, (I haven't seen either of them yet, reviews please if you have!) and she always looks so beautiful and chic, not to mention the fact that she's also extremely talented! 

I first noticed Carey in the beautiful film An Education which was one of my favourite films of 2009 and have been keeping an eye out for her ever since. How gorgeous is she in this photoshoot!

(by the way the pictures are from her fan site but I'm not sure of what the shoot was for, comment if you know)

Let me know what you think!

beautiful homes

1. Untitled, 2. last week's setup, 3. Untitled, 4. ., 5. MainHouse_015, 6. home, 7. 4 green bottles, 8. Trish Grantham sneak peek via Design Sponge, 9. Bunting, Photographs & Vintage Frames.

Just wanted to share with you guys some of the pictures that have been the inspiration behind my home decoration lately. As you can probably tell I love framing photographs and art! I can't wait to own my own home one day so I can make a pretty wallpaper feature wall like in the first and third pictures.

Also I forgot to mention yesterday but I did a guest post for Much Love, so make sure you check it out. And the giveaway below is open until Sunday so you still have quite a few days left to enter, all the best xx

GIVEAWAY: Sponsored by Jesophi

Giveaway: This week's giveaway is the beautiful handmade necklace pictured above, "One Thousand and One Keys" from my lovely sponsor Jesophi.

To be in to win it's the same deal as always; comment on this post to enter. Entries are open to all readers and if you would like to enter but don't have a blogger account please remember to leave your email address so I can contact you if you win :)

Competition is open until Sunday 25th September (NZ time)

All the best! And don't forget to check out Jesophi's shop for more beautiful handmade items.

EDIT: Giveaway is now closed. Winner will be contacted shortly.

New blog find: Fancy Treehouse

My new blog crush of the moment is Fancy Treehouse, a blog documenting Coury Combs life and fashion. She also has an ebay store you can check out for heaps of one of a kind vintage goodies.

Sometimes I wish my blog was the kind that shared more pictures of my world, but honestly I don't think I have the time or energy to get dressed up everyday, so big kudos to all the fashion bloggers out there who make our worlds a little prettier xo

Lomo Love

Since deciding to buy the Diana Mini I've been spending some time browsing the lomography website to get ideas and inspiration. Thanks to the Top 10 Interview series I've discovered the beautiful work of Yosigo.

I'm so excited to start snapping and get my first film developed. I have two trips coming up that are going to be very well documented I think!

Also, for an interview with Yosigo and more of his work, go here. Happy weekend guys xo

Desktop Freebie

The lovely Ilana from See Me Everywhere has created this beautiful desktop background for you to enjoy. Just head over to her blog to grab the right size for your computer and brighten up your desktop.

Speaking of freebies, I have another sponsored giveaway coming up next week so keep your eyes peeled :)

Diana Mini in White

I am excited to say that this little beauty will soon be mine! Yesterday I paid a visit to the lomography online store and treated myself to the new Diana mini in white and I cannot wait for it to arrive.

As I have said on here before I'm not exactly the world's greatest photographer but I do enjoy it so lomography is a good place to start. I also added onto my purchase some colour film and a red scale film so I can't wait to have a play around with it all when it arrives. I'll be sure to share the outcomes!

Dress Up

Each piece by Dress Up displays originality, character and finesse.  One must look closely to appreciate an unexpected, traditional, or mischevious detail. 

Australian label Dress Up has just released their Summer 10/11 lookbook and it's nothing short of beautiful.

House of my Dreams

(Susannah Bird)

*sigh* I wish I wish I wish New Zealand had streets that looked like this.

Do any of my lovely readers live in a house like one of these? So pretty, I'm jealous.

Bottle It Up

(credit: one, two, three)

Today's inspiration: Old glass jars and bottles used as vases and storage containers. Beautiful.

Alexa Chung for Madewell

Alexa Chungs collection for Madewell has just been released and I must say I'm impressed. I'm not a fan of celebrities getting clothing lines just because they're famous but this range is a real reflection of Alexa's style and is made up of so many pieces I would wear.

My favourite pieces from L-R: Tennessee Velvet Dress, Harriet Pintuck Dress, Dotted Tennessee Velvet Dress.

Not sure if they're going to ship to NZ but I'm on a mission to find out, I want that Tennessee dress to be mine.

Summer is coming

(Sabino)

Summer is creeping closer and closer in New Zealand and I couldn't be happier. Some things I'm looking forward to are:

♥ A holiday in Wellington with the husband & Ilana from See Me Everywhere & her husband
♥ Summer barbecues and long, hot nights outside
♥ Day trips to the beach at Raglan with friends
♥ Showing an American blogger/ photographer & her hubby around Auckland (stay tuned)
♥ Ice creams, summer fruit, ice cold beer and iced tea
♥ Floral dresses, denim cut offs, straw hats and vintage sunglasses
♥ Being outdoors

Ahh so much to look forward to, I cannot wait!

Also last night we watched the first episode of Mad Men and I have to say it's off to a good start, I'm intrigued already! Can't wait to get into it properly.  Anyway have a good weekend guys, I'm off to an 80's themed birthday party tonight, guess I better find something to wear, eek! xx

I ♥ Tsumori

Korean clothing site Tsumori never ceases to amaze me with the beautiful clothing and styling and stunning models. Check out the website for more clothing and don't forget to check the 70% off section too!

Oh and by the way you guys all told me to try Mad Men so today I bought season one and the husband and I are starting it tonight! I'll let you know how I like it :)