Here's to 2011

(Some of my favourite 2010 pictures and memories)

Just a wee note to say Happy New Year! And I hope that wherever you are in the world that you have a great time seeing it in with family and friends.

Thanks for visiting my blog this year and for all your lovely words of encouragement, kind emails and support. I really appreciate it!

I'm excited for 2011 and the opportunities it will bring. And so the next question is, what would you like to see more of on my blog over the next year? More photography, more handmade items, more pictures of my own life, more vintage? I'd love to know what you think!

Here's to 2011!

Introducing Ziggy:

This little guy is only 8 weeks old and is the newest addition to our family. We named him Ziggy (like Ziggy Stardust) and he's the cutest, scrummiest little man around. We only brought him home yesterday but already it's been fun getting to know his personality and watch him figure out what his tiny body is capable of.

Sorry for the bad quality pictures, I don't have a very good camera but I just had to share a few because he's a big babe and I'm so happy that after all this time I finally have a little kitty in the house.

Hope you all had a lovely Christmas! 

Looking back on 2010

(Both images taken by Carissa Gallo on the Diana F+)

This year has been incredible, I have had so many great moments and met so many wonderful people and I just wanted to take a second to reflect on the things that have made 2010 so memorable. So here we go:

♥ Gaining my white belt and yellow belt in martial arts
♥ Meeting so many bloggers in real life: Daydream Lily,  Gary Pepper Vintage, Andrew and Carissa and See Hear Say.
♥ Holidaying in Sydney with the husband
♥ Filming my first ever TV commercial for Streets Cornetto & seeing myself on billboards
♥ Celebrating my two year wedding anniversary
♥ Helping my friends (Emma and Ilana) set up and launch a boutique giftware and jewellery store
♥ Throwing a huge Cowboys and Indians themed birthday for the husband
♥ Finishing my internship
♥ Holidaying in Wellington with the husband and two of our best friends
♥ Buying my first Lomography camera
♥ Visiting New Zealand designers Lonely Hearts
♥ And getting to meet our friends first child, baby James (who is still less than two weeks old and so scrummy)

It's been a great year! Can't wait to see what 2011 has in store.

Merry Christmas to you all. I'm going on a tiny break and I'll be back in about a week!

Amanda xx

Last flickr faves for 2010

 

1. Untitled, 2. in stripes , 3. Untitled, 4. Untitled, 5. Untitled, 6. Self in the Fog, 7. Untitled, 8. Untitled, 9. Untitled, 10. Untitled, 11. Untitled, 12. Untitled

Today is my second to last post for a little while before I take a break over Christmas and return to posting again sometime around the new year. Tomorrow I want to finish off with a look back on the year and some of my favourite moments, so I thought today it would be great to share my last flickr faves of the year.

Thanks to everyone for visiting my blog this year and for all your lovely comments and emails and for joining in on my memes like this one. If any of you are doing another flickr faves this year make sure you leave a link in the comments section :)

Lots of love x

Crafty goodness

I can't get enough of all the crafty goodness in l.i.l.l.i.a.n's photostream. So many cute ideas of things to make, which is especially handy if you still haven't finished your Christmas shopping. 

Speaking of Christmas, what is everyone up to for it this year? Anyone having a white Christmas? Though I do love that I'm enjoying summer right now, the idea of a white, snowy Christmas seems so beautiful and I hope to experience it one day!

And lastly- my friends have just had a baby so I've done a guest post for one of them on his blog Tornadoes and Tigers of some of my interior inspirations. Make sure you go check it out here! I've never guest posted for a guy before so it was tricky not to choose images that were too feminine (although some tea cups did sneak their way in).  x

Fuji Instax 210

Over the weekend we celebrated summer by giving out free Streets Cornetto's in downtown Auckland, and we also got to have a bit of play with the Fuji Instax 210. I own the Fuji Instax mini, which is a huge enough camera as it is, but the 210 is big on another level! I don't think I have any handbags that I'd be able to squeeze it into easily. But I do love the shape of the pictures it prints, so I'm still tempted to add one to my collection.

Book Lover

(one. two)

This is an actual conversation I had last week when buying a dress and the shop assistant noticed I was holding a book:

Girl: oh my gosh is that a book???!!
Me: um yes it is
Girl: Oh my gosh that's so cute you're reading a book! wow!
Me: uhhh why is it cute?
Girl: well you just never see people reading books anymore!!


And that went on for a little while with her being completely amazed that I would read a book on my lunch break. I don't even know what more to say about it, it's just something I wanted to share because it blew my mind. What do you think? Sad huh. 

All I Want for Christmas: Made by Girl edition

A few Christmas wishes from Jen of Made by Girl and also the final in my 2010 Christmas wishlist series. Thanks to all the bloggers who have contributed! Hope it's given you guys some inspiration this festive season x

 

1. Macks Trench Coat

2. Leather skull bracelet

3. Phillip Lim clutch

4. Fur bag charm

5. Diane Von Furstenburg laptop case

Merry Christmas!

Jen Ramos

Made By Girl

Guest Blogger

All I Want for Christmas: Andrew and Carissa edition

A Christmas wishlist from two lovebirds- Andrew and Carissa: 

pretty rockers, records (more bob, joni, and cat are always welcome in our home), sleepyhead pillows, pretty prints like this and this, new aa hoodies to replace our shabby ones, and bikes. 

This Christmas there is really only one thing we want, but it's not something that can be put under a tree- so all we're asking for is something practical, but not super interesting ($). Buuuut needless to say, making a list of our wishes wasn't too hard :)

We hope your Christmas is cozy, jolly and filled with moments you love. We'll be leaving the cold and snow of DC to visit the sun and family at home in San Diego. Thanks for having us here Amanda, we love you!

Merry Christmas!
Andrew and Carissa
Guest Bloggers

All I Want for Christmas: Fieldguided edtion

Today Anabela from Fieldguided and Dreamcats shares her gift guide: 

(collage put together by Chrissy Lau)

1. Black cat bag -I would carry this little cat bag with pride! It's so sweet.

2. Instax mini - I know I don't need another camera but I'd love to have an Instax Mini! The size of the film is so sweet and there's something so special about instant film.

3. Tuve 5 -I'm always happy to have some new artwork and this photograph is so eerily beautiful.

4.In the Library scent -I've actually never smelled this perfume myself but because I tend to like masculine scents (leather, tobacco), I have a feeling I would really enjoy this.

5. Nebula scarf -I've tried dyeing with bleach and I have no idea how Hand & Shadow was able to make this scarf look so much like a nebula. It's amazing.

6. Black Tencel dress -These dresses are made by a local shop, The Future of Frances Watson, and they are so luxurious looking. I love the leather bow detail.

Merry Christmas!

Anabela

Fieldguided

Guest Blogger

All I Want for Christmas: Here's Lookin at me Kid

A few Christmas wishes from Amanda of Here's Lookin at me Kid

(one. two. three. four- a. four- b. five. six)

The Christmas season still holds the magic of my youth, although lately the spirit of the season is more wrapped up in family traditions, nostalgia, and really good food. When I was a kiddo, I looked forward all year long to the time when I could compile a Christmas list, hoping to find a few of my favorite things underneath the Christmas tree. These days I dread putting together a list, and can never remember what exactly it is that I want or need. Well, the truth is, the things I need aren't fun gifts to give, and the things I want are treasures that are difficult to find and don't always fit so well underneath a tree! I've compiled a few of my Christmas wishes, although the day someone decides to give me one of these incredible gifts, I might die of joy. :)

Thanks, Amanda, for having me share my pretty wishes with your friends, and I hope some of you will come say hello at my blog

Merry Christmas!

Amanda

Here's Lookin at me Kid

Guest Blogger

All I Want for Christmas: Daydream Lily edition

Some of the things Liss from Daydream Lily is looking forward to doing these holidays:

(pictures from here)

♥Spend a whole morning in bed reading the newspaper and drinking coffee ♥Get some reading done, at the moment I'm reading The Millennium Series ♥Watch TV series on DVD ♥Picnics on the beach with my puppies and the boy ♥Eat lots of yummy food, I want to try some new summer recipes and perhaps even baking ♥Take lots of photos for fun and for me ♥Road trips ♥Afternoon naps ♥Writing some letters to my best friends who live far away ♥Explore my new home town, find new cafes, bookstores, vintage shops, boutiques, opshops ♥Go to farmers markets and buy fresh flowers for the house and organic veggies ♥ lastly I REALLY want to have a summer BBQ, I miss summer BBQ's

If I can do all these over Christmas I will be super happy.

Merry Christmas!
Liss
Daydream Lily
Guest Blogger

All I want for Christmas: See Hear Say edition

Todays Christmas wishlist is from Laura of See Hear Say

1. Lomo LC-A+ White

I've always wanted to get a lomo camera; this new Lomo LC-A+ camera is a limited edition with white japanese design. Isn't just a beauty?

2. Miss Dior Chérie L'eau
I want a new perfume! I really love this one, it smells so nice and refreshing and chic at the same time.

3. Anything by Milk From A Thistle
Like this forest silk tee and the hand painted stripes skirt. I love everything by them - love their nice patterns and their simple, casual, comfy design.

4. Tiny forest in a jar
I particularly like the air plants in the corked jars, they're so cute and would be a great addition either to my home or my desk at work.

5. Restricted 'scrabble' oxfords in green
I can never get enough for flat shoes, especially because I can't really wear heels. Me thinks this would be a nice wear for summer.

6. The Suitcase Series vol.1
The cutest book by Camilla Engman, packaged with nice little goodies like postcards and a little book of Morran (her dog) who is just adorable!

7. Pop-up dollhouse
It's a paper art, and it's a dollhouse. It's a pop-up dollhouse! Such a gorgeous paper art, and I've always wanted a dollhouse when I was a kid.

8. Donna Wilson's cloud cushion
Love love love this little cloud cushion. I think I have a thing for clouds. I want this at my couch at home!

Merry Christmas!
Laura
See Hear Say
Guest blogger

All I Want for Christmas is...

1. New Frankie "mook" Spaces
2.  Alexa Chung for Madewell sketchbook tee
3. Camera lens mug from Photojojo
4. Cute animal items from Depeapa
5. Midnight black doily coasters from Uncommon


This week every post on here is themed with "All I Want for Christmas is..." and I'll have different guest bloggers sharing what they're looking forward to this festive season. Some will share gift guides and wishlists and some will share experiences they're looking forward to having, but I hope they will all bring you a bit of holiday cheer.

So above are just a few of the goodies I'm crossing my fingers for this year. Especially the camera lens mug- how amazing is that!

If anyone of you are sharing gift guides or anything along these lines on your blogs at the moment please share a link in the comment section so I can come see! And I hope you enjoy all the guest posts this week :)

Merry Christmas x

Diana Mini Love

Diana Mini Love is a great blog I've been enjoying recently. Elle shares her inspirations, her own pictures, techniques and helpful hints and I was also excited to discover she's a fellow New Zealander! (Although currently living abroad). If you're a lomo fan and especially getting into 35mm then I definitely recommend checking out her blog.

Cardboard Cameras

Cardboard cameras by Kiel Johnson, found via Booooooom. LOVE!

Happy weekend xo

Edit: It would mean a lot if you could all go here and leave my lovely friend a birthday wish- thank you!

Flickr Faves Friday #5

(Pearled)

(Ann H)

Jackie Luo

(Carissa Gallo)

(Luisacativo)

Just a couple of pictures that have captured my attention this week :)

One of the best things about living in New Zealand is that we get to have summer and Christmas at the same time- it means so many of my favourite things come at once! So I'm a big bundle of happiness at the moment! My life is filled with present shopping/ wrapping/ giving, summer fruit, barbecues, candy canes, Christmas light displays, picnics.... December has to be the best month of the year!

Brown paper packages tied up with string

One of the best parts of Christmas shopping and gift giving is wrapping it all up in a pretty package and I love getting inspiration from creative people on etsy and flickr. You can get one of the above gift wrap sets from Knot & Bow on etsy or head over to Down and Out Chic for more ideas on adding special touches to your presents this holiday season.

So tell me, how do you guys wrap your presents? I'm at home today trying to get creative and wrap some goodies to put under the tree, so any ideas and inspiration are welcome :)

I love Christmas!!

Oh oh oh! And- I do recommend you all go HERE and download the best little Christmas album ever x

Here Comes the Sun & Lomography competition update

(T'Nealle Joie)

(Sone from Polli)

(Dane from Tornadoes and Tigers)

Entries in my Here Comes the Sun & Lomography competition are starting to appear and I just wanted to share a few. Hopefully by now most of you who entered should have received your stickers so get snapping and add your pictures to the flickr pool so I can share them :) It's fun seeing what creative ideas you guys come up with! And as you know there are TWO Diana mini's up for grabs so make sure you get your pictures in before the competition closes on December 31st.

EDIT: For those of you who haven't received your stickers yet- please be patient. Sending mail internationally from New Zealand can take up to 3 weeks to arrive at its destination depending on where you live, but your stickers will be with you soon :)

The Ever Dazzling

 Super sweet goodies from The Ever Dazzling on etsy.

Today I have a morning at home to snuggle up with my book and a cup of tea and I couldn't be happier, a little bit of me time is always nice x

Unique Housewares

Just a little thank you to Kylie who introduced me to the Kitty in Pinx etsy store over the weekend. These lovely little light switch plate covers are only $5US- not bad for a stocking filler this Christmas and super cute too! 

Festive treats for you

(picture credit)

Christmas is my favourite time of year and to celebrate it I've put together a teeny tiny parcel to send to one reader. Don't get too excited- it's nothing too big, just a few small treats from me: a lomography picture, an instax picture, a print, some Frankie gift wrap and a few more small surprises.

So if you'd like to receive my little bit of Christmas cheer, just leave a comment on this post and I'll draw a winner using random.org on Friday :)

Giveaway now closed //

Ali Bosworth Top 10

Red hair, bike rides, cats, outdoors, books- so much to love about Ali Bosworth and his dreamy pictures of his girlfriend. He has almost 10, 000 images on his flickr so I had a hard time choosing which ones to share, but these are just a few of my favourites- my top ten to be exact :) He also has a book that just came out in November.