Cup of Tea?

I'm a compulsive tea drinker, I can admit it. Six or seven cups per day is pretty normal for me. So I thought I would share my 'go to' flavours with you guys: English Breakfast, Liquorice, Green Tea with Strawberry. 

Are you a tea drinker? What's your go to flavour?

Love.

Little things making me happy at the moment:

♥ making new friends and re-connecting with old ones ♥ some of my favourite fruit coming back in season ♥ getting out of my comfort zone ♥ learning my way around new parts of Auckland ♥ cherry blossoms and magnolia trees lining the streets ♥ strawberry & lime ciders ♥ my cat making himself my 'little spoon' at night ♥ saturday morning brunch ♥ healtheries licorice tea ♥ guilty pleasure tv shows ♥

In some ways it's been a bit of a hard week (migraines, getting over a bad cold, general sickness), so it's nice to think of all the little things I love.

Spring Wishlist

1. Canter Hardly Wait top | Modcloth
2. Cat Got Your Thumbs iPhone case | Modcloth
3. Love Cats sweater | Twenty Seven Names
4. Thin Upper Knuckle rings | Sabo Skirt
5. First Internship satchel | Modcloth
6. Pastel Block blouse | Sabo Skirt
7. Harper pump | Market HQ
8. Lilac OPI | Candy Girl

As of this Saturday spring will be officially underway in the southern hemisphere! I'm pretty excited. Lighter layers, pastel clothes, candy coloured nails, more sunshine hours, cherry blossoms, bare legs, Rekorderlig ciders and weekend road trips. If you can't tell already, I love this time of year! I made a little wishlist of a few of the things I'd like to add to my life. I love them all but top of my list might just be numbers two, three and four.

Home Sweet Home

1. My mismatched collection of cats and owls

2. A few of my favourite books

3. My favourite film cameras (L-R Canon EOS 30, Diana Mini, LC-A+, Holga 135BC)

4. My instant cameras (Wide format & mini)

5. A few vintage tins

On the weekend I was pottering around the house and tidying things up/ rearranging (a constant project for me) and I decided to take a few pictures of my favourite things along the way. There's something about seeing your things in a new home (and we've only been here 2 months) that gives you a new appreciation for them.

On another note I've had one of those 'change of season' colds the last few days that only seems to be getting worse, and today it was topped off with a migraine as well. So it's been a day spent at home feeling a little sorry for myself and trying to rest/ recover. Hopefully a good sleep tonight will do the trick!

What we did this weekend:

Our weekend in pictures:

1. Loving all the spring blossoms lining the streets

2. A quick pit stop at our favourite juice bar

3. Out for breakfast with friends

4 & 5. More spring blossoms

6 & 7. Fresh groceries

If I didn't have this horrible cold it would have been pretty much a perfect weekend x

Spring Fever

(Mink Pink dress c/o Market HQ)

Only one week left of winter here! Already things are warming up, spring flowers are in blossom and my thick knits are making their way to the back of my wardrobe. I'm just waiting for someone to have a garden tea party (or something similar) so I can wear this dress to it. It feels like that kind of garment - where I should be drinking from a tea cup, eating sweet treats and sitting amongst a flower garden while I wear it.

Anyway enjoy your weekend, I'm off on a little trip with the husband - should be fun!

P.S I think we can all agree I need new shoes. I feel like I wear these ones every second day at the moment, eek.

Back to Basics

It's over half way through the year - new years resolutions are well and truly forgotten about, lethargy has kicked in and it's getting harder and harder to maintain goals and work towards your personal ambitions. If you're anything like me you'll relate to this feeling, but you'll also be feeling extremely dissatisfied about it. I'm talking about choosing to watch a dvd instead of going for a run (when you know you had time to do both), eating extra 'treats' when you really didn't need them and forgetting about goals you set for yourself when you know if you'd feel a whole lot better if you just stayed disciplined/ focused.

Personally I feel it's time to get back to basics and focus on the things that I know contribute to my well-being and the overall quality of life. But I also can't help but feel it might be time for some kind of challenge or goal setting focus - even if just to up the anti and whip me back into shape. Is anyone taking part in some kind of food & exercise based challenge that I could join in on? Or can you recommend me some forums I might benefit from? OR - do you need help in this area too? Should i start some kind of challenge/ focus, straight from my blog? I'm open to suggestions, let me know what you think :)

I Love My Cat

It's been awhile since I've shared any pictures of Rocky so I'm glad to finally have these pictures for you. I've been trying to photograph him for weeks now but it's been a bit of a tricky task - he's such an active cat that most of the pictures I've taken of him have been very blurred or looked like he's had 8 eyes. But today I came home from work to find him quietly looking out the window and managed to take a few photos while he was so calm.

If you're wondering what the point of this post is, it's pretty much all summed up in the title: I love my cat.  

Blue Velvet

(White button up shirt c/o Market HQ, blue velvet skirt c/o Chicwish)

One of the best things about living in Auckland now is being surrounded by water again. I grew up in a small coastal town with the beach only a short walk from my house, so living so far inland for the last 6 years was a bit of a strange experience. There are so many pretty beaches up here and we're loving going for walks and picnics with the water right beside us. We stopped here to enjoy the view on Saturday morning before heading out for brunch. Oh and I have to mention how nice it is to be wearing lighter layers and bare legs again, we only have 11 days left of winter here!!

Homebody

I'm happy to admit that I'm such a homebody. Whenever I have a chance to catch up on life and a grab some downtime for myself, there's nothing I love more than relaxing in my own home. I'm a bit of a fan of the 'lounge picnic' - grabbing snacks and reading materials and taking some time out in a nice sunny spot. So here's a look at what is a pretty typical weekend afternoon in my life. These kinds of moments are what keep me sane and help me re-engerise for the busy times!

little star

(Star print dress c/o Chicwish, Bowler hat c/o Romwe)

I've been waiting for the weather to get a little warmer before I could wear this dress and it didn't take long at all. It feels like winter is on a hasty wind down here and spring is just around the corner. I've already spotted a few cherry blossom trees and noticed the sun setting a little later. I love the warmer weather so I'm getting quite excited! I can't wait for my summer wardrobe of patterned dresses and easy t-shirt and denim short combo's to take over. 

Oh and I guess this is my debut of the middle-part. I've been waiting for my fringe to grow out enough that this could happen and this week it finally became a possibility. I've had a fringe for the last 7ish years so this feels a little strange but it's time for a change and I'm enjoying it so far!

Giveaway: Postcards & Prints by Little Green Shed- CLOSED

You could win:

Spring Flowers A3 print

Set of 4 postcards

Todays giveaway is sponsored by Little Green Shed, a lovely little etsy store full of prints and postcards. The giveaway is open until Wednesday 22 August 2012 and open to all readers. If you don't have a blogger account make sure you leave your email address so I can contact you if you win! To enter:

1. Leave a comment on this post

2. For an extra entry follow the Little Green Shed blog

3. For a third entry share this giveaway on twitter or facebook

Maximum three entries per person! Good luck :)

Edit: Giveaway now closed, congrats to number 16.

Instagram Diary

(all pictures from my instagram @herecomesthesunblog)

A few pictures from my instagram of little moments in life recently. I guess the theme here is food and nice quotes! I loved Elsie's recent post The Perks of An Insta- Obsession, and could totally relate to it. I'm hoping instagram is a social network that will stand the test of time because it's so much fun and a great way to document life!

Anyway I'll be back tomorrow with a print giveaway, so keep your eyes peeled for that :) 

Life, Food and Photography

(all pictures by David Grr)

One of the fun things about moving to Auckland has been seeing mine and Jeremy's good friend David more often. He's the perfect combination of good cook, great stylist and talented photographer. Therefore most visits to his house consist of eating amazing food and documenting it along the way. Not a bad way to pass time!