Once a week

Once a week, I have a Big Day Out. When you live on a farm in rural New Zealand, there’s not much to do other than feed horses, cows, sheep and goats. Muck out paddocks. Repair fences. Install gates. And do all the other endless tasks that it takes to keep a large property under control. I’m not complaining. I have a much better lifestyle now than I had when slaving away in soulless corporations. And working for a few months in Rome as I did in 2011 and will be doing this year – well, someone has to do it!

But true to say, it’s good to get out into the Big Smoke and indulge in a quiet cappuccino or two. There are two local cafes in Oxford but sometimes you just don’t want to run across anyone you know. And chances are you probably will see someone you know since Oxford is a small rural community. I often prefer to sit in quiet anonymity in my favourite cafe in Fendalton or the one I’ve just discovered in Riccarton – Edward Hopper Cafe & Technical Books. This is a very busy, quirky little cafe where you can browse books on photography, architecture, cooking, art, warfare, cars and lots more. Apparently, it’s the oldest bookstore in Christchurch.

Actually, this gives me a good excuse to go back and do a review of this cafe. The menu seems to be restricted to cakes and slices but for you, dear reader, I’ll make the sacrifice and road test a few.

My weekly indulgence.

 

At last

I told you recently that Summer so far here has been…. pretty crap. But last week, we had a WHOLE week of sunshine and warm weather. I was even out and about in T-shirts. Yippee. Awesome.

That golden window of opportunity opened up and we managed to get our hay cut, baled and stored. And during the boring moments of lifting and throwing bales, I looked up to see my most favourite of things – tree silhouettes. Against the beautiful bright blue sky of North Canterbury, there is nothing better than lime green leaves and elegant branches.

 

Blue skies

Hubs HATES (with a capital H) Sunday drives, whereas I love them. Growing up, it was the thing to do – get in the car with your parents and go for a Sunday drive. We used to drive north of Sydney and end up at some tea room along the Hawkesbury River. Scoff a Devonshire tea or two. Or we’d head towards Manly and walk along the promenade, enjoying an ice-cream.

Now everyone seems to spend their Sundays in shopping malls. If a shopping mall is new to me, I don’t mind checking out all the shops but, once I know what’s what, I really don’t like hanging around.

Last Sunday, the winds were blowing. The horses didn’t like it. The dogs didn’t like it. It was also a bit too warm to work around the property. So hubs suddenly announced let’s go for a drive. I looked at him quizzically because I know how he steadfastly refuses to get in the car and just drive.

But out we went. We packed up the dogs and headed towards Sheffield. Someone told us that if you take the back roads, there are lovely long-distance views. We also thought we’d stop off at Sheffield’s famous pie shop. We’ve been there before but totally forgot to drop in this time because we were side-tracked by the views.

My Nikon D40 battery wasn’t fired up, so along came the trusty iPhone. In Thailand, I snapped up a 1970s Soviet-era film camera – the Zorki 4k with a Jupiter-12 35mm f/2.8 lens. I like Russian film cameras and already have the Smena 8M. They’re sturdy and oh so Soviet.

The problem I’m finding is that what with horses, dogs, cows, sheep and goats plus being in Rome for months last year – well, I just haven’t kicked these cameras into action. It’s also difficult finding film although there is a camera shop in Rangiora that I’m pretty sure has 35mm and 120mm black and white film and can cross-process. I must get the Zorki into action – I’ve even found an old instruction manual for it.

Meanwhile, I know these photos aren’t fantastic but they’ll give you some idea of the wonderful blue skies and scenery that New Zealand enjoys in the Summertime.

 

Hoarding

Ever since arriving in New Zealand in mid-2010, I’ve been obsessed with two things: Memphis Meltdown Big Hokey ice-cream and Healtheries Vanilla Chai tea. I have a Big Hokey twice a week (I confess to three times on a few occasions) and I have my Vanilla Chai tea every night.

It’s caffeine-free and oozes cinnamon and cloves with a hint of ginger. I’m sure it has cardamon in it too, which is a favourite spice. And all of this is laced with vanilla. Apparently, this spicy concoction is fantastic for digestion and it’s such a great hot drink on a cold, dark Winter’s night. The packet says the tea is blended in Germany from local and imported ingredients and packed in New Zealand.

I’m sure I saw the Healtheries brand in Australia. The company started in New Zealand in 1904 and there are around 400 product lines. I have been through so many packets of Vanilla Chai – I’ve lost count. I usually stock up at Pak ‘N Save when they have their Cheap As Tuesdays. Love Tuesdays at Pak ‘N Save. I think last week the Vanilla Chai was NZ $3.49 instead of $4.79.

I blame my maternal grandmother for my hoarding mentality. I spent a lot of time at my grandparent’s place growing up. They had a huge pantry crammed with tinned goods, toilet paper, sauces and soaps. My grandmother told me that whenever anything was on sale, she’d buy it in order to save money. She also told me never run out of toilet paper. And so with these pearls of wisdom ringing in my ears, I have faithfully accumulated toilet rolls, boxes of soap, tinned soups – basically, anything we might need one day and is on special.

A great memory from my childhood is my grandmother’s pantry. I remember it as HUGE but I’m sure if I were to revisit it now, I’d be surprised at how small it really is. Funny how we tend to believe that houses and spaces from our childhood are actually larger than they really are.

Anyway. We have been reorganising our NZ house and I asked hubs to turn a room into a pantry for me. I will show it to you in a future post. And of course, I have all the specials from Pak ‘N Save hoarded in this pantry

 

Made in 1911

Ever since I can remember, I’ve had a tub of Nivea crème in the bathroom. You know: the dark blue plastic tub of body butter-thick, faintly floral-scented crème made by the German company, Beiersdorf, and first released in 1911. If you’re interested in the history of Nivea and the complex floral bouquet of the creme, read this fascinating blog post. Amazing to still find a product going strong after 100 years. Nivea’s distinctive scent comes from extract of orange, bergamot, lavender, rose, lilac and a touch of lily. The name Nivea is taken from the Latin word niveus and means snow-white.

Nivea crème is an oil-and-water-based formula and is paraben-free. It was the first stable water-in-oil emulsifier and, prior to its release, skin creams were made from animal or vegetable fats and had a short-shelf life and would turn rancid. Eeew.

I think Nivea is one of those must-have beauty products – a bit like Elizabeth Arden’s Eight Hour Cream. When I was a teenager, I remember the dark blue plastic tub being a metal tin. So retro! Not sure if you can still get the crème in those metal tins.

I’m trying to live more frugally, so I’ve been investigating the many uses for Nivea crème. If there’s one thing I love, it’s a multi-tasking product. A 200ml tub cost me NZ$11.99 (on special). I use Nivea as a hand and leg cream. Just put some on your hands and then add a few drops of water to make it less thick. I don’t have dry skin so it’s not so good as a facial moisturizer for me. If I want an intensive overnight beauty treatment though, I slap it on and wake up with very soft skin. Dab some on rough elbows, heels or any dry patches.

But…I have two tricks that maybe you don’t know about. Nivea, along with a liquid concealer, is a great under-eye treatment and concealer in one. Put just a tiny bit of Nivea and the same amount of your liquid concealer on the back of your hand and combine with a small brush. Use as an under-eye concealer and, because Nivea is basically a wonderful moisturizer, your under-eye area is also getting a hydrating beauty treatment.

And if you want a moisture treatment for your hair that doesn’t cost a bomb and will also add volume – place a small amount of Nivea in the palms of your hands (about the size of an NZ twenty cent piece), rub together and then work into your hair. Awesome.

I’ve also read that it’s a great treat for the feet, although I haven’t tried this – wash your feet and massage some Nivea into them. Then wrap your feet in a towel and keep them raised for fifteen minutes. Baby soft feet!

I’m tempted to say something provocative. I’ve used the legendary Creme de la Mer, which was created by NASA aerospace physicist, Dr. Max Huber, to help heal his burned skin following a lab accident. When I was working in senior positions in corporate Australia (and was young and stupid), I thought nothing of throwing away a hundred bucks or more on some so-called miracle facial moisturizer. I’m not saying Creme de la Mer doesn’t work; it just didn’t work for me. Total waste of money. And you know what? I reckon Nivea crème is far better than Creme de la Mer (despite its key ingredient of seaweed extracts) and all the other over-priced skincare I’ve tried over the years.

I know there’s a white tub of Nivea crème available now. I haven’t investigated it, so can’t tell you the difference although I’m guessing the white tub might be a lighter version. Nivea crème is pretty thick and I don’t like slapping thick creams on my combination skin but I might give the white tub version a go to see whether it makes a difference to my skin (which is very sensitive and prone to flaring up).

If you’re tempted to try out Nivea, check out where it’s made. Apparently, the tubs available in the United States are made in Mexico and the crème isn’t as thick as German-made Nivea. I’ve checked out several tubs in New Zealand and they are made in Germany. I’ve heard that tubs in Australia are made in Thailand, although German-produced crème is also available. Try to get the German-made Nivea because the crème made in Mexico (so I’ve read) is thinner and has a waxy feel to it.

 

Introducing Emily Addison

I told you that I crossed The Ditch – over to Australia – a couple of weeks ago on secret squirrel business. It was secret squirrel because my great mate didn’t want to broadcast to the world that she was about to have a baby. But now that bub has arrived, well, she is like any new mother. Super proud of her newborn baby and she wants the world to know about her. And since the whole planet reads this blog, let me introduce the extremely cute Miss Emily Addison.

Emily or Em is now three weeks old. I flew to Oz four days before The Event – as we refer to the birth, which took place on November 23 by C-section. Along with my mate’s mum, Fritz, we enjoyed a few days of eating our way across Sydney. We visited a few of our favourite haunts: The Kazbah, Pasticceria Papa, Pasticceria Sulfaro (notice the emphasis on Italian pâtisseries), a great Chinese dumpling place in Chatswood and, of course, Mecca Cosmetica (also in Chatswood and a fav haunt for me).

My mate (who is fine with me revealing her first name is Karen) was first in line for the Caesarean op. Frankly, I think I was more nervous than she was. She was amazingly calm. Mind you, I’ve known her for close to 20 years now and she’s always been the calm type, so not sure why I’m amazed! Fritz went into the operating theatre with her for support. I remained at home with The Boys. Fritz texted me shortly after Emily’s loud arrival into this world and told me she had cut the umbilical cord (a proud moment for any grandmother if you ask me).

I hotfooted it to the hospital in the afternoon along with Karen’s brother, Jason, and his wife, Teresa. Normally, when tiny babies see me they start crying, so I wasn’t optimistic and stayed behind the camera for the whole visit. My Nikon D40 bit the dust (it’s getting repaired now) so all I had was an iPhone. I managed to take over 700 shots. Some turned out; some didn’t.

I held Emily for a brief moment and managed not to drop her. Amazing feat on my part. She has a set of lungs on her let me tell you. Jason was a very proud uncle and changed Emily’s nappy very proficiently (he has a 14 month old son).

So now my mate enters a new chapter in her life and I have a new role as Emily’s god-auntie. Here is a selection of my favourite photos and I’m sure you’ll agree with me (and Karen) that Emily is one super cute bub.

 

Chinglesh

I do love the novel use of the English language by the Chinese. True to say that the products coming out of China are getting better. Things don’t fall apart quite as fast as they used to. Still, I try to avoid buying anything Made in China simply because I prefer to support the country I live in – New Zealand – and because I’m concerned about abusive child labour in China.

I’ve been looking for one of those ultrasonic jewellery cleaners. The ones where you chuck your jewellery in a basket immersed in water and watch the ultrasonic waves literally blast dirt from your precious gems. You see tiny bubbles in the water. These cling to the dirt and then collapse as they move to the surface. That’s about as much as I know but I can tell you that these ultrasonic beauties really work.

I was checking one out in Christchurch recently and I had to chuckle at the Chinglesh on the box. Note to Chinese manufacturers – you might want to hire a native English-speaker as an editor. I’m available.

There were some real clangers on the box with my personal favourites being:

• clearly see the dirts get rid of the articles;
• the usual cleaning circle only needs 3 minutes.

The cleaning CYCLE might only take 3 minutes but I’m still perplexed by the thought of the dirts getting rid of the articles. At least they didn’t totally screw things up and add annoying and unnecessary apostrophes after CDs, VCDs and DVDs.

 

Rediscoveries

My rules on makeup for the more “mature” woman continue to be this blog’s highest rating post. Go figure. I must tell you though that my “rules” are certainly not being heeded by older women on this particular blog. There are a number of women in their 80s and 90s featured on the blog who do exactly what I say you shouldn’t – things like don’t wear dark lipstick as you get older or stay away from frosted eye shadows because they’ll show up the lines around the eyes. And you know what? The women showcased on that blog look friggin’ FANTASTIC, so I’m considering throwing my own rules out the window.

But in the meantime, I’ve rediscovered Nars. I was in the spare room (aka messy storage room) the other day, ferreting through boxes for a pair of shoes I wanted to wear and I stumbled onto a large plastic box full of makeup. I’d forgotten about this box and I oohed and aahed as I opened it. There were some formerly-loved Nars eyeshadows in there and I quickly whipped them out.

Honestly, I don’t know why I neglected these beautiful eye shadows. Whilst I’m definitely a Mac girl, I do think Nars produce some amazing single and duo eye shadows. Not to mention some legendary blushes such as Deep Throat and Orgasm. I dragged out the Kalahari duo: a golden warm peach bronze colour coupled with a cocoa brown that has a slight plum undertone. I also spotted another favourite – Nars’ single eyeshadow in Cyprus. Nars’ eyeshadows are always silky with great colour payoff and staying power.

A great mate also picked up some Neutrogena stuff for me in New York last year. Then lost it somewhere in her house, only to rediscover it recently. It was a bit like Christmas last week when I shot across the Tasman to Oz to visit her. Out came the Neutrogena stuff all wrapped in Christmas (2010) paper. You can’t get Neutrogena makeup in Oz or New Zealand, drats. I’ll do a review on all the items soon but, in the meantime, I put together a LOTD (look of the day) for you.

Here’s what I used:

• Cyprus shimmer single eyeshadow by Nars. Trust me: it’s not all glittery and disco ball. Cyprus is a lovely soft gold that I reckon is a bit overlooked in the Nars makeup arsenal. I used Cyprus as the base eye colour.

• Then I used the colour on the left of the Kalahari eyeshadow duo by Nars. It’s a sort of peach gold colour. The colour on the right is more of a cocoa brown with plum undertones. Either shade makes a great crease colour.

• I lined the top of the eyelid with the Liner from the Natural Smokes eyeshadow quad by Maybelline. I can’t rave about this palette combo enough. It’s my first Maybelline eyeshadow and I like it so much, I’ve bought a second as a backup (I always find favourite eyeshadows or lipsticks get discontinued).

• Mascara is Maybelline again – Lash Stiletto in Black. I just bought my third tube of this mascara whilst in Oz. I think it’s my all time favourite and replaces my former favourite (and more expensive) mascara, Lancôme’s Définicils.

• I filled in the brows using Elizabeth Arden’s Dual Perfection Brow Shaper & Eyeliner in Soft Blonde. I’ve never used this product as an eyeliner – must give it a go.

• The foundation is Neutrogena Mineral Sheers powder foundation in Classic Ivory.

• Under eye concealer is MAC Studio Finish Concealer in NC15. This is such a great creamy, light-weight, long-lasting concealer. I’ve used it for donkey’s years.

• Blush is The Body Shop Baked To Last Bronzer in Warm Glow (02). I should fiddle around with contouring a bit more – to slim the face a bit.

• Gloss is Neutrogena Moisture Shine Lip Soother in Glow.

L-R Nars single eyeshadow in Cyprus; Nars eyeshadow duo in Kalahari.

 

Coffee identity theft

Let me introduce you to Fritz. I won’t reveal her real name but she’s the mother of a great mate of mine. We call her Fritz because she’s German. I mentioned that I was hopping across the Tasman for a few days on secret squirrel business. Well, it’s not so secret now. My mate has had her baby. In fact by the time you read this post, bub will be 6 days old.

But the point of today’s post is to tell you about Fritz. She’s like my second mother and we always end up in fits of laughter when we talk about this and that. She had me nearly in stitches the day before The Event (as we referred to the birth). The three of us went to The Kazbah for breakfast (review coming soon) and then onto Pasticceria Papa in Haberfield to pick up some cannolis. As you can tell, our main aim was to eat our way through Sydney before The Event. Because after The Event, I’ll be back in New Zealand and my mate will have her hands full with bub.

Fritz and my mate love the jacarandas that bloom all over Sydney during November. I must say the lilac splendour of the jacarandas is an endearing memory I have of my many years living in Sydney. And so Fritz thought it would be a good idea to name bub Leila (which she pronounced Lila). She felt the name was like lilac and would be a special name for a bub born when the jacarandas bloom. But my mate, as any soon-to-be mother, was keen to name her own baby.

I waded into the fray with a story about my name, Kim. When I asked my mother why I was called Kim she told me it wasn’t her choice. It was my grandmother’s and my father’s selection. My grandmother said she’d always loved Kipling’s book, Kim, and my father said I was named after Kim Novak, the Hollywood actress. Personally, I preferred the latter explanation rather than being named after a male character in an essentially male novel of colonial India. My mother was going to land me with these names: Brydie, Briony, Brittany, Bethany or Bridget (clearly, there was a thing going on with Bs). But she changed her mind when it came to my second name, which is Victoria. No idea why. I actually prefer Victoria to Kim. During my school years, I was landed with the nickname Kimbies (presumably after the nappy brand). Hated it. I chucked a mega hissy fit during my teens and changed my first name to Victoria but no-one seemed to want to call me that.

So the moral of my story was to point out to Fritz that first names given to babies by people other than the mother or parents are not always liked by the kid. Somehow, this led to Fritz telling us about what I can only refer to as coffee identity theft. For years (years!!!!), when she goes to cafes and they ask for a name they can call out when your coffee is ready, she has used my name Kim instead of her own first name. What the??

We really couldn’t get a convincing explanation out of Fritz as to why she does this. She just said she likes Kim; that it’s easy to say. We all had a good laugh when she told us that one day she was with her son and a chap walked in and said “Hi Kim” (he knew Fritz from her fraudulent coffee activities at a particular cafe). No doubt Fritz’s son was pretty confused.

I told Fritz that from now on, whenever a barista asks for my name to write on those styrofoam coffee cups, I am going to use Fritz’s real first name. My mate suggested that all of us just say Kim whenever any of us is asked for a name. Hilarious.

Who would have suspected such an innocent looking woman to be guilty of coffee identity theft!

Like a little angel - Fritz.

 

Naked and happy

I’m probably one of the last girls on the planet to lay my hands on this – Urban Decay’s Naked palette. Such a clever idea. This now legendary palette was launched in October 2010 and was an immediate HUGE bestseller. I toyed around with the idea of getting one but since it doesn’t sell in New Zealand, gave up thinking about it.

But…when I went to Italy to work recently, I hotfooted it to Sephora only to find they had sold out. Then in Malaysia a few weeks ago, I rushed into Sephora only to find…you guessed it. Thailand doesn’t have Sephora but luckily, thanks to Nam-Tuam, I had to return to Malaysia to await my flight back to Christchurch and decided to go back to Sephora on the off-chance they had received a new shipment.

As I approached the Urban Decay display, I spotted my quarry. The palette was being showcased, which should mean it was in stock. But it was showcased the last time I was in the Kuala Lumpur Sephora store, so I wasn’t overly optimistic. I approached the display palette and looked at it longingly. Twelve universally-flattering neutral eyeshadows from sultry champagnes to bold gunmetals.

The Sephora sales woman approached. I gingerly asked whether the palette was back in stock, anticipating a negative on that. But she said: “You’re in luck. 10 palettes arrived at 9.00am this morning and 6 have already been sold“. She then whipped out the sleek, chocolate brown velvet-textured palette with gold lettering and I couldn’t get it to the cashier’s desk fast enough.

I paid approximately NZ$70.00 for the twelve full-size eyeshadows, which includes five new shades. The palette comes with what is called the Good Karma Shadow brush but this is frankly rubbish. Hate it. The palette originally came with a dual-sided eye pencil but I read somewhere that, in order to keep up with demand, Urban Decay replaced the eye pencils with the brush. Shame. The palette also comes with a mini eyeshadow primer but I don’t think this is as good as Too Faced Shadow Insurance or MAC’s Painterly Paint Pot (a nude beige cream eye colour that is fantastic as a base colour or as an eyeshadow primer or even as a concealer due to its flesh tone).

Now to the eyeshadows. The possibilities are endless – you can create a very subtle, neutral day-time look or go for smokey-eye drama or a summer bronze look. The twelve shadows are full-size and have a silky but rich pigmentation with no messy fall-out. Each colour has a great name – from left to right in the photo below -  Virgin, Sin, Naked, Sidecar, Buck, Half Baked, Smog, Darkhorse, Toasted, Hustle, Creep and Gunmetal.

My favourite shadow without a doubt is Sin and reminds me quite a bit of Stila Kitten, which is also a soft shimmering pink. This is followed closely by Virgin (an icy cream) and the beautiful warm gold colour, Half Baked. A touch of Half Baked in the inner corner of the eye really makes your eyes pop or you can use it on the centre of the eyelids to add warmth. Toasted is a gorgeous darker rosy pink shade and looks fantastic with Hustle.

There are some lovely matte colours in the palette. Naked is a soft brown suede colour and Buck is an earthy darker brown – both work extremely well in the crease and Naked also doubles as an eyebrow filler. Darkhorse is the most beautiful olive brown with a hint of gold shimmer and Creep makes a great eyeliner. I’m not so keen on Sidecar (a bit too glittery for me) or Gunmetal (too metallic).

The palette can be thrown into your makeup bag for travel or you can toss it in your handbag. A very versatile eyeshadow palette that lives up to the hype. I believe the Naked palette is now a permanent feature of the Urban Decay collection and other cosmetic companies are rushing out with their own versions. But those of us who have experienced the original and best will not stray.

UPDATE: OMG!!! Nooooooooooo….just as I lay my hands on the Naked palette, out comes the Naked2 palette. From the photos, I think I’d like this palette better as it has lovely soft neutrals.

I used Sin as the base colour; Naked in the crease and under eye; Creep as an eyeliner. Lipgloss is Deborah Milano Euphoric Shine lip gloss (07).