Luka's First Birthday Ideas

Planning on purchasing some block numbers and having them as some of her party decor

Ah! I'm so glad I'm finally getting around to writing this and getting things rolling round for Luka's First Birthday in 4months time!

Seriously 4months!!! This year is going way too fast.

So I'd thought I'd share some of my ideas for her birthday celebration that I got off my Pinterest account which you can check out here

I'm very keen on having a shot like this taken!

At the moment we have sorted a spot and a theme. The theme is just a casual Summer Garden Party with a BBQ, so happy that her birthday is in summer, which Andrei and I will be hosting at a top secret location for now.

Below are some of the cake ideas I like.
The first cake is a raw coconut strawberry layer cake, the second cake is something that I'd like to have for guests . I'm big on Luka having a healthy lifestyle with not much processed foods in her diet so I'm very much considering getting her a cake made with all natural ingredients if I can help it, especially with the plan of her doing a cake smash.
I'm wanting to get her cake from this cool little wholefoods store called Mondays that pride themselves on good organic foods.
Plus, their cakes aren't too big just incase Luka would rather have a small bite of the cake rather than fully dig into it. But I think at this stage with her eating she'll dive right in :-)

I'm planning on ordering a book from Printstagram, a cool website which takes the photos on you're Instagram account and makes them into magnets, albums etc and I'm really keen on taking the photos of Luka and making it into a book for guests to sign and leave a note for her on each page.

I'll be making a Pinata for the older guests to have a whack at!
It'll have party favours on the inside :-)

Planning on making some DIY paper flowers too.
I've made pom poms before so this should be a breeze

I'd like to have a chalk board displaying what Luka has achieved in her First Year.



 

Below are some shots that I would love taken of Andrei, Luka and myself.

I have a friend that is a hobby photographer as well as my dad so I'll get them to take some shots of us, our guests and have some non-choreographed ones throughout the day.

 

 

 

 

So that's it so far.

It's nothing too strenuous. I have planned, for party favours, to make up little candy bags and put them into the piñata. I've also collected Luka's baby food jars and will be putting cake mix into them and baking a cake in the jars to hand to guests after the party.

I'm wanting to also either hire or buy a bubble machine for the kiddies to have fun with :-)

I've done her invites which I'll post after her birthday as it has all the info of the party and that is really just for guests at this point in time.

 

Until next time!

 

XOXOX



Homemade Chicken Soup for the Soul and things I've Pinned lately...

My last post outlined, in a nutshell, what I've been up to lately.
Or lack of apart from being excited about my pregnancy.

So as promised from one of the pictures as you've probably guessed it's the recipe for that delish chicken soup!

Ingredients

1 size 18 chicken *preferably free range
1 of each King Soup mix (or what ever you swear by) Hearty Veges and Chicken
1 Campbell's liquid chicken stock
4 measured cups of hot water
3 med sized red potatoes w/skin on, diced
1 leek sliced
1/2 grated turnip
1 med carrot, grated
2 tbsp rock salt and cracked pepper
1 crock pot on high heat

Step 1

Turn crock pot on and add in the water, chicken stock, soup mix and salt and pepper.
Stir then place the chicken in and cover
Allow to cook for 2 hours then combine all the veges and add in some extra salt.

*feel free to add as many veges as you like! My pot was small so I couldn't fit in broccoli, pumpkin and cauliflower.

Step 2

Leave the soup to cook for 2 1/2 hours and serve with sliced baguette and butter, easy as that!

*The soup does tend to thicken more if you feel it is too soupy to begin with. So leave it overnight and you'll notice the change in consistency and flavour!

From left to right.
Yummy wholesome veges! The chicken after cooking for two hours.
Adding in the veges.
The soup after sitting overnight, thicken and totally irresistible!

My mum taught me how to make this soup. It was so much fun making it with her too.
She's great with simple meals that pack a punch and I can't wait to teach my little one one day :-)

Also here's some pics that I pinned on my Pinterest account the last week

Yummy sugar and cinnamon pancakes!

Love the simplicity of the makeup with a standout orange pout

True words

Beautiful soft home decor

can't resist pinning a beautiful statement necklace!

So back on you my lovelies, do you have any great recipes that have been handed down that's you're 'never fail'?
And are any of you on Pinterest? If so, please give me a link to you're account and let's follow each other! :-)

Hope to hear from you!
Much love

XOXOX

A touch of Gold

Via my last post I promised some good things were coming.

 If you happened to see some gold booties in there, you weren't dreaming :P


I got these beauties with my staff discount as I work in a fabulous shoe store!
They weren't my first choice but I couldn't resist the gold sparkles and rustic look to them!
They go pretty much with anything and will keep my feet quite warm in winter as they are leather upper and lined - quality over quantity I always say!



For Valentines Day, Andrei (knowing me too well) got me a M.A.C voucher, and I knew exactly what I wanted :-)
I'm loving gold e/s at the mo and this shade is perfect!
It has a kind of green undertone which works well with my hazel eyes.
As you can see the pic I mixed with density's with and without water.
I ended up dong a FOTN with it plus a mix with my other e/s, here is the outcome...

My full makeup application is pretty much applied the same as it was in my last makeup post, with the exemption of adding my M.A.C Black Track e/l to this application obviously to line my upper and smudging into my lower lashline; plus using my other new M.A.C e/s 3/4 of the upper lid and using The Body Shops Starlight e/s in crease and 1/2 of the lid.

This pic shows the technique used quite nicely :-) Please excuse my unplucked eyebrows, I'm trying to grow them thicker I.E. Lily Collins, Anne Hathaway etc.

This photo, as nice as it is, does the graduating shades no justice!

My next little splurge was for Andrei's Birthday, and I knew exactly what to get him :-)

These gorgeous men's shoes are also from the store I work in. They are definitely Andrei's style, quite casual but quite dressy as well and can be worn all year round! They also have unique patch working detail with a nubuck toe puff and leather based around the rest of the shoe and a nice little detail to the sole :-)
So if you're stuck looking for a great gift for you're man, shoe's never go amiss as they're always needing a new pair!
My company, Overland Footwear, ships free around NZ and I think they do a bit of shipping overseas too :-)



And last but not least :)
I wanted this oversized shirt ever since it came out! But it way to expensive at the time, I'm so glad I waited for to go on sale!
NZD$29 from NZD$150 is quite a sale price, I snapped it up straight away. Added bonus, it's 100% pure silk and goes with anything - wardrobe staple for sure!
And Pinterest has been no help with flashing all these gorge statement necklaces. While shopping around yesterday I wasn't really looking for anything in particular; I walked into the Portmans store and saw plenty I wanted (as you do) but couldn't afford. And just as I was leaving empty handed I glanced over and saw they had 'Nothing Over $20 necklaces" and snapped up this gorge Mint Statement Necklace which was reduced from NZD$45!
I couldn't believe my luck that day, I've always been a great bargain hunter and this was no exception - def pays to look around :-)

So that is me for the day everyone, I hope you enjoyed reading and my lastest gave you some inspiration for the next time you go shopping :-)

I'll definately be following up with some outfits and faces of the day and night soon.

Until next time!

XOXOX

Watch this space...

So I haven't been posting in a while due to having nil internet; but that doesn't mean I don't have much to say!

Here's a little preview of whats to come very soon...
(not my photo's, but they're quite similar)

Nice pair of half gold booties to keep me warm in the chilly winter months that are due soon

Delish strawberry tart!

M.A.C's 'Old Gold' Pigment

yummy French macarons!

So that's it for now, I'll keep you posted :-)
These photo's were collected from my Pinterest page, feel free to follow I pin almost everything :P

Oh and here's a lovely quote I came across to end this little taster :-)

XOXOX

Baking, New Shoes & Pinterest

Kia Ora Everyone!

Just in case you're not a Kiwi, that means "Hello" and/or "Thank You" in Maori :-)

Before I go any further I would like to apologise for my absence and also welcome my newest followers!

Since my last post alot has happened!

One, I've finally landed a job (chicka chicka YEAH!).

Two, I baked today :-)

Three, have a new pair of shoes which I'm stoked about!

And four, I'm on Pinterest! (a tad late on the bandwagon, but hey I made it!). 

So to start my first post for October, even though the month is nearly over, will be with what I baked today.

I saw a picture of this on Pinterest:

FOOD PORN!

And can I say that I fell in LOVE with what I was seeing!

The name for this is Cinnamon & Sugar Pull-Apart bread; I Googled a recipe for this immediately and came across this website called 'Recipe Snob' - very appropriate name :-)

I found the recipe's method very easy to follow, I will advise, though, that you add at least double (X2) to what is shows on the ingredients as I didn't find mine to be enough.

And also to add more flour as the dough is incredibly sticky!

Here is my step by step procedure, going via the link by Recipe Snob:

 

Final outcome! And it pulls apart!



The outcome was amazing!

Although mine didn't turn out exactly like the websites did, I was still pretty happy :-)

They were delicious served with a side of ice cream and pulled apart as the name suggests, I recommend you give it a go!

This, along with many other treats, will be on my Christmas menu. I'll post about those later.

Part two of my October post is that I finally got a job!

It's at this amazing NZ shoe company called Overland Footwear :-)

And as part of me joining the team I am to represent the company by wearing their product.

As were heading heading into warmer months here in NZ, I chose these stylish and comfy red wedge heels!

The shoes are from one of the many brands we accommodate called Isabella Anselmi, which is named after the founders daughter.

I can't begin to say how comfy they are!

They have cushy padding, and are made with leather upper and lining (there is leather on the inside of the rainbow elastic so there is no rubbing).

I love the red colour too. My current shoe collection consists of earth tones E.G. Black, nude, white, brown... So adding the red really gives my collection a POP of colour! 

They would look great with any outfit too; which I'll be sure to update you on that soon and also the 'God-send' products the company sells....

I'm a huge shoe addict as well so working here is a dream but also very dangerous!

Last, but not least......

I HAVE FINALLY JOINED PINTEREST!

I've been on a month and bit now and I am ADDICTED!

It's so hard not to get carried away, there are so many things you like that people are pinning that you just have to as well!

You can check me out here. I pin anything and everything from food, home decor, fashion, makeup you name it!

You wont be disappointed and I follow all my followers back :-)

So that is all me for my first October post.

I'll be back again soon and I hope you enjoyed reading my life story LMAO!

XOXOX