And the sunshine continues

This summer, we have been blessed with the most amazingly consistent weather, something we haven't had in years. First came the heatwave on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, then came a whole 10 days of non stop sunshine and heat, and then the temperature dropped a couple of degrees but the sunshine just kept going and going and going. And it's still going, right up to the last day of summer.
In Wellington especially, we've always had such unpredictable weather - even in the middle of summer it can be raining with a howling southerly one day and brilliant sunshine the next - so it's been such a relief to have some consistent weather for a change.
As much as I love my once in a lifetime tan I've acquired this summer, I can't help looking forward to my favourite season, autumn. This morning instead of walking out of the house into the lovely summer warmth, I took a deep gulp of fresh chilly air, which is my favourite part about autumn. That crispness, the freshness, the dampness of the air just makes me feel alive. It's invigorating.
It feels like we've been enjoying summer so much that we've forgotten that autumn is just around the corner, but the shops haven't forgotten, that's for sure. I went into the mall yesterday and the shops were full of winter coats, chunky knit cardigans, scarves and hats - the cozy stuff, my favourite kind of clothing.
I would say "See ya later summer", but it kind of doesn't feel like we're saying goodbye just yet. The sun is still shining, it's still beach weather, so I plan to enjoy these last days or weeks as it may be of sunshine before we all get to snuggle up in winter woollies and drink hot tea with a good book.
Hope the weather's being good to you, wherever you are. xo

Sun, Sun, Sun

Just two days ago, we were sweltering in the sunshine at New Zealand's biggest market, the Martinborough Fair, and today I'm wearing winter boots, a scarf, leggings, and my thick winter rain jacket was soaked on the way to work. That's the kiwi summer for ya! But we have been extremely lucky these past ten days and the sunshine is set to come back tomorrow, so not all is lost.
What a weekend it was. The fair was a fantastic girls day out as always, where we spent money on things we didn't need, oohhed and aahhed over the beautiful art, jewellery and crafts on offer, and finished the day with gelato. Bliss!
And to top the weekend off, I spent Sunday afternoon basking in the sun on the beach, swimming in the ocean, and eating pizza in a beachside cafe. Ahh summer, when you're nice, you're really nice. :)

(Also, Happy Birthday Pa! xox)

Feel good Friday

How is it Friday again already?! And February too! Hasn't January just flown by so fast? It's been a good month though. I hope January has been good to you all too! February is usually one of the busiest months of the year for us and this year is no different, so I'm looking forward to all the fun times to be had in this beautiful sunshine that's supposed to leave us on Sunday but come back in the middle of next week, so off to the beach we go in between everything else...!
I do realise this post is way too full of exclamation marks... but I. Just. Have. So. Much. Energy!! See yesterday's post (below) for why that is... So it's been a great week, and it is for sure a Feel VERY Good Friday.

Things making me happy this week:

♥My skin has nearly cleared completely after just a week of my new healthy eating regime
♥Started a new novel, and am 1500 words in already
♥Had a fabulous photo shoot with little sis, as part of an exciting new project we're working on (details soon)
♥Still loving this whole being engaged thing - it's been a month already!
♥Endless sunshine
♥Healthy meals
♥New-found energy!

What's making you happy this week friends?
Have a lovely weekend! xo

Down by the river

What is it about water that makes us feel so at peace? Why do thousands of Kiwi's flock to rivers, oceans, lakes, on every sunny day?

On Friday, New Zealand - Wellington especially - got some big news. The ten day weather forecast showed nothing but sun, sun, and more sun. No cloud, no rain, not even wind. For a whole ten days in a row. This may sound silly to some of you living in predicable, consistent climates, but for us it's a miracle. Often our weather looks like all four seasons in one day, no lie.

So on Saturday morning, instead of staying inside doing the boring domestic things I normally do, I put my book and a picnic blanket in my bag and headed down the road to the river.

Although there's a motorway running alongside it., the sound of cars turns into a dim murmur as you sit by the river and listen to the water flowing by and the light breeze rustling the trees above you. I wish I could capture on camera the way the water sparkles.

Maybe it's the sheer strength of water that has us all in awe of it, or maybe it's as simple as this: it cools you down. But the sense of calm you get just hearing the water flowing, that's more than just relief, that's peace. Hope you're all having a good week whatever weather you're having. xo

What a year

Hi all! Hope you are all having a fabulous festive season however and wherever you're celebrating! We had the most amazing Christmas over here, with all the people we love around us, lots of scrumptious food (too much actually), and heat, oh my god the heat! Here in Wellington, we had the hottest day we've had since 1934! 1934! It got up to 31 degrees Celsius, which, for a country like Australia, is totally normal, but for us it was almost unbearable - our average summer is about 25 degrees. And yet, we still played touch rugby outside in the sun...
So despite being tucked up in bed by 8pm on boxing day with a full stomach, a little bit of sunburn and feeling tired and extremely grouchy, it was all totally worth it.
And now it's all over for another year so I think it's time to reflect on the best bits of 2012 in the life of You May Say I'm a Dreamer, since I won't be posting until January 7th as I'm off on holiday tomorrow!

January

Made friends with the bees and ate manuka honey straight from the hive.

February

Said goodbye to the Wairarapa, which had been my home for nearly a year and a half.

March

Was reminded of how lucky we are to live in such a wonderful country when we went on a hike up a hill that nearly killed us.

April

I settled back into Wellington nicely and tried out my new/old Agfa camera around the city.

May

Joshua and I became models for a day for my sister's school photography project.

June

I celebrated my 24th birthday with a homemade Italian feast.

July

I started my Wednesday Writers series, which introduced me to a whole lot of fabulous authors over the next few months.

August

My sister, mum and I went on the hunt for the perfect vintage ball dress for my sister.

September

Joshua and I got well and truly settled into our new home, our first place together.

October

My body decided it didn't want to eat meat anymore, so I became a pescaterian - a vegetarian who still eats fish.

November

I participated in National Novel Writing Month and won! I now have a 50,000 word novel waiting to be edited.

December

Summer arrived!

Have a fabulous new year everyone, stay safe, be merry, and I'll see you in 2013!

Happy Monday :)

Happy Monday all! Hope you all had a fab weekend. We spent ours in a haze of heat, barbecue smoke and rays of sunshine with sand between our toes and salt in the air. Ahh summer...

Happy Monday :)

Last night my family and I had dinner outside and we raised our glasses to Summer before sitting around the fire roasting marshmallows! It was just what the doctor ordered after a crazy busy week and a similarly crazy weekend. Hope yours was lovely too xo

Summer is here!

You know summer has officially arrived when your local veggie market is selling strawberries...

Feel good Friday

Because of Labour weekend last weekend, it's been a short and sweet week, with a very busy weekend coming up, which is kind of good because I suffer from what Joshua likes to call "Weekenditis" - if I'm not doing anything I get a little bit weird. It's definitely been an inspiring week, and also a week of reflection... so here's what's making me happy this week...

♥ The prospect of spoiling Joshua on his birthday with hugs and kisses and meatloaf wrapped in bacon for dinner tonight...
♥ Getting an email inviting me to the NaNoWriMo kick off party on Sunday - eep! I'm really doing this, what a nutbar
♥ Getting serious about my research for my novel, Missing Since Tuesday, by meeting with a Wellington Railways expert at the archives - think I might have to take a day off work sometime soon to trawl through all those amazing old photos, so fascinating!
♥ Having a rare "I have nothing to do" moment, which I spent cruising through my old Facebook photos, smiling over the little things that have changed and the little things that haven't over the last five years or so, and also smiling over the beautiful memories of summers past, wondering what memories are in store for us this summer

Feel good friday

                 








Not a lot has happened this week, so today it's all about the little things making me happy:

♥  Making an amazing batch of raspberry and orange muffins
♥ Starting a new book (Nancy Wake by Peter Fitzsimons)
♥ Writing a couple of chapters for Missing Since Tuesday and Strawberry Jam (which I'm now calling Demons in her Garden - just for a change, might not stay that way, who knows where the story is going? Not me...)
♥ Sitting in the hot sun yesterday - the first truly hot, summer-feeling day so far this season
♥ Joining National Novel Writing Month (anyone ever done this before?) - so excited, might actually finish something for once!

What's making you happy this week friends? ♥ 

Oh, and don't forget to follow my Facebook Page :-)

Happy Monday :)

Happy Monday everyone! Hope you had a fabulous weekend! Daylight savings started here yesterday, which means super-excited for summer! Although, I'm thinking we have to be patient... we were planning on going to the beach yesterday, then having a barbeque and roasting marshmallows on the outdoor fire... but it was windy and cold, so we reluctantly put on our jackets and walked our normal walk along the riverbank, then went home for a barbecue, which we ate inside. And the marshmallows are still sitting in the cupboard, unopened. :( But, there's plenty of time for all that!

Have a great week xo

Hello? Spring? Are you there?

Ever get that feeling at the end of winter when you're just so fed up? You're sick of jumpers and socks and scarves and boots. They all feel itchy and uncomfortable and heavy and you just want to walk around naked. You're sick of being cold. You find yourself longing to feel sand under your toes, a cotton skirt floating around your legs, the warmth of the sun on your face; to hear the sound of cicadas, the sizzle of the barbecue.
A couple of days ago I was so desperate for spring that I spent my walk home from the train station searching for a sign, any sign of it, and I found a tiny blossom peeking through on an otherwise barren tree. I went to take a photo of it last night, but my battery died, then I went to charge said battery and my charger died, so I can't use my camera right now, which is a little annoying since I've been without it for weeks as my sister's been using it and there are so many things I want to capture right now, but never mind, out comes the credit card for a new charger - I can't be without my camera this close to spring! So the photo above is not mine, it's from here.
It's. Just. So. Close. I smelt it in the air yesterday when we were treated to a rare day of sunshine after weeks of rain and grey skies, and I've decided that I'm over winter. It's time for spring! Seven days to go!

summer snapshot

summer snapshot by cosmicdreamer featuring leather belts

Summer loving

Okay, I know it's not officially summer yet, but it's November 1st, and while I'm writing this it's 20 degrees (celcius) outside, so I think it's time to really start looking forward to sunny weather, especially since summer seems so long ago with the terribly cold winter we've had. So, this summer, I'm looking forward to:

 ♥ eating gelato ♥ exploring new places in the Wairarapa like Herbertville Beach and Gladstone ♥ christmas ♥ celebrating new years at Castlepoint Beach ♥ camping ♥ roadtrips ♥ writing poems ♥ getting my camera back up and running ♥ experimenting with my new vintage Agfa camera ♥ concerts ♥ planting a herb garden ♥ reading books in the sunshine ♥ swimming in the ocean ♥ jumping off the Eastbourne wharf into the ocean ♥ woodfire pizza on the beach ♥ bike rides ♥ summer dresses ♥ barbeques with friends and family ♥ roasting marshmallows ♥ salads ♥ parties ♥ singing to summer tunes up loud in the car with the boyfriend, not caring who's listening ♥ walking around in bare feet ♥ inventing fruit smoothie flavours ♥ chillin' at the Waitarere Beach bach with the family

What are you looking forward to this summer?

A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing, and the lawn mower is broken. ~James Dent

leaves + wings

(leaves + wings by cosmic-dreamer)

Some more summer inspiration via Polvyvore! I am much too obsessed with this site lately.

xoxo

Inspiration // Scarlett Johansson for VOGUE

This is one of my favorite Vogue shoots of all time. It embodies 40's inspired glamour and class. I think the photos are gorgeous and most importantly the styling is impeccably vintage and just wonderfully timeless. I am totally lusting after these garments, and have been for awhile, considering this shoot is from a few years ago!

Scarlett looks just amazing in all the photos and I can't get enough of the stills from the shoot. She has the perfect body type, and honestly her figure is definitely one to envy! She looks straight out of Marilyn Monroe or Bettie Page's time.


Though I don't subscribe to Vogue anymore, I still remember getting this issue in the mail and hanging the photos all over my walls. I am forever in love with 40s/50s inspired cuts and silhouettes. There's something so flattering and feminine about the styles that I can't get enough of. It's so glamorous and lovely!

Anyways, I hope this gives you some classy summer inspiration!

xoxo

Tomfoolery

I picked up these total TOMS knock-offs today at Target. I wanted a summery comfy shoe, particularly to wear to Disneyland as an alternative to my converse. And these are perfect, they're so girly and casual and surprsingly comfy. And I oddly fit best in a size 9? I think they run a bit small. But altogether they are a cute shoe for the summer months and hopefully they will be comfortable and durable for the many hours I will be spending traipsing around Disneyland.

And even better, they were only around $15, which is a great price cut for the price TOMS usually go for. But at the same time I feel oddly guilty because though TOMS are expensive, they DO use the profits to help children in poverty stricken regions. I feel like I cheated them a bit! :/

But nonetheless, these cuties will be made at home in my shoe collection.

xoxo