Sunday 5 June 2011

What Katee Did Next..

I have decided that I am going to compile a list of things that I want to get done before the next trimester starts. No homework and no luck on the job front means that I have a lot of extra time on my hands. So, here goes:

1: Paint brother's room: I recently painted my whole room myself! I was so proud of the fact that I did the whole thing, and it came out really well! Perhaps I will post a photo one day.. Anyway, turns out my parents were impressed too so they have asked me to paint his room too :)

2: (re)learn to knit: When I lived in Ireland knitting was something me and my grandmother used to do together. I made a top for my teddy bear and LOVED it! Now I want to get back in to it, being so so far away from my family it is sometimes hard to feel connected and I think that this mutual hobby might be a good way of doing it. Also, how cool would it be to wear something that my own hands had made!

3: Spend a whole day baking (and make something from the fancy cookbook): I LOVE LOVE LOVE to bake/cook/read cookbooks. I literally devour cookbooks. It is definitely a passion of mine, and to have the freedom to spend all day in the kitchen is something that I am going to have to embrace. As I spend so much time reading cookbooks, I have flicked many times through the 'fancy' cookbooks that contain amazing recipes that I am too scared to attempt. But these hols I am going to give it a go.

That's all for now but I am sure that there will be some more to add to the list. Please comment below and tell me what you would love to do if you had endless time, also if you have any other cool suggestions. Bear in mind it is Winter here so indoor activities are preferable ;)

Kate x

Old Friends

Today was the absolute dreariest, grey-est day that has ever been. The rain could not decide whether it wanted to spit a little bit or drench the place so it sat in that in betweeny stage that makes it impossible to walk around anywhere outside, but doesn't have the satisfaction of sitting at home in front on the heater listening to the rain PELT down on the roof. So, I went shopping. Actually it wasn't a splurge trip, I had a couple of things that I needed to pick up, and when I say needed I really mean needed.

My 'Old Friends' of which this post is dedicated to were my absolute favourite flannel pyjamas purchased from Ireland on my last visit to my family. I know, it seems a little bit ridiculous to get sentimental about a pair of pyjamas, but there is something simply heavenly about coming home and throwing on a pair of well worn, cosy jim jams. And these were the ultimate in cosiness. Perfectly worn so that they had lost that starchy feel of brand new flannel, and SO warm that they felt like a hug. But.. A couple of weeks ago I had to concede that my perfect jammies had well and truly bitten the dust and it was high time that I replaced them. As my mum charmingly pointed out to me "what if there was a fire and you had to run in to the middle of the street wearing them? You would not be fit to be seen". She was right. They had holes in nearly all of the seems, were so thread bare in places they were practically see through..

And yet I had a hard time throwing them away. A pair of pyjamas. Attachment issues anyone?

I am now the proud owner of a new pair (two new pairs to be precise) and already I can feel that attachment beginning again. It helps that it is going in to Winter and lounging around in pj's is totally acceptable.

Do any of you have an odd attachment to any pieces of clothing? Completely irrational and yet there is definitely a connection between you? Perhaps it is just me :)

Hope that you all had a nice Monday, it is now evening here and I think I might have to road-test my new loves..

Kate x

Saturday 4 June 2011

Sunday-itis

Sunday has always been my least favourite day of the week, almost for as long as I can remember. The day before the start of the working week is always a bit of a drag but it being Queen's Birthday Weekend here in NZ we have a long weekend. An extra day before the week begins. Not only that but I am officially on exam leave for uni so I have no week at all really. Just the build up to exams which are weighing very heavily on my mind. So why then do I feel that very familiar feeling of 'oh no, not you again' that I seem to welcome every Sunday with? I do wonder if anyone else has this feeling. I must confess that there have been times after a big Saturday night (just fyi, I am nineteen years old so legally allowed to drink in NZ) that I would very quickly trade in the dreaded hangover from the night before for a 9 to 5 working day as really there is nothing you can do but lie around and feel a bit miserable. Day wasted. But, I am not a big drinker, in fact the number of Sunday's, or any days for that matter that I have felt like that in the past six months I could literally count on one hand. So what is it then? Why is it that a day of the week in which I have no sporting or school related commitments seems to put me in a right grump? I suppose it doesn't help that while looking out my window all I can see are dreary grey skies and rain spattered windows. Perhaps my mood will perk up when the weather decides to. 

Does anyone else have these odd and rather unexplainable feelings about a particular day of the week? Or am I alone in my Sunday-itis.

Until next time ;)
Kate x

Pirates of the Caribbean OPI- Mini Review

So, as stated below this blog is going to be about a whole myriad of topics. To kick us off I thought that I would start with an obsession of mine (and yes, I really do mean obsession)- nail polish. I happen to be a bit of an addict when it comes to nail polish- cheaper than buying a whole new outfit but can immediately make you walk with that little extra spring in your step. I also happen to be a rather big fan of the Pirates movies, so when I heard that OPI were coming out with a collection with them I knew that I absolutely had to get my hands on them. And get my hands on them I did! But only three of the colours. I am still um-ing and ah-ing about two others, and the third colour that I don't own was the only one of the collection of which I was not a fan. Anyway, back to the point. The three colours that I got were:

Planks A Lot
Skull and Glossbones
Mermaid's Tears

Of the three I was most excited about Planks A Lot. The dusty purple was unlike anything I previously owned, and I found that the very subtle grey-ish tone in the polish created a more toned down and wearable purple.

Skull and Glossbones is another winner in my opinion. In the bottle it appeared much more grey than when I applied it to my nails. On my nails it is a very rich greeny-grey colour, reminding me of cygnets when they are all covered in down. As it is now winter in New Zealand this is one of my most worn colours (along with Lincoln Park After Dark and Bogota Blackberry).

Mermaids Tears left me a bit cold to be honest, and I can only attribute this to an unrealistic colour match from the OPI website. Naturally it looks very different in the bottle and I realised that the colour on the screen would be completely different to that of reality, but the screen colour stuck in my mind and I must confess to being disappointed when I first applied this to my nails. It is a really beautiful colour, pale pale egg shell green. But I still in my heart of hearts wish it was more like the swatch on the website.. I am still on my quest for that perfect minty greeny blue..

The three that I did not pick up were Stranger Tides, Sparrow Me the Drama and Steady as She Rose.

The latter two I am still on the fence about. Sparrow me the Drama being a gorgeous muted pink, and Steady as She Rose a lovely, very light creamy pink, just barely blushed. I do love these colours, but they seem to me to be a bit hum drum and perhaps like something I already own just slightly different, therefore I have not been able to justify purchasing.. Yet.
Stranger Tides however is one that no matter what I will NOT be purchasing. To me this almost lets the whole collection down. It is 'khaki' but not. Personally I really like khaki as a colour. The earthiness of it is really really lovely. But this polish I found simply dirty. I tried to love it, but try as I might to find a place in my heart for the slightly weird colour I could not. I feel that OPI could have done something really magnificent with the starring colour (Stranger Tides being the name of the fourth Pirates movie) and yet chose to go down a frankly odd road.

Anyway, I await with baited breath anyone who would like to add their thoughts to my little review (see: rant) about this new collection.

Until next time...

Kate x

Welcome to my blog :)

Hello everyone out there in blogger land, I am excited and a bit nervous about writing my very first blog entry. Blogging is something that I am very interested in, both reading and writing. I spend a good part of my day reading other people's blogs and have always wanted to start my own. So here we go.. the first baby steps of a writer who is taking the plunge. This blog will be a place where I will share what I have been up to, some of my passions, reviews of products, things, websites, books, you name it. In short, this will be an account of What Kate(e) Did.

Here we go.... :)

Kate x