Armchair Travel to Paris through Airbnb's Neighbourhood Guides

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Hello everyone! Gosh it seems like such a long time since I've payed attention to my poor wee blog and all of you beautiful people, so my apologies to you all- I've had a lot on my plate!

 Mostly, my very hard work the past few weeks has been directed at my thesis. However, I may have worked myself too hard as I've been bed ridden since last Thursday and interrupted by a trip into hospital over the weekend because I was so sick. I still can't get off the couch I'm so unwell, so off to the doctors again today...I feel like having a pity party for myself! haha.

But on a lighter note, when I have been able to keep my eyes open for a while, I have been a little bit obsessed with exploring Paris from afar! I stumbled upon possibly the coolest travel website I have ever come across; Airbnb-It's a nifty site for booking rooms or entire apartments as a much cheaper option than hotels when traveling anywhere in the world. My curiosity took me and there are so many beautiful, very reasonably priced rooms/ apartments in every corner of the world!

To my delight, Airbnb also have "neighbourhood guides" breaking down some of the basics and beautiful photography of all of the suburbs in many main cities of the world. I have always been so curious as to what nooks and crannies make up the worlds biggest cities, and you can easily explore this from your own computer. I can see this having so many benifits; a more efficient way to plan your trips abroad to make the most of your precious time, discovering hidden treasures removed from the tourist traps, staying with locals so you really get immersed in the culture...the neighbourhood guides could even be helpful if planning a big move by knowing which neighbourhood could be useful to get started in!

I got lost for hours trawling through the beautiful photographs of the many neighbourhoods of Paris, making mental note of the many places I would love to visit when I eventually get around to my big OE.  The photographs above are some of my favorites. 

If you want to fully immerse yourself in some more armchair travel to the city of love, I also found a wonderful 3 part travel/ history documentary of Paris; you can check out episode 1, episode 2 and episode 3 by clicking on the links. 

And while I'm on the obsession-with-paris tangent for the day, I'm going to do something very stereotypical and pop my dvd of Amelie in the player! haha. Au revior! 

Umbrellas, Gumboots and Wooly Hats!

Wooly Jersey-Vintage | Skirt- Glassons | Gumboots-The Warehouse | Beanie- Glassons

 Winter sure is here in Christchurch! With a forecast of rain, rain and more rain for the next 7 days, I thought it was time to get out the gumboots and umbrella! It's no lie, I will wear gumboots over shoes any day when it's raining...who likes having cold wet feet for the whole day?! In my opinion, gumboots aren't just reserved for the farm and a muddy garden, they're easy to style into a cute winter outfit! 

Today we decided to really challenge ourselves to go against what we usually do on a wet rainy day (aka wrap up in blankets and watch documentaries) Instead, we donned our umbrellas and went for a wander around Victoria Lake in Hagley Park, and in the finally opened Christchurch CBD. Yes it was cold, but nice to do something different! and any excuse to frolic around in wooly sweaters and hats is alright by me! 

 To end our rainy day, and as an extra effort to doing things a bit differently, we had pancakes for dinner as we sat and watched the rain pouring outside! What are your go-to habits when it's raining all day?

...And Now I'm a Redhead!

In my most daring hairstyle move yet I finally decided to take the plunge and get my hair colored red! I have been fixated on the idea for over a year. However, I told myself that I had to wait for at least a year and if I was still set on the idea, then I would do it! 

 After a few years of white blonde hair (seriously...think whiter than Marilyn to the point of almost being silver), my hair was absolutely frizzled...I couldn't run my hands through it without clumps breaking and falling out. I filled my hair back into my natural colour and chopped it all off to my shoulders to grow out from scratch. I didn't touch it with hair dye for 3 years, and I didn't cut it for 2 years; after all of this nunnery to my hair I had managed to grow it out long, strong and healthy. I feel like after all of my hard effort, I deserved some fresh colour!

 I am so so happy I coloured my hair! I feel like being a redhead better reflects the kooky, creative oddball of a girl that I am. I figured because I have green eyes and pale skin, my Nani (grandmother) was a redhead, and I come from scottish heritage...that something in my genes would hopefully agree with a mane of fiery locks! 

 Now to just maintain this colour! I know that red hair is notorious for being difficult to maintain, so if any of you have experience with being a redhead, I would love to know some of your haircare secrets!

Exploring Christchurch's Derelict Victoria Square

Dress-Dotti | Scarf-Vintage | Sushi Ring-Out of Sanity | Shoes-Rubi | Camera Bag-Deal Extreme

As most of you will know, my city of Christchurch has suffered through quite a few earthquakes (over 11,000 aftershocks to be precise!) and the once bustling central city is no more. Slowly, buildings are being pulled down, and empty lots are taken over by wildflowers and weeds. Victoria Square was closed for some time, and this is actually an area of town we hadn't even gone to before the earthquakes! The square was derelict with broken pavement and old bus stop billboards stood still. It had an abandoned feel to it with the piles of golden autumn leaves and no gardeners around to sweep them up...Lucky for me I love anything spooky and abandoned!  Most of the buildings surrounding Victoria Square are still standing as they were after the February earthquake; apartments with their windows open and curtains blowing in the breeze, roofs caving into old shops, and 2 year old revolving bus stop advertising still spinning and changing on the reels (creepy!). 

But on a lighter note, It was nice strolling around in the sunshine and making the most of the last time I will be able to wear short sleeves for a while! And how cute is this sushi ring from Out of Sanity!? 

One part of this outfit I have had a lot of questions about is my camera bag. I had been trying to find a "stylish" camera bag for my DSLR for a while now, and while I loved many of the leather camera bags I saw on Etsy, being a vegetarian I was not about to go carting my camera around in something I wouldn't eat! I ended up settling on this. Its big enough for my Canon, 2 lenses, another film camera or drink bottle, and anything like your wallet/ phone/ keys. This bag is great because the whole protective compartment is removable, and the compartment dividers are moveable so you can get it fitting your camera nice and snugly! 

Aaaaaaand last but not least...this is the last post you will see with me with my natural, 3 years uncoloured hair! So stay tuned to see the exciting changes!

Frolicking Through an Enchanted Forest!

Earlier this week we went on a day trip to Hanmer Springs, a gorgeous little alpine village famous for its hot springs here in Canterbury. Before indulging in an evening of soaking in the hot thermal water we decided to explore the Hanmer Forest, and my oh my what a treat that was! 

I am sure that we stepped right into the pages of a Beatrix Potter book! It was the perfect setting for Peter Rabbit and his friends; Silver birch, pine needles, toadstools and blackberry bramble galore! It really was an autumn wonderland! I could have quite happily existed here for forever! 

A word of warning; I indulged in two very high risk activities in the forest...

1: picking up toadstools with my bare hands.

2: Entering and even sitting in a toadstool fairy ring. If you are a fairytale connoisseur/ 7 year old like myself, you will know how dangerous this is!  

I wouldn't recommend you try this at home kids! However, I appear to have emerged the experience unharmed, and stepping into a fairy ring was definitely worth it for the beautiful photographs!

While on our forest walk, we found a huge clearing full of blackberries which were the prefect woodland snack! My favorite part of the walk is where I found a little grotto made of blackberry bramble, with the perfect little arched entrance I could imagine some kind of forest critter crawling into for a nap (which I tried out for myself as you can see!)

While I am an "adult" I really do try to make the most of any moments I find whimsical or fantastical that bring me back into a state of childhood, where anything and everything can be magic! I think living like this is good for the soul! Not to mention it's so darn fun! Do any of you have times where you feel free to exist like a child again?...It seems to be forests that really do it for me!

April's Anissa Victoria Vintage Market at the Pallet Pavilion

Out of Sanity stall where I bought a very cute sushi ring!

Yesterday we headed along to our second dose of the Anissa Victoria Vintage Market held at the Pallet Pavilion here in Christchurch. Yesterday's market held an even bigger selection of stalls at the Pallet Pavilion, making for good treasure hunting for all sorts of vintage and retro inspired goodies!

My favorite, most hilarious find of the day (which I couldn't bring myself to buy in the end because it was so cringe worthy/ I'm not brave enough to turn myself into a walking comedy show), was the Sonny-&-Cher-in-a-love-heart handbag! How fantastic is that?! I did however buy an adorable sushi replica ring from the lovely ladies at Out of Sanity, which is still quirky, but not in a Sonny & Cher kind of way.

It was lovely to see some familiar faces of the beautiful ladies who had stalls that I met at the last vintage market I went to, and unfortunately some others who I wanted to meet but couldn't quite navigate my way around finding them! (Next time I promise!!!). All in all it is rather lovely to see fellow Christchurch vintage lovers congregated all in the one space!