Showing posts with label summer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label summer. Show all posts

4.1.15

Travel Diaries : Sailing in Tauranga, Polynesian Spa in Rotorua

Happy 2015!

First time spending New Year's in New Zealand and since everything is closed, I spent the entire day glued to my computer, bed and in my nightie. Was quite a nice way to spend it though!


So 2 months back, Doug and I had our very own little road trip to Rotorua, Tauranga and New Plymouth. Expect a lot of photos! Oh! And also, some videos. ;) We did some pretty awesome bucket list things that was taped on our Toshiba Camileo X Sports camera. We love that little thing. The wide lens is amazing and the video quality is pretty good too. We took pictures with the camera as well, so all the wide lens ones are from the Toshiba Camileo.


It was a grueling 6-7 hour long drive to Rotorua, and then another hour to Tauranga, where we had our first activity - sailing. I haven't sailed before and I was so excited!



The weather was amazing and sunny, not quite as windy as Wellington, which was good!





Breathtaking views surrounded us. It was crazy! Oh and half of my dress got wet with seawater when the boat turned. Haha



One day, you'll be captain of your own boat, sweetheart.


Wearing this awesome sundress I got from ASOS for like, $16. I love it! Usually don't do so well with cutouts but this one was perfect. Swimsuit underneath for safekeeping. 



You've seen the pictures. 
Here's the video of our sailing experience!



Enjoy! :)


Sun in my face, wind in my hair, wet dress, everything was amazing. It was a perfect way to end the evening of the first day, although it was not quite the end yet.



Seafood dinner at a little oyster bar at Tauranga followed by one of the must-go places in Rotorua : THE POLYNESIAN SPA. First thing that popped into my mind when we got there was how bad the stench was. It was expected because its Rotorua, the hot springs are there and the smell of sulphur was everywhere.


Had a small pool to ourselves with the view of the lake. Looks dodgy here but in real life, it was pretty. It smelled though, couldn't get used to it, so I only soaked for like 20 minutes and got the heck out of there. How is it meant to be... romantic... when it smelled so bad? Maybe not for me then. Hah


Checking out the other pools. There are family pools, public pools, private pools.


Had to admit though that my skin felt really nice after the soak. Glad we went there but I don't think I would like to go back there cos of the smell.
It was a tiring day! 7 hour drive, non stop navigating, activities! It doesn't stop there. We went for a Dolphin Seafaris Tour the next morning at 7am. All in my next post. Stay tuned.

xxx,
Ashley M.

28.12.14

Christmas and New Year Wishes



Can't believe it's Christmas? Me too!
Time flies so fast when you're having fun/busy as heck.


How I wish my family was here to celebrate Christmas with me. I'm sure they feel the same way, including my dog. Feels really odd not spending the most important holiday of the year without your family but when life calls you to be a big girl, you just gotta be - in my case at least. 






Despite not being home, I did feel like I had a home here in Wellington, with Doug and Shu Run, who welcomed us to spend Xmas with her family at her aunt's farm. It was a rather interesting Christmas nonetheless with her wonderful quirky family, Malaysian accents rolling off our tongues!

Thanks babe for making me feel at home every time I'm at yours and feeling less homesick. <3 



Achievement unlocked! Making my own army of gingerbread men for Christmas. I was proud- they had bow ties and everything. whee!


Christmas lunch at ours :)

To the people who aren't spending Christmas with your loved ones, be strong and look forward to the many Christmases to come. That was what my counselor told me to do. Also, making actual plans for Christmas/NYE helps, rather than to sit home and wait for the day to pass. Have fun! Go crazy! Especially those overseas! Go Party! Ya'll are adults now! We've been waiting for this moment haven't we? Gone are the days we had to sneak in to clubs or go in with fake photocopied IDs. Heh.


Bob here is up and ready to PARTAY~ you should be too!
Have a Merry Christmas and a Wonderful New Year everyone! 

xxx,
Ashley M

6.11.14

Going SHORT. LOVE your short hair!



As you know, I've welcomed 2014 with short hair. A bob, to be exact. And to think that I thought doing that was being adventurous... until I got it cropped again a few weeks back by talented Wei from Buoy Hairdressing, something so close to being a long pixie cut!


I was his model for his final hairdressing assessment, and he passed! Seriously, Wellingtonians, trust this man with your hair and try something new. Life's too short to have boring hair.


For the assessment, I was a cut and colour model. So the mini  makeover was red, assymetrical cropped hair, more angled towards the front and also a huge parting change. Heck, I love it so much. The first thing Doug said when he saw it was Jean Grey.... must be the red.

After washing the styling products off and just blow drying for 10 minutes, it looked like this!


Such a refreshing change! And since then, I've been styling it like this, pinning one side behind my ear.


 I like it like this! Stays put on windy days as well. I've tried curling it but didn't love it, so I styled my  hair like so for my final recital this year! A little bit of styling wax and some bobby pins were all I need, and 5 minutes. :)


I was so relieved to have finished 2nd year of uni. One year left! It's been a tough year, but it'll just get tougher from now and I've gotta soldier on. Plus, I've learnt so much... Don't think I'll ever get the chance to have this much change in my playing if I was still in KL.

I jumped on the bandwagon of making FB event pages out of our final recitals and I sort of regret it, at the same time I don't. It's so lovely having to see all the familiar faces supporting me as I supposedly do my thing on stage, even having someone from the NZSO come to listen to my performance, I was so honoured! 

But I was nearly a nervous wreck. I tried not giving a f*** when I screwed up but during the 30 minutes of playing, my brain just got lost somewhere for 1 second, and came back....I just carried on. Nonetheless, I am appreciative of all the support I got from all of you who came. Thanks guys :)




 Big thanks to Mr.Lee who fulfilled his boyfriend duties, recording my performance with a steady hand. They're on YouTube now.


 Oh! His hair was done by Wei too. <3 Thanks for making us look fabulous!


After the recital, Doug rewarded me with  one of the best lunches ever. We went to try out Big Bad Wolf on Blair St, and were far from being disappointed!!! The place was cosy and modern, menu not too big, pork everywhere and the prices were reasonable.


Big portions ahead!


Porchetta with gourmet potatoes.


Cajun BBQ Pork Ribs. 
HOW CAN YOU SAY NO TO PORK RIBS.


Pulled Pork Sandwich for $8.50. Nothing like I've ever had, and it's so cheap compared to the many sandwiches I've tried at several cafes here.

For 2 people who ate like dinasours, everything came up to $50 ish. 4 dishes, including drinks. I'll be coming back for you again, ribs. 

So hey, new hair, recital done, summer on the way and a long awaited road trip to the NZ Art and Tattoo Festival at New Plymouth come end of Nov. Looking forward!! Thankful for everything so far.

PS. Hope you had a good Halloween!
 I stayed home and gamed all night. Best Halloween ever.

photo by James Carroll FB Page
makeup by talent Kendra Herrick FB Page Website

xxx,
Ashley Mah