Monday 31 March 2014

Acceptance

Accepting. Acceptance. What is it? Through our lives every one of us is involved in acceptance. The first type of acceptance is the acceptance of others, learning to accept someone isn't always easy, but it's something we all need to learn to do. For example, if you discover your friend is gay, you may be a person to isn't too comfortable with that but you need to learn it's not up to you which gender they're attracted to so you need to accept them. Second one is being accepted by others, I'm sure everyone of you reading this have felt rejected or unwanted at some point? Others need to learn to be accepting of not only you but the qualities you possess. The second one is accepting yourself - get comfy because this may take a while. There are certain things you have to accept then others you shouldn't. Say, you're super lanky, and you can't change that, accept your lankyness! Or, you're a extremely sensitive person, don't be ashamed of that, you need to be acceptant of that quality. So those are the sort of things I'm talking about accepting. But say you're overweight and you're unhappy with that, don't accept it? Change it. You suck at English? Don't accept it, work hard to change it. You have a dream that everyone else says is unrealistic, don't you dare listen to then, if dreams were meant to be realistic what would the point of dreaming be? 

I hope you see my point, we need to learn what to accept because acceptance is something important in our lives.

You can't accept others until you first accept yourself



- Soph x 

Sunday 30 March 2014

Favorites // March

Yes, I know I didn't do a February favorites, but that is because unless I got a significant amount of new things that month I will only do every second month. Although, I will be doing favorites for April (next month) because I will have gone to France! This March I have had quite a few favorites. 

Beauty
Rimmel stay matte powder
I have so much love for this product, I got it quite recently but it deserves to be  in here because it's an amazing product! It provides great coverage and your skin doesn't look oily at all. 
Clinique Eyeshadow Palette
This product has been used a lot over March, it contains four colors - a light brown/beige, a cream, a dark blue and a darker brown. I always apply the cream color to my eyelids to cover up any darkness or visible viens, it also works well as a base, I then put the darker brown in the outer corner of my eye and it just makes a simple, subtle look
Natio Mascara
I don't wear mascara a lot because I hate the feeling of heavy or clumpy lashes but I found this one in my mums makeup and I love it! The brush is quite small and fine so it doesn't have the clumpy effect but it makes your lashes look gorgeous 
Revlon White Eyeliner Pencil
Everyone needs a white eyeliner pencil, I think it's a bit of a makeup essential. I got mine quite recently and I use it a lot! I apply it the tear duct of my eye and use my finger to bend it in. It just makes you look more awake and fresh
Mor Perfume
I got given a thing of roll on Mor Perfume for my birthday in the scent 'marshmallow' and I love it, it smells amazing - you barely need any on

Fashion
Beige Jumper
I got this jumper from Country Road a couple of years ago and I stopped wearing it, I only re-found it recently and starting wearing it again. It really suits me and fits well to my figure, I wear it a lot as it works well as a pullover because it keeps you warm but you don't over heat 
Stripy Tee
One can never have enough stripes, I wear this top from Dotti a lot it's become quite worn out. Black and white stripes go with so much - black jeans, blue jeans, shorts, under overalls? Wardrobe essential
Boyfriend Jeans
I found myself wearing my Rusty boyfriend jeans quite a bit over March, they're so comfortable and go with a lot of things I own 
Keith Matheson Blazer 
This is a vintage blazer of my mums and I wear it pretty much whenever we go out, I love the retro side of it with the large shoulder pads and it suits me and my style
Prada Bag
Similar to the Keith Matheson blazer, this is vintage from my mum, it is authentic from when they were in italy and I get to borrow it sometimes and I love it so much, I have a love affair with this bag 
Blue Clutch
I like this clutch from Red Current because it's leather and it's simple and it adds a nice burst of color to an outfit 

Food
Lemonade Apples
These apples are so good, if you don't know what they are, they're basically green apples that taste rather sweet and fresh. Delicious I eat about two everyday 
Japanese 
This has been a rather Japanese eating month, I have eaten a lot of sushi at school and had Japanese out about four times. But then, it is one of my favorites


Music
Lay Me Down - Sam Smith
Make it to me - Sam Smith 
What if - Coldplay
X & Y - Coldplay 
She Looks So Perfect - 5sos
I'll make love to you - Boyz ll Men 
Bad Friends - Big Scary 
Michigan - Milk Carton Kids (favorite song)
Lily's Theme - Harry Potter (yes harry potter)
Frozen Soundtrack (I've loved this for ages and I still love it)
Just a girl - No Doubt 
You're not the one - Sky Ferreira 
Scene five - Sleeping with sirens 

TV
Puberty Blues Season 2
FAVORITE SHOW. I watched season 1 twice ages ago and I recently watched the episodes which have been released of season 2 and oh my gosh - if you're not watching it you must! I bought the theme song - I have a tendency to do that 

Movie
Clueless 
Okay so I'm getting sort of mixed up because I can't remember if this was March or February that I was obsessed with Clueless? Oh well, it's going in here anyway. One of my all time favorites, this movie makes me so happy. I just love everything about it - the characters, the fashion, shopping how hot Christian is and the incredible soundtrack!
Harry Potter
Favorite movies.of.all.time. I have seen each film about 100 times (maybe over) we have all the DVDs and I never ever get sick of watching them, so much so I know what they're going to say before they say it. I just love everything about the world of Harry Potter, I got very emotional in the last film (I did cry) and the music and oh my gosh, if you haven't had a Harry Potter marathon, do so! And if you haven't and I know you, we're gonna have one. 

Celebrity
Jennifer Lawrence 
Idol. She is such and amazing woman and someone all young girls should look up to, I love her personality and her view on things. She is so gorgeous and an incredible actor, I just love everything about her! 



Blogger
I Covet Thee
So much love for Alix, I adore her blog so much I go on it all the time. She's a 'self professed makeup and cosmetic obsessive'. Her blog is makeup and fashion based with a few other things. I love watching her youtube tutorials as well. If you're into these sort of blogs be sure to read hers! 

Hope you enjoyed!
- Soph x 

Friday 28 March 2014

Russian Ballet // Don Quixote

I was fortunate enough to go view the Russian Ballet perform Don Quixote on Friday night with my dance class for school. I love going to the ballet, it is one of my favorite things and every ballet. I find myself sitting their, enchanted by the way the dancers move, so fast, agile but then they move so smoothly and make barely any sound - it amazes me. The multiple turns they perform around the room without fail, the way they hold the same position for around two minutes, the way they leap. And the costumes, I loved the costumes in this ballet - the gorgeous tutus and various skirts etc along with the gorgeous set and beautiful music it really made this ballet great. I did ballet for several years including point which is probably another reason I enjoy watching ballets so much, I did ballet about three times a week plus body conditioning and other dance classes, those dancers would have trained 24/7 yet they make it look so simple. What did worry me a bit was how skinny those dancers were, you could see every bone in their chest and on their backs, arms as well - it was worrying but ballet dancers are built that way, incredibly small. And I know i'm not the only one who thought this, the male dancers have the most amazing bottoms, like can I please have your squat routine? And to make it better, I got to enjoy it all with some of my favorite people. Over all it was a magical performance which I would happily go see again.

The stage - we were rather close


 Sophie, myself, Imogen, Maisy and Merle - gorgeous girls 

 The Aotea Centre 
 Well I'm just a bit tall 
My outfit - post will be on fashion blog (link at top of blog) 

- Soph x 

Wednesday 26 March 2014

New York Haul

For the past 2 weeks (roughly) my dad has been away in Boston and New York - I was so jealous - and he bought us a few things so I decided to do a little haul if you don't mind! 

GAP tee - will look good with a pair of jeans and chucks

 GAP trackies (we all need a pair)
 NYC top from Empire State Building
 comfy GAP sweater 
 Sephora bag 
 Nars Sheer Glow Foundation from Sephora 
My dad brought back a postcard that he thought reminded him of each of us - this was mine. 

Happy to have you back dad and I look forward to the day I get to go and experience a place as amazing as New York! 

- Soph x 

Pick-me-up Pancakes

This morning I woke up feeling terrible and sick with a not so good headache, so after lolling around in bed I decided I needed a pick-me-up and what better of a thing to have than pancakes? I don't usually eat them so it was a bit of a treat but I really needed it, this recipe is one we've used over and over, I'm not using the recipe to copy down ingredients because I know it off by heart! It's also incredibly easy to make. 


Ingredients:
- Self raising flower 1 cup
- Sugar 2 tbs
- Milk 1 cup
- Baking soda 1/2 tsp
- Eggs 2 
- Vanilla essence (few drops)
- Melted butter 3 tbs 

Method:
1. Put all ingredients except for butter into a bowl and mix, add melted butter and mix again until a smooth batter is formed
2. Cook the batter 

Topping Ideas:
I placed Nutella on top of each pancake and stacked them, then topped them with a few berries which was delicious, but here are some more ideas!
- Maple syrup 
- Lemon and sugar
- Maple syrup and whipped cream
- Berries and banana and maple syrup 
- Sliced fruit and maple syrup 




Enjoy!

- Soph x

Sunday 23 March 2014

Rimmel Stay Matte // Review

Buy it. Purchase it. Order it. Use it. You won't regret it.

Rimmel Stay Matte powder is one of my greatest purchase, it had been something I'd wanted to buy for a while and I'd heard great things about it. It is so good if you have oily or combination oily skin as I found for me it completely took away the shine. It also sets your foundation concealer so it stays on for a long period of time. I wore this powder to my formal which was from 7-11 and when I got back it was still in place, blusher and all. From memory this was $22.49 and I paired this with the Revlon Color Stay foundation and they went rather well together. The powder also leaves your skin looking smooth and polished.  



I'm not this pale it was the light but this is sort of how flawless is makes your skin look 

- Soph x

Friday 21 March 2014

"I'm Fine"

"I'm fine" isn't an emotion. or a feeling. "I'm fine" is a cover up. It's a cover up for when you're sad or depressed or confused. It's the thing you say when you don't want to tell someone how you're really feeling or when you don't want to annoy them with what's really going on. This post isn't about me, I just wanted to make sure people know that when your friend or when someone you care about just says "I'm fine :)" don't believe them. No matter how many times they tell it to you. "I'm happy" "I'm great" "I'm good" "I'm sad" "I'm confused" "I'm worried" those are emotions, when someone says "I'm fine" something will usually be going on but even then when someone says "i'm good" make sure that's the truth, don't just drop it, you need to help them and find out what's wrong. This was a short post but I hope I got a message across. 


Remember, you can always email me.
sophrosed@gmail.com


- Soph x

Wednesday 19 March 2014

Japanese Browns Bay


Browns Bay is one of the best places to go for food, they have a little bit of everything. Lucy, Livy, Helena and I all went out for a late birthday dinner for me to this delicious Japanese restaurant. Japanese food is one of my favourites but I am quite particular, I have a few favourite restaurants and this is definitely quite top of the list. We ordered, edamame, dumplings and a gorgeous crispy noodle salad to start us off along with ginger beers and coke zeros which came in proper beer glasses. Three of us ordered teriyaki chicken on rice, which came with miso soup, some of the best teriyaki I’ve ever had, and I’m sure the others would agree. There was a lot of laughing and tears (the good sort) I choked on my ice, Lucy licked a Japanese pickle – will not be doing that again, Helena had never had Japanese before, it was a lot of fun and Livy could speak some Japanese! 







- Soph x

Tuesday 18 March 2014

Peppermint-Chocolate Cupcakes

You know when you have those moments when all of a sudden you have this sudden urge to bake? Well that's what I had this afternoon before my run and I came up with a cupcake idea - brilliant if you ask me. Everyone, or most people love the combination of chocolate and mint and I had a block of peppermint chocolate, so why not make peppermint chocolate cupcakes? This recipe is super easy and makes delicious cupcakes. 


Ingredients:

Cupcakes
- 3/4 cup flour (plain)
- 1/2 cup castor sugar 
- 1/4 cup cocoa
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp vanilla essence 
- 80 grams butter (melted/softened)
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup milk 
- Whittakers dark peppermint chocolate 

Icing
- 170 grams butter
- 1 1/2 cups icing sugar
- peppermint essence
- drop of green food coloring 


Method:

Cupcakes
*preheat oven to 160*
1. Place all ingredients in food processor and blend until mixed
2. Spoon into lined muffin tray 
3. Place 1 piece of chocolate in cupcake centre 
4. Bake for 15 minutes or they bounce back when touched 

Icing
1. Soften butter and place in bowl, add icing sugar, essence and coloring
2. Mix with a hand held beater until mixed 

Once the cupcakes have cooled, add on the icing, I just dolloped mine on then with the remaining chocolate cut each piece in half and put 2 halved on top of each cupcake!

Note:
Don't put the chocolate on the bottom because when you go to take off the wrappers it sticks!  




Enjoy! 

- Soph x 

Thursday 13 March 2014

Elizabethtown // Movie

Elizabethtown. Strange name for a movie? One of the best movies I have ever watched. Orlando Bloom is my love (along with Leo D and Harry S) so i've been watching many movies he's been in, Elizabethtown happened to be one, this movie isn't very well known I don't think.

 "After causing the Oregon shoe company he works for to lose hundreds of millions of dollars, Drew Baylor (Orlando Bloom) is fired for his mistake, and promptly also dumped by his girlfriend, Ellen (Jessica Biel). On the verge of suicide, Drew is oddly given a new purpose in life when he is brought back to his family's small Kentucky hometown of Elizabethtown following the death of his father, Mitch, as it falls to him to make sure that his dying wishes are fulfilled. On the way home, Drew meets a flight attendant, Claire Colburn (Kristin Dunst), with whom he falls in love, in a romance that helps his life get back on track..." 

This is the sort of movie where the plot summary is quite different to the movie, but i'll tell you this, this movie isn't some slobby, perfect love story, yes it's a romantic comedy but in a different way. My favorite scene is where they spend all night talking on the phone and then when Orlando goes on a road trip she planned for him. Plus, Orlando Bloom makes the movie incredibly enjoyable to watch because he is absolutely gorgeous. I can't help it. The movie has so many great songs in it as well. If you're looking for a funny movie with a whole lot of twists and romance that'll give you a bit of a boost, watch this! 

One of my favorites.







- Soph x

Tuesday 11 March 2014

The Coat

The first title I typed in for this post, was "how to wear a coat" but I then realized that just sounded as though I was writing a guide to wearing a coat which is silly. Recently, I have developed a love for coats, it's a shame that it doesn't get oober cold here in Auckland, but even so, I think a coat is a winter essential. Coats come in a range of different colors and styles, I think a black pea coat is a go-to and a must have. Coats are excellent for throwing over the top of an outfit, they keep you warm and cozy, are a nice alternative to jackets and if you know how to wear one they look amazing. In my fashion folder on my laptop, many of my photos are outfits involving coats so I have decided to put together a bit of coat inspiration (coatspiration) . 


I love this, it looks so elegant and simple

This is more of a parka, but you get the idea ~ in love with the boots

I love this one, the skinny jeans 



 cher from clueless 





This is one of my favorite looks 



I hope you get an idea from that! 

- Soph x