Love Fridays

Itchy Feet

Rach - I'm sharing one of your posts here because it really struck a chord with me.

When I asked if she ever got tired of all the running around, she said no, this has always been her preferred way: the life of the high-end nomad, moving from town to town…Like the hero of Apocalypse Now, wherever Jolie is, she wants to be in the other place. This can make her seem removed, less like a person living in the now than like someone living in the five minutes from now. She seems both mystical and beyond petty nationalism, but her footloose drive for new experience is pure Americana. “Anytime I feel lost, I pull out a map and stare,” she told me. “I stare until I have reminded myself that life is a giant adventure, so much to do, to see.”’

-- Angelina Jolie, as interviewed by Vanity Fair

I have lived in NZ for 18 months. I think within one month of moving here, I was already thinking about where I wanted to go next. And I think that's why I imposed a time limit on my stay here - 2 years. The first reason being that 2 years is the minimum amount of time I'd like for a job on my resume. My previous job I was only at for 15 months, so I knew this one had to make a bigger mark. The second reason is that I can conceive of how long two years is. I lived in the UK for two years in my early 20's. It was enough time to get a lot done. But it wasn't long enough to get bored. And I hate being bored. Only boring people are bored, so says Betty Draper.

Apart from growing up in Sydney, I also lived in Sydney for 4 and a half years in between the UK and NZ. I think I was pulled in two opposite directions during that time. On one side, I was leading myself towards settling down to a life in Sydney. I was purchasing furniture. I was developing a career. I was on the hunt for a relationship. But something wasn't quite sitting right. I still don't know exactly what it was, but I like to use this quote from Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey to try and describe it..

"If adventures will not befall a young lady in her own village, she must seek them abroad."

I definitely started to get bored during that time back in Sydney. So the other direction that was pulling me was to get out of Australia and see what else was out there. I've never been one to sit around and wait for things to happen to me. I go searching for them. NZ has been a fantastic adventure so far. I'm working for a really incredible company, and through that I'm meeting some fantastic people. And the city is just beautiful and peaceful and vibrant and cultural. And of course, I met my Boy! It was definitely the right move at the right time. I'm now really starting to settle in to a lifestyle here, but I constantly have those pangs of curiousity - what else is out there? New York is like a great big magnet. It has been pulling at my head and my heart for years, and I feel that it might now be pulling at my body. I'm loving living vicariously through my Boy at the moment - hearing about where he's shopping and eating and going to movies and catching the A-Train. I can't wait for the day when I click that "OK" button and my flights are booked. Another adventure will start.. I can hardly contain my excitement!

Mad Men Yourself

It's certainly nothing new, but so much more stylish than turning yourself into a South Park character, which was all the rage a few years ago..

Go ahead and "Mad Men Yourself" - select your 1960's hair-do, figure-hugging outfit, and cigarette or cocktail to delicately wave around.

Here's me..!

While you're playing, have a listen to the divine Ella Fitzgerald singing about that Isle of Joy.. Wonderful!

Universal Love

I wonder if NYC will feel anything like this..

 


In my mind it does! Just the thought of going there gets my foot tapping..

Love Fridays

OK - so you all knew I wouldn't be able to keep romance off this blog for long. So I'm going to restrain it to Fridays..

Pic : Le Love

I'd like to think New York will feel this way about me when I arrive.

I hope you all have the most lovely weekend! 

xA

Beauty

I have been a devout follower of Kiehl's since 2005. Since I started earning a proper salary really - a salary that could only just afford Kiehl's! It's certainly not cheap.. Sadly it's not available in NZ, so I try and stock up when I go back to Oz. And I may need to ask the boy to bring some items back from NYC for me!

Shopping Tour - 1st Stop : Kiehl's  

"Since 1851, our New York apothecary has been dedicated to serving discerning customers fine formulations for skin and hair made with uniquely efficacious, natural ingredients."

These are my favourite products that I truly do swear by - I have been using them continuously for the past 5 years, going on 6 years, and I like to think that they are the reason I still get ID'ed at the supermarket when I try to buy wine..!

Ultra Facial Moisturizer - SPF 15

It's so light - I put it on every morning straight after my shower - it's great if your face is still damp because you need less of it. It lasts for AGES! And of course, gotta love the SPF factor. I know everyone has different skin types, but this one suits me perfectly - not greasy, keeps my face feeling exactly the same all day.

Foaming Non-Detergent Washable Cleanser

This is so great to use in the shower - it gets rid of all your makeup without even really trying, and it's not soapy but still makes your face feel completely clean, and the best part is that it doesn't make your face feel tight - I can't stand cleansers that do that! And you hardly need any at all, so it also lasts for ages and ages!

Ultimate Strength Hand Salve

This is just awesome to carry around in your handbag - it makes your hands tingle and completely wakes them up when they get that horrible dry, tired feeling.

Abyssine Eye Cream

I've been using eye cream since I was 21. When my little sister found out about this when she was 25, she couldn't believe it. I still remember being in DJ's in Sydney with my Mum, and we were looking at Natio products, and a lady came up to us and recommended the eye cream - said she had been using it since it since she was 21, and without recalling how old she actually was, I remember thinking at the time that I hoped I would still look that good at her age. Your eyes, I think, are the first part about you to tell your age.And while this is a little pricey for such a wee jar, it's lovely and light.

You only have one body, and even if those few extra dollars trick me into thinking I'm doing myself a favour, then I'm all for it, because it's my body and I want to keep it looking like me for as long as possible! Along with these pricey New York potions and lotions, I have always loved this quote from Audrey Hepburn:

"For Attractive lips, speak words of kindness, For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people, For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry, For Beautiful hair, let a child run their fingers through it once a day, For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone. People, more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed. Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of each of your arms. As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself and the other for helping others."

The Movie in My Mind

I don’t know exactly what it is about New York, but there is definitely a magnetic force that has a hold on me.

Perhaps it’s the films I watched throughout my life so far. The idea that walking the streets of New York City will be like stepping straight into the movie of my life.

I recently asked my Facebook friends what their favourite films set in, or about, New York were. Here is what they came up with:

Home Alone 2     Rosemary’s Baby     Taxi Driver     Annie Hall     Private Parts     Gangs of New York       King Kong     Ghostbusters     Serendipity    Sex And The City     Manhattan     Big Business     Kissing Jessica Stein    The Squid and The Whale     Arthur      Arthur 2 - On The Rocks     Wall Street     Breakfast at Tiffany’s     On the Town     Serpico     Reign Over Me     An American Tail     The Secret of My Success     In the Cut

I watch a lot of films, and I have seen many of these, but not all of them. I have some DVD renting to do! Of course there are a million more films about NYC – would love to hear what your favourites are.

Will my idealized notion of New York being one big film set be crushed when I eventually do arrive? Will my feet hurt with all the walking around I plan on doing? Will I be mugged in Central Park? Will I leave my purse in a yellow cab by mistake? Will I queue for hours and pay through the nose to get to the top of the Empire State Building? Will I feel lost and lonely in the big city?

Or will it feel like home?

I think about old school mates who have perhaps gone off to university for a few years after school finished, but returned to our old village and settled down with a local partner. Married, bought a house, had a baby or two. It must be a comfortable life for them. A secure life. Perhaps there was a moment, who knows how long ago, when this may have been something I also saw for myself. But I’m sure the feeling didn’t last long. It certainly hasn’t been there for a very long time. I have a restlessness in me that keeps longing for bigger things. Funnily though, this drive is still constrained within the need to have a full-time job with regular money coming in. I haven’t got the courage yet to branch out as a freelancer. But I know that will come eventually. Perhaps once I’ve paid off my credit card..!

And the feeling hasn’t diminished since I’ve found myself suddenly with a lovely boyfriend. If anything, the desire for adventure is even stronger – I just want to run off and have fun in NYC with him! Living in NZ is strange – I love it, and I forget sometimes that I am actually living in a different country from that in which I grew up. This should be exciting right? But perhaps it’s the fact that I’m still hidden away down this corner of the world, that I feel a little closed in. The really exciting part about living this life is that I never know what’s around the corner. Where I will end up next. What’s going to happen next week, next month, next year. I’m 30 years old and definitely not ready to slow down just yet! Bring on NYC!