Kahutara

14th September 2019. Our two year anniversary. After a crazy year of the last trimester of pregnancy, becoming first time parents and raising a newborn we decided we needed to treat ourselves to something truly special. After much umming and ahing we decided on booking a night in the Kahutara PurePod. At $590 a night it is very much a luxury but I can safely say, it is worth every cent. 

We set off in the morning, after dropping our son at his grandparents. Neither of us had driven to Kaikoura for a long time and already we were being stunned by the views of the spectacular mountain ranges and coast along the way. Little did we know that it would just continue to get better. 

We arrived at the car park where we would follow a map to the secret location. The short tramp took us through forests which felt as though the heat had been trapped in just for us. We followed the track hearing all the different birdsongs and appreciating the native flora. The mountains and river were crisp in the spring sun and we couldn’t believe we lived in such a gorgeous country. It felt like we were in the middle of the Swiss Alps but we were only a two and a half hour drive from our city. 

The next 20 hours were ones of complete bliss. As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words; so I’ll let these images speak for themselves. 

Pictures with a * were taken by me. All others taken by Peter (Cyren’s Cosmedia). 

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Blouse - Baby The Stars Shine Bright. Overalls - Princess Polly. Boots - Rollie.

Sakura Skies

As many of you probably know, I have a very large soft spot for Japan in my heart. I love the music, the culture and most definitely the fashion. One of my favourite styles and the first one I discovered is lolita. I remember all those years ago when I was barely a teenager scrolling through every Harajuku blog looking at each snap of this beautiful and unconventional style wishing and hoping that one day I would own a wardrobe full of these wonderful pieces. I recall gushing about it to my parents hoping they would support my venture into this crazy world (and to borrow my mum’s seamstress skills) and their response being not what I was looking for. They were completely taken aback and thought it looked too much like a fetish and even though I tried to explain the history and how it was the furthest thing away from a fetish, they still didn’t understand and weren’t all that keen on me wearing it in public. 

It wasn’t until 2012 when we went to France to visit family and with our brief stop in Paris I persuaded my parents to let me visit the Baby The Stars Shine Bright store in Paris. I can still remember the excitement while riding the metro to the store of my dreams. I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face.

Arriving I almost cried at the beauty of the boutique and everything in it. I was smiling from ear to ear and my parents said it was the happiest they had even seen me. 

It was this happiness that lead my parents, the skeptics, to buy me my first ever pieces for a coord. Those two pieces, a beautiful, baby blue coat and a cream Peter Pan collared blouse, are shown in this post and are my most treasured items. 

My partner and photographer shares this passion for Japan with me so of course, it’s only natural that we take advantage of the small amount of Cherry Blossoms that bloom in our city and do a photo shoot. I absolutely adore how these pictures came out. 

                                               

Bow (from coat) - Baby The Stars Shine Bright. Coat - Baby The Stars Shine Bright. Blouse - Baby The Stars Shine Bright. Skirt - Thrifted. Shoes - Hush Puppies (old).