Sunday 26 January 2014

The Sammy - Me & My Sammy


Me and my Sammy,
Meant for each other,
Sent for each other,
And liking it so.
Me and my Sammy,
'Sno use pretending,
We knew the ending a long time ago.


Friday 24 January 2014

The Dress - Autumn Comforts

We all need one. One of those jumpers/cardigans which is just so comfortable and warm. I had one of these. Well, to be honest I stole it off my sister when I was 18 and wore it so much that she told me to keep it. And then *sniff sniff* a year ago I had to say goodbye, as I had worn it so much there were holes in the knitting. How can I ever replace you? I thought. 

And then one day I was looking at H&M's website and playing around with their barbie doll "dress the lady" feature (seriously great way to waste time), and I discovered the perfect replacement cardigan. You shall be mine! I thought and quickly put it in my virtual shopping trolley heading for the checkout. Then disaster! What! No international shipping!!!! Okay, you invest who knows how much money so your visitors can dress a mannequin in all your clothes, but you don't foresee that people outside the UK might want to buy your clothing! Well, back to square one, I thought.

But then, my lovely sister invited me to London and Paris the December before last, and do you know what they have in London? H&M! And what cardigan did I manage to find in their store... the one from the website! Mine at last! I only had to travel across the globe to find it! :) The End.


Cardigan: H&M
Plus it makes a great Christmas jumper!

Jeans: Just Jeans
Boots: Vintage Store
Ziggurat in Wellington

Until next time :)


Wednesday 22 January 2014

The House - The Green Room

Drum roll please, and all the necessary fanfare for the unveiling of our recently renovated bedroom on my here blog...

A photo of Luke and I when we finally finished, 9:00PM on Sunday night (before heading back to work the next day... ughhh!)


The BEFORE photos



and now... the AFTER

 



 So what do you think? Are you green with envy? FYI, that is a petticoat hanging up, not a tutu. A bedroom worthy of a decor magazine spread, don't you think?

Now for a close-up of some of my awesome knick-knacks. Most of which are courtesy of my classy mother :)


 My Christmas present this year was a 1930s dressing table set. Isn't it divine? It reminds me of the Emerald City, which also makes me happy.

 Perfume collection. I love pretty bottles. My favourite perfume for 2 years running is My Insolence. Also adore The One - Rose by Dolce and Gabbana, which is what I wore at our wedding and keep for special occasions.


Also from my mother: doilies which help me not to forget where I come from. (Although I also get reminded by my colleagues daily)

 
 What better thing to do in our new room then curl up with a good book?


Until next time :)


Monday 20 January 2014

The Outing - Out with Paige

So a few *cough cough* months ago, my good friend Paige came over from Melbourne to visit me in Wellington. We had a great time, sightseeing and generally just hanging out. 

While she was here we took Paige up to the Kapiti Coast, for some fish and chips and afternoon tea. 








 Who's that under the table?



Until next time :)


Friday 17 January 2014

The Review - The Rocket

So in November, Luke and I went over to Australia to celebrate my grandparents' 60th wedding anniversary (1,2,3... awwwww, so sweet). Anyways, on the plane we watched a fantastic movie called The Rocket, which I am now going to highly recommend so that you feel compelled to watch it.


Despite being set in Laos, The Rocket was the Australian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 86th Academy Awards. 

Essentially it is about a boy called Ahlo who is believed to bring bad luck to everyone due to the circumstances of his birth. When Ahlo is 10, the government orders the population of their lakeside village to relocate due to the construction of a dam. They're promised that their new home will be a kind of nirvana with running water and electricity. On the way to their new home the family suffers a tragedy and their new paradise turns out to be a slum. Ahlo makes friends with Kia, a girl his own age who lives with her drunken outcast Uncle. When Ahlo hears of a local rocket competition, he decides it might be time to prove that he can bring good luck to the family as well.

Director Kim Mordaunt has created a wonderful film, and considering it's her first dramatic feature I'd say she's off to a great start. The film has a kind of feel-good vibe, but is still firmly set in reality. The children are incredible actors and the cinematography will stay with you for a long time. 
 




 



Here's the trailer:


Until next time :)


Thursday 16 January 2014

The Dress - Animal Queen

So for those who know me well, you might have to look twice when you see this outfit post. Yes, indeed it is me, Hannah, wearing animal print. A thing I swore I never do. But a good friend of mine gave me this cardigan when she cleaned out her closet, and I thought: "Hmmm... I think I could make that work." Well, how did I do?

Cardigan: Thrifted

Skirt: Modcloth
Love this skirt, although because of Wellington's wind, I always have to check the weather before wearing it to avoid what I call "Marilyn Monroe moments".
Shoes: Ashleigh Dawson

And you'll be happy to know this is the second-to-last one from the "archives" - now watch as my hair suddenly grows!

Until next time ;)


Wednesday 15 January 2014

The Verse - Psalm 90:16-17

Let your work be shown to your servants,
    and your glorious power to their children.
Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,
    and establish the work of our hands upon us;
    yes, establish the work of our hands!

Psalm 90:16-17

On Sunday Luke and I had the privilege of seeing two people from our church get baptised. We were even blessed enough that there was a spot-o-sun for the occasion, although of course with an ample supply of wind.

One of the sisters getting baptised read out Psalm 90, as it was a Psalm that had really helped her in her conversion. She read it in Italian (being Italian herself, not because she was suddenly given the gift of tongues), and I was curious to read what it said in English. 

The verses above really struck a cord with me today, so I thought I would share them with you. Maybe it's because I've been thinking about work a lot and how to glorify God in the workplace, what with trying to get back into the whole 8-5 thing after summer holidays. We have also been discussing relevant topics in theology class, where we've been reading John Piper's book "Don't Waste Your Life".

As a Christian, the work that we do is work for God, and this is the work Moses (the author of this psalm) is asking God to bless. However, before we can even begin to do work for God, He must work on us first. As Bible commentator Matthew Henry writes:

"God’s servants cannot work for him unless he work upon them, and work in them both to will and to do; and then we may hope the operations of God’s providence will be apparent for us when the operations of his grace are apparent upon us."

Though we were once dead in our trespasses and sins, it is because God resurrected us through the power of the Holy Spirit that His work can be, as Moses says, "...shown to your servants," and His "...glorious power to their children."

Interestingly, John Macarthur believes this psalm was written as the older generation of Israelites who had left Egypt were dying off in the wilderness (Num. 14) and they were now looking to their children who would inherit the land. 

However, I think this is also a prayer which can be prayed by all parents: that they would know more of the Lord and their children would see God's glory. 

Furthermore, I think verse 17 is a petition that we should continually pray: that God would help us in our work, whether this be our ministry to our friends and family or our physical work. That HE would establish pretty much everything we do. As Matthew Henry rightly says:

"We are so unworthy of divine assistance, and yet so utterly insufficient to bring any thing to pass without it, that we have need to be earnest for it and to repeat the request: Yea, the work of our hands, establish thou it, and, in order to that, establish us in it."


Sunday 12 January 2014

The Holiday - Taiwan Part 1

Okay, it's time to look at some more holiday snaps, because, well, I'm back at work now and I already feel like I want another holiday. These photos are from when Luke and I went to Taiwan last August (see, not that long ago!)

 
Within 30 minutes of arriving at the airport, we headed for the nearest place that served xiao long bao (steamed dumplings), the most delicious food you will ever taste. Yum!

Outside the university I attended in 2009 while on a scholarship learning Chinese. I'm dying to know if the 10m Christmas tree, which had been up for 3 years when I was there, is still going strong...

A refreshing drink. I think I had these for dinner most nights while I was living in Taiwan during summer.

My old apartment block. Kind of awkward when a guy came up to get into his house while we were taking this photo outside.

More food. No prizes for guessing what we mostly did in Taiwan - **cough cough* eat... This is like uber-fancy snow cones, and it's the best! Green tea flavour of course, with red beans - yum!

Shida Night Market, which was my regular hang out in the good ol' days. FYI, part of the movie "Au Revoir Taipei" was filmed here.

Catching up with the saints at New Hope. Awww miss these guys. Dawn was the first lady to greet me the first time I attended, saying "No one should have to sit on their own at church!" before taking the seat next to me. It made the church feel like home from the very start.

Marcie and me. One of my closest friends from my Taiwan days. Doing what we do best, sharing a laugh... and drinking Starbucks...

The Linton family... minus one. Pastor Joel and his wife Judy. The most warm and welcoming people. 

 Friends from Taiwan.

 Our sister in Christ, Helen. 

This is the most delicious drink. Sounds weird, but trust me. It's milk with tapioca balls which have been stewed in brown sugar syrup. Okay, maybe you have to try it to believe me, but I would honestly live off this stuff if it didn't mean I would turn into a giant tapioca ball...

Until next time.