All by myself!
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Don't you just love having time to yourself?

The live-in is away for the next week or so. And I am quite happy that he's leaving.

Sure I've enjoyed our recent holiday together, but I need some quality Tart-time now!

I'm looking forward to relaxing with some good books. Sleeping in the middle of the bed and hogging the duvet.

Watching the Home & Away omnibus and not being mocked endlessly. (He's jealous over Rick and Jack, two hunky characters I think are hot! LOL).

Eating quinoa and couscous (too "girly" for him apparently).

Surfing Net-a-porter and drooling over clothes, bags and shoes. Like these stunning Christian Louboutin heels. Aren't they gorgeous?! I want them so bad. I'd be sex on legs if I had them, I just know it LOL.






















And these stunning Marc Jacobs ones (which I think I might buy, because I'm a sucker for patent leather LOL.)























Oh, and these Christian Loutboutin Mary Janes. I love the colour. They'd go brilliantly with my dark denim jeans.























Actually, I should check out the sale section on Net-a-porter as there could be a few winter items and seeing as we're going into winter soon...

I also want to get a few DVDs out that I haven't had the chance to watch. Like She's The Man and Step Up LOL. I have a soft spot for teen flicks. Oh and I think I might watch Bridget Jones's Diary again. Love that one.

Of couse I'm not quite sure when I'll get all this done, as I'm away myself on Friday for about 4 days, working on an event. So really, I'm probably not going to have time to do even half! LOL

[Photo Source: Net-a-porter.com]

Tart at 5:15 PM | 0 comments
Oscars Red Carpet
Monday, February 26, 2007
So it's the big awards ceremony now - the Academy Awards or Oscars.

I love seeing who's wearing what on the red carpet. There have been some standouts.

So, without further ado... (where I found them, I've put pictures of what the dresses looked like on the runway).

The Wonderful











Cate Blanchett wearing a modified Armani Prive dress. She is always impeccably dressed, and what a lovely figure too. I love the colour and the detail on the shoulder strap is nice too.














Jennifer Lopez in a stunning Marchesa grecian style dress. Pity about the walking corpse that is her husband beside her LOL. I wonder if she's pregnant though, as from other angles in this dress it looks like she has a wee baby bump!















Penelope Cruz in a Valentino (I think), what a wonderful dress! I love this one. The colour, the style, her hair, makeup. Everything works.














Helen Mirren looked so classy, elegant and young! She showed cleavage but it was in a tasteful manner, didn't look like mutton dressed as lamb LOL.












Kate Winslet in Valentino looked so wonderful, she has impeccable taste. I think I prefer the green to the pink too.















A very thin "I hope Ryan Philippe chokes on it" Reese Witherspoon looking glam and very sexy.













I really like this Zac Posen dress, very glamorous, very flattering and has a slight Art Deco feel to it. Nice one Gwynnie!

The Must Try Harder Group












Ann Hathaway, I'd be trying to hide that fugly bow too! Darling, the Devil would be so upset with you in this number.














Love the dress Rachel Wiesz, but the necklace clashes with the detail on this Vera Wang number.














This looks too much like one of those prom dresses from the 80s. I think Molly Ringwald wore something similar in 16 Candles. Normally Cameron Diaz gets it right, but this is a miss for me.













Jennifer Hudson - that jacket is all wrong. I love the dress - great colour, but that bolero just doesn't work.











Three problems I have with this Armani Prive dress that Beyonce is wearing. One is that it looks like something vomited over her shoulder; two, it's far too "wedding dress" and three, looks better when it's not so form fitting.











Kirsten Dunst just misses the boat completely in this really ugly Chanel dress. (I can't believe I said a Chanel dress is ugly, but this one is!) Too fussy, too feathery. Blech.













Elizabeth Shue! This is awful. Too casual, fugly shoes, bad hair. It's like she's not even trying! This is the Oscars darling! Definitely needs to try harder.














And the award for the "Look like a wedding cake" goes to Zhang Ziyi. She's so pretty and sweet but this Valentino dress is all wrong.











Jennifer Biel is too busty for this Oscar de la Renta dress (plus her "girls" are free and I'm having flashbacks to that green dress Drew Barrymore wore one year sans bra... not a pretty site LOL). Also, I really want to tighten up that belt so it's sitting right, just doesn't quite sit properly. I do however, like the colour!

[Photo source www.style.com, www.gettyimages.com]

Tart at 4:16 PM | 3 comments
I am done in... knackered!
I go away for a week and a bit and look at what I missed!

The trashtastic mess that is Britney Spears. She shaved her head and checked herself into (and out of and now back into) rehab. Poor thing, she really needs sorting out.

Then there's the train wreck that is Anna Nicole Smith's funeral-slash-babydaddy-slash-courtroom drama. Oh, I feel so sorry for her. I know she was pretty much maligned in the mainstream media (mostly for marrying that 90 year old rich dude), but you know what. If she made him happy and he wanted to leave her money, so be it. She deserved it LOL. It's quite tragic what happened to her, but a somewhat fitting end (I could never imagine her as an old lady). Her poor baby though. Going to be fought after in court, not because the "father" wants her (whoever he is) but because she has a whole lotta moolla!

So, anyway. My brief holiday with the BF to Australia was awesome! Had a fantastic time. A day/night in Sydney catching up with friends and family, before driving off for our country escape. Then back to Sydney for another day/night catching up with more friends. It was quite a busy time!

Highlights

So many!

Walking through beautiful, tranquil parks and gardens. Along gorgeous beaches. It was so scenic and pretty. Wish we'd taken a camera! The BF and I have cameras, but they're film not digital and they come with those fuck off huge lenses (a la papparazzi) so we tend not to take them on holiday as they are a huge hassle.

Eating well, drinking fantastic wine. Having a gourmet picnic at sunset at the beach. I ate and drank whatever I wanted, and didn't think about "healthy choices" once LOL.

Driving along roads, windows down, stereo blaring and singing along to music. We played mostly older Brit-pop (Verve, Blur, Skunk Anansie, Manic Street Preachers, Oasis, U2 etc) as well as some very cool stuff from Lady Sovereign, Amy Winehouse, perhaps Britney's been listening to her song "Rehab" and taking notice of the lyrics that go "They tried to make me go to rehab and I said no, no, no!" LOL

Wonderful accommodation. The BF did well with this one. It was a darling cottage, secluded (the only cottage on this property), private, 50m from the water and views in all directions!

Diving at Montague Island. Even me, a bona fide scaredy cat enjoyed the diving!

Mrs Jamieson's Fudge (oh man, that was heavenly).

Having sex around the 3.3 hectare private property our cottage was situated on, at the beach early one morning, in the outdoor bath under the stars, while driving LOL.

Catching up with friends and family I haven't seen for ages

Fish & Chips in Manly on the beach.

Shopping! Of course, I managed to hit the shops in Sydney. I had to go visit Belinda (fab store in MLC Centre) and Witchery, Sportsgirl. My two girlfriends and I spent far too much money (am embarrassed to say how much I spent) but I got some excellent stuff on sale including:

  • two gorgeous dresses (one thing about Aussie shops, even the chainstores have very cool clothes for a decent price)
  • three pairs of shoes - peep toe wedge, funky and slightly slutty ankle boots (which the BF thinks look like hooker shoes LOL), and a cute pair of red flats for work
  • four books (including Shopaholic & Baby by Sophie Kinsella which I am reading now)
  • two basic tees and a load of camis from Target (pronounced tar-jay you know LOL)
  • a pretty cardi
  • some cute tunic style tops/dresses
  • black button front dress with self tie belt - very flattering, very funky and perfect for work
  • the cutest black clutch
  • a pair of "boyfriend" jeans
  • a pair of high waisted, wide leg trousers
I tried on this amazing Alberta Ferretti dress, which I would have killed my nana to have LOL. Unfortunately, I would also had to have robbed a bank to pay for it too. Pressed my nose against the glass at Cartier and went into Gucci to drool over the stuff. The only thing in Gucci I could afford is a keychain or something similar LOL.

My girlfriends and I had a blast trying on lots of clothes at David Jones. Love that store. And this darling shop (name escapes me, but it's two old lady names LOL) in Paddington where I fell in love with some gorgeous stuff. Unfortunately, the money was running low, so I couldn't buy anything more.

So while I went over with one very lightly packed suitcase, I came back fully laden with my purchases (including about 2 kgs of Mrs Jamieson's Fudge LOL).

Lowlights
Only one. Screaming bloody children! Parents... want to know how to ruin a beautiful day at the beach for everyone? Just let you revolting children run around screaming and yelling (and not just normal yelling that comes with playing and having fun - I can cope with that). This was major tanty, with completely oblivious parents. Fucking little bastards.

Overall it was a great holiday. The BF and I had a blast, did lots of fun stuff, chilled out, went for walks and drives in the country etc.

Also, Happy Chinese New Year!

2007 is Year of the Pig.

I found this great website which tells you all about the Chinese Horoscopes
I'm Tiger (roar) LOL. A wood tiger to be exact.

Here's a few snippets about tigers:

...said to be lucky vivid, lively and engaging

...they will be completely honest about how they feel and expect the same of you

...are unpredictable and it would be unwise to underestimate their reactions

...are intelligent, alert, and farsighted

[Wood tiger]...are not selfish creatures and will give their time, attention or possessions to anyone in need

...are exceptionally warm and incredibly generous with their time, attention and money...few friends could be as caring and affectionate, as quirky and surprising, or as genuinely interested as the Tiger

It also says that the pairing of me (Tiger) and the BF (Ox) "You are completely drawn to each other but headed for a dead end" and "This is one of the worst possible pairings" LOL.

The third and final wedding was on Saturday. I am so wedding-ed out! I never want to go to another one for a long time. The bride looked radiant and serene, the groom was emotional (so cute). It was a lovely day (apparently, it was one of five weddings in the area that day) and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Though these weddings have totally and utterly confirmed for me that I never ever ever want to get married. So not my kind of thing LOL.

Now I've come back to the office to hundreds of emails and no motivation to do anything at all LOL. I'm out of the office at the end of the week for five days, working on an event in another city. I'm looking forward to going away, but dreading coming back to even more work. I think I need an assistant! LOL


Tart at 11:53 AM | 1 comments
VD
Thursday, February 15, 2007
I'm not really into Valentine's Day. Though I have to say,it wasn't a particularly big day here yesterday. I didn't see one person walking around the streets carrying flowers. No one got flowers at work LOL.

And I also don't like that this is the day that is "ordained" as the one day in the year you show someone how much you love them. Surely, you should be doing that all the time, not just on a day in February? And also, why is it that women are the ones who expect flowers/chocolates/dinner out etc. Rather unbalanced if you ask me LOL.

I'm glad however, that the start of this Valentines Day was much better than last year's. Ugh. Shudder thinking about it LOL.

The BF and I aren't really Valentines kinda people. (No red roses or a teddy bear thanks, so contrived, so tacky). However, beause we're heading to Australia for a brief holiday on Saturday (woo-hoo!), I thought I'd get a little something for him for Valentines. To show my appreciation (he's footing the bill for the holiday LOL).

I got him a painting. I saw it in the window of a gallery near work, it's an abstract, but has a real fluid feel to it. It's not big, about 50cm x 50cm? And it was a good price too.

He loved it, and was quite chuffed that I'd got him something LOL.

I wasn't expecting anything (which is good, cos I got nothing... well I got a very excellent shag so I guess that's good LOL), but not to feel left out, I bought myself an iPod! It's so dinky (it's a Nano), makes my small, slimline cellphone look positively clunky and brick-like LOL.

I have no idea how to use it and at the moment the BF is at home, getting it all sorted for me (he has one, so knows what to do). Very cool.

I may even get one of those arm band thingys so I can wear it at the gym... or maybe not. That might be a bit too dorky LOL.


Tart at 12:22 PM | 3 comments
Bridezilla, meet Fluffy
Monday, February 12, 2007
I went to the second wedding (of three I've been invited to) on Saturday.

This wedding was the one with the most heinous Bridezilla! She was feral I tell you, feral! An absolute nutjob LOL. I was actually dreading going, as I thought that it could be a nightmare of a time.

But, come Saturday 4.30pm, Bridezilla turned into Fluffy! It was weird. It was like as soon as the ceremony was over, the demonic nature left and the nice, humble, sweet person came back LOL.

She even commented on how lovely I looked! (Last time she commented about my apperance she said I looked like a deckchair), yeah, colour me surprised LOL.

The wedding was lovely though, perfect day, bride looked stunning, groom ecstatic, great food and wine, excellent music to boogie along too. Luckily, the BF managed to squeeze an invite to the reception, so we had a great time on the dance floor (the guy can dance, so yes I can prove that a white man can dance LOL). We smooched along to the slow songs too (but not too much PDA, 'cos we're far too old for that and it's so not my style LOL).

The last wedding is in two weeks and that's it. I'm done. Yay.

Tart at 5:40 PM | 2 comments
Friday Fives
Friday, February 09, 2007
Five things to talk about today. (So it's going to be a long post... get comfy).

1. Weight Update

The weightloss is going really well. I've lost 17.7kg! (That's 38 pounds). I am really pleased with myself LOL. Clothes are too big and apparently, my face is thinner (still looks chubby to me though).

I have also joined a gym. Big step for me. Haven't stepped foot in a gym since 2000. I made use of a promotion that a gym had for no joining fee and signed up last week. I hadn't been to this gym before, so got a tour by the membership consultant. Great facilities, even has a women only workout room, which I don't use as I quite like watching men! When I said that to her, I think she thought I was a pervert! I am LOL.

However, I just read in today's Herald newspaper that researches at the University of California, Berkeley say women who sniff a chemical found in male sweat experience elevated levels of an important hormone, and higher sexual arousal, faster heart rate and other effects.

So that's why I like working out in the mixed gym! Those sweaty men make me horny LOL.

I can't say I enjoy working out (I'll never be one of those people that loves exercise), though I do feel really good after a workout. My programme is great. Mix of cardio, weights and group fitness glasses. I like the weight training aspect, cardio not so much (this body wasn't really designed to run LOL).

I hope to lose another 10kg and tone up too. A tight arse would be great!

2. Looking like a deckchair

I've mentioned previously my dealings with Bridezillas. Well, one friend who is getting married tomorrow has been the biggest bitch for about 6 months now - coinciding with the start of her wedding planning.

She wanted to know what I was wearing to her wedding (why? It's not that anyone will be looking at me anyway LOL). When I told her I might get something from Zambesi, she said that I'd better be careful as Zambesi clothes are really small fitting and I might not find something in my size. Right. Okaaay...

She's been pretty bad the last few weeks and on Tuesday night, when we went out for dinner, she told me my cute sunfrock looked like a Madder & Rouge deckchair! ("Make sure no one sits on you!") Bitch LOL. It's the cutest little dress - strapless, fitted bodice, red ribbon around waist, and with A-line skirt to just below the knee. It's yellow, red, orange, blue, green and white stripes. So sure, probably does evoke a French stripe canvas material feel to it (a la Madder & Rouge), but to actually say this, out loud? Talk about crass. Really pissed me off, just the tip off really, as it's been building for a while now. I'll go to the wedding tomorrow and then I might just cool this friendship off for a few months, as I really don't need bitchy, nasty people as friends (although it's okay for me to be the bitchy one LOL).

3. A great day

Had the best day yesterday. BF & I had decided to go the gym after work (me to BodyPump, him to do some "core strength" training), it was a stinking hot day yesterday and just before I left for the gym I had a brainwave! Why not go to the beach after our workout for a swim? So, called the bloke and told him my great idea and asked that he grab our swim stuff before he left the house.

After I crawled out of BodyPump (I swear, every muscle was ceased up), I went to the studio to watch a few men workout, wait for the BF while he finished his workout. I have to say, I'm impressed with what he was doing! He was doing this ab thing, lying on a bench with an incline (head up the incline), then he had a swiss ball between his knees and he was lifting his legs up, contracting his abs and moving his legs to the side (so the only thing lying on the bench were his shoulders/head). Wow. Never knew he could do that! This could prove interesting. I bet there's a Kama Sutra position that would utilise it LOL.


Anyway, after we'd finished, we changed into our togs and then drove around to Oriental Bay Beach - I love that this cute white sand beach is less than 5 minutes from downtown (see below)












We got there at about 6.30pm and it was absolutely packed with people. It was so hot, the sun was still shining and perfect beach weather. I didn't have to wait to get warm enough to go in the water, I walked straight down and dove straight in. Very refreshing (despite the jellyfish, eek) and much better than having a shower at the gym (I don't do communal showers, you don't know where some of those people have been LOL).

We stayed at the beach for over an hour, then when sufficiently cooled and dried off, headed to the bottle store for a 6-pack of beer and then to Supremo for Fish & Chips (yes, all that hard work at the gym was for nothing!) which we ate back at the beach.

It was a great way to spend an evening. Really should do it more often. Man I love summer!

4. Rules of Attraction


In yesterday's Dominion Post newspaper, there was a piece on what a features/characteristics attract you to the opposite sex. It made me think of what attracts me to men.

Height. Has to be taller then me (I'm 5'3, so not that difficult, unless one is a jockey). Shoulders. I don't like blokes that slope off at the neck! Gotta have a nice set of shoulders. Eyes. Sparkly, intelligent eyes framed with long eye lashes... and um, yeah, helps if the eyes are in a pretty face (what?! I like a pretty face, so I'm shallow LOL).

I also quite like nice legs! No chicken ones for me, oh no. I like muscly (but not too bulky) defined calves and thighs (one reason I like sports is to watch the nice muscly legs of tennis players and rugby players LOL). And speaking of legs, one of my favourite places on a blokes body is that muscle that forms a V at the lower abdomen into the hips. Oh yeah. That part is mighty tasty LOL.

5. Holiday

Last thing to mention. I'm finally going on holiday with the BF! Woo-hoo. We're going Saturday 17 February and coming back midnight, Thursday 22 February. Can't wait. I hope Tilba Tilba is rocking LOL.


Tart at 1:25 PM | 2 comments
Recovery
Monday, February 05, 2007
I felt great this morning, was up at 6am and out the door to the gym. Now I've hit the wall and am counting the minutes until I can leave the office (41!).

But I had a great weekend at the Sevens. I saw so many clever costumes! Smurfs, more Borats, 70s tennis players, Mormons, monks, roman gladiators, Thelma & Louise, Ninjas, Rambos, Naked Chefs (only wearing aprons ), 80s aerobics instructors (they even had a routine they did out in the concourse LOL).

Very imaginative and very creative. I didn't dress up, I lack creativity to come up with a costume that's original and clever. The BF suggested I could go as a hula girls (a bunch of them in grass skirts, coconut bras and leis were in front of him at the stadium), I said that unless coconuts grew the size of basketballs, I was never going to fit into a coconut bra LOL.

Tomorrow is a public holiday (Waitangi Day), so I don't have any plans. Off to the gym and maybe, if it's a nice day, the beach. Though I'm going to pick a beach with no surf, otherwise I won't see the BF all day and I get bored watching him surf. (Or who I assume is him as they all tend to look the same from a distance LOL). Oh I know, we could go to the river or a lake? Definitely no surf there LOL.

Tart at 4:45 PM | 0 comments
Sevens
Friday, February 02, 2007
Wellington is abuzz today, the streets and bars crowded with people as they make their way to the Wellington IRB Sevens Tournament.

Sevens is 7-aside rugby, shorter games, fast paced and a lot of fun to watch (though in the past, I have spent more time people watching than actually watching the rugby). The Wellington tournament is really popular. People dress up in costumes, drink a lot and party for two days (tournament starts today and finishes around 9pm tomorrow).

The boyfriend has been at the pub since 10am this morning, he's going to be rat-arsed by the time he gets to the stadium at 3pm! I won't head down until after work. I'm so glad that neither the BF or his friends have decided to dress up in costume.

It could've been ugly... like these guys below...



















Ugh. Nasty LOL.

I don't do costumes either, just not my thing. But it should be a fun weekend though, I get to catch up with friends who've come down from Auckland for it.

Tart at 1:06 PM | 5 comments
We're all going on a summer holiday...
Thursday, February 01, 2007
No more working for a week or two
Fun and laughter on a summer holiday
No more worries for me and you
For a week or two

Summer Holiday - Cliff Richard

That's right Cliff, we are going on a summer holiday! Finally! After the non holiday over Christmas/New Year, the BF and I are going on va-cay in a few weeks.

We're going to Tilba Tilba. Don't worry if you've never heard of it, I hadn't LOL. It's in New South Wales, Australia. I thought it was inland, but apparently is near the south coast (I just knew the BF could not go on holiday without visiting a beach LOL).

We're staying in this private, secluded and what seems to be tranquil cottage. Just the two of us. Aww, can you say romantic? LOL

There's historic places to visit, bush walks, wineries, beaches, parks, galleries and shopping, cafes and more. We'll only be gone for about a week, with several days in Sydney so it's not a long holiday, but at least it is a holiday.

I'll be back just in time for a wedding. Oh joy LOL.


Tart at 2:33 PM | 0 comments