❀ WINTER ❀

So here in New Zealand it has begun to get very cold lately, by that I mean colder than normal as New Zealand is a pretty cold country! We are now diving head first into Winter and the cold is not holding back! As a result I have decided it is time to show you guys my favourite Winter items so far.

So to begin this is my favourite oversized jumper this winter (pictured full length above and zoomed below):

This jumper is from Wildfox and is one of my favourite jumpers. It is very warm and has an almost woolen feel to it which makes it super comfortable! I have mine in a medium size because I love having it baggy and oversized, however the smaller sizes could easily fit me as well as they are not a tight fit. I love wearing this jumper as pictured below with black jeans rolled up as it gives comfort but also looks dressy enough to wear out which is the perfect combination.

My next favourites are shoes. I have two pairs of shoes to show you guys as I couldn't pick a favourite:

As you can see both of these pairs are 'hightops' which I think have really suited my Winter outfits. The first pair (on the left) are Vans. They are all black with a really cool high top part to them which I haven't seen on many other shoes. I bought these shoes in Australia and I have worn them a lot as they are very handy and go with a multitude of outfits. The second pair (on the right) are again black with a cool zig-zag pattern made up of gold beads on one side and are plain black leather on the other side. These shoes are from Wittner and are again another very handy pair of shoes.

Up next is my favourite scent for moisturizer, shower gel and body spray:

This is the Victoria's Secret scent "Pure Seduction" (great name I know...) This scent is made up of red plum and freesia and is a lovely scent all year round but I have been loving it this Winter. It's scent is quite deep, however it is not overpowering which is a great balance.

Next up is Nails and Makeup:

Nails
Big OPI: "In the cable car-pool lane"
Little OPI: limited edition - NL519 I think?
Butter london: Wallis

Makeup
Mac lipstick (left): Lovelord (lustre)
Mac lipstick (right): Pink Plaid (matte)
Revlon balm stain: 10 - Darling
Body shop blusher: 2 - Coral
(Swatches: top: Pink Plaid, middle: Darling, bottom: Lovelord)

Lastly this is my favourite snack for Winter:

It is toasted wholemeal pita bread, a mixture of chopped veggies (carrots, cucumbers and snowpeas) and garlic hummus. It is a tasty meal that is also good for you, I love it!!

Our furry family are attempting to embrace the colder weather by finding hot spots around the house as shown below

Anyways hope that you guys enjoyed reading about my Winter favourites! Please share my blog and let people know about it because it would mean so much to me! Also please link your blogs below so that I can look though yours and feel free to write a response blog letting me know your Winter (or whatever season your in) favourites!

Grace xox

✽ VANUATU ✽

So on my school holidays this July our family decided to go to Vanuatu for a week. My parents chose Vanuatu because it was somewhere that we had never visited and barely heard about, and because we wanted a change from Fiji! Because of this we had no high expectations and were really just hoping for a bit of sun and some relaxation time.

We (my mum, dad and sister Liv) left Auckland on the 12th July to arrive 3 hours later at Vanuatu. It was not as hot as I expected it to be which was because of the season, however it was still a lovely change fro:m the yucky New Zealand weather of late! We got taken to our hotel, The Holiday Inn - Port Vila, and arrived at a beautiful resort! It was lovely and the people were extremely friendly, the only thing that disappointed me was being spoken to completely in English (I missed the BULAAA!) Our rooms were very nice, my sister and I shared a room and our bed were so big for single beds which was great! We had a beautiful view that looked over the lovely beach and a small amount of the children's pool.

This is an image of the children's pool and the bar down the end of the resort however this was not the pool that we tanned beside:

Our resort was beautiful, however I would say that this was definitely a 'family resort' there was certainly plenty of noisy kids! However my family and I discovered the perfect little pool to tan around which was perfect as there was not noise and we basically had it all to ourselves.

The food and drinks were nice but not the best! However I did love the cocktails :)

We went on many adventures including Kayaking, snorkeling,venturing out into the city and Zip lining! The Zip lining was amazing but totally terrifying (I would not recommend if you are terrified of heights as it can get a tad high...) If you are a thrill seeker, definitely venture out to Vanuatu and do the Zip line, I am so glad that I have done it!

As you can see I was loving this bikini cover up! This was a favorite purchase pre trip, a beautiful flowery and colourful pattern that is perfect for the warmer weather as it is not heavy and keeps you feeling cool! Brand: Seafolly

The only down side to the trip was that on the second to last day I got food poisoning from a french restaurant that we visited that night. We had been there three nights before with no problems and I had eaten the exact same meals! I was ill for the remainder of the trip (and I missed the best day in terms of weather that we had while we were there :( ) This was horrible and totally ruined my trip for not only me but my family as well. I am still not 100% which is not ideal, but I am eventually gaining my appetite back.

Despite this horrible end, I loved my holiday. I was amazing being able to relax and not have to worry about home or school and just relax and read my book (my particular favourite was the Miranda Hart book "Is it just me?" a hilarious read that I would highly recommend, although you may laugh out loud in public)  and especially hang out with family (as shown below we developed a love of the game Jenga) 

I would definitely return again given the opportunity, and would highly recommend Vanuatu as a holiday destination, just maybe be a little careful about what you eat.... haha :)

Grace xox