Your Beauty Mark (and a Happy New Year!)

Kia ora campers,

I hope your Christmas was festive and that your urges to murder your family / expose everyone's deep dark secrets was minimal. And I sincerely hope that your trifle was laced with liquor as strong as your ability to keep mum. I was lucky enough to receive everything I wanted / needed for Christmas (nutra bullet, yussss) and my favourite present I got was a book with SO MUCH HYPE... 'Your Beauty Mark' by Dita Von Teese.

Just look at that perfect lip

Firstly, don't read this if you already have low body self esteem (guilty!) because this book will make you feel like a fat slut who brings nothing to this world but the ability to eat large amounts of potatoes. BUT that aside, it's an amazing resource for pin-up girls / feminine people in general. (Saint) Dita covers literally everything, from nipple hair (??????) to how to do the perfect cat eye.

Personally, I've found a lot of pin-up stuff really daunting. Makeup? That I can do. Hair? Would really rather not. But this book has great step by step tutorials on hair styles including victory rolls, and faux bangs that actually don't look daunting. Even the exercise routine that is included doesn't seem that hard / painful!

The book is written in a very easy to read style and is HUGE (pretty much a risque coffee table book) and the pictures / art work are fantastic. I'd be tempted to frame some of the shots of her as they really do look like works of art.

So yes, that's it for this one... and it's a few days early as I'm going out of range in Turangi for a few days. So I'll see you for the new tahi in the new year!

Drink safely and live responsibly,

Ruby xx

We wish you a murry Christmas...

Mere Kirihimete everyone!

I've had a great Christmas so far, we have our Christmas festivities on Christmas eve. So for us, Christmas day is mostly spent kicking about and relaxing. I have Christmas as the one day of the year where I allow my self to waste the earth's resources while achieving nothing, and not improving myself what so ever. So, in the spirit of that, the tahi this week is a short one on random cool internet stuff to waste your life on

I was inspired the other day when I came across this website and had a bit of a nonsense binge. But to be clear, some of this nonsense is quite breathtaking and it never really feels like you're wasting time. So... here are the highlights of my yearly time wasting session! Happy Christmas!

Firstly, Your Name In Gum

Pretty much exactly what it says! You get to choose the kind of gum used, and the write your name out for you in your chosen gum (or any other word for that matter). 

This one is beautiful, but a little grotesque.... I present you, I Love You Like A Fat Lady Loves Apples

Basically, you feed a demanding lady apples that are kicked over to her by a fish net stocking clad leg. The music is great!

Into The Time is a beautiful visual symphony of interactive morphing colour.

This is another site in the same vein, Much Better Than This

You control who begins the 'kiss' from what side of the screen your cursor is on.

That's it! Enjoy your internet binge!

Love,

Rube xx 

Everyone needs a 'lil magic once in a while....

Hello, Murry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, pleasant normal day (for the atheists among us),

At this time of the year, most people need a 'lil magic (to be honest, I need $1000 and justice, but magic is cool too).  Also, there's not that much money going around to treat yo self (even though someone's gotta do it). But luckily there's a few little things I've found that are pretty much the adult equivalent of those cool home made magic tricks that everyone's older male cousin used to do (I'm talking the classic 'severed finger in a matchbox' and 'the french drop'). So, the tahis this week (two!!) are Magic Colour Change Lipstick and Magic Tea That Brews In Cold Water

I got 'HengFang Magic Colour' from Ali Express for $1.75 NZSD and it's been worth every cent, and then some. It presents itself as a boring lipbalm, but put it on your lips (or any skin) and it finds your "perfect pink" by MAGICALLY CHANGING COLOUR! And the shade depends on your skin tone / natural lip colour, so on me it's quite a bright pink. But on paler people it's a more subtle colour, so ANY of your friends (sharing is caring... unless you have cold sores) can wear it and it'll be the right shade. Also, it acts like a lip balm, so it's great when you want a bit of colour but still want to care for your lips.

Exhibit A:  As pink as peppa pig

My other magic item is Red Seal Hot or Cold Brew Tea. As previously mentioned, I'm a big fan of the ole' ice tea, and this is INSTANT ice tea. You just put your tea bag in a glass, fill it with ice water, and watch the magic happen! There's a range of different flavours including exotic fruits, raspberry and strawberry, and strawberry and rhubarb. Because of it's nature, you can make tea anywhere without needing a kettle... and no matter brewing tea and waiting for it to cold! BOOM! I haven't tried it yet, but I know this tea would be great in a punch with summer fruit, some juice and some lemonade. 

So yes, another quick one this week, but hopefully this post can bring some magic into your festive season. I'm heading away for a couple of weeks to see family, but will still be running thats the tahi! I jsut wont be doing the paintings to go with it, as we have no scanner on the road. So... prepare yourself for 'Tahi on Tour!' 

Seeyou on Christmas Day! 

Rube xx

'Special When Lit!'

Hey team,

First of all SORRY FOR POSTING THIS A DAY LATE!
Yesterday I had a gig, and rescued a baby bird (most likely a tui) who then died, so it was a big day.
However, in the last few weeks I've been travelling around central Wellington doing a bit of research... trying to find the best places to play pinball in Wellington

Le Rube on Elvira, my current favourite.

I've been a big fan of pinball since I was a preschooler. There was a games room at the chateau Tongariro which was around the corner from where I lived. Dad would take me there occasionally here, but there is a better list that I will post when I find it) including a couple of great ones at Black Coffee in Newtown. I also played the Metallica machine at Midnight Espresso, and there's two other's at MOON1 that I'm going to check out in the near future (oh what I'd do for infinite time to do stuff I like).  There's also a machine at Enigma (apparently it's a Jurassic Park themed one!) and apparently one at The Kensington Gentleman's Club (Go on... I double dog dare you!).

The machines available for play at Black Coffee (they also have 'Street Fighter')

with a pocketful of coins and let me play the machines, pinball was always my favourite. There was a box that lived in the games room, just so that bubba Rube could drag it to "Monster Of The Blue Lagoon" and play pinball for hours. I am by no accounts a pinball champion, it takes me a long time to get used to a machine (and a lot of $2 coins) and even then, I'm seldom on the score board (but if you ever see RUB, thats me). Since I've been in Wellington, I've been lucky enough to have access to screeds of new pinball machines (lists of them can be found online).

Take a trip into.... The Twilight Zone

'Black Coffee' in Newtown have two great machines to choose from, both in good condition. My favourite (and my favourite in Wellington, at this point anyway) is 'Scared Stiff, with your host, Elvira'. A very funky, 60s gothic style machine. Scary spiders, coffins to unlock and MULTIBALLS FOR DAYS! This machine is great for beginners (is that me??? kind of??? intermediate???) and it has lots of goals to complete / cool moves (ie, there'a a track that you can shoot again and again to get your points up). I highly recommend this if it's your first go at pinball! Also, Elvira has her girls out, so win-win.

Nice gals!

So there's a few machine's to get you started, but once you've had a go on these ones YOUR HUNT IS ON! Chuck us a comment if you know of any others!

Happy silly season,

Ruby xxx

When Life Sucks... Live It Vicariously!

Hey friends,

This week was also shit so I decided to stay inside for a whole day and play my favourite childhood game.... a game where there are no arseholes around you.... a game where you're self made and if you want something? you go get it! A game of investigating, collecting, building, creativity, empathy and excitement... I'm talking about the best Sims spin off of all time, Sims 2 Castaway.

Firstly, I'm not really one for games. As a kid I had a sega and only used it to play this one Simpson's game. As a teen my uncle had a Wii which I inherited and then only played Sims 2 Castaway.
So yes, I'm as fussy as a gluten free toddler when it comes to games. But Sims has a special place in my heart. So you're struggling to interact socially with people? DO IT WITH YOUR SIM! You want to make a creme brulee but you don't have the skills? DO IT WITH YOUR SIM! You want to be an astronaut / musician / artist / professional biographer all in one??? Boom, you got it.

The difference about Sims Castaway is that you're stranded on a desert island where you have no one and nothing (which is honestly sounding more and more appealing as the days go by) but a convenient machete, toilet paper, pocket knife and sleeping mat. You have to harvest food and resources, build your own equipment and furniture, and investigate the island. Also there's heaps of weird mysteries like investigating the original people of the island (who were the lama people, really), collecting treasure map pieces, and making a magic potion to bring skeletons you find on the island back to life. Also you eventually find your old ship mates who you can bond with and pretty much do all the interpersonal stuff you would do in a normal game of sims (yes, and that means woohoo).

But my favourite thing about this game is that you can take it in so many directions and theres no real ending / winning. You eventually build a raft to get off the final island, but you could stay further and just keep building a better camp, upskilling and improving your relationships (you can even get married!). I've now played this game over so many times, and every time I end up doing something different. This time, I'm investigating the Lama people (thinking of writing my thesis on that shiz), building a relationship with this blonde on the island who has the shortest shorts I've ever seen and trying to make a treasure map to find god knows what.

Anyway, so that's my tahi for the week. I highly recommend getting a playstation 2 / wii / DS and scouring trade me for this. Good luck with your search!

Ruby xx

SUGAR COMAS FOR EVERYONE!

Kia ora tatou,

This week I was meant to do this HUGE post on this thing I really like, but life kicked my butt.... again. So instead I have decided to review a place I have discovered that helps me deal with what a massive ^&*$ life is. And that place is Sweet Release Cakes and Treats

And how cute is that lettering??

Real talk here, when the entire world is fucking with me, I don't wanna eat a salad. That's for when I'm on top of my life and when I'm kidding myself that eating that salad is going to make me a better person (it's not). When I feel like the worlds doormat I want a milkshake.... and a brownie.... and a.... doof doof? SRCAT have created the 'doughnut muffin' (or doof doof) which is a perfectly sized, cinnamon sugar coated morsel filled with either salted caramel, snickers or lemon ganache... and they drizzle them with dessert sauces as well! They also cater for a wide range of dietary requirements (vegan, gluten free, dairy free) so there's something for everyone (unless you're paleo... but theres a bush outside just chew on a twig, I don't know, what do you even eat???).

They also make some great flavoured thickshakes (that are INSANELY big, we had one between two and still couldn't finish it). We had a jellytip and oreo one, but they also had cookies and cream, chocolate and peanut butter, and orange and chocolate chip to name a few. And for everything treat you buy, you get a stamp with your tenth treat being free!

A kiwi icon

These guys have been in the media recently with their community work offering free baking lessons to people with life long / life long illnesses, be that mental or physical. You can read all about that here.

So yes, that's the tahi next week. Seeya next time!

Ruby xx

GURL, GET YO HAIR DID

Kia ora team,

How are you??? Are your exams over??? Are you on Holiday??? Is it good???
I've finished regular school and have just started summer school so I still have 0 time to do cool stuff... but who needs sleep, right? (*insert maniacal, sleep-deprived laughter here*)
I decided to chop all my locks off to save me time, and as an almost ritualistic thing to get rid of my second year of uni, so I am now sporting a 1920s bob and I AM IN LOVE.

Low maintenance? CHECK
Easy to style? CHECK
Makes me look like a small doll? CHECK AND DOUBLE CHECK

Since I've entered the kingdom of short hair (or "statement haircuts" as my hairdresser said) I've had to re-do my hair washing / care routine as I no longer have a mop of ridiculously thick and wiry fluff.  After a bit of research (*cough cough* actually just seeing something at the supermarket and going "yeh that looks cool, that'll do") I now use 'Lime Cream & Glycerine' by Perfection Brand Hairdressing to perfect my Bob. So yes, that is this weeks tahi.

Aka, non edible lemon meringue pie in a tub

Firstly, an apology..... apparently (according to Ben) I always review food / body products and I'M SORRY. I JUST REALLY LIKE BOTH OF THOSE THINGS. But I also review community based stuff and am always looking to broaden my horizons, so if you think there's something amazing I should check out, chuck us a comment! I'm especially interested in sites, apps and community based stuff at the moment as I want to add some variety.

AND TANGENT OVER. It's very hard to find any information on Lime Cream & Glycerine, but apparently 'Perfection Brand Hairdressing' started making the stuff in the 1940s, in little ole' Zealand. The cream comes in a HUGE tub (Warning: will rip through a countdown shopping bag with it's sheer weight) and smells EXACTLY like a freshly baked lemon meringue pie. A small glob ( about the size of a coin for me) warmed in the hands then rubbed over the hair gives enough hold for most hair-dos, smells amaze-balls, and has a light shine that doesn't look oily. If you have a bob, prepare to look like a silent movie starlit (yes, goals).

Self portrait

BUT, this cream has MORE THAN ONE USE! Apparently glycerine is actually really good for the skin. Especially in winter and for general dry skin / aging skin. So for research (and because I wanted to smell like Lemon Meringue) I tried it and it works! It gives the skin a soft glow as well which is pretty groovy, and the smell lingers on your skin for ages! So boom, hair gel, moisturiser AND perfume in one $10 purchase! And it'll last you forever.

So yes, that's the tahi this week. I have a really cool one planned for next week (it was meant to be this week but life kicked my butt) so stay tuned.

Aroha,

Ruby xx

COMMUNITY RESOURCE FREAK YEAH!

Hey team,
I just finished jazz school for the year ( still can't believe I finished second year, geeeeezzz what a rocky and steep uphill climb) so now I have lots of time to do fun stuff like researching the best places and things for 'TTT' (that's the tahi). To celebrate finishing jazz school, Daniela and I had a snickers milkshake from Midnight Espresso and then went to the Wellington City Library for a WHOLE AFTERNOON. I was as happy as a pig in mud surrounded by piles of crafty books, literary journals, string player magazines and..... zines from Wellington library's zine collection, this weeks tahi!

This is only one quarter of their collection!

For those of you who are currently unaware, zines are self published books / magazines / booklets / other forms of mostly paper media (here's some more info if you need more clarification). Zines are great because you can publish whatever you like without a big publishing company pushing and pulling you and you don't have the fear of rejecting from big publishing dogs. AND, to top it all off, the zine community is a really supportive and cool bunch with a wide rage of talents and interests, so getting involved with zines gives you a whole new community, woo!

Thanks for the info, Miss cliche 1960s semi-sexy librarian!

When I was in early highschool, I started up a zine publisher / distro called 'Little Caravan Publications' and wrote zines on all sorts of things. I made interactive paper doll zines, poetry zines, interview zines and did lots of per-zines (personal zines) which focused on me having yarns about various the weird unfortunate shit that happens in my life (like last week when someone randomly cupped my bum in public and I turned around to a lady telling me my skirt was too short and that she was doing me a favour... ummmm ok? maybe just a shoulder tap and a "your skirt has ridden up" would suffice? But anyway, I digress...  ). I was participating in various zine fests around the country and would occasionally receive visits from ambassadors from various NZ libraries who were starting to branch out into collecting this type of media. There were dudes from Auckland city libraries, some from the national library, but most of them were from Wellington City Libraries. Which makes sense because they now have a HUGE collection.

There are zines about everything! No matter HOW fucked up it is!

Having a zine collection is great because the topics are so varied. Yesterday I managed to read a zine with recipes for home cleaning products, a poetry zine by a collection of young queer folk, a vegan 'cookbook' zine, various art zines, a zine on pinup hair and makeup, and some great fiction zines! And they're all quick fun reads, straight from the horses mouth (so to speak). No extreme editing, and writers have the freedom to write about really niche topics as they don't have to worry about not having a wide audience.

The Wellington City Library (which in itself is the freaking best, free movies, heaps of great magazines, A HUGE ADULT GRAPHIC NOVEL SECTION, decent cafe, HUGE lot of CDs WITH LISTENING POSTS) has zines in various categories including poetry, art, personal, DIY (my fave) and miscellaneous (aka "lucky dip" zines). They even have these cute little zine bags that you can put your zines in so they don't get bumped around in your backpack!

Ngawwww

They seem to have a big focus on New Zealand based zines which is FANTASTIC because New Zealand zines have a really rich and quirky history. Like Bryce Galloway's 'Incredibly Hot Sex With Hideous People' which is one of the countriest longest running zines. Or the numerous titles from the great David Merrit (you should read about him if you haven't come across him yet) who publishes poems inside the covers of old Reader's Digests.

One of David's early works

One by Bryce Galloway

My best find of the day would have to be this amazing art zine called 'Untotal Eclipse' ( I can't read who it's by as the library has put the bar code over the name... why??????). The zine is comprised of a series of interactive drawings that allow you to mix two things together. Many of the drawings make a comment on something on society, like this one about transgenderism

I also managed to find one of my own zines from yonks ago, which was quite a thrill! 

This zine is a really simple little booklet of playlists with illustrations, and it ws made with just one sheet of paper! I thought I'd place a link to a tutorial on how to make a zine like this because it's a great place to start and as I have previously mentioned zines are freaking great. So click here and create cool stuff!

Oh yeah, and I got all my hair cut off

So that's the tahi this week! Tune in next week for another episode! Booya!

Aroha (as always),

Ruby xx

The tahi this week is a bit cute...

Ok, so this weeks tahi is not as accessible or publicised as all the others have been. But it's a huge and super amazing thing in my life and now is an exceedingly appropriate time to write about it.

My girlfriend of two years (who I've known for three years and kind of dated for that whole time, I think? Kids these days... ) is moving in with me and Ben TOMORROW! She's finally leaving Hamilhole ("The Tron" "City of the Future" "Chlamydilton") and moving into the strawberry shortcake flat with us.

So, you guessed it, the tahi this week is my girlfriend Daniela.
JUST LOOK AT THIS PHOTO OF MY CUMAN (cuman = cute human)

I actually can't say no to this face... or this pose... or this hat

Daniela told me that when her step dad moved in when she was little, she drew a picture of him with her Mum and brother that said "Welcome to Our Family". So I decided I'd make her one to celebrate her joining our family (me and Ben, two useless siblings with no parents and too much money to buy take aways with but not enough to cook proper meals) to bring things full circle. So that's the painting of the week! And for the first time I've drawn a picture that actually looks like me, and not a female Rowan Atkinson.

Ben looks a bit creepy, sorry Ben!

And I'm about to make a heart shaped cake so that we can celebrate tomorrow with traditional celebration food.

So yes, that is the number one thing in my life at the moment.

BUT I know some people will be like "HEY, RUBY. I CAME HERE FOR SOME DANK CONTENT THAT WILL IMPROVE MY LIFE / GIVE ME SOMETHING COOL TO DO???" so here's the rua for this week... Thieve. Thieve is a website that features artists and creatives curated collections of the best things they've got from the great AliExpress, which is a website that allows you to buy straight from factories, cutting out the middle man and saving you a ridiculous amount of money (is it legal????? kinda?????). Everyone's mate, Ali, is about to have her big 11:11 sale so a lot of the cool stuff that Thieve has on offer (hello, art socks) are about to be reduced even further. 

So yes, that's it for this week! Next week I'll be doing a feature on something based in Wellington and have lots of photos and drawings but you'll have to come back next Friday to see what it is. Happy 11:11 from me and mine. 

Arohanui,

Ruby

Hello Enjoy's "Hello Run" (my shortest post ever because I'm so tired that I feel drunk)

Kia ora!
I just handed in a massive composition portfolio that would have been roughly the size of Stewart Island, so I really don't feel like doing this.

So I'm going to write about what I do when I don't feel like doing things I have to do... which is dicking around on the internet playing HELLORUN

HelloRun is a fantastic game from 3D interactive design company "Hello Enjoy". The basic plot (and it is oh so basic) is that you're flying through some crazy spaceship looking thing whilst entering various gateways and dodging obstacles. BUT the cool twist, the dash of lime in your cranberry drank, the salt on your caramel etc, is that it is paired with this great song by Du Tonc called "Surging Memories" and with every drop in the music, the game speeds up. The lighting in the game is also paired with the drums which is really effective and helps you to know when it's going to speed up etc. So if you're a music student who hates themselves, this is definitely the game for you!

I've been wasting my life with HelloRun for approximately three years now and my technique seems to be working pretty good (I don't mean to boast, but I know what the last chorus sounds like). If you hold down the mouse you increase your speed, BUT you get double points. I usually hover in the middle and go up and down to avoid blocks and always head back to the middle. I hold down my mouse most of the time UNLESS I can hear that one of the drops is about to hit OR if I'm turning a corner and so far in the millions of hours I've wasted I've got a high score of about 250 which isn't amazing but hey, it's alright.

I was going to do art but I honestly couldn't be bothered because I was up till 2am doing composition. But next week I'll make something super cool!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (maybe)

Stay alive <3

Ruby

Be a Star with Jefree Star

Kia ora team!
And specifically, kia ora wahine everywhere as this is a post for the girls!
But never fear lads! I painted you a special picture of stereotypical male interests to keep you entertained while the girls talk about lipstick.

Ben reckons the boobies I drew look like generous servings of spaghetti with only one meatball

 and not just ANY lipstick. BRIGHTLY COLOURED, VEGAN AND CRUELTY FREE LIPSTICK! I'm talking about this weeks tahi,  Jeffree Star's Velour Lips

Featuring Jeffree Star's rad packaging and piercing

Last week I went to the opening of the first physical Beauty Bliss store. There were cat fights, tears, people camping over night, and girls screaming and dropping the C bomb because some girl pushed in line to get a goodie bag. But despite the fact that I felt like these girls were about to rip out each other's eyelashes any minute, I did get to have some great yarns about makeup (which I don't get to do very often because most of my friends have ding-a-lings). The particular product everyone was talking about was the very one I went there to buy, Jefree Star Cosmetic's Jaw Breaker Matte Lipstick; a bright blue liquid lipstick that dries matte and can last through anything (seriously, I ate cheesy wheezy chips with this lipstick on and it stayed there, its like one of those dogs that chills out where the owner used to take it for walks long after the owner has karked it / got a new dog / downgraded to a cat). At $34 a pop, it's not for the uncommitted. It's officially the most I've ever spent on a single makeup item but I have 0 regrets and I can now look like a fierce ice princess whenever I so choose (or like I have "tropical leprosy" depending on who's opinion you get).

Make up artist / musician / drag icon / fashion designer / fabulous man Jefree Star has a whole line of other lipstick colours, and is about to release lip scrubs (which you can totally make at home if you can't afford one of his... recipe will be lower down as well as a recipe for your own home-made blue lippy)  and is currently working on some bright eye shadow palettes. At the moment Jefree's offerings consist of various bright matte lip creams including Blow Pony ( lilac), Blue Velvet (Dark Blue) and dirty money ( the colour of dirty money, such a suprise). I've been lucky enough to try Blow Pony, Blue Velvet and Jaw Breaker and all of them have the same lasting quality and CRAZY VIBRANT COLOUR! Finally, matching my lips to my dress is always an option! But as I said before these thigs are expensive and I'm usually a pretty frugal lass... so I found my old recipe for making your own coloured lipstick from good ol' Crayola crayons! ENJOY!

And here is my recipe for making your own lip scrub
(if it kills you I'm not legally responsible)
Happy scrubbing!

RUBY'S LIP SCRUB

INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 tablespoon olive oil
a little olive oil
a few drops of vitamin E (optional)
a pinch of cinnamon (optional)
a few drops of vanilla essence (optional)


METHOD

1. Mix together the two kinds of sugar (the white sugar gives a stronger scrubbing action, while the brown sugar is finer and helps fill in the gaps that the white sugar can miss)

2. add in 1/2 a teaspoon of olive oil, then gently mix through. Continue this until you have a firm paste that does not crumble (it's better to have it slightly drier if you are adding

3. if you have "optional extras" add them now. Vanilla creates a nice smell and helps cleanse your lip, cinnamon helps blood flow and plumps your lip and vitamin E helps to moisturise and condition.

TO USE

Before applying lipstick / balm or going to bed, get a pinch of the scrub on your finger and scrub your lips in a circular motion. Much like the way you'd put on a weak-ass lip balm. Do this for a couple of minutes then rinse thoroughly before applying a nourishing balm or your daily lipstick.


AAAAANNNNNND THAT ABOUT DOES IT! Tune in next week (exam week, oh lordy) where I tell you about something else!

Aroha nui,

Ruby xxxx

PEACH ICE TEA

Kia ora, champs! Welcome to spring, welcome to sun and dehydration!  As of today, uni classes are over for the year so I have more hours in my day to improve my skills and slightly (ever so slightly) more time to enjoy the finer things in life... fine things such as this weeks Tahi which is Bickford's Peach Ice Tea Cordial.

Welcome to 'Ruby's Average Paintings', I will be your guide.

Now ice tea is nothing new, in fact Bickfords have been making top notch cordials since 1874. These Australian cuzzies have produced a peach tea cordial that contains no nasty artificial colours or flavours and this stuff (I shit you not) tastes better than Lipton's, with a lower amount of sugar to boot! But the best thing about this peach tea is the price. The cordial makes up roughly four litres per 750ml bottle of cordial, which will set you back about $6. That adds up to less than $2 a litre (compared to $3.50 for 300mls of Lipton's).  It's the perfect summer drink for the iced tea lover on a budget (man, that bracket covers a lot of the people I know).

Ive been drinking (I've been drankin') this cordial for roughly two years and in that time I've found a lot of rad "alternative" uses for it, so I thought I would share my fave variations with y'all.

1. Instead of icecubes, jam some frozen berries in there. Home made raspberry ice tea? I think yes.
Also, if you want to get extra fancy, stir some fresh mint leaves through.

2. Chuck a splash of the cordial into a smoothie with some yoghurt, milk and fruit (and maybe a cap of vanilla to bring out the peach flavour.

3. If you want something thats a bit more naughty; icecream, milk, peach and cordial... BOOM! Peach Iced tea MILKSHAKE!!

4. Now this one is pretty out there, but bare with me. If you put a small amount of the iced tea (maybe an 1/8 to 1/4 of a cup) into a sauce pan and simmer it over a low heat until it thickens... you will get SYRUP. And you can put that Syrup onto icecream and have a PEACH ICED TEA SUNDAY!

PEACH ICED TEA SUNDAEEEEEE (fathers day?)

So yes, that is this weeks tahi. Stay tuned for next week when I review either something lame and girly or i do another thing in the Wellington community. WHAT WILL IT BE??

Aroha,

Ruby xxx

One month! (And the park)

Kia ora, dudes and dudettes!
This week in te capital, we were privileged enough to see the sun for not one, not two, but THREE days! pakeha and not-so-pakeha alike were burned and aloe vera application went up at least 200%.
In celebration of this good weather, I spent a lot of time doing my uni work in  Welington's Central Park. Which just happens to be the tahi this week!

The mini jetty by the stream, what next??? Cute tiny boats??? (Note: I need to investigate this and possibly create some)

Yet again, the Wellington community is beautiful as frick.

Central Park (also occasionally called 'Brooklyn Park') is arguably Wellington's BEST park. Featuring the famous (and if you've injured yourself, 'infamous') flying fox, which is frickin huge (like seriously, it's so big that you can only photograph it with a panorama)! The best part of this magic ride is that YOU, large-adult YOU can still use it with ease. Finally, a flying fox for us all!
There's three of them in a row so you can have some fairly ruckus races and try some classic moves like the spinner, the backwards 'surprise tire whack' and the classic 'standing position' (not recommended by the council but hey, live a little). I recommend going at off peak times (school hours, early evening etc) so that you don't have to fight small children to use the foxes.

I mean seriously, this thing has got to be a good 200 metres of fun.

The Moturua stream (which looks like some magical fresh-water mermaid land) runs through the park and is nice for a dip if the sea is too far away for you. People think its weird that I cool off here, but the stream is actually beautifully clear, cold and (if you find the right places) has nice little pools that you can sit in (think nature's hot tub... but freezing) and feel like a mermaid. Also, the shallower parts of the stream are frequent haunts for all the local manu, so you can have a bath VERY close to some crazily tame tui and sparrows. Be one with nature, highly recommend!

My mermaid pool, for when it's hot and I want to be a fresh water princess.

Popular bird bathing hangout

The park is also FILLED with great flowers, I'm talking a hill covered in daffodils! Magnolia trees scattered everywhere! Forget-me-nots and daisies all ready for you to make a daisy chain as long as the flying fox its-self! Just today I saw a whole bouquet of flowers that had been picked from the park, lovingly tied with harakeke, placed into the river bank (why on earth would you leave such a beautiful bouquet????? Those flowers died for you, at least honour there sacrifice).

Magnoliaaaaaaaaaa

Daffodil and fern friends

Forget-me-nots

Daisy chain resources

Other nature (and yes, it's a park so natures is kind of the man jam of this tahi) includes some impeccable climbing trees and lots of cute dogs that are walked through the park (seriously, if you time it right you can score an amazing puppy parade).

Some of the pups (and cat) I see occasionally in the park.

(The one that looks like a pig is meant to be a jack russel puppy)

Chuck a camping hammock on this wooden friend and you will be sussed for summer chills.

With summer coming up, I highly recommend you grab some friends, some food, a picnic rug, and your book and have a lovely afternoon tearing up the flying fox and playing mermaids in the stream. Tune in next week when I'll talk about something different!! Who knows what it'll be???? (I don't).

Love,

Ruby

Week three! A virtual tour of Aro Street, featuring some damn fine bus stops...

Kia ora, beautiful people.
If you've looked outside recently you will have noticed that spring hath sprung.
Bring on my bright pink, cats eye shades. Bring on iced tea. Bring on flowers and balmy evenings. But wait, school exists and this causes me to pretty much live in a space with no windows, eat nothing but pizza and spend all my time either crying or practicing (or doing both... at the same time!). However, today I took an hour off to re-explore one of my favourite Wellington streets.
I present to you this weeks tahi, Wellington's Aro Street

My old stomping ground

Aro is an amazing community that feels frickin surreal. It's like an emerald cloaked fairy land that's just chilling five minutes from the city. As you go into Aro street, you'll see one of the three beautifully decorated bus stops that the street possesses. 'Bus Stop Boutique' is an adorable mural of a vintage store, featuring a bowie t-shirt, twiggy poster and a rad Cleopatra looking model. Public art/tekau, I just wish this was a real, bus-stop sized shop.

So cute! Tempted to make a little pop up stall here, make that 2D into 3D!

Ahhhh spring flowers and a nice font, nearly as good as a cup of tea and a lie-in

Just down from the stop is Philosophy House, which used to be a children's home (or so I've been told) which is home to three rad black cats. I've actually spent way to much time hanging with these dudes and breathing in the hell-tonne of lavender that grows outside P.H. (now thats an even better combo than a cup of tea and a lie-in). 

And it wouldn't be Aro without the Aro Valley Community centre, with mother-freakin' solar power!

Take a closer look at those panels!

There's also a huge patch of strawberry plants in Aro Park (next to the community centre), which is worth noting as food in public places is the tahi (look out for a later blog post on this very subject).

Aro Park was also the venue for the 'Arolympics' which was held for the first time this summer.

Dammmmnnnn look at all those possible fruits

The park always has a faint smell of hops from Garage Project mixed with the delicious smell of baked goods (and y'all know how I feel about baked goods) from Arobake. In terms of beer recommendations, I know about as much about beer as I know about algebra, so sweet frick all. In terms of cake recommendations there's nothing I know better on all of this sweet earth. Get the PEAR AND GINGER CAKE IT'S LIKE EATING A VISIT TO YOUR GRANDMA'S HOUSE (If your grandma is a ginger angel who has a massive pear tree). 

Cherry Bomb sounds like a good stripper name

Home of the pear and ginger cakes (and The General Store to the left)

Aro Street is also home to The General Store, a shop that features groovy vintage doo-dads, Wellington made foods and local crafts / arts. I bought a great zine from there today on the history of Aro.

Someone please buy me all the things 

There's also a really good DVD rental (Aro Video) which has a HUGE Queer section, for all my Queer Bears out there. They also have a really good nostalgia section for all your Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyk and Audrey Hepburn needs (not to mention the Twin Peaks boxed set with ALL the special features). 

Holy Times New Roman, I love Aro's fonts.

Deals for days!

Aro Street is like a giant canvas. There's a community art wall (featuring RED PEAK!) and various rad street art pieces by artists such as BDM and Wobbles. 

Damn natural lighting, you lookin' fine.

Heartwarming as frick

Community art featuring Red Peak! (and LOVE graffiti)

A slightly worse for wear piece by BMD on an abandoned building

WELL DO YA??? WELL DO YA, PUNK??

A piece by 'Wobbles'

Aro valley is chocka blocka full of feathered folk, thanks to the bush surrounding the area. Including this crazy friendly tui who gave me a good old fashioned waiata and wasn't even fazed at my photo taking or ridonculously bright outfit. 

This dude invited me over for Kowhai and chill

Aro is a great community with not ONE but TWO community places on one street. The second of which is Kai Te Aro's 'The Orchard'; a community garden for the people of the valley. Filled with table staples such as spinach, tomatoes, strawberries and various herbs. The garden also sports a community compost heap and encourages bikers who use the neighbouring bike tracks to water the garden with their bottles post ride. Damn gardeners, your green thumbs are clever as heck. 

Thanks for the Kai!!

Get amongst this community compost!

Popeye's heaven

Is that planter off his face or is he just stocked at the prospect of communal vegetables?

If you make it all the way to the end of the valley, you get to see the BEST BUS STOP IN THE WORLD (well, in my world anyway). The Holloway Road bus stop is a beautiful tribute to art deco and is always beautifully maintained (despite the occasional graffiti). My favourite part is the clouds on the inside.

So dreamy!

A sneaky spider stencils adds to this rad stop.

So yes, that is my BRIEF (even though this post is like a novel) tour of Aro street. In short, outside is fun, stress is lame, art is a jolly eye feast and community initiatives are the mother flippin tahi!

Join us next week for SOMETHING ELSE!

I shall leave you with a pic of Aro's other bus stop that I have titled "woweeee trippy sea time".

Love,

Ruby xx