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