Hello and welcome to this week's ten things! Actually, it's the first ten things of 2020 and it's still my favourite feature on this blog. What can I say? I love a good list. Except when there are uncrossed items on my to-do list. Lol.
1. Is it just me or did January feel like a year and a half? So much has happened. On a global scale, it's been a bit of a shit start. I can't believe half the stuff in the news. I mean, I can. I know it's real and happening but it is hard to process. I'm hoping February is kinder to us all.
2. Peppa Pig voice actor Harley Bird just quit after 13 years in the role. She allegedly got paid £1,000 per hour for the gig and honestly I've never wanted to be Peppa Pig more in my life than this moment. BRB practicing my Peppa Pig voice. I actually do a good impression of Peppa - I used to do it to make my little brother laugh. I do George's pig noises very well.
3. When is summer ending? I honestly cannot stand the heat. I'm sweaty from walking when I get to work, I'm sweaty at work because the air condition doesn't work most of the time, I'm sweaty as soon as I leave the office and the sun is still up. Hot girl summer but it's really just me sweating my tits off walking around, looking dazed in Auckland. I miss wearing nice clothes!
4. Friday night was spent at the launch of Beau Louis Takapu's label and it was gorgeous! It was one of the warmest fashion events I've ever been to - and I don't mean the weather. What I love about Beau's ethos as a designer is that he is so proud of his Tongan heritage and he's not afraid to show it. You could really feel the heart of the culture on Friday night! From the live music, the friendliness from everyone in attendance (even HRH Princess Pilolevu was there!), and the way the audience cheered for every look - it's refreshing to be part of a crowd like that. I found so many pieces I wanted (the lace skirt was EVERYTHING) and some well-tailored suits that would suit my brother's style. It was so nice to catch-up with the Project Runway crew afterwards too! I love how most of them have remained friends (Massey literally arrived in Auckland less than an hour before the show and went straight there - Kerry said that's true love and I agree) and it's so cool to be surrounded by such creativity. Even if it did take us a while to find after-party! All in all an adventurous, lovely night. Thank you, Beau, for having me along. An absolute honour to see you grow!
5. I've been thinking about self-care practices I can adapt this year. You know, more than the face mask and bath type of thing. Because we all know that self-care isn't pretty half of the time. It's confronting trauma and unhealed parts of ourselves, it's being vulnerable to admit our self-sabotaging ways, it's looking at our lives and seeing what is or isn't working for us and doing something about it. Personally I think one of the self-care practices I want to bring into my life more is the art of stillness. I love being on the go - I think I thrive on busy and multitasking and juggling a lot of things at the same time but I do crave the quiet sometimes too. I think incorporating that into my life more will mean I can better balance things. So today I am planning to stay in bed, put my headphones on, and listen to an entire album end to end. Watch this space!
6. My lovely friend Kim has launched her much-anticipated podcast this week! It's called Pretty Depressed and honestly while listening to it, I keep pausing and re-listening to the bits that have been resonating. I started the day listening to the Mia Lux episode and the conversation around the causes of depression was so insightful particularly the part where they talked about how failing to follow your dreams and your hearts desires can lead to feeling depressed. It's something I've been thinking about a lot lately and like I've talked about earlier in this post, sometimes self-care is also reevaluating your life and making the decision to change it if you feel you're not living the life that you dreamed about. 2020 is definitely going to be a big year! I'm so in awe of you, Kim! It's so typical of her to take the negative and turn it into something positive that can help her and others. Listen to it here.
7. This Vanity Fair feature on Bong Joon-ho is incredible. Parasite was one of the best films of 2019 and I'm a huge fan of this man! From throwing casual shade at the Oscars being a local event to all his proud dad energy at the SAG Awards, Bong Joon-ho exudes the kind of power I want to embody this year.
8. You know I'm a big advocate for outfit repeating and I truly believe the most sustainable way of approaching fashion is loving, wearing, and looking after the stuff we already have. I was sent a media release last week that's too good not to share - Merchant Newmarket will have an on-site cobbler from this month! It's a great service for us who like to keep wearing our favourite footwear over and over again (I know I'm guilty of this - I have about four pairs of shoes on rotation and that's it). It's handy to know we can go get any pairs of shoes repaired there by on-site cobbler Steve Monks. I hear they are even offering a monogramming service for Deuce sneakers and I'm really tempted to get a pair monogrammed! Prices range from $20 for a basic repair to $55 for a full resole and heel fix. So good!
9. "You know, there’s one place that all the people with the greatest potential are gathered. One place, and that’s the graveyard. People ask me all the time: “What kind of stories do you want to tell, Viola?” And I say, exhume those bodies, exhume those stories. The stories of the people who dreamed big and never saw those dreams to fruition, people who fell in love and lost. I became an artist — and thank God I did — because we are the only profession that celebrates what it means to live a life." I think about this Viola Davis speech from the 2017 Oscars often. I love awards season purely for the acceptance speeches (I still can't get through this speech by Kristen and Bobby Lopez without crying. They wrote "Let It Go" for their daughters and it's so special) and this one has stuck with me ever since. I think about the ordinary stories that make up our lives a lot and the more I strive to be more mindful and live a life with intention, the more I realise that these ordinary stories are what makes our lives remarkable. Maybe it's not about the big, monumental moments that define our lives. Maybe it's always been in the smaller, often forgotten details. This has been front and centre for me as I work on the next stage of this site so keep an eye out for that. But for now, I'm going to just play this speech over and over again.
10. Let us enjoy the moon together.
Hello and welcome to this week's ten things! Actually, it's the first ten things of 2020 and it's still my favourite feature on this blog. What can I say? I love a good list. Except when there are uncrossed items on my to-do list. Lol.
1. Is it just me or did January feel like a year and a half? So much has happened. On a global scale, it's been a bit of a shit start. I can't believe half the stuff in the news. I mean, I can. I know it's real and happening but it is hard to process. I'm hoping February is kinder to us all.
2. Peppa Pig voice actor Harley Bird just quit after 13 years in the role. She allegedly got paid £1,000 per hour for the gig and honestly I've never wanted to be Peppa Pig more in my life than this moment. BRB practicing my Peppa Pig voice. I actually do a good impression of Peppa - I used to do it to make my little brother laugh. I do George's pig noises very well.
3. When is summer ending? I honestly cannot stand the heat. I'm sweaty from walking when I get to work, I'm sweaty at work because the air condition doesn't work most of the time, I'm sweaty as soon as I leave the office and the sun is still up. Hot girl summer but it's really just me sweating my tits off walking around, looking dazed in Auckland. I miss wearing nice clothes!
4. Friday night was spent at the launch of Beau Louis Takapu's label and it was gorgeous! It was one of the warmest fashion events I've ever been to - and I don't mean the weather. What I love about Beau's ethos as a designer is that he is so proud of his Tongan heritage and he's not afraid to show it. You could really feel the heart of the culture on Friday night! From the live music, the friendliness from everyone in attendance (even HRH Princess Pilolevu was there!), and the way the audience cheered for every look - it's refreshing to be part of a crowd like that. I found so many pieces I wanted (the lace skirt was EVERYTHING) and some well-tailored suits that would suit my brother's style. It was so nice to catch-up with the Project Runway crew afterwards too! I love how most of them have remained friends (Massey literally arrived in Auckland less than an hour before the show and went straight there - Kerry said that's true love and I agree) and it's so cool to be surrounded by such creativity. Even if it did take us a while to find after-party! All in all an adventurous, lovely night. Thank you, Beau, for having me along. An absolute honour to see you grow!
5. I've been thinking about self-care practices I can adapt this year. You know, more than the face mask and bath type of thing. Because we all know that self-care isn't pretty half of the time. It's confronting trauma and unhealed parts of ourselves, it's being vulnerable to admit our self-sabotaging ways, it's looking at our lives and seeing what is or isn't working for us and doing something about it. Personally I think one of the self-care practices I want to bring into my life more is the art of stillness. I love being on the go - I think I thrive on busy and multitasking and juggling a lot of things at the same time but I do crave the quiet sometimes too. I think incorporating that into my life more will mean I can better balance things. So today I am planning to stay in bed, put my headphones on, and listen to an entire album end to end. Watch this space!
6. My lovely friend Kim has launched her much-anticipated podcast this week! It's called Pretty Depressed and honestly while listening to it, I keep pausing and re-listening to the bits that have been resonating. I started the day listening to the Mia Lux episode and the conversation around the causes of depression was so insightful particularly the part where they talked about how failing to follow your dreams and your hearts desires can lead to feeling depressed. It's something I've been thinking about a lot lately and like I've talked about earlier in this post, sometimes self-care is also reevaluating your life and making the decision to change it if you feel you're not living the life that you dreamed about. 2020 is definitely going to be a big year! I'm so in awe of you, Kim! It's so typical of her to take the negative and turn it into something positive that can help her and others. Listen to it here.
7. This Vanity Fair feature on Bong Joon-ho is incredible. Parasite was one of the best films of 2019 and I'm a huge fan of this man! From throwing casual shade at the Oscars being a local event to all his proud dad energy at the SAG Awards, Bong Joon-ho exudes the kind of power I want to embody this year.
8. You know I'm a big advocate for outfit repeating and I truly believe the most sustainable way of approaching fashion is loving, wearing, and looking after the stuff we already have. I was sent a media release last week that's too good not to share - Merchant Newmarket will have an on-site cobbler from this month! It's a great service for us who like to keep wearing our favourite footwear over and over again (I know I'm guilty of this - I have about four pairs of shoes on rotation and that's it). It's handy to know we can go get any pairs of shoes repaired there by on-site cobbler Steve Monks. I hear they are even offering a monogramming service for Deuce sneakers and I'm really tempted to get a pair monogrammed! Prices range from $20 for a basic repair to $55 for a full resole and heel fix. So good!
9. "You know, there’s one place that all the people with the greatest potential are gathered. One place, and that’s the graveyard. People ask me all the time: “What kind of stories do you want to tell, Viola?” And I say, exhume those bodies, exhume those stories. The stories of the people who dreamed big and never saw those dreams to fruition, people who fell in love and lost. I became an artist — and thank God I did — because we are the only profession that celebrates what it means to live a life." I think about this Viola Davis speech from the 2017 Oscars often. I love awards season purely for the acceptance speeches (I still can't get through this speech by Kristen and Bobby Lopez without crying. They wrote "Let It Go" for their daughters and it's so special) and this one has stuck with me ever since. I think about the ordinary stories that make up our lives a lot and the more I strive to be more mindful and live a life with intention, the more I realise that these ordinary stories are what makes our lives remarkable. Maybe it's not about the big, monumental moments that define our lives. Maybe it's always been in the smaller, often forgotten details. This has been front and centre for me as I work on the next stage of this site so keep an eye out for that. But for now, I'm going to just play this speech over and over again.
10. Let us enjoy the moon together.
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