Christmas? Already?

Wow, my very first proper outfit post in a very long time!! Albeit, it is an outfit shot from the Honeymoon - ah well (I do have some from last week actually, but I need to get them off the camera first!).

Now that all the wedding madness is over (thank you so much for all of your lovely comments too by the way!), we have gone full tilt into Christmas madness! I can't believe its Christmas day on Saturday - where on earth has this year gone? David and I plan to while away the day eating, opening presents, perhaps finding a secluded little beach somewhere and just relaxing - our first Christmas as husband and wife.

To celebrate Christmas, we bought a tinsy winsy little Christmas tree a few weekends ago, and although it's small, it is a real tree which means we get bonus points (right?). We found some little clip on stars at Spotlight and decorated it with some tinsel around the bottom. The cats for some reason have not yet cottoned on that tinsel is fun to play with - let's hope it stays that way!

I found the J.Bailey Toys sign (Est 1901) last Sunday evening on a walk to get a bus pass. It was sitting next to someone's rubbish bin. Best thrifted/free find yet me thinks!

Trying to get into the Christmas spirit with tinsel in the hall way...I haven't done a tour of our wee space yet, in the mean time, here is the hall way!

Yes, I am in my jammie bottoms. It's what I do when I get home.

What do you have planned for Christmas?

XX Jen

A Wedding in Three Parts - Part 3

The Honeymoon!!

David and I spent the Sunday after the wedding having breakfast with the friends and family who could make it (some had early flights home), spent time with my oldest NZ friend and her partner (who I went to primary school with), picked up our flowers and left over cake from the venue and then spent sometime by ourselves with a yummy dinner at the hotel we were staying at (I also got told I looked like Anna Paquin. Which is odd as I don't really, but a nice way to end the wedding weekend!).

The next day we drove to Christchurch.

Our view of Christchurch from our hotel room, a gift from friends...

Eating breakfast at Berryfields - one of the places considered for the wedding. Worst-service-ever!!! Very glad we ended up not going here (it was also a little too cheesily decorated for my liking - they had fake flowers on the table when they had a glorious garden out the back filled with roses!). But the food was A-mazing, I'll give it that much.

On Tuesday we made our way happily to Akaroa, a little french settlement on the Banks Peninsula where we stayed for three beautiful days. And this is where we stayed - the French Cottage. It was honestly absolutely stunning and perfect...

Sittiing in the afternoon sun with wine and cheese (more gifts from the wedding)...

My sister, as a wedding present, bought us private cooking classes at the Akaroa Cooking School. It was set up by a husband and wife couple, Lou and Ant and it was such a great experience! As people who cook almost all their own meals (eating out all the time is far too expensive!) it was so good to get some new ideas for the dinner rotation. We smoked salmon (and have since bought a smoker, best-thing-ever!!), made salsa verde (omg the deliciousness!) and cooked scallops. It was a three course menu with wines to match all featuring the amazing seafood of Akaroa.

May have been a bit tipsy at this point. Too much wine/champagne had been drunk.

The main course, the only photo we managed to take of the food - it was far too delicious to not eat straight away!!

Cooking in action - photo taken from the Akaroa Cooking School Facebook page.

Thursday we went out on a dolphin watching cruise and in the afternoon went for a massage. For dinner we had tapas at an Italian restaurant and then lazily wandered on home.

The captains little doggy, he let us know where the dolpins were - seriously!

Friday morning was our last day, David ended up going swimming with the dolphins early in the morning while I slept in. We had a late breakfast over looking the harbour, bought a piece of art work (the start of a new wedding anniversary tradition) and meandered on back up to Christchurch where we were staying the night and then catching a very early plane back to Sydney the next morning.

It was such a great holiday - I feel relaxed just thinking about it. We ate too much good food and drank too much good wine (as you're supposed to right?) and met many amazing and inspirational people.

Perfect.

XX
Jen

PS) I did do some outfit shots - but I thought this post was too long to add them, so I'll do them individually.

A Wedding in Three Parts - Part 2...

Today, Saturday 20th November, we got married...

Invites designed by David, and he's happy to give you the template if you want to use it for something :)

Our homemade cakes! I think they looked amazing...

The ceremony was held inside the Homestead with the fire going, which I actually preferred when Vanessa (our contact at the venue) explained what would happen if it did rain. And it cleared up right on time for photos in the garden.

My bouquet made by me. It smelt divine and even had a few token aphids from the roses picked in the garden...

The day was perfect, and when David asked if I would change anything, I honestly can say that I really really wouldn't. We made almost everything and did it on a very small budget, which really made the whole wedding ours. Even if I did have a bigger budget, I would have done everything exactly the same way.

I didn't feel stressed or tired, and everything just seemed to flow together perfectly. I did all my own hair and make up, the dress is vintage (story here) and the shoes were a mission to find (story here). I wore some beautiful underthings from What Katie Did, including a pair of nude-seamed, fully fashioned stockings (I'm sold)!

My hair barrette is vintage from our local market bought the weekend before, and I agonised over making and wearing a bird cage veil (and Lisette even gave me a pattern from her Etsy shop!) but in the end I didn't want the fuss. I like things to be nice and simple.

Our amazing photographer Sinead Jenkins has posted a few more photos on her blog (and she has agreed to let me be her internet apprentice!! But more on that fun development later). And there are more on my flickr page too.

Overall, a very fun day that I would happily do over again. Having all our friends and family in one place was fantastic and being back in NZ was awesome.

XX
Jen

PS) I've chosen not to post photos of our friends and families (though there are some fantastic ones) because I'm not sure how many of them actually want their faces plastered all over the internet.