Hello my name is Katie and I'm a product "whore"

I will be the first person to admit that I am somewhat of a beauty product "whore".  My friends know this to be true as well, and  a good friend of mine asked me to send her my go-to face routine.  I made it a show-and-tell over multiple texts for her.  I hope she likes my suggestions.   Skin care products are something that I get very excited about and love to talk about so I'm going to share some of current favorites and go-to's for your viewing pleasure!

Favourite cleanser at the moment

Old faithfuls, and what I like to call the daily holy trinity

Followed by the ALL IMPORTANT SUNSCREEN

Here are some go-to's I like to use in between my regular facials as needed.  This also helps to extend the visible benefits of my regular facials.  

Is your skin a bit dull and dry?

FHF Pajama Paste soothing active yogurt mask 

Is your skin feeling congested after a bit of "not-so-clean" living?

Boscia luminizing black mask

Is your skin in need of a boost in the overall tone and appearance?

Boscia bright white mask

One of my skin struggles is with tone and even pigmentation and this helps to reduce my redness and really brighten up the overall appearance of my skin

Products with glycolic acid (which is an alpha hydroxyl acid) helps to remove dead skin cells, unclog pores and leave skin feeling softer and smoother. However, it can leave your skin a little sensitive at first and you have to stay out of the sun when using this. I usually get a mild peel with my full facial so I don't use this about four days before going in (too much of a good thing.....) 

I have a daytime and nighttime duo that I like 

Daytime: kiehl's ultra facial cream 

Nighttime: epicuren glycolic lotion skin peel 

Sometimes I use one, sometimes both, but I never use them more than 2-3 times one week. Then I'll take a week "off".  

You may be reading this and think this chic is a product "whore-der".  The jury is still out on that one. So just pick one or two and see how they work for you.  

And that's all I have to say about that...for now 

Ummm, I don't camp........

This past weekend was a long weekend here in Auckland.  Monday was a day called Auckland Anniversary Day.   Friday my husband got a call from his BF and in the span of an hour we were packed and on our way to somewhere on the Coromandel peninsula. The convo between the two of them went something like this, Hubbie: "Do we to bring anything?", BF: "No, we have everything." Hubbie: "Do we have a place to stay, " BF: " I have booked you a cabin."   famous last words........

Upon arrival to the campground (did i mention I don't camp) I was informed that our accommodation for the night was the cabin of BF's boat.......hmmmmm (did I mention I don't camp).

So time to harden up buttercup, and I decided to smile and make the best of it.   After all, let's be honest I'm already a bit of a stand out as the only American in the group (as always) and don't want to add to that "prima Donna with a bad attitude"...however tempting it might be. 

So over the weekend we found a winery, saw a few beaches, spent some time on a fishing boat (did I mention I don't fish), attempted to drive the boat and stretched the limits of my comfort zone (a lot).  As the great Elizabeth Taylor once said, "I poured myself a drink, put on my lipstick and pulled myself together."  While I'm not signing up for camping any time soon, no actually, EVER again, sometimes life puts me in situations to teach me something. Maybe my hubbie needed some time on the boat to destress after a hard couple of weeks at work.  Maybe I needed to be reminded that it's not always about me.   Perhaps it was just to confirm the fact that camping and fishing are not on the top of my list for vacation ideas, lol.  I was certainly reminded that I like comfort, nice sheets, a hot shower, etc. and for that I will never apologize.  

I did manage to get some cool pics-enjoy! 

One glass for each child I spent the day with :)

Happy New Year Everyone!!

Happy New Year!! I love the new year because it's like a fresh start, a blank page ready for whatever greatness I want to write into my life (like an amazing to-do list).  I am crazy about to-do lists.  Writing them, planning my strategy, then checking off each item fills me with an obscene amount of delight.  New Years'

Resolutions are the "grande dame" of to-do lists for the year.  This list is written with great enthusiasm and intention. Each item full of determination. This is going to be the year, I tell myself, I will check off all the boxes on the list. Then, over time, the enthusiasm wanes and the intention fades. The list has even been lost all together some years-stuffed in drawer of my mind with all the other to-do's that were lost along the way. If I shut the drawer and didn't think about them they weren't "failures".  There were fewer imperfections with which I could scrutinize and critique myself.   Then the new year would come around again and I would start the process all over again.  Maybe this year I will throw that doomed list out the window.  Maybe I won't even make a list for 2014.  Maybe instead I will embrace my imperfections, determining to seize every day and live it to the fullest.    Wait, is that the start of another list?! Dammit!  Well it's a start, a step in the right direction. Life rarely works out like you plan or think it will, even with the most amazing to-do lists (trust me I know).  So plan less and live more!! Maybe that should be the only to-do on my daily list.....if only I could put the pen down ;) 

A very Merry Christmas to you!

What a great day I got to spend with my family! Here we are then......

And now......

Christmas is a time for me to reflect on the year and spend time with people I love. Over the years it has been a day filled with lots of food, laughs, and love with a little crazy thrown in :)  I'm so lucky to be a part of this group of people! No one is perfect, but to me part of being a family means you know the good and the bad and you still love each other! 

I hope you all had a day filled with love! Merry Christmas and a happy happy new year!! 

Thank you for being a friend!!

My dear, dear friend’s birthday was this month.   She would be laughing as she read this because I’m pretty sure that she would be thinking of the time I was acting like an 8^th grader and introduced her to everyone as my “best” friend.  :)

 

I am missing her a lot-well, let’s be honest, I miss her all the time.   If I were in California right now, I would invite myself over to her house and drink large amounts of wine while watching re-runs of Ab Fab. And we would talk about things that only the two of us really understood or thought were funny.  She is that friend that I can have an entire conversation that leaves other people just scratching their heads (including our husbands at times). 

She is the Patsy to my Edina, the Thelma to my Louise, the Red to my Andy, the Harry to my Lloyd, the Blanche to my Rose, the”Be Fri” to my “St Ends”…. I could go on and on but you get the point.  Sending you a big hug BF, one just long enough…….

Ps, 

I am a girl who is lucky enough to  have many amazing friends and I hope that all you who I call friends know that I am sending you a special hug too! 

And the award goes to......

So most of my friends already know that I went to the Steinlager Rugby Awards Thursday night. I'm not going up lie-I was excited, as in a 12-year girl at a One Direction concert excited!! Ok, well that is a bit dramatic but you get the idea.  Thanks so much to Claire Richadson from New Zealand Rugby Union for the invite! It was fun to get dressed up to mingle with some of rugby's finest players (past and present).  I promise I kept my composure....externally at least :) My husband was a bit star struck too, although he would never admit it.  I'm pretty sure he knows just about every All Black that is alive, can recognize them and rattle off some key stats about them ( love it!).  At the end of the night the thing that impressed me the most is the passion for rugby and where it starts in this country....they call it grass roots.   A passion for this sport is breathed into each generation by the last.  There is a driving force in these men and women that is unlike any other in the world. From the small blacks to the All Blacks, from the volunteer coaches to Steve Hansen, from the superstars to the grounds keepers....every heart is bursting with this "something" about rugby.  I saw tonight again a nation united by an amazing passion for something that is so much more than a game.....it's a part of their heart and soul.....New Zealand Rugby.  Congrats to all the winners! 

Shout out to Che Fu! He was awesome! 

Can you hear that?? It's angels singing the Hallelujiah chorus ( ok, sorry I'm bring dramatic again) ;)

Learning to fly but I ain't got wings.....yet

I was listening to the great Tom Petty the other day and realized that this classic could be my theme song for this move to New Zealand.   Let me share with you all the things that went through my head while singing along with the big "T".  

Oh, by the way,  welcome to my blog.....;)

  My father gave me the nickname of Birdie when I was 6 months old-Admiral Bird to be precise.  Apparently I have been "learning to fly" from an early age.  Who knew I would be on the ultimate "flight" at this time in my life-moving to New Zealand.

 The national bird of New Zealand is the Kiwi. This is a flightless bird.  Wait,  isn't that sort of an contradiction- a bird that can't fly.....sort of how I have felt at times since moving here-a little off.  What I have learned so far is that New Zealand is a land of dynamic contradictions--so the Kiwi is actually a perfect fit. 


 I may not sure what this time in New Zealand will hold for me, but I do know that with its ups and downs I will learn how to fly here and it will a GRAND adventure!!     

As Tom so eloquently said, ........started out for God knows where...but I guess I'll know when I get there........